Chapter 14: Queen Bee's Sacrifice
Saying those words, the girls quickly transformed into Queen Bee and Louve Grise. As their transformation ended, they both felt like their old selves, bustling with energy. Gone were the apathy, the exhaustion, the aching muscles. In a way, it all felt like the end of a great deprivation. It felt good to be wearing those outfits against their skin once more, along with their corresponding powers. Still, they knew did not have much time. The Colector could show up at any given moment, and the could not waste a single second. Knowing they had very little time, Queen Bee asked Louve Grise to place her arms around her weist and to hold on tight. The wolf heroine did so, after which, Queen Bee took off from the ground as fast as a rocket, up into the sky. Once they were high enough, the blonde dove, while telling her friend to prepare for a fast landing.
Down on the ground, people were watching the ghastly show, while waiting for the firefighters to show up. A nearby police patrol arrived at the scene, and the first thing they did was make sure that no one approached the burning building, while trying to calm down the mob that had concentrated on that street. As thesenoir officer tried his best to tell people to stand back, the other officer, upon seeing someone coming out of the building, quickly went to her rescue. Holding her in his arms, he quickly checked her for injuries she might have. Upon close inspection, she did not look like she had any burns, but she was coughing a lot, mostly because of the thick black smoke that kept coming from inside the burning building.
"Please, stand back! For your own safety, do not come any closer!" -the senior officer told the mob that was still gathering around burning building. Noticing an old woman trying to pass, he stopped her. –"Please, madam, I'm afraid I can't let you pass."
"But my Adéle is up there, I have to save her!"
"Adéle? Who is she, madam? Is she your grandaugther?"
"No, it's my cat, officer! Please, let me through! I must save her!" -the old lady begged him.
"I'm sorry madam, but I can't risk letting you in that building because of a pet. Try to understand." -the officer told her, when he noticed his partner with the victim that gotten out of the building. He immediately asked him if everything was fine. -"Hey! Is she alright?"
"She seems okay, but it's best if the paramedics take a look at her. How long until they arrive?!"
"According to dispatch, they're four minutes away." -he answered him. –"Though I don't know if the building will last that long. The fire's starting to get out of control." -he thought to himself, as he saw the flames growing in size
And then, they arrived. Flying over everyone's head, Queen Bee and Louve Grise approached the ground, where they were greeted by those on the street, happy that they had showed up to help. Landing near the officers, they did not lose time with trivialities. Not only they had to hurry, because the Collector could show up at any minute, but also the fire was starting to run wild.
"Is she alright?" -Louve Grise asked the officer, who was holding the victim.
"She'll be fine." -he answered her. –"Thank God you decided to show up."
"Do you know if there's anyone still in the building?" -Queen Bee asked the senior officer.
"We don't know. But it's possible that there are still some people inside." -he answered. –"The firefighters are on their way, but they're going to take a couple of more minutes to get here." -he stated.
"My cat Adéle is still inside! You must save her! She's on the fifth floor!" -the old lady declared. –"Please, she's all I have in the world."
"We'll get her out, madam, I promise." -Queen Bee declared, as she turned her attention back to the police officer. –"Look, my friend and I are going to try and take care of this, okay? Make sure nobody tries to enter the building, until the firefighters arrive." -she said, to which he waved his head in compliance. –"Louve, let's go!"
"What's the plan?" -Louve asked her.
"I'll go inside and see if there's still anyone in there, while you take care of the flames, okay?" -Queen Bee told her.
"Shouldn't I go inside and you stay here? I can freeze the flames as I go."
"No, I can fly, you can't. It's best if I take care of the inside, while you freeze these flames out here and make sure they don't jump into the other buildings. Once you think the flames are under control, come and join me inside." -Queen Bee told her partner, who agreed with her head. –"Let's do this?"
"Go, I got your back!" -Louve Grise smiled at her.
As Queen Bee dashed inside the burning building, Louve Grise looked for the best way to use her powers. She knew that she had to put out the flames, before they spread to the surrounding buildings. Using her freeze breath, she began by putting out the flames that were then consuming the building's front. Even with her ice powers, it was hard for her to extinguish the flames. When they were finally extinguished, she was almost breathless.
"Okay, I think these won't cause any more trouble." -the wolf heroine thought to herself, as she looked up. –"Now, I have to take care of the flames on the building's rooftop. Better get a move on."
Using the police car and one of the street lamps as a makeshift step ladder, she propelled herself to the rooftop, climbing the last two floors of the building's front, being careful not to fall off, due to the damage the front had sustained from the flames. Once she reached the rooftop, she saw the flames were still very much alive there. She had just assessed the situation, when something blew up not far from her, throwing her into the ground. Hitting the ground, she was lucky she did not burn herself with the flames. Getting up, she looked to the place where the explosion occurred and what she saw scared and shocked her. Standing in one corner, surrounded by flames, were several barrels where it was written the words "Cooking Oil"
"Cooking oil?! Who in their right mind puts barrels filled with cooking oil on a rooftop?!" -Louve Grise asked out loud. –"I've got to make sure the rest doesn't explode!"
