Author's Notes: I love drama-- I really do. I know it's a bad thing to be so obsessive about, but oh well, I am and I don't plan on changing that anytime soon. This chapter has a lot of ideas swirlling in my head, so we'll see if I can get over my 'short chapter syndrome' and actually write you all a very long, impressive, worthwhile chapter for once!! Bring it on!! LOL, we're also going to see if I am capable of multitasking by doing my Algebra II homework and writing this at the same time!! Wish me luck! Lucky for you guys, I don't usually post stuff I don't like a little myself. This chapter is dedicated to Irene, S. Giovanni and Nightbolts101.

Blade of Secrets

Chapter 4- Stolen Secrets

Robin sat on the couch idly, waiting for Slade's next transmission to interrupt the accustoming silence. The tower had been in disarray for most of the day, and had only recently calmed down. Beastboy was sleeping in Terra's room, keeping a close, protective eye over her. Raven had disappeared into her room with a book, and Cyborg had prepared to recharge himself for the night. Starfire had disappeared long ago in the middle of the chaos, and he was positive he knew where she was and what she was doing; the only reason he wasn't in there trying to stop her was because he knew his mindset was too focused and infused with rage toward Slade, and that was the last thing Starfire needed thrown at her. He had no choice but to wait this situation out from all different corners, until one side began to bend or surrendered their hold on his attentions and emotions. Being pulled in different directions was never a fun experience, especially when every angle demanded the same large power in order to be contented and resolved. That mean he had to make a decision, and force himself to stick with it.

For now he would trust Starfire and focus on Slade.

His eyes scanned around the room; despite the tense atmosophere surrounding the situation, he felt oddly calm and bored, and that was starting to trigger an uneasiness within him. Robin knew he always had to be on guard when it came to his arch enemy, but he couldn't help but feel safe within the tower. It was kind of ironic, considering the last time Slade came into existence was when Robin had been rummaging through evidence and found himself under the influence of some strange, powdered form of a hallucinogen. Of course, the irony of the situation never did surface in his mind, considering it wasn't the most important thing at the moment. Robin had to admit though-- the waiting was making him bored and lulling him into an unwanted sleep. He couldn't keep his eyes from drooping, closing, and sealing away his senses.

"Robin."

Shooting his masked eyes up toward the screen, Robin was surprised to see no picture of Slade, or any indication that the screen had come on at all. Unable to shake the feeling that he had heard someone, Robin stood and began to search the closed in area, looking for a clue that could connect the voice he had heard to it's owner. He didn't just imagine these kinds of things; Slade had to be around there somewhere, but how could he have gotten inside? The security system was intact and defiently working to it' s full extent; Cyborg had made sure of that long before he had left to recharge. So if Slade wasn't inside the building, then the only other place he could be was...

Spinning around, Robin stared Slade dead straight in the face where he floated on an individual hover craft just outside the window. The familiar snarl that always accompained Robin's face whenever Slade was seen or mentioned leaked into his aura while he continued the glaring contest with his enemy. Neither one battled through words or movements, simply stared down their opponent, waiting patiently for the other to snap. There was no response at first, and before Robin realized it, Slade was shooting up toward the roof of Titan's tower. Not taking much time to think, he shot off in a dead sprint toward the stairway that would lead him to the meeting place Slade had chosen. The sound of his boots ricocheted in an endless echo as he traveled up the encased metal staircase, rushing with familiar haste toward the threat. Robin burst through the door, nearly stumbling out onto the cold metal as he found himself face to face with Slade once again. Slade stepped off his hovercraft, standing casually as he inspected the home of his ex-apprentinces, mentally taking in any weakness in the fortress he could find.

"Slade. You said you wanted to speak with me."

"And we will." he responded. "How is she doing?"

"Who?"

"Terra, of course." Slade questioned.

Robin's eyes fell into slits. "She's still alive, meaning you lost that fight."

"I do not consider it a loss." Slade answered, keeping his eye fixated upon Robin and his stature. "Why so tense, Robin?"

"Stop playing around. What do you want?"

"I believe I am above... Starfire's room, am I not?" came the response, still eluding Robin from the answer he seeked.

A look of bewilderment overthrew Robin's stone-hard battle facade. How did Slade know where Starfire's room was located? Had he been monitoring them in isolation the whole time they thought he was dead and gone? When he broke through the titan's mainframe to appear upon their large screened television and taunt them, did he swipe the blueprints to the tower from their computers? It angered him and frightend him all at the same time, yet he had to keep his emotions in check. There was no reason to give Slade the idea that Starfire meant more to him than the rest of the Titans. She did not need to be singled out just because of the grudge between Slade and himself, and he would never allow her to be subjected to that, especially in her current mindset. There were only a few things that could cause Robin to lie, and her safety was one of them.

