A/N: Sorry for not updating in a while. My computer has been up and down recently, so I haven't been able to actually type in weeks. But now that Rugby has ended somewhat, I'll have more time to type. Sorry again for the delay. Please review!

Disclaimer: Anything you've seen in a Teen Titan episode in here is not mine.

Chapter 12 Turning the Tides

The room for testing was usually silent and creepy. It was a big room filled with dark cages occupied with sad faced or gone mad unlucky animals. Sometimes a pitiful cry or moan from one of these forgotten creatures could be heard. The room held a great variety of these animals to be tested upon. A sick curiosity of a scientist can sometimes go too far.

In the back of the dim room, Gerard was sitting on a cold metal table with his feet dangling out over the edge. A cage from one of the many on the shelves had been set next to him. His meerkat friend was on his other side, gulping down some food Gerard had stolen for him at lunch.

Gerard was a whole different person when he was in the testing room. Because it didn't have security cameras in there, the teen was free to be himself. It was the only place he felt safe to take his mask off.

"Yes, I know smoking is bad for me," Gerard was saying to the meerkat, Napoleon, with a relaxed softness to his tone. He scratched his friend behind the ears while saying, "But it sooths my nerves." He blew the smoke from his cigarette out of his nose with a sigh. The gray hazy cloud listlessly floated upward till it vanished. Another good thing about the room was that it didn't have any smoke alarms.

The teen breathed in the smoke and nicotine a few more times before adding to Napoleon, "At least I'm not like Derek. He has no control over his powers or wishes to have any when he is angry. He just explodes with energy and destruction, which is most of the time now. I…I remember when we were close."

The cute teenaged meerkat glanced up from his food and made a calming grunt to Gerard before shoving his nose back into his bowl. The animal was in pretty good shape for being in a lab for testing, mostly because Gerard had watched out for him since the animal was born. That had been when she was still around. She was gone now, he needed to move on.

Suddenly the meerkat gave a short grunt that Gerard recognized as one of alarm. The animal looked up at Gerard with its big black eyes. His gaze was piercing and almost demanding, but Gerard didn't want to deal with it as he took a big draw of his cigarette and let a stream of smoke out of his mouth before looking back down at Napoleon.

"What are you looking at?" Gerard asked him lightly. The meerkat gave another one of his sounds. Gerard's smile faded. "You sure?" he asked, "'Cause I don't like wasting these things." He held up his cigarette to show his friend.

Another grunt told Gerard what he needed and didn't want.

Swearing slightly under his breath, Gerard put out his cigarette and jumped off the table quickly. The teen scooped the animal up and put him back into his cage. He locked it while at the same time putting it back into its place on a shelf. He then walked back to the wall where a set of light switches were. After a slight pause, he turned them all off.

The room plunged into deep darkness. Gerard breathed out slowly as he let himself adapt to the room. He crouched down into a stealthy stance and started to creep toward the shelves. He couldn't see the shelves, but from discipline and time, the boy had taught himself how to feel in the dark. A switch in air currents could be detected when he went into this mode.

Unfortunately, the person spying on him knew how to do the same.

Gerard caught onto the spy's skill right away. The person was practically silent as he or she moved down and up rows. At times one or the other would pause to try and listen and feel for the other. Gerard soon started to grow weary of the hunt. This person wasn't like others. This person knew too much.

Both skillfully persons wound throughout the darkness of the room. Gerard could tell the other person just wanted to disappear, but was soon realizing he wasn't fooling his subject. Gerard stayed near the only door in the room, the only entrance and exit. This person wasn't escaping.

After a few long, painful minutes of straining senses and quick thinking, Gerard had the spy cornered. He swiftly came in for the kill. He didn't believe in cold blood killing someone, but his own life could be on the line here. If the Academy thought he had gone a little bit soft by giving testing animals food, he could be killed!

Gerard lunged forward with a battle yell as he let his powers come into play. Both his hands busted into red and orange flames. The corner of the room was suddenly lit up with the blaze of the teen's hands.

