I believe this is the longest chapter so far in this story, which is good! The story needed a beefy chapter to give it some depth.
Anyway, I don't have much to say this time.
Enjoy!
I DO NOT OWN THE TEEN TITANS!
The door threw open and entered three Citadel guards. Each was equipped with long poles that were held together by a small metal collar, which Starfire immediately recognized as electric poles, which were used to control the prisoner that it was used on. A guard stepped forward, revealing a pair of handcuffs. "Hold still, or we will restrain you." The guard droned. Starfire hesitated, but slowly made her way to the guard and raising up her arms. The guard nodded and cuffed them tightly around her wrists. The two guards with poles extended, attaching the collars of the poles around her neck, and securely fastening them. "Move." The middle guard said and she complied, moving forward through rows of cells and cages.
She arrived in a large, metal room. The room was all white. Bright lights illuminating the room in neon blindness. In the corner of the white room sat an elongated stable, holding all sorts of different tools and weapons, rusted and covered in layers of blood. A small platform laid carefully in the center, where the guards push her toward. The platform was once a beautiful white quartz, but now was smothered in blood that layered the fine rock. A small chair stood erect in the center of the platform, awaiting its next victim to take a seat. Starfire dragged her feet as she was pushed ever closer to the chair. When she finally neared, the guards slowly pushed her onto the platform. The two guards holding her poles approached the platform until Starfire was fully on. They released the poles and un-hooked her so she could stand freely. She stood silently, trying desperately not to freak out. The leading guard uncuffed her and stood back. "Sit!" The guard commanded. Starfire nervously sat down on the cold chair. The chair immediately sprung to life, grabbing her arms and legs and pulling them into the chair. Her limbs were latched tightly to the hard, metal chair. It moaned as she sat pale-faced, awaiting her first "session". She knew from experience that they would first torture her for information about Tamaran, Then they would torture her just for the for the fun of it. It's just how the Citadel worked.
The main guard grinned and approached the chair. "So, Princess…I have questions for you." The guard snaked around her and examined her body. "You are very beautiful. Such a shame that I have to destroy such a beautiful creature." The guard marveled. "Let me tell you my nickname. They call me the Breaker, so you can call me that if you wish." The guard introduced himself. Starfire glared at him, saying nothing. Breaker frowned. "You know it's not very polite to not introduce yourself. Here, let me start over." Breaker smiled and brought a small controller. "My name is the Breaker, what is yours?" He asked. Starfire narrowed her eyes, refusing to give in. Breaker sighed. "I knew a troq was stubborn, but I never expected such stubbornness from a princess." Breaker took the controller and pressed a button. Immediately the chair sprung to life again, sending large pulses of energy through her. Her body was consumed with searing pain. She screamed out in pain as the energy raced through her body. Breaker pressed another button and the energy flowed away. Starfire sat in pain and looked up to him. "I'll ask you again. What is your name?" The Breaker demanded, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Starfire clenched her fists and studied his face. His face showed a mixture of emotions, the predominant was of pure…joy? How could someone feel joy over this much torture and pain? What surprised her the most was that she could see in his eyes the existence of pity. Did this foul creature actually feel sorry for her? "Koriande'r. I am Koriande'r." Starfire growled. The alien grinned and lifted her chin with one clammy finger. "Now was that so hard?" Breaker charmed maliciously. Starfire grinded her teeth and shook his hand away. Breaker smiled and approached the table. "So, Koriande'r, as you know, I am your "interrogator", so I will be charged with finding out all of your deepest secrets." Breaker droned. He turned to face her, and smiled. "However…you will find my methods of torture to be more "interesting" than your previous time spent here. I find droning on and on over pointless questions is just a way of time." Breaker added, examining a small box full of sharp knives. "The Citadel can be so boring with their endless questions, and I hate it." He expressed grimly. Starfire looked up and spoke. "Are guards not supposed to be loyal to their bosses?" Starfire asked. Breaker smiled and picked up a small glass container filled with poison. "I serve loyalty only to myself. I may work here, but I only see one purpose in obtaining an occupation here." Breaker stated. "And what would that be?" Starfire questioned. Breaker grinned happily. "Entertainment. I care not if it's watching my fellow guards die or torturing you. It is…entertaining." Starfire's hung to every word he said. This creature cared only for watching or causing the suffering of others. She cringed slightly. This thing was absolutely horrific. Breaker studied a small hatchet as he spoke. "My sole purpose is to be entertained." He grinned widely, showing off his revolting sharp teeth. "Now let us begin with show." He turned to face her, holding the small hatchet in his left hand. He walked around her, grazing her with the flat head of the hatchet. "Tell me…what is the battle plans for your planet?" Breaker questioned. "I remember you saying that you hate asking questions?" Starfire replied, confused. "As much as I hate these damn questions, I will get no entertainment without fulfilling my job. Now about my question…" Breaker answered. When she refused to answer, he brought the hatchet up and laid it gently against her cheek. "What was your friend's names? The Teen Titans?" Starfire's heart stopped beating. "Have you ever considered how we knew where you were? It would be so unfortunate to see something bad happen to them." He continued. Starfire started to shake lightly with fear. She had to decide, whether to protect her friends or her home planet. Tears started to fill her eyes. She wouldn't endanger her friends. But how could she abandon her planet? Breaker grinned, removing the hatchet. "Didn't think I would hit a nerve. Already breaking troq? I guess-"He was interrupted when another Citadel guard ran up to him. "The Warden calls for the Princess. It is time for the auction." The guard ordered. Breaker sighed and placed the hatchet on the table. With a click of a button, he released her from the latches of the chair. He re-cuffed her and lifted her chin up. "See you soon, Koriande'r." Breaker smiled and handed her over the guard. He nodded and Starfire was escorted away from the torturer. When she turned to look back at him, he was softly laughing to himself. This thing was insane.
