"You have found a way to restore Robin's lost memories?"
Raven's expression grew, if possible, even darker. "No," she replied in monotone, managing to keep the majority of annoyance out of her voice. "Just like the last six times you asked."
"But there must be a way!" said Starfire.
"Relax Star, its all good... Raven and I are doing everything we can," said Cyborg to her left. He was working on the computer, Raven was perusing some of her books on the medical arts, both hoping to find information on how to cure amnesia. So far, with minimal success.
Robin was in his room, resting. Starfire had taken him back after he'd nearly collapsed again, seeing how he was too weak and tired to carry on. Then the other Titans had returned, and she'd given them no rest until they set themselves to finding a cure. Only Beastboy was spared her insistent begging for assistance, as he was busy fetching Raven's books from her room, since teleporting them to her required more of her power than she was able to expend. Stopping the looters had taken a lot out of her.
"There must be a way to make Robin all better again," said Starfire. "You must find it!"
"We're doing everything we can," said Raven, flipping through the final page in her next book. She discarded it, finding it was useless. Nothing on mental disorders. She placed it into the small pile by her feet. As if cued, Beastboy then burst into the room, carrying a few more of her precious tomes in his tentacles as he oozed into the room as an octopus, holding a book in each tentacle.
"Got the ones you wanted," he said to Raven, handing her the first and placing the others in a surprisingly neat pile beside her.
"Good. This should be the one I need," she said, sliding open the book and flipping through it towards the page she needed.
"Ooooh... I wish there was something I could do," muttered Starfire in utter frustration. Give her an army of enemies, she could fight, but this problem she had no power over and no skill to influence. She felt utterly helpless.
"Star, get some sleep, Rae and I got this," said Cyborg, stifling a yawn as he continued to type into the computer. Although he was capable of going for very long periods of time without sleep thanks to his cybernetic implants he still needed sleep as a psychological comfort, and it was waaaaay past his bedtime.
"No," she said firmly.
"But Star..." said Beastboy.
"WHAT PART OF 'NO' DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!" roared Starfire angrily, her eyes burning emerald suns set under her brow. Beastboy... wisely... backed away. Starfire calmed down. "I am sorry... concern for Robin is on my mind. Forgive me, friend Beastboy."
"Hey its alright. We're all worried about Robin," he said generously. She smiled, thankful that Beastboy could handle such things. It just wasn't in his nature to hold a grudge, he forgave others rather easily. The only exception he'd ever made, so far as she knew, was Slade. But then again, none of the Titans could ever forgive him after what he'd done to them either.
It seemed to Starfire like hours passed, when in truth it was nowhere near as long. The clock on the wall had ceased moving when the power to Titan's Tower had gone out, but Cyborg's monitor kept them updated on the time, and it was growing very late in deed. In another hour or so it would technically be morning when Cyborg gave a very loud, long yawn that nearly split his mechanical head in two.
"Awww man... I can't keep going girl. I'm sorry but if I don't get some R n' R or I'm gonna pass out on the keyboard," he said.
"I am sorry, Cyborg," she said. "I am just..."
"... worried about Robin, I know. Listen, first thing in the morning, promise. We'll have this thing wrapped up in time for breakfast."
"Thank you," said Starfire gratefully, as Cyborg made his way to his room. Beastboy followed along, have returned all but one of Raven's books to her own room. The last one was still in Raven's hand, but she shut it with a sigh of frustration. Nothing there either. She said as much.
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"Tomorrow I'll visit the library, most of my informational books are on spells," she said as she slipped to her feet. "And I don't think going into his head myself is a good idea. I might make things worse... or I could get trapped in there. It's not worth the risk," she said, heading out of the room and down the hallway to the women's hall. Their rooms were adjacent, just as Cyborg's, Robin's and Beastboy's were on the far end of the Tower. Starfire followed alongside Raven, her head hanging. She looked very depressed indeed.
"Don't worry Starfire. I contacted an old friend of Robin's. If anyone can help us... he sure can."
"Robin says he does not wish to remember all the bad things that happened to him..." said Starfire reluctantly.
"Package deal I'm afraid," replied Raven. "Gotta take the good with the bad."
"But all he seems to see is the bad!" exclaimed Starfire. "All the memories that have come back are hurting him and making him feel sad and we must find a way to..." she rambled, then stopped in mid-sentence, a most peculiar expression on her face. "To... to..." Her eye twitched.
