Dick's POV
All I could register when I fell to my knees in front of Scarlett, was that she was hurt and she was covered in blood. Even though I knew she had profound abilities to fix the impossible, seeing her in the beautiful blue dress and bloody on the floor was terrible.
There was a pool of blood forming around her, from where that man who I'd never seen before, stabbed her in the back. It didn't worry me that much, I knew she'd heal herself and everything would be okay.
"Scarlett, c'mere, you've gotta hold on." I held her close to my chest, pulling her off the ground into a strong hug, but it made her shriek in pain. I loosened my grip immediately, as she gasped and struggled for breath.
"S-stop." She wheezed, her tearful eyes closing. "P-pl-please, Dick."
"Okay, okay." I agreed, laying her back on the floor, racking my brain for a way to help her. She should've been helping herself, that was what she did!
"It's not even that bad, Scar. You've healed more than this, come on now." I told her, trying to encourage her to fix herself, I knew she could.
"I--" Her breath hitched, like there was something in her throat, more tears coming from her beautiful eyes. "I don't think I can--" She gasped loudly. "I can't."
"Yes, you can." I told her firmly, beginning to struggle with the fact that she wasn't healing herself.
Why wasn't she healing herself?!
"I--" She stuttered, more blood pouring into the floor next to my knee. "I tried. I can't do it."
"Scarlett, you're not giving up now." I told her, getting progressively more worried as she laid there and refused to heal herself. "I know what you can't do: you can't give up now."
"Dick--" Scarlett began, but got cut off when she started coughing up dark red blood. "I don't want to hang up my wings, but--"
"Good! You're not dying today!" I insisted, not letting her give up if I could help it. She flinched at the sound of my voice.
"I think He wants you to let me go." Scarlett whispered, her crystalline eyes boring into mine.
I shook my head, refusing to believe Scarlett was ready to give up.
"I think G-God needs another angel around His throne tonight."
"No! No, Scarlett!" I cried, watching her eyes close, and as they did it was like someone was dragging a very sharp rake across my heart. I dropped my ear to her chest to hear if she was breathing, simultaneously pressing my finger to her jugular to feel for a pulse.
I felt nothing.
Nothing.
No breath, no beating, no new warmth, nothing.
This couldn't be happening.
It could not be happening.
"SCARLETT!" I screamed in anguish, throwing my head back, slamming my fist down so hard into the brittle wood floors that it actually cracked. "GODDAMNIT! NO!"
"Robin! What is it, buddy boy?!" Wally zipped in, sliding to a stop next to me. "What--"
He trailed off, probably for having seen Scarlett's lifeless body, which was growing very pale. I couldn't look at her face, though I could tell from her hand I was holding that the blood inside her was leaving.
"Oh my God!" He gasped, but I barely registered it, I couldn't really register anything with the bone-breaking pain travelling throughout my own body. I heaved in huge breaths as I hunched over Scarlett's body, coughing violently and screaming.
"No-- no!" I sobbed, wiping my mouth half-heartedly, not giving a crap about my face when compared to the fact that my girlfriend was dead.
I heard footsteps, signalling the entrance of the rest of our party. I barely caught a glimpse of Ollie's boots, as well as Batman's with the cape next to me, out of the corner of my eyes. The tears in my eyes made it very difficult to see clearly.
The silence in the room, save for the sound of my hyperventilation and crying and coughing, was deadly. No one dared say a word.
Ollie walked over and crouched beside me, taking off his glove before pressing his hand to Scarlett's wrist, no doubt feeling for a pulse that he wasn't going to find.
He was looking for a pulse that was not there.
"I'm so sorry, Robin." Ollie whispered, but I held up my hand to cut him off.
"Shut, up." I hissed, sniffling.
With that I collapsed onto my forearms, my forehead resting on the floor, screaming out in anguish, louder than I think I'd ever screamed in my life.
Only once before had I felt this kind of pain. Only once before had I felt this insane agony.
That was only when my parents fell dead at my feet.
