CHAPTER 5: A NEW ERA
WHAM!
Beast boy felt a crushing blow delivered on both sides of his head before he crumpled down to the ground.
"That's for punching me." he saw Mallah stand towering over him before he was kicked, not very gently, to the other side of the cave.
Raven tried to sit up but was pushed down roughly by a huge hand. "You need rest." said Mallah in a voice of mock concern.
"Why don't we build the machine here, right this instant. We'll have a dry place to work in." suggested the Brain.
"Now? What if the other two come back?" Mallah frowned.
"Pull down the top of the cave opening. The rubble should keep them out. And leave these two here. One's injured and the other has fever. They can't do much." instructed The Brain.
"Yes master."
Mallah went to the bag of metal and crystal at Robin's blanket and very swiftly began to assemble the machine. His fingers were surprisingly fast and nimble, and with The Brain's guidance and helped, they finished it in no time.
And that was precisely when there was loud thumping against the rubble from the outside.
"Raven? Beast boy?"
"Goodbye Titans! We're off to the future!" cackled the Brain.
"The Brain? Mallah? Let us in! What have you done to Beast boy and Raven?" Robin cried.
"Quick, Mallah. Plug it in!" The Brain demanded. He could hear Starfire's star bolts hit the rubble now.
Mallah quickly plugged the machine into The Brain himself. He then turned the knobs to the correct date and place.
The Time-machine was now charged up and the surface glowed white. Mallah unplugged it and caught his limp master in his arms and prepared to jump in.
"No!" an energy bolt hit Mallah square in the chest and he flew back, still holding on to The Brain.
It was Raven and she had summoned all her strength left to try and stop The Brain and Mallah. Beast boy, who had awoken, caught that last part and dashed to Raven's side, ignoring the pain in his skull.
Then, for the second time of the day, he caught her in his arms as she fell.
Mallah reappeared with a rock in his hand and her hurled it at Raven and Beast boy. Beast boy tried to dodge and made it just in time. But now, he was stumbling at his sudden jump to the side as he was also supporting Raven in his arms.
Another rock came from the rubble. Robin has kicked through! This time, the rock wedge itself in one of those knobs of the machine. Sparks flew out as the date suddenly changed and the side of the machine broke away due to the force of the rock.
Unluckily though, Beast boy was still stumbling … straight into the still glowing surface.
"NO!" the four left in the cave screamed (except for The Brain) in unison though for entirely different reasons. Robin, for his rock. Starfire, for being worried about her friends, and Mallah for the destroyed Time-machine. As The Brain still was out, he of course, did not make a sound.
Robin was the first to recover and he quickly aimed a powerful kick at the gorilla. In anger, he also gave him a punch for a good measure before roping the struggling Mallah up.
Then, he turned to Starfire, "Do you have any idea what the date was when they went through?" he asked a little fiercely.
"It … was a little bright but … I think it was the year 1500." murmured Starfire.
"Alright, at least that's a little closer to technology. I think they can still survive in 16th century America." Robin paced up and down, trying to assure himself that they will be fine.
"Uh … Robin … I do not think they landed in America …" said Starfire worriedly.
"What?" Robin turned, shocked.
Starfire picked up a piece of metal on the ground. It was shiny and had a screen. On it were the faded letters, still just a bit bright from the electricity which once made the words blink.
Squinting his eyes, Robin could just make out, "The Caribbean Sea."
Beast boy spit out a mouthful of salty seawater and gasped for air. Suddenly, he remembered Raven and quickly held her head above the water but she still had no reaction. Beast boy thought, alarmed, I killed her!
Grabbing hold of his senses, he looked around desperately. They were in the middle of sea and it was really hard to tread water when you had to support someone else. The worse thing was, Beast boy couldn't see any land in sight!
He began to lose hope as his legs felt heavier and heavier but then he spotted something else in the distance - a ship!
He then suddenly remembered his ability to change into any animal and he wanted to slap himself for not turning into a bird or some creature that could fly earlier. Instead, he got worried and was certain that they were going to drown!
Beast boy quickly turned into a pterodactyl and heaved Raven up his back before taking flight. He circled the sky, spotted the ship again and was about to descend on it before he realised that he might startle whoever's on board. It's best to appear human. He thought. Though, how human can green skin and pointy ears be?
Still, he could at least try to look human. And so, he flew straight into the waters just a few hundred metres away from the ship. Then, he turned himself into a shark and swam towards the ship with Raven still on his back.
Finally, when he was close enough, he turned back into himself, held Raven in his arms and called, "Help! HELP!"
Then, there was a shout from above, "Blisterin' barnacles! Thar's someone in th' sea!"
"Wha' did ye say, Thomas? Man at sea?"
"Rope 'im in!"
"Aye, Captain!"
There was a flurry of movement from the ship and then down came a rope.
