A/N: Hello, folks! It's the last week of the semester. I'm studying for finals, working, and volunteering. Yet, who managed to write another chapter? I did! I get upset when I don't get to write stories. I love writing, and hate it when I have to put that part of my life on hold. Because of that, I thought I would try making time for another chapter.
For anyone who was disappointed with the lack of our favorite pair in the previous chapter, Damiana and Speedy are included a ton this time. The majority of this chapter revolves around them, so for my hardcore SpeedLight shippers, I'm sure you'll love it! :)
Also, as a life tip for my dear readers, DO NOT take a two-year break from college! It doesn't matter if your grandmother has end-stage Alzheimer's Disease, if your Dad hung himself, and if you're planning a wedding ( a wedding that never actually happened). Don't use life drama as an excuse! If you do, you will end up a janitor who is struggling to pay bills while going to college... You will also feel like a failure because other people your age have degrees and are getting somewhere...
Just a life tip from your humble author. Stay in school!
Anyway, onward with the story! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, but Dabnod and/or the Dabnodians are mine.
Part IV: Unraveled: Chapter Thirty-Six
Dabnod
Waking up to a cushion of velvet, violet, grass did not convince Damiana that the location she found herself in was real. Recalling how Black Shadow ambushed her and Roy did not fully convince her either. She can remember everything from the machine powering up to the endless void that spewed out of it. The unbearable chill that engulfed her when she was pulled through the rift and into the void still causes Damiana's skin to crawl. Yet, for ten straight hours, Dabnod did not feel real. Even after discovering Roy gaping at their surroundings, their intense conversation about Adriel, and finding the machine that brought them here buried in the grass, this entire occurrence still felt like a dream. She debated inside of her mind, sometimes believing that their presence on Dabnod is entirely real, and at other times believing that insanity is finally befalling her.
At long last, somewhere between the distant cawing of phoenixes and the brilliant golds and silvers of the evening sky, Dabnod becomes a reality.
"Why are the birds being so aggressive? They're freaking me out!"
During the long hours they've spent hiking, Roy and Damiana stopped conversing. They started off chatting about various issues. About how long it would take them to find resources before they became dehydrated and hungry. About how long they would spend in the wilderness before finding a town. About how much time Damiana thought Dabnod might last. About how they were going to get Black Shadow's machine to work once they solved their more immediate problems. Damiana did her best to answer Roy's questions, but was so entranced by internal conflict that forming a response seemed nearly impossible. As a result, Roy quit bringing these matters to her attention. Without anything to talk about besides their current state of crisis, the two quit talking to each other entirely.
This is the first time in more than six hours that Roy has said anything. Her posture stiffens as she turns around to look at him. Ginger-colored tresses are disheveled and emerald eyes are rimmed by dark circles. As for the archer's clothes, maroon pants and yellow boots are coated by purple grass stains. Put simply, he looks as exhausted as Damiana feels. Yet, fatigue is not the emotion seen in his eyes. Written on each of Roy's features is anxiety.
Damiana follow's his gaze to the sky above. A large flock of phoenixes is gathered together. The feathers on their backs and the feathers on their wings are pale blue. As for their stomachs and the wings' tips, those feathers are white. This flock of phoenixes also has white beaks and talons. Based on what she can see, they appear to be water phoenixes. Two big phoenixes, one massive and one a tad smaller, caw loudly. Their screeches are high-pitched and echoing, doubtlessly enough to shatter bulletproof glass. The target of the big phoenixes' ear-shattering caws is a group of six little phoenixes. Rather than the size of whales, the small birds are the size of dolphins. The larger birds flap strong gusts of wind in their direction, causing several of them to somersault in midair.
Roy's jaw slackens as he watches the sight. "Are they attacking each other?!"
Tearing her gaze away from the water phoenixes and aiming it at the archer, Damiana giggles. "No. They aren't attacking each other at all! They're guiding their fledglings back to the family nesting grounds. The sun sets in a couple hours."
Damiana watches as Roy looks from her, to the sky, and back again. For their entire journey, during the brief periods when she came out of her conflicted trance, all she could see on Roy's face was an immense amount of fear. With the horrific weight of their situation, this didn't bother Damiana in the slightest. Dabnod could explode into smithereens at any second! Besides fear, what other emotions should Roy be feeling? Right now, however, Roy actually does seem to feel something else. He looks both surprised and intrigued. Damiana can't refrain from smiling.
"Birds have families? I thought that they hung around in flocks."
Emerald eyes remain glued to brilliant blue feathers. The feathered parents continue squawking and flapping viciously. Eventually their babies comply and fly in the indicated direction. The largest phoenix takes the lead, the fledglings keep to the middle, and second-largest phoenix takes the rear position. Together, the family flies somewhere north.
As they observe the scene, Damiana explains farther. The girl doesn't realize it, but her hair has been an uncanny shade of putrid green for most of the day. As she tells Roy about the phoenixes, her features shift to rose red and pale pink.
