Chapter Eight: Like Mother, Like Daughter

After taking a ride with Robin on his R-Cycle, Spikey and I both entered Titans Tower. We had just gotten back from our battle against Ghirahim. Well… the others did anyway; I was a little late due to my unexpected encounter with Ares, who had shockingly revealed himself to be my father! I was going to keep this info a secret for right now though. I had just made six awesome new friends, and possibly more than a friend from Robin, and I didn't want to risk ruining all of it by revealing the fact that I was the daughter of a war god. However, before Robin came to pick me up, I requested that they find info on a woman named Madeline Sera. The others didn't know why right now, but the truth was that this woman was my mother.

Robin and I both entered the ops room to find the other Titans there as well. Link was sitting on the couch with Starfire next to him, concerned about his wounds from the fight with Ghirahim that I, regrettably, wasn't there for. Beast Boy was chowing down on a tofu burger (he didn't eat meat), while Raven was meditating a few feet from the couch. Lastly, Cyborg was on the Tower's computer looking up the information I had requested, and Wonder Girl was standing a few feet away observing everything.

"Cyborg, have you found anything?" Robin asked him.

"Yeah. I located a file from a hospital in Bludhaven. It says a woman named Madeline Sera is one of their patients, and she's been there for five years." Cyborg answered.

"Bludhaven? That place is a cest-pool of scum and villainy." Robin said.

"Uhh… I happen to have been born in Bludhaven. I think…" I mentioned to him.

"Well, that explains a lot." He said smugly.

I'm pretty sure he was joking, at least about the part concerning me. Bludhaven itself, on the other hand, was indeed a heavily crime-ridden place, and I should know; after all, I was once in a Bludhaven street gang, until I got sick of it and left. Cyborg and Robin were curious as to why I would want to know about this woman, and how I know about her in the first place. I didn't want them to know about Ares being my father, but I didn't see any harm with them knowing about my mother; so I told them. The others overheard me, and were just as shocked as Cy and Spikey.

"Wait a minute. You said that you have amnesia, right? How do you remember who your mother is?" Robin asked me.

"I do have amnesia. I know about her because… Ares told me." I admitted.

Now they were puzzled as to how Ares knew about this. I simply told them that I found out that Ares had an encounter with my mom in the past, and left it at that. As for the matter at hand, I asked the others if it was possible for us to go to Bludhaven so I could meet my mother. They didn't see why not; in fact, Link in particular thought it would be great for me to reunite with my mother, something that he could never do. Starfire informed me that Link's parents had died before he even knew them. His mother had protected him against Slade, the same bad guy that Robin had told me about a few days ago, and journeyed, while injured, to a place called Lanayru Village. His mother passed away, but he was taken in by a local swordsman. Whoa. Link never knew his parents? And they were dead? That was a sad story. I almost felt like hugging him, but that probably would've been too much; that and the fact that the creepy vibe coming off of him was keeping me at a distance. Bludhaven was on the other side of the country, so Cyborg went to get the 'T-Ship' ready. I didn't know what he was talking about at first, but the others filled me in. The T-Ship was the Teen Titans' aerial transport, which they used for long journeys over land, underwater, and even through space. Honestly, that sounded pretty cool, and I was eager to see it!

The T-Ship was an impressive looking aircraft. It was shaped kind of like a giant orange manta ray with two turbines on it's sides. It easily looked like it could travel at light speed if necessary, possibly even faster than that! There was one downside though; There were only five cockpits, and there were eight of us. Three of us would have to squeeze in with another. Starfire volunteered to have Link sit with her (Heh, I bet he liked that), and I requested to squeeze in with Spikey. He was reluctant to agree, although I could definitely tell that he was blushing. Since it took some time for him to say anything, Cyborg decided to pick us up and shove us into the cockpit himself. It was kinda rude, but whatever. Raven agreed to let Wonder Girl squeeze in with her, and at the same time they'd be talking about what she and Starfire had been doing the other day when they were training with me. The journey itself took about an hour, and by the time we had arrived in Bludhaven I was all stiff from being crammed in the T-Ship with Spikey.

We had parked the ship in the parking lot of a local Bludhaven hospital. It looked old and run-down; I was kinda surprised that it was still standing. The moment I exited the ship, I felt the air of the city on me; it was not a pleasant feeling though. It only made me remember all of the bad stuff that happened to me when I lived here, mostly when I was a part of that street gang.

"Hey Scarles, are you okay?" Robin asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It just feels kinda… weird to be back here." I answered.

He could probably tell that I was nervous to go in and meet my mother. I mean, I didn't even remember her because of my amnesia. How would she react to that? And because of the fact that I'd been a thief for the past five years (up until a few weeks ago that is), I wondered if she even wanted to see me at all. Fortunately, I had the support of my friends, so I really shouldn't have worried so much. The seven of us entered the building and approached the front counter, which was being managed by who I assumed was one of the doctors. I asked him if a woman named Madeline Sera was in the building; adding on that 'Nicole Sera' was here to see her. The doctor looked through his files and confirmed that Madeline Sera was one of the patients staying here. As he went off to inform her of our presence, the others were confused by my mention of the name 'Nicole Sera.'

