The arena fell deathly quiet as the teen and the animal faced each other, staring each other down. The aliens expected a showdown, so they held their breath in anticipation. One of the lamps high above flickered weakly, giving off even less light.
"I'm sorry Beast Boy," Robin spoke slowly and clearly, hoping that somehow his friend could hear him through the animal that had taken over. "I never meant for all of this. What you heard isn't what I meant."
The creature only grunted and squeezed its mitts into giant fists. Robin stretched his back leg out further, lowering his stance. "I don't want to do this, Beast Boy," he continued. "If you can hear me, please listen to-woa!" The Boy Wonder barely evaded the heavy swing, which would have taken off his head. Immediately, cheers began ringing from the sidelines. Robin flipped backwards over and over until he'd put more space between them. The creature didn't stop, and before he even had time to consider his next move, Robin had to duck and roll again.
This continued for some time, during which the roaring around them increased; the Tellurians were calling for more action. Robin had fought Beast Boy in this form before, but the situation had been entirely different, and technically, no one had been 'at fault.' Now, Beast Boy was fuelled by the rage of betrayal, and the Boy Wonder didn't want to hurt the changeling. Their friendship was over, and he couldn't bear to see Beast Boy suffer more at his hands.
Every time he saw an opening, he didn't take it. How could he? It would only prove to Beast Boy that Robin was the enemy. Instead, he continued to parry and evade every attack that was thrown at him. His speed was only very slightly faster than the man-beast, so he couldn't gain any real advantage without retaliating. However, he was growing tired, as the creature was very strong – each attack drained even more strength from his body. How could he stop the fight? What could he do to bring Beast Boy back? How could they get out of here, surrounded by enemy aliens?
Think. Think. There's always something.
DONNNGGGG! The creature smashed its fists into the space where Robin's head at been – right by the barred wall. The sound resounded and the aliens jumped back from the wall, shocked and thrilled at the same time. Robin sprinted in the opposite direction, an idea suddenly forming in his head.
As he ran, he looked behind him. The creature grabbed onto the bars with all four legs and made a magnificent sideways leap, flying towards Robin at high speed, claws outstretched. Just before the claws would have sunken into Robin's back, he jumped up and landed on the creature's furry back. Quickly, he bent his legs and made a huge leap up, up to the warehouse's scotia. He landed against it and pushed hard with his legs, leaping upwards yet again, until he reached the rafters.
CRASH! The rafter he'd grabbed onto snapped as the man-beast swiped its claws through it. Robin quickly jumped to another, then another, heading towards the sloping ceiling. He smiled. It was only wood and corrugated iron.
Things became a blur. He heard shouts of dismay from the aliens and shrieks of anger from their general. But it was too late; inches before he crashed into the ceiling, he grabbed onto a vertical rafter and swung around it, dodging the man-beast, who burst right through the ceiling. Robin swung back around the pole and jumped out after it.
The sun was high in the sky now, and the light attacked both Robin's and the creature's eyes, but they still managed to land gracefully from their giant fall. All the time, Robin's mind was racing through situations, deducing outcomes and reactions. First, Beast Boy had to be rescued from himself. Second, they had to free the remaining prisoners. And third, they had to prevent the aliens from continuing their racket, which was still shrouded in mystery.
The Boy Wonder sprinted across the ground, which sparse vegetation and frost had hardened to rock-like solidity. His shoes, which hadn't been replaced like the rest of his uniform, were falling apart as he ran and the rocky ground pounded against his feet painfully. Was there no end to the harshness of this wilderness?
As he ran, the man-beast only metres behind him, he quickly took in the environment. It looked like an old, abandoned military station, which the Tellurians had claimed for their base of operations. All the buildings were incredibly old, made of only wood, nails and bits of iron. Along each little building, Russian words were stamped in black, though they had faded almost completely. Being fluent in Russian, Robin's theory about a military camp was proven correct. Not only that, but the question that had been resounding in his head for so long had finally been answered.
Russia, that's where they were. Probably eastern Siberia, though how far north they were he still didn't know. At least the ground was still soil, and not snow. They must be in one of the warmer areas to the east.
He chanced a look behind him. Beast Boy – or what had been Beast Boy – had only not caught up because he was also intrigued by their surroundings. The creature was stopping and sniffing every few metres, so while it wasn't looking, Robin took his chance and skidded to a halt behind one of the little cabins, slamming his back into the wooden wall and panting with fatigue.
Robin held his breath as a furry, green blur sped past, and gasped when it had disappeared. Now he could hear the Tellurian aliens shouting and firing their weapons. Not only that, but the man-beast's keen senses would give off his position in less than a minute.
There's always something. Always! He looked left and right, keeping a level head, and saw the enclosure he'd previously occupied. Thinking quickly, he headed for it, sprinting as fast as he could. He'd only get one shot at this, and it only depended on whether he was right about the fence...