Using her ice breath once again, she tried to make sure those barrels would not blow up, by encasing them in a thick layer of ice. Once she believed those barrels did not constitute a menace any longer, she focused on trying to find a way to put out the flames that kept spreading, in part thanks to the barrel that had exploded earlier. She herself asked how just one of the barrels had blown up, and not all of them, though she thanked that fact.
Nervous because the Collector could show up, she knew she had to work faster. Looking around for something that could help her extinguish the flames, she saw what she needed to put out the flames on the rooftop, preventing them from burning the surrounding buildings, and with some luck, even put out the fire inside the floors below. Standing on the rooftop of the following building was a water tank. The plan was simple, break it using it her fans and let the water flow.
"Perfect! Let's do this!" -Louve Grise smiled, as she threw both her fans at the water tank.
At the same time, inside the building, Queen Been was facing a blazing inferno. She had already managed to get out two people who got trapped in their apartment two floors below, and was now moving towards the last two, where on the last one, she would find the cat from the old lady, who begged her to find her. Taking special care not to be hit by the flames, she once more began calling out to anyone who might be trapped inside one of the apartments in that floor. Looking around, she also hoped to find a fire extinguisher, but no such luck. On the other floors, she managed to get her hands on two, and had used them to put out some of the flames. As she did it, she found herself remembering the time she and the rest of Miss Bustier's class visited a firehouse and learned how to work with an extinguisher. Back then, she felt that had been a waste of her time, because she did not have any ideas of becoming a firefighter or to ever work with an extinguisher. But now, she was glad she had learned to do it. Once more, it proved that one never knows what tomorrow holds.
"Is anyone there! Call out!" -Queen Bee yelled, just before she used her special power to shrink down to the size of a nickle, allowing her to pass some flames, without burning herself. Once she passed the flames, she returned ot her regular size. –"If there's someone here, call out!"
"H-Help!" -a voice was heard.
The voice kept calling out for help. It sounded like the voice of a woman, and it was coming from one of the apartments in that floor. Focusing, the bee heroine tried her best to figure out which direction her voice was coming from. After a couple of seconds, she figured it was coming from her right. Using her trompo like a cutting shield, she opened a hole on the wall, hoping this would lead her to the person calling for help. Kicking it, she then entered the hole, and held her breath, so as to not breathe the thick black smoke coming from it.
"Is anyone here?!" -Queen Bee called out once again. The smoke was too thick for her to see anything, so she had to rely mostly on her ears.
"H-Here! I'm here!" -the voice called out.
"Keep shouting, I'm c-coming!" -Queen Bee coughed, as she moved in the voice's direction, while bumping into something that she felt was a couch.
A few seconds later, she found the person who was shouting for help. It was a young woman in her late 20's, who was trapped under a bookcase, which must have fallen on her when one of the explosions occurred. Kneeling by her side, the bee heroine tried to see if she was hurt or not.
"A-Are you okay? Can you move your legs?" -Queen Bee asked her.
"Y-Yes… it's the bookcase… it's too heavy." -the young woman said, as she recognized the heroine. –"W-Wait, you're Queen Bee, aren't you?"
"Yes, and don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here." -Queen Bee answered, as she readied herself to lift the bookcase. –"What's your name?" -she asked her.
"L-Lydia…" -she coughed
"Lydia, that's a great name. Is there anyone else here, with you?" -she asked, as she lift the bookcase with relative ease, releasing the woman.
"N-No, I live alone." -the woman said. As she tried to get up, she let out of a painful scream, wrapping her hands around her right ankle. –"M-My ankle… it hurts…" -she gritted her teeth in pain.
"Don't worry about it. I'll carry you… out of here." -Queen Bee coughed, as she looked for a way out of there. The smoke was starting to get thicker by the minute, and she feared that the hallway would be even worse. Using her trompo, she threw it against a window nearby, breaking it. Doing this, not only let some of the smoke out, but also let some sunlight in, allowing her to see better where she stepped in. Carefully grabbing the young woman, telling her to wrap her arms around her neck, she made her way towards the now broken window. –"Do you know if there's anyone else who might be trapped in this floor? Someone old, or someone who has children?" -she asked
"N-No, most apartments in this floor are empty. Besides me, there's only an elderly couple who lives on this floor, but they're currently on vacation in Nice. They even gave me the key to their house, and asked me to water their plants, while they were out of town." -she commented with the heroine.
"O-Okay, hold on tight. We're going to jump." -Queen Bee told her, when she saw water coming down. She figured that had to be Louve's doing.
After she said those words, Queen Bee flew out the window, carrying the young woman to safety. Lydia herself, who was afraid of heights, closed her eyes as hard as she could, with the intention of opening them, only when they were on the ground. The bee heroine quickly turned her head to see what her partner had done. By using the water tank, and then her ice powers, she put out the flames on the rooftop and on the last floor.
