Sorry for the long wait. I have been trying really hard to get something really good for this one and finely it is here! I am positive that this will be better the Coulrophobia. Enjoy and don't forget to review at the end!
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman.
Red Robin and Nightwing jumped from rooftop to another as they patrolled Gotham. It was Red Robin's first patrol in two months. The only reason Batman had let Red Robin go on patrol was Nightwing had promised to watch over Red and they wouldn't go after any of the major villains. Batman would have gone with Red Robin, but Robin was still being kept from patrol and Batman didn't want to risk Robin sneaking off. Nightwing watch Red Robin carefully as they moved from one rooftop to another. Nightwing noticed that Red Robin was being really skittish and he was flinching a lot. Nightwing had to stop his train of thought as they jumped down into an alley where a group of men were attacking a woman. After taking down the men, Nightwing turned around to check on Red Robin, who had been fighting behind him. But when he turned around Red Robin was nowhere to be seen. Nightwing did a quick body count to see if Red had possibly gone after one of the attackers. All the attackers were accounted for and no one new had shown up during the fight. Nightwing tried to communicate Red Robin with his comm. But Red must have turned off his comm. Because all Nightwing got was dead air. That's when Nightwing opened up a channel on his comm. for the cave.
"Nightwing, is everything alright?" Batman asked.
"Everything's fine, I just need to talk to Robin" Nightwing responded.
"What do you need my assistance for?" Robin said after a minute.
"Has Red Robin been acting strange recently?" Nightwing asked.
"No. He hasn't been acting strange. It seems he has recovered. He hasn't had an attack since the Cult of Clowns."
"The thing is, he has been acting really strange and I don't know why."
"Explain."
"He seems to be really nervous and fidgety. He also has been staying in well-lit areas and he has been flinching a lot, especially around shadows. I just wanted to ask you because you seem to be the expert on these kinds of things."
"He's been flinching around shadows."
"That's what it looks like to me."
"Hmm. I was afraid of this."
"What?"
"It seems Red Robin has acquired another fear."
"What is it?"
"I cannot be entirely sure, but I think it is sciaphobia, the fear of shadows."
"What am I going to do?" Nightwing mumbled.
"Red Robin is a few alleys south of your current location. If I were you I would go make sure he is alright. He may have had another attack."
"Thanks mini bat!" Nightwing said happily
"Tt, don't call me that."
Nightwing smiled switching the channel his comm. was on before setting out to find Red Robin.
Red Robin was leaning against an alley wall in the fetal position as he painfully relived another memory
Tim was curled up in a ball shaking. The Joker had just left after his most recent torture session. Tim tried a meditation technique when suddenly he heard shouting and commotion from outside, where ever outside was. Of course that led to the voices coming back. Tim watched as shadows flickered around the room whispering and laughing at him. "Weak, pathetic, useless. No one is coming to save you." The shadows whispered these things the most, but they would say other terrible things. Tim heard something crash nearby. He began to panic as the shadows began to swirl around, moving closer to him. A large black moved threateningly towards him.
"Don't hurt me," Tim whimpered as the shadow moved closer to him. Suddenly the shadow grabbed hold of him.
"No! Stop! Please!" Tim cried out as he thrashed, trying to get the shadow to let go of him.
"Robin," The shadow said worriedly.
"Stop! Please, don't hurt me!" Tim shouted flaying around as the shadow kept a firm hold on him.
"Robin." The shadow said forcefully.
"No! I won't let you hurt me!"
"Robin."
"Robin."
"Red."
Tim gasped as he quickly opened his eyes. Nightwing was right in front of him with a worriedly expression on his face. Tim realized he must have actually lashed out and said all of those things. His hand went up to his mask as tears started to form.
"Hey, it's ok. No one is going to hurt you." Nightwing said pulling Tim close.
Tim started crying as Nightwing gently rubbed his back.
"How did you find me?" Tim asked after a few minutes. He pulled himself out of Nightwing's grasp and pulled his mask of for a second to wipe away any remaining tears.
"A little bird in the cave helped me."
"Damian's going to kill me."
"Kill you, no. find a way to keep you from going out on patrol, most likely,
Tim sat quietly, the memory still fresh on his mind. Nightwing looked at Tim worriedly.
"Is something wrong Red?"
"I was afraid of batman. That's why I lashed out. I'm sorry if I hurt you."
"The only thing you might have hurt is my feeling and why were you afraid of Batman?"
"By now you probably know what happened three years ago. While I was trapped the shadows would taunt me. They said I was useless, that I was no good, and that no one would come save me. I almost believed them. When Batman came to save me I thought he was one of the shadows. I- I was scared because I thought the shadows were going to hurt me, but it was just Batman trying to save me."
"Red, I can't possibly know what you've gone through, in fact only Red Hood can relate to what you've gone through," Tim winced when Nightwing said this, remembering what Damian had said. "The important thing is that you have family that will help you get through this."
Tim looked at Nightwing. Was what he said true, would they help him because they love him or out of pity?
"Let's get you home," Nightwing said picking up Red Robin.
"What about our bikes?"
"I told Hood to bring yours in. Mine is nearby. We can ride it home together."
Nightwing carried Red Robin over to his bike before setting Red down. Nightwing got on his bike handing Red Robin a helmet. Red Robin put his helmet on and got on Nightwing's bike before wrapping his arms around Nightwing. As they rode toward the cave everything that had just happened rushed through Red Robin's head. In the end he was left with one question.
Could he make it through this or was he a weak, useless burden, just like the shadows had said?
Tim has begun to doubt himself, what will happen!? Thank you for reading the fear series. This is fear 4 out of 6. for those of you who read Claustrophobia, yes the shadows were in Claustrophobia. Please review. I enjoy reading your reviews. i have a folder in my email where i save all of your reviews, so please review. reviewing makes fanfiction com faster. Thank you!
Next time on Fear: Jason consuls Tim on how to deal with Dick's escrima sticks.