Azarath Metrion Zinthos ! =)
Eh eh, as ya can see, I'm still deep inside TT. Now into Season 5, and sad coz I'm coming to the end of it. But what a nice show, really ! I especially liked the trilogy THE END, which is among the best stuff TT creators have "given birth to". Raven, you're the best ! And Robin, you're also fantastic !
I'm busy, you're busy, he's busy, she's busy, we're busy aso. Not that many PMs lately, which means people are too busy to write back. That's a tad sad, but meeeh… what can I do ? I'm very busy myself, and while I can still keep up wz PM's replies, I'm delaying on and on the update of this story. Dammit, even if I finished studies long ago, I'm as busy as anyone outta here. (is it me or is there too many times the word "busy" in this paragraph ?)
Okay, now what about making this any darker ? As dark as Raven's mind, if not more ? Say what ? Think ya can handle it ? Enough guts for that ?
Let's check this out !
N'joy !
/
9 / DISGRACE
/
{( "To absent friends" – Frank Turner )}
Cathy looked at Chris, then at Danny, and ended up sighing. She knew why they felt uncomfortable, but curiously enough, nobody in the room seemed to be willing to express their common unease.
Still, someone had to say something at some point, and it was the young alien who did.
"Has any of you two seen her lately ? I mean, even briefly or so ?"
The boys lazily turned their heads to her, and remained silent for a moment.
But finally, the geek gave a long sigh and replied.
"No… alas no…it really looks as if she had somehow disappeared from Singletown. I got her twice on the phone, and she said that she was okay, but had the impression that she was lacking time, you know. She made it sound as if she was afraid she couldn't review enough for the Big Day. I understand her concern, but she seems to forget about us…"
"Yeah, but come on ! We're her friends after all ! Not some goddamn strangers ! We've always been very close, spending most of our time together. And now, it's the three of us on one side and her on the other. The team is split. How worse can it get ?" Danny replied.
His two friends were mute on that. They knew he was right. Sam would still find some time for the few missions they had, but for the rest, she had become always more absent during the leisure time periods. It was clear that now, for her, it was mainly work, work and work !
Cathy bit her lower lip, as her eyes were making the to and fro between the blue and the red member.
"Guys, I think that what we should do is talk to her all together ! We have already addressed her each in turn, but our opinion would gain more "weight" if we expressed it together, at the same time and place. Don't you think so ?"
Chris marked his approval with a light nod.
"You are right, Cathy. I do think that we would sound more convincing if we could tell her how we feel about it, all gathered here. Each of us would let her know how he/she feels about the whole situation, but our being gathered sure enough would underline the importance of this adjust. She will have to take three opinions into consideration at the same time, instead of just one when she spoke with every one of us before."
Danny, as for him, seemed lost in thought.
"All we need is to find some time when she is "available", you know…" he said, kind of distractedly. "And while her being with us used to be a cinch, it has become some kind of a challenge nowadays. That's all too bad."
His alien teammate walked to him and laid her hand on his shoulder, pressing it lightly.
"Come on, Dan', don't let it eat you away ! Don't worry yourself sick about it ! I know it's kind of unpleasant to see less of her, actually seldom now, but… the competition will be here soon, and once it's dealt with, she'll most certainly have all the time for us, like before."
The jock gave her a grateful look.
"Thanks, Cath' ! I appreciate your cheering me up, but what would definitely cheer me up best would be –
BIIIIIIP BIIIIIIP BIIIIIIP !
"Alien alarm !" screamed the tech. "No time to lose ! MBC power up !"
They all changed into their gear and Cathy flipped her V-com open, then pressed a button.
Sam's face soon appeared on the screen.
"Hey Sam ! You on your way ?"
On the screen, the African-American sighed. The effort was visible.
"Look, Cath'… I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't get on that one. See, I'm really tight schedule-wise. True that I've been reviewing a lot lately, even a damn lot, but… well, I really don't think I can't free myself for this mission. You don't mind completing it without me, right ? It's just exceptional, guys ! Please don't be mad at me !"
The boys had been looking at the screen of Cathy's V-com, over the alien's shoulders, and as soon as the brunette had finished, Danny couldn't hold it anymore.