"Brilliant, Sabrina! Just brilliant." -Queen Bee thought to herself.
Reaching the ground, she quickly handed Lydia to theparamedics, who had just arrived. The firefighters were also arriving, and with them, the means to fight the fire. Though Queen Bee and Louve Grise had done most of the hard work, there were still flames roaming inside the building. Looking at the crowd, she noticed that as always, people did not lose anytime snapping photos of the action in their cell phones. Photos of her and Louve were by then already online, and that scared her. She did not know how the Collector operated; if he knew how to access the Internet or not, if he paid attention to the
"Now, I've got to go back up there and get that lady's cat." -Queen bee thought to herself.
She was about to hit the sky once more, when she noticed Louve coming down herself, holding something on her right hand. At first, she could not make it what it was, but as she got closer to the ground, she saw that it was a grey Persian cat with a beautiful yellow collar.
"Found this little one upstairs, while checking the floor for anyone trapped." -Louve Grise smiled, as she gently stroked the feline's head, making her let out a meow.
"Adéle! Oh, my sweet, sweet Adéle!" -the old lady, who had asked Queen Bee to find her cat, said, when she saw her on Louve's arms. –"Oh, thank you both, for saving my little darling." -she said, as a couple of tears ran down her face.
"It was nothing, madam." -Louve Grise said, as she walked to her and handed her the cat.
As she did that, the chief from the firefighters approached Queen Bee. At first, the bee heroine did not recognize him, because of the firefighter equipment he had on, but after a couple of seconds, she recognized his face from one of the numerous charity events she had attended over the years with her dad. Smiling at him, she wondered what he was going to say to her.
"The officers over there said that you helped out putting out the fire and rescue those people." -the chief said. –"I just wanted to thank you and your friend. If you weren't in the neighbourhood, those three vistims over there might have not make it." -he pointed out to the three people she had rescued, and were now receiving care from the paramedics. –"Also, great idea using the water tank to try and put out most of the flames."
"Thank you." -Louve Grise thanked the chief, as she joined them, having left the old lady to take care of her cat.
"Oh, it was nothing. We just happened to be at the right place, at the right time." -Queen Bee said, as she noticed a group of firefighters readying to enter in the building with a firehouse. –"Oh, you better tell your men that the fire on the first and second floor has been taken care of, but that on the third floor the fire was still very much alive." -she warned him.
"Oh, and when they reach the rooftop, they might want to use their axes to open the door that leads there." -Louuve Grise declared. –"I had to use my ice powers up there, and well, there are also a couple of barrels filled with cooking oil, but they are under a thick layer of ice now, so they shouldn't give your men any problem." -she warned him.
"Thanks for the warning." -the chief said, as he picked up the radio on his vest and passed that information to his men. –"By the way, my men and I were wondering if we could, you know, pay you girls something? Maybe a soda or something? It's the very least we can do for the heroines who helped out." -he declared.
Usually, neither one of them would refuse such an offer. But on that day, they could not risk it, even if that meant refusing an invitation from Paris' finest.
"Sorry, but we've got to go." -Louve Grise said. –"Maybe next time."
"Indeed. We must get going." -Queen Bee.
"Alright. Take care now. And once again, thanks for the help!" -the chief said, as Bee grabbed Louve and flew out of there.
The worst part was over, or so they thought. They were able to put out the fire and save those who had the unfortunate luck of ending up trapped in the burning building, without a hitch. On top of that they had been thanked by the chief of the firefighters who had been called, for helping putting out the fire. All in all, it had been a different experience for them. The two of them in their patrols had stopped robberies, prevented car accidents and even helped saving innocent cats from trees, but this was the first time they helped put out a fire. Still, they were not out of the hook just yet. They still had to turn back to normal and take out their miraculouses, before the Collector showed up. And right then, the two friends were becoming a little paranoid, afraid that he could show at any second.
"Where to?" -Louve Grise asked.
"We can't go back to the alley where we transformed. There are a lot of watchful eyes around it now. We'll have to find a place that is secluded enough to turn back to normal and take off our miraculouses, without being seen, and fast." -Queen Bee said. –"Maybe I can descend over Parc Monceau. There are a lot of hidden places there, where we can change back, without anyone noticing us." -she suggested. –"Still, I might have to call Jean Jacques to come and get us, because you're not getting me in the subway again today. Just the thought of feeling like a canned sardine…"
"Sounds like a plan to me." -Louve Grise smiled. –"Take us there and… watch out, Chloe!"
Louve Grise hardly had the time to warn Queen Bee, when a fireball came out of nowhere, and almost hit them. The bee heroine quickly tried to see where it had come from, only to see another one coming their direction. She tried to evade it, only this one came a lot faster, and almost grazed her head. The heat from it, forced her to let go of Louve, to protect her face. Being let go, Louve Grise screamed. Hearing her out, Queen Bee dove as fast as lightning and caught her. Looking her in the eyes, she could see just how afraid she was.
"Are you okay, Sabrina?" -Queen Bee asked her.
