okay, so this chapter isn't as good as the others, but it was necessary. the next should be hella fun to write, and it should also be up VERY SOON, in like a day or two. It's just a bit of explanation. Speaking of which, a few of you guys asked questions, and here are my answers-
april4rmH-town- sometimes I update 2-3 chapters at a time and it's too fast for the server. If it happens again, just wait a few days until it all catches up.
TheNextTitan- the team doesn't like Blackfire, but she IS Starfire's sister and they're doing it for her. Besides, they all realize that blackfire knows more about her sister's problem than they do, so she might be an asset about now.
And that brings me to the disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot itself! Why must you remind me...
At the Tower, things were quiet-everyone was exhausted from the trip, but as the sun set, they were still curious enough to sit in the living room and ask questions to the two aliens sitting in front of the TV, ready to answer.
"So Blackfire, what was this about? Why didn't the Prince kidnap Starfire and wait for you instead of the other way around?" Starfire nodded as Blackfire swept her hair back, with a small laugh.
"On Tamaran, you may have realized that all of the nobles look more or less like Star. I was the exception-it's extremely rare for a Tamaranian to be born looking like me. A lot of people shunned me for it; saying I must have been some sort of evil being." She shrugged as she continued, "So I didn't participate in all of the silly rituals that Starfire did. I can feel when she is hurt or in danger, but my reaction isn't as strong-eventually I would have woken up, but by the time I did, Starfire might have killed everyone in the room." Blackfire turned to her sister with a snort. "And you wonder why I never offered the blood ties…" Starfire hung her head, looking up only as Raven asked the next question.
"So why is your bond so strong, Starfire? I went into your mind when you were affected-you had forgotten who you were. That isn't healthy, not even by Tamaranian standards…" Starfire turned her head away, not wanting to look at her friends as she answered. She could swear she felt Robin's eyes boring holes into her skull.
"Because Blackfire refused one of our rituals, I was subjected to it earlier than most. It is…a most painful practice where the excess energy and anger are stored in a hidden part of the being. It was outlawed the same night that I was bonded." Starfire refused to say more, but Blackfire saw the questions in eyes all round. Pulling her sister's hair a bit, she replied in the most casual tone she could manage.
"Normally the last bond would just be a sense of when your family is being attacked. Starfire's reaction is different because she was forced into the ritual when she was two years too young, just after our parents were killed. She wasn't in the best state, either; she was angry, and when the priests tried to start the ritual on me, she nearly killed them. She saw that I was being hurt and attacked. The Priests had gone too far-the ritual was a failure, and I outlawed it myself. We left the planet in the care of our advisors, and left in different directions. If we stayed together, there was no telling what would have happened." Blackfire had been looking at her sister for the last sentences, but turned to see her friends' stares. It was then that she realized she was playing with Starfire's hair as she spoke, like she had when they were children…because all of the sudden, it was the same.
"You nearly died, Starfire, to save me, after all we've been through…" Blackfire sighed as Starfire's eyes grew wide.
"How could I not? No matter what, you will always be my sister..." But Blackfire waved the comment away with a small laugh.
"Don't get all mushy on me, sis. We still have to figure out how to break the bond. I don't know…I don't know how to break walls like that." Blackfire frowned. She was in her sister's debt and there was nothing she could do to get out from under it. Hoping for some inspiration, she turned to Raven. Surely the creepy one could figure it out?
"I heard that, Blackfire, and yes, I do have an idea." Blackfire laughed and pushed across the thought that she liked creepy anyway. A mirror levitated into the room-a small hand mirror that Starfire had brought from her room on Tamaran. Setting it on the floor, she turned to Starfire.
"It's up to you who enters and exits, but the three of us have to go anyway." Starfire nodded and turned to the three boys.
"Well, Beast boy and Cyborg know how to deal with one's mind, so they should come." The two boys whooped as they stepped up, ready for an adventure.
"And Robin would come whether you said yes or not, so he ought to go," Blackfire finished, laughing as she stepped into the mirror. Raven, Beast boy and Cyborg followed, leaving the Boy Wonder and princess behind.
"I don't have to go if you don't want me to," Robin said, grabbing Starfire's arm and pulling her up by it. Starfire looked down, and Robin could have sworn he saw the faintest blush.
"You know me better than anyone, Robin. I do not think you will be surprised by much there." She froze for a moment, uncomfortable with the statement she felt rising in her throat. "My other self…bothered you." Robin stopped, watching Starfire look down into the mirror, into her own mind.
"I was bothered because it wasn't you, Star. It was like the real you had been shut away-and I didn't know what would happen if you carried on that way." Robin pulled Starfire into a hug as he whispered into her hair. "I was afraid I'd lost you." Starfire laid her head into his chest for a moment before pulling back, reluctantly.
"Neither did I. I do not want to feel that again. Let us go, Robin!" Holding onto his hand, Starfire stepped into the mirror, and they were pulled into her mind.
Hahahaahahahahahaha! Cliffhanger, people! What does Starfire's mind look like? How much more RobxStar fluff can I pull off in one story? And whydidn't Blackfire actually tell what "The Ritual" was? Give me some reviews, and all will be explained. Til then, love ya!