Chapter 20

Robin leant against the wall of the tunnel once more, tugging at his gorget aimlessly as he tried to get into a mindset for battle.

So far he'd beaten twelve Tamaranians, including Galfore. It taken six days to get through so many, seeing he was only doing two a day. Today was the seventh day and he was about to start the first match of the day. Each victory meant that a few Tamaranians forfeited, so the number was now dwindling and he was beginning to think he might actually see the end of it all soon. He'd been lucky so far coming out of all of the battles with only minor scrapes and a few bruises, but he wasn't sure how long that luck would hold.

He'd also been matched against Plyzn, one of Torkor's group, the large fat Tamaranian that had actually tried to eat during the xhandal battle. He was so slow it hadn't taken Robin very long to dispatch him. One hit in fact.

Time after xhandal had been spent in companionship with his friends, although they had to make several appearances around the palace. Tamaranians were now giving Beast Boy looks of appreciation; something the boy was unused to. Raven had been unimpressed on the amount of Tamaranian women now interested in him, even though she had been the one to calm him. She had publicly claimed Beast Boy and Robin had never been sure what she'd done but by the bite marks on both their necks, he could hazard a guess.

Nights had been spent wrapped in Starfire's loving embrace. She was so delightfully naughty at times and he wondered why he'd never noticed it before. A thrill of pleasure surged through him as he thought of her moaning beneath him at night and he forced himself to think of something else.

Starfire had sent a message to Blackfire warning her of the Citadel. So far they had not received any reply from her, nor had they seen any action on the Citadel front. Galfore said they had not been spotted in Tamaranian space since the Titans had arrived, nor had there been any communications intercepted. Cyborg agreed, he'd also been unable to trace any communications, nor had any more bugs been planted in their rooms. It was worrying Robin, as he anxiously waited for them to make their move and he knew Starfire was secretly terrified. But even with him searching constantly and keeping his eyes open in battle, they'd come up with nothing. Either the Citadel had hidden their traitor well, or they were not there at all. Both answers were troubling.

He tugged on the gorget again, sliding his fingers beneath the collar in an attempt to fix it.

Starfire's soft hands wrapped around his neck, twisting the gorget slightly to fix its position, before she smoothed it out across his shoulders. If you would stop pulling at it, it will sit better.

He grimaced. It's just so strange to wear…He looked up at her and smiled. What are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be up in the garak?

I am waiting for Beast Boy and Raven. You have asked that I do not go anywhere alone and as Cyborg is currently conducting the scans on the sorals, I thought you could use the companionship. I can leave if you would prefer.

She made to leave, but he made a grab for her, snagging her by the waist and pulling her against him. She giggled, gliding her hands over his bare chest, her finger tracing each muscle. He slipped his hands down her back to cradle her bottom, reveling at the way her xhandal costume hugged her behind. She smiled and kissed her way along his jawbone to his ear before nibbling on the lobe.

He closed his eyes, his hands kneading at her bottom, before he grabbed her by the back of the neck and crashed their lips together. She made a soft whimpering sound as his tongue dove into her mouth. She lifted one leg and hooked it behind his knee, her hands gliding up to twine in his hair as she pulled him closer.

"By X'hal, what are you doing?" a voice sneered. "Princess, you should not allow him to force you to demean yourself. Surely you have already learned his language."

Robin broke the kiss and peered over Starfire's shoulder to see an irate Torkor. He pushed himself off the wall, pulling Starfire behind him and she placed her hands on his waist. "What do you want?"

"I am your next contender," he replied tartly. "And you will not find me so easily defeated. I was one of the best students on Okaara." He looked at them in disgust. "What were you doing?"

"That is none of your business," Robin replied. Should I be worried about his skills?

No. I have trained you in their methods. "You should not be here Torkor," Starfire said. "You are not allowed to confront Robin until you are in the arena."

"You were allowing him such a public display of physical affection and what you were doing with your mouths was disgusting. I could not in good conscious allow you to continue. You do not need to sacrifice yourself to such a being, Princess. I will spare you of this. You are royalty and should marry into nobility."

Starfire expression darkened as Cyborg and Galfore walked up behind Torkor, with Raven and Beast Boy not far behind. She stepped out from behind Robin. "You know nothing of sacrifice," she snarled. Her hand lingered on Robin's behind before it brushed around his leg and trailed her fingers up his chest as she moved around Robin. She smiled for him, keeping her eyes on his face before brushing past Torkor and joining her friends. Good luck d'anthe l'ani.

