Beast Boy and Raven were certainly having some difficulty with their own mission at hand. Red X had never been one of their most insidious, most grueling to fight villains but in this battle, he was proving to be quite the challenge. He had somehow accumulated many new weapons-Xs with tracking devices that would follow them until they were completely obliterated.

"Dude…I am getting really tired of seeing these Xs; don't you have any other letters, more interesting weapons up your sleeve?" The changeling sighed in exasperation as he sped through an array of transformations from elf to humming bird and finally to gorilla whist he finally tore Red X's latest X-shaped bond into pieces.

"Beast Boy, don't complain." Raven muttered, her eyes filled with black flame, in deep concentration as she propelled two Xs aimed originally at her towards Red X, who promptly dodged them.

Red X fired several more Xs in Raven's direction, but the sorceress ignored them and levitated rapidly past them, charging at Red X. "Let's get this over with, we have a friend to meet."

"So do I, but I'm not complaining about it." Red X threw fist after fist towards Raven, as she shielded herself and attempted to conjure items around the street such as fire hydrants and potholes, all of which were promptly sent soaring in Red X's direction.

Meanwhile, Beast Boy was still destroying Xs. Finally, in frustration, agreeing with Raven's idea, he flew into the air as a hawk and charged down; at the last instant he transformed into a tiger and stabbed sharp claws towards Red X.

Red X was surrounded…on one side, the villain was met with a bombardment of objects from the street and the occasional kicks and punches, while he met various wild, fierce animals…such as swiping bear and tiger claws. Yet, the rogue villain wasn't quite daunted. He watched as he approximated the time it took for Beast Boy to transform from animal to animal. It looked nearly instantaneous, but if he managed to catch him in mid-transformation-with a swift punch, Red X watched as Beast Boy caught in mid-transformation, changed back into his normal petite form and winced ever the slightly.

"Beast Boy!" Raven looked towards her fallen friend. As Red X had planned, he extracted an electric X and shot it towards her. Caught off guard, the X swung about her tightly and electric sparks flew from it, as Raven fell to the ground, immobilized.

"Raven!" Beast Boy rushed towards his teammate and attempted to help her from her bonds. Taking advantage of the momentary pause in battle, Red X threw another X towards Beast Boy, binding him.

"How timely of you two; it's time to meet with my associate." Successful and victorious, Red X looked upwards and saw Robin and Warp battling. He shot a signal into the sky and waited as Warp drew the duel nearer.

Warp smirked in return and motioned to Robin as he prevented him from slamming him across the ground with his staff. "Red X has two of your friends. We were forced to peruse this course of action, because I would not have your attention."

Robin paused as he saw Red X upon the ground with two bound figures…Raven and Beast Boy. "What do you want Warp?"

Warp stroked his and paused. "I will guarantee the safety of your two friends if you will agree to listen to my proposition. You must understand that it is quite pointless for us to continue fighting, because our end goal is the same: to ensure the safety of the planet Tamaran."

The transporter was certainly a most uncomfortable experience. Starfire shut her eyes as she grasped Cyborg's arm and the transporter device. It was similar to the manner in which Raven sometimes transported them as she shrouded them within her soul self. Darkness filled her surroundings, and she felt her whole body constricting and distorting in all sorts of odd positions…as if she were melting, and suddenly, everything seemed to become solid again. She dreaded opening her eyes and seeing what the city had become.

Za'nnoes City was the only Tamaranean city that rivaled her love for the capital where the palace resided. Although Za'nnoes's buildings certainly were not as majestic as the capital's, she treasured the city for the memories it brought about. She and Galfore had spent many holidays traveling about the city, oftentimes shrouded and disguised as every day citizens. She recalled running, flying even, excitedly through the market places as she looked about, fascinated, by the vast diversity of trinkets and exotic glorgs and berries sold as Galfore cautiously chased after her…everything in its mystery seemed to be alluring: the smell of spices that seeped gently through the air, the soft, murmuring tones of different dialects, the fresh feel of dirt and rock beneath her feet, Galfore, speaking in softer tones, as he talked of the history-the story behind nearly every street, every edifice within the city. It fascinated her how Rak'nor's stone, although it didn't look too remarkable, had been the private meeting place for forbidden lovers, how Elun'a tower was constructed partially from the ashes of loved ones too poor to receive a proper burial, how Uto'pe Path was named from a literal translation of a creature with the oddest hind legs…yet despite all that was tangible about Za'nnoes, she realized that it had been Galfore all along who had made Za'nnoes such a precious memory within her mind since after their brief holiday within the city, she had come to a certain age when Knorf'kas were no longer to be thought of as a surrogate parent, but rather a personal bodyguard. The physical remnant of their past holiday and joyous memories were quickly slipping away as well.

