Author’s Notes:

This could potentially tie up to an ALTERNATEofRECIPROCATE AU.

Also loosely related to other Lazarus Pit AUs:

Lazarus Pit: The Demon Lost His Head

Lazarus Pit: The Demon Lost Her Heart

~.~.~.~.~.~

A shadow came rushing and stumbling down the cavern with another figure in their arms. When the flickers of the fire reached the two figures it was then clear who had arrived.

Damian Wayne- or Al Ghul, whatever it is he carried as his last name, looked frightened for his life. He had scratches and flesh wounds around his body, blood trickling down his forehead. But it was the woman in white robes that was stained with blood and dirt in his arms that looked far worse than him. In fact, she looked a tinge blue and she was holding onto her stomach trying to stop the bleeding from a wound there, but it clearly wasn’t working as she was dripping blood on their tracks.

She coughed blood as she tried to talk, Damian looked down at the woman. Her black bob hair was wet from her sweat mixed with blood.

“Please, Raven, don’t try to talk.” Came Damian’s shaky voice as he continued to stumble as he carried her. “We’re almost there.” His eyes locked at the green liquid that was too many paces too far from them, it might as well have been a mile. But he had brought her here, he was so close.

“Please just hold on.” His tone was begging, desperate.

Raven tried to pick herself up, pull herself by his shoulder, and he froze for a second as he looked at her with wide eyes.

“N-no, we-we don’t know how it will affect me.” She struggled as she tried to get out of his hold. His eyes darkened as he firmly held her in place, he looked ahead at the goal clearly in front of him.

He continued to walk, “I don’t care.” His paces were heavy as he was extremely weak, but he would not lose her, not when the Lazarus Pit could help her. Not when it was clearly in front of them.

“Da-damian.” She begged and then coughed blood.

“Stop talking.” His always firm voice was weak and begging, scared and hurt and so very afraid of losing her. He was afraid his name would be the last words she said, and barely with any strength. She never spoke his name so weakly until now and this fact alone made his heart ache deeply.

“Almost there.” He mumbled more to himself than to Raven. He had been mumbling encouraging words to himself, it was all he could do to keep himself sane.

“We don’t know how this will affect me or the pit.” She begged as the tears fell from her eyes and she clenched his chest.

“I don’t fucking care!” He yelled; the pain he didn’t want to manifest came as hot streaks of water from his eyes down to his cheeks.

He will not lose her, not when that vile pit existed. He continued to walk with a reignited desire to save her. The only goal in his mind, the only option, whatever comes after he would face head on as long as she was breathing and alive.

“Damian.” Raven wept but he could not be stopped. He will use the pit to save her from this fatal wound, from death’s door.

Raven wanted to call out his name again, but found that she was growing weaker, and saying his name only hurt in more ways than one. So she endured as tears fell down her cheeks too.

Who would have thought that she would see Damian cry like this? She never thought she’d see him this broken because of her.

Raven hurled and blood came out of her mouth as she coughed. Damian could only squeeze her in his arms. Almost there was the thought that made him power through the pain.

Raven’s eyes were shut as she tried to cough the blood out of her throat and willed herself to make it till he placed her into the pit. At the very least, she should try and make herself conscious till then. She didn’t want him to put her into the pit, but he wanted to– he had to, she felt his desperation as if it was hers. And so she will let him, it wasn’t like she had the strength to fight him anyways.

“Raven.” He stared at her for a second as they stood before the pit.

“I love you.” She said in reply to him calling her name as he walked into the pit and he held her closely to his chest and submerged her into the waters.

“I love you.” She whispered again as a tear slipped from her eye before her face was fully submerged. But he never said the words back, even when she repeated them.

Damian concluded that his wounds didn’t matter, they were nothing but flesh wounds and so he stepped out of the pit and waited for her on the side. She would need him in case she turned insane because of the pit’s after effects.

And so, Damian waited, in the quiet cave with flickering torchlights for the woman he loved that was dying to be fully revitalized.

But the wait was agonizing and longer than he expected. He then became too worried; he couldn’t look at the pit that had no signs of life so he turned his back on it.

Why was it not working? Was it because of the pits’ origins? Raven did warn him– they didn’t know how it would affect her.

Damian felt helpless kneeling on the floor, his back against the pit and his palms on the ground as his eyes burned due to the tears.

He couldn’t be without her. This had to work. He found himself praying to whatever entity that would hear him to– at least make it work.

Please.

But the wait continued on and the quiet cavern was now filled with a sickening silence that Damian hated more as the minutes passed.

He didn’t know how long he waited but enough time passed that he finally felt hopeless and resigned.

The Lazarus Pit probably couldn’t cure her. He wasn’t even able to tell her that he loved her, tears fell from his eyes and it did not stop. He didn’t want to say them because he thought he still had the chance once the pit healed her.

Damian squeezed his eyes and sobbed.

Raven was gone.

“Damian?” Hearing Raven’s careful voice was indescribable. Damian gasped at the sound and turned to look at her, the surprise in his face disappeared and quickly matched the confusion she had.

Raven stood in an empty pit. The vile green liquid he knew as the Lazarus Pit was gone.