"I-I am… but p-please, don't do that again, Chloe!" -Louve begged her, her heart still racing. -Look out, here comes another one!" -she warned her.
Like she said, another fireball came out of nowhere, almost hitting them. No matter how much they looked, they could not see where those were coming from. They knew that had to be the work of either an akuma villain, or the Collector. Angry because she could not see who or what was attacking them, the bee heroine decided she did not want to be left in the dark like that.
"Alright, loser, show yourself!" -Queen Bee shouted, hoping for a reveal. Whether it was the Collector or one of Hawk Moth's cronies, she had to know.
"Chloe, just forget it and run! Get us out of here!" -Louve Grise begged her.
Louve Grise had just finished talking, when out of the blue, an armoured figure appeared about 25 meters from ehere she and Queen Bee were. Brandishing his double-sword, was the Collector, looking at them with his glowing red piercing eyes.
"I guess we weren't fast enough, Chloe." -Louve Grise whispered to Queen Bee.
"Guess not, Sabrina." -Queen Bee whispered back at her friend. –"Let's give him a demonstration of our powers and then, we outrun him! Let's get him with our special technique." -she said.
Putting their game face on, the girls knew exactly what they had to do to get out of there, while leaving the Collector wondering what hit him in the first place. The plan was simple… "Operation Blizzard Storm", a fighting combo technique they had come up white, while training, which combined both their powers. It all consisted in Queen Bee summoning a tornado, while Louve Grise blew her ice breath inside it, thus, creating a powerful blizzard, which froze any enemy that stood in its way.
Launching her trompo, the bee heroine created a small tornado, which began to grow in size, until it was bigger than an Airbus, in a matter of seconds. Usually, size was a bit of a concern, because neither one fo them wanted to destroy property or hurt any passerby with that technique; but not in this case. At that height, there was nothing that could be smashed or hurt, except their enemy. As the tornado grew in size and speed, Louve Grise used her ice breath on it. Every little particle of water inside it became frozen almost instantly. When they felt that they had everything they needed to face the Collector, Queen Bee fired the tornado against him, hitting him in the face. What made this technique so unique, was that it combined the unpredictability of ice and the wind speed, which turned even the slightest bit of ice in a dangerous projectile. They were both thinking the Collector would try to evade from it, but he just stood where he was, taking the full of the attack.
"Hang on tight!" -Queen Bee told Louve Grise, who tightened her grip around the blonde's body.
Diving towards the ground, Queen Bee was hoping she was fast enough to outrun the Collector, who by now was trying to get out of that blizzard storm she and Louve Grise had created. Holding her breath, she found herself praying that she and the wolf herone were able to get out of that situation in one piece. Louve Grise herself also thinking the same, as she tightened her grip around her friend's waist.
"Guess that takes care of him."
"Y-Yes… oh no, look!" -Louve Grise yelled, after she saw the Collector in front of them, forcing Queen Bee to stop their descent. Standing there, floating, his whole body was covered in icicles, which he merely shook off. The heroines could not believe their eyes.
"Your miraculouses… give them to me…" -the Collector told them.
"In your dreams, idiot!" -Queen Bee exclaimed, still wondering how could he have escaped Operation: Blizzard Storm, when the attack was powerful enough to reduce enemies and large objects to shrapnel. –"I don't know how you managed to get away from that combined attack, but you're not getting my miraculous or hers, you hear me?" -she warned him, with a defiant look in her eyes, when the Collector disappeared in front of her eyes and Louve Grise's. –"W-Where did he go?!"
"Behind you…" -the Collector said, spooking her. The scare was so great that she almost dropped Louve Grise again.
"What the…?!" -Queen Bee exclaimed, after seeing the Collector behind her, and turning around to face him. She did not understand how could he be so fast. –"How did you do that?!" -she asked him, with her heart still beating like crazy.
"Foolish child. I am what you and your friends would become, if you trained and perfected your powers for a thousand years." -the Collector told her in a calm and paused voice. –"Your miraculouses and their powers are wasted on you, when they could be used by me to ensure that justice and righteousness is upheld around the world." -he went on. –"I will ask you once again… give me your miraculouses, now. Don't try to fight me, or you'll end up just like your friend who possessed the antelope miraculous."
Upon hearing him, Louve Grise decided that she had heard enough. Using her ice breath, she froze the Collector's face almost instantly. Queen Bee seeing this, decided not to waste a single second, and dove once again.
"We've got to shake him!"
"Don't worry, we will. Just trust me, and when I say let go, you let go!" -Queen Bee told Louve Grise, who looked at her with a worried look in her eyes. –"Don't worry, I'll catch you. Just trust me, okay?" -she said, after which the wolf heroine nodded her head.
The bee heroine was not as fast as Dragonfly, who could fly at a supersonic speed. But then, she did not need it. All she needed was to get a good distance between her and the Collector. He was clearly faster than she was, but maybe she could try and create something that would keep him busy for them to get away.
