A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my Patreon for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!

Starfire and Blackfire have a much-needed talk~

-x-X-x-

Lifting her hands in a placating gesture, Starfire smiles softly.

“Perhaps a middle ground can be reached. We can have Remedy here come along. I trust him implicitly and you can too, sister.”

Beside her, Lucien freezes in surprise, clearly not having expected such a proposal. Blackfire, meanwhile, narrows her eyes at him, studying him wordlessly for a long enough moment that Starfire worries she misjudged her sister’s initial glance. While it seemed like Blackfire hadn’t had any issue with Lucien, that didn’t mean she was interested in having him along for a private chat between the two of them. Now by mentioning him, Starfire had put more of Blackfire’s scrutiny on the human man.

Ugh, it would be very, very bad if Blackfire were to realize that Starfire and Lucien were together. Not because the other Titans didn’t know and she might blurt it out… rather, Starfire was pretty sure they all DID know. Hell, she was sitting with Lucien’s arm wrapped around her shoulders right now after all. However, so far everyone was pretending like it wasn’t real. And if Blackfire did blurt it out, they would be forced to acknowledge that it WAS real.

Fortunately for Starfire, before Blackfire can come to a decision, Robin decides to insert his foot into his mouth again, like the humans like to say.

“What?! No, that’s-!”

“Hm, very well. That is acceptable.”

Starfire blinks in surprise as Blackfire viciously overrides Robin, cutting him off mid-sentence and signaling her approval. Looking at her sister, Starfire can tell that Blackfire is greatly enjoying ruining Robin’s day. Which is kind of weird, because she’s not supposed to know who Robin even is. A quick glance at Raven gets a minute head shake. Blackfire truly has lost her memories, as far as Raven can tell. Meaning that it’s not personal…

It takes a moment for Starfire to realize why Blackfire is enjoying fucking with Robin so much. He reminds her of the courtiers and instructors from their past. Or rather, from Starfire’s past. For Blackfire, it’s probably been a lot more recent than she imagines. Regardless, there had been no small number of… oafish and officious officials who had thought they could lord their positions over the Tamaranean Princesses just because of her and Blackfire’s age.

But looking back with fresh eyes, Starfire realizes it hadn’t just been that… those courtiers, by and large, had treated Blackfire a lot worse than they’d treated Starfire. Long before Blackfire had become a monster, they’d made her out to be one even as a child. A self-fulfilling prophecy, Starfire could now call it with more time and wisdom.

Bringing it all back to the present… Robin was acting just like those sorts of people. And Blackfire saw a chance to really rub it in his face that he had no power here. Not over her sister and certainly not over her.

As much as Starfire and Robin were currently… on the outs, she still tries to give him a reassuring smile, even as she rises from the couch with Lucien at her side.

“It’ll be fine, Robin. Blackfire… lead the way.”

Nodding sharply, her sister floats up into the air and Starfire and Lucien do the same. It doesn’t really surprise Starfire when they leave the Tower entirely, though she does hear a squawk from Robin that makes her think Batman’s protégé fully intended to spy on them if they’d stayed within his domain. And it was HIS domain. Especially ever since Cyborg left… there was no one on the Titans as well-versed with tech as Robin at this point.

Though, she assured herself that at the very least, Robin probably hadn’t had the chance to bug the guest room where she and Lucien shared their first night. Because if he knew that Lucien truly was Lucien Luthor, Lex Luthor’s son… he would definitely have already acted on that information. That’s only a small blessing at the end of the day however, because she knows as far as Robin is concerned… it’s only a matter of time.

Putting it out of her mind for now, Starfire focuses on the matter at hand. Blackfire flies them through the air for a moment, before bringing them down on the roof of a skyscraper in the middle of the city. Glancing between Starfire and Lucien, she narrows her eyes and frowns, before focusing on Starfire in particular.

“Sister. Explain what’s going on. Now.”

Right. This… this wasn’t going to be easy.

-x-X-x-

Wasn’t all of this a little too easy? Lucien could hardly believe how smoothly this was all going. Blackfire had no idea who he was. He was sure of that, given it was HE who had fucked with her memories in the first place. To be fair, she’d agreed to all of it. He hadn’t forced her to do anything against her will. This scheme was as much hers as it was his at this point.

