Burning Ice & Freezing Fire

Panic?!

"...I'm sorry, Robbie. I completely forgot your tea!" Sportacus shakes his head, confused about himself, when he leaves the bathroom to return to his friend again "I'll catch up on it, immediately! Just... Robbie?!" he nearly drops the bowl in shock when he finds the bed empty "Robbie!"

The next second, he sees the villain standing in front of one of the smaller windows, his eyes fixed either on the heavy rain outside or on nothing at all. He has crossed his arms in front of his bare chest and is shivering.

"Robbie?..." puzzled and a little worried because of the lack of reaction, Sportacus quickly puts the bowl on the bedside table and then carefully approaches the shaking, obvious absent villain "...Robbie, why aren't you in bed? You shouldn't walk around in this condition... You're still weakened...and sick..."

Still no reaction.

"...Robbie?..." hesitatingly, he rests his hand on the other's once again slightly tensed back "...Hey..."

Unlike what he has been expecting, Robbie doesn't wince this time.

He just shrugs his hand off and turns away, his eyes fixed on the ground now and his voice low but clear "...I should go now..."

"What?!" the hero stares at him in utter shock and confusion, then he wildly shakes his head "What is this now?! We agreed that you stay here! You're far too sick to take care of yourself at the moment! How do you suddenly get that idea anyway?!?"

"This is none of your business," replies the villain coolly, straightens up and heads for the closed door to exit the airship "Thank you for your help, Sportaflop."

"...Robbie..." Sportacus rarely feels overwhelmed or unable to cope with a situation, but right now he feels like crying out in frustration and desperation. The villain was completely relaxed and at peace. Then he leaves him alone for not even three minutes and he starts to act...like this?! He doesn't understand...

But when Robbie manually wants to open the door by pushing the button next to it, the hero reflexively calls "Lock!"

Robbie holds in his move, obviously aware that pushing the button would've got no point now "...You can't keep me here against my will, Sportacus..." His voice is still low, but this time there's something in it that the hero has never heard before. It's...a strange, grave seriousness...almost...close to...a warning... A threat even?!...

Sportacus isn't sure.

But he doesn't really care right now, either.

"Robbie!" with a fluid motion, he easily flips over the other man and lands right in front of him, facing him with open confusion and fear "Robbie, what is wrong??" The next moment he nearly winces when Robbie meets his eyes for the first time now. They're...cold. And just like it has been with his voice, the hero has never seen his eyes look like this before...

"What is wrong?! You're keeping me prisoner! That is wrong!" Robbie's voice still sounds this strange. And Sportacus feels his heart breaking again. He can't help but sound hurt "No! That's... I just want you to stay because you're sick and I care about you! How... Why would you..."

"You shouldn't!" Robbie clenches his hands into fists and turns away "You should not care!"

"Robbie, we've been there before!" the hero takes a deep breath, mentally preparing for another one of Robbie's heavy self-doubts "I do! And you deserve care and love! What..."

"I don't!" the villain turns back again, his eyes not cold anymore but filled with tears and his voice breaks "I simply don't deserve it, Sportacus! Why can't you just accept that??? Why do I have to yell at you so you finally leave me be??? Why..." he stumbles but catches himself, then he presses his hands on his temples and sobs lowly "...Why do I have to be...mean to you...to make you listen..."

The hero is completely overwhelmed. He truly doesn't know what has gotten into the other, but he knows that he has to calm him somehow...

"...Robbie... I always listen to what you say..." very carefully, he rests a hand on the villain's shoulder, but he whines and pushes it off at once, so he keeps trying it verbally "...But no matter that I do, I can't let you leave now! You're...not yourself... What happened when I was in the bathroom? You're all shaken up out of a sudden... Robbie? Please! Talk to me! Otherwise I can't help you!..." begs the hero desperately and takes a very small, careful step towards the other "...Robbie..."

"...You don't want to help me..."

"That's not true! Of course I want to! I'm trying to right now!" Sportacus takes another step closer and his voice softens "...Robbie, did you have another hallucination? Or a nightmare? Or..." His question appears to be unheard.
"...You wouldn't want to help me, if you knew..." Robbie breaks up and he wraps his arms around himself and slowly shakes his head.

"If I knew what? Robbie. Please..."

He gets cut off by a bright flash and enormous thunder, followed by a low cry, and Robbie slumping on the ground in fetal position, hugging his knees close to his chest.

"Robbie!" Sportacus kneels down next to him at once, and this time he ignores the low cry at his touch and pulls the villain's upper body onto his lap, holding him close to his chest with both arms wrapped around him, taking his hands in a tight grip in his own. Robbie starts to struggle at once. He kicks into the air and writhes and swears and cries for long minutes while the hero nuzzles his face into the tousled, black hair, murmuring soothing words, partly in English, partly in Icelandic, and waits him out...

His breathing has slowed down a bit, just like the beating of his heart. But instead he's shivering violently now and his eyes are still fixed on an imaginary spot at the wall. Sportacus is still caressing his hair in gentle strokes, a successful way to calm him that he has started shortly after the villain had stooped struggling against his embrace. His shaking hands are now gripping on to the hero's shirt, so tight that his knuckles turn white.

"...Shush... It's all right, Robbie..." repeats Sportacus once more lowly. But this time he gets a response "...No... It's not..." Robbie's voice sounds as if he's suffering from grave pain and he swallows noticeably hard.

"Of course it is. Don't be scared. You'll become all healthy again, I promise!..."

"...No, you don't understand..." whimpers the villain lowly and turns his head to look up, into the other's eyes "...I... I...remembered...more about that evening...before my family left me behind..."

Sportacus feels a shiver running down his spine. That's what he feared, the moment, Robbie broke down in an obvious panic attack. That's what he has read about in his book. That's what he hoped would not happen to Robbie...

"...Robbie... You're under shock. You're still running a high fever and you're stressed. Don't..."

"I'm not mistaken, Sportacus. That was a real memory. And..." his breathing hitches and he starts to sob again "And you're going to hate me!!"

"Robbie, no. I could never hate you!" contradicts the hero gently but firmly and he soothingly runs his hand over his bare back. But Robbie's crying intensifies again and he starts tugging at Sportacus' pajama top to release some of his desperate anger "You will hate me! Everybody hates me! Anybody I ever met hated me! I-I can't be loved! I... I shouldn't even exist!!!"

"Robbie!" exclaims the hero truly shocked and stills his hands "Don't say things like that!"

"But it's true!" Robbie suddenly pushes himself up, keeps his upper body supported by his arms and strains to look the other into the eyes again "...I'm a monster, Sportacus..."

"Robbie, don't..."

"You'll realize that I'm right..."

"No, I won't, because no, you are not!" Sportacus feels angry. Not at Robbie, but at his parents for not showing him the kind of love he deserved and needed as a kid. No wonder he believes these horrible things about himself, now that he's feverish and completely overexerted and confused by slowly recovering his real memory again...

"...Robbie, listen. Whatever your parents told you..."

"I'm a felf, Sportacus!"