"Danny?"
"Tch. And here I thought you were smart." Danny scoffed. "What the hell are you doing here, anyway? This isn't your fucking head." Both Titans were taken aback by the half ghost that had practically growled at them. He seemed so much more aggressive than the Danny they remembered. Not to mention his vulgar choice of words were unusual for him.
"Danny, what's-" But Robin cut himself off. Danny had leveled him with a glare, revealing red eyes. Robin felt his breath hitch. It was too late. Almost immediately, he shot over to Danny, staff raised to attack. As Robin brought the weapon down, Danny jumped away.
"What the fuck!?" The halfa yelled, fists now glowing brightly. Only now, like his eyes, they shone deep red. Robin leapt after the other boy, blocking out the surrounding world. All he saw was Danny. Danny, who he'd fought so many agents for. Danny, who had been taken under his watch. Danny, who was moving farther away? Robin looked down, seeing that he was encompassed by a familiar black magic.
"Robin!" Raven shouted, irritation obvious in her voice. Said boy wonder turned back to the sorceress, about to demand freedom, but she spoke before he could. "Honestly, you boys are all the same. Did you even bother to look at him?" She practically growled. Robin felt a wave of fear course through his body. "Robin, think. What was the first thing Danny did in the Ghost Zone?" Realization dawned on Robin quickly.
"I'll say again; what the fuck?" Danny exclaimed. "Why the hell did Robin attack me?!" Robin, after being released by Raven, turned to the other boy, now noticing how his eyes were a deeper maroon shade, as opposed to the fiery eyes that was Alpan's control. And, upon seeing this, Robin finally figured it out.
"Raven! Didn't Cyborg and Beast Boy say that different aspects of your personality materialized when they were in your mind?" Robin knew he was right when Raven nodded her head.
"Hello? I'm right here, y'know." Danny grumbled, causing both Titans to look at him. "Tch. The big boss is out of commission, so we can run wild. I'll give you three guesses as to who I am." He answered, sarcasm heavy in his voice.
"Anger." Raven answered. Danny snorted in response.
"At least one of you has a brain."
"Where do we need to go?" Robin asked, purposely ignoring the insult. "To find the real Danny, I mean."
"And why would I tell you that?" The halfa raised an eyebrow. Robin was taken aback by the response. Why wouldn't he want them to save Danny? Wasn't he a part of Danny? "Like I said; I'm free. Why the hell would I want that whiny bastard back?"
"You shouldn't talk about him like that." Came a quiet, somber voice from behind them. Both Titans, once again, whipped around to meet the possible foe. Instead, they were met with a very meek looking Danny, cloudy gray eyes cast downward. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt..."
"It's fine." Robin said automatically.
"Shut up," Anger, as Robin decided to refer to him as, snapped, "just because the boss lets you out more often than the rest of us-"
"What are you talking about?" Raven cut him off. "I thought you said he's kept you locked away?"
"Not quite. He kept most of us locked up. Bastard practically threw away the key." He seemed to be seething at this point; something neither of the two had witnessed in the real Danny. "But the boss kept this weak little fucker around! Along with so much damn angst!" The angry Danny bellowed, eyes glowing lowly. With every word, Robin noticed the other Danny flinched, almost as if he was being hit.
"Guilt." Raven said suddenly. Robin stared at her confusedly. What did she mean by 'guilt?' "He is guilt. That's why he," she gestured at the still ranting Danny, "seems to hate him so much. They are similar, but still very different." Robin nodded, understanding exactly what she meant. He'd experienced the emotions more than enough himself.
"Well, I'm leaving." Anger huffed. "Have fun with him." He spat before disappearing into a red hole in the ground.
"Can you show us the way to the real Danny?" Robin sighed, hoping for the best with this meeker version of his friend.
"Yes, but you might not make it there..." He all but whispered. Danny began to walk down one of the hallways, barely looking backwards to see if the Titans were following. An ominous feeling settled over Robin at the other boy's words, but he ignored it. Saving Danny came first. As the three walked down various hallways, Robin watched Danny fidget. It seemed as if the morose version of the halfa was working himself up to something. And, low and behold, he spoke a few minutes later.
"I'm sorry..." He muttered, much to the confusion of the pair. "You saved us, but he... we didn't trust you..." Danny looked down shamefully, clearly feeling guilty.
"It's okay, Danny." Robin tried to comfort him, but it didn't seem to work. Though, Robin should have expected as much. The three continued to walk, an awkward silence settling over them. No one bothered to break it.
"We're here." Danny disappeared as he said that, phasing through a gray wall.
"Well bye." Robin muttered, almost offended by his sudden disappearance.
"What are you doing here?" Snapped someone from behind. Having been used to this by now, both Raven and Robin slowly turned to yet another aspect of Danny. He leaned against a wall, an automated door beside him. When Danny opened his eyes, both Titans nearly gasped aloud. They had been expected a different color in his eyes, as that seemed to be the differentiating factor, but they hadn't expected this. Rather than the bright green eyes they had been used to, or even the murky gray eyes of the last aspect, they were instead black abysses. It seemed as if they absorbed all light, taking it and drowning it in never-ending black.
"Which one are you?" Raven asked calmly, recovering far more quickly than Robin.
"It isn't my job to tell you." He growled out hatefully. "Now why are you here."
"I'm sure you know." Robin answered, having finally recovered. Danny scoffed, standing up from where he leaned against the wall.
"Why?" He asked, glaring at nothing in particular.
"We have to release Alpan's hold-"
"No," Danny interrupted Robin, "why? Why can't he just hate you?" He practically yelled. "Why can't he hate anyone but himself? Why does he refuse to allow me to leave that secluded place in the back of his mind, with that future bastard?"
"Hatred cannot rule." Raven spoke. "Not for any of us." She thought back to when her own hatred had been freed, running loose in her mind. How, without Cyborg and Beast Boy, she likely would have been consumed. She wouldn't condemn Danny to that fate. Not if she could help it.
"Just do us all a favor, and piss him off sometimes." He scoffed, brushing past the two. "You won't like what's in that room."
Neither one of the Titans bothered to hesitate at his words, rushing to the door that had been previously blocked. When it opened, they were met with a rather gruesome sight. The room appeared to be a lab of some kind, with various blood covered tools littering the surfaces. On a metal table in the center of the room, was Danny. The real Danny. Red vines wrapped around his body, skin seeming to have been moved to make room for the brightly glowing vines to be inserted into his flesh. His eyes were half mast, the entirety of the eye glowing the same shade as his bindings. Cracks spread across his face, originating from the edges of his eyes, red glowing from beneath his pale skin. Robin felt bile rise in the back of his throat.
"Danny!" He cried, rushing over to his friend. He immediately began to tear at the vines. "Come on, can you hear me?" Robin knew he sounded desperate, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He continued to rip through the vines, not thinking of any consequences. At least, until he felt himself being ripped away from his friend. He looked at Raven, assuming it had been her who did it, but instead he saw her in a similar state, a red glow encompassing her. It was then that Robin understood. Alpan knew they were there. "Danny!" He shouted, hoping to reach him. Robin felt himself being torn from Danny's mind, despite his struggling.
If they had managed to stay for even a moment longer, they would have seen Danny open his eyes, some familiar green returning to them.
A/n: Two updates in three days??? Who am I, and what have I done with the real author???
Hope you liked the chapter! Be sure to comment what you think, and anything that may confuse you; I'll do my best to explain!