Hey! I'm back! I'm so sorry I didn't update this weekend. I spent the whole week writing little paragraph by little paragraph, it was so frustrating! Anyway, this is a pretty long chapter so enjoy!

Chapter 14: Memories

Then guilt took over. Happy? How on earth could I be happy right now? Then he ignored all of his emotions and looked at Robin, who out of nowhere, took out his mask and put it on.

"Try to bomb off the tentacles." The speedster said and within seconds, two ticking time bombs were sticking onto the octopus. Another few seconds later, the arms came off. Once M'gann was free, she flew towards Aqualad who she saw hit the tree. Zatanna fell onto the soft, yet hard slightly wet grass. Just as she was about to get up, the tentacle fell on her. She cried in pain. Robin heard her scream and ran towards her as fast as he could.

"Zatanna!" he yelled.

He helped her slip it off of her. He helped her get up. She cried out once she tried to walk, even being helped by Robin. Before, she could say anything else, Robin, carried her bridal style. She winced a bit. He ran towards a bench that wasn't destroyed and made her sit there. He kneeled down beside her and checked her leg. Her ankle was almost completely chattered.

"Don't you have a spell that can heal broken bones?" he looked up at her but she shook her head.

"My dad knows a few but I haven't practiced them at all." She said in between shaky breaths.

"Okay, just stay here." He said as he ran back toward the giant monster while the last tentacle was still hanging by a thread, holding the unconscious Artemis.

The grip was slowly loosening and then she was falling. Wally caught her right before she fell onto the stone passageway. Wally looked at her face. The color on her face had faded. Her hair tie broke, revealing her long messy hair. He ran towards a tree and laid her down on the soft grass. He put a piece of her hair behind her ear. He looked at her for a short while then ran back towards Aqualad, who was now awake. They shared a slight glance and they both nodded. Wally ran around the octopus while Kaldur slowly walked to the fountain and electrocuted the monster. After a few more times, the octopus finally fell, almost crushing Superboy. Wally stopped running and stopped beside M'gann and Aqualad.

"Well," he sighed, "that took long enough." Then he remembered Artemis. He ran back to where he left her and carried her back to where his teammates were. "We need to get Zatanna and Artemis to the clinic." He told the other and they all nodded. Robin ran to help Zatanna and as the bio-ship opened its doors, Amy stood there in amazement while Alex and Alice put the pieces together.

"Uh," Amy coughed loudly, "excuse me?"

Aqualad and the others turned around and all of their eyes grew big.

"Ooooh," Wally said, "right. I forgot about them."

"Well," Alice said, "aren't you guys going to explain?"

Nobody answered. None of them knew what to do, then out of nowhere, Zatanna mumbled something in Latin and Amy, Alex and Alice passed out on the floor. The rest of the team looked at her.

"What did you do?" Robin asked, Zatanna's arm still around him.

"I made them go to sleep." She said a bit guilty.

"Why on earth did you do that?" Wally asked as he repositioned Artemis so that she was leaning on him and not the other side.

"Well, what was I supposed to do? If we tell Bats, he's gonna kill us and I don't know any amnesia spells by heart so I just made them pass out." The magician said a bit shyly.

"She is right. If Batman finds out, who knows what he will to with us?" Aqualad agreed with her.

"Yeah," Wally said sarcastically, "and when they wake up, we'll just tell them it was just a dream."

Then everyone fell silent. They all questioned what the redhead just said then their faces had approving looks on their faces.

"You're kidding me!" Wally cried out, "I was joking. It was a joke." Wally couldn't believe his teammates.

"Well, honestly," Robin said, "it's the less fatale option from the bunch so; I guess we'll just have to go with it."

"Are you sure Robin?" M'gann asked.

"Yeah I'm sure."

"And what am I supposed to say?" Wally asked like if his friends were crazy.

"Well, they were in your house right?" Zatanna asked grimacing. "You can just tell them that you guys were watching a movie and they fell asleep."

"And tell them they all had the same dream?" Wally asked.

"Then just say you were watching a superhero movie or the news where Robin and Kid Flash were in and thought that they were you guys." Zatanna answered.

