Categories > Cartoons > Teen Titans > Die To Save You
If you liked it or have any suggestions about my writing or the plot etc. drop a review or leave a pm. There's a few ways the plot could go right now and i haven't completely decided yet...so any input is helpful!! I often wonder who actually reads these author notes, I know I can sometimes skip over them if they’re too long
Regardless, enjoy! (or don't, i can't stop you)
*
Raven landed on the shore of the main bay as the sun rose across the bay; its light tainted by the columns of smoke rising from village below. The fires that caused this were so many, that when approaching the island Raven had mistaken it for the sun rising. Suki met them on the beach with little words passed at first.
When they came to a fork in the path Suki halted, turned, and faced Holly dreading the news she carried.
"Holly, in the fight many villagers fought alongside us. And while we tried to minimize the losses, several of them gave their lives for their families and the rest of us."
"Please get to your point." Raven whispered to her. She had seen the amount of torture that Holly had put herself through, running through the worst case scenarios without rest, did not want to see it drawn out any longer.
"Rena's father took a spear trying to get some of the women and children to safety. We already buried him." Holly broke down inside, but gave little indication of it. The only way Raven could tell was by the surge of emotions she felt, so strong that, even if she wanted to, she did not think she could block or suppress it.
"Where?" She choked out.
"In the graveyard for the former Warriors, next to Hiroko's plot and yours. We thought it was fitting." She said, referring to the grave yard that was designated only to those who had dedicated their lives to Kyoshi Island. Rena's father was a good man, and all of the Warriors held him in highest respect. It was his role to Holly though, that of a father, that was irreplaceable. Raven moved to follow Holly when she took off at a sprint on the path winding up the mountain, but she was stopped by Suki's grip on her shoulder, which she doubted could be removed without her powers.
"Leave her be for today, she needs the solitude right now. Why don't you help us clear some of the rubble though, your powers would be useful." Raven nodded and followed Suki down the other path, wanting to be with her companion but knowing that she could do little to help her right now.
*
It was nearing noon as Raven was sweating profusely in the day's heat as she helped clear out buildings that were in ruins, or those too unstable to leave standing. They had only once, as far as Raven knew, come across a corpse. Burnt and with several arrows protruding from it, two of the Warriors covered it and carried it off to be buried alongside the other heroes of this island. It was Akiko's mentor, who ran a small repair shop on the other side of the island. Akiko still maintained a close relationship with her once she stepped down from her position as a warrior. Suki had explained when she covered it with a white sheet. It had explained her absence, which Raven didn't think wise to ask about before. She must've been mourning in the graveyard that Holly and Rena were at.
They worked through lunch, eating a few bites of food from the children that brought it to them. While the elders, who had set a handful of fires, cooked while everybody else worked to rebuild it as quickly as possible. Rebuilding the villages quickly was a habit instilled by Avatar Kyoshi herself, as she had thought that it showed perseverance, and how despite any foe's attempts, Kyoshi would still live on. But to many outsiders, it was thought to be for more obvious reasons: A market in ashes cannot help fill a man's wallet; therefore, it must be rebuilt with haste so that trade can continue.
The raid had hit them hard that day, more so than any other to date according to Suki. And yet jokes were being cracked left and right between the Warriors and villagers alike. Granted, they were the most gruesome jokes that made even Raven's stomach churn at times. But at the very least it was a way for them to cope with the destruction of their home and loss of friends.
"Raven!" Suki called out as she jogged over to her. "Ko needs some help on the south side of the island, mind joining me?"
"Sure." She said as they walked together in silence for a few minutes.
"You know," Suki started, "We're all real glad you're here." She thought a moment. "Or more specifically, that you're with Holly."
"Oh?"
"Yea, she's the happiest I've ever seen her." She hesitated again, finding the right words. "As you probably know she's put her body through a lot." Raven nodded remembering the scars, along with the couple stories or tidbits that she had picked up on. "When somebody is subjected to that, and does so willingly more than once, it's a common belief that a part of that person dies, just a little bit each time. It's similar to when we step into battle; we leave a part of our hearts behind us in order to fight, the part that loves and cares. We leave behind what separates us from a machine made for killing or abuse."
"What are you getting at?"
"She's left that part of herself behind so many times that I don't think anybody, save for maybe Rena, has ever really seen it. I've often feared for her health. Not in any physical sense, as she can handle that better than any of us; but mentally, the world she sees is very different from ours. To her it's filled with inevitable pain, while we see ideals or potential, joy, or even love." Raven gave her an odd glance at the last word. They were nearing the end of the path and not far beyond that Ko was working with the villagers to put up a wall of a house.
"The point is," Suki continued on, "that since you've came, that part of her has been more prevalent than ever before – when not long ago I was doubting it was still there. And every one of us is grateful for that."
