Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.
Robin isn't quite sure how long it took, but Raven, Beast Boy, and Shadow arrive eventually. They emerge from the cave directly in front of him. For all the world, the martial artist would claim it looks like the two pale Titans are guarding Beast Boy due to their almost identical costumes.
"Cloaked bodyguards." Robin thinks to himself as he smiles and rises to greet his friends. "Wouldn't be the first time I've seen that."
"Dude! You have no idea how good it is to see you!" Beast Boy yells excitedly, waving his hands erratically.
"I'm sure you'll tell me in a second." Robin quips. He raises a hand in greeting as well. "But first, would someone mind explaining to me exactly where we are?"
"Long story short," Raven sighs. "You all got knocked out so I pulled us back to the Tower. When everyone didn't wake up I jumped into your minds using the council spell."
"We just spent hours in your head fixing all your clones dude." Beast Boy says. "And then Brave kicked us out. I think we saw something he didn't want us to."
"The cave under the mansion?" Raven offers dryly. "Or maybe the fact that Robin's eyes are blue?"
The martial artist could feel sweat gathering on the back of his neck. Just how much had they discovered?
"Or maybe it was it was the supercomputer." The shapeshifter muses.
"The one you almost destroyed?" The empath snarks.
"It was an accident!"
"We weren't even in a fight and you almost froze it!"
"Hey! How was I supposed to know it was a freeze gun?"
Shadow silently rolls his eyes to the sky. "Only you Big Brother..."
"He told you not to touch it!"
"I thought he meant the doll thing!"
Robin shakes his head. He knows exactly what they are talking about. "Note to self: Never let Beast Boy in the Batcave." He clears his throat. "Anyways. What exactly are we supposed to do?"
"Free Starfire and Cyborg. Duh." Beast Boy says in a tone that suggests it should be obvious.
"I think he's asking how." Raven says dryly. She looks at the martial artist. "We need to find their emoticlones and make sure they are acting in line with their respective emotions."
"I don't get it." Robin informs her bluntly. "But it's worked already if Shadow and Beast Boy are any indicator, so I'll take your word."
"That's all I ask." The empath nods.
"Alright then. Who next?" The martial artist asks, glancing at the remaining paths. He is surprised to see that the cave has disappeared. "Granted, the jungle that Raven's clone went into disappeared as well. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised."
"We were thinking Star." The shapeshifter offers. "Now that we got you back, she should be a breeze."
Robin raises an eyebrow, but doesn't comment. He just motions for Raven to lead.
Teammates in town, the empath struts down the path to the ornate door. It's gold and green design glimmers eerily against the otherwise dark backdrop.
At the rear of the group, Robin speaks in hushed tones with the hero of Blacksoak.
"Just how much did you find out?" The martial artist questions, looking suspicious.
"A cave under a mansion which we accessed through a fireplace." The pale boy replies calmly, staring straight ahead rather than at Robin. "Several strange objects on display, some in glass cages. Several iterations of the Batmobile, one of which was referred to as "the Tumbler", and a supercomputer." He pauses for a moment before giving the martial artist and swift glance. "I also saw a few old costumes on display. Getting the tights was a good call."
Robin flushes red, remembering his ridiculous former outfit. "Well, it seems like you guys saw quite a bit then. But no names?"
Shadow shook his head slightly. "The name on the office door was scratched off, and there wasn't anything else that would normally display a name."
Robin gives a sigh of relief. "Good. Batman would have my hide if you guys found out."
The hero of Blacksoak quirks the side of his mouth into a resemblance of a grin, though it strikes Robin as looking slightly insincere: more like a mask than a true expression.
"Well." Raven says firmly, catching he martial artist's attention. Robin looks away from Shadow to see that large double-doors in front of him. Intricate designs are etched into the frame. "Let's get this over with."
"That's what you said when we went into Robin's mind." Beast Boy mutters under his breath.
"And I stand by it." The empath grumbles as she pushes on the doors. Despite their size, Raven has no issues opening them. "I want this done."