"Who's Nicole?" Beast Boy asked.

BB was oblivious, but in only a few seconds the others had figured it out.

"Scarlette's real name is Nicole Sera." Robin announced. "I assume Ares told you this too?"

"Uhh… yeah." I told him a bit awkwardly.

A few minutes later, the doctor came back and told us that he had informed Madeline that we were here, and that she had requested to see me. That was… good, but I was bringing my friends along with me. I needed the support, and besides, if this woman really was my mother, I would like her to meet my new friends. She was staying in the fifth room of the hospital's third floor, and when I entered I saw a woman near a small table sitting in a wheelchair. Her hair was dirty blonde, she had brown eyes, and she was wearing a white patient's dress; and the way her face looked, it was almost as if angel's themselves had carved it… not literally though, y'know. She turned her head towards me and my friends, and smiled.

"Nicole? Is that really you?" She asked me in an almost melodious tone.

I nervously stepped towards her. Can you believe this?! I was scared to be around my own mother! Really just goes to show how messed up my life had become. I was only a few feet from her when she wheeled herself closer to me.

"You've grown so much since I last saw you. I'm so happy to see you're safe, my little angel." She told me.

Wow. No one had ever called me that before. At least… I don't think so. But I think it was now clear that this woman was indeed my mother; and my emotions began to get the better of me. I tried to hold back the tears while in front of my friends, but it was no use. I crouched down to my mom's level and hugged her. The others may have seen this, me being so… soft, but I didn't care right now. Honestly though, I don't think it mattered to them; in fact, they were probably happy for me. Madeline told me that she had missed me. I wanted to tell her that I missed her too, but I couldn't because I had no memory of her before now.

"You seem troubled, Nicole. Is something wrong?" Madeline asked me.

"It's just… I… I don't remember you… at all. I got amnesia five years ago and can't remember anything from before then. I want to remember you, but… I just can't." I told her, with my eyes still all teary.

"Five years ago? That is when your father attacked us. Something must've happened then to cause you to lose your memory." She told me. "I know you'll recover it someday, but for now I'm just glad that you're here."

My mom was such a nice woman; I could see why my dad could've fallen for her, despite the fact that he was a war god. I quickly realized that I was getting ahead of myself, and introduced my mom to my friends.

"This is Link, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Wonder Girl, Cyborg, and Robin… but I call him Spikey." I said as I gestured to each of them.

Robin gave his all too common sour look when I called him 'Spikey', and both me and my mom giggled slightly. She mentioned that she would tease my father sometimes too, back when they were dating. I don't think she was suggesting it, but I hastily told her that Spikey and I were not dating. Though secretly, I hoped that we might someday. Spikey then stepped forward to ask a few questions of his own.

"You said that your husband attacked you. Why?" He asked her.

Uh-oh. This was bad. I almost forgot that this meeting could likely be when the others would find out the truth about me; that Ares was my father. I took a few steps back towards the wall, putting my hands behind my back. My mother proceeded to tell them the story behind it.

"Nearly twenty years ago, I moved to this city, Bludhaven. I had gone broke, so I went to work in one of the local cafes. I can say right now that it wasn't an entirely pleasant experience, but one good thing came out of it; I met Thomas Sera, the man who would become my husband. He had this… quality that caused fighting to arouse in some form wherever he went. At least until he met me. For some reason, while around me, everything would become calm. As he and I got to know each other more, less strife began to arouse from his presence, as if a dark aura around him had been dissipating. It was only a matter of time before he and I married, and as you likely know by now, we had a daughter; Nicole." She explained.

"That doesn't explain why this man attacked his own family." Raven interrupted.

"Yes, I was afraid that may have been your next question." Madeline responded. "You see, not long after Nicole was born, I found out the truth about Thomas; that he was not human; he was a god. His true identity was a former Olympian god and the god of war, Ares."

From the sound of that name, the others were shocked, and they immediately looked towards me. By now I was in the corner, looking away from the others as they gazed towards me with confounded looks on their faces. Robin happened to have the most confounded look out of all of them.

"Scarlette? You're Ares'… daughter?!" He asked me.

All I could do now was nod my head in agreement. Wonder Girl asked why I hadn't told them before.

"BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW!" I shouted.

Everyone of my friends inched back a bit in response to my outburst. I noticed their reactions, and stepped out from the corner.

"I'm sorry. I only found out today, when Ares snatched me away from our last mission. I didn't want you guys to know because… I thought you wouldn't like me anymore." I claimed.

"What?! That's crazy!" Cyborg declared.

"Yeah. You really thought we'd hate you just cause your dad is a murderous war god that brings destruction everywhere he steps?" Beast Boy asked.

"Well, uh… yeah. Yeah, I did." I admitted.