"You're dropping us, Sam ?! You've been keeping at large for long enough, and now that we're on mission, you again don't show up ?! This mission won't take us that much time, so why couldn't you join us for it ?!"
He spoke in an aggressive tone, voice raised, but it wasn't shouting. Not yet.
On the screen, they all could see Samantha close her eyes and keep them shut for a few seconds. What they couldn't see though was her chest rising and sinking intensely, as she was breathing thicker and deeper through her nose, her lips tightly pressed against each other, as if she was suffering. She seemed to feel the need to focus and master her own emotions.
"Look…" she finally said "I know that… I haven't been around much lately, and I apologize for that. But you have really no idea how much time I'm spending on studying. I'm taking the competition against Manorshide very seriously, you know, and I have to make sacrifices. Of course I'm pissed that these sacrifices include our leisure time together, but… listen, it'll all be over as soon as the great contest is over ! I promise !"
But this didn't seem to lessen the jock's anger whatsoever.
"Yeah, and what about next mission ?! You're gonna skip it as well ?!"
"Danny –" began Cathy.
But her spiked friend cut her short.
"No, Cath ! Let me speak ! That's serious ! We are a team, and must be able to rely on each member for the mission. If one of us gets sick, okay, or if there's some crucial business to take care of, ok as well. But studies can be dealt with later, they can be postponed. It's nothing that urgent that they have to be taken care of immediately. So why couldn't Sam be with us for this mission ?"
He was speaking to Cathy, as if the yellow member was totally absent, while she still could see and hear everything, from the V-com.
Chris felt the need to intervene, although he knew his teammate wouldn't like it.
"Look, Buddy, I understand you feel unsettled because of Sam not taking part in a mission, for the first time ever. But I guess we can take it on and make an exception. And perhaps another time too, if she really can't make it. But I trust she will be able to free herself on the next alert. Right, Sam ?" He asked this last question looking at Cathy's V-com.
The brunette once again sighed with a visible effort.
"Yes… of course. You know full well I'm all about teamwork and wouldn't let you guys down unless the matter was a very serious one. Please forgive me for this one time. Okay ?"
"Okay !" said both the Rhapsodian and the tech. They then turned to observe the third member in the room.
Danny finally shrugged, and his frown vanished.
"Alright then…"
"Thanks again, guys ! And good luck for the mission !" she replied, then ended the communication.
The three friends looked at each other, silent for a while, their thoughts painted on their faces.
Then, they headed off to their spacecrafts, trying to focus on the forthcoming mission.
/
{( "Down down down" – Charlie Simpson)}
Days passed, but Cathy, Chris and Danny didn't see or hear of Sam. She said that she was very tired due to her revisions, but the pink and blue members suspected something else, related to a certain substance…
It was quiet again for a while throughout the city, and it seemed that they would be at loose ends for weeks.
But it didn't last.
BIIIIIIP BIIIIIIP BIIIIIIP !
"Alien alert in the forest !" exclaimed the tech after typing quickly on the supercomputer.
"Here we go !" shrilled the bubbly girl.
"Wait, we have to make sure Sam comes this time !" the jock almost shouted, tempering their swiftness for the departure.
Cathy gave him an annoyed look.
"Dan', she already told us she would be there when time comes for a new mission. Why not trust her and just get to the alien ? We'll see immediately if she's already there, or perhaps will show up right after we arrive."
"I know she said that, Cath', but is it any big deal if I just check on her ?"
"It is. It means you don't trust her !" the blond uttered, crossing her arms, frowning.
The scarred boy glanced for a while at her, then turned his green orbs to his male teammate, to check if support could come from him in that situation. But the freckled teenager merely looked at him silently, making it clear he wasn't going to interfere unless one of the two would require his opinion.
Danny hesitated, but finally sighed, clearly an irritated, impatient sigh.
"Okay, okay, I'm not calling her, but if she's not taking part this time, she's gonna hear me, and so will you, Cathy !"
The Rhapsodian's assurance didn't wobble the slightest.
"I'm confident" she simply remarked, her eyes not lowering from Danny's stare.
With that, the team left and, a ride in the tunnels later, arrived on the fight's spot.