Hands burning, Gerard forced the spy against the wall and put his palms on the wall right next to the spy's head. The corner of the room quickly went from cold to searing hot in seconds.

"I hate the loyalty of this place!" Gerard hissed at the spy as he drew a burning fist into the air. He stopped his attack for a second as the fire illuminated the spy's face with harsh brightness and deep shadows. It took a second, but Gerard found himself recognizing the spy.

It was Robin.

"What the hell are you doing spying on me?" Gerard growled. For a fleeting second, his fiery fist went out, but only to fling Robin to the floor. The caught teen landed harshly on his back, but Robin didn't fight back as Gerard flicked the lights back on. Robin's stare was as cold as Gerard's hands were hot.

"Answer me, Robin!" Gerard demanded, his voice hard. He made his burning hands into fists at his sides as he towered over Robin. "Who sent you to spy on me? One of my brothers? Someone near the top? God forbid, the Master himself?" Robin didn't answer. "Answer me, damn it! I am not kidding with you, Robin! I do not want to hurt you!"

"You're hurting yourself, Gerard," Robin finally said, his voice barely audible.

"Cut the crap! Answer –," Gerard barked but was promptly cut off by Robin's words.

"You have to go all ablaze just because I saw you being yourself, Gerard?" Robin asked, his voice and words harsh now. "Don't fool yourself. I know you can't stand this place. But you always put on that smiling mask, each and every single day. You force yourself to go through the motions, be their perfect little kid. But the only difference between you and one of your brothers is that you are getting sick of it, this life you live. Oh, but that is one huge difference. If you can't control it, you know it will be your demise."

Gerard backed away as Robin got to his feet. The teen's hard features had changed into one of complete horror. His green eyes were wide with fright of the truth. Gerard shook his head and the frown returned. The fire in his hands burned greater now.

"Shut up!" Gerard yelled at Robin. "You have no clue what my life is like!"

"I know more than you think, Gerard," Robin said. "I can see it all in your eyes. You can smile and fake it all you want, but your eyes tell the true story. You want out."

"Shut up, now," Gerard pleaded. This was what he had been avoiding for so long, for someone to finally figure him out, see beyond the mask.

Robin paused to watch Gerard for a second. His toughness softened as he said calmly to the other teen, "I can give you that opportunity."

Gerard's expression of fear suddenly turned into one of confusion. His hands stopped burning as Gerard stared at Robin for a long time. "What are you talking about?" he asked slowly. He couldn't believe what he was doing. Was he really willing to betray the Academy?

"The brainwashing," Robin explained, "it didn't work exactly."

"I knew it," Gerard whispered to himself. He had suspected, but the suspicion had gone away when he saw Robin's fight with Starfire the other day. Robin was a pretty good actor; Gerard was starting to find out.

"I…want to get my team and others out of here," Robin said emotionlessly. "Actually, I need to get my team out of here. I made a promise to one of them that I would."

"Whoa, please wait," Gerard said before Robin could say anything else. "I feel very sorry for you and your team, Robin, but I have my own problems. I can't just…help you."

"Why not?"

Gerard frowned deeply at this. "I don't know about you, but I do have a life to live here," he told Robin. "I'm not one of those stupid brainwashed kids you see running all around the place. I'm one of the first Stellar Academy kids. I grew up here. I can't just go turn my back against them."

Robin narrowed his eyes in annoyance that Gerard took for anger.

"Don't get me wrong," Gerard said in defense. "I don't like this place either. Go ahead and scheme against it all you want. I won't say a thing. Just…just don't bring me into it." He looked down to the ground as he said the last part. The truth was that he was too scared to go against the Academy. He didn't want it to end up like the last time.

"You never said you were born here," Robin said. Gerard looked up at him for a second before he averted his eyes to the shelves full of animal cages. Robin could see the hurt in those eyes. He had hit a sore spot. "Where do your loyalties lay, Gerard?" Robin asked him. "You're eyes tell me it is not here, yet you are telling yourself it is. Stop lying to yourself. Tell me the truth."

There was a pause in the cold room.

