Chapter Nine
Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were seated at the table in their room. Behind Beast Boy, the wall length windows had a burning evening sun bleeding into their room. Several of Raven's notes, along with a stolen map of the city from the archives, were splayed between them. The distance to the docks from their room was not far. Cyborg's information screen knew the exact location of the T-Ship. But not a single one of them let slip the dangers of what they were doing. Sneaking out was one thing for the Teen Titans, but illegally downloading cryptic alien data and coordinates was something none of them had done. Cyborg was busy typing away into his arm, making sure the T-Ship code could handle something so foreign without any safety malfunctions while in flight. Raven still tried her best to capture the Tamaranean language and apply it to everything they had discovered. Beast Boy's mind was only filled with impending doom as he looked over the confusing layout of the castle that seemed unfinished in his opinion. The fractured team worked quietly together, discussing the chances of guard duty, and places where light did not reach.
"There's an alleyway beside our accommodations," Raven pointed out, drawing her hand along the crudely drawn map. "It leads back to the main walkway just before the break into the ship dock."
"I've brought the T-Ship down by two security measures," Cyborg reported, lowering his arm to the table. "That should be enough for any kind of foreign data we download on it."
Beast Boy furrowed his brow and cocked his head to the side. "Look at this hallway in the castle..." He murmured, tapping his finger against the parchment. "It's indicating this is a door, but the number with it doesn't match any of the separate levels drawn down here." Raven and Cyborg nearly bonked heads as they peered in to investigate. Eyes darted everywhere as they tried to find the missing number. Raven's lips were pursed tightly as she followed the hallway away from the door, realizing there were windows that overlooked the city walls.
"The royal prison..." She said quietly.
"Really? You think so?" Beast Boy's head nearly snapped as he looked up.
"That's the hallway I used to find Robin," Raven told him, pulling the map closer to her. "It really is a secret where it is if it's not even included in the map."
"We walked right past it when we went to lunch with Starfire that day," Cyborg huffed. "Look, here's the balcony right here. Only two hallways over."
"Why would the entrance be on the third floor?" Beast Boy shook his head. "Aren't royal prisons supposed to be in dungeons and basements?"
"It's a long way down," Raven replied, her onyx eyes fixated on the door. All she could feel was Robin's pain in that moment. And the helpless feeling that he was down there, unable to fight for himself, unable to be heard. He was only dozens of feet away from Starfire, yet he was seemingly lost.
Beast Boy drew his lips together and glanced over his shoulder. "I told Starfire I'd come back tonight. Maybe I can get into the prison and find Robin."
"Beast Boy, no, it's too dangerous," Raven told him, furrowing her brow. "We can't lose you, too."
"Raven, I have to," He shot back, drawing his shoulders up straighter. "It's time to get drastic. We're in a very dangerous situation and I can't sleep one more night knowing Robin's up there being tortured for trying to be a good friend." The young man sighed and came to his feet, pacing back and forth. "What if they go too far, Raven? If Robin is killed, it's all on us. He's not invincible like he thinks he is. Besides, I'm a master of disguise, remember? If anyone can get into that prison undetected, it's me. You guys should steal the coordinates for deep space and get out there. I'll hold things down here. Maybe I can get through to Starfire. She may think we don't understand, but I'll make her see what she doesn't understand."
"I hate this plan," Cyborg crossed his arms over his chest. "But I gotta say, I agree with Beast Boy, Raven. We can't leave Robin up there. And Starfire needs a friend. Beast Boy's the right choice for this."
Raven stood now, looking over the mess of documents and plans cluttered in front of her. They were in over their heads, she wanted to declare. The Teen Titans had faced perilous situations, but it was now coming down to life or death. It rarely came to the wire like this. Her friends were right, though. Yalfore's government could cover up his bruises and cracked lips all they wanted, but that did not take away the pain Robin felt. They couldn't lose their leader forever. Raven sighed and turned her head away for a moment, a lock of purple hair grazing her cheek. "Fine. But you can't do anything too drastic, Beast Boy. I don't know how far Cyborg and I will have to go, but we won't be able to get to you right away. You can't be captured."
"I know what's at stake," Beast Boy told her, reaching into his pocket for his communicator. Before he could flip it opened, however, there was a hefty knock at the door.