He had to focus on Slade.There was no telling just what Slade would do next; he was a classifie madman who was capable of horrendous acts beyond the imagination of any human.

"What do you want, Slade?"

The slight increase of aggressiveness in Robin's voice was hard to miss, and Slade picked up on it very easily. There were so many things he could use agaisnt Robin, so many ways to manipulate his mind and twist him to the the breaking point, yet he was choosing the one that he knew would hit closest to home, the one that would frighten his unruly ex-apprentince the most. If he wanted to make a lasting impression, one that marked much deeper than the one already etched into Robin's being, he would have to attack at the heart of the matter. He had to strike at his pride using the simple doubt he knew haunted Robin and drove him to become better.

"How can you protect her if you can't stop me?" Slade questioned, calmly .

Without much hesitation, Robin had drawn his bo staff and pounced viciously upon Slade, attacking with a fury he had forgotten he had. It had been such a long time since he last needed to produce more stamina and strength than he possessed; it had been so long since he last felt this much adrenaline pump throughout him. Slade raised an arm and blocked the attack, pushing Robin back with a well positioned spin kick. He retained the position it left him in, keeping his single uncovered eye upon his ex-apprentince. After sliding momentarily, Robin was back on Slade, using the bo staff as a lever to hoist himself into the air while he drew out multiple explosive disks to offer a devestating and unexpected hit on Slade. Rivaling Robin's agility, Slade hopped over toward the corner of the tower, landing with unabiding gracelessness as he nearly fell over. A roundhouse kick from Robin forced him back further, and left him thankful for his hovercraft as he floated out of attack range. It was always amusing to him to watch how hard Robin would fight him, almost as if he was possessed the devil and fighting to drag him down to hell.

"We will meet again." Slade told him. "Watch over her, Robin."

Robin ran across the slick roofing, trying to reach the edge so he could jump onto Slade's escape vechile and finish his fight. Unfortunetly he only found himself sliding to a quick stop when Slade, and his hover craft, disappeared. He stopped right on the edge, growling in his frustration. Why was it that they could never do Slade in? Everytime they fought him, they always left him room to recover and come back to haunt them. It was a sudden decision, but Robin stayed on the roof, glaring up toward the moon until he was completely calmed down; there was no reason for him to go inside, slamming doors and causing more choas. Besides, when he went inside, he was going to talk to Starfire, and for that he needed to be as calm as possible.

Starfire looked down at her newly wounded arm; three parallel slashes overlapped the countless other crosshatched scars that made up her skin. It had become increasingly harder to cut through the thickened skin, and that frustrated her; she had to cut deeper each time, releasing more blood, just to feel the rush that calmed her. And even though she knew the original reason for her actions was now an inplausible excuse, she kept doing it. Peircing her skin with the dulling blade, she pulled it powerfully and slowly across the other three bleeding marks, drawing an interesting design marked in red. She pulled the embedded razor out and set it on her table, turning her gaze back to the oozing blood that swirlled down her forearm and pooled over her palm. She didn't regret the new cuts; each one was marked with a failure they represented, things she could never forgive herself for.

Terra.

Emotional instability.

Her inward cowardice.

Breaking her silent promise to Robin.

Even though she had cut to keep from crying, the tears still flowed. Starfire couldn't help herself any longer, no matter how much she tried. This was part of the reason why she had given up her right to the throne of Tamaran; she would never be stable enough to rule over an entire planet. Not with a habit like this one. Starfire truly did not like the places her thoughts wandered sometimes; she did not like to shroud herself in a dark dimension of her mind, and that was why she had started the meditation with Raven. It calmed her enough to keep her from the darker edges of herself, but not enough to keep her from the cutting ritual that had buried itself deep into her life. For a while she had been able to stop; for a while she hadn't depended upon it. But like any other addiction, she had been sucked back toward it again and completely controlled by it.

A knock interrupted her thoughts; who could possibly be there? Starfire rapidly placed her gloves back on, checking her blankets for any possible bloodstains that could trigger suspicion by the person who was about to enter her room. She was scared; she had almost been caught again, she was lucky the person decided to knock before they came in. Starfire took a quick glance at her gloves, making sure the blood wasn't seeping through.

"Who is it?"

"Robin. Let me in."

