Chapter 22

"Now would you kindly explain what in Azar's name is going on?" Raven demanded about an hour later, as Robin came out of Starfire's room and closed the door.

"Yeah," Robin said, giving her one of his lopsided grins. "I'd say that you're a little confused at what you have most likely been getting through our bond," he added with a slight nervous chuckle.

"You have a gift for understatement Robin," Raven quipped, as they walked down the hall to the main room. "Since when did Starfire become telepathic?"

"Not exactly telepathic." Robin replied, "Let's just say that she and I now have bond like the one you and I share," he continued as he sat on the couch. "How do you do it?" he asked, leaning his head back against the back of the couch. "I've got only one mind that I have to worry about hearing from or going into without permission, but you've got to deal with that for everyone."

Raven sat next to him and looked at her hands, blushing slightly, "Training mostly," she said softly. "I've taught you some of what I've learned so that you could keep parts of your mind closed to me."

"I know, and I'm glad you did," Robin said. "I've been using it when what I'm getting from Star gets overwhelming, and of course I'm watching myself as well," he added. He looked over and saw Raven's questioning look, and he slipped the crystal out from under his breast plate. "According to Star, it's called a Shinrah Crystal," he told her, his fingers gently, almost lovingly, tracing over the softly glowing green crystal, then passed on what Starfire had told him about it in the healing room.

"May I touch it?" Raven asked. Robin thought about it for a moment, then nodded his head as he held it up. Using her first two fingers she gently placed them against the crystal, and closed her eyes. Robin was surprised when he suddenly felt her mental shields dropping as he caught flickers of mental images from her. A moment later he felt them go back up and she opened her eyes again and looked at Robin in amazement. "Do you realize. . ." she began.

". . . .That I have complete and total access to her mind, and she wouldn't even know about it?" he finished for her, and she nodded her head. Robin looked at the crystal, smiling softly, "Yeah I do, and I realize the trust she has given me, and I return, because she can do the same to me."

"But you can block her."

"I can but I won't. That would be showing her that I don't trust her. I suggested that she have you teach her how to block me from her mind, but she refused saying it would violate the trust we have for each other."

Raven nodded, then was silent for a moment, "Can I ask you something? It's about Tamaranean culture," Robin nodded and Raven paused to make sure she worded her question correctly. "What do you know of something called shalay'fa?" she asked, and was surprised to hear Robin laugh softly. "What?"

"She finally asked you huh?" Robin replied, and Raven nodded her head. Robin sat straighter on the couch, then answered, "It is the meshing of three separate words," he said, "Shalama du penefa, which translates as sister of my heart," he went on. "It's a term of very close friendship between to females. To be honest Rae, she's been wanting to ask you ever since that incident with the Puppet King," he told her. "You know for quite a while there you knew more about her than I did." he continued. "Her feelings for you are almost as strong as they are for me, and that's only because yours would not be a romantic relationship, where we have certain. . . .possibilities."

"So all she's doing is asking to be her friend?"

"It's deeper than that," Robn said sighing softly in frustration, and he got up and started pacing. "Yes you would be her best friend, but you would also become her confidante, the one she would go to with very personal problems she would go to no one else with, not even me."

"But you would know because of your bond with the crystal."

"Only if I looked, and she trusts me not to," Robin countered. "Except the times when she's upset or some other extreme emotion, I have to relax my mind and concentrate on her to pick up her thoughts, except when we want to talk to each other that way," he explained.

"She trusts me that much?"

"Raven you're her friend, and with her that carries a lot more trust than I ever thought," Robin told her. He stopped pacing and gazed out the window at the ocean, "That's the most amazing thing I've learned these last few weeks," he went on, speaking softly. "To her, friendship comes with trust, and loyalty, with such a strength I've never seen before."

"But I have," Raven said. "Take a close look at yourself sometime Boy Wonder. You've shown all of us that type of trust and loyalty ever since that day Starfire came here. That's why she's so drawn to you. Because you are so like one of her own people," she explained. "To your friends you are deeply loyal, and in your own way you give us your trust. Your sense of honor drives you to keep fighting even if you know you can't win."

Raven saw Robin's head snap up, and he looked in the direction she guessed Starfire's room was in. He tensed for a moment as if to head that way, but relaxed with a sigh. "Why is it she's believing everything your telling her about what she's going through right now?" she asked. "I mean you haven't. . . . " she began, but trailed off when she saw Robn nod his head slightly, frowning.

