To Guest again: I'm one of your favorite authors? *Blush* Oh stop! Hahaha! Your review made my day! I'm very glad you like the change of pace in the pairing. I felt like a Rob Star story needed to be done the correct way, unlike some other authors I know on here. Haha. ANYWAYS, YES you should get a fanfic account, it would make it easier to review AND I could reply to your reviews a lot faster! If you do get an account PM me! XOXO.
To Miss Geek: 1) Exactly, Starfire is the strongest of heroes I know. If you read her old comics she's an asskicker. Her new appearances in New 52 are AWFUL DO NOT READ! Haha. 2) I know right! I'm the type of writer who adds surprises and shockers, keep your eyes peeled! Thanks for reviewing!
To Guest: Thank you! I'm glad you think so!
A/N: I LOVED the reviews guys! Thank you so much, it meant the world to me. This is a nice long chapter, four thousand words! This is where the REAL drama starts. Enjoy the next chapter to your hearts content.
"All emotions are pure which gather you and lift you up; that emotion is impure which seizes only one side of your being and so distorts you." Rainer Maria Rilke
January 3
Rooftop- Titan's Tower
Starfire POV
The day is sunny and bright, the water surrounding the Tower is sparkling and the small puffy clouds that float by form delirious shapes of grandeur. I am currently standing next to my very own Titan pod that I will be able to fly to Tamaran with. Friend Cyborg and I fixed it yesterday and I am full of the butterflies of nervousness for my long awaited return home.
I arch my back and absorb the Earth sunlight for what may be the last time. This was surely my favorite planet and if it was my choice I would stay here and learn more about the human species. My heart clenches at the thought of it and I know that this is surely the very last time I will ever be content on Earth again. My conscious mind reflects on all the fun times I have shared with my friends here, from the perilous journeys into missions to the fun nights where we would coax Raven into playing the bottle of spinning with us. My heart reflects on all the romantic feelings and dates Robin and I shared together, it painfully reawakens the emotions I felt when we shared a first kiss. I can almost trace the outline of his lips against mine, oh how I miss it! And his hands smooth but rough with history-
"Starfire!" A gravelly voice interrupts my thoughts.
I am shaken out of my reveries and look behind me quickly. Raven is approaching me slowly her hood drawn up. I embarrassedly look at her with a solemn face, knowing well that she was reading my emotions.
She sighs and lowers her hood. She looks tired and worried. It was rare of Raven to show such emotion but when she did it was usually around me. "Stop thinking about the past, it will make it harder to go." She said in her monotone voice.
I smile sadly and embrace her in a bone crushing hug. She makes a gurgling sound that I do not comprehend and I squeeze her tighter. "I will miss you so much friend Raven! You have been the most kind to me during my years here!" A couple tears fall out of my eyes and they land on her purple cloak.
"Star…FIRE…CAN'T…Breath!" She chokes.
I instantly let her go, misunderstanding my own strength once again. "Many apologies friend." I smile meekly at her.
She catches her breath. "Do all Tamaranians have your strength?" She mutters.
I giggle then nod but before I can say anything in response Cyborg and Beast Boy burst through the rooftop doors with huge smiles on their faces. Cyborg looks expectantly at me. "Are you excited to be treated like royalty again?" He asks me.
I nod, knowing that he does not fully understand the traditions of my planet. On my planet you are treated with respect, you have to show no fear or weakness or you will immediately be corrupted by outside forces.
Beast Boy walks up to me and hands me a box. "Me and Cy decided to make something for you." He grins goofily which brings back many memories of sumptuousness.
I smile and take the box appreciatively from his hands. It is wrapped in purple wrapping paper and I become excited. I rip open the package greedily and am surprised to see a technological device. My friends know that I am not very good when it comes to technology so it confounds me as to why they bought me something that is used for social media.
They must have noticed the confused look on my face because they start laughing; even Raven adds a small smirk to the erupting chuckles. Cyborg taps the device in my hand that looks like the vocabulary device called the Kindle. "This is a Universal Titans Communicator, UTC for short." He says. "When you press the button it will turn on. If one of us is on broadcast at the same time you immediately connect with us and will be able to communicate via webcam." He smiles warmly.
"You can also select one of our names and leave us a video message." Beast Boy adds.
Tears well up in my eyes and suddenly spill over my cheeks. I am overjoyed that they created something this spectacular for me. "Glorious!" I exclaim. "I could never have asked for better friends." I pull them all in for a group hug and we all sniffle together. I will forever cherish this last moment together, we were the first Teen Titan team and I will never forget all the wondrous things they have done for me. Each one of them have taught me something individual, something I can take with me and keep forever and replay in my mind when I am feeling lonely.
