Chapter 1: 1st Step towards the One Piece
Chapter Text
LW: I really need to learn to stick to one story. But it won’t be today. OUAT, DC/CW, HP/BLEACH, why not add another anime to the pile? Damn you Tekking101! Anyway, enjoy everyone.
Luffy: Hi everybody, One Piece is written by Eiichiro Oda, currently only Serpens D Kaos and his (currently unmentioned but at least implied to possess) Devil Fruit belong to Lonly. Please support the awesomeness of the Real One Piece as well as Tekking’s manga reviews and info vids.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – 1st step toward the One Piece
A grinning Monkey D. Luffy bounced along happily as he made his way to the docks of Foosha Village, glad Marino was there as well as the mayor and a few others
‘Good luck Luffy, try not cause too much trouble’ she says, pinching his cheek and smiling as hissing laughter is heard from the boat
‘Sesesese, given where we’re going and what we’re going to be doing, I doubt he’ll be able to keep it for long’ the older teen smirked, eyes hidden under his hat, moving over just before Luffy hopped onto the boat
‘Still, at least try keeping your brother from doing anything too stupid too often okay Kaos?’ Makino asks with a sigh
He laughs ‘That’s a full time job, but I’m fine with that’ he looked over at the straw-hat wearing idiot he’d claimed as a younger brother years ago, if Luffy was heading into danger, then Serpens D Kaos wouldn’t be far behind. Pushing his own hat down and wrapping his coat tighter around himself he called ‘Time to go Luffy, before the weather has time to really screw us over’
‘Kay’ Luffy kicks them off then bounced to the front of their little boat to yell ‘Look out world, here comes the future King of the Pirates!’ smiling the entire time
‘Never abandon that dream Monkey. Sea King’ Kaos calls just as the creature’s head pops up out of the water
‘Hi Lord of the Coast’ Luffy greets ‘We’re off on an adventure. So. Let. Us. Pass.’ He orders, punching the sea king, causing it to screech and groan before sinking below the waves once more ‘Away!’ he calls cheerfully, Kaos just smiles behind him.
Later
‘You couldn’t have chosen a worse day if you tried Monkey’ Kaos complains as their boat is pulled into a whirlpool
‘Calm down and get in the barrel’ Luffy orders, the older boy sighs but does as he was told
‘Fine just remember to seal it correctly; water doesn’t agree with either of us these days’ he replies with a sigh
A little later the barrel is found and brought on board a cruise ship, something common in the East Blue due to its overall lack of real pirate activity. A ‘fact’ that was either unknown to or more likely ignored by the owner of the bright pink ship that showed up alongside it. The cannons fired then the crew boarded, the pirate captain: a large woman in a cowboy hat grinned widely (as expected) before turning to the small pink haired boy beside her.
‘Coby! Who is the most beautiful woman on the sea?’
The boy gulped and stuttered ‘Y-y-you are Alvida’ which made her smile grow
‘Exactly, now prove it and get me their treasure!’ she orders, Coby freezes in fear, minus his knees knocking ‘Coby, do you need encouragement?’ she asks, pudgy fingers wrapping around the handle of a large spiked mace, bigger than the boy’s entire body.
‘N-n-no Alvida’ Coby yelps fearfully swinging to the other ship to away from the mace and its wielder.
How he managed to make it to the store room without being spotted Coby didn’t know, but when he saw the barrel the sailors hadn’t had time to properly store before being attacked he had an idea. Pushing it onto its side the fearful cabin boy began to roll it out of the room, until he was stopped by his ‘crewmates’
‘What you got there Cabin Boy?’ One sneered while his friend righted the barrel
‘A barrel, probably filled with booze. Alvida would want it brought straight to her, unopened’
‘Well she won’t know if you keep your big mouth shut’ the 2nd grunted, preparing to open it with his sword, until it explodes and the pirate was knocked out by a solid punch to the face
‘Yawn. That was good nap. Hm, wonder where the food is in this place’ Luffy thinking aloud, turning and dropping into the storage, ignoring the 3 guys staring at him ‘Yay meat!’ he cheers before proceeding to stuff his face
‘Who, who are you?’ One asks, getting annoyed when Luffy continues to ignore them, until he drops it with a yelp, getting a deep gash on his hand for his troubles
‘That’s not a nice way to greet someone or to introduce oneself’ was heard behind Coby, causing him to turn and Luffy to finally look up
The guy who spoke was a couple of years older than Luffy and a lot taller and thinner, pale with green eyes, dressed in comfortable shoes, black pants, and a ruby red shirt. On his shoulders was a deep purple cape/cloak with a shiny/reflective inner surface, his short purple hair hidden under a black fedora with a silver ribbon. The weapon was a khopesh with a serrated edge similar to a circular saw, attached to his arm by what looked to be a thick cord going from the hilt of the blade to somewhere under his sleeve
‘Where’d you come from?’ Coby asked, Kaos just points to the … well its shrapnel now after Luffy made his escape ‘But, how’d you both fit in it?’
‘It was roomier than it looked, not as much as it is now but still … ah dang it Luffy, look at the mess you’ve made of my coat’ he grumbled, Coby seeing the cloak was creased in a ‘spider on crack’ kind of pattern
‘Would you have preferred to drown?’ Luffy retorts, jumping out of the cellar and tossing him an apple
‘Hey quit ignoring us, can’t you see we’re pirates’ the third finally spoke, his still conscious companion having retrieved his sword before they charged
‘Luffy’ Kaos hissed
‘I got it’ Luffy replies, Coby gulps and hides his head in his hands, hearing the clang of metal then silence. Looking up he is shocked to see Luffy unharmed, Kaos spinning his weapon on it’s cord, and the 2 Alvida pirates holding half swords, one now sporting a cut directly across his chest. Looking down Coby sees the men’s swords had been cut practically in 2 and those halves lay at Luffy’s feet.
‘I said I had it’ Luffy complains while Kaos rolls his eyes
‘Didn’t look like it from here. Now do you guys have anything else?’ he asks with a toothy grin, causing them to run out of the room as fast as they could, dragging their friend with them ‘Hm, that was boring’ he almost appeared to pout before like Luffy descended to the store room looking for food.
‘What are you people?’ Coby whispers, not expecting an answer
‘I’m Monkey D Luffy, that’s my big brother Serpens D Kaos. Hey, where exactly are we? Is this a pirate ship?’ Luffy answers then asks his own question
‘This ship isn’t but it’s currently being boarded and attacked by Alvida’s pirates’ Coby explained
‘So are you a pirate?’ Kaos asks from below
‘Um not exactly’
‘What ya mean?’ Luffy looks confused
‘I got on a fishing boat, didn’t know until they reappeared it was a pirate vessel. I’ve been their chore boy for the last 2 years, doing everything they ask so they don’t kill me’ Coby says sadly, until something bounces off his head
‘Sounds like you’re either an idiot, coward or you’ve gotten complacent. I don’t like you’ Kaos says, a small smile still in place
‘Luffy sighs; usually he’s the stupidly blunt one, though Kaos has a point and actually got there before he could say something similar.
‘It’s true, I’m a coward. If only I could leave this place, even just in a barrel… wait, why were you guys in that barrel?’
‘Ship got broken, idiot drove us into a whirlpool’ Kaos answered
‘But you should be dead!’
‘Sesesese, probably but Luffy’s not going to let something like a whirlpool stop him from achieving his dream’
Coby turns to the straw hat boy ‘Really, what dream?’ the question causing him to light up
‘I’m going to be king of the pirates!’ Coby just stares, jaw hitting the floor
‘Pirate King’
‘Yep’
‘The Pirate King?’
‘Yep’
‘No, no way that’s impossible! You’re what 2 guys?’
‘Actually yes’ Kaos butts in, knowing if Luffy simply answered yep once more the kid would scream
‘The Pirate King is the man who has everything, every pirate in the world wants that Title and the treasure of One Piece that goes with it’
‘Ah ha, us too’
‘well Luffy does, at this point I’m just along for the ride’
‘No, there is no way you can do this, no, no, no, no’ Coby would’ve continued but he was a little busy being punched in the face ‘Ow, why’d you do that’
Kaos shrugged ‘Felt like it. Plus it shut you up didn’t it?’
Coby frowns ‘I suppose’ the 2 pirates continue eating, seeming oblivious to the awkward silence ‘Do you think I could make my dream come true?’ he finally asks, Kaos and Luffy exchange side glances, then give very different answers
‘Maybe, what is it?’ ‘How the f*ck should I know?’
‘My, my dream is to become a Marine. I’ve wanted to catch bad guys my entire life but I’ve been too much of a coward to go through with it. But no more, I’m getting off this ship, joining the marines and the first pirate I’m taking in will be Alvida’s fa…’ Coby was interrupted as the ceiling caved in, almost crushing the pink haired boy who Kaos pulled out of the way, Alvida falling through the hole she just made
‘Coby! Should have known you’d be here’ she grumbled hefting her mace onto her shoulder like it was an aluminium bat rather than a solid spiky bludgeoning instrument. She then looks up to Kaos and Luffy, both who have similar looks of confusion and slight curiosity on their faces, unlike Coby’s blind terror ‘I assume nether of you are Pirate Hunter Zoro?’ she asks
‘Nope’ Kaos answers, causing an awkward silence which just had to end badly
‘Hey Coby, who’s the fat lady?’ Luffy asks loudly, the woman in question turning bright red in anger, her crew’s jaws on the ground and Coby’s face turned white as a sheet. Kaos groans and face palmed
‘Luffy, remember when I told you about filters?’ he asked
‘Only that you don’t have one’ Luffy replied
‘Well neither do you, you don’t just say things like that to someone’s face. Now you’ve pissed her off and it’s not even true, if she can use that damn club of hers with any skill she’s got to have a good bit of muscle on her frame too’ Kaos scolds just before Luffy grabs both him and Coby and bounce them through the hole, well outside the range of Alvida’s mace
As the guy who pissed their (temperamental at the best of times) captain Luffy got all the attention from the pirates, allowing Kaos to quietly stand behind Coby (not that the runt could be used to hide behind or anything) and watch the younger pirate kick their collective asses, including using them as improvised bowling pins and ball. Unfortunately all that did was get them in one group, which charged as a single mob causing him to make a break from it. Luffy grabbed the mast as he turned, but instead of letting go or stopping like a normal person, his arm stretched as he ran, leaving a group of slack jawed pirates (and Coby) before he sprung back and slammed through them, the only remaining people standing being Coby, Kaos and Alvida (who had managed to climb back onto the main deck through the hole she’d made previously)
‘What are…’ Alvida began to ask before her eyes widen and she asks ‘Akuma no mi?’
Kaos grins and Luffy nods ‘Yep. I ate the Gomu Gomu no mi, I’m the rubber man!’ he announces proudly
Alvida hummed ‘I’d never thought I’d see one of them, before now they were just rumours, one of the many legends of the Grand Line and its mysterious terrors. You 2 bounty hunters?’
‘I’m a pirate, so is he, he’s my first mate but he gets bored easily and I like to hit things’ Luffy answers pointing to Kaos who simply tilts his hat forward over his eyes
‘So Straw Hat, if we’re both pirate captains and we don’t share a flag or a commander, I guess that makes us enemies’
‘Really, can’t we just be allies or rivals?’ Kaos asks causing Alvida to laugh
‘Oh you’re funny at the least. If you had a real ship or crew I’d consider it but you’ve got less crew than I have deck swabbers so I might as well get rid of you now rather than later’
‘Luffy! We need to go, now’ Coby whispers to him, getting a little annoyed when he doesn’t react ‘You’ve seen how much damage she can do with her club and of all the villains of the East Blue…’ he then stops, staring into space which confused the 3 pirates who were still listening to him.
‘Go on Coby, tell them, who is the most beautiful in the sea?’ Alvida encouraged with a wave of her free hand
‘Boa Hanco*ck’ Kaos replies almost automatically, most of the still conscious group staring at him with sweat drops ‘Wait were you not asking the audience? Hey Luffy Shanks said it was Hanco*ck right?’
The rubber boy shrugged ‘I thought he said it was Makino’
‘No that was prettiest in the village… also it was in order to get discounted booze’
Luffy face palmed ‘Oh yeah, right shishishi’ he laughed
‘Ahem’ Alvida coughs, a tic mark forming on her forehead ‘COBY! Answer the question!’
‘She’s… the ugliest thing in the sea!’ Coby yells, Kaos once more face palming as Luffy grins like a loon
‘I wonder if there will be enough left of him to bury’ the purple haired man thought morbidly as Alvida began to steam
‘You little sh*t, you’re dead!’ she screams, swinging the mace a lot faster than the Straw hats expected in Coby’s direction, most likely spattering the kids head all over the deck if Luffy hadn’t stepped between them. The mace hit him head on but Luffy just smiled under his hat
‘That’s not going to work’ he singsonged, shoving aside her weapon to show he was completely unharmed ‘My turn’
Gum Gum Pistol!
His punch sent Alvida’s bulk flying, throwing her off the ship and soar out of sight with a twinkle, and then hitting the water with a barely audible splash. Kaos would feel bad for her but she was definitely not a DF user and she clearly would have no problem floating (Do all the important characters get to make fun of Alvida’s size in this chapter? I guess they do)
‘Anyone have a problem with us taking Coby and one of your boats?’ he asks, smiling when everyone shakes their heads ‘Good, go get it!’ he yells
The trio hop into the boat, Coby with a lot more screaming and flailing than the other 2, practically scaring the ever loving berri out of the orange haired girl in the boat beside them when they landed. Luffy waves cheerfully at her before heading off, all 3 wanting to be long gone before the Marines notice them.
‘So where’s the nearest marine base kid?’ Kaos asks with a sigh, his hat shading his eyes from the sun.
‘Um, I think that island over there is Shell Island, there should be one there’ Coby answers, Luffy turning the sails to send them towards the direction he pointed, hoping they could find some more crew while they were there
TBC
LW: Well time to embark on an adventure of insanity, buckle up maties!
Chapter 2: 3 swords, a muppet and an arm axe
Chapter Text
LW: Time for the demon swordsman to make an appearance. Anything you want to say Zoro?
Zoro: ZZZZZZZZZZZ
Coby: Um, Lonly doesn’t own anyone other than Kaos, that’s all for now.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – 3 swords, a muppet & an arm axe
The journey into Shell Town was surprisingly easy, especially considering the huge ass marine base on the island: either the marines at the harbour were slacking off, or more likely they took one look at the dingy Luffy and the others were sailing in and dismissed it almost immediately. Either way the end result was that 2 pirates and a pink haired scaredy cat entered their town undetected and were currently browsing in the market place.
‘So where do you think we’ll find Roronoa Zoro?’ Luffy asks, everyone within earshot recoiling ‘Well… that’s bad’ he mumbles
‘It must be just because of how dangerous this guy is, if only his name effects people like that’ Coby says with a shiver in his tone ‘But someone like him will most likely be held deep within the Marine Base. I hear the one in charge of this one is one Captain Morgan’ the locals recoil again
‘That can’t be good’ Kaos comments, before shrugging his shoulders in an ‘Ah well’ sort of gesture
‘There must be some kind of explanation’ Coby tries to assure himself
‘Yeah, that Morgan’s not a nice man’ Luffy supplies seriously, then he grins and walks towards the base ‘Time to get me crewmate No. 3’ he cheers
Coby watches the straw hat boy walk away at a loss for words ‘What’s wrong with him?’ he finally manages to vocalise
‘It’s just how he is’ Kaos answers, reminding him the older pirate was still there ‘Luffy’s a cheerful guy, he doesn’t let the heavy stuff bother him most of the time. He’s the rubberman, bad things literally bounce off him. Sesese well I better go after him, make sure he hasn’t done anything to stupid yet’
They found him not much later, peering over the base’s wall ‘See anything you like?’ Kaos asks to get his attention
‘I think I found Zoro’ he answers happily
‘The guy on the cross? I don’t know Luffy, the guy looks grumpy but I’m not sure he’ll make much of a crewmate’ he comments as he peered over the wall himself.
‘I’m going to go ask him!’ Luffy announces, but before he could jump over the wall, or the others could talk him out of it a ladder was placed against it and a little girl climbed up and over, then walked over to Zoro
‘We need to get her out of there, or else he’ll kill her’ Coby yells, but the others grabbed him before he could follow
‘Even if that were true, I doubt he’s physically capable of standing right now, never mind hurting the girl’ Kaos replies with an eyeroll, just before noticing new arrivals
‘Oh good the marines are here’ Coby says with a smile, which immediately falls when the blond fop in front stole the girl’s riceball, spat it in her face while yelling at her, knocking the other out of her hand and stomping on it
‘You there, people shouldn’t be in with the prisoner, throw her over the wall’ he shrieks at one of the marines
‘But Helmeppo she’s just a kid’ he tried to argue only for the muppet to get in his face
‘Are you disobeying me? When my father, Captain Morgan, hears about this you will be severely punished. Unless You Throw That Brat Over The Wall!’ his high pitched wailing scared the marine so badly he picked up the girl and quickly tossed her over, the only conciliation being his whispered apology, and that Kaos stepped back in time to catch her.
‘Thanks Mister’ the girl said sweetly as Kaos put her down gently
‘Don’t worry about it, now come on let’s head back to the… ah f*ck’ he swore when he saw Luffy had disappeared again ‘I wonder’ he thinks, jumping up and resting his elbows on the wall and sure enough there was Luffy talking to Zoro. Letting himself drop he turned and started walking towards the village again ‘Luffy will be a while, lets find somewhere to eat, he’ll join us eventually’ Coby nods and the girl lead them to her mom’s place
Meanwhile
‘dickhe*d’ Zoro thought to himself as Hellmeppo walks off, only then noticing the kid in the straw hat standing in front of him ‘What do you want?’
‘You’re Zoro right? Are you as strong as they say you are?’
‘Piss off kid’ Zoro yells, but Luffy just smiles
‘You know if I was in your position I’d have died after 3 days, you’ve gone nearly a month’
‘Yeah I have, my resolve is that strong. I will survive this and leave these walls’
‘Okay, bye!’
‘Hey wait!’ Luffy stops and turns his head ‘Toss it to me’ Zoro orders, gesturing (as well as he could) to what remained of the rice balls
‘You sure? They look to be mostly dirt’ Luffy asks, staring at the mess sceptically
‘After 3 weeks the dirt itself is starting to look appealing, just give me the damn thing!’ Zoro grumbled, Luffy nodding before scooping it all up and shoving it in the green haired man’s face ‘Oh yes. Tell that little girl, her food was amazing’
‘He really liked it?’
‘Yep, he said it was amazing, which considering it was at least half dirt by the time it got to him, the real thing must have been awesome’ Luffy answers with a grin
‘I wonder what Zoro did to be left there for 3 weeks’ Kaos wonders aloud, noticing Rika tense out the corner of his eye ‘You alright kid?’
‘He he he’s there because of me!’ she whimpered, telling them how Hellmeppo used to have a wolf he let terrorise the village until while passing through town Zoro killed it defending her
‘So to stop him punishing my mom and me Zoro agreed to be taken in and not eat or drink for an entire month…’
‘Which is stupid, seeing as you can’t go for more than a few days without water, the no food thing you can probably do’ Kaos sighs (I checked/googled, it’s physically possible but as the paragraph itself says, it obvious wouldn’t be a pleasant experience)
‘Then I guess its good it rained yesterday. Still if he can get to the end of the month he’ll be set free’
‘You know I have to admire his restraint, I’d have punched the dick’
‘Shishishi, that’s not true Kaos. I’d have punched him in the face; you’d have just stabbed him’ Luffy comments with a laugh, only then he notices the blond guy with the butt chin from before had come in, catching the tail end of his conversation/monologue
‘…I’m so bored, I hope Zoro’s execution tomorrow will cure this for me…’ Helmeppo froze and turned to see a boy in a straw hat and an older one in a black fedora glaring at him
‘Executed, but what about your deal?’ Coby asked in shock
Hellmeppo laughs nasally ‘I never meant to keep that, it was just a way to get him to come quietl…’ he was interrupted by a punch to the face followed to a swift knee to his balls
‘You can’t do this to me, when my father hears about this’ he squeaks before hobbling off
‘Luffy?’ Coby calls, seeing the other boy’s serious expression
‘It’s decided, Zoro is joining my crew’
10 minutes later
‘I’m not joining you’re crew’ Zoro answers flatly
‘That’s too bad, I already decided’
‘Damn it you stupid brat that’s not how it works’
‘But I want you to; I hear you’re the best swordsman in the Blue’
Zoro smirks ‘Oh yeah I am, but that dickhe*d took them from me when they tied me up here’
‘Hey I know, if I get you back your swords then you’ll have to join my crew!’ Luffy announces cheerfully
‘That’s blackmail!’ Zoro argues
‘Actually I think its extortion, eh not important, see you later’
‘You’re going the wrong way idiot’ Zoro sighs, Luffy turning on his heel before backtracking
‘So, you going to get those swords while Coby and I free our newest crewmate?’ Kaos asks, pulling his khopesh from somewhere
‘Wait! I didn’t agree to help you guys be pirates’ Coby complains/protests but gets a smack to the back of his head by Kaos
‘Then stay out of sight and be a lookout, just don’t get in the way’ he grunts before noticing Luffy had already disappeared again ‘Damn it Monkey’ he thought with a groan
Luffy ran off, realising he would have a better chance of finding Zoro’s swords if he could find the blond idiot from before, seeing as he’s the one who took them and all. Sneaking isn’t one of Luffy’s best skills but even he managed to get in and search the bottom floor with ease… mainly because nobody was there. Confused (and a little annoyed) he heard grunts and yelling coming from the roof and ran up to investigate
‘That’s it men, now bring it up with one big pull’ Morgan grunts through his metal jaw, Helmeppo complaining beside him
‘Dad why haven’t you gone to kill the guy who hit me yet?’
Morgan ran his hand through his hair ‘Do you know why I never hit you?’
‘Because I’m your son? And you think I’m great?’
‘No you f*cking idiot, it’s because you’re weak and not worth hitting’ he then backhands him with the blunt side of his axe ‘There, feel better?’
‘Wow, what a dick’ everyone turns to see Luffy standing on the wall with a frown on his face ‘Hey there you are, I’m going to borrow this idiot’ he then grabs Helmeppo and runs out the door, the marines chasing after him.
Running around the base, (again) Hellmeppo’s head bouncing off the floor every few feet, Luffy began his search for Zoro’s sword. Eventually he decided to actually question what had until now been just dead weight
‘Where is Zoro’s sword?’
‘I’ll never tell you’ he sniffed dismissively and turned his nose up. Luffy co*cks back his arm ‘Okay, okay. I’ll tell you! They’re in my room, we passed it 3 minutes ago’ he shrieks, Luffy flicks his bruised nose
‘You’re a weakling’ he states, just before the marines catch up with them ‘Damn it’ Luffy groans
Gum gum Scapegoat
He stretches his arms out, holding Hellmeppo a safe distance between himself and the marines, the muppet screaming at them not to shoot as they make their way back to his extremely girly room
‘Hm, 3 swords, wonder which one is Zoro’s?’ Luffy wonders, before seeing Kaos, Coby and Zoro were about to get shot ‘No time to check, guess I’ll have to bring them all’
Gum gum Rocket
A few minutes ago
‘Come on Kaos, they’ll be here any minute’ Coby panicks as Kaos tries unsuccessfully untying Zoro from his cross
‘Yeah, yeah, yeah either help me or shut up’ he grumbled ‘Eh f*ck it, these knots are too tight’ he sighs before starting to cut through it with a small, scale patterned dagger
‘Go away, I’ve still got another week to go’ Zoro yelled, trying to make them leave
‘Actually you don’t, you’re going to be executed tomorrow’ Coby tells him, Zoro’s eyes widen in shock before he growls
‘That bastard!’
‘Listen Zoro, I’m not telling you to be a pirate, but please just let these guys save you’ just as Kaos cuts through the one binding his right arm
Gum gum Rocket
Luffy (carrying Zoro’s swords) drops down in front of them, perfectly fine, just as the marines opened fire. They were shocked when Luffy just stood there grinning, right before he rebounded all the bullets back at them, shattering their guns
‘Hey guys, I’m back’ Luffy calls, grinning as widely as before
‘Who are you?’ Zoro gasps
‘I’m Monkey D. Luffy, and I’m gonna be King Of The Pirates’ Luffy announces with a huge smile
‘Really? You’re going to be king of the pirates? Do you have any idea what that means’
‘King of the pirates means King of the pirates, what else can it means it’s right there in the name?’ Luffy asks
‘It sounds crazy at first but he’s actually serious about it’ Coby half defends, Kaos chuckling behind Zoro’s cross
‘Luffy has every intention of becoming Pirate King or to die trying, it’s going to be an interesting voyage’ she says, adding his 2 cents.
‘Any way, I got your sword back Zoro, but which one is it?’ Luffy asks, waving them in the older man’s face
‘All of them, I use Santoryu, 3 sword style’ Zoro answers with pride, while Luffy looks in awe
‘That sounds so cool!’ he cheers, Kaos chuckling while Coby looks on in confusion (As I did the first time I heard of 3 swords style) ‘Hey you almost done over there?’
‘Nearly Monkey, just a little more’ Kaos grumbles at the strong ropes they used to bind Zoro
Meanwhile with the marines
‘What is he?’
‘The bullets just bounced off him’
‘That kid must have eaten one of those Devil Fruits we’ve heard about, fruits that grant the ones who eat them otherworldly abilities. There are many types in this world but almost nothing is known about them, though it’s believed their secrets are somewhere on the Grand Line’ Morgan answers, his men getting more and more worried
‘And that’s exactly where I’m heading’ Kaos thinks with his signature smirk
‘But it doesn’t matter what he can do, if the guns don’t work then cut him down!’ Morgan orders, the marines rushing at the group with their swords
‘Hurry up!’ Coby yells fearfully
‘Almost, GOT IT!’
‘Give me my swords!’
YAAAAAAAAH…………… thunk
The marine’s blades were all stopped by Zoro’s 3 swords, it clear despite the time spent starving himself he hadn’t lost any of his strength
‘So that’s how you use 3 sword style’ Kaos grins in amusem*nt, Luffy smiling like a loon as usual, while Coby tries to get his heart back to a normal rhythm.
‘Now I’m a criminal for defying and fighting the marines I’ll join you loons. But know this; I’m going to achieve my dream of being the greatest swordsman, you do anything to make me deviate from that path I will cut you down’
‘How about we just beat some sense into you until you’re back on the right track again?’ Kaos gives as a counter offer, causing the green haired swordsman to grin around the hilt
‘Works for me, but I won’t go down easy even then. So what are your orders, captain?’
‘Luffy’s eyes harden ‘Duck’ he says lowly, Zoro raising his eyebrows until Luffy lifts his foot at which point he complies
Gum gum whip
Luffy’s rubber leg tossed the marines aside like rag dolls, freeing Zoro and flinging them back at a steaming Morgan
‘Incompetence! I’ll deal with you myself’ Morgan yells arrogantly
Luffy ran full pelt at the Captain, his rubberised punch blocked by Morgan’s Axe hand, which he dodged a swing from. Not letting the fissure it caused distract him, the straw hat jumped into the air and planted both feet on Morgan’s face, bringing him to the ground. He then proceeded to whale on him, repeatedly using stretched punches to do more damage while not going to the point of using the named techniques
‘Straw Hat!’ Helmeppo screamed, Luffy catching him out the corner of his eye ‘Stand down, I have a hostage! If you don’t want your friend to die you’ll surrender right now’ he threatens, but the gun to Coby’s head wriggled in his shaking hand.
‘Well, well, the idiot has some skills after all’ Kaos smirks mirthlessly, spinning his blade between his fingers as Luffy drops Morgan and starts walking
If I die fighting for my dream it’s all worth it
Luffy’s not going to let something like a whirlpool stop him from achieving his dream
‘Luffy!’ Coby yells ‘Don’t worry about me; if I die it’ll be okay’
‘I know, but you won’t’ Luffy says, inching closer towards them, unaware Morgan was pulling himself to his feet
Gum gum pistol
‘You brat, I am the greatest!’ Morgan yells, swinging his axe down on Luffy’s head only for it to be caught by a reflective, silver hand grabbing his forearm
‘Don’t touch my little brother asshat’ Kaos hissed, his smile gone just before punching Morgan in the jaw with another oddly coated fist. On top of the beat down Luffy had already given him, the punch ensured Morgan wasn’t getting up again anytime soon. Together (because he took one more step and nearly collapsed) they brought Zoro back to the little girl and her mom, to feed the swordsman.
Later
‘Ahh, food has never tasted so good’ Zoro groans as he ate his fill, Coby and Kaos already done while Luffy continued to stuff his face
‘So Coby, you guys going to sign up now?’ Kaos asked, surprised when the pinkette visibly deflated
‘Yeah I know you guys didn’t like me around and I was just a loser and a burden…’ he stops when he feels hands clamp down on his shoulders
‘Idiot! You’re not a burden, you’re a good kid and you are brave, you stood up to Helmeppo and Morgan, you’ll make a great Marine one day’ Kaos say honestly… before flicking him in the forehead
‘You better try rise through the ranks quickly Coby, the King of the Pirates should only be caught by the best’ Luffy grins and Coby tears up in happiness
‘Excuse me’ the group turn to a man in a marine uniform ‘I couldn’t help but overhear, you guys are pirates?’
Luffy nods ‘Yep, me, Zoro and Kaos’ he points to each in turn
‘Okay. Now we are happy you stopped Morgan, but now we know you’re pirates we need to ask you to leave. Though in light of your recent actions we won’t inform Navy headquarters’ the villagers yelled angrily but the pirates just stood and turned to leave
‘That’s fine, we’re not heroes, we’re pirates. We were just passing through and took out Morgan for being a major dickhe*d. Goodbye guys’
Ripper then turns to Coby ‘And you are you with them?’
‘Does kidnapping count?’ Kaos asks innocently, all the colour draining from his face
‘What?’
Luffy grinned widely ‘You see 2 years ago this guy…’
‘Shut up!’ Coby yells, punching Luffy in the face, realising a second too late how much he’d screwed up when he was lifted and thrown through the window. Kaos began to step towards him when he was stopped by 2 sword wielding marines, as Ripper sent 2 others to pick up Coby
‘Well it’s clear you people aren’t friends by any means, so get lost pirates! What were you doing here anyway kid?’
Coby was frozen as he looked over at the others; Luffy was unharmed and grinning, while Kaos was always smirking but it looked warm and peaceful. ‘They did it on purpose, give me my best chance’ Coby thought, doing his very best not to cry ‘My name is Coby and I wish to join the Marines, Sir!’
TBC
LW: Well that’s the end of Zoro’s intro chapter, everyone still happy to read this? I’ll try to add a chapter between every week and every 2 weeks (just getting in on that deadline tonight)
Reviews will be answered and new abilities (minus the simpler of canon ones) will be explained down here in all future chapters
Actually in hind sight some people like a friend of mine aren’t that familiar with One Piece in detail, just the series as an overall thing, so I’ll just start explaining things from this point on at the first instance of any of the main characters attacks/moves/skills.
Techniques/Devil Fruit abilities
Luffy
Eaten the Gomu Gomu no mi/Gum Gum Fruit. Basically his body has turned to rubber and he’s supper stretchy
Gum Gum Pistol: Stretching his arm back several feet then swings it back as he punches his opponent.
Gum Gum Whip: Stretching his leg as he performs a wide kick, knocking back anything within range
Gum Gum Scapegoat: Not the same as the anime, mostly because he holds onto the person her grabs and uses them as a human shield as apposed to throwing them at the opponent (I have till Marineford to rename THAT technique, I’m thinking Gum Gum Substitute… eh it’ll be a few years at this rate)
Gum Gum Rocket: He grabs something sturdy (the window in the case of this episode, but anything he can use as a hand hold), walks back and then bounces out like a rubber band that’s been let go. Luffy’s primary form of speedy transport (such as going from the roof to the ground)
Zoro
Santoryu: A form of sword fighting involving 3 swords (Hence the obvious other name of 3 sword style), one in each hand and the 3rd clenched between the fighter’s teeth. Zoro is proficient in this style, it being is signature and all, but he is also capable of using Nitoryu (2 sword style, or dual wielding to some of us) as well as Ittoryu (1 sword style, or swinging a sword around like a normal person) just nowhere near as good as his 3 sword style.
Chapter 3: The circus is in town
Chapter Text
LW: Well here we are, chapter 3. Nami, you want to do the intro?
Nami: Sure, that’ll be 10,000 beri.
LW: (Sweatdrop) I’ll just start the chapter
Nami: (Grumbling) Cheap bastard
Rubber King and Mirror Master – The Circus is in Town
We find our heroes (?) sailing in a random direction due to their captains terrible navigation skills and the 2 19 year olds were currently trying to ignore the youngest’s loud complaining about being hungry, something they’d feel more sympathy for if he hadn’t eaten most of the food himself.
Tap, tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. tap.
‘Zoro opens his eye, looking over to Kaos as he taps his blade against his thigh
‘You know, that’s quite a unique looking thing, so I’m guessing it’s not just some nameless scrap. Want to share?’ he asked, he may not know all the high grade swords but still it was worth a shot
Kaos chuckles ‘It has a name; I just rarely give it out. I’ll tell you what it means though: Eye of the Serpent Demon’
Zoro snorts ‘Damn flowery forgers, can’t they give things simple names?’
‘And what does your sword’s name mean?’ Kaos asks, pointing to his white katana
Zoro sighs ‘Wado Ichimonji, Straight Road of the Harmony’
Kaos grins ‘You were saying?’
‘Hey look a bird, that means land, which means food’ Luffy cheers, bending his legs before either of the 2 could stop him
Gum Gum Rocket
As Zoro and Kaos fight to keep the boat the right way up, Luffy catapulted himself up to the bird
‘I got it… nope it’s got me’
‘Luffy! Damn it you idiot’
‘I’ll row, you make sure we don’t lose the moron’ Zoro orders, Kaos nods and moves to the front, not taking his eyes off Luffy, his hands itched, wanting to shoot the bird down but knew they wouldn’t get to him in time to stop him hitting the water.
Most likely because due to the mildness of the East Blue they were able to keep up with the bird, or at least it hadn’t gotten much further away and was still within sight. They might have even been able to follow them back to land, were it not for 3 loud distraction
‘Help’
‘Save us’
‘We’re drowning!’
Both guys looked down to see 3 people dressed in carnie gear and clown makeup, flailing around, begging for assistance. Kaos sighs
‘Get in the boat, we’re not stopping!’ he yells, Zoro taking the hint and kept rowing as the 3 guys scramble into the boat without being hit by it
‘Oy, you could have killed us!’ One with a painted frown yelled
‘That’s nice now excuse me I need to find our captain’ Kaos waved his hand dismissively, not even turning when they drew their weapons
‘Don’t ignore us! We’re Buggy pirates and we’re taking over this vessel’
Kaos raises an eyebrow before turning, his eyes shine for a moment, then with a lazy swing of his khopesh slices through their cutlasses.
‘Be quiet. Ah crap’ he swears, the bird no longer in sight ‘You idiots lost us our captain. Where’s land?’ he asks angrily
‘Why should we tell you?’
‘1: You most likely also want to reach land, 2: I won’t start cutting you’ he threatens, but Buggy doesn’t recruit people for their brains so even after the previous display they weren’t intimidated (Brave or stupid, take your pick)
Zoro sighs and stops rowing ‘Give me a minute’ he says as he stands up
2 minutes later
Now sporting several bumps, bruises and black eyes, the pirates frantically rowing towards Orange Town
‘We’re sorry to have disrespected the mighty Pirate Hunter Zoro’ the centre one apologised, a light, fearful smile on his face
‘That’s nice. What do you know about pink birds? Do they fly over the village?’ Kaos asks, now lying down staring up into the cloudless sky
‘Sometimes, Captain Buggy has us fire on them if they get too close to the Big Top, but other than that we leave ‘em alone’
‘And this Captain Buggy, anything worth knowing?’
The crew swallow ‘He’s a monster of a man, ruthless and sad*stic in his manners, plus with his Devil Fruit Power he’s practically unstoppable. If you go up against him you’re de…AHHH!’ the centre pirate screams before he looks down at his leg, forgoing his blade Kaos simply stabbed his hand THROUGH his leg, nearly tearing it in half
‘He’s not the only one’ he says in a surprisingly neutral tone’
Meanwhile thousands of…. Meanwhile in Orange Town
‘Hey get back here!’
‘Give us the map girlie and we won’t have to hurt you’
‘That map’s ours, we stole it first!’
‘sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t’ Nami swore internally as the burley circus rejects chased her through the village. The 3 pirates nearly catching up when they all heard yelling, stopping just as something fell from the sky with a loud crash, forming a crater and a dust cloud. Despite it being a perfect distraction Nami’s curiosity made her stay, so when the dust cleared she saw a familiar straw hated boy standing between her and the Buggy pirates, when he turns they both think the same thing
‘You again?’
Thinking fast Nami puts a plan into action ‘Hey Boss, glad you could make it, I just got the map like you asked. Mind taking care of the goons for me? That’d be great’ she says with a wide grin before running off, finding a high vantage point with which to hide (as nobody looks up EVER)
‘The girl got away’
‘Well did you hear her, this guys’ her boss, he must have something good’
‘Yeah, lets take his stuff, find the girl again and bring all their loot back to Buggy’
The 3 pirates charge at him but Luffy destroys them, 2 with elasticated punches and the 3rd kicked into a wall
‘I’m hungry’ he mutters to himself, not at all effected by 3 people trying to kill him
‘Wow I thought they’d kick your ass but you took them down easy’ Nami comments from the rooftop
‘Hey you’re the girl who set me up, who are you?’
‘Nami. I’m a pirate thief, wanna team up?’ she asks with a smile (Stealing is wrong…unless it’s from pirates)
Luffy looks blanky at the girl ‘Um thanks but no thanks lady’ he then turns and walks away, Nami hopping down and running after him
‘Hey wait a minute’ Nami yells, catching up to him mostly because he stopped walking
Luffy slumps to the ground ‘I’m still hungry’ he moans
‘I could make you something’ Nami offers, causing Luffy to spring up excitedly ‘What’s wrong with this guy?’ she thinks
‘Really? Thanks’ he grins widely
Later
‘I kind of thought you’d be something more interesting than a petty thief’ Luffy complains, getting a slight tap on the head ‘Ow’
‘I’m not just a petty thief, I’m a Cat Burgler, swiping from the shadows without anyone the wiser’
Luffy shrugs ‘A thief is a thief in my eyes, you steal sh*t from people, what’s the difference?’
‘Plenty! Though I wouldn’t expect a pirate to understand finesse or subtlety’ Nami argues, turning her nose up until she realises Luffy is laughing at her ‘What’s so funny?’
‘Shishishi. 2 things: One; you get very angry when people generalise thieves, but are more than happy to generalise pirates as big ugly brutes. Two; by your own definition you’re more a thief than a cat burglar, being caught by both the Buggy pirates and me’ he grins widely until she punches him again
‘So Navigator, will you be able to take us through the Grand Line one you have the map?’ he asks
‘Hey, I didn’t agree to anything!’ Nami yells
‘Hey Boss, glad you could make it, I just got the map like you asked. Mind taking care of the goons for me? That’d be great’ Luffy imitates ‘that’s a formal agreement amongst criminals like us, after all in our line of work our word is our bond’
‘Like pirates know honour’ Nami scoffs
‘About as much as a thief’
‘Blatant stereotyping!’
‘World Government propaganda’ Luffy argues back
‘I will never be a pirate, those people sicken me. The only thing I hate more than pirates are marines’ Nami yells before turning away in a huff
‘Jeez, what’s got your panties in a bunch?’ Luffy mumbles, not actually directing the question at Nami as he resumed stuffing his face and filling his belly
Nami spots some of the Buggy pirates just outside the house they were hiding in, figures with how valuable the map was they wouldn’t just let her go, she needed a plan. Turning back to the oblivious Straw hat with a greedy smirk
‘Okay Luffy, I’ll join your crew, but just for now and I’ll need you to help me with something. You up for some method acting?’ she asks then before he could react he’s secured quite tightly with ropes
‘Um Nami, why did you have all this rope?’ Luffy asked, Nami flushes and blusters a garbled mess of sounds ‘Don’t worry, I don’t judge’ he smiles, only getting punched in the head once more
‘Just shut up and act like a prisoner’
The Big Top
‘You mean to tell me that not only did you lose the map, but you let the girl escape!’ a blue haired man in clown aesthetic, red nose included yelled. This was Buggy the Clown, Captain of the Buggy Pirates, and currently getting madder by the minute ‘Time to die!’
‘Please don’t kill us Captain Buggy!’ the pirates plead as they beg for their lives
‘Fear not Captain Buggy, I caught the thief!’ Nami announces as she leads a bound Luffy through the group, breaking the mood and luckily snapping Buggy out of his murderous rage
‘Well this is quite a surprise, what has led to this change of heart Missie?’ Buggy asks in slight amusem*nt as Nami returns the map to him
‘I was arguing with my boss again, I realised I needed to change things up, so here I am’ she waves her hands dramtically ‘I was hoping I might be able to join you guys’
Buggy starts to twitch, getting several of his crew mates worried he was going to snap… until he started laughing manically
‘You want to change things up? Join a new crew? Well of course little miss, you seem like quite a bit of fun indeed’ he announces, he crew cheering, some just in relief.
Nami grinned at Buggy’s gullibility when she was conked on the head and collided face first into the ground ‘Ow’
‘Oh Luffy, what mess have you gotten yourself into this time?’ Nami turns her head and sees a purple haired man talking to Luffy
‘Hey Kaos, little tied up at the moment’ Luffy grins
‘I can see that. It’s one thing after another with you Monkey’ he sighs then his eyes catch the demented clown ‘Captain Buggy I presume?’
Buggy puffs up like a peaco*ck ‘Why of course I am, it’s wonderful how tales of my greatness reach the far reaches of the Ea…’ he then noticed Kaos wasn’t paying him the slightest bit of attention ‘Hey! Don’t ignore me!’ he yells
‘Oh Luffy what am I to do with you? Maybe it’s best if I just cut my losses’ he sighs and reaches into his cloak
Luffy flails around on the ground ‘No! We’re supposed to explore the Grand Line together, go on an amazing adventure as brothers’
Kaos laughs ‘In case you haven’t figured it out the Grand Line is Hell on Earth, our brotherly army of 2 isn’t going to cut it. Probably better I end this before it gets us both killed’ he pulls out a gun
‘Wait! You can’t do this’
Kaos blinks ‘You’re right’ he removes Shank’s hat from Luffy’s head ‘Can’t let this get damaged and red hair wouldn’t want it back with a bullet hole or covered in your blood’
‘Stop!’ both pirates look at Buggy in surprise ‘A captain shouldn’t die in such an un-flashy way. Men, bring out the Buggy Ball!’ he orders, Kaos and Luffy look at one another and shrug
The cannon was loaded and fired, to which Kaos had no other response available but to whistle ‘Damn! Okay Captain, you’ve officially impressed me’
‘That’s all well and good but you still haven’t given me a reason to let you join a crew as flashy as mine’
Kaos grins ‘Well how about the guy who ate the Senko Senko no mi? I’m the flashiest man alive. Sure it was only a few weeks since I did so, so I’ve not fully worked out its capabilities yet but I do have this…’
Flashbang!
He splays his fingers in an explosion mime and everyone was blinded by a bright flash of light, the only exception being a grinning Luffy who knew what his brother was about to do so closed his eyes and tilted his head down
‘…and I move and react quicker than I used to, which is probably why my fruit is considered the little sister of the Pika Pika no mi, that and I can’t shoot lasers from my fingers, as far as I know’
Buggy laughs ‘Well that definitely is what I’d call flashy. Welcome to the crew kid’ his smile then turned into a feral grin ‘You just need to pass your initiation
10 minutes later
‘Hey, why am I in a cage?’ Luffy asks
Kaos shrugs ‘Beats me, if you hadn’t escaped by now you weren’t going to’
‘The Buggy Ball is reloaded Captain’
‘Excellent, now Kaos light the fuse and the Buggy Ball will blow your former captain away flashily’
Kaos and Luffy stared at each other, then the younger smiled and nodded so he lit the fuse
‘He’s going to vaporise his own brother, and I didn’t think pirates could sink any lower’ Nami thinks angrily, wishing she was anywhere but beside the cannon, but Buggy wanted her in line of sight
All was fine, right up until Buggy pirates started getting tossed around as a green haired man made his way to the cannon, Kaos and Nami.
‘ZORO!’ Luffy cheers/yells happily
‘I really didn’t think I’d be returning the favour of saving your ass quite so soon Luffy’ Zoro replies neutrally
Kaos sighs of relief ‘Zoro, I was beginning to think you were never going to show up’ with a swing of his blade he cut through the fuse in 2, the end burning on the ground feebly.
‘Pirate Hunter Zoro, here for my head I presume?’ Buggy asks
‘Nah, I’m not in that business any more, just looking for my crew. First this idiot gets caught by a bird, then this one just straight up disappears’
‘That may be true, but killing the legendary Zoro would do wonders for my reputation, make my goals that much easier to achieve’
Zoro tilts his head ‘You can try, but you won’t last for very much longer if you do’
Buggy cackles ‘Is that so, let’s find out’
Both men get into their battle stance, Zoro moving Wado into his mouth, as Buggy pulls several knives from his coat. The clown pirate then runs at the swordsman who stands his ground and locks his position
‘Die Flashily!’ Buggy yells, leaping at Zoro, the green haired swordsman not reacting to the clown as he splits him in 4; removing his right hand and left foot, as well as splitting him in half at the waist, the pieces falling to the ground with a plop
‘Well that was boring’ Zoro complains
‘Ah damn it, I wanted to see what his Devil fruit powers were’ Kaos sighs ‘Well guess I’ll have to wait for one of these chuckleheads to eat it again’ he mutters, only then hearing the steadily increasing volume of laughter ‘Did I over think again and miss a joke or something?’
‘Their captain is dead and they’re laughing’ Nami repeats in confusion
‘I don’t like this, something doesn’t feel ri-gurk’ Zoro grunts, falling to his knees. Looking down he was shocked to see Buggy’s knife sticking out of his gut, the clown had stabbed him in the back. And that was just the start as Buggy’s separate parts floated up and stuck themselves back together as thought Zoro hadn’t done anything
‘It seems someone told you I had a Devil Fruit, unfortunately for you they weren’t stupid enough to tell you it’s name. I ate the Bara Bara no mi, now I’m a split human so I can’t be harmed by a sword. Bwahahahahaha!’
‘He’s a split human, that’s weird’ Luffy thinks aloud, Kaos groans in annoyance
‘That may not have been a lethal hit, but you’re not exactly going to be walking away with an injury like that. So it appears that I am victorious’ Buggy cheers, his crew joining them
‘Blades are out, but what about a more blunt force approach?’ Kaos wonders, his weapon idling spinning in his hand
‘Let my guard down, damn Devil Fruit users’ Zoro growls through the pain of his wound.
‘A knife in the back’s a dirty trick, you Big Nose!’ Luffy yells angrilly
Everyone gapped, except Nami who was reminded when boot meets arse, face meets floor.
‘Hey what the f*ck was that for?’ she yells
‘Couldn’t reach Luffy’ Kaos answers unapologetically, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
‘What did you say? Die you flashy bastard!’ Buggy yells, throwing his knife at Luffy, but the rubber boy catches it in his teeth
‘Hey Buggy’ Luffy garbles around the knife ‘When I get out of this cage I’m going to kick your ass’ he then bites down, breaking the knife.
Buggy laughs ‘As if, no instead all 4 of you will die, right now in fact, by my hands. So if you plan to kick my ass you should probably do it now’
‘No, I refuse to die!’
Getting Zoro’s attention he points to the cannon, then Buggy, Zoro smiling despite the pain ‘You’re as crazy as Luffy, but it should work’
Buffy leaps at Zoro who manages to keep him at bay with his 3 swords, though he knows he can’t actually injure the clown he can at least stop him doing any more damage. With a nod from Luffy Zoro cleave Buggy in half once more.
‘You idiot, that 3 sword style may look impressive but it’s no match for the Bara bara no mi, just give up and I’ll make your death… hey where’d you go?’ Buggy yells angrily when he see’s Zoro has disappeared, right until he turns around
Kaos runs while Zoro shambles over to the cannon, both gripping the underside and with a colossal heave managed to flip it.
‘They tipped the cannon’
‘Why’d they do that?’
Buggy freezes, then flails wildly ‘There’s still a Buggy Ball in the cannon!’ he yells just as a smirking Kaos pulls out a lighter and sets off the now much shorter fuse
KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!
TBC
Yay, first cliffhanger I think… oh well.
Character information
Buggy the Clown
Eaten the Bara Bara no mi/Chop Chop fruit: Enables his body to split apart and can’t be harmed by sharp force trauma (swords, knives etc), the body splitting harmlessly where it would be damaged and being able to easily reattach itself once the blade leaves his body
Zoro
Wado Ichimonji: O wanzmono grade sword with a white hilt, circular guard and is a straight blade. The blade usually held in his mouth
Kaos
Eaten the * * no mi/ * * fruit. Yeah you’re going to have to wait for that one, also yes he was screwing around with Buggy when he said he ate the Flash Flash fruit given the pirates obsession with things being flashy.
Dazzle: The real name of the techniques Kaos referred to as Flashbang (which was its original name, until I had a better use for that name. Helped it had a secondary move known as moon dazzle, so the name change was easy)
Thought now was as good a time as any to tell you my thoughts on Special Paramecia class of Devil Fruits. Anyone who isn’t up to date with the manga will not understand, but in the current arc there’s a Devil Fruit User (Charlotte ‘Dogtooth’ Katakuri) who was originally a logia, then reclassed as paramecia, more specifically special paramecia.
Due to what the only character in this class can do I’m stating that Special paramecia are a middle ground between paramecia and logia, having a mix of characteristics from both, taking on the qualities or producing a substance but having freeform control over said material, like he does with his mochi. That’s all, just wanted to give my opinion on the subject while Oda still hasn’t explained anything yet.
Chapter 4: Clown, Lions, Unicycles oh my!
Chapter Text
LW: Well here we go, 2nd half of the Buggy arc
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Clowns, Lions & Unicycles oh my!
While the smoke clears, Zoro and Kaos (with some difficulty, and having to quite literally kick Nami out of the way) lugged Luffy’s cage away, Nami following her them in confusion and a hint of curiosity.
They stopped outside a pet shop, Zoro collapsing from blood loss / dizziness, while Kaos leaned against the cage tiredly as the cage was f*cking heavy.
‘Doggie! Hey guys do you think he’s dead?’ Luffy asks before poking it, not that any of the 3 telling him not to would have stopped him. The dog reacts quickly, attempting to ravage Luffy’s rubber face, Zoro sighs in annoyance while Kaos is laughing his ass off.
‘These people are f*cking idiots!’ Nami thinks/complains mentally before walking over to them ‘Hey I think you need this more than I do’ she says, tossing a key in Luffy’s direction
‘Awesome the key to the cage. Thanks Navigator!’ Luffy says happily
‘Why didn’t you tell us you had the key before we lugged the cage all the way here?’ Zoro complained, not that it mattered as the moment the key hit the ground in front of Luffy, the dog immediately gobbled it up as everyone watches in shock. Luffy was the first to break out, wrapping his hands around the dogs neck and shakes it, trying to get it to cough up the key
‘Hey, stop hurting Shu Shu’ some old guy yelled, stopping Luffy from throttling the dog, even if just out of confusion
‘Who are you old man?’ Zoro grunts with a twinge
‘Old Man? I’m Mayor Boodle’ the old man yells until he notices the deep wound on Zoro’s torso ‘Damn that looks bad, I guess you’ve run into Buggy and his goons. You need a doctor’
‘Thanks, know any?’ Kaos asks with a shrug while Luffy mutters death threats in Shu Shu’s direction.
Transition
Boodle exits the house and walks back to where Luffy, Nami and Kaos were sitting, Shu Shu sitting on Kao’s feet, the elder pirate not appearing to have any problems with it
‘So is Zoro going to be okay?’ Luffy asks, worried about his newest crewmate
Boodle sighs ‘I told him he needs to see a Doctor, but he says he just wants to sleep it off. I suppose it doesn’t matter though given the doc left with the other villagers when Buggy showed up and started ransacking the town’
So, Shu shu huh?’ Kaos asks, rubbing behind the dog’s ears
‘Why’s he just sitting out here, seems like quite a lazy mutt’ Luffy comments though without any real bite to his words, which was probably why Kaos didn’t hit him, Mayor Boodle didn’t yell at him and Shu Shu didn’t try eat his face again.
‘He’s guarding the store’
Nami raises an eyebrow ‘The store? Why?’
After filling his dog bowl, Boodle goes on to explain how the store used to belong to a friend of his, Shu Shu’s owner and how it had been very special to both of them. He died a couple months back and this was all Shu Shu had of his master, plus the store was technically his as much as the man’s. Despite many attempts to get him to leave, even just so he wasn’t always out in the cold all the time Shu Shu always returned to his vigil outside the store, some of the villagers thought he was waiting for his master to return but Boodle told them he was sure Shu shu knew his master was dead, and that the store was now his to protect, alone. There was a moment of quiet contemplation… until Shu Shu’s feed bowl started to rattle against the stone, slight tremors coming from the distance.
‘Beast Tamer Monji, everybody run!’ the mayor yells, running off, Nami and Kaos chasing after him, the latter yelling ‘Hey get back here!’ as the old man hadn’t given them any information other than telling them to run
‘Um guys?’ Luffy calls, leaving just him and the dog outside the store.
Thuds like thunder rumbled through them as a large lion plodded into view, the man on top making Luffy laugh
‘You’re head looks funny’ he chuckles
Monji scowls ‘This is manly hair. It seems you need to learn respect, behold there is no beast on this earth I cannot tame’ he hops of his lion and walks up to Shu Shu ‘Shake’
Luffy may have been annoyed at the time but he now understood why Kaos laughed at him, watching Monji spazz out trying to get Shu shu off his arm was pretty hilarious, he guessed like all slapstick it was funnier mostly because the dog’s jaws weren’t clamped around his face this time
‘Never mind, I don’t care about an idiot like you so tell me where Roronoa Zoro is and I’ll let you live’
‘Nope’
Monji growled ‘Fine have it your way. Get him Ritchie!’ the lion tries to attack Luffy but only destroys the cage, freeing the straw hat who jumps to safety…. Well he would have had Ritchie not swiped at him with his paw, throwing the kid through one of the nearby houses.
Later
Kaos returns, annoyed he didn’t get anything else out of the old man and worried Luffy had managed to do something stupid again despite being locked in a metal cage, but upon reaching the spot they’d left him his only thoughts were ‘Ah f*ck’. He looks from the burning Pet Store to the dog that looked like he got the ever loving sh*t kicked out of him, howling fruitlessly as his treasure was slowly reduced to ash and cinders. Sighing sadly before placing his hat on Shu Shu’s head
‘Keep that safe for me bud, I’ve got a clown to tenderize’ he turns to leave but is stopped by a hand on his shoulder ‘You can’t stop me Luffy’ he says without a hind of his usual cheerful undertones
‘I know and I don’t want to. That guy destroyed the doggie’s treasure, but I’m taking that weirdo out, you take the lion’ Kaos raises an eyebrow ‘You’ll kill the guy otherwise, at least you’ll spare…. Um Ritchie I think he was called’ Kaos shrugs but nodded to his Captain, he was in charge after all.
A little while later
‘Little sh*t bit me’ Monji complains mostly to himself as he rides Ritchie on his search for Zoro, the lion munching his way through a bag of pet food when it stopped suddenly ‘What now Ritchie?’ he asks before looking down
Standing in front of them was a tall man with short purple hair, staring at him with intense green eyes
‘Oy what are you doing standing there? Move it!’
‘Get off’ Monji blinked, this guy didn’t react and instead gave him an order
‘What?’
