Icey: Sorry if this chapter seems a bit dark, even though it's meant to be happy. Kinda felt a little angry, sad, and confused today, sooo….

Robin: you aren't going to take that out on me, are you?"

Icey: No, I prefer to make Roy depressed. *evil-grin*

Roy: Why am I not surprised?

Wally: Disclaimer: Icey-Authoress does not own us! *pouts*

Icey: Oh, I'm sure I could get partial custody.

Roy: ON WITH THE STORY!

.._~_

After Robin's 'awakening', as Wally had called it, the Mountain had turned into a Justice League headquarter. Half, if not all, of the Leaguers had set up camp in the Mountain to keep an eye on the bird's recovery. Once Dick had come back to his senses, Wally hadn't left his side. Roy, on the other hand, had vanished. Not even M'gann could locate him.

At first, the medical room had been pandemonium as everyone went o greet the bird back to reality.

Wally's initial reaction to Robin's awakening had been expected. When the League was done greeting, Wally rushed in and pinned Robin in a bone crushing hug, which the crying Boy Wonder had gratefully returned. Wally, grinning from ear to ear, had kept screaming how relieved he was:

"OM-gosh! Don't ever do that to me again, Rob! That was horrible! I thought we would surely lose you; I was terrified!" Tears streaked the speedster's face, though his grin never faltered and his voice held nothing but joy.

Robin buried his face in Wally's chest and sobbed quietly. "I thought you were dead, Wally. I saw you die… I thought you were dead."

M'gann, crying from relief, had then peppered the young boy with questions. "Are you hurting anywhere? Do you want me to get you anything? Water; something to eat? Are you ALRIGHT?"

Robin had chuckled, before hiccupping some and gave the Martian girl a quick hug, before turning to answer the barrage of questions being thrown at him from both teams; no one noticed Red Arrow had slipped away. He hadn't even said hello to the Boy Wonder; just left…

When the team had realized this fact, Robin had gone quiet and Batman had ushered everyone from the room. "Robin needs his rest now…"

Wally was reluctant to leave, and Robin had hung onto his arm for a good while until Batman's glare made Robin to let go. Batman stayed with his son, talking softly.

"You know, you scared everyone really bad; when you didn't come right out of the coma, we were afraid it meant the affects were permanent." A now cowl-less Batman stroked black curls from the small face of his son.

"'m sorry, Daddy; I really thought you were really dead." Dick replied sleepily. His small hand was swallowed by Bruce's larger paw, and Dick gave it the best squeeze he could muster. Bruce laid a soft kiss on Dick's warm forehead.

"It's alright, son. I'm just glad you're back to us." He whispered, still stroking the black hair.

Suddenly, Richard snapped his eyes opened and breathed heavily, staring at Bruce. "You-you are still going to be here when I wake up, right? This isn't just a dream; you're still alive, right?"

Bruce smiled kindly. "Yes, Dick. I will be here, Wally will be here, M'gann, Superman, Green Arrow…But most importantly: you will still be here."

Dick seemed satisfied, but his eyes once again snapped open to stare at his father. "Promise?"

Bruce smiled and gave his son a gentle kiss. "I promise."

Soon, the bird was sleeping soundly…

.._~_

It had been a total of three weeks since Robin had 'awaken', and still there had been no sign of a certain brotherly archer. Batman had insisted that Robin stay at Mount Justice where the League could keep an eye on him and protect him. Alfred had visited, bringing with him Robin's favorite cookies: molasses! At the moment, Wally and Dick were sharing a tin of said cookies. Wally, who was perched on a chair near Robin's med bed, noticed the light had gone from said bird's eyes. Wally frowned and moved to sit next to his younger brother on the bed.

"Don't worry, Dicky. Roy'll come around." Dick sighed and returned to making patterns on the bed sheets. Wally frowned; he was going to kill Roy next time he saw him. "Eat your cookie, Dick; before I do!" Wally plastered on a mischievous smile. Dick attempted to smile back, but failed miserably. In the end, he leaned against Wally, falling asleep still clutching the cookie. His head rested against the speedster's shoulder and his hand with the cookie rested on Wally's chest. Wally moved the boy to rest on the bed, bringing up the sheets around the pale frame. "Sleep well, Richard; maybe Batman will let you out of this room. It's not helping your health any."

But Wally knew that Batman was keeping Robin in the med room for safety precautions: in case he relapsed, in case Scarecrow was near (not that he could get pass all the Leaguers camping out around the mountain). But Wally knew that even getting out of the med room wouldn't help the young bird. What would help him would be to go back in time, to a place where he hadn't ingested fear gas, where Roy was still playing the role of big brother to perfection, where Richard could run to the archer for protection and comfort any time; but now…

Now Roy was failing.

Miserably.

As Wally's eyes slowly shut in his own dark room, he couldn't help but think how beautiful it would be to strangle that archer…

.._~_

Dick's eyes shot open and he panicked momentarily, remembering that his hallucination wasn't real. This had become a norm: go to sleep, relieve certain parts of the hallucination, wake up in a panic, calm down, and stay awake for the rest of the night… He'd talked to Black Canary about it, but she said nothing could be done; it was subconscious behavior.

The scene he had just witnessed in his dream was the talk with Speedy in the manor kitchen. Dick truly wanted to feel his older brother close again. He had so many questions to ask, so many pieces that were missing; was what the hallucination Speedy said true, or had Speedy left for his own selfish reasons?

Dick was betting on option number two.

After all, Dick hated to think Speedy was selfish; so his hallucination reacted to his, 'subconscious behavior'.