A loud cough suddenly interrupts our goodbyes and we all let go to see who it is. Robin stands near us with a sad expression on his face. We all look at him and bring him into the hug as well. Even though our friendship has seized does not mean he will not forever remain as a special piece in my heart. We all silently hug for minutes more and depart.
Robin looks at me silently and moves toward me in a swift motion. He hugs me separately, which catches me off guard completely. My heart enflames suddenly and the same old feeling is creeping its way up my spine. I hug him briefly but before he lets go he whispers something so delicate in my ear I have to strain to hear it. "I'm sorry for everything." His warm breath forces the tiny hairs on the back of my neck to stand.
I am very close to changing my mind at that very moment but I decide against it. This is the only way to move on with my life, this is a must. I look at him softly. "Thank you for giving me everything I needed to feel welcome on this strange planet." I linger too long and plant a sad kiss on his cheek.
I look at my friends one last time and head for the Titan Pod. Cyborg and Beast Boy drop my bags on board and set up a GPS system for me. They both cry as they give me one last hug and climb off the ship. By this time I am bawling my eyes out, the Pod heats up and I feel it lurch beneath my seat. I wave to them as I rise into the sky. It feels like I am leaving behind my family; in a way they sort of are my family. They wave back at me, growing smaller and smaller with each incline I take. I take a deep breath and blow them one last kiss before I zoom off into the horizon. This team was everything I wanted them to be and more, they taught me what kindness is and was. They taught me that even though I may seem different to outsiders no matter what I am special in my own way. That feeling of belonging will forever linger in my heart.
As the pod shifts into automatic I unzip the bags they have packed for me and see another present. It is from Robin, my throat clenches shut and I open it. It is a picture of us on one of our numerous dates. This date was different though, this was the date that he declared to me that I was his world. In the picture I am looking dreamily at him and he is looking lovingly at me. His hand is on mine and we are showing true happiness. Underneath the picture also hidden away in the bag is a bottle of mustard, I look at it and I begin sobbing uncontrollably over the lost love I was never able to hold onto.
Raven POV
As we watch her Pod go a single tear slips down my cheek. I don't realize it until something touches my face and wipes it away. I look to see who it is and Beast Boy looks at me gratifyingly. A crack appears in the pavement beneath my feet and I realize I don't have too much control over my emotions right now. I suck in a breath and look at Cyborg and Robin. Robin looks terribly sad and the worst emotions are seeping from him. I want to say something but I don't know what. We literally just lost a family member, how are we supposed to feel normal? Maybe we aren't, maybe this is a new type of change. I don't know if it's a good change or a bad one only time will tell; that's what makes me hate the concept.
Beast Boy clears his throat and looks at us sadly. "So what are the plans now?"
Robin looks up at us and runs a hand over his face, glancing up at the sky one last time before looking at us dead on. "I'm leaving."
I pull up my hood trying to accept this new change that is suddenly being hurtled into my path. Why is everything happening so quickly?
Cyborg sputters and Beast Boy frowns at him. "Dude we just lost a team member, what the hell? Jump City's going to be defenseless!" Beast Boy shouted.
Robin looked more tired than I have ever seen him, even though he wears his mask constantly the lines of worry and haggardness still freckle his face. I didn't need to see his eyes to know he needed a small vacation.
He looked a Beast Boy, his mouth in a taught line. "I have to, Batman needs me there and I think it's time to move on." His jaw line twitched almost unperceivably.
I could tell he was lying about Batman needing him, but why? Why would he need to lie to get away from us? I took a deep breath and decided to dip my toes into unchartered waters. "So you're moving back to Gotham? When?" I say quietly, feeling the tension go up around me.
"Probably tomorrow, this can't wait any longer." He sighed.
Beast Boy frowned once again. "What about the Titans? This is your legacy; Robin is going to be remembered for starting something renowned. Is it over?" He sounded sad, but as I sensed his emotions a small amount of relief coursed through him. Emotions were running intently high today, so I was hoping I was mistaken.
Robin looked up to the sky one last time. "I'm leaving the Team to Cyborg, he deserves it and I'm sure this Tower belongs to him more than anyone else."
Cyborg looked partially shocked and regained his composure as quickly as he lost it. "Thank you Robin, I don't know how to repay you." He still looked somewhat shocked but pride and achievement poured out of his very soul.