‘Get off the lion’ he elaborated
‘Now see here…’ Monji began, but he was apparently out of chances
‘Get off the f*cking lion! I’m not allowed kill you, but by Kami I will accept whatever discipline the captain decides I deserve for disobeying if you don’t come down here right now!’ Kaos yelled up at the ‘Beast Tamer’, the man pretty sure he peed himself a little after he slid down Ritchie’s side ‘Thank you’ Kaos smiles sweetly which confused him
‘What now?’
‘This’ Kaos grins as he raises his fist, coated in a reflective silver coloured substance, then pulls his arm back and punches the lion in the side of his head, causing it to slam through a house.
‘Ritchie! Why’d you do that you bastard?’ the beast tamer asks angrily
‘Because you hurt Shu Shu’ Kaos answers
‘And this is for destroying the doggie’s treasure’ a voice from behind Monji said, he turned and saw the straw hat kid from earlier
‘So you survived, I didn’t expect that’
‘Yeah, I seem to do that. But now you get to learn to respect other people’s treasures’ Luffy says, stretching back both arms, then while Monji is frozen in shock sends 2 simultaneous punches to his face, sending him into a wall
Gum Gum Shotgun
Back with Shu Shu
Nami stands in shock as Shu Shu sits just outside the pile of rubble that was once his home and treasure, her anger boiling deep inside her, unfortunately finding a (she believed) suitable target when Kaos and Luffy return
‘Well, back to see all the destruction you’ve brought? I thought you’d both died and I wish you had, 2 less pirates ruining everyone’s lives’ Nami yells at them, but both seem to ignore her, something which just pissed her off more causing her to lash out had the mayor not held her back
‘Hey Shu Shu, thanks for minding my hat for me, the big cat won’t hurt you ever again’ Kaos says as he puts back on his fedora and scratches Shu Shu behind his ears, the dog barking contently as Luffy places a box of pet food in front of him
‘Here you go doggie, sorry this was all we could save, that mean lion ate all the rest’
Neither Nami or the mayor knew how to react to this, that was where they went? That was why they went up against the Beast Tamer and his lion?
‘They took on that guy, because he hurt the dog? What kind of pirates are they?’ Nami wonders as Kaos stands back up
‘Miss Nami, your services are no longer required’ he says evenly, Nami scoffs
‘Yeah right I heard Luffy, you guys are desperate for a Navigator, and I’m the best there is…’
‘All which we can find in the next town and preferably one with a personality dissimilar to sandpaper’ Nami appeared stuck between paralysing frustration and violent rage, if the painful eye twitches and clenching fists were any indication ‘We’ll also be taking the map and half the treasure…’
‘No Way!’ Nami explodes ‘I worked my ass off getting that map…’
Kaos smiles with teeth ‘And then you gave it back, like an idiot. So when we kick the crap out of Buggy and steal it back it’ll be our efforts that got us the map. And before you say you need it, why? You clearly are a one woman theft ring, the fact you need our help proves it, and the Grand Line destroys whole crews of pirates and marines on occasion, with tons more experience than you, so if you went there on your own you’re committing suicide, in which case you don’t need the map’
‘Enough’ Luffy says loudly ‘I don’t like seeing my nakama fighting. Though I will admit Nami that Kaos is right: you can either join my crew or sail to the next island of suckers to fleece. The choice is yours’
Nami grimaced but knew she had a better chance of accomplishing her goals with them than without, especially if they aren’t actually as dim as they first acted ‘Fine, I’ll agree to a temporary partnership, until I reach my 100,000,000 beri target’
Kaos huffs ‘I’ll write up a contract when we get back to the boat’ he sighs before going to check on Zoro
Meanwhile
‘I can’t believe you lost, even if it was to Zoro!’
‘N-n-no Captain Buggy it wasn’t Zoro it was the tall one and the straw hat kid. They’re not like the others, they have…’ Monji faints before he could finish
Buggy sneers ‘Well that was disappointing. Men! Load another Buggy-Ball, we’re taking out these bastards if we have to vaporise the entire village’ he yells
BOOM
‘Zoro! Kaos!’ Luffy and Nami yell as the house is obliterated
‘We’re here’ they heard the swordsman say, much weaker than he usually sounded ‘Well that as a sh*tty way to wake up’ he complains
‘How’d you survive?’ the mayor asks
‘Dumb luck really, you put Zoro in a room with 2 windows, in the corner of the house. I saw the wave of destruction and pulled mosshead out the other. I’m sure going through the window as well as the tumble after gave us some more bruises, but better than the alternative’ Kaos explains with a shrug, Luffy laughing at how it was how their family’s luck worked.
‘I can’t just let you kids fight these bastards while I stand around. I am the mayor and I won’t let them destroy my treasure!’ Boodle yells before running off, the others groan before chasing after him
‘Buggy!’ Mayor Boodle yells up at the pirates
‘Who are you and what do you want?’ Buggy asks with a mix of boredom and annoyance
‘I’m Mayor Boodle and I won’t let you destroy this village’
‘Little late to the party old man’ Buggy snorts in amusem*nt
‘You hear me, you won’t get away with this, even if I die I won’t let you destroy my treasure’
Buggy grins ‘Then death it is!’ he yells shooting his hand out to strange the mayor only for it to be stopped ‘Straw Hat!; he yells in surprise
‘Yeah it’s me, I’m here to kick your ass just like I said I would’ he smirks before squeezing Buggy’s disembodied limb, causing the clown to twitch, before with a tug his hand flies out of Luffy’s and reattaches to his wrist
‘You little sh*t, do you have any idea who I am? I’m Captain buggy and I won’t stand for such disrespect!’ Buggy yells angrily, but Luffy looks to ignore him
‘Get out of here children, this is my town so I must be the one to drive them out’ Boodle says, moving to stand but instead Kaos slams his head into the ground, knocking him out
‘Why’d you do that?’ Nami yells
‘He’d have died if we let him fight Buggy, he’s just knocked out so calm your tit*’ Kaos answers with a dismissive wave, seemingly unfazed by the steadily reddening navigator as they wait to see what Luffy had planned next. (Haha, Luffy, plan. Silly humans)
‘HEY BIG NOSE!!’ Luffy yells at the top of his expanded lungs, Nami and Kaos finally being of one mind as they face palm their captain’s stupidity, Zoro on the other hand laughs weakly at Luffy’s directness
‘Fire another Buggy Ball at this flashy bastard and his crew!’ Buggy yells, Nami tensing as the cannon is moved and tilted to hit Luffy head on ‘Fire!’ he orders
Gum Gum Balloon
Luffy’s swollen stomach catches the projectile for a moment, enough for a collective ‘WTF/HOLY sh*t’ to pass through everyone, before shooting it right back at the Buggy pirates
KA BOOOOM!
‘Well that felt like a much bigger explosion, think we killed the idiots? Kaos asks
‘Not even close’ Buggy sneers as his disembodied hands release their grip on his crewmates
‘Using your own men as shields, disgusting’ Zoro growled, while Buggy just laughs
‘Ow my head, what the Hell happened?’ Monji groans then spots Buggy ‘Captain Buggy the 2 guys with Zoro, they’re not normal, they have Devil Fruit Powers!’
‘We already know idiot’ a man with half his head shaved scoffs, dropping Ritchie the lion with a thump ‘Allow me to show these fools why it is a bad idea to go against the Buggy pirates
Buggy shrugs ‘Fine Cabaji, just make it flashy’ the man nods and hops onto his unicycle before charging straight at Luffy with his sword drawn. It almost hit him, until Zoro blocked it
‘I’ll fight you, give me something to do on this island’ Zoro says grinning at the chance at a fight
‘Good decision Roronoa Zoro. Once I defeat you everyone will know the name of Acrobat Cabaji’
‘Hey Zoro you still need time to heal, let me do this’
‘Or I could, you’re not the only blade wielder on this crew you know’ Kaos adds after Luffy
‘No, I need to do this’ Zoro replies, and Cabaji grins
‘Acrobat technique: Flames of the old man’ he calls, blowing fire in Zoro’s face who blocks it with his swords, the unicyclist using the distraction to kick him in Buggy’s stab wound
‘Hey that’s not right’ Luffy yells angrily to which Kabaji just laughs
‘Not my fault he chose to fight with such a serious would, just makes things easier for me to beat him’
‘Acrobat technique: Murder at the steam bath’
‘Looks like a dust cloud to me’ Luffy comments Kaos and Nami nodding, Zoro would too but he was busy trying to track Cabaji, managing to block his sword strike but receiving another kick to his injured side
‘You done messing around?’ Zoro says with a grunt as he pulls himself to his feet once more ‘I plan to be the world’s greatest swordsman, I will not lose to some mockery of a sword swinger like you’ Cabaji scowls
‘Then I guess I’ll skip to my best technique. Acrobat Technique: A hike in the mountains’ the performer instead of going towards Zoro turns around and cycles up the side of a building, confusing everyone while Nami takes this moment to do her own thing.
‘Fireworks in the cool summer breeze’ Cabaji grins ‘Wheel stab’ turning his sword down before he began to drop
Bara Bara Cannon
‘I’ll hold him steady Cabaji’ Buggy calls, shooting his hand out to pin Zoro
‘Oh no you don’t’ Luffy says as he stomps on Buggy’s hand while Kaos steps between Zoro and Luffy ‘You want a fight so bad you deal with me!’
‘Pirate technique: Praise the Sun’ Kaos calls, using his arms to reflect the sunlight back into Cabji’s eyes
‘Ah you bastard’ he grunts, knowing he’d already missed his target, what he didn’t expect was to be cut crisscrossed on his chest as well as his neck by Zoro
‘Stop with the tricks and fight for real’ it seemed the green haired swordsman was getting rather steadily pissed
Cabaji growls ‘Fine, I’ll just have to run you down and be the best swordsman. Acrobat technique: Final strike’ he yells, cycling towards Zoro
Oni-Giri
Cabaji falls to the ground, 3 deep slashes erupt from his body, Zoro grins for a moment before falling due to his stab wound.
‘Done, I’m going to take a nap. And we’re pirates not thieves you idiot’ he mumbles before snoring could be heard
Buggy raises an eyebrow ‘You morons are pirates?’
Luffy nods ‘Yep, we’re searching for the grand line’
‘Well more looking for a crew to traverse it, I’m fairly sure the GrandLine is over there but I’m no navigator’ Kaos smirks and Luffy rolls his eyes and Buggy starts to steam
‘That’s quite a dangerous quest you have planned, sailing the Grand Line. And what will you idiots do once you get to the GrandLine, draw a map and go on a cruise?’
‘Become King of the Pirates’ Luffy answers more seriously than usual, Kaos grinning at Buggy’s shocked/BSD face at the statement
‘You can’t be king you halfwit, that title belongs to me. Only I can become Pirate King and obtain all the treasure of the world’
Luffy sighs ‘You’re annoying, come on I promised you an asskicking’ Luffy says as he gets into a ready position
‘Fine you annoying little brat’ Buggy grumbles, knives filling his hands and with a kick one came out of the tips of each boot ‘Just like Red Hair, a pain in the ass. Even has that damn straw hat and stupid grin too’ the clown thinks
Bara Bara Rice cracker
Luffy dodges the clowns lower half by hopping into the air, something which Buggy appeared to have expected ‘Can’t move in midair?’ he asks smugly before throwing his knives at him, looking mildly impressed when Luffy once more dodged, this time by streaching out, then pulling himself out of the way using a nearby building ‘Well, you are more interesting than I expected’
‘Same to you, now get a load of this…’
Gum Gum Pistol
Buggy sidesteps the fist as it flies past his head and grabs a nearby tree ‘Quite impressive moves, but they make you a much bigger target’ he says pulling out yet another knife
Gum Gum Sickle
Bara Bara eject
Buggy’s head shot up into the air, just before Luffy’s arm would have hit it, causing the rubber boy to sail past and crash into the building across from him
‘Hahaha see kid, you have no chance against me…. HEY GET BACK HERE WITH MY TREASURE’ he starts yelling, having spotted Nami trying to make a break for it with a huge bag of loot, separating his top half and flying at her.
‘Cat burglar my ass’ Kaos thinks to himself as he goes to deal with the clown
Luffy pulls himself out of the wreckage just as Buggy flies as Nami, only to collapse with his face frozen in severe pain, his lower half falling to the ground as Kaos lowers his leg.
‘Ow right in the Buggy balls, that was a cheap shot’ was croaked out of him
‘Who gives a sh*t, we’re all pirates here’ Kaos replies with a shark like grin.
Buggy slowly rises and reattaches his parts before yelling ‘You brats think you can make a fool out of me? I’m Buggy the Clown and I will not be beaten by the likes of you. Die Flashily!’
Bara bara festival
Buggy’s body separates into many more parts than before, all floating and rotating, before his blade filled hands fly at Nami, followed swiftly by the rest of him
‘Damn it, he’s split into even more parts’ Luffy worries as Buggy starts a tug-of-war with the thief, then he spots Buggy’s feet slowly walking towards the fight ‘Hmm, I wonder’
While Buggy chased after Nami and his treasure Luffy tries an number of methods to distract the clown, including tickling pinching and slamming his foot into the ground, anyone wanting to known what a Morningstar being slammed onto their foot feels like is welcome to ask Buggy, seeing as Kaos was getting bored of the fight and wanted to see if blunt(ish) weapons would succeed where bladed ones failed
‘You idiots, knock it off!’ he yelled over to them, taking his eyes off Nami for a second
‘No you knock it off’ Nami yells back, slamming the treasure bag into Buggy’s face, unfortunately for her this worked in his favour
‘Thanks for giving me back my treasure (‘again’ Kaos mutters) Nami’ he grins as he tries to pull it from the thief, but Nami wasn’t giving up without a fight.
‘Let go’ ‘No you let go!’ this tug of war was going to take while, the 2 pirates could tell, neither as going to back down, their greed was too high their pride even more so
‘So should you break them up or should I?’ Luffy asks, Kaos chuckles letting his blade spin before tossing it at the bickering pair
The khopesh flies past the clown’s head, hitting the bag and ripping it, causing the contents to spill out…mostly on the pirate’s head, taking him out of the fight momentarily, a kick to the head by Luffy adding to his down time.
When Buggy did come too he was beyond angry ‘You little bastards think you can get away with trying to flashily do me in? Think again!’
Bara bara assemble
Buggy grins as his parts returned, until he noticed a) Straw Hat was also smiling and b) he was taller than Buggy even though he was crouching down at the moment
‘Hey Buggy, looking for these?’ he turns to a grinning Nami, standing on his tied up pasts, all but his head, hands and feet
‘My parts!’
‘All right Nami!’ Luffy cheers, swinging his arms back despite Buggy’s rather vocal protests ‘See yah Buggy!’
Gum gum bazooka
Chibi Buggy flies through the air, forming a little twinkle as he disappears
‘They took out Captain Buggy’
‘With barely a scratch on them’
‘Let’s just stay unconscious’
Kaos whistles ‘I don’t even think we could measure that, new record there Luffy’
‘And look at all this treasure, 10 million beri easily’ Nami practically drools as she rebags the loot, the guys meanwhile picking up Zoro so he could be moved
It was at this point a mob of villagers (finally and uselessly) arrived ‘Oh, you guys were still around after all, why’d you leave fighting the pirates to the old guy?’ Kaos thinks out loud, unfortunately drawing attention to himself and the unconscious mayor
‘Mayor Boodle, what did those pirates do to you?’ one asks
‘That wasn’t the Buggy pirates, that was Kaos’ Luffy points out as well as pointing to the guy, who like Nami face palms Luffy’s idiocy
‘You monster!’
‘Attacking our beloved mayor’
Kaos raises his hands defensively’ Hey, calm down, all I did was knock him out. It was for his own good, if he’d have continued to attack Buggy he’d have died very painfully’
Tensions eased slightly ‘Okay, I guess we should thank you guys for saving our village and driving away the pirates’ the mobs leader apologises
‘Our village is pirate free once again’ someone cheered
‘Actually, we’re pirates too’ Luffy corrects, putting his foot in his mouth once more. Kaos’ hand once more finds his face, while Nami was glaring at him so hard if she were Shanks Luffy’s head would have exploded
‘Pirates!’
‘You bastards are here to steal our treasure!’
‘But there’s nothing valuable in this dump’ Nami says before she could stop herself (speak-before-you-think appears to be spreading)
‘Get them!’ was yelled, the 2 pirates and thief running as fast s they could, while carrying their unconscious 4th member
About halfway across the village with the mob right behind them Kaos has an idea
‘Luffy, hold Zoro for a minute’ the rubber boy nods and takes Zoro onto his back, Kaos turning to face the mob, rolling up his sleeves slightly as he does ‘And now we bid you adiu…’
Dazzle
The fedora wearing pirate grins as the group stumble around blindly, catching up with the others just as they turned a corner and met a familiar creature
‘Shu Shu?’
‘Doggie!’ Luffy cheers, unfortunately alerting everyone to their prescience ‘Dammit!’
‘Bye Shu Shu’ Kaos rubs his head before they sidestep the dog and continue to run away, the dog holding off the villagers from his friends (and Nami) with the same stubbornness and determination as he’d defended his store
At the docks/beach
‘Why’d you have one of Buggy’s boats?’ Luffy asks, referring to the clown’s Jolly Roger on the sail of Nami’s little boat
‘Stole it from some idiots’ Nami answered with a smirk…until she heard them
‘There you are, you witch’ was yelled as they Buggy pirates hop out of the other boat ‘Finally we can pay you back’ they begin to approach her till they hear a shrill whistle
‘Go’ Kaos orders, the pirates gulp before realising they were needed elsewhere and ran for their lives
‘Allright guys let’s get out of here!’ Luffy orders, Nami grumbling about how he wasn’t the boss of her but still followed anyway, because she wanted to leave as badly as the guys did
It wasn’t till they were already out at sea they heard yelling ‘Hey wait’
Kaos turns to look behind him ‘Hey look the mayor guy’s okay. Really hope he’s not here to yell at me’
‘Thank you young ones, thanks for saving my village’ he yells
Luffy grins ‘You’re welcome. Also look down’ Boodle does so and is shocked to see a large sack of what he later learns to be 5 million beri worth of treasure. Him broadcasting this information meant that it got to Nami almost as fast as it did the old man
‘WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LEFT THE TREASURE THERE?’ Nami yells, throttling Luffy from the other boat
‘They needed the money to repair the village’ Luffy defends but there was no reasoning with an angry Nami
‘YOU CAN’T JUST GIVE AWAY ALL MY HARD EARNED TREASURE!’
‘All he did was give away his half, no big’ Kaos sighs, unfortunately drawing Nami’s ire.
‘THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS! ALL TREASURE IS MINE!’ she practically screams into his face as she wails on the older guy, defending himself by crossing his arms until he grabs her by the face and throws her against the mast
‘Relax Gold-on, we’ll get more treasure, you’ll reach the 100mill soon enough’ he smiles with pointed teeth as he lies back and pushes his hat over his eyes.
TBC
LW: Well, that’s that. Next we have Usopp and a slight deviation from canon by the end of this island’s story, probably my first (other than Kaos) that will actually have consequences for more than the episode it occurs in
Luffy
Gum Gum Shotgun: Oh boy, this is a real divergent moment. Yeah this isn’t the shotgun from the anime/manga, that will be known as Scatter shot when I get to that point, this is more for progression reasons, he has pistol which is one punch, then gattling which is a lot thrown super fast. While not much of a step up, throwing more than one at the same time is still progress.
Basically it’s a double Gum Gum Pistol to simplify everything.
Gum Gum Balloon: Luffy inflates his stomach which enables it to catch and bounce back larger projectiles his natural rubber body could redirect.
Gum Gum Sickle: Luffy grabs something behind his opponent and pulls himself towards it, his other stretched out arm clotheslining his opponent on the way there. Usually...
Gum Gum Bazooka: Luffy streches his arms back before slamming his opponent with a simultaneous double open palmed strike. Usually sends his foe flying, which is probably why it’s usually used as a finishing move (like it was here)
Zoro
Oni-Giri: Zoro’s signature technique, a 3 way slashing manoeuvre that seems to be able to take out most things it hits.
Buggy
Bara Bara Cannon: Buggy shoots out either his hand or arm at his enemy, depending on whether he has a weapon in hand this technique can be used to attack or just grab/distract his enemies
Bara Bara Eject: Known as Chop chop escape in the anime this fits more because only his head shoots off/escapes, the rest of his body is still just as open to attacks as before. Situationaly useful, such as when he dodged Luffy’s sickle attack.
Bara Bara Festival: Buggy splits his body into many parts, then uses them to trap his opponent, bludgeon them with the lumps or in the case of any blade wielding appendages stabbing them.
Bara Bara Assemble: Buggy recalls all his parts and reforms… whatever can reach him.
Praise the Sun is basically Dazzle but Kaos is taking the piss at how all Kabaji’s moves start with the name ‘Acrobat technique’
Chapter 5: Pinocchio Cats
Chapter Text
Usopp: Welcome everyone, time for the real main character to finally make his appearance, the mighty Captain Us….
Kaos: Get out, out, out, out!
Usopp: Ahhh (runs away)
Kaos: Done boss
LW: Thanks for that. Now we have that interruption out of the way, onward to Gecko Island
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Pinocchio Cats
Middle of nowhere – East Blue
‘The next island we find better have meat’
‘And booze’
‘I won’t say no to either’
‘Ugh men! You idiots! We need more than meat and booze if we’re going to sail the Grand Line! We’ll need proper supplies as well as a strong enough ship to get there’ Nami yells
‘Wasn’t a problem when you were trying to solo the map’ Kaos mutters tiredly
‘I wasn’t stealing it to use but to sell. Maps of the Grand Line are rare and usually incomplete, this one being fairly close as far as I can tell’ Nami explains, her boat mate nodding in understanding ‘Anyway, the nearest island is Gecko, we should be able to get a real ship from someone on the island.
‘Sounds like a plan. Let’s find a ship, a cook and a musician. Onward!’ Luffy yells while Zoro and Kaos nodding in agreement, Nami rolling her eyes but smiled very slightly, these people were insane but they were growing on her, being tolerable…for pirates
‘Well this is a nice place’ Kaos says as they make land and make their way off their boats onto the beach
‘You said it, now where’s the meat?’ Luffy wonders
‘PIRATES!’ the quartet hear yelling and looking up see a guy with a long nose around Luffy’s age on top of the cliffs in front of them, the forest erupting in strange pirate flags ‘You have invaded the territory of the mighty Usopp pirates and we won’t let you harm this village, leave now and my army of 80,000 ruthless crewmates won’t tear you apart’ he threatens, Luffy staring up in awe, Kaos looking unimpressed
‘This is so cool!’ Luffy yells excitedly
‘He’s lying, there aren’t 80,000 able bodied men on this island, never mind those willing to follow this kid’ Kaos waves his hand in Usopp’s direction, the younger boy deflating for a moment
‘Oh no they know I lied’
‘And he’s just admitted he was lying’ Nami says, pinching the bridge of her nose
‘What! He was lying?’ Luffy yells, then deflates in disappointment
‘Yep, he’s got 3 maybe 4 under his control’ Kaos answers, Nami nodding
‘Yeah 3 sounds about right’
This causes Pepper, Carrot and Onion to run away screaming, leaving just Usopp
‘Hm, slingshot wielding pirates, now I’ve seen it all’ Nami chuckles
‘We haven’t made it to the Grand Line yet Nami, I’d hold off on a declaration like that for a while’ Kaos argues, Luffy laughing at everything that’s just happened
‘Hey, don’t laugh, shut up before I shut you up!’ he shouts, arming his slingshot
‘Now you’ve drawn a weapon are you willing to use it?’ Kaos asks flatly, his smirk surprisingly vacant
Luffy raises an eyebrow before his eyes widen in realisation and smirks under his hat ‘he’s right, guns aren’t for threats, they’re for actions. Are you willing to risk your life?’
Usopp and Luffy engage in an intense staring contest, Usopp’s determined glare against Luffy’s blank expression. This lasted a few minutes of silence before Usopp lets go… and the bearing fell at his feet with a plop
Usopp sighs ‘Being brave is a lot easier when you can back it up’ he says, surprised to see the brothers burst out laughing
‘Shishishi, we totally stole that from Red Haired Shanks’
‘Yeah, you should have seen his face. Sesese Shanks would be so proud’ Kao then stops, his hand moved to his chin in a thinking position ‘Hey Luffy, this guy look familiar to you?’ he asks
‘I don’t think so, I’m sure I’d remember someone with a nose that long’ Luffy shrugs, while Usopp collapses anime style (Luckily backwards as opposed to forwards)
‘Not the nose idiot, though it should help you remember where you’d heard a description like that’ Kaos waited for the penny to drop, not needing to see when his eyes widen and a grin splits his face, though the confirmation was still liked when he turns to him
‘Really, he’s the guy?’
‘Only one way to find out, hey Usopp, is your dad’s name Yassop?’
‘Yeah, how’d you know?’
Luffy laughed ‘We met him when he stopped on our village. He was the Sniper on Shank’s crew’
Usopp’s eyes light up ‘Really? My dad was part of Red haired Shanks crew?’
‘Yep’
Later, in a place with meat and booze
‘Know anywhere we could get a ship?’ Kaos asks, Luffy busy stuffing his face
Usopp shook his head ‘No this is a pretty small village, we don’t need really big ships around here’
Nami frowns ‘Then what about up there? They might be able to get us a ship’ she says, pointing to the mansion at the top of the hill
‘Don’t go anywhere near that house!’ Usopp explodes shocking the group’ Um… I’ve got to go, eat all you want, my treat’ he then speeds out the door. Nami looking suspiciously while the guys continued eating/drinking
‘Why was he in such a rush?… weirdo’ Nami thinks to herself, before picking up an apple
Later, again
‘…And how are we supposed to afford all the food Luffy’s eaten, and the alcohol Zoro’s drunk?’ Nami argues, Kaos sighing before removing a handful of notes and placing them on the table
‘Happy now?’ he asks, Nami just grumbles, while the other 2 chuckle to themselves
Suddenly there comes the yelling of children as the 3 kids rush in
‘Where’s our captain?’ one asks
Kaos and Zoro’s eyes meet, then they smile and nod, just before Luffy groans, leaning back rubbing his bloated belly
‘Mmmm, that was some good meat’ he sighs
‘Meat?’
‘You really want to know where your captain is?’ Zoro asks, the kids nod reluctantly ‘We ate him’ it was a mix of Luffy’s comidically inflated belly, Kaos’ slasher smile and Zoro’s serious tone that meant the kids believed them, but they blamed the wrong person
‘Sea Witch!’ they screamed, Nami yelling back with shark teeth
10 minutes later
‘You got us good’ Onion giggled
‘Yeah we did. Hey you guys are Usopp’s crew, any idea where he went a little while ago?’ Luffy asks
‘Oh he’s probably off lying again’ Carrot said happily
‘That’s not something to be proud of’ Nami argues
The kids then explain to the Straw Hats abut Kaya: the girl who lived in the mansion, how her parents died and she became depressed and sickly, but then Usopp started showing up at her window and telling her outrageous tales of his adventures, making her smile and laugh like she used to even if only for a while.
‘You do know you could just call him a storyteller rather then liar?’ Kaos notes, Zoro nods in agreement
‘Usopp is so cool and nice’ Luffy grins, while the kids have returned to staring at Nami (and this is back when her boobs were normal sized so it’s not for that reason)
‘Stop looking at me like that, it’s annoying!’ She yells scaring them again
‘Hey kids, you know there are easier ways to piss her off right?’ Kaos grins widely and Luffy freezes as he’s reminded of some advice/information Shanks gave him while he was on the island…
‘Luffy what I’m about to tell you is a list of things that can cause any woman to enter a bezerker rage, where they will not stop until they beat the source of their anger into a bloody pulp’
‘All women?’
‘All women’
‘Even Makino?’
‘Even Maki… she’s behind me isn’t she?’
‘Yep. Is talking about it one of the triggers?’
‘Gulp. Yeah. This is going to hurt so much’
Nami tenses ‘Don’t you even think…’
SMACK AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Meanwhile
‘…and I escaped on a giant rubber bandball’ Usopp finished, Kaya giggled as usual at his silly story
‘Storyteller Usopp indeed’ Usopp turns and Kaya looks around him to see Kaos sitting on the branch with a wide grin on his face
‘Who are you?’ Kaya asks Usopp getting between them
‘Nobody special, just a new recruit for the Usopp pirates’ he lied more smoothly than usual
‘I’d be angry but you’re right about me not being special yet’ he stands ‘My name is Serpens D Kaos Miss Kaya, pleased to meet you’ the 2 shake hands
‘How’d you get in here?’
‘Usopp left your hedge disturbed. I simply followed the trail, don’t worry I fixed it on the way’ Kaos explained Usopp face palmed at his own stupidity
‘Hey where are the others?’ he asks
Gum Gum Rocket
The yell was followed by 5 screams which instantly gets their attention. Luffy drops to the ground just fine, then lets go of the others who sit there in shock, Nami being the exception who was still on the rampage
‘There they are’ Kaos answers, before Nami attacks him
‘You bastard, never touch my ass again!’ she growls as Luffy winces, they may be used to pain given Garps ‘training’ routines, but even he’d be vulnerable to Nami’s foot slamming into his gentleman’s region which lead to the fedora wearing pirate falling out of the tree
‘Hi Usopp, we found you again. You must be Kaya’ Luffy greets loudly
‘Um yes’ Kaya answers, more nervously than she would have liked
‘Great! You see we really need a new…’
‘What the Hell is going on here?’ yelled a grumpy looking man with a suit and golden turds on his coat, pushing his glasses up with his palm (I can’t be the only person to notice those things.)
‘Klahadore’ Kaya whines
‘Miss Kaya you’re still terribly ill, go back to bed’ he says reassuringly before turning to the others ‘All business can be done through me’
‘Okay, can we have a ship then?’ Luffy repeats, but Klahadore just laughs
‘As if I’d give a ship to lowly pirates like yourselves’ he then spots Usopp in the tree ‘Ah Usopp, telling more lies are we? Not that I expect much better from the son of a filthy pirate’ Kaya gasps and Usopp clench his jaw
‘Klahadore that’s not nice’
‘I’m doing what’s best for you Miss Kaya, hanging out with a pirate’s son will bring you nothing but trouble. Ready to admit the truth Usopp or spread another lie, maybe he’s an honest merchant or training to become a marine…’
‘Enough!’ Usopp shouts, using his grapple to hop out of the tree and land unharmed. He then goes to punch Klahadore in his smug face but was stopped by Kaos, mostly because he was the closest to the long nosed boy
‘You are one of the dumbest humans I’ve ever met’ Kaos sighs as he keeps a tight grip on the sniper, Klahadore chuckles in amusem*nt
‘It seems your new friend has seen the real you already’ he smirks
‘I was talking about you sh*tty butler not Usopp’ he deadpans, shocking Usopp and Klahadore
‘What!’
‘You spit on a pirate you know nothing about. Tell me, would you be so quick to badmouth Usopp if he was the son of a Shichibukai?’ he grins when Klahadore tenses ‘Exactly’
‘It doesn’t matter, he’s not the son of a Warlord, so what was the point of that?’ Klahadore argues and Kaos nods
‘True, but what he is, is the son of a very strong pirate, Yasopp is the sniper of Red Haired Shanks, he’s the 3rd strongest man in a Yonko’s crew’ Klahadore turns a sickly pale colour ‘I’m glad you understand, oh and one more thing…’ he steps forward and punches the f*cker square in the face ‘…that’s for being a condescending jackass. I think it’s time to go guys, we won’t get much more around here’ he turns to leave, Luffy and the others following him
A safe distance away
‘I still don’t get why you didn’t let me punch him, especially when you hit him yourself’ Usopp complained, Kaos sighed
‘It was to maintain your relationship with Kaya’ at Usopp’s confusion (and blush) he continues ‘Kaya looked conflicted, she cared about both you and the jackass, she tried defending you but still probably wouldn’t want to see him hurt. If you’d hit him she’d have been mad at you and Klahadore would have won. This way she can hate me all she likes, you’re still in a better position to butler’
Usopp sighs ‘Thanks for that, but I think I need some time to process everything’ he says before running off
‘What a weird guy’ Nami thinks out loud, neither Zoro nor Kaos admitting they thought the same
‘I’m going to go check on him’ Luffy says before running off in the direction Usopp went
‘That’s nice, hey wait weren’t there like 3 of you?’ Kaos asks the 2 Usopp pirates
‘Yeah there are, but sometimes Onion disappears on his own then returns with crazy ideas like…’
;Help! There’s some weird background walking guy heading this way!’
‘Like that?’ Zoro asks, the other kids nodding
‘Now which one of you had the nerve to call me weird’ Jango asks, Kaos pointing to Onion ‘I’m not weird I’m just an ordinary hypnotist’ he says flatly, getting the kids attention
‘Hypnotist?’
‘For real?’
‘Can we see?’
‘I wouldn’t just reveal my tricks to some kids…okay here we go’ he pulls out a metal ring on some string ‘You are getting very sleepy, at the count of Jango you will fall asleep. Are you ready?’
1, 2, Jango
He clicks his fingers and all 3 kids are on the ground asleep….. And so was Jango
‘f*cking idiot’ Zoro mutters, then notices Kaos hadn’t moved
‘Don’t tell me he’s asleep too?’ Nami groans until his head tilts enough for her to see his face
‘Not from the hypnotism, but I’m bored enough I might as well sleep now. Plus I get the feeling I won’t be getting any sleep tonight so might as well get some now’ he pushes his hat down over his eyes and does so, Nami sighing but gives up easily
With Luffy and Usopp
‘I really hate that butler Klahadore’ Usopp grumbles
‘Yeah he seemed like such a dick. Hey isn’t that him there?’ Luffy asks, pointing down under the cliffs
‘Yeah it is, what’s he doing here? And who’s that guy with him?’ Usopp asks frantically, Luffy shrugs because how the Hell would he know?
‘Don’t know, but he looks like a weirdo’
‘Jango I told you to be subtle, stealthy and inconspicuous, none of which would describe sleeping in the middle of the road’ Klahadore growled, adjusting his glasses with his palm
‘I’m always stealthy, nobody knows why I’m here, and the boys are ready and waiting’
‘So my plan is ready?’
‘Yes. Captain Kuro, we’re all ready whenever you are to Operation: Murder the Rich Girl!’
‘What!’ Luffy and Usopp think
‘Not murder, we need it to look like an accident or at least that she wasn’t targeted’ Kuro states
‘Right, accident, got it Captain Kuro’ Jango nods
‘And don’t call me that, I’m Klahadore here!’
‘Right, so basically me and the men storm the village and the girl ‘accidentally’ dies during the raid. Then you get the inheritance and we strike it big’ Jango repeats to show he understands
‘You idiot! We’re not related, how would inherit anything?’
‘Sheer force of will, and determination’ Jango nods and Kuro looks ready to throttle him
‘No Jango, when the men attack you need to hypnotise Kaya into signing away her fortune to me, then and only then can you kill her. Once that’s done I will have control of her enormous fortune and my 3 year plan will be complete. And nobody will be able to stop me’
‘3 years already. You had me and the men worried back then boss, saying you were done, having a patsy take the fall and be executed in your place. But it seems even that was just step one of this plan. You really are still Kuro of the 1,000 plans after all’ Jango laughs and Klahadore grimaces
‘Never say that name again, I abandoned it years ago. My pirate days are over, I plan to obtain my wealth without the unnecessary attention piracy brings. You could say I’m a pacifist now’ Jango laughs again
‘Pacifist? Right, murdering an entire family definitely sounds peaceful’
Klahadore raises an eyebrow ‘I haven’t murdered an entire family, the father was an accident’
‘Whatever, I’m just glad we’re moving along now, it’s been a week since we reached this island and the men are getting antsy’ Jango shrugs
‘Hey bad guys, you better stay away from Kaya. We heard everything!’ Luffy yells, Usopp stays in shock and horror, Kuro frowning and Jango looking at him confused
‘Want me to do something Captain?’
Klahadore shakes his head ‘Nobody will believe them, especially not Usopp. On the other hand I think they need to sleep it off, don’t you Jango?’
‘Right Captain. Watch the ring boys’ he yells up at them
‘Um okay’ Luffy says with a shrug
‘You will sleep at the count of Jango’
1,2, Jango!
Usopp had already started to run but Luffy was hit, conking out where he stood…until he tipped forward, fell down the cliff and hit the below with a thump
‘Well that wasn’t the plan, I didn’t mean to kill the kid’ Jango said, feeling bad for the boy getting caught at the wrong place at the wrong time
‘Forget about him, prepare the men to attack at dawn’
‘Yes Captain’
With the other straw hat and Usopp pirates
‘Captain’s been gone a while’ Carrot says worryingly
‘He’ll be fine, sometimes he just needs to think’
‘With Luffy there I doubt he’s getting much of that done’ Zoro mutters while Kaos smirks under his hat
‘Still he’s probably still at the sh…’ Pepper begins but stops when he sees Usopp running towards them with a serious look on his face ‘There he is’ he cheers but frowns when their captain runs right by him
‘Where could he be off to in such a rush?’ Nami asks, the kids shrug
‘And better question, where the hell is Luffy?’ Kaos asks as he stands up
‘Maybe he’s at the secret place’
‘Yeah we can take you’
‘If you want’
Kaos groans ‘Sure, just never speak like that again’
‘Got it’ they agreed in unison
‘That’ll do I guess’
Usopp’s secret place
‘I don’t see him’ Zoro says as they search the area of Usopp’s thinking place for Luffy
‘Where could that idiot be?’ Nami thinks aloud
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Everyone comes running when they heard Onion’s scream, Kaos grabbing him from the edge of the cliff before he fell
‘Get over here before you kill yourself you idiot’ he scolds, but is shocked when the kid yells back
‘I found Luffy and I see why Captain Usopp came running, he’s dead’ Nami and Zoro peer over to check and just like Onion said there was Luffy, unmoving at the bottom of the cliff face
They make their way down to the fallen rubberboy, the kids notably shaken as it was their first dead body. Kaos kneels, most likely to pay respect after removing Shanks Hat… when he feels shallow breath on his hand. Yanking the straw hat off him he sees Luffy isn’t dead, just sound asleep
‘Well it was definitely the hypnotist guy’ Kaos says just before Nami decides to slap him awake.
‘That was a good nap. Hey guys what I miss?’ he asks, not at all surprised they were all on a beach
‘Only you Luffy’ the straw hats think as their captain hops up, a lot more seriously
‘Oh yeah, now I remember. That butler guy and some weirdo are planning for pirates to attack the village’
Later – back by that fence
‘Okay, now all we need to do is find Usopp and … oh sh*t!’ Kaos hisses when they see the long nosed boy hobble over looking worse for wear, chief amongst them his bleeding arm
‘What happened?’ Luffy asks
Usopp winces as he holds his arm ‘You were right, I tried to warn them but they didn’t listen, they got very angry instead and attacked me’
‘This before or after you acused Kaya’s butler of being a pirate?’ Zoro asks
‘Before but they didn get more mad when I told them Klahadore was a pirate named Kuro, then there was Kaya…’ he paused and looked at the floor
‘What happened?’
Flashback
‘Please trust me on this Kaya I’m just trying to keep you alive, and the only way to do that is get you as far away from here as possible’ Usopp says before they both go out the window, landing safely on the ground with Kaya in a bridal position. Unfortunately Merry alerted the guards to Usopp’s prescience (wonder where they were in a few episodes) and he was forced to knock them out with his sling shot. ‘Come on Kaya we need to move now!’ he grunts as he tries to lead her to the escape hole in her hedge but she held form better than expected for such a sickly looking girl ‘Kaya this will all make sense tomorrow but until then you need to trust me and come o…’
SMACK
It was hard to know who was more shocked, Usopp with his wide eyes and quickly forming bruise, or Kaya who was looking at her hand as if she’d never seen it before in her life. Looking up she saw pain but also a sense of loss and hopelessness that made her sick to her stomach. The sniper held in his tears as he turned away, the action hurting Kaya more than either expected
‘U-u-usopp’ Kaya begins, stuttering as she stretches out her arm to him
‘Miss Kaya!’ Mary yells, running out of the mansion with a pistol ‘Let her go you roughian’ he orders, hands shaking
‘Mary stop, please’ Kaya pleads as Usopp turns his head to see the butler
BANG
The gun goes off, grazing his arm and Mary tosses the gun away in shock, Usopp taking this moment to leave as quickly as he could
End
‘While I admit trying to kidnap her was a bad idea, damn!’ Kaos says, squeezing Usopp’s shoulder in an attempt at comfort
‘I know that but I was getting desperate, I can’t let her die’ Usopp sniffles
‘Then we won’t let her’ Luffy states, his face surprisingly serious ‘These guys want to destroy the village and kill your friend we’re not going to let them’ he finishes, the others surprised by the declaration
‘Well in that case, kids it’s time to leave’ Kaos announces, getting very loud denials from the 3 Usopp pirates, until there was a blade against their throats ‘They will you down and just keep walking, so run along home and pretend this never happened, understand?’ he removed the blade so they could nod before following the order, but even with that threat they still grabbed Usopp and told him to keep Kaya safe, and that they believe in him, which made the town liar smile despite his pain.
‘That was a dick move dumbass’ Nami scolds, the taller pirate shrugs in reply
‘Kuro’s pirates won’t care they’re just kids, they’re here to level the town and kill an innocent girl, 3 more kids won’t stain their conscience that much. I don’t want them to get hurt when I can stop it. Scaring them a little so that they live to see the next day is okay with me’ he elaborates before turning to Luffy and Usopp ‘So what’s the plan?’
‘Well the only way to get from the shore to the village is up a slope, because the rest of the shore is made of sheer cliffs’
‘Yeah we found that out earlier, made getting down to Luffy a pain’ Zoro complains but nods as he’s still following
‘Well I was thinking if we attack while they’re crammed into the narrow slope it won’t matter the numbers if they can’t use them. Plus maybe we can set up a few surprises for the bastards, which they won’t see in the low light to give us a little extra advantage’
Kaos smiles ‘I like it, better than Luffy’s plans’
‘What are those?’
‘Hit him till he goes down’ Luffy answers without a hint of shame
‘Well better get to work then. Help me get a few barrels of oil and caltrops, plus some tacs’
‘Bastard was right about not getting any sleep tonight’ Nami grumbles realising how much prep work they’re going to need to do
‘Well at least once everything’s ready, we’ll take these guys down easy’ Zoro replies
Next Day – Just before dawn
‘Hey Usopp, are you sure they’ll show up here?’
‘The long nose shrugged ‘I think so, this is where they had their meeting’ then he paled
‘You look worried, what’s the problem?’ Kaos asks
‘There is somewhere else they could launch an attack, the North Slope, on the other side of the island’
‘f*ck!’
Usopp skirted around all the traps while Luffy’s rubber body enabled him to simply bounce over the problems, Kaos going with a similar method jumped onto and used both Zoro and Nami’s shoulders to springboard up to the top. This decision caused Nami to stumble and loose her balance, but following a ‘needs of me means more than you’ shoved into Zoro getting herself to safety while also causing the yelling and swearing swordsman to fall to the bottom of the booby trapped slope
North shore
‘Captain Kuro does not like delays, so move it’ Jango orders then watches the men run up the slope, until some of them start to fall
‘They knew we were coming’
‘It’s an ambush’
Jango’s shades flash and he grins ‘Well, it seems we meet again long nose’
‘I won’t le you attack my village or hurt Kaya’
‘And what make you think you can stop us all alone?’
‘YOU BETTER KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY TREASURE!’ An angry blur shot to the top of the slope, Nami practically steaming as she pulls out her bo staff
‘My mistake, you think the 2 of you can stop all of us?’
Usopp looks around, worried when he only sees Nami pop up behind him ‘Where are the others? They were all faster and had longer strides than us’
Meanwhile
‘Damn it Usopp, which way is North?!’ Luffy screams internally
‘Do you have any idea where we’re going?’ Kaos asks with a sigh
‘Nami! I’ll kill you for this you bitch!’ Zoro yells from the bottom of the slope
Back with the others
‘So, now that you’ve shown up I can hang back and take command’ Usopp begins to turn but get Nami’s staff to the gut
‘Oh no you don’t, you think I can take on a boatload of pirates by myself? That’s suicide!’
‘Well I certainly wasn’t going to do it, plus in case you hadn’t realised I’m a coward and more importantly a ranged fighter, hence the slingshot and you are not, if you want to do anything in this fight you need to go down there and fight’
‘No way, without Luffy, Kaos and Zoro that’s one of the dumbest plans I’ve ever heard I’m not going down there’
‘Well neither am I!’
‘We don’t have time for this nonsense. If I can cut in…’
‘Nobody asked you!’
‘Well you weaklings can argue about things later, because right now we’re tearing up this tiny village!’ Jango yells ‘Men! Charge!’ the black cats easily walking through the coward and the thief until…
Gum Gum Gattling
Oni-Giri
Crescent Wave
They all went flying back over their heads landing at Jango’s feet as 3 people appear at the top, all of which were varying levels of annoyed
‘Usopp you bastard, how was I supposed to know which way North was?’ Luffy yells angrily
‘Lucky those kids knew where the North slope was’ Kaos adds, pushing up his hat with his left while holding his blade with his right
‘Nami you bitch, you didn’t need to push me into those traps, if there weren’t bigger problems I’d kick your ass right now!’ Zoro growled around Wado, despite herself Nami gulped in fear
Things are about to a get a lot more interesting now the main fighters are actually present
TBC
LW: Well this is part one of probably 3 if I judged this correctly, if not then Sryup Village will be another 2 chapter arc like Orange Town and (technically) Romance Dawn.
Reviews
BlazeXDemon: I'll answer both together as I got both at the same time:
Don't really understand the question about Hanco*ck, I suppose it would have a few funny moments like her thinking 'If my brother is also Luffy's brother, does that mean we're already married?' and stuff like that, plus I think he'd be able to have her a bit more calm and saner than canon (actually scratch that last one, Kaos would need to be sane in order for that to be true). It would make something I hope to do in the future awkward though. Sorry that probably doesn't answer what you wanted answered
Going to assume you meant Nami, as it's the only thing that makes sense, also should probably consider myself lucky you used 2 or's instead of 2 and/or seeing as I did say there would be multi's, of which some of them are connected to Luffy and Kaos (but not to each other of course). I'll tell you this ahead of time one of the people on that list is paired with Kaos, the other 2 are paired with our loveable idiot Captain Luffy, and the Love Cook Vinsmoke Sanji.
Techniques/Lore
Luffy
Gum Gum Gattling: Luffy unleashes a flurry of punches so quickly it looks as if he has multiple arms, the difference is important but not for the moment.
Kaos
Crescent Wave: After spinning to build up energy Kaos unleashes 2 horizontal swings, the combined power producing a crescent shaped shockwave (hence the name) which will knock normal level enemies away and cause more damage the closer they are to the point of origin. It doesn’t have the best range and needs a minute to set up so it probably won’t be used that often, but you never know.
Shichibukai: The ‘7 Warlords’ basically they’re pirates under the employ of the WG, making them privateers in the sense of our world. This will all be explained later when it becomes relevant. (Looking at you Yosaku, don’t f*ck this up)
Yonko: The strongest and most dangerous pirates on the Grand Line, the ‘4 Emperors’ all have territory in the New World under their control/protection and are too powerful for the marines and World Government to directly address or deal with. This is kind of a spoiler for some but currently the only Yonko to be mentioned in this story is Red Haired Shanks.(Don’t worry that flashback has just been moved to between Loguetown and the Grand line)
Chapter 6: Hypnosis and Catclaws
Chapter Text
LW: Hey guys, as a special gift for being consistently getting chapters out on a fortnightly basis, I have a friend of mine doing the intro instead of an OP character. Take it away bud
IP: Oh gosh! Someone tried to light me on fire! Hey I haven't been here before thanks for letting me be here LW! Hello Ladies and Gentlemen I am the Invisible Prince! Fabulous writer, beautiful hair, skinniest person to eat a can of frosting straight and I should probably stop talking before people leave thinking I'm an arrogant D-bag. Anyway LW is a good friend of mine and is able to put up with a guy like me. Anywho enjoy the chapter and if you are interested or really flippin bored check out my stories... or not it’s your choice!
LW: Hm, didn’t know Ace was going to be in this intro… oh well thanks buddy, please guys at least have peek at his work. And on with the chapter! :D
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Hypnosis and cat claws
‘This is bad, Kuro won’t like his plans being delayed’ Jango thinks before pulling out his chakram ‘Everyone look here! On the count of Jango you will all be fully healed and super strong, enough to destroy the village’ he says as he swings the bladed disk
‘He’s kidding right?’ Nami whispers, Usopp and Luffy shrug as Kaos rolls up his sleeves
One, Two…
Dazzle!
…Jango!
Just before he could finish a blinding flash of light filled the beach, assisted by the hypnotist’s own mirrored sunglasses
‘They’re still on the ground’ Usopp cheers
‘Of course, his hypnosis needs line of sight to work. Dazzle stoped that, well for the most part’ he grins and starts to walk forward
Jango growls ‘You bastard! You ruined everything’ he yells, slamming his fist into the ground, leaving a small crater… it seems Captain Jango’s hypnotised himself again
‘Did you know that due to the way my fruit works I’m immune to some of its effects?’ Kaos asks
‘Makes sense, your arms flash outwards and they’re in front of your face’ Nami answers then shrugs ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’
‘Plenty’ Kaos smiles as he turns his head up, revealing white eyes, Jango’s hypnotism got him ‘Now if you’ll excuse me I have a weirdo to punch the f*ck out’
Kaos ran full pelt at Jango, dodging the hypnotist’s punch (leaving another crater in the wall) by jumping into a handstand on the man’s shoulders, then spring boarding over him and kicking him in the shoulder, smirking at the audible crack it caused. Jango reacts with a swift kick to the side, tossing Kaos several feet before he gets to his feet
‘Damn I think he cracked a rib’ he thinks, the stabbing pain and grinding confirmed it ‘Yep definitely a rib… maybe 2’ he tries to find a position where it didn’t feel like he was stabbing himself in the lung so was surprised when Jango practically appeared out of thin air in front of him
‘You’re easily distracted’ Jango says as he throws a right cross to the pale man’s face, Kaos rolling on the ground before standing up with a bloody grin, coughing a little before spitting up a wad of blood
‘Impressive, guess you’re more than just a sh*tty hypnotist after all’ he shrugs ‘Still I’m afraid I can’t let you harm this village’ Jango quirks an eyebrow before Kaos became like a shining blur and the Black Cat captain was clothes lined, the forward momentum throwing him into and destroying their ship’s figurehead. Kaos sighs before dropping to his knees with a grunt: the enhanced strength Jango’s hypnotism grants really does a number on you once it ends, coupled with the injures the hypnotist’s own super strength caused and he was going to need a few minutes if Luffy or the others needed anything. Though at least he had these weaklings’ mutters to amuse himself with.
‘He took out Jango’
‘Yeah but he looks nearly done himself’
‘You volunteering to get rid of that behemoth?’
‘Nah I ain’t that stupid’
‘Let’s just finish the plan while he’s there, the others looked like pushovers in comparison’
‘Yeah’
Zoro snorts ‘Hey Luffy, want to deal with these morons?’
‘Sure’ the rubber boy nods, marching in place and punching the air
The swordsman smirks ‘Then let ‘em have it’ he orders, Luffy running into the crowd of enemy pirates
Gum Gum Gattling
Even though he was still coughing up blood and shakily rising to a standing position Kaos grinned; Luffy was going to wipe the floor with those idiots, possibly Jango too again, knowing the side effect of a moving gattling at the moment… Once Luffy starts, stopping is a problem, one Jango and the Black Cats were about to learn if any of them were brave enough to stand in the rubber boy’s way
Seeing Luffy’s multiple flying fists on a collision course for his face Jango groans and fumbles for his ring, swinging it a few times her quickly order ‘On the count of Jango you will fall asleep!’
1, 2, Jango
Luffy stopped running, immediately keeling over, loud snores escaping his unconscious form
‘You people are starting to annoy me. Meowban Brothers, Sham! Buchi! Get out here now!’ Jango orders and 2 more guys leave the ship: one was a large round man with a bell on his neck and the other was a thinner green haired man, both in similarly cat themed attire, none of the group were really sure what to make of the 2
‘Great, more weirdoes’ Nami thinks, really hating this island
‘Yes Captain?’
‘We need to get up this hill but our path is blocked by that green haired swordsman, I need you to remove him’ Jango explains, the brothers look at Zoro who glares and they tense
‘No way, he’s much too strong for us! Right Buchi?’ Sham, the green one shrieks
‘Right!’ Buchi agrees
‘Besides, we’re just meant to guard the ship, not do actual fighting’ Sham adds
‘Hm, bunch of scardy cats indeed’ Zoro mutters angrily, why’d the others get to fight and he was stuck with these morons?
Jango growls and hits both of them ‘This is no time for that act, if we don’t get moving quickly Kuro will have our heads! Sham get to it!’ he yells
‘Yes boss’ he nods and charges, almost vanishing in a burst of speed which Zoro barely manages to block
‘Damn this bastard’s strong’
‘I’m impressed you managed to block me’ Sham smirks and licks his hand ‘You have some skills but don’t think it means you can beat Sham of the Black Cat Pirates’
It was then Zoro notices what’s on the cat weirdo’s back ‘Hey those swords are mine give them back!’
‘Why, you already have one you don’t need anymore’ Sham laughs and tosses them down the slope ‘Bye, bye swords, not that it matters you have bigger things to worry about’ he lashes out again, Zoro mostly ignoring him other than taking a slice at him in his mad dash for his swords, Unfortunately Sham was faster than he looked and managed to restrain Zoro, slamming into his back ‘Buchi, get over here!’
‘Oh right, my turn’ the larger brother hopped into the fray, only a well timed dodge stopping him bulk landing on Zoro’s head
‘You missed Buchi’ ‘Well I won’t a 2nd time, hold him still better next time’ the brothers argued
Zoro grunts ‘I do better with 3 swords but 1 will have to do against you idiots’
‘We better get to work then’ Sham grins and the brothers leap at the swordsman
Grand March of the puss*willows
Reduced to only one sword Zoro was stuck on the defensive, his skills were good but against 2 furiously striking multi-bladed opponents he was getting cut up by their cat claws
‘We have to do something’ Nami says worryingly and she was right: With Luffy sleeping and Kaos both at the other end of the slope and still getting through the damage to his ribs and jaw from Jango’s hypnotic assault her and Usopp were all Zoro had
Usopp pulls himself to his feet and aims his slingshot ‘Don’t worry, I got this’
Lead Star
The shot hit it’s target dead on, well it would have had Zoro not moved into the line of fire while dodging one of the brother’s swipes, getting the ball right in the spine, leaving him wide open to an attack
‘Oh no I made it worse’ Usopp screams as the brothers lay into Zoro, tearing into him quite badly
It was a couple minutes of Zoro mostly parrying the brothers swipes before enough was enough for one Straw Hat
‘Zoro needs those swords’ Nami thinks before doing something stupid: she runs down the path, around the Meowsan brothers to try retrieve Zoro’s other 2 blades and nearly made it
‘Stupid girl’ Jango whispers as Nami fall to the ground with a deep gash in her shoulder, turning she sees the hypnotist spinning one of his chakram on his finger, looking smug until he looked up ‘AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! f*ck’
There standing at the top of the cliff was Klahadore/Kuro, his face a mask of contempt as usual, only the bag he was carrying made his appearance any different than any other day.
‘What the Hell is going on?’ Kuro yells, all the Black Cats pale significantly ‘I gave you a perfect plan like all my plans and you stopped by children? Useless!’
The Meowsan brothers tense angrily ‘That’s easy for you to say’
‘Yeah lounging around in that mansion for 3 years
‘We’ve been fighting to survive’
Kuro sniffs dismissively ‘That supposed to impress me?’ he asks, getting them madder
‘You bastard! Taste our claws of fury!’ they yell and pounce, shredding through… an empty bag? [Oh sh*t!]
