A/N: So I've decided that I'm never going to promise updates within a certain amount of time ever again. Because as soon as I posted the last chapter, POOF, my muse vanished. XD Plus things in life happen that I can't control. So just be happy in knowing that I WILL NOT stop writing this story, even if I'm a horrible, horrible updater. =P

Chapter 11: A Prank or Two

After a long walk down the train, Robin and Owen eased Starfire onto her bed. Her leg was looking a lot better thanks to Raven, but she still needed some rest before it could heal completely. The rest of the titans stood around the room, waiting for Robin to decide what their next move should be.

"Alright team," Robin began, turning to address his friends. "We need to get this train moving. If Mormo wasn't the one who stopped it, we might have another monster on our hands. Owen, you stay here with Starfire. If anything happens, call us immediately."

Robin pressed an official titan communicator into the satyr's hand. Owen nodded, clutching the device.

The rest of the titans filed out of the room, making their way quickly down the hall. The few cars they went through were abandoned, with no sign of the passengers they had seen earlier. The train creaked slightly as they walked and the lights flickered on and off. The friends tip-toed quietly from car to car, the eerie quiet giving Beast Boy chills. The final sliding door led to an open cart full of chunks of coal. Moonlight peaked from behind the clouds as the friends climbed across the pile. At last the group came to the front of the locomotive. Instead of a sliding door, a large metal plate covered the opening. Beast Boy grasped the handle in his gloved hand and gave it a large tug. The door didn't budge.

"Great, it's locked. Now what are we gonna…" the changeling was cut off as the door's hinges wrapped in familiar black energy. The screws twisted out of the brackets before falling quietly to the floor. With nothing to hold it up, the door fell forward into the room beyond with a thunderous crash. Raven stepped back, her glowing hands returning to normal.

"Oh," Beast Boy squeaked, peaking into the gaping doorway. "So who wants to go into the dark, creepy, possibly monster filled room first?"

Cyborg took the lead, his shoulder light casting beams into the engine room. Beast Boy gulped before following his robot friend into the unknown. The room was small with dark, dirty windows surrounding three sides. Various knobs and levers filled the room, making the space somewhat cramped. The green titan reached for an interesting pulley that fell from the low ceiling, but a sharp glare from Raven sent his arm quickly back to his side. Aside from Cyborg's pop-out flashlight and slivers of moonlight from the crusty windows, the only source of light in the room came from a small oven-like opening that was supposedly the train's engine. Red and orange shown faintly from the hole, where hot coals shimmered with heat. Other than that, the room was empty.

The bareness of the room seemed anti-climatic. Beast Boy glanced around the room with a chuckle. "So, does anyone know how to conduct a train?"

Robin ignored him, stepping around the green teen. His brow furrowed in confusion as he moved to stand beside the engine. The Boy Wonder's features looked stark in the light of the dismal fire.

"I don't get it. Someone should be here. A train conductor, a monster…" the leader's voice faded out and the room lapsed into a momentary silence.

"I dunno man," Cyborg spoke up. The half-robot was fumbling with some controls, using a cable from his arm to investigate the unfamiliar technology. "This is a magic train after all. Maybe it just runs itself."

Raven shook her head. "Then why would there be a room like this in the first place?"

Beast Boy opened his mouth to make another joke when Cyborg's shoulder light suddenly flickered off and the room was plunged into darkness. The screeching sound of a scared animal filled the space and the engine's dim fire did nothing to reveal the source of various shouts and shuffling noises. After a few moments of blackness, Cyborg's light returned, although dimmer than before. Raven's cloak was trapped against a wall by the end of Robin's bo-staff while Cyborg had the Boy Wonder by the shirt a few feet off the ground. The half-robot's other arm was pinned to his side with dark energy. Meanwhile, Beast Boy, in the form of a small green monkey, was wrapped around Cyborg's head, shrieking like a banshee.

The friends released each other immediately, except for the changeling, who clung to his friend's cranium like his life depended on it. Cyborg yanked at the green primate, finally managing to release his hold on the half-robot's head. He dropped Beast Boy on the ground, where the shape shifter landed with a thud before returning to human form. The friends exchanged worried looks before they all started talking at once.