"'Birds' do hang around in flocks. Those aren't ordinary birds, though. They're phoenixes. Phoenixes only flock when they migrate. When they aren't migrating, they split into pairs of two and raise families. Once their fledglings are raised to adulthood, the parents wait until the next mating season and start a new family."
At the start of their conversation, Roy and Damiana were working on ascending a hill. The duo currently loiters on the crest of said hill, watching as the family soars into the distance. The birds move at an astonishingly slow pace, as if enjoying the silver and gold sky as much as the travelers.
"Do the same two phoenixes pair up every mating season?" asks the archer while raising an astonished brow.
The girl gives a simple nod. "Yes. Phoenixes mate for life. It's one of the reasons my clan considers phoenixes so sacred."
A long moment of silence passes. Damiana pulls her gaze away from the retreating birds to take a glimpse at the archer. He sports a curious frown, as if itching to ask a question. A second later, Damiana realizes that her assumption is true.
"Do all phoenixes mate for life? Your clan is called the 'fire phoenix' clan, so I assume that there's more than one breed."
Her smile broadens. "Yes. It doesn't matter if the phoenix is an ice, water, sky, fire, grass, or lightning breed. They all mate for life. The only stipulation is they can't interbreed. Sky phoenixes mate with sky phoenixes, ice phoenixes with ice phoenixes, and so on and so forth."
Once this question is answered, the duo finally starts to make their way down the hill. Where their destination is at, Damiana still is not sure. At this point, their single option is ascending another hill. Based on what they were able to see from the crest of the previous hill, the next hill will most likely be followed by many, many, others… Luckily, they do not trudge through the grass in silence. Roy is quick to make another inquiry.
"What breed was that family supposed to be?"
"Those were water phoenixes," she states. "Earlier today we were seeing mostly fire and grass phoenixes, which makes a lot more sense. Water phoenixes usually don't like grassy areas."
"Really?" he asks puzzledly. "Why not?"
"Water phoenixes survive best near rivers and lakes surrounded by forests. They need to consume more water than other breeds. Not to mention, they eat mostly fruit and tree nuts. There isn't anything for them to eat out here besides edible flowers and qwerthzigs."
Damiana doesn't miss the look he gives her when she uses the word "qwerthzig". The befuddlement in his green-eyed gaze is comical. Quelling the urge to laugh, she is about to explain what a qwerthzig is: a small rodent similar to rabbits on Earth, the only different being that they are much smaller and have mouse-like tails. Roy has probably seen a few qwerthzigs already, because Damiana has. Before she can open her mouth, however, Roy opens his. For the longest time his expression spoke befuddlement, but suddenly, wide eyes and an agape mouth suggest some grand realization.
"Hold on second. Did you say that the phoenixes we just saw live in areas that have food and fresh water?"
She replies with a hesitant nod, not quite sure what he is getting at. It is only when the archer makes another statement that Damiana has his exact same epiphany.
"In that case, we're changing directions!"
Roy dashes away from the hill they were going to ascend. As she looks to the sky, Damiana sees that he is chasing the retreating figures of the water phoenixes. Once she understands exactly what Roy is doing, the girl experiences a brief moment of feeling like an imbecile for not realizing it sooner. The next moment, she is rushing after the birds the same as Roy. A minute ago the boy seemed exhausted. All of a sudden he appears completely energized.
"We haven't spent all day walking to eat flowers! We're getting some water and some real food!" the archer shouts gleefully.
"Forget the water and the food! What I care about is finding a river!" exclaims Damiana, her hair shifting from rose red to gold. "Where there's a river, there could be people!"
Roy shoots Damiana a partial glare. "Over my dead body am I searching for a town tonight! You just told me that the sun is setting! What we need is water, food, and a decent campsite."
The Dabnodian girl gives an amused smile. "Of course we aren't searching for a town tonight! We've been walking for almost eleven hours. By the time we get where we need to be, it will be longer. What I'm thinking about is tomorrow. By the end of the day tomorrow we could know the year and the month, and we might even have some tools to fix Black Shadow's machine!"
The silver and blue machine is fastened inside of a makeshift sling crafted from Damiana's sweatshirt. The silver buttons glitter, as if confirming her thoughts. Damiana pats it, as though touching the device could bring them luck. Meanwhile, the archer responds with an anxious frown.
"Hopefully you're right. The sooner we get off this planet, the better."
Earth: April 6
Steel City
"He shouldn't be alive! His powers gave out and the mine collapsed!"
Saeran is a grown man. This is true by human standards as much as Dabnodian standards. Yet, his voice cracks in the same manner as a prepubescent boy's. Their figures are not seen clearly. The only thing Adriel can see through an impenetrable sheet of tinted glass are blurred shadows. There are eight blurred shadows, to be precise. Though he hasn't met several of the people who are gathered, he can tell them apart without struggle. Currently, the only struggle the Ground Badger is experiencing is chaffing from the steel handcuffs that engulf three quarters of each forearm. Not to mention, his buttock is turning numb from sitting on the mercilessly hard metal floor, but this complaint is small.