“Damian?” She called out again, this time her voice tinged with fear and he too was frightened. Raven coughed and that made him rush to her side. Damian slid down the pit even more scared than a moment ago.

Damian’s shaking fingers cupped her cheek and his other hand wiped her hair off her face. He was so frightened that the pit really didn’t work, but was cruel enough to give them this moment.

Raven continued to cough. The tears streaming down his face felt nonexistent. He was so terrified.

What if the coughing was the side effect of the pit working?

What if at the next second she will just fall and turn into a lifeless corpse?

Raven coughed again as she tried to pull away and Damian’s hand froze as he saw the familiar green liquid trickle down the corner of her lips.

Was it really just a cruel trick the Lazarus Pit was giving the couple, like a cruel last miracle to haunt him after?

“Damian?” Raven called his name again, but this time it was as weak as when she had called him moments before she entered the Lazarus Pit.

Raven’s knees gave in and she fell towards him and he frantically caught her but fell on his knees too.

“No, no…” The son of Batman heard his desperate cry. The tears on his face felt searingly hot once again.

But Raven, his beloved Raven, continued to cough green liquid from her pale lips. He propped her up with his knee and cradled her.

“No…” His voice was so soft and in pain that anyone who would have witnessed such a sight would wonder if he really was the heir of the Demon’s Head.

In Raven’s weakened state she attempted to lift her hand. Damian felt the movement and looked at her shaking hand that was midway towards him. He captured that hand and let it rest against his cheek. He couldn’t let her suffer anymore.

His green eyes stared at her ashen face.

There were no words that could be said now, they were both clearly in pain.

Raven’s eyes fluttered and Damian’s heart squeezed inside his chest.

No, he didn’t want her to close her eyes. Before his objections could be said, Raven’s eyes had closed.

Her breath soon followed and came to a stop.

And he heard his sharp inhale pierce through his ears as it bounced around him within the cavern.

His body automatically crouched over her head as he cradled her lifeless corpse. He found that his voice was hoarse. He wondered if he had been screaming in sorrow when she didn’t emerge instantly from the pit. Or maybe when he approached her in the empty pit, perhaps he was screaming.

Or maybe it was now. The ‘I Love You’, the ‘Don’t leave me’ and ‘This can’t be happening’ were not registering in his head. The phrases he kept repeating despite his hoarse throat and aching heart.

At one point, Damian just knew that he couldn’t find his voice and strength to vocally scream his pain anymore.

Raven was really gone. The pit was gone and she wasn’t even saved. Her body was cold and so was the space inside the cavern, it was so terribly cold. In fact, Damian could feel the chilliness inside his body too.

The useless piece of liquid didn’t even bring her back. The liquid disappeared but didn’t even return anything to him.

Damian’s sorrow was turning into anger and then suddenly a sharp inhale from lips that wasn’t his resonated through the empty cave and more importantly his ears.

He gasped as he looked down and stared at the lips of his beautiful lover.

Raven was gasping for air like she was a fish out of water, violet eyes open. Damian’s green eyes were wide as he saw green lines all over her face. He studied her briefly and found that it was her veins all over her body that were protruding and glowing a familiar shade of green– the Lazarus Pit’s shade. Aside from green veins there were similar green lines reaching into her eyes and he felt her body heat up.

She gasped loudly again and then silence. The green lines in Raven’s eyes disappeared along with her green veins as a faint greenish glow surrounded her entirety.

Then Raven became slack again.

Damian was left confused. He couldn’t hear her breathing for at least five seconds and then– soft even breathing.

Raven’s eyes opened and it revealed the same green as the Lazarus Pit instead of her usual violet hue. Damian was very perplexed and then she blinked and her green eyes were gone. Damian was now staring at the familiar violet shade that he knows and loves.

“Hello.” She sat up studying him, a small sly smile on her lips. It was like she wasn’t injured or in pain a few seconds prior, her tone was calm and collected. It somehow eased the agitation Damian was fighting within himself.

Did he want to know what happened?

Did he want to know the consequences of his actions?

Did it really matter?

Damian cupped both her cheeks and steadily held it in place as he studied her new found vitality. She smiled back at him with a tint of mischievousness and held his face in her hands by his jaws.

He had so many questions.

“I feel– very much alive.” Raven said with a sinister smile on her lips.

He should be afraid. But Damian was the son of Batman, a trained assassin who is the son of Talia Al Ghul and grandson of Ra’s Al Ghul, afraid was only a moment he felt when he thought he had lost her.

When he thought he lost his beloved Raven?

Clearly, she was alive perhaps altered a little, but alive and that was all that mattered.

Damian leaned his forehead against hers as he exhaled, his eyes locked on her eyes. With the same smile on her lips, she inhaled his breath.

It was clear that his future is now altered too.

How can he be a hero when villains would and could take everything from him? They had already tried taking Raven away from him permanently.

He often wondered why he was holding back when he had the Lazarus Pit and could save the love of his life at any time. If needed, Damian could use the pit to resurrect her. He didn’t imagine that he’d have to use the Pit to actually save his girlfriend that could heal virtually any wounds– except the one they were faced with that night. But now, there was no reassurance that he could use the pit if anything deadly was to happen to her.