"But I have Rae. Once. A long time ago," he told her, then sat back down. "Shortly after I became Robin I had followed a jewelry store thief up to the rooftops in Gotham. I cornered him, and we fought," he related. "I managed to get in some good shots and backed him up against the edge of the roof. I mistook his reaching out for a steadying hand as an attack, so I hit him again, pushing him off the roof from twenty floors up," he sat there a moment, and he knew Raven could feel the roiling emotions that telling her about the incident caused. Just then he became aware that Starfire could feel them as well as he felt her mind, calm in slumber, stir with the beginnings of a nightmare. "Why do I think this is going to be a long day?" he muttered as he got up and headed towards Starfire's room. Just as he got to the door it slid open and he almost ran into. . . . .

"Shel'b?" Robin gasped, knowing that it couldn't have been Starfire. "What are you doing here? How did you get here? And how did you know we were here?" he demanded, and was caught off guard when she giggled at his questions.

'That sounded so like Starfire,' Raven said to him telepathically, and he nodded.

"You forget that the Princess has a communications terminal in her room, Shalocfa," Shel'b replied. "I am deeply honored that she chose me to trust," she added, then stood squarely in front of Robin. Blocking him from leaving the room. "Commander Kim'r would like to know what you are thinking by abducting Princess Koriand'r."

"I didn't." Robin told her, trying to get around her, but finding her blocking his path each time, "Let me by," he said firmly, glaring into two blue eyes that looked just as firmly back at him. In spite of the feelings he was getting in the back of his mind as Starfire was enduring her nightmare, he chuckled softly.

"May I ask what you find so amusing?" Shel'b demanded, and was very confused when Robin laughed a little louder.

"My apologies Shel'b," he replied, his laughter dieing as quickly as it started. "Have you been told before that you resemble Koriand'r?"

Shel'b looked down at her feet, "That is why I was chosen to wait in the observation lounge this morning," she said softly.

"Lieutenant you were following orders," Robin said gently. "No one had any idea that things would turn out the way they did," he added, then quickly slipped past her and trotted down the hall, then broke into a run as he heard Starfire cry out his name.

'Kori calm down it was only a bad dream,' he assured her through their bond as he approached her door. He tapped the door control and went in when it opened. "Kori it's alright," he soothed as he sat on the edge of her bed, and found himself wrapped in a fierce hug.

"I dreamed I shot you down, that I had killed you!" Star cried as she buried her head on his shoulder. "Gentha'fa when will these end?"

Robin pulled her back so he could see her face, as he framed it with his hands. "I wish I could tell you that they will go away soon my love, but you would know it for the lie it would be," he said. "Would you mind telling me why you called up to the VELANCE'R? I turned our communicator locators off for a reason,"

"And Commander Kim'r would like to know that reason as well as my other question," Shel'b said from the door where she stood with Raven.

"Okay, let's get this over with," Robin said, as he pulled out the communicator Kim'r gave him and pressed the button that connected directly with her.

"I see that Shel'b has found you," Kim'r's voice said from the speaker. "You have had our Princess for over an hour Robin," she went on her voice angry. "I hope you can give me good reason for not recommending to Emperor Galfore that he declare war on your world for your abducting her."

"As I told Shel'b I did not abduct her," Robin replied calmly. "I simply found my own way to keep with the Grand Rulers wishes, and honor my responsibilities as her shalocfa,"

"What do you know of the Grand Rulers wishes?" Kim'r asked.

"He wanted Koriand'r off the VELANCE'Rbecause he felt he could no longer ensure her safety, so I brought her here, secretly, to keep her safe.

There was silence for a moment, "Robin there are six warriors in your Guard, how can you and your team mate Raven hope to provide better protection?" Kim'r asked.

"Because on a ship supposedly filled with warriors loyal to Galfore, and Starfire she was attacked twice, and when we tried to leave we found ourselves greeted by fighters that tried to blow us from space," Robin replied. "Kim'r there is someone we both trust passing information to whoever it is that wants to hurt Koriand'r."

"And just how do you come to that conclusion?"

"To my knowledge only we Titans know how Starfire likes to watch the sunrise. Now I admit that all they had to do was watch her until they found her alone to attack then. The second time was when she was told by a warrior she didn't know that Galfore wanted to see her, and had sent him to bring her to him. Not suspecting anything she followed him, and he led her straight into an ambush."

"So they had to know that Emperor Galfore would send for her when we tested the crystal," Kim'r said, belief in Robin's theory beginning to show in her tone.

"Right. Just like they knew the exact time and from what launch bay we would be leaving from," Robin continued. "I'm willing to bet that the shot that missed me as I launched wasn't meant for me at all, but was intended to damage the launch bay you and your escort was going to launch from, cutting you off from assisting us."

Another long moment of silence followed before Kim'r spoke, "Very well Shalocfa, I shall abide by your wishes in this, and you have my word of honor that the locator signal from Shel'b's communicator has also been disabled," she said. "I do not want to ask this question, but I must," she continued, "If the Grand Ruler should decide that he must marry Koriand'r to Kor'mel?"