Torkor scowled at him and Robin smirked, knowing that she'd touched him like that deliberately to provoke Torkor, even though it sent an enchanting tingle down his spine.

Galfore's eyes narrowed at Torkor. "Are you both prepared?" he asked.

Robin looked past Galfore at Cyborg, who nodded quietly and moved to follow Starfire, Beast Boy and Raven to the pillar-box. "Yes, Galfore," he replied.

"Of course, Grand Ruler," Torkor said with a slight bow.

"Come," he replied striding out into the arena, Robin and Torkor falling in behind him and the ceremonial box being lugged after them. They quickly selected their weapons and Robin barely listened to Galfore addressing the crowd while he gave his soral a few practice swings, reminding himself of the weight. He barely noticed as Galfore and the ceremonial box left the arena.

Pay attention Robin.

He flicked his head toward her. Sorry, he mumbled before facing Galfore.

"Are you prepared?" Galfore called from his viewing box.

"I am ready," Robin and Torkor called, the crowd going wild.

"Begin!"

Robin spun to face Torkor, his soral held ready. Torkor charged straight for him, flying through the air. Robin dropped backward onto the ground, his soral blocking Torkor's, while his feet slammed into the Tamaranian's stomach, sending him flying. He followed his feet through somersaulting backward on the ground and back onto his feet, spinning to face Torkor.

Torkor was already hurtling back through the air at him, his soral raised once more. Robin raised his to block. Their weapons clanged together with such force that Robin was thrown backward into the dust, his soral bouncing away. He scrambled to his feet and snatched up his weapon, readying himself as Torkor teared toward him.

Torkor wasn't as comfortable as Starfire in the air, Robin noted. He wasn't as graceful, wasn't as tight on the turns, he couldn't stop and change direction in an instant. But he was damn fast and Robin was just glad that he'd had training in this type of battle.

He raised his soral to block and just before Torkor hit, he changed position, angling his weapon away so that Torkor's slid harmlessly off and Robin didn't have to take the brunt of the blow.

Torkor turned and planted his feet on the wall of the arena and pushed off, ricocheting back down toward Robin. Robin spun his weapon expertly in front of him like helicopter blades, causing Torkor to twist out of the way and pass by him unscathed. Robin smirked and stopped twirling the soral before he felt something snag him by the back of the gorget, lifting him off the ground.

He choked at the pressure on his neck from the gorget as he watched the world drop away from beneath his feet. He had to get Torkor to let go before they were too high. He looked up over his shoulder and swung his soral backward aiming for Torkor's hand.

Torkor spun and tossed him.

He flew through the air, his arms and legs spread wide while he judging where he was headed and tried to ignore Starfire's silent scream in his mind. An image of his own parents falling to the deaths leapt into his mind and for a moment he felt as though he was soon going to join them. He growled to himself, he wasn't done yet.

Torkor's throw meant he was being propelled at an angle, heading for the arena wall. Calculating, Robin threw his soral, watching as it streaked away toward the arena edge ahead of him, embedding itself in the wall a moment before he arrived. He snatched it once again; his whole body jarring from the sudden impact and his arms felt as though they had been wrenched from the sockets. He swung himself around it like it was a gymnastics bar and used that momentum to slow himself down. His hands burned from the friction of his spin around the soral, before he somersaulted away and planted his feet on the ground. He hopped up and down there for a moment, blowing on his hands and muttering swear words under his breath, before he darted back to his soral, leapt up and yanked it from the wall.

Torkor's eyes were wide with disbelief as he stared at Robin.

Robin smirked and shifted his grip on his soral. "I have a Tamaranian Princess for a girlfriend. Do you honestly expect me not to have learned how to fall in case that was tried? Besides, you really didn't drop me that far." Owowowowow, fuck that hurt.

Oh Robin, I was afraid for you, are you in much pain?

He blinked; unaware that he'd projected anything. You and me both, love. I'm all right.

"Flying is not going to work," Robin said as he studied the hovering Torkor. "Try something else."

With great reluctance, Torkor landed.

Robin closed the small distance between them, bringing his soral clanging down as Torkor moved to block the blow. There was a ringing clash as the weapons smashed together.

