[Sorry about the wait all, school work got the better of me for a minute
there. And so, without further ado, Rook – Part 9]
The mists parted as the group slowly walked on through the nightmare world of Rook's mind. Every so often, strange, dark shapes loomed out of the dense fog – ancient weathered monoliths and dark, twisted trees broke through the fog and drifted silently by the Titans, eventually disappearing back into the mist as they passed them. Starfire shivered. The mist indeed was getting quite cold, and ever colder as the group walked on, for what seemed like hours. All the time the shape of Valour was visible, his pace never slowing. He didn't even seem to feel the cold. But then, how could he? He was not a person as such, just an emotion.
This thought was troubling Raven, who was walking just a few feet away from Valour. She had never encountered this emotion in her own mind, and she knew that she and her siblings had very similar emotional responses to events. Valour should not be a full emotion, just a facet of Bravery...
Valour noticed Raven's gaze and grimaced. He had hoped she would not suspect anything... He half turned his head to look back at her through the corner of his eyes. "What is the matter Raven? Why do you brood so?" His voice was quiet, and the drawing of a sword could almost be heard upon the edge in it. Raven suddenly quickened her pace to catch up with Valour.
"Why are you here?" she hissed, "Why is it Valour and not Bravery? I KNOW Rook has Bravery, I've seen it before when I have been here."
Valour looked directly into Raven's eyes. There was something about the way the fog whispered around his face that made it seem unsettling. "He doesn't have Bravery any more." He said, darkly. Raven moved closer to the emotion. "Why? Why doesn't he have Bravery?" she asked. "Because like most things to do with my family, I don't trust you. This doesn't make any kind of sense and you aren't giving me answers."
"You will have to wait for answers, Raven." said the emotion. He quickened his pace. The others were running now to be able to keep up. "Slow down!" called Beastboy, but the sound was lost in the dank fog, which now seemed to thicken. Valour moved further and further away from the group, with Raven running to keep up. Eventually, the other Titans and emotions lost sight of them in the mist. Despite the group running to keep up, eventually the sound of the footsteps sank away into the haze that surrounded them. The Titans were lost in a sea of mist...
"Oh this is terrible! Horribly, nastily terrible!" wailed Starfire. Robin couldn't blame her; the dense fog seemed to grow ever denser around the small isolated group. Without Valour or Raven, they had no idea of knowing where they were. Or did they...
Robin regarded the emotions. Huddling next to Starfire was Timid. She wouldn't be much help, she was too scared. Anger was being restrained by Bravery, and Laziness had just sat down next to a nearby rock, and was now snoozing. Of all the emotions accompanying them, only one could possibly of any help: Reason.
"Reason," said Robin walking over to the yellow-cloaked form "Is there any way we can find them again?"
Reason thought for a moment.
"Possibly." She announced, "But in this place it won't be so easy. Normally, we would be able to find Raven without much trouble, but Rook's mind is full of energy – it's disrupting our mental link to Raven. If she gets too far away, we might even cease to exist in this place. If that happens, you will be on your own..."
This didn't go down too well with the others.
"What?!" screeched Cyborg "You mean to tell us that we might be left here on our own, with no way to get back?!" The purple-cloaked Stubborn nodded.
"That's the risk you took. We did warn you." She said, bluntly.
"Well this is no time for arguing." Said Robin, standing between Cyborg and the Emotion. "We need to find Raven, and fast. DO any of you have any idea of where she could have gone?"
As one, the emotions pointed to the left of the titans.
"Ok then," said Robin, "Titans, let's go!"
They turned and walked off into the mist. After a few seconds, Cyborg ran back and picked up Laziness, who still hadn't got up. "Do we have to?" she yawned tiredly.
After many long minutes, Valour slowed down somewhat. Catching up to him, Raven grabbed his cloak and pinned him against a twisted, black tree. "Why won't you tell me what's going on?" she asked. The emotion shrugged.
"Outsiders must not know. You can, but they must not. You know how particular we are about that. I shall tell you now, if you would be kind enough to release me."
Raven let go of Valour, and he dusted his cloak off. He took a deep breath.
