Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

I'm glad for the reviews that I'm getting, few as they may be, but they're there.

" " - speech

' ' - thought

( ) author's notes

- dreamscape

- telepathy

The Titan

Chapter 5

Cowritten by Nate and Felicia

Sunfire walked calmly into the cafeteria, his time at the HIVE Academy seeming to pass by in a blur. He couldn't remember how long he'd been there, and Jinx wasn't helping. Despite her name, the girl seemed to bring bad luck only upon those she disliked, or who deserved it. It was going to be hard to tell her who he was, but he knew it had to be done. Given that this place was fun, he still couldn't wait to leave.

"Yo, Nate, over here," the girl who'd just been plaguing his thoughts waved him over.

He nodded briefly before getting in the lunch line; there was still the issue of food. The meals here were good, the food surprisingly not as disgusting as he'd thought. It couldn't hold a candle to some of the cuisine he'd experienced throughout his travels, but it was sustenance. Grabbing a tray, he stepped up to the counter and a plate was slid onto it. Alongside was a bottle of water, some utensils, and a small cup of jello.

Finished there, he made his way over to the table and slid into the seat next to Jinx. She seemed overly happy about something, and it wasn't that he'd just sat down. The pink-haired girl was literally bouncing lightly in her seat, a smile plastered on her lips. He was cautious, reading minds here was something he was trying to avoid, Blood had already caught him once, but, hey, the kid had it coming.

'So he still sleeps with a teddy bear, who cares,' he smirked at the memory, 'the whole school deserved to know.'

"So, Nate, have you heard about Friday?" Jinx asked, her bouncing had ceased, now she was simply rocking back and forth.

"I heard something about an event, but not what it was," he said as he hefted a spoonful of what the lunch lady called "mashed potatoes."

"Really, you must sit in your room all day and study to have not heard about it," she grinned slyly, the look putting Sunfire a bit at ease. "There's gonna be a dance, and I was wondering..."

His eyebrow raised as her look changed, the grin was still there, just smaller, as she was biting her lower lip. He couldn't help but akin the expression to that of a child caught with their hand in the tenep jar. She looked so innocent and cute like that, he would have given anything to see a certain someone else with that expression.

'Raven...'

"...Would you like to go with me?" she finished her question after a moment's hesitation.

"Sure," he agreed instantly, wanting to make her think he'd wanted this all along, "but I don't know how to dance."

"Don't worry about it, I'll teach you," the smirk changed again, from cute to mischievous, which was still cute in its own right.

"Better idea," he said as his hand lifted, finger outstretched, and placed the tip of it against her forehead.

The information transfer was one way this time, he'd been practicing. There were plenty of mice to experiment on; they were the only things here he could use, the only thing that wouldn't be able to divulge any information. But, just the other day, he had finally gotten it right, and now he was going to use it to its full potential. Removing his hand from her head, the hexmistress looked slightly out of it for a second, having just had her mind probed.

"What did you do?" she asked as the woozy feeling wore off.

"I found the information in your brain and made a copy of it. So I know everything you know about dancing," he smiled, poking her nose with the finger he'd just used.

It was at that moment that Mammoth and Gizmo got to the table, the latter already fuming at the scene before him. The former simply smirked at the child genius, he knew for a fact that neither of them stood a chance against the new guy. But, as always, it was worth a try, as they both chuckled when Gizmo tossed a small sphere, no bigger than a marble, into Sunfire's mashed potatoes.

He saw this, though, and, while the two boys tried to look innocent and dug into their food, he slipped his fork under it, lobbing it into Gizmo's food. Jinx noticed this too, and she couldn't help but start giggling that insane, musical giggle that could easily charm any evil supervillain. Sunfire simply smirked a little wider, and scooped his food up in moderate, dignified proportions.

It didn't take long for a resounding beep to echo off the walls of room, and Gizmo's food exploded into his face. The other three, who had all been looking on with great interest, burst into loud fits of laughter. Jinx held her stomach, rocking back and forth. Mammoth covered his face, dragging the hand down while still laughing as hard he could. Sunfire had dropped back, hanging off the back of the bench, mainly from his laughing, but also to avoid the handful of veggies that the runt threw at him.