"Did you see…?"

"I thought I heard…"

"In the shadows…"

"Dude, something on my foot…"

Robin pulled two bird-a-rangs from his belt, turning to face the shadows that surrounded the room. "Be on your guard. We're not alone."

Cyborg's light no longer reached into the corners of the room, and the friends could barely see farther than a few feet in front of them. A disconcerting silence filled the space. Beast Boy swallowed hard, morphing into a hound dog to sniff the air.

A rustle from nearby shattered the stillness. Robin's bird-a-rang flew from his grasp, slicing easily through a pipe to lodge itself in the wall beyond. A few wisps of steam seeped from the broken pipe, but there was no movement in that area. Only seconds later, another swish sounded from the other side of the room. Robin reached for another weapon, only to find that his bird-a-rangs were gone. A quick check proved that his bo-staff was also missing.

"What the..?"

A sinister chuckle echoed around the room and the titans whipped around, frantically searching for its source.

"B, if you're playing a joke on us, I swear I'll kick your green butt all the way to next week," Cyborg glared at his best friend threateningly.

Beast Boy held up his gloved hands in denial just as a figure dashed in front of the glowing engine. The changeling let out a screech. Cyborg whirled, his sonic cannon ready. Just as the half-robot was preparing to fire, his cannon made a sizzling sound and powered down, turning back into a hand.

"I don't understand, all my systems are fine…"

There was another loud cackle just to Beast Boy's left. The changeling morphed into a lion, the massive cat filling the confined space. The green feline bit into the shadows but nothing was there.

Raven hands began to glow as she started her mantra.

"Azarath metrion zin…" the hood of the Raven's cloak flipped up over her head, cutting off her words and yanking her backwards. The empath fell against a wall, barely able to stop herself from crashing to the ground.

Robin glared into the darkness, obviously annoyed by the enemy he couldn't see. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Whatever lurked in the car laughed again. The sound seemed to come from everywhere at once. Robin reached for a bird-a-rang again, only to remember he was weaponless.

"Looking for this?" a menacing voice called from nearby just as one of the Boy Wonder's weapons came flying out of the gloom. Robin barely had time to step out of the way. The bird-a-rang left a long cut on the leader's cheek before soaring through the open doorway.

Beast Boy, back in human form, looked around nervously.

"Maybe we should…" whatever the changeling was about to say was cut off by a scream as the green titan was grabbed from behind. Cyborg reached towards his friend, but the half-robot was too slow. Beast Boy was dragged back between two machines and into the darkness.

Raven made a move to follow, but Robin held up a hand. "Wait."

The friends paused, listening intently. Suddenly a familiar scream filled the air above them. They all stepped back as Beast Boy fell from above, smashing to the ground. The changeling sat up with wide, frightened eyes, but seemed otherwise uninjured.

"Enough of this," Raven said, her monotone voice full of malice. The empath's eyes began to glow, her hands extended towards the shadows. Everything in the room was quickly consumed by dark energy, from the machines and levers, to whatever monster was lurking in the gloom . A frightened screech came the farthest corner of the room as Raven used her powers to drag the creature from its hiding place. Suddenly, the monster came into view, and the empath made it hover upside down in front of the friends, a sliver of dark magic wrapped around its ankles. The titans stared at the being in shock.

The creature was tiny. He was so short in fact, that if he had been standing on the ground, he would have only come up to Beast Boy's knees. He had a knobby bald head, with giant pointed ears and a long crooked nose. His eyes were a bright yellow and they glimmered mischievously in the light of the dim fire. The monster wore a small blue suit with a matching tie that contrasted strangely with his grey skin. Every inch of the monster looked covered in dirt, from the top of his head down to his large, bare, hairy feet.

The creature gave the titans a tight smile, his teeth oddly white and clean compared to the rest of him.

"Hello, friends! Come here often?" The impish monster struggled feebly against Raven's magic. His voice was squeaky, and a lot less frightening then the deep voice the friends had heard earlier.