"When Trigon came to Rook's mind, he had already been inside yours and the others'. He knew what to expect, and he knew that he could be defeated if Rook managed to unite with all of his emotions. He also knew that Rook's mental defences were very strong, perhaps the strongest of all his family." The emotion showed a hint of pride at this point. Raven just scowled. "Trigon knew that if he just appeared and tried to take over Rook's mind, Rook would unit with his emotions very quickly and stop our father. So he came up with a plan. I am sorry for what I am about to show you Raven, but this is the only way you will understand." Valour waved a hand, and the mists seemed to part.
"I led you here, to show you what he did..."
As the mists parted, Raven saw a large hill emerging from the fog. It was perfectly round, and covered with lank, green grass. The air around the mound almost seemed to freeze, it was that cold. Howling wind blew over the landmark, and Raven could just make out shapes on the top.
"Follow." Stated Valour, making his way towards the hill. Pulling her cloak around her to keep warm, Raven walked after the emotion. The damp grass waved around her feet as she made her way to the top of the hill. When she got there, her blood ran cold.
Gravestones. Seven gravestones, each with a single word written in the centre.
"Happiness, Bravery, Timid, Laziness, Jealousy, Anger and Stubbornness." Read Valour. "Rook could not unite with his emotions, because Trigon killed them." Raven looked down at the graves, each an indication of what Trigon was prepared to do to achieve his whims.
"He killed them, and then crushed Rook..." she muttered to herself.
"Yes," said Valour, "and when each emotion was killed, to compensate one of Rook's lesser emotions gained a more physical form. That is why I am here; I am all that is left of Rook's Bravery."
"I am sorry..." whispered Raven.
"Whatever for Raven?" asked Valour, "It is not your fault this happened. I understand that you didn't trust me, because I wouldn't have trusted you if you had had emotions like me."
Raven looked down.
"Now come," said the emotion, "Rook is not far away. I only hope that your friends will find one of the others before the Nightmares find them..."
Raven's head snapped up. "Nightmares?!" she shouted, "There are Nightmares here?"
This time it was Valour's turn to look down. "Yes, they started appearing after Trigon took over... I didn't want to mention it before, it would put you at ill ease..."
"Of course it would!" snapped the psychic, "And for good reason! We have to find them now!"
Valour grabbed her arm. "We won't be able to find them – I cannot sense them any more and neither can you, I know it. All we can do now is find Rook. He will know what to do."
Reluctantly, she turned away from where she came from and followed Valour down the other side of the hill, its ghostly form slowly sinking away into the mist.
Beastboy looked up at the form of Cyborg. They had been travelling for what felt like hours. Cyborg looked as bored and tired as he was. The place just didn't change; fog and more fog.
"How big is this place?" he asked to the world in general. After a few minutes of eerie silence, Reason answered.
"It is only as big as Rook feels it to be." she said. "Depending on how Rook feels, this space grows and shrinks. Nothing is constant here."
"Great," muttered Beastboy. "We could be here for hours, even days looking for something new... hey, haven't we passed that rock already?"
A moment of grim realisation descended onto the group. They looked at each other for a few moments, and then carried on walking. The place was starting to take its toll on the morale of the Titans. They all dragged their feet slightly as they walked, except for Starfire who had taken to hovering just above the floor to give her feet a rest.
Presently, they passed a low, very darkly coloured rock. A feeling of unease passed through the group. Their pace slowed, and eventually they all stopped.
"Something is wrong here..." whispered Timid, pulling up her hood. Bravery looked up suddenly. A long, drawn out screech sounded in the distance, accompanied by the flapping of wings.
"No... not now..." she uttered. She turned quickly to the others. "We have to go, NOW!" she ordered, running in the opposite direction of the noise, which sounded disturbingly close now. The Titans struggled to keep up with the emotions; they were fast runners.
"What's... going... on...?" panted Robin, who had managed to draw close to a Brown-robed emotion. She looked at him spitefully. "Why would you need me to work that out? I thought you could always work it out." This Raven was nudged to the side by Reason. "Don't take any notice of Jealousy," she said, "I'm not sure, but I think we are being followed by Nightmares. You have seen what they do before, when you watched that movie." The screech grew louder.
"We will never be able to outrun it!" exclaimed Starfire.
Robin stopped, followed shortly by the others.