‘My turn’ they hear Kuro whisper, appearing behind them with barely a flicker and before they knew it they were trapped, one wrong move and the katana length blades on Kuro’s gloves would skewer them
‘With his puss*foot manoeuvre; he could kill us all before we even knew it. He’s just as lethal as he always was, he even still lifts his glasses with his palm to avoid cutting his face, as if the cat claws were always a part of his body’ Jango panics, an angry Kuro was bad for the survival of everyone on this beach, not just Kaya, Usopp and the Straw Hats.
‘But you know what, I’ll give you all one last chance. You have 5 minutes to deal with these children, if you can’t do that, I’ll make sure your insides are on the outside’ Kuro removes the blades from their throats and walks back to the top of the slope ‘Well? Chop, chop!’
‘Oh course Captain Kuro!’ Jango yells ‘Men, eliminate them!’ he orders, though is confused when Nami, instead of picking up either of the swords she had been scrambling for, just kicked them at Zoro (much to the green haired teen’s annoyance)
‘How about a thanks, you look like you needed them’ Nami smirks, trying to ignore her pain
Zoro chuckles slightly ‘Thanks witch. Now’ he turns, getting into a ready stance ‘Let’s try this again, but seriously this time’
Shem scoffs ‘You couldn’t beat us with 1 sword’ ‘what makes you think you can with 3?’ Bushi finishes
Zoro chuckles ‘With 1 sword I’m only good, with 3 I’m practically undefeatable’
‘We’ll see about that!’ the brothers charge… directly into an attack
Tiger Trap
‘What did I just say? My skills with 3 swords are unmatched, you never stood a chance’
‘We’re f*cked’ Jango mutters to himself as their best fighters fell at his feet having flown through the air over Zoro’s head, until something grabbed his leg
‘Captain. Hypnotise me captain, I can take him down’ Buchi blubbered from his position on the ground
Kuro’s eyebrow twitched ‘He’s still alive? Not sure if I should be impressed by him or insulting you for doing such a sloppy job’
Zoro also seemed surprised ‘Huh? Guess all that blubber was good for something’ then he saw Jango kneeling before the fatter Meowban who then bulked up like the hulk ‘sh*t! That didn’t happen when he hypnotised himself and Kaos. f*ck’ he swore before the monster of a mindless cat pirate leap at him
Seeing an opportunity Nami runs for her captain ‘Maybe while Zoro deals with those weirdos I can wake the lazy bum up, we need all the help we can get if Kuro’s as bad as these guys claim’ she thinks while Jango watches
‘Stupid girl, don’t you know when to quit’ he whispers, spinning one of his chakram before letting it fly, heading straight for Nami’s neck
‘Come on, get up’ Nami pleads as Luffy continues to snore, unaware of her demise flying towards her… until it’s caught on a Wakizashi
The sound of metal on metal caused her and the just barely conscious Luffy to look behind her. Kaos was holding the sword straight up, Jango’s hypnotist ring sitting on the guard like it was part of a simple ring game, rather than something that nearly killed their navigator
Kaos tuts dismissively ‘Really Jango, the point of having these things on strings is so they don’t go flying and if they’re meant to then the string is pointless. Here, let me show you’ he rotates his blade upside-down so the ring drops before righting it again. The katana’s blade appears to melt before quickly reforming into it’s default Khopesh form, which he then proceeds to spin fast enough for the images to blur together before shooting it at Jango, the hypnotist barely dodging , the blade nicks his forearm before continuing on to leave a hole in the cliff about the size of his head. With what looked to Nami to be a simple flex of his arm muscles the blade was recalled, Kaos catching and stopping it an inch from his eye.
‘Glad to see you’re finally finished your damn naps, both of you!’ Nami screeches, the older one ignoring her while the younger isn’t quite conscious enough to even give a sh*t about whatever words were flowing out of her mouth.
‘Both of them are back!’
‘We can’t possibly beat them all in only a minute!’
Kuro’s gonna kill us all’
‘Hey Kaos, what I miss?’
‘Butler showed up and Zoro had to fight 2 morons, one of which is roided out on Jango’s hypno powers’
‘Oh, so not much then?’ Luffy shrugs and the 2 begin walking back to the slope
‘Times up, now you will all perish’ Kuro announces flatly, but the sad*stic smirk on his face said it all.
‘Hey look it’s that sh*tty butler guy!’ Luffy yells, then groans in pain when Kaos hits him almost as hard as Nami does ‘What was that for?’
‘What’s the point in asking me anything if you aren’t going to listen?’
‘Klahadore!’ Kuro froze and everyone turns, seeing Kaya standing unsteadily at the top of the slope. Like a switch being flipped Kuro went from psychopathic pirate to kind butler
‘Miss Kaya, why are you outside? It could worsen your condition heavily’
‘I’ve heard some terrible things Klahadore, please tell me they’re wrong’ Kaya asks quietly
‘Miss Kaya, all I have ever been is your faithful butler and that is what I shall always be…’
Click
‘I don’t believe you, Usopp tried to warn me but I didn’t listen. You hurt Merry, you hurt Usopp and I won’t let you hurt anyone else!’ Kaya yells, her anger obvious on her face, now if only the gun she was holding wasn’t practically vibrating
TBC
LW: Well here we go, sh*t’s about to get real. Also, hi Kaya. One more chapter and then we move on to the next arc.
By the way, I know Luffy breaking Jango’s chakram with his teeth is kind of awesome and might even count as foreshadowing for the Arlong arc… but I wanted to play with ??????????????? and catching a flying deathring as well as showing off it’s transforming capabilities was the perfect chance, she does love do show off doesn’t she? Real name will be revealed in Loguetown if anyone is curious, and Kaos’ Devil Fruit will be revealed in Arlong Park (I remember someone asking back in chapter 1’s reviews. Hope that answers your question Lammergeier13)
Techniques/Lore
Tiger Trap: Zoro puts his hand swords over his mouth blade and swings forth a forward descending slash with them.
That’s taken directly from the wiki as I don’t know what the hell was happening.
March of the puss*willows: The Meowban brothers leap at their opponent and then repeatedly slash at them with their cat claws.
Lead Star: Usopp loads a lead or pachinko ball into his slingshot and fires it at his enemy.
What? Some are pretty easy to understand, they’re not all weird/confusing
puss*foot: One of the few high speed techniques common in anime in this series (I believe the other is Soru), with it Kuro can move 100 metres in 4-5 seconds, almost as if teleporting.
On an unrelated note I thought I’d clarify something: I’ve pointed out Kaos is tall a couple of times in this fic, unfortunately that means precisely jack sh*t in One Piece considering the ‘normal’ humans can be up to 17 ft tall apparently (O_O thank you Katakuri… also besides having Big Mom as a mother I think he counts as a normal human, I mean he’s not a Long Leg like Smoothie or something is he?) and let’s not even mention the actual giants (Little Garden and Elbaf).
So I’m stating right here his height is 8 foot even, and while I was trying to decide this and compare it to other characters I realised how physically similar he is to Brook, in height and build having a slim (but not skeletal like the Soul King) body plan and taller than most humans, the super perv eventually becomes the tallest Straw Hat at over 9 ft post time skip (Don’t know if either height includes the afro… don’t look at me). If anyone needs a convenient yard/measuring stick he’s between Arlong and Crocodile in size (Arlong’s 7'10" and Croco-man’s 8'3"). Don’t know if that just makes him look huge by East Blue standards or it shows it’s pretty normal once they get to the Grand Line and all their million kinds of insanity.
Chapter 7: The Return of Captain Kuro
Chapter Text
LW: Okay everyone, who’s ready for a very dangerous cat to be declawed?
Morgan: Oh, oh me I do!
LW: How’d you even… you know what, never mind. Hello little bud thanks for showing up
Morgan: Ren gave directions. So do we start now?
LW: Just need to push the button. Enjoy
Rubber King and Mirror Master – The return of Captain Kuro
Despite having a gun pointed at his head Kuro barely reacted ‘Well it seems you’re all grown up Miss Kaya, ready to take care of your own problems’ he removes one glove and reaches out to her ‘We’ve spent so much time together these past 3 years, even before your parents died, you were more than my master you were my best friend. I brought you shopping, nursed you when you fell ill and we talked for hours on end. We did it all …’
‘Klahadore’ Kaya squeaks, her grip loosening slightly
‘… and I hated every moment of it!’ Kuro yells, slicing down at Kaya…
Kling Klang
…but another blade weaved its way between the cat claws, stopping his swing
‘Hey kitty litter, did ya miss me?’ Kaos asks with a grin ‘Hey Kaya, now might be a great time to run’
‘K-k-kaos?’ Kaya stutters
Kuro pulls back and frowns ‘Well this is inconvenient but honestly, I’m glad to run into you again, you did leave quite a mark when you struck me. Let me return the favour’
Kuro uses his puss*foot to launch a sneak attack
‘Hm, that’s interesting’ Kaos muses before attempting to mirror it as closely as he could. ‘Son of a bitch!’ he yells a minute later, 5 long slash marks across his chest. He was glad his fruit at its current level was able to reduce the damage, even if it still managed to injure him
‘f*ck, Bastard’ Kuro grunts as he pulls the knife out of his thigh ‘How was he able to do that? Few people can even follow my movements while using puss*foot, but he managed to actually attack me as well’ he fumes internally, but with everything else going on his inner anger was starting to show on the outside as well.
‘I suppose there is one use for taking a hit like this’ Kuro raises an eyebrow at the boys words
‘What?’ he asked, and then the answer hit him…. Right in the back of his head.
‘A diversion of your focus’ he answers, Luffy’s arm returning to it’s normal length as the butler lay face down on the ground, quietly steaming.
‘Usopp pirates defence manoeuvre!’ the 3 kids yell, jumping out of the forest to slam anything they could onto Kuro’s body, mostly aiming for his head as even they knew head injures are a major issue
Usopp pushes himself to his knees ‘What are you doing here?’
‘We overheard your plan, plus the tall guy in the funny hat asked us where the North Shore was, so we knew where you were. Then Kaya and the butler went to the same place so we knew something was happening. We couldn’t just walk away, now matter how dangerous it was!’ Onion answers as the trio continue to wail on Kuro
‘Kaos, any chance you can save them if butler guy gets up?’ Luffy asks as he begins walking up the slope
‘I suppose, shouldn’t be too much of a problem’ he shrugged as the kids run over to Usopp, mostly yelling at him for keeping secrets and hiding things from his ‘crewmates’
‘Now isn’t the time for any of this you need to run before…’ Usopp stops as Kuro appears behind the kids, looking a little bruised in the face area but otherwise unharmed. The kids scream, but Kuro just walks around them instead using his energy to kick Usopp as far as he could
‘That hurt. You people are quite strange, Devil Fruit users I presume?’
‘Yep, I’m rubber now’
‘I ate one too, not that it’s any concern of yours what it does’ Kaos replies with his near permanent smirk
Kuro frowns ‘Jango, I’ll handle these fools, then we’ll have Kaya write me into her will’ Jango sighs but agrees as always
Usopp sits up weakly, before turning to the kids ‘Guys you need to get Kaya out of here right now’
‘But Usopp…’ Pepper tries to argue
‘That is a direct order from your captain! Protect Kaya! Get her out of here!’ Usopp yells, more commanding than they’d ever seen/heard him before
‘Yes captain’ the 3 kids replied as one before starting to usher Kaya back into the woods
Jango, eliminate the brats and complete the plan!’ Kuro orders, Jango gulps but nods
‘Yes captain Kuro’ he says, running after the kids when his leg is hooked, causing him to trip followed by a mace to the back of his head.
‘Stay put’ Kaos growls, only to jump back from a strike from Kuro ‘You don’t give up, what’s the angle this time?’
‘It’s simple really, either Jango goes after miss Kaya or I do, and I doubt you can stop me leaving as easily as him’ Kuro sneers and Kaos sighs
‘Fine he can…wait where’d he go?’ Kaos looks over but Jango had already left
‘It wasn’t a suggestion imbecile, but a distraction, I’m sure you’ve been told how easily you get distracted haven’t you?’
The fedora wearing pirate rolls his eyes ‘it’s come up in conversation’ he answers, shrugging as if it was unimportant
‘It’ll get you kill, that’s all. Buchi! Kill the damned swordsman already’ he yells down the slope, where Zoro was trying to hold back the still hypnotised, hulking Meowban brother.
‘Why won’t you stay down? I told you to move!’ Zoro growls as he kicks the brute away, far enough to reach for his others swords
Oni Giri
That finally brought the brother down, and with Jango currently elsewhere he wasn’t getting back up any time soon. This coincides with loud crashes coming from the forest
‘Hm, seem Jango’s really tearing up the place, see Usopp it’s only a matter of time before he finds her and we take it all from her’ Kuro grins smugly ‘I suppose you’re welcome to try help her, if you can stand’ he laughs, watching the sniper struggle close to a standing position but a combination of Kuro’s kick and the beating he took trying to hold back the regular Black Cats brought him to his knees again ‘Pathetic, just as I thought’ he sneers but disappears to dodge a Gum Gum Pistol aimed at his ribs
‘Zoro, Usopp go save Kaya, we’ll deal with Kuro’ Luffy orders, the guys nod and Zoro helps Usopp into the woods
‘You children really think you can take me on?’ Kuro asks with a chuckle
‘Yeah, we’re going to kick your ass’ Luffy says, cracking his knuckles, while Kaos starts spinning his blade of its cord.
‘Then by all means take your best shot’ he sneers but barely dodges a stretched punch from Luffy, getting a cut along his forearm from Kaos in the process
Gum Gum Spear
Kaos sidestepps Luffy’s legs as they fail to hit the former captain
‘Damn it, he disappeared again’ he grumbles, before Kuro is once more standing looking smug
‘Before I kill you, why are you doing this? This village means nothing to you and yet you’re risking your life for its safety’
Luffy grins ‘I like Usopp and Kaya, I’m not gonna let them die today’
‘Are you okay with them being the reason that you die though?’
‘I suppose, if I were dying today’
Kuro scoffs ‘co*cky brat’ before rushing at him with his cat claws. Luffy stretches out his arms and grabs him before springing straight for him, only for Kuro to fling him off, much to the straw hat’s annoyance
Gum Gum Whip
Gum Gum Pistol
He fires both in quick succession, but both fail to reach his target, even worse Kuro stands on his hyper extended arm, looking highly disinterested.
‘This is quite boring; I thought you’d be worth my time after taking out all these weaklings by yourself’
‘co*cky bastard’ Luffy growls, Kuro doesn’t respond verbally only running along his arm to attack, but Luffy was right he was overconfident and that costed him when he was blindsided by a kick to the ribs
‘Remember me dumbass?’ Kaos grins from Luffy’s side as the rubber boy finally manages to pull back his arm ‘One tracked mind you got’
‘These guys are actually laying hits on the captain’
‘Yeah but they both miss more than they hit’
‘Kuro’s got this in the bag, there’s no way these newbies can take him down’
‘Yeah, go Captain Kuro!’
‘Shut up!’ Kuro yells as he stands, surprising everyone ‘Don’t ever call me that again! The entire point of this is so I can finally be rid of that name and the life attached to it: Planning each and everyday, for a bunch of morons who care for nothing but causing mayhem wherever they go, being hunted by government dogs and bounty hunters day in and day out. I will end this Hell by days end! 3 years of planning and revising will reach it’s completion and I will soon have wealth and peace do you brats understand?’ he turns to Luffy and Kaos ‘I will not have you stand in my way, not when I’m so close to my end goal’ he runs at them, vanishing as he does .
Dazzle
Kuro powers through the attack, blinking back stars as he attempts to impale the smug f*ck, but was surprised when his cat claws imbedded themselves in a boulder
Luffy smirks ‘Don’t want a reputation? Then don’t be a pirate!’ he yells, snapping the blades on Kuro’s right glove just before slamming it in the former butlers surprised face ‘All you care about is money, you’re just a greedy son of a bitch’
‘Holy crap they broke one of his cat claws’
‘Yeah but he still has the other one. You can do it Captain Kuro!’
‘Kuro’
‘Kuro’
‘Kuro!’
‘Enough!’ Kuro yells silencing the rabble ‘I must now deal with you in the only way available to me: Annihilation. Then I’ll remove Jango from the picture as well as any of those brats he failed to eliminate on his own’
‘But why kill us Captain? Once Jango hypnotises the girl the plan will work’ one black cat asks
‘Idiots, I never intended for anyone who knew my secret to live past this day, it’s problematic that you were unable to complete the simple task I gave you but still you must be removed if my plan is to succeed
‘You planned to kill us from the start?’
‘Of course. It isn’t enough simply for the authorities to believe Kuro is no more, I must ensure no body can ever reveal my identity to the world, and the best way to keep a secret is to kill everyone else who knows it’ he pushes up his glasses and smirks
‘You guys are the most uncool pirates ever’ Luffy complains with a groan
‘Plus you’re a dick’ Kaos adds, leaning on the rubber boy as a stand
‘If you won’t leave then I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way’ Kuro readjusts his glasses and starts to sway almost drunkenly from side to side, Luffy and Kaos were confused while the Black Cats began to collectively sh*t themselves
‘Why’s he in that position?’
‘Using that against 2 people, that’s beyond overkill’
‘And with all of us here? He could kill us’
‘Hey Kaos, any idea what he’s doing?’ Luffy asks, the elder shrugged but also tightened his grip on his blade
‘I don’t know Luffy, but if those guys chatter is anything to go on, it’s not good’
OUT OF THE BAG ATTACK!
Kuro disappears, a purple cloud/shockwave passing through the area, an aura of fear filling it
‘He’s gone’ Luffy yells ‘What do we do?’
An answer didn’t come immediately, mostly because it’s speaker needed to quickly sidestep and in return got his left side shredded, as well as the stone wall behind him
‘sh*t!’ Kaos swears, panting as the pain burns through him, using his fruit to summon a silver coloured resin looking material, hoping it will hold his wounds closed for the moment, not that he’d ever used it for that purpose. He grimaced as cold shoots up his spine but at least his side resembled a broken mirror or badly healed scars rather than 5 long slashes, still dripping blood. The pirates turned when they heard pained yelps. Luffy seeing some of Kuro’s crew being torn at like Kaos, while others were practically torn apart.
‘All power, no control’ Kaos notes and Luffy nods ‘definitely a friendly fire kind of attack’
‘His crew were right’ Kaos raises an eyebrow ‘This would be overkill for 2 people’
‘Yeah, seems like an army vs one kind of technique’
‘Maybe it is, I don’t want to think anyone is capable of that but…’
‘…he could be using it to cut down on the witnesses for when this is all over’ his brother finishes the thought and the sentence for him
‘Exactly’ Luffy doesn’t look happy, not one bit
‘C-c-c-captain?’ one stutters as Kuro returns to a visible speed
Kuro smirks ‘Don’t you see, these children’s interference isn’t even an altered course; my plan is still perfectly running along. Soon Kaya will have signed away everything to me, Jango will kill her and then I will ensure no witnesses survive so one person knows Captain Kuro is alive and that’s me’
‘Kaos grits his teeth ‘And I presume Jango will meet the same fate as us?’ he asks tensely
Kuro laughs ‘Why of course, that secret must die wi…’ his boast was interrupted by a Gum Gum Pistol to the face
‘You bastard! How can you do that, those men are your friends?’ Luffy yells at the top of his lungs, so loud even Nami (Currently stripping the Black Cats ship bare) looked in his direction
‘Friends? Ha they’re just pawns, meant to fulfil my plans and nothing more’
‘No! A crew is the most important thing for a pirate; they’re your friends, your family. You don’t just throw them away!’ Luffy and Kaos charge in, Kuro smirks arrogantly and prepares to dodge. He almost does…
‘Ahh!’ he screams, clutching the bloody stump of his right arm, or at least trying to without doing more damage, looking over to see Luffy glaring at him, while Kaos smirks mirthlessly, shifting his grip on the handle of the large khyber knife he was currently using.
Meanwhile in the forest
‘Hey Onion, is that weirdo still following us?’ Pepper yells back as the 4 keep running through the forest
‘I don’t see him, I think we’re good for now’
‘We better keep running, but at least there’s no way that guy can catch us in out own forest’ Carrot adds cheerfully, until they hear trees falling
‘Come out, little girl I don’t want to make you suffer, but I will if you continue to irritate me’ Jango calls out to Kaya and the Usopp pirates, chopping down trees with just a flick of his wrists, his chakram slicing through several trees before flying back and being caught by the slowly maddening hypnotist.
‘Ahh! We’re all gonna die!’ Onion screams until the others hit him
‘Be quiet’ ‘He’ll find us if you don’t’
‘There are options boys, you come out on your own or I level this forest and eviscerate you all.’ Jango calls to the air, still unsure where his targets were. Luckily he then runs off in the wrong direction, meaning they could continue to evade him for a little while, until Kaya falls against a tree
‘Ah Miss Kaya!’ The boys yell in worry
‘Sorry, you should probably just go’ she whimpers tiredly, not used to running much anymore
‘No, we gave our word we’d protect you and there’s no way we’d go back on it, not with the captain trusting us with something so important to him’ Pepper argues, despite herself Kaya smiles at the loyalty Usopp managed to inspire in these kids
‘Oh no her fever’s back, we need a doctor’ Onion panics
‘There’s a man trying to kill us, we can’t just magic up a doctor right now’
‘But if Kaya gets any worse…’ he’s interrupted by more falling trees and Jango’s loud yelling
Kaya sighs ‘You tried your best but you should go while you still can’ she whispers, sitting back against a boulder
Onion frowns ‘If we run away now we’ll live to see another day’
‘And Usopp did always say to get away if you’re going to lose’ Pepper adds
‘Then again, our captain is a liar, and if he’s risking his life for Kaya then he must think he can win’ Carrot argues, getting nods from the others
Onion and Pepper nod ‘We swore to protect Kaya and we’re not leaving her, agreed?’
‘Agreed!’
A few minutes later Jango sees a stampede worth of tracks and grins ‘Got yah, though how I didn’t notice this earlier is astounding, people running in terror are rarely stealthy’ he adds as an after thought until he reached the supposed end of the line ‘There you are’ he thinks aloud before yelling ‘Get out here you brats!’ though the appearance of a white flag did surprise him
‘We surrender, we’ll bring you to the girl just don’t kill us!’
Jango scoffs ‘You think I’m some kind of idiot, I’m not falling for any of your tricks’ he says before once more being tripped, this time by a rope pulled the 2 of the 3 Usopp pirates ‘Ah crap’ he thinks as he’s ‘attacked’ by the kids, which consisted of pepper to the face (annoying but not too bad) and a flying pan to the groin (Damn! Usopp pirates are vicious O_O), though both appeared to be a distraction for their real attack, jumping off a boulder to bludgeon him like they did Kuro… except it didn’t work, Jango managing to sidestep their attack and grab Onion out of thin air by the throat
‘You brats, think you can make a fool out of me!?’
‘Jango let them go!’ the yell caused the hypnotist to pause but it wasn’t until he turned that he began to panic: Kaya standing with one of his chakram to her throat
‘Now let’s not be hasty little girl’ he stood with his hands up
‘You want me dead anyway, might as well hurry things along’
Jango grits his teeth ‘I need you to sign everything over to Kuro first’
The corner of Kaya’s lip curls ‘Let the kids go and I won’t fight back, I’ll even sign everything over willingly, no need to even hypnotise me’
Jango looks thoughtful before pushing up his heart shades ‘You drive a hard bargain Miss Kaya. Just remember if they fight back the deal’s off’
Kaya nods ‘I understand, you guys can go’
Onion sniffles ‘But Kaya, we promised Usopp we’d protect you. We can’t just abandon you’
‘You can if I tell you to save yourselves. So RUN!’ the boys gulp at the strong look in her eyes, then they soften again ‘If I’m meant to live he will save me, but I’m not putting anyone else at risk but me’ the kids heads drop but they run like she said
‘You do know Kuro will kill them?’ Jango asks sympathetically, to which Kaya nods
‘You know Kuro will do the same to you when this is over?’ she reflects, to which Jango grimaces, he knew it was a possibility he just hoped he was wrong
‘Lets just get this over with. Sign the will and everything will be Kuro’s in the event of your death’ he orders, passing her the page and pen.
‘Stop!’ both turn as Zoro appears the clang of metal is heard and he stops behind them. Jango frantically searching for wounds … until he hears the branch fall and smirk
‘You missed me 3 swords’
‘Zoro’s reply worries him ‘You aren’t my target’
‘Thanks Zoro, that branch was in the way of my shot. Now… Stay away from Kaya!’
Exploding Star!
The projectile flies, striking Jango in the forehead, creating a small bang and smoke cloud knocking him out, Kaya giving him a couple kicks to the head just to be safe.
Back with the Captain :D
‘Bastards, do you have any idea what you’ve done?’ Kuro yells down at them
Kaos puff his lips and shrugs ‘I think I just cut off one of your arms, but I wasn’t paying much attention. Luffy?’
‘You cut off the wrong arm’ the rubber boy replies tensely.
‘Well don’t think you’ll get another hit in’ he spits before swaying once more
Out of the Bag Attack
Kuro vanishes once more, tearing up the slope with little to no consistency or pattern to his mayhem
‘See it?’
‘Yeah, let’s go’
Traptrix
The man of 1,000 plans stumbles as a rubber arm catches one leg and barbed wire wraps around the other, Kuro unable to respond as in the dust cloud caused by his fall he’s pulled towards the duo, stopping only when his torso reaches Kaos’ open palm and the wires immobilise his limbs
‘Let me go!’ he yells in the boy’s face
‘Nah’ he shrugs, the wires tightening like vines at the slight tilt of his sword hilt, but then he grins widely ‘Hey do know one thing I’ve learnt I’m really good at?’ he then takes his hand off Kuro’s chest to poke him in the forehead ‘Distractions’ he watches Kuro’s eyes widen in fear or panic he wasn’t sure before leaning to the side…
Gum Gum Bell
… and avoiding a full speed rubber head butt from Luffy, his captain finally unwrapping his legs from the older’s lumbar region (I call it that rather than anything else because ever energetic and twitchy Luffy was kicking him in that section of his spine/back) as Kuro falls, the wire dissolving as Kaos returns it to it’s base form.
‘These guys beat Captain Kuro’
‘Not even the marines could do that’
‘Yeah man of 1,000 plans, and they still managed to take him out’
‘What kind of monsters are they?’
Luffy finally speaks to them ‘I’m Monkey D Luffy. A pirate only forsakes his name with death…’
Snap Gurgle
Luffy’s eyes widen and he turns in panic ‘Kaos, that’s not what I meant! I was speaking phlisophically, or is it metaphorically?’ he rubs his head as Kaos drops the man’s heart.
‘He twitched, I reacted. If I’d been closer to his head he might’ve just lost an eye and had his head slammed into the ground’ Kaos shrugged unapologetically, but it was the look in his eyes that resembled a certain Admiral that had the Black Cats pissing themselves and trying to get back to their ship as fast as possible.
‘I think you scared them off’ Luffy deadpans ‘Also Nami’s curled up on the beach clutching her treasure to her chest, think we should be worried?’
‘Kaos chuckles ‘You might need to be, I’m going to go see if Zoro’s up for day-drinking, we’ve done too much work for one day already’ Luffy chuckles at his brother before going to check on their navigator, he didn’t want there to be problems between his crewmates after all.
That Evening
Kaya returned to her room at a more sedate pace than would be expected for a day like today, sure she was beyond happy and grateful Usopp and her new friends saved her and stopped Kuro (she couldn’t think of him as Klahadore) she wouldn’t have told Merry to prepare the ship for them if she wasn’t, nor let them spend the night in some of her mansion’s many spare bedrooms, but they would be leaving tomorrow and whether he knows it or not Usopp would be leaving with them. And that was her problem, she knew this was what he wanted, but she didn’t want to loose another person so precious to her, not again. She was so distracted she didn’t realise a boy was sitting in her window until he knocked on the wall.
‘Usopp?’ she shrieks as she jumps, when she calms down she looks again ‘Wait, you’re not Usopp’
‘Sesese. No I’m not but I’m here on behalf of my captain’ Kaos replies, his smile growing as the blond shuffles closer
‘What does he want?’
The morning
It turned out when there was a good enough reason even Zoro could get up at a reasonable time, and seeing their new ship was definitely a good reason. Merry was happy to give the Straw Hats a tour of the ship, before letting the guys move their supplies and Nami her treasure into the Going Merry. Luffy was quick to claim the figure head as his chair/thinking place (‘Not that he does that often’ Nami jokes and even Kaos cracks a smirk) while his first mate and navigator familiarise with the controls and Zoro napped
‘Hey guys, there are 2 proper, private bedrooms, so I call…’
‘Those are for me and Kaos, Captain’s order’ Luffy interrupts
‘Hey I wanted the damn room so shut up, the lanky bastard doesn’t even look like he cares!’ Nami yells at him with shark teeth
Zoro cracks an eye open ‘I don’t know why you’re even caring, you’re the only girl on the crew, whatever room you have is a private room for you’ he mutters, missing the fedora wearing boy’s sh*t-eating grin
‘So is everything ready and to your liking?’ Kaya asks as she stands beside Merry, the man so pleased to see his creation about to actually see so use after so long.
‘Yeah it’s great, thanks Kaya!’ Luffy calls down, flashing a ‘D’ grin
‘Somebody stop this crazy thing!’ everyone looks up at the screaming to see Usopp rolling out of control towards the docks, on a collision course with the Going Merry
‘He’s gonna hit the ship!’ Nami yells
‘Not if we have anything to say about it’ Luffy replies nodding to Kaos and Zoro who follow him to the side, the long nose getting stopped then his back found a foot from Luffy and Zoro (to either side of his head) and Kaos’ hands directly above him
‘Um thanks guys’ he muttered, Kaos and Luffy laughing it off while Zoro grunts and goes back to finding a good place to sleep ‘These guys are odd but really nice’
After untangling himself from his supplies he saw Kaya smiling at him from the gangplanks and smiles back before offering his arm and walking her onto the Merry, it had been quite the unexpected news but he was glad it happened.
Usopp had been worried after accepting Luffy’s invitation, this was his dream but it still felt like he was abandoning his friends and Kaya… oh Kaya, he needed to speak to her; he didn’t want to be another person to disappear from her life
‘Kaya!’ he calls from outside her window, the blond opens it sleepily
‘Usopp? Come in, it’s cold this early in the morning’ she sidesteps allowing him to enter her bedroom where he shuffles nervously
‘Listen Kaya, I have some important news’
Kaya nods ‘I do too’
‘I’m joining Luffy’s crew’ ‘I’m joining Luffy’s crew’
‘What!?’ he yells in shock, also confused as to why Kaya had no other reaction to his news than to smile ‘How?’
‘Kaos was here earlier, to extend an invitation on Luffy’s behalf. I’m going to be a doctor one day Usopp that’s my dream, so I might as well be the one patching up my friends when they get into crazy scraps’ she smiles teasingly before getting pulled into a tight hug by the sniper ‘Usopp?’
‘I was so worried you’d feel I was abandoning you, but to hear you’re coming with us fills me with joy, and a little worry, but mostly joy’ Kaya returns his hug until he lets her go
‘We have a few more hours till we set sail Usopp, see you then’ she kisses his cheek and lightly pushes him towards the window, goofy grin on his face as his grapple lets him simply flop out the window.
Back in the present, Kaya and Usopp were slack jawed at the sheer number of weapons Kaos pulled out and lay on the table; the assortment of blades and small firearms was mind boggling
‘What were you saying about pulling an armoury out his ass?’ Zoro grins as he closes Nami’s mouth for her
‘Luffy said no, his coat maybe but not his ass’ she replies, Kaos grinning as he can very clearly hear her
‘I’m a bit of a hoarder, and a looter, which comes in handy if we’re going to find Kaya a weapons that suits her’
‘B-b-but I’m going to be the ship’s doctor, plus you saw what happened with Klahadore’
‘True, but we’re not expecting you to stand at the front and charge at the enemy… that’s Luffy, Zoro and my job, but you still need a way to defend yourself’ he then picks up a pair of flintlocks and hands them to her ‘And Usopp can help with your accuracy’ the long nosed sniper nods, Kaya straightens her spine and accepts the weapons
‘Let’s do it’
TBC
LW: Like I said this ‘arc’ was my first real bit of altered canon, both Kuro dying and Kaya joining the crew. Look out for more changes both big and little as the Straw hats pirates are finally on their way to being a real pirate crew.
Techniques/Lore
Luffy
Gum Gum Spear: Luffy puts the soles of his shoes/feet together, bends his knees and kicks out toe first. Due to it’s requirements he either needs to be sitting or in mid air in order to use it but oh well.
Gum Gum Bell: Stretches his neck several feet behind him then slams it forward, delivering a devastating head butt. Obviously best used on immobile enemies, as unlike most of his attacks, this one seems to leave his vulnerable while actually using it.
Kaos
Traptrix: Sword shift, changing from a Khopesh into a longsword with a bear trap designed hilt/guard, wrapped in barbed wire which can be used to ensnare and immobilise enemies. (Yes it’s named after a Yugioh Archtype, I have 1 or 2 more of those in Kaos’ move pool) (If it helps it’s actual inspiration is understood when it’s rather messy finishing move is known as ‘Game Over’)
Kuro
Out of the Bag Attack: Using his puss*foot to it’s fullest extent alongside his Cat claws, the only downside being the trance he goes into means he has no control of idea what he’s hitting, hence why Kaos and Luffy agree it’s a friendly fire heavy kind of move.
Usopp
Exploding Star: A ball filled with gunpowder, explodes on impact.
Seeing as I know someone will ask, the certain admiral is Kizaru, old unclear justice himself (which fits given the being Kaos is the OP version of is a true chaotic neutral), usually he’s more Aokiji’s ‘case by case’ kind of neutral but sometimes he embraces the ‘chaotic’ part of his alignment name.
Chapter 8: Come Eat At Baratie
Chapter Text
LW: Well here we are, the 1st appearance of a very special chef. Enjoy
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Come eat at Baratie
Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang,
Kaya fired each pistol before tossing it back, Kaos behind her catching it before replacing it with a loaded one. She may not be hitting bull’s-eyes but she was hitting near the middle rings, better than some of the others on the crew, especially dual wielding
‘We need to get you a revolver at the next town, no make that 2’ Kaos comments, Usopp nodding in agreement while Luffy claps madly and yelling about how awesome that was.
It was strange how good she was with 2 guns, given she could barely fire with one, only some half joking comments by Zoro and Kaos about balance and symmetry had them pass her a 2nd and once she got used to the weight and handling she took to it like a supersonic duck, the first mate wishing he had more than just single shot for her, but it was cool to see her trick shot in order to ‘reload’
With Kaya’s training done for the day Luffy returned to his previous work, making their pirate flag. It was a work of sheer genius a Jolly Roger worthy of the next Pirate King…. If only Luffy had any artistic talents.
‘So what do you think?’
‘What is it?’
‘It’s our flag’ Luffy replies with a grin
‘Nope’
‘No way in Hell’
‘I could do a better job than that’
‘I’ve never thought about burning a flag before… so let’s throw it overboard’
Luffy frowns ‘Well if you can do a better Jolly Roger be my guest’ he grumbles before being pushed aside by Usopp
‘Ta da, take at this masterpiece’
‘It’s okay I guess… oh who am I kidding this is awesome!’ Luffy cheers excitedly
‘And you even remembered who was in charge of the ship’ Zoro teases and he was right: The crews official Jolly Roger was now the typical pirate skull, except it was wearing Luffy’s iconic Straw Hat.
A couple hours later after Usopp had painted the design onto the sails and let it dry Luffy was once more bored so tried his luck at using the cannon to destroy a spire of rock sticking out of the water. He was missing by quite a large margin. The rubber boy’s scattershot method of cannon fire irritated the sniper.
‘Stand aside, let a pro deal with this’
‘Bet you can’t hit it’ Luffy says with a scoff
‘Bet I can’ the 2 have a staring contest til Kaos got involved by slamming their heads together
‘Shut up and get on with it, preferably before the seas destroys it for you’
Usopp straightens up and aims the cannon, focusing for a minute before firing, taking the rock out in one shot
‘Awesome!’ Luffy cheers, him and Usopp spin around happily, while Kaos rolls his eyes and smiles at the 2 idiots, until peace was ruined by the yelling of an idiot
‘GET OUT HERE YOU DAMN PIRATES!’
‘Hey, who are you and how did you get on our ship?’ Luffy asks in confusion
‘I’ll show you what happens to pirates who cross out path’ the guy yells as he swings his sword at Luffy, the boy dodging but the angry man still taking out a portion of the railings.
‘Kaya’s not going to like that’ the captain thinks as he continues to avoid the weirdo’s wild swings ‘Screw it, STOP WRECKING THE SHIP!’ he grabs the guy and flings him at the mast, knocking the wind out of him. It was at this point the others actually decide to see what kind of mess Luffy had attracted this time.
Zoro’s eyes widen ‘Johnny? What are you doing here?’ he asks
‘Huh? Big brother Zoro! What are you doing on a pirate ship?’ the guy (now identified as Johnny) yells
‘Take a wild guess’ Zoro answers with a groan before a thought covers to him ‘Hey wait a minute, where’s Yosaku?’
Johnny bursts into tears, telling them how Yosaku had suddenly be struck down with some kind of sickness, teeth falling out, old wounds opening up and general weakness. They had been seeking shelter under a rock formation, when it suddenly exploded, Usopp and Luffy suddenly feeling very guilty
‘And now Yosaku will die!’ Johnny cries pointing overboard to where he’d tied his boat to theirs, Zoro tenses and the other 2 turn pale at the thought they may have killed someone.
‘f*cking morons the lot of you’ Nami mutters as she shoves past Zoro and Kaos to hop onto Johnny & Yosaku’s ship. From there she began to poke and prod at the guy, even pushing open his mouth and pulling out his tongue as well as pulling back his eyelids
‘Hey, show some respect for the dying you heartless witch!’ Zoro yells down at her but she ignores him as would be expected.
‘Um, Miss Nami’ Kaya says from ship, her medical bag (which Kaos told her made her look cute, away from the others as neither needed the teasing) held in front of her pelvis ‘While I’m glad you’re sticking your hand in his mouth instead of me I was brought on as the ship’s official doctor’ the redhead blushed
‘Sorry Kaya, it’s still new to me, having so many new people around’ the blond waves her off
‘It’s fine we’re all like that right now’ she briefly looks over Yosaku ‘I presume you’re trying to confirm your suspicion of scurvy yes?’ Nami nodded
‘Yeah and he does’
‘Good. Luffy, Usopp get some limes from the kitchen so we can help Zoro’s friend’ the duo nod and run of, returning with the entire barrel, while Zoro, Johnny and Kaos lift him onto the Going Merry ‘Now drip them into his mouth, there we go’
It may have been messy but eventually they managed to get enough into the man for him to sit up
‘Yosaku, you’re cured! 3 cheers for Big Sis Nami and Kaya’ Johnny cheers as he helps his friend up. The 2 then started bouncing around much to Nami’s annoyance, Kaya’s confusion and Zoro’s amusem*nt
‘Well they’re certainly…energetic’ Kaya says, sweat drop on her forehead.
‘And crazy to do that so soon after being at Death’s door’ Kaos adds, proved correct when Yosaku is once more on the ground, Johnny following him due to a punch to the head from Nami
‘MORONS!’ she screams ‘Johnny was right about you being a deaths door a little while ago, you can’t just get better that fast. Keep this up and you should be back to normal in about… 3 days?’ she shrugs then turns to Kaya who nods in agreement ‘3 days should be fine’
‘Thanks big sis Nami’ Johnny wheezes, getting another punch
‘So….. Who the f*ck are you?’ Kaos asks, Johnny helping Yosaku into a standing position
‘I’m Johnny’
‘And I’m Yosaku’
‘And together, we’re the most badass bounty hunters in the world’ they announced with epic posing
‘Cool, bounty hunters’ Luffy cheers, stars in his eyes.
‘Yeah, we used to run with Big bro Zoro, but he left a while back to continue his quest’ Yosaku explains, before with a little swaying keels over once more
‘Here we go again’ Kaya sighs internally, while Johnny and Zoro move their friend to one of the free beds
Later
‘We need a cook!’ Luffy yells, summarising the discussion they’d been having for the last 20 minutes (So at least he was actually following it I suppose) ‘But where will we find one on the ocean?’
‘I think I know somewhere’ Johnny puts forward ‘The food is like nothing you’ve ever tasted and I’m sure you’ll be able to get someone there to join. But be warned, it’s rather close to the Grand Line’ he turns to Zoro ‘And there are rumours the man you’re looking for passes through on occasion’ Zoro’s reaction is to tighten his grip on Wado.
‘Then it’s settled… where is it?’
‘The floating Sea Restaurant: Baratie’
‘Nami! Set a course for Baratie’ Luffy half orders, the navigator nodding and getting to work
Later… Again
Johnny grins widely as he watches the others reaction to seeing the restaurant for the 1st time.
‘It’s a fish’
‘So Cool!’
‘Least they understand what a theme is’
‘Hopefully the food is better than their taste in décor’
‘It is quite a good surprise to see something so nice this far out to sea’
‘So, ready to eat?’
‘You bet!’ the crew agree, all happy as can be, until a marine vessel almost rams into them
‘Ah crap’ Kaos, Zoro and Nami think, Kaya slips in behind Usopp while Luffy is unaffected as he always is.
‘Hm, never seen that flag before’ a pink haired marine thinks as he walks over to the side of his ship
‘My name is IronFist Fullbody, which of you is the Captain?’ he yells over the side at them
Luffy steps forward, Usopp about to follow when Kaya’s arms arounf his waist tighten and instead both step back, Kaos smiling lighting as he slips into position directly behind his captain
‘My name is Luffy, we made our flag a couple of days ago.
Fullbody chuckles ‘Cute’ then his eyes wander over to Johnny and a once more awake Yosaku, both of whom were trying to stay out of sight ‘Well look at that, a couple of 2nd rate rate bounty hunters finally got themselves captured by pirates’ he laughs, annoying Johnny
‘2nd rate! Could 2nd rate bounty hunters take on these?’ he pulls out a stack of posters, most of which being crossed out, though the ones that interested the pirates more were the uncrossed ones that had also fallen out, including:
Nylock ‘Smiler’ Morgan
Comic ‘Bone Daddy’ Century
Bartolomeo
Wicked Dick (Getting a small smirk out of Zoro)
Greyback ‘Vampire’ Henry
‘Sawtooth’ Arlong
Nylock ‘Dragon’ Grima
‘Iron Mace’ Alvida
Buggy the Clown
‘Whirlwind’ Zelena
Silenceo ‘Sniper’ Apep
‘Iron Bunny’ Afton
‘Oh new update’ Kaos says, snatching the fishman’s wanted poster from Nami’s hand
‘Hey! What was that for?’ she asks, surprised when the fedora wearing pirate pulls a binder out of his coat, opening it revealed a similar stack of varied posters, none of which were crossed off. He flicks through them until he comes to Arlong, from a few years back given the 18 million berri bounty, which he crossed off and replaced it for its new total of 20 million. He then returns it to their navigator.
‘Deal with them quickly’ Fullbody says with a hand wave, the marines loading the canon while he walks away with his date.
‘I got this’ Luffy says but is head slapped by Kaos who steps in front of him
‘This requires a more directed method, you can deal with the idiots in the crossfire’ he replies, interlocking his fingers and pushing his hands out palm forward, his powers forming something like a dish or hemisphere, then pulls back his pinkies, causing the upper section to bow outwards.
Mirror Wall
The cannonball struck it directly, but the altered shape meant the ball was sent up and over the ship, landing harmlessly in the water. The marines were struck dumb, giving Luffy the chance to jump over to their ship and beat the ever loving sh*te out of them, while Nami pulled the Going Merry alongside the Baratie, during which Kaos released his ability and Kaya was checking his bruised palms as well as the nicks and grazes on his fingers, scolding him as she did for his ‘stupidity’ and ‘recklessness’
In the restaurant
Fullbody smiles at his date from across the table, the food delivered and the wine being poured by a blond man in a nice suit. The marine sips the drink before loudly announcing … ah who the f*ck am I kidding? I have no idea what BS he spouted nor do any of us care. Sorry.
The waiter smirks ‘Sorry, but it’s not’ the turns before anything else can be said as laughter fills the restaurant
It was this our pirates enter to, the blond speeding over to them the moment he saw Nami and Kaya
‘And what can I do to satisfy the hunger of a pair of goddesses like yourself?’ he asks with a heart replacing his visible eye
‘Salad would be nice, but I’m not sure if I can afford such a well prepared dish’ Nami pouts and the blond swoons
‘All on the house miladies’ he smiles ‘All you bozos will need to pay in full though’ he turns serious when he turns to the guys
‘Then it’s a good thing this is Nami’s treat, free food!’ Kaos cheers with a sh*t eating grin on his face
‘ I NEVER SAID THAT! PAY IT YOURSELF YOU LAZY BUM!’ Nami yells over him
‘Don’y care who pays, just bring me meat!’ Luffy yells over them both, annoying the blond
‘Luffy may be blunt but he has a point, steak please’ Kaos orders, the others following suit. Kaya picking the lightest thing she could find, while Zoro orders the same as Kaos but with stronger booze.
‘Oy waiter!’ it was an annoyed Sanji who found himself once more standing at Fullbody’s table
‘I already told you I’m not a waiter’ he sighs then smiles at the blond at the table ‘Well hello darling, how about you come with me somewhere nice and I’ll get you a nice bottle of wine’ she giggles as he turns on the charm, until Fullbody once more draws his attention
‘Hey over here! Is bug soup on the menu or did you make if just for me?’ he asks, pointing to the insect bobing around in his soup ‘Take that you lousy waiter’ he smirks internally
‘I have no idea, it looks like he’s floating, though it could be swimming or more likely drowning, who can tell with critters like that?’ he smirks and stifled laughter is heard from all the nearby tables
‘He’s making me look like a fool’ Fullbody thinks and his anger gets the better of him, slamming his fist into the table and throwing what was left of their meal all over the floor
Luffy may be oblivious to almost everything while eating but Usopp and Kaos weren’t, both tensed when Lieutenant Fullbody started making a scene, though even their Captain saw the blond kick the ever loving sh*t out of the pink haired idiot
‘Sanji’ Was shouted across the ship, everyone turning to it’s source: An older blond who might be Sanji’s father, most likely the head chef based on his really tall hat, with a braided moustache and a peg leg (like a real f*cking pirate) ‘Fighting with the customers again?’ he grunts, Fullbody smirked until he got the old man’s peg leg to his face as he was kicked out of the restaurant ‘And stay out, you trouble maker’
‘What’s wrong with these people? Serving pirates, abusing their customers….’
‘Lieutenant Fullbody , Gin has escaped!’ A marine yells as he ran to the pink haired marine
‘What? How? We haven’t fed him in 3 days!’
BANG!
No answer came as a shot rang out and the marine dropped dead, Fullbody making a hasty retreat as a frail, dark skinned man in grey clothes stumbled into the Baratie
‘Welcome aboard ye crook, and how will you be paying?’ Asked a large man with Popeye arms
Gin raises his gun ‘You take lead?’ he threatens but the man just frowns
‘No money? Well too bad!’ he yells, slamming Gin’s head into and then through the nearby table
‘Damn it Patty, that’s the 3rd table this month!’ the head chef shouts angrily
‘Gin sits up slowly ‘Just get me something’
Patty scoffs ‘Nope, our policy is simple, paying customers only. No money, no food’ while the civilians were cheering the cook standing up to a pirate only the head chef noticed Sanji disappear. After kicking him a few times, probably to make sure he was too weak to knife him in a minute, he picks Gin up, tosses him over his shoulder and throws him out the side door ‘And stay out!’ he hollors as he shuts the door.
‘f*ck, if I wasn’t so weak with hunger I couldn’t taken that guy, and then I’d be in there, eating’ Gin thinks/complains his senses dulled to the point he didn’t realise he wasn’t alone out there until Sanji placed the tray right under his nose
‘Eat up’ he grunts as he sits against the railing, lighting a cigarette and waiting
‘Take it away, I don’t want your charity or your pity’ Gin managed to get out, his hunger and his pride clashing
‘Idiot’ Sangi scoffs ‘This is going to take a while’
Luffy comes out just as Sanji gets Gin to eat, the man almost in tears
‘Thank you, this food is delicious, I never thought I’d get to eat again’ he sniffles and wipes his eyes before continuing to stuff his face
‘You’re lucky he gave you that food, you looked like a goner’ Luffy says with a slight chuckle, not that Gin noticed, too engrossed with filling his belly after so long. He then turns to Sanji ‘Hey Cook Guy, join my crew!’ he says partly asking partly ordering
‘I refuse, I’m staying here’
‘Well I refuse your refusal. I’ll try again tomorrow. Bye Sanji’ the straw hat cheerfully walks away from the angry blond
‘Hey idiot, that’s not how that works’
When Luffy returned to the table the others couldn’t help but notice his cheerful demeanour ‘What’s got you in such a good mood?’ Zoro asks
‘I found us a cook’
‘Yay!’ everyone cheers
‘Now I just need to get him to join us’ 3 heads hit the table as the other 4 stare at the Captain. Kaos and Zoro beginning to see a pattern in Luffy picking the most resistant person he could find and wearing them down till they agreed emerging, while for Nami this was yet another ‘Luffy you’re a f*cking idiot’ moment to add to all the others
The next couple of days were both good and bad for the Straw Hats and company as Luffy near constantly tried to get Sanji to join the crew, even getting a little help from the old guy Zeff on occasion, on the one hand this was the best food many of them had eaten in a while, but other than Nami and Kaya the others were paying out of pocket, the crews Bisento of a 1st mate knew they could afford it for now, but were going to have to leave before month’s end, for that reason both Kaos and Kaya offered to assist the cooks just in case Sanji proved more stubborn than Luffy, though the purple haired pirate doubted that was even possible.
Fortunately for their funds at least, on the 3rd day Gin returned, a bulky grey haired man leaning on him as they entered. While none of the Straw Hats knew him, the chefs did
‘Don Krieg!’ Carnie yells, quickly causing a panic
‘Please, I need some food. I can pay just bring me something’ Krieg wheezes painfully
‘Hey look at him, the great Don Krieg wasting away’ Patty laughs ‘Quick someone call the marines, this is the one chance we’ll ever get’ he yells then throws one of his large arms in front of Sanji ‘And where do you think you’re going?’
‘To bring him food dumbass, if they’re hungry they’re customers and he can even pay this time so why are you complaining?’
‘Because he’s Don Kreig, we feed him he’ll just destroy everything yo…’ Patty doesn’t finish his insult because he find’s Sanji’s shoe in his face and the wall meeting the back of his head
‘Sorry about him, he’s kind of a dick’ Sanji apologises as he places the food in front of the kneeling pirate Commander.
‘Thank you kind sir’ Kreig wheezes before practically throwing the food into his mouth.
‘Do you have any idea what you’ve done!’ yelled one of the cooks
‘Fed a man so he wouldn’t die’ Sanji answers with a shrug, though was unprepared when he was thrown against the wall by a clothesline from Kreig
‘That was some good food. I can actually feel my strength returning to me’ he smirks ‘Now there are 100 men still on my ship, they’ll need to be fed next’ he orders, pointing back toward his severely damaged galleon.
‘You want us to feed the people who are going to kill us, you think we’re that stupid?’ Carnie asks in disbelief
‘I don’t care if you’re stupid or not, you will FOLLOW MY ORDERS!’ Kreig yells, everyone gulp in fear
Sanji sighs and pulls himself to his feet, then turns on his heels in the direction of the kitchen ‘Whelp back to work’ he thinks until he walks into Patty’s arm
‘And where do you think you’re going?’ he asks tensely
‘To get the food’ Sanji answers, the cooks reaction is…. Well to point everything that could even be vaguely considered a weapon at the blond chef, though it wasn’t really necessary as Patty just slams him into the ground again
‘You may be Don Kreig, but we wouldn’t have lasted this long out here without a few surprises to keep pirates like you away’ the says as he roots around in a cupboard ‘Sanji may have fed you his slop, but I hope you saved room for desert’ the chef reveals his weapon, a lobster themed cannon/grenade launcher ‘Prepare your stomach for the Meatball of Doom’ he says as he pulls the trigger
KABOOM
‘I might have broken the door, again. I hope Zeff understands and doesn’t yell at me this time’ Patty says with a confident smirk, well until…
‘That desert was terrible. You don’t deserve the name chef’ Kreig sneers before he steps out of the smoke, his gold armour on full display ‘Now DIE!’ he orders/yells, guns popping out of everywhere on his armour, not to mention the 2 in his hands.
It was pandemonium, every chef (well besides Sanji who was still on the ground) was hit at least once as they scrambled for cover, there were just too many bullets in the air not to.
It was the aftermath of this that the captain/ head chef enters, as Zeff exits the kitchen with a large sack of food ‘Here you go, take it and leave’ he grunts, Krieg staring at him in shock
‘You’re Red Foot Zeff’ he gasps
‘Who?’ Luffy asks, drawing attention to their group
‘A pirate captain who was also the ship’s cook. His name came from his black leg fighting style of crazy strong kicks, his boots stained red with the blood of his enemies after his fights. That man survived the Grand Line for a year’ Gin answers
‘And somehow made it back here to this Hell Hole, which I find more impressive’ Kaos mutters, then seeing everyone looking at him continues ‘Surviving a year just sounds like he didn’t make it to year 2. But knowing he spent a year in that sea, got back to the East Blue and set up this place, that’s impressive’
Zeff smiles ‘True, but I left that life behind quite a few years back. Now I’m just a simple but highly skilled cook’
Kreig chuckles ‘After you lost the leg, you mean? Don’t make it sound like it was just something that came to you one day, it was because all you can do without those kicks is be a cook. I had heard rumours about you losing your greatest weapon, but to see it for myself is actually quite disappointing. The great Red foot Zeff, defenceless’
‘What does it matter, I don’t need my legs to cook, only my 2 hands. So what do you want? Zeff asks, knowing there had to be a reason Kreig was so focused on him
The armoured man grins ‘You survived the waters of the Grand line and returned intact, I want your logbooks detailing how you did it’ he scans the room before continuing ‘I’ll also be taking this ship, my old one was badly damaged on the journey back’
‘No’ Zeff replies shocking everyone ‘That logbook is more than just a record, it’s the symbol of the men and women I sailed those waters with, and as for the ship… I may not be a pirate anymore, but Baratie is my treasure and there is no way I will allow a brute like you to take her from me while I still draw breath!’ as the chef shouts down the most dangerous man in the East Blue, everyone in the restaurant can see how he could be a former pirate, especially one strong enough to take on the Grand Line.
‘Well then I’ll just have to take it, and then I’ll return to the Grand Line and conquer it just as I had planned. I had everything I would need: Weapons, ships, men, ambition, all I require is knowledge, and once I get your logs I will build a new fleet, re-enter the Grand Line and become the King of this Great Pirate Era!’
Everyone was silent, until Luffy had to open his rubber mouth ‘Hey! You can’t do that, I’m the one who will be the Pirate King!’ he yells, not at all intimidated by the man in full armour, a wearable armoury or diamond knuckle dusters.
‘Don’t play games with me boy you don’t stand a chance. Our crew of 5,000 men didn’t last 7 days, that sea is Hell!’ Kreig yells, deciding Luffy was too dumb for anything beyond actually stating the facts to him
There was a collective blink as the information took a moment to be processed
‘Don Kreig’s fleet’
‘Was wiped out’
‘In less than a week’
‘Oh god what did we sign up for?’ Usopp whimpers, his arms wrapped around Kaya’s petrified form,
‘So as I’m sure you understand, I don’t find your attitude amusing. Continue this foolishness and I’ll have to crush you on the way to the old man’s ledger’
‘Just try’ Luffy grins as he co*cks his arm back
Kreig scoffs ‘Having your way then’ he growls before his shoulder pads open up to reveal more guns
Click
‘Need a hand Captain?’ Zoro asks, hand on Wado while Kaos grins with his blade spinning in his hand.
