A/N: Ok the usual Disclaimer that I don't own the Titans (which sucks) or star wars or the Justice League
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Chapter 8: Deeper down the rabbit hole
After going to the planet Richard took her to the Tower. He showed her his old room, the training room, the common room. After an hour or so she wanted to see more of this planet that the man she loves is from. All the time they had a stalker watching them (5 points if you can guess who) from the shadows. It was around lunchtime so Richard introduced Yaegashi to pizza, she took to it like a fish to water, and consumed two more pizzas by herself. They walked around downtown Jump City, the mall, and ice cream shops. As they went Yaegashi would ask questions about his past, and they spent the afternoon like this all the while someone was watching them.
A/N: the italic will now mean that someone is speaking in a different language
" What did you want to ask me in the shuttle Yaegi?" Richard asked.
" Why are you speaking in Catharese Richard?" she asked in return.
" Because we're being followed and I thought you would want some privacy talking about it." He answered.
" How do you know we're being followed? I can't feel anyone around us except for the crowd around us and why would any of them follow us?"
" Because if I know the people following us, and I do they would have had years training themselves to detection." " Come on out you two." Richard yelled.
The first to come out was Raven. Looking a little ashamed of herself for being caught. " Come on Batman I know your there." Richard said as the caped crusader came out of the shadows. Yaegashi was only focusing on Raven and was completely oblivious to the other man that approached them.
" You, why do you always have to involve yourself when I want to be alone with my boyfriend!" Yaegashi yelled.
At this Raven enveloped herself in black energy flames looking as menacing as she could, and it had the desired result on Yaegashi but not the two men standing next to her.
" Raven calm down now." Batman said forcefully but without emotion.
" Richard who is this man?" Yaegashi asked.
" This Yaegi is my mentor Batman, he's the man who taught me to fight before I came to the academy." Richard said motioning to him.
" Oh well, I'm very pleased to meet you Master Batman." Yaegashi bowed to him.
" Ah, why did she just call me master Dick?" Batman looked to his once apprentice
" It's a show of respect, it's also interchangeable with Mister so don't get use to it." Richard said. " Oh and it happens to be a skill level rank in the Jedi order so you would address her as Master Yaegashi."
" Well then why don't you address her as that?" Batman questioned.
" Because Yaegashi and I are close friends and I'm also a the same rank as her."
" Actually you have been given the rank not just of master but a master sentinel." Yaegashi corrected him.
" No way when did this happen?" Richard asked, " Master Skywalker would never do something like that." Richard said shocked.
" What is she talking about Richard?" Raven asked.
" Well there are certain classes of Jedi. There are counselors who are more adapt at using the force, and there are guardians who excel at light saber skills. And if Yaegashi is correct that I am now a sentinel that must mean Master Skywalker has put great faith in my abilities."
" You still didn't explain Richard." Batman said.
" Sorry, a sentinel is a Jedi Master that has equally high skill in both the force and with his/her light saber combat. It is a great honor."
" It is also one of the reasons that we need you back at the academy Richard," Yaegashi interrupted, " we got word that some of the shadow academy graduates are looking for you and one in particular still has that little grudge with you."
" Is he still mad? Man can that man hold a grudge. Has he made any attempts on the academy yet?"
" Um Richard, who are you talking about." Raven asked.
Before answering he looked over at Yaegashi and asked, " Has he changed that dumb ass name yet," all Yaegashi did what shake her head, Richard chuckled at this, " His name is Darth Vog'ue, and he's mad at me because I beat the shit out of him and he wants payback. The man never learns." Richard said shaking his head slightly.
" Why is it a dumb name?"
" Because the name is taken for the Cathar language, it's the one we were speaking in before, and it means 'tiny head'," at this point both Richard and Yaegashi started to laugh, " I mean the man can't speak the language but he could at least do a little research on it, I mean god get a protocol droid or something."
" Enough joking aside we need you to come back and settle this once and for all." Yaegashi said with all seriousness.
" That's only part of it isn't it Master Yaegashi?" Batman said.
" What do you mean sir?"
" You're also hoping that once Richard is back there that he will start to forget about Earth and Raven here."
" How do you know this about me? Are you psychic?" She asked.
" No just observant. Every time Raven is around you get defensive and do anything you can to get alone with Richard, you're a possessive women aren't you."
" Maybe but I don't hide in the shadows like some people," she glared at Raven, " and Richard has always known that I love him and I know he loves me too."