Damian might have put her into the green waters of the pit as a hero but he emerged from this incident as a different man. He noticed the darkness in Raven’s eyes and he brushed the corner of her eyes gently.

He could not be Damian Wayne, not when he used the pit like this. The League of Assassin’s would not allow it anyways. He would also need the League’s resources and data about the pit now that the situation has become like this. Now that they were on an empty Lazarus Pit. He’d also have to pay the price for this.

He can clearly see that Raven was changed because of the pit. He wondered how the pit changed his lover.

“I’m still the same.” Raven replied in a steady manner as if she had read his mind, but there on her lips was still a sinister smile.

He knew she wasn’t the same.

“I love you.” He brushed her nose with his. Whatever has transpired here, he will stick by that decision. He decided that it is the best decision to become the next Demon’s head after all.

They were both changed that day.

The decision to become the next Demon’s Head proved to be the right thing to do in the coming days after Raven was revived.

Raven was the same for the most part, however, when she bled, she bled green liquid. The color of the Lazarus Pit and her wounds would instantly heal without using her magic to heal.

It didn’t take long for them to find out that all the Lazarus Pits were now nothing but empty pits.

She did warn him that they didn’t know how it would affect her or the pit. However, who would have thought that it would affect the pit itself in this way?

Raven was also more attuned to her demonic side and took pride and joy in extracting information for the League with whatever skill or method she has in her disposal. In a simple word: torture, she had come to marvel at such a dark thing.

Raven didn’t even affiliate herself as a hero anymore, she would kill without a second thought. She wouldn’t allow anyone who could possibly bring Damian’s demise to be alive. But her love for Damian was the same, be it him as a Wayne, an Al Ghul, a Titan– she still loved him the same.

The same thing could be said about Damian’s feelings for Raven. Maybe at first, he felt trepidation over her change but ultimately accepted them because it was simply the price that came in exchange for her life.

Since the fact that there is no more working Lazarus Pit, Damian could understand her willingness to kill. Without the pit, if he was heavily injured, he could not be healed, in fact he cannot prolong his life like what his grandfather did.

But Raven is the Daughter of Trigon, she will surely find a way to preserve her lover for as long as she lives. After all, the two would spare no expense for their partner.

The empty pits in multiple places that used to house green liquid that could heal and revive the dead is a clear proof of the kinds of lengths they were willing to go for one another.

Damian will live as long as Raven would, being Trigon’s daughter had its merits after all.

THE END.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

Author’s Notes:

This is actually not how I initially wanted to make this AU. I only realized AFTER I finished it.
With that said, I plan to make the right one, entitled: Eternity (that’s the plan at least)
Details would be different from this, if you are interested keep posted on my profile or something.

Hope you guys enjoyed this work!

Lazarus’ Pit: The Demon Lost Her Heart

[Disclaimer: An alternate timeline of Daughter of Trigonand Lasaruz’ Pit: The Demon Lost His Head; Both characters are 25+]

 Raven was a woman who came out of nowhere. A full-grown woman of unknown origins that had power that could not be explained had abruptly entered earth.

The Justice League saw her for what she was—a threat. 

Raven, however, simply affiliated herself as neutral but on occasion helped the Justice League when faced with an extinction level threat. Even though she fought by their side she would make it evidently clear that she was not good nor was she evil. And because she has helped The Justice League a few times; The Justice League became lax in keeping an eye on Raven and labelled her as an antihero instead.

Damian Wayne or as he is now known as– Damian Al Ghul had a different kind of story. He was more bad than he was good and he now leads the League of Assassins. However, there was a time in his teens where he allied himself under the Justice Leagues’ guidance and closely with and directly under Batman and their version of justice. Now Damian fought for a different kind of justice, one which painted him black in the eyes of the Justice League.

But on occasions, when the world faces possible extinction, he would step up and put his differences with the Justice League aside and maybe that was how the two crossed paths. 

The Justice League wasn’t quite certain if that was how Raven and Damian met, but it is a fact that they are rather uneasy with this development.

Raven and Damian became known as lovers and the Justice League was even more worried over this progression when it was revealed. 

They were dangerous. And even more so for Raven, who they recognize as a being who could level the planet, who also regularly threatens them to do so if any harm comes to Damian Al Ghul.

So, when news of Damian Al Ghul’s demise reached the Justice Leagues’ ears, it felt as though the entire earth was holding in its own breath.

“I told them, didn’t I? If anything were to happen to you, I would destroy this planet.” She mumbled to her dead lover, whose head was resting on her lap as she caressed his pale cheek. “So, tell me, why didn’t you take my threat seriously? You loved this planet more than I, so why would you allow yourself to turn out like this?”

And as natural as it is, as the dead could not speak, her lover did not respond to her.

A man running towards Raven screamed ready to swing his sword on the woman on the ground, who thought she was preoccupied with her loss. 

And oh, how wrong he was.

He stopped from his advance as he was engulfed in purple flames. Raven’s eyes that were violet had started to glow.  

The man didn’t even have the time to scream, or maybe she couldn’t hear his wails of pain, it didn’t really matter– not even a body was left of the man in the following second. She exhaled and purple flames circled her and it stretched for a meter in width.