‘Thanks guys, but I think I’m good, can you check on Usopp and Kaya, they’re not looking too good’ Luffy replies with a shrug of his shoulders
Kreig chuckles ‘That your crew? Doesn’t look like much’
‘Hey, that’s not all there are still 2 others’ Luffy retorts defensively, ignoring Sanji’s yell of ‘Stop counting me’
Kreig sighs before lifting the food onto his back ‘I’ll deal with you later, I need to feed my men first’ he then leaves,
Gin tried to apologise to Sanji, but both him and surprisingly Zeff waved him off, mostly because the head chef knew he had no control over a man like don Kreig
‘So Gin, what can you tell us about the Grand Line?’ Luffy asks and Kaos sighs, while Gin turns nearly catatonic for a moment
‘That sea makes no sense, it shouldn’t be possible but I don’t have any explanation, how a fleet of over 50 ships can be annihilated by 1 man!’ at this everyone in the restaurant tenses up, not even able to imagine a being that strong ‘The moment he appeared he began to sink out ships one by one, nothing we could do was even able to touch him. If we hadn’t been knocked into the Calm Belt by the storm not even Don’s ship would have survived. I don’t know if anyone else survived, I don’t even want to think about that place, I just want those memories to go away. Those eyes, like a hawks, cold, piercing and remorseless. Even his gaze alone felt like something was walking on your grave’ at this Zoro gasps
‘Well then, it appears you boys ran into the man known as ‘Hawk-Eye’. The eyes may be legendary but they’re not proof, though the fact coupled with the ease in which he destroyed your fleet, means it can only be him’ Zeff explains
‘Dracule Mihawk’
Luffy looks over to his swordsman ‘You know him Zoro?’
‘Not personally but yes I know him. Mihawk is the man I’ve been looking for, the Greatest Swordsman in the entire world.’
‘That’s a lot of carnage, what did you guys do to piss him off?’ Sanji asks
‘Nothing, he just attacked us’ Gin tries to defend himself
‘Maybe you woke him from his nap’ Zeff mutters
‘Or maybe he got bored and decided to wreck sh*t’ Kaos adds with a wide grin, worrying a few people (such as Usopp) as to what the eldest Straw Hat would do with Mihawk’s level of power
‘This isn’t a joke you damn cook!’
‘Calm yourself boy, it’s just an example, as well as a lesson in how the Grand Line works. You’re right about that place being like Hell, but there are still people living there as easily as here in the East Blue. Expect the unexpected, because absolutely anything can happen in that sea’
Luffy on the other hand was currently shaking, making some think he had finally come to his senses (oh please) until he jumped up in the air cheering ‘This is going to be so much fun!’
‘Looks like I know where I’m going for a change, the Grand Line’ Zoro smiles, but was surprised when he heard the usually cheerful pirate sigh ‘What?’
‘Zoro, if you do face Mihawk, don’t expect him to go all out the first time’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
Kaos raises him hands in surrender ‘I mean no offence, but let’s put it this way. Mihawk is in his 40’s or so and you’re what 19?’
‘So are you, dumbass’ Zoro yells back heatedly
‘I didn’t say I wasn’t, but the point is that to him you’re probably just some punk kid with a sword, or 3 in your case. You need to show him you have skill before he’ll actually fight you, that and you can’t let your anger dull those blades of yours.’
Zoro scoffs ‘Fine’
‘I wouldn’t say anything if I didn’t think you had a chance, you’d kick my ass if I were just a swordsman, and it’s pretty even right now with my bag of tricks as they say’ he grins and Zoro rolls his eyes with chuckles slightly.
‘You’re a headcase you know that?’
‘Yep’
‘Hey idiots, can you shut up for long enough we remember what’s going on. Don Kreig’s flagship is parked outside and he has 100 men or so preparing to take this ship from us. So get in gear!’ Patty yells loudly, waving his oversized fork in the air
After what felt like only a few minutes loud yelling was heard, alerting the people inside that Kreig’s men were ready and able to fight once more.
‘Everyone ready, cause here they come’ One of the cooks announce
Swipe
Just as some of Kreig’s men leave the ship they were shocked and horrified to see it split into pieces, perfect vertical slashes visible as they fall
‘Holy crap, What was that?’ Usopp practically screams as they see the carnage from inside
‘Don Kreig Sir, the Flagship, it’s been cut’ one pirate shouts as he falls
‘CUT, WHAT DO YOU MEAN CUT? WHAT HAS THE POWER TO CUT A GALLEON OF THIS SIZE SO EASILY?’ Don bellows in disbelief.
Zeff sends one of the chefs to raise the anchor so they can move in the wave without being dragged under, while everyone else gets out and sees the carnage first hand. It was then they see something that scares even Zeff
There, sitting in a tiny one person boat, with green flames candle circling him was the legendary, monstrous…
Dracule ‘Hawk-eye’ Mihawk
TBC
LW: Well, sh*t Hawky knows how to make an entrance :D
Also this might be my last OP chapter for 2017, there is a chance you’ll get one more but I may just push it back to the following week. I really don’t know
There was only one move that needed explaining as what Hawkeye did wasn’t a technique, it was just proof of how badass and powerful he is.
Mirror Wall: The material that usually coats Kaos’ body is extended outward, forming a shield to deflect projectiles, fairly easily manipulated as seen in the chapter, mostly because while it could deflect the cannonball, a head on collision would have been the same as if he just held out his hands in front of him and prayed.
Chapter 9: The story of Ol Hawkeye and the thief in the night
Chapter Text
LW: Hi guys, this is cutting it very close for a last chapter of 2017, but I hope it makes it. Helps it’s supposed to be a small chapter but who knows when I’m done. Also sorry I’m late, my laptop decided it needed to update itself today/yesterday of all days.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – The story of Ol Hawkeye and the thief in the night
So here he is Dracula Hawkeye Mihawk, greatest Swordsman in the world… but we have a couple of other things to deal with and he’s not going anywhere so let’s ignore him for a few minutes.
‘Big brother Luffy!’ Johnny and Yosaku yell from the water
‘Guys, what happened? Is Merry okay?’ Luffy yelled/asked
‘That’s the problem’
‘Nami stole the ship!’ the bounty hunters confessed, when they straw hats looked out they could see their ship, sailing away in the distance. Besides the brothers the others were all in varying shades of anger and shock, most severely was surprisingly Usopp, practically steaming that Nami would steal their ship, Zoro muttering about how they should never have trusted that bunt and Kaya was frozen, not able to understand how Nami could stab them in the back like that. Once some of the shock had passed the bounty hunters were quickly pulled onto Baratie.
‘How?’ Luffy asks, the duo blush and mutter, making the others assume she used seduction (Kaos thinking she just flashed them her tit* and pushed them overboard) before the eldest sighed
‘Shall I go after her?’ Kaos sighs, twirling his blade in its dagger form, something the newer crew maters were beginning to think was some kind of nervous tic.
‘You sure? The ships pretty far’ Luffy’s worry clashed with his desire to have his navigator returned, Kaos’ response was to ruffle his hair
‘Silly Monkey, I know my limits and I’ll be fine’ he grins even if he wasn’t as confident inside ‘Okay so maybe I don’t know my limits and that ship is moving faster than I would have liked but oh well, better hope Nami didn’t slip away to change or the girls just leave their underwear all over the place’ he sighs and the spinning penknife slashes open his palm, but he just runs, hops over the railing and dives in.
‘Straw Hat!’ Zeff yells as he hobbles towards the group
‘Hey old guy, it’s Luffy by the way’
‘Don’t care. Why did you let that guy jump?’
‘Cause’ Luffy answers, getting a kick to the knee ‘Ow!’
‘Listen kid is he or is he not a Devil Fruit eater?’ Zeff asks
‘Yep, me and Kaos got our fruits practically the same time’ Luffy grins and this time gets kicked in the face
‘What does it matter? Let the weirdo go for a swim’ Sanji contributes as he lights a fresh smoke
Zeff practically explodes ‘It matters because that young man just killed himself! Anyone who eats a Devil Fruit loses their ability to swim’ shocking most of the people within earshot
Big bro’s dead?’ Johnny sniffles
‘He’s fine’ Luffy grins, leaning over the rail
‘What are you talking about?’ Zeff asks
‘Look over there’ Luffy points at the mysterious sparkling flakes floating in the water ‘That’s how I know’
Zeff wasn’t convinced ‘Explain’
‘If it makes a reflection he can make it a mirror, if it’s a mirror he can bend it to him will. It’s one of his cooler abilities, his mirror gate’
Zeff’s eyes widen ‘He ate the Mira mira no mi?’ he asks, to which Luffy shrugs and scratched his head
‘Honestly I haven’t got a clue, I wasn’t really paying attention back when we first learnt, Hell I only know mine because Shanks told me back when he was trying to get me to cough it back up’ he admits, causing Zeff to sigh in annoyance.
‘Idiots, well at least nothing else can go wrong’ he thinks, the universe showing it’s contempt in about 5 seconds
Bang! Bang! ping
‘What, I missed, but how? I aimed right for him and it’s practically point blank’
‘You probably did, he just deflected it with his sword’ the straw hats hear Zoro say and turn to see the swordsman was now on Krieg’s ship, explaining how the other guy had missed Mihawk.
Zoro steps forward with a smirk ‘I’ve never seen a sword handled with such grace, especially not one that size’ he comments, Mihawk simply shrugs
‘A sword wielded with force alone is weak’ he says evenly, only his eyes moving to focus on the green haired man
‘Fight me!’ Zoro yells ‘My goal is to be the world’s greatest swordsman, so I will beat you’
Mihawk tilts his head ‘And why should I accept?’
Zoro puts on his bandana ‘You said yourself you’re just in the East Blue due to boredom, I’m the best swordsman in East Blue, I’m the closest thing you’ll find to a good fight around here’
Mihawk’s lips curl ‘Very well’ he reaches for his cross pendant, revealing it to be a small dagger
‘Are you kidding me?’ Zoro growls but tries to hold in his anger, instead focusing on drawing blood from the greatest swordsman
‘You don’t kill a fly with a cannon, for that same reason this will be good enough for you’ he holds out the knife as Zoro rushes him
Everyone watches in near silence as Zoro’s 3 swords flurry is easily parried by Mihawk’s tiny blade, the older man not even breaking a sweat while Zoro appears to be losing his cool
‘He’s beating me with a toy! There can’t be this much of a gap, he can’t be this much stronger’ he thinks as he takes a half step back to launch his signature attack
Oni-Giri
And everyone sees why Mihawk is the greatest when Zoro’s best technique is stopped when he stabs just where the 3 blades meet, stopping them dead.
‘Big Bro!’
‘This can’t be happening’
‘Fight for real Zoro!’ Johnny and Yosaku yell encouragement while Zoro tries his hardest to fight back
Mihawk sidesteps and Zoro’s tries once more just to hit the man, but he continues to miss or more often be parried by the cross knife. Eventually fatigue started to set in and Zoro began to get sloppy in his swings, Mihawk not even really having to try to avoid them. Seeing he was nearing his limits Zoro put all his energy into one final strike.
Tiger Trap
Once more the attack is stopped by Mihawk, but this him he finally counterattacks, thrusting the knife into Zoro’s chest
‘Why don’t you back down? Why do you keep fighting?’ Mihawk asks curiously
‘I can’t really explain it, but I feel I’ll lose something important if I take even 1 step back’ Zoro replies tensely
Mihawk smiles slightly ‘This boy might just get there someday’ he thinks before sheathing his dagger and reaching for his Cross-Sword ‘You have managed to sate my boredom like you said swordsman, so you have earned the honour of falling by the strongest sword there is. But before Yoru ends this duel, tell me your name’
Zoro’s grin looks practically feral/demonic ‘Roronoa Zoro’ he answers
Mihawk hums, taking the black blade off his back and pointing it at Zoro ‘Now this ends’
3,000 worlds
The 2 clash and pass each other, for a moment things look evenly matched for the 1st time in the entire fight… until both the swords in Zoro’s hands shatter, only Wado surviving the encounter
‘I have so far to go, but I’ve finally seen true greatness Kuina and I will get there’ Zoro thinks, sheathing Wado before turning to Mihawk who raises an eyebrow at the boy’s open stance ‘Scars on the back are a swordsman’s shame’ he answers the unspoken question
Mihawk actually smiles at that ‘You are an interesting one, I didn’t expect to find someone like you in the weakest Blue. Now if I must’ he swings Yoru once more, tearing easily through Zoro’s torso and knocking him into the sea (Open wound plus salt water… sh*t!) Hawkeye having a moment of peace before…
Gum Gum Rocket
…he was forced to dodge a rubber missile, it was a simple task for someone like him but it still annoyed him slightly, though was slightly amused by the fact his ‘attacker’ managed to get his head stuck in the ship wall.
‘Your friend will survive’ Mihawk says surprising Luffy, but he smiles when Johnny and Yosaku surface with Zoro and give him the same statement. Seeing the green haired teen was conscious (albeit barely) he makes one more announcement ‘It is much too early for you to die boy. You are weak but you have potential. Surpass this blade and then surpass me, Dracule Mihawk. That is your goal Roronoa Zoro.’ those words put a fire in Zoro’s eyes as he lifts his remaining sword
‘Luffy! You there?’
‘Yep’
‘I swear on my honour as a swordsman, until I beat Hawkeye, I will never be defeated again. Will that satisfy you, Pirate King?’ he asks tensely, the others (Particularly Kaya and Ginseng) worried he was aggravating his injuries
‘Of course Zoro’ Luffy replies, flashing a D grin.
Mihawk looks amused by the exchange ‘Pirate King? Your dream might be even more difficult than Zoro’s’ he says
‘Yeah well that’s my business’
‘Shanks was right, he is an interesting kid’ Mihawk smirks before he hops back into his boat, just as boots his the wreck he just left
‘Hey Hawkeye, weren’t you here to take me out? Kill the ruler of the East Blue Don Kreig?’ the armoured man yells
Mihawk shrugs ‘I considered it, it was one of the reasons I went this far, but I’ve had my fun and honestly I can’t be bothered to deal with an insect like you. Farewell, I’m going home now’
‘You may be done but I’m not’ Kreig sneers before revealing his arsenal ‘Go ahead and die!’ he yells fireing everything he had at Mihawk
‘Morons never learn’
The resulting explosion tore apart a lot of the galleon’s remains, Luffy just about getting back to the Baratie before his section sank. Safe for the moment he turns to his crew
‘Johnny, Yosaku, Usopp, go after Nami and Kaos, see where she’s heading, we’ll catch up later. Kaya, do what you can to patch up Zoro, I’ll deal with these dickhe*ds and join you when I’m done’ Luffy orders, everyone nods, the blond moving the swordsman onto the restaurant roof (probably the safest place for him), while Usopp got onto the bounty hunter’s boat, vowing on his honour as a brave warrior of the sea … and then on his long nose at Luffy’s unimpressed look, that they would find Nami and bring her home.
With that out of the way Luffy turns back to the Kreig pirates before yelling ‘Don Kreig! I’m going to kick your ass!’
TBC
Yeah this is shorter than usual, but I did plan to just write Nami stealing the ship and Zoro’s fight with Mihawk.
So we’re getting closer to revealing Kaos’ DF, just another arc to go. I actually have the reveal written out, and my writing as reached Loguetown, so don’t worry about me stopping in the near future, it’s full steam ahead for this series. J
Just to clarify, it’s not the Mira Mira no mi as Charlotte Brulee owns that, it’s something of a similar kind but a separate tier, like Ace/Akainu, or Monet/Alkoji, don’t know which is higher but oh well that’s years away at the very least. I will admit it was my first choice of name, but then I remembered the wicked witch of Toto Land and was like ‘sh*t!’
One last thing, seeing as Kaos mentioned Nami flashing the bounty hunter duo and considering how big she gets I decided to see what size she was at this point. Apparently she’s an I cup by Thriller Bark and a J after the 2year time skip, but nothing like that for her East Blue stats, all it has is (34"-22"-34"), and I’m not that stretchy guy in Flash (Gomu Gomu no douchbag) so it means nothing to me.
Chapter 10: Battle for Baratie (part 1)
Chapter Text
LW: So here we go, invasion of the Kreig pirates, without a Mihawk interruption this time.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Fists, Feet and bullets; Battle for Baratie (part 1)
‘Men, get that ship! Once it’s ours everything will be perfect, no more having to fake being marines or surrendering, we just float over to them and open fire, every battle won with a sneak attack’ Don orders with a laugh
‘Yeah, nobody would ever believe such an unintimidating ship could be a dangerous pirate vessel’ one of the crew agrees
‘But Don, what if when we go back to the Grand Line we run into someone like Mihawk again?’ another asks fearfully
BANG
The pirate’s body drops from Kreig’s shot to the head ‘Thanks for the feedback, anything else?’ he asks, waving his gun around and getting fearful headshakes from the rest of them ‘Good. Do you think an ordinary man could cut up our ship the way Hawkeye did? He must have eaten a Devil Fruit, while rare and almost legendary out here in the Blues, the Devil Fruits are quite common along the Grand Line. He must have used some weird ability to cut the ship to ribbons. Out there these powers aren’t anything special, even that rubber dumbass will be seen as normal’ he argues, badly [Honestly I kept this in mostly as is to prove Don Krieg… is an idiot. ‘Sir what do we do it we run into Mihawk again?’ ‘Nothing to worry about, there are tons of people just as dangerous as Mihawk, he’s nothing special’ f*cking idiot] ‘But once we have Zeff’s logbook we’ll know just how to handle those freaks as well as how to find the One Piece. So get moving!’ he commands again, the crew finally beginning to move
‘Oh no you don’t’ Patty and Carnie yell as they jump into the…?... but fumble around on the controls as neither really knew what they were doing.
Sanji sighs around his smoke ‘This ship is about to become a battlefield. Hey you’ he points to one of the chefs ‘Go inside and open up the fins’
‘What but then Kreig’s pirates will be able to swarm us’
‘But it will also allow us to fight them outside the restaurant, and keeping them out is the most important thing’ Sanji argues, and the chef follows through after an approving nod from Zeff.
Luckily the chefs had a little more prep time than they expected as Luffy chuckles to himself ‘Here I come’
Gum Gum Rocket
Gum Gum Giant Scythe
Springing off the restaurant he slams straight into/through the wave of Kreig’s men, tossing them into the sea as he grabs a hold of a still intact mast
‘What kind of freak is he?
‘Damn, and the Grand Line is full of people like him?’ Sanji thinks
‘So, just to be sure we’re clear, you’re attacking this boat which just gave you food? I’m kicking your ass purely on principle in that case’ Luffy says from his higher vantage, while Kaya sighs hidden away.
‘So you really want to fight me out here on the water, where even a slight misstep will kill you when you fall into the water? It seems the fruit of yours took your brain along with your ability to swim’
Luffy shakes his head ‘No just the swimming, but in exchange I’m stretchy’ he grins widely, just as the Baratie fins open out.
Sanji steps onto the fins with his usual swagger ‘Now we have somewhere to stand we cooks will proudly defend this ship with our very lives’ he states, getting into a ready position, the other cooks following him.
‘Nice of you to bring out all this extra decking, means I won’t damage my new ship while I kill you all. Because it will be my ship and I will kill all of you, it’s just a matter of how quickly you die’ Kreig sneers
‘Not likely’
‘We’re battlecooks!’
With a hiss the fish head on the end of the Baratie separates from the ship, revealing it to be part of a smaller vessel, currently being piloted by Patty and Carnie
‘Mackerel Head One, the Baratie’s secret weapon. Run away now or things won’t be so pretty for you guys’ Patty yells before the 2 cooks start firing on the Krieg pirates, to the loud cheering of their companions, until they tried to fight Kreig directly, the cannon fire basically bounced off him and he lifted the fish boat over his head and tossed it aside, the only reason it didn’t crash through the Baratie itself was Sanji’s lightning fast reflexes and an extremely strong kick.
With their heavy support wrecked it was easier for the Krieg pirates to get onto the decking and bring the fight to the cooks, who while they were good cooks and at really put their all into the fight… were simply out matched by what was left of Don’s crew.
‘You may think you’re good fighters but we’re the legendary Krieg pirates, the best in the East Blue and one day the best in the world’ one of the pirates sneers at the beaten cooks
Kreig chuckles ‘Let it be known this stupidly designed boat is already the property of the Pirate Admiral Don Krieg’ he announces
Sanji chuckles ‘Yeah that’s never going to happen, this restaurant still belongs to the old geezer and you’ll have to pry it from our cold dead hands before that changes’
The blond’s firm stance as well as the 2 oldest chef’s return to the fighting gave the cooks a needed boost to moral as they pulled themselves off their asses to hold back Krieg’s men, and they were doing okay until…
Ping, Ping
Something managed to one shot Carnie and Patty, knocking them both to the ground, the cause being the weirdo who just swam to the fin
‘I am the invincible Pearl, in all my time as the Don’s no.3 I’ve never shed a drop of blood in battle, as is the strength of my armour’ a large man in pearl centred shield armour boasted, laughing arrogantly
Bang-cling Bang
Kaya double tapped with her twin pistols, one glanced off the shield on his arm, but the 2nd embedded itself in his shoulder, the man shakily bringing his hand to the would and then his face
‘B-b-b-blood? Ahhhhh!’ Pearl screams, then begins banging his shields together frantically
‘Pearl calm down, you’re wreck my ship!’ Don Krieg orders, the cooks confused until the drumming man erupted into blue/white flames
‘Oh crap he’s on fire’ Luffy yells, having bounced back to the Baratie to avoid the flail Kreig had pulled from his endless arsenal
‘Did I make things worse?’ Kaya asks sadly
‘Of course not Kaya-Swan, you put that Pearl in his place’ Sanji swoons ‘Now I need to take this freak show down’ he says more seriously
Fire Pearls
Zeff’s expression barely changes to just swings his peg leg like Luffy using whip, the blast of air extinguishing the flaming pearls, causing them to fall harmlessly to the ground
‘But, my unbeatable Pearls’
‘Don’t send your kid stuff to me, I’m not as much of an invalid as you think I am you know?’ Zeff mutters
‘Hey moron!’ Pearl turns ‘This is for trying to kill the old geezer’ Sanji yells as his foot connects with Pearl’s unprotected face, (Seriously, why didn’t he have something to protect his face? And why to nobody think of hitting him in the face?) knocking him into the water ‘Well that’s one idiot down’
‘Sanji’ the blond turns ‘Just give up, I don’t want to hurt you or the old man but I will if I have to’ Gin says tiredly, his gun pressed to Zeff’s head and his boot on the old man’s spine.
Click
In a move that surprised both of them (Sanji didn’t even know any of the cooks carried) Gin had 5 pistols pointed at his head, not counting the 2 Kaya had pulled from her bandolier Kaos lend her till they could find her some multi-shot firearms.
‘You even try hurt Zeff you’ll be painfully reminded humans are deathly allergic to lead’ Carne may not have a gun on him, but that didn’t make his statement any less true
‘Gin!’ Krieg yelled ‘Take out the old geezer!’
‘Shut up!’ the armoured man was surprised anyone would talk back to him, but it seemed to be happening a lot today, Sanji then turned back to Gin ‘Gin, do the smart thing and point that gun over here, I’m not letting you take this ship from the sh*tty geezer, if you bastards want it or him so badly, you’re going through me first’
Gin grimaces as he puts his gun away ‘I really don’t want to do this’ he sighs, slowly pulling out his cannonball tonfas ‘But the captain wants this ship so he’s going to get it, and if that means going through you then so be it’
‘Great, you’ll be fine Sanji, I’m going to handle the weirdo with the funny shaped head’ Luffy grins, appearing to have already forgotten his opponent’s name
‘You brat’
‘Show some respect for Don Krieg’
‘Admiral of the greatest pirates in the East Blue’
Luffy shrugs ‘Nah, don’t want to’
Gin’s cold stare met Sanji’s heated one as he began to spin one of his tonfas till it was nearly all a blur, at which point he charged at the cook, Sanji trying to land kicks but failing, though luckily managing to avoid the slam of the cannonball that would have most likely crushed his hand, there was a noticeable sway back and forth, neither really getting any clean hits on the other until Gin managed to surprise him and slam the bar into his throat just before pinning him to the deck with it.
‘I told you this would happen, but you just wouldn’t listen, you fought back anyway. So now we reach the end of the line’ he says quietly, spinning his free tonfa in preparation, bringing it down right until Sanji spits his cigarette in his face, distracting Gin enough he was able to free himself and give the Krieg commander a swift kick to the back of the head, causing him to headbutt the deck, the problem for Sanji was Gin was tougher than he looked, meaning he was able to swing his tonfa into the cook’s ribcage before falling over, bringing the both of them down almost simultaneously.
‘sh*t, that guy managed to kick Gin in the head’
‘Think he’s still alive?’
An answer was deemed pointless when Gin pulled himself back up, followed more slowly by Sanji
‘Well that’s at least a rib, maybe 2’ he thinks to himself ‘That the best you got Gin, if so I don’t know why they think your so scary’
Gin apparently didn’t find Sanji’s humour amusing if the 2 more rapid strikes to his chest were anything to go on, the cook now fairly sure most of his ribs were f*cked at this point
‘Goodbye Sanji’ Gin says as he prepares a final blow, setting the cook off
‘Hey, what was that?’ he yells as he manages to barely dodge, before planting his foot in Gin’s face ‘Was that pity? I’m not dead yet yah dick’ he pulls himself to his feet, but stumbles ‘Yep, that’s probably all of them’ he thinks as he falls.
His worsening injuries were how Gin was able to pin him by the throat, while the why was most likely because even if he was in better shape than Sanji at this point, Gin would rather not be kicked in the head again. There was a collective intake of breath as the 2 remained frozen there Sanji not even struggling in Gin’s iron grip, though Krieg’s wide grin said exactly what he was expecting.
Tears were unexpected, but low and behold there they were, the cold hearted demon Gin was crying ‘I can’t. I can’t follow this order. This man saved my life, I can’t end his. I’m sorry Don Krieg, but I can’t kill Sanji. I won’t!’ he yells, shocking everyone and most likely adding more fuel to Krieg’s anger
‘WHAT DID YOU SAY?’ Krieg screams back
‘I’m only here because this man showed me kindness when he didn’t need to, because he showed me compassion. I’ve followed you from the start Don, been your loyal commander but now I have a problem, I would never be able to live with myself if I killed this man, but I can’t defy my captain, please Don, let me disobey’ he sniffles ‘We could just go, leave the restaurant and…’
‘DID YOU JUST TRY TO GIVE ME AN ORDER?’ Krieg yells over him ‘After all this time you decide to turn traitor on me, because of feelings like compassion, disgusting. It appears I’m going t have to deal with these maggots the hard way’ he grunts as he rips one of his shoulder guards off and grips it like a shield ‘Men, get out of the way’ he orders and the ‘mouth’ of his roger on the shield opens up, all the krieg pirates knowing exactly what their captain was about to unleash
Gin pales ‘No, not the gas!’
‘He’s going to use the MH5!’ one of the pirates in the water yells
‘We’re all gonna die!’ yells another, as the rest scramble for their masks
Kreig chuckles to himself ‘All the matters in a fight is who wins, how I get there means nothing to me’ he smirks arrogantly then sneers when he sees Gin reach for his jacket ‘Don’t you dare put on that mask Gin, your treasonous acts deserve the death sentence, so you can join these cooks in the MH5 and be done with!’
Luffy scowls ‘I’m not going to let you do this’ he yells, running at the man
You don’t have a choice’ Kreig replies, revealing that like everything else in his armour it comes with guns, in this case the entire outer rim functions as a machine gun, the pointed tips not exactly something Luffy wants to test his rubber bullet resistance against. As he retreats
‘Crap that could have been bad’ he thinks then sees Gin staring at his mask ‘What are you waiting for, put it on! You don’t have to listen to that dickhe*d, especially once I’m done kicking him ass’ Luffy yells at the pirate before getting ready for a 2nd attempt
‘No! My captain can’t be defeated; he’s the strongest man alive. If this is my punishment then so be it’ he sighs in resignation and drops the mask (Hey Gin, there’s this guy called Edward Newgate who’d like a word with you… He also goes by the name Whitebeard, Strongest Man Alive, and could break Krieg in half in 5 seconds)
‘At least you know how to die with some honour intact Gin, but you’re still all dying today. MH5, poison gas attack, Fire’ The shield cannon fires releasing the poison bomb as the golden pirate grins, cooks flailing for the water, Krieg pirates watching from behind their masks and Patty&Carnie hurrily dragging Zeff into the restaurant where they were at least slightly safer than out in the open.
Things were finally looking up for the Kreig pirates, until rubber hands wrapped around 2 of their heads and yanked their masks off ‘Hey guys catch’ Luffy yells as he throws them at Gin and Sanji ‘Okay now to get one for…. sh*t where’s everyone gone’ he panics when he sees the others had dived, half to get away from the rubber boy but also to get out of the bombs blast radius ‘FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!’
BANG
TBC
LW: Well if I’m given a cliff-hanger I might as well take advantage of it.
Sorry it’s so short guys, turns out this arc bores the f*ck out of me, I think it’s that besides being a heavily armoured dickhe*d, Krieg is really uninteresting. Hopefully this will be over soon. Until next time J.
Chapter 11: Battle for Baratie (part 2)
Chapter Text
LW: Well here we go, time to kick Kreig’s ass
Rubber Kings and Mirror Master – Battle for Baratie (part 2)
BANG
‘Finally that rubber brained idiot is gone, now I can simply take the ship for myself and re-enter the Grand Line’ Kreig thinks to himself as he grins widely.
‘Luffy’ Kaya squeaks fearfully, her and Zoro were luckily safe above the gas cloud which hung like fog on the lower levels
‘He’ll be fine’ Zoro mumbles before coughing violently ‘The Captain’s too stubborn to die, too stupid for his body to know poison is bad either’ he jokes weakly, Kaya rolling her eyes but thankful for the attempt anyway.
‘Hey asshole!’ was heard just before a fist shot through the fading gas and slammed into his face, causing him to stumble as he quickly righted himself ‘I’m not dying today’ Luffy yells from behind his gas mask ‘Lucky that mask just appeared when it did or I’d be in pretty bad shape’ he almost smiles until he hears a commotion behind him
‘Gin, let go you asshole, the gas is gone you can get off me’ Sanji struggles to get the former commander off of him but he was still weak due to his injures, though upon further inspection Gin was the worse off of them both: blood dripping from his nose and gums, eyes bloodshot and barely open, his breath was ragged and came out in barely a whistle
‘Gin! This mask was yours’ Luffy gasps, shocked at the man’s self sacrificial act, and pissed off when Krieg started to laugh and berate him
‘Patty get Ginseng, he has to do something!’ Sanji yells at the Popeye like chef who mumbles excuses but runs off to find the ship’s doctor
‘Put the mask on him, it’ll help detoxify his lungs and might give him a little more time for the doc to work on him’ Zeff orders, Sanji nods as the straw haired man with a handlebar moustache exits the ship and with Patty’s assistance brings Gin up to the roof with Kaya and Zoro, the girl quickly getting to work helping however she can.
Luffy’s jaw clenches ‘Now I’m mad Krieg, you won’t like what’s coming for you’ he practically growls, none of the fun loving idiot any other others had seen up until now was visible in this kid.
‘Idiot, attacking head on is a mistake he’s strongest that way’ Sanji argues to Luffy ignores him
‘So am I’ he whispers then takes off running ‘Hit me with your best shot!’
‘Anger makes you sloppy kid, you’re running in one direction… to your death’ Kreig sneers as he tosses bombs into Luffy’s path, causing a smoke cloud and a pillar of water which he then proceeds to empty an entire round of bullets from his gattling shield into
‘Well he’s dead’
‘Never stood a chance’
‘Kid no!’
The water fell and Kreig grimaced when he sees Luffy still charging
GUM GUM…
‘Just try it kid’ Krieg yells, wrapping himself up in a spiked cloak…
PISTOL
… which Luffy practically ignores as he continues his attack, slamming his fist into the cloak and Krieg’s face, this time knocking him to the ground.
‘He floored the Don’
‘In one hit’
‘What kind of monster is this guy?’
‘So you think this will kill me? Little spikes?’ Luffy’s voice was both angry and also slightly condescending, not wavering even as he rips the spikes out of his flesh and tossed them across the deck ‘It’ll take a lot more than that to take me down, I’m the future King, so small fry like this won’t work on me’ his smile was humourless as he tore the last spike out of his leg, just above his knee
‘Well he’s completely insane’ Sanji says with a sigh, not seeing Zeff nod in agreement
‘True, but so was his predecessor. I’ve seen a few men like him in my day, stubborn as the Red Line, would rather die and walk away from a fight. Glad he’s on our side though, as that stubbornness makes them Hell to fight and even harder to kill’ the old chef replies, hoping it wouldn’t come to that, Luffy may be a pain in the ass kind of a moron and definitely crazy, but he was growing on the former pirate cook.
Eventually Krieg manages to pull himself to his feet, his face stuck in permanent scowl ‘So you’re not dying today huh kid? That’s too bad, because one of us is going down today. And while I’m here, I might as well pay my respects’ he yells, slamming his shield into Luffy before blasting him ‘Go to Hell!’
Luffy bounces away from the blast, catching Krieg’s shoulder pad with his foot and pulling him back ‘You first’ he orders, knocking the pirate admiral onto his back.
‘How is this possible?’
‘This kid is kicking the Don’s ass’
‘What are we dealing with?’
‘Did Mihawk kill us and we’re trapped in Hell or something?’
Luffy just grins widely, despite everything he was kind of enjoying the fight.
Zoro and Kaya smile as they watch the fight ‘See girlie, nothing to worry about’ the swordsman smirks, getting a light smack to the shoulder from the blond
‘Shut up, you thought he was a goner too’ she retorts, chewing her lip in worry. Luffy was winning that much was true, but he hadn’t won yet.
‘EVERYONE SHUT UP! NEVER DOUBT DON KRIEG!’ Krieg yells as he pulls out another weapon from his arsenal, this time combining 2 of his shoulder pad shields and producing some kind of spear (Don’t ask me what’s going on, I’m just describing what I see, it looks like his shoulder pads he pulled the MH5 from, but now it’s a spear. Plus he had one pad in the previous scene but once the spear came out, no pad) which he swung at Luffy, missing but causing a huge explosion.
‘The f*ck was that?’
‘The mighty Battle Spear’ one Kreig pirate gasps ‘finally he’s stopped playing with the brat and fighting for real’
‘Playing hide and seek are we? Well time to finish things, this is my mighty battle spear, and unlike previous weapons when I hit you with this you won’t just get cut up or wounded, you’ll be blown straight to Hell’ he yells that last part as he slams it into the deck again ‘Big enough for you your majesty?’ He taunts smugly
‘f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, not the water’ Luffy chants as he manages to grab another section of wreckage before he could fall in and sink to the bottom ‘An exploding spear, this is going to suck Too bad Kaos isn’t around, I’d love his powers right about now’ he moves to stand but fails ‘sh*t, this isn’t good’
‘He’s lost too much blood’ Sanji guesses ‘This fight better end soon or he’s done for’
Kreig, seeing an opportunity hops onto Luffy’s piece, then begins trying to skewer the boy, luckily adrenaline enabled him to get back into action and dodge all the pirate’s swings
‘His true power is his strength, the battle spear is so deadly in his hands because nobody else can swing a spear so easily that weights over a ton’ (Ah hem, once again and I know he wasn’t introduced yet, but WHITEBEARD!!!! I have no idea how much his bisento weights but it sure aint lightweight)
The swinging and dodging continues until Luffy nearly falls off, jumping into the air to avoid slipping into the water ‘Die bastard’ Krief yells as he swings once more where Luffy can’t simply slip out of the way, luckily Luffy was able to find a safe place… the shaft of the spear itself
‘Wow… I didn’t think that was going to work’ he admits to himself, and because he thought out loud everyone heard
Krieg was really pissed at this point, flailing his spear until finally he managed to shake Luffy off, the tries to plunge the tip into the boy while he’s in the air (you know, like a spear is supposed to be used, he’s been using it as some kind of axe or exploding hammer up to this point if I’m being perfectly honest)
Luffy catches the blade between his fists… it doesn’t stop the explosion but it does seem to localise it, the blackened rubber pirate flopping to the ground
‘Ow’ Luffy groans slightly as he pulls himself to his feet
‘This is on you kid, if you hadn’t pissed me off so badly I might have shown mercy and killed you quickly, but no, you had to be a pain in my ass so now you’re going to suffer’ he laughs as he makes another swing, Luffy trying to fight back… and getting tossed back again. This repeats itself several times: Don swings at Luffy, our boy hits the ground a smoking lump, he stands back up and the process restarts, each time Luffy was smiling like an escaped mental patient while Kreig was getting even madder if that were possible.
‘You bastard, why won’t you die!!!!!’ he practically screams as he puts his all into another swing, shocked beyond belief when Luffy kicks it aside, sure it still exploded but when the dust settled the spear’s tip shattered like glass ‘What? How? My battle spear, what have you done!’
‘I just punched it in the head 5 times’ Luffy answers with a smirk ‘Maybe it’s time to let it rest. It’s my turn to fight now’
‘Damn this kid might actually win’ one of the cooks says with a smile
‘He broke the mighty battle spear’
‘Does Krieg even have anything bigger?’
‘I think we’re nearly done here’ Luffy thinks aloud ‘Now I broke your spear at least’
‘Hm, you think?’
‘Yeah, without the tip all you’ve got is a bomb on a stick, which while odd isn’t really a problem for me’ he replies with a grin
‘Oh really?’ Kreig clenches his teeth
‘Yep’
‘Well I think this bomb on a stick is still good enough to send you to kingdom come in little pieces’
Luffy shrugs ‘Well you can try, it’s not going to work but come on, knock yourself out’
‘You mock me kid, YOU’VE SIGNED YOUR OWN DEATH WARRANT!’ Krieg yells as he charges at the boy, slamming down where he was but Luffy had already pulled himself up onto the mast above him ‘You monkey!’ Kreig sneers as he swings at the support
‘Actually yes, yes I am’ Luffy says with a grin taking the moment he was in the air to charge up an attack on the way down
Gum Gum Gattling
The barrage of punches all connect with Kreig’s golden armour, but the man seems unimpressed even laughing when Luffy finally lands ‘Was that supposed to impress me kid? This is wootz steel armour, practically indestructible’
Luffy flashes a grin ‘Practically’ he then charges straight for the golden bastard in a move that for anyone else would be both stupid and suicidal
Gum Gum Pistol
The clash sounded like a bell as both fighters stood stock still in silence, until one sound shocked everyone
crack
The so called invincible armour shattered like glass as Luffy bounced away, Kreig’s large frame falling like a sack of bricks without the rubber pirate to hold him up
‘Opps, I think I broke it, guess it’s not so unbreakable after all’ Luffy comments with his face in a thinking position (a rare sight given Luffy’s fighting style and general, straightforward outlook on things), the cooks cheer while the Kreig pirates gap in horror at their leader defeated
‘He, he actually won’ Gin gasps
‘Of course he did, he’s the captain’ Zoro smiles before devolving into a coughing fit, Kaya and Ginseng getting him to lie down again.
‘Good work brat’ Zeff grunts, a tiny smile flickers across his face as Luffy walks over to them, the boy’s straw hat held in the cooks hands.
‘Thanks old guy’ Luffy flashes him a ‘D’ grin as he puts back on his signature hat
‘NO!!! I AM THE GREATEST I CAN’T BE BEATEN I AM UNSTOPABLE!’ everyone turns to the frantic yelling as Krieg stand up, his body moving but it was clear the lights were on but nobody was home. The empty shell of anger a pride stomped in the direction of the ship, constantly yelling about his greatness and his strength
‘Ah crap’ Luffy groans as he turns, nearly stumbling until Patty grabs the back of his shirt
‘He’s not even conscious’
‘Don Kreig never give up’
The body of Kreig fnally reaches Baratie once more, but doesn’t make another step before taking one more impact to the face ‘I’ve had it with your arrogance young man, take a long nap’
‘Boots stained red’
‘With the blood of his enemies’
‘Red Foot Zeff still lives’
Sanji, surprised by the declaration actually looks down and would you believe it: Zeff was standing there, his peg leg and his boot covering in blood from shattering Kreig’s jaw and busting his nose just a few seconds ago ‘I may be old, but I’m not infirm… yet’ he says before turning to re-enter the restaurant as though nothing happened.
With Kreig finally down for the count Gin retook command rather easily, basically he just yelled ‘Men, we’re leaving’ and they followed suit, anything to get away from the rubber boy and ‘Red Foot’.
Later
‘Alright everyone, soups on!’ Patty yells at his usual ear-splitting volume and everyone came to the table, even Luffy Kaya and Zoro, the latter still under the watchful eyes of both doctors. The problem was they ran out of chairs so Sanji found himself sitting between the rubber food black hole and the sheepish doctor, not that he minded the second of those options. Well that was the first problem, then…
‘Hey who prepared the soup?’ Patty asks
‘Oh that was me, it’s pretty good isn’t it’ Sanji announces happily, even Luffy could see the joy he gets from cooking as well as actually being acknowledged for it
‘You’re kidding right, this slop should’ve been tossed overboard, I might never get the taste out of my mouth’ the Popeye cook spits in Sanji’s direction, the blond clenches his fists and grits his teeth
‘There’s nothing wrong with my soup, it’s perfectly prepared as always’ Sanji manages to get out in a semi calm tone, just before Carnie spits his mouthful of soup out
‘Jeez Sanji, are you trying to kill us with this crap?’
After him came a full house of complaints about the food, all the while the Straw hats continued to eat and wonder what the Hell these guys were talking about, sure they had higher standards than Luffy, but that doesn’t mean Sanji’s food was bad.
The final straw came from Zeff, who actually finished his bowl… and promptly tossed it on the floor
‘That soup tasted worse than bathwater, we’d be out of business in days if we searved that crap’
‘You lying bastard!’ Sanji yells grabbing Zeff by his collars ‘What makes my soup any worse that the stuff you serve every day?’
Zeff sneers ‘You think we’re the same?’ he then surprises Sanji by backhanding him, knocking him to the floor ‘You’re at least a century behind me in terms of skill. Don’t flatter yourself’ he then waves his hand in the direction of their pirate guests.
Kaya gently sipped the soup, her nose crinkles but she continues
‘See’ Zeff grunts ‘Even the girl can’t stand eating your swill’ Sanji bites through his cigarette as he storms out
Luffy blinks ‘This stuff is really good, what’s wrong Kaya?’
The blond sighs ‘It’s delicious, but I’ve been eating simple and plain food for so long, I don’t know how much of this lovely rich food I can handle’
Zoro, under orders from Kaya and Ginseng to take it easy, nods in agreement with the rubber boy ‘If this is crap, I’ll gladly eat crap from now on’
Luffy grins widely before turning to Zeff ‘Hey chef guy, why’d you lie to Sanji about his food?’
Zeff sighs as he sits at the table ‘That boy’s the 2nd best cook on this boat, and seeing as the girl’s the only one who won’t burn water…’
‘Hey!’ Zoro yells angrily, while Luffy chuckles remembering Kaya and Kaos chasing him off after that incident (Don’t ask, just chalk it up to the enigma that is Monkey D. Luffy)
‘… I can set aside my pride long enough to say he has the potential to surpass me one day’
‘Oh I get it, except why if he’s so good you tell him his food is sh*t?’
‘To get him to leave of course’ Zeff answers ‘The kid thinks he owes me so much that he can’t go live his life. If you take the brat with you I’ll be very grateful’
‘Nope’ Luffy says seriously
‘WHAT?’ Everyone yells
‘I won’t accept you throwing Sanji at me; he needs to want to go for me to bring him’
‘Then it’s a good thing I’m going to go’ the blond announces from the doorway, Luffy’s eyes shining
‘Really?’
‘Yeah you rubber bastard’ he answers, rolling his eyes at the boy ‘And you…’ he turns to Zeff ‘Was it really, really that hard to say my food was good? I mean I should’ve known these morons were lying with all that bad acting they were doing, but still’
Zeff hits him with his peg leg ‘Don’t get co*cky eggplant, I said you had potential, you’re still a sh*tty cook’
Before Sanji could retort there was a commotion outside, which turned out to be Yosaku and a fish
Big bro Luffy! We found her, we found where Big Sis Nami and Big Bro Kaos are’ he yelled half excited, half fearful
‘Really, where are they?’
Yosaku gulped ‘Arlong Park’
TBC
LW: Well here we go, the Shark bastard is coming, or I suppose Luffy is coming for shark bastard’s head.
Ginseng isn’t a real character, I just made him up because every ship needs a doctor, Zeff should know this. So tada now he has one :D. He can thank me the next time he’s in the story (not next chapter, though he is in the next chapter)
Yes when Zeff refers to Luffy’s predecessor he means Roger, as he was there when Luffy declared his dream of being the Pirate King.
Chapter 12: Operation Rescue Nami (part 1)
Chapter Text
LW: Here we are a more filler /expositional chapter but they can’t all have sh*t happening.
Rubber King and Mirror master – Operation Rescue Nami
‘Bye guys, thanks for all the meat’ Luffy yells as he hops onto Sanji’s boat, Zoro already sleeping on deck, which Kaya rolls her eyes to. They were sitting for a few minutes before Sanji casually strolls out of the restaurant, sidestepping Patty and Carne trying to attack him and dropping his things on deck
‘Well time to go’ he mumbles, sucking in a lung full of smoke
‘You don’t need to say goodbye or anything?’ Luffy asks with a confused look on his face
‘Nah I’m good’
‘Sanji’ he freezes ‘Take care of yourself’ Zeff says a small smile on his face. Tears leak down Sanji’s cheeks as he tries to hold it together, his head finally putting together he was leaving a place he’d called home for so many years, possibly never to see it again.
‘Thanks Chef Zeff’ Sanji says as he practically prostrates himself before the restaurant, tears streaming down his face ‘You taught me everything I know that’s worth knowing, I can never repay you for that’ he stands and looks up at the man, still as stone ‘I don’t know why I expected anything’ he sighs and steps onto the boat ‘Bye pops’
Drip drip drip drip drip dirp
‘Sanji you sh*tty eggplant!’ the blond turns and is shocked to see the old man cry ‘Men part without tears or fanfare, but look at me now. You will always be an annoying brat… and the son I never thought I’d ever want. Find the All Blue and even if you don’t you’ll do me proud’ the former pirate sniffles ‘now get out of my sight before I have to kick you all out myself!’
‘You got it old guy’ Luffy cheers, grabbing Sanji and pulling him onto the boat, then setting off following Yosaku’s directions.
The Going Merry
Nami sighs ‘Those guys were idiots, but they were nice. I hope I see them again some day’
‘Knowing Luffy I can guarantee it’ll be sooner than later’ Nami freezes as Kaos steps out on deck ‘Hey Nami’
‘How’d you get on this ship?’ she asks, readying her bow staff
‘Through the mirror in your room, by the way you probably shouldn’t leave your underwear just hanging off of it like that, well I assume that was yours, Kaya doesn’t have enough weight on her bones yet to have a bust that size but if I’m wrong you can move it from your bed to hers’ the Merry’s former 1st mate grinning the entire time, well until he sees Nami’s bare arms ‘Ah that explains it’
Nami tries to hide it with her hand as she tensely asks ‘What are you talking about?’
‘I will never be a pirate, those people sicken me. The only thing I hate more than pirates are marines’ he quotes, Nami surprised Luffy told him about that ‘The only thing I’m unsure of is whether the hate is directed inward at yourself, or outward towards your master’ his smile is gone, which despite her anger worries her.
Port, a little while later
‘Nami’ a goldfish fishman greets her as he and a nurse shark fishman board the Merry ‘What you doing here with such a nice ship?’
Nami laughs slightly ‘from my last mark, idiots got off the ship and didn’t realise I wasn’t with them till I was already too far to stop me’
The goldfish taps the side ‘Good quality wood, either fetch a good price or be great for spare par… K…gurgle’ he didn’t finish the sentence, mostly due to the hand impaled through both his and his companion’s lung
‘Merry’s not for sale’ Kaos hissed, physically tearing out his left lung while simply sliding his hand out of the other
‘What the Hell was that for?’ Nami yells at the man she now regrets not trying to shove overboard
‘No witnesses. We toss them overboard and not only does nobody know about Merry, but if we move the ship a little nobody would even suspect they died on this ship’ the purple haired pirate explains
Crack
Kaos barely shifts, only moving his hand to the back of his head to check for blood ‘You do know when this is over I’m paying you back for all this crap in full?’ he hisses almost tiredly
Crack
The only straw hat on deck turns his head with a smirk ‘Is that it? I don’t know why Arlong keeps you around; a flirty virgin who can’t fight and clearly doesn’t think her actions through, or more importantly the consequences of said actions. Are your maps really that good Tanjerin-baka?’
Crack Thud
Whether it was the strike to the face, the fact it was the 3rd blow to the head in about as many minutes or that Nami’s rage translated into power the ginger navigator finally brought him down
Back on Sanji’s boat
‘You people are too chipper, are you f*cking insane? Don’t you know every second edges us closer to the infamous Arlong and near certain death?’ Yosaku yells at a cheerfully bouncing Luffy and lightly sleeping Zoro, Sanji and Kaya just watching passively.
‘That’s nice, when’s lunch?’ Luffy asks as he stretches, clicking his back along the way.
‘I’ll go get it started’ Sanji replies as he stands up
‘Oh come on! None of you know who Arlong is?’ Yosaku asks, getting shrugs from everyone ‘Jeez. Here it is: Arlong is a fishman who used to destroy everything in his path back on the Grand Line…’
‘What’s a fishman?’ Kaya asks quietly, but not quiet enough
‘You guys don’t know what fishmen are?’ Yosaku asks
‘Are they like this?’ Luffy asks, holding up a drawing of a fish with arms and legs, getting chuckles from Zoro and Sanji while Kaya giggles behind her hand
‘You idiots have the attention span of 4 year olds! Okay let’s start at the top; The Grand line is known as the pirate graveyard because of Arlong and the other 2 powers, following so far?’
‘Yeah I suppose’ Luffy answers with a shrug
‘Now listen, ever heard of the 7 Warlords of the Sea, or the Shichibukai?’ asked Yosaku seriously as he does 7 shadows appear to represent them: 2 were monstrously huge, one of which was a fairly blobby shape while the other a solidly built male, another was tall and lanky, one was a rather round shape, the sole female identifiable by… well having breasts at least the size of her head, (at least Hanco*ck’s easy to identify) and finally there was a man about Kaos’ height with a hook like weapon and Mihawk, identifiable by his signature hat.
‘I think Kaos mentioned them when he was talking to Kuro’ Kaya volunteered, the other 2 nod and Sanji shrugs
‘The 7 Warlords are pirates who operate with authority from the World Government’
Sanji raises a curly brow ‘Seriously? What pirate would want that?’
‘They do it for protection: the government looks away for a cut of their treasure, and allow them to do as they please as long as they follow direct orders from the WG, such as taking out other pirates. Sure to some pirates they’re WG lapdogs, but they wouldn’t have been chosen / selected unless they had the strength to back up the Government’s stamp of approval. Now you’ve already met one of them, Dracule Hawkeye Mihawk’
Luffy was bouncing around like a child on a sugar high ‘These guys sound so cool, I can’t wait to meet all 7 of them!’ he cheers
‘There’s one named Jinbei, a whale shark fishman, he’s the captain of the Fishman pirates and a real menace, easily causing as much destruction as Arlong’
‘Is this him?’ Luffy asks showing off another picture
‘That’s the same picture, just the guy’s standing up’ Zoro complains, to which Luffy maturely sticks his tongue out in response
‘Since coming to the East Blue, Arlong has taken control of over 20 towns, his power is so monstrously huge he makes everyone you’d faced look like children, even Don Krieg’
‘Why would Nami go after a guy like that?’ Kaya asks
‘I told you, for his 20 million beri bounty, that’s probably the highest of anyone in the East Blue’ Yosaku answers
‘Oh wouldn’t it be great if Nami was a mermaid?’ Sanji swoons as he daydreams
‘She’d look like this’ Luffy declares, revealing a picture of his previous fishman with Nami’s haircut
‘Tear that up you bastard!’ Sanji orders through gritted teeth
Arlong Park
When Kaos finally came to he found someone had bound his arms and ankles, sitting up he sees the fishmen (and Nami) all around him, in his own case facing a shark fishman, sitting like a king in front of a yellow building, the words ‘Arlong Park’ legible even from this distance/angle.
Kaos groans as he tries to find a comfortable position, looking at the grinning shark ‘You Arlong?’ he asks
‘Yes. I am Arlong, ruler of these islands. What brings you to my domain?’
‘Just retrieving our navigator for the Captain, ship kind of got away from us’ he smirks
‘Chew, you really expect us to believe that human?’ another fishman scoffs and oddly enough Kaos’ eyes sparkle
‘See Nami, if they let in someone who ate the Duck Duck fruit you should be just fine’ he grins even as Chew goes from blue to red
‘Human!’ he yells, but Arlong’s cackle stops him
‘You’re a strange human and I almost respect that, plus there’s the matter of your debt. Those fishmen you killed were luckily the weakest of my crew but you still need to pay for what you did. You will work off that debt working with my navigator, being the brawn to her brains. After all a brute like you could be about as strong as a teen fishman’ he cackles
‘Can you give the speciest superiority dogma a rest for a few minutes or something?’ Nami sighs as she steps into view ‘Some of us have to actually exist as a human.
‘Of course Nami, but would it kill you to lighten up even a little? You know I don’t include you, your skills are so much more superior to the rest of your species I couldn’t do anything but make you my navigator’
‘Hey Nami, these thugs didn’t damage the Merry did they?’ Kaos asks, confusing Arlong
‘How do you know my navigator?’
‘Better question: How do you know OUR navigator? He replies
‘Nami, care to explain this’ Arlong asks, waving his hands in Kaos’ oddly relaxed direction
‘Don’t worry boss, he’s just another sucker who thought he’d be the exception to the countless other pirates I’ve picked clean of valuables. The fact he followed me here is as sad as it is impressive don’t you think, like a puppy, or whatever you fishmen have as an equivilent’ Nami answers, some of the fishemen in the area chuckling at her description
Kaos’ lip curls ‘I told Luffy we should have left you on the island’
Nami laughs ‘Yeah, Miss Nami, you’re services will not be required or some crap. But the captain still wanted me, so you were stuck’
‘You’re fresh out of luck human. Nami’s cold blooded as any fishman, even sold out her own family for money’ Nami freezes as Arlong says that, laughing as usual afterwards
Kaos frowns; he didn’t like this Nami, not one bit. Nami was supposed to be greedy, treasure obsessed and kind of a bunt, sarcastic and quick to anger, usually due to Luffy or Usopp being idiots, Zoro’s laziness or his intentional attempts to piss her off. This Nami was an ice sculpture with a hole in her heart you could herd a sea king through if you were so inclined… or were somehow able to.
‘Well if you’re in the business of selling humans how much for the red head? I know purity increases the value but overall personality should even it all out’ he jokes, getting the intended reaction when Nami punches his head into the ground.
‘He’s co*cky I’ll give him that’
‘Especially for a human, chew’
‘I’m not for sale asshole!’ Nami yells with pointed teeth
‘While I usually don’t like being spoken for she has a point, Nami is part of my crew, and therefore she’s not for sale’
‘It was worth a shot, oh and Nami thought you should get this message in person; Luffy is coming, not even I could stop him if I wanted to. Might want to start counting the days’ his smirk nearly reaches his ears, pointed teeth interlocking in a cracked mirror of the fishman in front of him
The fishmen looked confused and the purplette noticed their navigator pale just a bit.