"Then we'll fight." He said.
The mists parted...
The mists parted as the group slowly walked on through the nightmare world of Rook's mind. Every so often, strange, dark shapes loomed out of the dense fog – ancient weathered monoliths and dark, twisted trees broke through the fog and drifted silently by the Titans, eventually disappearing back into the mist as they passed them. Starfire shivered. The mist indeed was getting quite cold, and ever colder as the group walked on, for what seemed like hours. All the time the shape of Valour was visible, his pace never slowing. He didn't even seem to feel the cold. But then, how could he? He was not a person as such, just an emotion.
This thought was troubling Raven, who was walking just a few feet away from Valour. She had never encountered this emotion in her own mind, and she knew that she and her siblings had very similar emotional responses to events. Valour should not be a full emotion, just a facet of Bravery...
Valour noticed Raven's gaze and grimaced. He had hoped she would not suspect anything... He half turned his head to look back at her through the corner of his eyes. "What is the matter Raven? Why do you brood so?" His voice was quiet, and the drawing of a sword could almost be heard upon the edge in it. Raven suddenly quickened her pace to catch up with Valour.
"Why are you here?" she hissed, "Why is it Valour and not Bravery? I KNOW Rook has Bravery, I've seen it before when I have been here."
Valour looked directly into Raven's eyes. There was something about the way the fog whispered around his face that made it seem unsettling. "He doesn't have Bravery any more." He said, darkly. Raven moved closer to the emotion. "Why? Why doesn't he have Bravery?" she asked. "Because like most things to do with my family, I don't trust you. This doesn't make any kind of sense and you aren't giving me answers."
"You will have to wait for answers, Raven." said the emotion. He quickened his pace. The others were running now to be able to keep up. "Slow down!" called Beastboy, but the sound was lost in the dank fog, which now seemed to thicken. Valour moved further and further away from the group, with Raven running to keep up. Eventually, the other Titans and emotions lost sight of them in the mist. Despite the group running to keep up, eventually the sound of the footsteps sank away into the haze that surrounded them. The Titans were lost in a sea of mist...
"Oh this is terrible! Horribly, nastily terrible!" wailed Starfire. Robin couldn't blame her; the dense fog seemed to grow ever denser around the small isolated group. Without Valour or Raven, they had no idea of knowing where they were. Or did they...
Robin regarded the emotions. Huddling next to Starfire was Timid. She wouldn't be much help, she was too scared. Anger was being restrained by Bravery, and Laziness had just sat down next to a nearby rock, and was now snoozing. Of all the emotions accompanying them, only one could possibly of any help: Reason.
"Reason," said Robin walking over to the yellow-cloaked form "Is there any way we can find them again?"
Reason thought for a moment.
"Possibly." She announced, "But in this place it won't be so easy. Normally, we would be able to find Raven without much trouble, but Rook's mind is full of energy – it's disrupting our mental link to Raven. If she gets too far away, we might even cease to exist in this place. If that happens, you will be on your own..."
This didn't go down too well with the others.
"What?!" screeched Cyborg "You mean to tell us that we might be left here on our own, with no way to get back?!" The purple-cloaked Stubborn nodded.
"That's the risk you took. We did warn you." She said, bluntly.
"Well this is no time for arguing." Said Robin, standing between Cyborg and the Emotion. "We need to find Raven, and fast. DO any of you have any idea of where she could have gone?"
As one, the emotions pointed to the left of the titans.
"Ok then," said Robin, "Titans, let's go!"
They turned and walked off into the mist. After a few seconds, Cyborg ran back and picked up Laziness, who still hadn't got up. "Do we have to?" she yawned tiredly.
After many long minutes, Valour slowed down somewhat. Catching up to him, Raven grabbed his cloak and pinned him against a twisted, black tree. "Why won't you tell me what's going on?" she asked. The emotion shrugged.
"Outsiders must not know. You can, but they must not. You know how particular we are about that. I shall tell you now, if you would be kind enough to release me."
Raven let go of Valour, and he dusted his cloak off. He took a deep breath.
