Disclaimer I DO NOT OWN THE TEEN TITANS!

Prelude

Starfire couldn't believe her eyes. She was staring at herself from across her bedroom. "How did you get out?" She asked, afraid of the answer.

"Why, Star, that isn't nice. I'm as much of a prisoner as you." The figure across the room stepped out of the shadows and flicked on the light switch. Green hair. Red eyes. White skin. It was the jiiya. No, it was her.

Flashback

"My lord, you have a daughter. She is healthy and strong." The doctor, Galfore, placed the small bundle in the arms of her father. King Daryon'r smiled down at his newest daughter and gently touched her nose.

"Welcome to the world, my little star." he said, and the baby stared back at him with eyes that revealed a wisdom beyond their years.

"Sire?" The doctor touched the king's shoulder.

"Yes, Galfore?"

"Take care with this child, sire."

"Why? Is she blind?" Daryon'r's thoughts flew to his poor eldest.

"No." Galfore shifted his daunting frame from foot to foot uneasily. "Sire, she is a jiiya." The king remained calm as he continued to rock his baby daughter slowly.

"She can't be." Daryon'r laughed, "The generation gap is too large."

"She has the markings, Daryon'r." Galfore dropped the formalities and faced his friend, "She must have been awfully strong- I've never seen the jiiya gene be activated in one so young without it killing the child…or baby."

"I see." The king stopped rocking, "I will put her in your charge Galfore. I trust that you will raise her just as well as I."

"But…" Galfore nearly dropped the poor babe as his friend shoved her into his arms.

"Galfore, please. I cannot…" Daryon'r paused to collect himself, "If the time comes that I shall have to kill her…I want it to be as painless as possible, for both of us. The less contact, the better, she is still my child but perhaps if we are never together as father and daughter…Galfore, I do not believe I will ever be able to kill her…"

"Daryon'r… no one has ever fought off their demon side. A half-Tammeranian, half-demon will have so much power inside…they have no choice to succumb to the hunter within them."

"We'll hope for the best." King Daryon'r bent to kiss her little girl's cheek, "Oh, my little Starfire…no matter what you become in the future, I will always remember you like this, as my daughter, my baby girl…"

End Flashback

Chapter 1

One Week Earlier

It had started out as a simple twitch, and grown into a series of violent ticks within a few days. The entire team was concerned, to say the least.

"Starfire, we should really get you to a doctor." Robin said. He placed a hand against the alien girl's forehead, "Even if you don't have a fever."

"Robin, I assure you this is nothing. I am perfectly fine. Truly." Starfire's eyes were twitching and blinking so rapidly they had no time to focus. Her muscles were snapping and shuddering so hard that it took all three titan boys hold her down, so she wouldn't topple off her bed.

"Starfire," Raven was calm, logical, as always, but those who knew her well could see she was alarmed, "unless this is another Tammeranian transformation…thing, we need to get you some help. If human doctors can't help then we will take you back to your planet to find someone who can."

"No!" The word flew from Starfire's mouth and shattered on the floor. "No one can help me."

"Star, listen, you're not thinking straight…"

"You aren't being reasonable…"

"I AM BEING REASONABLE!" Star screamed and one of her flailing limbs caught Beast Boy in the face. As the poor green boy flew backwards Raven began to chant, "Azerath Metrion Zinthos." Small tendrils of black energy caught Beast Boy before he slammed into the wall.

"I am so sorry Beast Boy! You should really be fighting the bad men in the city rather then staying here with me. I need to handle this by myself, anyway.'

"We're not going anywhere." Robin bawled his fists. Starfire didn't hear him, her attention was focused inward, and she needed to concentrate.

"I will control you." She snarled, addressing the jerking left arm that had nearly damaged her friend. "You WILL NOT WIN!" Twin orbs of emerald crackled and emitted green sparks. All her limbs seemed to freeze, which allowed Beast Boy to regain his hold on her.