Adriel's true cause for distress should be the group of heroes loitering outside of his bare, metallic, cell. The only area that isn't crafted from steel is the thick wall of darkened glass. It causes a great amount of discomfort knowing that they must be able to see him clearly from their side.
"Don't you think we know what happened? Some of us were there! We know that your crazy friend was inside of the mine when it collapsed! All we want to know is how he escaped!"
A spiky-haired shadow waves its arms furiously. The figure that speaks next presses a frustrated hand against her forehead.
"Frostbite, didn't you say that your friend has unbelievable power? He destroyed Black Shadow's robots, destroyed his hideout, and helped everyone escape single-handed! You might not know how he did it, but I think the 'unbelievable power' you were talking about might have contributed to him surviving."
Adriel is careful not to let an expression of wry amusement cross his features. He wishes that he was as powerful as Bumblebee suggests. If it wasn't for Black Shadow's uncanny gesture of mercy, he wouldn't be sitting in this tiny cell with his arms restrained.
Meanwhile, Saeran shouts angrily. "Adriel is powerful, but he isn't that powerful. After forcing his body into a Master's Level state for such a long time, there is no way that he could have pulled off an escape like that!"
"I don't see why not. He's alive, isn't he?"
The water user's posture stiffens, as if fully prepared to give the Titan woman a verbal beating. Much to her fortune, the Titans East's other member speaks up. Aqualad's tone is anxious, probably due to Saeran's anger more than anything.
"I don't care how he survived the cave-in. I'm curious about how you apprehended him!"
This time his wry expression escapes. Truth be told, Adriel wants to know that too. One minute he was staring at the Atlantic Ocean while exchanging cutthroat remarks with Black Shadow. A minute later his vision became blurry and dizziness overtook him. Next thing he knows, he is waking up in the Titans East Tower under very unfriendly circumstances…
"Didn't you hear what I said about using Master's Level techniques? Capturing Adriel wasn't hard. He used his Master's Level powers for far longer than he was supposed to! Here is a lesson on Dabnodian biology; specifically, about the effects of Master's Level techniques:
"In the moment that a Dabnodian is using the technique, it gives them unbelievable strength. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg, what you witnessed was a meager fraction of Adriel's real abilities. He is the most powerful rock wielder you will ever see. If he wanted to, he could have killed Black Shadow in a mere instant without moving a single pebble. From where he is sitting in that room, Adriel can kill us! That kind of power doesn't come without side effects, though. Using those kinds of lethal techniques would bring Adriel's heart energy way over its limit. A Dabnodian's body can't handle an extended surge of heart energy. It causes a lot of strain, and when the second heart is pushed too far, a Dabnodian's body will shut down.
"In Adriel's case, his body shut down temporarily. That's why we found him passed out on the beach, and why he didn't react when Raven teleported us back to the Tower. His body was exhausted and trying to repair itself. In more extreme cases, a Dabnodian might die. After the way he pushed himself, that idiot should count himself lucky that death wasn't his fate."
Adriel listens to Saeran's lengthy dialogue intently. The entire time, he feels a twinge of discomfort. 'The most powerful rock wielder you will ever see'. It doesn't matter how many years have passed. Hearing that statement always makes him uncomfortable…
Aqualad scoffs bitterly in response, forcing the Ground Badger's attention back to the Titans. All traces of the Atlantian's anxiety are gone.
"He didn't have to fight you? He just passed out? That isn't fair! He lured you to Black Shadow's hideout and tossed two members of our team through a rift! I was hoping that you would at least be able to put some hurt on him!"
The Dabnodian man's tone is utterly brutal. "We have plenty of time for that. Remember, one of your teammates that went through the rift was my baby sister. It doesn't matter if he is my same species and a former friend. He will not get off easy."
Most people would experience fear upon hearing such threats. However, this doesn't make much of a difference for Adriel. He takes a deep breath, ready to accept whatever fate the Titans decide to bestow. The only thing that prevents the Ground Badger from humbly accepting torture are compassionate words from Beast Boy.
"Frostbite…dude… I know that this 'Adriel' guy is bad news, but maybe we shouldn't do anything too harsh. We can give the guy a sandwich and a bathroom break, and maybe he'll tell us where he sent Firelight and Speedy. If he tells us where he sent them, maybe we can get them back."
"Being merciful isn't going to get us anywhere!" Saeran exclaims. "If we want the whole truth, then the best method is force!"
Hearing this level of hatred from someone who was once his best friend should cause searing pain. It doesn't. If a day comes when Saeran does learn the whole truth, then Adriel is well aware that the water user's pain will be far greater. It is as their squadron leader, Knight Master Urrvink, told him long ago. Truth is the greatest pain that a man will ever suffer.
This is why, for the time being, Saeran will only learn the partial truth. Whether or not he learns the whole truth will be for Damiana to decide when she comes back. Because she will come back.
Hair and eyes turning a blinding shade of sapphire, Adriel speaks loudly. Each hero turns silent in disbelief, as if they were expecting him to listen to their discussion without defending himself.