It was a creature looking like a mix of bird and crocodile, particularly ugly. While the team was hiding behind bushes and observing its every move, Chris's scanner stated that the foe wasn't that harmful, given his low attack potential.
The jock carefully observed the surroundings then faced the blue-eyed one.
"As you can see, she's not there…" he said, his tone showing an almost hurtful irony.
Once again, the blonde frowned.
"Dan', we just arrived. So as far as we know, she may be on the way right now. Let's just wait a few more minutes while we make sure to keep an eye on that horror. There are good chances she would show up a tad later."
"We'll see, really…" he said, unconvincingly.
The group didn't move and watched as the alien was sniffing the air, probably trying to trace preys' smells. Fortunately enough for the squad, the wind was blowing in another direction, thus there was no way the creature could detect their presence via his nose.
The waiting lasting on, minute after minute, the red member was about to say that Sam wouldn't come after all, and that they should launch the assault, when a rustle mad them turn around.
There she was ! The leader stepped to them slowly, a weak grin on her lips.
"Sorry for being a little late…" she whispered. "What have we got, Chris ?"
The tech couldn't take her eyes off her, just like the other two. It was obvious that Sam had lost weight, for her face had got slimmer, and under her eyes, even through the yellow-glass goggles, could be seen large rings. Her eyelids were partly closed, which indicated weariness.
"Sam… are you okay ?" asked a much concerned Cathy.
The addressee tried to smile wider, but her eyes laboriously blinked as she did so. In her mouth, two Dresoprin slowly ended up dissolving…
"I am" she replied, making it as short as she could, in order to avoid having to explain herself.
"Are you sure ?" Chris asked.
She sighed.
"Yeah !" she answered, kind of impatiently. "So, what about that alien, Chris ?"
The smart one glanced quickly at his scanner in order to reply accordingly.
"Not a strong one. It should be rather easy to take down !"
"Okay, so let's focus a bit…" she trailed, as she craned her neck and watched intently the monster. The others imitated her and got their attention on the beast.
"Let's bust them !" Sam said, not too loud for the enemy to hear.
And the team sprang out of the bush, all weapons out and aiming at the target.
The alien dodged the shots and started running away, but Danny was quicker to react and blocked the monster's retreat after a fast run.
This made the extraterrestrial try another way, but it was Cathy's turn to act swifter than the foe.
A third try enabled Chris to get himself noticed at outdoing the alien in quickness of reaction.
The hybrid turned around once more and spotted a free path, so that's where it headed to. But Sam ran over there, as quickly as she could. The problem was that she could feel her eyes hurting from the now ongoing inflammation they were kept in, and as she blinked for the umpteenth time to try and see better, she stumbled over a large rock, and fell heavily.
Her teammates froze and felt uneasiness when they witnessed this. Sam falling that awkwardly, and after stumbling on such a visible rock ? That wasn't like her.
The beast stopped in its tracks, as it saw Sam getting up and block its way, once again, for the fourth time in a row. Yet, this time, it didn't try to find another way out, but rather charged towards the yellow member, determined to attack.
The leader held on her blaster tightly and aimed… or rather tried to aim, for her burning eyes caused her so much pain to endure that she kept blinking to check on her target.
Dammit, how painful ! But I have to focus on that alien if I want to take it down ! Come on !
Sam shot at the beast, but the beam missed its goal by far.
She blinked quickly, noticing that the alien didn't even have to move to dodge. And once again pulled the trigger.
But this second try was no better than the first one : it was as remote from its intended target as before.
A third beam got a tad closer, but still the alien could run freely without needing to dodge.
But what the hell… Can't I shoot straight anymore ?!
Cathy, Chris and Danny were staring incredulously at the whole action, not believing what they saw. Sam had missed the monster THREE times ! No less than THREE times ! For her, who seldom lacked accuracy, that was something unbelievable ! Inconceivable !
Meanwhile, the extraterrestrial had run on and was about to flee where nobody was standing in its way. Danny saw this and cursed : "Shit !" In a flash, he had managed to speed up towards the hybrid and had already transformed his weapon into the vacuvator. Chris took off after, leaving Cathy observing a desolate Sam, whose head was directed down to the ground. The brunette put her blaster away and covered her eyes with one of her hands, then remained in that position for a while, then took her hand away and raised her head, her eyelids opening and closing regularly, as if to try and see better.
