Scene 30 - Loss
The wails from Garth were hard to stomach as he wept loudly over Tula's body. The white sheet was stained with his tears and Kaldur knelt beside his best friend as they grieved.
"Garth, please stand up. They have to bring her back to Atlantis. You have to be strong to tell her parents," The blonde Atlantean said gently as the black haired teen lashed out, "Strong?! How can you say that at a time like this?! I'm in mourning; I don't have the time to be strong now! How could all of you let her die?!"
He shot a dirty look towards the rest and they remained silent, knowing saying more would incur his wrath.
The girls were all teary eyed at the loss of their red haired friend. Brianna was the only few who stood closest to the body. Tula was one of her best friends, the one who taught her Atlantean and Shayeris style cooking. It was painful to leave Aquagirl behind when the redhead practically bellowed at them to leave and used her magic to force them back before the explosion occurred shortly after and the entrance sealed shut. She remembered crying out and banging on the doors, attempting to melt them open with her powers but burning herself in the process. Even Superboy could not punch through them. The rest of the Team was helpless as they dropped to their knees in grief. Miss Martian arrived some minutes later along with the rest of the Atlanteans and she density shifted through the door.
She's dead… The Martian's voice was broken.
Open the door! Garth replied angrily, refusing to believe M'gann's words. It took a long time for the red headed alien to figure out the very complex locking mechanism and when the doors were finally open, the boys were struck silent and Garth ran towards his girlfriend and reached down to cup Tula's burned cheek. "Tula, I'm here… Please wake up…"
Brianna's memories were interrupted by the arrival of Aquaman. Lagoon Boy and Aqualad stood up to greet him while Tempest still lay splayed over Aquagirl's corpse.
"My king, Tula passed away…" Kaldur said quietly and the monarch could only nod silently.
He gingerly walked over to his wife's ex-student and rested his hand on Garth's shoulder, "Garth, we have to go. She has to return home to Atlantis. Tula will be much more comfortable there." Tempest could only give the briefest of nods before he stood up and the stretcher with Tula on it was pushed into the Zeta tube.
Kaldur walked over to Brianna to wipe away her tears and kissed her forehead, "I'll be back after the funeral. I love you. Take care of yourself." The brunette nodded and whispered her words of love in return.
"I should have sent Rocket for the mission. Tula would have been protected and she didn't have to die," The Atlantean said softly as he sunk his weight into Brianna's bed.
She sat down next to him and stroked his hair and cheek. "It's not your fault, Kaldur. We wouldn't have known. She was willing to die to save all of us. I wouldn't have been alive if not for her sacrifice. Tula knew the risks and accepted it. Aquagirl died an honorable and heroic death."
The blonde looked at her softly and took her bandaged hands in his and kissed it gently. "I know… but she's still a friend I've known since childhood. It's like a part of me got ripped out. Garth is having it the worst… He's never coming back to the Team after this. To make things even more difficult, Artemis and Wally have decided to retire. It's a big blow to our morale."
She mulled over his words for a few moments and replied, "I think everyone on the Team have parts of us ripped out after Jason's and Tula's deaths. It's not just you alone, Kaldur. We're all hurting too. "
He reached up to pull her close, "I know. I'm sorry that you got hurt."
She smiled, "Time heals all wounds. We picked ourselves up after Jason; we'll be able to do for Tula as well. "
Kissing her hair, he murmured, "I don't know what I would do if you died."
Without hesitation, she replied, "Then you'll have to keep living on for my sake. Please Kaldur; promise me that no matter what happens, you'll move on. You keep moving forward after you grieve. I would do the same even though it would agonize me."
Kaldur couldn't help but remember a line she used on their first anniversary years ago and he responded, "You're so stubborn and I still love you."
He pressed a kiss and the brunette chuckled, "You love everything about me, you silly guppy." The pet name was used privately and he secretly loved it though he was sure the other guys on the Team would not let him get away with it.
The couple enjoyed a few more quiet moments together before they decided to go around the cave to provide more counsel and comfort to those who were still distressed. What Brianna didn't know was that in a few months, the roles would be reversed and everyone would be looking out for her instead…
Author's Note: I apologize if this chapter is depressing. =( Do take note in that the Young Justice: Legacy game comes out in September next month and Greg said we will know more about Tula's death there but I couldn't wait till September to write about that so I had to give my own take on how she died. Hopefully I made her death honorable.
And some of you might have thought this chapter would be the betrayal chapter. Well, the next one is. I did say in the previous chapter that two devastating events will be coming soon and that would be Tula's death and Kaldur "going over" to the darkside. =P So yeah, just hold on and wait for the next one! You'll finally see if Brianna was let in on the secret!
Good news is, I'll be updating twice a week so it'll be around Monday and Friday. Yay!
In case anyone is curious... Kaldur and Brianna have already consummated their relationship (I alluded to that in the previous chapter) but they do it safely, of course so I am going to say there will be no babies in this story. Sorry about that.
To Molly Grace 16: I also had a tough time deciding whether she should be kept in the loop or not but you'll see in the next chapter, I promise!
To Ilana Lunus: Thanks and no worries! I'm actually a working young adult so I don't have schoolwork to worry about. ;)
To Eszra: I think your itch will still be there after this chapter but I promise it'll be scratched and relieved in the next!
To murdercrowther: Thank you!
To piggythelaw: You're welcome and thank you for continuously reviewing!