Robin spent the entire morning reading over records in the Titans library. The whole team was working non-stop to find out where Starfire had been taken to. Barely any of them had spoken since last night, with little rest. Each of them were taking shifts between sleeping, only sleeping a few hours and then returning to work. As much as they wanted to get rest, they couldn't stop until they had completed their mission, to find Starfire. Robin barely slept. When his shift came, he would only sleep an hour and then return to work. No matter how much the others told him to get some rest, he refused. Now, he read over alien records. He had examined records over any alien lifeform that could have any connections to Tamaranians. His main goal was to find any species that had some connection to Tamaranians. He had been examining over hundreds of specie, when he heard footsteps running into the library. He looked up to see an exhausted Beastboy. He had been helping Cyborg examine all the evidence in Starfire's room, spending most of the night as a bloodhound and collecting evidence. "Robin, we found something." Beastboy gasped. Robin nodded and the two ran down to the labs, where Cyborg and Raven awaited them.
"What did you find?" Robin asked. "I have been looking over the DNA samples and I think I know who kidnapped Starfire." Cyborg answered. "You do? Well, who was it?!" Robin questioned frantically. Cyborg rubbed his neck. "I have been comparing the DNA to different criminals. So far, all of the human candidates have been confirmed negative. However…" Cyborg paused. "When compared to alien DNA, it matched to only one species." Cyborg continued. "The DNA matched to Gordainian DNA." Cyborg concluded. Robin clenched his fists. These were the same aliens that imprisoned Starfire before she joined the Titans. He remembered Starfire telling him about her past and all of her horrible experiences. "Are you alright, man?" Cyborg asked. Robin looked up to his team, all of them staring worryingly at him. Robin sighed. "Do you guys know who these aliens are?" Robin questioned. The others nodded simultaneously, remembering Starfire tell them all about her past. "Dude, do you think they did this just for revenge from when Starfire escaped?" Beastboy asked, eyes wide. "That would make sense. Although, they don't seem like the type of guys to do it." Cyborg replied. "Your right, Cy. These aliens are mercenaries. Someone must have paid them to do this." Robin agreed. "You don't think…" Raven gasped. Robin nodded. "This had to have been them." Beastboy and Cyborg and Beastboy exchanged worried glances while Robin rested his hands on the table. "This was the Citadel." Robin concluded.
Starfire was escorted helplessly into a dark corridor. It held only a small bench for her to sit on. The guards waited patiently for their orders. They talked quietly to each other while Starfire sat silently on the small bench. She thought of Earth, her home. Although she was raised on Tamaran, she felt like she had a real home on Earth with the Teen Titans. Only on Earth has she ever felt truly alive and free, especially with her friends. Tears moved slowly down her face as she thought of her friends. Watching Beastboy and Cyborg play the video games. Performing meditation with Raven. Sitting on the roof with Robin. All of the happy moments and experiences she had with her friends. The Titans had given her a family when she lost her own. She loved them all dearly, especially Robin. She could barely help from sobbing, knowing very well she may never see them again.
She closed her eyes and remembered the last night on Earth before her capture. She was watching the sunset with Robin, like they had done every night. She found herself wanting to go back in time, to stop that moment and live in it forever. She never wanted to leave those last minutes she spent with him.
She took in a deep breath and wiped her tears away. She had to be strong. She couldn't just break down and cry in front of the guards. She had to keep trying to find a way out. She had to keep hoping, for her own sake. Starfire looked down at her hands and clenched them. She had to fight, she had to escape. That was the only way to see Earth, her friends, and Robin again.