"Using force isn't necessary. Neither is kissing up to me. Don't worry about Roy and Damiana. They're going to be fine. What is today? The sixth of April? They should be back in a few more days. I did send them through that rift, but not for the reasons you think. I sent them somewhere important!"
The Titans and Saeran remain mute for an endless moment. When someone finally speaks, astonishingly enough, that person is Starfire.
"You cruelly betrayed your friends and nearly killed us with the mine's destruction! What important place is on the other side of the rift that would warrant such sacrifice?"
The Ground Badger takes time to look each person in what he roughly assumes to be the face. Once his eyes reach Saeran's image, he rests his gaze on him longer than any of the others.
"You were trying to trace their locations by using their communicators, right? If it's possible, expand the range of your search by two galaxies and look into the past. You'll find their coordinates. Once you get the results, don't hesitate to consult me. I'll answer most of your questions. Any questions that I don't answer, ask Roy and Damiana."
Dabnod
After twenty minutes of running, Damiana questioned why they continued doing so. A forest with a water source might take a family of phoenixes a few short minutes to reach, but for two humanoids, that same journey could take hours! Maybe a day or two if those water phoenixes traveled a long distance from their nesting grounds. Going a couple of days without water, as well as eating nothing but flowers, would be difficult. This doesn't mean that it would be unmanageable, though. Some of the flowers in these regions collect large amounts of moister in their roots, so they would be able to survive. If the planet's explosion doesn't kill them, of course…
Luckily, just as Damiana was sharing her plan to survive several days in Dabnod's grassy hills, Roy interrupted. Damiana didn't hear it at the start, most likely due to her survivalist ramblings. The moment the archer pointed it out, however, the sound was impossible to miss.
"Damiana, shush for a second. Do you hear that?"
The sound was distant. Listening took every ounce of concentration that Damiana could muster until, eventually, she heard it.
Rushing water.
A grin swept over her features. "Sweet fates! I do hear it! We aren't as far away as I thought!"
"Do you think we can make it before dark?"
"Probably, but we'll have to hurry!"
The duo stood at the base of a hill that they had not yet started climbing. Throughout the course of the day they had ascended many gargantuan hills. Compared to the one towering before them, the others suddenly seemed miniscule. It was less like a hill and more like a ridge, continuing to the left and to the right for an eternity. As for the journey to the top, the hike looked nothing short of impossible. Her legs ached, and based on his strained walk, Roy's did as well. Yet, they bounded up the ridge like excited children.
About halfway up, their running slowed to meticulous climbing. The hike was every bit as steep as it looked, the lack of footholds and handholds making it even more difficult. Damiana lost her footing and slipped by several feet at one point. The same happened to Roy. Fortunately, upon reaching the crest of the magnificent ridge, the struggle of getting there is forgotten. This is where Damiana and Roy stand now, on the crest of the massive ridge backdropped by the golden and silver sky. The full moon is starting to rise, the adolescents mesmerized by an orb the color of lilac. Beneath the evening sky, exactly as they'd hoped, is a forest.
The distant roaring of rushing water suddenly sounds much nearer.
"Yes!" shouts Roy. "Non-floral nourishment, here we come!"
"It sounds like the river isn't too far into the forest. Once we get there, we can have a dinner of water and tree nuts before sleeping. Fruit, too, if we're lucky." Damiana elbows him in the side while giggling. "It's a shame that you won't get to sample my planet's edible flowers."
The archer elbows her playfully in return. "You didn't want to eat flowers for the next two days, either. Admit it."
Her response is a shrug. "Actually, it wouldn't have bothered me. Some flowers are delicious with the right seasoning." Smiling, she adds, "I'm just glad that we're actually getting somewhere. A few minutes ago, I thought we'd be wading through grass forever!"
It is here that Roy catches Damiana's gaze. Emerald eyes shine with hope. Considering how this day began, seeing Roy hopeful is a wonderful change.
"Starting first thing tomorrow, we can follow the river. I'm sure you're right about finding a town. We've made it this far, so I can't imagine slowing down now."
Damiana smirks hesitantly. "At least I hope I'm right. There's no guarantee that there are river towns in this area. It's just an assumption."
His smile oozes confidence. "Well, assumption or not, it's a start. If we keep walking, we're bound to run into other people eventually!" The archer hoists his quiver higher onto his back and takes an additional moment to adjust his bow. Afterward, he stares at her expectantly. "Are we going?"
The girl tightens the makeshift sling she crafted from her sweatshirt, ensuring that the damaged machine is secure after their unstable climb. A second later, she ambles down the ridge by several yards.
"Yes. Let's go!"
There is not a single muscle in Roy's body that isn't aching. Over twelve hours of hiking have left him covered in beads of sweat, blades of grass, and dusted by topsoil. True, the young man has experienced worse. He went on a mission to Russia with Black Canary, Aquaman, and Aqualad once. A lot happened during that mission. That was his first major assignment after recovering from his second, and final, heroin relapse. That was the very first mission he went on without Green Arrow. Russia was also where Aqualad become a friend instead of an acquaintance. Yet, most of those details are a blur. What Roy remembers most from that mission were the endless miles of icy tundra that had to be crossed. It became ten times worse once a blizzard appeared. Every crevice of Roy's body was coated in snow by the time they found shelter.
