The Red Titan

Chapter 3 Break Day

(4:30 AM)

Arde yawned as he rose from his bed. He liked his room in the tower. It was black, a color he liked. The floor and bed were red thought as well as his door. It wasn't very bright either. He pulled on his boots and walked out into the corridor. Raven was the only person that would even think about getting up this early. Robin had declared today to be a 'Break Day' and had gotten Titans East to watch over Jump City for the day. Making his way to the kitchen he decided to make Raven some tea, he didn't much like it himself but Raven loved it. Out of all the Titans Arde was most fond of her. She was beautiful, and not annoying like the others. He had grown to love all of the Titans as family but after so much of Cyborg's and BeastBoy's bickering over what to eat he began to find being around them rather difficult. Raven on the other hand was quiet. She would talk to him like she had always known him, and they had a lot in common. Around a week ago Arde had started bringing Raven her tea every morning. It gave him an excuse to be in her room. After making the tea he headed for Raven's room. As usual he didn't have to knock she just opened the door and he came in. "Good morning." he greeted her as he came in and handed her the cup. "Morning. Thanks." she replied sitting up in her bed. He nodded taking his place on the floor. "I'm sorry about yelling at you yesterday.." she mumbled not meeting his gaze. "Don't worry about it, you were just trying to help me. I get it." he replied as he crossed his legs and began meditating. He found it easier to meditate in her room, it was peaceful to him. "What was that spell you used yesterday called?" she questioned him as he closed his eyes. "Jury of Flames." he answered slowly rising into the air. "I've never heard of it, and I don't think it's in any of my books." she murmured walking over to her bookcase. "It shouldn't be. I created it." he answered opening one of his eyes to watch her. "You can do that? Shouldn't that require a lot of energy?" she asked her friend. "Yes. I created it a long time ago. It was sort of an accident anyway. I try not to use it now, it drains almost all of my energy just using it." said Arde as he continued floating just off of the ground. "Do you know any other spells?" she asked intrigued. "Of course I do. I spent my childhood locked in my room with nothing to do but read. I know almost every spell there is." he said jokingly. "I'm sure that's a slight exaggeration." she mumbled finishing off her tea. "Probably" Arde replied laughing. Raven smiled, she'd done this a lot more often since Arde's arrival. He was nice, and smart, and not hard to look at. "Raven?" she snapped back to reality to find Arde waving his hand in front of her face. "Huh?" she muttered confused. "I asked you if you were okay. Your cup exploded." he laughed at the expression on he face

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(7:30 AM; Kitchen)

"C'mon Cy! Just let me cook today!" BeastBoy pleaded with his friend trying to force him away from the stove. "No, B! Nobody wants tofu eggs! We want real eggs!" he told the green changeling pushing him away. "Come friends, can you not both prepare the feast of the morning?" Starfire suggested standing between the two friends. "Well yeah but--' Cyborg began "Then that is what you shall do!" Starfire decided forcing the two towards the stove together. Deciding it would be best not attract Starfire's attention again, they remained bickering quietly. Robin walked in and glanced at the two friends unusual quietness. "Where's Arde? I wanted to see if he could spar with me." Robin asked the room. "I think he's on the roof meditating with Raven." Cyborg  told his masked friend. "Oh. If you see him tell him to find me." Robin said making his way to the evidence room.

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(8:00; Rooftop/Evidence Room)

The two empaths sat in silence as the sun rose into the sky. Raven was floating just above the Tower's roof deep in meditation. She liked spending time with Arde, but the closeness of their relationship was driving her crazy. Happy and Affection were practically jumping for joy inside of her. Knowledge was head over heels for his intellect and her powers were being erratic. Arde was sitting next to his friend looking out at the mass of water. 'It's getting closer...' he thought worried. His hair was getting lighter, it was almost brown. He leaned back thinking about what was slowly taking over his conscience. "Raven." he said sighing. "What is it?" she answered. Raven stood up beside him. "Nothing. Nevermind." he replied "I'm gonna go talk to Robin." he finished getting up from the ground. Raven sighed she didn't want him to leave but being away from him would probably do her and her Emoticlones good. "Okay." she watched him walk towards the door. Arde was worried. Something was coming and it could mean the end of the Teen Titans. 'Why did I stay? Now I'm just putting everyone's lives at risk by staying.'  his mind raced as he headed for the main room. Upon arrival he saw Cyborg and BeastBoy playing a game called 'Zombie Avengers'  on the couch. Starfire, meanwhile, was reading a magazine about a boy band. "Hey Star,have you seen Robin?" he asked approaching the orange girl. Starfire glanced up at him and smiled "Friend Robin was looking for you as well! I think he is in the evidence room" she beamed up at him. "Thanks Star." Arde headed out of the main room and took a left towards the evidence room. Robin was standing in front of a case holding a mask. "That was Slade's?" he dared to ask. He had never met the villain but he was beyond evil according to the others. "Yes. Sometimes I still tell myself he's not really dead. That his death was just another elaborate trick." the masked teen explained. "Robin your obsession with Slade is unhealthy. He's gone. You all saw Terra defeat him." Arde assured his friend. "You're right. It isn't healthy. But you don't know what it was like to be tormented by him." Robin said glaring at the empath. "I don't that's true. Anyway, I have a favor to ask of you. I wanted to ask if you could teach me how to use those disks." Arde asked awkwardly. Robin looked at the wiry teen wondering why he would ask for weapons. He nodded not questioning his friends decision,'This is Arde, he wouldn't ask for something if he didn't think it was necessary.' thought the teen, "Come on. Let's go outside." Robin said. They headed back towards the doors, Arde still wondering if he had made the right decision.