A/N from FFnet: I know! The last chapter was waaaaayyyy to short, but I felt like I needed to get that filter in to just let everyone know I'm still alive and kicking and doing this fic. I'm hoping this chapter will make up for the last. And I hope to update soon after as well.
Thank you guys all so much! You all rock! I LOVE YOU ALL! XD
Anyways on with the story!
EDIT: 01/09/2022 - Slowing brining this over from FFnet to Ao3. FIxed up some typos and whatnot as I go.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Whisper.
Whisper.
Crying...
There was so many faint screams, and crying and just so much agony...
The darkness taunted him, the shadows took on forms of men and the voices seemed to be whispers in one's ear. They had failed them. Sariel was supposed to lead them, not let them die. Robin tried to shake away the words, but the whispers themselves made him feel the heavy burden, as if it was his own. He looked towards his companions and was surprised to see Sariel and Sergei taking it all on rather well. Narrowing his blue eyes at the situation, he too knew he had to shape up or he wouldn't be getting out of this one alive.
"What does one do against the dead?" was all she said.
Robin looked around him. All of this, it was... some sort of illusion, or was it? If this Geist character was a medium he could contact the dead, if so...
"We take out the one in control." Robin thought with smirked. "We need to find Geist, that's even if he's still here." he yelled out to his companion.
"This could be a distraction, for all we know he's long gone." Sariel answered. Robin agreed, he could very well be out of the picture by now. Leaving them here to die.
The shadow forms of Sariels former unit grew ever closer, their slow pace made them seem like pitch black formed ghouls. "Like something out of a horror movie." Robin mildly thought. He grimaced however and pushed away the thoughts, this was no movie. "How would we even find the bastard? If he's still around..." Sariel readied her gun as the ghouls trugged ever closer. Robins eyes darted from one corner to another. "We have to get out of this... whatever it is."
"Pierce through the veil, yes?" Robin nodded at Sergie's explanation.
Sariels eyes darted towards her young companion. "And how do you want to do that?"
"They came through it." Robin pointed at one of the ghouls.
"The ghosts... I suppose they are part of it."
Robin smirked at the woman. "Yes! Put them back to wherever they came from. Overpower this void of...whatever it is. It's raw power, but any kind of power can be overridden if it's more then one can contain."
Sergei nodded at the boy before him, his smile was genuine. "Then let's push them back."
Robin nodded, "Ignore them, ignore it all. Act as if it doesn't matter and strike!"
Sariel smiled at the boy wonder, "They're dead, it doesn't matter anymore." She gave a curt nod before facing the ghouls that were approaching her. Robin didn't like the idea of "they didn't matter anymore" but he guessed it was a good way to go about defeating a already dead man.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"They're dead."
"They're dead"
"Let it go... just let them go..." It was all Sariel could think of in her mind and she kept replaying it over and over. "They need you to let them go." She closed her eyes and took in several deep breaths before she re-opened them.
"No..."
The black figures had changed.
"No..."
"Sariel!" The voice was faint. "Sariel!" louder... then "Sariel!" she shook herself. Robin looked at her with much concern in his blue eyes. "They're gone remember." the girl nodded before turning back to her old friend, Ehsan. His eyes were vacant of the shine he once always had, now so dark and void of life... "I'm sorry." it was all she said before she pulled the trigger and Ehsan was no more, his body turned black once again and pieces of him flittered away, seemingly back to the void. She nodded to herself. "One down... there is about ten more to go."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Slade himself had no issues in taking down a few of these men. They were nothing really. But the mastermind had to admit, Robins mind was slowly changing. This whole idea of his... was to kill the ghosts. And although they were already dead, Robins idea was to kill these "ghosts" to move onto the next phase of this fight... if one could call it a fight.
The man let a small smirk slide, his bird was changing.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Robin did a roundhouse kick that effortlessly ended the ghoul in front of him. Another met its end with a punch. Sariel had shot a few, quickly ending them and Sergei had seemingly switched to hand to hand combat to encounter the ghoulish spirits.
