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( ) author's notes
(-) flashback
)-( - mindscape
The Titan
Chapter 10
Written by Nate Sindel
"Ha, time for us to go," Moonfire announced to his bored companion.
Blackfire looked up from where she was sitting, the outstretched hand and smile caused her to do a double take. Irked beyond belief at his sudden change, she took his hand and was hauled to her feet. Combing a hand through her hair, she dusted herself off, and checked for any dirt she may have missed.
"What's got you in a good mood?" she asked, stretching a few times.
"He's shown me who to take," he chuckled, grabbing his cloak and pulling it on.
Sunfire was in a decidedly less enthusiastic mood than his brother. He continuously paced about atop Titans' Tower, casting a weary eye towards the starry sky. This was just the calm before the storm, the building of pressure, getting ready to be released. And he was responsible for bringing it to this planet, he was solely at fault.
He fingered the butterfly clip that he held, a momento of Terra's that was fished up from the bay. Knowing full well that nothing could have changed the moment she offered herself, he could not help but blame himself. If he had just gone to her, instead of following Brother Blood, perhaps she wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself. His fist closed around the hair clip.
"I won't fail," he spoke to no one, "I'll keep my promise."
"Which one?" a voice asked from behind him.
"Jinx, what do you want?" he turned to look at her, green eyes not quite meeting hers.
"I had a question," she walked over to stand beside him, "remember?"
"Yes," he pirouetted to face the same direction as her. "It was only a few hours ago."
(-)
"Which of us do you want?" Jinx asked, having cornered Sunfire in the hall, "me or Raven?"
(-)
"Well I want an answer, I think I deserve one," she crossed her arms and huffed.
"Is that so?" he looked at her from the corner of his eye. "I suppose you may deserve an answer."
"And the answer is...?"
"You already know the answer, you've know the answer for quite some time, but never wanted to believe it," he placed a hand on her tiny shoulder. "I do care for you Jinx, but it is Raven who I love."
A sniffle caught his attention, and he looked right down to see her with a picture out in front of her, a picture of her and him, in his guise of Nate Sindel. He studied the picture, realizing it was from right after the food fight. His arm was around her shoulder, and they were laughing. This was a surprise, since he didn't see any cameras.
"Where did...?" he reached for the photo.
"I hacked the security system, found this in on one of the backlogged tapes," she pulled it away, slipping it back into her dress. "I thought we might have had something back then."
"You did 'have something' with him," Sunfire stated, removing his hand from her shoulder. "But don't worry, you're still young; there is always the chance of finding someone else."
"I know," she walked to the ledge, mindful of his gaze following her. "You wouldn't let me fall, would you?"
"Heh, you won't even get off the ledge," his voice was deeper now, lower.
Just to test what he said, she took an experimental step, and found that her foot wouldn't go past the edge. A small smile crept across her lips, the smile meant to hide the frown she desperately wanted. That voice had sounded so much like Sindel's, the voice she had been wanting to hear so badly. But she knew he was a fantasy, a fleeting figment of her imagination.
"Is the city being evacuated?" Jinx asked.
"The tri-city area is being taken care of," Sunfire responded, starting to walk towards the door.
It had taken a few hours of his time, but he had explained it to the Titans - Jinx and Mammoth included. To him, the precautions were pointless, he and his brother settled things a little differently than what Robin was used to. Still, getting all these people out would be a good idea, since Moonfire always liked to arrive with a bang.
His memory was beginning to fully clear, the last bits of fog were covering how he came to be. He remembered a black hole, and Moonfire, then pain, horrible, agonizing pain. That was how he had been made to submit, to come under his brother's control, and wreak havoc across the galaxy. The blame was solely on him, though, because it was his hands that were stained with the blood of billions of people, spanning thousands of world, thousands of races.
"Whatever punishment had been placed on my head, I deserved it," he spoke softly now, more thinking aloud than anything. "But, now, I'm going to make it right."
Once he was though the door, Jinx tried the ledge again, and found the barrier to still be in place.
Sunfire entered Raven's room to find her meditating. Before he could leave her to her thoughts, and claw of dark energy grabbed his wrist, beckoning him to stay. Deciding to heed this apparition, he ventured into the sanctuary of his love. The claw led him to a chair, making for him to sit, which he did.
