Chapter 10:
Conall woke up as the Dynamic Duo crashed to the ground. He placed his left hand on his head, released a quiet groan upon feeling the ache and pushed himself up to a seated position with his right hand. He looked over and saw the two bodies on the floor; not moving around but breathing steadily. He still had a chance – if he could get there quick enough. He carefully stood up, grabbed the knife that he had dropped when he had charged at Batman, and silently approached the tangle of limbs. He clenched his fist around the knife and raised it above his pounding head, aiming for the middle of Robin's back.
Batman heard a small noise and glanced around as best he could with just his eyes. He noticed movement out of the corner of his right eye and glimpsed the moon reflecting off a flash of steel. Immediately recognizing it as a knife, he watched it come closer and slice down toward Robin's small body. Haven't you done enough? and he rolled to his left, causing the blade to pierce his right side instead of Robin's tortured body. He grunted in pain and Robin slid out of his arms as Batman placed his right hand on the wound, attempting to stop the blood that was now flowing from his side.
Robin had been knocked out when he crashed into Batman but he awoke when he heard a familiar groan. He was on his back – right next to his partner – and he gasped when he saw Batman's blood and the crazy man standing over him with a bloody knife.
"What…why him?" he screamed in rage.
"He rolled over to save you, idiot," Conall screamed right back.
That was it; Robin couldn't handle any more. Using all the strength he had left in his body, he rolled over his left shoulder onto his stomach and pushed himself up, blood leaking from multiple wounds and his brain spinning crazily around. He would not allow the man to kill Batman.
Conall watched in astonishment as his brother's killer forced himself to his feet. The kid was wobbly and his eyes weren't directly focused on anything. Conall had punished him well and, to his amazement and guilt, he was proud of himself. He felt the blood from the knife slide down his arm and he glanced down at it while trying to figure out how to get around Batman and force his weapon into Robin's heart. It didn't matter, though, because Robin already knew what he was going to do.
Robin glared at the two men that looked like Conall and realized that they weren't sure how to proceed. Robin had been trained well, however, and – when the twins glanced down at the knife – he took the opportunity to go on the offensive. The two Conalls merged together and Robin's dive was weak but effective; he felt his legs brush over Batman's torso as he flew into the gut of The Darkling's brother, knocking them both down. Robin's whole body screamed at him when he collided with the man and, even though he had expected it to happen, he gasped when the knife was thrust into his left shoulder.
Conall was taken off guard and thrown to the ground when the weight of Robin's body crashed into his stomach. He reflexively pushed the knife down and was ecstatic when he felt it jerk through skin and muscle. Leaving the knife in the back of the boy he was ready to kill, he pushed the small body off him and started to rise. He was pleased with the groan of pain that was torn from Robin's lips as he rolled onto his back and the knife was driven deeper into his shoulder. He was not pleased, however, when fists were suddenly pummeling his body from everywhere until he fell to the ground unconscious.
Batman felt his partner's legs hit him, causing him to roll onto his back. He watched as Robin took the man down and his blood began to boil when he saw the knife protruding from his young ward's shoulder. He growled as he rose and then jumped on top of Conall, knocking the villain around until he went limp.