"Oh, great, a visitor," Cyborg deadpanned. "I'm sure this will be good." With a flick of her wrist, Raven sent all their notes and maps into the closet and closed the door. She gave Cyborg a nod, who crossed and opened the front door. The intense orange light of evening fell across the room and in came three tall soldiers with their pikes at the ready. "Well hi," Cyborg said, closing the door. "What can we do for you?"
"We are doing checks on our guests, that is all," One soldier replied while the other two scanned the room with their stoic green eyes.
"We're just fine, thanks," Beast Boy told them, sitting back down at the table. "A little hungry, but otherwise just fine."
"Curfew is soon," A soldier said. "Do not leave your room once the sun sets."
"We know," Cyborg nodded. "We're looking forward to the coronation tomorrow."
"Were there not four of you when you arrived?" A soldier furrowed his brow together. In the next moment, however, one of his comrades gave him an intense stare.
"Yeah, we thought the same thing, too," Beast Boy looked to them now. "Maybe you know where he is?"
"We have not seen him," The soldier said, pressing his pike to the ground. "If we do, we shall return him to you."
"Yeah... thanks," Beast Boy shook his head.
After a few more beats, the soldiers let themselves out. Raven sighed and reached into the closet, pulling the map out to inspect it one more time. Their footsteps faded away and the young sorceress lowered the parchment to look at Cyborg and Beast Boy. "They're onto us."
...
The moons were rising into the sky. Starfire sat on the ground of her balcony, her back pressed into the rigid balustrades. She had tears in her eyes as she fought against the awful feeling blossoming in the pit of her stomach. It was just nerves, she told herself, as she wiped a stray tear away and sniffled. She tilted her head back to look at the sky littered in stars. Blackfire always made fun of how sensitive she was as a child. But this was different. Everything was. When Starfire looked over her homeland, her future kingdom, it didn't evoke any emotion. Except sorrow for what it had become. Everyone she had loved dearly and lived with on Tamaran were gone. It was only her now. And she shivered at the thought of the responsibility. What if she messed it all up? What if she could not live up to everything her parents were revered for? At one point, Starfire had been quite homesick for Tamaran. But now, she found herself missing Earth in its entirety. She missed the round bread, the beaches, the vibrant colors of the park by the tower. She missed her sense of freedom. A tear streaked off the end of Starfire's nose as she tilted her head down. She felt nothing but selfish. Starfire wanted to help her people, but she did not want to leave the Teen Titans behind. Starfire sighed and opened her hand, staring at the communicator in her palm with its bright and assaulting T on the front. She glanced towards the open balcony doors, spying the one lone guard who remained poised at the door on the opposite side of her chambers. In the next moment, she flipped the front open and selected Robin's frequency.
"Robin, are you there...?" Her voice faltered. "It is me, your friend Starfire. Robin, I am..." Her green eyes searched the balcony endlessly. "I am sorry, Robin, that I cannot adventure with you any longer. I never thought the day would come where I would be faced with having to leave the Teen Titans... to leave you. I feel like those flying bugs on Earth are flying in my own stomach right now. Becoming the Grand Ruler will be so foreign at first. But what is more foreign... what makes me feel lonelier than ever, is knowing I do not get to see you anymore. You cannot know how much I will miss you or how much I miss you already. Maybe one day..." Her voice fell into a whisper and she gripped the communicator tightly, looking at a twinkling star. "... my brother will be found. And then I will return to you, Robin. I will never forget my time with you, how patient you were with me learning how to be an Earthling. I only wish I had not wasted your time with such an endeavor. Please, let me know that you are safe. Tell me I have nothing to worry about, Robin..."
Starfire lifted her finger from the button, the communicator trembling in her palm. Only the hoots of nocturnal animals reached her ears. She let out a long, uneven sigh, and closed her eyes briefly. Until, however, she felt a shadow cross her face. Starfire jerked her head up to see Beast Boy emerging onto her balcony. She threw her hands up, indicating for him to stop, and then she nodded her head into her chambers. Beast Boy crouched down low, slinking into the shadows where the moon did not reach. With a spinning head, Starfire climbed to her feet and deftly tucked her communicator into the waistband of her dress. She entered the room as nonchalantly as she could and crossed to her wardrobe. She paused, briefly, looking over her shoulder at the guard.
"I believe it is time I retire. Would you please stand outside my door so I may change and rest?" The soldier saluted before seeing himself out. Starfire was still a moment before she went back to the balcony where Beast Boy was pressed against the brick wall. "You came back. That means... Robin...?"
Beast Boy's face remained grim, a sliver of milky moonlight falling down his cheek. "He didn't come back, Star."