Holding fast to the memory, she opened her eyes slowly and observed that they had arrived, yet the sight before her eyes shocked her beyond her most pessimistic expectations. Za'nnoes City was in absolute ruins. Fires danced about wildly as silvery wisps of smoke slithered into the air amidst the piles of relic. No edifices stood…only former ones, many of which were cracked and broken beyond recognition.

She bit her lip slightly. What of the people here? Had they all been destroyed? She flew slightly ahead as Cyborg, too disturbed and shocked himself to offer her any words of comfort, rushed on afterward, not wanting to lose his teammate within the ruins of the city. Pausing slightly as she looked about, she gasped as she saw hands beneath the ruins, limp and terribly scared. She wondered and prayed silently…prayed that their deaths were swift and that they had perished upon the impact of-

"Watch out, Star! Get down!" He yelled as he rapidly pushed her to the side.

"Cyborg?" Yet before she could utter his name, a shell from the sky fell upon the ground and exploded, causing some of the earth and dust to fly up into the air. She shielded her face as she felt the impact of the explosion cast her towards the side of the epicenter whereas Cyborg was pushed in the opposite. Groaning slightly as she shook a bit of dust and ash from her hair, she lifted herself to her feet. For an instant, she felt her knees shake from beneath her…a reminder of her injuries during the previous week, but fighting the temptation to rest for a moment, she quickly floated slightly about the ground to avoid detection by the Gordanians and sped off in search of Cyborg.

If anything were to happen to him while he willingly aided her with her mission-her thoughts and fears were interrupted as she saw a bright blue blur upon the ground.

"Cyborg!" She quickly flew towards and to her relief, she saw his human eye moving, wincing ever the slightly. "Cyborg! You are all right?"

"Yea, just a little bruised up." She offered him her hand, which he promptly grasped as she helped him stand up.

"This-this is so screwed up…what they did to this city." Cyborg uttered as he slammed his fist upon the ground, and Starfire was at a complete loss of words for she had no words for comfort. Galfore…she had been too late, too late protecting the earth for her own people to which she was responsible for.

Cyborg interrupted her thoughts as he muttered an apology, in far gentler tones, for his earlier outburst, but again, he had distressing news as he picked up the transporter from the ground. It was, miraculously, still in one piece, although it had been slightly dented. "Oh man…this might not work anymore." He scratched his head, in thought, as he studied the device. Although its screen was still visible, it often flickered and looked rather unstable.

"Perhaps you could attempt to fix-" She stopped abruptly as she saw something moving in the distance. She flew towards it cautiously, hoping that it wasn't a Gordanian and was perhaps, a Tamaranean who had survived the bombings. Her heart began pounding as she flew nearer-yes, it was indeed a Tamaranean, and as her eyes traced upon the Tamaranean…a telltale scar across one of his eyes and weathered features upon his face…it was Galfore.

She rushed towards him now and saw that he was struggling beneath a pile of rubble. Fragments of walls had appeared to fall above him, trapping him within. In his struggle to lift the heavy stones, he hadn't noticed her yet. Conjuring a starbolt within her hand, she used the bolt to sear through the stone, alleviating the weight laid atop of Galfore as she cut the stone apart. She then placed her hands beneath another slab of stone and grunting from the weight of it, she lifted it up and tossed it to the side. With a great amount of weight lifted from him, Galfore was finally able to extricate himself and immediately he felt two warms arms hugging him tightly. "X'hal…Koriand'r?"

"I find that hard to believe Warp. You tried to destroy their Grand Ruler, Starfire." Robin said moments later, his hands still grasped tightly to his staff.

