Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, but I do own Jack Shoreshooter. So don't you use that character, unless of course you talk to me first.

"Here we go." Jack said keeping an eye on Robin. He gently took the girls head between his hands and opened his mouth, as if he was about to bite something. A weird sound came out of his mouth, like the sound of the wind while soaring through the trees. Out of Starfire's mouth came a thick black smoke, which went directly to Jack's mouth is if it was being sucked up. Meanwhile everyone else waited for him to be done.

She was the last one to be healed from the Hound's poison, which Raven had commanded Jack to extract, against his will. "They are like a rechargeable battery." He had complained. "It's a shame to end their suffering."

Starfire's face turned to show agony when the last bit of smoke came out of her, then, she opened her eyes, screaming and shaking while crying desperately in her bed. Robin ran next to her and hugged her tightly; trying to calm her down, she hugged him as well, but kept in total panic for a while.

"It's okay." Robin said. " I'm here, calm down." She held him even tighter.

"She will be nervous for a couple of days." Jack told him from the door frame. "Her fears are the tastier I've eaten lately… therefore, her nightmare must have been dreadful. You better keep next to her, in case she can't tell what a dream is, or what's real. Bye." He walked out, two policemen waited for him to escort him to the hospital lobby. Two policemen that were trembling with fear escorted the man who had panicked the city.

In the second floor the second escort waited for them. Surely this one could do better, now they where awake. Cyborg and Beast Boy told the policemen to leave, then, holding each one of Jack's arms like grips they walked downstairs to the lobby. Jack didn't say anything on their way down; he now knew what they feared, he could make them suffer anytime, and that (although he knew that made him a coward), made him feel self-confident.

Sitting in the waiting room, Raven was telling Terra practically everything that had happened since she had been turned to stone. Terra still looked guilty, depressed, and now, worried about the others. Raven, however had already told her she didn't have to worry, that they where pleased to have her back; this didn't help at all.

"…And that's about it." She said finishing her tale. "If you want details you better ask Beast Boy, I'm no good as a storyteller."

"Thank you anyway." Said Terra sounding ashamed, and guilty. "I… Well I already told you that… I never meant to…"

"What it's done, it's done. We can't change that, the reasons you had to do what you did don't matter anymore. Try to do better next time." It was as if Raven had just judged Terra for homicide, she shrunk herself in the chair and fell silent. "Here they come."

Cyborg, Beast Boy and Jack came past them. Jack saw Raven with a "We'll settle this later" look that she ignored and then was dragged outside. A prison car was waiting for him, along with about three dozen policemen armed with shields and bazookas. Jack stood on the doorway and smiled, talked to Cyborg without getting his eyes off the car.

"Think about it." He said slightly. "Every "bad guy" you catch goes to prison, and some of them get to escape. But, I got to beat you guys, and it is quite obvious that I might escape if they try to contain me; so, why lock me up if I would get to escape anyway?"

Cyborg was trying his best to ignore him. "It's not my job to think about that." He said. "If you get to escape, we'll catch you."

"Oh okay, but how about if I never get caught?" he made a wreaked smile, then freed himself from both Titans expanding his Nightmare self. "Do you have a legal system in this planet?" he asked one of the policemen carrying a bazooka; the man agreed and Jack grinned. "Then your laws might say they are for all humans, isn't that true?" Cyborg was trapped by one of Jack's massive Nightmare hands, BB, shaped as a rhinoceros, was being contained by Jacks other arm. The policeman agreed again. "Oh all right!" Jack let go of the other two, which fell over him and threw him on the ground.

"Hands off!" he shouted wiping away everybody with his Nightmare self. As you might see I am no human, I am a Nightmare, a being that isn't governed by rules, even in my own world. And so, you can't send me to a trial, and you can't send me to jail… ta, ta!" he walked arrogantly back inside the hospital, Raven stood up quickly and prepared black energy on both hands. "I come in peace, really." He looked sincere so she calmed and sit down again.

"You better not fight in a while." She said bossily. "Not if I am watching you."

"Are you trying to give me orders!" The Hound said frustrated. "Who do you think…"

"Well you did say you where at my orders didn't you?" The Hound, in Jacks body was growling with fury, yet Jack came back to control and nodded humbly.

"Yes ma'am I'm at your orders… as long as you need me of course…and… as long as you show me respect too…" he said this slowly, and reluctantly.

"I'll keep that in mind." Raven said with contempt, without looking at him, however she grinned lightly. Jack did too. Terra stood up and came near Jack, averting her gaze she spoke to him rather rudely.