" Why you dirty BITCH," Raven yelled and at the same time lunged at her, but before Raven took a step Richard had pulled out his light saber, activated it and held it about neck high in between both women.
" Now we are not going to cause a scene here are we?" Richard said in a voice that shook even Batman. " Now we are going to go back to the Watch Tower, we are going to fix the shuttle for the trip back to the academy, and we will no longer fight like a couple of children do you understand me!" Both girls nodded their heads in agreement and headed back to the watchtower and finished the repairs that it needed.
With both Jedi and their droids working on the problem they had the shuttle done in a couple of hours. After taking a shower Richard decided that it was time for Raven and Yaegashi to get to know each other so he set out to tell them his idea.
" Yaegashi I want Raven to come along to the academy." Richard said bluntly.
" WHAT the hell are you thinking Richard were only going to have enough room in the shuttle for two to sleep in so what are you talking about?" Yaegashi asked surprised that he would even consider Raven come along.
" That is why I'm going in my fighter. I've slept in it before and you two need to start to get along."
" And why is that Richard? After we leave I wasn't planning on seeing her ever again."
" Oh really, and why is that?"
" Because I was never going to come back to this underdeveloped planet ever again."
Now at this point Yaegashi realized that she had just made a big mistake, " Underdeveloped planet you say. Did you forget that it was this underdeveloped planet is my home, where I was born, where I still have friends? DID YOU FORGET THAT YAEGASHI?"
Everyone in the hanger could feel how mad Richard was getting and started to back away. Well everyone except Yaegashi who only got closer to him.
Looking into his eyes she asked, " What has happened to you? You never use to loose your temper like this. I also use to know what you were thinking by the expression on your face but that has changed also. What have you become?"
" I don't know anymore Yaegi. I really don't. There's something else that I haven't told you."
" What is it? You didn't get Raven pregnant did you?"
" No. I killed a man Yaegi. I cut his head off and I enjoyed doing it." He said at an almost whisper volume.
" I'm sure you had no choice in the matter so don't dwell on it."
" But I did Yaegi, I had a choice. I had him beat but I did it anyway. He attacked me from the back but I saw it coming and I could have avoided it but I didn't. After all the time at the academy, on my missions I never killed anyone and now I did it out of spite. He was a long time enemy of mine and I knew that I had him beat but I did it anyways. What have I become Yaegi?"
" Shhhh don't worry Richard. I'm sure you did the right thing in the end." Yaegashi said hugging him. ' Where is that little Raven now when he needs comfort huh?' she thought to herself.
At this moment Raven happen to be giving her report on a recent mission to the original seven. And when she was done she went to her room to find Richard there waiting for her.
" Well I see she let you off your leash." Raven said venomly
" Raven I will be leaving tomorrow for the academy." He said.
" NO you can't go. I thought that you were going to stay here."
" I have thing that I must finish there first," he said as he walked over to her and pulled her into a hug, " and I want you to come with me."
" What are you talking about Robin? Why do you want me to come with you?"
" Because I want you to see what it's been like for me while I was gone. I want to share with you all I've seen. And I think you and Yaegashi need to give each other a chance to get to know each other."
" I don't want to get to know her Richard I don't even want to se her again."
All Richard could to is laugh at this, " That's exactly what she said when I suggested this. You two are more alike that either of you realizes it's funny."
" Still I'm not going anywhere with her." Raven but bluntly. " And there is nothing you can say to make me feel other wise."
' Oh really' Richard thought, " Listen Raven I don't know when I will be back but if you really don't want to go I won't force you."
' Oh that's dirty pool' " Fine I'll go with you but only because I want to keep an eye on Yaegashi alright. There's now way she's going to get my man."
'Weak cover but alright' " Good now pack up it will take us a couple of months to get their so pack a lot. The ship as cargo bays so you won't have to worry about space." And Richard left for his own room to start packing.
The next day they departed with a lot of complaining for Yaegashi that Raven was coming along for the ride. But Richard told her that either she was going or she would have to go back to the academy and tell Master Skywalker that she didn't find him. Regretfully she accepted the terms ' well at least now I can keep an eye on her' she thought.
In the shuttle
" All right I've feed the trajectory that we will take to R4 so you just let him pilot it alright Richard." Yaegashi said over the COM channel.
" Roger lets move out."
