Disclaimer: See Chapter 9.
"A person starts dying when they stop dreaming."
~Brian Williams
Chapter 10: Uneasy Silence
Robin stared at the blade, remembering the horror of Jericho's blood running down it into the white etchings, knowing his team was imagining the same thing.
"Well?" She asked, daring them now to make the choice she couldn't.
Robin spoke first. "How long will those two cities last?"
"It's different every time." She sounded exhausted. "But if I had to guess, until midnight."
"Give us until then to decide." Robin said. His team was still speechless. They simply nodded in assent. "Come on, Titans. Let's go back to the tower."
Just as they were rising to leave, Jericho moaned. He sat up and looked at them with tired green eyes, hazy with the remnant of whatever agony he had just endured. It was more than they could take. His team left ahead of him. Robin looked back. Jericho was comforting Mel, her waves of dark hair shaking with silent sobs. But his eyes weren't closed, nor were they wet. They were staring into Robin's, through his white lenses, telling him one thing:
I'm ready to die.
The Titans left, still unaware of the uninvited guest. As soon as the door shut behind Robin, Slade dropped down to the stage. "Were you ever going to tell me, Joseph?"
Joseph flinched at the sound of his father's voice. But when he turned to face him, there was no fear in his gaze, just resolution. He shook his head, motioning for Slade to leave.
"Melody, I would like to speak with my son." Slade said, raw heat rising inside.
"I can't." She had dropped off the stage and was now cradling the blade Slade had watched her toss at the Titans, the same one that she had summoned while the Titans slept around her. "We sacrificed his voice into making this. He'll never get it back."
Joseph walked away, towards the kitchen, ignoring his father. That wouldn't do. "When did it happen? During Trigon's reign, he showed me where he was keeping Joseph. So when…?"
He couldn't finish. The question hung in the space between him and his son's back. The sound of boiling water, then smell of herbal tea wafted over.
Finally, Mel spoke for him. "Just before you freed him."
Jericho shot her a glare. He brought her a cup of tea anyway, body language clearly indicating that he was not going to take part in this discussion.
Accepting the cup, she continued. "Trigon appeared in his dreams a few seconds before you came and touched his forehead, drawing the Marks onto his soul. He didn't understand what had happened until later."
The anger quelled under a tide of realization and guilt. "So I did do this to you."
They didn't say anything. Joseph watched his father with very little emotion.
"What do you want me to do?" He asked. Jericho shook his head.
Nothing.
Mel had a different answer. "When the time comes, you'll know. But for now, can you leave us alone?"
Slade tried to read his son's face, tried to figure out what was going on behind the green eyes he inherited from his mother. But as with his mother, Slade turned up nothing. There was a growing need to grab his son and run, to take him somewhere far away, somewhere safe, where he could protect his son. But he noticed something that made him think twice: Joseph's hand clenching Mel's. So instead, he left.
He made it to the door before he realized he had one last thing to say. "I'm sorry, Joseph. For everything."
The cool night air greeted him, bringing with it a single thought. Adeline was going to kill him.
Maybe he should let her.
Back at the tower, Robin didn't bother to head to his room. Instead, he found himself wandering around the tower, checking on his team. Raven hadn't thought to shut her door. She was meditating in a protective bubble, her voice shaking. Starfire is huddled under her sheets. Somewhere, an engine revved. His suspicion is confirmed when he sees the T Car isn't in the garage. Beast Boy must be with Cyborg because he is nowhere in the tower.
Then he finds himself in the training room of the tower, alone. Like always. His body goes through the motions of stretching, but his mind is elsewhere. His hands found the dials. Maximum level. Maximum time length.
The room buzzed, signaling the beginning of the training session. Discs hurled from all directions, lasers aimed for strategic escape points. He flew around the room, dodging when he could, destroying and deflecting what he couldn't. He was unarmed, but this still was too easy. This first level wasn't enough to distract him from his thoughts.
Jericho's father was Slade. He had lost his dream because his father was Slade. He was infected with a demon because his father was Slade.
The room beeped, and attack droids swarmed him. He was fighting harder than he had ever fought before, taking all the rage he could, all the hurt and pain he could, and inflicting it on the emotionless droids. Somehow, that made him even angrier.
