I really enjoy taking my time apparently... So sorry for the late chapter! Lots of thins have been coming up. School mostly. Seeing as this is the last month! Yay!

Thank you everyone who has reviewed this story. Your reviews keep me going on writing this!

Here is the fourth chapter of WoTW! I do hope you enjoy! And keep leaving those awesome reviews!

Warning: Dark themes in this chapter. Blood and gore.

I do not own anyone/thing in the DC Universe.

Gentle sunlight flittered through the gap in the curtains and lit up the main living room, one particular beam pointing straight at Jason's closed eyes much to his annoyance. With a small growl he tried to shift out of the suns path but there was nothing he could do. "Who didn't close the curtains all the way?" He muttered as he lazily blinked open his eyes to look around the room only to be met with emptiness. All the blankets, pillows, snacks, and drinks were gone and the room was put back to its original way before the others moved everything around.

Jason frowned as he slowly sat up from where he was laying and looked around rather confused. They had cleaned up everything without waking him? Which caused another question to arise, why had they just left him there on the couch? He thought for sure golden boy Dick would have insisted they take him upstairs to his room so he could rest properly. There was a small wince from the vigilante as he rubbed his rather sore throat and began to carefully push himself off the couch ignoring the way his stomach lurched and his eyes danced with black spots. His chest rattled with his strained breathing as he began to stumble towards the entrance of the living room in search of the others.

The silence that filled the mansion was suffocating and just made his labored breathing sound all that louder to his ears. First place he decided to check was the kitchen where he hoped to find at least Alfred. Jason put a hand to the doorway while breathing heavily and looked into the room only to find it empty, much to his disappointment. Wait, why was he disappointed? He didn't care if the others left him alone. He was used to it.

That doesn't stop you from enjoying it.

Ah, the lovely voice of reason he loved to hate. Right on cue.

Ignoring the words echoing in his pounding head he turned to the next best place to find the others. Batcave. He made his way, while supporting himself along the walls of the hallway, towards the grandfather clock that housed the secret entrance to the cave Bruce had discovered so long ago beneath the mansion.

Carefully he slid it open and forced down a shudder from the cold he felt rushing up at him from down the stairs. Damn it's cold. He thought as he prepared himself and began to make his way down the stairs towards the main cave. If he thought it was freezing outside in the snow the descent to the cave was even colder. Part of him briefly wondered how in the hell that was possible. Bruce usually kept it heated down in the cave when winter rolled around after an incident a few years back when he was first starting out as Batman.

Jason and the others only knew this from the stories Alfred had told each of them during their times playing Robin. He snorted as he reached the last steps and cast a glance around the rather dark cave.

Immediately he knew something was horribly wrong. None of the lights were on and the large computer Bruce had down there was completely shut down. The only light was from the natural openings in the cave and the way Jason had just come from.

Dread began to well up in his throat and it took all he had to not bolt back up the stairs and look elsewhere for the others. Something was telling him to stay down there and keep looking but for what? Swallowing thickly he began to carefully move towards the Batcomputer and began to turn it on to provide more light than there already was. He instantly regretted it for the moment he did he saw a large arc of red splash across the screen and the upper keyboard. Panic fluttered in his heart which began to race as he stared fixedly at the red substance which he could easily identify as blood.

But whose is it?

Trembling fiercely he pulled away from the computer, glad his nose was still fucked up so he couldn't smell what would have been the coppery scent of the vital essence. He turned around to head for the stairs but stopped as he felt something wet fall from above and hit his cheek. A frown made its way across his features as he reached a hand up and touched his cheek. Pulling back he studied what it was that fell from above and was horrified to see red coloring his fingers. Bright and fresh.

His stomach lurched as he slowly tilted his head up and tried to find the source of the blood. Horror and fear splayed across his features as he could barely make out five limp figures swaying slowly back and forth from the cave ceiling above. Thin wires wrapped tightly around their necks and blood covering each and every one of them.

Bile rose up in his throat and his heart all but stopped as he stared at the familiar bodies hanging from above. It was his family. And to make things worse, they were in their respective outfits. Batman, Nightwing, Red Robin, and Robin.

"Beautiful isn't it?" A voice said from behind Jason as the lights suddenly flashed on and practically blinded him. Once he blinked his eyes clear he wished to be in the cold darkness for what he saw once the lights were on was enough to make even the most insane horrified by the scene.

The extent of injuries to his family dashed any hopes of saving them. Where there used to be their chests were empty cavities revealing their ribs and torn skin. All their vital organs had been cleared away to where he could see their spines when their bodies twisted his way. His horror grew when he saw their faces, cowls and masks gone to reveal their eyes missing and wide bloodied smiles carved into their faces.

He could see the barbed wire, which is what held them suspended, digging into the skin of their necks deeply and causing blood to drip down their clothes.

"My best work yet." The voice from before snapped Jason back to reality and he turned his attention to who spoke, to the one who murdered his family and just asked for a death wish by the hands of the Red Hood himself.

"No…." His throat clenched as he saw just who it was that did this. It was none other than the one who killed him so many years ago. The one who beat him brutally with a crowbar and left him to die in a warehouse with a bomb slowly ticking down the minutes. With his own mother trapped inside with him.

"Long time no see, eh Hoody?" The psychotic clown smiled widely before he began to laugh, that god damned laughter. His clothes splattered with blood and he held a large knife in his hand which was slathered in blood and chunks of skin. Jason felt his stomach lurch and he had to fight back the rising bile.

