A foot harshly nudged my side, helping to bring me to consciousness. I open my eyes, hovering a hand over them to shield from the bright blue sky and sun. Raven stood above me.

"Good morning." she said. "I guess this is today's focus?"

I chuckled. "Yup."

Raven rolled her eyes and offered a hand to me. I accepted it and stood up. "I'm not even going to try and understand your whole 'dimension-traveling' situation. It gives me a headache every time I attempt at it."

"I think it's better that way."

Raven's communicator buzzed on her hip. She flipped it on.

"What, Robi-" Raven said. Her face twisted into annoyance. "What do you want, Beast Boy? Where's Robin?"

There was an explosion in the background. "He's a little preoccupied right now. Just checking in to see how you're holding up. Has the team showed up yet?"

"No. I've been here for almost half an hour. What if they don't show? Do you expect me to wait here forever?"

"Just sit tight. They'll be there soon. Unless you want the Brotherhood to get them?"

Raven scowled and snapped her communicator closed. An engine revved in the distance, and we looked down the path and saw a bus cruising down the road. It stopped in front of the train station for a moment before peeling away, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. Raven looked around in confusion until something tugging at her cloak caught her attention.

Three small children stood next to us- two boys and a girl. The girl, the eldest, wore a white shirt with a large pink M, a pink skirt, and a little pink cape. The eldest boy wore a yellow and orange uniform that reminded me of Kid Flash. The youngest sucked on his pacifier as he held the toes of his light blue onesie.

"What-?" Raven said. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Are you Waven?" the eldest boy, Timmy, said.

"I need a minute." Raven tugged her cape from Timmy's grasp and stomped away, pulling out a communicator. I crouched down to the children.

"Are you here to help us?" the girl, Melvin, said. Timmy hid behind his sister.

I nodded. "My name is Ciela. I'm Raven's friend. We're here to take you someplace safe." I noticed Melvin's outstretched hand, closed as if holding something. "Who's your friend?"

Melvin's eyes widened. She leaned in close, her face a few inches from mine. "You can see him?" she whispered, blowing hot breath on my nose.

"Well..." I glanced back at Raven, who barked at Beast Boy through communicators. "He's a little shy right now because of my friend, but I know he's there."

A wide smile spread across Melvin's lips. She tugged on her arm. "Did you hear that, Bobby? She likes you!"

I smiled. I stood up and held out my hand. "It's nice to meet you, Bobby."

My hand hung in the air for a few moments. I felt a little dumb standing like this. However, another hand, invisible to my eye, wrapped around mine and moved my arm up and down in a handshake. Bobby let go, and my arm fell back to my side.

Raven returned, huffing as she tucked her communicator away. "I guess we're stuck with them." she mumbled. The blast of a train horn sounded, and a long red and black train came to a screeching stop behind the train station. Raven turned to the children. "We'll take you to the drop-off, but that's it. We have other things to do. What are your names?"

"I'm Melvin," Melvin said, "and these are my brothers Timmy and Teether. This here is Bobby." Melvin pointed to her raised hand.

Raven looked up at the invisible Bobby with a scowl. "Right. Whatever."

Teether stumbled over to me and held his arms up, wiggling his fingers. I crouched down and scooped him into my arms. He patted my cheeks with a coo, and I scrunched my face and smiled. Melvin and Timmy held each of Raven's hands. We headed into the station and climbed onto the train. With another blast of its horn, the train started back up, and we headed down the railroad tracks. We sat in a train booth, Raven alone on one side and the kids and I on the other. Teether planted his face against the glass and watched the scenery pass by. Timmy tightly hugged his blue blankie.

"Only two hours on this train." Raven grumbled under her breath. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes.

Melvin tapped my shoulder. "Want to play a game?"

"Sure. What kind of game?" I said.

"Hide and Seek! You're it!" Melvin grabbed Timmy and Teether, and the three children crept out of the booth.

I glanced at Raven, who didn't notice anything, and quietly snuck out. I headed to the next train car and looked around. The passengers scattered around in their seats glanced up at me. As I walked down the aisle, I heard wet, slobbering sounds and saw a flash of blue in the corner of my peripheral. I crouched and saw Teether nibbling on a train seat.

"Found you!" I said, tugging him off the seat. A small chunk of the seat had been ripped off. I held Teether out in front of me. "You're a little stinker, aren't you?"

Teether belched, and a piece of seat cover fell out of his mouth. He giggled. I smiled and held him against my hip.

"Now, where did your siblings go?"

We headed to the next train car, which was a long and empty hallway. As we walked, Teether began to tug at my braid with a quiet whimper.

"What is it-?" I said before freezing in my stride. I gasped and quickly turned to the window.

Monsieur Mallah clung to the side of the car, a wide grin on his face. He reeled a fist back. I lunged away as his fist plowed through the wall. He swung into the car.