It is this memory that keeps Roy from complaining about his sore body. Even if everything hurts, at least Dabnod has a fair climate. Not to mention, the scenery is stunning! The region of Russia he traveled to was remote, so it was mostly snow. Star City, Steel City, Jump City, and Metropolis are nothing but city smog and skyscrapers. He has also been to numerous European countries, but was always so focused on missions that he never bothered with sight-seeing. Despite a lifetime of traveling, Roy hasn't gotten to experience much. It is for this reason that the Dabnodian landscape looks truly incredible. Especially from the top of that gargantuan hill.
The sky shined the brightest shade of silver that the archer had ever seen, as if embedded by diamonds. Fluffy, golden, clouds, floated lazily across the pale canvas, gleaming like pools of honey. Then there was the moon. Dabnod's moon is nothing at all like the Earth's moon. It was incredibly large. From the hilltop, it looked so big that Roy almost thought he could touch it. Every dip and crevice was visible beneath the lilac glow. Dabnod's moon appears less like a moon and more like a small planet. As they tramp through the forest, Roy can still see the lilac-tinted globe through a web of branches. Even partially obscured, the view is incredible!
While he is happy to be journeying toward life-sustaining resources, it is a bit saddening to leave the grassy hills behind. Something that Roy found astonishing is that no two flowers look exactly alike. There were many red and gold flowers with three petals, but the similarities ended there. Some red and gold flowers were red with golden polka dots. Others were striped. Others were gold with oddly-shaped red splotches. The same can be said for the other varieties of flowers. Roy saw multiple royal blue and yellow flowers with small, round, petals. Despite these corresponding features, none were the same. Some were entirely blue with small touches of yellow while others had an equal mixture of both colors. The flowers on Dabnod, like everything else, are perfectly unique.
Not to mention, Roy saw some very interesting creatures scurrying through the grass. Some were brilliant orange, some were red, and others were copper. They were small like hamsters, had floppy ears like rabbits, and tails like mice. When he knelt close to one, he also saw long, cat-like, whiskers and a pink nose. What did Damiana say those animals were called? "Qwerthzigs"? He will have to ask her later. Once they fix Black Shadow's machine, he will also have to ask to see one last sunset before leaving Dabnod. It's a shame that they had to rush away from the most recent one, but with the hurry that they are in, there isn't a whole lot of time for sunsets. Considering how this entire planet is a ticking time bomb, there isn't a whole lot of time for anything…
The sudden thought of Dabnod's inevitable destruction causes Roy's steps to falter. The archer stares through the branches at the gargantuan, lilac, moon and at the ever-darkening sky. A few seconds later, he gazes at the forest. Towering trees with bark whiter than snow and branches as thick as logs. Some trees have sparse amounts of leaves while others produces thick foliage similar to willow trees. There are also groves of violet bushes, many of them spotted by green berries. The bushes that do not produce berries have small, white, flowers. Roy can only assume that those flowers will eventually turn into berries. Amongst the bushes, he also notices buzzing insects that produce orange light. They zip from plant to plant, and whenever Roy gets too close, they vanish.
Damiana, who forages about a yard ahead, laughed at him a few minutes prior. While shoving their way through bushes, Roy stopped in attempt to capture one of the tiny, glowing, insects.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Touch one of those litkaen lights, and it'll give you a sting that you won't forget!"
He pulled his hand away from the bugs and leapt backwards.
"What are 'litkaen lights'? Are they bees?"
The girl's smirk was playful, yet her tone was serious. "No. They look like beetles, but if you make them angry, they sting like wasps!"
Although Damiana is still brushing past bushes, Roy has been carefully avoiding them.
As he stares at a grove of bushes right now, green berries, white blossoms, florescent orange litkaen lights and all, he has a hard time believing that it will soon be gone. For the entire day, the idea of Dabnod's destruction has horrified the archer. He has been in a constant state of panic at the thought of going up in flames with the planet. Suddenly, the archer doesn't feel scared at all. The only emotion he feels is sadness. The litkaen lights. Those scurrying qwerthzigs. That family of water phoenixes. Innocent creatures going about their lives as nature tells them. Not a single one of them realizes that there is a massive explosion coming.
Meanwhile, standing in the center of the bushes is Damiana. She must notice that her teammate isn't following, because she, too, stops in her tracks. Hair and eyes that were feces-brown with exhaustion are turning lime green with confusion. Litkaen lights swarm the girl. While this should concern Roy, he can't help thinking that the insects' light adds a very attractive sparkle to her porcelain skin.
"Roy, are you okay?"
Her concerned tone is all it takes to snatch him away from his distracted thoughts. Roy doesn't smile to put her at ease like he would normally do. Rather, he gives a nod.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I was just thinking..."
Damiana pouts puzzledly as her lime-colored features intensify. "What were you thinking?"
