A/N: Well, friends, another chapter of Firelight is here! This chapter might seem a bit slow, not to mention shorter than my other chapters, but it serves its purpose. I don't like giving away spoilers, but we're getting really close to the end of Part Two. Since we're so close, I thought that I would skip adding so much filler and move the plot along. There are times when filler is good, if not necessary, but at this point in the story I think that it is best to get moving with the story line. Hopefully none of you mind the lack of filler for this chapter.

Also, as a side note, I'm glad that the bits of humor I add are well liked! Based on the reviews that I have received, the majority of you seem to like it, so thanks for the feedback! So many times I am afraid that I'm the only person who finds my humorous side...well...humorous! The feedback I get from your reviews lets me know that when I do write humor and/or cute moments that they, overall, turn out the way I intend, so I truly appreciate the reviews. For those of you who review, thanks a bunch! Your reviews are appreciated! :)

Anyway, I won't make this author's note any longer. I know you guys want to get on with the chapter, so I will stop blabbering. Enjoy! XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

Part II: Shadows: Chapter Twenty

Later That Night

As hard as he tried, Saeran couldn't fall asleep. He lay in bed awake for several hours, unable to find rest. It is only now, at two twenty-seven AM, that Saeran finally exits his bedroom and tiptoes down the hallway. For once he doesn't wear his Frostbite uniform, though he still wears the mask that covers his entire face save for his mouth and chin. Rather, the young man wears a pair of plain gray sweat pants and a black t-shirt. The whole time he makes his way to the common room, a folded piece of gray fabric held delicately in his hands. Hidden within the folds are items that are very valuable; if not to anybody else, then at least to Saeran.

Keeping the folded segment of gray fabric held close to his body, Saeran makes his way through the common room before entering a hallway connected to the room's opposite side. Most often, this hallway isn't one that is considered overly essential. Besides storage rooms, a closet containing cleaning supplies, the stairwell leading to the basement, and the control room, there isn't much in this hallway. Three times a week Cyborg, and sometimes Robin, will use this hallway to get to the control room to make sure that nothing has been hacked or broken, but besides this, the hallway is most often ignored. Tonight, however, this is the exact hallway that Saeran needs.

Keeping his footsteps so quiet that they are practically soundless, Saeran reads the words that have been etched into each of the sliding metal doors. Having never been in this section of Titans Tower before, he doesn't know the exact location of the room he needs, but he knows that it is here. The first door he sees, one on his right, reads 'basement' in bold letters. That one isn't it. The door after that one, as well as several other doors, read 'storage', so he knows that none of those are what he is looking for either. It is only once he nears the end of the hallway that Saeran sees it. At the hallway's tail end, staring him down as if daring him to enter, is a door that reads 'control room'.

For a long moment Saeran stares blankly at the door, as if asking for permission to go inside. Luckily, a few seconds are all it takes for him to shove aside his hesitation. Inhaling deeply, Saeran walks through the door in a calm and easy fashion before it slides shut behind him. Once inside, the pony-tailed man doesn't move right away. Instead he gapes around the room with his posture stiffening, surprised by the amount of space filled by screens, buttons, lights, and switches. He knew that this room would be large, but he wasn't quite expecting it to be on this scale.

Astonishment quickly vanishing, Saeran pulls himself together and makes his way through the room. He already knows exactly what he's looking for, so finding it isn't difficult. After sauntering by several rows of screens, buttons, and switches, Saeran finally finds it; the Titan mainframe. It is at the very back of the room, the screen and the keys on the keyboard lit up as if waiting for him patiently. Saeran can't help but feel a bit nervous at what he's doing, afraid of getting caught by Robin or Starfire. Nonetheless, he makes his way toward it anyway. Even if he is nervous, it's too late to turn back now. After all, it was Robin who once mentioned that they record and archive every one of their video transmissions, so in a way, it's his fault that Saeran is in here in the first place.

Though he was only told the password to the Titans' mainframe computer once, and even if it was given to him very quickly, Saeran has nevertheless committed it to memory. It is because of this that he is able to type it in swiftly, getting it right on his first attempt. The instant Saeran is in, he gets straight to work. Using the knowledge he has learned by listening to the Titans previous conversations, as well as using past discussions that he has had with Robin and Cyborg, he searches the supercomputer's main hard drive.

The files he's looking for are hidden deep within the main hard drive, are encrypted, and have multiple other security measures protecting them, making the files incredibly difficult to reach. This is especially true considering how he doesn't have any other encryption keys or passwords besides the primary one. Even so, after more than forty-five minutes of working, Saeran finally manages to set his eyes on the files. These would be the files containing the recordings of every video transmission that the Titans have ever sent out or received. His initial hope was that the files would be dated by year to make his life easier, but unfortunately they are not. Instead each file name is a code made up of a random conglomeration of letters and numbers, forcing him to dig through each of them individually.