"Hello, little girl." he said. "If you need a break, I'll take those children off your hands."

Holding Teether tighter, I turned on my heel and sprinted back down the hallway. The ground rumbled from his heavy footsteps. I hurried into the next car, only taking a few steps in before the doors burst open. A flat piece of metal hit my back, and I flew forward. I shielded Teether as I tumbled to the ground. Mallah loomed over me.

A stack of tables covered in astral magic slammed into Mallah, launching him back. I scrambled to my feet.

"I lose sight of you all for two minutes, and this happens?" Raven said. "Where are Melvin and Timmy?"

"They're hiding somewhere... and I think I know where." I said. "Follow me."

I sprinted to where Mallah lay on the ground. I hurdled over him and to the empty hallway.

"Watch your step." I called over my shoulder at the mangled section of the hallway where Mallah first entered. I could see the blurred tracks below. I jumped over the gaping hole in the floor. Raven followed me into the end car, which was stacked with boxes.

"Melvin? Timmy?" Raven called.

Two blond pigtails stood up straight from behind one of the boxes. Raven and I circled around and crouched next to them.

"What's happening?" Melvin whispered. "We heard loud noises."

"It's all right. Raven and I will take care of this. You're safe with us." I said.

The doors burst open.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Mallah called.

"Stay here and don't make any noise." Raven said. She raised her hand as it glowed with astral magic. Boxes from the other side rose and flew towards Mallah. I heard him grunt as they hit them.

Raven and I jumped out from behind the boxes as Mallah climbed to his feet. He grabbed one of the boxes and hurled it at us. Raven and I ducked. I fired my pistols at Mallah. He raised his arm to cover his face as the lasers absorbed into his fur. He roared and charged. Raven and I jumped out of the way, but Mallah grabbed each of one of our ankles. He spun around, dragging us with him, and threw us into the walls. My back slammed into the wall, and I crumpled to the ground. I heard screaming. I hoisted my body upright. Mallah loomed over the children as they huddled together, cornered against the boxes. I reached for a pistol.

"Bobby, help!" Melvin cried. She squeezed her eyes shut as her brothers clung to her.

Mallah reached for the children, but his hand stopped. His arm was yanked back, and a force knocked him to the opposite end of the car.

"What?!" Mallah cried, scrambling to his feet. He looked around for the source. Another force shoved him through the doors and to the other car. I heard the groan of metal being crushed, and our car started slowing down. Peering through the doors, the rest of the train continued down the tracks.

Our car came to a stop. The children cheered, stirring Raven. She sat up and rubbed her head.

"What happened?" she mumbled.

"Bobby saved us!" Melvin cried.

Raven looked at the gaping hole in the end of the car. "Well, 'Bobby' also stranded us in the middle of nowhere, and we have a giant, talking gorilla after us."

The children stopped cheering, bringing silence for a few moments before they all burst into tears.

"Can't you be just a little nice to these kids?" I said, kneeling to their height. They threw their arms around me and wept.

Raven folded her arms. "I don't do nice as easily as you."

I sighed and patted their backs. "Hey, hey, it's okay." I said. I pulled away and looked in their teary eyes. "Raven and I are here to make sure nothing bad happens to you. As long as you're with us, you're going to be okay."

We stepped out of the car and watched the rest of the train disappear into a tunnel.

"Well," Raven sighed, "I guess I'll just have to carry us all to the dropout."

"We can't do that!" Melvin said as Raven extended her hand. "Teether's tummy gets upset when he flies."

Raven rubbed her temples. "Fine. We'll walk."

I scooped Teether into my arms. Timmy started to wail.

"What's wrong?" Raven said.

"I wanna be carried, too!" Timmy cried, flailing his arms in the air.

Raven glanced at me. I shrugged. Raven sighed and lifted Timmy into her arms.

"I don't suppose you also want to be carried?" Raven said to Melvin.

Melvin shook her head. "I'd rather walk with Bobby."

"Right... Let's get moving."


Night came, but there wasn't any sight of the drop-off. Teether was passed out on my shoulder and snored in my ear. Timmy, who walked alongside Raven, let out a big yawn.

"It's past our bedtime." Melvin said.

"I know that." Raven said. "Look, there's a lodge up there that we can stay at for the night."

We headed up a small hill, where a little skiing lodge sat at the top. Raven unlocked the door with her magic, and it swung open. We got a fire started. Melvin and Timmy sat in front of the fire. I set Teether at the old wooden table while Raven searched the cupboards.

"Okay," she said, sitting in the other seat and plopping the cans in her arms on the table, "we've got carrots, peas, beans, and more beans. What do you want?"

Teether looked at the cans. "No."

"You have to eat something."

"No, no, no!"

Raven growled. Timmy waddled up to her, clutching his blankie and wailing.

