(Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.)

Shadow, Robin, and Moonlight snuck into Chaldor's temple while Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy distracted the guards. Robin was trying to track Raven. Shadow was scouting ahead. Moonlight was bringing up the rear; she gasped. Shadow and Robin turned around just in time to see her dagger drop to the ground, its blade flashing in the sparse light as it bounced once.

"Darn! She doesn't have a tracking device. Let's find Raven. Hopefully, she can track Moonlight."

Shadow closed his eyes for a moment. "No. Moonlight's closer, and she's in more danger. She has to die. Raven must be alive."

"How do you know?" Robin, like always, refused to trust Shadow.

"I'm a mercenary. I have sources, scanners. That's how I've been able to track her all along. Trust me on this. I'm supposed to take her alive."

"You said a lesser demon could animate her and use her power. What if they do that to Raven?"

"It won't work. Her power comes from her emotions. She's safe."

"Fine. Lead the way."

Moonlight rubbed her head. Her hands were unusually heavy. She opened her eyes weakly. Her dazed mind struggled with the explanation: her wrists were chained.

The cloaked man from before -Chaldor, Shadow had called him- knelt in front of her. "Hello, Moon Maiden," he whispered. "It was so nice of you to come to me. I didn't realize at first who you were. I certainly wouldn't have ignored you if I had."

"I won't make the sword," Moonlight spat.

Chaldor smiled. "Come now, my love. The prophecy will come to pass, and you are the only one who can wield the living silver, so you will, my love, you will."

"I'll die first."

"You may, my love. What a pity, too."

"Go to hell!"

Chaldor chuckled, brushing her hair back. "I plan to bring it to me."

Moonlight jerked away. "I'll never help you."

"You will see it my way, my love, but for now, you should rest."

Moonlight struggled futily against the fine, pale sleeping powder Chaldor blew in her face.

"Where are we?"

Shadow reformed beside Robin, who stood frozen in a doorway. The Boy Wonder's eyes were wide behind his mask. Shadow looked around the room before answering grimly, "A preparation room."

"For what?"

There was a canopy bed in the center of the room with silver covers made of silk. Heavy, black chains hung at all four corners of the bed. A tall mirror hung on one stone wall. Next to it was a long, black dress. The front of the dress, from the waist up, laced up. Shadow recognized the dress with a chill. "For Moonlight. This is where she'll die," Shadow answered quietly. "The sacrificial priestess of the dark goddess Aysel wore that dress. It's designed to allow the sword to rip out of her chest."

"Goddess?" Robin gazed around the room with a mixture of horror and dark curiosity.

"A very powerful demon, really. It was much like the gods and goddesses of your ancient cultures, I believe."

"What does that have to do with Moonlight's grandfather?"

"Moonlight was named after the dark goddess by her father, who was the goddess' son."

Robin had not so much as taken a step farther into the room. "Moonlight is the granddaughter of a goddess?"

Shadow began examining the chains on the bed. "Yes and no. Aysel was called a goddess, but she was only a powerful demon. There was nothing divine or holy about her."

"And Raven?" Robin ventured toward the mirror, every muscle tense with unease.

"Her grandmother was a tiger demonness. Firestorm is only one quarter human. His mother was half Elasian. We Elasians have a very strong resistance to demonic influences." Shadow faded into the darkness and reformed next to the Boy Wonder. He grabbed Robin's wrist as the Titan reached out toward the silver mirror. "Don't touch that."

"Why not," Robin demanded. His hatred for Shadow was only intensified by Shadow's intervention.

Shadow pulled out the knife Moonlight had dropped. Robin briefly wondered when he'd picked it up as the mercenary tossed the dagger toward the mirror. Instead of the metallic clang and shattering glass Robin expected, a sound like a giant "slur-pop" filled the room. The knife was gone, sucked into the deceptively placid, silver mirror. "That's why, Boy Wonder," Shadow muttered with more condescension than usual.

Robin hardly noticed; he was too busy fighting back the laughter that the mirror's odd sound had caused. It reminded him of Starfire sucking on a lollipop. Slur-pop! Just when he was about to erupt with laughter, Shadow punched him in the face.

"Moonlight and Raven have maybe -maybe- hours to live, and you're standing at Moonlight's deathbed, laughing!"

Shadow's cold words cut through Robin's anger. The Titan's fists unclenched and then clenched again. "Maybe hours? How long have we had a deadline?" Dead-line. The corners of Robin's mouth twitched as he fought an uncharacteristic grin. Joking around wasn't like him at all, but it was funny.

Laughter filled the dim room, but Robin wasn't the one laughing.