The most athletic member of the team came back with the green glass container where the tiny foe was now fidgeting furiously, trying to figure out some exit. His face was a mask of wrath, a deep frown twisting his features. He was walking energetically towards Sam.
Cathy understood she should get by her African-American friend, because it was all too obvious that Danny was about to lash out at her for missing the alien three times and thus allow it to escape… before he could save the day, though not without some urged effort !
Chris got to Sam immediately after Cathy, and Danny stopped in front of the trio the next minute.
"What was that ?" asked Danny, handing over the green container to the blunette and staring wildly at the leader.
"I'm… sorry, guys… I couldn't aim straight because my eyes were hurting… they were painful… they still are… so I did my best, blinking and all, to keep them open and aim accurately, but it was so hard… I wasn't in the good condition for it… sorry again…"
Danny was still frowning, not changing any single detail in his attitude.
"And what's the problem with your eyes, then ?"
His tone was most aggressive.
"Hey Danny, calm down, will you ?" Cathy sharply intervened.
"Look, Sam was absent last time, and today, she arrives late and almost enables the alien to disappear. And that's totally unlike her ! So I guess we, as her teammates, have the right to know, yeah ?"
"Yeah, but it's not a reason to be aggressive, Dude ! You can ask your questions calmly, without getting naughty about it. She just told you her eyes were sore !"
Sam didn't breathe a word. She just watched, and felt more and more uncomfortable by the minute. She was the leader, but in this particular situation, with her for once exceptionally not measuring up, she could hardly find the will to protest. Then again, wasn't it all her fault ?
"Please don't argue, guys ! It's all my fault anyway. I must go and buy some collyrium for that inflammation. I will be better next time, I promise. But please stop storm out about this ! I'm taking the full responsibility for it !"
"You better !" the red member almost shouted.
"Calm down, Dan' !" the Rhapsodian hissed back at him, her eyes narrowed, lips stiff.
Chris took a step forward. His expression was a very earnest one.
"Sam, would you please remove your goggles ?" he gently asked her.
She backed off a bit, biting her lower lip.
"Why… why do you want me to do that ?"
"I would like to take a look at your eyes. Do you mind showing them to me ?"
"But…"
"Sam, please !" Cathy said softly. "You told us your eyes were hurt. Please allow us to check it and see if it's serious."
The yellow member looked at each one in turn, then quickly glanced over at Danny, who watched her, his arms crossed and a bad frown distorting his features. And, after a deep sigh, she got hold of her goggles and took them away.
Cathy and Danny stepped up, and together with Chris, opened their eyes wide.
Sam's globes were bloodshot and her pupils were fully dilated. Moreover, there was vitreous humor making them appear wet. They were a wreck. A real wreck.
"Sam… are you… crying ?" the young alien asked, her mouth open in shock.
The leader took a handkerchief to dry her eyes.
"No, it's… some liquid… I don't know which one… I hope it's not infected… I'll take care of all this, don't worry !"
Her features were marked by sadness and tiredness.
"You really ought to go to the ophthalmologist tomorrow." Chris pointed out, his eyes staring deeply into hers. "But why didn't you go before, Sam ? Why ?"
She shrugged and tried hard to hold back the tears that wanted to form, and breathed with difficulty, her chest feeling heavy from the physical pain her sadness had induced.
"I guess I was… careless…" she merely said, shrugging.
Her head was down, her golden orbs now set on the floor, not daring to look back up at the three friends watching her, very anxious now. Even Danny had somehow forgotten about his rant, when he saw how injured her teammate was.
Nobody said anything for long, long seconds.
Finally, Chris said, in a sad voice : "Let's go home".
Danny walked first, then came the other three. The tech and the alien both looked at Sam while they walked by her side, and while she felt they were observing her, she still didn't dare to meet their stare.
And when Cathy laid her hand on Sam's shoulder, the brunette shivered, peeked at her, gave a weak sketch of smile, and resumed looking at the ground, more despondent than ever.
There was nothing more to be done.
Nothing.
/
{("Critical point" - Krait)}
The Monster Buster Club was sitting in their clubhouse.
