Pirate King - Ateez x original female character

Chp 8: wonderland

AN: back to regularly scheduled programming

I watched as several very nervous looking marines walked in. very obviously without an admiral, "Where is my escort?"

"He's a... He's a bit busy" the one in the front managed to stutter out. As if to punctuate his point the ground beneath us shook again. The admiral is busy. With my boys.

"I see," I said the words quietly, trying not to let it slip how much I was freaking out.

They walked me through the wreckage of marineford, the ground shook beneath my feet and I prayed silently for their safety. Once I was back out in the light, I took a few moments to blink and let my eyes adjust. They brought me to the platform in the middle. I looked out at the chaos. Almost all of the lower level marines were out of commission, there were several haki users in the fight. The admiral that had shown up for my execution was Kizaru, made evident by the flashes of light. Going up against Kizaru was the Captain, Yunho, and Jongho. An interesting mix but I see what the idea was. Both Hongjoong and Yunho can use conqueror's haki and armament haki, and Jongo's devil fruit lets him entrance people for short periods when he sings. Armament haki is one of the only ways to deal with logia type devil fruit users, and being able to ensnare his mind for bits at a time might be the only hope they had. Mingi had found himself a bird's eye view to pick off people with his rifle, wooyoung was with him, to watch his back. Seonghwa, San and Yeosang were dealing with the marines that managed to stay upright with the conquerors' haki being thrown around, mainly captains, but I think I spotted one vice admiral.

They forced me to my knees, I watched them out there, ready to die for me. I couldn't help but think it was stupid. Why would they ever come back for me? It was a suicide mission. So why? Why were they not running? The executioner raised his sword. I closed my eyes. when i died, they would leave, save themselves. 

—
I looked around, so far, everything was just like my dream. I hadn't dared to tell hongjoong about it, he never would have come if i had. I knew it was about time.

"Seonghwa!" San's sharp cry dragged me from my musing, I turned to find the assailant already falling, a bullet lodged in his back. I sent a short wave of thanks to mingi.
"Please pay attention seonghwa!" Yeosang exclaimed, "We can't lose you," he said while tossing a marine aside.

My heart squeezed at his words, "I promise, you won't."

Then time stopped. They were walking her out. I watched as they pushed her to her knees on the platform. Her face still dotted in blood. A visibly shaking marine read her crimes aloud.

I ran. I bolted through the crowd, fighting my way to the platform. I made it just in time to block the executioner's downswing with my polearm, my arms shook with effort, he was strong. Pepper was yelling something, my ears were not processing correctly though. Blood rushed in my ears loud, adrenaline eating at my common sense. I turned my head just enough to look at her out of the corner of my eye, a small smile tugging on my lips.

"It will be fine. I've seen it."

—

As he spoke those words, 'it will be fine. Ive seen it." the executioner managed to slip his sword off of seonghwas guard, he swung it all the way around and then straight through his stomach, it was the lower left side. I remember thinking that it was good it was below the belly button. It missed his vital organs. I remember screaming. I don't think ive ever screamed that loud in my life. I screamed so loudly my voice went hoarse. The sword was violently ripped from seonghwas body. He crumpled. I fell forwards over him, still screaming. I had started crying at some point. At some point hongjoong and the others must have dealt with the admiral enough to buy some time. Because he was there, faster than should have been possible, and the executioner was in two pieces on the floor. Hongjoong wiped his sword on his sleeve before he sheathed it again. The look in his eyes was dangerous, wild. I had never seen him look like that. Yunho and Jongho followed shortly after, their faces went white as sheets when they saw the state of their first mate.

Hongjoong gathered me in his arms, outwardly he was calm, but I could see it, the rage, the pain, boiling just under the surface, "We have to go. Yunho, take Seonghwa... put pressure on the wound."

The escape from marineford was an ordeal I was not entirely present for. The ship swayed and bumped dangerously for many hours. I sat in the infirmary with wooyoung, watching as he tried to make sense of Seonghwas internal organs. I handed him tools and held things for him, helping when I could. It was many hours after the ship had calmed and I assumed we were in safe waters that wooyoung had sewed seonghwa back up.

"That's all I can do right now..." he said wearily. Over his gloved hands he was covered in seonghwas blood, up to his elbows. He stumbled out into the hall, and i heard yeosangs soft deep voice murmur something to him. I stayed curled up in the corner of the room, my knees brought to my chest. Hongjoong entered the room. He didn't speak to me, didn't ask me to leave, didn't acknowledge my presence at all. He knelt by the side of the bed and touched seonghwas face softly.

"You idiot..." he murmured gently, his eyes glassy with unshed tears, "I'm supposed to be the self sacrificial dumbass... you aren't supposed to be the martyr..."

his voice cracked at the end of his words. I stood up and left.