He had an older brother named Grant, one that Slade trained as an apprentice. What did Grant look like? Did he resemble Jericho? Rose? Maybe even Robin? Did Slade see Grant or Jericho in me? He wondered. He can only imagine Grant's personality. It had earned him the name Ravager. One who wreaks havoc. It called to mind a younger Slade, one more reckless and eager to fight. One who would be willing to risk biological testing to further his power.
He was surrounded by piles of mechanical pieces and sparks. The timer beeped again. The floor fell in random patterns, leaving very few pieces that were safe to step on. Handholds dropped from the ceilings in intervals. One stable piece of room remained.
Jericho, Slade. Raven, Trigon. He could see the similarities, he even marveled at the coincidence that brought everyone to this point. Trigon creating Raven, Raven helping found the Titans, Slade having children, Jericho joining the Titans, the Titans killing Slade, Slade resurrected by Trigon, Trigon making Jericho his next host. It was all interwoven, one tragic tapestry.
The floor was under him. He had never gotten to this point without help before. He didn't feel satisfied. Another beep, the floor is restored. More droids, the floor drops in very specific patterns. Discs fly across the easier landing points. His body instantly grabs onto this challenge. His mind spins out of control.
Fathers. Trigon and Slade. Bruce. He had always thought fathers were like his own, both biological and later adopted. Supporting, overprotective, but always with love. Trigon had shaken that belief a little. And Slade… Now Slade just appeared unstable, desperate to reclaim his legacy to the point of forcing it on the teenager he most identified with.
A disc caught him across the face, sending him reeling out of control onto a dropping piece of floor. Reflexively, he reached for his belt and managed to save himself at the last minute.
Stop thinking about it, he told himself. Focus.
But he couldn't get Jericho's last look out of his head. He couldn't stop revisiting it.
I'm ready to die.
The room beeped a final time. It took him a moment to realize the session was over. The tower's supply of droids lay at his feet.
Maybe the roof held more peace.
"What are you doing, Melody?"
"I was wondering when you'd show up." She turned to face the looming figure behind her. "Dad."
"You've made quite a mess of things here, Mel." He said. His eyes were Harmony's, his hair Melody's. His elaborate white robes made her look away, disgusted.
"So you've finally accepted their job offer."
"My children didn't give me much of a choice." He said, sounding like all the worries of the world rested on his shoulder. This irritated her.
"Are you here to arrest me, Watcher?" She spat.
"Not yet. You still have your grace period to fix the continuity of this world. I'm here to warn you." He paused, looking his daughter over. "And, as a father, I want to meet the young man that had you breaking all the rules."
Jericho walked out from behind the stage, where they had put their bedroom. He looked grim, eyeing the man. Mel was between the two in an instant. "You aren't doing anything to him."
"No, I'm not." Her father agreed, his eyes not leaving Jericho's. He extended a hand. "My name is Maitho. I'm Melody's father."
Jericho nodded, taking his hand cautiously. The older man flipped him over his shoulder casually, pressing him to the ground. "You let her endanger her safety for you."
Jericho was about to fight back, but that stopped him. Instead, he stared up at Maitho, eyes understanding. I know. They said. I failed her.
Both froze at the distinct hiss of metal against leather. A thin silver blade pressed against Maitho's throat, causing him to laugh.
"You would pull a knife on your father for this boy?"
"Among other things." Mel said. "Let him go. We didn't know, and when we did I had the choice to leave. I didn't."
Maitho studied her for a moment, as if trying to identify the woman in front of him. "You're less like your mother than we feared."
He stepped away from Jericho. "Take care of her. She's given up a lot for you just now."
Jericho fixed Mel with a hard stare. She looked away.
"Shut up, it's not the same thing." She said.
A mischievous look broke out across his face. He pulled her closer. Oh really?
She giggled in spite of herself. "Yes!" Then, more seriously. "As far as I know, Slade finds you more important than the story you help build."
Jericho's smile faded. Let's not talk about this.
They had one day. One final day.
Sunrise. The night had numbed his body, and the choice had eventually burned out his mind. The sky was deep pink, the horizon molten orange. It would be a beautiful sight for your last day. The sound of an engine grew louder, until it died in the garage. Robin left his spot, knowing his team would be in the living room.
Starfire was fixing breakfast. She called it Flapjacks of Deliberation. They tasted like vanilla ice cream and sweat.
"They're good, Star." Robin said. Cyborg and Beast Boy agreed.
