Damian did another lap of his room, hands locked firmly behind his back so as to not fidget. Fidgeting when anxious would be childish. Richard had been gone for four and a half hours on his search for Todd, which was likely going to be a dead end anyway. Todd wouldn't help search for Timothy, and he would most likely laugh in Richard's face and then go off on his own out of curiosity to find him anyway without knowing all the facts. Such behavior would be moronic of him.

Damian glanced out the window, but didn't cease his rhythmic pacing. He had read many books on the dead and specters during his time with his grandfather in Nanda Parbat. They were commonly associated with the Lazarus Pit itself. Grandfather had described them to be vicious, vengeful creatures that only had one goal in mind that they needed to complete in order to pass on to the other world.

He absently pondered what the ghost that took Timothy was after. Not that he would ever care at all — it would simply be out of curiosity. It is likely that the ghost wants to enact revenge on them capturing him. He knows they are vengeful creatures. They kidnaped him so he in return will kidnap Drake and leave his body in a ditch somewhere out in Gotham. Damian's father, Richard, and Pennyworth would be broken over his death for months once the ghost disposes of him, un-needing of the earthly body anymore. Damian clenches his fist and takes a deep breath.

Damian had few to no interactions with the specter before he disappeared: only the sighting of him before Richard shot him out of the sky, and then Father told him he should stay upstairs during the interrogation with Nightwing in order to not "overwhelm" him.

Speaking of "him," the one thing Damian didn't seem to understand is the fact that his grandfather, his father, and now Grayson, as well as many others in the "hunter" field referred to these ghosts as "its" which seems nonsensical to Damian. Surely they are still the consciousness of real people. While they might be vengefully formed spirits, they are still a person with a conscious mind, able to communicate, able to express thought. While they may not have a physical form anymore, it was not right to dehumanize them. It leaves a sour taste in his mouth.

He wonders what Richard is saying to try and convince Todd to join their conquest. That is if he hadn't been shot or attacked in the streets of Gotham already. He promised to carry his weapons on him and to have one singular tracker that he would only turn on in a state of emergency. But Damian still felt anxious for him, not that he would ever admit it.

After being thrown into the Lazarus pit, Todd became… unpredictable. Intense influx of anger and general mood swings, to downright slitting Timothy's throat open after a fight just to prove a point to Father. Something that he was told by Richard that his sweet little Jason Todd would never have done in his right mind, and that something is wrong with him.

It is imbecilic of Richard to continue trying to reconcile with the Red Hood, brother or not. He is going to end up making the man mad and getting attacked or worse. Just like how Damian had to tip-toe around his grandfather for all of his years. He has seen how the Lazarus Pit affects people. Maybe these ghosts were similarly affected… Damian would need to do more research, but right now…

He stepped closer to the window, sucking in a deep breath. He unclenched his fingers that were locked together behind him in order to place them on the window sill. He could just continue thinking of possibilities… Or, maybe, he could go and make sure those possibilities don't happen.

)-(

Dick stared at his little brother's body for a second. The voice coming out of it seemed like Tim's; he could hear Tim, but it wasn't him at all. His eyes were glowing green and he had a slightly eerie aura about him. How could Jason not tell? But then again, how could Dick not tell back at the manor? If he had noticed everything he saw now, he could have stopped him. Now, the ghost had his brother only a few feet away and Dick couldn't do anything about it because Jason had tied him to a chair!

Dick looked pleadingly up at his brother, who was still standing there with his arms crossed. "Jason, that's not Tim! He's being possessed!" He tried. Maybe Jason didn't notice, maybe he just found Tim and thought he was helping him. Maybe-

Jason rolled his eyes. "I know, Dickface. Why the hell do you think I tied you up in the first place?"

What? Dick looked between Jason and Tim's possessed body. "You're protecting the ghost?! Look, Jason, I know you don't like Tim, but you can't just let him be possessed!"

Jason growled and leaned forward, putting his hand on the back of the chair next to Dick's head and leaning him back. "This is not Because I didn't like Tim." His eyes flickered with a slight green at the edges. "This is because you dumbasses decided to kidnap a child! And then, when that kid did nothing but try and escape in the only way he knew how to, you immediately go and try to find him and attack him again!" He could hear the wood of the back of the chair cracking next to his head from the taller man's grip.

Dick gulped. Something was going on with Jason — he was being really protective for some reason. The anxiety crept in as Jason got angrier. His eyes flickered over to the ghost who was watching this silently. It almost looked unsure, or nervous.

Dick shook his head. He needed to get through to Jason, get him to understand what might happen. "Jason, you don't understand. We have no idea where Tim's soul is! If he is away from his body for too long he might not ever be the same again."

Not-Tim spoke up again, leaning forward and holding up Tim's hand like he was asking to speak in a meeting. Both Jason and Dick's attention snapped to him. "Uh, I can help with that. Tim's soul is not gone – he's right here." He pointed to either himself or just his chest. "Trust me, he is fine. This is just one huge misunderstanding, and people will get hurt if we don't figure this out."

"How am I supposed to believe you!?" Dick snapped, "You're inside my brother's body right now and I can't talk to him! You've stolen it from him and I need to know he's alright!" Not-Timwinced at the sudden outburst, curling into himself slightly. Dick didn't know if he could believe this ghost or not. It could be lying to try and keep the body a little longer, or it could be trying to trick everyone. Dick didn't understand.

Then the ghost spoke up. "Okay, Tim says to tell you that you're an idiot that needs to listen. And for proof…" It stopped for a second more to listen to seemingly thin air. The ghost bit it's lip and looked Dick straight in the eyes, like it was unsure about what he was hearing. Tim's body took a deep breath.

"When Tim was three years old he was at a circus show. Haley's Circus." Dick's eyes widened in recognition. The Ghost tried listening again. "Just wait, slow down for one second. Say it slowly and I'll repeat it one sentence at a time." He tilted his head one more time before continuing.

"Okay, so you ran into him before the show. Did a couple of small tricks for him, and gave him a hug," Dick bit his lip. "...you were the first person to ever really hug him. Which is really depressing, by the way. But that moment didn't last long…" Jason stood back, listening intently while his mind started clicking pieces together.

"-You and your parents were in the circus performing a dangerous act… No net. Tim was in the audience. And your parents… fell…" The ghost looked away, almost as if he was seeing the scene for himself. "It affected him greatly and he started to keep tabs on you after that."

The ghost smirked, a bit of pride, and humor, leaking through the expression, he wasn't sure who would be influencing that expression. "He immediately figured out that you were Robin because of your signature flip he saw you do." He shrugged. "He started taking pictures of you as time went on, and idolized you and Jason. Then, he became Robin himself…"

Dick stared in disbelief. "Tim is really in there…"

The ghost tapped the side of Tim's temple. "He really is."


Authors Notes

Beta Read by: Arvensia, and Oceanaslana

ahhh more Dami POV! I'm not sure if I love writing him or if I'm scared of it. But there is definitely more to come! Little baby is pretending not to care but he really does.

And Dick Belives Danny/Tim now! But we probably still have some stuff to work with, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I was trying so hard to figure out how Danny should prove it and my mind went back to Tim's backstory every time. I hope the wording didn't seem awkward at all. But it's posted now! so we will just have to live with it and go to the next chapter.

Batman: Where are all my kids?

Thanks, guys love you so much! Hope you have a great spooky month! and hope you enjoyed this chapter! please tell me what you thought and what you think will happen next :)