"I can't forgive for what you did." She said. "Even if you were controlling yourself or not. I can't forgive you for tormenting them for fun…. But, I think maybe I…" she soften her tone and looked at him in a sharp, serious way, he looked back the same way. "I think I should thank you for rescuing me from Slade."

"You should thank Miss Raven then. I was fallowing orders." Terra giggled and looked back at Raven, which was controlling her anger.

"How's that Miss Raven?" she mocked, Raven went more angry. Jack came near Terra and whispered in her ear.

"Actually I'm calling her that to piss her off. By the way: My pleasure to save you; although it's not our stile. But we still enjoyed it." They both giggled loudly and Raven's anger reached a critical level.

"Would you knock it off?" She shouted both of them shrunk on the spot.

Cyborg and BB came then showing lasers and claws and pointing at Jack, he responded drawing his sword and standing in position. Terra stepped aside and Raven stood up, still angry. She took Jack's sword and lowered it.

"No fighting Jack, not unless I tell you to." She ordered, Jack put his sword back on its sheath and stepped back. Cyborg and BB (returning to human form) stood surprised for a second and later exploded with skeptic laughter.

"How did you do it Raven?" said Cyborg still containing his laughter. "Gave him a dog treat or something?" They both fell laughing again. Jack looked at Raven in a "thank you but no thank you" way.

"I see you haven't told them yet…" he said reluctantly.

"I was going to keep it as our little secret." She said. "But you wouldn't think it would last long would you?"

"Hopefully…yes." He sighted. "Oh well… I guess I'll have to deal with them…" The laughter made itself louder, and more annoying for Jack, he turned around and started walking. "Robin said he wanted to talk to me. I'll go see what he wants." He pushed the elevator button and stepped in, then pressed the button for the ninth floor.

The elevator however stopped on the second floor and in, went Terra, panting.

"Come to see them too?" Jack asked as the elevator continued its way up.

"Actually…." She said still panting, she had to run upstairs to catch the elevator. "…I wanted…. To ask you…Why are you… What did…"

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, but everyone outside froze when they looked at Jack and the elevator kept going up.

"Take a breath." Jack suggested.

"All right… let me….okay. What's all that about you serving Raven? Do you owe her something?"

"A friend once told me" Jack explained as the elevator stopped once again on the sixth floor, where people didn't get up once again. "That a good mind it's hard to find, and that it is a precious thing. So, when I saw how Raven resisting my nightmare attack and experimented the power of her mind, I reckoned I had to do what I could to protect that mind. But perhaps I got this thing too far, I think she thinks I'm like her servant or something."

"Well, you told her you were at her service didn't you? Now you have to suffer the consequences." The people on the seventh and eight floors also stepped back in fear when the elevator arrived; Jack was more than pleased to get off on the ninth floor. "She told me Beast Boy got a problem like yours a while ago, she helped him out, but he didn't swear servitude for that. I think she's just glad someone wants to protect her for once."

"Perhaps, but you better tell me." He said to Terra while walking the corridor. "Is she demanding?"

"Don't know." Terra admitted. "I haven't seen them in a long time, you know?"

"Oh that's right. How did you turn to stone?" That was the wrong question, Terra's eyes filled in tears and she shrunk in shame. "Don't worry, tell me other day."

She wiped away her tears. By then, they had got to the room where Robin and Starfire were. Jack stepped inside cautiously Starfire was still sitting in her bed, with Robin by her side.

"And every time I tried to escape it would…AHH!" Starfire screamed loudly when she saw Jack, a couple of people in the corridors stared at him standing out of the room nervously.

"Okay, okay I got the point." He said ashamed and still going backwards. "I'm leaving, okay? Talk to you later Rob." He went outside and leaned against the wall, sighted.

"I'll take care." Terra said going into the room. "You just don't know how to talk to a girl."

A conversation was heard inside. Terra asking the others to forgive her for what she had done and them, pleased to see her, forgive her right away. After some minutes Terra and Starfire where chatting and Robin took his chance to go outside. "Follow me." He told Jack, still leaning against the wall. "We'll talk."

But Starfire came out of the room, her hands full of energy and shot Jack in the chest, he fell backwards and knocked some nurses that were going their way. "Don't you touch Robin you dirty wolf! I won't let you…"

"I'm okay Star, don't worry, I will come back soon." He grabbed her shoulder and drove her back to her bed, while Jack stood up, still stunned by the beam.

"I'm sure not that invulnerable as a human, aren't I?" He followed Robin through the corridor and through the staircase, people looked at them and mumbled each time they passed by.