And so they departed for the unknown space between the two galaxies of Richard's memories. By way of conversations go there was none on board the shuttle for several hours. The tension in the cabin was thick enough it's a wonder why they didn't pass out from lack of oxygen. But Raven was the first to break the silence. " So…how did you come to meet Richard?"
" The first time I saw him was when he crashed into the academy's training room. When he got out of the pod he was in one of the students tried to restrain him. It didn't work and he got thrown across the room." Yaegashi said.
Raven chuckled to herself, " That sounds like Richard alright."
" Not really but after he threw Garack four of the other students went to help and all Richard did was hit something on the right side of his belt and smoke come out, clouded ever ones vision and took out the other four people. When it was over Master Skywalker came in and started to ask questions."
" You mean he hit you guys with his smoke pellets. I guess I'm not the only person he dose that to then?"
Looking a little shocked at hearing this Yaegashi asks, " You mean he's done that to you as well?"
" Yeah, the day he disappeared I walked in on him in the training room at the tower and he dropped a couple of them and snuck up behind me. Scared the shit out of me that's for sure." The girls started to laugh at the stories they were telling between them about Richard.
' What am I doing acting all chummy with her she's trying to steal my Richard away from me.' They both though as the trip wore on.
Both girls acted friendly enough during talks with each other but anyone watching could tell that they were millimeters away from slitting each other's throats in the middle of the night.
" Oh then one time we were facing Mombo and he turned us all into different animals except for Beast Boy who he turned into a lamp, but anyways he turned Starfire into a cat, Cyborg into a bear with a tutu, me into a bunny and Richard got turned into a monkey. It was hilarious seeing him as a monkey" Raven said.
" What is a monkey?"
" Oh well, a monkey is a primate about 2 feet tall and has a tail that they use as another limb, there furry, um…that's about all the discretion I can give."
" So you found it amusing that he was turned into something and was about to be killed along with the rest of you." Yaegashi said bitterly.
" Hey I never said that I was enjoying it at the time, just that looking back on it, it was a funny experience. So stop biting my head off ok."
And that was pretty much the way the whole trip went. For two months they would swap stories and then find some way of arguing about what happened to Richard in them. Needless to say it was a long couple of months.
By the time that they entered familiar space the two girls had established a common ground that entitled them to talk but nothing friendly would come of it, in there eyes each was the others enemy trying to beat her to the prize, Richard.
They entered the Outer Rim around Tatooine, since Tatooine is next to the Corellian Run, which took them to Antar, and from Antar they took the Hydian Way. Now the Hydian Way leads to Toprawa, which is right next to Yavin. The whole trip from the Outer Rim took about a week and a half. But they managed to get there.
Upon arriving at the academy it seemed that the whole student body was there to great them as they made there approach Richard could see Master Skywalker trying to calm down the students. After they landed and as Richard was getting out of this fighter Garack, Zer, Fong, Kong and James were standing around him patting him on the back and hugging him, glad to see their friends return. Fong was the first to notice Raven as she approached the group with Yaegashi.
" Hey Yaegi you seemed to pick up a straggler on the way or what?" Fong said.
" No she's Richard's…friend Raven." Yaegashi winced at the mention that Raven was Richard's friend and Fong knew it.
" So Kong did you get the universal translator I asked for." Kong nodded, " Thanks hey Rae come over here I got something you need." As Raven made her way over to him she noticed that Fong was eyeing her suspiciously. When she reached him Richard gave her what looked like gray tic-tac. " Put it in your ear." He told her.
" What is this thing Richard?" Raven asked.
" Why don't you explain it Kong." Richard said.
" It's a universal translator, it takes any language that has been programmed into it and lets the wearer her any language as basic." The large Cathar said.
" Cool I wish we could get some of these for the Titans East with Menos and Minos it would have saved on a lot of headaches for Bumble Bee and the others." Raven said.
" Well I'll see if I can make a couple when we go back and give them or they're going to have to learn Spanish." Richard said.
At the mention of Richard leaving the group of friends gasped a little. " But Richard I thought you would be staying here now I mean it is your home after all. Why would you have to leave?" James asked.
" Well to put it simply James I regained my memory, all of it. I also found where I'm from. Raven here is from the same place as me and I'm going to have to take her back after we're done with the Shadow Academy students. Now if you excuse me I think that Master Skywalker needs to talk to me." Richard said as he saw Luke gesturing him over to the door.
After Richard went to talk to Luke the others just stood around Raven sizing her up. Fong and Yaegashi come over to the others. Raven looked a little scared now not knowing what to say looking around at the group of six people around her.