‘Whelp I’d better go then’ before Nami can react she receives a kick to the face before Kaos catapults himself into the pool leading out to sea. To the surprise of most of the fishmen once she righted herself Nami dove in after him, disappearing for longer than they thought a human could last under before finally surfacing
‘Nami, what the hell was that about?’ Arlong demands an answer
‘Even if he could have freed his arms the bastard was a Devil Fruit user so he as screwed either way. Only reason I jumped in was because he had some kind of weird shape shifting sword, must’ve been worth a lot. Shame he sank like a stone. If you want it I’m sure one of you superior fishmen can retrieve it later’
Arlong tenses ‘How? How could some worthless human like that find the Hebi…’ he doesn’t even finish the thought; the human was a trickster nothing more and on the off chance it was true he’d send one of his men to salvage it and give him the ultimate weapon, it’s curse would kill inferior humans but a fishman should have not trouble taming it’s power.
Between scenes
Surfacing not far from Arlong Park Nami wastes no time hitting Kaos again in the face ‘Dumb ass! What did you do that for?’
‘I knew you wouldn’t let me die Nami, you’re kind of a bitch but you’re not the stone hearted monster you and long nose claim to be’
Nami’s quiet for a minute before speaking again ‘Why are you here? Why come for me when you admit you think you should have left me in Orange Town?
Kaos sighs ‘I still do, you’re causing us a lot of trouble ginger quim. But regardless of that, just like Luffy I believe in the idea of crew being family, nakama. We don’t have to get along all the time and can even act like we hate everyone or a certain someone else on board… but you’re there when it counts, because you know we will be as well. Like I said back there, Luffy’s coming and with him your freedom from that bastard Arlong’ he smirks until Nami punches him in the shoulder
‘Idiot. Arlong’s a fishman, no human can…’ Kaos slaps her across the face
‘Don’t underestimate Luffy, or me. Get your coat, pack your bags and be ready to go, because we’re not leaving this island without you’
‘Idiots the lot of them’ Nami mutters but does nothing further
‘You should go’ Kaos says, pointing to Arlong Park ‘Humans can’t last this long underwater’ he smirks then watches her leave before standing up ‘Now where the f*ck are the other humans on this island?’ he thinks aloud, heading in the opposite direction to Arlong Park.
TBC
LW: Well there it was, more for everyone :D
Also as much as enjoyed Zoro and Nami’s little squabble in Arlong Park, he’s on the boat with Luffy so I had to make do with Kaos. I think he had fun.
Also is it weird at this point in time that Arlong was considered on par with any of the WarLords, even more so Jinbei? Ha!
Chapter 13: Operation Rescue Nami (part 2)
Chapter Text
LW: Well I got no cool title ideas so for now we continue the previous name. Enjoy
Rubber king and Mirror master – Operation Rescue Nami (part 2)
Sanji’s boat
‘Grubs up!’ Sanji calls, bringing out a tray of food for the crew
‘Yay! Meat’ Luffy cheers, Kaya giggling at his enthusiasm as he digs in, despite Sanji’s attempts to slow him down, Zoro smirks tiredly while Yosaku still sits tensely
The relative calm is broken by a loud rumble, followed by ripples and a shadow under the surface, indicating something large was approaching
‘Sea King!’ Yosaku yells, everyone tensing or reaching for a weapon until it surfaces…
‘More like a Sea Cow’ Sanji deadpans and he was right, the creature did have a head resembling a cow, even down to the ring in its nose
Meanwhile
‘Mooshoo!’ An octopus fishman calls, waving a cooked pig around ‘Where is he? He’s never late for dinner’ he scratches his head and keeps yelling
Back with the Straw Hats
‘I think he’s hungry’ Kaya suggests, seeing it gaze longingly at the plate
BAM
‘Hands off it’s ours!’ Luffy yells, giving the Sea Cow a lump on its head
‘That was rude Luffy, relax there’s plenty of food to go around’ Sanji scolds, before offering some to the sea cow, when…
BAM
‘Sanji!’ Kaya yells
‘Bastard nearly bit my hand off’ he grumbles as the animal whimpers with 2 lumps on its head
‘Hey, this thing could help us get to Nami and the others’ Luffy grins as he stretches out and grabs the sea cow by it’s horns, holding him steady while the others attach the ropes ‘Onward Adventure!’ he yells, the fearfully beaten Sea Cow towing the strange humans into land
A little while later, at the island
‘Why is there never anyone around when you’re looking for directions?’ Kaos thinks before freezing ‘Luffy’ he grins but then has to jump out of the way to avoid getting run over by the boat they were on ‘Holy crap! Sigh, only you Monkey’ he chuckles, running over to the wreckage of a ship they’d just broke.
‘Kaos! We found you. Did you see Usopp or Johnny?’ Luffy yells as him and the others get out of the boat
‘Sorry Luffy but I haven’t even found town yet, never mind whoever else you sent after Nami’
Luffy pouts, then grins ‘Oh, well I guess we’ll just have to look for them together.’
Kaos nods and sighs ‘Let’s hope they haven’t gotten into any trouble, these fishmen seem the kind to kill first ask questions later’ he grumbles as Kaya dusts herself off and Yosaku helps Zoro to his feet. The group had just gotten ready to move when they had another interruption in the form of their missing bounty hunter
‘Johhny, but where’s Usopp?’ Zoro thinks aloud, the others having similar thoughts
‘Usopp’s dead’ Johnny yells ‘Nami killed him!’
Kaya freezes and turns a sickly grey colour ‘Usopp’s dead?’
‘He’s gone, he’s dead, I saw the whole thing. Nami just straight up murdered him’
SLAM ‘ow’ THUD
‘Why’d you do that?’ Zoro and Yosaku yell after Johnny falls to the ground from being kicked in the face by Kaos
‘I’m curious too, I mean I was about to do the same for bad mouthing Nami but you’ Sanji wonders
‘Because Nami didn’t kill him’
Zoro scoffs ‘Don’t tell me she’s got you bewitched too, don’t even see how someone as small as her would appeal to you’
The purplette rolls his eyes ‘That’s not what I meant dumbass. Nami won’t kill, she also can’t just let someone die nearby, as I know personally’ he explains, getting confused looks
‘So you nearly drowned and I pulled you out, that make me a saint or something?’
‘Nami!’ Everyone yells, Luffy and Kaos having to stop Kaya from shooting the ginger thief
‘If by nearly drowned you mean kicked you in the face and made a daring aquatic escape and by pulled out you mean dived in after me and dragged me out of Arlong Park then yes’ Kaos answers, sidestepping a kick from Sanji but gets punched in the head by Luffy ‘Ow’
‘You could have died’ Luffy states
‘I trusted our navigator, is that wrong?’
‘Of course not, shishishi’ Luffy laughs
‘f*cking idiots. Just get out of here before you cause any more damage’
Luffy frowns ‘We’re not leaving till we get you back and we’re all on the deck of the Merry heading for the GrandLine, something we need our navigator for’
Nami groans and resists pinching her nose ‘Listen here you morons, I’m Arlong’s navigator, I’m not leaving with you so get out of here before what happened to Usopp happens to you too!’
Before either could respond Kaya had stolen back on of her guns and pointed it at Nami’s head ‘So it’s true then, that it was you who killed Usopp?’ she asks, her voice steel even if her hands still shook
Nami smiles mirthlessly ‘Yep, thanks to me that little coward is sleeping with the fishes’ her smirk and confidence vanishes though when Kaos’ grip on her wrists steady Kaya’s aim
‘Why are you so willing to die for something you didn’t do? What did that long nosed f*ckface do to you?’ he asks, surprisingly sympathetically
‘Leave, I don’t care how strong you think you are but these are fishmen a handful of kind of strong humans don’t stand a chance’
Luffy smiles slightly while Kaos grins ‘Here that little monkey, we might get a real workout while we’re here.’ The captain nods energetically
‘I don’t know why I’m even trying with these headcases. Arlong will tear you apart, so turn around and leave, never return’ she says emotionlessly
Kaos sighs ‘You know what, you’re not even part of the crew anymore so I don’t have to take this I’m going for a walk’ he says causing Nami to blink
‘What! You’re just going to take a walk?’
‘Bye, see you later, try not to kill anyone else’ Luffy waves
‘No promises’
Nami turns red ‘Hey! Don’t ignore me!’ she swings her bo staff… but Kaos caught the end and with barely a moment shoved it back, the other end slamming into the navigator’s gut. He then continued to walk off as if nothing happened
‘So, still not coming?’ Luffy asks, Nami grits her teeth as she holds in her anger
‘Get it through that rubber head of yours, I’m not going anywhere! The whole reason I joined was to make money and it was always going to end with me stealing everything that wasn’t nailed down. Now you’re of no use to me, so take your ship, get out of my site, find a navigator dumb enough to join your little band of misfits and then go on your insane journey along the Grand Line’ she practically hisses
Luffy response, surprisingly was to keel over backwards lying on the ground looking up at the clouds.
‘The f*ck?’ was the collective thoughts of everyone present
‘I’m not going to get involved with what’s happening on the island, but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving without my navigator. Seems taking a nap is the best option’ he explains, before pushing his hat over his eyes to keep out the sun
‘FINE YOU WANT TO DIE SO BADLY BE MY GUEST!!’ Nami screams before running off, leaving a pissed off Kaya and Zoro along with a confused Johnny, Yosaku and Sanji.
A little while later
‘…honestly I always thought she was a small time crook who couldn’t watch someone die never mind kill them, but then again she has spent the last few weeks around Luffy so maybe she just snapped’ Zoro says, meditating beside Luffy’s sleeping and Kaya’s cloud gazing forms.
Sanji nods ‘Yeah….wait a minute!’ he yells jumping forward into a kick
‘NAMI’S NOT SMALL!’
‘Is that all you heard Eros?’
SLAM!
‘Usopp!’
‘You’re alive!’ Kaya and Luffy yell as the long nosed teen falls to the ground
‘Well he was’ Zoro deadpans, poking him with the toe of his boot and as glad as everyone else when he twitched and groaned
Usopp, you can’t possibly know how happy I am you’re alive’ Kaya whimpers as she holds the weak sniper close, Sanji privately steaming that the long nosed liar got to be held by sweet Kaya.
‘Not that I’m not happy to see you but we heard you were dead, what happened?’ Zoro asks, Luffy nodding in agreement
‘Nami tricked those fishmen, she stabbed her hand and then hit me with it so it looked like I was bleeding. I swam away the second I was out of sight’ Usopp explains, Kaya turning a sickly grey once more
‘I tried to kill her and she hadn’t even done anything wrong?’ she asks rhetorically, Usopp pulling her into an embrace before she could collapse
‘Hey, hey Kaya it’s fine, you didn’t know she didn’t actually kill me and you didn’t kill her so everything’s fine’ he says comfortingly
‘Only because Luffy and Kaos stopped me’ she sniffles
‘Well now that’s all been cleared up, let’s go kick some extra scaly ass’ Sanji’s announcement was met with agreement from the rest of the crew
‘Oh no you don’t!’ everyone turns back up the road where a woman with light blue hair and tattoos is looking at them angrily (Hm, wonder if Belle-mère gave lessons?)
TBC
LW: Yeah this was a short one, the episodes and my notes gave me a cliffy moment and I was a little busy this fortnight so I took the easy way out. Hopefully there will just be one more of these before your regularly scheduled OP beat downs (One of the things One Piece is famous for, mostly because boobs are normal sized till the middle of the Grand Line) as well as normal length chapters for anyone who has problems with the current size.
Also I skipped Ussop’s adventure because it was the same as in canon.
Chapter 14: Operation Rescue Nami (part 3)
Chapter Text
LW: Well here we go, last chapter before Luffy and the gang start kicking people’s ass and we get a very special reveal.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Operation Rescue Nami (part 3)
‘Attacking Arlong park is suicide. That fishman can’t be defeated’ the bluenette continues
‘Nojiko!’ Usopp gasps
‘Do you know her Usopp?’ Kaya asks in confusion
‘She’s Nami’s sister’ was his answer, and Sanji reacted accordingly
‘Nami’s sister, no wonder she’s such a specimen of divine beauty’ he swoons
‘Don’t get involved in this issue, it won’t end well for you. I think it’s best I explain the situation’
Kaya looks worrued ‘Situation? You mean why Nami joined Arlong, you can tell us?’
Nojiko nods ‘Sure, and if that doesn’t send you running I don’t know what will
‘Sorry I’ll pass, maybe Kaos was right and a walk will do me good’ Luffy mutters as he stands
‘Luffy, you don’t want to know Nami’s backstory?’ Usopp asks, surprised when his captain shrugs
‘Hey Nojiko, will listening to you tell me this story change my plans in any way?’ her response was silence ‘That’s what I thought, I don’t care about Nami’s past or how she got here, I can’t do anything about it, what I do care about is Nami now and how I’m going to kick Arlong’s ass for everything he’s done to her’ with that he walks away
‘Weird kid’ Nojiko thinks ‘Stubborn too’
‘Don’t worry about it; it’s just the way the Captain is. You can tell us but I guarantee it won’t change our resolve or make us run like you want us to’ Zoro says before sitting against a tree.
With Luffy gone Nojiko begins her tale: telling them about Bele-mere, the former marine who found them in a war zone and took them under her wing, who was stubborn as karioseki and flirty just for the fact it unnerved people, mostly Genzo. About how her family was poor but got by (for the most part)… until the fishmen arrived. Usopp already knew about the tribute money but Nojiko went on to explain that there hadn’t been enough money for their little family, so Bele-mere sacrificed herself, using the money to pay to keep the 2 of them alive, though not before giving her best shot against Arlong, not that it did anything. How Arlong took Nami as part of his crew and the deal Nami made to buy the village from him for 100,000,000 beri. When she finished her story Kaya and Usopp were crying, Sanji was so angry he was practically steaming and while it didn’t show on his face, Zoro’s knuckles were white on Wado’s hilt, in the bushes nearby Yosaku and Johnny cried silently.
‘They’re not going to care’ Zoro says after Nojiko once more tells them to stay out of Nami’s business ‘Luffy’s claimed her as his navigator and I think Kaos has managed to find a way to banter with the witch, not that either would admit it. You can say anything you want to us, the captain has the final say and he’s already decided to retrieve her’ despite his anger he smiles, knowing if one thing is for certain, it’s that Luffy will NEVER give up on a crewmate, and Kaos will gladly tear through as many of those fishmen as he can along the way (and Zoro doesn’t even know about the 2 he’s already killed since getting here O_O)
Nami & Nojiko’s grove/orchard/thing (the anime isn’t sure what it is either so how the Hell should I know?)
‘Are you the one known as the pirate thief Nami?’ Marine Captain Nezumi asks with a slimy tone that made Nami feel unclean ‘We have reason to believe you’ve hidden quite a sizable amount of plunder in this tangerine grove’ he smiles as Nami pales and Genzo’s jaw drops ‘Now you’ve stolen from pirates so we have no reason nor intention of arresting you, but theft is still a crime. So we’ll be taking all your ill gotten gains on behalf of the World Government, give it to us right now!’ he orders.
Nami smirks ‘Nice to see where you’re priorities are, won’t deal with a gang of ruthless pirates, but will bring a platoon to steal from a girl just trying to get by’ she turns to them, showing her tattoo ‘With that in mind I really doubt you want to mess with the Arlong pirates, which is exactly what will happen if you continue with this course of action’
‘Chichichi, you really think I’m that stupid girilie, men find the money now!’ he yells and the marines follow suit, heading for the tangerines
Nami grits her teeth and reach for her staff ‘Hold it right there!’ she yells, a tic forming when they just walk past ‘I said STOP!’ this time punctuated with her bo staff being slammed into their face ‘Is this really what you should be doing right now? Arlong has over 20 islands in a strangle hold, and you ignore it all just to rob me’ she growls at Nezumi, who just smiles
‘Sir this orchard looks kind of suspicious, what do we do?’ one of the marines call over
‘Dig it up, the whole place if you have to’ the rat faced man answers dismissively… as Nami looses her sh*t
‘STAY THE f*ck AWAY FROM BELE-MERE’S TANGERINES!’ she screams as she rushes over, attacking any marine unlucky enough to find himself in her path ‘I WON’T LET YOU RUIN THIS PLACE, I WON’T LET YOU TAKE MY MONEY EITHER, THAT MONEY IS FOR… is for…’
‘That money is the only chance this village has at a future’ Genzo yells angrily ‘You come here and have the gall to try take it away from us when you won’t even raise a finger to fix the problem. Belle-mere is the only good marine to ever set foot in Cocoyashi’
Nami gasps ‘Genzo, you knew?’
The man sighs, his age showing in his face ‘I’ve always know. I couldn’t believe you’d join Arlong’s crew of your own free will, not after what he did to your mother. I managed to get the answers out of Nojiko, was easier than I thought, girl didn’t want to keep something like this a secret it was just too big. Everyone in the village knows, about how you’re part of Arlong’s crew to save us from his scaly clutches. But we swore we’d never say anything, we didn’t want you to know we were placing our hopes on your shoulders, it wasn’t right to burden you like that’
Nami just stares ‘Genzo, that can’t be true’ she barely mutters
‘So you mean to tell me this whole village is a den of thieves, and that I should take them all in to cut this blight from the island?’ rat face asks with a smug smirk
‘He’s saying the village is doing what it must to survive, especially when it has no other option as we can’t trust you government morons to tell us when it’s raining never mind deal with the pirates like your supposed to’ the marine turns to the source of the answer, seeing Nojiko walk into the tangerine field, every muscle tense ‘So if you’re not here to help us deal with the problem, get the f*ck off our property before I kick you out. And you might want to sail away before Arlong notices you and sinks your ship like the last 12’
‘Arlong will, chichichi’ Nezumi chuckles
A weight settles in Nami’s stomach as she hopes the thought running through her mind was just paranoia
‘Seriously how hard is it to find? It’s 100,000,000 beri not a lost ball!’ Nezumi yells, his words striking a cord with both Nami and Genzo
‘How’d you know how much was there?’ he asks to which the marine just smirks
‘I don’t, just making a guess chichichi’ he replies and Nami’s blood runs cold
‘He sold me out, Arlong betrayed me’ she thought angrily, even though the grip on her bo staff loosened
‘He sent you didn’t he? That fishman bastard Arlong?’ Genzo asks in a grave tone, causing Nezumi to gasp in offence
‘I would never do a pirates dirty work’ he smirks ‘I’m just a public servent dealing with crimes as is expected of me’
‘The marines have sunk pretty low if you’re the errand boy to a pirate’ Nojiko hisses
Before anything else can happen a voice calls from deep in the orchard ‘Sir we found it’
Nezumi’s mousy face is nearly split by his grin as he kneels by Nami’s hoard ‘My my I’m impressed you actually managed to obtain this much treasure. And 30% of this is all mine’
‘Don’t touch that. Don’t Touch That. DON’T TOUCH THAT. DON’T TOUCH THAT!’ Nami repeats over and over as she runs at the corrupt marine, Nojiko and Genzo trying to stop her before things can get worse (if that’s even possible)
‘This is what you get for interfering’ Mouseface shouts, pulling out his gun and firing
Prism
Bang Splat
They all stood frozen in shock as the marine to the right of mouseface’s head exploded due to the redirected bullet, Kaos stands to his full height, sidesteps Nojiko who Genzo pulls beside him and back to the village, and slowly walks up to the still fidgeting marine, a chrome coloured coating beginning to coat his right leg. Meanwhile Nami has already left, wanting to hear it straight from the shark’s mouth.
‘This is Nami’s money and her family’s tangerines. Get out!’ he growls, a shining kick sending the idiot far enough he wouldn’t be a problem for a while and his sub…grunts were all either dead, unconscious (due to Nami, Kaos and even a couple by Nojiko’s hand) or scared too badly to cause trouble, meaning Nami’s money was safe for the moment.
It was the main square before Nojiko was thinking coherently enough she could slap Genzo’s had away ‘Damn it Genzo I’m fine, nothing even happened!’ she practically screams at the man
‘I know but you were nearly shot and I wasn’t going to give that rat bastard another chance at a cheap shot’ Genzo replied tensely
‘Then why not grab Nami?’
He laughs humourlessly ‘Because unlike you Nami had a weapon, plus she managed to inherit ALL of Belle-mere’s stubbornness. It took both of us just to hold her in place and even that was a stretch, there was no way I was getting you both down here on my own’
‘Genzo, what’s going on?’ one of the villagers
‘The marines, they’re working with Arlong, they were here to take Nami’s money. He never planned to let her have the village, just stringing her along so she’ll work for him’ Genzo explains, the villagers gasp and swear
‘That bastard!’
‘Hurting our Nami like that’
‘Quiet!’ Nojiko yells ‘The time for standing around and letting someone else deal with our problem is over. We need to end this today’
‘She’s right. We’ve lay on our backs for too long, it’s time to take up arms and fight for our freedom!’ Genzo joins in, together they were rallying the village into a frenzy
‘Hey’ the crowd turned and saw Nami in front of them, panting heavily as if she’d run a marathon, tears still staining her cheeks ‘Everything will be fine, this is just a slight set back. I’ll just have to steal another 100 million, I’ve done it once already so it should be much easier this time around, quicker too’ she smiled widely, but even Luffy would see it was tight and forced
SLAM
‘Ow, is this how it feels for the guys? Guess Nojiko got Bele-mere’s smackdowns’ Nami clutches her head in pain from the strike, before Nojiko and Genzo pull her into an embrace
‘You’ve done enough idiot, now it’s up to us’ she whispers
‘I’m sorry you’ve had to bear the weight of our future on your back Nami. That ends right now, we’re going to do what should have been done 8 years ago’ Genzo adds, and Nami’s eyes start to water
Nami watches frozen as the entire village rushes of to fight Arlong, off to their deaths. It’s this moment when pain anguish and rage finally reach their boiling point inside the navigator, pulling her knife from her belt.
‘ARLONG! Arlong! Arlong!’ she yells each time she stabs the dagger into her tattoo, uncaring as to the damage she did to what lay underneath as long as his brand was mutilated beyond recognition. It was on her 4th swing that someone stopped her, removing the blade from her shock numbed fingers while another bandaged her arm, even if it wasn’t done well. Opening her eyes her tear filled eyes she gasps ‘Luffy? Kaos?’
‘Hey Nami’ the purplette greets as he tightens the bandage, what unnerved her was the blankness on their faces, they looked nothing almost nothing like the jovial idiots/dumbasses she’d known until now
‘Luffy’ his eyes meet hers, from under his hat ‘Help me’ she sniffles pathetically (in her mind at least)
Luffy’s smile returns for a second, even if it was much smaller than usual ‘That’s all I was looking for’ he says before Nami feels a weight on her head and he walks off
Bringing her hand up she freezes as her suspicions were confirmed ‘Luffy’s straw hat, but he values this thing almost more than his own life, he’s beaten people to a pulp for simply touching it’ she wonders why he left it with her as the brothers grab their team
‘Everyone ready?’ Luffy asks as he walks up to Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Kaya
‘As I’ll ever be’
‘Glad we finally get to the fighting’
‘Time to make sushi out of these fishman bastards’
‘Good. Kaya, try help Nami with her injury, the rest of us are going to go kick Arlong’s ass. Nobody makes our navigator cry and gets away with it’
The mob, consisting of the entirety of Cocoyashi village lead by Genzo and Nojiko made it all the way to the gates of Arlong Park before being stopped by unlikely sources: Johnny and Yosaku. Looking severely worse for wear, both were sitting in front of the entrance, their swords crossed in an X between them
‘Let us through!’ one of the villagers yell
‘No way, you wouldn’t stand a chance’ Yosaku replies
‘We already tried; we heard what Arlong did to Big Sis Nami and wanted to make him pay. We al… we got the absolute sh*t beat out of us for trying. You may have the numbers but Arlong could beat you all single-handedly’ Johnny adds
‘Then why are you here? Trying to scare people off?’ Nojiko asks
‘No we’re waiting’
‘There are probably a handful of people in the entire East Blue who can stand up to fishmen and lucky for you these guys are on the island for the same reason as we are. And here they come now’
The villagers part by the sheer prescience of these 5 people, none more so than the Little and Large of the group [Until Chopper joins Luffy was the youngest of the Straw Hats and he’s shorter than Usopp, by about an inch or so. Already mentioned Kaos is 8ft and 19, same age as Zoro and Sanji]
‘So how do you want to deal with this?’ Luffy asks, referring to the door
‘We should probably knock, right Sanji?’ Kaos asks with a smirk
‘It’s only polite; we’re not savages after all’ the chef replies around his cigarette
The 2 nod before kicking the door, sending it flying across Arlong Park, even wrecking the wall on the other side and knocking out a couple of fishmen in it’s path
‘Hey! Which one of you is Arlong?’ Luffy yells from the now totalled entranceway, the fishman in question surprised but also curious
‘That would be me!’ He announces from his throne wondering what laughable actions this weak looking human was going to do
He did not expect a punch strong enough to both hurt him and knock him off his chair
‘That’s for making our navigator cry!’
‘Who are you? And more importantly what are you? No human should be able to punch that hard’ he thinks as he stands up
‘Monkey D. Luffy, the guy who’s going to be kicking your ass this morning’
TBC
LW: Do the guys know how to make an entrance or what? They also know how to destroy one too. (Poor attempt at humour is poor)
Also did anyone, while watching the flashback wish Bele-mere had just shot Arlong in the face instead of talked to him? I sure do. Don’t know how much damage it would have done but better than nothing.
When Nami mentions Luffy beating the crap out of people for so much as touching his hat, she’s referring to Orange Town when they 1st met. I didn’t mention it because it wasn’t important; it was basically Luffy oneshots 3 nobodies and moving swiftly on.
New powers/techniques
Prism: By activating his powers in 2 separate, unconnected parts of his body, usually the palms of his hands, it can bridge the gap and form something akin to a gateway, moving objects from one patch to the other. What this means in the case of this chapter is the bullet hit one patch and was shot out of the other. This technique is basically me running with my brain asking; If they can dodge things with Haki later, why not be able to move into the line of fire? Also seeing as I mentioned it like a second ago, yes it’s a bit of a luck based ability at the moment as to whether he can get it to work or not, but as the series progresses (and like everyone else he learns at least some haki) he’ll get better on those occasions in which this skill is actually used. Probably won’t be using it too often.
Chapter 15: Arlong's General's: Ray, Octopus & Lips
Chapter Text
LW: Well here we go, fight!
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Arlong’s generals: Ray, Octopus and Lips
Previously on RK & MM
‘Hey! Which one of you is Arlong?’ Luffy yells from the now totalled entranceway, the fishman in question surprised but also curious
‘That would be me!’ He announces from his throne wondering what laughable actions this weak looking human was going to do
He did not expect a punch strong enough to both hurt him and knock him off his chair
‘That’s for making our navigator cry!’
‘Who are you? And more importantly what are you? No human should be able to punch that hard’ he thinks as he stands up
‘Monkey D. Luffy, the guy who’s going to be kicking your ass this morning’
And now onto the next chapter
Luffy is coming, not even I could stop him if I wanted to. Might want to start counting the days
‘Luffy huh, I hears about you from one of your crew, weakling offed himself soon after though, Hahahaha!’ Arlong taunts until his eyes met familiar green
‘Yo, motherf*cker’ Kaos greets with a taunting smirk and a wave
‘How can he be alive? Chew’
‘I told you Nami had betrayed us, no human can last that long underwater’ Kuroobi, the ray fishman grumbles
‘That’s what I said but you know Nami and her rants, they don’t come in an abridged form’ Kaos replies with a shrug, a ghost of a smile pass his lips as the charging fishmen get knocked back by a flurry of blades and kicks
‘Damn idiot, you had to shoot from the hip and punch the big one didn’t you?’ Sanji grumbles
‘I’m fine, these idiots are no trouble’ Luffy replies
‘I’m not worried about you, I’m worried you and creepy here are going to hog all the action’
Kaos chuckles ‘Don’t worry Eros, there’s plenty of ‘action’, I’m sure you’ll fine something to hit’
‘Well you guys can have all the action you want’ Usopp says from behind, getting shoved past by Zoro
‘Nice to see nothing’s changed since the last fight you were in Usopp’ he mutters, breathing more shallow than usual
The shark was beginning to twitch just behind his right eye, which Kuroobi caught before stepping forward
‘Relax Arlong, don’t waste your energy on these humans’ the ray says passively
‘We’ll deal with them easily, Chew’ another scoffs
‘Exactly’ the octopus agrees, hopping to the front ‘Hello, I’m Hatchan, my friends call me Hachi, but you can call me Hatchan’ he breathes in deeply, blowing up like a balloon, before he turns to the sea and releases it, producing a loud trumpeting sound
‘Okay I know he’s a bad guy in this but is anyone else impressed by that?’ Kaos asks, Luffy and Usopp nod, Sanji and Zoro barely resist facepalming, unlike Nojiko
There is a loud rumble and Hatchan grins widely ‘Now quake in fear at the mighty Mohmoo!’ he yells as, rising from the water… is the sea cow from earlier, the bumps on its head still visible
‘Huh, so that’s why he’s here’ Luffy thinks aloud
‘Arlong must have brought him as a deterrent or scare mongering’ Sanji guesses
The seacow gets one look at the pirates and fear runs down its body, quickly turning around and swimming in the other direction
‘Wait, come back Mohmoo, you can’t just leave!’ Hatchan yells, flailing his arms around like a crazy person
‘Leaving so soon?’ Mohmoo freezes at Arlong’s voice ‘Well if you want to run and hide who am I to stop you?’ the seacow may not be able to see Arlong’s smirk but the human could and were worried ‘Well?’
Mohmoo turns and gives a feral roar, charging straight for the straw hats, who ready their weapons… well except Usopp who was understandably panicking
Crack, Crack
Luffy slams his feet into the ground, spins his torso around several times and grabs onto Mohmoo’s horns ‘Guys I got this’
‘Oh crap’
‘Luffy don’t you dare’
‘Moron!’
‘Time for something new!’
Gum Gum Pinwheel
Luffy relaxes his body, causing the tension to be released, the rubber boy spinning around so his body could return to normal. What made this an attack as opposed to rubber man yoga was that he was still holding onto Mohmoo’s horns, the sea cow being taken for a ride while Luffy uncoils, taking down/out any fishman that were in it’s way. It was just before he ran out of spin Luffy let go, sending Mohmoo flying out of Arlong Park and leaving only 4 fishmen still standing: Arlong, Chew, Hatchan and Kuroobi.
‘Okay Arlong I didn’t come here to beat the crap out of these dumbasses I came here to kick your ass, so get up off it and fight me!’ Luffy yells, the shark actually smirking at the rubber balls on this kid to call him out. HIM, Sawtooth Arlong!
Luffy’s recent attack was an entirely friendly fire capable technique as his own crew angrily pointed out, the one in the most danger (really just due to his size) actually the one who was scared and injured the least, Kaos having seen the beginning of Luffy’s crazy idea immediately fell to the floor, out of the path of destruction Luffy caused, so was content to laugh at the mayhem and collateral damage his little brother and Mohmoo had left in their wake. There was just one problem even he was going to be annoyed by…
‘Um guys, I’m stuck’
‘LUFFY!’
‘How dare you hurt our brothers’ Hatchan yells, drawing attention away from the rubber brained idiot and back to the tentacle armed idiot as well as the other fishmen
‘Looks like we’re going to have to show you the error of your ways’ Kuroobi sneers
‘As well as the inferiority of your species’ Chew adds as he steps up
Arlong chuckles ‘Good luck boys, have fun squashing these bugs’ he says, somehow managing to use the rubble he was sitting in like a throne.
Zero Vision : Hachi Ink jet
The others jump out of the way but Luffy’s pinned legs meant he took the full brunt of the octopus fishman’s attack, now blinded and flailing around he couldn’t stop Hatchan from picking up some of the wreckage of Arlong Park and slamming it down on him… or at least trying to. Just before it hit the ground the stone shattered, the smoke clearing to reveal Sanji had kicked it, a look of mild annoyance on his face
‘Looks like I picked one hell of an idiot for a captain’ he sighs, getting nods from the rest of the crew while Luffy gushes about how awesome the chef’s last attack was ‘Though at least this idiot is better than thugs who pick on a lady’
‘A lady?’ Kuroobi scoffs ‘You’re here risking your lives over one lousy girl?’
‘Technically we’re risking our lives to get back our navigator, the fact she’s a girl is unimportant’ Kaos butts in, already beginning to spin his blade in dagger form, while Sanji’s frown grows
‘Say one more bad thing about Nami and I promise you you’ll go from fishman to fish sticks before you even blink’ he declares, waving his cigarette in his direction
The ray waves him off ‘You might be a skilled human but that’s all you are, and a chivalrous pirate seems quite phoney to me’
Sanji takes another drag ‘I’m good at what I do, be it cooking or kicking ass, and there’s nothing phoney about helping a beautiful lady, it’s just how I was raised’
Kuroobi cracks his knuckles ‘Guess I’ll have to show you your place then, kneeling before your betters’
Meanwhile, as this was going on Usopp was trying to free their idiot captain from his self induced captivity… with poor results.
‘Nope, still here’ Luffy says in a ‘discussing the weather’ tone, even as Usopp struggled and pulled
‘This will only end poorly’ Kaos says, the sniper stops reversing in order to look up at the purplette’s grinning mug
‘What do you mean?’ he asks
‘If nothing’s happening on Luffy’s end then you’re not pulling him free, you’re stretching him out’ Usopp pales as he realises what the older pirate meant… unfortunately his shock caused him to slightly loosen his grip, just enough that Luffy freed himself the first time he wiggled, flying head first into Chew, head butting the huge lipped fishman with the force of a Gum Gum Bell and knocking him on his ass, before springing back to his previous position
The fishman glared at Usopp with several tic marks on his head ‘I see now, you really want me to kill you’ he growls, starting to walk towards the coward… who promptly ran off at full tilt
Arlong growls as he pulls himself to his feet ‘This is taking too long’
Kuroobi looks fearful for just a moment ‘But sir if you go on a rampage…’
‘I won’t do that, I’ve just come up with a fun game’ he grins, his shark teeth adding to the intimidating/creepy factor
‘We don’t have time for games’ Luffy yells as he throws a rubber punch, barely missing Arlong who grabs his wrist
‘Did you humans really think you could defeat us?’ he asks
‘Actually yeah’ Kaos admits, Sanji, Zoro and Luffy nodding in agreement, which actually surprised the fishmen
Rather than respond verbally Arlong slams his fist into the ground… and lifts the section holding Luffy above his head, to the rubber boy’s very loud disapproval
‘Did you know eating a Devil Fruit means you can’t swim, but considering your circ*mstances rubber boy, I don’t think it matters’ Arlong laughs as the rest of the Straw Hats tense
Gum gum Pistol
Ordinarily a point blank punch to the face would do something… a lot actually, but all it got was a mouthful of razor sharp teeth digging into Luffy’s skin, he actually had more luck when HE bit Arlong, as it actually seemed to hurt the bastard if his yell was any indication. It ended the same though, with the sharkman tossing Luffy out of Arlong Park, watching literally sink like a stone.
‘Luffy!’
‘Ah sh*t, how long can he hold his breath?’
Kaos sighs ‘It wouldn’t matter how long, water drains all devil fruit user’s strength, even if he could hold it for hours his body wouldn’t have the strength/energy to do so and he’ll let it all out pretty quickly’
‘Then we need to go get him’ Zoro says tightening his grip on Wado
‘Yeah but we’ve still got these guys to deal with and given that they are we can’t let them follow us into the water and we’re sunk’ Sanji agrues until he’s flicked in the forehead ‘Hey!’
‘Better plan, you jump in and save the idiot, Zoro and I will deal with these idiots. There are 3 of us so let’s go with it’
‘Dumbass, there are 3 of them too!’ Sanji fires back
‘Yeah but Arlong’s not going to fight us directly unless he has to, so it’s really 2 on 2 while you get Luffy’
Sanji sighs but kicks off his shoes ‘You better be right about this’
Zoro grins ‘He is, needle nose has that final boss feel to him’
‘Clocks ticking boys’ Arlong cackles as he sits once more, letting his underlings deal with the humans
Kaos Vs Kuroobi
‘Get co*cky like that around a fishman and you won’t last long’ Kuroobi yells, Kaos hopping out of the way to avoid his fins
‘Hm, so those things are more than just decoration’ Kaos chuckles ‘Good to know’ but then frowns when he see’s Zoro falter ‘Damn it moss head’ he mumbles
‘Oy stop getting distracted! I am a level 40 in fishman karate, a weak human is no match for my punches’ he boasts, aiming a full force punch for the centre of Kaos’ chest but the human catches it
Hundred Brick Fist
Crunch drip, drip, drip
‘Hahaha! See this is what I mean; only a human would be dumb enough to try block an attack from a fishman rather than dodge. Sure you managed to survive but you’ve completely f*cked up your hand so you won’t be doing that more than once more’ Arlong cackles, but stops when Kaos starts laughing ‘What’s so funny?’
Kaos grins wickedly even as he surveys his injury, despite the armour the spiderweb cracks still welled with blood ‘As Luffy and I used to say to Aunt Dadan when we came home with 14 bells kicked out of us… Should have seen the other guy’ his grin widens when the focus shifts and several people gasp
Kuroobi was silently clutching his wrist as he stared at the end, which now more closely resembled patty meat than a functional hand.
‘How?’
‘As you already knew, I have a Devil Fruit, what you didn’t know was what it is. Arlong and company, you have the honour of being the 1st opponents to know my fruit’s name since Luffy and I left Fushia village’
‘What are you?’
Kaos laughs ‘I am Serpens D. Kaos, researcher of the Straw Hat pirates and eater of the Suru Suru no mi. I’m the reflect human but personally I prefer mirror master’ he spreads his arms wide, everything from his finger tips to his elbows shifted to a highly reflective, mirror like material/sheen ‘What you felt was my Reflect Armour on full strength. Depending on the amount of power I put behind this ability, I either limit the damage, counteract and in turn negate it entirely on as you can see redirect it right back on it’s attacker. Few things can take as much as they dish out, as your mangled hand clearly shows’ the armour flakes/floats off and Kaos runs at the ray, his right leg shifting and gaining a similar coat, just before he kicks him in the face ‘I can also use it for attacks too’ he says with a twisted smirk before slamming his other knee into Kuroobi’s gut
‘This isn’t over human’ he pants, while Kaos shrugs and smirks regardless
‘You sure about that?’
‘Yeah, Arlong will deal with you, your friend on the other hand…’
The rayfishman jumps into the water; Kaos just follows him with his eyes
‘You must have had that fruit for quite some time human’ Kaos raises an eyebrow at the shark’s comment ‘Most people would at least try to follow before remembering that they can’t swim and stop. If you don’t even think about it your very subconscious has learnt to avoid the water’
Kaos shrugs ‘I’ve had my powers for about a decade now, but that doesn’t always mean much as Luffy has for just as long’
Zoro Vs Hatchan
‘Hey you’re Zoro right, I thought you fought with 3 swords not 1’ Hatchan asks as he barely avoids Zoro’s swing
‘Didn’t think I needed them, 1 is enough to turn you into Calamari’ the moss hair grins
‘Hatchan pouts ‘That’s rude’ he says as he jumps onto a pillar ‘…and now I’m stuck’ (Damn it, not another one!)
‘You idiot, get down from there!’ Zoro yells, waving his sword angrily, then stops, breathing heavily as his chest burns and his knees buckle ‘Now is not the time’
‘Nope, hey I know how to get you to fight for real’ he cheers, hopping in through a window (Getting an annoyed roar of ‘HATCHAN!’ from Arlong) and disappearing for a few minutes before jumping back out with a smile ‘You’ll have to fight for real against my 6 sword style’ he exclaims
‘sh*t he’s right’ Zoro thinks before turning to the entrance ‘Johnny, Yosaku, I need to borrow your swords, toss em here’ he yells after placing Wado between his teeth, the bounty hunters turn to one another before nodding and actually do throw their swords at him, but he manages to catch them easily
‘Ha, I was right you are Zoro of the 3 swords, but I’ve got more swords so I’m going to win’
Zoro scoffs, having so recently seen Mihawk defeat his 3 sword style with 1… he would barely call it a knife never mind a sword, but still it proves the point ‘It doesn’t matter the number, only the weight they carry’ he replies
Hachi blinks then laughs ‘If it’s weight you’re looking for your puny human blades don’t stand up to fishman metalworking. My swords are 300 pounds each’ he states proudly
‘That’s not what I… never mind’ Zoro thinks, seeing the octopus was a simple a straightforward kind of person like his captain, he was sure explaining the concept would similarly go over Luffy’s head too.
‘Now prepare to be torn to shreds by my power’
6 blades: Tentacle Sword Overload
3 Sword style: Streaming Wolf Swords
Despite the mess that Hachi’s flailing arms/tentacles looked to the villagers Zoro managed to dodge and weave between them all, stopping behind the fishman, just as his own wounds were finally noticed by the dim octopus, blood spurting from each gash
‘You bastard, how dare you cut me, well prepare to die from my next attack, no human could survive this!’ he yells angrily, more flailing limbs following his words.
Octopus Pot Stance
New Years – Open – Body Slam
Zoro manages to block Hachi’s attempt to skewer him but was unable to predict or counter when he used it as a disarmer to land a headbutt to his still damaged chest and sending him flying into the air
‘Ha ha, now I can finish this, you’ll be dead before you hit the ground’ Hachi grins before he starts to spin his swords directly below Zoro
Waltz of 6 Swords
It is tantamount to Zoro’s skill that all sounds of pain came from Hachi, as he landed on his feet and the octopus stood there with wounds littering his entire body, most notable his hands, to the point all 6 of his swords were lying on the ground, though he was breathing a lot heavier than when he began this fight
‘Damn it you bastard, how do you keep making me look bad? I’ll kill you for this, I’ll tear you limb from limb!’ Hachi yells, waving his bloodied hands in Zoro’s direction as the swordsman sways
Octopus Pot Stance
‘Even if this wound would kill an ordinary man, if I’m ever to stand against Hawkeye, and then beat him, I must be more, I MUST BE EXTRORDIARY!’
Dragon Twister
Hachi flies straight up in the wake of Zoro’s attack, his shattered blades falling all over Arlong Park, shortly followed by his broken and bloodied, but still breathing body as it leaves a crater in the ground behind Zoro
‘It’s not how heavy the sword is that matters either’ Zoro says, dropping the swords in his hands and sheathing Wado ‘just the weight of your resolve and determination. I have yet to meet another swordsman with heavier swords than I’
Usopp Vs Chew
Usopp ran like his life depended on it, occasionally turning back to ensure Chew was still chasing him rather than turn back and cause trouble for his friends. Finally he stops in a marshy area of the island
‘I think that’s far enough, and will you look at that I lost him’ Usopp grins ‘I guess he underestimates the true power of a coward’ he laughs
‘Ahem, you were saying?’ Usopp turns and his eyes shoot out of his skull, as standing behind him was a very angry Chew
‘Ah!’ he screams before running away again
‘This getting tedious’ Chew sighed ‘Just die you long nosed freak!’
Squirt Gun
Red Star
Usopp collapses to the ground ‘blood’ staining the dirt below
‘Hm, after all that, he’s dead in one shot, almost disappointing’ Chew shrugs before beginning to walk back in the direction of Arlong Park. Once he was a reasonable safe distance away…
‘Fishmen are so stupid’ Usopp thinks as he sits up, wiping the ketchup off his chest
‘This is insane, these guys tore a village apart and killed everyone so easily. I know Nami needs our help but I really don’t want to die’ Usopp begins to panic once more, falling back to the ground when he thinks he could still hear the fishman
‘Okay so I’m covering fake blood, but I’m still too clean, need to dirty myself up so it looks like I was in a real battle’ he says to himself before rubbing dirt into his clothes and arms ‘I’m sorry everyone I did my bes…’ he stops and thinks of everyone fighting Arlong, everyone he’d be letting down: Luffy, Kaos, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, K-Kaya!
‘Damn it, I can’t just play dead when my friends are out there risking their lives. I will be a brave warrior of the sea one day. And I’m going to start now’ he stands up and yells ‘Hey Fish Lips!’ at the top of his voice, Chew turning to face him
‘Not so dead after all, I’ll soon change that. Chew’ the fishman says before charging at him, basically running through one of Usopp’s exploding Stars and punching him straight in the face. He then walks back over and starts kicking the guy ‘You should have stayed down’
Usopp Hammer
Usopp Rubber Band of Dooooooom!
The hammer slams straight into Chew’s extended mouthparts, causing him to flinch, not helped as he tenses in preparation of Usopp’s second attack. When nothing came he opened his eyes slowly… to see nothing
‘f*ck!’ he yells
‘Hey catch’
Chew blinks in surprise but his reflexes enable him to catch the projectile before it hits him in the face, surprised when he sees the human threw a bottle at him
SMASH
A shot from Usopp’s slingshot shatters the bottle, showering the fishman in its contents
‘This, this is booze’ he says in confusion as he spits out a mouthful ‘Is this the only way you can fight, with cheap tricks?’ he shouts angrily, before sticking his head into the marshy water nearby
‘I can’t run from this fight, but this is the biggest one in my life. If I lose I die, but I need to fight’
Squirt Cannon
Usopp has to resist yelling in panic as the trees next to him practically exploded due to the fishman’s attack
‘This is almost sad how easy it is’ Chew thinks
Squirt machine gun
‘Oh crap, my one chance to be a real pirate and I’m going to die. No I can’t think like that, if I survive this I’m going to be a true pirate, my days of being a coward are over’ Usopp says with a slight tremble as Chew’s water attack pelts his tree, shortly followed by the fishman himself kicking it out of his way
‘What was over?’ Chew asks with a sneer
‘This fight. Alcohol is flammable’
‘Hm?’
Flaming Star
The incendiary shot hits Chew and his body erupts in flames, running around frantically until he remembered the marshes nearby, at which point he barrels in that direction until he finally managed to put himself out
‘Ow, bastard human ‘he mumbles into the water
‘I’m not done yet’
‘sh*t’
Usopp Hammer
The blow to the back of the head sent Chew face down into the water once more, Usopp grinning with pride ‘I did it, I actually took down a fishman’ he cheers, then screams when Chew groans
Usopp Hammer
Usopp Hammer
Usopp Hammer
Usopp Hammer
Usopp Hammer
Usopp Hammer
Finally Chew stays down, lumps on his lumps on his lumps on his lumps
Back in Arlong Park
Sanji and Kuroobi erupt from the water, both lying there for a moment gasping for air, Kaos and to a lesser extent Zoro pull the chef to his feet
‘Luffy’s okay for now, damn it psycho you were meant to deal with him!’ Sanji grumbles, but his emotions were muted due to extreme pain
Kaos sighs ‘He dove in the water; I can’t follow him unless you wanted to save both of us in the process. Good job for surviving that idiot though’
Sanji nods ‘I’m not dying today, especially as I can’t trust you and moss head to keep Nami and Kaya safe’ the blond mutters half jokingly ‘Make sure Zoro doesn’t die while I deal with this dumbass, we’ll need all the men we can muster when Arlong gets off his fat ass to fight us’ the purplette flashes a grin as he lets Sanji go, catching Zoro just before he stumbles again. With that dealt with Sanji turns to Kuroobi, who had finally stood back up but was panting tiredly
‘You really think you can beat me just because we’re out of the water? My fishman karate may be weaker above water but it’s still strong enough to kill one normal human (Ha, like Sanji’s normal… sh*t does that count as a spoiler?)’ he sneers and throws a punch with his remaining hand, but the blond dodges so fast he practically teleported
‘You’re a lot slower on land’ the chef notes before kicking him in the throat ‘You think my love is weak, that I can’t protect the people I care about? Let me show you my fiery passion(1)’ he then proceeds to kick the crap out of the ray, even going as far as to call out his targets, but even then Kuroobi was unable to stop him. Even as he prepares his ultimate attack Sanji is unimpressed
1,000 Brick Fist
The punch would probably have killed a human… had it connected. But no, instead the rayfishman was kicked clean through Arlong Park, leaving a crater which he failed to crawl out of
‘That’s how you deal with them’ Sanji says as
‘Hatchan, Kuroobi’ Arlong gasps, his anger beginning to boil
‘Hey guys, I brought down fishlips. Finally we have proof nobody can defeat the might Captain Usopp’ Usopp boasts from the wall, having just returned to the Park
‘Chew too, what are these people?’ Arlong thinks with just a shiver of fear, before rage drowned it
Arlong stands and walks to the edge of the water ‘You bastards, I should have never let it get this far, I should have torn you apart the moment you walked here. Now let me show you the difference in power between us’ he says, filling his hand with water and tossing it
TBC
LW: Well there we go, Kaos’ fruit is revealed and the Straw Hats held their own against Arlong’s underlings.
For the record what happened under the water between Kuoobi & Sanji as well as what the others are doing to help Luffy is basically the same as canon. Also the 3 fights happened at the same time, partly because I cut out a lot of Ussop’s running away.
Techniques and Abilities
Luffy
Gum Gum Pinwheel: Like I said Luffy twists himself up before grabbing the enemy, then he relaxes and because he’s secured himself before using this technique the energy can only go one way… through the enemy as he takes them for a ride, if they’re large like Mohmoo they can even be used to clear the area of lessor enemies.
Kaos – Eater of the Suru Suru no mi/ Reflect reflect fruit. Special Paramecia class
Reflect Armour: The silver/chrome substance that’s been forming on him since the 2nd chapter. Like I said in the chapter it minimises, cancels out or redirects damage by ‘reflecting’ it back on the attacker. This form of the armour is rather weak though as if the attack is strong enough it’ll simply smash through and reach his body below
Zoro
Streaming Wolf Swords: Using 2 swords to block while in a close range spin, Zoro carves into his opponent with his 3rd sword.
Dragon Twister: Zoro spins his swords, causing a dragon-like tornado to form, slashing as well as blowing away his enemy.
Usopp
Red Star: Usopp uses Ketchup to make it look like he took a grevious/mortal wound
Usopp Hammer: Usopp carries a hammer… he uses it to strike his opponents when he’s within range (as a slingshot user and a coward, that’s not too often)
Usopp Rubber Band of Doom!: One of his fake out techniques, Usopp pulls a rubber band and prepares to fire… then runs away while he opponent is panicing
Kuroobi
100 Brick Fist: Overpowered punch, is apparently strong enough to do severe damage to human and fishmen given a reflected attack basically mangled Kuroobi’s own fist.
1000 Brick Fist: The strongest attack in Kuroobi’s Fishman karate arsenal, not that it matters given it never connected with anything
Hachi
Hachi Ink Jet: Hachi’s an octopus, so he can spit ink to blind his opponents
Rokutoryu – 6 swords style, made possible by Hachi being an octopus fishman and therefore having 6 arms with which to wield them.
Tentacle Sword Overload: Hachi charges at his opponent, swinign his swords wildly given how much metal is flying through the air he’s bound to hit something.
Octopus Pot Stance: Hachi holds his swords out in front of him, blunt edges touching/sharp edges out. He then runs at the enemy, the blades protecting his core from a strike
New Years – Open – Body Slam: Going straight from Pot Stance Hachi swings open his arms, leaving his target wide open for a headbutt / body slam, sending them flying into the air
Waltz of 6 swords: While in the air, Hachi gets under his target and begins to spin his swords. It should tear anyone unlucky enough to get caught in it to shreds.
Chew
Squirt Gun: Chew spits water at such speed and power getting hit with it is akin to being shot… similar to how Luffy used to say his fists were as strong as pistols
Squirt Cannon: Chew fills himself to bursting, then releases it in one attack, the waterball hitting with the force of a cannon ball
Squirt machine gun: Rapid fire Squirt Gun attacks, resemble a machine gun in speed and ferocity.
(1) One of the benefits of writing a story 19-20 years behind the actual series is I have a lot of material to work with, in this case yes that was a reference to Sanji’s Diable Jambe, which is supposedly created from that fiery passion, or something similar.
Chapter 16: Luffy's Great White
Chapter Text
LW: Here we go, Arlong Vs Luffy fight!
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Luffy’s Great White
There should have been an explosion given the damage it did to the pirates, either that or it should have done almost nothing given all Arlong did was throw a handful of water at them. Zoro went down first due to his previous injuries, with Kaos and Sanji also getting shoved back by the force of the attack, a second handful dropping them on their asses just like the swordsman.
‘f*ck, all he did was throw water at us’ Sanji grunts in pain; Kaos nodding in agreement as he slowly sits up, the shark grinning madly
Arlong’s attack tore up the eldest straw hat’s shirt, allowing the shark to see his handiwork, even without holes the cracks radiated out of and connecting each spot that he hit still looked like someone had shot at reinforced glass
‘I’ll be honest, hitting you with that as well as the other 2 was a gamble, I might have needed to dodge those redirected water attacks’ Arlong admits and Kaos chuckles
‘Yeah that’s not something I’ve perfected yet, melee combat is my speciality, the most reliable I could’ve done was redirect the damage, which would just ionise the water. Pointless use of my powers as they say’ he explains as Sanji and Zoro get back up unfortunately so does Hatchan.
‘ARLONG!’
The fishman looks up ‘Ah Nami, perfect timing, you must be here to see me deal with these useless human trash?’
‘No’
‘Hmm?’ Arlong raises an eye ridge
‘I’m, here to kill you’ she states coldly in a matter of fact tone. Despite that Arlong just laughed
‘Kill me, dear sweet Nami, are you even able to keep track of how many times you’ve tried, and failed to kill me since I took you in? I lost count after 30 myself. I’m not sure why it’s failed to enter your brain that pathetic humans like yourself can’t kill a fishman like me.’ He chuckles ‘now I’m not going to kill you, but you’re not leaving this place. You’re going to stay here forever as our cartographer, drawing maps for me, until you die. That’s the plan but I’d much prefer you return to me of your own free will. You can re-enter the fold and become and Arlong pirate again, or I’ll have my fishmen kill every living thing on this island except you and burn that tangerine grove to the ground, then force you to draw sea charts for me. It’s a simple choice Nami, especially for someone who’s supposed to be the 3rd smartest human in the East Blue’ he grins widely ‘I’ll even spare the villagers if you come back to me, they haven’t actually done anything yet after all, though these idiots will have to be killed to set an example for anyone who gets any ideas about revolution. So that’s the choice Nami, will you join me and keep the village safe, or join them in fighting and watch everyone you ever cared about die?’
‘I can’t do this, if I stay with Luffy and the others Arlong will tear everyone apart, but if I join him the village will be safe… but still under his thumb. f*ck!’ Nami internally screams, hands clenching around the edges of her hat… Luffy’s hat ‘No! I can’t give up, I need to believe they can pull through’ she breathes in and out then turns to the villagers ‘Well it looks like we’re fighting to the death’
Arlong sneers ‘That was a poor decision, but it seems there’s no turning back now’ he was about to advance on the mob when a fountain erupts just outside Arlong Park ‘What? Seriously it’s one thing after another today’
Kaos grins ‘The Captain will see you… well give it 5 minutes’ he chuckles before tossing his dagger, not even reacting when the fishman easily catches it
‘This is it? You humans think this puny thing is the legendary Heb… ah!’ Arlong groans as a blade the size of Yoru embeds itself in his right shoulder
‘Yes, yes it is’ Kaos smiles as with a flick of the wrist the longsword is forcefully yanked from the fishman’s body, morphing into its khopesh form on the way back. The standing teens look between each other and nod, Sanji jumping back into the water while Kaos pulls Zoro up, the green haired man lightly shoving the purplette away to steady himself.
SPLASH
‘Hatchan!’ Arlong yells, the octopus getting the message and beginning to charge when Kaos (being the least injured and therefore able to move the quickest) pushed him back with his foot.
‘No interfering’ he states, blocking Hatchan’s attack with a buster sword
‘Imbeciles’ Arlong growls as he begins to walk towards the pool, back stepping when he catches a flash of steel in his periphery. Zoro stands before him, 3 swords out and ready to fight, even if he swayed a little the longer he stood ‘You’re not going anywhere, and you’re not going to stop him getting Luffy back up here’ he states between ragged breathes
‘In the ocean, people with Devil Fruit powers loose even the strength needed to struggle, as well as their powers (Incorrect, at least for people like Luffy as he can still stretch, but he has no control of it himself so Arlong gets half a point), he will die down there’ Arlong says, watching for the moment to strike, the swordsman was good but his current condition left quite a few openings in his technique.
