Alone in the Shadows
by Blue Ten
Summary:
Robin has been alone all his life, even in the presence of his mentor he felt isolated. The Titans take a break from crime fighting to go camping in a beautiful forest and Robin is not too thrilled by the prospect of leaving his city behind. When a bizarre turn of events finds Robin and Starfire lost deep in the woods, can they save themselves from a strange new enemy? RobinxStarfire
Disclaimer:
I do not own Teen Titans.
Chapter 4: Separated
The forest had fallen deathly silent in the midst of the night. The full moon still loomed high above the trees, casting its eerie silver light through the darkened canopy. Outside the camp, Cyborg and Beast Boy watched attentively as Raven examined the forest floor. Kneeling down and closing her eyes, she concentrated on the energy that seemed to radiate from the ground. Standing up, she opened her eyes and turned to the others.
"It's a portal... Or, it was a portal," said Raven. "As far as I can tell, Robin and Starfire passed through it."
"Can you open it?" Cyborg questioned, looking curiously at the ground below Raven.
Raven shook her head, "it's not even here anymore, like it got up and walked away, leaving residual energy," she explained. Beast Boy didn't understand a word the two were saying. Deciding it best, he stayed well out of the conversation.
"Let me have a look at it," tapping on the robotic side of his head, Cyborg turned on the sensors in his eye. Through his enhanced vision, the energy looked like a column of white fire, but its image was distorted, flickering in and out like static on a television screen. "Yep, there it is. What kind of energy is this? It looks strange."
"It exists between dimensions, in both worlds at once. So you're most likely only seeing part of it."
"In both worlds..." Cyborg walked into the circle of energy and opened the panel on his arm. He expressed a look of disbelief when two blips showed up on the screen. "Guys, I don't know how, but I'm getting a reading on Robin and Starfire's positions... They're in the same place. There," he said, pointing off into the forest. Cyborg walked out of the circle; looking at his arm, he saw that his body had retained some of the energy, the blips remaining on the screen. "Follow me, before the energy wears off," he said, running toward the location displayed on his arm. Beast Boy and Raven followed, unsure of what they could accomplish. It didn't take long before the Titans came to a halt. Cyborg stood still, staring at a waist-high rock in front of him. "According to this, they're right here. We're standing right next to 'em."
"What now?" Beast Boy asked, more confused than he had ever been.
"Hmm..." Activating his sensors again, Cyborg looked at his arm. The energy hadn't worn off as he had anticipated, in fact, it looked just as strong as the fire column. Cyborg glanced away from his arm. "Holy..." the forest was littered with circles just like the one they had seen before. Looking back to the display on his arm as it began to beep, Cyborg noticed one of the red blips was moving. The blip went from one end of the screen to the other, disappeared, then returned to where it started, continuing to do so repeatedly. "Okay. This is freaking me out."
- - - - - -
The morning sun shone on the forest, however, the light did not help the situation in the least. Quick footsteps and labored breathing could be heard passing by. Robin ran as fast as he could through the forest as he had been for several minutes, Starfire remaining constant in his mind. He found that no matter which direction he took, he kept passing by the same rocks and trees. Nearly out of energy, Robin finally slowed down. In pain and gasping for breath, he spotted a familiar rock and sat down on it. Looking off into the forest with frustrated eyes, he buried his face in his hands, letting out an exasperated sigh. 'It's my fault. Why did I go into the forest in the first place?' he wondered, blaming himself for everything.
Darken him.
"You are alone," a girl spoke.
Surprised, Robin took his hands away and looked up. His breath was caught in his throat as he saw a young girl standing in front of him. She wore a plain white dress; her long, waist-length hair was platinum in color; her eyes, ruby red. She was beautiful, frighteningly so. Robin quickly got up. Unwilling to trust anyone he would meet in this place, he took out his bo staff and readied it in front of him. "Who are you?" he demanded.
Bring the shadows to the surface.
"All your life, you have been alone. Now, your only friend has abandoned you," her voice sounded much older than she appeared.
"Starfire? What have you done with her!" Robin glared at the girl, but her blood red eyes seemed to pierce through his front; he winced and turned his attention away from them.
Pain is your key. Unlock his potential.
"I have done nothing. She has left of her own volition," said the girl, keeping her penetrating gaze locked on Robin. "You may wish to confront her when you leave this place."
Robin tried not to listen to the girl's words. 'Starfire wouldn't leave me... would she?' his thoughts betrayed him, something to which he mentally punched himself in response. 'How could I even think something like that?' Robin focused on what the girl had said, "when I leave?" he questioned, gritting his teeth.
"I can show you the way out. The girl has already found it. Selfish as she is, she left without you."
'Selfish?' Robin shook his head at the thought. "Who are you?" he questioned.
"My name is Cross," she answered plainly; turning around, she began walking. "If you wish to leave, you will follow me."