The forcefulness of his voice worried her, so she opened the door without much hesitation, turning on the lights as she did. Robin filed in, waiting patiently for the door to close with a resounding whoosh once again. Starfire looked at Robin's rigid form, trying to decipher what was causing him to appear so tense. It was obvious that he was full of frustration, and she blamed herself for it; even if she wasn't the full cause, she knew she was part of it. Had he not looked at her with pain the last time they'd been left in seclusion within her room? Her heart sank for him; Robin was the leader, and so much was pushed off onto him, and that was why he built layers around himself. To protect himself from the things he had to do, from the hard decisions he had to make.

"Did Slade give you transmission once more?"

Robin turned toward her, taking a tight hold of her shoulders. "Starfire, promise me you won't go off anywhere without someone else around."

"Robin, I do not understand. I am not going anywhere." she protested, not liking the way his fingers pinched her skin. "What did Slade speak to you of?"
"Starfire, you have to promise me." he looked pleading, worried and torn all at once.

She nodded. "I will promise if you tell me why I need to."

"He's targeting you. Slade wants to get to you."

Starfire led Robin over toward her bed, making him sit beside her. "I can take care of myself Robin. You do not need to worry; Slade will not get me, he will not harm anyone. We are all safe here."

"Starfire, if he wasn't targeting you, then how would he know where your room was?" he questioned. "Why would he tell me to keep an eye on you?"

"Maybe he is trying to scare you?" she suggested. "I do not think he could be this prepared to fight so soon after return from the dead."

It was hard to convince Robin of anything when it came to Slade, and Starfire was almost weary to even try anymore. "Robin, let us not worry about things that have yet to happen."

Robin's gaze fell toward the floor, tracing the nonexistance patterns that adorned it. Part of him want to scream, another wanted to grab Starfire and never let her go. Did no one realize the danger they were in if Slade knew the blueprints to the tower? Maybe he was over reacting and he just didn't realize it; Robin had to admit, he did have a habit of getting eccentric when it came to matters involving Slade or Starfire. That should have triggered a bell that he was going react with double force, but it never crossed his mind. Placing his head into his hands, Robin took a moment to breathe and clear his head; he had not expected to rush into Starfire's room and start to rant about Slade.

When he gathered himself, Robin lifted his head and risked a glance toward Starfire. His eyes narrowed when he noticed a metallic object ontop of her nightstand; it was covered in a red liquid, which he presumed to be blood. Had she accidently left it out? Looking back down, he could see his hand start to shake. Was he nervous? The proof was right in front of his face; he had known that had bene her secret. But how was he supposed to let her know that he knew without causing a stressful argument or awkward moment? It wasn't right for him to not let her know that he knew what she had been doing, and he had even more right to tell her what he thought about it.

"I do have to worry Starfire." he pointed out. "I have to worry about you."

Her eyes showed pure confusion. "Why is that?"

"That." Robin responded, signalling with his finger toward the table.

Starfire turned her body, and visibly stiffened when she saw the blood covered razor. Obviously she had not purposely left it upon her nightstand; Starfire would not start to squirm if it had been a conscience thing. Robin waited for her to turn back toward him, so he could continue with his speech. Starfire didn't move other than to pick up the offending object and shove it into the drawer that had concealed it for so long, hiding it's sadistic existance from prying eyes.

"Robin, I think you should go now."

Author's Notes: Well.......... there's your chapter. I have a bad feeling I'm going to have some writers block for the next chapter, so PLEASE DO SEND ME IDEAS!! I am VERY open to using them! Please leave me feedback on my characterization of Slade.

S. Giovanni: :: blushes again :: You think the only flaw to my writing is that it's TOO good? Wow......... that is the most complimentory compliment I've ever recieved. Thank you so much for your support and your immense compliments... they really boost my self esteem!

TanukiGirl22: Was it wrong to place so much focus on Terra? How far into the series does this go? In all truth, it takes place, thus far, at least after Robin's run in with the hallucinagin in Slade's mask. I would place it somewhere after that. I know it's moving fast, but I'm trying, I really am....

Starfire of Tamaran: LOL, don't be sorry for telling me to keep going! It helps to keep me going! And you sit there and re-read this whole story? Wow, that must be a feat within itself.

D-I-WaRrIa: Blackfire DIDN'T say that in any episodes, I just made it up to help my plot. I'm glad you think I've captured Starfire's personality, was a little worried about that!

Nightbolts101: I read your 'The Telling' story. I loved it, if you couldn't tell by my obsessive amount of reviews. But yes, that kind of a review would make me sad as well. I mean, you are proud of everything you post (for the most part), it's never much fun to have some critique it in a negative manner. Rambling is a GOOD thing-- never stop! That's how you MEET people, come on!! LOL!

Chele: CHELE!! LOL! You reviewed, only because I said you had to, but I suppose it don't matter, hmm?