Torkor smirked as he shoved his weapon toward Robin hard. A small smiled crept across Robin's face and he bend over backward, kicking out at Torkor's head with his feet as he flipped over, before bringing his soral around to swipe at Torkor's feet on the way through. The head kick didn't connect but the sweep did, Torkor hit the ground with a thump.

Torkor growled as he leaped to his feet, swinging his weapon at Robin's head. Robin ducked underneath the swing, flipped his blade and jabbed Torkor in the stomach with the handle. "You really need to work on your defense," he told Torkor.

Torkor made a stab for Robin's chest but Robin deflected it with his weapon, pausing to punch Torkor in the head.

The Tamaranian lashed out with his soral again and Robin brought his own up to block, twisting his weapon so that Torkor's blow lost it strength. Robin kicked him in the belly as hard as he could, forcing Torkor's bulk away from his and the man skidded away from him, clutching at his stomach.

Robin narrowed his eyes and spun his soral as they begun circling each other.

Torkor charged him. Robin leveled his soral at Torkor and waited before nimbly dodging to the side but Torkor suddenly shifted position and hacked at Robin's legs as he past. Robin leapt into the air, planting his foot on Torkor's handle as he leapt, going for the extra height. Something slammed hard into his back as he jumped and Robin felt the painful bite of an eye beam. He landed and rolled away from Torkor, who was dashing back at him, slashing his weapon at Robin's moving body.

Robin nimbly bounded backward, Torkor's blade passing so close to his chest that he actually felt the breeze it created as it zipped by. He was going to have to be more careful.

Robin lost himself in the rhythm of the battle. He lost count of the amount of times they'd clashed together, striking and blocking before leaping apart once more. He was loathed to admit it but Torkor was good. He was probably even slightly better than Starfire, but only in the strength of his blows, Starfire was certainly more dexterous. Torkor blocked and thrust with ease using techniques that Robin had never seen before. But then Robin had some tricks of his own.

If anything, Torkor depended on his weapon too much, preferring to block hits that he should have just dodged. And he kept forgetting that Robin liked to use all his limbs. He may have been able to block Robin's weapon, but he never managed to block against a fist or a kick. Now, if Robin could just find a way to remove Torkor's weapon.

Robin hissed in pain as a slice got through his defenses and slashed him across the thigh.

Torkor snickered. "First blood is mine!" he crowed.

Robin dashed in, not allowing the pain to effect him. He made a swing at Torkor, who brought his soral up to block. Robin changed the swing to a stab, snagging the handle of Torkor's soral between the blades of his, a trick he was getting quite good at. He jumped, somersaulting over Torkor's head, pulling both blades with him and yanked Torkor's soral from his grip.

Robin grinned as he landed, before pulling Torkor's soral from his own. He spun the pair of them deftly, one in each hand and walked toward Torkor. He saw the telltale green glow of an eye beam being prepared and dropped to a knee, slamming the blades of each soral deep into the ground before he leapt for Torkor. He caught the man across the jaw with a punch, forcing his head back and the eye beam harmlessly shoot skyward.

Torkor fell backward onto the ground, before leaping to his feet once more, his closed fists held out in front of him. Robin smiled and threw himself at the Tamaranian, connecting a series of kicks and punches to the man's upper body and head.

Torkor reeled back, bleeding from a cut above his eye and slammed against the arena wall. Robin went for another punch to the head, but Torkor ducked and Robin's fist thumped into the wall. He winced as Torkor grabbed his wrist and flung him. Robin's back slammed against the stone wall, air escaping his lungs in a gasp. Torkor turned and spun Robin around by the wrist and into the wall face first, then twisted Robin's arm up behind his back and forced him against the wall.

Torkor plastered his body along Robin's back and twisted his arm up further. Robin winced in pain as he felt his shoulder blade grating against bone.

"Give up, Robin," Torkor hissed into his ear. "You cannot possibly hope to win. I will not allow my Koriand'r to sacrifice herself to an offworlder."

Robin groaned and tried to wriggle his arm loose. "She's not your fucking Koriand'r."

"She was promised to me. She is mine." Torkor's other hand grabbed on to the back of his head, pressing his face against the wall.

Robin fought not to wince as his cheek scraped the wall. "You're fucking insane. She's never going to love you."

"Who said anything about that?" Torkor removed his hand from Robin's head and fumbled for something Robin couldn't see. "I am not weak. She will give herself to me once you are gone."