"Star?" Robin grabbed the girl's stiff hand. It began to shake as Starfire's eyes turned a gleaming shade of crimson. They seemed to stare straight through everything, they were completely listless. A cackle rose from deep in her throat, reverberating off the walls. Beast Boy and Cyborg both released Starfire in terror but Robin only gripped her hand tighter. "Starfire, what's wrong? Snap out of it!" he shouted. Then, just like that, the laughter stopped. Starfire's eyes flickered to green and her body went limp. She had fallen into a deep, uneasy sleep. Her friends stood over her, puzzled, and sick with worry.

Raven pressed two fingers to her friend's forehead in order to calm the girl's restless tossing. A moment later the psychic drew her hand back with a cry; the fingers wee covered in blood.

"it's not my blood." Raven said as the three boys swarmed around her. The dark girl's gaze fell on Stafire, as she mumbled in her sleep, "It's Starfire's. She's bleeding from her eyes!" And it was true, tears of blood were running down the alien princess's bright red cheeks, and she was moaning in pain.

FLASHBACK (starfire's dreams)

The creature was much larger then she. It had ugly black spikes, sharper then knives, all over its body, and a long tale covered with them as well. That tail alone could have broken all the bones in her body with one swipe. its eyes were black with red pinpricks in the middle, and its face was more a grotesque mask then a face. It looked slimy, and squashed, only its nose protruded slightly. The ugly thing also had a mouth full of teeth that were nearly as big as the claws on its hands and feet. She could see its breath, that's how putrid it was. it billowed toward out toward her hiding place in sickly yellow clouds. She coughed, and it turned in her direction. She held her breath, and it lost interest. It was an Oudx, an animal, a pet of the Arakni. Oudx craved blood. She had no cuts, it couldn't smell her, but the Araknin could. The Arakni were an intelligent race, and strong. Starfire didn't realize one was behind her until it was too late. Luckily, Goldfire, her older sister, was watching out for her. Goldfire was always watching out for her. And it was Goldfire whose body the Araknin ran through with his arm spikes. She would have died if Goldfire hadn't been there. Goldfire was always looking out for her. Always. until the end of her life. Her short life. Such a short life. And it was short because of her! She was a coward, hiding behind the columns in the great Hall, and under tables, and behind thrones… She was a coward. Ultimate dishonor was hers. She'd let them die, it was all her fault, she knew that. And yet, she still ran. When Goldfire had turned her sunken, dimming eyes toward her to whisper, "Run" she had listened. Starfire had fled. She had only looked back once. She was blinded by tears and ran headlong into a solid wall of Arakni. Somehow she disentangled herself from their twisted claws and backed away. She was sniffling, and they were laughing at her, mocking her pain. They would have pounced on her in an instant had she not been grabbed from behind and lifted into the air.

Starfire twisted around and her eyes connected with the light blue-gray irises of her older sister, Rosefire. Rosefire's reassuring smile was strained. She had an unconscious Blackfire draped over one arm, and she was holding Starfire up with her other one. "Brace yourself Star," she said, mouth a thin line of determination, "we are going up and out."

"They are following us!" Starfire could only squeak.

"Let them. If we can get outside the palace, we can get to an escape pod. The one's in the palace have been destroyed. Hopefully, they have yet to find the cave our father has used to hide a few extra."

"The ceiling…"

"Do not look down Starfire, close your eyes." Rosefire's eyes glowed silver and she blasted a hole in the ceiling. Starfire held her breath as they sped through smoke and falling debris. Miraculously, they made it, unscathed, and the boundless yellow/pink/blue sky of Tameran rose above them.

"Starfire," Rosefire was wheezing slightly. "Can you fly?" She was injured, dark blood was seeping through her clothes.

"Y-yes."

"Then follow me. We must get to the escape pods- we have to get off this planet. Flying is too slow- they will catch us!" Starfire nodded, but when Rosefire relinquished her hold on her she fell. She plummeted toward the ground unable to remember the joy of flight.