" Umm…Hi I'm Raven…it's nice to meet you all, Richard has told me quite a bit about you and I guess I'm grateful to you all for being he's friends when he lost his memory." She said sincerely with a dash of nervousness thrown in.
Kong was the first to speak up, " Well if you're a friend of Richards' you can't be bad so Welcome to the Jedi Academy." And while the others greeted their departed friends companion Richard was in deep conversations with Luke.
" So you have regained your memory than?" Luke asked.
" Yes I have, Master and I would like to thank you for giving me the new title I am honored that you think so highly of me."
" Well I should have done that a while ago but better late than never I suppose. Now tell me what's with the girl in the cape?"
" She's someone from my past, I love her." He said bluntly.
" What about Yaegashi? What are you going to do about her with your past here?"
" I don't know but I don't think that is our main concern, now what is going on with the Shadow Academy graduates attacking us?"
" Ah right to the point as always, well we have had several attacks on the younger students when they are out on missions with their teachers. Somehow they get separated from them and are attacked, so far we've been luck no one had died." Luke said.
" And what about 'tiny head'?" Richard asked.
" He's the one leading the attacks. Keeps asking what happened to you and saying you are a coward for not facing him. Obviously he didn't know you weren't here for the better part of a year." He said dryly.
" Well do we know how they know where to set the traps for the students?" Richard asked, " Have you inspected the out going transitions for spying sifters or listening equipment?"
" No we've never had a reason to look for anything like that. Do you really think that they are listening to our conversations?"
" Well I wouldn't put it past him to do that so I think that we are going to have to be more careful about what we say now." Richard said stone-faced and Luke knew he was serious.
" Ok we strengthen security. Now tell me about your experiences while you were gone. What is your home planet like, the people there, cultures everything."
As Richard was talking about his home world Raven was sitting in Richard's room waiting for him to return. It was about an hour later that Richard came back to his room and found Raven sitting on his bed reading Dante's Inferno.
" I see you brought your favorite book on the trip. How many times have you read it?" Richard asked.
" About 20 and every time I read it I start to think that the last couple of days I've gone to hell in a hand basket."
" Really? How is that?" he raised his eyebrow.
" Well ever since she arrived we haven't had any time alone. Now I'm here and I feel that I'm just an outsider, like I don't belong here. I miss home. Why can't I have staid at home Richard?" tears had started to form in her eyes.
" I asked you to come with me because I wanted to show you what I had experienced while I was gone now please don't cry Rae. I know it's a lot to take in but trust me you'll get use to this place. I felt out of place when I landed here but I got use to it. Now please try to get some sleep, tomorrow I'm going to show you some wonderful things, now please sleep." He said was stroking her hair lulling her to sleep. ' Boy she's taking this harder than I anticipated but she will get use to it, she's a capable woman and I have a feeling she's going to be helpful in the coming future.' And Richard too went to sleep holding Raven's head in his arms. And for the first time since the encounter with Slade he had a peaceful nights sleep.
The next morning Raven woke up to an empty bed, still feeling a bit groggy she hurray combed her hair with her fingers and straitened her cloths while trying to find Richard. Passing a student who couldn't have been more than 11 years old she asked where she could find Richard. The kid looked at her as if she was speaking a foreign language when she corrected herself. " Do you know where Master Grayson is?" at this the kid took off leading her outside and to a small observation platform. She found Richard eyes closed facing the rising sun, his arms behind his back and he was shirtless. ' Must be the way he prefers to meditate' she thought, ' Not that I'm complaining any time I get to see him with his shirt off is a good time.' As her eyes traveled down his features she heard the sounds of running towards them. When Yaegashi burst onto the platform out of breath.
" Richard we have word that Vog'ue has a trap set for Kara and Nabuna on their next mission." She panted not noticing that they had company. Richard however didn't move a muscle still facing the rising sun. " Richard?"
" He knows you're here it's just that he needs to slowly break out of his meditation just give him a minute." Raven said annoyingly at the intruder.
" He's never needed to do that before in his meditation. Why would he need to do that now?" asked in an equally bitchy tone.
" Because this isn't a normal form of meditation. He's contemplating something 'soul searching' if you will and he won't come out of it until he's figured out what it is that's bothering him." She replied.