Before his eyes, from Raven's back, emerged another Raven, this one made of the same energy had the claw. Indeed the claw was coming from this girl. She moved towards him, almost sauntering as she crossed the room to sit on his lap. Her hand were placed on either side of his face, guiding his lips to her; those same hands soon found their way into his hair. His soon followed suit, crushing this girl to him.
Not too long later, the lips began to feel more real, and, opening his eyes, he saw Raven sitting on his lap. But this was not where she stopped, as her hands released his hair and began to search for the bottom of his tank top, seeking to remove it. Keeping one hand in her hair, Sunfire's other undid the clasp on her cloak, throwing it onto the bed. Her hands found what they were looking for, and the front of his shirt was pushed up as far as it would go, and her hand roamed over his chest and abdomen.
Finally they came up for air.
"And what brought this on?" he asked, the largest smile possible on his face.
"The world could end tomorrow," she said, laying her head on his shoulder, "this is the last chance we could have for this."
"Raven," he kissed her cheek, moving his head to bury his nose in her hair, "this world will not end, I promise."
"I don't want that to mean that I'm going to lose you," she spoke solemnly, but couldn't contain the giggle that came forth from his tickling.
"Even if I cease to exist, you will never lose me," he placed a finger to her head, "so long as I am in here."
"So, even after death, you mind will remain in mine?"
"Yes," he kissed her forehead.
Robin sat in the training room, having just gone a few rounds with the new shadowboxing machine; it creates a shadow that is of the exact same strength as the person using it. He reached for his towel, but was unable to find it, until it was handed to him. Turning, he saw Starfire, moving to sit beside him.
"Thanks," he sighed, the machine having taken more out of him than he thought.
"You are welcome," she smiled sweetly, but he could tell there was something on her mind.
"Nervous?" asked the Boy Wonder.
"Yes," the smile fell. "Raven has told me of the Moonfire."
"Yeah, Sunfire told us," he placed the towel down, and rested his hand on hers. "Starfire, I want you to know..."
"Yes?"
"...whatever happens when he gets here, we're going to leave it to Sunfire. You mean too much to all of us...to me...to lose."
Cyborg and Beast Boy had been given the job of helping the authorities evacuate Jump City. They had taken Mammoth with them, since he would be good at crowd control. Just having him standing there, pointing, got people going that way. Given that their job was important, Beast Boy would not let his cybernetic companion hear the end of it.
"Man, come on, this is so boring," he said as he directed traffic. "I mean, what are the others doing that's so important."
"Probably saying good bye," Cyborg voiced, moving people along. "From what he told us, there's really no way to prepare."
"We must have faced worse, what about Atlas, or the 'Master of Games?'" he wagged his fingers, to quote the guy with the medallion. "Are we really supposed to believe that this 'Moonfire' guy is any worse than that?"
"Considering he's my brother," Sunfire said, dropping down behind him, "yes."
"Eep!" Beast Boy fell over at the suddenness of Sunfire's arrival. "Dude, don't do that."
"Please, allow me..." the golden-haired alien stepped forward, positioning his hands, two fingers up, the bottom two in the upper hand's palm.
He swept both hands to the side, and, as he did so, the people in the city vanished. Cars were left empty, sidewalks devoid of pedestrians, and, one by one, motorcylces fell over, their riders gone. Green eyes opened to survey his handiwork, smiling lightly.
"Where are they?" Cyborg asked, looking around.
"They are safely removed to shelters and such that lie outside the city. It is all that I could do on such short notice. Jinx and Mammoth are with them."
"I wish you could have done that earlier," Robin spoke as he walked over with Starfire in tow, and Raven's shadow moving along the ground.
"I was busy," he looked over to Raven, who was standing beside him now. "They are coming closer."
"They, I thought it was just him," the Titan leader said.
"Kommand'r is with him."
"Sister? But we all believed she was in prison," Starfire blurted, letting everyone know who Kommand'r was.
"Apparently he believed otherwise," he said, moving to sit on a bench. "All we can do now...is wait."
"Wish I had that gamestation portable right about now," Beast Boy quipped, sitting on a curb.
Moonfire and Blackfire passed by Saturn, at just the verge of sublight speed. For some reason this felt very, very wrong to the princess, these two coming together, to do what? She feared what would happen once they had reach Earth, and Sunfire. Certainly it would not be good.