Wally hesitated a bit. "You're gonna make me do it anyway, right?" and they all nodded while the speedster clenched his jaw.

Wally carried Artemis to the bio-ship and put her down on the chair. A piece of her hair had fallen off of her hair tie and was resting on her face; he put it behind her ear and stroked her warm pale cheek. He smiled lightly as he remembered how many times he'd done that in the past few months, yet it never seemed to get tyring. The others were looking at him with awe. He sighed and left the ship. Dick helped Zatanna onto her chair and joined Wally outside.

They carried their unconscious friends, one by one into the car. Wally drove them back to his house, head in the clouds, that picture of Artemis wouldn't leave his head and but luckily, nobody caught them. Then, the redhead and Dick carried their friends to Wally's room and made them sit up on the carpeted floor, in front of the small TV while leaning on the redhead's bed. The gymnast whipped his sweaty brow and sighed as they finished.

"I hope they buy it." He said, a bit out of breath from going up and down the stairs while carrying someone.

"They have to. If they don't, I'm pretty sure Bats will ask Martian Manhunter to erase their memories and then he's gonna kill us." Wally replied, slightly less out of breath than Dick.

Half an hour past before their friends woke up. Alex opened his eyes, blinked a few times and then yawned. The girls did the same things a few seconds later.

"What the heck happened?" Amy asked to no one in particular as she leaned on one hand and the other hand on her head.

"Last thing I remember," Alex said before looking at Wally and Dick then backed away slightly, "I remember Wally running crazy fast and Dick throwing bombs at a giant octopus. Wait, I remember, Dick had a mask on. He was, uh," he searched his memory if what he remembered was right, "Dick was Robin. As in Boy Wonder, Robin."

The room fell silent. Then, out of nowhere, Wally and Dick burst into laughter. Wally was on his bed, punching it as his stomach ached while Dick was rolling on the floor beside the bed. Once they calmed down a bit, they looked at their friends who weren't laughing a tiny bit.

"Bombs?" The Boy Wonder said with a chuckle, "Why on earth would I know how to throw bombs? And really? A giant octopus?"

"You have the craziest imagination ever!" the speedster cried out to make Dick's story more convincing. "It must be dreaming."

"A dream?" Alex asked, wondering if it really was all in his head.

"I don't think so. I remember the exact same thing." Alice said.

"Yeah, same here." Amy agreed.

"Are you sure? I mean we did watch the news before you guys fell asleep and they were showing some footage of Robin and Kid Flash, which would most likely explain why you dreamed of them." Wally said a bit nervously.

"I," Alex hesitated, "I guess so. I mean that would explain a why we all thought of the same thing."

"Okay well, what time is it?" Amy asked after it all sunk in.

"Almost seven." Dick said after he checked his watch, which was a secret computer.

"Oh my God! I need to get home!" Amy shrieked while the twins stood up in alarm.

"Don't worry, I'll drive you." Alex said as he held out his hand for her to take. She did and he pulled her up. Alex sniffed his arm and for some reason it smelled like grass. Apparently, even though Dick and Wally had shook grassed off of them, the smell had stuck to their clothing. But luckily, they completely ignored it.

"Do you mind if you guys drop me off too?" Dick asked as he got up as well.

"Sure. No prob." The older teenager said.

Before they left the room, the four of them and turned back to look at Wally who was already daydreaming on his bed, not even noticing they were still there.

"Wally?" Alice said with a soft voice and Wally looked up at her, "Keep in touch 'kay?" the redhead nodded. "Promise?"

"I promise." He said with a slight smile. His friends smiled back before leaving the room, then the house.

A few minutes later, his mom entered the room while he was laying on his bed, throwing a baseball in air. Throw, catch. Throw, catch.

"Dinner time." She said with a happy voice but he didn't even bother turning his head.

"Not hungry." He answered, emotionless. His mom look surprised but at the same time a bit worried. He never declined food before.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just don't feel like eating." He replied, still throwing the ball.

"Okay, I'll leave some leftovers if you change your mind." She told him, with a worried tone.

"'kay."