“How noisy.” Her eyes glow brighter, the same shade as her violet eyes. She cradles her lover on her chest with vacant eyes that continue to glow a steady violet. And then everything around her seemed to slow down and turn grey. And Raven’s violet eyes slowly turned red. 

The red in her eyes matched the sky as she grew horns. Her skin slowly turned red. The grey sparrows that were flying and the grey leaves that rustled around them slowed to the point that they were close to being frozen in time.

“Raven!” Someone called out, and the transformation on her skin halted, but the earth still remained close to being frozen. Raven’s skin reverted back to its usual paper white hue, but her horns remained, her violet eyes red and the whites were now black. She turned her head to see Batman still in color and moving perfectly fine, a grim smile on her lips. Wind blows and an unkindness of ravens caw and fly overhead.

Batman covered himself from the sudden strong gust of wind and dust by using his cape as a shield. When the wind stopped and the cawing subsided, he placed his arm down. Raven and Damian were no longer where he had seen them. 

The sky was still red, everything was grey except for batman. His Justice League comms started ringing, there was color on the flashing screen.

Raven and Damian reappeared in front of the Lazarus Pit in Nanda Parbat. She looked down on Damian whose skin was blue.

“We shall reunite my love.” She said, as he was lifted up gently by her magic in a purple hue as he floated in front of her. With a small wiggle of her fingers, Damian hovered above the green liquid and slowly went down to the waters of the pit. 

Raven watched quietly as the green liquid consumed him. And an ache in her chest that she could not fully describe was felt as she stared at his body being swallowed by the Lazarus Pit. 

Damian had told her the properties of the Lazarus Pit.

And she waited. And waited. And waited.

Until instead of kneeling with her legs folded underneath her, she sat on her butt. Her knees were bent in front of her as she waited by the edge of the pool. 

And she waited.

She brought her knees closer to her chin as she continued to wait. She started to become agitated.

Was the Lazarus’ Pit not working? Could it not revive the dead?

Was Damian wrong?

And the black in Raven’s eyes turned white again, her eyes no longer red but purple and her horns resided until they were gone. Perhaps Raven reverting back to her actual appearance emphasized the pain she was feeling. It was so painful that she took the form of the woman he loved. 

If she has to, then she will put the whole human race at stake to bring him back from the dead. Her iris turned solid red with the decision as she clenched her fists.

A tan hand finally came out of the green liquid, followed by screaming and a deranged Damian aiming towards Raven with an outstretched hand. Before his hand could even touch her throat, Raven’s fingers were already outstretched towards her lover’s forehead, a violet glow emitting from her fingertips.

She shushes him gently, and his eyes slowly dims. Damian blinked and gulped down saliva, swaying a little. After a few more blinks his eyes cleared up and he looked at his lover with a gentle gaze.

“Raven…” Damian called her name out, as his face showed his confusion. His hand that was awkwardly outstretched towards Raven, cautiously touched her cheek. Raven placed a hand over his hand that was on her cheek and with her freehand she gripped his wrist. Her eyes closed as she leaned onto the hand on her cheek.

She had almost lost his touch, his body temperature that was certainly not there anymore– but now that is just a thing of the past. 

Damian Al Ghul was now alive and breathing.

“Welcome back, my love.” She softly whispered to him with a loving tone. Her red eyes reverted back to normal when she opened her eyes again. And the earth felt like it could finally breathe. Time went back as it should be, and the grey tone of the world reverted back to its original colors and hues.

“What did you do?” He asked as he too felt the shift of the entire planet, his free hand splashed on the water. He looked down, and realized where he was. He was certain that he was killed but now that he was gazing at the waters of the pit, he knew he really did.

He knew he was killed. He knew his last thoughts were seeing her one last time. He wanted to hold her and tell her he loved her so much.

He knew he had died. And yet, here he was breathing and alive.

“Raven—” His eyes locked onto hers.

“Do not worry about it.” Were her final words as she edged near him and rested her forehead against his. “I have told you this before, there is no price I am unwilling to pay for you.”

He couldn’t respond because he too would do the same if it was her, but– he stared at her and cupped both her cheeks.

He wondered how much pain she felt seeing him like that. He knew that she didn’t care much for this planet and its people, after all she had not grown up here on this planet. In fact, when Damian and Raven met she didn’t care much for anything but she then started to deeply care for him and only him.

“I would have done the same thing.” He whispered as he knew that he would. Damian leaned down to kiss her and she closed her eyes.

If Damian had died she would have destroyed this planet. She would not want this earth to remain to haunt her due to the loss of the man she loved. But she would also do everything in her power to return him to her side.

If Raven had not done this, he would not feel her warmth again. 

She wouldn’t feel his warmth again.

The thought was something she could not accept, even when she was so very close to having that as her reality. 

Raven had seen the devil, lived and grew up in hell with the devil as her father. This earth– him– Damian, was the only thing that linked her to being relatively normal. She knew she was part human, and it was him who made her really feel that part of her. 

She wasn’t going to allow herself to lose him.

“I love you.” She whispered to him, holding his head against hers. Tears falling from her eyes, this was the first time she cried and this was the first time Damian had seen her tears.

“I love you too.” He replied back sincerely.

