Title: In Your Dreams
Author: Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli
Summary: The memory of her is still clear in his mind. He'll never forget how his heart stopped when she turned her back to him and flew away, never to return. But when they find each other again, will their destined love finally become reality? Or can they only be together in his dreams? RobStar
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, but if anyone wants to buy it for me, feel free!
Chapter 20
Starfire listened intently for any sounds that would suggest fighting. She had heard the announcement that her friends were coming and Kendrick's invitation for their entrance, but hadn't yet heard anything follow. The two guards that stood with her on either side were staring down on her, making her uncomfortable. She had hoped that she would be left alone, or at least left with some locals that she could talk to and perhaps make them realize Kendrick's lie, but she was stuck with some of what she called Royal Loyals when she was younger. They were the stern men employed by her father to watch her and her siblings at all times to make sure no harm came to them and, more importantly, that they didn't do anything wrong. Starfire had tried to convince them to let her roam the palace grounds once or twice in her childhood, but they had always denied her. They were too loyal to her father, the king, and the duties he set before them. Thus, Royal Loyals.
"Please, could you loosen my bindings, perhaps?" she requested in a small voice. "They are so tight that I do not believe my blood if flowing to that destination any longer." The Royal Loyals stared at her, confused by her oratorical fireworks (Bridget Jones' Diary, great movie) and not able to decipher her meaning.
"Kendrick said not to let her free," Royal Loyal 1 said, sternly. "We should leave her be."
"Oh, please, assist me," Starfire pleaded. "I fear that if I do not get blood to my hands soon, they will fall off." Royal Loyal 2 looked alarmed.
"I highly doubt Kendrick will be pleased if we have a handless princess. After all, if he is to wed our beautiful Koriand'r, I believe that he would like her to still be beautiful." Starfire was slightly thrown by the word wed. But it was only for a second; it soon reinforced her determination to free herself and help her friends and return to Earth, where she belonged. She had to get out of here.
"Yes, sirs, please, I do not wish Kendrick to be displeased with me. He then perhaps would not wish to marry me." The Royal Loyals exchanged glances.
"Kendrick will not be pleasant to work for if he does not have a beautiful bride," Royal Loyal 2 pointed out.
"We will most likely not work for Kendrick if he does not have a beautiful bride," Royal Loyal 1 agreed. "I do not wish to lose the job I have dedicated my life to."
"Besides, the princess Koriand'r seems eager to wed Kendrick. She does not seem rebellious at all, as Kendrick described. Perhaps the brainwashing has worn off." The Royal Loyals came to the conclusion that their princess was not dangerous, and carefully loosened her bindings so that they were not too tight but not too loose. However, appearances are deceiving, and Starfire was stronger than she looked to the Royal Loyals. (That's one of my favorite scenes when Starfire says "I'm stronger than I look" and kicks Cinderblock. Brings out her often misplaced warrior side, so I had to include it.) Waiting until they returned to their statue-still positions, in one swift movement she broke free of her constrictions and shot a star bolt on either side of her, bring both Royal Loyals to their knees. They fell to the ground, unconscious, and Starfire stood. During her conversation with the Royal Loyals, she had stopped listening to what was going on outside her little closet. Now she started to drop the eaves once more, and found the sounds of a battle on the other side of the door, yet it wasn't as loud as she would've supposed. For a moment, she felt weak in the knees at the prospect of going out and fighting against her own people. But she regained her strength, knowing in her heart what she had to do.
Her knees went weak once more upon hearing the voice of the one she loved shout, "We have to find Starfire!" At that, she aimed both her hands at the locked door and let loose. The door exploded open and she stepped out.
We froze upon hearing Kendrick's voice booming out his invitation. There was no way to be sure what was coming. Raven refused to let us in on her plan, and there was no guarantee that it would work. If it didn't, what then? I knew for a fact that I would do anything to get to Starfire. And I knew my team would stand behind me. But the thing was, we were only human.
I suppose that's untrue, because Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy aren't exactly the epitome of your average human. I suppose I'm not, either.