"You know why I always hum that one pirate song?" Gerard asked quietly, his eyes still pinned on a shelf. Robin didn't say anything. He just listened. "When I was seven, my wealthy parents took my brothers and me out on their yacht for the summer in Indonesia. We all had a fun time. I remember learning how to fish with my dad. My mom, for fun, taught my brothers and me the Pirates Life for Me song before she put us all to bed one night.

"That was the night we were attacked. I watched as people who I now live with slaughtered the crew and my parents by either slitting their throats or putting a gun to their head and shooting them point blank. My brothers and I had to watch the whole thing. Because of our age, we were perfect for their new Stellar Academy and spared us the raid.

"As the years went by, my brothers blocked out the memory of the night our parents died. They forgot mom and dad; they probably can't even remember their names anymore. Everything about that other life is now gone in their minds. I almost forgot about them too.

"Then I met someone, someone really nice, who sung that song my mom taught me years ago one day while we were cleaning up this very room after some experiments. The memories came back to me. The song stuck in my head. After that day, I was never the same. The memory of my parent's death will never go away again."

Robin looked at the floor now, his expression one of pure sadness and remorse for Gerard and his life. He didn't think that Gerard's past could be that painful. The teen had been so charming and happy-go-lucky when Robin had first met him. Now he saw the agony Gerard was going through.

"I'm sorry," Robin whispered solemnly. "I know what it feels like to lose both parents. I lost mine when I was six. It's hard because some days…you forget what they look like and you just can't seem to forgive yourself for it."

There was another long pause between the two boys as they held eye contact with each other. Just having that one thing in common made the two boys feel like they were bounded to each other with some kind of a silent and secret code that only someone who lost a loved one could detect. They shared that moment with unsmiling, but understanding faces for a second.

"I'll do whatever you ask to take this place down," Gerard finally said. He took out a cigarette from an inside pocket in his trench coat and lit it by snapping his fingers to produce a flame. He looked back up to Robin and smiled faintly before saying, "I've been dying to say that for years."

As if snapping back into a different world, Gerard gave Robin his trademark dramatic bow while saying, "Gerard James Maxwell, here at your service."

Robin managed something of a smile as relief washed over him. For a brief second he had doubted himself with Gerard. Now he saw that he really had nothing to worry about. Gerard was on his side for now on. Robin didn't know the specifics of the teen's reasons to betraying the Academy, but he didn't care at this point. He had a friend on the inside. That was all that mattered.

-That Night-

Robin dragged himself into his room at about 11 that night. Running a hand through his sweat laden hair, the teen sluggishly walked over to his bathroom. The Academy had decided to do a random combat session at nine that night. Two hours of workout combined with the other stressful things in his new life was wearing Robin down to the very core.

Closing his weary eyes, Robin rested his forehead on the cold glass of the mirror. He had played this life for three days. Every passing hour was breaking him down. His mind was like a ticking time bomb. He expected himself to explode at any second. But so far he was fine.

Robin splashed some water on his face before changing into a pair of shorts that he slept in. The worst thing about his situation was that his mind wanted to go to the new one. He would sometimes find himself planning ahead for classes and focusing more on his homework and technique in combat more than his plan for escaping.

His mind was getting tired of being jumbled back and forth. He needed to get a grip on some firm ground in his brain. He needed his old memories back or he would drive himself crazy with these new ones. Question was: How was he going to obtain his old ones?

The second Robin sat on his bed, the voice called to him.

Robin, can you hear me? Raven's voice echoed in the boy's head. Robin closed his eyes to savor her caring tone, the familiar echo. He didn't know he would miss her this much. It also dawned on him that he didn't miss Starfire as much as he did Raven. He shook the betraying thought off.

I'm here, Raven, Robin thought back. Why aren't you talking with Beast Boy? I'm sure he needs you more than I do right now. How was the testing today?

It was very hard, Raven's voice told him. Beast Boy is asleep right now. They really wore us out today with the testing. There was a small pause between them. You're very stressed, she finally stated.