"When Trigon came to Rook's mind, he had already been inside yours and the others'. He knew what to expect, and he knew that he could be defeated if Rook managed to unite with all of his emotions. He also knew that Rook's mental defences were very strong, perhaps the strongest of all his family." The emotion showed a hint of pride at this point. Raven just scowled. "Trigon knew that if he just appeared and tried to take over Rook's mind, Rook would unit with his emotions very quickly and stop our father. So he came up with a plan. I am sorry for what I am about to show you Raven, but this is the only way you will understand." Valour waved a hand, and the mists seemed to part.
"I led you here, to show you what he did..."
As the mists parted, Raven saw a large hill emerging from the fog. It was perfectly round, and covered with lank, green grass. The air around the mound almost seemed to freeze, it was that cold. Howling wind blew over the landmark, and Raven could just make out shapes on the top.
"Follow." Stated Valour, making his way towards the hill. Pulling her cloak around her to keep warm, Raven walked after the emotion. The damp grass waved around her feet as she made her way to the top of the hill. When she got there, her blood ran cold.
Gravestones. Seven gravestones, each with a single word written in the centre.
"Happiness, Bravery, Timid, Laziness, Jealousy, Anger and Stubbornness." Read Valour. "Rook could not unite with his emotions, because Trigon killed them." Raven looked down at the graves, each an indication of what Trigon was prepared to do to achieve his whims.
"He killed them, and then crushed Rook..." she muttered to herself.
"Yes," said Valour, "and when each emotion was killed, to compensate one of Rook's lesser emotions gained a more physical form. That is why I am here; I am all that is left of Rook's Bravery."
"I am sorry..." whispered Raven.
"Whatever for Raven?" asked Valour, "It is not your fault this happened. I understand that you didn't trust me, because I wouldn't have trusted you if you had had emotions like me."
Raven looked down.
"Now come," said the emotion, "Rook is not far away. I only hope that your friends will find one of the others before the Nightmares find them..."
Raven's head snapped up. "Nightmares?!" she shouted, "There are Nightmares here?"
This time it was Valour's turn to look down. "Yes, they started appearing after Trigon took over... I didn't want to mention it before, it would put you at ill ease..."
"Of course it would!" snapped the psychic, "And for good reason! We have to find them now!"
Valour grabbed her arm. "We won't be able to find them – I cannot sense them any more and neither can you, I know it. All we can do now is find Rook. He will know what to do."
Reluctantly, she turned away from where she came from and followed Valour down the other side of the hill, its ghostly form slowly sinking away into the mist.
Beastboy looked up at the form of Cyborg. They had been travelling for what felt like hours. Cyborg looked as bored and tired as he was. The place just didn't change; fog and more fog.
"How big is this place?" he asked to the world in general. After a few minutes of eerie silence, Reason answered.
"It is only as big as Rook feels it to be." she said. "Depending on how Rook feels, this space grows and shrinks. Nothing is constant here."
"Great," muttered Beastboy. "We could be here for hours, even days looking for something new... hey, haven't we passed that rock already?"
A moment of grim realisation descended onto the group. They looked at each other for a few moments, and then carried on walking. The place was starting to take its toll on the morale of the Titans. They all dragged their feet slightly as they walked, except for Starfire who had taken to hovering just above the floor to give her feet a rest.
Presently, they passed a low, very darkly coloured rock. A feeling of unease passed through the group. Their pace slowed, and eventually they all stopped.
"Something is wrong here..." whispered Timid, pulling up her hood. Bravery looked up suddenly. A long, drawn out screech sounded in the distance, accompanied by the flapping of wings.
"No... not now..." she uttered. She turned quickly to the others. "We have to go, NOW!" she ordered, running in the opposite direction of the noise, which sounded disturbingly close now. The Titans struggled to keep up with the emotions; they were fast runners.
"What's... going... on...?" panted Robin, who had managed to draw close to a Brown-robed emotion. She looked at him spitefully. "Why would you need me to work that out? I thought you could always work it out." This Raven was nudged to the side by Reason. "Don't take any notice of Jealousy," she said, "I'm not sure, but I think we are being followed by Nightmares. You have seen what they do before, when you watched that movie." The screech grew louder.
"We will never be able to outrun it!" exclaimed Starfire.
Robin stopped, followed shortly by the others.
"Then we'll fight." He said.
The mists parted...