Turns out, none of them judged me for it; not even Robin. One of their teammates actually had a similar background. The truth is, Raven's dad was just as bad, if not worse, as mine. Her father Trigon was an inter-dimensional demon whose sole desire was to conquer our dimension, using his own daughter as his way to do so. It happened once before, but it ultimately ended with Raven kicking his butt back to his own dimension and saving the world, and the universe to boot! Raven's dad also apparently didn't care about her at all, even trying to destroy her after he got what he wanted. I have to say, I'm glad Raven managed to beat the snot out of this guy and send him packing. At least my dad cared about me at least a little…. I think.

"Thomas, or rather, Ares, had begun to fear that his time around me was beginning to adversely affect his godly status; he feared he was becoming mortal. So he decided to sever the bond that we had." Madeline stated.

"He tried to kill you?!" I asked, very concerned.

"Unfortunately, yes. But when he was about to deliver the final strike, he just couldn't do it. So instead, he only injured me enough to disable the lower half of my body. As you could probably tell by the wheelchair, I've lost the use of my legs. I had thought that Nicole had escaped unharmed, but as I know now, she lost her memory while trying to escape." She answered. "Ares wanted to sever the bond between me and him, but he wanted to take Nicole with him. Shortly after I found out about what he had planned, I desperately searched for a way to protect Nicole. From a local pawn shop, I found something that may have helped; a necklace called Athena's charm. As long as Nicole wears it, Ares cannot touch her."

"Her necklace keeps her safe from him?" Wonder Girl asked.

I nodded in agreement, still a little nervous from them finding out about Ares being my father. I know they said it didn't matter, but I was still a little wary. Beast Boy mentioned that Ares must be a terrible dad to attack his own family like that. Madeline however, told us that was not the case.

"I know for certain that Ares still loves me, and he loves his daughter, Nicole. He just decided that his status as a god was more important to him. I believe it may be because of his own father; I heard that out of all of his children, his father always looked down upon him the most. He abandoned Olympus to try and prove to his father that he was worthy of being a god, though he has yet to do so. Ares has had other children before with other gods, but from what I know he never cared very much for them. But Nicole, despite being a half-god, seemed to be very important to him." Madeline explained.

"But why? Why did dad like me more than his other kids?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps a part of him believes that being mortal is not so bad. But at the same time, I think it is overshadowed by his desire to show up his own father." Madeline answered. "Maybe that is why Ares wanted you to stay with him. Maybe he saw some of his own humanity in you."

"Ares wants me to be like him, so I can destroy his enemies." I told her.

"I'm sure that is not the real reason. But if you see him again, tell him I said 'hello', and that I miss him. Hopefully, you of all people could get through to him." Madeline requested.

"Okay. I'll try to remember that." I responded.

Before any of us left, I gave my mom a hug good-bye. I tried not to squeeze too tight though, cause she was still weak and in a wheelchair.

"It was… nice to see you." I told her.

"Come back anytime, my little angel." She replied.

Once we left the building, everyone was once again looking at me, but this time with mostly smug looks. I wasn't sure what the looks were for.

"So… you're half god, huh?" Cyborg remarked.

"Hey! I'm still as human as the rest of you! Well… most of you." I said, with the last statement in regards to Starfire.

"Well, this is all well and fine, but there's still a few unanswered questions." Robin declared. "First of all, why is Ares working with Ghirahim and Majora? What do either of them have to gain from Ares becoming king of the gods? And that hourglass that Red X stole for them, how does that play into all of this?"

We didn't have the answers to any of those questions. However, Starfire had one theory to the first two questions.

"Perhaps the Majora does not intend for the Ares to become the king of the gods. Maybe, Majora plans to deceive him!" She assumed.

"That could make sense. Then Majora would become king of the gods!" Link said.

I still hardly knew who this 'Majora' was, but from what I heard, he is extremely evil and we could not allow any plan of his to succeed. However, Raven suggested that perhaps becoming 'king of the gods' was not what Majora was after. After all, why would he need Ares for that? Majora seemed more than capable of overcoming the gods of olympus. Perhaps that hourglass mentioned before had something to do with it. Robin suggested that we fly back to Titans Tower to investigate this whole thing. Each of us hopped into the T-Ship and started up the engine. As I was squeezed in with Robin, I looked at him with a somewhat suggestive look, that surprised him a little when he saw me.

"What?" He asked.

"I was just thinking… it'd be kinda cool to date a goddess, huh?" I asked him.

"Don't push it, Nikki." He said with a sour tone. "You're not actually a goddess."

"Yeah, you're right. But just to confirm, you don't care that I'm the daughter of Ares, right? You still, umm… like me, right?" I questioned.

"Uhh… yeah, you're still… umm… cool, I guess." He informed me.

That was a relief. I had really feared that he would go back to treating me like a convict like he did when he first met me, rather than like a friend. Who knows? Maybe one day, he'd see me as more than just a friend. But until then, we had more pressing matters to attend to; like figuring out what Majora was up to, and what that hourglass mentioned before had to do with all of this.