It didn't take long.
Soon enough with all the ghouls sent back to the void, it began to disappear. And reality seemed to flicker back into view.
Robin darted over to check on his fallen ally. "Sariel!, I got Asif!" The girl nodded as she followed him over to find her companion still slumped on the ground exactly where Geist had dropped him. Robin quickly checked his pulse, and was thankful to find him still alive. "Good" he thought to himself. "We don't need to be losing anyone else."
ooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The temple was vacant, all that was left was the bodies of the unconscious men they had fought before Geist showed his face. Sariel knew now that a lot of them were probably dead. But she wouldn't tell the boy wonder that. She watched the young hero gather up her last surviving unit member and frowned.
Geist was nowhere to be seen. Meaning he probably left them to supposedly die. She didn't blame him really... Sven was the red headed woman's right hand. She probably gave him a lot of jobs to accomplish. Still though, she needed to get away from here and find her other companion. And Asif would probably need a lot of medical attention, which would come first. And she would have to find something akin to that here in this sandy little city.
Sergei had offered to go and find a vehicle of some sort since they would probably need one to get their "little friend" to a hospital.
Robin had slung Asif over his shoulder. And as soon as she approached the woman offered to take the young man off of his hands. He refused, Sariel had too much of a burden already on her shoulders. The woman only nodded. "He needs help. There is a makeshift hospital on the other side of town. Your Russian friend has already gone to find us a jeep or something."
The boy wonder nodded.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The two stood there in silence for a few moments until...
Whisper.
Whisper.
"What?" Robin turned a little to look towards the hole in the wall which Geist had originally created, only to find a black figure simply standing there looking at the two.
"Shit." Sariel muttered as she noticed the figure. "We need to go. Now!" Robin couldn't agree more. The two started moving. They were already on the ground floor, all they had to do was find the entrance. since the most easiest way was now blocked.
"Sariel... it's moving towards us."
"I know... I know. Just keep going. Seems like Geist left something behind to watch us."
The two started to walk faster, afraid if they went into a full run it may take chase. Robins shoulders were beginning to sag a little with Asif's weight.
"You want me to take him?"
"It's ok, it's my fault he got into this mess..."
Sariel shook her head. "If it's anyone's fault it's mine."
The shadow was getting a bit closer.
"We need to move." It was getting to close. "Geist must really be intrigued with us, but now he also probably knows we're still alive." Sariel took out her gun and shot a bullet right through it's head. It of course having no effect. She swore at it, although Robin was sure her words were meant more for Geist then the actual black entity.
They quickly rounded a corner and happily found the entrance. But before they could open it, the spirit took control of the door, the wooden boards went from being a badly faded yellow to black.
"Shit!" This time it was Robin who swore.
But suddenly the door moved, like someone was trying to kick it in, but couldn't. This entity really didn't want them to leave, but someone on the outside really wanted in.
A bump.
And another.
It stopped and there was nothing but the slight whispers...
Then suddenly a voice from outside shouted "GET DOWN!" They didn't have much time before a RPG had blown through the door and launched itself into the upper part of the temple.
The entity was no longer in sight and the door was now in shambles as the remerents of the entire building began to crumble at a brisk pace. "MOVE" was all they heard as they both got to their feet. Robin grabbed Asif and ran, Sariel was right behind him.
The two were greeted by Sergei with a jeep behind him and a RPG in hand. They then turned around to see the front temple fall into dust as if it never existed. Only the back wall and a bit of the right side was still standing. It was a pretty large temple, and already falling apart due to neglect and decay so when the RPG hit the upper floor it triggered an entire shift in the floors and everything just went to hell.
Sergei laughed.
Robin was enraged.
"Why are you laughing!? There was still people in there!" The boy wonder had laid Asif down on the ground, his back against the jeep's tire. His body shaking.
Sergei looked to the boy. "Really?" his smile still on his face.