"Where is he?" Starfire shook her head, her headache and stomachache growing worse in that moment. "People do not just disappear, Beast Boy."
"Starfire," He came into the pooling light of her chamber, reaching for her arm. "He's in the prison. Yalfore has him." She was seeing double now and staggered backwards, bumping into the frame of her bed. Beast Boy reached for her again, lowering her down to the ground. "What's going on with you? Are you alright, Star?"
"I am just... exhausted," She pressed her wrist against her throbbing temple. "So much preparation to become Grand Ruler and... not seeing Robin, it has taken a toll on me, I suppose."
Beast Boy pursed his lips as he sat beside the ruminating girl. "Starfire, Yalfore is poisoning you. He's the bad guy, Star. And we're falling right into his trap."
"I have known Yalfore since my birth," Starfire looked up with glossy eyes. "He would never want to harm me, Beast Boy. There is no trap. This is simply who I am destined to become."
"Then why is our friend in the prison right now, being tortured and beaten?"
"How do you know Robin is there?" Starfire asked, hugging her knees against her chest. Beast Boy had never seen Starfire so deflated, trotted down, and beaten. He wondered how she looked in the mirror and did not see a thing wrong with her. Her emerald eyes did not have the same sparkle in them. Her orange complexion was pale. Beast Boy hated this, he hated all of it. Ever since that letter had arrived in the mail, nothing had been the same. Beast Boy wished he could go back in time and chuck that letter into the ocean. He didn't care if Starfire was destined for Tamaran or to be their Grand Ruler. It wasn't who she was supposed to be anymore. Starfire belonged with him and their friends back in Jump City, playing video games, trying mustard on everything imaginable, and fighting crime together.
"Raven found him, using her powers," Beast Boy told her. "The same way she did when he was hallucinating Slade, remember? He's down there and he looks like hell. But Yalfore is using some Tamaranean tricks to spruce him up before your coronation. Yalfore is working against you, Starfire. We don't know with who or why, but he is why Tamaran is this way. It's a population of people forced into submission and allegiance. Your people are scared, Starfire. Yalfore killed Galfore."
The young woman sat up when those words left Beast Boy's mouth. Tears glimmered in her eyes as she looked to her friend. "What...? Beast Boy, how could you say something so cruel of Yalfore? He may not be an open person, but you must understand everything he has been through."
"Starfire," Beast Boy shook his head. He brought his hand up to gently graze her cheek, pressing his fingers against her jaw. "Robin's in prison and Yalfore knows about it. Maybe we don't have all the proof about Galfore's death but... Yalfore makes us stay in our room. There's a resistance amongst your people, Star. Things haven't been right in awhile..."
Starfire squeezed her eyes shut, tears still streaming, as she pressed her cheek into Beast Boy's hand. It had been a while since she had felt her friends calming touch against her. It made Starfire's stomach throb and toss violently. "Beast Boy, there must be a way I can fix all of this," She looked to him anxiously. The typically good natured boy did not looked convinced at all, though, shattering her heart. "Yalfore is simply lost. With Galfore's death... they had been friends since childhood, Beast Boy. It is grief. The same kind you and I feel."
"Star..." Beast Boy's green eyes lowered in that moment. "I don't know what to say... But Robin's in trouble."
This seemed to break every fiber of her being and she gave into her crying, tearing away from Beast Boy's hand and pressing her forehead against her knees. "This just cannot be..!" She cried out. "Yalfore cannot be behind this, he served my own parents."
Beast Boy pressed himself against the rigid edges of the bed post, staring only at the wall in front of him. "I have to get into the prison, Starfire, I have to see Robin. We haven't had contact since his preparation for the coronation. I have to find him."
Starfire's emerald eyes peaked up from behind her knees. "Cyborg and Raven? Are they...?"
"We have a plan, Star," Beast Boy came to his feet. "And honestly, the less you know, the better."
She wiped her tears away quickly and came to her feet. Beast Boy had walked to the middle of the chamber, looking around, formulating his own plans. "Beast Boy," She grabbed his arm tenderly and he looked to her. "Do all of our friends agree that Yalfore has ill intentions?"
Grimly, he nodded. "Robin told us. It's real, Starfire."
She let out a sigh in the next moment, pacing towards her bed. "I wish I could help more but... I do not feel well, Beast Boy. I have not slept well. And I know I will not sleep well tonight but... I do not have my strength."