Roy smiles, but it isn't a false smile meant to alleviate her worry. It is a small, sorrowful, simper. He runs a hand over tousled, ginger, locks, not quite sure how to voice his inner musings. At long last, these are the words that the redhead settles for.
"Your home is amazing. Dabnod is unlike anything I have ever seen. That's what I'm thinking."
An instant is what it takes for her hair and eyes to shift colors once more. It is the oddest combination of colors that Roy has witnessed. The girl's hair is gleaming gold. As for her eyes, they are stormy gray. When she returns his simper with a wide smile, she appears happy as much as woeful.
"Thank you, Roy. Hearing you say that means a lot." Eyes turning a shade darker, she adds, "I used to live in the most beautiful place the universe had to offer."
Neither of them talks for the longest time. They link gazes, turbulent emerald connecting with gloomy gray. The silence being shared is far stronger than anything spoken.
When Roy finally replies, it is with a basic, "You're welcome."
Damiana's smile softens. She reaches out, grabs Roy by the arm, and pulls him forward. Gold hair transforms into rose red and gray eyes into soft pink.
"We should keep moving. It's completely dark, and the clouds might block out the moon soon."
For a single, frightening, moment, Roy is ready to object to going through the bushes. The last thing he wants is to get stung! When several litkaen lights collide with his bare arms in a completely painless fashion, however, the protests vanish from his mind entirely. He watches as the orange, winged, beetles flee in a multitude of directions after making contact. They immediately take to hiding in the trees as the two of them continue their trek.
He makes a baffled statement. "Touching those things didn't hurt at all. I thought you said they stung like wasps!"
Damiana's rose red hair brightens by several notches as she giggles. "Actually, I made that up. I wondered how long it would take you to figure out that they're completely harmless. It took longer than I expected." Soft giggles become open laughter. "Watching you sneak around every bush in this forest was pretty funny!"
Roy isn't irritated by the girl's trickery. Instead, he grins.
"Ha! You're right. That is pretty funny!" Smirking mischievously, he asks, "Do you know what else is funny?"
The girl doesn't get a chance to ask. Roy puts his pinkie finger in his mouth and thoroughly coats it in saliva. A second later he shoves that finger inside her ear, causing Damiana to release a yelp of discomfort. Her hair turns green for several seconds before shifting back to red. Roy chuckles as a result.
"That wasn't funny!"
This time Roy licks his other pinkie. He grabs Damiana around the middle before she can dodge, effectively inserting it into her opposite ear. Her current yelp is louder than the last one. The archer's chuckles turn into full blown laughter.
"Yes it is! It's even funnier a second time!"
She elbows him gently in the ribs. "You act like you're ten years old sometimes."
Eyes glint with humor. "Guilty as charged."
By now they have made it through the grove of bushes. Eventually he lets Damiana go, and they push their way through thick tangles of willowy leaves. How Roy didn't notice it before, he doesn't know. It might have been due to his distracted thoughts about Dabnod's intriguing beauty. Or perhaps it was because he was too busy falling victim to his unnecessary fear of glowing insects. Either way, the redhead is happy that he notices it now. The wonderful, echoing, sound of rushing water. A minute later Damiana shoves a final tangle of leaves aside. The foliage separates like a curtain, revealing a river. The river, Roy immediately decides, is the single best thing that he has ever seen.
The river looks to be shallow and is fairly narrow. More of a stream than a river in all reality. Nevertheless, he is elated at the sight of it. Even from this distance, the water looks crystal clear and thirst-quenching. There is no doubt that Damiana is experiencing similar thoughts, because she and Roy run toward the stream at exactly the same moment. Having nothing else to use, they cup their hands and drink their fill.
"Praise the Fates! We won't die from dehydration!"
"When we're finished, we should go back for some of those berries," Roy suggests between gulps. Granting the girl an unseen smirk, he adds, "I promise not to give you any wet willies this time."
Damiana's responds with a playful splash. "And I promise not to lie to you about the wildlife for entertainment." Once both of their heads are above water, she continues while gesturing to the stream's opposite shore. "Fortunately, we won't have to go back into the forest. Look over there!"
What the archer sees causes him to grin. Lining the other side of the stream are bushes. Not the violet bushes that he'd seen in the forest, but bushes with leaves the color of frost. Sprouting on the bushes are large pieces of fruit approximately the size of apples. The fruit is fat, oval-shaped, and has blue skin covered by odd bumps. He has no idea what he is supposed to be looking at, but whatever they are, they look more filling than tiny, green, berries.
"Before you ask, those are yakko nuts. They taste a lot better than those berries in the woods, and they're a lot easier on the digestive system. Yakko nuts are hard to peel, but I can show you how. They used to grow in the valley outside of my house, so I'm a pro at it."
Roy takes another gulp of water before making a teasing remark. "'Easier on the digestive system'? Is that why I didn't see you eating any berries?"
The girl's hair turns a blinding shade of fuchsia, as do her cheeks. "You're one to talk, Roy! Mas and Menos told me a story about a certain redhead whose stomach can't handle Guatemalan spices!"
