Hiya! As a Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Kwanza/misc religious winter holiday special treat, I am updating as many ofmy stories as I can! Yayy!
(sound of crickets chirping)
Infernal Insects. Beware, and shut up, or I'll get Staremerald to set her special evil minion, Bob the Banana, on you.
(Sound of one random cricket saying, "I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!")
Riiiiight. Anyway, just shut up, or I'll get notyouraverageblond to make like staremerald and set her special evil minion, Lena the Attack Chinchilla of Doom, on you.
(Sound of one random cricket not taking good advice and saying "I WILL NOT BE SI-erk", 'erk' meaning an attack chinchilla and an evil banana had just thwacked him across the windpipe. Do crickets even HAVE windpipes?)
Moving right along: In this exciting chapter of The Great or Not So Great Outdoors, Starfire and Robin are lost, Cy has another mysteeeerious flashback, Rae goes missing, BB gets worried, and for the grand finale, Robin and Star getthe feeling they're not alone! DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN!
Muwahahahaha. I love being me. Muwahahahahaha.
Ahem:
REVIEWERS:
StarSoSweet: Thanks!
loaned: Will do- I like your penname, btw.
Staremerald: In reply to:
Point 1: I don't know! What do you want his name to be? Hubert?
Point 2: Um, duh. But it's soooo cute isn't it?
Point 3: When the book is more boring than the argument? Um, things don't get much more boring than that.
Point 4: Eww! You nervy pervy.
Point 5: You shall see… muwahahahahahahaha!
Point 6: Staremerald! Flying Fish off!
Point 7: I keep telling you. I'm too perfect to have an ego.
Point 8: Sigh; you're just a teenage dirt bag- accept it and, as Mrs. Kelly sez, build a bridge and get over it.
Point 9: Ooooooookay……
Point 10: Totally. She would burn ice cream.
Thanks to all my reviewers, you all rock! Except staremerald, of course. Kidding, starry!
Disclaimer: Sigh. Aparently it's not enough that I don'te own the Teen Titans. No, now they're making me remind myself every dumb chapter. What is the world coming to? Sigh.
Also, kudos to Notyouraverageblond for the song in Cy's flashback! And also, kudos to staremerald for the chicken korma thing.(I wrote this in all these bold words so they'd notice and not bite my head off whenthey read the story)
Now on with the ever-wonderful story by Phishy2! Yay! Who does not have an ego! Yay!
"Friend Robin, we are lost?"
Starfire's question echoed through the dark forest. It was so dark, that the only sources of light were the soft beams of the full moon, and the gently glittering fireflies hovering around the two Titans.
"It sure looks like it," said Robin grimly. "Somehow we're going to have to find our way back to camp. I'll try and trace our footprints; can you fly overhead and try to spot the campground?" Starfire nodded with a small, worried smile on her face. "Of course I shall, friend Robin." She flew up into the treetops, but was soon back again, hovering a few feet above the ground. "Robin," she said hesitantly, "what will happen if… if we don't find the camp?" Robin sighed.
"I don't know," he said. He sounded tired. In the dark of the surrounding trees, Starfire could not see his face. "If that happens, we'll just… come up with a plan then." He smiled at Starfire. "Don't worry," he said. "Everything will be alright. You'll see."
Something about his smile made Starfire feel confident. He was right, she decided. Everything would be alright. With another small smile, she rose up and through the leafy canopy, and into the starry sky. Everything would be alright, because they were together.
She glided over the tops of the trees, shivering as she looked in all directions. There was no sign of the camp. She sighed. It was going to be a long night.
The moon was the only witness to the two lost Titans, slowly making their way through the forest.
CYBORG FLASHBACK
The full moon rose in the sky, looking for all the world like a giant Chinese lantern. Far below, in a small clearing, its light shone upon Nick and his family. They were gathered around a small campfire, each of the small boys listening eagerly as their father told them a scary story.
"And then…" the dad said, in a scary voice, "they heard the footsteps coming closer… and closer… and CLOSER…" The three boys sat open mouthed in frightened anticipation. "Until…" whispered the dad.
"What? What happens next?" the boys practically screamed.
"THE MONSTER ATTACKED! ROAAAARGH!" yelled the dad. The boys screeched and ran as their Dad chased them around the glade, making monster noises. Finally, they collasped, laughing, in a heap.
"All right," said the dad, "We should probably get off to bed now."