Those veggies hit the person behind him, causing that person to turn and fling their potatoes at Gizmo. A massive food fight broke out from there. Everyone started throwing food at everyone else, except Sunfire, who was still holding himself parallel to the floor. Anything that came at him was deflected toward someone else. But the fight didn't last long as Brother Blood stepped into the room, and was hit in the face by some jello.

"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" he yelled, to which everyone dropped whatever they were holding and looked decidedly sorry. "Who started this, tell me now or there will be a caning for all of you."

Every face turned to the corner of the room, and every finger pointed at one person...Gizmo.

"Gizmo, come here," Blood's cool, calm voice sent shivers down everyone's spines as his eyes turned red.

Once the boy had reached the headmaster, he was immediately grabbed by the ear and yanked through the doors. Someone shook their head, making a "tsk, tsk, tsk" sound; they were instantly pelted with what food remained on the plates. It was then that everyone looked at everyone else, and saw that there was no one, with the exception of Sunfire, that wasn't covered in food from head to toe. They all started laughing, no reason really, it was just funny that they all fingered the same person, even those who had no clue who had started it.

'Well, it seems that there's one person who gets on everyone's bad side,' Sunfire thought as he cleaned the room with a flick of his wrist. "There, one less thing for Blood to bitch about."

"Awwww, he would have made Gizmo clean it," Jinx whimpered slightly, a pout firmly placed on her face.

"Really?" another flick of the wrist, and the mess was back, twice as bad as before. "There we go, does that meet your approval?"

"Verily," she said and giggled a little.

Raven floated above the tower, her concentration constantly broken by her thoughts of him. Why did it feel good when her body was under his control, it wasn't just that it wasn't her problem anymore, it was something else. The memories of his in her head were helpful at times, but it was hard getting through the barrier. Usually it simply gave to her the information it believed she needed, but that meant it could tap into her mind whenever it wanted.

That just made her even more uneasy; no one was allowed in her mind, but it was hard to stop it. She had the idea to traverse into her mind and try talking to it, but found that to be a foolish idea. How was she supposed to talk to something she didn't understand? This was all so confusing to her, and even more so without him here to explain it; he did seem to have a surprising number of answers for someone with amnesia. Even if she was confused, and hated her thoughts being churned by him, she couldn't help but wonder how he was doing.

'Sunfire...' she looked up at the stars, their glow somehow warming her.

"Friend Raven, would you mind some company?" Starfire asked from the door.

"Sure, Star, I've been having some disturbing thoughts lately," the sorceress said as she patted the air beside her.

"If you would like to discuss these thoughts, I am here to help," the Tamaranean princess said as she floated next to Raven. "Are they about...him?"

"Some of them, but most are about what he told us in his last message," she continued to look at the city, in the direction of the HIVE. "This 'Brother Blood' sounds like someone we should be concerned with."

"I must agree, the way he controls all that go on in that place has, how you say, 'irked' me," Starfire looked to Raven for confirmation on her use of the word, the goth nodded. "He sounds like a very powerful entity."

"He is, if Sunfire's afraid to send use a message, then Blood must be seen as a top priority threat."

"Raven, why do you speak with such concern for Sunfire?"

Raven looked at Starfire with an almost unreadable expression on her face. It wasn't really emotionless, but there was a hint of something that the alien had almost never seen before. There was no name for what she saw, but she knew she had seen it before. Her sister had once had that face when being scolded, but couldn't believe it.

"He is a criminal, after all," she continued.

"I'm not entirely sure, Star. Sure, he did all that, but from what memories I've received from him, it seems there was someone else in control," the cloaked girl looked at the roof. "Someone else was pulling the strings, using his body to commit those crimes."

"But that is not possible," Starfire shook her head, she was not going to disbelieve everything she had been taught. "He is not capable of being controlled, only of taking control, he did so to you twice already."

"You don't understand, I can see it, I can see the one who controlled him," her feet touched down and she turned for the door. "There is another, Starfire, and if you cannot believe me, who will you believe?"

The alien was taken aback by what was just said; sure, Raven snapped at everyone, but never with such intensity.

"I am sorry for offending you, Raven, it is hard to denounce what was told to me by my father," Starfire looked to be on the verge of tears; she had not meant to make Raven mad.

