If Only He Saved Her

Chapter 19 - Only to Save Her

Papillon observed the stillness on the field seconds before the battle cry. He then stepped out onto the deck, barking at his crew to fire. "Pound them my children, pound them! You bilged-sucking rats, break the old rotting wood of these ships!"

While the buccaneers on board cackled with each trembling cannon boom, the army charged at the incoming brigand. Within seconds, the clatter of clean iron armor clashed with swift slashes of single-edge swords.

"Ugh!" Chloe halted before Volpina, throwing her hands in the air; the orange pirate tattered the Queen Bee's coat. "Can't you see that this material is of rare magical essence?! I thought the magic could hold itself together. What an utter disgrace this is. I cannot look like this while fighting. At least my outfit is much more put together than yours. Who gave you permission to wear that revolting orange? It does not match your skin tone, my dear, anyways, give me one moment..."

She carefully took off the coat, Volpina took a step forward, Chloe swiftly grabs her arm and flip her over. Volpina laid in the dirt, her face scrunched as she rubbed her head. The blonde glared and spat, "I said, give me one moment." She neatly folded the coat, placed it on the ground. She then tugged at her trousers and swiftly spun her honey wand into the dirt, which left the fox surprised in a sticky mountain of syrup and sprinted to her next opponent.

Gabbie stopped in her place, hollering and laughing at the charade. Before she could compose herself, the Bubbler sent a flurry of poisonous bubbles in her direction, which she avoided with her shields. Chloe's behavior seemed to lighten Adrien's men's hearts for a moment, instilling them with more courage. Noticing his eyes on her, she flipped her hair, dashing past Chat Noir, then winking back at him, she smirked,

"It's improper to have your mouth agape, Adrien. It makes you look quite silly, in fact." Catching his attention, he shook his head, the clashing colors in the sky reflected off his golden hair, and he too chased down more pirates with his friend.

Adrien rapidly analyzed that the fight on the field was surprisingly neutral; both sides had their losses. However, he frequently and frantically looked back at the docks; when he turned to face another pirate, he prayed under staggered breath that the fleet would hold firm. A few of the ships sunk, which allowed the Akuma to near closer to the docks. The cheering pirates taunted the navy, who attempted to block the army as well as they could.

Ladybug had no issue getting past most of Adrien's men. She glided through the tall grass and over dirt spots. With a twitch of her finger, his men were crushed by a red force. Some of her companions and zombie army had fallen as well. A radiant red pulsated through the field; Adrien leaped into the air to avoid the wave. However, everyone else in its radius was knocked to the ground. Both sides attempted to regain their strength and balance. Ladybug floated closer to her target, who was swiftly taking advantage of the delay pouncing on nearing targets and save his men more time for recovery.

Suddenly, the peacock felt pressure against her legs; she cried out when sharp thorns gripped her ankles, the ground ahead of her crumbled, revealing a hole. An ominous purple force entangled in the weeded thorns pulled her closer to the sinkhole. Laying tattered and tired, the Lady Wifi pulled herself together, distracting the shield maker from Ladybug. Chloe slid under another flurry of bubbles and two-dimensional drawn blades and knives as she rushed to aid her helpless friend. Her knees were scraped and hair whipped about, for the first time she ignored her appearance to close the gaping hole and cut her friend from the botanical bond.

There, Adrien was alone, his ears perked up to the sound under the ground, but it was too late to save Gabbie. The deafening sound of pounding cannonballs, whistles, and whips of the sails falling, and the groan of his men clouded Chat Noir's mind, briefly distracting him from the Lady in Red. There she was, about twelve feet off the ground, her eyes glowing red at first, then blue, then red again. Her head twitched slightly, and an enchanting smile grew larger on her face.