"Aw, Dad!" whined Nick. "Come on, we didn't even get to toast marshmallows!" "Yeah!" "Please, Dad?" chimed in his younger brothers.
"All right, all right!" laughed the Dad. "We can do marshmallows for a little while, and then it's bedtime for Bonzo."
Five minutes later, they were all sitting around the fire, toasting marshmallows and singing:
"Yo mama don't wear no socks! (a ding dong)
I saw her when she took 'em off! (a ding dong)
She threw them at a tree! (a ding dong)
And now the dogs refuse to pee! (a ding dong)
A ding dong dong dong dong, A ding dong dong dong dong, A ding DONG!
Yo mama don't wear no socks!(A ding dong)
I saw her when she took 'em off!(A ding dong)
She threw them at the bed!(A ding dong)
And now my teddy bear is dead!(A ding dong)
A ding dong dong dong dong, A ding dong dong dong dong, A ding DONG!
Yo mama don't wear no socks!(A ding dong)
I saw her when she took 'em off!(A ding dong)
She threw them at my hair!(A ding dong)
And now my head is bare!(A ding dong)
A ding dong dong dong dong, A ding dong dong dong dong, A ding DONG!"
Dad laughed. "We could never get away with singing that song if your mom was here," he chuckled.
"Well," said Nick, "that's why we're singing it now!"
Everyone laughed.
An hour later, they were all in bed. Nick felt the cool ground beneath his head. There was no place in the world, he thought, he'd rather be than right here. So thinking, he turned over in his sleeping bag and went to sleep.
Outside, a chill wind blew. It picked up embers from the dying fire, and scattered them among the dry bushes...
END FLASHBACK
RAVEN'S POV
I'm standing outside the tent that Cyborg just pulled Beast Boy into.
Where he just asked Beast Boy a question.
Where he just asked Beast Boy an important question.
Where he just asked Beast Boy an important question that Beast Boy has not yet responded to.
Where he just asked Beast Boy an important question that Beast Boy has not yet responded to, and that I dearly wish he would.
Where he just asked Beast Boy an important question that Beast Boy has not yet responded to, and that I dearly wish he would, because my heart is working itself into a frenzy, my blood is churning, and my stomach hurts.
"You like Raven, don't you?"
Oh.My. God.
OH MY GOD!
Oookay. Okay. Calm down. Find your chicken korma. Then eat it.(Kudos to staremerald)
Oh, god, why does it seem like time is standing still?
Why doesn't Beast Boy answer 'no' and get on with it?
And why do I feel like I want him to answer 'yes'?
I don't like the grass stain. I don't.
I can't like him. I mean, like love.
It would totally ruin my image! I'm supposed to be the one who hates Beast Boy with a burning hate.
Oh, god. I do like him, don't I?
Yes, you do! Thank you for waking up and returning to the real world!
Oh, god. Not you again.
Yes, it's me! Happiness! Wheeeee!
Sigh...
Like I've been saying for practically forever, you DO!
She's right, you know.
Wisdom, too?
It is imperative that you recognize your true affections for him soon. Otherwise, your emotions will never balance.
Go away.
That's exactly what I mean.
I said, go away.
But you must realize that-
You want to MAKE OUT with him!
What?
Oy veh. Look, in case you haven't noticed, you like him. And he likes you.
DON'T BELIEVE THEM!
Rage?
Rage?
Rage! Leave at once! You always ruin it every time I start getting through Raven's thick skull!
Hey!
Gasp! That wasn't very nice, Wisdom.
Quite frankly, I don't care. Anyway-
Don't you see, Raven? If you even think you like Beast Boy, you're wrong. But go ahead. Believe them. Then don't come crying to me when the emotional shields you've spent your whole life making come crashing down around your ears.
Rage is right. Just because I might like him- and I'm not saying I do!- I can't even admit it! I'd be placing the city, the team- the whole world in danger!
No, that's what will happen if you don't admit that you l-
I DON'T LOVE HIM!
Yes you doooo!
Chicken korma. Chicken korma. Okay. I want all of you to get out of my head, right now. You're giving me a headache.
But-
But-
No buts! She's absolutely right. Now both of you, go away. NOW!
I meant you as well.
HOW DARE Y-
Let's go. All we can do, Raven, is hope you come to your senses.
GO AWAY!
My chakra glows white as I finish mentally banishing my inner demons. I blink, and look around. It's like time had stopped. At least five minutes just passed, but I'm still in the place in time I was before Happiness came. Suddenly, I hear a kind of strangled shouting coming from the tent.