"And that was in the interest of helping Tamaran. You see, a war erupts between the Tamaraneans and the Gordanians in the near future, and your friend, Starfire, is the one who declares it. I was merely trying to prevent history from occurring."

Robin gritted his teeth upon viewing Warp's hypocrisy. "Weren't you the one who believed that history, every bit of it is set in stone?"

The thief nodded, but continued on, attempting to explain his actions. "I did say that, but war on Tamaran must be prevented." He paused for a moment, musing about his next course of action. "I will go and negotiate peace with the Gordanians and let your friends go, if you allow my associate and me to take the items he has stolen, the solar powered cell generators; they are vital to the deal we shall make with the Gordanians to preserve the welfare of Tamaran."

Robin furrowed his brow in confusion as he attempted to see some sort of loophole within this deal with Warp. Why would he be so willing and so eager to help Tamaran? "What's in it for you, Warp?"

"The simple satisfaction of doing good."

Robin lifted his staff and pressed it against Warp's chest. "I don't buy that." Deciding to gauge how desperately Warp needed him to comply, he continued to shove the staff as he pushed Warp, nearer to the edge of the roof. To his surprise, Warp hadn't resisted, nor had he called Red X to aid him; his deal was not a mere jest then. "Tell me again: what's in it for you? I won't agree to this deal until I know."

Sighing and seeing that Robin could indeed be quite stubborn, he gave in. "In-many priceless Tamaranean artifacts, nearly all of them, will be destroyed in this war. The artifacts…we hear only of rumors of those obtaining mere pieces of them in my time, where the rich all seem to have a fetish for ancient items from different planets, are worth more than you can imagine. And if I can preserve just one mere artifact in its full, original form…people will sell their souls to me." Warp continued on, clearly overcome with his greed and lust for power and money, and it absolutely disgusted Robin, to see the thief obsessed, so pathetically obsessed with material goods to be willing to kill others to fulfill his own deluded dreams. Seeing Warp's reasoning, he was slightly relieved though that there didn't appear to be a "catch," merely a thief's pathetic obsession.

He loosened his force against Warp slowly. "Let Beast Boy and Raven go, and it'll be a deal."

"I assure you, Galfore, I am…all right…with assisting you." Starfire uttered between breaths as she allowed Galfore to lean against her. It was only when he first placed nearly all of his weight upon her, his body leant closely against hers, his hands and arms completely thrust upon her body did she realize the gravity of his injuries. Although he hadn't too many visibly terrible wounds, it was immediately apparent that he was greatly weakened. She had never observed him so fragile…and in any regular circumstance, he would have never agreed to her assisting him in such a manner. She recalled his earlier concern that he would merely be slowing them down, but she, of course, would hear nothing of the sort. Though she kept a slight smile upon her face and attempted to comfort Galfore about the gravity of the situation, internally, she was terrified for him…what if he were to-but she didn't wish to dwell upon her fear for Galfore.

Her slight smile, however, was quickly fading as she looked about…the destruction…everything was in ruins, and they were not even at war yet…why would anyone wish such terror and damage upon others?

Another shell fell from the sky and erupted into flames upon impacting with the ground as she quickly shielded Galfore despite his protests that he as Knorf'ka was supposed to be the one protecting her. Although Galfore wasn't in the condition to be moved, he recommended that they get nearer to the outskirts of the city where Tamaranean troops were stationed so that they could get him the medical attention that he needed when Cyborg found that the transporter was currently not functioning at all. As they neared the outskirts, the road grew more difficult-they were nearing a battle and shells and bombs frequently exploded, nearer and nearer to them. Meanwhile, Cyborg had Galfore's damaged communicator in hand and was attempting to contact the Tamaranean soldiers stationed in the outskirts to assist them.

Starfire had never seen Galfore so glum, and of course, he had a right to be grave for all that had happened on Tamaran within the past earth week. Although she was certainly not in the mood to jest, she maintained a smile upon her face for him and told cheerful stories of the Titans' past missions such as the bizarre Nufu and Control Freak incident and many of Beast Boy's various pranks about the tower as to prevent him from worrying about her in his condition.