Once she left, he stopped throwing the ball and just looked at the ceiling. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Artemis. After seeing her so venrouble, he felt sorry for her. But he was also longing for her. He missed how he could open her up like a book and he could always read her so easily. He missed how he could end up hugging her, whisper soothing words into her ear and all of a sudden they would start kissing. He missed her so much. But every time, it just hurt too much. He grip on the ball became tighter and then, out of nowhere, he threw it on the wall opposite him. The result was a loud vibration and the ceiling of the ground floor and the whole second floor was rumbling. He didn't care though. He was so angry that he was breathing frantically. Yes, he was still mad and badly hurt by Artemis but he was also mad at himself. For being happy that she was about to suffocate to death even though it was only for a few seconds. He was angry at himself for not being able to forgive her even though it was pretty easy to do so the other times. He just felt like he was going to explode. All his emotions were overflowing.

Think on the bright side Wally, he thought, at least you did Step 1. He went over his What To Do List in his head.

Step 1: transfer school.

Step 2: get mom and dad to adopt Cassie and Mark.

Step 3: do something irrational.

He already knew what he was going to do for Step 3 but he just kept thinking, do something irrational. Okay, he thought, tomorrow, I better get mom and dad to adopt them already, the faster I finish Step 2, the faster I get to do Step 3. He sighed to calm himself. Once, he was calm enough, he fell asleep. He dreamt the most pleasant dream ever. All of his memories of him and Artemis. To see her laugh and cry at the same time. He remembered the spark in her eye whenever she threw an arrow with her bow. How concentrated she was, it was amazing. And he drifted from memory to memory.

Artemis woke up in her room in the cave. On a chair beside her bed was Luke, he was reading a comic book. She just stared at him, trying to remember why she was there. Then she remembered the giant octopus and she was grabbed by the monster. As she remembered the how it felt like and she felt like she was suffocating again. She couldn't breathe. She gasped for air and scratched her neck, trying to reach oxygen. Luke heard the gasps and whimpering she was making and dropped the comic book onto the floor and he held her but she didn't seem to notice.

Then she remembered Wally's face when she was being lifted in the air. His horrified expression. Even though, he felt a pinch of happiness, worrisome was everywhere on his face. Then all of a sudden she remembered his face when she told him that she didn't want to be with him. Hurt was written all over his face. That was the face he wore when he was screaming at her face. The only difference was that he was hurt and angry.

Then she started sobbing but still wasn't able to breathe. Then she remembered his face when he was at the hospital after they escaped her father. How lifeless he was. She started crying even more. Then she remembered their first kiss. She gasped and sat up. She could breathe again. Her hands covered her eyes and she cried again. Luke sat on the bed behind her and held her. Once she realized he was hugging her, she turned around and sobbed onto his chest, his hands going up and down on her back, trying to calm her down.

She was crying so much and so loudly that everyone but Robin and Zatanna were behind her door. Zatanna was in the clinic, getting her foot checked and Robin stayed with her even though she told him to go with the others and check on Artemis. Even Black Canary and Green Arrow, who came to check that his protégé was alright, were listening to her sob. After about an hour of waiting for her to stop, they decided that this might take a few more hours so they left. And by now, Luke's shirt was dripping wet.

"Shh, it's not your fault." He whispered to her.

"Yes it is!" she cried out, her face filled with tears. Once in a while, Luke would whip her tears with his shirt but it was no use. She would just cry all over again. This went on for hours, Artemis was pretty much reliving all of her moment with Wally, whether they were good or bad.

Nobody's ever seen her this sad. No, sad wasn't the word. Nobody's ever seen her this miserable. Normally, she would cover her sadness with a fake smile that the redhead would always know how to make it real. She was used to having fake smiles and frowns. She's a professional conman. She lied to everyone she knew, her friends, her team, her boyfriend ex-boyfriend and even her father, who she hates. She couldn't hate herself even more. She lost the only person who has always accepted her, always been there for her. And now, thanks to 1 kiss, she lost him for who knows how ling. Maybe forever.