"Wha- No! I- I- why is it your business, anyway?"
"Ha! I knew it! You do!"
"No, I don't! Go away!"
I hear footsteps. Knowing the kind of questions that might be asked about my hiding place behind the tent flap, I run. But that's not the only reason.
Beast Boy doesn't love me. Or if he does, he won't admit it, which to me is just as bad.
A sob escapes my lips as I run from the camp and into the dark trees.
END RAVEN'S POV
Beast Boy stormed out of the tent, leaving a still grinning Cyborg inside. Dammit, he thought. How did Cyborg know?
The first thing he noticed as he stepped outside was this:
The bag of marshmallows he'd left too close to the fire had melted.
The second thing was that Raven had gone.
"Cy?" he called. "Do you know where Raven is?"
"Why?" teased Cyborg. "Do you want to have muchas smooches? Dawg, you so like Raven."
"Look," shouted Beast Boy angrily, "Do you know or not?"
"No, I don't, loverboy. But she's gotta be around here somewhere."
Beast Boy ground his teeth in frustration, partly at his friend, partly because Raven was gone and he was worried.
He looked around again. There was no sign of her. She had vanished without a trace... to human senses, at least.
Beast Boy morphed into a labrador and immediately caught a smell. Essence of Raven. Ahh. It smelled like soothing herbs and green tea.
He sniffed along the ground. She had been here all right. Not too long ago, she had ran into the forest.
He started to run, following her scent. He would find her if it took him all night.
Robin checked his digital watch. One fifteen. Great.
He was so tired, he was ready to drop. The more he tried to follow the tracks, the more they seemed to lead to nowhere.
Starfire wasn't doing much better, either. She had dark circles under her eyes, and seemed to be flying lower and lower all the time. She needed a rest, and so did Robin.
"Any sign of the camp yet?" he called up to her. She floated back down to the ground.
"No, Robin. It is very late, and I am tired. I am sure you are too. We must find somewhere to rest." Robin nodded.
"Yeah, we probably should." He looked around. "You know," he said, "We've looked around here before twice. See? There are my tracks. They're barely two hours old. And here's where we went again, about an hour ago." He smiled. "This would probably be as good a spot as any to stay. Let's try to get some shut- eye." They both lay down at the base of an oak tree.
For a while it was quiet.
"Robin?" said Starfire.
"Yes?"
Starfire leaned over and hugged him. "I am so glad you are here with me," she said. Robin blushed, and was very glad that Starfire couldn't see his face.
later
Robin was running through the woods. He didn't know whereStarfire was, but he could hear her voice.
"Robin?" it called. "Robin?"
"Starfire!" he yelled. "Where are you?"
He saw tracks on the ground. They looked like they belonged to a boy and a girl. His heart raced. These must be theirs from earlier! If he could just follow them, he might be able to find Starfire again!
He ran as fast as he could, Starfire's voice pounding in his ears the whole time. The tracks got clearer and clearer, until they looked like they'd been made mere minutes before. Wait a minute...
Starfire wouldn't have been running- she'd have been flying... so, who did the other set of footprints belong to?
As he thought this, the entire forest turned blood red.
"Robin?" The voice of Starfire boomed through the forest. "Robin? Robin?"
Suddenly, in front of Robin, two huge, blue eyes appeared in front of him. He yelled, and-
Woke up.
"Robin?" Starfire's voice-the real one- brought him back to reality. He was in a cold sweat, and his heart was beating a mile a minute.
"Are you all right, Robin? You were having the nightmare!" Starfire looked very concerned, but Robin tried to smile it off.
"Don't worry," he said, staring at the path, "it was just a dream. I'm okay now." As he said this however, he realized that he was not okay. Neither was Starfire. They were both in terrible danger.
"Starfire." he said. "Those tracks- that second set of footprints- they're different from the first set, which I know are mine." Comprehension dawned on Starfire's face.
"Then- who do the other footprints belong to?" she said slowly.
"I don't know, and that's just the trouble. I think we're being followed."
Robin gave a short intake of breath as he felt the tip of a knife against the back of his neck.
"That's right," purred a female voice. "Now, stand up slowly. Don't make any sudden moves."
Dun, Dun, DUNNNNN!
It's a christmas cliffie! Don't worry- I'll update soon so you won't be kept in suspense much longer!
You know the drill- R&R!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
-Phishy2