Robin could feel his blood boil. "All the men we fought against, they were not dead...and now..."
Sergei shook his head. "What did you want me to do boy? They attacked you, they were the enemy. I saw that some of those black things had returned, yes? I could not get in, so I found another way." The Russian patted the RPG in hand.
"What did I want you to do? You were supposed to find us a car!" Robin narrowed his eyes at the old man and bellowed "NOT TO KILL EVERYONE!"
"Boy, the men you fought, they were probably already dead." The Russian waved it off as if it was nothing. Robin however, glared daggers at the old veteran. His actions only made Robin all the more frustrated, How could this man simply just not care? "NO...no, how could they be? I only knocked them out!"
"Robin..." It was Sariel. she was standing off to the side. "He's right, not many survive an encounter with Geist, that void we were in, it probably killed them. If they did survive... they'd probably be driven to madness... We got lucky."
"That doesn't give anyone the right to kill them."
Sergei put his hand on Robins shoulder. "What good is being alive if you're not yourself, hrmm?" Robin looked up into the mans one singular eye. Why the hell did this man remind him so much of Slade? He didn't want to admit to that before, but now... He just didn't know. The boy wonder shrugged off the mans hand and turned to Sariel, and with every ounce of strength he had, he calmed himself down. Asif was still alive after all and he needed medical attention. "We need to get Asif to a hospital, do you know where it is?"
"Not exactly, but it should be on the other side of town. In places like this it shouldn't be too hard to find."
Robin picked up Asif once again and placed him into the jeep. "Then we need to get going."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
The drive was silent. Robin sat in the front seat with Sergei while Sariel sat in the back and took care of Asif as they drove towards the hospital. He was injured but would survive. But the faster they got him to a hospital, the better.
It was so sudden how his life had drastically changed. It seemed like only yesterday Robin had been enjoying a slice of pizza with the Titans. He missed Cyborgs and Beast Boy's arguments over breakfast, and their banter while playing video games. He missed Ravens dark demeanor and heartfelt advice. And how he missed Starfires smile and her laugh. Robins heart sunk at the thought of never seeing them again. It kept gnawing at him that he never would. It already felt like ages.
He must of looked like he was reminiscing.
"Thinking about home?" The accent rolled off of Slades tongue as if it was natural, making his disguise complete.
Robin couldn't deny the mans curiosity and shrugged. "I suppose."
"Why are you really out here boy?"
Robin narrowed his eyes at the question. "What do you mean?"
Sergei smiled at the boy. "You're no tourist. You've been trained, but not as in the military. You refuse kill... but you had no issues in leaving all those men behind-"
"Well I didn't think someone was going to come around with a RPG and blow up the entire building." Robin sent a glare to the older man. His heart still ached at the sudden loss of life. He was a hero wasn't he? But he couldn't save those men. Even if they were the enemy.
"But it's better to leave them there and let them die?"
Robin grinded his teeth. "What are you getting at?"
"Out here, even if rendered unconscious, it could still be a death sentence." Sergei shook his head. "The heat. In the end it could kill anyone, yes? If you want to play hero out here you have to learn what kind of battlefield you're on. That includes the environment."
"That-" Robin was cut off before he could say anything else.
"You had no issues leaving them there boy... That is like killing them yourself. But also, out here one has to do whatever it takes to survive. Remember that."
Robin believed in the mans words. "No..." He was pretty shocked at this revelation. He honestly just wanted to get himself and his companions away from that place as fast as possible. He wanted to see the Titans again, he wanted to live, to survive.
"What does it matter though hrmmm? They got what they deserved, yes?"
"No one deserves to get killed like that..."
"Even if it means that you survive in the end?" Sergei looked to the boy wonder. Robin turned away, not knowing how to answer.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
And that's a wrap for now.
Please please leave me a review and let me know what you think and no we haven't seen the last of Geist or anyone of that group really.
Thank you all!
-Fangy