"Starfire, you can't let Yalfore serve you anything anymore," Beast Boy pressed his hand to her back and she tensed at the touch. "I hate to say it but... I'd be cautious of any food given to you."
Her body was rigid as she stared at the rumpled covers before her. It was like Starfire was experiencing everything she had in the invasion. Everything she had known had suddenly meant nothing. The life she had forged was on fire. And the people she knew, she could not count on. Starfire had tried so hard to rid those thoughts of her mind. Living with the Teen Titans had eased that transition and given her a true sense of person. But now, she couldn't help but think it was all happening again. She didn't know what to believe. The aches her body were wracked with made listening to any voice of reason difficult. Starfire trusted Yalfore. She remembered his words from earlier in the evening. She couldn't decide what to believe.
"You must find Robin," Starfire managed to say, her stomach forcing itself up her throat. "I..." She lowered her head, clinging to her bed posts. "I do not know what else to say, Beast Boy."
"Do you believe me?" Beast Boy asked. The very words made Starfire's head pulsate and her grip tightened around the wood frame of her bed.
"Please... do not ask me anymore," She turned her head away, nearly ashamed.
...
Raven pressed her hood to her head and lined her shoulders up to the cool brick of the city walls. It was utterly dark. Every building had its curtains pulled tightly. It was eerily silent in a city of thousands. Only nondescript noises of the alien planet reached Raven's ears. She glanced up and down the wide walkway before signaling. A moment later, Cyborg darted behind her as they raced from the confinements of Tamaran, towards the large and amazing dock that housed only a few dozen ships. The Gordanians ships were so rigid. It was hard to believe they were capable of flight. The dark blue metal reflected in the bright moon, giving the two Titans the creeps. The very color of the steel reminded Cyborg and Raven of their agenda and even in their absence, was a grim marker as to why they were there. After a few more paces, they found the T-Ship, which was quite noticeable with its orange panels and unique shape.
"Ah, I missed you, baby," Cyborg said, leaping off the short platform to stand beside his ship. He glanced to the Gordanian ship next him. "Just exactly how do we break into these things?"
Raven glanced right and left before she closed her eyes and lifted her chin. Cyborg watched as a small inky bulb appeared before him and disappeared suddenly. The pilot screen jolted for a moment. Cyborg wasted no time clambering atop the wing and tilting the cockpit window open. He was confronted with a panel he had never seen before. Raven came to stand on the wing, peering over Cyborg's shoulder as he slumped down into the seat. Cyborg wanted to assume every ship had a standard set-up, but he was at a total loss between the knobs, gears, and alien language. Cyborg reached beneath the dashboard, patting his hands back and forth before he felt a shape that made him grin.
"I found a port," Cyborg said, drawing a coil from his arm. Raven reached for him in that moment.
"Is it safe?" Raven asked from beneath the shadows of her hood. "What if they left these ships as bait, Cyborg?"
"Maybe they did," Cyborg said, extracting the coil further from his shoulder and flipping a panel up on his arm. "But we can't know if we don't try. This is for Robin and Starfire." He looked to Raven, whose face was pensive. But eventually she nodded and Cyborg jammed his connection into the port. He looked to the panel on his arm that was trying to grapple with the information. After a few moments, code came across the screen that neither Titan recognized. Slowly, his systems generated an outline of the ship. And finally, a screen popped up, proposing maps, warfare, and systems. Cyborg grinned, glancing towards Raven. "Well, alright," He nodded, selecting maps. After a few deft moves on his arm, the screen signified 'downloading'.
In that moment., Raven stood on the wing of the enemy ship, looking towards the entire galaxy that peered back at her. Everything seemed so still, so quiet. In just a few short days, Raven felt as if she had been reminded of what was important: The Teen Titans. How integral it was for them to stay together. She'd fight for all of them, no matter the circumstances, she told herself. Her mind wandered to Beast Boy in that moment. Was he safe and okay? Raven pulled her communicator out from beneath her cloak and flipped it open, almost anxiously. Beast Boy's red dot was blinking nearly on top of Starfire's. Robin's was further north, in what they could only assume was the royal prison. Raven had faced so much. She didn't think this would weigh so emotionally taxing on her, but every moment, she wondered about every steps of her friends she had come to call family.