Suddenly, the scarlet blush of Roy's cheeks outdoes the pink cast of Damiana's. "Alright, point taken." He removes his yellow boots and tosses them aside. "Let's get some of those yakko nuts so we can eat something before passing out from fatigue."
Damiana removes her own shoes. "Sounds like a plan. We could have a long journey in front of us before reaching civilization. We'll need all of our strength come tomorrow morning."
April 6: Later That Day
"You aren't actually considering what Adriel is saying, are you? Dami and Speedy aren't coming back unless we do something about it! And even if they were coming back, there is no way that Adriel could possibly know!"
Saeran stands rigidly in front of the East Tower's main console. Raven loiters to the Dabnodian man's left, the dark girl resting a soothing hand on his shoulder. Palpable concern flows from her deep, violet, gaze. Meanwhile, Robin stands to his right. He rapidly types information into the Titan computer. The Boy Wonder's frown is emotionless, making deciphering his thoughts difficult.
"We don't have much of a choice, do we? I understand that you are angry at your friend, but maybe he isn't lying. Speedy and your sister could be somewhere important," says Raven in a monotone voice that, for once, isn't so monotone.
"And even if he is lying, his claim is still something that we need to look into", adds Robin. "If we expand our search by two galaxies and don't find anything, then we'll have to find another way to trace their locations."
"What if we do find something?" the dark girl retorts.
It is here that Robin's countenance changes. An impassive frown transforms into an expression of contemplation.
"It isn't likely that we will, but if we do, then we'll have to question Adriel."
A brief period of silence passes. The only sound filling the air is Robin's typing. When somebody speaks, that person is Beast Boy. The rest of the group lingers at various areas in the common room. Bumblebee, Aqualad, and Cyborg stand near the main console behind the Boy Wonder. Beast Boy sits on the sofa. Mas y Menos are in the kitchen making tortillas. There is an entire plate, so more than likely the food is for everyone.
"Uh…Robin… Are you sure you'll be able to find Speedy and Firelight? They went back in time! The last I checked, it's hard tracing people who time travel…"
Cyborg is the one who answers. "Don't worry, BB. As long as they have their communicators, we should be able to find them. Once we find their coordinates, the Titan computer will get a lock on the time-period they're in." He adds hesitantly, "Remember when I went back in time to 3000 B.C. and met Sarasim? You found me the same way."
Beast Boy chuckles bashfully. "Oh, that's right! I forgot about that…"
Bumblebee crosses her arms. "Sarasim? Who's that?"
The metal man and the winged woman share what could be considered uncomfortable eye contact. Before he gets a chance to explain, Robin interrupts.
"Actually, Raven, I stand corrected. The Titan computer did get a lock on them! They're two galaxies away. It's strange, but Adriel didn't send them back very far. They only went five years into the past."
Cyborg, Bee, and Beast Boy immediately cease conversing. They shove past the Boy Wonder in order to get closer to the screen. Aqualad and the twins move closer as well. A duo of blinking blips ignites a massive map covered by stars, planets, solar systems, and galaxies. Exactly as he stated, their signals come from two galaxies away. On the outer rim of the second galaxy, at that. Without Adriel's tip, they never would have thought to expand their search this far. Next to each blinking blip is the date. The date is five years prior to the current year, the day and month also being different.
Saeran doesn't pay the slightest amount of attention to their exact location. In this moment, the man is overwhelmed by the feeling of relief. His baby sister is alive! When Aqualad makes a baffled remark, however, all joyful emotions vanish like dust in the wind.
"Frostbite, where did your crazy friend send Speedy and Firelight? There's nothing there! Our map isn't showing anything besides asteroids."
Features, which were previously glowing amber, shift to green. "What are you talking about? There has to be something there!"
Saeran furrows his brow. As he observes the map more closely, he discovers that Aqualad is absolutely right. There isn't anything there. When he shifts his gaze to intergalactic lines of latitude and longitude, the man is stunned. There isn't anything there now, but based on their coordinates, there used to be.
The Dabnodian man traces the lines with his eyes repeatedly, both hearts racing. Eventually he pushes the others out of the way to trace the latitudinal and longitudinal lines with his fingers. His hair is such a blinding shade of lime green that those gathered in the common room are forced to shield their eyes. It is only when Saeran's hair shifts to gray that they regain their eyesight. When the Titans finally gain the ability to observe him, put simply, Saeran's expression is horrific.
"I…I…don't…believe it. Sweet fates! W-what is the maniac thinking?!"
Aqualad speaks again, this time thrice as dumbfounded. "Frostbite, what's wrong?"
"Didn't you hear Aqua Dude the first time? There's nothing there!" adds Beast Boy.
Saeran turns to face all of them, his features sullen. "Don't you get it? There's nothing there now, but five years ago there was! Everything that used to be there was destroyed!" Before anyone can comment, he dashes from the common room. "I need to go see Adriel! Dami and Speedy will explode because of that idiot!"