This process takes ages to say the least. The first recording he runs across is one from over two years ago now; an incoming transmission they'd received from their first major criminal, Slade. The man had said something about a croton detonator, and said that the Titans time to stop him from setting it off was limited. Apparently it wasn't too limited, though, because they aren't exactly frozen in time forever. He stumbled across a couple other transmissions from villains as well; these were from a villain called Control Freak. The first had something to do with him controlling television, and in the other he was giving them some kind of challenge. Control Freak definitely didn't appear as threatening as Slade.

From here Saeran ran across many more transmissions, both unique and boring. Some were conversations between them and honorary Titans, others between them and the Titans East, and others still between them and the Justice League. Much to Saeran's disappointment, however, none of them are what he is looking for. After a long while, Saeran is about ready to give up. Before he has the chance, however, a voice is heard from behind him.

"Which one are you looking for?"

Taken aback by the sound of the voice, Saeran's posture stiffens and he whips around. For a moment he is horrified of seeing Robin or Starfire, but much to his relief, the person behind him is Raven. Her facial expression isn't angry, neither is her bearing. Instead she looks at him with a quizzical violet gaze and with her brow raised questioningly, waiting for him to respond.

Breathing in deeply and moving to the side to give her access to the keyboard, he doesn't hesitate to reply. "I'm looking for the one from earlier. The one showing the newest member of Titans East."

Nodding in comprehension, Raven makes her way across the room. Once she is at his side she digs through the files swiftly and effectively, finding the transmission he was looking for in five seconds flat. The instant the recording of the transmission is up, Saeran immediately asks her to fast-forward to the part where Speedy, Aqualad, and their new teammate enter the Titans Easts' common room. Upon reaching that part, he requests that she goes forward even farther to the part where his baby sister turns to face the screen, her Fire Phoenix armband in perfect view. Finally, once they make it there, Saran reaches toward the keyboard on his own and pauses the video.

Once it is paused he doesn't say another word. He simply stares at his baby sister's face in disbelief. The moment he left the room in tears he started having second thoughts, wondering if this girl was actually his baby sister, or if his mind was playing tricks on him. Now that he's looking at her again, however, there isn't a doubt in Saeran's mind. The Titans Easts' newest teammate is without question Damiana of the Fire Phoenix. Upon seeing her image for a second time, her face as much as the Fire Phoenix on her armband, Saeran dissolves into tears once more. Removing his mask and wiping the salty liquid from his eyes, he speaks to himself in the Dabnodian language.

"It really is her. I can't believe that it's actually her! For years I've been going around thinking that I would never see her again, and all this time she's been so close! It's unbelievable!"

Raven, who had kept herself standing at a reasonable distance until now, saunters closer and rests a pale gray hand on his shoulder. Violet-colored orbs filled with a mixture of concern and confusion, she keeps her hand firmly in place while speaking to him. Surprisingly, she also speaks in Dabnodian, afraid that he is too emotional right now to process English words.

"Saeran, will you please explain what is going on? You ran away from us earlier, and spent the rest of the day locked in your room. Then I get up to get a glass of water, see the hallway light on, and I find you in the control room in the middle of the night. You have to tell me what's going on."

Rubbing salty liquid out of his eyes yet again, Saeran turns to face her. For once his eyes aren't just amber, but are an incredibly intense mixture of amber and lime green. She notices that the roots of his hair are a mixture of green and bright gold as well. Finally pulling himself together enough so that he can communicate, Saeran reaches over to where he sat the section of folded gray fabric atop one of the boards filled with switches. The moment he has it in hand, he gives it to Raven.

Still speaking in Dabnodian, he says, "I'm not sure that you would believe me if I told you. So I guess I will have to show you instead." Pausing slightly, he gives a brief explanation. "In the folds of that fabric is the belt I used to wear that bears my clan symbol. Along with that, there is a photograph of my family. Photographing technology was different on Dabnod than on Earth, so the picture might be a bit off, but you should still be able to get a decent view."

It is with much hesitation, but eventually Raven takes the folded up piece of fabric from him. She doesn't look within the folds of it, though. Her speech still being that of the Dabnodian language, she raises a brow while addressing the man standing before her.

"I'm sorry, but I do not understand. Why do you need me to look at this?"

"Look at them, and compare them to the girl on the screen. Do it and you'll understand."

The dark girl definitely appears skeptical, but nonetheless she does what Saeran has asked. The first thing she removes from the fabric's folds is, of course, the belt that Saeran had been talking about. The first thing she notices isn't the clan symbol, but the fact that the belt is crafted from incredibly thick plant fibers. She isn't sure what kind of plant was used for this belt, but whatever it was, it was thicker than steel and far more durable than leather. This thing could go through fire, and probably never burn! It is only after taking note of this that her gaze moves to the belt's clasp. The clasp is crafted from metal the same color of copper, and is in the shape of a majestic bird with outstretched wings. Raven is able to place this bird as a Fire Phoenix.