They shared a tight hug after and Raven’s violet eyes turned red and the whites were black as she gave a sly smile. 

The beauty of this earth was only Damian, if he was not here– turning this place the way her father wants wouldn’t be a problem. 

MATURE RATING

MENTION OF VIOLENCE

 Loosely related to: The Demon’s Head

When Damian Al Ghul reached the side of his beloved—Raven. She had exhaled her last breath a long time ago. All he could do now was hold her lifeless blue corpse in his hands. He did not understand and could not comprehend—no, it was simply denial—what has happened to his beloved Raven who was in his arms.

He was kneeling down on the ground, a hand resting on the back of her neck. Her head limp and eyes closed and lips so terribly blue, his other arm under her legs. She had died a long time ago, had he come a minute earlier; nothing would have changed.

Time felt awfully too slow for him at that very moment. And yet, he was so very aware of every breathing, moving thing or person around him. And it made the non-existent breathing and moving of his beloved’s chest so sickeningly deafening in his ears.

His lips opened, and his inhalation was slow. “I want them all dead.” He heard himself say, his head spinning. “No—I want their limbs pulled apart, and I want them to suffer.” He heard himself continue on.

“Yes, my lord.” An assassin in black replied.

The heat from the flames around Damian reached his skin.

For a moment, he thought that maybe the heat would warm the cold body in his arms. He pulled her closer, but she was still freezing. He looked up at the sky, imaging a life without the woman he was cradling. And soft splatters of water fall from the sky.

It was like heaven was agreeing: that a life without her, was not a life worth living.

The rain drops pick up, and it felt like pellets against his skin. The cold from the rain quickly settles against his skin, and a small part of him longed for the heat. And he pulled her tightly against him, trying to protect her from the rain.

“You’re already so cold—no more…” He whispered brokenly; his eyes closed tightly as his back arched to shield her from the rain. But her body was so stiff against his, and it just made his heart ache even more.

Behind Damian was chaos. There were orange flames licking everything, his assassins catching those who aren’t a part of the league. Dead bodies littered all around, some people trapped inside the flames. And there was a lot of screaming. And because the rain was strong, the flames were contained but not enough to put the flames out. And Damian screamed and wept. His screams mixed with the harsh sounds of the rain and the chaos behind him. His tears blending with the painful rainfall against his face.

Eventually the flames were quelled by the rain and the screaming of frightened people disappeared. And even the pellets of water weren’t as painful and strong anymore. In front of Damian, the eerily dark, empty and silent forest seemed to mock him.

He too, stopped grieving. He couldn’t even tell if his throat was hoarse from screaming, or if his eyes burned after weeping so much. All Damian knew was emptiness now.

His assassins were hidden, too afraid to even approach him in such a state. They could see very clearly how broken their lord has become. They could see that he had fully entered into the darkness. This was something they have wanted collectively, and yet they feared the day that it would come—of the change necessary—and here it was.

The day they had feared the most.

A death they feared more of happening then their master’s.

Raven was an existence to them that was almost rather vile. It wasn’t that she was a bad person, it was because she was quite the opposite that they recognized the danger. The implication. 

The weakness a Demon’s Head should not be having. And yet, it was also the same reason why they would go out of their way to ensure her safety. They could see clearly the kind of man their lord can be when she is taken off the equation. And they feared that kind of man even more.

Sometimes the assassins of the league would think that there really was no right or wrong between a Damian with or without his Raven. But they are Damian Al Ghul’s underlings, so of course, they would just follow. And since they knew he wanted her safe, following that would be easier than deciding who to fear more.

Him without her, or him with her.

Her clothes were no longer white. Her robes were always so pristinely white, thus she always stood out amongst the assassins with their black garbs. Now, it had the tinge of brown, and there was blood, dirt and rips everywhere, and mud on the parts that touch the ground. The assassins felt awful seeing her in that state. It was simply unfamiliar.

And Damian suddenly stood up. The air around him grew lifeless.

What would their leader do?

“Let’s go.” He said in such an empty tone. His voice is slightly different from what his assassins were used to.

His assassins reappeared around him. “Let’s return to Nanda Parbat.”

When Damian arrived at Nanda Parbat, the assassins who were not with their lord previously, upon seeing their lady’s lifeless corpse, understood the situation quickly. And they found that they were holding back their shivers of fear. Soon, the entire place was filled with lifelessness and trepidation.

“Prepare a basin of water, a wash cloth, sponge and every kind of essential oils we have.” Damian ordered as he continued to walk through his palace. The echoes of his footsteps are very eerie.

“Prepare the best silks we have too.” He added quietly.

He brought Raven into a room. “This was supposed to be my surprise for you.” He mumbled looking at the walls and decorations in the room. “I painstakingly prepared everything for you.” He mumbled, setting her down gently on the bed. He kneels by her side, holding her hand and resting it on his forehead. And he wept silently.

Her fingers were so stiff and cold against his skin. And it made his heart ache again.

Soon his subjects placed all that he asked for in the room. They did not say a thing about their own master kneeling on the floor by the side of his dead lover. And they quietly left just like how they entered– in complete silence.

Minutes passed before he pulled away from her lifeless body. His heart ached as he tried to remove her clothes off of her. He was so careful, he had to be. He was so afraid he’d hurt her more. And when all the dirty clothes were off her, his eyes twitched at the bruises and wounds all over her body.