They went a pair of roofs higher and Robin opened the door to the eleventh floor rooftop. Both walked outside silently and went near one of the edges of the roof. They stood there a couple of minutes, motionless, speechless, watching the cars on the freeway pass by. Then, without warning, Robin gave Jack a dynamic uppercut that sent him flying several feet away. He stood up, not looking angry, in fact, he seemed pleased.

"I won't ask you why you did it." Robin told him coolly.

"Really? It would be an interesting tale to hear I guess, but, if you don't want to… Then what do you want?"

"I want to know why you didn't kill us." He seemed serious, and although Jack was surprised he would ask that, he took his time to answer.

"Starfire knows." He said. "Tamareans don't fear death as much as they fear pain. I needed you to suffer, because your pain, no, your fear, your nightmares make us stronger. We feed from them."

"You didn't do it for that. I know it. But I still can't understand it. If you wanted us out of the way why didn't you just kill us!" He was starting to get desperate again. They looked at each other fiercely. And got closer, as duelists on a death match.

"You know why I hate superheroes?" Robin didn't answer. "You are bi-dimensional; things are black or white, someone it's a villain or a victim; and if you're not with them you're against them." They were now just in front of each other, being pulled apart just to avoid a fight. "Well, let me tell you, some of us didn't ask o be treated like monsters, some of us just wanted an opportunity to prove ourselves we could take control, over ourselves, over our demons."

Robin looked surprised, he lowered his fists and stepped back, Jack did as well. He looked at Robin for a second and pointed a large banquet over a statue. "Let's calm down a bit."

"I know you can't control it sometimes, but Raven told us you..." Robin and Jack were both sitting in the banquet, looking at the statue in front of them as if it was the only thing to do.

"Look… I'll try to explain but… He is annoying, fierce, unstoppable when he wants to." Jack said slowly. "But as I hate to admit it or not, he's a part of me, an important one." Robin turned to look Jack, quite puzzled.

"But can't you let it go? Vanish it somehow?" He asked, knowing the answer and still wanting to avoid thinking of it. Jack looked at the sky nostalgically.

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. All Nightmares are born being one creature, able to transform from their human, to Nightmare self's in a second. But I, my father actually, sealed my Nightmare in a part of my mind, and so, the Hound was born. It's no easy to have another person in your mind you know; he represents my ambition, my fury, my hate, but also, my pride and honor. He's not that bad, but, I ignored him since I got to earth, and that got him mad. Remember at the beach, the day I arrived? That was him, and still, I ignored its warning."

"I see, it's a shame you can't do nothing. I think we all have something like that in our heads, don't we? Something that it's a part of us, like it or not. Raven sure knows about that, according to Cyborg she has many personalities." Robin said trying to scribble a smile. " Can I tell you something without him knowing?"

"He's asleep, go on."

"I can't forgive him for what he did to Starfire… to any of the others; and if you took part in it I can't forgive you as well." He said going serious again. "Even if you did help us out once, that doesn't mean you won't attack us again."

"Don't worry. You can't trust somebody unless he has proved he won't betray you; that's a mercenary rule. I took part later in that battle; he was the one who poisoned her. I'm sorry for that. I didn't want to injure her that bad." Jack lowered his head.

"She heals quickly, will be okay." Robin tried to sound comforting, at least to himself, trying to see the good side of it. "But why did you, or him, attack us in fist place?"

"He was mad, and saw the city as his playground. I wanted to prove I could control myself, and him, so I remembered what a friend told me. Don't try so hard to do it your way, follow the road and take your own turns."

"So it was you the one who saved me?" In the last fight they have had, Robin had stood between the Hound's fangs, only saved by his boo-staff. However, when the stick was about to break the Hound didn't crush him, but sent him flying over a building.

"You call that saving? Well I'm glad you didn't save me!" Jack laughed, Robin just smiled weakly. "Want to know why we did it? We needed a challenge; to prove ourselves we didn't need your mercy we decided to prove we could beat you. I'm sorry now, it was fun, but maybe you're right, maybe I should have asked for help before doing it myself. And… I guess I'm also sorry for the poisoning."

"Tell you something." Said Robin, now looking at the sky too. "Next time you won't beat us, not me. You showed me my worst fear, exposed me to it so I couldn't escape. And I won't lie to you, first, I was so afraid I started to make stupid mistakes, I started to lose hope."

"And when all hope was gone you realized you could do it." Jack said proudly.

