I know I know, I promised biweekly updates and it's been a month. I'm sorry, I had a bad case of writers block and I just couldn't write anything good. On a completely unrelated topic, banging your head against the wall repeatedly hurts ... a lot. Now that that's out of the way onto questions.
LupinCriss: There are a few reasons why I didn't change Danny's costume. Mainly because it's the only thing he has that connects him to his friends and family. He left before he had a chance to grab anything so the only thing that links Danny to his past life is Danny Phantom. Also I find it kind of cliché in these types of stories. Danny always gains an new outfit and I wanted to try something different.
Now onto the story.
"…anny…Danny…Danny are you listening to me"
"Huh what?" was all I could respond with as I look over to see Slide staring at.
"The bell rang five minutes ago. Are you all right, you look ready fall asleep." asked Slide with concern evident in his voice.
"I'm fine" I said even if I didn't believe it myself. I probably looked horrible. Ever since I'd revealed my secret to the Titans I hadn't been sleeping very well. Constant nightmare kept me up all night. I probably look like a zombie right now. Trying to take my mind and the conversation off of my tiredness I said "I have work off today, want to go do something?"
"Sorry I can't. I'm helping set up the dance tonight remember." said Slide. I forgot about the dance tonight. It's suppose to be a big fundraiser for the sports teams. Everyone is going, well except for me. Even Gizmo, Mammoth, and Jinx are going. I somehow managed to convince Robin to let them attend. They were so excited when I told them they were allowed to go that they immediately started making plans and deciding on who would go with who. It ended up with Jinx and Gizmo going together and since most people were still a little afraid of Mammoth, Kelsey agreed to be his date. That left me high and dry for the dance and as I don't really know anyone else at school well enough to ask them I decided not to go. There's nothing worse than going to a dance alone, being stuck in a corner by yourself with no one to talk to the entire time. Plus with my luck the dance would be attacked by some villain or ghost if I attended.
Pushing those thoughts out of my head, I managed to drag myself out of my desk and follow Slide out of the classroom. Saying a quick goodbye, Slide headed towards the gym while I left the school. Halfway to my apartment I remembered that I was starting to run out of food. Deciding to get it over with, I headed towards the nearest supermarket.
While walking I had a lot of time to reflect on the past week. Every night I'd have the same nightmare. Slade would appear as a skeleton and I'd be thrown through a hellish portal. I'd wake up around one or two in the morning unable to get back to sleep. Needless to say I got a lot of homework and training during the week. I just wish the would go away. I don't know how much more I can take. If Jazz were here she'd tell me this is my minds way of coping with the trauma I endured or something like that. And now that I've thought about Jazz I immediately think about the rest of my family and friends. People I probably won't ever be able to see again.
Shaking those thoughts out of my head I glanced around and noticed a familiar flash of pink about twenty feet in front of me. "Hey Starfire!" I called out to her. She turned around at the sound of my voice and scanned the crowd. Finding me she gave an excited wave and ran towards me.
Stopping in front of me she excitedly exclaimed "Friend Danny. It is good to see you."
"What are you doing here" I asked.
"I am partaking in the ritual known as shopping" she said. Of course she's shopping, this street is the main shopping centre of Jump City. I'm wondering why she's alone. The Titans never go anywhere alone (unless it's Raven trying to escape the craziness of the tower).
"Are you by yourself?" I asked.
"Yes. Ever since I first participated in the trip of shopping with my friends, they have avoided going with me." Starfire explained.
"Do you want some company" I asked. She looked like she needed some company, and it couldn't be that bad, right. I can always get groceries later.
"Yes I would love that" she squealed as she grabbed my arm and started dragging me down the street towards a store. I started getting a little nervous but it's only shopping. How bad could it be.
I soon learned how wrong I was. Whenever we entered a store she skipped around like a cheetah with ADHD hyped up on Mountain Dew as she moved between the displays. She'd grab a few articles of clothing from each display, while swooning over how cute they looked, before going to a change room and trying them on. Half an hour later she would emerge and start the whole process again, only this time for me. It had been two hours since I agreed to shop with Starfire and we'd only been to three stores and I've probably tried on over forty sets of clothes. I can see why the rest of the Titans avoid shopping with Starfire.