The point is that if we have to . . . harm innocent Tamaraneans, our consciences would never let us sleep. Guilt would plague us until we die, much like it did with The Mistake. Only far worse. We had never even killed any of our enemies, and they were evil. These Tamaraneans are merely misinformed civilians. I should kill them for that?
I could feel the team staring at me, waiting for me to open the door and enter, as Kendrick had suggested. But I just couldn't do it. My palms were sweating and my stomach was churning. Wasn't this a little too much for a teenage boy to handle?
Only I wasn't just a teenage boy. I was a hero. And I had to do the heroic thing.
I pushed the doors open.
We were met immediately by the dreaded citizens wielding various weapons that spanned from primitive to advanced. My heart was pounding as the tip of a spear met my chest. I rejected the impulse to slap it down and kick its holder. Our eyes turn expectantly to Raven, who was already muttering what seemed to be magic words or some sort of chant under her breath. She finished, and we waited in anticipation for something to happen.
I started to panic when the purple cloaks they were all wearing merely turned white.
"What was that, Rae?" Beast Boy asked, frantic.
"Yeah, it really helped that your changed the color of their wardrobe," Cyborg agreed, sarcastically, as he eyed the Tamaraneans surrounding us. I did the same with the one who was holding a spear to my throat. I began to contemplate whether I should just disarm him or if I should cripple him as well. That was when I noticed him begin to fade. The other white Tamaraneans were starting to disappear as well. Soon, they were completely gone. I stared in disbelief as a slight smile graced Raven's face.
"What did you do?"
"It was a simple spell that . . . Malchior taught me." I noticed the fleeting hurt expression on Raven's face as she said the name of the dragon who had used her. But she recovered fairly quickly. "I merely transported those who were innocent to safer place. You will notice a few remain." I did. Their cloaks were still purple, and they were looking confused and a little bit scared about the disappearance of their army. Anger was also starting to invade their features as they glared at us. "When we're finished, I'll simply bring them back." I smiled slightly, knowing that the chances of us actually finishing were much higher now. Saving the world and Starfire was looking easier now, compared to all we had to do before.
By now, the remaining Tamaraneans, who I supposed worked for Kendrick, began to rush at us with their weapons. My relief evaporated as I realized that there was still a multitude of enemies. The innocents may be gone, but there was still a good twenty Tamaraneans left. At least I wouldn't have to worry about not hurting anyone now. I pulled out my Bo staff. If I didn't get to Starfire soon, people were definitely going to get hurt.
"Titans, go!" I shouted. "Fight them like we would fight anyone else! They have Starfire!" I thought I heard Beast Boy mutter "calm down, loverboy, we know" under his breath, but I chose to ignore him. I had more important things to do.
The first Tamaranean that reached me had a futuristic laser gun. This was tricky, because just one well-aimed shot could hurt me, even kill me. But with my martial arts skills, I was easily able to avoid the shots. I kicked the gun out of his hands and watched his face turn from angry to terrified. He started to step back, but I tripped him. He did the rest for me by hitting his head hard on the marble floor and knocking himself out. I moved on to the next two. They came at me at the same time, hoping to throw me off. But I was too quick for them, and once again the work was done for me as I stepped out of the way and they hit each other. So far, too easy. Was this the best Tamaran had to offer?
I saw the others weren't having as easy of a time. Raven, the most powerful among us, was doing fine, but a bunch of soldiers had ganged up on Beast Boy, backing him in his cheetah form into a corner, swords at the ready. Cyborg and I noticed at the same time and rushed over to help him. Cyborg let his laser cannon lose, blasting the soldiers out of the way, and those that were left standing were blinded by my smoke disc that allowed Beast Boy to escape.
"We have to find Starfire!" I shouted, and the Titans looked at me and nodded. At this time, I was caught off guard and thrown to the ground by a different soldier. He held the point of his sword against my throat so that any sudden moves made by me would result in bleeding and most likely death. I looked around for someone to come to my rescue, but everyone was fighting their own battle. My opponent noticed this, and chuckled.