Nobody follows. The group merely stares after him. When someone finally tears their gaze away from the Dabnodian man, that person is Raven. She moves closer to the screen, eyeballing the coordinates to see what caused him such distress. It doesn't take longer than five seconds for gray skin to turn paler than ash. The dark girl's purple eyes become wider than disks as reality sets in. Before long, she, too, is shooting in the direction of Adriel's cell.
"Raven? Where are you going?!"
Cyborg's bafflement speaks for everyone.
"Saeran's right. We need to talk to Adriel. This is an emergency!" Raven looks at her teammates one final time. Her features speak nothing but panic. "If we don't rescue Firelight and Speedy, they're going to be killed. Adriel sent them to his home planet."
Ten minutes could have passed, or it could have been ten hours. This is the odd thing about being trapped inside of a windowless cell without a clock. The passage of time is always an uncertainty. All Adriel knows for sure is that he has been imprisoned for less than a day.
The Ground Badger is starting to feel hungry. He also wishes that he could take a shower and use the bathroom. A prison cell without an attached bathroom seems inhumane by his standards. Soon enough, however, these become the least of his problems. The first thing Adriel hears is shouting. Shortly after, blurred shadows are seen through the tinted glass. They appear to be wrestling. Based on their dialogue, the Titans are working to pin someone down.
"Nar naxdath! Nax granixindath! Let go of me!"
"No. If we let you go, you're going to attack him. Based on how you attacked Speedy the first time you met him, and on how you left Adriel inside a collapsing mine to die, you don't always seem like the most level-headed person!"
"Don't lecture me, Robin! This isn't about you! This is a quarrel between former Knights!"
"Actually, this is about me! This is about all of us! Speedy went through that rift, too!"
"You're also forgetting that Firelight is a member of the Teen Titans! She's more than just your sister. She's our friend!"
Saeran's battle with the Titans could continue for eternity. It is for this reason that he speaks. As always, the Ground Badger acts unwaveringly calm.
"It's alright. You can let Saeran go. I deserve every ounce of pain that he is about to put me through." Adriel's eyes were red a moment prior, and his hair was florescent orange. With this next statement, they shift to their earlier shade of sapphire. "I can tell that it makes you angry, but sending them to Dabnod was necessary. Trust me."
Despite Adriel's request, the Titans do not release Saeran. Based on the movements of their shadows, they are struggling to contain the water user now more than ever.
"Trust you?! You just sent two people to their deaths! Dabnod is going to explode into asteroids and intergalactic dust with them on it!"
After hours of sitting on the cold, metal, floor, the Ground Badger stands. Although he can't see any of them clearly, he walks over to the glass in attempt to make eye contact. He has never felt more nervous making the confession that he is about to make. Pleading is heard in his tone. Not the pleading of a maniac, but to the Titans, it sounds like the pleading of a truly desperate man.
"If you would listen to me for two minutes, you would realize how wrong you are!" Adriel takes a deep breath, choosing his next words with care. "Damiana and Roy might cut it a bit close, but they're going to make it off of Dabnod just fine. I sent them to our home planet a short while before it gets destroyed. That was a dangerous thing to do, but I had to do it! Damiana and Roy are the only reason I'm alive!"
Saeran scoffs. "They're the only reason you're alive? You expect me to believe that? Those sound like the lyrics of a poorly written love song!"
This time the Ground Badger doesn't process his words. He shouts urgently.
"Saeran, please listen me! All of you, listen to me! I didn't die when Dabnod got destroyed, and it's because of Damiana and Roy. Dozens, possibly hundreds, of others are also alive somewhere because of them." All of a sudden, a strong wave of emotion washes over Adriel. Before he knows it, tears are running down his cheeks. "They knew that doomsday was coming, and they told everyone they met to evacuate. When they told me to evacuate, I heeded their warning."
A/N: That's it for now, everyone. Admittedly, this was one of my shorter chapters, but I hope that you enjoyed it nonetheless. Even if it was short, I loved writing this chapter! Creating Dabnod's landscape is a lot of fun, and I'm tempted to leave Damiana and Speedy in the wilderness for a while longer because of it. Just so you know, the plot with our favorite pair going to Dabnod is not pointless. It is going somewhere, and it's going somewhere big! By the end of Unraveled, I'm going to knock all of your socks off! (Or at least I will try my best. That's all authors can really do is their best).
Also, that snippet of dialogue where Cyborg mentioned going back in time to 3000 BC is real. The Teen Titans have time-traveled before. Cyborg went back in time, met a beautiful woman, and helped her village ward off ancient monsters. That episode is Season 4, episode 4, and is titled "Cyborg the Barbarian". I didn't mention it in this chapter, but Starfire has time-traveled before, too. She went into the future, met Nightwing, and met a bald, middle-aged, Beast Boy. Starfire's time-travel episode is Season 2, episode 1, and is titled "How Long is Forever".
So, yes. I didn't pull the time-traveling idea out of thin air. It has happened in the Titan universe before, so it isn't too crazy :)
Anyway, thank you all for reading! Review if you want to, but if you don't want to, that's alright too. Until next time!
Forever and Always,
~OCQ