"You think that I've had that much of an effect?"
"We know you have." They walked a few steps toward the scene in front of them: the villagers holding a prefabricated wall into place around the frame of a small, two room building as several others drove in long nails, each with one or two strikes of their hammer.
"You've had so much of an impact on her," Suki continued again as they were walking, "that I have to make this clear. If you ever, even once, harm or betray her trust – it would ruin her. So much that she would never recover.” Suki paused, “and we would ruin you for it, or die trying."
Raven nodded at this. It was preposterous to think that she would do anything to hurt her, the person who has had as much of an impact on herself as Suki claims that she did on her. In fact, the only thing that did surprise Raven about the last statement was that it didn't come sooner. She saw the sisterhood that had formed between these people and never once doubted their loyalty to each other.
*
By the time the sun dipped down below the mountains the temporary shelters for the merchants had been erected, but few were needed as people took in their neighbors and strangers alike until their homes were to full capacity, and then some. Akiko had returned from her mourning and began managing the large kettles of soup that the Warriors manned with the help of villagers. Raven had realized in that short time the role of the Warriors, not only as protectors of the island, but as relief to its occupants and hope to its citizens.
Several hours later Raven returned to her cabin, tired from the day's work and without more than a few hours' sleep since the ball. She brushed by a spear that had been embedded in the cabin's wall and broken off to no more than a few inches in length. If only we had been here, this would've never had happened. I could've just scared them into laying down their arms, it wouldn't have been hard to do in a world like this; one that believes in spirits, and facing against soldiers who hold no concern for the land they fought on. Unlike if they were defending their home, surrendering meant little to them here. If only we had been here, if only…
Raven’s thoughts were interrupted by a familiar electronic tone just before she entered the cabin. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her communicator flashing at her hip. She snatched it off and answered it so fast it almost broke the clip on the back.
"Raven? Raven!" She heard four simultaneous voices as she rubbed as much dirt off the screen as she could.
"It's good to see you guys."
"Just glad you're alright." Robin said with great relief, his greatest fears for the past weeks were gone now.
"Same to you all. How'd you get the communicator's to work?" She asked the four excited faces crowded on the screen.
"Well, the Professor is working with us now. He actually made the machine to try to get his wife and daughter back, and helped Cy fix these to work for this."
"Yo Raven, when was the last time you slept girl?" Cyborg cut in, seeing the rings around his friend's eyes and her bone tired state.
"Umm, thirty something hours; I've been helping my, ah, a friend."
"A friend? Are you sure that's wise?" Robin said, suspicious about this world he knows nothing about, and the fact that Raven made a friend in a relatively short time.
"I'm fine Robin, anything new in the city?"
"Nah Rae, we got some of the other Titans to fill in for us for a while."
"Beast Boy, just because I've been gone doesn't mean you can call me that now." Robin and the rest of them grinned, seeing that their team mate was herself despite the recent events.
"Friend Raven, are you wearing a dress?" Starfire asked as Raven looked down to see that yes, she had been wearing the dress since the ball nearly a full day ago.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, that's a long story though. So you said the Professor was working with you?" She said, changing the subject.
"Yea, he was trying to get his wife back, Renee Hanley, she fell through a –"
"Renee?"
"Yes, is that familiar?"
"There's a child here named Rena, it stood out to me from the other names here, which are mostly Asian sounding."
"How old?"
"Six or seven, acts older though, she was forced to grow up too fast." Raven said, thinking of what would happen to her now, being that she had never heard about her mother, making her doubt if she had one.
"Okay, never mind then. The daughter should be close to our age by now."
"Do you have her name?"
"No, she was unborn at the time."
"Oh." Raven said, continuing on for another fifteen minutes, being filled in on the Professor and enjoying other small talk with her teammates.
After she closed back up the communicator she walked inside, and saw Holly and Rena in the center of the floor, sleeping with a couple blankets over them, but mostly wrapped around Rena. It had answered Raven's question about Rena, there must not have been a mother and thus Holly would be taking care of her for the time being. She was in good hands, Raven knew, but would it interfere with her being a Warrior? No. Raven decided right then and there. As I can always help out if needed.
Raven lowered herself down on the floor and took her place next to Rena, opposite Holly; too exhausted to even change out of her dress, which was now fraying at the bottom and caked in dirt and sweat. She folded her arms and rested her head on them, and looking at her beloved, she felt a ting of pain when she saw the stains on her face from tears. The loss of Rena's father had caused her great pain; and what was her pain, Raven decided, she would now share. And what was her burden she would help carry.
"I gave our hammocks to some of the merchants who are sleeping outside tonight. Hope you don't mind." Holly slurred sleepily.
"Not at all."
"Thank you." Holly said before leaning over and giving her a brief kiss. She broke it off and kissed Rena on the forehead, as a sister would do to her younger sibling, before drifting back to sleep.
