The Last Resort (A Sonic / Teen Titans Crossover)

XXVIII. Robin

The morning looked like it would turn out normally. There weren't any alarms that woke us up or anyone in the tower, so everything was okay. It was raining and the clouds outside were thick and gray, but the drops of water barely made any noise.

Starfire wasn't anywhere in sight, so I assumed she went upstairs to sleep in an actual bed. I stood up with the intention of getting something to eat when I remembered what Sonic had said to me and Starfire the night before: the jewels and his energy and how they could work together or something. After looking around the room, I strode up the stairs, looking around constantly to make sure no one was following me.

I went to the medical bay, where the jewel we had was being contained. I cracked the door open, checking to make sure no one was already inside. Tails had probably gone to bed, and it was early, so Cyborg and Raven weren't up to examine it.

Carefully, acting as if something would happen if I dropped it, I took the container off and picked up the jewel. It glowed a purple that reminded me of Raven, but it was different. Raven couldn't exactly control people like this jewel had taken over Sonic. Maybe Raven just had her 'evil' powers under control so that they weren't exactly evil anymore.

If I hadn't known better, I would have said it was a very expensive looking gem. It was bigger than any diamond I had ever seen, and it was cut perfectly. If it was a copy of the Chaos Emeralds, could it still be 'perfect'? Sure, it had a different power, but maybe there was a way for it to be destroyed.

"I would be careful with that, if I were you." Tails opened the door and spoke, making me jump. How did he know I was in here. He blinked when he saw me. "Oh, I was actually expecting Sonic. You're Robin, right?"

"You were expecting Sonic to come and try and get the jewel that tried to kill him and take over him?" I asked.

Tails nodded. "I don't know all of the properties of it yet, but if it has some mind controlling power in it, I would have expected it to draw Sonic here."

"Oh," I said, placing the jewel back in its careful container. "I just wanted to see what it was like."

Tails shrugged. "That's fine. I just hope Sonic doesn't find himself in here - in control or not. We tried to seal off any power that tried to get out, but it was impossible to completely seal it."

"You and Sonic seem like good friends," I noted.

Tails nodded, but he wasn't smiling. "We are. We've known each other... Forever. We've had each others' backs so many times it's impossible to count. I can't imagine fighting him or watching him go crazy."

I stared at the ground, thinking of Slade. Maybe at one point in his life Slade wasn't such a bad guy. And to have a kid... The influence on her from her father would override any other influence we tried to give her.

"It'll be okay, though," Tails said, his eyes shining. They seemed to be wet, but they also seemed to have some emotion in them. "If Sonic's ever taught me anything, it's that everything always turns out okay."

But it doesn't always. I immediately thought of Terra and Beast Boy - how heartbroken he seemed to be after she died. Or appeared to die. If something like that ever happened to Starfire, I couldn't imagine what I would do. Maybe I would become even more distant from people than I already was. I couldn't tell this guy that things didn't always turn out fine, though. That would be a crime.

"Well, I should get to work," Tails said, sitting in a chair that was in front of the gem. Without another word, I left, going back downstairs.

I wasn't expecting people to be up, but Starfire and Sonic were there, Sonic on the couch with something on his head, and Starfire in the kitchen. Sonic lifted his hand up, as if to say hi, then let it drop onto the couch. Starfire was focusing on something in a bowl, mixing it vigorously.