After placing the species of the bird that has been crafted onto Saeran's belt, Raven gives it to Saeran and pulls out the photograph. Like he said, the picture is very strange. Somehow, everything in the background has an odd pinkish cast. Of course, also like he'd stated, she is still able to make out the photo's basic features. In the background, Raven notes, is what appears to be a house crafted from grayish-pink stones. Running alongside the house are thick violet-colored grasses, spotted by the occasional flower. Then, in front of the cabin and the grasses, are three individuals.

The first person is a small woman with long straight hair, a small nose, and who wears a long blue dress with elbow-length sleeves. Her hair appears to be red in this picture, her eyes are shining soft pink, and she appears to be in her middle thirties. Raven's initial assumption is that this woman is Saeran's mother. Then, standing beside her, is a much younger Saeran. In this picture he is dressed in a forest green tunic, black pants, leather boots, and his hair is in its usual shoulder-length ponytail. Like Raven has grown accustomed to, his hair is bright gold and his eyes amber in this picture; he can't be any older than fifteen.

Then, directly in front of the two of them, is a little girl around the age of ten. She wears a glittering smile filled with joy, and she hugs Saeran tightly around the waist. Like their mother, her eyes are soft pink, and her hair red. Unlike their mother, however, her hair is curly and it has more of a rosy cast to it. Her face is much slimmer than their mother's as well, the child having very high cheekbones. Along with this, the girl is wearing a sleeveless sapphire blue dress with a high collar, and it reaches all the way to the ground. Raven does her best not to be envious, especially of a ten-year-old, but the girl has a dazzlingly beautiful face. The little girl, no doubt, must be Saeran's sister.

Finished with the picture, she glances over at Saeran, prepared once again to inquire about the significance of looking at these items. Upon glancing over at him, however, Saeran nods in the direction of the screen that contains the video of their transmission with the Titans East from earlier. Though she wants to very badly, Raven doesn't question his request. She instead glances up at the screen. The moment she does, just as Saeran had been hoping, Raven is taken aback.

Her large eyes widening, she looks from the photograph, to the screen, and back again. A moment later she holds the photograph so that it is directly beside the face of Damiana, Raven's mouth hanging agape. Before either the dark girl or Saeran can process what she's doing, Raven grabs Saeran's belt out of his hands and holds that up to the screen as well, comparing the symbol on her arm band to the symbol on Saeran's belt. The whole time Raven never tears her eyes away from the screen. She continues comparing the two girls as well as the two Fire Phoenix symbols, completely blown away.

Meanwhile, Saeran adds, "Just so you know, that picture was taken a year before Dabnod was destroyed, so it has been six years since then. Damiana was ten in that picture, meaning that she's sixteen years old now. So…"

Saeran trails off, allowing Raven to fill in the blank. It doesn't take long for her to do so.

Stammering slightly, she speaks shakily in English. "S-Saeran, do you think that the newest member of Titans East is actually her? Your sister?!"

Saeran gives a nod, his voice growing emotional. "Yes. That is definitely her, Raven. I know it. I'd recognize her face anywhere. Even if she's dying her hair and wearing contact lenses, and I'm positive that's what she's doing. Knowing her, blending in with humans would be her top priority."

A moment of silence passes, but it isn't a long one. Before it has a chance to grow any longer, Raven turns away from the screen, moves closer to Saeran, and asks him a question with seriousness.

"Now that you know where she's at, what exactly do you plan on doing about it? Are you taking a trip to Steel City to go find her, or are you staying here to think things over?"

Sounding both joyful and disappointed, he responds. "Personally, I would like to go down to the bus station, get a ticket, and start on a trip to Steel City right now. If we didn't have threats from the criminal world to deal with, that's exactly what I would do, too."

After a moment of hesitation, he continues.

"But as much as I hate to say it, I can't leave Jump City right now; not with Black Shadow on the loose. The schematics for Black Shadow's machine were already sent here by Bumblebee, and I really think that I should stay to help decipher them. By taking a cross-country trip by myself not only would I be taking the risk of being 'the lone sheep' that Black Shadow can pick off, but revealing myself to Damiana would only get in the way with the current circumstances. If I meet back up with Damiana now, we would be too focused on having a family reunion to focus on bringing Black Shadow to justice."

He clears his throat before continuing once more.

"Not to mention that the rest of the Titans would be curious about the fact that we're siblings, that each of us has an elemental ability, and that we dye our hair. All of the Titans know that I dye my hair, and if the Titans East haven't found out that Damiana's doing it, they're bound to eventually. Having you know that my sister and I are Dabnodians is one thing. You are from Azarath, a trusted ally of Dabnod; there's no doubt that we can trust you. If the other Titans figure it out, however, that will only spell trouble."

