Waltz of Woodland Warfare

Cherry didn’t even have a chance to react to the bullet at all, especially when Theodore embraced her out of nowhere, almost dropping her bow in the process. She jolted around and hugged him back by reflex.

“Woah, Th-Theo?!” she squeaked.

He slowly broke off his hug, a hand still holding her head firmly. “Not again,” he murmured. “I’m not letting it happen again under my watch.”

“What are you…” She gaped her eyes next, facing Theodore’s geometric shield that trapped a bullet targeting her head. A small ripple continued to vibrate in its enclosure, almost as if Theodore’s shield was absorbing its force.

Theodore grinned. “Ever since I’ve awakened my Crimoire, I’ve been practicing this special skill,” he whispered. “I’ve been aching to master it as soon as I can, and I’m glad it paid off after all.”

Cherry turned back to meet his intense gaze, and she couldn’t help but tense up at his rare moment of sincerity. “Y-You have?” she stammered.

He turned to the responsible shooter. “I have,” he said. “In fact, I even came up with a name for it. Behold…” He reached for the bullet and clenched it, the wall surrounding it reshaping it into wind circling his hand. He retracted it, and with a bellow, he reflected the same amount of force back at the shooter. “The power of ‘Plot Armor!’”

Cherry dropped her jaw as the surge of power crashed into the branch and knocked the shooter back onto the ground. She gawked at Theodore next, who flipped his ponytail with pride.

“Plot… armor?” she sputtered.

“Yeah? I think the name fits, don’t you think?” He tossed a wink. “I just saved your life, after all.”

Cherry blushed and looked away. “Th-Thanks!” she said. “I-I appreciate it, Theo.”

“Haha, cute.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” He looked away and tapped on his earplugs, scanning the ground scattered with unconscious henchmen. “Alright, looks like we’ve cleared them all up.”

Cherry deeply inhaled and released a sigh of relief, patting her chest. “Wow, fighting sure can take a toll on you,” she murmured.

“Don’t faint just yet. It’s still far from over,” he said, gazing at the ongoing battle with the serpent. “Let’s go regroup with the others.”

Cherry nodded, slipped off her branch, and hopped down with each lower branch until gracefully landing on her feet. She straightened her back and looked up at Theodore, who also followed suit. Except, he slipped on a branch and fell.

Cherry quickly rushed over and raised her arms just in time to catch him. She almost fell with him were it not for her Crimoire supporting her already weak arms.

Theodore blinked up at her, and she blinked back. The two of them began to realize the certain type of carry Cherry did, and of course, the eccentric struck a dramatic pose on cue.

“Ohh my,” he cooed, pressing a knuckle onto his forehead, one leg sticking high into the air. “To think ‘tis I who gets carried like a fair princess! Oh, be still, my throbbing heart!”

Cherry released her Crimoire, dropped him, and dusted her hands. “Alright, let’s hurry up and find the others,” she said.

“Oww...” Theodore rubbed his rear end and forced himself back up. “Okay, okay, let’s—”

A rumbling explosion erupted at a distance, and the two whipped toward a distant, glowing blue laser beamed toward the sky. Cherry and Theodore glanced at each other with widened eyes before breaking into a sprint.

✦☆✦

More bullets rained through the thicket, but Charlie hastily deflected them all with his sword. He enshrouded his blade with red flames and slashed, sending a flurry of scorching waves at a few approaching figures. A few collapsed, but one of them blocked and parried it with a swing of their sword.

Charlie blocked their strike with his blade, a loud clang reverberating where their blades met. The two briefly struggled for the upper hand until another cloaked figure began to sneak behind Charlie.

“Shit—!”

A petite lady in yellow swooped in and swiftly kicked them away, causing everyone else to flinch in surprise. Charlie used this opportunity to flash his opponent with his flames and headbutted them. He kicked them away and rushed toward Dorothy’s side.