CRASH! There was a clattering of broken timber as the man-beast smashed through the cabin he just passed, right on his heels. Robin focused on his destination, ignoring all thoughts of panic and despair. The lethal claws were inches from his flesh. I'll reach the fence, he thought. I will. I know I will.
He did. With his amazing reflexes, Robin suddenly ducked and reached up, grabbing onto the long mane of the beast which passed through the air above him, then he pulled his legs up and pushed them against the creature's body, making a leap in the opposite direction. The beast crashed right into the wire mesh, which caused two whole walls of the enclosure to collapse, but not before several thousand volts of electricity seared through its body.
"Raaaaaaoooooowww!" it cried in pain, shaking from the raw current ripping through it. The old cable that had been along the bottom half of the fence snapped, immediately stopping the current, but the damage had been done. The beast fell to its knees, de-morphed into Beast Boy, and finally collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
Robin stayed in his crouch, trying to catch his breath, as the scene before him died down. He had been right; the aliens had utilised the electric fencing. The aliens themselves were close; they'd catch him soon. He had to hurry. He ran over the fallen mesh, picked up the fallen changeling and tossed him over his shoulder. Then, with the weight of Beast Boy weighing him down, he hobbled across the enclosure to where the other wall had fallen down. As he passed the other prisoners, he cried,
"Come on, you're free! Get up and run before they come! Help me get this guy out of here!" Almost robotically, the other people stood up and ran for their lives – they could hear the aliens nearing. In fact, they were in such a hurry that they pushed right past Robin, causing Beast Boy to slip and fall, bringing down the Boy Wonder with him.
"Hey!" he growled, anger spiking. "Help!" They ignored him, and kept running. Robin grunted, trying to ignore his fatigue. If only Beast Boy could transform in his sleep! He stood up and grabbed Beast Boy's arm, putting it around his shoulders. "Come on," he groaned. "Wake up, Beast Boy!" He began dragging the changeling once more, but the weight was too much. They'd never escape like this, they'd have to hide.
Gathering all the energy he could possibly muster, Robin forced himself to run across the broken enclosure to the nearest possible cabin, before leaping inside and slamming the brittle door behind him. The wood cracked, but thankfully didn't shatter.
Inside were four bunks and two wardrobes. There were no windows, and it smelled awful, but Robin continued to drag Beast Boy to one of the wardrobes, and carefully opened one of the doors. The hinge squeaked painfully loud, so Robin quickly stuffed his friend inside and followed in after, before shutting the door behind him.
Outside he could hear that the aliens had finally caught up, and were expressing their rage at the escape of their prisoners. There were many shrieks and cries in the ugly, Tellurian language, none of which gave Robin any idea of what their next plan was. However, he listened intently, ready to fight if any one of them discovered their temporary hiding place.
"Mm..woa what-mmf!" Robin quickly put his hand over Beast Boy's mouth in the cramped darkness, and whispered as quietly as he could,
"They're looking for us, we need to be quiet."
Beast Boy only shivered and whispered back in a weak voice, "It's...cold..." before he lost consciousness again and transformed into something smaller and furry, though what exactly Robin couldn't see.
Perfect. He picked up the changeling in his new form and tucked him under one of his arms. Beast Boy was right – it was cold. The sun did nothing to warm the freezing atmosphere. Robin leaned back against the wall of the wardrobe, and was surprised to find an old military jacket hanging there. He yanked it down and wrapped himself in it, keeping Beast Boy tucked in the crook of his arm. It stunk and was covered in dirt and dust, but he ignored it. Any warmth was worth it.
Noise outside was dying down. He could hear some of the aliens firing their weapons, but it seemed the rest had wandered back to the main part of camp. He felt terrible for the prisoners – they had nowhere to go; they could only run for their lives. The harsh wilderness would probably hurt them far more than the Tellurians would.
Still, they were from this land. They could probably survive a lot longer than him. Robin looked down in the darkness, hoping they could get out of this.
We will get out of this.
Finally hearing nothing but silence, Robin slowly stepped back out of the wardrobe and snuck back to the door, carrying Beast Boy. He peeked outside – nothing, no one. He listened harder, but heard nothing. The aliens had either retired, or had gone to collect some form of transport to chase after the escaped prisoners. If they haven't been caught again. Either way, now was the time to make a break for it. In the distance beyond the camp, all he could see were flatlands and eventually hills. He had no choice.
He tucked Beast Boy in the collar of the jacket and buttoned it at the top to keep him from slipping out, then after taking a big breath, ran as fast as he possibly could.
xxxx
A/N: Unintentially explored some of Robin's skills in this chapter. XD I've been considering drawing illustrations for this story, but I'm not sure what scene(s) to do. If you have any ideas, ask me on my deviantART, located from my profile. Anyway, as always, please review!
