Part 93: Some Down Time

At the inn, all ten Titans, and Blackfire, were seated around a round table having lunch. Shadowcobra was paying with the money he had won from Ratso.

"I think this money ought to help us on this quest," Shadowcobra said, smirking as he bounced the sack in his hand.

"True. But it would be best to keep that money for emergencies," Robin suggested.

Shadowcobra glared slightly at Robin, but Raven squeezed his hand reassuringly and to keep him calm. Shadowcobra didn't really hate Robin. However, his leadership was down right irritating to him. With a sigh, he nodded. "I guess you're right, Robin." Raven smiled.

Draco was stuffing himself with another chicken leg. He swallowed and downed another mug of water. "You know, me, Shadowcobra and Pluto could go around town and duel people for money."

"Is that not gambling?" Starfire said.

"Don't be such a spoil sport, sis," Blackfire said.

"That would be a great idea, Draco," Jinx smiled at her boyfriend.

"I think there's a gambling den nearby. We should check it out," Pluto added in.

"Aren't those places, dunno, illegal?" Beast Boy asked his friends.

"And those places are dangerous, right?" Terra added.

"Nothing's illegal unless you get caught!" Blackfire chimed in.

"Right! And they're perfectly safe once you know what to do!" Jinx agreed.

That's no surprise, coming from 2 former criminals, Raven thought

"And it could be fun, guys!" Cyborg said as he took another bite of his turkey leg.

Robin crossed his arms, "Sorry. But no one is going to a gambling den and that's final." Robin took a stand as leader…

It didn't work.

The Titans had somehow gotten themselves in the town's local gambling den. There were bandits and thugs around as well as a few drunken patrons. This was not a place for a teen, much less a Teen Titan.

"Tell me again how you guys talked me into doing this?" Robin asked no one in particular, only to be answered by Starfire.

"I think it was when my sister and Jinx had dragged our friends, Draco and Pluto to go with them. And afterwards we all followed to keep an eye on them," she told him.

"Rhetorical questions are a foreign language to you, isn't it?" Raven asked her alien friend. Her hood had been pulled up.

All around, various gambling games were being played by the various patrons and drinks were being served around by bar wenches. One bandit slapped one bar wench in the behind. Raven glared.

"If anyone of these rejects dares to try that on me…" Raven said threateningly.

"They shall be buried six feet under and never see the light of day," Shadowcobra finished. "Raven, would you like to try the roulette table with me?"

Raven thought for a moment. "You're going to cheat, aren't you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe," he smirked. "I won't influence the wheel just use my power to see slightly into the future."

"You can do that?"

"Watch me."

Cyborg was at the Craps table. He was quite popular as he threw the dice forward, seeing them roll. "Booyah! Lucky Seven!" He earned cheers from some of the female patrons and got himself a kiss.

Beast Boy and Terra were at the Blackjack's table. Terra was doing okay on her own. Too bad for Beast Boy.

"23. Dealer wins," the dealer said as he took Beast Boy's gold coins.

"Aw…man!" Beast Boy moaned.

Terra rolled her eyes. "BB…Gar…I don't think you should've said 'Hit me' when it was 20."

"But I was feelin' lucky, dude!" He protested.

"Like the other ten times? You lost almost half your money."

It was true. Beast Boy had only more than half of his gold coins left. However, Terra's gold coin sack was getting heavier.

Draco and Pluto were staring each other down. Their eyes saw nothing but the opponent as they held their weapons in their hands. Swept crept down their faces as they looked back and forth from their weapons and each other. Unfortunately for Draco, it was Pluto's turn to strike.

"Hah!" Pluto yelled triumphantly as he showed Draco the card in his hand. "I sacrifice Double Costdown to summon Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!"

Draco yawned. "I activate Shrink and cut down your monster's attack by half. Jinzo then counter attacks."

Pluto winched. "Damn!"

Yes. The Gambling den had a Duel Monsters table, or tables to be more precise. Jinx cheered at Draco's move and Blackfire frowned. Pluto's eyebrows twitched.

The monster images and card effects were brought to life by magic and the monsters were small enough to fit on the table. That did not make the duels less intense.

Pluto lost, by the way. He then left with Blackfire to get a drink.

Robin sighed. "Okay, guys. I guess when we're here we better have some fun."

Starfire clasped her hands together and smiled as she hugged Robin.

"How about a game at the Roulette table?" Shadowcobra suggested to Robin.

"Nah," Robin said, "I think I'll go check the blackjack table with Starfire.

Raven smirked. "Good luck." She then walked with Shadowcobra to the Roulette table.

"C'mon, Star!" Robin took Starfire's hand.

"Yes friend Robin. And might I ask who is Black Jack?"

As the two couples walked by, it seemed the girls were getting some attention from several lecherous bandits. Shadowcobra glared at a few and Raven scared one guy silly who tried to cup up a feel from her.

When I meant scared silly, I meant the guy was curled up in a fetal position, muttering, with his eyes wide with fear.

"You are truly beautiful when angered," Shadowcobra complemented as they sat down at the roulette table.

"Flatterer," Raven said, blushing as she pulled down her hood.