He couldn’t save her.

Silent tears fell from his eyes as his shaking hands reached out for the sponge and water with some lavender oils. He gently cleaned her with the sponge and dried her skin with the washcloth. And with all the dirt and blood off of her body, he could see even more clearly all the wounds and bruises.

He was late—too late.

But as he cleaned her, he had made up his mind. He has resources.

“You might hate me for this. But I am willing to take the consequences.” He slipped in a white silk dress on her. And he picks her up, his eyes full of resolve.

The next thing Damian knew was the brown walls of the cavern illuminated by torches. And the green liquid of the pool in front of him. He was very familiar with this place. He could hear the sound of the flickering torches around him, and the sound of breathing from his own lips.

The woman in his arms, must have been dead for a few hours now. The pool looked very inviting, despite its disgusting color.

“There have been a few people that the Lazarus Pit revived—and the consequences, my beloved, I am willing to take.” He stroked her cold cheek. “Forgive me.” His apology was simply lip service. He actually didn’t care if he would hate her. He wouldn’t care if she would not be the same.

A life without her—was really—a life he was not willing to live.

As long as her heart was beating, and there was breath in her lungs, then everything was worth it.

He kissed her forehead gently and then looked at the Lazarus Pit. His eyes were cold and determined. He took a step near the pit and continued on. His hold on her was gentle, her head resting on his shoulder. Soon the water was around his waist and he lowered her. He waited for a moment, his heart aching at having to fully submerge his beloved into the green liquid, but he cannot hesitate now. 

Damian kneeled and so Raven was submerged under the water, his head above the water.

He waited and waited. And it felt so long that it hurt.

She had already died because he was too late and here he was drowning her dead body. It felt like he was killing her ten times over. But he closed his eyes, his jaw clenched tightly.

And finally, he felt her twitch against him and arms wrapped around him. He quickly pulled her up by standing up. There was a lot of screaming from her, her entire eyes black.

“Raven! Raven!” He called out but she kept screaming. “It’s me!” And he felt a sting on his left shoulder. She had bit him hard, he was bleeding.

“It’s me.” He coaxed her as he patted her head. “It’s me.” He hugged her and she whimpered, teeth still on his shoulder.

“My Lord!” It was the familiar voice of a woman he had become friends with when he was twelve. The worry in her voice was so unlike her. He turned around, and for the first time, her face was not frozen in the expression that he was used to—indifference. Her facial expression matched the tone of her voice.

It was so clear on her face and in her tone, the fear and the pain she felt.

And when her eyes landed on Raven whose teeth were still on his shoulder, her body winced. She gulped down her messy thoughts. And suddenly fell to her knees.

“I should have been there!” She said her head casted down.

“Raven is perfectly fine.” Damian replied, and the woman before him, who was his shadow, his right hand—among other things, just clenched her fist silently.

“I should have been summoned back. I should have gone back.” She made her mind up. She shouldn’t have waited for a summon.

“Everything is alright. Raven is fine.” He caressed his lover’s black hair. “You had a mission to complete. And my Raven– my beloved Raven is completely safe.” Damian insisted as he continued to caress the hair of the woman in his arms who had growled at him like an animal.

“We will be alright.” Damian finally said as he walked out from the waters of the pit. The lady outside the pool silently kneeled with clenched eyes and fists.

Raven was never the same, but Damian welcomed the change with open arms. After all, she was still breathing and alive.

Damian Al Ghul for a moment was a hero. And in that time that he was a hero, naturally he would meet other heroes.

That was how he met her.

His Raven.

He would describe her as a very graceful woman. She was quiet, kind, generous and lovely. Despite her name sounding as if it should belong to a lonely person or an unkind being, she was none of these. But her name did befit her origins. In the sense that she is the daughter of a being synonymous to satan; and of intergalactic alien origin, the conqueror of worlds. Therefore, the name Raven as ominous as it was, befit her well, and yet also– not so well.

But that was the thing, he was only a hero for only a moment. That moment was all that mattered, since—after all, that was how he met her. As she continued on her heroic path, he returned to what he knew to be right as a child, the path of darkness.

He took upon himself, the name Al Ghul, a name synonymous to a demon, and he used it well. And thus, Damian Al Ghul was reborn anew, he became the Demon’s Head. The name became associated to a cruel, cruel man. But he changed the ways of his organization, and tread very, very strictly on a grey line. And in doing so, he keeps his Raven. And remember it well and do not forget, he only stays on that grey line to keep her by his side.

And if anything were to happen to his beloved Raven, he will cross to the darkness before one could even blink his own eyes, and will burn everything and anything in his path with his bare hands.

So, make no mistake by taking his Raven away or you will live a life even more painful than death. For Damian Al Ghul has a league of assassin as his army, who are extremely loyal to him. And him alone.

Killing for him was as easy as dropping a needle on a hay stack.

Damian Al Ghul, the leader of the league of assassins, stood inside his throne room made of beautiful marble in ivory and gold. The sun high up in the sky, its light entering the space so blindingly. The sunlight weaves through the pillars and mashrabiya* leaving beautiful intricate patterns on the marble floors. The sunlight helped give an illusion of brightness and happiness and warmth to the chamber.