“Thanks, Dorothy,” said Charlie. “I owe you one.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Dorothy, brandishing her halberd.

“How did you find me?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. Your flames gave off a familiar sense of warmth.”

“Huh, how does that work?”

She shrugged and shook her head. “Now’s not the time to ponder about it!”

“Right!”

The two nodded and pressed their backs against each other, parrying and blocking every blade and projectile soaring at them. While Charlie fought them one by one, Dorothy faced more than two—hell, maybe even more than five—at a time.

It was already mind boggling enough that Monty sent a sheer number of reinforcements just to kill him and his friends off, but Dorothy was on a whole new level! Did that scheming lunatic predict that she could entirely defeat them all on her own?

A few taller, bulkier henchmen charged at her, raising their battleaxes over their heads. Dorothy raised hers in return and simply swung her weapon through the air, delivering a sharp streak of wind and blowing them off their feet. Her wave even sliced down a few trees in the process.

“Oh, no! I didn’t mean to hit the trees!” said Dorothy, cupping her mouth.

“Now’s not the time to voice your regrets!” said Charlie. “Archers to your left!”

Dorothy whipped toward the arrows and blocked them with a spin of her axe. Something else caught the corner of her eye, and she turned to face a scene of a bulky man pulling a tree from its roots and hurling it toward them.

Dorothy rushed over, and with a swing, she batted away the tree like a ball, sending it back to the thrower and hitting the poor lad and a few others unconscious.

Charlie could only drop his jaw in astonishment like the other witnesses.

Note to self: never piss off Dorothy. Not like he ever wanted to.

A few of the remaining henchmen even shared the same horrified looks. As Dorothy dusted her hands, she glanced in their direction and brandished her halberd without even breaking a sweat. She took a step. They immediately flinched, turned pale, and booked it back into the shadows of the forest, probably searching for the others.

As the battlefield grew quiet, the two victors took a moment to catch their breaths, carefully scanning their surroundings as they pressed their backs against each other. When only the noise of the train echoed through the darkness, the two sighed out of exhaustion.

“That whole fight ended faster than I thought,” said Charlie, still heavily breathing. “And that was all you, Dorothy. You’re really incredible, you know that?”

The young lady timidly swayed her shoulders. “Aw, thanks,” she said. “I’m just glad to help!” As she swayed though, she grimaced and cupped her bleeding shoulder.

Charlie stepped closer and peered at the cut. “That doesn’t look too deep,” he said. He fumbled around in his pockets and pulled out a roll of bandages. “Here, I’ll treat you.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” she said, stepping back. “I can handle it.”

“No, let me,” he said, unrolling the bandages. “I owe you. Plus, we need your strength later on.”

Dorothy raised her brows as they locked eye contact. His steadfast stare didn’t leave any room for arguments, so she hesitantly loosened her grip and looked away.

Charlie carefully raised her arm, wrapped the cut in one, swift motion, and tightly tied it up. “There,” he said.

Dorothy patted the bandages and faced him again. “Th-Thank you,” she murmured. “But you didn’t have to…”

He shook his head. “I can’t just look away when I see you hurt. Or anyone else either.”

“But, I’m—”

“Hella tough. Too damn strong. I know you can easily break my skull with a simple squeeze of your grip.” He looked away and scratched his head, wearing an odd expression. “But I… don’t like seeing allies hurt, no matter how strong they are. You get me, don’t you?”

Dorothy paused. As she pondered on such a thought, her heart grew strangely warm. She couldn’t deny it. Ren and her father were far stronger than her, but she would do the same for them. “You’re… right,” she murmured, smiling. “I… would do the same too.”

Charlie nodded. “In that case, are you hurt anywhere else?”

“Oh, no, I-I’m fine now.”

“Good. Then let’s—”

A loud blast erupted at a distance, and the two spun around to face a bright, blue laser shooting over the trees and into the sky. Charlie and Dorothy briefly exchanged surprised glances before nodding and breaking into a sprint.