"Muh-muh-my b-b-blankie!" he cried, holding the small piece of fabric in the air.

"Uh, yes. That is, indeed, your blankie."

Timmy continued to cry. Teether hopped off his chair and started to cry, too. Raven clamped her hands over her ears.

"How about you go outside and take a break?" I said, helping her stand up. I handed her a plate of carrots and peas. "Give this to Bobby."

Raven stared at the plate. "Don't you think you're playing into this a little too much?"

"All right, out with you." I said, guiding her to the door. I shut it behind her and took a deep breath, rubbing my forehead as it ached from all the screaming. I walked over and knelt in front of the crying boys. I picked up Teether and patted his back. "There, there."

Teether belched in my ear, spraying spittle on my face. He smiled and cooed. I set him back down and turned to Timmy.

"Show me your blankie." I said. Timmy sniffled and held out his blankie. I took it and spread it out, allowing me to see the large rip in the fabric. I searched the room and found a stapler. I grabbed it and used it to patch up the blankie. I handed the blankie back to Timmy and clapped my hands together. "There! All better!"

I picked up the two boys and set them next to their sister on the bed. I tucked them under the covers.

"You're good at babysitting." Melvin said.

I smiled. "Thanks."

"Will you tell us a bedtime story?"

"Sure." I sat on the edge of the bed. "Let's see... Once upon a time, there was an evil puppet called the Puppet King. He had a magic remote that could turn other people into puppets, leaving their bodies to become his minions. The Puppet King tried to do the same to me and my friends. One day, we received puppets that looked exactly like us. That night, the Puppet King snuck into our home and started turning us into puppets!"

"No!" Teether cried, burying his face into his sister's cape.

"There are six of us, and he had already gotten three. The only ones left were me, Raven, and our friend, Starfire. We managed to escape, but not before the Puppet King made Raven and Starfire switch bodies. They had to learn how to work together so they could save our trapped friends. We snuck into the place where the Puppet King had our friends. We had come just in time, for he was about to destroy those puppets, turning our friends into mindless zombies!"

The three children gasped. I chuckled.

"Right before they were destroyed, Starfire used Raven's magic to bring them to safety. Now that they were okay, we had to defeat the Puppet King and turn them back to normal. But just as quickly as I had our friends, I was surrounded by their zombie bodies. They had me cornered, and all hope seemed to be lost..."

"What happened next?" Melvin whispered excitedly.

"Raven came to save the day. She knocked the Puppet King's remote out of his hand, and it was destroyed. My friends returned to normal, and the Puppet King turned into a plain, old puppet. The end."

The children clapped. "More story! More story!" Timmy cried.

"That's enough for one night. It's time to get some sleep." I pulled the covers to their chins. They closed their eyes and fell asleep. "Good night."

The front door opened, and Raven stepped inside.

"Everything went so quiet, I started to worry." Raven said. She stepped to my side and looked down at the sleeping kids. "You know... they're not so bad when they're not kicking and screaming."

"Are you warming up to them?" I said.

Raven scowled. "And what if I am?"

I chuckled and waved a hand dismissively. "That's a good thing."


Early the next morning, we headed up the mountain. We arrived at a cable car.

"This will help us get there faster." Raven said. "Everyone, in the cable car."

"Bobby says it doesn't look safe." Melvin whispered.

"We'll be fine. Get in."

Melvin glanced up at her invisible friend before stepping into the cable car. The car groaned and tilted harshly.

"Melvin!" Raven hissed.

"It wasn't me, it was Bobby!" Melvin said.

Raven shook her head. She pulled a lever on the small control panel, and the cable car revved to life and traveled up the cables.

Timmy gasped and shoved his finger forward. "Monkey man!"

"Monkey man?" Raven said. She gasped, and we followed Timmy's finger.

Another cable car traveled the opposite way. Mallah rode on top. As the cable cars passed each other, Mallah leaped onto ours. His fist broke through the metal. The children screamed in fright.

"Everyone, hang onto something!" I cried. I transformed my pistols into my bazooka and shot through the hole Mallah created. It cut through the suspension cable, and it snapped. The cable car plunged toward the ground. Mallah flew off the top and landed in the snow far away.

We clung to each other as the cable car sped down the snowy hill.

"Brace for impact!" I called as we reached the bottom of the mountain and grassy plains. A tree brought us to an abrupt halt, shattering the glass of all the windows. The doors opened, and we stumbled out of the car in a daze.

"Is everyone okay?" Raven said.

"That was awesome!" Melvin cried.

"Again! Again!" Timmy said, waving his blankie in the air.

"No. No 'again'." Raven growled.


As nighttime fell again, we reached the end of the dirt path. A large monastery stood before us, torches blazing on the walls to give light.

"Finally." Raven said.

Melvin stopped. "Bobby says it isn't safe in there."