About another four hours past and she finally stopped crying, mostly because exhaustion, or maybe because she didn't have any more tears to shed. Who knew? Her head was on Luke's wet shoulder and he realized she stopped sobbing. He pulled her off of him a little to see her face. She was fast asleep. He slowly put her down on her bed, put the covers over her and left the room.

When she woke up, the sun was just about to rise. Then she remembered something, once, not too long ago, Wally had visited her room early in the morning. They slept in the cave the night before because they had a late mission and both were too tired to go home. He opened the curtains and revealed a bright orange-blue sun rise. It was the most beautiful one she'd ever seen. She normally didn't pay much attention to things like that. She always lived in the shadows, never really cared about beautiful things like the sun rising, or setting for that matter. But when they arrived in Paris before they were caught by her father, he showed him how amazing life could be if you saw it in a different way. When they visited the Louvre for a few hours, he helped her realize what each and every painting or statue meant to the artist.

She could remembered that morning to perfectly, like it just happened five minutes ago. She was still sleeping and he snuck into her bedroom and shook her awake. At first she groaned but then, he kissed her full on the lips and the warmth woke her up almost immediately. He helped her sit up and faced her to the window, he sat down behind her. He put his arms around her and laid his chin on her shoulder. He sighed.

"It's beautiful." Artemis said softly, still a bit sleepy.

"Yeah," he agreed and he looked at her in the eyes as she also turned to look at him, "it reminds me of you."

"What? I don't look anything like the sun!" she said with a light chuckle.

"Yeah, but you're both really beautiful." He said, "And both really hot." He added as a joke.

They ended up staring at the sun slowly rise until Artemis became hungry (Wally, at the time was already hungry but didn't really care).

Artemis looked at the ceiling in her room, her eyes dry and sore from all the crying. She sat up and leaned back. She folded her legs in front of her and held them with her arms. She laid her chin on her knees and stared at the window that was already open. The sun was rising. Exactly the same way it did that morning with Wally. She shed a few tears but whipped them off with her blanket until there was a knock on her door. She whipped the last of her tears and took a deep breath.

"Come in!" she cried out with a shaky voice. Green Arrow entered her room in his civilian clothes. He was folding a mug of hot chocolate and sat down on the chair Luke sat in the night before but closer to the bed. He handed her the mug and she took in gratefully. "Thanks." She mumbled. She blew it lightly and took a small sip. She sighed at the warmth. It wasn't the warmth that Wally gave her that morning, watching the sunrise but it was close as it would get.

"I was just checking up on you." Ollie said beside her but she didn't turn her head, she just looked straight at the sun.

"I'm fine." She said, her voice cracking with every letter.

"No you're not. Of course you're not. But I don't get why the octopus chocking you has to do with your breakup with Wally." He said with his deep comforting voice.

"I don't know. I just dreamt about him and our time together." She said, "Bad and good, both terrifying me, both making me feel guiltier by the second." She paused, "The first night we kissed," she continued, "I told him I couldn't handle being with him," she gasped as if she was about to cry again and she sniffed, "you should have seen your face, his eyes. I could tell he was totally heartbroken." She paused once more, "That was the same face he wore when he broke up with me except there was anger mixed with it and more hurt." She stopped talking for a few minutes.

"And now I feel so guilty. I just keep blaming myself." She said, "But it is my fault, I'm the one who kissed Luke. And I shouldn't have." Ollie just watched her stare at the sun as she told him how she felt. She was like a daughter to him and he hated seeing her like this. Actually, nobody, not even the speedster himself had ever seen her this miserable. It sort of made you want to cry with her.

"You can skip training if you want today." He told her when she stopped talking. Normally, she would have argued until she got what she wanted but she was in no mood to do anything but just sit in bed, look out the window, maybe read, and look out the window some more. That's all she wanted. Honestly, that might have been the only she could do.

"I really need that." She whispered. "I just want more hot choco."

"Okay, I'll bring some every few hours if you want." He replied and she nodded lightly. Her mentor left and she was just sitting there, still looking at the sun, waiting for it to reach the top of the city. Every few minutes, she would take a sip of her drink but she just looked at the sun the whole morning, thinking, they're just memories now. And she wondered if he was just a mere memory as well.

"They're just memories." She told herself.

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