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Chapter 36 – So Long, Archer
Ophelia should have been more afraid of the million-ton rock rushing towards the ground behind her. She should have been the selfless hero that sacrificed her own needs for the sake of the world. Seven billion lives for one? It was a no brainer as Nat would say. She should have been terrified that all her efforts to save the world were in jeopardy.
But all she could focus on was Wanda. Her body curling in on itself in the air as she hurtled toward the Earth at breakneck speeds. The ground rushing up to meet her eagerly with her hair whipping around her like a broken halo.
Ophelia frantically streamlined her body to reach her on time, the wind whistling in her ears with savage intensity as she rocketed to the ground. Abruptly she felt an unwelcome calmness wash over her from Wanda. Dull and grey with its lack of intensity, the brawler stared at Wanda's eyes as she fell and saw the same thing she felt through the link.
Acceptance.
Whatever would happen in the next few seconds, the Maximoff witch had already made peace with her death.
Ophelia felt white-hot indignation course through her veins at Wanda's surrender.
'You're not allowed to give up on me, Maximoff.' She thought to herself as ire and desperation fuelled her last-ditch effort to save her.
Her arms reached out as jagged rocks came into view.
Her teeth bared in tremendous effort as her fingers skimmed the leather of Wanda's jacket.
'Please.' Ophelia silently pleaded as her hand was mere millimetres from grasping Wanda and pulling her to safety.
At this point, she didn't even know what she was pleading for. Please stay alive, please reach out to me, please don't give up. Please.
Finally, something seemed to click in Wanda's head at that moment. A survival instinct that had long been stifled, triggered by dark green eyes that were alight with vicious need. The witch reached out her hand to meet Ophelia's just as the ground was about to slam into them.
In an instant, Ophelia wrapped her arms around her back and cradled the Sokovian to her chest protectively. With an expression of effort, the brawler sharply declined her rapid flight down to not shatter their bones upon impact. And despite her efforts to slow their speeds, a crater still formed as Ophelia landed roughly in the deep hole left from Novi Grad. Her legs were imbued with astral energy as cracks formed from her hasty impact.
Gently lowering Wanda to the ground, Ophelia began frantically checking her over. The sickly pale tint on her face and the gushing wound on the side of her body immediately taking precedence.
"You are not dying on me, Maximoff. Now give me a second to give you bandages, okay?" Ophelia groaned as she dug through her pockets, rummaging past band-aids and antiseptic wipes while looking for her gauze rolls.