"Okay, I'm going to let you go now, Sabrina." -Queen Bee warned the redhead. –"Just close your eyes shut, so you won't be afraid of the height." -she said, as she let go of her friend, who yelped.
With her hands free, Queen Bee looked up and saw the Collector diving towards her. Knowing it would be a matter of seconds before he reached her, she focused on putting the plan she came up in her mind a few seconds before. Throwing her trompo as far as she could, this one described a perfect elipse, while creating several small twisters, before returning to her hand. The tornados she created began to grow in size, blowing wind from several different directions, and just she had anticipated, the Collector was caught right in the middle of them
"You might have been able to escape the Blizzard Storm, but let's see if you can escape this!" -Queen Bee smiled triumphantly, as she saw the Collector getting caught in her trap.
With no time to lose, and knowing that with each passing second Louve Grise got closer to the ground, Queen Bee dove once again. Looking for her friend, it took her about two seconds to find her. She had spread her arms and legs to slow down her descent, buying herself and Queen Bee a little more time. And just like the bee heroine had told her, she shut her eyes, while falling. A part of her wanted to open them, to see just how close to the ground she was, but another part told her to not do it, afraid that she might faint. Breathing in and out, she kept telling herself that Queen Bee would catch her. Still, with her eyes closed, her sense of time meant nothing, as the seconds looked more like minutes to her. Plus, she could only imagine what was going on between Queen Bee and the Collector.
"She can handle herself, don't worry." -Louve Grise though to herself, when she felt a pair of arms grabbing her. At first, she resisted, thinking that it might be the Collector trying to grab her. But then, she recognized the smooth touch of Queen Bee's outfit and allowed herself to be caught.
Grabbing Louve Grise by the waist, Queen Bee pulled her up, letting out a "Got you!", which signalled the wolf heroine to open her eyes. When she opened her eyes, she saw that they were maybe 200 meters from the ground. Seeing that, she could not help but to feel lucky her friend did not take longer to get her.
"Cutting it a little close, arent' we?" -Louve Grise commented.
"Just a little." -Queen Bee smiled to her.
"What did you to him?" -Louve Grise asked her, curious to know how she had dealt with the Collector.
"Let's just say that he won't be coming after hers because of a windy situation." -Queen Bee answered her. –"And we better get down there and take these off. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like going up against him one more time, if I can avoid it." -she said
"Agreed."
But once more, their path was cut. Once more, the Collector demonstrated his incredible powers, by appearing in front of the two heroines. Once more, he had managed to escape one of the heroines' attempts to prevent him from following them. And once more, Queen Bee and Louve Grise saw themselves in trouble.
"It seems that like when I took your friend's miraculous, I'll have to make use of my powers to deal with you as well." -the Collector said, this time, in an annoyed tone.
Raising his left arm, he appealed to the powers of the dog miraculous, which granted him the ability to use telekinesis. Using such power, eh immobilized both heroines. Having them at his mercy, all he had to do was to take their miraculouses and that would be the end of it. But he felt that he had to show them why they and the reminainng miraculous holders should fear him. And so, he decided to extend the time he was going to take to deal with them. Queen Bee and Louve Grise tried to break free from the villain's grasp, but it was useless. No matter how much they struggled, the Collector had them at his mercy.
Performing a swift move with his left hand, he launched the girls towards the ground, which they hit with an incredible strength. Luckily, they landed in a park, which was under remodelling, and thus, inaccessible to the public. If not, someone might have gotten hurt, when they hit the ground. The impact quickly alerted near bystanders that something was going on. Most thought that it had been a gas explosion, but those who were lucky enough to see the heroines falling down to Earth, knew what really happened, and were quick to alert the media by either calling the numerous television channels, or by simply posting it on the social medial. When the dust settled, the girls saw themselves in a crater with at least five meters deep. They were a bit dizzy from the impact, as well as hurt. Still, they managed to get back on their feet in a matter of seconds. Louve Grise helped Queen Bee getting back up, while also dusting off the dirt she was covered in.
"That was quite the fall." -Louve Grise said, while duting the dirt, and rubbing her right elbow, which she landed on. She knew she would be sore in the morning.
"I think I might have broken something." -Queen Bee said, as she placed her hand over the right side of her ribcage. –"O-Ouch… I just hope it's only hurt, and not broken. The last thing I need is a broken rib." -she said.
"We'll worry about that later. Right now, we've got to get out of here, before…"
"Before, what?"
Standing at the ledge of the crater was the Collector, staring at them. They knew he was fast, but he was moving at an almost unimaginable speed, even for them. He did not move from where he stood, and allowed the two heroines to quicly get out of the crater, almost as if he as granting them a small break, or waiting for them to make some mistake. Usually, they would distrust and question why a villain would do that, but the panic was beginning to settle inside them, clouding their ideas.
"S-So, what are you waiting for?!" –Queen Bee asked the Collector. –"I thought you wouldn't be the kind of person to play with your food before eating it."