Egg Star
Arlong frowns as he takes focus off Zoro for a second, batting away the egg as if it were nothing
‘I got your back Zoro’ Usopp declares… from the other side of the wall to Arlong Park
Despite everything Nami smiles ‘They’re all alive, even Usopp’
‘Okay so we need to keep Arlong out of the water until Sanji can get Luffy free, I’ll just stop him from goin anywhere’ Usopp thinks as he reaches into his bag of tricks ‘Hey Zoro, now’s your chance!’ he yells
Usopp Rubber Band of Doom!
‘If I’m taking you down, I’m starting with that big nose’ Zoro declares, swinging straight for the fishman’s face… but the sword was stopped dead on the aforementioned long nose
‘Stupid human’ Arlong cackles ‘it’s a proud nose because it’s unbreakable. If you were at full strength, you might have been able to give it a nick, but like this you didn’t stand a chance’ then punctures that statement… by puncturing Zoro’s chest.
‘Big Bro!’
‘Zoro!’
Arlong sneers as he holds the swordsman by his throat ‘That’s all you got then? Too bad, I almost broke a sweat’ his eyebrow raises ‘What’s with all these bandages, did the weak human fall over?’ he taunts before ripping them clean off, Zoro holding in a scream of pain.
Arlong stares at Zoro’s injury in a mixture of horror and morbid fascination, ‘how was this human even still alive right now?’
‘What are you?’
‘Human, but I’m they guy who fought Dracule Mihawk of Walachia, and lived to talk about it’ Zoro answers, voice brimming with pride
For a moment the primal fear centre of his mind flared to life, Arlong thinking ‘What the f*ck has that ginger bitch dropped on my head this time?’ before it was ruthlessly buried once more ‘Doesn’t matter, he dies right now’ Arlong says mostly to himself but is confused by the human’s expression
‘If a person stays put, their wounds won’t open up’ Zoro smiles despite the pain
Arlong norrows his eyes ‘Find something amusing about your situation, besides living a few more seconds?’
‘I wasn’t talking about me’ Zoro answers and Arlong’s eyes widen as one thought zips through his mind
‘sh*t, Hachi!’
He turns just as Hatchan erupts in a fountain of blood, all his flailing around reopened his wounds, falling to the ground in front of a winded Kaos, who gives the limp octopus man a kick to the head just to be sure, before turning to help Zoro.
Before we get that far there was a commotion just outside Arlong Park, followed by one just above it as Luffy shot up into the sky, loudly declaring ‘I’m Back!’ bringing a smile to the faces of his crew.
‘Took your time getting back Monkey’ Kaos teases
‘Needs a new watch, you’re late’ Zoro grunts, his eyes shrinking to pinpricks when he feels Luffy’s hands on his back ‘Ah crap’
‘Let’s switch’ Luffy yells, pulling Zoro out of Arlong’s grip and using the energy to fling himself towards the shark while sending Zoro a probably safe distance away
‘YOU IDIOT!’ was the collective yell of everyone except Arlong at the rubber boy’s manoeuvre, but it was silenced when he started laying into Arlong
Gum Gum Bell
Gum Gum Whip
Gum Gum Pistol
The bell stunned Arlong long enough for the whip to overbalance him, meaning the pistol was able to slam him up against Arlong Park, with…
Gum Gum Gattling
… his final attack sending him through the building
‘I forget how strong you are sometimes Luffy’ Kaos muses as everyone else was frozen in shock at the fact Luffy was able to do so much damage to Arlong when none of the others seemed to be able to do anything to the saw shark.
A grunt broke the spell as rubble shifted ‘That all you got?’ Arlong taunts as he stands back up
Luffy cracks him knuckles and puts on his serious face ‘Nope just a warm up, got to make sure everything still works after my swim’
‘You stupid human, you were better off drowning on the ocean floor’ Arlong growls as begins to walk towards the brothers
‘Nah I like it better up here’ Luffy replies, doing stretches to get his rubber body back to its usual elasticity
‘You can’t even comprehend my anger right now. I watched my brothers get crushed like worms. You don’t understand, but soon you’ll see you should have all stopped fighting a long time ago’ he says with a rumble in his voice, but Luffy seems unconcerned and Kaos actually had the gall to look amused, seriously what are these people? Are they even people?
Anger makes most people sloppy, but Arlong had focus, it was just what he focused on was causing as much pain as possible. Using more water as a distinction the moment Kaos brought his arms up to defend himself Arlong put all his fishman strength into slamming his forearm into his face, grinning widely when he hears a crunch and the momentum throws the bony pirate through a wall deep into Arlong Park. Now he just had Luffy to worry about, and this kid was basically a brainless moron so this shouldn’t take too long.
‘Do you know the difference between you and I?’ he asks, oddly calm despite his boiling rage
‘Is it the nose? The fin? Do you have a tail?’ Luffy asks/offers, confused sweat drops forming on the crowd, while tics formed on Arlong’s forehead
‘SPECIES!’ the shark yells, trying to take a bite out of Luffy but the captain dodges, and continues to dodge until he’s backed into a corner and pinned by Arlong’s large blue hand. With his vice like grip on the boy’s chest, Luffy was forced to physically grab his head and move it out of the way of the path of Arlong’s jaws, causing the sharkman to embed his teeth into the pillar behind him. Momentary shock of biting into something much harder than expected gave Luffy a chance to escape and put a little distance between them
‘Yeah take that you stupid fishman, with a blow like that his teeth are gonna break… through the pillar!’ Usopp screams the last part in shock as Arlong bites through the pillar, tearing down the section it was holding up.
‘So glad none of us had to fight Arlong up to now, that bastard could bite right through you without even trying’ Sanji thinks with a healthy does of fear running down his spine.
Arlong chuckles before going off on another spiel ‘This is the inherent strength of a fishman, its pitiful how you humans are born with such weak bodies and limited potential. It makes sense for you to bow before me as your genetic and physical superior. We’ve been on a different level to you weaklings from the very beginning but you continue to flail around in the dirt. Isn’t it time for you to just die!’
Luffy scoffs and gets into a ready stance ‘Bring it Arlong; there’s no way I’m loosing to a fishman. After all, I’m going to the be King of the Pirates’
Arlong scoffs ‘King of the pirates? A punt human like you couldn’t possibly conquer the Grand Line, hell you’re not even going to make it to the Grand Line, you can’t even crush a pillar with your jaws
‘So what?’ Arlong was confused by the question ‘Stop bragging about fishy things, you’re not that awesome’ Luffy argues, sending his fist through some rubble ‘Besides breaking rocks with your teeth seems dumb’
Tics form on Arlong’s neck ‘Idiot, that’s not the point! Every human on this planet is weak, what good are you if you can’t even pull yourself out of the water?’ he jumps at Luffy once more, but the captain dodges rather swiftly, grabbing some swords along the way
‘As it happens I’m worthless without my friends backing me up’ he declares with a smile, further confusing the fishman which probably helps when Luffy starts swinging the swords at him, forcing him to step back with each swing to remain out of reach
‘You’re insane, whatever this crap is it isn’t swordsplay, you’re just a child playing pirate flailing those swords around’ Arlong mocks before batting one away with his nose and catching the other in his jaw ‘I hope you realise by now this is no game’ he grumbles around the metal, just before shattering it with a clench of his teeth ‘Enough games, now you die’
‘Shut up!’ Luffy yells before punching the shark square in the jaw, throwing him back but also (to Arlong as much as everyone else’s) breaking his teeth.
‘You’re right, I don’t know the 1st thing about using a sword besides not holding the sharp part’
‘Where’s this going?’ Usopp, Kaya and Nami wonder, Sanji knowing this was going to end badly and Zoro was too out of it to care.
‘I’m not a swordsman, I can’t navigate, or cook, or lie, really come up with plans, or make portals and redirect attacks. I know if I was doing this alone I’d be dead by now, but with friends, family, nakama we fit together, we cover the gaps the others have in their own skills.
Arlong chuckles ‘So you finally admit what a pathetic human you are?’ he asks with a tinge of amusem*nt rather anger for a change ‘You’re an idiot but you’re honest. How do your crew feel putting up with this stupidity each and every day? Bet it drives them half insane, but then it confuses me how much trouble they went through in order to save you, their brainless buffoon of a captain. A half wit like you doesn’t deserve anything, never mind a ship and crew, what could you possibly do that makes you worth their time and effort?’
Luffy smirks ‘I can kick your ass. I’m strong and I have a dream, that’s my part of the team fulfilled’ he answers, getting cheers from the mob and slight smiles from the crew
‘Cheer all you want, it won’t save you’ Arlong shouts, his broken teeth falling out and newer ones shooting out almost instantly
‘Holy crap you got new teeth!’
‘I’m a shark, each set that breaks is replaced by another, and each one if stronger than the last’ (Don’t know if that’s how that works, but it sounds good so who cares) he says before yanking out a set just before another grows back ‘Endlessly’ he finishes, pulling out the 2nd and letting the 3rd form, now he had a set in each hand as well as his jaw ‘This is one of the many gifts given to fishmen, which make us greater than any humans’
‘That’s so cool!’ (Not the time Luffy!)
Tooth Attack
Arlong leaps at Luffy, using his removed teeth like clamps or shears, trying to snap at Luffy, first being able to dodge but Arlong’s frenzy meant he was bound to hit something eventually…
‘Arlong, stop, it hurts’
… too bad it was another fishman, Luffy pulling one of the previously beaten minions up as a ‘human’ shield, and given he was free of bite marks I’d say it did it’s job perfectly :D
‘You stretchy freak! How dare you use one of my brothers as a shield!’
Luffy sighs in relief before shrugging ‘Hey, you attacked me remember? Not my fault you weren’t looking where you were snapping’
Arlong steamed ‘Don’t you move you little freak’
Luffy hums and rubs his chin ‘Now there’s an idea’
‘Luffy has an idea’
‘Oh crap here we go again’
Tooth Attack
This time the attacks were… not so much slower just more focused as well as clearly being individual attacks, meaning Arlong was holding back to avoid going frenzy again and risking another of his brother’s to the human’s treachery. Luckily Luffy was still able to pull himself out of the way, for the most part until he sees an opening and kicks Arlong in the face, knocking him onto his back and leaving a large dent in the ground
‘This kid is making a mockery of me, a mighty fishman! You know what, f*ck this! Rubber boy’s getting sliced and diced!’ Arlong grunts before punching him way through the wall of Arlong Park (surprised there are still intact outer walls at this point) and pulled out his massive saw sword
Luffy’s reaction to this change in tactics was layered, in order it went
‘Aw, I wanted to have shark teeth’
‘That’s not a very effective way to get things out of your house’
And finally
‘sh*t, not so good with sharp things!’
Arlong’s clear lack of care towards collateral damage shows why the others wanted to deal with the StrawHats themselves, Arlong was causing more damage to Arlong Park in a couple of swings than had been done to the building in the entire back to back fights everyone else had done up to that moment, jumping after his prey and swinging his Sawblade with reckless (or maybe just f*ckless) abandon.
While dodging Arlong’s enormous Saw Sword, Luffy hops/climbs his way up Arlong Park until he’s distracted by a plume of dark blue smoke, coming out of one of the windows, wondering if the source would be able to help he bounces in the window, finding himself in a room full of paper, charts and maps.
‘Glad to see you finally made it’ a calm voice says and Luffy turned, there at the desk by the window, clear evidence that he shoved the contents to the floor so he could sit down was Kaos, a serpent styled pipe clenched between his teeth, though what bothered Luffy was that the smoke didn’t just come out of his mouth and the pipe but escaped out the cracks in his face and neck, most worryingly one that nearly split his left eye. The only good thing was he could see the cracks were visibly sealing themselves.
‘What is this place?’
‘At the moment a place to recover, otherwise I believe it’s the map room’ Kaos answers with a heavy sigh, rising just before Arlong crashes through the window
Meanwhile on the ground Nami pales ‘No, not that room!’ she practically screams in her mind
‘There’s nowhere else to run humans’ Arlong says, glass crunching under his sandals ‘It ends here, in the highest level of Arlong Park. It seems fitting you die here considering it was because of Nami you embarked on this suicide mission’
Luffy looks confused ‘Hm, why?’
Arlong spreads his arms and chuckles ‘This is where I’ve kept Nami, where she draws all my sea charts’
Luffy looks around, Kaos already having peeked at everything while he attempted to recover ‘This was Nami’s room’
Arlong nods ‘These sea charts are the culmination of the last 8 years of Nami’s life. Even at a glace it should be obvious these maps are more valuable than any treasure. Gathering data on the ocean is simple for a fishman, but translating that information into a useable map is quite difficult, which is why we needed a surveyor. And that’s where Nami came in, in fact it’s her skill in map making that is the sole reason I refuse to part with her, there is no one who even comes close, in the East Blue or even the Grand Line. Her talents are too good for human scum like you, she should be used to build up the mighty Arlong Empire’
‘Now listen here little human, Nami belongs to me’ Arlong speaks directly to Luffy
‘Is that so?’ Luffy’s response was… empty
‘And you’re interfering in our business. Nami isn’t your friend, get that throught your thick skull before you perish’
‘I don’t care’ Luffy states flatly
‘Nami is our navigator’
Arlong grins ‘Oh really, you want Nami to navigate the little dingie of yours? What a waist of her talents. There is nobody in the world who can compare to her skill is map making, letting her go isn’t an option, even less with human scum like you. That girl has a gift and there’s nothing worse than wasting natural talent, which is exactly what would happen if I let you put her on your boat. Drawing sea charts for me is the only way for her to live to her full potential!’
‘This pen, is stained with blood’ Kaos notes, holding the offending item by the tip of the feather, his face pinched, showing up the cracks more deeply than before
‘In order for me to obtain world supremacy her sea charts are vital. She will continue drawing sea charts for my own ambition, and once her charts give me full knowledge of all the world’s oceans, nothing will stand in my way, we will be invincible. The world will kneel before us, before me. 1st this island, then the East Blue and finally the World! You could never use her like me’ he boasts, seemingly unaware of the growing anger in the room
‘Use her’ Luffy repeats, hands clenching around the bloody pen
‘Yes, even a worthless human can be of use to a fish…’ he couldn’t finish that sentence as Luffy’s fist slammed into his face; the sharkman just balanced himself before a deep gash appeared on his chest.
‘This room is keeping Nami here; it has to go’ Luffy mutters flatly before turning to his brother ‘Kaos, do it’
Kaos readjusts his fedora ‘You sure?’ Luffy’s serious face was his answer ‘Okay then’
Click Whoosh!
‘Wha–what are you doing?’ Arlong yells frantically as his life’s work goes up in smoke thanks to some indigo flames
‘Sacrificing a rather nice lighter to destroy Nami’s connection to this place. Seems like a good deal to me’ Kaos answers with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes
‘You bastards! I’ll kill you ALL!’ he roars, swinging his Saw Sword down on them, except…
Odo no gosuto no boyaketa hansha: Zabimaru
…it clashes with another multitoothed blade, which Kaos uses to shield himself and Luffy
‘Too bad so sad, try again next time’ he chuckles humourlessly, sparks fly between both blades rubbing against one another
‘How? You’re just an ordinary human, you shouldn’t be able to do this’ Arlong grunts as he tries to push forward but fails
‘Luffy and I grew up together; we’ve gone through the same sh*t. I may not be able to match him in pure physical might, I’m more a technique guy, but I can hold my own just fine against a bastard like you’ he smiles with pointed teeth and for a second Arlong thinks he sees slitted pupils, before his mind if occupied by something a little more important… that being the shark saw had just been snapped in 2. Kaos removes his hat and slips it into his cloak, the frown on his face causing a tiny voice in Arlong’s head to yell ‘RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’ but he ignored it as always
‘It’s not enough to simply burn the maps. As long as this room exists Nami will never be free, so it must be destroyed, and the best way to do that is to tear the entire place down with it’ Luffy then raises his foot, shooting it up through the ceiling till it finds open air
‘Oh no you don’t!’
Shark Tooth Drill
Reflect Armour
Kaos puts himself between Luffy and Arlong, his fruit breaking teeth but his chest still got painfully shredded, at least until…
Gum Gum Battle Axe
Luffy’s foot manages to hit the back of Arlong’s head, bringing the fishman for a ride the rest of the journey to the bottom of Arlong Park, unfortunately the damage sustained from Arlong’s assault earlier, all the damage their previous fights had done to the bottom floor, combined with this were too much for the building and it collapsed in on itself
‘LUFFY! KAOS!’ Nami screams as Yosaku and Johnny pull her to safety. Everything was unnaturally quiet for a few minutes as everyone stared that the mound of debris that had once been the intimidating Arlong Park, then there was a soft of shifting rubble.
From the wreckage of Arlong Park Luffy and Kaos pulled themselves free, the Captain standing tall and loudly proclaiming ‘Nami! We will always be Nakama!’ at the top of his voice, Kaos smiles softly as Nami cries happy tears
‘Oh Luffy’ she thinks fondly, with tears streaming down her face as she returns the straw hat to it’s rightful place, after the rubber boy lolloped over at a much more sedate pace than usual
‘He won’
‘Arlong Park has fallen’
‘We’re finally free!’
In all the commotion another shift of rubble was unnoticed by the villagers. With a pained groan Arlong falls out of the pile and sees Nami and Luffy smiling and happy. He may have more broken than intact bones right now, and probably internal bleeding but he was going to rip that rubber bastard apart before he went.
SHARK…
Saigo no bīto
A rush of air blows Luffy’s hat off his head, when he picks it back up he notices the look of shock and horror on his navigator’s face. It was then the attack name finally registered in his brain.
‘No way, you used that move and I missed it’ he pouts before turning to see Kaos’ handiwork
The purplette had a blade embedded to the hilt in Arlong’s forehead and due to the nature of his sword that meant it’s depth/length was unknown and so was the damage. It was enough to hold the entire saw shark’s dead body up, but as he shoved the lump aside and pulled it out it was already on its way to returning to its original form
‘If you had been able to watch you would have seen Arlong coming and I wouldn’t have needed to use it. Anyone know if fishmen have spare hearts, just out of curiosity?’ he asks wiping blood of the khopesh
Nami shakes her head ‘no, Arlong wouldn’t have kept something like that secret if he did, it would’ve been used as more proof of fishman superiority by him’ she says with a sigh
‘Then he’s definitely dead’
‘Well, well, well what do we have here? Arlong Park destroyed?’ a familiar condescending jackass makes a reappearance ‘I’m sure you all know pirate loot becomes property of the marines Chichichi’ Nezumi smirks until Kaos moves to the side and he freezes
‘Arlong’s dead, if you don’t leave now you’ll join him’ Nami explains bluntly, the rest of the village glaring at him and his remaining marines
Nezumi looks about ready to retort when a Gum Gum Pistol shot him down the road ‘And stay out!’ Luffy yelled, having had enough of dicks like him and Arlong hurting Nami
‘You brat, do you have any idea who you’re dealing with? I’m a marine corporal!’
‘Not for long’ Kaos smirks while Luffy picks his nose in disinterest
‘Do I look like I care? I’m a pirate; Marine’s don’t scare us’ he laughs, before Nami is allowed beat the message into him
TBC
LW: Well there we go, Luffy deals with Arlong then Kaos makes sure the fish bastard isn’t coming back. Now hopefully the next chapter will appear just behind this, but who knows, I sure don’t at the time of writing this.
Techniques
Luffy
Gum Gum Battle Axe: From what I can tell it’s an enhanced version of Hammer, this one having the power to level a building, mostly because it starts higher and rather than stopping when it reaches level with his body, continues on till it reaches the ground.
Kaos
Odo no gosuto no boyaketa hansha (Blurred reflection of an aether ghost): His sword transforms into the shape of a famous blade, but as it’s merely a reflection it’s not as powerful as the real thing.
Saigo no bīto (Last Beat): A rather difficult finishing move to pull off as it requires the blade to pierce both the brain and heart of the target, causing instant death. The name comes from the idea that the attack finishes them off between heartbeats, so their last beat was before the attack began.
Arlong
Tooth Attack: Arlong attacks with his teeth, be they in his mouth or his hands
Shark Tooth Drill: Through unknown means (probably using those special fishman powers he talks about) Arlong spins with his mouth open, forming a whirling vortex of teeth/death.
I know it’s a serious situation but did anyone else find it funny Arlong can’t stop monologing about fishman superiority even when he’s underwater and nobody is around to hear him?
Chapter 17: End of a Saga, Last Straw Hat?
Chapter Text
LW: I did it, double upload :D Enjoy.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – End of a Saga, Last Straw hat?
The party thrown by the people of the island afterwards was insane and intense, (which given it was pretty much a 3 day bender is understandable) more booze than even Zoro and Nami could drink, what felt like thousands of women for Sanji to swoon over & flirt with and entire crowds of people who didn’t know Usopp was a lying liar who lies so listened eagerly to his stories as well as danced along with his singing. Kaos was taking it easy, doctor’s orders but still managed to get some booze into him, while Luffy appeared to have almost 5 types of meat in his mouth at the same time. Finally Kaya was assisting with patching up their swordsman.
‘This is a good job don’t get me wrong but you guys really need an actual doctor, there are things well beyond your skills that are a lot more likely to occur given your crew’s members and occupation if you know what I mean’ the doctor comments as they stitch up Zoro’s would before reapplying his bandages.
Kaya sighs ‘I know, but I’m all they have and I’m trying to constantly improve my craft in order to stay ahead of whatever insanity Luffy brings to us. Still, a qualified doctor would be nice’
‘A doctor, musician, maybe even an archaeologist and artist’ Luffy adds through the window ‘Got any ham melons?’ he asks Zoro reaching up and slamming the window shut with a pained groan.
Later
Genzo makes his way up the hill, hoping for a moment to speak to Belle-mere but when he got here someone was already there
‘You know Miss, I don’t know whether to like you for doing so well raising those girls as well as going as far as to die for them, or hate you because Nami’s kind of a c*nt’ Genzo grits his teeth and almost marches over but he contains himself when Kaos continues ‘Still regardless I respect you, for doing all that practically alone. You’re one of the few marines I have no problems with, if fact I actually kind of like you, nice work dear’ Kaos turns and sees the man behind him ‘Hey Genzo, this is the right grave I’m speaking to correct? Belle-mere was Nami’s mother?’
The old man nods ‘Only one she ever knew, Belle rescued those girls from a war zone, just after Nojiko found Nami crying in the wreckage. Those 3 weren’t in any way related…’
‘Why would that matter?’ Genzo stops at the taller boy’s question ‘You think Nojiko sees Nami any less her sister because they don’t share blood, or that Belle-mere thought them any less her daughters, or either girl think of you as less their father?’ Genzo’s jaw drops but the purplette continues ‘I’ve got no family and Luffy just has his Gramps, but counting each other we had 3 brothers, a big sis and an honorary mama, not to mention nakama. Family doesn’t end with blood, best I can say is it starts with it, what matters is you care’ he gave quite the impassioned speech, his fists clenched tightly.
Genzo sighs ‘If you’d let me finish you’d have seen me agree, there wasn’t a drop of blood between them, but they were a family’
Kaos laughs and rubs the back of his neck with a slight blush ‘Oh, sorry about that’ he then takes his bottle and empties it over the marker ‘Arlong is gone and the village is free, just because you’re dead doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the celebration Belle-mere’ he sighs tiredly, wringing his hands ‘I know you’ll want a moment alone, goodnight Genzo’ he walks off, Genzo shakes his head and chuckles lowly
‘Belle-mere your youngest sure brought some freaks and weirdoes to our village, but it’s clear they care about her and her them. Your girl is finally free to pursue her dreams and it’s all thanks to those guys’ a tear slides down his cheek ‘You’d be proud of who they’ve both become, those little rascals you dropped on our laps’ he smiles sadly, before placing his pinwheel in the ground beside the grave.
The next morning
Kaos hoped the booze was worth it, having supplied Kaya with the megaphone she was currently yelling at a hung-over Zoro, first for drinking while taking medication, then louder when he told her he hadn’t taken the medication and just had the booze itself. Luckily he was the only one who drank THAT much of the people leaving, the others able to get their supplies (including Nami’s money) onto the ship, they were just missing one thing
‘Where’s that bloody witch?’ Zoro asks, ears ringing as he shuffles away from the blond
‘Don’t know, but we probably can’t wait too long’
‘We can’t leave without her’ Sanji yells angrily, the others taking a step back before him and Zoro begin another fight
Before anything else can be said there’s a loud commotion, as their navigator ran full tilt towards them
‘Open the sails, NOW!’ she yells loudly, the others were confused, except Sanji who loudly protested until Luffy silenced him and told them to do as she said. Because of this the Merry had already started to sail away when she reaches the crowd of villagers, slipping between bodies and finally rolling past Nojiko and Genzo before running/jumping off the edge of the harbour, Luffy and Kaos catching her arms and lifting her onto the deck.
‘That seemed really dangerous’ Usopp worries while Nami chuckles
‘Not as dangerous as this’ she grins and lifts her shirt, Kaya getting ready to cover Usopp’s eyes but it doesn’t go that high, just enough for about 30 wallets, purses, watches and pieces of jewellery fall to the deck, the pirates not having gotten far enough away to avoid hearing them all yell angrily as they realise what Nami’s parting gift was: She’d robbed/pick pocketed them all.
Luffy and Kaos laugh, the purplette using his captain to stabilize himself, Kaya giggled once she was sure Nami wasn’t about to flash them and the rest just stared at her in shock.
‘A little something to remember me by, thanks a bunch!’ she yells back to them, grinning widely as she does so.
‘Glad you’re back officially Nami’ Kaos smiles as he places a hand on her shoulder… before slamming her headfirst into the wall
‘The f*ck you do that for you bastard?’ Sanji yells as he launches a flying kick, which the 1st mate just about dodges ‘Nami-swan hasn’t done a thing to y…’ he shuts up when Nami’s fist finds his face
‘Stay out of this!’ she practically shrieks, then sighs ‘That was the payback you mentioned before, right?’
Kaos nods ‘Taking into account your previous circ*mstances, it’s just the 1 instead of 3’ he then smiles widely ‘I like the new ink, much cooler than the last one’ he says drawing attention to Nami’s arm. Where once Arlong’s Roger sat like a brand, now a swirling design took it’s place, a stylised pinwheel and tangerine, though the latter part needed to be explained as it wasn’t exactly obvious with everything being blue and all.
Marine Branch 16
‘HELLO? HELLO?’
‘This is navy headquarters’
‘GOOD, THIS IS COLONEL NEZUMI OF BRANCH 16, CODE 00733. I HAVE A REQUEST’
‘Um there’s no need to shout I can…’
‘THERE ARE 2 PIRATES OUT HERE, ONE WEARS A STRAW HAT AND IS NAMED LUFFY, THE OTHER IS HIS 1ST MATE, THE PURPLE HAIRED ONE, KAOS. THESE 2 AND THEIR CREW OF 7 ARE ENEMIES OF THE GOVERNMENT!!!!’
‘Luffy and Kaos, got it’ the clert nods as he writes it down
‘THEY MANAGED TO TAKE DOWN THE REPORTEDLY UNBEATABLE FISHMAN ARLONG IN THEIR HOME BASE, THE TALL ONE EVEN KILLED ARLONG HIMSELF! BASED ON THE GRAVE THREAT THEY FACE TO THE PEACE A LARGE BOUNTY HAS BEEN PLACED ON THEIR HEADS! TRANSMITTING PHOTOS NOW’
The clerk nods ‘I’ve got them… um are you sure this is a dangerous pirate captain? The other I believe, their evil in his eyes but straw hat…’ the man is both surprised and confused, this grinning idiot looks completely harmless
‘Couldn’t you get a better picture than that?’ Nezumi yells at his subordinate
‘No, sorry sir’
‘ Okay, I’ll have these verified and submitted for approval. Also Colonel, you’re required to return to Marine Headquarters’ the mousefaced marine looked confused on the Den Den Mushi, but sighs
‘Of course, I’ll head there straight away’ he grumbles before hanging up.
The marine sighs before making another call ‘Commodore Brannew, Nezumi is on his way to Marine Headquarters as you requested’
‘Thank you, that will be all’ The green haired man groans and runs his fingers through his afro, while he did find it amusing when a criminal’s own incompetence lead to their capture, it was still a sad day when it was one of their own
Flashback
‘Arlong-Sama, mission is akomplished, marine guy is dead just like you asked’ a high pitched, childlike voice called
‘This is a secure marine line, how did you get this frequency?’
‘I sorry, Mousey-san leant me his Den Den to call Arlong-Sama. He always so helpful to fishmen in Cojo Yakcha’
‘Mouse-san?’
‘Yep, marine guy with mouse face. He’s always so nice to me and Mari not like other marines, Arlong pay him very well because of that’
‘Mari?’
‘My cousin Mari. I Cali, we squid fishmans under Captain Arlong-Sama, Mouse-san is a really good friend to us and Arlong-San’
Flashback Ends
He didn’t like exploiting either a child or a simpleton he wasn’t sure which he’d prefer, but either way he had to go with the evidence they supplied, as well as Nezumi’s information on these new rookie pirates
Monkey D Luffy
&
Serpen D Kaos
TBC
LW: Well that’s that. Just so you know there are reasons for the name of the chapter: 1st, we are really close to the end of the East Blue Saga, just have Loguetown left, as well as the fact all the original Straw Hats from EB have joined officially. Everyone else on the canon crew (as well as the planned future additions) is from/on the Grand Line and will be recruited as we go. I’m sure some people will see them coming but too bad, they’re what I picked.
Chapter 18: Straw Hat 1st bounty
Chapter Text
LW: Well here’s a minor chapter, just like in the anime itself it’s as the chapter says Luffy and Kaos’ first bounties as well as the reactions from anyone worth mentioning.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Straw Hat 1stBounty
Marine Headquarters
‘So even our most conservative estimates put them as too much to handle ourselves?’ one marine asks
The green haired man nods ‘From our Intel, back when it was only them they defeated Alvida as well as Axe Hand Morgan. And since then there’s no signs of stopping or even slowing down’ he the points to the wanted posters for the pirates defeated by this group
Buggy the Clown: 15 million
Kuro of 100 Plans: 16 million
‘Foul Play’ Krieg: 17 million
‘Sawtooth’ Arlong: 20 million
‘Not only that but both Kuro and Arlong have been taken out by these monsters, well one of them at least. They also attacked and defeated former lieutenant Fullbody as well as disgraced former marine captain Nezumi’ green afro man then sighs ‘I know these starting bounties seem rather high even on a global scale never mind the east Blue where the average is 3 million, but as you can see, these pirates are that dangerous’
Going Merry
‘You raised them again?’ Nami asked annoyed at the bird who nodded reluctantly ‘This seems a little expensive don’t yah think’ the bird shrugs, the prices weren’t in it’s control, which Nami knew but liked to vent ‘Fine here you go, but it gets any higher and I’ll stop paying’ the bird nods before letting Nami have her paper and flying off. Meanwhile Usopp was working on developing new ‘stars’/ammo for his slingshot, Kaya was basically cloud gazing and Zoro was doing what he does best on this ship… sleeping. As for the other 3… well we’ll get to that in a minute.
‘Ha, I’ve almost finished my newest marvel, the Tabasco Star. An eyeful of this and the enemy will be begging…’ Usopp didn’t get to finish that thought as Luffy was tossed into him by Sanji, splashing the sauce all over his own face and feeling like his tear ducts were filled with molten magma (SAKAZUKI!)
‘Ah come on, I just want one of them, this is my ship so it’s my stuff’ Luffy complains loudly, seemingly oblivious to Usopp’s screams of pain… apparently so was Kaya as she hadn’t come over to check on him yet.
‘No, this is Nami’s tangerine orchard, I won’t let a single fruit be tak…’ the cook proudly proclaims until he gets slammed face first into the deck by a mildly annoyed Kaos, who picks 2 tangerine and tosses one to the hungry Luffy
‘Thanks’
‘Don’t worry about it’ he smiles, though quickly moves to the opposite side of the ship to the cook before he wakes up (For simplicity: Zoro and Kaya are at the front, Sanji is in the middle with the tangerines, and Usopp, Nami, Luffy and Kaos are now at the back). All was right with the world until Nami sees the pages that fell out of her newspaper
YOU DUMBASSES!
That shout got the guy’s attention, as well as Kaya as she was worried Nami was going to hurt one of them … again
‘You’ve gone and done it this time’ she growls, passing 2 pages to the brothers: Luffy’s had him with his signature ‘D’ grin, looking like he was having the time of his life, while Kaos’ had a rather disturbing slasher smile, his eyes nearly glowing with glee.
‘Straw Hat’ Luffy: 38,000,000 beri
‘Mirror Master’ Kaos: 42,000,000 beri
‘See that Kaos, we’re wanted men!’ Luffy cheers, bouncing around while Kaos chuckles
‘That’s probably the highest active bounty in the East Blue, and you 2 got it on your first try’ Zoro says in both shock and slight amusem*nt, having learnt by now nothing is ever normal or straight forward with his Captain or 1st mate
‘But why’s Kaos’ higher? Shouldn’t Luffy’s be more because he’s the Captain?’ Kaya asks and Kaos shakes his head
‘Not exactly, Luffy has fought Alvida, Buggy, Kuro, Krieg and Arlong as well as their crews and with the exception of Alvida and Krieg so have I’
‘But that should still mean Luffy should be higher, as he beat up more pirates then you’ Usopp adds
‘It’s because he’s more dangerous than rubber boy cause he’s fine with killing’ Sanji pipes in ‘In case you forgot while Luffy took down all those people, Kaos took out both Kuro and Arlong, plus I get the feeling they take Devil Fruits into account with the bounty, so the Special Paramecia class Suru Suru no mi, is worth more than the normal Paramecia Gomu Gomu no mi’ at this the gang nod in understanding, then Nami hits both of them.
‘Idiots! You just had to piss off the marines and now we’re wanted by the government’
‘Well we’re pirates, what did you expect?’ Nami opens her mouth to argue but gives up as she literally has no argument.
‘There’s another problem, with 2 people on board with a price on their heads they’ll attract bounty hunters, and with a combined total of 80 million they won’t be like Johnny and Yosaku, they’ll be real hunters, they’ll be good’ Zoro states seriously.
‘Sounds like an excuse for more training’ Kaos teases
‘Not an excuse, an opportunity’ Zoro replies
Foosha Village
‘Did ya hear the news, those boys are wanted men’
‘Well will ye look at that, some damn good pirates came out of our tiny little village’
‘They’ll bring hell down on this village’ Mayor Woodslap complains as he walks into Makino’s bar and sits by the counter
‘So you always say, but you got to admit, they sure look happy’ she smiles, still trying to decide where to put her honorary family’s wanted posters up, she’ll have to move Ace’s poster to somewhere that’ll fit all 3 that’s for sure.
The mayor sighs before nodding ‘I guess you’re right, and those 2 might just fulfil those crazy plans of theirs’ he mumbles, accepting a drink from the still smiling woman.
Baratie
Zeff smiles as he looks at the wanted posters he stuck to the stairs ‘Those idiots are really doing it, I hope the boy gets to live out his dream and find IT, as well as a woman who’ll actually put up with him’ the old pirate grumbles, not even in his head would he admit he was worried about Sanji, though given the small smile on his face he was happy they were all still out there on their adventure.
Somewhere on the Grand Line
Mihawk beaches his little boat with his usual air of disinterest, his reputation (or maybe the huge ass black sword on his back) parting the pirates like the red sea
‘Why are you here Hawkeye?’ one asks with a shake in his voice
‘Calm down, now tell me where your captain is, my business is with him’ he commands with his usual even tones, the man nods and runs along, Mihawk following as a steady pace ‘Camping out on an island, what a carefree man’
The lower ranked pirate rushes to where the stronger/more important members were all sitting like his ass was on fire ‘BOSS! BOSS!’ he yells as he reaches them ‘Hawkeye, he’s here’ he says, then yelps as he realises the man was right behind him and scuttles away
‘So what brings a Shichibukai to this island, Drac?’ the man asks with a small smile
‘I thought you’d be interested in the newest bounties to come out of the East Blue’
One of the man’s newer companions snort ‘The East Blue’s full of weaklings, nobody worth anything would come from there’
Mihawk’s lip curls ever so slightly ‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that’ he says, passing the bounties to their boss, who takes one look at them and his jaw drops
Ben pushes his mouth closed before Shanks jumps up and cheers ‘Luffy’s 1st bounty! And so much too. Kaos you sly bastard out performing your captain, that’s not very nice’ he laughs and Mihawk smiles
‘I thought you’d like that, you never stop talking about them when you have the chance to’ he says as if it were unimportant, though it wasn’t
‘You bet I do, oh men we’re celebrating, those kids from Fushou village just broke 80 mill on their 1st bounty. 3 cheers for Luffy and Kaos’
‘But sir you were just saying you’d never drink again’ one of the pirates points out
‘Also wasn’t he hung-over a second ago?’ Mihawk asks Ben who nods with a chuckle
‘That was before I had something to celebrate’ Shanks dismisses, then practically bounced in front of the swordsman ‘don’t think you’re getting away that easily Hawkie’ he grins ‘You need to stay and drink with us’
‘I really shouldn’t’
‘I insist, you’re not leaving until I get at least one drink into you’
‘Fine, but there better be some good drink on this island’ Mihawk grumbles
‘Always is Hawkie, for special occasions such as old friends dropping in or seeing younger old friends fulfilling their dreams’
Ben reads through the information on Luffy’s bounty ‘Hey Yassop, looks like Luffy has your kid on his crew’ the 1st mate yells, the sniper immediately running over
‘Really? Hm, there might be a lot of Usopps in East Blue, oh why can’t there be a front or side on image of him, he has his mother’s nose so it should be really easy’ Yasop complains
‘It’s him, you told Luffy about him enough that Luffy would drag him onto the ship of he had to’ Lucky Roo teases between bites of his huge slab of meat, the other pirates nodding as he did have a point.
Unknown Island, Paradise
Retrieving updates from the News Coo, the bone white haired guy makes his way to his captain’s quarters
‘Boss, new bounties from the East Blue, they even beat Noire’s 1st bounty by over 10 million, looks like there’s gonna be some new blood entering the Line soon’ he yells, then spins around as he sees captain and navigator were entwined in bed ‘Sorry guys’ he mutters with a blush, the bluenette chuckles before pulling himself free from his girlfriend getting out of the bed
‘Cen, the bounties’ he asks, the boy smiles sheepishly before passing them over ‘Interesting, hey love what do you think?’ he holds out both to the beauty, who’s smirk is almost reptilian
‘2 more D’s on the waves, what a time to be a pirate’ she chuckles, slipping herself out from the covers and reminding Morgan why he always had his blade on his hip when they were off the ship; Noire was a true Grand Line darling, tall and thin with a perky H cup bust.
‘True, just like Aunt Grima said: When there’s a D around, things sure aren’t boring. Makes me glad we’re heading in this direction, might meet these guys while we’re out and about. Might even have time to stop by Alabasta if we’re lucky’
Century laughs before turning glad both his crew mates were at least decent at the moment ‘Should I inform our gunner we’ll be passing her hometown then?’ he asks, watching the captain smile widely
‘Yep, best keep the demolition expert of this place happy, stops the mutinies’ he jokes, eyes half lidded as Noire runs her long fingers through his hair ‘We might even find a new crewmate along the way’ he hums, while the silver haired girl rolls her eyes
‘Really love, Paradise is nothing compared to the New World…’
‘And anyone strong in the New World is a high ranked marine or part of a Yonko’s crew’ Morgan interrupts ‘If the East Blue can produce 2 30mil plus pirates then there could be some surprises in Paradise’ he punctures with a kiss which she happily accepts
Amazon Lily, Calm Belt
The door clicks open but the purple haired woman doesn’t react, she’d been under house arrest nearly 20 years, long enough she didn’t get visitors, least not anyone she actually wanted to see. As she continues her work she spies out the corner of her eye an old woman and a younger one with the overall appearance of having a pole made of kerioseki shoved up her tail hole. The purplette smiles slightly, if it weren’t for the fact they were full blood sisters she’d think the black haired woman was a snake neck, ironic given their middle sister’s name.
‘So darlings, what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?’ she asks with an air of disinterest, not difficult when her sister always seemed to drain the fun out of the very air around her, she’s think it a Devil Fruit power but she was the only sibling who could still swim.
‘We thought you’d like to see something, a disturbance in the East Blue’ the old woman says, dropping some paper onto her desk. She gives an overdramatic thanks before unrolling the page… and her eyes practically fall out of their sockets
‘You know who this is don’t you?’ she asks, a playful smile crossing her lips ‘He takes after me more than you’d like to admit, not that you ever would have’ she thinks, less at the bitch to her left and more the one she has no way to contact
‘Of course I do’ the taller one scoffs, her haughty demeanour increasing exponentially, much to the younger one’s irritation
‘Anything worthwhile to tell me, besides the fact he’s also a pirate?’ she asks, fiddling with her ponytail
The old woman contributes for once ‘The other page is his captain, there’s already talk of him throughout the East Blue and a little on the Grand Line, seems pretty confident he’ll be the next King of the Pirates’ the taller woman rolls her eyes as if the concept was laughable, though it was the younger who actually laughs
‘His parents genes, combined with a Monkey for his captain, they’ll be here in no time’ she thinks before finally releasing ‘Sesesese’ she hisses before breaking out into full blown cackles ‘Come find me little one, I’d like to see who stands in this generation’ her thoughts continue to ramble, the visitors sigh and leave her to her musings, not seeing her watch them with calculating eyes as they lock the door once more, nor the 6 inch crater her bare foot managed to kick into the floor.
He’s coming, she could see it, both of them were, she needed to be ready but she always worked well under pressure, and if she couldn’t do this simple task in the time it took them to reach this island she wasn’t worthy of the name…
Serpens D. Shaula
Unknown Location
‘Hey Sabo, we got some big bounties coming out of the East Blue’ the blond looks up from under his hat, eyebrows raised in confusion
‘Seriously?’ he asks, taking the pages and scanning them, a twinge of pain behind his eyes as he does so
‘You okay?’ the red head asks
Sabo nods ‘Yeah Koala, I’m good. Think we should tell the boss, he is in the East Blue at the moment?’ she waves it off with a shrug
‘Nah he’ll be fine, whatever security measures they’ll use on these 2 won’t catch him, especially not given who he’s there meeting’ she replies, Sabo nods, but frowns as he looks back at the pages, there was something familiar about those guys he just couldn’t place them.
Moby Dick, current location unknown
‘Hey Ace, you’re brothers are named Luffy and Kaos right yo?’ a man with blond hair arranged like a pineapple calls over, having just received the newspaper from the Coo
‘Yeah that’s them, man do I miss the cry-baby and the crazy sometimes. Why?’ asks an energetic, shirtless man wearing a cowboy hat
‘They made it, so to speak’ Marco answers with a grin, passing it over to Ace who’s eyes nearly fall out of his head
‘POPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’
Whitebeard groans, he may be the strongest man in the entire world, but he’s really old and likes his naps ‘What do you want Ace?’ he mumbles sitting up
‘My brothers, my youngest said he’d set out when he was 17, he’s trying to be the King of the Pirates. Marco just handed me these, my brothers got their first bounties and damn are they big’ Ace nearly gushes as he giddily hands them over to the old man, his eyes widen and his brain cuts out for a second
‘You never said your brothers were a Monkey and a Serpens’ he says flatly, Ace looks confused
‘Sorry? Is there something wrong?’
Whitebeard chuckles but shakes his head ‘No son, just explains how they’re that strong. They’ll do good, don’t know if the boy is King Material but it’ll be a good fight anyway Guraguraguragura’ he laughs, knowing things were about to get shaken up pretty soon, and it was going to be a lot of fun to watch
TBC
Well that’s it for this week, hope you enjoyed my little interlude.
So yeah might have a running thing that at the end of each arc/saga I’ll have a little tally for the Straw Hat bounties, as well as a combined total for the crew itself, in this case I’d place it at the end of Loguetown when they official head for the Grand Line.
1 last thing, most people translate beri to be equal to yen, so I decided to use that to translate Luffy and Kaos’ current bounties into euro, simply because it’s the one I use, and here we are:
Luffy: €286,520.00
Kaos: €316,680.00
Chapter 19: The beginning and the end: Welcome to Loguetown
Chapter Text
LW: Okay we’ve made it to Loguetown, might as well do this properly, also while you can use anyone you want for this narration I think Luffy or Rayleigh are the most appropriate:
Wealth, fame, power, the greatest treasures and the most freedom. The Pirate King. GolD Roger, the man that name describes, before his death by the hands of the marines had these last words ‘My fortune is there for the taking but you’ll have to find it first. Don’t worry I left everything I own in One Piece’. Since that day pirates from all 4 Blues have set sail for the Grand Line, seeking out the One Piece, and the prestigious title of King of the Pirates!
LW: Well that’s my intro done; surprised it took me 19 chapters to do that. Also one last thing before we start this chapter
Disclaimer: One Piece is owned by Oda, Kaos is mine, several characters throughout the story are my versions of other characters.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – The beginning and the end, Welcome to Loguetown
In, out, in, out, in, out
‘What’s he doing?’ Nami asks, with Loguetown in sight and about 15 minutes away from the she was watching as Kaos sits in Luffy’s usually thinking position in a meditative pose. Rather than answering her Luffy asks his own question
‘What we got?’ he asks smiling, to which the purplette turns and smiles slightly
‘4, maybe 5. Buggy was a surprise as well as something that feels familiar but different; Buggy must have found one for his crew since we last met. The problem is I can’t get a further read, it’s like peering through thick smoke’ he frowned at that last part ‘But it’s a thin veil, feels like if I managed to pierce that shell I’d be walking headfirst into a hurricane’
Luffy nods 'Well time to find out, here we go!’ he yells cheerfully, getting everyone’s attention
A few minutes later
‘Okay, we’re just reached the port of Loguetown, everyone know what they’re doing?’ Nami asks as everyone gathers on deck
‘I need to pick up 2 new swords, no way I’m heading to the Grand Line at anything less than my best’ Zoro answers with a sigh, hand caressing Wado’s hilt
‘I’m in charge of food’
‘I’ll be trying to get some tools to improve my stars and keep Merry up to scratch’
‘I’m bringing Kaya to find her some better guns, probably revolvers’ Kaos says as he pulls the blond toward him, the girl blushes but giggles none the less
‘I want to see where GolD Rogers was executed’ Luffy exclaims, rounding off the crew
‘Okay, now remember this is our last stop before the Grand Line so grab anything we’ll need but also keep an eye out for marines, especially you 2 Wanted idiots’ Nami glares at the brothers, still not happy about that
‘Yes Mom’ the 2 reply flatly, before making a hasty retreat from their navigator’s wrath, Kaos pushing Kaya ahead of him in the direction of the nearest weapons shop.
Kaos & Kaya
‘Here we are’ Kaos grins as they enter, the bell jingling as they did so
‘Ah, how may I help you?’ the man at the counter asks
‘Um, I require 2 revolvers’ Kaya answers, the freezes ‘you’re the one who suggested them, what kind did you say?’
Kaos’ smile grows ‘Ocelots Miss Kaya, the plan was to deck you out in dual Ocelots’ he explains and the shopkeeper scoffs, while these 2 weren’t exactly scruffy and the taller one had a fancy cloak they sure didn’t look like the sort who could afford an Ocelot, never mind 2, plus they didn’t look like or hold themselves the way the marines he usually outfitted do. This means they’re either pirates, bounty hunters or mercenaries, something that had been springing up a lot since that pirate crew turned in their Jolly Roger and became a mercenary company or PF as they’re called on the Grand Line.
‘Really, and how will you be paying for them?’ he asks with a slight sneer
Crash Bang Clatter
His eyes widen at the number and variety of blades, firearms and even a few armour pieces the purplette lays on his table
‘I was thinking we could see how much these were worth, then use berri for the remainder’ Kaos replies with a slasher smile
The man swallows ‘Give me a moment to tally this up’ he mumbles after retrieving the desired weapons
Later
Thank you for this, I’m sure we’ll do business here again if we’re ever back in Loguetown’ Kaya says with a smile and a slight bow while Kaos gets the door
ZZZ pura, pura, pura, ZZZ, pura, pura, pura.
The reflect human freezes and smiles widely ‘That what I think it is?’ he asks
Luffy
Luffy was a boy of many talents, navigation on land or sea aren’t on that list. This is probably how he ended up at the docks when looking for the execution platform… which was in the centre of town.
‘I’m here…. But where the hell am I?’ he sighs in annoyance before seeing someone how might be able to help.
The man in front of him was tall and sturdily built, short white hair, furred cuffs on his marine jacket that was left open to expose his muscular chest as well as the bandolier of cigars he wore, not counting the 2 in his mouth. He also wore a jute on his back.
‘Hey mister, do you know where the execution platform is?’ Luffy asks loudly
Smoker’s eyebrows raise in surprise, this kid in a straw hat just walks up to him and talks, sure it was kind of nice to see a civilian not on the verge of sh*tting themselves when they see him walk past, but it had been so long the change was still a shock ‘Over that way kid, just follow the smoke’ he answers, gruffly, a poof of smoke escapes his cigar and forms a trail to follow
‘Luffy grins ‘Thanks Mister’ he says before running off ‘What a nice guy’
‘Weird kid’ Smoker thinks before one of his subordinates runs up to him
‘Captain Smoker sir! We finally have the bounty posters of Mirror Master Kaos and Straw Hat Luffy’ he announces, holding the posters up to Smoker’s face
‘Hm, that one looks like a psychopath, while the other… sh*t!’ Smoker curses as he turns and heads in the direction Luffy ran off ‘Hey kid, get back here!’ he yells, the other marines follow in confusion
Zoro
Zoro stepped into Loguetown with one goal in mind: replacing the 2 of his swords Mihawk shattered back at the Baratie. The problems were he had no idea where he should go to buy swords and lacked the navigational ability to get to it even if he knew where he was meant to go. It was because of this he ended up nearly walking into 2 things ganging up on a dark blue haired girl, catching the tail end of the conversation about how this had something to do with their boss so Zoro assumed she had done something to piss these guys off, as seemed to happen a lot with his own crew, captain most of all. When they tried to attack her though Zoro reached for his last sword, but the girl draws her own and takes them down with skill Zoro hadn’t seen in a while
‘The chick’s good, if I had time I’d probably try ask for a spar with her’ he thinks with a small smile, just before the bluenette trips over her own feet and falls, glasses bouncing off the cobbles (oddly enough this reminded me of something that was said about Zoro himself, he has great battle awareness or whatever you’d call it, but he has really sh*tty special awareness or navigational ability outside of combat)
Not seeing a reason not to, Zoro walks over and picks up the glasses as the clearly half blind girl gropes around for them on the ground ‘Here to go Mi…’ Zoro freezes as she looks up in the direction of his voice: without the glasses, sure there was the obvious age difference but taking that into account she was a dead ringer (opps) for… ‘Kuina! But how?’ he thinks, the glasses slipping from his limp fingers, only the click when they once more hit the ground again brining him out of it ‘Sorry, here are your glasses’ he tries again, looking anywhere but her face so as not to get distracted
‘Thanks, it’s Tashigi by the way. So what are you in Loguetown for?’ she asks after introducing herself, Zoro accepting the hand and nod
‘Looking for swords’ he answers, vague but direct which actually described his goal in the first place
‘Oh, there’s a good store just for that over there’ Tashigi points in the direction Zoro had just come from, trying to avoid cursing he nods and expresses his thanks to the bluenette and walks over to the store. When he goes in there was a man with a bright red nose snoring on the counter, so Zoro rings the bell till he starts to move.
‘Oh hello what can I do for you?’ the man asks a little groggy but at least attempting to be friendly
‘I’m looking for 2 swords and I have 100,000 beri to spend’ Zoro states, glad disappointed at how little money he’d managed to save, but there was no way he was going to borrow from his witch of a navigator, especially not with the loan shark smile she’d been giving him the since they decided to stop in Loguetown.
Ippon-Matsu scowls, great another scint bastard ‘Go through the barrel over there, they’re all about 50,000 beri each’ he grumbles, but freezes when he sees the sword on Zoro’s hip ‘Could it be? A ranked sword in the hands of this nobody. Hey can I get a look at that sword of yours?’ he asks trying not to blow it
Zoro shrugs ‘Sure I guess’ he says handing it over.
Ippon-Matsu unsheathes Wado and practically explodes inside ‘Okay, keep it cool, you can do this. This is a pretty nice sword you got there, interested in selling? I’ll give you 200,000 beri for it’
‘What! Are you kidding me?’
‘Okay, I’ll give you 250, no 300, this sword for 500,000!’
Zoro groans ‘Just give it back here, I’m not selling’ he grunts, grabbing the sword.
‘Stobourn bastard, I’ll give you 650,000…. No wait, final offer, 800,000 beri’
The shop bell distracts them, as does the new customer ‘Hello? Is my Shigure done?’ Tashigi calls as she enters, then her eyes light up when she sees the sword ‘Is that? Could it be?’
‘No! She’s going to ruin everything!’
‘What’s she talking about?’ Zoro thinks as Tashigi flicks through a pocket book she had on her
She grins widely ‘There it is, the Wado Ichimonji, O Wazamono grade, it’s worth at least 10 million beri’ she explains while the store owner steams
Zoro nods ‘Makes sense, but I’m still not going to sell it’ he says, returning it to its sheath on his hip ‘By the way, if you were coming here anyway why didn’t you walk with me?’ the swordsman asks curious
‘Oh seeing you knocked a thought free in my head, reminding me I had to get back my Shigure from this place. Speaking of…’ she didn’t get to finish as the sword was roughly tossed to her
‘There you go ye loud mouth and don’t come back, you just cost me a lot of money you idiot’ Ippon-matsu grumbles, Tashigi flailing with Shigure and crashes into a stand holding more swords ‘Well as you heard you got a pretty good sword, shame it’s in the hands of someone who won’t apriciate it. There are a large collection of barrel swords for you to choose from for 50,000 a piece, take any 2 you like’
‘Asshole, what’s his problem’ Zoro grumbles as he approaches the barrels, then spots Tashigi was still in the shop ‘Hey, you’ve got quite the eye for swords; want to help pick some for me?’ he asks, the bluenette blinks before answering
‘But you already have a sword, a really good one at that’
‘Yeah, but I use Santoryu, one isn’t going to cut it’ he answers
‘3 sword style, like that pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro?’ Tashigi asks to which he nods ‘He’s known around the East Blue for his skills, but he’s not a good person. A man who uses his swords like that is one without honour. It’s messed up and makes real swordsmen look bad, pirates and bounty hunters as swords masters, it doesn’t make any sense’ she sighs
Zoro chuckles to himself ‘The world is always messed up, even in a place as quiet as the East Blue’ he replies, before freezing for a second and pulling out the sword, getting the other occupants attention
Tashigi gulps ‘That’s one of the Kitetsu swords, they’re all at least Wazamono grade, what’s it doing here?’
‘Because it’s cursed’ Zoro answers before the owner could ‘That’s what it says in that book of yours, that all the Kitetsu blades are cursed I presume’ she looks back to her booklet and nods ‘Great, I’ll take it’ Zoro declares, shocking both the others
‘I can’t sell you that sword. The bloodlust of the Kitetsus have drove so many others to madness and a gruesome demise if I sell you that sword and it kills you I might as well have killed you myself’ he yells before getting bonked on the head
‘Just let him buy the sword’ the woman behind him argues, though Zoro ignores them as he unsheathes Sandai Kitetsu.
‘Let’s see which is stronger, the Kitetsu curse, or my good luck’ he grins widely as he tosses the sword into the air, then holds out his arms in its path.
Tashigi and Ippon-matsu neatly pass out when the blade tilts around his arm and imbeds itself to the hilt in the floor
‘Like I said, I’ll take it’ He smiles, then turns to Tashigi who was just getting back up ‘Can you pick out another for me?
