I'm so sorry for the slow update! The track season started about two weeks ago and we've been having practices every day and about three meets every week, so it's been hectic. It's finally the weekend and I'm isolating myself from society and catching up on my life, including writing this story.

Coming your way is Chapter two! It took me awhile to get this chapter just right. I also need feedback, so this is a no-brainer; review please! Thanks to everyone who reviewed for Chapter 1!

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

---

Chapter 2: Questions & Fear

Questions; nine simple letters, yet so many go unanswered.

Starfire smiled at the children playing and laughing; careless and free of the bonds of life. She wished she could be like them: free. Free spirited and worry-free as to what will happen tomorrow, or the day after that. Worry-free of Robin and his troubles and his strange ways. Free from doubt and pain, sadness and disappointment. Those children didn't know the feeling of being so exhausted, but not being able to sleep. Or the feeling of your heart being shattered like a window being hit with a baseball. Shattered into millions and billions of pieces to the point where you feel like no one could ever tape it back together again. She knew that Robin didn't intend to, but every time his metal door slid shut in front of her face; every time he replied to her requests in a cold monotone with the harsh two-letter word, 'no', her heart broke a little more. It became repaired again when Robin apologized or came out of his 'phase', but this particular phase of Robin seemed to have no end. Which meant there was no one to heal Starfire's broken and tattered heart, which by now was broken into many more than just two pieces. It was completely shattered, and only Robin could find the pieces and tape them back together again. Only Robin.

The swing creaked as she swayed back and forth, tracing patterns in the sand with her foot as the breeze gently rocked the swing around. Questions ran through her mind; racing in her head and never stopping. Starfire first wondered why Robin acted the way he did. Why he was so obsessed with Slade and why he never refrained from his work. There were two seasons of Robin; a season in which he sat back and relaxed with his friends, and another in which he was too caught up in paperwork, training, or catching villains to even acknowledge his friends' existence.

Robin could be so diverse. He was amazing and patient and kind...yet so mysterious and unexplainable. Oftentimes, Starfire would find herself worrying about Robin when he began his Slade Phase again...because it seemed to worsen each time. She'd confronted Raven about these concerns, but Raven simply told her it was a well-known phase Robin went through-- The Slade Obsession. She assured Starfire that it would pass soon enough, but Starfire wasn't so sure. Robin no longer ate, slept, or spent time out of his room. She hadn't had a fun time with him in what seemed to be forever. For those exact reasons she'd asked him to come to the park with her. She missed Robin. She knew that surely this couldn't be the Robin she had gotten to know over the past years. She missed hearing his laugh, feeling his gentle touch, hearing his caring voice explaining new things to her; she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him smile...

Starfire sighed and absentmindedly began to write Robin's name in the sand. How she loved to say his name: Robin. Such a mystifying name that made Starfire consider it each time she said it. Robin; he was a bird waiting to take flight...to fly away from his problems. Starfire was going to help him take his mind off of Slade; to soar over the ground and meet with the clouds, to be free from his troubles and no longer chained down to be a slave of obsession.

A low rumble of thunder roared in the distance, shaking Starfire out of her brief reverie. Small squeals were heard causing Starfire to curiously look up. Little kids scurried to their parents as the first raindrops fell from the sky. The rain came down faster immediately in a downpour, the raindrops slapping on the ground, playing a song. Lightning lit up the sky and shone light on the park, illuminating shadows and playground equipment. She was the only one left in the park, and she suddenly felt lonely and slightly afraid. Her drenched clothes stuck to her body as she silently got off of the creaking swing. A breeze whipped through the empty park, making the now vacant swings creak and move back and forth as if a ghost was rocking back and forth on one of them, trying to taunt Starfire.

Attempting to fly would be useless; she'd tried it on her way to the park, but her emotions weren't cooperating with her wishes. She knew when she felt distressed or distraught, flying would be an impossible request until she regained her composure and got her emotions back in-check. Until then, walking would work out just fine. Her happy thoughts seemed to be lost in a whirlwind of emotions at the moment.

The idea of being back at the tower warmed her heart slightly, and made the corners of her mouth pull into a small smile at the thought of Beast Boy and Cyborg fighting over whether or not to have a tofu or non-tofu dinner, Raven slinging very snappy comebacks at their idiotic behavior and threatening to hurt them. Starfire shrugged; it was what made her feel secure, knowing her friends' true personalities. Robin, however, was so different to explain. She was looking forward to seeing him, and she thought of a plan about how to get him out of his room and relax. Just seeing him smile again would be enough to make her smile again.

Starfire thought of the reassuring and amusing behavior of her friends as she sloshed through the soggy ground, hair matted to her face. She pushed her drenched bangs out of her face, seeing as they were hanging obnoxiously in her eyes. The thunder and lightning suddenly no longer existed to her, as long as she was thinking deeply about the people whom she loved the most.