Sighing deeply he says at last, "You can't possibly forget Starfire. She is the Princess of the planet that destroyed Dabnod. If she figures out that Dabnod is where Damiana and I are from, not only will it get in the way of stopping Black Shadow, but it could cause conflict on an entire other scale. Remember, our planets were at war, Raven."

This time it is Raven's turn to take a deep breath, sounding sad. "I know that. I was just wondering if you were thinking about finding a way to sneak off to Steel City. You haven't seen your sister in half a decade, after all. Even with the risks, it would nice for you to see each other again."

The green fading from his eyes and his irises turning purely amber, he gives the dark girl a kind smile. "I appreciate hearing you say that, Raven. To be completely honest, as soon as we get Black Shadow's machine deciphered, I was considering going to Steel City despite the consequences. If not to reveal myself, then to see her from a distance. I'm still not sure about it, though. The brotherly side of me wants to rush off to see her, but my Frostbite side is telling me to stop Black Shadow first."

A brief moment of silence passes, Raven furrowing her brow before responding a few seconds later. Her voice sounds skeptical to say the least.

"Actually, Saeran, revealing yourself to her might not be an issue. A few seconds after you ran out on us, Damiana ran out on the Titans East. Call it a hunch, but I think she recognized you."

It is here that Saeran gives a sigh, his hair and eyes shifting to deep shades of gray within seconds. Eyes widening, Raven finds herself surprised at Saeran's vast change in demeanor. Nonetheless, once he begins explaining, the dark girl understands completely.

"Raven, this may seem a bit out of nowhere, but it doesn't matter if she recognized me. Even if she thinks that 'Frostbite' looks similar to 'Saeran', she isn't going to believe that it's me; not for a second. You're forgetting that I was one of Queen Guayusa's Knights. According to the Royal Code of Dabnod, I shouldn't be alive. As a Knight, it was my duty to help evacuate Dabnodian civilians, and to stay behind and sacrifice myself for the planet. My being alive…it isn't something that should be a reality." Giving a sigh filled with despair, he continues. "In Damiana's mind, Saeran is dead, Raven. Unless I'm standing directly in front of her in the flesh, she will always believe that Saeran is dead."

Raven stares with her eyes wide in disbelief. "You're telling me that you aren't supposed to be alive? If that's really true, then how did you get off of Dabnod?"

Saeran doesn't answer her question right away. Rather, he moves his hand to the nape of his neck and clasps the ornament that holds in his ponytail. Specifically, he clasps the charm that appears like an hourglass trapped inside of a diamond; the Dabnodians' Zirnoth Charm. As he grasps it tightly, she watches as the gray of his eyes darkens by several more shades, and as his stormy gray roots become streaked with bruise-colored purple. It takes a long few seconds for him to answer her, but when he does, his voice is thick with grief.

"I'm sorry, Raven, but my escape from Dabnod isn't something that I can talk about. I can't do it."

Neither of them are able to comprehend the reason behind her actions, but less than a second is what it takes for Raven to move closer. Feeling nothing but pain radiating off of him, she reaches out and embraces him warmly around the waist. For a long time Saeran is stiff, but at last his posture relaxes, and his eyes and the roots of his hair are completely taken over by the color of black. He tries to hold himself together, knowing that he has shed far too many tears within the past few hours. Of course, it doesn't take long for him to dissolve into heavy, pained, grief-filled, sobs. Before they know it they are sitting on the floor of the control room leaning against the base of the Titans' mainframe computer, Raven hugging Saeran tenderly, and Saeran crying mournfully into the crook of her neck.

When he speaks it is through tears, and the Dabnodian words he speaks sound like gibberish. Nonetheless, Raven is still able to make out what he's saying, as his words are simple.

"T-Thank you, R-Raven. Very much."

Saeran doesn't see it, but reflected in Raven's eyes is every ounce of pain that she feels for him.

Shutting her eyes against her own bout of tears, she tightens her embrace. "Don't worry about thanking me, Saeran. This is what friends are for."

Steel City: Titans East Tower

Five Days Later

Damiana has surprised herself greatly this week. Because of her inability to eat, sleep, or focus on anything else, her bedroom has been completely finished. Yesterday she finished painting the designs on her walls, and today has been spent putting down her deep violet carpeting, and moving in all of her furniture; with some help from Mas y Menos, and Beast Boy in the forms of various animals, of course. Now, with her furniture and carpeting in place and the walls completed, there isn't anything left for Damiana to do with her bedroom. This should feel like an accomplishment, but for Damiana, the only thing she feels is void. Now that her room is done, there is nothing left to distract her.