One week had passed since the dark moments they had been through, the day they had fought the half-bird half-crocodile alien, with their leader failing to shoot at it three times in a row.
Sam had received a very alarming warning from the ophthalmologist. She should stop studying late at night and spend hours sitting in front of her computer in the dark, reading pages and pages of academic stuff she needed for her reviews, and tiring her eyes always more and more.
And right after leaving from the ophthalmologist, she had been to the pharmacist's with another fake prescription, to get her drug. But this time, she had seen the look of the head pharmacist linger on her, for at least thirty seconds. And Sam had felt uneasy at this, as if the other was judging her… or maybe realizing that this African-American teenager was around quite regularly, of late ?
Sam had put her eyedrops regularly, and it did provide her globes some relief, as pain was soothed. But it would take more time for things to be back to normal. And she could have to cope with possible vision issues again, even on missions.
And it's what had just happened the day before, and the reason why they were now all sitting together, with no one breathing out a word and three pairs of eyes glued to the black girl who was now looking at her hands, avoiding any eye contact with her buddies.
That girl, who had never felt both so uneasy and so sad, kept on replaying the movie of her new failure in her head…
"Sam, get that alien scum !" Danny screamed on top of his voice.
"Quick, Sam ! It's almost over you !" Chris shouted louder.
The leader took her blaster out… but couldn't steady her grip on it, and it slipped off her hand ! She scrambled to pick it up and aim at the alien… but alas, her shot was inaccurate and missed the target. But it wasn't exactly a near miss, and it was the second time in a week that the leader messed up an action that was crucial. Out of four shots she had cast at two aliens, none had scored… while the girl used to rule at target practice, back in the old days !
Chris ran like hell and activated his vacuvator right when the extraterrestrial foe was about to get out of reach. He managed to catch it, but that was a close one.
And of course, just like the previous week, Cathy had watched her black friend with almost desolate eyes and Danny had glared harder than last time at her.
What was the matter with her ?
Yes, what indeed was the matter with Samantha Cloverfield, the once brilliant leader of the MBC, a girl of an unbelievable efficiency and precision, who could handle it all without any problem and who was seldom caught out ?
For the time being, she just let her two Dresoprin slowly melt inside her mouth and got prepared for the "chew out" time awaiting her.
"Look, Sam…" the blunette uttered with perceptible unease. "I'm glad to hear that your eyes are getting somewhat better, and that you found time to join us for this new mission, after initially hesitating as to the possibility of coming along with us, due to a busy schedule. Glad that teamwork still has you available. But… you know…"
He stopped and cast a quick glance to Cathy, who then felt the need to take over the rest.
"Sam… we all are concerned about you…" the usually bubbly girl said in a dull voice. "You seem to have lost an important part of your efficiency, and this worries us. We are mainly preoccupied about your health, of course, but also about your sudden awkwardness in fights. This is totally unusual, coming from someone as skilled as you. And… we really are at a loss regarding this. Are your eyes the problem, this time too ?"
The black teenager sat still for seconds and seconds, not knowing what to say, not knowing how to phrase things, but she was aware she couldn't avoid replying at some point.
"I'm not sure…" she formulated, uncertainty wrapping her voice. "They still are kind of sore… but I… I also felt a bit dizzy this time…"
That's when the red member couldn't take it anymore.
"Right !" he said out loud. "Sore eyes… dizziness… what's next, uh ? A cramp ? Clammy hands ? Sneezing at shooting time ? Come on, Samantha, what's your next good excuse ?"
"SHUT UP, DANIEL !" howled a mad-looking Cathy.
Danny had called Sam by her full name, and so had Cathy with Danny. They never did so… unless they were very angry at the person mentioned !
The atmosphere was getting slowly but surely oppressive, in the clubhouse.
The spike-haired boy stared defiantly at his alien teammate, who looked daggers at him in this moment.
The freckled witness of this unexpressed violence didn't dare to say anything. Any word could make hell break loose. Tension was almost tangible.
Sam found the strength to raise her head and intervene to calm down the growing antagonism.
"Guys, please, don't ! Everything is my fault, I'm the one to blame, and I don't want you to alter the relational bonds that unite you. I refuse that you fight against each other when I'm the one responsible for the mistakes."