"You'll have to, because the other is coming."

The door closed with those words, and the redhead was left on the roof alone, still floating, still on the verge of tears, and still confused. To believe Raven would have been denying her people, the people she trusted above all others. But did she trust her friends on Earth above all others, haven't they shown her true kindness and love, wasn't it their word she should believe?

Sunfire levitated in his room, hands placed in their usual position on his lap. He had changed back to his natural form, finding it easier to meditate this way. There was something wrong with his meditation tonight, as if there was someone else in his head at the moment. The words were in his head, always the same, "Kill them all, kill them all." He tried to shake the thoughts from his head, but they stuck firm; the voice was like his, but darker, more sibilant. Whatever he tried, it was no use; the voice was there to stay, it seemed.

"No," he said quietly, his breathing regular.

"What, how dare you," the voice spoke, "kill them all, I command it."

"You don't control me anymore," Sunfire said, his breathing still flat, even.

A jolt ran through his head, the pain reminding him of that pain so long ago. His hands flew to his head, desperately trying to keep it from ripping in half. He dropped to the floor, rolling around with the pain, his body felt as if it were being torn every which way. The shirt he wore was engulfed in flames and fell from his writhing body. His hair color was changing from gold to black, starting at the roots and tips, moving up along the stands.

Concentrating as hard as he could, he forced himself back into position, doing his best to ignore the pain in his head. His legs folded beneath him, and he floated a bit, the scars on his back pulsing and radiating small bursts of lightening. The pain was most intense there, like his back was tearing itself to pieces in response to his constant defiance. If the voice wanted a fight, he was damn well not going to back down. He pushed his mind outward, forcing his astral self along the link, back to the source of the voice.

"No one controls me," he said through gritted teeth.

On a planet several light-years from Earth, Moonfire and Blackfire had taken a rest in some ancient ruins. The ruins looked to have been made by Buddhists, with the tall arches and the hundreds of steps leading up to the temple. It had been overgrown with vines and vegetation over the years, but that didn't make it an unsuitable place for the two of them. Moonfire found the vibrations from the temple to be quite adequate for his meditation.

"I wish to be alone," he said as he practically threw Blackfire out of the temple gates.

"'I wish to be alone,'" she said in a mocking voice as she dusted herself off. "He's beginning to cramp my style."

Moonfire heard what she said, but he could care less; Sunfire was what was important now, and the boy was so close he could taste him. All that power, and only half a mind to use it, it was a shame; something had to be done about that. He casually made his way to the very center of the temple; a massive, round room with an open roof, so one could gaze at the stars. His motives for seeing the stars were a little different, though, he had to be able to see the patron star of the planet Sunfire was on.

"Soon, Sunfire, soon you will once again be my instrument of destruction," he got into the same position Sunfire had been in, and began broadcasting his control. "Kill them all, kill them all."

"No."

"What, how dare you," he growled, "kill them all, I command it."

"You don't control me anymore."

Moonfire had had enough of this, and sent jolt after of jolt of pain to every receiver in his target's body. If they had to do this the same way as before, then so be it. He knew Sunfire, if he felt the unbearable, relentless, and uninhibited pain that Moonfire could produce, then he would bow to any wish the dark Tamaranean had. But something was wrong this time, he was resisting the pain, pushing it out of his mind. He concentrated harder, his hair, what could be seen around the cloak, began to change from black to gold, starting at the roots and tips.

"No one controls me."

The gold instantly disappeared, and Moonfire was thrown back against the wall. A sickening crunch resounded through the temple, and surrounding area. Blackfire rushed into the room, seeing her fallen companion, she was about to run to his aid, but a rock narrowly missing her head stopped her. He began to stand, the look in his eyes could only have been Rage.

"HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU I WISH TO BE ALONE?!" he shouted as a few more stones were thrown at the elder princess. "GET OUT!"

"Fine," she scoffed and jumped out of the way of another rock, this one with a sharp edge carved in it. "That's the last time I'm concerned for your health."

Moonfire was, for lack of a better term, extremely pissed off.

"If I want your concern, I'll force it from you," he yelled after her. "No one does that to me and remains free."