They both sat at the roulette table and placed their bets. Shadowcobra had wagered 10 gold coins on Black-10 while Raven watched in anticipation. Various other gamblers were at the table at well, placing their bets.

The wheel was spun and the ball bounced over the wheel. The wheel started to slow down and then stopped. The ball had stopped on Black-10. Shadowcobra smirked and collected his winnings.

It went like this for the next few games. Raven decided to have a try. Soon, the amount of gold coins they had increased to almost twice what they started with.

Meanwhile, at the Black Jack table, Beast Boy had lost all of his gold coins and was crying on Terra's shoulder while she comforted him. Robin was having trouble trying to get Starfire to understand the rules of Blackjack.

"NOOOOO!" Beast Boy yelled as he cried on Terra's shoulder.

"There, there, Gar," she patted his back.

"But isn't the rule of Blackjack is to have 21?" Starfire asked, confused.

Robin rubbed his temples. How to explain this to her again? "Starfire, what I meant by 21 was to have the amount on the cards not the amount of cards."

"So what does 'hit me' imply? Does it mean the dealer must cause bodily harm to the player?"

"No…it means to add another card to the hand you have."

"But Robin…" Starfire held up her actual hands. "I only have two hands. Do you mean I get another hand?"

Robin slapped his hand to his face and slid it down. This wasn't gonna be easy.

"Um…miss, do you wish to play?" asked the dealer.

Starfire beamed and answered, "Yes!"

The dealer shuffled his cards and the started throwing two at Starfire and two to himself. Robin watched as Starfire looked at her cards.

She had gotten a ten and a Jack!

Robin's eyes widened, "Starfire…"

"Yes, Robin?" she tilted her head.

"You got 21!"

"Really?"

The dealer looked at Starfire's hand. Damn! Beginner's luck. But…there was one problem.

"Miss? You forgot to place your bet," said the dealer.

Robin facefaulted.

Back to Draco, Jinx, Pluto and Blackfire. They were at the bar getting refreshments.

Blackfire had gotten herself a drink and was acting…take a look.

"Wow…! You were sooooo great!" Blackfire slurred.

Pluto looked worriedly at Blackfire, "Um…Blackfire? I think you've had a bit too much to drink."

"No I'm noooot!" she said, her face was red and her eyes were droopy. She hiccupped.

"Seriously Blackfire," Draco added, "You're drunk"

"And I think you should stop drinking," finished Jinx.

"Well who asked-" Blakfire hiccupped, "-You?" She started to stand and her eyes glowed violet.

"Blackfire…" Pluto tried to calm her, "Calm down…"

"Shut up! Let me have a piece of the pink dust ball!"

Jinx's eyes narrowed and her eyes glowed pink. She gritted her teeth. "What did you call me?" she demanded, her voice a dangerous whisper.

Draco gulped, "Er, Jinx. Please calm down." Now it was Draco's turn to calm his girlfriend down.

"I said-" Blackfire got in Jinx's face, "-Dust ball!" she laughed.

Jinx snarled and caused the stool Blackfire was leaning on to break. She fell flat on her ass. It was Jinx's turn to laugh.

And that was the beginning of it all.

Blackfire flung herself at Jinx and they went tumbling onto the floor. Blackfire also tore off some of Jinx's hair. Jinx gasped.

"Hah!" laughed Blackfire as she dropped the pink strands in Jinx's face

Jinx snarled, "Bitch!" Jinx kneed Blackfire in the stomach causing the Tamaranian to grunt. She then flung her off of her.

Blackfire crashed into a table and smashed it to pieces. Not only that, a mug of ale also spilled over her. She stood up and her face was curled up in the most scariest expression any man has ever seen. The glowing violet eyes and grinding teeth also added to the effect. She fired a Starbolt and Jinx blocked it with a stool. Jinx then went into a cart wheel to avoid the other shots.

Jinx then let loose with a hex above Blackfire, which caused a portion of the wooden sealing to fall on her.

Draco nudged Pluto, "Shouldn't we really stop this?"

"I will if you will," Pluto said.

The others heard the ruckus and rushed to see Blackfire and Jinx in a cat fight, which was beginning to escalate.

"What the Hell is going on?" Robin asked Draco and Pluto.

"Yes, why has my sister and Jinx begun to fight?" asked Starfire

"Um…shouldn't we stop this?" Raven asked.

Shadowcobra shrugged.

As Jinx stood proudly in front of Blackfire, the Tamaranian shot her eye beams right at Jinx's feet.

Jinx jumped, which allowed Blackfire to fly out of the pile of wood and grab the hex mistress by the waist before smashing right through the wall, leading to outside of the gambling den. The others rushed out to follow.

Jinx dug her sharp nails into Blackfire's shoulder's causing her to yelp and drop Jinx in mid-flight. Jinx landed gracefully on her feet like a professional gymnast. Cyborg, Draco and Beast Boy lifted up signs marked with "10" on each. As Jinx bowed, Blackfire turned around and floated in front of her. It seemed the anger had burnt off her drunkenness. However, she was still pissed. She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out her Zodiac Deck.

"Oh crap," Draco whimpered.