Damian was facing his throne, his back against the door as he read the papers he was holding with his right hand. His left hand resting against his back, atop his green cape. He was wearing his black with gold uniform and armor with a green cape in contrast to the almost white room. And with his cold facial expression one would be reminded, that all the sunlight was giving after all, was just an illusion of warmth.

Damian Al Ghul was not kind at all. But of course, there is an exception to the rule.

The door suddenly opened with a burst and a loud bang, and Damian’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He had strictly told them that he shouldn’t be disturbed unless necessary. He coaxed himself thinking that it had to be an emergency. With narrowed eyes he tilts his head a bit to the left to acknowledge the presence of the intruder.

“My Lord!” A man in an all-black suit says hurriedly as he kneels on the floor with a thud. His left leg against the floor while the other propped up to let his right arm rest on top. His head bent toward the floor.

“What is it that you have to report?” His enunciation of every word unhurried and heavy. Damian could hear the gulp from his poor frightened little underling. Even if said underling was twenty meters away.

“It’s—it’s the Lady.” The poor man could barely say. And even though the sun was high up in the sky, and that it’s light shone brightly in the room, making the chamber look as if it was glittering, it became cold. So cold, that both people seemed frozen in place, but the poor underling was the one fighting his shivers.

“What about the Lady?” Damian asked a little too clearly, that the poor subordinate could only kneel on both knees, bend his body and rested his forehead against his hands that was now on the floor. At this point, Damian turned slowly, as his green eyes landed on the man in black.

“What about the Lady?” He repeated even more slowly than the last. And Damian saw his assassin shiver in fear.

“She-she has been missing for a few days, and we searched for her—but—but—she is nowhere to be found.” He reported as calmly as he could. The subordinate thought the room couldn’t possibly get any colder than it already was, but he was wrong. The moment he finished his report, he was kneeling there in pure horror, he was sure he will die today.

“It seems that my league of assassin who are supposed to be like a shadow, cannot protect their lady in the shadow.” It was spoken slowly that it was certain: that this was the calm before the storm. “It seems that my league of assassins lack training.” He concluded.

“You cannot even track down your lost lady, why do I even keep any of you!” Damian’s voice echoed through the chambers; his fury clear. And yet, anyone who knew their lord, would know that was not the full extent of his anger.

No, it really wasn’t.

“Lady Shiva!” He summoned and instantly a woman with black hair up to her neck in red appeared beside the kneeling assassin.

“It seems that you have been lax in training the league.” He tells her and as she bends her torso to bow. Before she could start with her apologies, he continued on. “Prepare the top ten men in the league, and have them follow me. We will look for the lady.” He started walking down his throne.

“No, in fact, I will be looking for her. And if you so choose to have people follow me then so be it.” He said when his eyes landed on Lady Shiva as he approached them, the assassin up on his feet, his head bent low as to be respectful to their Lord.

“When I find Raven, I hope my league’s errors would be corrected. But that would be wishful thinking, won’t it, Lady Shiva? I will personally see to their training when I return.” Lady Shiva and the assassin gave way to their Lord.

“Of course, my Lord.” She mutters as he completely disappears.

 ~.~.~.~.~

 Damian held a woman in blood stained and dirt-filled white robes on his arms. Her face had cuts and bruises and she looked so weak and small against his shoulder. When he looks down at her injured face, there was a softness in his glance. A gentleness unbefitting of the Demon’s Head.

But as gentle as he was as he held her, the scene behind him was not. Orange flames flickered as he walks out from the heat and the building calmly.

“I want anyone who is even remotely related to this tracked down, and I want them tortured.” He said so calmly as he held the woman he loves in his arms. His gentle glance has become cold as he looks at his subordinates in front of him. The crunch of green grass under his feet as he continued on into the night that was illuminated by the orange flames behind him.

“If done well enough, then maybe I won’t be so strict when I train you all. Prove that you all aren’t so useless after all.” His tone stone cold.

The gentleness from before must have been an illusion. Because this was the Damian Al Ghul, they all love, respected and oh-so-feared.

“Of course, my Lord.” One replied with a bow.

“No.” They pause as they wait for Damian’s final instructions. “Keep the master mind alone, I would love to capture and torture them myself.” And the shadows that was surrounding him disappeared. Raven stirred in his arms, against his chest.

“Damian?” She called out weakly. And he stood frozen as he took a peek eagerly at the woman in his arms. “They didn’t know.” She mumbles and he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes on her. She means that it wasn’t the Justice League’s fault.

“They didn’t know it was going to be a trap.” She tried to keep her head a float.

“And look at the price you had to pay.” He said bitterly as he sneered a little and continued walking to the jet.

“I—” She couldn’t even say anything to defend the Justice League, because she felt the turmoil in Damian. How could she defend the Justice League knowing what he was feeling?

“I didn’t mind that you wanted to continue being a hero. I would not take that from you.” He sets her down inside the jet. “And I know that you know this to be true, I only stay in between good and bad for you. If you are taken out of the equation, I have no qualms in being the Demon’s Head, in its truest sense. But you choose to love me, despite of who I am. And I will not have any one harm you. Less others think that the Demon’s head is weak.”