"What do you plan to do?" she asked her cloaked companion. "Do you think you can control him again?"
"No, I don't plan to control him, he's progressed too much for that. Not that he'll shrug it off, it would greatly affect him, but it wouldn't have the effect that I want," he focused those pits of darkness he called eyes on her. "No, I have something far more 'permanent' in mind for he and I."
Jupiter loomed into view, the massive gas giant exerting its gravitational pull on them, and failing. Moonfire was still smiling, imagining what he could do with all the power he was soon to acquire, there was so much. Perhaps he would destroy this pitiful galaxy and remake it; that was a thought, but it would take time, even with that power. Too much time.
"What do you think they would do if we destroyed that planet?" he smirked to the girl beside him.
"Just leave it and let's get going," she huffed, getting impatient.
"You really are no fun, unless you get your way," he chuckled, speeding up. "Come on, or we'll miss the best part of the day."
It was extremely early in the morning now, and they continued to wait, occasionally glancing up to spot any sort of sign. Light was now beginning to appear on the horizon, sunrise was near. Sunfire glanced up at that, his brother had always had a slight flair for the dramatic, and that was what told him what was taking so long.
"Is there a solar eclipse by any chance today?" he asked.
"Yeah," Robin said, looking up from the paper in his hands.
"Typical, the day the moon overpowers the sun," he sighed, "is the day I will come for you."
"What are you saying?" Raven asked, he had been mumbling.
"The day the moon overpowers the sun, that is the day I will come for you," he said, louder. "It is a line from an old Tamaranean story, of two houses at odds."
"And...?"
"They kill each other, but from those two comes a singular house that formed from the marriage of the two."
"What does that mean here?" Cyborg asked.
"Dunno."
Starfire looked at him, she knew the story as well, and wondered if it perhaps fit into her own theory of him. If he was who she believed him to be, then all would be well, all would truly be right in the universe again. If she was wrong...well...she didn't want to think of what would happen if she was wrong. The two warring houses had been silenced by a final battle, which took placed during an eclipse.
"The sun is rising, perhaps breakfast is in order?" he said.
"Well, there's a diner right behind you, I'm sure the owner wouldn't mind us cooking up something for ourselves," Cyborg moved by him, opening the door and stepping inside. "So who wants what?"
Each Titan took a seat eat the counter, looking at the menu. While it was obvious that breakfast foods were in order, none of them felt like that. Steak for Sunfire, tea for Raven, cereal for Starfire (I really don't count it as a breakfast food, since it can be eaten at all hours), a juicy burger for Robin, and a salad for Beast Boy. Cyborg cooked everything, and for himself, a massive meat platter.
"I don't see why you won't share?" Sunfire said, after almost having his hand bitten off, trying to grab another steak.
"Because I need all the protein I can get," Cyborg stated with a mouth full of food.
"You could still part with one steak," the Tamaranean retorted, adding as an afterthought, "don't make me take it by less conventional means."
"Fine, don't see why you couldn't just magic yourself one," the man-bot said, tossing a steak onto Sunfire's plate.
"It's not magic, and because home cooked always tastes better," he reached for his knife and fork, but stopped mere millimeters from them. "They're here."
An explosion rocked the city outside, casting up a great cloud, the shockwave breaking windows; the diner would have suffered the same fate had Sunfire not reinforced them. The Titans were quick to their feet, rushing outside. Sunfire took his time, sliding slowly off his stool, walking calmly through the door. The dust was settling, coating everything. That was all it was, dust, no chucks of debris, not huge slabs of asphalt, everything had been broken down to its basic form.
Through the dust, between the two tall building across the street, the edge of a massive crater could be seen, flashing every few seconds with a streak of black lightening. On the edge of that crater stood two figures, one was Blackfire, the other was the cloaked Moonfire, his face still adequately covered. They began moving forward, towards the Titans, the street seeming to crack beneath Moonfire's feet, his cloak flying in the wind.
Sunfire pushed through the group of teens in front of him, moving into the street. His hair was beginning to rise, the spikes becoming more defined, sharper, the tips turning a deep crimson. Fists clenched at his sides, arms hardly swinging as he took each calculated step forward. The scars on his back exploded into his wings, the feathered expanses folding around him.