Sitting in the center of her room atop her bed with lilac-colored covers, Damiana does something that she hasn't allowed herself to do in days. She lets her mind wander. She knows that she shouldn't. With what she saw during their most recent transmission with the Titans in Jump City, she knows that she needs to take her thoughts captive. If she doesn't, then her mind is going to start wandering to these painful and impossible places; places that she has worked around the clock and avoided sleep in order to keep away from. Yet, in spite of her best efforts, her mind goes to these places anyway. Apparently her thoughts are tired of being barred, and are acting of their own accord.

Laying down on her back and staring up at the perfectly white ceiling, images flash through Damiana's mind rapidly. She sees herself, Saeran, Adriel, and Jaegana swimming in the pond at the base of her family's purple hill. She sees Saeran piggybacking her through the hallways of the Palace when she was eight years old, the Scribes in the hallways gaping at them widely as they rushed past. She sees Saeran, herself, and Mama in their kitchen baking pastries for the Annual Migration Festival; herself throwing flour at Saeran playfully, and Saeran using the wooden mixing spoon to throw batter at her. She also sees herself and Adriel hiding in the bushes in one of the Palace's many courtyards, spying on Saeran and Adriel's sister, Jaegana, as they spent a romantic afternoon together.

There are so many fond memories of the past, all of them involving Saeran in one form or another. Of course, as fond as these memories are, Damiana has always known that they are in the past. Out of her primary group of loved ones, Adriel and Jaegana included, she is the only one left alive. Knowing Mama, she was probably so busy throwing other people on pods and getting them off the planet that she didn't take time to get herself off. Jaegana, she was always an optimist. She believed that the war would end, and that Dabnod would pull through okay. Because of this, she probably didn't evacuate to the Palace that night.

As for Saeran and Adriel, they were Queen Guayusa's Knights. Even if they managed to get everybody evacuated and had space pods left over, there's no way that they would have left. From the time Saeran and Adriel were Pages, they always talked about Dabnod's Royal Code. When they first agreed to being trained as Knights, it was a vow that they gave while standing before Queen Guayusa and the Royal Counsel, stating that they would never run from the scene of a battle. Being a Knight meant putting everything on the line for Dabnod, including their lives. Even if they knew that Dabnod was going to be destroyed, they would have fought the Tamaraneans until their last dying breaths.

Saeran told her this himself once, two weeks before Dabnod became nothing more than asteroids and dust floating through space. They were by the pond at the base of the hill when he said it.

"Damiana, when Tamaran attacks again, if our planet doesn't make it, you need to know that I will not survive. As much as I love you and Mama, I'm a Dabnodian Knight first and forever. I would give up anything for Dabnod; even my life. When I accepted my sword and my armor from Queen Guayusa and swore in as a Knight, I gave my sacred vow to fight for Dabnod even if it comes down to death. If the time comes when you don't have me around anymore, as difficult as it's going to be, you are going to have to learn to survive without me. I believe that you can do it, too. You are Damiana of the Fire Phoenix, baby sister, and you are strong."

Damiana's eyes well up with tears upon remembering Saeran's words to her from so long ago. Honestly, it was those words that kept her going on her hardest days. On the days when she was without a home, had gone four straight days without eating, and was sitting under a canopy in an alleyway in order to escape from a rainstorm, what Saeran said to her drove her. He called her strong. He said that, even if it's hard, that she has what it takes to survive. Not only that, but if Saeran could bravely give up his life in a last ditch effort to protect their planet, then she could force herself to fight on. Never for a moment did she want her brother's sacrifices to be for nothing.

Of course, after seeing what she saw during the Titans Easts' transmission with the Titans West five days ago, Damiana is starting to wonder if all of Saeran's words were for nothing. That young hero in the center of the screen, a hero that she'd never seen before, looked exactly like her brother. Though five years have passed since their parting, Damiana remembers everything about him. His posture, the way he holds himself, the length of his ponytail, Saeran's height and build… that hero had all of it. His face might have been covered besides his mouth and chin, but even the shape of his mouth resembled Saeran's. Not to mention the most important fact of all.

Strapped across the icy blue short-sleeved shirt of his uniform, which had an "F" printed on it in sapphire blue, were two sets of dual canteens. Whenever going into battle or on a training mission, Saeran always carried canteens of water that crisscrossed over his chest in case of an emergency. The way Saeran had explained it, the canteens were part of his artillery, much like his sword and armor. All it took were the canteens and the shoulder-length ponytail alone for Damiana to feel like she was looking at a ghost. When his posture changed upon looking at her, however, Damiana felt like that man was Saeran's ghost times ten. With the way his mouth was hanging agape and how stiff his spine was, it was almost like he'd recognized her as well.

"That can't actually be Saeran, can it?" Damiana whispers in her first language. "Saeran has been dead for the past five years. He said himself that he wouldn't make it off of the planet. Saeran was far too brave and courageous to run away in the face of danger."