Behind the doors is a long stone hallway decorated in royal burgundys and golds. Tapestries furnish the walls with depictions of battles and wars long since past. The hall is tall and wide, making the Titans feel rather small as they take a few steps inside.
"Not exactly what I was expecting." Beast Boy says after a moment. "Honestly, I was thinking more pink."
The others can't help but nod.
"Correct me if I'm wrong." Shadow murmurs, inspecting the nearest tapestry. "But isn't Starfire royalty? I think she mentioned it when she came to visit."
"You're right." Robin confirms. "I almost forgot about that."
"Now that I'm thinking about it, this place reminds me of the palace on Tamaran." Raven says. "Back when she was getting married, remember?"
"I try not to." The martial artist mutters under his breath. "But yeah, it does look like that."
"Dude, I wonder if her whole mind is like this. Only Raven's really seems to be different for each clone." Beast Boy muses aloud. "I mean, Rob's was mostly just a giant cave, and Rae said that mine was all jungle."
"Only one way to find out." Robin sighs. "Let's move Titans."
The group set off down the hallway. Their footsteps masked by the thick carpet below them. They glance at the tapestries as they walk by, observing the stick-like depictions of ancient heroes woven into the fabric.
Quite quickly the Titans stumble across an obstacle: a large throne room which they enter through the side. The room is absolutely massive, and brings back some uncomfortable memories for the Titans. The main issue is the several exits; them being the large main doors off to the right (not unlike the doors used to enter Starfire's mind in the first place), three exits visible across the room, two to their left along the same wall, and one behind the throne.
"Seven options," Raven mutters from the back of the group. "And presumably eight emoticlones. So is there something we're missing?"
"Let's worry about it later." Robin says. "Focus on what we can do, not what we can't." His eyes flicked to Raven. "We do have time, right?"
The empath nods. "A few days if needed."
"No real hurry then." Beast Boy says with a grin.
"Sure." Raven says dryly. "Waking our friends up from a hypnosis-induced coma is no big problem at all."
"Well when you put it that way..."
"So," Robin interrupts. "Which way do we go?"
"Does it really matter?" Beast Boy questions. "We have no idea where any of them lead."
"Let's just start from the right then." Shadow suggests. "That way we always know which ones we've explored."
"Good a plan as any." Robin says wryly. He looks at the large double-doors and takes a deep breath. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Raven sighs.
"Let's go dudes!" Beast Boy chirps as he bounds over to the doors. The green boy pulls mightily on one of the handles, and the door swings open with an ominous creek.
Beyond the doors is another pathway decorated with the same gold and burgundy color scheme. The difference is the tapestries. No longer depicting great heroes and wars, the large swaths of cloth now show scenes of relaxation and rest. The Titans can see lavish rooms filled with silken sheets where stick-like figures rest and eat what they presume to be delicacies (honestly, it's hard to tell; all the food looks disgusting).
As they near a bend in the hallway, a specific tapestry catches Beast Boy's eye.
"Dudes, check this out!" He cries, pointing at the picture. The others gather around for a better look.
At first it doesn't seem that remarkable, just more stick figures, but as they continue to observe they realize just what drew the attention of their green friend.
The four stick figures each have something special about them. One is bright green, one has a mask, one wears a small blue cape, and the last has a glowing red dot on its face.
"It's us." Robin whispers, his fingers tracing the masked figure.
"Correction: It's you guysand Cyborg." Shadow says. His eyes wander the piece, noting the large black square in the background. "I think this is at Titans Towers." He points to the square. "That must be the television."
"I think me and Cy are playing video games." Beast Boy muses. "We seem to be holding something, and our legs are facing the tv."
"I'm reading the Book of Azar." Raven whispers. "I know because the book is white."
"And I'm just watching." Robin chuckles. "My stick figure is that largest; heck, you can only really see the head. Maybe I'm standing next to whoever made this."
"I wonder what this means." Beast Boy mutters, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
"A memory perhaps?" Shadow suggests, shrugging his shoulders. "A dream or a wish?"