He was going to make Sunfire pay, he was going to take the thing that fool treasured most away, he was going to take...that girl. Yes, the girl, the one that his counterpart seemed to care so deeply for. It was going to be such fun for him, the most he'd had in a long time.

A green mouse scampered through the halls of the HIVE academy, looking for any signs of trouble. When none were found, the mouse grew into a young, green boy. Beast Boy signaled to the others that the coast was clear, and the other five rounded the corner. The Titans, having not received a communication from Sunfire in almost a week, decided to move in.

"Okay, now, if the schematics we have are correct, the arena should be through these doors," Robin said looking at his communicator.

"Want me to check it out?" Beast Boy asked as he was about to shift into a mouse again.

"No, Raven you take a look, I think a shadow would be less conspicuous than a mouse."

"Right," she nodded and melted into the floor.

The shadow that was Raven made it to the door, and was stopped by a barrier. She reformed in the hall, holding her head, having run head on into it. But there was no time for anyone to say anything, as the doors opened; the arena awaited them. The lights were on, and the stands full of students, all of them eagerly watching as the Titans entered.

"Welcome, Teen Titans," the old man at the other end of the stadium said, "to the HIVE Academy. I do hope you enjoy your visit."

He clapped his hands once, and the floor in front of him opened, a platform rising into position. On it were three teens, in the middle was Sunfire - still in his guise of Nate Sindel - was in the center, with Mammoth to his right, and Jinx to his left. A smile was on his face as he looked them over, hoping to X'hal they would play along. Now was not the time to use telepathy, what with his proximity to Blood; the old man would pick it up, and know exactly what was going on.

"Now, I do hope you'll give us a good show, some of my newer students need to see some actual combat," he waved his hand to signal the start.

"I've been waiting for this," Sunfire hissed as he looked first to Jinx then to Mammoth. "Attack pattern omega, ready...GO!"

The three of them launched forwards, Mammoth heading straight for Cyborg and Beast Boy, who had already taken the form of a T-rex. The burly teen collided with Cyborg, his massive fist slamming into the metal man's face. Using Cyborg's surprise to his advantage, Mammoth grabbed him by the ankles and used him as a bat to whale (wail?) Beast Boy upside his dinosaur head.

The green monster went down, changing from the prehistoric beast to a hawk, flying up, out of reach. Mammoth tossed his bat to the side, and thrust his hand against the floor, breaking off a piece to throw at the bird. Beast Boy instantly changed from a bird to a humpback whale, attempting the same maneuver he tried against Atlas, and dropped. But the altered human was too fast, able to leap aside before getting crushed.

Jinx had decided to take the two on the left (or right, depends on which side you want to stand behind), who just happened to be Raven and Terra. She threw hex after hex at them; Raven barely able to keep up a barrier, while Terra was attempting to stone the pink-haired sorceress. Her attempts were in vain, as all the rocks were sliced in two by the blade-like hexes. The blonde finally got fed up with it and opted to "shake things up," as the saying goes. Large cracks appeared in the floor, and Jinx almost lost her footing, but stood fast, continuing to fling her hexes.

Raven switched from defensive to offensive, trying her luck at getting behind Jinx again. She dropped into the floor, moving along swiftly in shadow, knowing it was just a few more feet. When she had almost reached her target, she felt a searing pain tear across her back. Materializing, she saw that she was right in front of the enemy, who had taken a step back in surprise, but was, nonetheless, ready. Casting out her powers, she grabbed two boulders, one on either side of Jinx, and attempted to crush her. Unfortunately, Jinx was prepared, and quickly cut the two boulders in half. But, fortunately for the good guys, her attention was taken from Terra, who grabbed two stones, and hurtled them at Jinx, one catching her in the stomach, the other was cut short by a blast of green.

Sunfire was content with his choice of Robin and Starfire, knowing that they would see through his act if he didn't use his full strength. Course, that didn't stop him from venting a little frustration, as his knee collided almost full-force with Robin's stomach. Said knee carried the leader of the Titans through the air, and into the wall, slamming Robin, literally, between a rock and a hard place. Sunfire stepped back and deflected a few of Starfire's starbolts with a few of his own, the color changed, of course. He then fired a volley of almost a dozen starbolts at her, in rapid succession, not even having to move his hands to "throw" them. A little less than half of them struck her, but it was enough to send her to the floor.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked as he stood from the floor.