"This ain't good," Pluto added.

Shadowcobra watched with some mild amusement.

Jinx saw the signal and also took out her Zodiac Deck.

"ZODIAC FORCE!"

"STING RAY!"

"TIGER!"

Blackfire was in her armor and ready to fight. Her faceplate slid open and she smirked at Jinx. Jinx's faceplate also slid open and she returned the smirk with her grin.

Robin was going to stop this but was held back by Shadowcobra. His eyes narrowed at him.

"We have to stop this!" Robin said.

Shadowcobra shook his head, "No, we don't."

"You're going down, skank!" challenged Jinx.

"You first puff ball!" Blackfire retorted.

"Seriously Robin, be my guess," Pluto said.

Jinx pulled out her whip and lashed it out at Blackfire. Blackfire quickly grabbed it and tugged, hard, pulling Jinx towards her.

"Gotcha!" Jinx quickly drew out a card and inserted it into her whip handle. "Strike Vent!" She immediately slashed Blackfire across the chest with her large claws when she got close enough. Blackfire staggered

"Ugh!" Blackfire drew her own card and inserted it into her arm shield, "Swing Vent!" She grabbed her own whip and lashed it at Jinx. Jinx parried with her claws and stabbed Blackfire a few times. Blackfire was able to dodge a few of Jinx's strikes. Jinx slashed again and cut Blackfire's whip to ribbons. Blackfire sneered.

"How do you like that?" Jinx asked mockingly, smirking.

"Just as much as I like this!" Blackfire fired a Starbolt at Jinx, but Jinx was able to dodge. However, this was meant as a diversion for Blackfire to draw a new card. She inserted it into her shield. "Copy Vent!"

Shadowcobra mused, "Nice…"

Blackfire's arms now held clawed gauntlets similar to Jinx's. Jinx saw this and hissed.

"Awwww, is the little pussy cat angry?" Blackfire said in a mock tone before flying straight at Jinx at full speed and slashing her across the chest. Sparks flew when the claws made contact and Jinx fell to the ground.

"Oh man!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Damn!" added Beast Boy

"Woah…" added Terra.

"That was not cool," said Pluto.

"This is getting out of hand," said Robin, intending to intervene.

"Agreed," said Starfire

Shadowcobra remained silent and so did Raven.

"JINXY-CHAN!" Draco yelled out and pulled out his own deck, "ZODIAC FORCE! DRAGON!" He ran through the energy field and armor encased him as he rushed to Jinx.

Pluto too transformed. "ZODIAC FORCE! DOG!" and as Zodiac Knight Pluto, went to help.

Blackfire hovered over Jinx with a smirk on her face. She then swooped down to defeat her. She lashed out her claw but it was deflected by a wall of flame and fell to the ground. Blackfire was about to attack again when she was grabbed by Pluto. She struggled, but he wouldn't let go.

It was Draco and he had gone to protect Jinx. His eyes were glowing red. Shadowcobra arched an eyebrow.

Draco helped Jinx to her feet. "Jinxy-chan…are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

Jinx armor disappeared and she held her chest, "It hurts, but I'm alright."

Draco smiled under his helmet and then he turned to glare at Blackfire. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING, BLACKFIRE?" he yelled at her.

Blackfire's armor also disappeared and she placed her hands to her hips. "Just playing. Sheeesh! This is just a game." She landed on her feet. Pluto stared at her as his armor too disappeared,

Draco's armor disappeared and he narrowed his eyes at Blackfire. He then teleported with Jinx back to the inn.

Blackfire huffed, "What was that all about?" she asked Pluto.

"You almost killed Jinx," he answered. Blackfire muttered.

Shadowcobra clapped, earning stares from the rest of the Titans/Knights, "Bravo Blackfire, Bravo. You have proven yourself to be a very powerful Knight…"

Blackfire grinned at his compliment. Pluto looked at him, confused.

"However," he continued, "You have a problem with anger management. You could've killed Jinx." His eyes narrowed, "And this is not just a game."

Blackfire narrowed her eyes at him.

"Shadow's right," said Robin, "Blackfire, we are in this together and we cannot lash out or turn on one another," he scolded.

Blackfire crossed her arms.

"And sister, you did say you were going to change, were you not," said Starfire. She had a sad expression on her face.

Blackfire stomped her foot and exploded, surprising Pluto, "Listen! I AM NOT A TEAM PLAYER, OKAY? SO JUST BACK OFF! I CAME TO HELP! BUT IF YOU DON'T WANT ME…" she started to float in the air, "I'LL BE OFF! SEE YA!" she quickly flew high up into the air.

Starfire tried to call her sister but Blackfire had flown too far. She looked to the ground, sadly. Robin placed a hand on her shoulder.

"She just needs time to cool off, Star. If she loves you, she'll come back," he told her.

"Thank you Robin," she hugged him.

Raven turned to Shadowcobra, "Think she'll come join us again?"

Shadowcobra smiled knowingly, "She will, sooner than you think."

Raven arched an eyebrow.

The others left to go back to the inn. Pluto stood at that spot a bit longer, looking at the sky, He sighed before he left with the others.

To be continued…