"Starfire?" asked Raven, glancing back at her in surprise.
Starfire, meanwhile, blinked her eyes, then clutched at her head, which seemed to be squirming underneath her fingertips. Growing or changing. Even for an alien, this was weird.
"Ahhhh!" screamed Starfire, as a sudden mound of flesh burst from her head, not unlike the "zit" she'd had during transformation, and then exploded (somehow leaving her skin intact) as a bright little... thing... popped out.
"Hello!" it cried out, in a high-pitched voice.
"Oh no... not again," said Raven, holding a hand to her face and shaking her head.
The little thing hovered beside Starfire as she lifted her head, able to see it now at last. It was a tiny little girl, perhaps no more than a foot and a half tall and about half a foot wide, and rather... childish looking. Almost cartoonish, like those shows she watched every morning with Beastboy. The little red-headed girl was dressed in bright purples and grays not unlike Starfire's own, and her eyes were like brilliant green emeralds. In that instance, Starfire knew what... or rather who... she was dealing with.
"Uhm... hello," she said, stretching out hand to the curious little creature.
"Starfire! Yay!" cried out the little floating creature, leaping forward to grab Starfire in a warm hug (or at least, grab her neck). Starfire, overcome by the creature's giddiness, responded in kind.
The cute display was nearly enough to make Raven vomit.
"So, dimensions 4 and 8/9ths is sending us more of their inhabitants, are they?" asked Raven sarcastically. The little girl, upon spotting Raven, gave a joyous cry and rushed to engulf her in a hug as well, but bounced off a black energy shield she'd erected. "So who're you and what brings you here?" she asked.
"I am R'dnairok!" the little red-headed girl replied, standing next to Starfire. To Raven, the resemblance was uncanny. At least, if you took Starfire and turned her into a tiny cartoonish version of herself, and put her on a sugar high that made regular Starfire seem like Raven. "I come from..."
"Dimension 4 and 8/9th's, we know," interrupted Raven.
"Oh, yes... uhm. Well, I sensed Starfire was sad, so I asked my boyfriend Nosyerg Kcid to send me here," she explained. Then she burst out with "I'm here to help! Yay!"
Raven didn't reply to that for a moment, her face was locked in a carefully neutral expression. Help. Great, this was all we need, she thought. Nosyerg Kcid or "Larry's" help had nearly wrecked all of reality. So instead of saying anything in reply to R'dnairok, she turned around and headed to her room, intending to lock it and seal it off as utterly as possible with magic wards.
"Starfire?" she called out over her shoulder. "If a strange little imp calling itself 'Nevar' happens to show up...? Do not... I repeat... do NOT come and get me."
"Uhm... okay," said Starfire, puzzled by the request. "Sleep well, friend Raven."
Raven's door shut, leaving Starfire alone with her DNA buddy.
"Uhm... hello little doppelganger of... me..." said Starfire hesitantly, unsure of how to address R'dnairok.
"I wish I could stay longer," said R'dnairok, floating around Starfire in crazy circles. "But I can't. Rules even Nosyerg and I can't bend you understand. But I wanted to come and help you fix Robin so he'd be all better!"
"Glorious!" said Starfire, grabbing up the little girl and running with her tucked under her shoulder towards Robin's room. "I shall go inform..."
"Wait! Wait!"
Starfire skidded to a dead stop, holding up R'dnairok in her hands.
"I can't just flick my finger and make Robin all better. Only Nosyerg has that sort of power. I can't bend reality like him. I just came with information," she explained, breathlessly.
"Information?" asked Starfire, tilting her head to one side like a cat.
"I know what'll cure Robin but... welllllll... its kinda hard to explain," she said shyly.
"Please explain, little doppelganger of me," said Starfire, shaking her a little. "I will do anything to restore Robin's memories. I would wrestle with a fully grown dracon sand-panther if it would make... if it would make Robin remember me," she said sadly, slumping to her knees on the floor, still holding R'dnairok in her outstretched arms.
"I know," said R'dnairok gently, patting Starfire on the head. "And I wanna help too. What you need to do is give Robin a shock to his system. Something powerful, mind you. That should shake loose those memories from his mind."
"A shock?" said Starfire in surprise. Images of an electrified Robin sprang instantly to mind. "Oh nonononono I could never hurt Rob..."