"Just play along," Sunfire whispered. "Starfire knows how, why not you?"

"What, play along, are you..." he never got to finished as his "enemy" thrust his fist into his already bruised stomach. "Ergh!"

Blood watched the scene with great interest, his team was doing extremely well since taking Gizmo off and keeping Sindel on. One thing bothered him, though, the blonde, she looked familiar, like he had seen her somewhere before, but couldn't quite remember. His gaze was torn from her as Sindel and Jinx leapt to the middle of the room, back to back, this was the move he was waiting to see.

Visualizing the music in their minds, the two of them locked arms and began to dance. The dance involved many turns and bows, one of which almost led to Jinx becoming one with the floor. All these moves were necessary, though, as they dodged starbolts, and boulders, thrown by Raven and Terra, as well as birdarangs, and blasts from Cyborg's sonic cannon. Finally they got to the finale, where he grasped Jinx's hand, looking at her for her consent, to which she nodded, and her flung her around, spinning on one foot while her arms spread out. Sunfire and Mammoth dropped to the ground as long strings of hexes launched from her hands.

Every Titan was hit, most of them getting thrown back against the walls. The only one who wasn't so severely effected was Beast Boy, who had turned into a tortoise at the last second. Weakened, they all began to stand again, ready to fight, all but Cyborg, who appeared to be too damaged. Sunfire and Mammoth stood, looking almost amazed that they could have survived Jinx's "ultimate technique," as she put it. The disguised Tamaranean wasn't really surprised, he was more concerned with their condition.

"That's enough, Terra," Blood said as he stood from his seat. Everyone turned to look at Terra, who was looking even more confused than anyone else, then at Brother Blood. "Yes, I was wondering where I had seen you before, though I never thought I'd see the day my child would come back to me."

"What are you talking about, I've never seen you before in my life," she yelled back, looking almost fearfully at her friends. "It's the truth, I don't know what he's talking about."

"We believe you Terra, stay calm," Robin said as he glared, or at least I think he was glaring, at Blood.

"Of course you don't remember, you were taken from me when you so very young," he continued to speak, not really caring about the others now. "Where do you think you got those powers? Sure no normal human could give birth to someone as extraordinary as you, you were created by me. You were the only one to survive, out of almost fifteen separate experiments."

"Th-that's not true, my parents..."

"Ah yes, Mr. and Mrs. Markov, they were quite the nuisance, not wanting to give you up when I came for you," he shrugged, as if the rest of the story told itself. "They just sent you off on your own, knowing that I would be unable to find you. But then, a couple years ago, you were brought to my attention by Slade, he said he'd found a promising applicant for his apprentice."

"What do you know about Slade?" Robin yelled up at the old man.

"Silence," he flicked his wrist, and Robin was thrown back against the wall, again. "Yes, he said that he would have had you too, if it hadn't been for some interference. Now, Terra, it's time for you to come home."

His eyes began to glow red, as did Terra's, and she began to move forward, away from the others. Blood smiled as she continued towards him, soon he would have all the power he required. She was going to make him invincible, then nowhere in the world would be safe from his wrath. Or, at least, that's how it would have gone had he not had to stop concentrating on Terra, and form a shield to protect himself from the golden starbolt. His head whipped around to see Sindel, hand raised, and fingers outstretched.

"What are you doing?"

"This," he moved instantly from where he was to be in front of Terra, protecting her.

His hair turned from green to gold, and fell loose from the braid, his green tank top molded to his upper body, like a second skin, becoming black, and his pant's changed from black to white. Two forearm guards appeared on his arms as he clenched his fists, eyes glowing green. Two more starbolts appeared in his clenched hands, and he was going to use them. Upon throwing them, they weren't stopped, but deflected upwards, towards the ceiling. The explosions which followed threatened to rip the building apart. Red klaxons blared an alarm, signaling that everyone should evacuate.

The Titans all gathered around Cyborg, except for Sunfire, who had locked eyes with an extremely hurt Jinx.

"Raven, get us outta here," Robin said.