"Do not think that I take pleasure in doing this." -the Collector declared in an almost solemn voice. –"If you just gave me your miraculouses, and perhaps, tell me where the others are, I would not have to do this. But I do have a mission, and no matter what, I must fulfil it." -he declared.
"We're not giving you our miraculouses, or telling you where the others might be!" -Louve Grise declared, as her eyes looked around, looking for a way out of there that would grant her and Queen Bee enough to time to hide from the Collector. Unfortunately, there did not seem a way, that would not put innocent civillians at risk.
"Then, you leave me no other choice." -the Collector said. –"I'll just have to take your miraculouses and the information on where to find the others, by force." -he said.
Snapping his fingers, he invoked the powers of the dragon miraculous and made appearthe very same fire dragon with which he had attacked Kim before. The flaming beast glared at the two heroines for a couple of seconds, just before charging at them. Evading its first charge, the heroines readied themselves for the next one, knowing that that creature wanted to turn them into charcoal. And like that, the dragon attacked, breathing fire on them. Louve Grise used her icy breath to counterattack it, while Queen Bee spun her trompo and used it as a shield to deflect the flames. These were as hot as Hell itself, but the two of them did not flinch or showed any sign of weakness.
"It's so hot…" -Queen Bee thought to herself.
Seeing them fending off against his flaming dragon with relative ease, the Collector decided to once again make use of his various powers, in order to defeat them. Making the dragon diappear, he once more he invoked the power of the dog miraculous and used his telekinetic powers on the two of them, paralyzing them in place. He figured that if one rough landing had not been enough to break them, then perhaps a second one would do the trick. Without being able to move, the heroines readied themselves for whatever the villain had planned for them.
"Here we go again." -Louve Grise thought to herself.
She had not yet finished that thought, when they were propelled into the air at an amazing speed. They stopped in midair for about two seconds, just before dropping down back to earth. One could almost describe the whole thing like when a person rides a roller coaster. The heroines believed they were going to land on the exact same spot they did before. But this did not happen. Instead, they landed on a nearby abandoned building. Going through the six floors the building had, they stopped when they reached the first. The landing was rougher than the first one, and to make matters worst, the amount of rubble that fell on them, pinned them down against the floor. Being squashed by the debris and with their bodies battered, most would say that they were as good as goners. And the truth was that on normal circumstances, they would most likely let themselves stay where they were, waiting for one of their friends to come and help them, before returning to battle. But this was not one of those times, and they both had to use all of their strengths just to not pass out. Coughing due to the amount of dust in the air, Queen Bee asked her friend if she was alright.
"O-Ouch… Sabrina, are you okay? Sabrina? Sabrina, where are you?"
Louve Grise did not answer right away, and Queen Bee feared the worst. It was only when she heard her coughing, that she knew she was there with her, and was still alive. Though the pain she was in was almost unbearable, the feeling of relief from knowing her best friend was still alive, helped to ease the pain a little.
"I-I'm here, C-Chloe…" -Louve Grise coughed. Because of the rubble, they could not see each other, but could still hear one another. –"I'm o-okay… a-and you? H-How are you?"
"I-I feel like… I-I t-think I feel like a bug, when h-he gets squashed…" -Queen Bee said.
"I-I'm not that g-good either. D-Do you think he knows where we landed?" -Louve Grise asked the bee heroine, while trying to push a large and heavy piece of debris, which was then crushing her chest.
"D-Don't know… but we've got to… we've got yo get out of here." -Queen Bee said, as she tried to move. As she did it, the rubble on top of her shifted slightly. She felt like crap, but she knew she had to move; otherwise, the Collector would get her.
Panting heavily, she tried to remove the rubble from to top of her, which proved to be quite the challenge for her exhausted body. As she did it, she heard something crumble, not far from where they were. Along with that sound, was also the sound of footsteps, approaching. And then, the wall to her left exploded, to reveal the Collector, who once more used his powers, this time, to lift the debris from the girls. Tossing them aside, he made his way to Queen Bee, ignoring Louve Grise. The bee heroine tried to throw her trompo at him, but her right arm did not obey. Grabbing her, he held her in the air by the throat, while looking into her eyes. Her eyes were filled fear, a feeling he was used to see in the eyes of those he deemed guilty of any sort of crime. He was usually satisfied to see his victims with fear in their eyes, but not in this case. He took no pleasure from seeing fear in Queen Bee's eyes, mostly because he
"As I said before, I take no pleasre in doing this. But you leave me no choice, by resisting." -the Collector said. –"So, let me ask you once again… will you give me your miraculous willingly, or will I have to take it from you by force?"
"Go s-suck a l-lemon, buster!" -Queen Bee said, as she spat on the Collector's face, as he tightened his grip around her neck. She was scared, but more importantly, she was also boiling mad, because she felt powerless.
"Very well… I guess, I'll just have to take it from your cold dead body. And after I do it, I'll take care of your friend and beat the location of the remaining miraculouses from her, before I finish her as well." -the Collector told her, as he raised his sword, readying himself for the kill, when he felt something hitting him on the shoulder. Looking to the side, he was a little surprised by what he saw.