RED ARROW, B06

Dick shot up in bed. Had he heard the teleporter correctly? Quickly getting out of the med bed, Dick wrapped a thin blanket around his shoulders and shuffled quietly down the hall. He entered the spacious kitchen/living room center and looked over the dark room.

"What are you doing up?" A hollow voice questioned from the living room. Dick, somewhat startled, turned toward the voice. Sure enough, there was Speedy's silhouette. His back was towards the young bird, and Dick stepped forward some. "I asked you a question, Richard."

Dick flinched; Roy didn't call Dick Richard unless in fear or anger. He was guessing the latter at the moment. "I…" Dick hung his head. "I had a nightmare."

Roy's dark figure seemed to perk at this. "Nightmare? Your hallucination?"

Dick nodded mutely. "Yeah…" He answered softly. Roy shifted on the couch and patted the cushions awkwardly. Dick grinned. He plopped down next to his brother; but Roy still was turned away, not making eye contact. Dick's grin turned around to make a sad frown. "Where have you been, Speedy?" Roy flinched, but made no movement to tell. Dick sighed, but felt more like crying; dang, when'd he got so emotional? Oh, yeah, that's right…Everything began and ended with his stupid, useless, hallucination!

A soft, physical contact on his cheek made Dick return from his musings. He recognized the contact as Roy's hand, and he could clearly see Roy's eyes as the archer was now facing him. Roy removed his hand. "You were crying." Was the reply to the silent question.

Dick reached over and grabbed Roy's hand, keeping the older teen from turning away again. "I want to talk to you, but I can't have a one sided convo, dude." Dick smiled cheekily like he hadn't just been crying at his lost brother.

Roy sighed. He knew this had been coming… Every since he had awaken from his hallucination that he surprisingly had total control over himself in. "What do you want to talk about?" Roy shifted so he was totally facing the younger.

Dick thought for a moment, playing with Roy's hand. "Wally said you haven't told anyone your hallucination; you know it's only healthy if you do, that way the team can help you…"

Roy thought of glaring; growling crossed his mind; lashing out at the kid did too, followed closely by memories of his hallucination. He shook his head. "I am part of no team; I have no comrades. I need no comrades." Dick paused in his playing to stare at Roy, open mouthed. Roy frowned. "Close your mouth; I taught you better than to gape like a dead fish." Dick's jaw clicked shut and his attention was once again focused on Roy's hand.

"What was your hallucination?" Dick asked quietly, running out of mental energy to keep this useless conversation going; it was a lost cause from the beginning.

Roy crossed the scenarios in his head again: glaring, growling, punching, hallucination… Oh, yeah, that's right… Instead, he gently tugged on his hand still held in Dick's. But Dick wouldn't let it go; like it was some sort of lifeline. Roy frowned, diverting his eyes to the television. "You don't need to burden yourself with that information, Richard."

Dick frowned in frustration. "Then promise you'll answer this question."

Roy hesitated.

"Promise!" Dick's voice quivered.

Roy hesitated again, but gave a curt nod in reply.

Dick breathed in deeply.

"Why did you leave us?"

Roy froze. Telling the kid, punching the kid, ordering the kid back to bed…hallucination. He sucked in a shaky breath. He stood abruptly, pulling his hand with him, planning on leaving.

But Dick was adamant. "Why did you leave me?"

Roy froze; again. And, again, possible reactions ran through his mind, always ending in his hallucination.

No, teh hallucination wasn't all his; most of it belonged to Robin.

"You already know the answer."

Roy started walking away, only to be stopped by a glaring Wally in the hallway. The speedster stood with his hands on his hips, eyes lowered to slits that he glared through, his chin jutted out in defiance.

"Answer his questions, or so help me, I will strangle you!"

Dick looked on, hoping for an answer. Roy wanted to answer; he didn't want to break ANOTHER promise to the bird. But at the same time, he knew that if Dick knew the truth, it would break the bird…again… But Roy weighed his choices:

On one hand, he had his youngest, favorite brother to think about. Not keeping a promise in their 'brother pact', meant serious untrust. Yet, if he shared the reason, Dick would be broken and shattered.

On the other hand, Roy would have to face an enraged Wally, whether he said the truth or walked away; not too pretty.

Roy breathed deeply before punching the wall next to Wally. He stared at the dented wall, eyes glossed over in memory. His jaw was set firmly, and his teeth were clenched. Wally had relaxed his position, and Dick remained on the couch, watching from his safe perch. Roy finally rose his eyes to stare into similar eyes from Wally.

"I was there…" Dick's brow furrowed. "I saw the Hall be destroyed; I saw Robin's pain at losing Batman…I saw the picture, the manor, the way Robin was torn up… I shared a glass of milk with him, I spilled my guts, my soul, out to him in that messy kitchen…I drove him back to Mount Justice, I watched as he fought hard with Superman, going against the man of steel to keep him in the search; I saw Green Arrow take away my brother…I was there, and I made the mistake of breaking my promise… I made the mistake of being killed. I made the mistake of killing the light in his eyes. I made the mistake…" His eyes flickered to the couch. "I'm so sorry, Dick. I should have told you sooner. I should have told you I shared your dream."

.._~_

Icey: O.O Whoa…

Wally: Hmm, it wasn't a tear jerker…and ti was short. and It took you awhile to update

Icey: Well, sorry! It's 11 O'clock at night, for crying out loud! Geesh, give a girl a break! I have a life, too, Wal! *cahses speedster off stage*

Roy: Kinda short, sorry for that.

Robin: Hope you enjoyed learning about Roy's hallucination.

Icey: *pauses in strangling Wally* Did you guys catch that fact that Roy was in Robin's hallucination? That they shared the same hallucination? Hope I didn't make that too vague… *returns to strangling Wally*

Wally: H-elp!