I felt happy for him, but I knew that things were still going to change even more drastically.
Robin looked at us all and smiled. "I'm proud of what we've done for this City, and I want the Titan legacy to continue forever."
Cyborg smiled brightly. "One question though, how am I going to do it?" He asked in a half- jokingly manner.
Robin sighed. "You'll have to set up a direct connection to the Justice League and have them send some recruits that they've been working on. They'll be young and very inexperienced but I think you can train them." He replied casually, like he's been planning this for a long time already. His confident attitude was suddenly back and I felt a little better about his mental health.
"Wow, this is going to be amazing." Cyborg rubbed his hands together.
Robin smirked. "I'll show you how to connect to the Justice League through the computer." He and Cyborg walked towards the roof exit, Robin looked up at the sky one last time before disappearing with Cyborg down the stairs. I have a small feeling he'll be doing that more than once a day from now on.
I sighed and pulled down my hood. I allowed my emotions to sink back into me and I felt the sudden urge to meditate. Before I could curl up into lotus position a green hand waved in front of my face. I turned around to face the one person I was attempting to block out, I glared at him and he put his hands up in defense.
"I just want to talk to you, please?" He asked meekly.
I understand that he wants to talk about our discussion from yesterday, but does he not understand that I don't want to? After he told me about Tesla and the cure I left his room, refusing to talk about the subject any farther. His green eyes stared at me intensely and I couldn't bring myself to reject him; in that tiny moment I felt weak and utterly fragile. Something I've never felt before. I didn't want to ponder anymore thoughts so I had no other choice than to speak with him. "Fine talk." I said somewhat bitterly.
My bitter tone had no effect on him. "I want to explain why I want the cure." I said nothing so he decided unanimously to continue. "Remember when Adonis tried to harm you and I unleashed that giant beast from my DNA?"
I nodded and he sighed. "Well, I think it's starting to grow." He licked his lips anxiously.
Fear seeped out of him and I felt afraid for a brief moment. "What do you mean?" I mumbled alarmingly.
"I mean, it's craving something, but I don't know what. It's literally taking control of me, or trying to. I need the cure to be normal again or the animal inside of me will take over for good." His green eyes dilated in apprehension and I wanted to reach out and reassure him.
"How do you know your animal side is taking over? What are the symptoms?" I look deeply into his eyes, not wanting to miss any of his emotions.
"Increased appetite, my muscle tone is growing at a rapid pace, and I'm starting to crave meat. It's literally driving me insane!" He said and ran both his hands through his hair.
"Why didn't I see signs of this any sooner?" I ask bewildered by his state of mind. I shrug and look towards the sky.
He looks at me and frowns deeply. "You rarely ever look at me, most of the time you look right through me." He said huskily, his eyes revealing hurt and something else I can't read.
I step back, feeling like I was punched in the gut. What did he mean? I always look at him, especially when he's being a pest. Infuriated I take a step forward. "That's not true, I always look at you." I cross my arms.
He shakes his head and fake laughs. "Don't fool yourself Rae, all you've ever cared about was your books and mirror. That's why it's so hard for you to be social because you block yourself out from caring about anyone, including me." He swallows. "It's selfish."
I feel my blood boil and the rooftop below my feet begins to crack once again. I feel intensely angry and decide to hold nothing back. "Are you calling me selfish?" I shout angrily.
His eyes widen in surprise and then they narrow accepting my challenge of a fight. "Yes I am, it's about time someone told you the brutal truth. You're always so brutally honest with us; it's time for you to get a taste of your own medicine."
"How dare you?" I ask angrily, I feel the puffy clouds above my head darken and start to crowd over the Titan Tower. "How dare you call out my flaws when you have even worse traits about yourself?"
He smirks smugly. "Oh yeah, what? What could possibly be wrong with me?" He asks waving his arms around.
I sigh and uncross my arms feeling too angry to keep still any longer. "You're vain, sanctimonious, stubborn, otiose, lazy, incoherent, and stupid!" I say trying to keep my voice on a certain level of anger so I don't do anything I might regret.
He laughs. "Is that it Raven? Stupid?" He shakes his head. "I'm nowhere as near as bad as you." He says as he noticed the clouds above our heads.
I feel my energy darken and thunder rumbles slowly from the sky. "I'm not done." I growl. "You're also very weak, you can't accept the burden you've been dealt to live with and now you want to change yourself so you won't be looked at as abnormal. You care too much what other people think of you. You'll never be a leader like Robin or Cyborg because you're too cowardly to accept your own fate; you'll always be Beast Boy, never a man." I sigh and feel my energy lessen, the clouds above my head thin away and I feel satisfied. I look at his green eyes and I read the strangest emotions of all; sadness, anger, mistrust, and grief.