That, however, is when another memory from the video transmission strikes her. After several long, endless, seconds of looking at her, she noticed as tears started to dribble out from under his mask and down his chin. In that moment, he looked like he was going to collapse. Then, before he could, he fled from the room. When he spoke on his way out, even his voice resembled Saeran's. Not to mention that his voice was highly emotional, as if he'd just seen a lost loved one raise from the dead.

"I'm sorry," he'd said to the Titans, both East and West. "Forgive me. I need a moment."

Running a hand through her thick curls, she says to herself, "There are so many similarities between them, though. Everything adds up. That has to be Saeran! I know he said that he'd die, but…maybe something happened so that he didn't have to?"

All of the sudden, upon voicing these thoughts, Saeran's words from five years ago echo once more. It's almost has if Saeran's ghost is scolding her for believing that he would, for one second, choose to keep his own life before protecting Dabnod.

"…I would give up anything for Dabnod; even my life. When I accepted my sword and my armor from Queen Guayusa and swore in as a Knight, I gave my sacred vow to fight for Dabnod even if it comes down to death…"

Sighing, Damiana runs her fingers through her hair yet again, this time giving her false brown tresses a hard yank. "No, Damiana. Don't even consider it. Saeran was one of Queen Guayusa's Knights. When Dabnod died, he died too. The mystery hero may appear very similar to Saeran, but it isn't him. Saeran would never put saving himself before saving Dabnod. End of story."

After saying this to herself, Damiana recalls all the times over the years that she has seen strangers in alleyways and out on the street who have been similar in appearance to Saeran. There have been dozens of these instances to say the least. It is only after thinking of this that Damiana knows for sure that seeing that mystery hero was another one of these occurrences. The blue-clad hero with the canteens was in no way Saeran. He was just one more instance of Damiana's blind hope.

Upon realizing this, Damiana curls up atop her covers and cries. She does this for three straight hours, not leaving her room once.

Meanwhile…

Accomplished nothing and gone nowhere. That is the only way Speedy can think to describe these past five days. Everything feels like one gigantic dead end. No progress has been made with his research on the robots; none at all. There have been times where Aqualad and Bumblebee examined them as well, but they couldn't figure out how to get to the robots' central cores without them disintegrating any better than he could. There have also been points where he has tried helping them decipher Black Shadow's machine, adding his two cents to see if a fresh perspective might change things. Unfortunately, it hasn't helped at all. In the end, they are still coming up with nothing.

Currently, Speedy stands between Cyborg and Bumblebee in front of a large screen in the evidence room. On the screen are four different internal shots of the machine Black Shadow gave them. One shot is from the top, one from the bottom, one from the machine's left side, and one from the right side. Sitting on a metal table to Bumblebee's right is the machine itself, staring at them mockingly with its silver buttons, blue vertical stripes, and strange keypad. The whole time, as they stare at the screen, Cyborg speaks out sounding distressed. This is nothing new, of course. With the way their week is going, all of them are distressed.

"Man, I just don't get it. We've gone over the machine's schematics a hundred of times! We've looked at the individual pieces to it a thousand times! I can't believe that we're still running into a dead end with this thing! What can we possibly be missing?"

A long moment passes where neither Speedy nor Bumblebee replies. Instead they stare at the screen and at the table containing the machine intently, trying to see if they can find the answer to Cyborg's rhetorical question. A minute or so later when they are unable to, it is Bumblebee who replies.

"I don't know the answer any more than you do, Sparky. Aqualad and I reverse engineered it and even went as far as looking up the codes for each of the machine parts, and it still isn't making sense." Leaning against the edge of the table and placing a hand against her temple, she confesses with a sigh, "I'm really starting to think that we're wasting our time on this. Who knows? Maybe his machine is just a distraction. While we're trying to figure out what it does, Black Shadow could be robbing Fort Knox for all we know."

In truth, Speedy would like to go against what his leader is saying. Even if it seems useless, there has to be something significant within the chips and wires of that machine. The same can be said for the robots that he has been busy taking apart. There has to be something there! The Titans would never spend so much time trying to decipher something only to come up empty-handed! Yet, despite these thoughts, Speedy finds himself saying things of completely the opposite nature. He doesn't say it reluctantly, either. Everything he says, he means completely.

Giving his own frustrated sigh, he crosses his arms over his chest as he speaks. "I hate to say it, Bee, but I think you're right. We've spent over a week trying to figure this thing out, and we're making zero progress. I don't know if we should clear the board and start our research completely over, or if we should ditch it and search for Black Shadow, but we need to do something. If we keep doing what we're doing, Black Shadow is going to come back full force before we can even come up with a plan to stop him."