*
It's come to my attention that the whole torture scene last chapter might have been a touch harsh. Either way, I thought it was worth keeping in there.
Regardless, enjoy! (or don't, i can't stop you)
*
Raven landed on the shore of the main bay as the sun rose across the bay; its light tainted by the columns of smoke rising from village below. The fires that caused this were so many, that when approaching the island Raven had mistaken it for the sun rising. Suki met them on the beach with little words passed at first.
When they came to a fork in the path Suki halted, turned, and faced Holly dreading the news she carried.
"Holly, in the fight many villagers fought alongside us. And while we tried to minimize the losses, several of them gave their lives for their families and the rest of us."
"Please get to your point." Raven whispered to her. She had seen the amount of torture that Holly had put herself through, running through the worst case scenarios without rest, did not want to see it drawn out any longer.
"Rena's father took a spear trying to get some of the women and children to safety. We already buried him." Holly broke down inside, but gave little indication of it. The only way Raven could tell was by the surge of emotions she felt, so strong that, even if she wanted to, she did not think she could block or suppress it.
"Where?" She choked out.
"In the graveyard for the former Warriors, next to Hiroko's plot and yours. We thought it was fitting." She said, referring to the grave yard that was designated only to those who had dedicated their lives to Kyoshi Island. Rena's father was a good man, and all of the Warriors held him in highest respect. It was his role to Holly though, that of a father, that was irreplaceable. Raven moved to follow Holly when she took off at a sprint on the path winding up the mountain, but she was stopped by Suki's grip on her shoulder, which she doubted could be removed without her powers.
"Leave her be for today, she needs the solitude right now. Why don't you help us clear some of the rubble though, your powers would be useful." Raven nodded and followed Suki down the other path, wanting to be with her companion but knowing that she could do little to help her right now.
*
It was nearing noon as Raven was sweating profusely in the day's heat as she helped clear out buildings that were in ruins, or those too unstable to leave standing. They had only once, as far as Raven knew, come across a corpse. Burnt and with several arrows protruding from it, two of the Warriors covered it and carried it off to be buried alongside the other heroes of this island. It was Akiko's mentor, who ran a small repair shop on the other side of the island. Akiko still maintained a close relationship with her once she stepped down from her position as a warrior. Suki had explained when she covered it with a white sheet. It had explained her absence, which Raven didn't think wise to ask about before. She must've been mourning in the graveyard that Holly and Rena were at.
They worked through lunch, eating a few bites of food from the children that brought it to them. While the elders, who had set a handful of fires, cooked while everybody else worked to rebuild it as quickly as possible. Rebuilding the villages quickly was a habit instilled by Avatar Kyoshi herself, as she had thought that it showed perseverance, and how despite any foe's attempts, Kyoshi would still live on. But to many outsiders, it was thought to be for more obvious reasons: A market in ashes cannot help fill a man's wallet; therefore, it must be rebuilt with haste so that trade can continue.
The raid had hit them hard that day, more so than any other to date according to Suki. And yet jokes were being cracked left and right between the Warriors and villagers alike. Granted, they were the most gruesome jokes that made even Raven's stomach churn at times. But at the very least it was a way for them to cope with the destruction of their home and loss of friends.
"Raven!" Suki called out as she jogged over to her. "Ko needs some help on the south side of the island, mind joining me?"
"Sure." She said as they walked together in silence for a few minutes.
"You know," Suki started, "We're all real glad you're here." She thought a moment. "Or more specifically, that you're with Holly."
"Oh?"
"Yea, she's the happiest I've ever seen her." She hesitated again, finding the right words. "As you probably know she's put her body through a lot." Raven nodded remembering the scars, along with the couple stories or tidbits that she had picked up on. "When somebody is subjected to that, and does so willingly more than once, it's a common belief that a part of that person dies, just a little bit each time. It's similar to when we step into battle; we leave a part of our hearts behind us in order to fight, the part that loves and cares. We leave behind what separates us from a machine made for killing or abuse."
"What are you getting at?"
"She's left that part of herself behind so many times that I don't think anybody, save for maybe Rena, has ever really seen it. I've often feared for her health. Not in any physical sense, as she can handle that better than any of us; but mentally, the world she sees is very different from ours. To her it's filled with inevitable pain, while we see ideals or potential, joy, or even love." Raven gave her an odd glance at the last word. They were nearing the end of the path and not far beyond that Ko was working with the villagers to put up a wall of a house.
"The point is," Suki continued on, "that since you've came, that part of her has been more prevalent than ever before – when not long ago I was doubting it was still there. And every one of us is grateful for that."
"You think that I've had that much of an effect?"
"We know you have." They walked a few steps toward the scene in front of them: the villagers holding a prefabricated wall into place around the frame of a small, two room building as several others drove in long nails, each with one or two strikes of their hammer.