"What about Sunfire?" she asked looking over at him.

"I'll be fine, go on ahead," he said with a wave, hoping they would take the hint and go.

"Alright."

The form of a massive raven engulfed the five teens and carried them through a hole in the roof. This left Sunfire, Jinx, and Mammoth alone in the room, since everyone else had fled. He walked up to them, knowing that deep down they still trusted him, to a point.

"You could have been one of us," Jinx said as she looked at the ground, ashamed for being taken in so easily.

"Trust me, the offer was tempting, but there are others who need me right now," he placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her head to jerk upward, eyes locked on his. He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. "I would have to suggest you both get out of the HIVE, nothing good could ever come of working for that man."

"But, there are tracking devices, somewhere in our bodies," Jinx explained, her eyes lit up slightly from his show of affection.

"You mean these," he held out two microchips, about the size, and shape, of a penny. "Now go, you have to get out before this who place crashes down on you."

Jinx looked at Mammoth, who nodded slowly, he knew exactly what had to be done. She turned back to Sunfire, tears in her eyes, she was going to miss him, traitor or not.

"So, Sunfire, eh? The name suits you," she smiled and laughed a little, making him smile. "Maybe we'll see you around sometime?"

"Maybe, anything's possible," he smiled back before stepping away from her. "Take care of her Mammoth, I'm counting on you."

"Yeah, yeah, just get goin', we'll be fine," the massive teen said with a smirk as Sunfire began to fade away. When he was completely gone, the two of them looked at each other, and then headed for the exit.

Raven walked down the stairs at 2:30 AM a few days later, she needed some tea to help her sleep. It had been so hectic lately, what with Sunfire's return, and revelation about Brother Blood. Terra seemed to have been effected the most by that; he was, after all, the one who gave her those powers. But that aside, she still needed that tea, and it seemed to take forever for her to reach the bottom of the stairs.

When she rounded the corner into the kitchen, she saw Sunfire sitting on the counter, wearing just a pair of mesh shorts. His bare feet were propped up by the sink, and his arms were crossed over his chest. The dark magus mentally slapped herself to keep from staring. The sight was just so...serene, captivating, arousing even; take your pick, whatever it is, she would have given anything to be in his place.

"Hey, thought you'd be up," he quipped as he looked over at the clock on the microwave.

"Really, well why are you up?" she raised an eyebrow, how did he know?

"Pizza," he wrapped his knuckles against the stove next to him. "I was hungry."

"Apparently," she said as she sat at the table, using her power to pick up the teakettle, and fill it with water. She then placed it on the stove and turned on the burner. "Sunfire, can I ask you a question?"

"Remember, you only get three per topic," he held up three fingers, then ran the hand through his golden locks, green eyes boring a hole into her skull.

Raven sighed, she needed answers, but with only three questions at her disposal, she would have to be crafty.

"Why is it that you know what I'm about to do?" she asked cautiously, hoping for an answer that would make sense to her.

"Because of your memory in my mind," he pointed to his head, "every new memory, every new thought, every new feeling, is catalogued here, at the same time you experience it. That is the only reason I know everything you know, because I have a copy of your mind inside my own. Everyone else, I can only read the thoughts they have at that time, or see a memory as they remember it. I cannot delve into their minds without direct, physical contact."

"You've had time to prepare that answer," Raven teased/scolded.

"Well, you have been milling that question around in your head for some time," he shrugged and looked at the clock again. "Next question."

"With that link, do you have access to my powers?"

"No, your emotions will not allow me to tap into those recesses of your mind. Given I have tried, and could if I wanted to, but I would never do so without permission," he slid off the counter, and grasped the handle of the oven door. "And, as you have tried to break the seal on my memories, you will only receive information you need, not what you want."

She was surprised by that statement, it was the answer to her next question; did this mean he giving her another question, as a freebie? There was something in his voice, too, something that she couldn't quite place, having not encountered that certain emotion much in her time here. It was, how to put it best, alluring; she could see now why Jinx had been so fixated on him. To be able to be around that feeling for too long would have driven Raven's control right out the window.

"It was a freebie, Raven, now go ahead and ask your question," he said as he pulled the pizza from the oven, not even bothering with an oven mitt.