"Tal," Moonfire sibilant voice hissed out.
"Shi'r," Sunfire responded.
"We can do this without fighting, brother," the dark Tamaranean said, producing the orb from within his sleeve. "Simply place your hand on this, and all the pain will go away. Join with me, become who we once were...or suffer."
"Suffer? What makes you think I'm the one who's going to suffer?" the golden-haired alien smirked.
"Hmhm, you are suffering even now, but refuse," he held up a finger for emphasis, "and I will increase your pain a thousand fold."
"I guess there's no other way," Sunfire slowly removed his forearm guard, revealing the twisted flesh of his arm, the hand changing as well. "Titans, I would have to suggest that you stay back."
Moonfire slowly reached up, pushing his hood back, revealing his face to be the same as Sunfire's, but thinner, more gaunt. His hair was released, flowing in the wind, longer than his brother's. The clasp at his shoulder popped, and the black fabric was caught by the breeze, being carried away. His clothing was that of his brother's, only opposite; white tank top, black pants, opposite boots (for a picture, see fanart - central . net). His build seemed similar to Sunfire's as well, but it was, again, thinner, ribs actually showing through the tank top. Purely black eyes opened...
...Just in time to see his brother's fist slam into his face, knocking him back towards the crater. He hit the ground, and bouncing slightly, but was forced back down by Sunfire's knee embedding itself into his gut. The alien took to the air, his hand pointed at the ground, fingers outstretched.
"SOLAR FLARE!" he yelled, firing the massive wave of energy at the form on the ground.
"LUNAR ECLIPSE!" hollered the sibilant voice of the man hidden in the dust.
A black mass erupted from the cloud, slamming into the golden/red blast of Sunfire's. The two attacks seemed to cancel each other out, as both simply vanished at the moment of impact. Sunfire didn't stay in the air long, as he charged bock down, fist connecting with nothing as Moonfire nimbly dodged, loosing an offensive of his own. The mangled appendage that was his left hand smashing into Sunfire's face, blasting his back, passed Blackfire, passed the Titans, and into the building behind them, demolishing the storefront.
Moonfire followed him, unleashing another attack on his brother, who countered with his own flurry of punches. Up they went, destroying floor after floor of the building, until Sunfire managed to grab his brother's wrist, and began spinning. Letting go, he sent Moonfire flying through the back of the building; he then reached out, changing the building across the street into chromozite. The dark alien slammed into it, causing an indent, then moved in time to avoid another Solar Flare.
Sunfire flew after his brother, who seemed to be waiting high in the sky. He drew his Phoenix Blade, which was blocked by Moonfire's own sword, which was like Sunfire's own; except it was black, not red, and the jeweled eyes were blue, instead of green. They traded slashes, feints, parries and thrusts, blades aflame with red and black fire. Soon they were locked in a stalemate, blades pressed together, both using two hands, faces mere inches apart. Blades ground against the other, knowing one of them would have to give sooner or later. A quick move by Moonfire caused both swords to be whipped from their hand, and then he took full advantage of Sunfire's distracted attention.
"LUNAR ECLIPSE!" he fired the black energy straight into his brother's chest, rocketing him towards the ground.
And hit the ground he did, a ground changed into a massive slab of chromozite, which cracked, dropping him into the sewers below.
"Sunfire!" Raven screamed, attempting to run to the hole, but she was grasped by Starfire. "Let me go!"
"I cannot friend Raven," she responded placidly enough, but the magus could feel her shaking. "He asked us to remain out of this fight."
"But we're a team, aren't we supposed to help even if he doesn't want it?" she asked her teammates, tears streaming down her face.
"Believe me, Raven, we all want to help, but it would be pointless," Robin said; Raven could tell that the Titans' leader would have been the first to help, if he knew he could have done anything. "Those two are just beyond anything we've ever faced."
She calmed a little, but the tears still flowed, and Starfire continued to hold her. "We need to move."
A hail of black starbolts began to rain from the sky, all of them aimed at the hole, and the surrounding area. Explosions rocked the city, the ground beneath the Titans was beginning to crumble. Great clouds of dust were raised, the debris from the attack was being broken down, a result of Moonfire's starbolts. Through the rain of blasts, a single starbolt was launched from inside the hole, streaking up and striking Moonfire's hand, canceling the bolt he was about to loose.
