Star-Crossed Betrayal: Epilogue

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Starfire sat, wishing that her mind would stop working, if only for a moment. She would never forget that instant when she saw Blackfire's eyes just before they vanished in flame. The only thing she saw in her sister's eyes was malice. Seeing that malice aimed solely at her pushed knives into Starfire's chest. The knives were still there days later as she sat on the rocky shore of the island in the middle of the bay. She sighed, drew her legs up to her chest, and laid her forehead against her knees. Soft footsteps grew louder as someone walked up on the dirt and loose pebbles behind her.

"So you and Raven are hooked up now?" Starfire looked up to find Terra standing at her shoulder. She had no idea what the small smile on the earthmover's face meant, and wondered how the girl found out so quickly after being made a Titan.

"BB told me," Terra said, answering the unspoken question. She rocked back and forth on her feet, hands behind her back, and smiled brightly at Starfire. "I think you two are kind of cute together." The relief Starfire felt at the acceptance was washed away quickly by lingering confusion about her sister.

"I thank you, friend Terra," she sighed. Terra frowned at the melancholy monotone and sat down next to Starfire cross-legged. She leaned on her knees, examining the way Starfire stared at the ground. When silence prevailed, she reached out and tentatively put a hand on Starfire's shoulder.

"He told me about the demon thing, too," Terra murmured. "You know, I always miss stuff when I'm training." She shrugged and sighed, taking her hand away and leaning forward on her knees again. "Man, Chaos sounds freaky. Scary freaky, not cool freaky."

"She killed my sister Blackfire." Terra nodded with a small frown.

"Beast Boy told me," she said unnecessarily. "He said that's why Raven's been grumpy—you're always out here. Maybe—I don't really know about you and your sister, but maybe Chaos did what she did for a reason."

"Her reasons do not make sense to me." Terra sighed and reached down, picking up a stone. She tossed it into the air, catching it and throwing it again.

"Maybe there was another reason. She might have done it to protect you and Raven. Chaos might have thought that Blackfire would come back—that she would have done something even worse next time, you know? So, in a weird way, she might have helped you." Terra frowned and sent the rock shooting across the surface of the water with a small burst of her powers. "Sorry. That probably didn't make any sense."

"I understand," Starfire said quietly. She picked up a stone of her own and lobbed it into the water, listening to the plunking sound it made as it went under the water. "I just wish I knew why my sister desired revenge so much." She put her chin on her knees, watching the dying ripples from the tossed rock. "I wish I knew what made her change."

"People change a lot," Terra said. She leaned forward slightly, her hair falling in front of the right half of her face. "Even when you kind of hope they'd stay just the way they are, they're a different person every time you see them." She tucked her hair back behind her ear and stood up, patting any loose dirt from her shorts. "Let's go back in. No one's happy when you're out moping, Starfire."

Starfire sat and thought a few moments more. There was no changing what had happened, and she did not want to dwell on it any longer. She stood up, finding her familiar and comfortable smile. She and Terra were greeted cheerfully when they returned to the Tower, and Starfire's smile grew. By the time she saw Raven, her high spirits were soaring once more, and she quickly joined the one she loved.

"I got her back in," Terra said to Robin, smiling slyly. "Gonna keep your half of the bargain?" Robin returned the smile with a smirk of his own.

"Beast Boy's really ticklish on his left foot, his stomach, and behind his ears." Terra grinned at the information and strolled off to use it.

—end—