Standing on her feet was Louve Grise, glaring at the Collector. Panting hard, she herself did not know how she had managed to get up on her feet, or how she still had the strength to do it, but she did not care. All she cared was to find a way to take down the Collector, and save Queen Bee, who right then needed her help. Brandishing her fans, she was ready to go one-on-one against him, the same way a momma bear attacks an intruder, when feeling her cubs are in danger.
"Let her go, you monster!" -Louve Grise yelled at the Collector. –"Either you release her, or else…"
"Or else what?" -the Collector asked her. He could see the rage and the determination in her eyes, but he knew she was not a match for him.
"Or else you're going to find out what happens when you mess with a wolf!" -Louve Grise growled at him. –"Let her go, now!"
Using her fans, she fired a gust of icicles against the Collector, hitting him in the eyes, which made him roar in pain, and forced him to release Queen Bee, who fell on the ground. Knowing that he had to power to regenerate, the wolf heroine lost no time in attacking. Swishing her fans as fast as her hands and arms allowed her to, she described elliptical moves, while strucking the Collector's armour, over and over.
Right then, she believed that the rage that was fuelling her, was strong enough to allow her to take down the villain just by herself. Delivering a couple of blows to the Collector's head, she thought that she was getting the upper hand in that fight. But it was only a matter of seconds, before she realized that that was not going to happen. Halting her, by grabbing both fans with his bare hands, he forced her to let go of them, just before grabbing her by the left arm and then throwing her towards the nearest wall. Upon impact, she gritted her teeth, because of the pain caused by the impact, just before dropping on the ground.
"Wait your turn… as soon as I deal with your friend, I will handle you." -the Collector declared with a calm voice.
"Y-You're not going to deal with no one today, you overgrown suit of armour!" -Louve Grise exclaimed, as she made her fans fly back to her. –"Not if I-I have anything to say about it!"
Panting hard, she once again charged against the Collector, ready to beat him to a pulp. Growing tired of her attempts to defeat him, the Collector quickly made his double-sword disappear, leaving his hands free, as he summoned the power of the ox miraculous, which not only made him double in size, but also granted him superhuman strength. At first, he tried to crush Louve Grise, but this proved to be a little more difficult than he anticipated. Due to his larger size and Louve's agility, the wolf heroine managed to anticipate his moves, while throwing everything she had against him. Still, it was only a matter of time, until the Collector got used to his new size and managed to grab her. Louve Grise tried to fight back, but once he got his hands around her neck, it was over. Feeling his metallic ganutlet around her neck, she expected for him to snap it like a twig. But he did not do it. Instead, he threw her against the same wall he did before. Once more on the ground, it took her a couple of seconds get back on her feet.
"That… is quite enough." -the Collector said. –"Stay where you are, or else, I'll have to use more drastic and permanent means to deal with you." -he warned her, as he saw the wolf heroine forcing herself to rise from the ground.
"Not now, not ever!" -Louve Grise yelled at him. –"As long as I breathe, I won't allow you to hurt my friend or take her miraculous or mine, you hear me?!" -she kept yelling at the Collector, hoping to get him away from Queen Bee, who remained on the ground, mortionless.
Tired of such bravado and of her sentiment-filled speeches, the Collector decided it was time to put an end to that. He had planned to kill Queen Bee and use her death to send a message to the other miraculous holders, on the fate that awaited them, while torturing Louve Grise, for her to give him the location of the remaining miraculouses. But, in the end, he did not care which one of them died, and which one was tortured. ´
"Then, you leave me no other choice." -the Collector declared with a grim voice.
Seeing her charging against him, he made use of the powers of the dragon miraculous and conjured a fireball, throwing it at Louve Grise, who was taken by surprise. Seeing the dangerous fireball heading towards her, Louve Grise froze in place. Somehow, someway, her body stopped reacting. She tried to move, but her body did not obey her. As the fireball got closer, she knew that in a matter of seconds, she was going to be one burnt heroine.
"Move out of the way!" -a voice yelled at Louve Grise, while pushing her out of the fireball's way. And the one who did both things was none other than Queen Bee, who had somehow managed to wake up, just in time to save her friend's life.
The explosion was quite big, making the whole building shake for a couple of seconds, demonstrating just how powerful the Collector had made that fireball. He truly wanted to turn Louve Grise into charcoal. And while Louve Grise was only knocked by wave of the fireball's explosion, Queen Bee took the full impact from the fireball, becoming unconscious and falling on the ground. The wolf heroine did not expect her friend to come to her rescue like that. She had placed herself in mortal danger to save her. The wolf heroine tried to get back up, so as to help the blonde out, but the explosion left her both dizzy, with her head spinning. At the same time, Queen Bee laid on the floor, unconscious, and if it was not for the shallow breathing, one would dare to speculate that she was dead. Aproaching her, the Collector could not help but to feel surprised by what had happened.