"It downloaded," Cyborg interrupted her thoughts as he pulled himself from the cockpit. He slammed it firmly shut before he leapt to the T-Ship. Upon being in his presence, the T-Ship lit up and opened his cockpit with a hiss. He sank into it comfortably, as if he was meant for the space. He uncoiled the line from his shoulder again, plugging it beneath the dashboard. "I just hope it works."
Raven approached him slowly, her blue cloak encasing her slender body. "Can you and I fly this, just the two of us?"
Cyborg looked up from his frantic configuration. "Yeah, no problem," He nodded. "We don't want to break it up. The other pieces are coordinated to go back to Jump City. We need all the pieces. I'm countin' on everyone going back with us." Raven was silent as she returned her attention back to the abundant stars. Cyborg glanced towards a screen for a brief moment. "Rae... you know what I mean."
"I know we'll get Robin back," Raven said, looking over her shoulder fleetingly. Her hood fell heavily over her dark eyes. "But... will we ever be complete without Starfire?"
Cyborg's finger lingered over a button before he continued his work on downloading the data from the Gordanian ship to his. "This planet is corrupt, Raven. Starfire will realize sooner or later this is a sinking ship."
Raven silently turned towards him. "But don't captains go down with the ship?"
Cyborg sighed, glancing to the panel on his arm. "Trust that Beast Boy is getting through to her. I know it's hard... these are her people. But I hope she knows that just because you share blood... doesn't mean they're entitled to you." He pursed his lips for a moment. "I learned that the hard way."
Raven brought herself on the edge of the cockpit where she sat down while Cyborg continued the program. "I guess you could say I'm in the same boat."
Cyborg grinned as he clicked multiple permissions off on the T-Ship. "I guess we all have to go through it, right?"
The young sorceress hugged herself in that moment, still consumed by the immense galaxy surrounding them. "I guess maybe it's easier when you go through it alone... but watching a friend suffer like I once did. I don't know... it evokes some strange emotion. How do you tell someone everything about their destiny is wrong?" Raven pulled her hood back in the next moment, exposing her purple locks. She shook her head. "I was destined to destroy Earth and you guys didn't let that happen. How is that any different?"
"Earth ending isn't tangible to a lot of people," Cyborg told her, clearing the final security screen. "But when it's your own planet, I imagine it's different."
Raven tilted her head back to gaze at a band of stars. "How far do you think Robin is willing to go?"
"What do you mean?" Cyborg cast a glance over his shoulder before piling onto a keyboard.
"Robin loves Starfire. It's easy to see," Raven's rasp rang out in the quiet space as she huddled on the T-Ship's wing. "Robin fights to the very end for each of us. But Starfire... I'm worried he'll get himself killed."
"Dying isn't really Robin's style."
"But do you ever stop to think..." Raven lowered her onyx eyes to her lap, shaking her head. "Robin is our leader, yet he is the most vulnerable of all of us. He's the only one who is truly human. In a way, he's fragile, Cyborg, no matter how much he wants to deny it."
"He makes his own decisions and that's what goes," Cyborg replied, rapidly typing into the T-Ships command log. After a moment, he lifted his hands, turning a screened panel towards Raven. "Let me introduce the entire galaxy to you."
Raven's eyes were wide as she looked at the expanse their ship was able to capture. "Where do we even start?" She asked, looking to him. "The galaxy is huge, never-ending"
"Well, the Gordanians left a fun little easter egg for us," Cyborg grinned, pressing a button on the keyboard. Immediately, it squared in. "Remember the Centauri moons?"
"She'd be an idiot to return to a place she's been a fugitive in."
"Blackfire has friends in high places," Cyborg told her, staring intently at the screen. "There must be a reason the Centauri police allowed her to leave before she became Grand Ruler."
Raven tucked a lock of purple hair behind her ear. She kept her face pensive as she looked to the castle and rigid skyline of Tamaran. It was so barren around the dull kingdom. Raven wished in that moment to see it through Starfire's eyes, as it had once been. Raven didn't know what was worth fighting for anymore, beside the innocent souls locked inside. None of the Teen Titans could truly understand. They could only be supportive. But that support was wavering quickly.
"What if Beast Boy has an emergency?" Raven asked as Cyborg began to warm to ships engines.
"We'll get back as soon as we can," Cyborg replied, fixated on his screens. "But Beast Boy can take care of himself. Just like Robin can."
"Lets not test the waters too far," Raven said, standing now and having her cloak encase her. The familiar droning noise of the engines came alive. Raven glanced to the foreign city one last time before she found her place into the T-Ship,. "Lets get this over with."