The Wicked One

Chapter Thirty-Five | Vexing, Part Three

The three of us walked down the hall in silence. It was an awkward silence, not the kind I preferred. See-More walked ahead of us, his eye scanning every room we passed. I knew without asking that every room he looked into was empty. This whole palace was empty...except for the dungeon.

"Pardon me for asking..." the Titan said as we walked. I glanced sideways at her only to see that she was already looking directly at me. She smiled when our eyes met and I quickly looked away. "You are Kyd Wykkyd, yes?"

I nodded.

"And you can...how do you say...teleport?"

I nodded again, still not looking at her.

"Is that why my sister...why Blackfire freed you? For your powers?"

Even if I could speak, I could not give the Titan the answer she wanted. It was a question even I was still looking for the answer to. So I simply shrugged, keeping my eyes focused on the end of this hallway, the last hallway that See-More and I were to search before all that was left was the basement.

"Blackfire hired us sayin' that she needed to be busted out of some prison," See-More spoke up as we continued to walk. "Well, not me, exactly. I kinda joined up on my own."

"The last I saw my sister, she was the ruler of my people. My friends and I defeated her and I had her banished from Tamaran. I do not understand how she has returned...or why my own people have turned against me."

"Hey, I'm sure it's not all that bad."

"Do you not see me?!" Starfire suddenly cried, forcing See-More and I to stop. "I was attacked before I could even reach my planet! I had to fight...to hurt my own people to reach my own home safely!"

See-More and I could only look back at her. There was nothing we could say. The Titan glared back at us, tears welling up in her one visible eye again, the other covered away by a ripped sheet of fabric.

"Why did you work for my sister? Why did you allow all this to happen?!" the Titan suddenly shot, stepping up to us.

"Er..." See-More muttered, looking back at me for guidance. I looked to him and, thinking quickly. pointed to my neck...really hoping he could see what had changed about it. 

"Wha...Oh, yeah! Well, you see, my good pal, Kyd Wykkyd, had this collar thing on his neck that Blackfire put on him. I remember Fixit sayin' she could use it to track him and even kill him if she wanted to! She said she'd only remove it if we help her and when I found out about everything I had to help Kyd out. He's my...you know...friend?"

"Friend? Villains do not have friends," the Titan asserted, still glaring at us. A single tear broke free from her eye. "They only hurt and take away other's friends!"

"Well, that's kinda harsh, don't you think? I mean, yeah, me and Kyd are criminals, but we're still people, right? And it's not like we broke into your Tower with the intention of stealing Titans! That's just how it, uh, worked out?"

I let out an inaudible sigh before moving over to stand closer to See-More. Out of all the people who were left from our little group, it had to be two who could not negotiate. 

Starfire's glare deepened, her fists rose at her sides, glowing green. I gripped my cape and held it like a wall between See-More  and the Titan. See-More quickly threw up his hands defensively.

"Whoa, whoa! What're you doin'?! I thought we were gonna work togeth-!"

"It was a mistake!" Starfire cried. "Why are we even walking through this hallway?! You said my people were in the dungeon, so why are we not there?!"