{(Chapter 8- Decision)}
Robin's mind was churning. Dozens upon dozens of calculations ran through his mind.
It would only take me a matter of seconds to run over to Sayuri and attack… he thought …that would stop her from shooting Starfire, certainly… but, even so… it'd only take her half a second to see what I was doing, and fire her attack… I guess there's no other way…
He lowered his head in mock defeat. "All right… I'll stay here. Just… let Starfire go." … After all… I can always escape afterwards… and I will… just as soon as she's safe…
Starfire seemed to read his mind. "No, Robin! You must not do this! If you give into their demands, there will be no way to go back on them!"
Sayuri increased the size of her spirit bullet. "Please keep quiet. You'll be able to leave soon."
She reached into her pocket with her free hand, and pulled out the computer chip she'd been poking at earlier.
"Listen to me, Robin. And listen carefully. If you truly choose to save this girl, and stay here, you'll be required to first activate this….. It may look like an ordinary digital chip, but it is much more complicated then that. Instead of altering the memory base of computer's, like a normal computer chip, it changes the memory waves of humans."
Robin's eyes widened in surprise. "How?"
"The electromagnetic waves in this chip have been programmed to the frequency of a human mind. Just as a computer chip can read the information of a computer, and change it around, this chip can erase, add, and alter sections of your memory. Your memory, of course, is what makes up a great deal of your mind. Without it, you would be just like a newborn baby. And without certain parts of it… we could change you around to be an entirely new person."
She took a breath, and continued. "Of course, this particular one won't erase a really large amount of your mind. All it will do is erase your morals… and, of course, your memory of being in the Teen Titans."
Robin let his gaze drop to the floor. "So… Starfire's right, then… if I choose to become your apprentice, there really will be no way of going back…"
Slade nodded. "Yes. That's right. And you'll be such a loyal apprentice… no more of that attitude I had to put up with last time."
Not to mention escape attempts, Sayuri thought grimly, since you can't seem to handle even the most pathetic examples of those… But, out loud, she said nothing. Her throat was constricted with emotion. Grief - mostly, over what she was doing. If there were any better way, she would take it in a heartbeat.
Well… I could always have kept that money I got from that bank vault… She sighed, remembering what had happened.When she'd first become frantic over her great need for money… her first thought had been that of any normal criminal-to-be. To go rob a bank.
So, that's what she'd done… it had been a perfect robbery, too. Only… she slipped up on her escape. One of the town's members had seen her running down the street.
Of all the bad luck!
The next day, she was in the newspapers. Underneath the whole story of how mysterious her crime had been, and how even more mysterious she'd looked (according to the man who'd seen her), was a small section covering all that had been affected by her robbery of the bank.
A few small companies, that'd had the majority of their money stored in that bank vault, had gone bankrupt. And not only them, but families too!
Innocent people were suffering… and it was because of her.
That had been a thought she couldn't stand. The next day, the bank vaults money had mysteriously reappeared.
Ironically enough that little tid-bit of information had not been included in the newspaper the next day.
Sayuri snapped out of her reflection of her first crime, when Robin, sounding very determined, spoke up once more.
"Fine. I'll do it."
Robin had been expecting Sayuri to gloatingly smile when he said this. Instead, her face seemed to take on a saddened expression.
She nodded, and wordlessly handed him the microchip. It was almost as if she didn't trust her voice enough to speak.
(A/N- MICROCHIP! OMG, that's the word! I was trying SO HARD to think up what you CALLED those things, but I couldn't remember! I wanted to say nanochip, but Microsoft Word insisted that no such word existed…… But, yayness… I finally thought up the word.)
Robin stared at the small chip after she handed it to her. He held it up closer to his face; seemingly mesmerized by the complexity of the tiny little wires and circuits.
"This may seem like a trivial question, but… where are you guys getting all this new technology?"
Silence. Then Starfire's confused voice.
"What technology are you referring to? The small device in your hand is certainly marvelous, but not that much so… I have seen better on Tamaran."
Robin shrugged. "There's that, and the fact that you aren't able to break out of your ropes."
Sayuri nodded, understanding what he meant by "all this new technology", now. She took a few moments to find her voice, and then answered.
"Well, the ropes belong to Slade. I think he said he had one of those people from that "hive" place… I think her name was Jinx… but anyway, she cast some sort of spell on the ropes to make them super strong, and difficult to break for anyone opposing Slade. Something about bad luck…"
Slade nodded.
Sayuri continued on. "This chip, on the other hand, is mine. My…" she hesitated a beat, unsure if she should tell the trio in front of her this information. She sighed and shrugged. "My fiancé used to be the head of a new technologic research facility… he quit quite a few months ago… but, one of his friend's there had been working on this chip's developmental project for some time. They just finished with it about a month ago. It took some begging, but my fiancé's friend eventually built me a special prototype of it… You really should feel… honored. These things are rare." She swallowed back a sob building in her throat. I hate having to act so heartless.
Robin sighed and looked back down at the microchip. He spotted the molecular suctions on the corners of it, and promptly activated them. He then attached the chip to the side of his head – right above his left ear.
"Well? What do I need to do to activate this… thing?"
Sayuri glanced down. "It's programmed to respond to your voice patterns. Just say the word "erase", and it will perform the duty it was built to do."