I'm okay, Robin thought back to her. My plan for escape is on its way. I got someone on the inside to help me. I can trust him. I'm just tired from acting all day to please this place and the people. It's hard to fake a life you never had.

I don't think your memories were taken away from you with a machine, Raven's voice suddenly boomed into his head. Robin frowned in confusion and let her go on without interrupting her. I've been studying this place whenever I get the chance to in between testing sessions. There seems to be some people here who have powers dealing with the mind.

This place is a school of teens with superpowers, Robin repeated what he had thought to her the other night. They had talked like this in each others' heads so Robin could explain to her what was going on. There could easily be someone who has a power like what you are talking about.

Yes, I understand that, Raven thought to him quickly, and there are many that do here. But there is someone who just stands out with his mind abilities. He can't read thoughts like I'm doing with you or control people like what Brother Blood does. This person is different. Every time I try to probe his mind, all I get are flashes of memories.

Robin leaned forward in his bed, wrapped up in what she was telling him. His mind was traveling a mile a minute with this information. How come he hadn't heard of this person yet? Was he a well kept secret to the Academy? And did he have any connection with this mysterious "Master" Gerard had mentioned earlier that day?

What kind of memories, Rae? He thought to her. The two had mind conversations so often in Titans Tower that the two knew how to even put emotion into their thoughts or even send pictures to each other like you would in an email.

There were a lot, Raven answered slowly. But I knew they were someone's memories because…I saw one of yours.

Robin's throat tightened when she said this. Oh how he wanted his old memories back! Sure, he still had some of the old ones, but they were faded and hard to picture when he tried to remember them. He wanted a full memory again. A real one that was fresh and vivid! He wanted one that was like a filing cabinet; where he would open one he liked then put it away until the next time he wanted it. Was there any hope of him having one like that again?

Robin? You still there? Raven asked him tentatively after a long silence.

Yeah, Robin thought slowly back. Um…could you keep looking into this person for me, Raven? I'll ask around for someone with this person's powers. I…

Robin, Raven quickly thought to stop him, please don't…don't obsess over this.

What?

All I'm saying is just…how do I put this without it hurting? Robin frowned deeply as he heard her sigh sadly in his head. Robin, please just focus on getting your team out of here. I'm sorry if this sounds selfish, but the rest of your memory can wait.

Robin rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hands in exasperation. Once again his past with Slade was coming up to his butt to bite him. The man would always damage his character, even after at least two or three years of Robin growing and progressing.

Raven, Robin thought back to her after a pause, I would NEVER give you up for the return of my memories, not even one! You, and the rest of the Titans, are…my life. I'd rather spend the rest of my life with my team than sell you guys out for memories of you guys.

For a second Robin could feel Raven's happiness. A small smile came to him as the feeling tickled his insides. It was strange to think that just a few years ago he would have blown up on the girl for hinting at his obsessive and selfish side. He really had grown up. And he still was growing.

I had a feeling you were going to say that, Raven thought with a sarcastic tone. Robin could picture her smirk as her voice echoed through his head. He wished so badly to see her again, to see with his own eyes that smile of hers she rarely trusted to give.

And again he realized how much more he missed Raven than he did Starfire.

Sure, Robin returned the sarcasm. He heard a hint of a giggle from her. The boy let himself express a broad smile when hearing the fleeting laugh of the girl. When was the last time she had ever giggled? He found himself wanted to make her laugh more.

And that was exactly what he did for the rest of that night. The two talked in each other's heads for at least an hour more, just sharing funny stories and jokes they had heard over the years. They savored each other's laughs and happiness like someone who hadn't had chocolate in a year would relish a Hershey bar on their tongue.

They both fell asleep while laughing and it was the best sleep they had in years.

A/N: The next chapter should be out by next weekend or the one after. I'm starting up a new fan fic for Danny Phantom and since I've gotten some good reviews on that one, I've decided to turn more of my focus on that fic than this one for the time being. I'm still writing this one, so don't worry about it never being finished. The updating won't be as frequent, that's all. I'm just saying if you guys want a steady flow of updates, review. And again…review…please.