"Ahoy ye! Grab on!"
Beast boy quickly hoisted himself up on the rope, holding Raven tightly to him. He held on with all his might as they pulled him up.
"Th' lad be quite heavy …" grunted a man.
"Wonder wha' he's been eatin'!" huffed another.
Finally, Beast boy felt firm hands grab his shoulders and he was hoisted onto their deck. Someone threw him a piece of cloth and he used it to dry himself and Raven.
"Blast me onion breath! Thar's a lass wit' 'im!"
"Be she blastedly dead?"
"No. Th' lass seems t'be unconscious!"
Beast boy suddenly was surrounded by many curious, peering faces of men. All wore strange, worn-out clothes, all smelt of dead fish and all had many queer scars on their faces. Then, it came to him at last, they were pirates!
"Make way! Th' Captain's here!" came a voice from behind and suddenly, everyone parted to reveal a large man with a fierce looking scowl. He had a big, black beard with strands of white in between and had an eye-patch over one eye. Most scariest of all, he had what seemed like a wooden stick for a leg.
"Wha' be ye doin' out at sea, lad?" The man, apparently the Captain of the whole crew asked.
Beast boy was stunned and slightly disgusted for a moment at his reeking breath which smells not only of dead fish, but also of rotting chicken meat. He was also appalled at the rows of yellow teeth the man had.
"I … I was uh … I escaped!" said Beast boy quickly.
"Escaped, eh? Wha' fer? Be ye a criminal?" asked the Captain menacingly as he drew out his glinting silver sword. Beast boy can't help but notice that there is some dried blood on the tip.
"No! No! Nothing like that! We were captured!" Beast boy gestured to Raven and himself frantically then continued, "There were other pirates who captured us and wanted to make us servants and were about to kill us when we accidentally uh … forgot to wash the dishes?"
Beast boy looked at the pirates' confused faces to the Captain's hesitating one. He had squinted his uncovered eye as if he was trying to see what Beast boy was thinking.
"It's the truth … uh … Captain?" Beast boy tried to look as innocent as possible.
"Where be ye from? An' wha's yer name?" The Captain asked doubtfully.
"I am Beast boy and this is Raven, we're from a … very faraway land," gulped Beast boy, "called Sandy Shores Village."
"Ne'er heard o' it, lad!" growled the Captain.
"It's not around this place! And the island where my village is, is pretty small." Beast boy brought his thumb and forefinger together to indicate that the village was tiny.
"Who captured ye?" asked the Captain.
"Uh …"
"Was it th' Death Skulls or Black Swords?" prompted the Captain.
"Death Skulls." said Beast boy, without even thinking.
The Captain suddenly growled and slammed the sword on the ground with so much force that it lodged three-quarters of itself neatly through the wooden floor.
Beast boy squealed and backed away.
"Th' Death Skulls are always rot'n! Th' foul-smelling wretched animals best be wiped off th' seas!" quivered the Captain in anger.
"AYE, AYE!" cried everyone on board enthusiastically.
"Give th' lad 'n lass a cabin. Tonight, we feast t' celebrate thar victory o' thar successful escape!" The Captain nodded to Beast boy before a strong pair of hands pulled him up.
"YEEAARRGHH!" he whole crew cheered.
Then, Beast boy was being led away down a flight of stairs behind a door by two pirates.
"Robin! Wait, The Brain? And Mallah too? What happened, Starfire?" Cyborg asked. A few minutes ago, he had managed to gather up enough power to start up the built Time-machine. As the portal opened up in the cave, Robin and Starfire stepped through, but he didn't expect to see The Brain and Mallah.
"Where's BB and Raven?" Cyborg looked back and forth between a dejected looking Starfire and a fuming Robin.
That's when he knew, things didn't quite go as planned.
"So … uh, your Captain really hates the Death Skulls, huh?" Beast boy asked the pirates who were now leading him through a corridor.
"Hates 'em? He's aft thar blood! Th' Red Daggers, that's us, 'ave been enemies wit' th' Skulls since th' beginnin' o' time!" one of the pirates turned and answered enthusiastically.
In the empty corridor, his voice seems especially loud and Beast boy almost jumped as he uttered even the first word.
"Now, Thomas. 'tis nah th' time t' be rantin' about th' Skulls. Let's make our mateys feel welcome." the especially skinny pirate beside him laid a hand on Thomas's shoulder and gave Beast boy a crooked smile filled with rotten teeth.
Beast boy managed to hold back his stomach.
"Thar's yer cabin." said the skinny pirate when they reached a door. He pushed the door open and let Beast boy step inside.
He found himself in a room built from dark wood and had a brightly lit lantern on a table at the center of the room. The light from the lantern cast a warm, orange glow over the room. At the side was a four - poster bed with red drapes and on the other side, were two chairs with red cushions and a small wooden table between them. On the table, was a huge globe of the world. Also on the table, was two goblets.