' I hope he's contemplating dumping your ass before I kick it back to your little backwater planet bitch.' Yaegashi thought, " Well I hope he gets done soon because we are going to need all the help we can get on this one and Richard is the next most powerful Jedi here next to Master Skywalker and he's staying here to defend the school so we need Richard on the transport to be at the trap so we can get these bastards before they do any more damaged to this school, or it's students got it." She said forcefully.
" No need to shout Yaegi, after all we're not deaf you know." Richard said looking over at the two women in the misted of their catfight. " Now Yaegashi where are Kara and Nabuna's mission taking them for the little trap he set up?"
" Well their next mission is to Coruscant to give a report on the situation to the Senate and future plans about our intentions dealing with the Shadow Academy."
" That make it a little more difficult with the trap in Coruscant, too many ways it could happen and how it could go down," Richard got a familiar look on his face from Raven's point of view, he has the look she'd seen when he would be contemplating what Slade's next move was, completely lost in thought and trying to out think his opponent and trap the trapper, " I'm going to need the building schematic, traffic layout, and traffic schedules to figure this one out when do they leave?" He asked breaking the silence.
" They leave on Wednesday so we have two days to figure this out before they leave."
" Ok who can we use to help us with this one?"
" Zer, James, of course myself and you will that be enough?"
" Hey aren't you forgetting some one?" Raven yelled slightly annoyed at the blue women.
" No not really we don't need you on this one. Besides you would just get in the way, you're untrained, powerless, and have no clue in what is at stake so just stay out of it." Yaegashi countered with a little smirk on her face.
" And that is why she's coming." Richard said.
" WHAT!" Yaegashi turned praying she didn't hear what the thought she heard.
" Think about it Yaegi, no one here as ever met Raven so she would be a perfect lookout, no one for the Shadow Academy would think twice about her and she has enough power to make them think twice about dealing with her it the need arises."
Raven smirked at this; Richard had just come to her aid and Yaegashi made herself look like a jealous bitch right to his face. It couldn't get any better. ' Ha you loose bitch now what's your next move' she thought to herself.
" Fine she can come but just for the record I don't like it there are too many unknowns already we don't need another one." And Yaegashi stormed off.
" Well that could have gone better, now to the library for a little research." Richard said and Raven followed him to the library where they spent the next four hours going over schematics and traffic postings. It looked like they would be in there for the next couple of days when it his him. " Oh Vog'ue you sneaky bastard." Richard said aloud to himself.
" What is it?" Raven asked curiously.
" Raven you remember the time we lost Cyborg when we chased after Mumbo?"
" Yeah why?" she raised her eyebrow.
" Because that is what the Shadow Academy bastards have been doing to us and we never even saw it coming."
" Are you telling me that they lure the older Jedi away and confront the younger one in a garbage dump?"
" Well no but the first part was correct, it's all misdirection, the greatest trick a magician has." He smirked thinking about what he was going to do when he caught Vog'ue.
" So now that you know what he's going to do what are we going to do to stop him?"
" Simple we pull the old switch-aroo I'll take the place of the younger Jedi and wait for them to attack. Simple." His grin going from ear to ear.
Just then Fong came into the library looking for Richard. " Richard I need to talk to you alone please." She stated glancing at Raven.
" Sure what's it about?" he asked walking with her over to an empty cubical station.
" What do you think you are doing? Do you have any idea how upset Yaegi is at you and even more her?"
Richard looking stone-faced just glared at her, " Yes I know and I hope you don't think that this is easy for me," she was going to say something but he interrupted her, " I know what she's going through and I'm sure you're going to say that I should of left Raven back on Earth and you're probably right but I had to share this with her. I care too much for her to not show her everything that has happened to me while we were apart." Fong was going to interrupt again but Richard spoke first, " I know I'm going to have to chose one or the other so just back off ok I need time to think." As he was talking his shoulder hunched and his head sank cover by his long hair and then he glared at Fong who was to say the least scared out of her mind at the look her friend was giving her. Richard went back to the cubical that he and Raven were in before, as Fong stood there dumbfounded at how dark her friend had become.
' Yaegi is right that girl must have done something to him, he's changed to much for it to be on his own. Not even being overwhelmed by the dark side could change him this much. I'm going to have to keep a very close eye on that one and if need be take action' and she walk off the have another chat with Yaegashi about what she had just witnessed in Richard.
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A/N: Whew now that was a good one. Just a few things before you go, I know I don't post the reviews like other authors but if you guy want me to I will just say the word. I'm at the mercy of the public; just don't wear any steel-toe boots when you kick me in the balls Ok. Thanks.