Still, while Lucien could apparently reliably hide his emotions from whatever it was Raven did, Blackfire definitely couldn’t have. And that was why they’d needed it to be real, in order to actually pull this off.

That said, he wouldn’t have expected her to allow him to tag along with her and her sister for this talk. Yet here they were. As Starfire explains to Blackfire that she definitely DOES have amnesia, he can tell the younger Tamaranean really appreciates his presence. Blackfire, meanwhile, throws him a speculative glance every now and then, even as she listens to what Starfire has to say.

“… I am forced to accept that you’re telling the truth, sister. We are both older than we were before. But… that still doesn’t explain why we’re both here, on this planet. How did we get here? Why are we not home on Tamaran?”

Starfire grimaces at that, clearly wanting to skirt around their relationship woes as much as possible. Lucien doesn’t blame her, honestly. If there was one thing Kori was right to avoid, it was telling her big sister how much of a murderous cunt Blackfire would inevitably become.

“… What’s the last thing you remember, sister? Before waking up underground, I mean. What’s the last time you recall seeing me? Where were we? What were we doing?”

Blackfire’s brow furrows in thought before she huffs.

“We’d been training with the Warlords of Okaara, of course. Per Tamaran Tradition.”

Starfire freezes before slowly forcing herself to relax. Again, Lucien can’t blame her. When he and Blackfire had talked about this… obviously, Blackfire had no desire to be reverted too far back in time. She would not consent to being returned to a child-like state, and Lucien wouldn’t have put her there anyways. However, to get her to a point where she didn’t want her sister dead or enslaved was… harder to find. In the end, they’d settled on a point in the midst of her and Starfire’s training with the Warlords of Okaara.

According to Blackfire, it wasn’t until later in the training that she’d truly developed a hatred for Starfire. In fact, though it was like pulling teeth getting her to admit it, Blackfire had reluctantly told him that she’d hoped going off with her sister, away from Tamaran and the people who hated her, would allow her to let go of her resentment towards Starfire.

It had not, because instead it had only made it clearer to Blackfire that her treatment at the hands of her own people was not only abnormal… but would never change. Time away from Tamaran had only driven home for Blackfire that she would never be loved by her people. And as the only representative of Tamaran that Blackfire had close to her, Starfire had become more than just a target of resentment. She had become the target for all Blackfire’s hatred.

But that hadn’t happened yet. At least not for Blackfire. It had taken time, so Lucien and Blackfire had worked together to find the furthest moment along in her training before she’d truly come to hate her sister. For Blackfire, this was so they could fool Raven. For Lucien, this was so he could potentially show Blackfire that she didn’t have to hate her sister. That Starfire didn’t deserve to be a target for her resentment and loathing.

He watches as Kori slowly relaxes upon realizing that Blackfire didn’t seem to hate her, even with the time frame being the one in which she’d tried to kill her in a spar.

“I… I see. Well. Things went… south during our training. And one thing led to another and… and Tamaran has been conquered. B-By the Citadel. We had to flee here, to Earth… separately. And here is where we’ve stayed, ever since.”

Blackfire’s eyes widen at that.

“What?! Tamaran was conquered by the Citadel?! How can that be?! We have to do something! What have we done to prepare to free our people, Koriandr?”

Starfire flinches at that, making her sister’s eyes narrow all over again.

“Sister…”

“Nothing. We haven’t done… anything.”

“That doesn’t make any sense! Are we not proud warriors of Tamaran?! I feel more powerful than ever before! And you certainly look stronger than you ever were before! Why do we not race to save our people?!”

“Because they don’t deserve it!”

Silence. Starfire’s outburst shuts Blackfire up. Truthfully, it takes Lucien aback as well. The younger of the two sisters’ grimaces but doesn’t try to walk it back. Instead, she shakes her head and steps forward, reaching out and grabbing Blackfire by her hands.

“Part of the conditions for surrender was that I was never allowed to return to Tamaran. If I do, the Citadel would destroy our world’s surface and massacre our people for breaking the treaty. But even then… I’ve never even tried. I’ve never thought about it. Because… because they don’t deserve salvation, Komandr. They don’t deserve our help. That’s why I haven’t tried to free them from the Citadel.”