We left the third store and I was being dragged to another when I heard a strange beeping sound emanating from Starfire. Giving me a sheepish grin Starfire said "Excuse me". She turned around and pressed a hidden button on her arm bracers. A hologram of a man wearing a purple healmet, cape, and sash like crop top appeared. Starfire spoke to the man for a few minutes in a language I couldn't understand. The only word I understood was Coriander, but why would the be talking about an herb?
I waited patiently until the hologram disappeared and Starfire turned around. I was about to launch into my list of questions but was stopped by the shocked look on her face. "What's wrong Starfire?" I asked hesitantly.
"I have been ordered to return to Tamaran to be married" she managed to say. I went cold at her statement. That wasn't what I was expecting at all.
"Why do you have to get married?" I asked in an attempt to make sense of everything.
"I have been order by the ruler of Tamaran to be married to prevent a war between Tamaran and the Drenthax." Starfire explained dejectedly.
"But you don't want to go" I said based on the look she was giving off.
"If I am married I will never be able to return to earth and do the hanging out with friends. But I must go for the good of my people." she said with new found determination.
I realized that she had already made her decision and there'd be no way to change her mind. "Well if that's what you really want, I'll support you no matter what." I exclaimed. "Do you need help packing?"
"Oh yes. That would be most helpful." she said before grabbing me and flying into the sky. I opened my mouth to tell her that I could fly by myself but stopped before any words came out. I don't want to think about that right now. Instead I'm going to focus on Starfire and making the short time she has left on earth memorable.
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The next day
I'm not having a good time right now. Being squished into a small space beside Beastboy, who isn't exactly the nicest smelling, for a few hours does that to a person. I'm currently flying through space in a retrofitted submarine to attend Starfire's wedding.
Since our little shopping trip yesterday things have been a blur. We got about a half an hour of packing done before the rest of the Titans found us and the interrogation started. After explaining what was going on the Titans dragged Starfire, and me, to all of her favourite places, including the pizza place where she first landed, the park, and the amusement park, one last time. Throughout the night Starfire kept up a smile and cheerful demeanour, but I could tell she was troubled. When she thought no one was looking, I saw her smile disappear and sadness take its place. I hope she's alright.
Then we went to the Titan's tower where they allowed me to spend the night in a guest room. I didn't get any sleep. I was too afraid that I'd have another nightmare and I don't want the Titans to find. Also if I ever sleep there again, I'm bring some sort of poster or something to make staring at the ceiling for seven hours more interesting.
In the morning we had Starfire's favourite breakfast, pancakes with mustard instead of maple syrup. I should have seen that coming. After that we got into the submarine and started are final journey with Starfire. By we I mean the Titans and me. I feel honoured that Starfire chose me to go with her to the wedding. I was the only non Titan she wanted coming. In all honesty the only reason more people didn't attends is probably because the sub doesn't have enough room for extra people to tag along in.
I'm shook from my thinking by a loud explosion. I get up from sitting wedged between Beastboy's seat and a control panel to a crouch. I stay beside Beastboy's chair so I don't get in his way. Outside the glass dome, a few hundred feet away, was a swarm of green insectoid ships.
"Is this some sort of Tamaranian welcome?" asked Cyborg before Starfire shook her head.
"It doesn't matter who they are" said Robin. "They've got us outnumbered. We have to separate." The sub broke into five different part and each section sped away in a different direction. I held on for dear life as Beastboy flew us in various loops and turns to avoid fire from the attacking ships. After a minute or two of dodging, our section regrouped with the rest of the submarine as the attacking ships conveniently collied with each other and destroyed themselves.
After reattaching Beastboy's and my section to the rest of the sub, Starfire excitedly pointed to a rocky white and brown planet, with several deep red valleys, while saying "There is my home Tamaran. Is it not the most beautiful place you have observed?"
"I've never seen anything like it" I commented after we'd entered Tamaran's atmosphere. I'd never seen such a barren place. Even the ghost zone was full of doors and islands that lead to ghost's layers. But I wasn't about to go insult her home world, especially before her wedding. We flew towards a small city that was pear her near the edge of a rocky cliff. The submarine landed on a deserted landing platform on the edge of the city. The glass dome lifted and me and Beastboy climbed down onto the ground.
Once everyone climbed down into the platform, the doors to the platform's building opened revealing a massive silhouette. The silhouette stepped through the door and into the light. With that I saw the largest man I'd ever seen. He was at least seven feet tall and extremely muscular. He had a large beard that reminded me of something a Viking would have. Along with the gigantic man, several guards in armour flanked him. The giant man let out a low growl as he walked towards Starfire and Starfire rose to meet him hands already glowing. They started shouting at each other in an alien language until the man lunged at Starfire. The Titans prepared to intervene but their attack was stopped when the man … started tickling her?