The implications of that sickened him. "I'm not going anywhere."

Torkor sneered and Robin felt his breath against his ear. "Yes, Robin. You are."

Robin grunted as he felt cold steel puncture his back, before an avalanche of pain cascaded through him. His eyes widened in agony, his body was instantly coated in sweat. There was an intense bolt of pain as Torkor shifted his grip and twisted sharply. Robin's eyes rolled in his head and his breath rasped in his chest. He knew he was going to be stabbed again unless he did something quickly. He dug his shaking fingers of his free hand into the wall, lifted a foot and planted it on the wall and pushed backwards as hard as he could, screaming at the sudden tearing in his back as he wrenched free Torkor's fingers.

He elbowed Torkor four times in the head in rapid succession as the pair fell backward, before Robin managed to pry his other arm loose from Torkor's grip and stand. He turned to face Torkor, glaring at the Tamaranian man with as much malice as he could muster. He reached back and grabbed a handle, roaring in pain as he ripped it from his body and held the dagger loosely in his hand. Blood dripped from the end of the blade and poured from the wound in his back.

He glanced at the dagger, the blade wasn't very long, it had to be short enough to easily conceal, but it was about three fingers thick. Large enough to do some serious damaged. Every part of it up to the hilt was covered in his blood.

A sudden green explosion rocked the arena stands as Starfire reacted, screaming in anguish. Torkor whirled around toward the explosion, a strange gleam in his eye. Robin dropped the dagger and pounced. He knocked Torkor onto the ground and straddled the man, sitting on his stomach, before he began to pound on his face and chest relentlessly.

There was a squelch as Robin broke Torkor's nose and Torkor gurgled as blood poured down his face. He brought his arm up to punch Robin, but Robin grabbed his wrist and twisted it deftly. There was a loud crack as the wrist broke and Torkor yelped in pain. He brought his other hand around and grabbed onto Robin's back, his hand seeking the gaping hole he created but Robin was faster. He smacked Torkor in the shoulder with double fists, the blow so precise he dislocated the shoulder. Torkor screamed in pain and Robin grabbed the front of Torkor's gorget, heaving the man up to his face, his arm held back as he prepared to punch the man once more.

"I yield!" the man screamed in pain as his wrist and shoulder hung at odd angles.

"Torkor yields," Galfore roared from his box. "Robin wins!"

Robin dumped Torkor's bleeding head back on the ground and stood, swaying dangerously. He clenched his hands into fists. "Starfire is mine, by her choice," he snarled. "No one can take that away from us."

He turned as Starfire landed beside him, her face white with fear and fingernail marks scratched into her face. He placed an arm across his stomach, his back arched forward in pain, aware that the back of his pants was already soaked with blood. He reached up a trembling hand and touched her lightly on the cheek. I need to walk out of here on my own Star.

She glanced up at the contender's stand as several thumps hit the ground behind them, her eyes filling with tears. Her fingers made small clenching motions and he knew that all she wanted to do was to grab onto him, hold him tight and carry him off to safety. But she gave him a brief and teary nod and fell in beside him. I understand.

He stalked from the arena, his head held high, limping slightly because of the cut on his leg. Each step became harder and harder as pain rocked through him. His insides felt like they were on fire. His breath whistled through his tightly clenched teeth and sweat beaded and dripped from his face. He was vaguely aware of Galfore bellowing for guards. He dimly recognised of the screaming cheer of the crowd, but kept his eyes fixed on the swaying arched tunnel way before him. His vision clouded and he had to blink to focus. He felt Starfire walking companionably by his side and offered her his hand, needing to be in contact with her. As she placed her cold hand in his clammy one, he drew strength from her closeness.

You are nearly there, Robin. It is not much further. Be strong.

I'm trying, Star. I love you; I just wanted you to know-

Her mind voice was in instant denial. Do not say goodbye. We will get through this. I am not going to let you go. Raven is ready for you. Everything will be all right. Please, d'anthe l'ani, hold on.

He tried to take comfort from her confidence in him and Raven. But he also knew the stabbing agony he was currently in, the lifeblood flowing from his wound and his waning strength.

Finally he reached the sanctity of the darkness of the tunnel, away from the prying eyes of the crowd and the malicious gaze of any remaining contenders. Strength drained from him as he pitched forward into unconsciousness.