Blackfire takes this in for a long moment, wordlessly considering her sister’s words. She doesn’t seem to know what to say. Starfire, meanwhile, has her head bowed, clearly waiting for the verdict to pass through Blackfire’s lips. Will it be condemnation or absolution?

Instead, it’s another question.

“How can you say that? What have they done to make you say such things?”

Blinking, Starfire laughs.

“What have they done? Sister, by your own words… you already know what they’ve done. They treated you like garbage! They singled you out for crimes that you had no part in! They acted like you were a pariah before you were even old enough to walk, and they heaped their troubles and woes upon you all our lives! You ask me what they’ve done? For me specifically… they took my sister from me. They took any chance at having a true relationship with you away from me.”

Once again, Blackfire is rendered speechless. Which is good, because Kori isn’t done yet. Still holding her older sister by the hands, Kori brings their arms up between the two of them, their fingers laced together.

“I think I might honestly hate them for it, Komandr. Maybe not all of them. But a lot of them. I hate what they did to you. What they did to us. And though I might tell myself I stay away from Tamaran so they might live another day… the truth is, I stay away because I would rather live my life free of their expectations for either of us. They wanted you to be the monster and me to be the one who would overcome the monster all our lives. I want more for us than that. Don’t you?”

Well shit. That was… that was moving. Lucien was certainly struggling not to tear up right now. Meanwhile, Blackfire’s mouth opens and closes like a goldfish. He almost wishes that the older Tamaranean WAS acting, because he sort of wants to know how Blackfire with all of her memories would react to Starfire’s heartfelt declaration. Alas… that Blackfire isn’t home right now. Not until he reverts the temporary amnesia anyways.

That might happen sooner rather than later though, because the next thing Lucien knows, Blackfire has leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Starfire’s forehead. Clasping Starfire by the back of her neck, Blackfire lets out a sigh as they both close their eyes, sharing a moment with one another.

“Sister… I had no idea.”

Flushed, Starfire nods.

“… I know. I’m sorry I never fully understood what was happening when we were children. If I had, I would have told you all of this a long, long time ago.”

There’s a brief pause as the two of them continue to just… bask in each other’s presence. And then, quite suddenly, Blackfire pulls away and turns towards him. There’s a wide grin on her face as she plants one hand on her hip, the other still holding onto one of Starfire’s hands.

“So then. This is your mate, huh?”

Starfire squawks at that, eyes widening as she’s turned in his direction as well.

“W-What?! Who said that?!”

Rolling her eyes, Blackfire huffs.

“I did, sister. He smells of you and you smell of him. Not to mention the body language. Honestly, it was quite obvious that you two were bedding each other. And equally obvious that the other one back at the tower was NOT happy about it in the least. Amusing, watching the colors that one’s face made when I agreed to let your lover come with us.”

Hah. Amnesiac Blackfire certainly wasn’t slow on the uptake, was she? Starfire, meanwhile, is blushing even harder and squirming.

“Hm. It is good that you were able to find someone of decent Tamaranean Stock on this backwards mudball of a planet. Even if he doesn’t look like one of our people for some reason.”

Wait, what?

“Wait, what?”

Unknowingly, Starfire expresses his confused internal thoughts. Both of them look at Blackfire, a little baffled. Meanwhile, Blackfire just looks between the two of them with a raised brow.

“What? He is obviously some sort of Tamaranean. I can sense it in him.”

… Straight from the mouth of babes, hah! Amnesiac Blackfire had really just exposed him, just like that. As Starfire gives him a look, Lucien sighs and nods.

“It’s true, Star. I’m part Tamaranean. Not because of my parentage, but because of my powers. I… assimilated your biology, I guess you could say.”

Starfire’s eyes widen at that reveal, even as Blackfire’s narrow. After a moment, the older sister scoffs.

“… Strange. But it is good that you will be able to keep up with my sister at the very least.”

“A-Actually, I’m the one who can’t keep up with him.”

The moment the words leave her lips, it’s clear Starfire regrets them. She blushes profusely as both Lucien and Blackfire look in her direction. Awkward silence stretches out between the three of them as Starfire squirms for a moment before opening her mouth to speak once more. Lucien assumes to change the subject, of course.

[X] "... Actually, I could use some help handling him, sister." - 82%