"I am glad, Koriand'r, to hear that such happy times still exist elsewhere. Tamaran has not had its best of times lately, and I cannot help but to wonder, if I could have prevented all of this…all of this vile destruction and death." Galfore, much too animated for his condition as he spoke, promptly began coughing and to Starfire's distress, wheezing and gasping for air. They must hurry to obtain the aid of the Tamaranean soldiers. She cast a glance to Cyborg, but saw him in full concentration, his finger transformed to a small spark, as he attempted to fix the communicator within his hand.

Starfire touched Galfore gently upon his back as she attempted to assuage his coughing. He looked as if he wished to speak more as he tried to reassure her that he was all right but she placed a finger to her lips and bade him to rest from speaking for a moment. "Ryand'r has already told me nearly everything. Galfore, you have been a wondrous Grand Ruler, but there are some things that even you cannot prevent…I only wish that I had been here for the past months, assisting with Tamaranean affairs, instead of leaving all the burden to you and Ryand'r."

Although she would have wished Galfore to rest for a bit more before he recommenced in speaking, he uttered, in a raspy voice "I have been weary and exhausted for a long while now, Kori. I have seen my sentry of guards sacrifice themselves for me…seen this city destroyed before my eyes, helpless to prevent any of it." At this, Starfire bowed her head, ever the more regretful that she had been on earth during this whole time. "I have not experienced happiness or joy in any form until I, thank X'hal, encountered you today. Koriand'r, you have a gift…you are able to give hope, uplift spirits, allow your optimism to shine gallantly through, even in the gravest of times, so do not ever succumb to despair or pessimism."

"Galfore…I…I thank you." She spoke moments later, humbled by Galfore's words. To her great concern, Galfore shut his eyes and leant a great amount of weight upon her, as if struggling and pained to continue standing.

"My bungorf, I apologize for the inconvenience, but could we rest a moment?"

"Yes, yes, of course Galfore." And she kneeled down slowly, allowing Galfore to sit down gently upon the ground as he leaned against her for support. His injuries had seemed to worsen as she peered over at his wounds. The armor that he wore appeared to have a slight tint of red, a dark red.

"Perfect timing for a break." Cyborg observed as he grinned slightly. "Starfire, I just got the communicator to work, and I've contacted the Tamaranean soldiers with our coordinates, but I think they can't see over this haze so could you fly up and give them a signal?" Before she could ask him how he managed to communicate with the soldiers, he answered the question within her mind. "Mathematics is an universal language, even here."

She looked over towards Galfore, ensuring that he was all right. He had shut his eyes and placed a hand upon his stomach, resting. "Don't worry Star, I'll watch over him." She nodded and thanked Cyborg as she uttered a quick "I shall return shortly" to Galfore and flew up into the air.

From above, the city looked barren and abandoned as fires from shells and bombs streaked across the earth. The Tamaranean ship was easy to find as it glided in the sky towards the city. She lifted a palm into the air and conjured a bright green starbolt as the ship noted her presence and followed in her direction. Suddenly, she felt what seemed like a ball of fire soar towards her-the Gordanians had seen her and were attacking. She flew rapidly in the sky, weaving about as she was barely hit by several weapons shot into the air. Seeing that the ship was still heading in her direction and seemed to know the direction in which it should go, she flew towards the ground, eager to return to her knorf'ka.

"Galfore! Do not worry; they are coming shortly!"

She stopped when she saw Cyborg's expression; he averted his eyes as he cast his eyes downward. "Star…he…" He didn't need to continue speaking, although she already knew what had happened. She grasped her arm as it shook slightly and placed her palm over her mouth as she felt warm hot drops of tears fall from her eyes.

"I'm sorry. He…he sustained a great amount of internal wounding…"

She did not hear the rest of Cyborg's words as she rushed to Galfore's side, but she already knew that he was gone, past away to the lands of X'hal, yet out of habit and tradition, she gently shook Galfore upon the shoulder, her voice wavering as she spoke. "Awake, Galfore, awake…I have returned…" The glow of energy that she so often felt from other Tamaraneans was no longer present, and from the expression upon his face, she would have through him to be awake; his eyes were half open, but glazed over as he seemed to stare at something in a great distance.

"Galfore…" She shut her eyes tightly as she uttered a Tamaranean prayer for him as she kneeled before him. Slowly, she arose…gently, she placed a hand over his eyes as she clasped them shut and placed a soft kiss atop his forehead.