"Foolish child…" -the Collector said, as he grabbed Queen Bee by the neck. –"If you thought you could save your friend, I'm afraid you just wasted your energy." -he said, as he touched the bee miraculous, forcing Queen Bee to revert back to Chloe Bourgeois.
Picking the bee miraculous from Chloe's hair, he performed the same trick, and saying the very same enchantment words, as he did with the antelope miraculous, turning it into a golden rectangle with the bee miraculous symbol carved on it, which he did not lose time in placing it in his belt, where the other golden rectangle, which had once been the antelope miraculous, was.
"And with that… it makes two." -the Collector said, as he noticed the blonde was beginning to regain consciousness. –"Now that I have your miraculous, you serve me no purpose. I'll finish you and then, I will take your friend's miraculous as well, after which I will get the locations of the remaining miraculouses from her, before I kill her. As for you, you'll be lucky, because you won't have to see your friend die." -he said. –"But because you were such a fierce fighter, I will give you a warrior's end, and make it as painless as possible…"
"Freeze, idiot!" -Louve Grise yelled.
Putting every bit of strength, she still had in her, Louvr Grise used her ice breath on the Collector to freeze him. This caught him by surprise, who did not expect her to already be back on her feet that soon. Louve's ice breath attack was usually used just to cool down enemies, weaken structures or elemental attacks from enemies, but when she wanted to, she could freeze anything she wanted in a thick layer of ice. She had been practicing this attack for the past two months, and was now able to freeze an object unde 8 inches of ice. For the Collector, she wanted to make sure he was frozen solid under at least 14 inches of ice. In a matter of seconds, the armoured fiend turned into an ice sculpture, with only part of his right hand, which was holding Chloe in the air, out. Knowing he had the power to get out of that ice cocoon she encased him in, the wolf heroine grabbed the blonde, placed her over he shoulder, and did not look back. She just wanted to get out of there, though that might be easier said than done. They were in an abandoned building, with no way to know which way was out, and the rooms all looked the same. The only thing that changed were the trash that was on the floor and the broken pieces of furniture that were just laying around. Focusing, the redhead trusted her instincts and forced her way through a couple of doors, hoping that they would eventually lead her outside. Seconds looked like hours to her, and her heart was racing like crazy, afraid that the Collector would break free and come after them. Finally, she found a door which looked like it could lead outside. Breaking it, she found herself in a back alley, like so many back alleys in Paris.
"Alright, we're outside… now what?" -Louve Grise thought to herself, as she looked around. It was then, that she heard a loud sound which startled her. The sound could be described as an almost animalistic grunt, mixed with a human scream.
There was no mistake about it. That had to be the Collector, who had managed to break free. Louve had to disappear, before he arrived, but she could not leave Chloe behind; she would never do that. If she could fly, she could maybe try and find a place on top of one of the buildings to turn back to normal and hide. But she could not fly. Looking around, she saw a garbage bin. Running towards it, she opened to see that this one was almost full and that stench coming from it was anything but pleasant. Quickly, she threw Chloe inside and turned back to normal, after which she took off her miraculous, not even giving her poor kwami, Mika, the time to understand what was going on. With this done, she jumped inside the garbage bin, closing it. If the stench felt bad outside of the bin, then on the inside, it was even worst. Controlling her breath, she tried not to think about the stench, while listening to what was going outside. She heard the Collector bursting through the door from which she and Chloe and come from a few seconds before. She knew the villain could not sense their energy when not wearing their miraculouses, but that did not stop her heart from racing like crazy. Fear was a powerful thing, and right then, it was running through Sabrina's veins like a poison, clouding her mind, and making her think crazy things.
"Please, just go away, please, just go away, pleae…" -Sabrina kept repeating that sentence in her mind, hoping the Collector would just go away.
But that did not happen. Instead of going away, after not seeing the two girls, the Collector decided to take his time, making sure they were not hiding there. Seeing the garbage bin, he thought that would be a nice hiding spot. Hearing him getting close, and fuelled by fear, Sabrina tried her best to cover Chloe and herself with trash bags inside that garbage bin, hoping that would be enough to hide them from the Collector's preaying eyes. Listening to the rummage sounds, the Collector figured they were hidden inside. As he was about to open the garbage bin, Sabrina's blood froze in her veins.
Hey there! Took me a little more time to write this one down, because I went on vacation for a couple of days... but I've got to say, it feels good to take come time to just travel and see new things. And after a trip to Bilbao and Burgos, I came back with renewed energies and new ideas. :)
In this particular chapter I wanted to continue to explore the unique relationship between Chloe and Sabrina (especially, since the series is doing a really poor job exploring it), and their hero personnas, Queen Bee and Louve Grise, while they go up against the Collector. It was quite an emotional chapter to write, you know? And now... Chloe lost her miraculous to save Sabrina...but are they safe? I'll leave you with this cliffhanger. xD I know, I'm mean, but believe me, the next chapter will be written a little bit faster, so you won't have to wait too long to see what happens. :)