"How did you know?" Robin asked with sarcasm.

"Always happens, and to tell you the truth; when I eat the nightmares, I see them too. I saw how you managed it, you are like Raven, but your mind isn't your hot spot." Robin saw him surprised and quite uncomfortable with the commentary. "It's your heart, you were just being brave, and that's admirable too."

"What abut Raven?"

"My mistake with her was to enter her mind. When I exposed her fears she battled against them, against me. Not many people dare to do that, especially not in the way she did. Although she remained scared she knew she could remain calm and focus on the battle. Her mind it's what I want to protect, you should do it too."

"I will, and I'll make sure you do it too; if not, you'll pay it." Robin said, in a slightly threatening tone.

"Make sure of that." Jack said. Robin stood up and made his way to the staircase.

"Don't think you will have that much luck next time." He told Jack in a daring way. "Not now we know what you can do. There will be no nightmares next time Jack, you better be prepared."

"I want to see that," Jack mocked still sitting on the banquet. "We will see if you can affront your fears… if not, I won't take out the venom, not in a long time…" Robin went downstairs and Jack fell silent looking at the sky. The next time… when would it be?

Jack stepped outside the hospital, still feeling stunned after a second attack from Starfire when he had passed next to her room. Gave a pair of steps on the street and then, froze, in front of a dozen of policemen ready to fire their bazookas again. Jack grabbed his sword, was ready to jump. The policemen where too scared to move. Both of them, stood like statues waiting for the other to make his move. Stanley Peterson, a new member of the squad, was having serious trouble standing still. Not knowing what to expect, not knowing what to think, he pulled the trigger on his hand, and the rocket shoot itself at Jack. As if it was a signal to panic, all the other policemen lost their minds as well, and soon, a flock of loud missiles flew his way. And as soon as it had started, it stopped, with an explosion against a black force-field, and Raven's opportune entrance.

Most of the policemen reloaded and aimed at Jack again, others remained still and waited. Raven examined the situation quickly, looked at Jack, returning his sword to its sheath, and the policemen reloading. She stood between both.

"He's under my orders. He won't attack anyone even if he wants to. Right?" Jack growled madly and nodded. The policemen, still not convinced, lowered their weapons. The chief stepped forward and faced Raven keenly.

"Fine." He said irritated. "But he's under your responsibility! So… put him a chain or something!" Then he turned around and went back to his car, mumbling. "These heroes… they think they can do what they want… But I will show them how a real authority takes care of things… Yes they will see…"

Raven turned to face Jack, although he didn't like the idea of being seen as Raven's lap dog, he had to admit she had saved him from mayor trouble.

"Are you leaving?" She asked.

"I guess I can't stay."

"Nobody lasts here, Terra is leaving too. Says she has to clear her mind before returning to the team. I think it's the best thing to do." She sounded indifferent.

"Do you think she…?" Jack looked at Terra through the glass hospital doors. She was sitting on a chair already changed to travel clothes and waiting for BB to come from the hospital kitchen with some food.

"I don't think she minds. But, if I get, even the feeling you have done something to her… You are the one who will be having nightmares." She gave him a sharp look. Jack said nothing more and walked inside.

"So, you're going?"

"Duh… How about you? Back to your planet?"

"I wont comeback in a while, in fact I cant, but, well, I was thinking that, since were both leaving the city, and you know this world better than I do… We could go together." Before Terra could answer, a sound of footsteps running down the corridor couth their attention. It was BB, rushing by everybody and placing himself between Jack and Terra, as though as a shield. Looking both, concerned and angry he faced Jack fiercely.

"There's no way you're taking her!" he shouted. "Stand back Terra!"

"Hey, uh…. I am going anyway, he's not taking me anywhere" said Terra trying to get out from behind BB.

"What? You scared this hound will eat your girlfriend? Don't worry, she is in good claws… I mean hands." Jack laughed. BB turned red, from anger and shame, however, before there could be another fight Terra intervened.

"Okay, here's how it goes." She turned to BB: "I am going anyway, and that doesn't mean I don't want to go back or that I am going with this guy because I like him." Then turned to Jack: "I will company you, but, under my conditions…"

That afternoon a sight was seen all around the city, a sight some people preferred to forget. A huge, demoniatic black hound ran down all the streets in the city with a frenetic blond girl hanging from its back, heading east, and going off road a pair of miles later not to be seen in some time.

Of course I'm not leaving it there! But this is the end of Nightmares and Swordsmen. To know what happened next check the sequels, next to be published as they are ready.

Keep readying please!

Igom