"You said you had been to Azarath, how is Azar?" she asked, the questioned he'd previously answered was her last one, she had to think fast, again.

"I had been there, long ago, too long to recall," he looked up at the ceiling in a dreamy manner, sighing deeply. "I do remember that Azar was doing well, she did seem to be getting on in years, but she had just gotten a new disciple, and had set about ridding them of emotion."

Raven took in a long breath, there had been no word from Azar about a new pupil, she had been the last. But, it was impossible, there was no way he could be that old and still look that young, even for an alien. Besides, she didn't ever remember seeing him, so it must have been someone else. That thought squarely set in her mind, she continued.

"So, did Azar teach you anything useful?" she asked, hoping her three were not up.

"Yes, actually, she taught me quite a bit," he was still looking at the ceiling, as if trying to burn a hole in it. "I said three questions per topic, Raven, you now have one more about Azarath."

"Alright, what did Azar teach you?"

"Unity," he said simply and, finally taking his eyes off the ceiling, placed the pizza on the table. "Would you like some?"

"No thanks, tea is enough for me," she waved her hand and the kettle lifted from the stove, and poured into a cup, a teabag swished from the cabinet and dropped into the cup.

"Come on, it's good," he tried to emphasize his point by tearing into the first piece.

She looked the pizza up and down, trying to find something wrong with it, trying to find out if Starfire had given him any pointers. Her eyes shot up to his, he was looking at her train of thought again, she knew he was. He was chewing the food slowly, eyes focused intently on the empath across from him. There was no mistaking that look for anything else, and she instantly began to feel uncomfortable.

"Just one piece?" she asked, eyes still glued to his.

"As much as you want," he pulled his eyes away from hers, the action somehow leaving her feeling hollow. "Do you know of Unity, Raven?"

"A little, Azar never went very far into explaining it," she said as she grabbed a piece and summoned a plate over to her. "It was something about the joining of two minds, as one."

"Exactly, but the process can only be done by two like-minded individuals," he placed the crust in his moth and slurped it down like a piece of spaghetti. "Once done, their entire minds are opened to the other, all thoughts, memories, everything."

Raven stopped chewing and looked over at him, was he suggesting what she thought he was suggesting? Surely he wouldn't want his entire mind open to her probing, she wasn't sure she wanted to be rooting around in there either. Just the idea of it defied every known law of privacy, every little detail of their lives would be open to the other.

"Are you saying you wish to perform this ritual?" she asked after she swallowed.

"Not without your consent, but, yes, I would," he smiled a little, knowing her thoughts were racing, racing towards one conclusion. "You may give me an answer when you feel you are ready. Give it some thought."

"Y-yeah, I'll do that."

She was visibly shaken by this, Unity was only performed by the highest of Azar's priests and priestesses. It was ludicrous to think she had reached that level of clarity, but, at the same time, there was only one way to find out. By the time she was done sorting her thoughts, she saw Sunfire at the fridge, looking for something to drink. She stood, walked up behind him, and tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned to look at her, the cloak gone, forgotten on the chair, her eyes sparkling, hands trembling. Before he could see her thoughts, he was pressed against the refrigerator, Raven up on her tiptoes, lips pressed to his. It was a simple kiss, neither going so far as the pressing of lips, merely getting a feel for each other.

Objects around them began to levitate in a black aura, but were consumed by gold and placed back down. The light above them burst, but was pulled back together a millisecond later. The kitchen almost turned itself inside out by the black aura radiating from Raven, but it collided with Sunfire, and instantly began to dissipate.

Raven pulled away, not even realizing that she had her arms around his neck, and his hands were on her hips. The look on his face was calm, cool, collected, but even she could see the joy behind his eyes, the same joy she had allowed herself to feel just now. Her assumptions were correct, his aura slammed head on into hers, and the two conflicting forces cancelled each other out.

"So," she was pulled from her thoughts by the man in front of her, "where do we go from here?"

TBC

There, I did not end it there because this chapter was getting too long, but because I wanted to leave you with a little cliffy. Just to hold you over till I can get the next chapter written up. It will be a little while, but in that time I will be planning it out, while updating some of my other fics. That's all from me for now, don't forget to review.