"Nonononon," replied her extra-dimensional self, in a near perfect reflection of Starfire. "Not electrocute. Just... shock. Surprise him."
"Oh... I am understanding now," said Starfire. "A... a big surprise."
"That should be what you need," said R'dnairok. "I hope I helped Starfire."
Starfire hugged her little doppelganger close, and the two stayed that way for a short while. Starfire was infinitely grateful to her the little inter-dimensional imp for giving her renewed hope. And to Larry for sending her here to impart her message to Starfire. She owed them both a great big thanks. Perhaps she'd bake some of her homemade Tamaranian gruf'fle cakes when next they decided to put into their dimension. But she'd need a guinea pig...
However, it ended all too soon, and R'dnairok waved good-bye as she vanished with a bright flash of light and a soft pop, leaving Starfire alone again. Alone... but with renewed purpose. She took confident steps forward as she made her way down the hallway of Titan's Tower towards her destination.
Robin's room.
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Robin, however, was not -in- his room.
Robin stood alone on the rooftop, his cape wrapped around his shoulders to provide him with a little warmth from the still moist air, though the rain had long since stopped. It was quiet now. And very, very cold. But he welcomed the cold. The physical distraction kept him from turning his thoughts inward, from finding more memories... from finding more pain. The moon wasn't full tonight, it had long since passed from that state earlier in the month. A slender crescent hung in the air instead, casting its silvery glow across the T-shaped home of the Titans whenever the dark clouds permitted it to do so. It also illuminated the dark city stretched out before him. Jump City, Starfire had called it. It was dark now. Not a single light shined anywhere. It was still suffering from the blackout.
The clouds shifted, bringing the moon's crescent face back into view to illuminate the rooftop...
... as well as a shadowy figure crouched a short distance behind Robin.
Robin didn't notice, and the figure shook his head in mild disgust. Really, he should've been paying attention. But all the better, he supposed. He didn't want a personal reunion between them anyway. Psychotic criminals he could handle... expressing his feelings he wasn't.
Never stopped him from helping people, though.
A sudden scraping of gravel alerted Robin to the fact that he wasn't alone, and he whirled around in surprise, his hand instinctively dropping down to the belt at his waist But as he peered out at the moonlit rooftop... there was no one there. Nothing was different, it was as quiet and cold as it had been for hours now.
No... wait...
Robin took a hesitant step forward, reaching down to pick an object left on the rooftop. It'd been left there purposefully, or so it seemed. It certainly hadn't been there when he'd first come up to find solace amongst the clouds and stars.
It was a photograph.
It depicted a happy family, a mother father and a young boy of about eight or nine, all with dark hair. Robin instantly recognized them. The Greyson's... his mom and dad... and the boy could only have been himself. He looked so... so innocent and carefree. So happy. He was dressed in a bright red, green and yellow costume not unlike the one he wore now. Bright, garish colors, with a child's black mask tied behind his head, and the cape was clearly a yellow towel tied around his neck. He was playing make-believe with his parents, pretending to be a flying Greyson. Make-believe... all fun and games... no one ever gets hurt...
Robin frowned darkly, crumpling the photo in his gloved fist. As he did, however, he spotted something curious, and unfolded it, turning it around to the back. There was writing on the back. A quick, hurried writing that none-the-less was very clear and very bold.
They would be proud of you.
Robin turned the photo back over, doing his best to sooth out the crinkles. His long dead parents smiled up at him from the photo. Would they be proud of him? Really? He couldn't recall everything but he knew he'd done some bad things in the past. But would they be proud of him? Was he proud of himself?
"I wish I could remember..." he said with a sigh. More importantly, he wished he could remember Starfire.
She was being so endlessly patient with him, so very kind in helping him unlock the secrets of his past (secrets to him, at least) and restore his memories. And he had hardly returned the favor. He owed her a great deal.
She said he never gave up, huh? Well, time to find out what was really rattling around inside this noggin' of his.
Concentrating, the former Boy Wonder searched his mind, searched through his memories, trying to remember who Starfire was and... more importantly... who she was to him.
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"And now the moment you've all been waiting for, the King and Queen of this year's Prom are..."
Bright sudden lights and the booming voice startled Robin and Starfire in that instant, and they took up defensive stances, back-to-back. Though they quickly relaxed when they heard what the overhead voice was saying. Its next words, however, surprised the heck out of both of them.