"You've had so much of an impact on her," Suki continued again as they were walking, "that I have to make this clear. If you ever, even once, harm or betray her trust – it would ruin her. So much that she would never recover.” Suki paused, “and we would ruin you for it, or die trying."
Raven nodded at this. It was preposterous to think that she would do anything to hurt her, the person who has had as much of an impact on herself as Suki claims that she did on her. In fact, the only thing that did surprise Raven about the last statement was that it didn't come sooner. She saw the sisterhood that had formed between these people and never once doubted their loyalty to each other.
*
By the time the sun dipped down below the mountains the temporary shelters for the merchants had been erected, but few were needed as people took in their neighbors and strangers alike until their homes were to full capacity, and then some. Akiko had returned from her mourning and began managing the large kettles of soup that the Warriors manned with the help of villagers. Raven had realized in that short time the role of the Warriors, not only as protectors of the island, but as relief to its occupants and hope to its citizens.
Several hours later Raven returned to her cabin, tired from the day's work and without more than a few hours' sleep since the ball. She brushed by a spear that had been embedded in the cabin's wall and broken off to no more than a few inches in length. If only we had been here, this would've never had happened. I could've just scared them into laying down their arms, it wouldn't have been hard to do in a world like this; one that believes in spirits, and facing against soldiers who hold no concern for the land they fought on. Unlike if they were defending their home, surrendering meant little to them here. If only we had been here, if only…
Raven’s thoughts were interrupted by a familiar electronic tone just before she entered the cabin. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her communicator flashing at her hip. She snatched it off and answered it so fast it almost broke the clip on the back.
"Raven? Raven!" She heard four simultaneous voices as she rubbed as much dirt off the screen as she could.
"It's good to see you guys."
"Just glad you're alright." Robin said with great relief, his greatest fears for the past weeks were gone now.
"Same to you all. How'd you get the communicator's to work?" She asked the four excited faces crowded on the screen.
"Well, the Professor is working with us now. He actually made the machine to try to get his wife and daughter back, and helped Cy fix these to work for this."
"Yo Raven, when was the last time you slept girl?" Cyborg cut in, seeing the rings around his friend's eyes and her bone tired state.
"Umm, thirty something hours; I've been helping my, ah, a friend."
"A friend? Are you sure that's wise?" Robin said, suspicious about this world he knows nothing about, and the fact that Raven made a friend in a relatively short time.
"I'm fine Robin, anything new in the city?"
"Nah Rae, we got some of the other Titans to fill in for us for a while."
"Beast Boy, just because I've been gone doesn't mean you can call me that now." Robin and the rest of them grinned, seeing that their team mate was herself despite the recent events.
"Friend Raven, are you wearing a dress?" Starfire asked as Raven looked down to see that yes, she had been wearing the dress since the ball nearly a full day ago.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, that's a long story though. So you said the Professor was working with you?" She said, changing the subject.
"Yea, he was trying to get his wife back, Renee Hanley, she fell through a –"
"Renee?"
"Yes, is that familiar?"
"There's a child here named Rena, it stood out to me from the other names here, which are mostly Asian sounding."
"How old?"
"Six or seven, acts older though, she was forced to grow up too fast." Raven said, thinking of what would happen to her now, being that she had never heard about her mother, making her doubt if she had one.
"Okay, never mind then. The daughter should be close to our age by now."
"Do you have her name?"
"No, she was unborn at the time."
"Oh." Raven said, continuing on for another fifteen minutes, being filled in on the Professor and enjoying other small talk with her teammates.
After she closed back up the communicator she walked inside, and saw Holly and Rena in the center of the floor, sleeping with a couple blankets over them, but mostly wrapped around Rena. It had answered Raven's question about Rena, there must not have been a mother and thus Holly would be taking care of her for the time being. She was in good hands, Raven knew, but would it interfere with her being a Warrior? No. Raven decided right then and there. As I can always help out if needed.
Raven lowered herself down on the floor and took her place next to Rena, opposite Holly; too exhausted to even change out of her dress, which was now fraying at the bottom and caked in dirt and sweat. She folded her arms and rested her head on them, and looking at her beloved, she felt a ting of pain when she saw the stains on her face from tears. The loss of Rena's father had caused her great pain; and what was her pain, Raven decided, she would now share. And what was her burden she would help carry.
"I gave our hammocks to some of the merchants who are sleeping outside tonight. Hope you don't mind." Holly slurred sleepily.
"Not at all."
"Thank you." Holly said before leaning over and giving her a brief kiss. She broke it off and kissed Rena on the forehead, as a sister would do to her younger sibling, before drifting back to sleep.
*
It's come to my attention that the whole torture scene last chapter might have been a touch harsh. Either way, I thought it was worth keeping in there.
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