Robin shot a short glare at her. "That's a nice way of saying it'll era--…… delete my memories."
Sayuri couldn't help but snap back at him. "It's not like it'll be erasing all of them!"
Robin cocked an eyebrow, feeling it twitch in fury. "Oh, really? Let's see… you're getting rid of all my morals… half of my past… and my entire memory of Starfire!! Geeze, woman! You'll only be taking away the most important things in my life! Why not take away everything?"
Starfire stared at Robin. Did… he just say-… Did I interpret that correctly?
Robin didn't seem to catch what he'd said, even though Starfire did. Sayuri heard it as well. She turned around, so that no one in the room could see her face. It was being drenched in a sudden rush of tears.
Oh, Lord… what am I doing? She thought to herself. …What on earth am I doing?Slade smirked. "That's sweet. Really. Now, say goodbye and complete your attitude readjustment."
Robin took a deep breath, and then turned to face Starfire. He tried his best to hold in the sudden rush of sadness, anger, and overall angst filling him. When he looked at her, though, his eyes were filled with the deepest look of sorrow Starfire had ever seen.
"Starfire…" he said, his voice cracking with emotion. "I guess I'm going to have to forget about you now… I'm so sorry for that…" he paused, trying his best to keep his voice under control. "…But, promise me something. Please, don't ever forget me."
Starfire's tears were now spilling down her cheeks. She shook her head fiercely. "Never. I could not ever forget about you… But neither will I give up on you! You mustn't do this! I am not worth such a sacrifice!"
"You're worth much more then this, Starfire." He said softly.
Starfire let out a muted sob. "Please… no…"
Robin dropped his gaze. "It's so hard to believe I could ever forget someone like you… If this technology weren't right here in front of me, I never would have even considered the possibility… But even so… I know I'll see you in my dreams."
He sighed and looked back up at her. She was still crying, and shaking her head. Other then that, her voice seemed to be caught in her throat.
Slade's cold voice cut in through their emotional moment. "That's enough. Activate the chip, Robin. I can't stand another few minutes of this mushy good-bye."
Robin nodded in resignation.
"Goodbye, then……"
He paused, allowing himself one last glance at Starfire. He managed to give her a watery smile, trying his best to comfort her a little.
… If there were any other way, I'd take it…
Robin and Sayuri both thought this at the same time.
"…………… Erase."
More and more tears fell from Starfire's eyes. Sayuri dropped down to her knees, letting her hair fall across her face, hiding her own rush of tears. Slade smiled in triumph.
For a few moments, the chip attached to Robin's head buzzed and whirred. Robin just stared thoughtlessly at the wall across from him.
And then, at last, the chip stopped. Robin blinked a few times, and then looked around at his surroundings.
He voice was quiet, and hesitant. He sounded very confused. "Huh? Where am I? How'd… I get here… wait… I recognize this place… This is… Slade's lair. Who is Slade?"
He glanced over at Sayuri, on the floor. "You look pretty familiar… I don't remember your name, though…" His gaze turned on Starfire, who found that she couldn't meet his dumbfounded look. "But… I don't recognize you at all. Who're you? I'm Robin… I think."
Slade sighed with relief. "The chip has made him a little delirious, I see… but it's worked. Congratulations, Sayuri." He pulled out a small bag of money he'd previously counted out for her. He threw the bag down on the floor beside her. "There's your payment. $50,000, cash, just like you asked. Now get out of my sight!"
Sayuri dried up her tears, and quickly grabbed the bag on the floor. She was scared that Slade would suddenly decide to snatch it back.
Good. Now I have the money. So, now, let's see if I can't fix this mess I've made…She stood up, her face hardening in resolution. I won't let these two kids suffer because of me... And now that I've gotten my payment, there's nothing he can do to stop me.
She silently thanked the heavens that Slade had decided to pay her upfront.
(A/N- No, I wasn't prepared to kill of Raven, and I was even less prepared to delete Robin's love for (and memory of) Starfire. No, no, no… he'll be getting it back… oops, I wasn't supposed to tell you that! Maybe he'll be getting it back… Anyway, read to find out how. It'll be sweet… I do believe.
Please review!!! Please, please, please!
Oh, and thank you soooo much for all the reviews you guys have already sent in!! I appreciate it sooo much! I have some responses for some of yall.
Dark II Raven: ^__^ Thank you!!! I actually had planned to explain further why Starfire couldn't escape… but I suppose I edited it out somewhere. Thank you so much for the reminder!
TragicFairyLove: I know what you mean… sometimes it's a little hard to make the story entertaining, while keeping it G. Though, I'm starting to wonder if it shouldn't be PG for the low level of angst…
Starre: ROFL! But, I agree with you completely! He looked stunningly cool in that outfit Slade had him wearing. His Teen Titan suit is too colorful, in my opinion. But, that's just what it is… my opinion. No hard feelings to Robin. ^^;
amskitty214: Whoa… I didn't know there was a new Hidden Emotions on ff.net… what a strange coincidence. Well, I hope your story goes well!
And to EVERYONE ELSE: Demo Arigatou!!!! Oh, thank you soooo much for all the kind reviews!!! I love you guys! Please keep reviewing for me! ^^;;;
Or… in the infamous words of Chiki;
Just go click that button!!)