"Friends, I would like you to meet my k'norfka Galfore. He raised me since I was little." said Starfire.
"Wait so this guy was your na-" I cut off Beastboy with an elbow to the ribs before he finished his sentence. It's best not to anger a man that looked like he could snap you in half.
Ignoring Beastboy's outburst, Galfore pointed to our beat up submarine and said "I see you've met our enemy the Drenthax." He clenched his fist angrily "if I were Grand Ruler I'd …well that's not important. Let's just say a lots changed since you've left princess."
"PRINCESS" yelled the Titans and me. We all glanced around at each other as we tried non verbally communicate that we'd never heard about this before.
"I forgot to mention that I am second in line for the throne" said Starfire sheepishly. She quickly grabbed Galfore and the sentries before dragging them into the building. Give a small shrug I followed.
We followed them through hallways with high ceilings. The walk was quit as we tried to process all the information on Starfire we learned. We entered a room and Beastboy, being himself, decided to cause a ruckus with an animal chained to one of the pillars.
Rolling my eyes in annoyance, I was about to continue walking when I felt something I hadn't felt in several months. A cold shiver ran through my body and escaped in the form of a small blue wisp of air from my mouth. My ghost sense had gone off.
I glanced around to see if anyone had noticed me suddenly freezing. Thankfully everyone was still restricted by Beastboy's antics. As I was looking around, a flash of green in the corner of my eye caught my attention. It came from a small hallway that was connect to the side of the room. Doing one last check to make sure no one was looking I entered the hallway and started following the green glow.
I ran down the hallway and turned a corner expecting to see a ghost or at least some sort of green light. Instead I found another hallway. I continued following the hallway which led to another, and another. After rounding probably my sixth corner I found the hallway led to a dead end. The end of the hallway was a lone door.
Knowing this was the end of my little adventure I approached the door. It slide open automatically revealing a dark room with a small glowing ectopus a ways inside. Cautiously I entered the room. When I had got a few feet into the room the door closed plunging the entire room into darkness except for the eerie light given off by the ectopus.
I started panicking. What if was trapped in here. What if I was never found. And why was there an ectopus on the planet Tamaran. I turned around and started running to the door but I was stopped by a loud CLANG right in front of me. I fell on my butt in surprise.
Suddenly bright light appeared all around me. Unable to see I shielded my eyes. Once my eyes adjusted I looked around but there wasn't much to see. I was stuck inside a giant metal cage that was inside a barren room. The only interesting aspect of the room was the fact that the wall opposite the door wasn't actually a wall at all. It was a giant curtain.
Not wanting to stay here any longer I turned myself intangible and went to walk through the bars. The moment I touched the metal a painful shock ran through my body, forcibly turning me tangible again. I was thrown on my back from the force of it. The cage must have been electrified meaning that the I'm trapped along with the ectopus
As I lay on the ground recovering from the painful shock, I noticed something I had't before. I could hear noise. Nothing specific but it sounded like the background noise of many people talking.
I sat up and started listening intently. I was trying to pick up any clues to were exactly I am and why I'm trapped but all of the conversations were indistinguishable. After a little while the noise quoted down and I heard the sound of trumpets followed by a faint, but clear voice, "Now introducing Tamaran's Grand Ruler, the empress Blackfire."
After that the voices died down and I couldn't hear anything. Why did the name Blackfire sound familiar. I felt a tickle in the back of my brain. Argh why can't I remember. Then it hits me. Starfire once told me that her sisters name was Blackfire when I was hanging out with the Titans a while back. But if she is Starfire's sister, shouldn't she be in …?"
My thought is cut off by the fact that I could make out some of the words being spoken, and they were getting louder. It's the voice of a woman and she's getting closer. "… but before I show you your husband, there is something I must address first." said the voice. "An intruder was caught sneaking around. In accordance to Tamaranian law, I as empress and Grand Ruler get to chose the punishment of the criminal that committed a crime against me." So the person speaking is Blackfire. Suddenly the curtain is opened and I get my first view of what's behind it. There was a large room full of similarly dressed Tamaranians. In the centre of the room stood the Titans staring at me. This is going to be fun to explain. "And I'm sentencing Daniel Fenton to enslavement as my pet."
"WHAAAT!"