"Any of those make sense." Raven says, looking away from the picture. "I have a library in Knowledge's domain to store my thoughts and dreams, Starfire's mind probably stores them in these tapestries."
"So we're, like, looking at her thoughts?" Beast Boy asks.
"Pretty much."
"We should probably move on then." Robin urges. "I know I wouldn't want anyone peering into my memories, friends or not."
"Agreed." Raven says.
Tearing themselves away from the wall, the Titans proceed around the bend. A single door lies only a few meters in front of them. Unlike the other doors that they have seen, this one seems to be made of marble, but is decorated around the edges with light brown patterns; almost like henna drawings, but on a door instead of skin.
Taking a deep breath, Robin grips the handle and pushes open the door. The group immediately ducks when a table is thrown at their heads.
"NOT HEAVY ENOUGH!" A familiar voice roars. "I REQUIRE MORE WEIGHT!"
"I thought girls liked getting thinner." Beast Boy jokes quietly, hiding behind his younger brother when the pale boy rises to his feet.
"Yay, stereotypes." Shadow mutters dully while dusting off his cloak.
"Five bucks says it's Rage." Robin whispers. He is pressed up against the doorframe and peering around the edge. "I can't see her though. There's a mountain of stuff in the way."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Raven snaps, also hiding behind Shadow. "Good stop her?"
"Why me?" Robin scowls.
"Because she likes you." Shadow says bluntly. "Now go."
The martial artist gives his teammates a dirty look as he carefully steps into the doorway.
"Oh, and it's not Rage." The pale boy says casually. "All the clones are acting out of sorts, so it can't be her."
"Who then?" Robin hisses.
"I don't know." Shadow shrugs. "Take your best guess?"
"I hate you so much right now."
"I'm sure you could ask Star for a hug to make you feel better. Now stop stalling, oh fearless leader." The hero of Blacksoak snarks. He waves a hand at the door. "Shoo."
Muttering under his breath, Robin takes a few tentative steps into the room. His footsteps are muffled by the copious amounts of silken sheets strewn about the floor, mostly pinks, oranges, and browns.
"Literally bathing in silk." Robin thinks to himself as he pushes a deep pink sheet draped from the ceiling out of his way. "Now... Who are you?"
Peering around the mountain of stuff (which actually consists of several stacked chairs, a bed, and a few dozen sheets) Robin can see the raging figure of Starfire who is currently lifting yet another table over her head. He also notes that her hair seems to be brown rather than its normal red-orange.
"Is she doing squats?" Robin asks himself, raising an eyebrow. He watches in faint amusement as the tall girl holds the table above her head while doing the exercise. "No wonder she wanted more weight, nothing in this room is anywhere near heavy enough to challenge her."
He draws back when the girls flings the table to the side with a growl, impacting the wall behind him.
"Okay Rob, you can do this." He gulps. "Just don't think about the fact that you have no idea which emotion she is supposed to be, and the fact that she is at least fifty times stronger than you."
Taking another deep breath as the clone picks up a chair, Robin steps out from behind his hiding place.
Chapter 20 complete. Well, that's a crappy cliffhanger if I've ever seen one. Do I care? No, not really.
It took me half a week just to decide which clone to use. I'm pretty sure you can figure who I decided, it's not like they're color-coded or anything.
Except Robin's Rude and Sloth, and Beast Boy's Brave, and Shadow just lacking more than two clones total.
Okay, maybe I haven't been too consistent. Sue me. I didn't want to make BB's Brave green because BB is already green, and blue is the leftover color (because Raven is blueish, and none of her clones are blue, so it made sense) as for Robin's clones... I just slipped up and made an excuse; and Shadow is Shadow *Cough* shamelessOCinsert *Cough*.
I'm considering changing his name. Shadow, and his full title "The Night Shadow" just sounds stupid in retrospect. I need something fitting though.
I also want to change his costume, he's a blatant rip off of Raven right now. But anything else that comes to mind resembles another character too much. Grr...
Anyhow. Hope this chapter wasn't a complete letdown.