He looks extremely sad and his face drops. "Something that you should know about yourself is that you're very judgmental. Even though you claim to have some control over your powers, your real power is to degrade and vitiate people who truly care about you." He turns to leave and breaks into a sprint for the door. The door slams decisively and I feel my emotions fall back into place where they're supposed to be.
I'm left standing there feeling like an idiot. I judged him for wanting a cure to something that is consuming his life. I hurt him more than I ever thought I would. I failed to realize one simple fact; supernatural abilities don't hurt people, words do.
The clouds gather together once again and small rain droplets begin to pour onto the rooftop. They smell like desolation and smog. Once again I am alone, but this time the loneliness doesn't feel as welcome as I want it to be.
Starfire POV
The monitor on my Pod lights up claiming that I have reached the Vegan System where my planet of Tamaran lies. I quickly turn off the auto pilot and gain control of the small spacecraft myself. My heart skips a beat as I think of how they will take my arrival. Will they be happy upon their rulers' arrival and return, or displeased with my departure? I honestly did not have much of a choice when I left. My heart thumps as I wait for my arrival, I cannot wait to see Galfore and his smile, he was my only real friend and guardian on my lonely and sad planet.
The Pod floats through a purple cloud before finally spotting Tamaran. I squeal in delight and quickly pack up my things. As I approach Tamaran I have to recite the rules in my head. I realize that I have to calm my energy and become as stoic and strong willed as I possibly can be. The Pod shifts and I realize that I have entered the atmosphere of my planet. I drift towards the royal palace and I take notice of a couple things, my family's royal flags are no longer hanging from the Hurgflads'. The houses that lined the outer provinces surrounding the castle do not have the salute of X'hal on it anymore. I ponder that as I land the Pod directly in front of the royal palace, I immediately cut the engine and guards swarm my vessel.
I step out in my Tamaranian Royal clothing and the guards gasp. I switch my tongue into my native patois and address my people. "Greetings Tamaranians'. It is I, Koriand'r. I am back from planet Earth and I intend to take my role back as leader of Tamaran." I smirk at them but the guards do not move. They look rather frightened which scares me.
I turn around as I hear footsteps. A man of about thirty years in age walks out from the palace. He looks at me displeasingly. "Why have you returned?" He says in a thick voice.
"To reclaim my throne." I respond with too much eagerness.
He raises his eyebrows and looks around at the guards. "My name is Karras, does that name sound familiar?" He begins to walk towards me and I feel slightly nervous.
I shake my head and he looks slightly confused. I mentally curse myself as I realize that on Tamaran people do not nod or shake their heads. "No it does not, please explain to me why I should know your name?" I intend clearly.
His boot crunches as he stops in front of me, his face is inches from mine and I feel afraid for some odd reason. Karras is intimidating and tall, his demeanor is too superior. I back up a little. "Please tell me where Galfore is, I would like to speak with him."
Karras suddenly chuckles, which is only done when someone has poor intents for the guest or person present. He glares at me. "Galfore is dead; you might as well join him."
I betray myself and scream out in terror, I am at loss for words. Before I can even ponder the thought any longer I feel something stab through my back and the world of Tamaran that I had once loved swirls out of my vision. The light fades out and the last thing I remember seeing is a golden studded boot. I think of Robin as my body swirls into eternal darkness.
A/N: Cliffy! Yeah, I'm famous for them. Anyone else here as worried as I am? It's almost too much to handle! I hope you all like it, I worked extremely hard on this chapter and I appreciate your time and consideration on reading it. Question though, is there too much BB and Rae? If there is I can cut it down but I have something HUGE planned for that arc, let me know. As a diehard BBRae fan it's kind of hard for me not to include them as a vital component. I know this is a Rob Star story but I like to do multiple arcs and love scenes, your input is extremely vital to me.
PLEASE Follow, Favorite, AND REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! For Santa's sake!
Next Chapter: Raven ponders her innermost demons and thoughts. Robin moves out officially but approaches some trouble when he enters Gotham City. Cyborg welcomes in the first replacement Titans (can you guess who?) *Unraveled By Love fans will know. AND WTF is happening on Tamaran? *Prepare your tissue boxes.*
Thanks for reading stay tuned for the next amazing chapter!