Raven sighed. "Of course it's safe in there. There's no need to worry."

"But Bobby says-"

"There is no Bobby! Stop listening to your imaginary friend who isn't real!"

"Bobby is real!" Her arm fell to her side, and she looked down the path. "Look what you did! You scared Bobby away! Bobby!"

Melvin tried to chase after Bobby, but Raven grabbed her and picked her up. Melvin thrashed in the air.

"We don't have time for this." Raven said. She pulled the rope hanging from a bell. The bell tolled loudly. The large doors creaked open, and a couple of monks greeted us.

"Welcome. We have been expecting you." the abbot, a bald man with a white goatee, said. "I will take good care of these children. You need not worry."

"Great. They're all yours." Raven said.

Melvin and Timmy walked over to the abbot's side. Teether tugged at Raven's cloak. She knelt, and Teether pulled his pacifier from his mouth and placed it in Raven's hand. He waddled over to the abbot. The abbot picked him up.

"Bye-bye." Teether whispered.

The doors closed, followed by the shifting of locks. We heard Timmy and Teether crying from the inside.

"Raven..." I said. I clenched my fist. "It really isn't safe in there."

"What?" Raven said. The crying stopped, followed by total silence. Raven's eyes widened, and she pounded her fists against the door. "Hey, let us in!"

"Go. They're on the other side." I said. I turned on my heel and sprinted down the path.

"Where are you going?!" Raven called.

"I'm going to find Bobby!"


"Bobby! Bobby!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "Where are you, Bobby?!"

I heard rustling nearby. I turned and saw a giant brown teddy bear, patched with black stitches on his body.

"There you are." I said. "Raven scared you good, didn't she?"

Bobby nodded shyly.

"It's okay. She just takes a little getting used to. We need to go back."

Bobby shook his head quickly.

"Yes, we do. Melvin and the others are in danger. That monkey man captured them. Raven's trying to fight him, but it's no use without your help."

Bobby perked up. He gritted his large, sharp teeth and growled. He nodded and held his arm to me. I climb up it and stood on his shoulder, gripping his ear for balance.

"Let's go!" I cried, pointing forward.

Bobby roared and plowed down the path. We circled around the monastery and saw Mallah in a heavily armed AFV. Something blue lay in his path.

"Raven!" I cried. Bobby ran faster and leaped in front of the vehicle. He smashed his fist into the bumper, bringing the vehicle to a violent stop. Mallah launched out of the driver's seat.

"Bobby! You came back!" Melvin cried. Bobby climbed onto the vehicle and tore the restraints off the children.

"Is everyone okay?" I said. The three nodded. "Good."

We looked to Mallah, who climbed to his feet.

"Hey, monkey breath!" Melvin cried. "This is what you get for messing with us! Get him, Bobby!"

Bobby roared and leaped off the vehicle, landing in front of Mallah. He swiped his claws, knocking Mallah back to the ground. I helped the children climb down from the smoking vehicle. We hurried to Raven, who lay still on the ground. Timmy draped his blanket over her shoulders.

Raven stirred. She sat up and rubbed her head. "You're all okay?" she said.

Melvin nodded with a smile. "Don't worry. Bobby's taking care of that mean old monkey."

Raven looked up, her eyes widening at the sight of Bobby. "Whoa."

"Told you he was real."

Realizing there was no chance he could win this, Mallah pressed the center of the crisscrossed belts strapped to his chest. A small propeller whirred to life and carried him away into the night.

Raven and I stood. "Thanks, guys. You saved the day."

"It's all thanks to Bobby." Melvin said.

"You're right. He's the one we should really be thanking." I said. "Thank you, Bobby."

Bobby grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. Raven's communicator buzzed.

"How did everything go? Is everyone safe?" Beast Boy said.

"Yes. We're all okay." Raven said.

"Good, because Robin needs you for another mission."

"But... what about the kids?"

Melvin tugged on Raven's cloak. "It's okay, Raven. You're needed somewhere else. We'll be fine."

"But what if someone tries to hurt you again while we're away?" Raven said.

"We're not alone. We've got plenty of people here who will protect us." Melvin reached up and held Bobby's hand.

I crouched to the children's height. "We'll come to get you once everything's safe. Until then, make sure you behave and look after each other."

"We will." Timmy and Melvin said. The three children wrapped their arms around me and Raven.

"Are you coming with us, or does the next episode need you halfway across the world again?" Raven said as we stood up.

I chuckled. "The latter. But it's the last episode I'll spend separated from you guys. I'm kind of looking forward to this one, actually."

Raven smiled. "Well, I'll see you then. Don't get into too much trouble."

I chuckled. "I should really say the same for you, since I have no idea what you'll do while I'm gone. But, just like these kids, I won't be alone."

I held my hands together behind me and touched the extra communicator clipped to the back of my belt.