Turning away from the screen, Cyborg faces the duo. "I don't like saying it either, but both of you are right. I think it's time for us to give up on the machine, and focus on finding Black Shadow. While we're sitting in here running scans and looking at machine parts, Black Shadow is probably putting his plan into place and getting ready to make another move. We can't just sit here trying to solve an unsolvable puzzle when the world's in danger." After a lengthy pause filled with depression, Cyborg finally continues. "I'm going to the common room to contact Robin. As soon as I let him know that Black Shadow's machine is a dud, we can get started on destroying it. If there's nothing we can do with it, it's no use leaving it sit around."

Speedy and Bumblebee nod in unison, preparing to follow Cyborg through the door. Before they have a chance to exit the room, however, somebody new enters. For a moment Speedy is hoping that it will be Aqualad so they can inform him on what they have decided. Either that or he's hoping that it will be Leila, who has been so busy working on her room this week that he's hardly seen her at all. On top of not being able to decipher Black Shadow's technology, he never got that sparring match with Leila either. In all, this week has been a serious letdown.

To the archer's disappointment, however, the person entering the room isn't Aqualad or Leila. Not just to his surprise, but all of their surprises, the one standing before them is Beast Boy. Normally when seeing Beast Boy, they are accustomed to seeing a large grin on his face. Along with this, they are used to hearing him talk a mile a minute about some new videogame, or about the benefits of a vegetarian diet. It is because of this that one thing surprises them more than the green Titan's presence. For once, Beast Boy isn't smiling. Instead, he wears a small frown of concern. Each of their eyes widening and their brows raising, they address Beast Boy as he walks farther into the evidence room.

"Hey, BB. What's up?" asks Cyborg curiously.

"Is everything okay?" Bumblebee puts in.

The concern doesn't leave Beast Boy's face for an instant. If anything, it grows.

Nothing but seriousness in his demeanor, he replies to them without hesitation. "Yeah, everything's fine with me. I've been hanging out with Mas and Menos, helping Leila finish her room, all of that stuff." After a nearly endless pause, Beast Boy continues. "It's you guys that I don't think everything's fine with. Me and Cy have been here for a week, and I haven't gotten to see any of you at all since we made it to Steel City. I know that everything with Black Shadow is bad, but is it worse than I thought? You guys are more obsessive than Robin was during the thing we went through with Slade."

Taken aback by his words, Speedy, Bumblebee, and Cyborg exchange glances. It isn't a lie that they have been a bit obsessive, but they didn't think that Beast Boy would notice. If anything, Speedy had assumed that he would spend his time playing videogames, and that he would be out on the town conversing with civilians. The fact that he's worried about them is…surprising!

Meanwhile, it is Cyborg who replies to Beast Boy's words of concern. While doing so, he turns in the direction of the table and the screen that they were previously standing by.

"You came in a little late, BB. Until today we were being obsessive about it, but not anymore. We've spent all week trying to figure out Black Shadow's technology, and we haven't found out a thing. We were actually on our way to the common room to tell Robin that the machine's a pile of useless parts, and that we're pulling the plug on our research."

This time it is Beast Boy's turn to be surprised. Eyes widening and fanged mouth hanging agape, he walks farther into the room than before. Shoving his way past the trio, he saunters over to the opposite side of the room to the metal table that holds the machine. After taking a lengthy few minutes to stare at the semi-circular device with the silver buttons, he grabs a wrench from off to the side and starts hitting it roughly. At first this confuses the three of them to no end, but once Beast Boy starts explaining himself, his actions fall into place.

"Dude, you guys are giving up on this thing? You can't do that! Sure I wanted you to be less obsessive, but I didn't want you to quit on it! There's no way that Black Shadow's thing-a-mahoozit with the buttons is a dud! It's put together way too good. Even Dr. Light's and Mad Mod's weird machines would take a dent. This thing isn't at all!" Tossing the wrench aside and turning around to gape at them widely, he adds, "Who would get metal this good to waste it on some fake machine?!"

Astonishment written on all of their gazes, the three exchange glances before moving closer to Beast Boy. By now he is no longer facing them, but is instead looking at the screen containing various shots of the machine's inner mechanisms. It's obvious that his observations are not yet finished, because he is staring at the screen wearing a thoughtful expression while placing a forefinger to his chin.

At last, he asks, "I have no idea if I'm right or not, but are these pictures supposed to be the insides of Black Shadow's machine?"

It is Speedy who replies. "Yep, that's right."

Upon hearing this, the green Titan raises a brow that is both curious and skeptical. Sidling closer to the screen with hesitation, he begins pointing to pictures a moment later. The whole time he does this, he speaks out in uncertainty.

"Dudes, this is going to sound crazy, but these pictures almost look like a jigsaw puzzle, or one of those little kid toys where you have to put the star-shaped block through the star-shaped hole."

