"I KNOW where she is. She is trapped in the Ritual Room."
Duty stepped forward, reaching for the doors that had not been opened; the doors with a large, bloody seal on them, and grabbed the handles. As she wrenched them open, she smirked.
"Then go get her." A wave of sound washed over the room, and after a moment it was recognizable as a blood-curdling scream. It continued, followed by a brief pause for breath. In the center of the room sat a stone table where a small girl was strapped down, a sharp glass tube sticking out of her forehead. The tube was glowing with green light that was being siphoned into a glass tube at the ceiling. Several Tamaranians, brown hair falling down their ceremonial garb, were tending to the jar. As Starfire entered, she trembled as the girl took another breath and pierced the air with a scream.
It was her on that table, years ago-a little girl with truly red hair and bottle green eyes, screaming, tears blurring her sight. Her headpiece, a beautiful Tamaranian tiara, was askew, knocked to the side by the glass tube. She was fighting the bonds as hard as she could, but the pain would never end…Starfire turned as she heard footsteps echo behind her. There Robin stood next to Blackfire-behind them Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy had open mouths. Starfire turned on her heel and opened the door on the other side of the room, refusing to watch any longer.
The next room held a weeping Starfire, this one younger than the one on the table. Her blood was being drawn by a dagger held by yet another Tamaranian; spilling into the stonework that surrounded her. It was the courtyard of the old palace, and a full moon lay overhead; the pillars and waterfalls in the stone glowed with a sad light as the Princess bled. Held back by two guards a few steps away, Blackfire growled, angry to see her sister's pain, but too small to fight.
Starfire brushed the sight aside, but as the Titans and her sister followed, Robin noticed a tear hit the pavement in the memory. He reached forward and grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her to him, wiping away a tear as they stood, eye-to-eye.
"Star, why? Why did they do this-?" The girl sniffled a bit as the others nodded in question. Blackfire cut through the silence with an oddly somber tone.
"That one's next, right?" Starfire nodded and took Robin's hand, leading the group through another door into the Great Hall where she had almost been married…
There stood Blackfire, dressed in full attire of a Princess. Her sister stood beside her, a slight frown on her face. Underneath the Tiara that marked her as Princess, she wore a thin layer of bandages over the spot where the tube had been.
"You call yourselves Priests of Tamaran, but you have stepped beyond your boundaries. That was no Ritual-it was an experiment, and I will have your heads for it!" Waving her hand for the men to executed, she listened to their cries for mercy only once before stunning each with a starbolt. Holding her sister by the hand, she whispered,
"Go. You don't need to see this." And Starfire obeyed, ran around the corner and up the stairs, too hurt and afraid to fly. Taking a deep breath,Starfire led the Titans and Blackfire to the last room.
It was a room of the old palace again, but this one was very different. It had water running down the walls and onto the floor only to swirl down into the drains at the bottom, a tranquil sound that belied the occupants.
One was clearly Anger-her blood red attire and bloody jewels swished as she adjusted herself; she was sitting on a raised part of the floor, just in front of the old Throne. The Throne itself held Starfire-a dark Starfire, with eyes glowing red, her Tamaranian battle outfit was torn and covered in dried blood, her hair was a wild being that lay everywhere, her eyes held a feral glow seen in mad beasts. As she looked down on Starfire and the Titans in turn, she yanked on a chain that attached to a leash around Anger's neck. Anger howled, obviously in pain; and Raven stepped back.
"Starfire," she whispered, so that only the Titans and Blackfire could hear, "She knows what she's doing. As long as she holds on to Anger, you can't unite your emotions. She'll be able to take control whenever she wants." Cyborg shook his head as he turned to speak.
"You act as if she's a separate being. I thought she was just a part of Star locked away." Blackfire shook her head.
"No, it's another person entirely.This wouldn't have happened if the procedure had been executed properly, but that's how it is." The argument was cut short as a rough cackle filled the air; the laugh immediately recognized as that of the dark Star. She had stood in front of the throne and pointed at them.
"You talk about me as if I weren't real! I am the one who has protected you-all of you-for so long,and this little weakling keeps me locked away. Pathetic!" She kicked Anger to the side and strode down the platform to the water, stopping in front of Starfire.
"I kind of like this control, Koriand'r. If you want to have it back, you're going to fight me for it." Robin was surprised to see Starfire smile as she blasted open the chains that held Anger at bay; the emotions each took their place in their own domain in the main rooms, and she created a clear wall in her mind to hold her friends back. They could watch, but they could not interfere.