The rain stopped, and a twisted hand reached up to grab the rim of the hole. Sunfire pulled himself up, practically dragging himself onto the cracked and battered street. He coughed up some blood, and took notice of his torn and tattered shirt, also his ripped pants. Shakily he stood to his feet, and turned to watch as his brother descended. He took flight, the force of it causing the road to erupt where his feet had been.
Moonfire was ready for Sunfire, reading his actions in the way he moved, as well as the passive thoughts he was picking up. He braced himself for the starbolt he knew his brother would use, and was just about to use his own. Surprise crossed his face as Sunfire launched two golden beams from his eyes, striking Moonfire in the chest. This gave him time to close his hand over a starbolt, and ram that fist into his gut, then bring his elbow down onto the back of the dark Tamaranean's head.
"SOLAR FLARE!" he fired it straight into Moonfire's back, blasting him down into the street.
As Sunfire floated down to street level, Moonfire was already getting up, wiping the blood from his lip. He was smiling, it wasn't long, he could see his brother struggling to stand. The Lunar Eclipse had taken much more out him than it had first appeared. Soon he would have no choice. Glancing behind him briefly, he saw that the Titans and Blackfire were not twenty feet away...good.
"Collapse," he spoke under his breath, causing Blackfire to drop on the spot.
As planned, Starfire ran to her sister's side, leaving Raven alone, and unprotected.
"Moonfire, time to end this," Sunfire rushed him, starbolts flaring in his hands.
Suddenly it was Raven in front of him, Moonfire's hand around her neck, thumb and forefinger on either side of her chin. He ground to a halt, releasing the twin golden spheres, struck dumb that his brother would do this.
"Join with me, Tal, or she will die," he smirked, squeezing Raven's throat just a little more, "then you will have only one way to bring her back."
Sunfire looked passed Raven at his brother, knowing what he said was true, memories were beginning to defog; memories of who he had been, who they had been. He and Moonfire had once been one single entity, the name continued to escape him, but there was no doubt his brother knew.
'/Sunfire, let it happen/' Raven's voice spoke in his mind.
'/What, I can't...I won't let you die/' he responded.
'/You have to, don't worry/' her voice was soothing, full of the love that she dare not voice openly.
"Come now, make your decision," Moonfire taunted, tightening his grip just a tiny bit more, silence was his response. "Fine."
A twist of his wrist, and Raven's neck was snapped, and he dropped her to the ground, her eyes lifeless. Sunfire fell to his knees, watching his dark angel die. The Titans stood in shocked silence, the sight of Raven's fallen body just about too much for them to take. Only one thing stopped them from attacking, they couldn't move, Sunfire was keeping them where they were.
"Alright," Sunfire forced out, it was just slightly above a whisper.
"Excellent," Moonfire summoned the orb to him, and strode over to his brother, holding it out to him. "Open it."
The golden-haired alien reached up and grasped the top half, twisted, and pulled it away, allowing a blue light to shine. Deep blue particles began to rise and hover above the orb, which Moonfire placed on the ground, kneeling as well. His hands raised and were placed on his brother's face, Sunfire did the same. As their foreheads touched, the half of the orb on the ground exploded with light that enveloped them. At that moment, from Sunfire, a multitude of Ravens burst forth, circling the glowing ball of blue light, slowly moving back towards it.
As they were reabsorbed into the light, it began to recede. From the side, the tips of four wings began to appear, the upper two were golden, feathered, while the lower were black, and draconian. The light then burst to reveal the one within it.
He appeared to be a combination of Sunfire and Moonfire, but there were also parts that were from neither of them. Standing about Cyborg's height, his long, silvery hair hung straight, resting about ankle length. The tank top was gone, replaced with two shirts, one was a very deep blue, while the outer was slightly lighter. The forearm guards of Sunfire were there, as well as the boots, though the brown was now blue, and the gold was silver. From beneath his hair, one either side of his neck, were two groups of hair, one was gold, the other was black. His eyes opened, the whites were black, and the iris was gold.
"Sapphire," Starfire squeaked in awe...she had been right.