For a long moment they gape at him, having no idea what he's talking about. Seeing their confused expressions, Beast Boy gives an awkward chuckle and rubs the back of his neck.

"What I mean is, it looks like some of the pieces need to be switched around."

Reaching up, he points to the picture that was taken from the machine's top, and touches a portion that appears to be a cylindrical piece of metal. Upon pointing that piece out, he moves to the picture that was taken from the right side. A second is all it takes for him to point out an empty space in the exact same shape as the cylindrical piece of metal. While doing this, he narrates.

"See that weird tubey piece? It looks like it needs to go here instead."

Then, pointing to a picture that was taken from the left side, he points to an octangular computer chip. Again, less than a second later, he moves to the picture of the machine's top. Certainly enough, next to the cylindrical piece is an octangular-shaped gap.

"Then there's the chip thingy that's shaped like a stop sign. Instead of being here, it looks like it needs to go there." Pointing to another picture, this time one with two square pieces of metal, he continues. Along with this, he points to various computer chips in the shapes of rectangles. "There's these boxy pieces, too. If we move the piece that's shaped like a stop sign, there will be room for both of them here. Then, in every picture, there's tons of these little slots where it looks like these rectangle chip thingies that are spread out everywhere can fit into."

Finally turning away from the screen, he turns to face them. Unlike when her first walked into the room, he wears a beaming grin. "See! It's like a big puzzle!"

Beast Boy's isn't the only one who smiles. After gaping at each other, and then at Beast Boy, in shock, an instant is what it takes for them to grin. They don't grin with joy, but with a sense of victory. Their personas swelling with bliss, they cheer loudly while rushing off to various parts of the room to grab screwdrivers, pliers, tweezers, wrenches, and whatever else they need. The whole time the three shout victoriously.

"We've been looking at it the wrong way the whole time!" Exclaims Cyborg. "We haven't been able to decipher it the way it's put together right now, because it's put together the wrong way!"

Flying over to the metal table with an armload of tools, Bumblebee shouts, "All of we have to do now is put this machine together right,"

"Figure out what it does," continues Cyborg.

"And take Black Shadow down!" Speedy finishes.

Grinning widely, Bumblebee, gives a glance over her shoulder to Beast Boy. "Thanks, Beast Boy. We couldn't have done it without you!"

His grin taking on a prideful feel, Beast Boy turns to face Cyborg. "See, Cyborg? It's a good thing that I came with you! You heard Bee. You never would've been able to do it without me!" Laughing joyfully, he adds, "Wait 'till we tell everyone that I'm the one that figured it out! I can't wait to see what they think! Especially that jerk, Frostbite. I can't wait to see that cold, stony, expression leave his face! The dude has probably never laughed or shed a tear one time in his life…"

Beast Boy continues on in his speech, but the trio ignores him. Instead they put all of their focus on taking apart Black Shadow's machine piece by piece, and putting every chip, wire, and mechanism in the right place. Several times they have to look at the pictures on the screen, as some of the pieces are unclear, but they figure it out part by part. The only time they speak is when Aqualad enters the room after his hour long break, completely drenched from an afternoon swim in the ocean. When he sees them busily taking apart the machine, grinning joyfully, and Beast Boy looking at the screen making suggestions for where to put each piece, Aqualad arches a puzzled brow prior to walking toward them.

"Can someone tell me what happened while I was gone? I feel like I missed something."

Cyborg, Speedy, and Bumblebee all answer in a collective chant.

"Beast Boy's a genius!"

His puzzlement only growing, his response is, "Uh…"

Giggling, Bumblebee steps away from the metal table and waves the aquatic Titan over.

"Get over here and help us out. We'll explain as we go."

A/N: This chapter may have been shorter than many of my others, but hopefully it was to your liking. Again, with the end of Part Two approaching, I wanted to drive the plot forward a little bit with the ending. My plan as of right now is to wrap up Part Two next chapter. Of course, plans change, and sometimes chapters turn out a lot longer than I initially plan, so it might take a couple more chapters to wrap it up. Either way, however, know that the end of Part Two is near.

I cannot wait to get started on Part Three! I have so much planned, and I'm so excited! I could go on and on about it, but to save you from reading an incredilby lengthy author's note, I won't. Besides. I don't want to give away too many spoilers. XD

Also, as a quick message, I had no idea that there are people who ship Raven and Saeran! To be honest, that ship isn't one that had crossed my. Nonetheless, I appreciate those of you who ship them. Thanks for pointing it out! Because I know that there are those of you out there who ship them, I will try to include some small Saeran X Raven moments every now and again. Of course, there is the fact that Raven is sixteen and Saeran is twenty-one, so it won't be anything too major. Sorry, guys. ;)

Anyway, that's it for now. Until next time! :)

Forever and Always,

OCQ