Robin didn't look over at Starfire, but he could feel her eyes on him as he replied. "Than I will do as I must, and deliver her to him. Before I would do that I would need to hear directly from Galfore, face to face, as it would be the only way I could trust such an order."

"I am sorry Robin, but that was something I needed to know," Kim'r said, and the channel went silent.

Robin switched the communicator off, and stood up, "There's something I have to check on, I'll be right back."

"Is he serious?" Shel'b asked after the door closed behind him. "He would give you up after all you have been through?"

"Yes he would." Star replied softly. "He knows that it would be his duty as my shalocfa."

"He wouldn't like it, but he'd do it," Raven added, then looked towards Robin's room. "Starfire, is he blocking your thoughts to him?"

Star was silent for a moment then her eyes widened in surprise. "Yes he is, and he is ignoring my talking to him through the crystal." she replied. "Why would he do this?"

"Because he's planning something neither of us will like," Raven answered, closing her eyes and concentrating on getting past Robin's mental shields. She managed once, but found herself against another layer of shields, "I taught him too well," she muttered as she opened her eyes as the door opened, and Robin walked in holding something behind his back.

"Robin if you do not trust the princess, and your friend Raven with your plans then who do you trust?" Shel'b asked as he walked over to where she stood,

"Actually I do trust them, it's you and anyone other than the Titans that I don't," he replied, then drew his hand from behind his back, "That's why I must do this."

"Robin no!" Star shouted when she saw what Robin was holding. "I will not allow that."

"There has to be another way Robin." Raven said.

"You know what this is?" Robin asked, looking Shel'b straight in the eye.

At her first sight of the hypodermic with it's blue contents, Shel'b's eyes widened in fear, but now she met Robin's gaze steadily. At his question she swallowed, and nodded her head, "Veka serum," she said softly, "When a spy is suspected everyone is an enemy, and should be dealt with accordingly," she added citing a part of her training, "I know that I am loyal to the princess, but you can not take that risk, not with her life," she added then turned to Starfire, "Do not stop in this, Highness. He is correct to be suspicious of all he does not know he can trust."

Robin placed the needle against the skin of Shel'b's jaw, his eyes locked with hers. He stood there a moment seeing the veiled fear, but also the determination not to show it plainly. He also saw something else, something that made him sigh as he pulled back away from her. "I won't do it," he said, as he capped the hypo and set it on Starfire's nightstand. "Not to someone who's willing to place that much trust in me. I saw it in your eyes, that you were afraid, but only of loosing your powers, not that I would keep you that way."

"Your reasoning does not make sense to me, but I am glad you trust me," Shel'b said, as Raven and Starfire let out sighs of relief. "Friend Raven why do you not show me around this place?" she asked.

Raven looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. It was then that she noticed that Shel'b was quickly glancing over at Starfire. Once Raven saw the look on Star's face she quickly realized what Shel'b was doing, "Okay, follow me,' she said and led her out of the room.

"You used Raven's teachings to block me from knowing what you were doing," Star said after they had left. "Why?"

Robin looked over at her, knowing that his actions had stung her some, and now he was dealing with the consequences, "What would you have done if you had known?" he countered.

"I would have tried to stop you."

"I couldn't allow that Star," he said, pacing a few steps as he talked, "Like she said, with your life in the balance I couldn't afford to take the chance that she isn't the spy," he stopped pacing and sat beside her. "I know she's a Tamaranean, and how much you want to trust her and all Tamaraneans, but as your protector, and as much as I love you, I can not take that kind of risk."

"If you love me, then how can you say that you would deliver me to Kor'mel if Galfore decrees my marriage to him?"

"Because you would expect no less of me, Kori. Because I am you shalocfa, and that is what would be required of me," he replied softly, reaching up and stroking her cheek. "It would tear the heart out of me, but I would have no choice."

"Oh gentha'fa, like Kim'r I am sorry that I had to ask those questions, but I do not believe that time is on our side," she said sadly, taking his hand from her cheek and kissing it. "Within a month this war must end or millions of my people will sicken and die on our colonies where zorka berries can not be grown."

"We knew this before we told Galfore of our intentions and feelings for each other, my love, I don't regret what time we have had together."

"But only that it may end so soon," Star added, and Robin nodded. "I have been far to lazy today," she told him as she swung her legs over and got out of bed. "I wish to take my mind off these depressing thoughts and do something," she added. "Do you think you are capable of defending yourself from three attackers?" she asked, as she headed out the door.

"Or we could try different team ups," Robin suggested as he trotted to catch up to her and they walked together towards the training room.