Around nine, Raven floated in, immersed in her cloak. She joined them at the table, but didn't touch the plate Starfire placed in front of her. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her voice hoarse. She must have been meditating all night.
"It's not your fault, Raven." Robin said. "If anyone understands what it's like to have a father like Trigon, it's Jericho."
Raven looked at him, her eyes clearing a little. "Thanks."
They were silent for another long moment.
Cyborg broke the silence next. "What are we going to do?"
"If we don't kill Jericho, we risk Trigon returning." Raven said.
"If we don't kill Jericho, those cities that Mel suspended don't recover." Cyborg added.
Beastboy slammed his fists on the counter. "But those both end in us killing Jericho!"
Robin suddenly remembered that Jericho had been key in winning the fight against the Brotherhood of Evil, and that Beastboy personally delivered his Titan communicator. He tried to talk the changeling down. "Or the seed Trigon implanted."
"Mel said she tried everything." Cyborg reminded him.
Robin looked at Raven. She paused putting herself back together to explain. "At this point, it's melded with his soul. Even the most delicate procedure to remove it would endanger his life. There's practically no chance of removing it."
"Then there's really no choice but to-"
"No!" Beastboy shouted. "There's always a choice, always some other way besides death! We just have to think!"
The Titans slumped.
The final hours they spent lying on the roof, hands entwined, looking at the stars. Looking for the fault in them that screwed them over. Minutes ticked by. Jericho sits up. It's almost time.
"Don't remind me." Mel rolls over to see him better. "Are you sure?"
Yes.
"I'm not." Jericho looks at her, surprised. What she's doing barely registers before his eyelids sink. Kissing his forehead, she whispers, "One last dream, for the road."
It was eleven. They had an hour, and they were nowhere.
"We have to face it, there's only one choice: Jericho or the World?" Robin said. His team looked at him wearily, but couldn't protest. Starfire began to cry, Raven looked about to shatter. Unable to leave her like that, Beastboy pulled the empath into a hug.
"It's like Robin said, Rave." Cyborg said. "If anyone understands, it's Jericho."
Beastboy said nothing. Even he had given up.
It was decided.
And as if on cue, metal slabs slammed over the windows. Warnings lights flashed red, and Cyborg's voice began to play, warning them to stay cool and wait out the brunt of the emergency until it was possible for them to react. The tower was in full lockdown.
"I'm sorry." Melody's voice said through the speakers. "I can't let you take him yet."
"Damn it! How'd she even get into the system?" Cyborg asked.
Robin was on his feet. A new challenge, this time with Jericho as the goal. "We need to get out and find them, Jump may be in danger."
By the time they managed to find a section weak enough for Cyborg and Starfire to blast out, they had half an hour left and a city to scour. Then he heard it, the flute music. He was off in a heartbeat, no time to think. "This way!" He called back.
"Rob, we need to split up-" Cyborg said angrily.
"I know where they are! Just follow me!"
The flute led him to the auditorium, where Jericho was unconscious on the stage and Mel was seconds away from suspending another city. Ten minutes.
"Oh no you don't!" Beastboy turned into a hawk and grabbed at the flute, but Mel deflected at the last moment. She looked around, angry, wild, ready to snap. Raven tried next, the flute glowing black for a moment before Melody's blue overpowered it.
"Get the flute!" The battle raged on, Cyborg's cannon blowing out a wall. Melody was forced to the street. Though she didn't look it, she was just as strong as Robin, and possibly just as skilled in combat.
"Where did you learn all this?" He asked, dodging a bolt of lightning. Her black trench coat flew up as she landed, and the bolt reflected off distinctive white etchings underneath.
"When you travel between dimensions for as long as I have, you pick up a lot." She replied. Dread welled in him as he caught sight of her triumphant look. She snapped. Instantly, he couldn't move. Neither, he was guessing, could his team. "Bet you didn't see me place that spell on you, did you?"
Four minutes.
She raised the flute to her lips.
A/n: For those of you who are curious, the rules Maitho mentions are now posted on my profile, which has turned into a Wikipedia page in progress on Melody's family.
Also, the psychology of Slade has always fascinated me. His obsession with apprentices, the background the cartoon never mentions, it all points to a man with an obsession with his legacy. It's almost scary how mentally unstable he becomes in context…