The guards immediately stood attention as the warden and his guardians approached. The warden strode over to her and grinned. "It is time, Koriande'r of Tamaran, for your auction." The warden yelled a command in Gordainian and the guards filed evenly behind her, escorting her forward into the corridor. When they pushed passed a large iron door, they entered a world of chaos. She had entered a room larger than anything she had ever seen. It extended at least 50ft long in every direction. It was a very ornate and furnished building, with jeweled seats and couches for the buyers that sat below her. She stood atop a steel stage, where the slaves and sellers were to stand. The buyers and masters stood at the bottom, biding and buying out any prisoner they thought was worthy. She was escorted past the stage and onto the steps below it, pushed into a fence like cage, and stood with 5 others awaiting their auction. The warden and his guardians made their way behind the crowd and sat quietly in a closed off area, waiting to watch the auction unfold. Her heart raced as she tried desperately to calm down, to no avail. She knew that once she was sold away, her friends may never find her. She held back her tears and tried to focus. She turned to look at her fellow slaves, who all wore her same expression. They were all of different races and species, some she never had seen before. They all looked to be of male gender and very large warriors, most likely prisoners of their own war. She turned away and tried to examine the room for any escape. She frantically examined the room, looking for any sign of escape, which was futile. She studied the exits and found several guards stationed at each. She knew even without handcuffs, she would still have little chance of getting past them. She knew very well that Grodainians are extremely fierce fighters and can outmatch even Tamaranians. She kept searching the area for anything that could be of use, when she heard an unknown silence envelop the room. The auctioneer heading this bidding approached the stage and cleared his throat. "Let the bidding begin!" He boomed. The building remained quite as he brought up the first prisoner. Each prisoner was accompanied by large amounts of yelling and then the booming voice of the auctioneer yelling "Sold!" to the buyer. After only about 30 minutes, it was finally Starfire's turn. "For our last possession to be sold we have a special prisoner. She is a beautiful, Tamaranian warrior, with the special ability to fly and throw starbolts. This is Koriande'r, Princess of Tamaran!" The auctioneer boomed. Starfire was dragged up the stairs as bids were yelled frantically. Bids ranging from 500 to 10,000 were thrown at her. During all of this, Starfire stared blankly at them. She felt useless, unable to find a way to escape or any way to fight back. No matter how hard she tried to focus, reality kept creeping up on her. She wanted to fade away, to disappear behind the crowd and just fly away. She held her tears back and tried to keep her mind busy by focusing on the crowd.
She examined the buyers that laid before her. Most of them wore jewelry and looked to own entire planets. Some had body guards while others stood alone, weapons holstered to their belts. Her eye caught on one particular buyer who stood in the crowd silently watching the biding rise. This figure wore a dark cloak, making it unable for Starfire to identify who it was. However from the height and stature of these individual, they looked to be quite tall compared to the others. Starfire felt a familiarity to the character, something she could not quite identify. She turned away from the character and focused on the bidding. Whoever was to win, that buyer would officially own her, and could take her anywhere in the galaxy, making it impossible for her friends to find her. She had to pray to X'hal that whoever won would stay at the Citadel for at least a few months, which could give her enough time for her to contact her friends. She held in her distress and put on an emotionless face. Yet, she still could not hide the fear in her eyes.
The bidding raged on for what seemed like forever. It was officially between two main buyers, one was an obese creature with many tentacle like arms. And the other looked to be a Gordainian mercenary leader. "500,000!" The Gordainian yelled. "500,500!" The obese creature's translator screamed. Finally, the bidding halted on 600,000 with the Gordainian winning. "600,000 going once…" The auctioneer boomed, Starfire's heart stopped beating. "Going twice…" The auctioneer continued as Starfire shut her eyes tightly, tears starting to spill over
her face. Before the Warden could finish, another voice emerged from the crowd. "1,000,000." The building became silent as the voice approached the stage. Everyone stared at the cloaked figure, the one that caught Starfire's eye, emerged from the crowd. The auctioneer stared in awe of the cloaked figure and cleared his voice. "1,000,000 going once…" He started. "Going twice…" He continued. When the crowd refused to reply, he finished. "Sold! To our lovely guest here!" The auctioneer yelled. When he finished the bidding, he turned to the figure. "Now, my friend, you may take your prize!" The auctioneer motioned to Starfire as the figure approached. The cloaked figure examined Starfire and slowly pulled down her hood. Starfire watched carefully as the black hood slid down behind the figures head. Her heart dropped and her eyes widened as her mind started to register who this figure was. "...Komande'r…" Starfire gasped. The figure grinned and looked up. "Hello, Sister."
I hope this chapter turned out okay. It took me forever to get it just right. I think the torturer is my favorite character that I have ever written so far. He was really fun to write about and I based him off one of my favorite anime characters (The Crimson Alchemist, from Fullmetal Alchemist- Brotherhood. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!). He also kind of reminds me of Joker in a way, which is cool because I love Joker!
Anyway, please review!
Thanks for reading!
-N. Wolf