‘Um, sure’
‘Wait here!’ Ippon-matsu yells before running into the back of the store, quickly returning with something hidden under a tarp, which he removes to show a black handle and sheathed katana
‘It has a black lacquer finish and an uneven temper pattern. My shop is small, so this is the best sword I have. This is Yubashiri’ Ippon-Matsu explains
‘I can’t afford…’
‘It’s for free, same as Sandi Kitetsu. I’m sorry for trying to rip you off earlier, you’re a true swordsman and that is where a weapon like this should be’ he explains, Zoro not fully understanding but knowing enough to smile and accept the offer. It was then he noticed Tashigi staring at him
‘What?’
‘Nothing, it’s just seeing such high grade swords, it shouldn’t affect me, 1 step forward and another step back’ she says with a deep sigh
Zoro raises an eyebrow ‘What does that mean?’
‘My dream is to collect all the Wazamono swords, and at least see all the Saijo O Wazamono blades in action’
Zoro chuckles ‘Well if you want these swords I’m not giving them up without a fight. Also why give up at the end with just seeing the very best swords? I mean Mihawk’s blade is one for sure but still’
‘It’s not Yoru that’s the problem, even if the thought of fighting Mihawk makes my knees knock, it’s another blade that has me state just to see them in battle rather than obtain them. It’s a cursed blade like your Kitetsu, but while that one corrupts, drives insane and eventually kills unworthy wielders, this one will kill you just from touching it. Oh just give me a moment…’ she flicks through the booklet once more, stopping on the right page and showing it to Zoro who pales ‘There it is, the Hebi no Oni no mi, legendary blade of the Pirate Mayhem D. Apophis, Captain of the Demon Eye pirates’ she explains, pointing to the Khopesh at the top of the page ‘Since his death neither the blade nor his Devil fruit have been seen or even whispered about, but I’m going to find it when it eventually does reappear. After all a sword like that will find someone who’s worthy to wield it eventually’
‘sh*t’
TBC
LW: So, now we know, Kaos’ weird, shape shifting sword is the legendary Hebi no Oni no mi, you’d think it was something he’d tell us but oh well Tashigi seems like the kind of person who would know this kind of thing. Also yeah it’s not a canon great sword of One Piece, but it is this world version of Serpentello, a blade from other works of mine.
Also yeah Tashigi’s plan/dream/goal of taking back all the Wazamono+ swords from criminals is okay on paper but like Zoro says, Mihawk’s Yoru is on Tashigi’s hunting list (because he’s a Warlord, and therefore he must technically be a pirate) … so she’s at least 7 kinds of f*cked.
If anyone’s curious 100,000 beri/yen is €755, or at least it was when I checked it on Google.
Straw Hat Arsenal updates:
Zoro
Wado Ichimonji: O Wazamono grade, sword of his childhood friend Kuina.
Sandi Kitetsu: Wazamono grade, weakest of the 3 legendary cursed swords of Kitetsu.
Yubashiri: Ryo Wazamono grade.
Kaya
Twin Ocelot revolvers: Don’t know anything about guns; the name is a reference I hope some people get.
Chapter 20: Mysterious beauty, remnant from Luffy's past?
Chapter Text
LW: More Loguetown stuff, and we finally start heading toward the Grand Line.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Mysterious beauty, remnant from Luffy’s past
Loguetown – Town Square
‘I finally found it’ Luffy grins as he stands at the bottom of the execution platform ‘But how do I get up there?’ he wonders, not seeing any kind of ladder or steps to get up there. Then an idea comes to mind and he laughs before getting into position…
Gum Gum Spring
…and jumping right to the top of the platform
‘Well that was easy’ he grins before turning and looking out into the square ‘So this is what the King of the Pirates saw before he died. Nice’
Unfortunately Luffy could only be left to his own devices for long as soon enough a man started yelling at him from far below
‘Hey you, get down from there!’
‘But why?’ Luffy calls back with a frown
‘You are standing on a execution platform that belongs to the World Government. Now get down from there right now!’
‘That’s not an answer. But okay, as long as you say the magic words, oh and smile’ Luffy replies, grinning as always
‘I don’t have time for your games, get down here before I arrest you’ the man goes to take a step toward Luffy when he gets slammed in the back of the head by a large blunt object (hey that was once a description of it’s wielder… Yohohohoho!)
‘No one cares what you have to say’ the woman growls before looking up to the Straw Hat ‘Hello Luffy, we meet again’ Luffy blinks and adopts his other default look of confusion (His default expressions are happy and confused if anyone cares) ‘Oh come now Luffy, do you honestly expect me to believe you of all people… have forgotten this face?’ she tilts her head, removing the shadows from her face caused by her cowboy hat
‘She’s absolutely gorgeous’
‘An unparalleled beauty’
‘I want to have her babies’ (Couldn’t resist given the lovestruck are men and women in the anime)
Luffy strokes his chin while trying to think ‘I don’t remember you and I’m usually good with faces. Are you sure we’ve met before?’
The woman chuckles ‘Oh we’ve met, I’ll never forget it. After all you were the first person who ever struck me’ her statement causes the nearby area to turn hostile toward Luffy who gulps
‘What are you talking about, I never hit you!’ he yells defensively
‘When you struck me with your passionate fist… it felt good’ she smiles, causing the crowd to revert to it’s love struck daze once more ‘Every man I knew before was intimidated to the point of basically being a meek puppy, but you, you gave it you all, and it makes my insides burn with an intense heat only you can quench’ her hips sway and she squirms, causing several people to faint and Luffy to revert to confusion now he was no longer being death glared by everyone
‘Tell me, what do you believe to be the most beautiful creature in all the East Blue?’ she asks with a grin (Good thing she said East Blue not the world, cause Hanco*ck’s still better, Robin too :D )
‘THAT WOULD BE YOU!’ was the unanimous declaration
‘Exactly. There isn’t a man alive who isn’t enraptured by my beauty, but I prefer them strong, like you. I’m going to make you mine Luffy, my little rubber man’
The straw hat captain shivers ‘This is so weird, who the Hell are you?’
‘You still don’t remember?’ she asks, an air of both annoyance and … disappointment was beginning to be felt in her tone. Luckily the mystery was solved by half of a wandering duo
‘Hello Alvida’ Kaos greets with a smirk, which the beautiful mace wielder returns
‘While you’re not the handsome pirate I hoped would remember me, hello again Mr. Tall, dark and creepy, and friend’ she tacks on after noticing Kaya in his shadow
‘Hey Kaos, where’s Alvida?’ Luffy yells ‘Is she invisible? I know she’s not behind the pretty lady because she’s like 3 times her size’ Kaos face palms, Kaya groans and Alvida barely resists the urge to toss her mace at his face (though a part of her gushes at the fact Luffy called her pretty)
‘I’M ALVIDA YOU TWIT!’ she yells loudly, giving Luffy the needed memory trigger to believe her, she yelled a lot the last time they met ‘I ate the Suba Suba no mi, since we last met, so now I’m silky smooth and even if it cost me my freckles I’m even more beautiful then I was before’ she smiles as she spreads her arms and pushes back the cloak revealing she was dressed in a bikini top, loose fitting pants and sandals, showing her sexy, hourglass figure to it’s fullest, several people in the crowd swooning and fainting.
‘Damn it’ Kaya mumbles, getting the attention of a few of the people ‘I was hoping to get some tips from her on getting my skin as smooth as her, but there’s no point if it was Devil Fruit related’ she sighs sadly
‘I’m sure I can still give you some tips, you won’t be my level but your skin will be really smooth and silky’ Alvida offers then attention is brought to a loud cough ‘What!?’
‘Did you people forget about me?’ Buggy yells, causing Kaya to blush and Kaos to laugh ‘Damn you, men take them down!’
Before he could react Luffy finds himself trapped in a stockade by Cabaji, while both Kaya and Kaos found guns and blades pressing against their necks and ribs, preventing them from interfering.
‘Well sh*te!’
Meanwhile
Zoro walked blindly around Loguetown (as usual) happy to once more have the weight of 3 swords on his hip. It was his random wandering that led to running into Sanji, Nami and Usopp, the blond chef … carrying a giant fish?
‘The f*ck?’
‘Zoro there you are, well I can see you’ve got all your shopping done’ Nami says as they approach
‘Yep. Where’d you get the fish?’ he asks
‘Won it in a cooking contest’ Sanji answers, the others nodding as they’d been there (I’ve seen the 4kids version of that episode. Skipping it entirely seemed like a good idea)
‘Um, okay then…’
‘RUN! THE BUGGY PIRATES ARE ATTACKING!’ was yelled from a crowd fleeing what everyone bar Zoro assumed to be from the town square… where the execution platform was.
‘Damn it, not those bozos again’ Zoro complains
‘And given our crew those 2 idiots will be right in the middle of it’ Sanji sighs, lighting a cigarette
‘Which means Kaya is there too’ Usopp yelps, spurring the love cook into action
‘Get the ship ready to leave, we’ll get the captain, the nutter and Kaya-chan’ he tosses the fish to Usopp and alongside Zoro run in the other direction to the crowd, towards the pirates.
Back with the others
‘And now Straw Hat Luffy will be flashily executed for being a pain in the ass and making me very angry! This is a joyous occasion so be merry boys’ Buggy yells down from the top of the platform, the members of his crew not keeping Luffys companions immobile acting like idiots.
‘Neat, I always wanted to see an execution’ Luffy says with a grin
‘Well you’re about to have a front row seat’ Buggy replies, smirking down at him
‘The wheels turn and Luffy begins to panic ‘What! No not me!’ he yelps
‘Yes you, time to end it all! Flashy demise courtesy of the great Buggy the Clown.’
‘No stop, please spar my life’ Luffy says, but his heart doesn’t seem in it
‘Why would I spar your life? Anyway, look out there Straw Hat; you have quite a big audience awaiting your demise, any last words?’ Buggy spreads his arms and Luffy puffs up his cheeks in concentration as well as simply filling his lungs to their fullest
‘LISTEN! I AM THE MAN WHO’LL BE KING OF THE PIRATES!!’ Luffy loudly declares, Kaos smiles widely, with Kaya and Alvida’s smaller but still present
‘No chance rubber brat. Now, on to the main event’ Buggy says, raising his sword
‘Stop the execution!’
‘Hmm?’ Buggy stops and turns in the direction of the voice, finding Zoro and Sanji just entered the square
‘Sanji! Zoro!’ Luffy cheers, Kaya’s smile turns hopeful, while Kaos’ twists into a wide grin
Zoro chuckles as he unsheathes Wado ‘Damn idiot, I knew all your antics were going to bite you in the ass one day’
‘Wow, what’s with all the weirdos? Starting a side show or something’ Sanji adds ‘Well guess we’ll have to beat our way over to them and rescue our dumbass of a captain eh Zoro?’
‘Way ahead of you’ the green haired swordsman replies, having already pulled out all 3 swords and running towards the Buggy pirates
‘Damn moss head!’ Sanji growls before joining in ‘Quit hogging all the action’
‘Get them men!’ Buggy yells once more, his crew charging straight for the cook and swordsmen and were beaten down quite badly.
As well as an actual assistance, Zoro and Sanji’s arrival and attack were the perfect distraction for Kaya and Kaos to reach for their weapons, Kaya seemed unsure as to her methods as some were simply kneecapping while others had much more lethal hits, while Kaos was simply hacking away indiscriminately at the Buggy pirates, as well as a few he punched or kicked through nearby walls.
But even with all their skill and strength, Buggy was still inches from their captain, and they never really stood a chance of doing much more than distracting him.
‘Guys, thanks for trying, but I’m dead’ Luffy says surprisingly with a smile on his face
Zap
Just before Buggy could remove Luffy’s head the entire platform was hit by a colossal lightning strike causing the structure to collapse in on itself.
Meanwhile … 8 or so arcs away
Urk, f*cking allergies
‘Are you alright Enaru-sama?
The blond laughs ‘Of course I’m fine I’m a f*cking God’
‘But sir…’
Shut up bubble boy’ he mutters, shooting a bolt of lightning at the man
Back in the East Blue
‘Wow, that was intense’ Luffy says as he stands up, a little sooty but otherwise unharmed
BANG
Cabaji falls to the ground, his sword not far behind as Alvida hefts her mace onto her shoulder
‘So Luffy-kun, any openings on this crew of yours?’
‘Sure, welcome aboard Alvida’ Luffy grins and shakes her hand, shocking her as everything slips off her now… except the rubber boy it seems.
‘As much fun as this has been maybe we should leave before that storm traps us on this island’ Kaos deadpans, the others looking up at the darkening sky and collectively think f*ck before running at full tilt towards the harbour
‘Hey, get back here you bastards!’ a mildly charred Buggy yells after them, just before the marines started to appear from every alcove
Bara Bara Cart
‘Bomb engine, fire!’ Buggy yells as the clown car shoots forward after the Straw hats and Alvida
‘Crap we’re never going to get away’ Sanji groans as the marines start gaining on them, as well as the Buggy pirates
‘I have an idea, Kaya, grab Alvida’s cloak, or arms round her neck whichever actually works’ Kaos yells back, starting to spin Hebi while they run, the 2 females look to each other before Alvida shrugs and Kaya hops onto her back
‘Now what?’ she asks, gulping when the purplette grins widely
Kaos hooks his blade into one of Alvida’s belt loops and yanks, causing the smooth human to fly at full speed towards the docks, the mace wielder fearfully forcing her eyes to remain open in order to ensure she didn’t crash into anything, using her mace as a simple form of steering, meanwhile Kaya had no such necessities so thought it much better use of her time was to squeeze her eyes shut, clench her fists into the cloak and scream her lungs out.
White Out
It was probably a good thing they did it though as smoke began to blow into the square and somehow entrap the Buggy pirates, including the clown himself.
‘That was helpful’ Luffy chuckles but keeps running so as not to get caught by the smoke himself
‘I don’t have time for you small fry’ Smoker growls, his arms fully transformed into a dense smoke ‘Fire!’ he yells, the marines shooting nets into the smoke to capture the pirates. Once they were secured he turned to one of his subordinates ‘I’m going after the straw hat, get me the Smog Hog’
‘Which way is the sea?’
‘I don’t know, the rain makes it difficult to tell’
‘Like you had any idea where it was before that?’
‘Nope’
‘There they are!’ the marines yelling cut the straw hats little argument as it gave them more important things to do, such as run faster.
‘Damn these guys don’t give up, think we should stop and fight them?’ Zoro asks
‘We don’t have the time, that storm’s coming in fast’ Sanji replies, then goes gaga when he sees a woman standing in their path ‘And who is this marvellous beauty?’
Zoro looks up and groans, he’d hoped Impon-matsu’s shop would be the last he saw of Tashigi but nope she had to show up when they were in a hurry to leave, and if the stony expression on her face was anything to go on, she was pissed off.
‘Give me those swords!’ Zoro blinks at Tashigi’s demand ‘You heard me, swords like those should not be in the hands of pirate scum like you’
Zoro actually laughs ‘Like I told you before, I’m not going to give them up without a fight’ he reaches for his swords, but only manages to draw 2 of them before he had to block the bluenette’s strike. ‘Well it seems she is even better than I thought she was’ Zoro thinks as he battles the sword otaku marine, reaching a stand still but unsure if he could beat her with only 2 swords. Taking a quick backstep he moves Wado to his mouth and draws Kitetsu, the tables turn quickly and he swiftly disarms Tashigi, yubishiri embedded in the wall inches from her neck ‘You were never getting these swords from me’ he says with a small sigh before sheathing them one by one and beginning to walk away
‘Why didn’t you kill me? It’s because I’m a girl isn’t … Ow!’ Tashigi groans as Zoro hits her with the flat of his sword
‘Idiot! Being a girl has nothing to do with it, if you were as bad as you think you are I wouldn’t have needed all 3 swords to do it
I’ve only lost to 2 people in my life, one was Mihawk, the other was Kuina, she was my best friend and the 2nd best swordsman I’ve ever met’
With Luffy, Kaos and Sanji (having skirted around Zoro and Tashigi’s fight and continued running)
‘There it is, I can see the harbour’ Luffy cheers
‘It wasn’t right you know, letting Zoro fight a lady like that’ Sanji grumbles, only to get head smacked by the flat of Kaos’ khopesh
‘Nobody cares, besides she attacked him’
‘Still, you should never hurt a woman’
Kaos smirks very slightly ‘I’ll be sure to inform Alvida your balls are available for target practice Sesese’ he laughs, until he sees what’s right in front of them: Captain Smoker on a motorcycle ‘f*ck!’
‘Straw Hat Luffy, Mirror Master Kaos, together in one place. Nice of you pirates to make my job easier for a change’ Smoker says gruffly as he gets off his bike.
‘Sanji, get moving, we’ll be right behind you’ Luffy states, his hat falling over his eyes while Kaos pulls out hebi with a smile. The cook looks ready to protest, but considering his captain’s stubbornness it would be easier to move the Red Line so did as he was told.
‘I highly doubt that’ Smoker growls, his arms already beginning to lose shape and become smoke
White Out
The marine captain’s smoke wrapped around Luffy’s body, the rubber captain flailing uselessly in the air. The only reason it didn’t catch the elder pirate was because it missed when he sped forward, trying either distract or damage the marine captain… only for the blade to pass harmlessly through his body
‘sh*t!’
‘How’d he do that?’ Luffy asks
Smoker scoffs ‘I ate the Moku Moku no mi, allowing me to transform my body into smoke whenever I want. And you can’t hurt smoke’ he smiles around his cigars, tossing Luffy into a wall before launching a smoke fist into Kaos’ gut
White Blow
‘Had enough pirates?’ Smoker asks, both don’t reply, just pull themselves to their feet. Luffy rushing at him before firing off a gum gum gattling, which while capable of pushing Smoker back slightly didn’t seem to actually be hurting the man
‘That’s really gross’ Luffy grimaces, seeing his fist embedded in Smoker’s face, the marine looking only mildly annoyed by the intrusion, but he’s always looked like that so it probably had nothing to do with the fist in his face.
White Blow
The smoke slams into Luffy, then proceeds to pin him to the wall.
‘Hm, so his devil fruit makes him untouchable… I wonder just how far that extends’ the 1st mate wonders as he wills his hands to shift, his reflect armour forming as well as lengthening his nails to about 3 inches.
Kaos slices the smoke with his chrome coloured, clawed hand, a tuft of fur appearing for just a second before fading back into smoke. However it was enough for Smoker to release a hiss and recall his arms, freeing Luffy from his hold
[Given later examination, even though he did manage to draw blood it was basically a paper cut, so it was just shock that someone could cut him since eating his logia fruit that had Smoker let go, that and reflexive recoil, like when you stub your toe or burn yourself]
‘Okay, now we run!’ Luffy yells, pained and a little annoyed at how badly Smoker was kicking their asses
‘Oh no you don’t, you’re not entering the Grand Line as long as I have anything to say about it’ Smoker growls, reaching for the Jute on his back, but is stopped when someone grabs his arm
‘It seems you don’t have a say anymore’ the gravely voice says with slight amusem*nt
Smoker’s eyes narrow ‘You!’ he snarls, looking back at the man, smirking under his cloak, diamond tattoos along the left side of his face ‘The government will soon have you head just like theirs’
Dragon smirks ‘I don’t think so’ he whispers then looks at the confused but retreating straw hats ‘So long boys’ was mumbled before nodding his head to his companion
An emerald green whirlwind tore through the island, among other things separating the pirates from the marines, destroying the marine’s cannons and blowing the straw hat crew in the direction of their ship, Kaos and Luffy gripping hard onto their hats to keep them on their head rather than ending up at the bottom of the sea. As quickly and as strangely as it began the wind stopped, the storm returning to it’s previous level.
As Smoker pulls himself to his feet (Dragon managing to sneak away in the chaos as usual) Tashigi runs up to him ‘Captain, the straw hats have gotten to their ship, it’s gone’ she grips her sword tensely, Smoker can see losing to Roranoa has shaken her, and angered her.
‘We’re going after them’ Smoker growls through his cigars, Tashigi surprised he was including her
‘Well it looks like I showed up just in time’ Smoker groans internally, remembering that alongside Straw Hat’s bounties was a memo that said with an 80 million beri crew in East Blue they would be sending another Captain to assist, he just wished they’d told him it was going to be Nylock Lucina, a woman who unfortunately prescribed to Sakazuki’s ‘Absolute Justice’ world view, while he more closely followed Alkoji’s case by case determination, he would just never refer to his own world view as ‘Lazy Justice’ though.
[Fun Fact: Lucina’s a Grand line/ New World born 32 year old, 10ft tall and an E-cup, because I said so really. Also because the further into the Grand Line you go the bigger everything is, at least given the way Oda draws the girls in the manga ;)]
Before Smoker can really formulate a response/greeting to his fellow captain, one of his men ran up to him to report ‘Captains, the Straw Hats got away and they appear to have taken Iron Mace Alvida with them’
‘So, that’s 3 Devil Fruit users on that crew’ Lucina sneers which surprises Tashigi; sure DF powers give the pirates an unfair advantage, but they had kerioseki and DF users of their own, usually the highest ranked members of a group, such as Captain Smoker himself in this branch as well as the current 3 admirals and the Fleet Commander (Hi seagull hat guy, knew I’d get to mention you eventually). Then again from what she’d heard the younger marine Nylock always had a scowl on her face, ironic given her little (in age and size) brother’s moniker, and Vice Admiral Nylock’s kind and approachable nature.
Smoker nods ‘Men, ready a ship, I’m heading into the Grand Line after those pirates’
On the Going Merry
‘Ow’ the boys groan, landing heavily when they hit the Merry’s deck
‘You’re alive!’ Nami says, sighing in relief
‘And all here, that’ll really piss off Smoker’ Alvida smirks
‘Hey, what’s she doing here?’ Usopp finally gets to ask,
‘She asked to join the crew, I said yes. Anyone got a problem with that?’ Luffy asks in response, Sanji clearly having no complaints if his heart eyes were any indication, while Alvida’s large mace had the coward zipping his lips, to the amusem*nt of both her, Zoro and Kaos.
‘Guys I think we should do something to mark the occasion, after all you don’t enter the Grand Line everyday’ Sanji says once they were far enough from Loguetown the marine’s wouldn’t be bothering them for at least a while
‘Okay’
To being King of the Pirates! And finding the One Piece
To understanding the Devil Fruits
To be the world’s greatest swordsman
To draw a map of the world
To become a brave warrior of the sea
To be a great doctor
To find the All Blue
To be the most beautiful Heavy Hitter
As one, the straw hat crew raised their legs before slamming them down on the barrel, shattering it into splinters
‘Here we go, everyone. Onward to the Grand Line!’ Luffy shouts from the lambs head of the Going Merry, the others smiling, feeding on his enthusiasm
ADVENTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LW: Well that’s the end of the East Blue Saga, Grand Line soon, but first I have a very special chapter next :D
1st Logia (well 1st 2 :D) and as expected Luffy and Kaos get their asses kicked. Dragon gets to be awesome, and a new captain shows up to cause problems for the pirates in the future.
Techniques / abilities
Alvida – Eater of the Suba Suba no mi/ Smooth Smooth fruit
Smoker – Eater of the Moku Moku no mi / Smoke Smoke fruit
White Out: Smoker produces a thick smoke which he uses to ensnare his opponent(s).
White Blow: He shoots the smoke at his enemy, slamming directly into them. It can easily transition into White Out, but didn’t in this case at least.
Buggy
Bara Bara Cart: I have literally no idea how to explain this sh*t. Somehow he becomes a cart and uses a bomb as an engine/propulsion system.
Seriously at least what Alvida did in the anime is understandable, super smooth skin means she can basically jet ski along any smooth surface.
Straw Hat Bounty:
Monkey D. Luffy – 38,000,000 beri / €286,520
Serpens D. Kaos – 42,000,000 beri / €316,680
Alvida – 5,000,000 beri / €38,200
Current total bounty – 85,000,000 beri / € 649,400
Chapter 21: Flashback Land: Origin of the Straw Hat
Summary:
A trip to Flashback Land, where we get the start of Luffy and Kaos' origin story
Chapter Text
LW: Okay so here it is, a flashback chapter O_O! Yeah it’s taken me 21 chapters what took the anime 4 episodes, but we finally get Luffy (and Kaos) origin story… or at least the 1st part.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Origin of the Straw Hat
Dawn Island – Fushio village (Makino’s Bar)
‘You gotta take me with you on your next adventure Shanks’ the boy pleads, while the red head in a straw hat laughs
‘Yeah right, like you could be a pirate’
‘See kid, you may be a great swimmer and all, but it take a lot more than that to be a pirate’ Yassop argues
‘But I’m a great fighter too. My punches are as strong as pistol shots’ an 8 year old Luffy boasts as he sits by the bar, the man beside him chuckles lightly, pushing his old straw hat out of his eyes
‘Really, a pistol you say? That’s impressive. Here have a drink on me’
‘Yay!’ Luffy cheers, gulping down the juice as the pirates start laughing
‘Ha ha, only a kid drinks juice’ the red head wheezes between laughs
‘Shut up asshole!’ Luffy screams back angrily
‘Relax Monkey, just finish your juice’ and amused voice purrs and Shank’s attention is drawn to the other kid in the bar: pale and bony, if it weren’t his notably prepubescent voice and confirmation from Makino he’d think the kid was at least 13 rather than the 10 that was the purplette’s actual age. He was Kaos, Luffy’s big brother, or good as given they’d been raised together as such, since Garp practically dropped them on Makino’s doorstep as a baby and toddler respectively many years back.
Suddenly the door was broken off it’s hinges, a scruffy looking gang of men enter the building
‘We’re mountain bandits, but we’re not here to wreck the place, provided you give us all the booze you’ve got’ their leader orders
‘I’m sorry but we’re fresh out’ Makino answers, partly apologetic, and partly worried
‘Then what are all these guys drinking? Juice?’ Higuma yells, pointing at the clearly intoxicated pirates all around him
‘Well he is’ Kaos mutters, waving his hand in Luffy’s direction and getting punched in the ribs because of it, though not for self-preservation reasons, he just didn’t want people to know he was drinking juice
‘No, but they did drain me dry’
Shanks nods before reaching behind him ‘Sorry about that, but here’s an unopened bottle. I hope this helps’
Higuma sneers and smashes the bottle with his cutlass
‘One bottle ain’t going to do, I’m a wanted man with 8 million beri for my head’
[HAHAHAHAHA! That’s cute, need I remind you that in the last month Luffy’s bounty jumped up to 1.5 BILLLION! And this guy thinks 8 mill makes him some kind of badass… okay in the East Blue where the average is 3 I’ll admit its okay, but it’s nothing special]
Shanks clearly as the same thoughts as the brackets above as he didn’t even react to the bandit’s threat ‘Oh no. Now the floor’s all wet’ he whines, the reaches down for what remains of the bottle ‘Sorry about the mess Makino, you got a rag back there I can borrow?’
‘It’s fine Shanks I’ll clean it up’
Smash
Higuma clearly didn’t like being ignored as he proceeded to destroy the entire counter, knocking its contents all over the floor
‘Seeing as you like to clean so much, might as well give you a worthwhile job’ he then sighs and turns to go ‘Move it men, if there’s no sake there’s no point in sticking around this backwater little town’ he grunts as he walks out the door.
Once all the bandits had left the pirate’s erupt into laughter, even the currently soaked Shanks
‘He’s got you good captain’ Yassop laughs, Lucky Roo nodding around his mutton
‘What the Hell was that?’ Luffy yells angrily ‘You should have fought back, what kind of pirates are you?’
Shanks laughs ‘Luffy, sometimes it’s just not worth fighting against some guy being a dick over booze, it’s pointless’
Luffy growls and sits with a huff, his eyes flicked over to a swirly blue fruit in a medium sized chest, along side a smaller silver and swirly fruit ‘Hmm?’
‘Hey Luffy, it you stress eat like that you’ll become even more of an anchor’ Shanks jokes until he sees the swirls on the food he’s eating ‘Oh no please not that’ he thinks before running over ‘What are you eating?’ Luffy gulps, his face pale ‘Fuuuuuuuuuuuck!’
‘Um…’
‘Cough it up Luffy, cough it up now!’ Shanks orders as he shakes the kid upside down… right until his neck stretches and his face hits the floor
‘Ahh!’
‘Luffy do you have any idea what you’ve done?’
‘Nope’
‘You’ve eaten one of the Devil Fruits, so now you can’t ever swim again’
‘And if you eat another you’ll explode!’
‘Not helping Yassop’ Ben grunts at the sniper
‘Can’t Swim? Explode?!’ Luffy yells in panic
‘Yes, you ate the Gomu Gomu no mi, so your entire body now has the properties of rubber, you’re a rubber boy now kid’
‘Really?’ Luffy sits there for a moment before he sticks his fingers in the corners of his mouth and pulls them back into a wide grin. He then releases his hold, his face snapping back to it’s normal shape ‘Awesome!’ he cheers
Later, back home
Luffy gasps ‘Is that?’
‘Yes, it’s another of Captain Shanks’ Devil Fruits’ Kaos says with a wide grin
‘Are you sure about this Kaos? Weird powers in exchange for never being able to swim’ he asks
‘Well I never could swim very well in the first place, might as well have an excuse’ Kaos answers with a shrug and a childish grin
‘Okay then’ Luffy smirks back before frowning ‘You do know these things taste awful right?’
Kaos grimaces ‘And it’s not exactly a good idea to eat a lime straight in the first place’
‘This is going to suck to be you, shishishi’
Fushou Village the next day
‘Mayor! The mountain bandits have Luffy!’ Makino yells as she runs into Woodslap’s office, the man gulps and follows her quickly to where Higuma was kicking the crap out of the small boy, reaching them just as Kaos got tossed back by one of the bandits.
‘You shouldn’t have opened your mouth kid, nobody who’s pissed me off has lived to tell the tale’ Higuma growls, drawing his sword
‘Please stop, don’t kill the boy. I don’t know what he’s done and I don’t plan to fight you over it, but I’ll do anything so long as you spare the poor, foolish boy’s life’ Woodslap pleads, falling to his knees as he does so
Higuma smirks ‘At least some people understand the way of the world, but I must decline, this brat’s already made he angry, so he’s got to go’
‘You bastards!’ Luffy yells from under the bandit’s boot
‘No’
‘Stop! Please’
‘So this is where everyone is’ Makino jumps as Shanks and his crew appear behind her ‘Hey Luffy, I thought you said your punches were strong as pistols’ he chuckles
‘Not now Shanks’ Luffy chokes
‘You should go, before something bad happens to you. But incase you’re just slow as well as weak I have just the man to deliver the message’ Shanks doesn’t even flinch when a pistol is pressed to his temple, in fact he smirks just a little
‘Now you’ve drawn your pistol are you willing to use it?’ he asks calmly
‘What?’
‘Guns aren’t for making threats they’re for action. You draw one…’
BANG splat Gulp
‘…someone is going down’ Shanks finishes as the bandit dies due to Lucky Roo shooting him in the face
‘You bastard, you’re dead!’
‘These guys fight dirty’
‘Dirty?’
‘We never claimed to be saints or anything, we’re pirates’ Ben adds
‘Shut up, we just want the kid, so stay out of it’ one of the bandit’s yell, but is ignored by the pirates
‘Listen very closely here. You can pour booze on me, drop food on me, even spit on me and I’ll probably just laugh it off. But you harm a friend of mine, you’ll pay for it regardless of your reason, and I will make sure you do’ Shanks’ eyes were cold and serious, sending chills down everyone’s spines
Higuma laughs ‘You’re going to make us pay? Well men, kill these pansies’
Ben sighs and steps forward ‘I’ll handle this boss, shouldn’t take to long’ he then proceeds to beat the bandits with his rifle, not even bothering to shot them, just using the weapon like an improvised club.
‘Damn it all, kill the brats so we can leave’ Higuma yells, one of his men rushing at Kaos with his sword, the kid tenses, before his arms loses all it’s colour and gains a reflective, silver sheen to it
‘Damn brats, looks like they both decided to steal Devil Fruits from me’ Shanks internally grumbles
Gurk
Everyone stood there in shock, Kaos most of all as his chrome coloured limb cleaves through the blade and imbeds itself in the bandit’s chest, impaling his heart on his long fingers
‘What kind of freak are you?’ Higuma gasps
‘What’s going on? I can’t see’
Luffy’s outburst caused the pirates to kick back into gear, Ben continuing beat down of the lower tier bandits, while Kaos yanks his arm back out of the cooling body, skittering back until he collides with Shanks chest, the captain holding the kid steady before he could fall
‘Hold on, you’ll be fine’ he whispers as his first mate finishs off the canon fodder
‘That’s it! To Hell with all you pirate bastards!’ Higume yells angrilly before dropping a smoke bomb, managing to escape before Ben or Shanks could get to him.
‘Damn it, he got away’ beat ‘Oh sh*t! He’s still got Luffy!’ Shanks yells loudly
Transition
‘Ha, they’d never expect a mountain bandit to escape by boat’ Higuma laughs as he thinks about how smart he is, while dangling Luffy over the side of his boat
‘Damn it, let go of me you dickhe*d!’ Luffy screams angrily, flailing around in an attempt to get free
‘If you insist. Say hi to the fishes for me’ the bandit chuckles before tossing Luffy overboard, laughing as he makes a loud splash and begins splashing around aimlessly. This laughter ended quite abruptly when something erupts from the water right behind him: a sea king, it’s body a greyish brown and it’s eyes blood red. Higuma had little more time than to express his confusion before the great beast had eaten both him and his boat.
‘I’m going to die’ Luffy’s panicked mind screams as the Sea King barrels toward him, the boy colliding with something solid as their jaws barely miss him. Looking up Luffy’s eye widen ‘Shanks!’ he yells then screams when he sees Lord of the Coast double back
Rather than show fear Shanks’ face was cold and stony ‘Pick on someone your own size. Get Lost!’ he orders, the 2 stare for a moment before the massive beast whimpers and swims away ‘there we go Luffy, safe and sound’ he says with his usual cheerful demeanour
Luffy sniffles ‘B-b-but Shanks, your arm’ he cries into his chest, most of the pirate’s left arm having been bitten off by the sea king
‘It’s just an arm Luffy, nothing I wouldn’t give to save a friend’ he pulls the lad closer with his remaining arm and begins to kick towards land, his crew and Kaos there to meet him
‘Captain, quickly, you need to get to Doc Mills’ Yassop yells worryingly to which Shanks nods
‘Sure thing, Luffy stick with the men, me and your brother need to see the Doc’
Luffy gasps, looking to the taller boy ‘Kaos got hurt?’
Shanks smiles, ruffling his hair ‘Nothing major but best get him checked out anyway’ Luffy nods sadly as Shanks pushes the mostly unresponsive DF user in front of him
The Red Force
‘sh*t, this is going to take a bit of work Shanks’ Zelena sighs, hands running through her thick, red hair.
‘Don’t worry Z, I’ll live and you’ll patch me up just fine, same as you have everyone else’ the captain grins then turns to Kaos ‘So want to talk kid?’
‘I killed him’ the purplette meeps ‘I killed someone, I’m a monster’ he sniffles
Shanks frowns but lightly squeezes the kid’s arm ‘You’re not a monster, even if you are a killer’
BANG
‘That’s not helping!’ Z|elena yells with shark teeth
The Yonko whines as he rubs his head ‘That wasn’t nice Z’ he pouts before turning back to Kaos ‘You know you weren’t the only one to kill today’
‘I wasn’t?’
‘Nope. You know Lucky Roo?’
Kaos nods ‘Yeah, he’s the one who gets all the best meat, Luffy doesn’t like that about him’
‘Yeah well he also killed a bandit, shot him in the face. Is he a monster?’
‘No’ Kaos answers ‘but he’s an adult. Despite Luffy trying to be all grown up, I know we’re still kids’
Shanks nods in understanding ‘Very true and I’m sorry you had to do so, so early in life. But he attacked you and you were trying to save your brother from the bandits. That’s self defence in my book’
‘Really?’
‘Of course, in fact…’ he meets eyes with Zelena who sighs and nods before walking over to the wall with a grumble and pulling out a small box from a hidden compartment
‘You better know what you’re doing’ she hisses in his ear before placing it between them
‘Well? Open it’ he says to Kaos who looks at him in confusion before he nods and opens the box, revealing a gold coloured khopesh with a black/purple serpent coiled around the hilt, itself appearing to be wrapped in snakeskin ‘This is the Hebi no Oni no mi’ he explains ‘And I think you’ll find a good use for it’
‘You’re giving me a sword?’ the boy looks confused as he picks up the weapon. Once he does the snake animates, sliding under his sleeves and up his arm. Kaos hisses and clutches his shoulder in pain, swaying a few times before steadying himself ‘Whoa!’ he gasps
‘Yeah. This blade belonged to a man I greatly respected’ Shanks began, Kaos noticing tears in Zelena’s eyes, the red head missing her former captain ‘the fact it accepted you means you will carry on his legacy. I will admit he was probably 20 kinds of crazy but he had a good heart and treated his crew like family. I see great things for you and Luffy in the future, now get out there before Anchor has a complete meltdown’ he teases, ruffling his hair before the lanky kid runs out of the infirmary
Once he was out of earshot Zelena hits the straw hat wearing idiot (A ginger smacking a straw hat wearing idiot… sounds familiar) ‘Ow’ Shanks whines
‘Do you have any idea what could have happened? The only consolation would have been that it was a quick death’
‘Relax, I knew what I was doing’
‘No, you didn’t, you took a chance like with this’ she gestures to the stump she was still treating ‘I don’t care if you gamble with your own body or even your own life, but those kids… I know you’re not that kind of man, or at least I hope you aren’t now’
Shanks sighs ‘I know Z and I’m sorry, but it just felt right, like him and that blade slot together like a single unit’
‘I know, it’s the only reason I gave you it in the first place, rather than send you flying across the room’ there was an awkward silence for a few minutes
‘I can’t thank you enough for taking this position’
‘Nonsense, you needed a Doctor and it’s clearly needed given you did this like an idiot’
‘No, I mean it, you have a chance away from this life, and because of me you could be dragged back into it’ he explains, wincing when she tightens the bandage.
‘Idiot. You are a friend Shanks, I’ve never had a problem helping my friends’ she smiles before slapping the back of his head once more ‘Besides, it’s just till you find yourself a new doctor, and I already have some other work lined up with Grima and Henry’
1 week later
‘Do you have to go?’ Luffy asks sadly as Shanks crew loading up their ship
‘Yeah we do, we’ve been on this island and East Blue in general for too long, we need to go. You still want to come with?’ he asks with a smirk
‘No thanks, I’m going to make my own crew one day’
‘That’s great because we wouldn’t have taken an anchor like you around anyway’ Red Hair Shanks laughs and Luffy yells
‘That’s not nice you jerk! I’m going to be the Captain of the greatest pirate crew the world has EVER SEEN! And we’ll find the greatest treasure there is and I’ll become King of the Pirates’
Shank’s laughter fades to a warm smile ‘The greatest huh?’ he chuckles, reaching for his hat before placing it on Luffy’s rubber noggin ‘Here’s an idea, you keep this hat and bring it back when you have this amazing crew of fearsome pirates okay?’ he hears Luffy sniffle though can’t see the tears behind the hat ‘Hey Kaos’ the taller kid stops helping Ben fill a crate to nod ‘I know wherever Anchor goes you will be, I won’t ask you to stop him from making stupid decisions, we both know that’s impossible, but try keep him from getting killed’
‘Hey! I don’t need his help I’m going to be a great pirate’ Luffy complains
‘That may be true Luffy but every pirate Captain needs a 1st mate, and who better than your own brother?’
Luffy pouts for a moment before nodding ‘Hey Kaos, want to join my crew?’
The purplette nods with a grin ‘Sure, I expect a pay rise though’
‘Okay’
Shanks smiles as he watches the brothers from the ship’s deck, knowing they were going to take the world by storm…
TOGETHER
TBC
LW: Well there we go, the origin of both of their Devil Fruits, Luffy’s hat and even Kaos’ sword. I hope you all enjoyed this little stroll through Flashback Land, back to regular time in 2 weeks.
We’re finished with the East Blue now, next chapter we hit the Grand Line!
Chapter 22: Island Whales and Water running up hill?
Chapter Text
LW: Well here we go, onward to the next Saga, East Blue officially ended back in May, now June brings us into the Grand Line and the beginning of what is technically considered part of the Alabasta Saga.
Also in this universe the Warship Island Arc happened and I’ll probably get back to it some day, but nothing really important happened to feel free to imagine whatever you like.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Island Whales and water running up hill? The Grand Line’s weird already.
Going Merry – East Blue
‘Okay everyone, we’re almost hit the point of no return. Now the only way to enter the Grand Line is Reverse Mountain’
‘Why can’t we just go this way?’ Kaya asks, running her fingers straight down the map.
‘That’s the Calm Belt’ Nami begins
‘A place without wind or current, infested with Sea Kings’ Kaos finishes causing Kaya to droop
‘Oh, sorry I wasted your time’ she mumbles, flinching when she feels a hand on her shoulder
‘Hey, don’t worry about it, that was a good question, after all it does look like an easier option on paper’
‘Speaking of paper how does the map say we enter?’ Alvida asks, her chin resting on her knuckles
‘Well 99% of the Red Line is solid, impenetrable wall of rock, but there’s a single canal connecting each of the Blues together and then to the Grand Line. The problem is it looks like we have to somehow go up the mountain and then down the other side’ Nami explains
‘Sailing up a mountain? Now you’ve lost it Nami’ Zoro scoffs while Luffy just grins
‘This is going to be so cool’ he thinks
‘Hey guys, we have a problem!’ Usopp yells, the other only then noticing him struggling to move their rudder bar. Nami groans but directs Sanji to deal with it, which he happily attempts to do
A little later
‘Hey guys, I can see the mystery mountain!’ Luffy yells, the others a little busy with their brains trying to get out of their HOLY sh*t holding pattern
‘Damn it! Nami was right, the water is flowing uphill’ Zoro thinks
‘What the Hell? I can’t see the top, the mountain’s taller than the clouds!’ Usopp yells
‘Okay, we can see the entrance, just need to actually keep our heading in that direction’ Kaos turns to Luffy who shrugs, then Nami who nods, before the reflect human sends Sanji and Usopp to work on their steering. Not that it did much good...
‘sh*t, the current’s got us, if we don’t adjust soon we’re going to break against the Red Line’ Nami yells, Usopp and Sanji frantically trying on the steering pole, while Kaos, Zoro and Alvida try use the sails to edge just a little bit to the right. Things were looking up… right until the rudder’s steering pole snapper off
‘FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!’
Seeing no other option Luffy jumps off the front of the Merry just before it reaches the gates, though as usual he forgot to tell anyone his plan
Gum Gum Balloon
Luffy inflates just before the ship hits the wall, nudging it to safety. Kaos, with a quick toss of Hebi hooking onto Luffy so he could once more rejoin them on the assent
‘WE MADE IT!’ was cheered by most of the straw hats, Luffy even joining in once he’d regained his bearings
With the crisis averted even Nami was looking happy, cheering with the others and laughing. All was right with the world
‘Forget about me so soon pirates?’ the group turn to see a weirdo with swirly pale purple hair and really long nails on the railing of the ship
‘Hey isn’t that the sicko guy?’ Luffy asks
‘I think it is’ Alvida notes ‘But then again I also thought he was dead’
‘I hate the lot of you, not only did you ruin all my plans but now they’re out of reach from ever coming to fruition. For that alone I will take great pleasure in destroying you bastards myself’
‘Anyone got a plan?’ Kaos asks quietly
‘Whatever we do it’ll have to be quick, with his wind blades he could tear the ship apart quite easily’ Zoro answers, his hands already wrapping around Wado and Kitetsu’s hilts
‘Ha ha, you fools can’t lay a finger on me, I hold all the cards this time’
Bang Bang
‘Fu…’ Eric doesn’t even get to finish his curse as the double kneecapping made him lose his balance and fall backward, into the turbulent waters of Reverse Mountain. The Zoro and Sanji look down at the blond huddled between them, her revolvers still smoking. Then look at one another, then down to Kaya before smirking
‘You did good Doc’
With that dealt with the majesty of the sights of Reverse Mountain, once more held their attention till they reached the peak at which point the mostly gentle assent quickly shifted to a drop worthy of extreme roller coasters, a sentiment clearly shared by the ship’s captain as he yelled and cheered in joy, one hand holding down his hat and the other gripping the front of the boat, actions matched by Kaos and Alvida (being the only ones on the crew with hats) while the others held the ship in a death grip.
‘This is so cool!’ Luffy cheers with a wide D grin
‘Anyone else hear a loud groan/rumble?’ Kaos asks
‘How can you hear anything over the wind?’ Nami screams, forcing her eyes open to ensure they don’t go smash against the sides
‘What?’ Kaya yells, seeing their lips more but unsure they were saying
‘We’re passing through the cloud layer’ Nami says as loud as she could before screaming when the source of the rumble/groan…an enormous whale ramming the Red Line
‘Holy sh*t, that’s a huge whale’
‘It’s going to crush us!’
‘We’re all gonna die!’
‘Not if I have anything to say about it’ Luffy thinks
‘Wait a minute, if this thing is a mountain to us, we might as well be a speak’
Nami blinks at Sanji saying something helpful ‘You’re right, we might be able to pass by completely under it’s radar’
‘Only problem is we’re still on a bloody collision course!’ Kaos reminds her
‘Then we need to turn the ship, somehow’ Alvida argues
‘The rudder’s broken’
‘Well who’s fault is that?’
‘QUIET!!’ Everyone turns to Kaya in shock ‘We need to try something, anything or we’re going to die’
‘Got it!’ Luffy nods and runs off, to the confusion of everyone else
Kaos sighs before looking back to the whale ‘There’s more room on its right, hard port. Try turning the ship left’ he orders, the guys all frantically trying to move their broken rudder into a position where they can do anything… and failing
‘This is it, we were in the GrandLine for less than a minute and we’re about to die’ Nami whimpers, as the whale gets even closer
BOOM!
Jaws drop as the Merry’s cannon is unloaded into the whale, it also managing to reduce the ship’s speed so it gently nudged the beast rather than ran into it… still broke the lamb’s head off though.
‘We’re dead’ Nami thinks as she collapses, this close to passing out
‘Well, we’re boned’ Kaos grumbles, sounding almost resigned to his fate.
DERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP
‘Hey, what happened to the Merry Head?’ Luffy yells as he comes back on deck looking pissed off
‘Now is not the time, let’s book it!’ the rest of the crew agreed as they broke out the oars and began to row their way around the whale, who didn’t seem to even react to the cannon fire that had been launched at it. Everything was fine until they reached its eye…
‘You think you can break my special seat and get away with it!’
Gum Gum Pistol
‘Luffy! You moron!’ everyone screams as he punches the whale straight in the eye. This the monstrous beast did react to, his gaze flicking down onto them faster than could be expected for something of its considerable size. Luffy didn’t seem fazed at all that he was picking a fight with something who’s eye was bigger than his ship, he was just mad.
The whale groans loudly, its massive jaws open wide, practically creating a whirlpool all its own, as the boat was taken into its maw. The buffeting unfortunately knocks Luffy off of the deck, but luckily he was able to grab a tooth before he could hit the water and drown. Determined and angry he began to climb the whale’s outside while the ship was sucked further inside
DERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP
The whale’s jaws close splitting up Luffy from the others. The rubber boy didn’t take it well when he finally reached the top.
‘You stupid whale, give me my friends back’ Luffy growls, angrily stomping on his head. There was little reaction on the whale’s part, other than beginning to dive again ‘sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t. How am I getting out of this?’ Luffy thinks, only then noticing a hatch in the whale ‘That’ll work’
Meanwhile
‘Oww, f*ck’ Kaos groans as he sits up, glad to see they hadn’t lost anymore (besides Luffy) in the mess that had just occurred
‘How’d we get outside? We were just swallowed by a whale, that wasn’t a dream right?’ Nami asks and the crew finally do look around and see she was right: they did appear to be outside and wherever they were it was just the Merry and a tiny island. Well until a huge squid rose from the water and tried to attack the ship
‘Ahh sea monster!’ Usopp screams, him and Kaya huddling together as Sanji stands up while Zoro, Kaos and Alvida ready their weapons. This was pointless as the creature was harpooned before it could damage the vessel. It was then slowly winched towards the house on the island.
‘Well, guess we should find out who’s home’ Sanji suggests
‘A ship’ was mumbled as a figure stands in the doorway of the house, staring at them. Stepping into the light they see it to be an old man with strange hair that looked like flower petals around the back of his head
‘Great, more weirdoes’
The man gazes unblinkingly, with an intense glare as he moves across his little island, eyes locked with the chef,… until he sits in a deck chair and stares out at them before opening up the paper.
‘That’s it?’ Sanji yells angrily, Kaos and Zoro chuckling in amusem*nt
‘You better tell us what’s going on. Stop messing around we’ve got cannons!’ Usopp yells from the cabin, even Kaya sweat drops at this
More silent staring is held between the pirates and OAP
‘You try that and someone is going to die’ he croaks
‘Yeah and who’s that?’ Zoro asks, getting ready to fight
‘Me of course’ the old man answers, Kaos and Alvida can’t help but laugh before remembering to grab Sanji so he doesn’t attack him
‘So, who are you and where are we?’ the 1st mate asks, mostly before their cook tries to kill him
The man stares silently, once more causing the pirates to sweatdrop ‘It’s rude to ask someone their name without giving yours first’ he finally says
Kaos sighs, placing his hand over his chest ‘Serpens Kaos of the Straw Hat Pirates’ he answers
‘Names Crocus, I’m the lighthouse keeper of the Twin Capes, and where we are quite simply is inside Laboon’
‘Laboon?’ Zoro asks, before hearing Nami groan loudly
‘We’re inside that f*cking whale aren’t we?’ she asks with a defeated tone
‘Not just any whale, Laboon is a West Blue Island Whale. He’s also over 50 years old and has spent most of it slamming his head into the Red Line. Now I presume you want to leave, it’s quite simple, just go through those doors over there’ he waves his hand in the direction behind them, they turn and see there really was a giant set of doors just behind them
‘That was surprisingly easy’ Kaya notes, Alvida and Nami nodding in agreement, Kaos actually disappointed by the simplicity… until they were caught in a typhoon
‘You just had to think it didn’t you?’ Sanji complains to the purplette who was grinning once again ‘You can’t go one minute without stimulation can you?’
‘Nope!’
‘What the hell is going on?’ Nami screams
‘Remember what I said, about him slamming his head into the Red Line? Well this is what it looks like from the inside’ Crocus answers, moving to his main ship
‘Okay how are we going to get out of here if we can’t move in these waves?’ Usopp asks
‘We paddle, now stop complaining and get rowing’ Kaos orders, not noticing a splash with everything else going on
‘Hey guys, the old guy just jumped in’
‘What? But he’ll be eaten alive’ Kaya yelps, looking as worried as their navigator, though the red head was more worried that it would soon be their fate as well
‘Hey guys, Crocus just resurfaced’ Alvida says, clinging to the side of this ship a momentary reprieve from the maelstrom they’d been caught in
‘Not important right now, we need to get those doors open and get out of this whale before it digests us’ Nami replies, trying to figure out how to convince Zoro or Sanji to jump overboard and try open the doors for them. Then the yelling sounds
‘Ah crap’
The blast doors high above fly open, spitting out Luffy, a girl with light blue hair and a ginger with a crown, all falling into the liquid below
‘Luffy!’ the straw hats yell, Kaos lightly shoving Sanji off the ship so he could rescue their DF user captain before he drowns
Laboon groans a little more before all goes strangely calm
Nami hums ‘Don’t know what the old guy did but I guess it worked, Laboon’s calmed down, or at least his insides have
‘True. Now, we saved your asses, so explaining what you’re doing here would be nice’ Kaos growls as he stands over the 2 weirdoes that entered Laboon’s belly with Luffy
‘Mr. 9, these people are pirates’ the bluenette whispers to her companion, trying to squirm away from a lovesick Sanji
‘I can see that Miss Wednesday’ 9 agrees ‘But if we appeal to their humanity and compassion they may let us go, or at least listen to our dilemma’
‘Are any of those things edible?’ Luffy asks, frowning when Kaos shakes his head ‘Damn it’
‘I don’t think they have humanity to appeal to’ Wednesday grumbles
‘You dumbasses are still here?’ everyone turns to see Crocus had returned, and sounded annoyed ‘I don’t like to repeat myself but I’ll do it now because you clearly didn’t listen the first time. As long as I draw breath, you will not lay a hand on Laboon!’ he declares flatly, leaving no room for debate.
‘Sorry old man but we need this whale meat to save our village’ the bluenette says before firing her cannon, but surprisingly for a man of his age Crocus is able to leap into the path of the projectile, the explosion going off long before it could be even an irritant to Laboon
‘Damn, the old fart’s stronger than I expected’ the guy says
‘Relax 9, we’ll just fire again’
BANG
The 2 groan and hit the ground with a thump after Kaos slams their heads together, Nami pulling out some ropes to secure them.
Later
‘Laboon has been waiting for 50 long years now for the return of his friends, let me explain’
And so Crocus did just that, telling the straw hats about how a band of pirates passed through Reverse Mountain many years ago, followed by a baby island whale that they had tried to leave behind for his safety, but he saw them as his family and came anyway. How due to damage to their ship they had to stay near the lighthouse for a few months while they worked on fixing it, during which the captain managed to get Laboon to stay with Crocus, here at the twin capes as well as the promise they made to return in 3 years, which they clearly didn’t. It was when he got to the fact the crew abandoned Laboon certain crewmates got annoyed
‘How do you know?’
‘Hm?’ Crocus looked confused
‘How do you know they abandoned Laboon? You don’t exactly get out much and word doesn’t exactly travel’ Kaos asks ‘If you can’t prove it you’re just being a dick to Laboon, making his pain and anger worse than it already is’
‘But it’s true, those pirates turned tail and ran, abandoning Laboon when they sailed into the Calm Belt…’
‘Which means they’re dead, but that doesn’t mean they never planned to come back to Laboon, after all, they had to get back to Reverse Mountain and the cape somehow’ Luffy adds his 2 cents, causing Crocus to sigh
‘Believe what you want, the point is that since the day I told Laboon all this, he has continued to slam his head into the Red Line, seeing it as the barrier between himself and his family. It’s never going to break, but that hasn’t stopped him from trying, nothing I’ve done has managed to either for that matter’
Everyone was silent for a moment… until Luffy and Kaos hop off the boat and stand in front of a much calmer Laboon
‘Hey Whale Guy’ Luffy yells, punching Laboon in the eye again. The Island Whale groans and turns his focus on the brothers. Despite himself the elder smirks to the younger, letting his body shift up to his elbows and ankles.
‘How about we make this fun?’ he asks
‘You’re on’ Luffy replies
Gum Gum Spring
Shimmer
The 2 launch themselves at Laboon, bouncing around as they land blows on the huge animal, mostly being able to dodge but some attacks were unavoidable, sending them both flying, Luffy’s rubber body providing some protection while Kaos had to make do with his reflect armour in combination with Hebi to stop his bounces.
‘They’re insane’ Wednesday mutters in shock, 9 nodding dumbly
‘You’re idiots. They’re real men and real pirates’ Crocus says standing a little behind them
‘Relax Miss Wednesday, don’t listen to the old fart’ Mr. 9 pleads as he tries hold her back
Honk
9 freezes as Wednesday slowly turns her head, quickly putting distance between them as he removes his hand from her breast as if burnt. Before she could rip his head off there is a louder bang which distracts her
‘There, it’s a draw.’ Luffy states, Laboon stopping and staring at them, while the boys stand and dust themselves off
‘Your old crew, they used to spar with you too didn’t they? Must have been a more even match back then’ Kaos jokes, smiling widely
‘You missed it, the playful fighting, and the drive to get stronger. All you’ve had is the Red Line, especially because Crocus might be getting a little old to be fighting giant whales’
‘Our group are also sailing the Grand Line, trying to fulfil our dreams. We’ll be back when we’re finished our journey, think you can wait that long?’