Beast Boy peaked from behind Cyborg. "Um dudes, what is that?"

The creature narrowed his eyes, obviously offended. "I'm a Kobalo of course! But I suppose you can call me Sid."

"A monster named Sid?" Beast Boy asked in disbelief.

"Why are you here?" Robin questioned, steering the conversation back on course. "And what exactly is a Kobalo?"

"I'm not telling you anything until your mean witch friend puts me down!" Sid whined, glaring over at Raven and crossing his small arms over his chest.

Robin watched the Kobalo suspiciously for a moment before nodding in the empath's direction. "Alright, but no funny business."

Raven's magic disappeared from the monster's ankles, and Sid fell to the floor. The Kobalo rose slowly to his feet, mumbling under his breath about stupid half-bloods.

"Ok, I'll ask you again. Who and what are you?"

"What kind of demigods are you? Never heard of a Kobalo! I mean really!" The small creature half-muttered to himself, casually picking lint off of his dirt covered suit.

Beast Boy morphed into a wolf and took a menacing step in the Kobalo's direction. Sid held up his tiny hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright, I'll talk! Geez! Kobalos are basically the tricksters of the monster world and companions of Dionysus. We've been compared to gnomes, dwarves, elves, blah blah blah! Are we done with the interrogation now? I've got places to be, people to prank!"

Robin's eyes narrowed. "No, we're not done. Who sent you to stop the train and why are they trying to mess up our quest?"

Sid grinned innocently. "Do you want to know who sent me to stop the train or who told the person who sent me to stop the train to send me to stop the train?"

Beast Boy rubbed his forehead. "Am I the only one who has no idea what he just said?"

Robin grabbed the front of the Kobalo's suit. "Stop trying to confuse us!"

Sid glared and yanked at the leader's hand. "Look, I don't know why my boss wants to kill you! My job was to stop the train. That's it. Mormo was suppose to take care of you punks. Guess that didn't work out as planned."

"And who's your boss?" Raven asked.

The monster sneered. "Yeah, like I'm gonna tell you that."

Cyborg sighed. "I don't see how we're gonna get the info we need out of him anytime soon. And we need to get this train moving or every monster in the area is going to find us."

Robin nodded before looking back at Sid. "Do you know how to conduct a train?"

The Kobalo stared at him warily. "Maybe."

"Then you're getting us out of here."

"I most certainly am not! I may be a monster but I'd never turn my back on my…" Sid's eyes widened as he pointed a hairy finger towards the doorway.

"Mormo's back!" The Kobalo screeched. The titans whipped around, preparing themselves for another attack. But the back of the car was empty. The friends turned back around to find Sid breaking off a large, important looking lever that was sticking out of the floor. The monster grinned wickedly as he waved the useless piece of wood in the air.

"Oops."

"Get him!" Robin practically snarled, lunging towards the Kobalo. Just before the Boy Wonder reached him, the monster jumped nimbly out of the way.

"Sorry I can't stay longer friends!" Sid cackled as he broke a pipe with the destroyed lever. Cyborg reached for the creature, but the monster easily avoided him.

"But I really must be going!" the Kobalo spoke in an almost sincere apologetic tone as he broke a few more levers and knobs. The titans struggled to catch him in the small space as he pranced spryly around the room.

"Ta ta for now!" Sid called as Beast Boy, in the form of a tiger, pounced at the creature in a final attempt to stop him. But it was to no avail. When the monster was inches from the changeling's claws, his ear twitched slightly and then he was gone. Vanished into thin air.

Beast Boy got slowly to his feet, as the friends looked around at each other in confusion. After a few moments of silence, the changeling spoke up.

"Uh… so did we win?"

A/N: I'm not completely happy with this chapter, but I think it turned out alright for the most part. Maybe it's just cause I was thinking the train would be over and done with in two chapters and it's turning into four, possibly five. XD Annnyyyway…

A new poll is up, so definitely go check that out… and uh… review. Yeah. :D I like hearing from ya'll.

~Sky