He slowly turned to them, blue, gold, and black lightening dancing around him, running from him up the sides of the buildings, rebuilding them. As he walked toward the fallen Raven, the street began to change from chromozite back to asphalt, and the cracks were sealing. He knelt beside Raven, slipping his hand beneath her head and propping it up, he lightly kissed her forehead, right at the hairline. Reaching up with his other hand, he plucked one gold strand, one black strand, and one silver strand of his hair. He placed the three hairs where he had kissed her, and felt them bond. His hand was then placed over his chest, and when he removed it, there was a glowing black ball in it, which was then held over Raven's chest, until it was absorbed into her.
Standing, he lifted her with him, and carried her over to the still paralyzed Titans, though now they were paralyzed in shock and awe. He placed her in Starfire's arms.
"Take her back to the Tower, I will be back later with a friend," he said in a very calm, cool voice (like Sesshomaru's voice). With that said, he slipped into the ground.
"Starfire, who was that?" Robin asked, looking down at Raven, who was beginning to breathe again.
"Talshi'r Sapphire," she stated, cradling her friend. "He is...the most powerful Tamaranean to ever live."
"Sunfire?" Raven moaned, stirring slightly in Starfire's arms.
Everyone turned to stare Raven, eyes the size of saucers, not really believing that they had just heard that. Well, everyone except Starfire, she knew what Sapphire was, what he could do, and she knew that everything would be all right now.
Sapphire emerged in Terra's chamber, walking over to the still restrained girl. He placed his hand on his chest, pulling away to reveal the golden ball in it, and placed it against Terra.
Then an idea hit him, his appearance changed, becoming that of Sunfire, only with silver hair, and the two tendrils of hair on either side of his neck. His shirts combined, becoming a black tank top, and his boots changed into Sunfire's as well. He felt that Terra would rather be in the presence of her teacher, rather than a stranger.
Now he placed the golden orb inside her, and the change was almost instantaneous. The cold stone became flesh, hair, and clothing; soon she would be awake. The restraints still binding her vanished, and she fell against him, he placed his arms around her. Her eyes opened, and she looked up into those green eyes that were so familiar.
"SUNFIRE!" she screamed, hugging him tightly, tears streaming from her blue eyes. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?" he asked. "You sacrificed yourself to stop the volcano, and I placed back the energy you expelled."
"But, I thought I had died" she continued to bury her tearful face in his tank top.
"You did, sort of," he said, trying to find the right way to explain it. "Your essence, your soul, was gone, but I had a copy of it inside my mind, so I placed that into you."
Sunfire and Terra appeared outside of Titans' Tower, much as they had so long ago, or at least it felt like it was a long time ago. Walking up to the door, they entered, walking down the entrance hall that was so familiar. They stepped into the elevator and were soon on their way up.
"Déjà vu," Terra said with a slight giggle, Sunfire chuckled along. "Did you change your hair?"
"Yes, do you like it?" he said somewhat hesitantly.
The elevator doors opened, and they stepped into the common room, where everyone was waiting, watching TV. Raven was not there, but that was okay, he knew she was safe. The Titans were soon up, crowding around them, Beast Boy immediately latched onto Terra, pulling her into a literal bear hug. Robin got Sunfire away from the group, he wanted to talk.
"The city fixed itself, was that your doing, Sapphire?" he asked.
"Hm, yes, it was, all damage done to this planet by Sunfire and Moonfire has been fixed," Sapphire/Sunfire said, sitting at the kitchen table. "I have chosen to remain as Sunfire, if only for Raven and Terra, so I would like you to address me as him, is that alright, Robin?"
"Yes, but what about Moonfire, won't he try to take control?"
"Moonfire is content on having accomplished his mission, he will not bother you," Sunfire said as he ran his hand through his now silver hair. "Raven and Blackfire are in the infirmary, yes?"
"Yeah, we brought Blackfire because Starfire wouldn't leave her. We have her restrained, but I don't think she's going to be waking up anytime soon," Robin sat down as well. "Raven just started breathing, how did you do that."
"I'll tell you some other time, it is somewhat hard to explain," he looked over at the approaching group, knowing that Terra would take the seat next to him.
"Sure."
TBC
There we go, all done with this chapter, just one more to go. For anyone interested, there is a picture of Sapphire on fanart-central . com. The spaces are needed, sadly, otherwise won't show it. I have a gallery there under Nate Sindel, it's the only Sindel there, so you shouldn't have trouble finding me.