She couldn't ignore the sudden and eerie sound of footsteps behind her, however. Starfire whirled around, but saw no one. She smiled weakly and told herself that her imagination was acting up because of her current emotional condition. She seemed to be getting a little paranoid, but nonetheless, she turned around and continued her walk back to the tower. The muffled sound of footsteps perked up her ears once again. She looked over her shoulder, heart beating faster, adrenaline pumping. No one was in sight. Quickening her pace slightly, she tried to convince herself that she was just imagining things; and she prayed that she was right.

The footsteps were coming closer, and Starfire whipped around one last time. A figure was standing about a hundred meters away from her. Her heart was hammering madly as she realized one thing: this person was following her.

---

Robin groggily lifted his head up off his desk, rubbing his temples. He saw the bright red numbers on his clock flashing as they read ' 9:03 P.M.' Robin mentally kicked himself for falling asleep in the middle of his research, slamming his fist on his desk. How could he have just dozed off on the job? Slade could be anywhere and Robin was sleeping.

Robin sighed loudly as he got up from his chair, stretching his arms and glancing at his steel door, sealed shut. His throat was parched for thirst; the last thing he'd had to drink was what Starfire had given him a few hours ago. He supposed that a few minutes away from his research wouldn't hurt too much. He entered the code and the door slid open, revealing the empty and dark hallway. Robin began making his way down to the main room, stifling a yawn as his consciousness began to recover.

When Robin arrived in the main room, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven all stared at him in bewilderment.

"Yo, Robin, you finally decided to come out of your room, huh?" Cyborg observed.

"I was just getting a drink and stretching," he replied stubbornly, walking over to the fridge. He looked up at his friends staring at him, and noticed that Starfire was nowhere to be found. "Where's Star?" he asked, taking a water bottle and gulping it down.

"She went to the park," Beast Boy answered his question nonchalantly.

Robin almost choked on his water. "Alone?" he croaked, his eyes widening.

"She said she asked you to come with her but you 'rather harshly and unpleasantly' turned her down," Raven quoted, looking up from her book.

Fear swarmed into Robin's mind and he felt guilt quickly entering, as well. "She went...alone?"

Cyborg nodded slowly. "Yeah man, I think that's what we just said..."

Robin slammed his fist on the counter for the second time in the last five minutes. "How could she have gone alone? Who knows what could happen to her..."

"Dude, chill. What's the worst that could happen to her?" Beast Boy spoke up. Robin looked out the window and saw the rain pouring down and a lightning flash.

"I'm not even going to answer that question," Robin answered coldly under his breath. He quickly turned to Raven and asked, "How long ago did she leave?"

"A few hours ago, more or less," Raven replied, turning a page in her book.

Robin ran a hand through his hair in a distraught manner. "I'm going to look for her. You guys stay here in case I need you." He ran out the front door and it slid shut behind him.

There was silence until Beast Boy spoke up, "Is it just me, or is Robin acting kind of freaky?"

Cyborg shook his head. "He can be that way, sometimes."

Beast Boy started to laugh obnoxiously as he looked at Raven. "Not nearly as freaky as Raven, though." Raven looked up from her book, giving him a glare that could make anyone have nightmares for the next month. The power suddenly went out, and the three sat in darkness.

Raven's voice spoke out of the shadows, "That wasn't from the storm, Beast Boy, I assure you."

---

A fuzzy and crackling screen was all Robin got as he ran to the park, holding his communicator in his hand as he tried to contact Starfire. If anything happened to her...it's all my fault, he thought as he approached the park. Not a single soul was in sight; everything was left looking empty and desolate. Robin squinted through the rain as he scanned his eyes back and forth to look for a sign of Starfire.

"Starfire!" he called, holding his hands up to his mouth to project his voice. "Starfire!" He paused and waited, getting no response, and seeing no fiery red hair and glowing green eyes emerging from anywhere. Not a single sign of anything.

Robin continued his hasty walk through the park, looking at the ground for footsteps. Although the ground was soggy and puddles were forming everywhere, he was able to make out a familiar shape of a slender boot embedded in the thick mud. His breath got caught in his throat and he bent down and studied the footprint, having no doubt that it belonged to Starfire. Not too far away from it was a larger, thicker footprint. Robin got on his knees further and stared at the footprint. His heart seemed to completely stop, however, when he saw the familiar emblem of a pointed, intimidating looking "S" preserved in the mud in the middle of the footprint.

Fear; four simple letters, yet so difficult to conquer.

Eyes widened to the point where his mask looked like two giant O's, one of his most feared thoughts crossed his mind: Slade had captured Starfire. And it was all his fault.

---

Oh, now there's a big cliffhanger for you right there. This chapter turned out to be a little longer than I intended it to be, but hey, whatever, the longer the better, right?

For those of you who may not have understood the whole power outage thing at Titans Tower when Raven said, 'That wasn't from the storm, Beast Boy, I assure you', it was being implied that Raven's emotions suddenly burst out of control when Beast Boy insulted her, thus making the power go out. Tell me if that didn't make sense, but I hope it did and I thought most people would get it.

I hope this chapter was very satisfying to all of you, and please, please, please review! Feedback is what keeps me going!

--Faded Starlight--