In front of the bed was a simple, wooden wardrobe and on the floor had a rich woven scarlet and gold carpet. Beside the bed was a pirates' treasure chest. Atop of the chairs, there was a huge sword mounted on the wall. On both sides of it, was a dagger and both had scarlet handles. Beast boy cannot help but gasp. Everything was just like in the storybooks! The pictures of a pirate's cabin sprang to life here and Beast boy was right in it!
"Nice, ain't it?" Thomas said from behind them.
"Is that treasure chest real?" Beast boy asked, ogling the chest.
"'Tis empty. We checked. No use lookin' inside." the skinny pirate had guessed Beast boy's intentions accurately. The green changeling let out a little sigh, he supposed, it was too good to be true after all.
"This was th' Captain's an' his beauty's cabin ... until she was captured by th' Death Skulls t' become a servant and was went t' Davy Jones' locker involuntarily when she refused t' obey their orders." Thomas told Beast boy, seeing his crestfallen face and trying to distract him with something else.
"What?" Beast boy frowned, confused.
"Th' Captain's wife was killed by th' Death Skulls." spoke Thomas slowly and tried to rid of his pirate speak so Beast boy could understand.
"Oh! So that's why he hates them!" Beast boy exclaimed and the pirates nodded.
"Ye speak funny. Does yer village natter that way too?" Thomas inquired curiously.
"Natter?" Beast boy looked confused again.
"Speak." translated the skinny pirate.
"Oh, uh … yeah!" Beast boy nodded and tried to look casual.
"'n wha' happened t' th' poor lass?" asked the skinny pirate.
Beast boy replied quickly, "She cannot swim. But she's only unconscious."
"That's good." nodded Thomas, "Well, take care o' her, 'n get ready fer th' feast. Clothes are in th' cupboard." he pointed.
Then, with a tip of his cap, Thomas and his skinny pirate friend disappeared out of the door.
As soon as the door swung closed, he quickly put Raven down on the bed and called out her name a couple of times to retrieve her but that didn't work. Then, he tried shaking her but she remained still.
"No … Raven …" Beast boy knelt and felt her pulse. It was there, but faint.
He searched his brain for a way to bring back an unconscious person back to consciousness, especially after breathing in gulps of seawater. Then finally, the answer came to him - CPR!
Beast boy tried to recall how to do it. How he wished he had thoroughly read that First Aid Instruction Manual Robin had gave him when he first joined the team! Since he can't pull out information from there, he focused on his TV shows and movies. Ah yes, there was CPR performed in a few of them.
Bending over Raven, he recalled the first step : Pump.
He balled a hand into a sort of fist over the other and pumped Raven's chest. This had better work. He thought.
Then, he recalled Step 2: Tilt back the head.
In the movies, they always tilt back the victim's head to open the airway. Thereafter, he pinched her nose.
Then, the third step: Blow
Nervously, Beast boy took a deep breath, lowered his head to Raven's mouth and blew hard. He released her nose and began pumping her chest again. At first, it was all very awkward but as he repeated the process a couple of times, it got easier and easier to do.
But after the fifth time, Raven was still not responding and he was really, really worried. Beast boy was so worried that he actually formed tears in his eyes. What if Raven never returned? What if she were to stay in this state forever? What if she died?
Shaking, he pinched her nose for the sixth time and drew a long deep breath before giving her a final blow. If this time, she still doesn't awaken by his CPR, he honestly didn't think anything else would.
And then …
Raven's eyes flew open. The first thing she saw was the top of the four - poster bed and … Beast boy? Kissing her?
That roused her completely and she delivered a powerful kick to him before sitting up quickly. Too quickly. She started spluttering and vomiting out mostly the salty seawater to the floor. Her throat burned, her stomach was churning and she felt very groggy in the head.
"Raven!" she was suddenly knocked down by Beast boy who came flying straight at her.
Raven felt like she was being killed slowly by a Boa Constrictor. Beast boy was a very, very, tight hugger.
But finally, she managed to push him off and took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself. Beside her on the bed, Beast boy started to babble but to her, his words made no sense. Her head hasn't cleared completely yet.
"Raven? Did you hear? The pirates then took us in. And so that is why we're here. And also, they're going to prepare a feast for us. Because you know, about the lie I made up? The one where I told them that we were captured by the Skulls and then escaped? Yeah, so -"
Raven blocked out Beast boy's words. He was starting to make her feel dizzier, and dizzier.
A/N: Hoped that wasn't too bad. I had to do a lot of translating for the pirate speak and I hope that it's at least a little convincing. Oh and, I'm going to warn you, Beast boy and Raven are going to stay in the 1500s for a long, long while. If you have any suggestions or comments, please review or you can message me. Thanks! : )