"But did you hear how he talked to you, Sam ?!"
"I did, Cath', but it's fair enough he reacts so. Danny is disappointed and/or angry. I can't bear him a grudge for being so. I've never been that awkward, and I'm sincerely sorry it has grown that seriously. But please, don't argue anymore, Friends ! You must preserve the best relationships possible !"
Cathy growled as she quickly eyed Danny, and he gave her a nasty look in return.
"Okay, okay…" the Rhapsodian finally said. "I regret telling you to shut up. But please don't be that aggressive when addressing Sam. She's still our friend, you know !"
"Right, but she admitted making mistakes, so there's a reason for my anger, yeah ? Still, I didn't mean to hurt you, Sam, or anger you, Cath'. I guess I just let my feelings get the best of me."
Sam nodded and found the will to smile, but Cathy didn't have any specific reaction to that. She still was resentful to her teammate for lacking respect to, better not forget it, the officious leader of the team. And that even if said leader hadn't been too efficient on missions lately.
Chris cleared his throat.
"Sam... Cathy, Danny and I have had a discussion yesterday evening. About our missions. And… hum, about your behaviour. We were… you know… concerned…"
He was "stumbling over words", hesitating to utter them, because he dreaded that his African-American friend would react negatively, either getting angry or shocked.
But the yellow fighter just waited, showing no outer emotion… while inside, she could feel her heart start to beat faster !
I need Dresoprin.
"Yes… go on…" she simply said. But anxiety was definitely running through her veins.
"Well…" the tech continued "We saw you miss your targets more than one time, and your blaster slipped from your hands… you also stumbled over a much visible obstacle and fell heavily… and you came twice late on the spot of the mission. I'm sorry to have to point out all these to you, but… all of them worried us a lot. We worry a lot about you, Sam !"
Dresoprin… quick !
The brunette's gaze sank to the floor.
"I… I know… I know that you're right about all these, and I once again apologize. I'll do better next time. You have my word."
Chris swiftly glanced over at the alien and the jock, then looked down, as if trying to find the best way to phrase what was next. And which obviously wasn't very nice.
"Yeah… well… about next time… we were thinking that… given your trouble and your health issues, with your eyes and all that… we… we… hum, we thought that… well…"
Oh God, NO ! Not THAT ! NO ! Shit, I have to take Dresoprin NOW or I'll explode !
"Chris…" she began, in a pleading voice.
But the rest was stuck down her throat. Stuck in her vocal folds. And didn't come out.
"Sam…" Cathy just said, and stopped there. She too was too moved to talk on.
Dresoprin ! Dresoprin !
That's when Danny took over and spilled the beans.
"Look, we are sorry to have to tell you this but we think that… it may be better if you took a break from the MBC ! For your own good !"
Sam felt like her world was collapsing in a second…
/
Jeez, how many days did it take to carry this chapter to its end ! And it's a very long one, this time ! Jeez, really !
Sorry if I took forever to finish this, but just like you, dear readers, have been very busy, I have been to, and this even if I quit studies long ago.
So, Sam put on hold from the team by her three friends ? How bitter is that ? And her health has become alarming, with those infected eyes…
Is that dark enough ? Coz if it isn't, just know that it'll get even darker. And no, I'm not influenced by my fascination by the goth Raven. I had planned to make it very dark even before starting it. Even before discovering Teen Titans and the dark Raven.
I'm happy to read from Lauren, after all this time. Still waiting for Ana to PM back. The rest of my friends isn't much replying of late, but I guess there's nothing I can do about it…
I'm especially worried about Yuna, coz I haven't heard from her in weeks and weeks now. I'm really anxious about her, and hope nothing bad happened to her. Kryzl, if you read this, PLEASE, contact me asap ! I need to hear you're safe !
I really don't know when next chappy will be out. Maybe December, maybe later. But we're starting the winter season at our airport, and it'll be damn busy, so… I can't promise anything !
Take care all, and P-L-E-A-S-E write back to me real soon. I miss ya all, guys !
And of course, update your stories : KRYPTONITE, HERO, MBC TIMELESS TALE, EVERYTHING'S NOT AS IT SEEMS aso.
Peace, Love, Ecstasy !
XXXX