“You are not a bad person, my love.” She replied, as she cups his cheek. He closes his eye and places a hand over hers. He opens his eyes and meets her violets irises.

“But I can be, if I am without you.” He whispered so gently as his forehead laid against hers. The words completely true. They stay like that for a minute in silence, and he pulls away.

“You shall stay in Nanda Parbat as you recuperate. I will inform the Justice League.”  He stares at her sternly but she does not refuse him and he turns away from her.

The Justice League has been quite cautious about Raven. They knew of her relationship with the leader of the League of Assassins. And what the risk of putting her in imminent danger would mean considering Damian’s nature. Therefore, Raven was treated as if she was glass and yet, also fire.

“I begged them to give me the mission.” She said softly, she took note of Damian’s body twitching but she had to continue on. “After you left, and made a name for yourself as the new Demon’s Head, they were uncertain of where my loyalties lie.” She found it difficult to talk due to her injuries, but she had enough strength to heal herself a bit, to keep herself conscious and stop internal bleeding. And so Raven did, as she continued on.

“And then you made a point to show that you were not like your predecessor. And yet, you also made it clear you could be far worst. And I, your beloved, was someone who they could not risk in the forefront anymore.” She moved in her seat, as she felt her insides return back to how it should be. “I just wanted to do one more mission, where I wasn’t treated like a bomb, and after that, I will be done.”

He turned to look at her with a shocked expression. Her voice was calm as her face was gentle. Despite her battered appearance, she looked like a saint to him. The words he couldn’t seem to say aloud, she felt, and she responded as she closed her eyes.

“Yes, I was going to leave the Titans, and be with you. Commit fully to you.” Her voice was soft but his thoughts were a mess. And it was clear to Raven, all of his thoughts, as if they were all written on the air for her to read.

“The Justice League thought it was a harmless mission; therefore, they could let me go. It was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission, nothing more. But we were ambushed, and I was captured.” She sighs and opens her eyes to look up at Damian. The water in his eyes finally gave way as he blinked when their met, and she inhaled a breath.

“You could have died.” He said it lightly, that Raven’s heart started beating fast in her ears. His cold eyes that had never been directed at her, has finally landed on her. “You could have died, if I was just a minute too late.” And like his eyes that could no longer contain his tears. Raven could not ignore his emotions. And she broke into a sob, as she covered her lips with her fingers. He knelt beside her, as he put a hand on her cheek.

And his face was not cold nor was it warm. The eyes she had seen him use with his fellow assassins had disappeared. She didn’t expect that the day he would look at her, the way he did his subordinates, would happen.

“Are you crying for me?” He whispered and she sniffed as she looks at him. But still, even if his cold stare was frightening. She could never be afraid of Damian Al Ghul, even if he was an Al Ghul, and the current Demon’s Head.

“I’m sorry.” She tried to contain the emotions. And she could feel the apology he was about to say. And before he could, she leans her forehead against his. Places her right thumb over his lips as her palm rested on his jaw. “But I swear to you, I am done with being a hero. I want to walk that grey line with you.”

And his lips turned up into a smile. A smile that was only ever directed at her. His gentleness and kindness only exclusive to her. His warmth only reserved for her. And she could feel it all in her chest, and in her very bones.

The love he has for his beloved Raven.

And the danger, if he loses his bird.

 (FIN)

  Notes:

*Mashrabiya = those wooden windows with intricate design; (wiki says: is an architectural element which is characteristic of traditional architecture in the Islamic world and is a type of projecting oriel window enclosed with carved wood latticework).

I went and collected a few seers we know can see the future and a few items that allow people to see the future.
All together we had a total of 7 individual ways to look into the future.
Out of all of the different ways and positions that we looked, there are 4 outcomes for this planet’s future in 100 years.

A. Dead planet with nothing on it. A few artificial life forms here and there but it’s mostly just barren.

B. Enslaved world under absolute dictatorship. This is where something has conquered the planet and everything is miserable.

C. Everything is fine and the world is just more advanced in technology.

D. Half the world is a wasteland while the remaining half is in a heated battle with some unknown forces that seek to destroy what’s left of the planet.

So yeah.
This is our possible futures.
Just letting you all know in advance.
Sorry to destroy all your future timeline fan fictions.

Some more Dice King AU doodles (Also yay! I have a name for it now!)

Please this thingy was supposed to be a one time thing, now it’s an AU with an episode kind of feel KJSBKFS

I also added a new addition to “Dice King’s” disguise and that’s using stickers to replace the pattern of his pips so it CANT be too obvious!, made them yellow too but I have no idea how he looks like with it :’D

I just made this meme and it represents me in so many levels.

Tables Turned fanfic just got its first chapter! It’s still slow and stuff but the next will have more glims and glams ( especially since Grooves is on it lol)

There it goes: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32917573/chapters/81693322

Please check out and see what you think!

( ╹▽╹ )

more here

https://randomcloud.tumblr.com/post/657282741240512512/so-i-was-really-excited-to-post-this-one-it-had

https://randomcloud.tumblr.com/post/657360276288602112/theres-another-concept-to-the-au-i-presented