END FLASHBACK

SPLASH! Starfire sputtered herself to full wakefulness as she spit water out of her mouth, and coughed it out of her lungs.

"What is going on?" Robin? Cyborg?" Starfire choked as she wiped the water from her streaming eyes.

"You're okay, Star." Robin was still holding her hand, but he dropped it when she looked at him. "You were burning up- we couldn't cool you down, or wake you up."

"Look on the bright side, at least the ice water washed out your eyes." Beast Boy said from Starfire's other side. "They were bleeding before. You've been asleep for two days- Raven and Cyborg have gone for a doctor…"

"No." Starfire shook her head, "No doctors. I am not sick."

"Starfire, you're temperature was way above normal, even for a Tameranian." Robin frowned, "Now you're shivering."

"N-no-o, I-m-m n-n-n-ot."

"You're turning blue!" Robin jumped up in alarm. Beast Boy was already at the door.

"Raven said she had some books…" Beast Boy was frantic, "Star, you have to tell me what's happening, do you have a Tammeranian flu or some kind of virus?"

"NO! This is not in her books!" Starfire's teeth banged against each other, they were chattering so loudly she could barely speak. her skin was turning blue and the water dripping down her hair and clothes was turning to ice. She opened her mouth, "R-robin, be-ast B-B-Boy- this I-is g-good. I-I-I am winning." Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she was fast asleep.

FLASHBACK (starfire's dreams)

"Galfore, why do all the other children hate me?"

"Princess, what makes you believe they hate you?"

"I don't know. … What is a jiiya?"

"Now who called you that?" Galfore pulled the distraught six-year-old onto his lap and she cuddled against him. She felt safe in his lap, happy, content.

"Blackfire told me that that is the reason no one likes me."

"Blackfire doesn't know everything." Galfore scratched his long red beard, "I know this is the first year you have been allowed outside the palace…"

"it would not be so difficult if Blackfire would leave me alone. She was the one who insisited everyone call me jiiya."

"I see." Galfore raised a bushy eyebrow, "You know you must pay her no mind, little one."

"I try…" Starfire hung her head.

"Do not worry princess." Galfore said.

"My parents do not even speak to me." The statement was blunt. It was smothered in sorrow and tinged in frustration. Galfore knew there was nothing that could be siad to dissuade the truth of the statement. Starfire had the sweetest disposition, she was like a daughter to him, and it broke his heart into pieces to watch her suffer. He hated to watch her cry.

"Little Princess," Galfore lifted the girl's tembling chin with his mighty paws, "No matter what happens, stay true to your heart-it is a pure heart- never let anything taint it." The giant's deep voice shook, "And don't you EVER give up hope."

END FLASHBACK

"That's the last time we were allowed to see him." Starfire opened her eyes. She was looking into a calm, silvery lake at her reflection, and her reflection was speaking. "We had a hard life didn't we?"

"No." Starfire was defiant, "I had a hard life-you were the cause."

"Aw, poor baby."

"Listen, you jiiya…"

"Ok, if you are going to insist that we are two different people then call me Nightfire. Stop this 'jiiya' business. I am nothing more then the darker side of you. You being a jiiya has nothing to do with me. Everyone has a dark side-yours is just more pronounced- and you also seem to have an issue accepting your darker side so…I've had to become my own person. Of course, being a jiiya also makes your temptation 100 times harder to resist- and your craving for power and blood…well those are higher too."

"You are evil."

"No. Jiiya are not evil, they have simply lost themselves to temptation. You aren't truly evil until you sell your soul to the devil, now HE is evil."

"You have been trying to possess me again."

"It's happened before. Why are you so shocked?"

"This battle cannot go one forever."

"You're right. Sooner or later I'll win and you will disappear." Nightfire grinned, "Little Star, either embrace the demon within you or it will consume you-nothing can be imprisoned forever."

"But…"

"Fine. You don't want to listen- I'll leave…for now. But don't think we're through."

"Wait!" Starfire reached into the water but Nightfire's reflection was gone.

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