"S-SHE D-DOESN'T DESERVE THIS!" I roared, arching my back as I pounded on the floor. "SHE'S ARCHANGEL! AND SHE GETS FŪCKING STABBED IN THE BACK AND KILLED? W-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
At long last, I looked up at my friends who all looked extremely distraught. "Did you get them all?"
"We sure did." Barry responded, dipping his head.
It was then that Bruce knelt down next to me, his white eyes scanning Scartlett's body.
"Robin, we have to move her." He whispered, sounding genuinely upset: his voice carried a somber tone.
"No." I choked back, holding onto Scarlett's hand tighter. "No, don't touch her."
"Robin," Batman placed his hand on my shoulder, which I shrugged off violently.
"DON'T FŪCKING TOUCH ME!" I roared, jerking away from my guardian.
"You need to let me do my job."
"And what is that?"
"There's an ambulance outside, Dick." Bruce explained. "I need to take her there."
"An ambulance can't help her anymore." I sobbed, involuntarily arching my back and letting out a blood-curdling scream over Scarlett's body.
"Dick, we need to take her out there." Oliver came over to where I was, crouching down. "Okay?"
I watched Batman through soaking eyelashes reach to wrap his huge arms around Scarlett's body.
"No, stop!" I begged, unable to handle the idea of Batman carrying the love of my life away from me because she could no longer get up on her own. "Please!"
"Robin, listen to me, everything's going to be okay." Ollie tried to coax my attention away from what Bruce was attempting to do, his hand reaching for my arm.
I violently punched his shoulder to be rid of the contact of his extremity on me.
"If this needs to be done," I whimpered, raking my hair off my face. "Let me do it."
Batman dipped his head and backed away, as I looked down, finally mustering up the courage to look at Scarlett's face.
Even with the crimson blood marking her lips, she was beautiful.
Even in death, she was the most beautiful person ever to grace the earth.
Not only was her beauty extreme, her heart's capacity was greater than anyone's I'd ever seen.
Scarlett had a worthy heart: her end did not match what she deserved.
With that thought in mind, I slowly snaked my arms under her, pushing off the chipped wood of the floor to carry her away.
It was my turn to carry Scarlett, after her life of carrying everyone else around her and keeping them safe, to the best of her ability.
However good my intentions were, wanting to be strong for Scarlett, as she had been since her last breath left her body, I couldn't get up.
It wasn't because I wasn't physically able, I knew I was. I could probably lift Batman if I put my mind to it.
Scarlett deserved to be carried by someone who loved her with the entire capacity of their heart, as I knew I did.
Even with that in my head, I found myself unable to get up.
"I-I-I can't" I breathed out slowly, deeply, holding Scarlett as gently as I knew how. My watery gaze found Bruce's, and he got down on his knees in front of me.
For the first time in my life, I witnessed him do something I'd never thought he would do in the field: he pulled off his cowl.
"Dick." He whispered, looking me right in the eyes, his ocean gaze unwavering with strength I didn't have. "You can do this. Scarlett believed in you, and now you need to believe in yourself. You've got her."
Bruce placed his hand on my shoulder once more, but this time I let him.
"You've got her."
And finally, I truly believed him and trusted his words again.
Thus, I let Bruce help me rise off the ground with the body of my angel in my arms.
With one of her pale arms falling toward the floor, my own tears falling like snow as I began to carry the love of my life one last time.
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THERE'S STILL ONE (OR TWO) MORE CHAPTERS EVERYONE!
Two years ago today, Archangel was first published on Wattpad. What a journey these years have been.
Thank you for every read, vote and comment. They truly mean so much to me. To be honest sometimes I still get surprised when people vote.
In other news, I'm in the process of writing a Teen Wolf fan fiction, please give it a read when I post! It would mean a lot.
It's called Heartbeat // Derek Hale (Teen Wolf), and I'll send out a message to my followers when it's posted.
Song: Miserere by Gregorio Allegri
Please let me know what you thought of this chapter!
Cheers,
- TAAF_
PS: heather_brett I hope this is up to snuff. -.-