The vigilante began to shake with many emotions. Pain, rage, grief, and the bloodlust to get revenge for his fallen family. "You fucking bastard!" He yelled and without thinking launched himself at the Joker with a rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins. Anger fueled his movements as he reached the laughing clown but the moment he gripped his signature purple jacket he vanished as did the ground beneath him.

A moment's pause caused him to flail around uselessly before he began to plummet to the darkness below. Above him the sight of his dead family lingered before disappearing as well.

Time seemed to slow down as he fell into the emptiness twisting and turning to try and find something, anything, to grab onto and stop his descent. Laughter filled his ears causing him to clamp his hands over his ears to try and block out the god awful sound. But in response the laughter just seemed to grow louder and the intensity caused his head to start pounding with the force of a jackhammer.

"Stop! Please! Stop!" He yelled as he fell through the darkness. The empty pleas went unanswered except for the fucking laughter. Tears burned at his eyes as he closed them tightly and tried to stop the pain in his head. If only the laughter would just stop. He needed it to stop. Why wouldn't it stop?

Voices began to fill his mind from memories past and blurred with the laughter. So much so he couldn't make out any of the owners.

"Pathetic, worthless. I should have killed you long ago."

"It's alright sweetie… Mommy's fine… Just give her a minute.."

"You shattered his collarbone! We needed him and you put him into shock."

"Come on Littlewing! It will be fun!"

"Nothing but a common criminal."

Please, dear god make it stop. In desperation he began to claw at his ears in an attempt to rip them off. If he didn't have ears, he didn't have to listen. His damaged brain reasoned with him which in a way made sense.

"Jason."

Said man didn't notice when he had stopped falling through the empty blackness or the firm hands placed gently on his shoulders which were gently shaking him. Or the way they tightened slightly as he jerked and twisted from the pain in his head. The laughter hadn't died down in the slightest. Why wouldn't it stop?

"Jason, you need to wake up. Listen to me. It's not real."

Not real? Not real? Bruce and the others were dead. He was falling to his death. It was sure enough real to him. The voice was nothing more than that, a voice in his head. One that was trying to calm him down before he was met with the sweet release of death.

"Open your eyes. You are having a nightmare. Jason!"

The pressure on his shoulders increased causing Jason to start thrashing all the more. No, stop. Stop it. I am going to die again. Alone like before. Please just stop. Tears fell from his closed eyes as he trembled fiercely. The others were already dead though, so it wouldn't be so bad now would it? At least he would finally get peace of mind and the constant battle against the darkness would stop.

No more nightmares. No more pain.

"Jason!"

As if by some miracle the voice seemed to cut clearly through the haze in his mind and he easily recognized it as his adoptive father. But, Bruce was dead…

Wasn't he?

There was only one way to find out.

He began to fight against the darkness that held his eyes closed and slowly began to open them. Wincing as light invaded his system and caused him to close his eyes again. He was aware of how much his body ached and the labored breathing in his chest which caused it to rattle and shake from the clear disease that had invaded his system. As well as the pounding headache that seemed to help wake him up all the more.

A soft groan slipped past his lips as he waited a few more moments before finally opening his eyes and blink against the light. There he was met with the concerned face of Bruce who was looming over him. Hands planted carefully on his shoulders and eyes a mix of relief and concern.

"It's alright. You're alright." The soothing words filtered faintly through his mind as he stared at his adoptive father through half lidded eyes.

"What-" But his efforts of speaking were cut off as his throat ached and burned. A coughing fit consuming him as he shuddered with the force of his coughs. Instantly Bruce moved to sit beside him and supported him while calmly rubbing his back to help soothe the ache in his chest. Once the fit passed a glass of water was present before him and he greedily drank the water down to help his poor throat.

"Are you alright?" What a question to ask. Of course he wasn't alright. He just had the nightmare from hell and his entire body was hurting. Instead of answering he just let a withered look to cross his face and convey all he needed to say. "Right." Bruce mumbled and brushed a hand through Jason's sweat streaked hair gently.

Jason tilted his head up more and realized, much to his horror, that the rest of the family were standing around the couch staring at him as if he was about to break at any moment. Shit, had they seen all of that? Carefully Dick stepped forward and sat on Jason's other side with eyes full of concern.

"Do you want to talk about it?" That answered it. Faintly he wondered if he had woken the Batfamily up with his frantic movements and screaming. Or had they already been up and just happen to be around when one of his famous nightmares claimed him?

"There is nothing to talk about."

Jason rasped with a hard look on his face as he glared challengingly at Dick then turned the look on the others daring them to say a word about what they just witnessed. It was embarrassing enough for him. He didn't want to discuss his feelings like some fucking chick. A hand on his shoulder had him turning to look at Bruce.

There was a silent look that passed between the elder and second Robin before Bruce slowly stood up.

"Let's get you back to bed. Your fever seems to have spiked during the night." He mumbled as he turned to the others. "And I think it's best if we give him some time alone." There was a small unspoken message which the other Robins understood.

"Tt. Whatever." Damian muttered before he quickly left the room before anything else transpired.

"I'll just go then." Tim said leaving soon after Damian had heading in the direction of his own room.

"I will get started on breakfast." Alfred informed as the oldest member of the small family began to head for the kitchen. "And Master Jason, do rest well." He commented leaving the original three alone in the living room.

"Well come on Jaybird! Up we go!" Dick chirped as he helped Jason up who groaned in protest at the sudden movement. He held back the rising bile and glared at Dick who supported him easily. Chipper attitude not dimmed in the slightest from what had transpired a few moments before. As the two began to head for the stairs Bruce began to slowly follow after them. Jason dreaded what would happen once they got to his room. Knowing exactly what was to come and hoping his best to avoid it.

But when has fate favored him?