Robin stayed still for a moment, dwelling on his thoughts, looking around at the infinite stretches of forest. If he followed her, it meant that he believed what she had said... He tried with all his being to forget about the girl's claims, but the thoughts were so hard to erase. Making up his mind, Robin decided to follow her--but not to believe her. He assumed that maybe, with a little conversation, he could get her to reveal Starfire's real location. Apprehensively, Robin stepped down from the boulder and followed after Cross, keeping a close eye on her.
As he walked, Robin noticed that the objects around him were starting to become unfamiliar, no longer repeating. Perhaps this girl actually knew how to navigate this place. On the path ahead, she walked perfectly still. Everything about her was very strange; her voice was distant and emotionless--even Raven sounded more human. The way she moved about the environment implied that she knew exactly where she was going. Her form seemed to describe that of a ghost, almost as though she did not truly exist. Taking in a breath, Robin swallowed his doubts and decided to try and get some information out of this girl.
"Why are you here? And... how did you know we were?" he asked, making sure to refer to himself and Starfire.
"I have always been here, and I am aware of every presence in this place," Cross gestured her arms at the surrounding forest as she continued on her way.
"What exactly is this place?"
"It is a home, a purgatory, and a prison."
Robin sighed. This was getting him nowhere. She was good at avoiding direct answers. He took a moment to think of a question she couldn't avoid so easily. "So, how many people have ever left this place?"
"No--It is of no importance," Cross stopped abruptly, turning around. Robin knew he had gotten to her... she really was hiding something. "You and I are very much alike," she stated, surprising Robin, causing him to end his thoughts on her deception.
"What?"
"All my life I had been deceived by those I believed were my friends. Look at you. Here you try with all your being to prove that she has not betrayed you, instead of facing the simple truth. You are alone. This is how we are alike," Cross' expression remained unchanged, but her voice seemed almost sincere as she talked about herself.
'All her life? I thought she said she's always been here...' Robin sensed a certain amount of deceit in her words as well. "You don't know anything about me--"
"The man you call father, he showed you kindness, he helped you. But he was a distant man, so distant it was as though he was not even there. You were alone then as well."
"Stop it--"
"People fear what they do not understand. You can see it in their eyes... that cold stare. Your friends, they look at you this same way because of who you are, because of the things you hide. There is no greater crime in others' eyes than a secret kept. So it is no wonder she betrayed you; in the same position, so would they," her eyes pierced into Robin's mind again as she spoke. "And can you blame her? This was your fault."
Good.
"That's... enough! I know who my friends are! Starfire would never--the only person deceiving anyone, is you!" Robin shouted, finally tearing his eyes away from her blood-red gaze. His mind was racing with thoughts of doubt and betrayal now... some he attempted to push away as best he could, others seemed to linger like vivid nightmares. Robin shook his head in an attempt to remove the imaginings. This girl... coudn't be right about those things...
"Believe what you will," Cross finished, turning around and continuing on her path.
- - - - - -
The skies had become overcast and dense with precipitation, darkening the forest once more. The clouds, like her eyes, were on the verge of releasing that which they held in. Starfire had been running through the trees ever since Robin disappeared, finding that she could no longer fly. But no matter where she went, no matter how fast she ran, she passed by the same trees again and again. The only things that changed during her fruitless struggle were the ominous dark clouds, growing larger with every passing second, threatening to rain down upon her. Out of breath and energy, Starfire stopped, falling to her knees on the harsh ground. From the corner of her eye she saw a waist-high rock, one she had passed by many times. Breathing heavily, she walked to the rock and sat down upon it. Hugging her knees, she rested her head in her arms.
"Robin, where are you?" Starfire sobbed, unable to hold her tears back any longer.
With a flash of lightning and a thunderclap, the clouds released their torrent. Starfire was alone.
Author's Note: I decided to give a little more insight into Cross' character and her relationship to the 'mystery man' in this chapter.
To clear something up, I haven't seen any of the Inuyasha movies. XD But now I wanna... I've gotta see this Kanna character with my own eyes. Apparently Cross resembles her. Edit: Saw the Inuyasha movies. It's crazy! Cross really does look like Kanna, the way I imagined her. Aside from the red eyes thing, of course :D.
Beastboy to Beast Boy. Like it never happened :). Thanks -EHWIES!
(Edited on 5/23/06)
Surprisingly not so many changes this time... other than the ever-so-annoying comma removals XD (once again, I apologize if there were any I missed). I added a few descriptions to nearly every paragraph to make things clearer. I also added some things to Cross' and Robin's dialogue during their conversation. Before, their conversation was a little plain and the reader didn't really get to see what Robin was feeling.
Next Chapter Preview: The Titans discover something strange deep in the forest as they follow a path of energy. Cross leads Robin to a familiar place in the heart of the woods. Starfire will not give up on finding Robin, but can she figure out how to navigate the seemingly endless forest before it's too late? Next, Chapter 5: Finding You.