"... Robin and Starfire!"
They turned to face one another then, smiling. Starfire in particular seemed very pleased.
"I guess one more dance couldn't hut," he said to her, gently taking her in his arms. Unlike Kitten, she didn't press up against him too closely or hang off him like a dead fish with two left feet. Starfire danced like she was floating (which she might have been), one hand holding Robin's, the other resting on his shoulder. He mirrored her stance, his hand outstretched, its brother resting gently on her hip, though not indecently. He was a gentleman, of course.
"I stand corrected," he said quietly as they danced to the rhythm of the music. "-This- is the best I've felt all night."
"Because the mean Kitten and her father the evil Killer Moth are in jail?" asked Starfire innocently.
Robin smiled, wishing he could say more, but didn't. "... sure." he eventually replied, as always stopping himself before he actually said how he felt. Now just... just wasn't the time. Most of the Prom goers were watching their new King and Queen with their dance, some in envy at their obvious skill. And though Robin had eyes only for Starfire, he happened to spot Cyborg give a smirk and a thumb's up from nearby the disk jockey. More than enough evidence to tell him who'd set up that announcement.
Robin smirked. He could get Cyborg back later... after he thanked him.
Starfire and Robin continued to dance long into the night, eyes only on each other, hearing nothing but the music.
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Deep in concentration as he was, he didn't notice the presence on the rooftop until a soft footfall fell behind him once more. His head snapped up and he turned around again...
... to come face-to-face with Starfire.
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Author's Notes:
R'dnairok is, of course, Koriand'r spelled backwards. Starfire's real name, just like Dick Greyson is Robin's. Nevar is, of course, Raven, who doesn't have a real name (at least not as far as I know, and I've checked some pretty extensive websites on the matter). The backwards name spelling was inspired by Larry's true name in 'Fractured.' Before the Titans changed it to Larry, of course. The figure on the rooftop was, obviously, the Batman himself, come to visit his old protégé. The 'old friend' of Robin's that Raven said she'd contacted. Obviously the dance-memory comes from 'Date with Destiny' at the very end of the episode and just a bit beyond it. Next time, meeting on the rooftop. It's going to take more than a little Christmas magic to end this nightmare, but don't lose hope just yet.
Toddfan: Very nice gifts indeed. And we share them freely with all those who would witness our torment of the characters. Hehe. Don't worry about poor Robbie though. I don't intend to torment him… too much… longer.
Kodora Fairy: XOXO. 'fraid not. I'm stretching out this story so that it begins on December and has the main plot resolved on Christmas Eve. The aftermath and final chapter comes out the following day.
InuKurama: Glad you're enjoying it.
Dragonmaster-Sain: Nope, you didn't. Looked like a quadratic formula had exploded in the review, frankly. Hehe. Thanks for the review though, and glad you think this story is the greatest. Not so sure myself, but I am trying.
Bob the Builder: I'm not ending here, relax. But I do have an unfortunate bad habit of ending chapters with cliffhangers, terribly sorry. It's just my nature. Starfire would never do such a thing! I am shocked you would even suggest such!
Tigress419: Hehehe, I enjoyed that one the most actually, since it refers to a real DC character. Don't worry, me and Dragonblond got plenty more chapters comin' right atcha, so stick around. And yes, misquote is a word.
ViciousAssassin: I toyed with that idea, actually, and an alternate version of this story was scheduled for next month involving Slade messing with Robin's mind because of the amnesia. However, for fluffy holiday cheer, I needed to keep things a little more simple. And yeah, it's gonna get worse before it gets better, but there's still hope.
Dragonblond: I've heard it before, yes I know Tim was there, but honestly, why would he recall something like that happening when he wasn't frickin' involved? He'd remember his own parent's death or something, wouldn't he? Robin is Dick damnit!! Hehe, jk, sorry. I didn't know Dick was ever actually adopted by Bruce, that -is- informative, thank you. You'll see soon enough what the gifts between the Titan's are. I, on the other hand, likely have to wait to find out those delicious plot twists.
InnoscenTorn: Well there's no guarantee he -is- Dick, but the writers seem to suggest it throughout the Titan episodes and I agree, so that's how I write him. Plus, it was the Greyson Robin (there were two others) who was in love with Starfire. I think that's evidence enough. Good to see you're back on the scene, and hope you enjoy the rest of the story to come.