"Looks like you're outta luck," he said. And I began to believe I was.
Until a loud bang resounded throughout the hall, and a blinding green light filled the room. My heart pace quickened as my opponent dropped his sword and gasped.
"The princess!" he shouted. "She's free! We must save the princess!" There were only about six soldiers that were still conscious, but they all rushed towards Starfire, who was staring at me. I was staring back. I couldn't move. Picturing her visually in my mind was one thing, but seeing her was another. I was paralyzed by her. I loved her so much. I couldn't stop thinking it. I love her, I love her, I love her . . .
"Robin!" Beast Boy screamed to snap me out of it. But it didn't work. I could only watch as the six men rushed at her. Only when they grabbed at her did I spring into action, but it was too late.
I needn't have worried, however. Starfire was beautiful, yes, but that was only one of her amazing qualities. She was also strong, a warrior, and could take care of herself. Though I could see it pained her to turn against her own people, she knew that they were working for Kendrick and against her, and she became illuminated with green light as she blew them all backward. She looked around at the Tamaraneans, all unconscious on the floor, and bit her lip as if troubled. I couldn't help but think it was adorable. Then she glanced at me, and smiled. My heart fluttered, yes, fluttered, in my chest.
Then it was gripped by the hand of fear as I saw Kendrick emerge from the shadows, sword drawn.
"Robin," she said, smiling. She ran towards me and enveloped me in a hug, but it wasn't a bone crushing one that she normally delivered. It was firm yet soft and loving; it was perfect. I wish I could have enjoyed it, but I was watching Kendrick who was slowly approaching. I silently begged one of the other Titans to go after him, but the idiots stood still, watching him just like me.
Starfire stepped out of the hug and looked into my face. She took my hand in hers, and tugged it gently.
"We must go save my brother," she said. "Ryand'r is locked in his room."
"Leaving so soon?" Kendrick asked, his voice sinister. Starfire's body stiffened, and I pulled her to me, protectively. At the sound of his voice, the soldiers regained consciousness and picked themselves up from off the floor. As Kendrick backed us into a corner, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven made a move to assist us, but were cut off by the risen Tamaraneans. I suddenly realized that this was Kendrick's backup plan. He hadn't underestimated us. The soldiers weren't actual Tamaraneans, they were robots. Indestructible robots. And they were going to do everything in their power to make sure that Kendrick didn't lose. Which could only lead to the moment that every leader dreads.
The realization that we were going to lose.
Haha, I got you guys all excited for a big reunion and there were barely even words exchanged. Hahahahaha! I know, I know, where's the fluff? Well, THAT action comes when THIS action ends. It's coming, don't panic, you know
There were two ways I could have ended this chapter, and I decided on this one because it worked, it came first, and this chapter was getting too long. I know, I know, there's no such thing as too long, right? And I've had chapters much longer than this one before. But if I had kept going, the next chapter would've been uneventful and short and boring, and I'm sick of boring chapters. So the alternate ending for this chapter will have to happen in the next. And it'll have to end that chapter, too, because it's the sort of cliff hanger that every author lives for.
You guys will hate me.
And I've said too much!
TtitansFan- I absolutely LOVED your long review. It made me so happy! And I agree, Raven and Robin are just the worst combination. And yeah, the whole Titans East thing pisses me off, but I don't necessarily hate them, because I think Mas Y Menos are just the cutest thing EVER. But yeah, East better not take over the entire show in Season 5 or else there will be some major protesting. Especially if Star and Robin still haven't gotten together and they're focusing ELSEWHERE? So wrong. The Quest was hilarious, my mom was making fun of how loud I was laughing. Anyway, here's your update!
Now I'm going to go watch the SUPERBOWL! Go Patriots. Don't hate if you're an Eagles fan. Especially when the Patriots win. And just for the record, I'm really a Ravens fan, because I'm a Baltimoron, but they didn't make it this year. ( So I'm for the Patriots. Who will win.
It will be really embarrassing if they don't now that I've made a big deal out of the fact that they will. Well, we'll see.
Review if you love me!
Blair