Laboon looked at the strange humans, so very much like his old friends and crew, the boy in the straw hat was just like the captain; full of life and stronger than anything he’d seen in years, while the tall one was a lot like Comic, just missing the musician’s signature afro. His heart still yearned for his old crew, but something about the young pirates reminded him of them enough it didn’t hurt as much, plus they could fight just like his old nakama, even though he was much larger than back then
Laboon bellows, with teary eyes, signalling his agreement and Luffy grins ‘Awesome, just hold on a minute’
‘There we go, finished’ Luffy smiles proudly at the quite terribly drawn Straw Hat Pirate Roger on Laboon’s forehead ‘ This is our promise to come back and spar again when we reach the end of the Grand Line. It’s a bit for a rush job so it’s a little delicate. Now don’t go ramming the Red Line again, or it’ll come off, you here me?’ he explains, the island whale nodding before groaning in joy
A little while later
Kaos watches Nami flail as she works on the map, Sanji makes food and holds off a hungry Luffy. His wide grin would unnerve most but the others were getting used to his eccentricities, only Alvida and Usopp gave him worried looks.
‘Damn it!’ Nami yells, slamming her fist into the map
‘What’s wrong Nami-Swan?’ Sanji asks, worried at the source of his sweetie’s frustration
‘There’s something wrong with the compass’ she answers, pointing to the spinning item ‘I can’t get a heading with this’
Crocus laughs ‘You won’t be able to navigate the Grand Line with a simple compass, the combined magnetic fields given off by the islands make traditional navigation less than useless’
Something breaks inside Nami at that information ‘Useless?’ She repeats meekly
‘Exactly, without a Log Pose you could be going in circles till you die and not even notice’ the old doctor nods
‘Hey old guy, is this one?’ Luffy asks, holding up something that vaguely resembles a compass needle held within a glass dome
‘Yeah, that’s a Log Pose’
‘Luffy, where’d you get that?’ Nami asks as he passes it to his navigator
‘It fell off those weirdoes, thought it might be useful’ the rubber boy answers with a shrug while Nami starts to examine the log pose, but not before hitting him ‘Ow, what was that for? I thought I did good’
‘You did, but you were due a smack for all the sh*t you pulled with Laboon’ Nami explains then gets to work
As is common with these guys, she had just about managed to figure out how the Pose worked when Sanji noticed Luffy had eaten all the food, in response he kicked the rubber idiot from one side of the outlet to the other, passing right over Nami’s head as he went. Unfortunately the shockwaves causes the delicate log pose to shatter, Nami stares blankly at the shards for a minute
‘Sanji’ she calls softly, the cook turns with a wide smile
‘Yes Nami-swan?’ he asks, getting a punch to the face for his troubles
‘You idiot! You just screwed us all! We needed that Log Pose, without it we’re sunk!’ she yells directly into his face
‘Hey Crocus how long does it take to turn one of these things?’ Kaos asks, Nami turns slowly to see the 1st mate fiddling with another Log Pose
‘Where’d you get that?’
‘Loguetown’
‘WHAT!’
Flashback
Kaos walks through the streets with no destination in mind there was still quite a bit of time till they all had to meet up and he was bored. It was then he noticed something out the corner of his eyes: a device that looked like a combination of a compass and a snowglobe. (Anyone got a better description, I’m all ears)
‘I see you’re captivated by the Log Pose’ the stall owner says catching the purplette’s attention
‘Log Pose? You mean the compass?’ he asks curiously
‘In the Blue’s it’s a compass, but on the Grand Line it’s the only way to get anywhere’ the woman explains ‘I presume that’s why you’re on this island, like most of our visitors due to it’s proximity to Reverse Mountain’
Kaos nods ‘Yep. I should probably take one, though our navigator probably already has might as well have a spare’ he says, passing over the beri
‘These are quite delicate’
Kaos frowns ‘Not a good thing to hear given our Captain…make it 5’
Flashback End
Why didn’t you say anything before now?’ Nami yells angrily
‘I thought you actually got one while we were in Loguetown, didn’t know you hadn’t till your panic attack a few minutes ago’ he explains, knocking the wind out of Nami’s sails but the ginger smiles when he hands her one of his spares, still fiddling with the one on his own wrist.
At this point Laboon pops up, bringing with him a barely conscious Luffy (having been knocked in by Sanji’s kicks) and those 2 weirdoes from earlier.
Sanji, seeing a pretty girl immediately helps her up, though she’s clearly still a little creeped out about the chef
‘Hey, we need a favour’ 9 says, catching their attention
‘Whisky Peak?’ Luffy repeats, wondering if all Grand Line islands will have weird names like this one
‘Yes, we need assistance returning to our village’ he explains
‘But where’s your ship?’ Kaya asks, knowing they clearly had to have had one to get here in the first place
‘Wednesday sighs ‘It was destroyed, during our original attempt on the whale’
Nami smirks as she gets in their faces ‘Speaking of that it’s kind of pushing things asking us for a lift after trying to kill us and our friend’ she says, yeah now he wasn’t trying to eat them Nami was admitting Laboon was a rather friendly giant whale.
‘Listen we just need a ride home, nothing more. Please we can see you’re good people despite being pirates, can’t you just do this one little thing for us?’ Miss Wednesday asks, head dropped submissively
Sanji scoffs lightly ‘Good people, how’d they completely miss you Kaos, some of us are half your size’ the response from the 1st mate was to punch him into the dirt.
‘You know now seems like a good time to tell you… we kind of broke the pose. Still want to ride with us?’ the navigator has her regretful face on, while Kaos, Alvida and Luffy were holding in laughter
‘YOU BROKE IT!’ Wednesday and 9 yell before flopping in sad piles
‘A hem’ both look up to a smirking Nami ‘We could still take you’ she offers with a shark like grin
‘But you said…’ Wednesday begins but Nami waves her off
‘Yeah, these idiots broke it but Sparkles got some more before we got her, so we can still get around’ Alvida explains as Nami had gone all creepy weirdo with her slasher smile, to the point even Kaos was beginning to worry (Kaya and Usopp skipping worried and going straight to trying to hide on the ship, were it not for Luffy and Zoro)
‘It’s all good, you can ride with us’ Luffy just comes out and says, Nami pouts as she was going to charge them through the nose, while the others were just glad it was over, even if they did have to put up with these weirdoes as a result. ‘You said your home is called Whiskey Peak? Good a place as any to start’
‘Thank you, thank you’ Both agents blubbered, to which Luffy just shrugged
‘Don’t worry about it. It’s all good’ he says before flashing a wide, D grin.
TBC
LW: Well that’s Laboon’s Arc done, such a nice fellow.
Laboon: [Uninteligable moaning]
LW: Sorry bud but I can’t bring you with me either, different universes and all that
Laboon: [Sad grumble]
LW: Guilt trip me why don’t you? Anyway, read and review, see you in 2 weeks.
New skills/techniques/Lore
Shimmer: High speed technique, Kaos being able to cross short distances basically in a flash or as the title suggests, shimmer of light. Other than the inherent damage increased speed does to attacks, it is also good for disorientating opponents.
Laboon’s crew: This isn’t the last we see or hear from them, not sirie. It’ll take a while but they’ll show up in the story again one day
Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday: Obviously not there real names, you’ll just have to wait for the next chapter for them to make any sense.
Chapter 23: Whiskey Peak
Chapter Text
LW: Ah Whisky Peak, where sh*t starts to get real… no wait that’s the next chapter. Oh well, please enjoy anyway
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Whiskey Peak, the island that welcomes pirates?
‘It’s snowing’ Nami gasps
Kaos chuckles ‘It’s the Grand Line, logic and reason can go f*ck itself’ he says, surprised the bluenette nods in agreement with him, just as lightning streaked across the sky
‘While crude he has a point, The Grand Line functions under a completely different set of rules than any of the Blues, nothing out there can be trusted while on the sea, or do you not remember that the Log Pose is the only reason you have any idea where you’re going? Speaking of which have you been keeping a careful eye on it Miss Nami?’ she asks with a tiny smirk, which drops in fear when Nami starts yelling at her, at which point the taller StrawHat stops caring and watches Luffy and Usopp behave like children while Sanji shovels snow like he’s Nami’s body slave or something (he wishes ;D). How Zoro could sleep through this is anyone’s guess, and finally we round up the crew with Alvida and Kaya, both who are as wrapped up in their blankets as their travelling companions but unlike those 2 idiots weren’t complaining anywhere near as much (Alvida complained about the cold when the snow started falling seeing as compared to everyone else, even Nami she was wearing half nothing, but after stealing a blanket stopped as there was no reason to keep doing so)
It was at this point any peace was broken when Nami checked her pose… and realised they were going in the wrong direction. After the expected screaming and swearing, as well as the 2 idiots being forced by Nami to join the guys and Alvida in working the steering, they had the ship do a 180 and all was good for a little while… well besides the snow and lightning but even that was only temporary. What was less temporary and more dangerous was the HUGE ASS ICEBERG that popped up out of nowhere in front of them.
‘Iceberg at 10 O’clock’
‘Fog rolling in’
‘Hey the iceberg’s vanished, does that mean we’re home free?’
‘IDIOT!’
Nami wanted to cave her captain’s head in at this moment but had bigger things to worry about, such as her and Kaos trying to stop them all dying by being smashed into the aforementioned iceberg. They made it but just barely and Merry started to take on water, prompting Usopp and Sanji to rush down and patch the leak (as any other able bodied people were sleeping, prisoners or DF users so no water allowed). Of course this was just the beginning as they went from the fog to a hellish storm, which had even the Grand Line natives looking worried
‘We’re all going to die’
‘Pull in the sails, the winds too strong we’ll capsize. Usopp fix the leaks and start bailing, we’re taking on too much water as it is without doing it from all angles’ Nami orders as they enter the storm proper, everyone running around, deferring to either their navigator or 1st mate, usually depending on who was saying what, mostly Nami as Kaos was more worried about what he was capable of working on and letting the upper management be handled by the less physically capable crewmate, though still called out any problems in line of sight he was unable to deal with himself.
After what felt like hours the storm passed leaving everything as calm as it had been back with Crocus and Laboon, at which point EVERYONE collapsed on deck, muscles aching and minds slightly cracked by the mayhem that was the Grand Line. It was this that Zoro woke up to and promptly put his foot in it; to the point if the others weren’t so exhausted they would have kicked his ass. It was then he noticed 9 and Wednesday, equally tired, and sprawled out as the others
‘What are you 2 doing here?’ he asks in confusion
‘Detour’ Luffy answers ‘we’re dropping them off in their village on the way, it’s called Whiskey Peak’
Zoro raises and eyebrow ‘Since when did we become a transport vessel for idiots?’
‘Since Luffy stepped foot on the Merry’ Kaos mutters, Nami producing a noise that sounded like a cough, snort and laugh, and then choking on air.
The swordsman sighs ‘You’re right, stupid question. Now back to you 2… what were you’re names again?’
The agents gulp ‘I’m Mr. 9’ ‘And I’m Miss Wednesday’
‘Hm, yeah that’s what I thought, the problem is they sound really familiar, I just can’t put my finger on why’ at this point either Nami had regained enough energy or she was simply running on bile and wrath as she stands up, walking over to the moss haired teen and proceeded to beat the ever loving sh*t out of him.
Not long after
‘Okay everyone, here it is. Whiskey Peak’ Nami announces everyone on deck to see their first Grand Line Island.
‘Like everything else so far on the Line, it’s certainly unique’
‘Look at those cacti they’re freaking huge!’
‘And the fog, are you sure this isn’t Misty Peak instead?’
With their location confirmed 9 and Wednesday leave as idiots often do, hopping off the side of a moving Caravel
‘Ehh…..’ was the general consensus from the crew
‘Good thing they weren’t Devil Fruit users or that would have been even stupider’ Kaos notes offhand
‘True’ Nami nods before rechecking that everything was running smoothly and they were reaching the village without causing problems.
When they reached the island’s settlement they were met with a curious site: the locals were cheering their arrival, not running away or arming themselves which was the usual reaction to pirates entering your village. It really threw the more intelligent members of the group for a ride (okay, everyone bar Luffy)
‘Welcome Pirates, to Whiskey Peak’ a large man with hair rolls resembling a powdered wig greets them ‘I am the mayor of this swell little town. Let us throw you a great feast and we can all party’ Luffy, Sanji and Usopp grin widely, while Zoro, Nami, Kaos and Alvida had raised eyebrows as well as an expression best described as ‘Are you kidding me?’ written across their faces.
Late Afternoon/Early Evening
Kaos smiles as he and Kaya slowly made their way through the drinks they’d been given. Luffy was emptying their kitchen of food, Usopp was doing his speciality: spinning tales to amaze and astound, Sanji was practically in heaven with about 20 ladies hanging off his every word and finally we move to the heavy drinkers of the crew who managed to get roped into a drinking contest: Zoro having just bowed out, but Nami, Alvida and a solidly built black nun were all that were left.
‘This is quite the surprise, to find a place like this so welcoming in the Grand Line’ Kaya says quietly, nibbling away at one of the few plates of food that hadn’t been inhaled by their voracious captain
‘Yeah, quite a strange little town, to so openly welcome pirates’ he shrugs before waving over someone to refill his and their doctor / gunslinger’s cups
Later
With the last of the straw hats passed out, Igarapoi and the nun meet up with Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday
‘You were supposed to bring us whale, not another pirate crew, we have enough problems without more mouths to feed’ she grumbles, ditching her disguise
‘Sorry Miss Monday, these people stopped us killing the whale, they also broke our Pose so this was the only way to get back’ 9 explains
‘It doesn’t matter’ Igarapoi says surprising them
‘But Mr. 8…’ Wednesday begins but 8 pulls out a couple pages
‘With the bounties we get from this crew we’ll be okay for a while’ he smiles creepily as the others stare in shock
‘That straw hat wearing dumbass is worth 38 million!’ 9 and Wednesday yell, Monday just stared on in shock
‘I thought it went without saying, appearances can be deceptive, especially considering our line of work’ 8 scolds them ‘Now we need to strip the ship of all it’s valuables then deal with these pirates, even if only 3 of them have actual bounties’
‘So why don’t we just kill them while they’re down?’ 9 asks, getting lightly slapped on the back of the head by Monday
‘Idiot, just because the bounty says dead or alive doesn’t mean both are of equal value. We loose 30% if we arrive with a corpse’ 8 explains with a grimace ‘The WG prefer to hold public executions so pay extra for the opportunity’
‘So this is Baroque Works’ the agents heads shoot up in the direction of the voice, spotting Zoro smirking, his hands resting on the hilt of Wado and Kitetsu.
‘How did you know about us?’ 9 asks
‘You’re not subtle for one thing: mercenary/bounty hunters, no names, numbers for guys, days for girls, all working for a shadowy figure right at the top who nobody actually knows. As for how I know specifically, I was a bounty hunter myself before joining this crew, one of you guys tried recruiting me, I turned him down’
8 grimaces ‘Well if you do know all our secrets, then I guess we’re going to have to kill you’
‘Is that so, looks like all we can do is fight, what do you think our chances are?’ Zoro asks as another pirate joins him on the roof. Cracking his knuckles Luffy answers ‘We’re going to kick their asses’ he grins widely, stretching the scar under his right eye
Gomu Gomu no Bazooka
The shockwave pushes a large group out of the way so Luffy bounces into the gap in time to get smacked in the face with Mr. 9’s bat. All this foes is knock his hat off which he happily tells the red head
‘Rubber body, blunt attacks don’t do much’ he says, watching 9’s expression turn to terror as he winds back…
Gomu Gomu no Bullet
…and punches the idiot through the window, jumping in after him.
‘1 down, 103 to go’ Zoro thinks with an eye roll
Luckily it appeared regular Baroque work minions weren’t hired for their brains, as initially Zoro didn’t even need to unsheathe any of his swords, the idiots all shot each other in their overzealous attempts to kill him, even coming close to killing Mr. 8 except he fired first. After that little slice of mayhem Zoro decided to go for the stealthy approach, something not normally possible since he joined Luffy’s crew.
‘I’ll give them one thing, this’ll be a good chance to see what the new steel can do’ Zoro thinks aloud, grabbing the hilts of Kitetsu 3 and Yubashiri, just as some of the bounty hunters find him. As they were pretty much just random idiots with guns Zoro didn’t need all 3 swords, this time just drawing Yubashiri and cutting the group down ‘Light, well balanced, and wicked sharp no wonder Iponmatsu was so proud of you’ he grins before running away, getting ganged up on by more bounty hunters with a little assistance from Miss Monday, but his new blades seemed to deal with the threats rather easily… some a little too well.
‘Listen Sandi Kitetsu, I don’t care if you’re cursed or not a good sword only cuts what it’s master directs it to, that guy nearly redecorated the roof with his guts. Little bastard’ Zoro scolds the blade, not expecting any kind of response but given how incredible the Kitetsu cursed blades were he wouldn’t be surprised if the 1st Kitetsu did speak. Due to his new blade being a violent little sh*t Zoro was a little distracted disciplining it, leading Baroque Works agents to think they could take advantage of him, they almost succeeded when…
Gum Gum Whip
… they were tossed aside by a rubber leg, causing the swordsman to smile
‘Took your time their Captain’ he half complains, Luffy almost pouting
‘Is that anyway to talk to the guy bringing in reinforcements?’ he asks one of the bounty hunters falling with a slash across his chest, Kaos grinning widely as he approaches ‘Hey, where’d Alvida go?’ Luffy wonders aloud
Kaos shrugs ‘Guess she slipped away while you were saving Zoro’s ass. Doesn’t matter as long as someone takes them down as someone takes them down we don’t need to all be bundled together’ as he says that what felt like the shockwave of an explosion passes through them
‘What was that?’ Luffy asks
‘Something bad, that’s for sure’ Zoro replies with a grimace, before the trio run off in the direction of the commotion…and instantly regretted it
It was a killing field; blood painted the wals and ground, large numbers of dead or dying, some were little more than mangled body parts and red goop
‘What happened here?’ Luffy gasps, Zoro and Kaos shrug, till the swordsman steps forward and a different sound than stone or bloody mess catches his attention. Looking down he sees it’s some bloodied paper, which he picks up and opens. It’s a bounty for Iron Mace Alvida.
‘Hm, the picture’s either wrong or well out of date’ Zoro thinks till he hears Kaos swear over his shoulder ‘What?’
‘I think I know what happened. Simplest way to put it is that photo is accurate before Loguetown, just before we met you we had a run in with Alvida, and she was … what would you describe her as?’
‘A beached whale in a cowboy hat’ Luffy supplies
‘Thank you Luffy. Now this may come as a surprise but Alvida is sensitive about her weight and appearance overall. Luffy got Koby to call her ugly and she nearly turned him into a bloody smear if not for Luffy getting between him and taking the hit with his empty rubber head, actually the ship probably would have looked a lot like this alley if she’d actually managed to hit the pink haired little brat. So given the difference in appearance between that and now, imagine how she’d react to any comments about her previous um, girth’ Zoro tried and shudders just as the wall beside them explodes.
‘Bastards!’ Alvida screams, swinging wildly, her fruits ability meaning even though her clothes, hat and club were covered in blood and viscera her skin was as clean and dirt free as when they stepped off the boat. The guys bravely… run in the opposite direction
‘There you are!’ they turn to see the remaining number agents had found them
‘3 on 3, least it’s fair now’ Kaos says mostly to himself, but Wednesday laughs then whistles
‘Fair? Carue to me!’ she calls
Quack
‘Over here dumbass!’ She yells at the enormous, duck, the pirates sweat drop
‘I’ll take the girl and her duck’
Zoro didn’t get to make a decision as he had to quickly dodge a tackle from Miss Monday, the muscular woman clearly trying to kill him with her bare hands
Luffy shrugs ‘Guess it’s you and me Mr. Mayor’ he says
8 frowns and reaches for his tie, revealing guns hidden in his hair with a tug of his strings ‘Yes but not for long’
Igarapapapapa!
Luffy gulps as he leaps out of the way of the machine gun fire, Mr. 8 simply turning his head or body to keep him in his weapon’s sights.
‘So besides the duck what you got?’ Kaos asks curiously
Wednesday chuckles ‘Oh, so much more’ she answers then begins to… well the best description would be belly dancing, the purplette’s eyes twitch and he almost stumbles
‘sh*t! What’s she doing? It’s no Devil Fruit power that’s for sure’ he thinks, the dizziness starting to cause a headache
‘You don’t know why I wear this do you?’ she asks, though it sounds like she’s underwater
‘Well it’s too long and there’s very little cleavage so you’re clearly not working undercover as a hooker, honestly I just thought you wore what you liked, explains 9 outfit too’ Kaos replies with a groan, trying to focus on altering his right arm
‘No, the dress is part of my most devastating attack, my Enchanting Vertigo Dance. Now face my wrath!’
Peaco*ck Slasher
Homunculus
Miss Wednesday squeaks when the silver spikes stop an inch from her face, the threads of her weapon tangled up and dangling uselessly
‘H-h-h-how? What are you?’
‘A mildly annoyed Devil Fruit user, with a whole bag of tricks still to use’ he spreads his fingers; the cord tightens before snapping, the slasher hitting the ground with a slight click. With a small grin he retracts his digits, the reflective substance blending back into his skin before walking over to the frozen agent, just as he places his hand on Hebi he gets tackled by a super spot-billed duck (No, that’s their actual name) knocking him over
‘Thanks Carue’ Wednesday says as she hops on her back ‘Now, away!’
Quack
‘Go faster!’ she yells, slapping the duck on her hat
Quack, quack, quack, quack
So girl and duck run away, with an annoyed pirate on their heels
‘I hate to say this but I think I’m bored’ Luffy thinks with a sigh, now it was just the 2 of them he was a lot more half assed with his dodges, sure he was still avoiding getting hit but if it did then no big deal. The guy’s saxophone shotgun was cool, but the pellets bounced off his rubber gut doing as much damage as Makino’s son with a foam ball… aka nil.
‘Hm you’re strong Straw Hat, maybe the poster is accurate’ 8 muses aloud, Luffy grins in response
‘Thanks, now let’s finish this’ he throws his arms back, letting then extend by several feet causing Mr. 8 to pale
Gum Gum Bazooka
The shockwave sends the man flying into the air over a good portion of Whiskey Peak and dropping him directly in front of Carue and Miss Wednesday
‘Iga…Mr 8!’ Wednesday screams almost letting it slip before composing herself very slightly, the duck stopping beside the man and began to nudge him to check for signs of life. When he let out a pained groan she backs away
‘Straw Hat bastard’ 8 groans as he pulls himself to his feet
‘Hey, that’s my little brother you’re talking about’ Wednesday turns to see the now frowning 1st mate
‘You’re still following us?’ she asks and Kaos chuckles
‘You guys did try to kill us, I’m not exactly in the mood to let it g…’ he raises his khopesh to block the swing of 9’s back ‘Didn’t I kill you already?’
9 scoffs ‘Not a chance baby. Besides, I think I’d remember an ugly mug like you …ow’ he yelps, clutching his bloody nose as the taller guy had just punched him in the face
‘We brought you here, you lead us into a trap, pretty sure you should remember THAT at least’ before anything else can be said an explosion went off between them ‘What was that?’ he asks in confusion, Luffy and Zoro appearing soon after, having heard it go off
‘That would be me’ a man in shades and a trench coat says stepping into the view ‘Mr. 5, Baroque Works Officer Agent’ his companion, a woman dressed head to toe in lemon yellow including her umbrella and a hat which looks like an actual lemon, popping out from behind him
‘And I’m Miss Valentine’s Day’ she greets with a giggle
‘And you’re both paramecia class devil fruit users’ Kaos adds, taking a the look of surprise of the woman’s face, mostly due to the man’s shades hiding his wide eyes
‘Oh good, you’re here assist’ 9 says hopefully, while 8 and Wednesday looked suspicious
‘You’re failures have been noted but aren’t our concerns, we’re here on the Boss’s orders. His directive was simple ‘someone knows my secret, deal with them’’
‘So we’ll be taking out the royal and going about out business’ the woman laughs haughtily, the pirates noticing all 3 agents pale or tense
Finally Mr. 9 snaps ‘Wait I’m not really a prince, it’s just the aes…’
‘You will not harm the princess while I’m here’ Mr. 8 yells throwing himself in front of Miss Wednesday
Igarapapapapa!
His hair guns fire hitting Mr. 5, causing a massive explosion, while Valentines Day sneaks off in the blast. Panting as his previous injuries flare up. Igaram releases his tie and the shots cease. Of course it is this moment when Mr. 5 rushes out of the smoke, slamming his fist into the older man’s chest, another explosion throwing him back into Miss Wednesday and Carue
‘Igaram!’ Wednesday screams as she tries to check him for damage
‘Well you tried at least’ Valentine’s Day says as she drops down beside 5 who grunts
‘Princess Nefatari Vivi of Alabasta, Igaram of the Royal Guard, for infiltrating Baroque Works and discovering Mr. 0’s true name, you must die’ he says, holding a photo of the Alabastan royal… who looks identical to Miss Wednesday.
‘HOLY sh*t!’
TBC
LW: One of those rare moments when a planned TBC falls exactly where I wanted it to, so yeah Miss Wednesday is the princess of Alabasta and Mr. 8 is the head of Alabasta Security (that’s his official title according to the anime, but Royal Guard sounds cooler so that’s his title from me :D)
Also yes, Zoro kicking everyone’s asses by himself was awesome, but we have other people in this crew so they kind of need to do things. Therefore I kicked a few idiots awake and they did there level best to wreck sh*t.
Techniques
Homunculus: The moment we see what I mean for Kaos being a special paramecia and the difference between paramecia and logia. Freeform control, which is what he uses in order to alter and manipulate his form when his fruit is active. In this case he extends his fingers into long spikes similar to Lust from Full Metal Alchemist, which is partly where the name comes from. I suppose Envy could also be considered part of his skill set, but it’s a different technique/skill tree entirely rather than the broad term of the Homunculus ability.
Peaco*ck Slashers: Vivi’s signature weapon, a sharp jewel or several on a wire.
Enchanting Vertigo Dance: Vivi dances, the spirals on her dress causing her opponents to get dizzy and confused, leaving them open to attacks.
What this also means is Vivi is currently wearing what she did in the manga rather than the anime, as they used perfume for some reason and her dress was stripy rather than having circles
Chapter 24: Straw Hats Vs Baroque Works Round 1 (well that was the plan)
Chapter Text
LW: Here it is, part 2 of the Whisky Peak Arc, and as the title states I was originally going to have a big Baroque Works/Straw Hat fight, but like the episodes this chapter is based on stuff got in the way and we got something else. Oh well, least one of my favourite characters got to finally show up in my fic :D
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Straw Hats Vs Baroque Works Round 1 (Well that was the original plan)
‘Wait, you’re an actual princess?’ 9 yells in shock, gulping when Vivi nods
‘Whoa… Hey Kaos, you nearly got your ass kicked by a pretty, pink princess shishishi’ Luffy laughs, Zoro cracks a smile and Kaos groans
‘1 she didn’t kick my ass and 2, she’s less pretty, pink princess and more stripper’
‘Can’t argue with you there’
‘I’m a little busy right now can you hold off your stupidity for just a few minutes!’ Vivi yells, surprising the pirates that she had actually remembered they were there. So they were doubly surprised when Igaram tried to grab them
‘Please’ Igaram wheezes, spitting a little blood as he speaks ‘Save the princess’ causing 5 to laugh
‘Are you that desperate you’d beg the people you tricked and tried to kill to help you? We’re doing them a favour dealing with you’
My Nose Fancy cannon
Ping
Vivi and Igaram look on in shock as Zoro grimaces ‘Ugh, I just sliced someone’s snot’
KABOOM!!!!
2 explosions go off behind him ‘Your odd friend was right by the way’ 5 explains ‘We did both eat Devil Fruits, mine being the Bomu Bomu no mi. I’m a bomb human, I can explode any part of my body without doing damage to myself’
More annoying laughter causes Kaos to look up and see Miss Valentine floating above him ‘And I ate the Kilo Kilo no mi, I can alter my weight between 1 and 10,000 kilos at will’ she says, waiting until she’s directly above the researcher before letting go of the umbrella, increasing her weight to 10,000 kg as she does
10,000 kilo press
Jiggle
‘Ah you pervert, how dare you touch my ahhhhhhhhhh!’ Valentine screams as Kaos catches her, then tosses her at 5, the building they get knocked into demolished by the explosion he causes
‘You mean the ass you tried to kill me with?’ Kaos asks, shaking his hands and wriggling his fingers to try return feeling to them after the impact damage, even partly reflected back into Miss Valentine’s 10,000kg state
It was then the rumble from before started up again, swiftly followed by Alvida crashing through one of the remaining buildings ‘Damn it Luffy, control your girlfriend, or at least get her to stop tearing the town apart’ Zoro grumbles
‘She’s not my… ah forget it’ Luffy throws up his hands before heading over to where Alvida is, since they last saw her she had stopped yelling, instead just a pit of silent rage
The downward swing of her mace was about as (in)effective as the last time she did it, what was surprising was that Luffy’s return jab to her ribs slid right off her skin and embedded itself in the wall for a moment
‘The f*ck, I thought Luffy could interact with her’ Zoro thinks aloud, to which Kaos shrugs and Vivi looks confused
‘Maybe ALL attacks slide off her, maybe her mood effects her fruit’s power. We just don’t know’ their thoughts were interrupted by Luffy flying through the air and landing in front of them ‘That I did see coming though, doesn’t matter if does no damage, the energy behind that mace would send a man flying from an upward or even a side swing’ he smirks as Luffy bounces up as if nothing happened and proceeded to plant his fist in Alvida’s gut once more (Good thing Sanji’s not around to see that) the blood soaked beauty skids across the street till she smashed into a wall
This continued for longer than it should have but less time than it felt to the spectators: Alvida tosses Luffy around with swings of her mace, while Luffy returns with strikes to her flat stomach and face (the sole strike to her chest, her breasts bounced the attack back and had him basically punch himself in the face). Eventually it comes down to the final blow…
‘Calm the f*ck down!’
…delivered by Nami to the back of both of their heads, causing them to slam headfirst into the pavement and Vivi to come this [] close to wetting herself as those 2 had been wrecking the place with little damage being done to each other, even taking out 5 and Valentine’s Day when they tried to counterattack, and showed no signs of stopping… and this ginger slip of a girl took both of them out in 1 punch.
‘Sorry Nami’ the 2 grumble, causing Kaos and Zoro to snigg*r behind Vivi (who was too worried to notice her missing companion)
‘We have more important things to do than fight each other, what was that even for anyway?’
Luffy shrugs ‘Alvida was on a rampage, seemed like a good idea at the time’
‘And how did that happen?’ Nami asks, the others also curious as to the cause
Alvida sighs but looks elsewhere ‘I lost my temper. I was following the guys to try find and assist Zoro when I spotted a group of them sneaking around our mossheaded friend. So hoping to cut them off I skidded in front of them, hefted my mace and told them they stood no chance against the might of Iron Mace Alvida. They laughed, they f*cking laughed’ at this Alvida clenches her fists ‘The apparent leader of the group pulls out my bounty and says how if I was trying to pretend to be a fearsome pirate to pick one I actually resemble like Nico Robin or Boa Hanco*ck (Why I’m comparing her to those babes I don’t know… oh yeah Nami’s still quite flat chested at the moment compared to post time skip Nami, same for Vivi) rather than this fat f*ck. Then the bastard told me to run along while they dealt with the others, said he’ll find a use for me when they’re done. He didn’t last another 5 seconds, at which point I saw red and zoned out until I tasted pavement a minute ago’
‘You called it’ Zoro mutters and Kaos nods in amusem*nt
Alvida sighs as she drops her mace ‘I need a break, go soak my head or something. Call me when we actually have a plan on what to do next’ she mutters and walks off slowly, the others sweatdrop then shrug. With the moment of silence Nami turns to Vivi
‘Now, what was this about you being a princess in need of transportation?’ she asks with a grin that worries the princess
Vivi blinks ‘Yes, that’s true’ she begins
‘Great. We’ll bring you there… for a price. How does a billion beri sound?’ Nami asks, eyes already shifting into beri symbols
‘Oh no’ the guys groan
Vivi sighs ‘Thanks but no thanks, though I appreciate what you’ve done for me already’
Nami blinks ‘Why not? You’re a princess and these idiots are crazy strong, plus I doubt you’re hurting for money’
‘Do you know anything about the kingdom of Alabasta miss Navigator?’ Vivi asks
‘Nope’
‘Just heard about it today’
‘Not in any of my books, sorry’
The bluenette sighs once more ‘My homeland was a good place, a peaceful one. But now… Now we’re caught in the grip of Civil War. There were murmurs of discontent in recent years but it all came to a head a little while ago and the entire island is a mess of chaos and despair. Then I discovered that someone else was pulling the strings, tearing my kingdom apart using it’s own citizens. Baroque Works. Think about it, why else would a princess join a shady mercenary company like this if not to uncover their secrets and discover why they’re trying to raise my homeland to the sand it started as. So I went to Igaram and managed to convince him to help me infiltrate the company. Their stated goal is to make an ideal nation, but their boss’s true plan is to take over Alabasta! I won’t let him do this, I NEED to get back and warn everyone’
Nami groans before nodding ‘That makes sense, unfortunately. No money lying around during an upheaval as bad as you make this sound’
‘So did you find out who this Mr. 0 guy is?’ Luffy asks giddily, causing Vivi to pale
‘I can’t tell you, your life is in danger as it is simply associating with me. If you knew I’d made myself an enemy of one of the 7 Warlords, against Sir Crocodile you’ll have targets on your backs too’ she then realises what she said and quickly covers her mouth
‘Crocodile’s Mr 0?’ They yell, few noticing a vulture and otter appear when they said that
‘Hey Luffy, do we get a raise for taking down a Warlord?’ Kaos asks with a smirk
‘You… You’ll do it? Even if it means fighting a Warlord?’ Vivi asks in shock
‘Yep. We’re going to do this. Onward to Alabasta!’
‘Nope, no way, na ah, I didn’t join this crew to charge headfirst into a Warlord’s blades. I’m out of here’ Nami bluntly declares before running in the opposite direction
‘She does know the only way off the island is the Going Merry right?’ Luffy asks, to which both Kaos and Zoro shrug, neither knew, nor wanted to know what went on in the ginger thief’s head.
After at least 10 minutes of standing around for the guys and Vivi, Nami finally returns, notable tear tracks down her cheeks
‘It’s no use, they’ll come for us no matter what because we know the secret now’ she clenches her fists and tries to put on a brave face (the older crewmates, aware of her cowardly nature were actually impressed by the attempt) ‘our best chance… no our only chance is to keep going forward. We’re probably screwed either way, but this way we might just win’ she states, managing to stop her knees knocking.
‘Why are we screwed?’ Alvida asks, coming back to the group now she had fully calmed down
‘The Shichibukai Sir Crocodile is the Mr. 0 Vivi has to take down to save Alabasta from Baroque Works’ Kaos explains, getting a punch to the head from Nami, but still grinning like a loon
‘You idiot!’ she shrieks as a vulture and sea otter appear on one of the nearly low walls…
Traptrix: Game Over!
… Before being promptly eviscerated by a curtain of razor wire that escaped Hebi, currently held vertically in a reverse grip
‘That should buy us a few hours at best but Crocoman will hear about Whiskey Peak, be it from 5 and Valentine’s Day or whoever Alvida didn’t use to redecorate the island with. Let’s go’ he says, returning Hebi to it’s khopesh form and walking back towards the ship, Luffy running to get their still sleeping crewmates, while the others followed the 1st mate
Running into the building they’d been allowed crash in Luffy found the others exactly where they’d left them: Kaya curled up against Usopp, his hand resting protectively on her hip, while Sanji quietly snored while doing a good impression of a starfish
Not feeling they had time to wake them gently Luffy just grabbed Sanji by the leg and Usopp by the nose before dragging them back to the Merry. Having rolled out of Usopp’s embrace in the scuffle Kaya watched for a moment before tiredly rising to her feet and walking in the direction their idiot captain took the others
‘Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow’
Meanwhile
‘Princess!’ The others (the ones not with Luffy right now) turn and immediately wish they didn’t as Igaram was standing in an outfit almost identical to Vivi, carrying 3 large sandbags under his arms ‘I have a plan’
‘I really hope it explains the outfit or I’m stabbing you in the kidney’ Kaos grumbles
‘Actually it does. Sooner or later Baroque Works intelligence will learn of what happened here and given you know the Boss’s identity…’
‘…they’ll send at least 1,000 agents’ Vivi finishes
‘Exactly. So dressed like this I’d disguise myself as you and sail straight back to Alabasta, meanwhile you’ll go with this crew and take the long way using the Log Pose to island hop home. I’ll pass on the information if I get there, but failing that I’ll at least be able to stop them following you’
‘Hey Kaos looks like the old guy just made your plan better’ Zoro jokes
‘Good, then if we’re all in agreement let us depart. Vivi, the Eternal Pose to Alabasta’ he asks and the bluenette reaches into her pockets and pulls out a Log Pose/Hourglass hybrid
‘What’s an eternal pose?’ Nami asks
‘You don’t know?’
‘East Blue natives the lot of us, don’t need them back home’
Igaram nods in understanding ‘Oh, well an eternal pose is similar to a log pose except where a log pose changes as you travel, directing you to the next one in the chain, and eternal pose is permanently locked, in this case it will always point in the direction of Alabasta’
‘Like a compass pointing North’
‘More or less. No I must say goodbye, and see you soon Vivi’ he is surpsied to receive a brief hug from the princess before she is standing straight and regal
‘We will see you soon, Igaram, until then good luck’ the man smiles and makes his way to the boat he’d already prepared
‘How long do you think he’ll last?’ Alvida asks just outside Vivi’s hearing
‘Not long, they want Vivi dead not captured, they could blow the ship out of the water with no worries’ Kaos answers, though like the smooth human he was curious as to how far the Captain will get, and how long he’ll be able to be a decoy/distraction for Vivi/their movements.
Unfortunately for everyone the researcher was right, the ship not even making it to the horizon when it was engulfed in a massive explosion. This spured everyone to move as quickly as possible, except Vivi who had turned catatonic due to witnessing Igaram’s fiery demise. In the end Nami and Alvida just shoved her in the direction of the Going Merry
Back to regular time
Kaos stops and his lips curl into a smirk just as he steps onto the Merry deck, though only Zoro who had climbed/jumped up the side of the ship (paraphrasing he said ‘Ramps are for puss*es’) saw it.
‘Why’d you stop, we’re in a hurry?’ Nami ask/yells before she yelps as Luffy, Sanji and Usopp speed past, Kaya following much more slowly
‘Let’s go!’ Luffy orders, while the other guys groan as they try get their bearings
‘Wait, what about Carue?’ Vivi asks, worried about her spotted duck
‘You mean this thing? Got here before we did’ Zoro replies, pointing to the duck standing behind him
‘You were going to abandon me here weren’t you, you little bitch?’ Vivi yells with pointed teeth, breathing deeply she turns to Nami ‘There’s a tributary that should get us to open ocean much quicker, it starts over there’
‘Got it’ Nami nods and runs to the controls, meanwhile Alvida explains the situation to Kaya, Usopp and Sanji (Well she knocks the guys out for their yelling and complaining and slowly explains everything to Kaya, who as expected looks about ready to loose her lunch) and everyone else makes sure the Merry doesn’t crash into the edges of the waterway in the thick fog
‘Hey the fog’s clearing, think that mean we’re out?’ Luffy asks
‘Yeah, open ocean, now we just need to island hop to Alabasta’ Vivi says with the first relaxed smile she’d had in quite a while
‘That was some mighty fine manoeuvring, any less and we could’ve been torn to shreds’ a thickly southern accented female muses with a vocal smile
‘Thanks’ Nami says with a smirk… until she realises (along with everyone else) that they didn’t recognise the voice. Turning around they saw a tall, busty woman in a cowgirl hat, thick white furry coat and skimpy purple outfit grinning down at them, Vivi turning a pale shade of green when she recognised the woman
‘Okay that’s the rigging secured… oh hey Robin’ Kaos says as he steps away from the mast, his grin widens when her smile falls and the Alabastan tan drains from her naturally pale features
‘How do you know Miss All Sunday/that name?’ Vivi and the now named Miss All Sunday ask, the latter losing all traces of her accent.
‘In order, I didn’t know she was Miss All Sunday, whatever that means, and…’ he pulls out his bounty book from his cape, stopping somewhere near the end ‘…Neither Robin nor Miss All Sunday wear masks, so identification is simple’ he then pulls out and shows them Nico Robin’s bounty poster, and they can clearly see it’s the woman above them
‘That’s from 6 months ago’ Robin gasps in surprise
‘I like to keep my records up to date, was a little embarrassed when I found out Arlong had got a 2 million increase while I wasn’t looking. It’s an honour to meet the ‘Devil’s Child’ Nico Robin, don’t see many 80 million criminal just walking around’
‘What a coincidence, that’s how much we are worth’ Luffy says with a chuckle (It actually is a coincidence, I didn’t plan it for their combined bounty to equal 80 mill, just be more than canon because they beat Kuro, as well as killed him and Arlong)
‘Can we get back to the important part, who’s Miss All Sunday?’ Nami asks, Vivi answering
‘High rank agents work in pairs, the men are numbered, and the women have days. Miss All Sunday, she’s partnered with Mr. 0’
Crocodile!’
‘Yes. She’s the only person allowed know his identity, it’s actually how we learnt it, by tailing her’
‘Fufufu. You mean I let you follow me, you think your sloppy tail wouldn’t be noticed by someone like me, who’s been on the run since my preteens. I lead you to Crocodile, mostly to see what you’d do’
‘See what I’d do?’ Vivi shrieks, clenching her fists ‘It was you who told Crocodile we knew then, wasn’t it?’ she asks, already knowing the answer
‘Why of course, after all I’m not just 0’s partner but his spymaster too. Mi talents make it rather easy these days. Ask Igaram if you need confirmation’
‘It was you! You killed him!’ Vivi yells, everyone reaching for their weapons, even Usopp and Sanji appearing armed and ready to deal with the threat, slingshot and pistol in hand respectively
‘Sanji, any idea what’s going on?’ Usopp asks
‘Nope, but it’s clear this one’s a problem, and dangerous’ the cook replies
Robin’s smirk returns as she crosses her arms ‘Y’all need to calm yer tit*’ she says and the pirates yelps and drop their weapons, then Luffy’s hat flies off his head into the air and Sunday puts it on over her cowgirl hat ‘How do I look?’
‘Give that back, it’s my hat!’ Luffy yells, Sunday grins then her eyes widen when the hat bounces off her head and flies back to the Captain, who laughs ‘See, my hat likes me better’
Luffy notices Robin turn an angry glare to Kaos, the only one still smiling (and given his weapon attaches itself to him, the only one still holding theirs) and he sees as she clenches her fist he brings his hand to his throat. What looked to be a twitch of his fingers and Sunday releases, wriggling the fingers of her right hand.
‘Anyway, you can unclench princess, Ruffles is still alive and on his way to Alabasta, that was just a message, mostly that we won’t be fooled by such poor deception, if you thought a cross dresser and some sandbags were going to even distract us you’re an idiot. Also I wanted you to actually get there in time to try stop us I have a little gift for you’ she tosses a log pose to the captain who catches it easily ‘That’s an eternal pose to an island just before Alabasta known as Nanimonai island, once there your log will adjust and get you to the end of your journey in 3 days at most’
‘No’ Luffy yells, crushing the pose to Robin’s surprise, Vivi and Nami’s shock, horror and anger, and amusem*nt on the part of Kaos and Zoro, having expected nothing less ‘I am the captain of this ship so when I say we’re going the normal way without shortcuts we’re doing that’
‘Fufufufufu. You are an interesting boy Straw Hat’ Sunday says with a grin before turning to Vivi and her grin turns into a twisted smirk ‘Little heads up princess, the next island on your journey, is Little Garden. That’s why I’m not here to kill you all…’ she pauses at the snort/scoff from the expected Straw Hats ‘…because you’re not a threat to Crocodile’s plan. Good luck though’ she waves before jumping over the edge of the ship, when the pirates go check they see her sitting on the back of a giant turtle (which had it’s own massive cowboy hat) as it paddles away
‘Well that happened. Nami set a course for Little Garden’ Luffy orders, the ginger nods and runs to the controls, while he leads his 1st mate to the front ‘So?’
The purplette smiles ‘Every user to set foot on this ship has been paramecia’ he replies
Luffy nods ‘So she IS a Devil Fruit user, but you already knew that’ it was a statement not a question
‘Yes and what a skilled user she is, like you she takes a seemingly weak and simple ability and uses it to great effectiveness’
‘Then it’ll be interesting when we meet next’ he then grins widely ‘I noticed you didn’t actually have to check the book to know who she was’
‘You’re point being?’
‘Nothing, just don’t get in over you head. Shishishi’ Luffy chuckles before walking away, Kaos sighing deeply and hopes the evening hides the pink of his cheeks, either that or they’ll presume it’s from partial asphyxia.
With Robin a little later
‘Those pirates are odd but I kind of want to see them again’ Robin muses as a messenger bat flies over and drops off a letter. Confused but also curious she opens the letter and reads it, her eyebrows raise and her teeth clench ‘That bastard Crocodile, she shouldn’t be there, he promised she…’ the thoughts fade as Robin pinches the bridge of her nose, she should have seen this coming, Crocodile only cares about Crocodile, he only keeps promises when it was useful to him, with Operation Utopia so close to fruition he probably didn’t care anymore and with how close she was to completing her own goals she was going to let it slide.
Anything happens to Artemis though… she would remind him she was a master assassin and deal with this threat
TBC
LW: Well one more arc done, also sorry this wasn’t put up at the usual time, it just wasn’t done. I want to blame my birthday being last week, or getting a Switch, but honestly it just wasn’t finished in time. Luckily it’s still the same day, so hopefully nobody minds that badly.
Techniques
Miss All Sunday/Nico Robin: Eater of the ? ? no mi.
Whatever the Hell she used to disarm everyone (Makes sense when he fruit gets revealed in Alabasta)
However she blew Igaram to kingdom come (Seriously, how did she do that? Anyone who knows please tell me)
Mr. 5 Eater of the Bomu Bomu no mi/ Bomb Bomb fruit
My Nose Fancy Cannon: 5 flicks a piece of snot at his opponent, which explodes on contact thanks to his Devil Fruit
Miss Valentine’s Day Eater of the Kilo Kilo no mi/ Kilo Kilo fruit (Don’t need a translator for that one)
10,000 kilo press: Valentine increases her weight to its highest level, and then tries to crush her enemy as she drops out of the sky.
Kaos
Traptrix: Game Over! – The razor wire produced by Hebi’s Traptrix form shred its target in a inescapable curtain of death (I’ll admit it’s a Saw reference, just because it seemed like a good idea at the time)
Chapter 25: Little Garden... more like Jurassic Park
Chapter Text
LW: Here we go, the Little Garden Arc and more canon divergence, yay!
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Little Garden… more like Jurassic Park
‘So what do you think the problem with Little Garden is? I mean Miss All Sunday says it neutralises the threat we pose to Crocodile’s plans so it must be bad’ Kaya asks the group, the trip from Whiskey Peak a lot calmer than the one to it.
‘Maybe it’s full of vicious monsters, or cannibalistic amazons’ Usopp panics, causing a shiver to shoot down the spines of half the crew… while Kaos hums and shrugs
‘That’s not it… well I suppose it could be, but when Robin gave us the Eternal Pose she said it was so we’d show up in time to do something, so I think the problem is something much simpler, but also outside out control. The Log Pose need time to adjust to each island’s magnetic signature and point to the next one, so what if the problem is it takes weeks or even months to record Little Garden’s?’ at the question Vivi pales
‘So he could destroy my kingdom and I’d be helpless to stop them?’ she whimpers
‘It’s just a theory, but we don’t know anything so it’s all we got’ the purplette backtracks, trying to appease the light blue haired princess. It wasn’t much but he had more things on his mind than Vivi’s feelings, like the 2 prescience’s that the ship had picked up in Whisky Peak, and were still nudging his sense. He just didn’t know if it meant they had a shadow or stowaways.
‘Not that it matters’ the 1st mate thinks ‘until we deal with Crocodile we’re going to have them and the other agents gunning for us’
Those musings were interrupted by the appearance of a giant dolphin, spurring everyone to get their asses in gear, then the appearance of Little Garden on the horizon, which at least gave them a target.
The island at first glance appeared to be that of a thick rainforest, with little in the way of visible fauna due to all the trees along the edge of the river they used to enter the island proper. It didn’t last forever though as they caught sight of and were then sqiftly attacked by a large bird like creature which quickly flew away when it failed to capture any of them. Then there was the giant tiger which stalked the Merry for a spell before being attacked by a smaller but still large reptile which made swift work of it.
‘All in favour of staying put on the boat till the pose resets say I’ Usopp yells, getting immediate ‘I’s from Nami and Kaya just as the Merry stops, Zoro throwing out the anchor to keep her from floating away before they needed to go.
‘This place is… so cool!’ Luffy cheers, then quickly turns to his cook ‘Sanji, 2 pirate lunchboxes, I’m going exploring’
‘Can we come too Luffy?’ Vivi asks, surprising everyone, most of all Carue, who was a little annoyed she had been volunteered by her princess to go onto the dangerous island when she could just stay here and sleep
‘Okay’
Kaos pulls himself to his feet, brushing dust off his pants ‘Well I’ve got nothing better to do, I think I’ll tag along’
‘What? We’re stuck on a mysterious island of death…and you want to explore?’ Usopp yells
‘Yep’
‘Pretty much’
‘Quack’
‘Got it in one long nose’
‘Ahh, why would they do something this crazy? Plus Luffy and Kaos are some of our best fighters, but I guess as long as…’
‘I’m heading out too, need to replenish our food stores given these 2 endless stomachs’ Sanji says as he passes backpacks to Team Exploration, Luffy grinning unapologetically while Kaos smirks and makes a joke about being a growing lad.
‘If I find anything good should I bring it back?’ the reflect human asks
‘Nah, I’ll be fine, plus Zoro volunteered to assist’ the swordsman chuckles
‘Actually I said I could catch a bigger beast than you, then almost swallowed your cigarette at the speed you entered my personal space to tell me I was deluded’
‘Shut up marimo!’ Sanji growls, nearly head butting the teen
‘Make me swirly brow’
‘Bring me meat! Good luck guys’ Luffy orders then grinning widely as he hops off the ship, Vivi following on Carue and a still snigg*ring Kaos not far behind
‘We’re stuck on a dangerous island and they’ve left us alone and defenceless’ Usopp sobs, till Kaya taps his shoulder
‘Not all the hard hitters as gone, Alvida’s staying on the ship’ she says, trying to raise his spirits
‘She’s right; no way am I walking through the woods unless I need it. I’m using the free time for a little sunbathing but yeah I’ll lend a hand if there’s any threat to the ship’ the former captain says as she sets up a deck chair and pulls out a book
Nami nods ‘Yeah Usopp, we’ll be fine till at least Sanji and Zoro return with food’
The sniper nods and stands up ‘You’re right, there’s nothing to worry about I guess I was being silly’ the trio laugh until they hear a small thump. Turning they see Alvida passed out and lightly snoring, her book having slid off her smooth stomach and her hat having joined it on the floor.
‘Seriously? She’s asleep!’
‘No way, that’s faster than Zoro!’
‘Think she’s narcoleptic?’ Nami asks the remaining crew
Kaya shakes her head ‘No, we’d have noticed before now if she was. This is most likely her body reacting to the 1st proper chance to rest since we entered the Grand Line’ the ship doctor/gunslinger then gains a thoughtful look ‘I’m actually surprised she’s the only one: Zoro, Kaos and Luffy didn’t exactly get any sleep either and Vivi had to remain awake to spring that trap as Miss Wednesday. Add to that the stress of a death sentence over our heads, it’s quite exhausting’
With Team Explorers
‘It’s a dinosaur!’ Luffy cheers, clapping his hands rapidly while Vivi, Carue and Kaos were shocked to silence, the tall 1st mate for once not having a comment yet.
When the shock finally waned he grinned widely, laughing and grabbed the rubber captain ‘You some know how to pick ‘em Lu Sesese’ Vivi noticing the brothers joyful expressions were nearly identical
‘They’re treating this like it’s a pleasure cruise. Are they stupid, insane or just that strong?’ she wondered before getting a new reason to loose her mind.
‘I’m going to go ride it’ Luffy declares, shooting his arms up to grab the brachiosaurus by the top of its neck and springing up to land on its head. Kaos facepalms but chuckles while Vivi sits on Carue’s back, her jaw hitting the duck’s back while her eyes go pure white
‘That boy is going to get himself killed, or worse all of us killed’ the princess begins to panic until she feels Kaos’ bony fingers on her shoulder
‘Don’t worry about Luffy, sure he seems like a reckless idiot and sometimes that’s true, but he’s too stubborn to die’ the purplette explains, watching the straw hat captain bounce from one angry dinosaur to the other, not a care in the world. That was until one of them manages to swallow him, Kaos not needing to look to know Vivi was glaring at him, the word ‘See!’ implied in her eyes
CHOP YUG YUG YUG YUG
A massive sword slices through the dinosaurs neck, falling to the ground just in front of Kaos and Vivi with a loud crash. A moment later Luffy comes out the end, looking really confused
‘That was weird’ he says, mostly to himself, but the 3 others agreed whole heartedly ‘Hey, when’d he get here?’ Luffy asks, causing them to turn in the direction he was looking at which point Vivi’s heart decided to try escape out her mouth
Standing, watching them was a giant at least 12 metres tall, best described as being basically a Viking, down to the thick greying brown beard on his pointed face, nearly reaching his belt.
‘Yug yug yug. You little people are very brave and a lot of fun to watch you grapple the long necks’ the giant says with a huge smile
Now given they (being Luffy and Kaos) grew up in the East Blue, it had been quite a while since anyone called Kaos little, so his 1st reaction… was to laugh
‘Is he okay?’ the giant asks, Luffy waving his hand dismissively
‘He’ll be fine, it’s just he’s the tallest guy we’ve ever met before you. What’s your name by the way?’
The giant flexes his muscles before raising his sword into the air ‘I’m Dorry, greatest warrior in all of Elbaf and don’t let anyone tell you different’
‘That’s so cool! Wait, where’s Elbaf?’ Luffy asks
‘Elbaf is the home of the giants, on an island deep in the New World’ Dorry explains ‘Come eat with me new friends, we don’t get visitors to Little Garden’
The pirates put it to a vote, Luffy eagar for giant food, Kaos not having issues as Dorry seemed nice enough and Carue couldn’t vote, meaning Vivi was out numbered and followed the guys back to the giant’s lair.
Dorry’s home in the mountain
‘FOOD!’
Luffy pounces like a wild animal, his rubber jaws enabling him to swallow the massive chunks he tears off. Kaos had to use one of Hebi’s larger forms to cut it due to the sheer size of the chunk of dinosaur meat in front of him, passing some to a reluctant Vivi before having his own, Carue was fine with the drink Sanji made her so simply sat beside the princess, ready for the 1st sign of danger, to run for her life.
‘Mr. Giant, it must be pretty lonely here on your own, why are you here by the way?’ Luffy asks curiously, the other 3 also interested
‘Yug yug yug. I’m not alone’ Dorry laughs
‘You’re not’
The giant shakes his head ‘Nope, there’s another giant on Little Garden, his name is Broggy. As for why we’re here, it’s to fight’
‘What?’ Vivi yells ‘Why?’
‘We’re not allowed fight in Elbaf, it angers our Gods, if 2 giants have a disagreement that can’t be settled any other way they are set away to another island and only 1 will leave, the victor decided by the will of the gods and granted their divine protection. We’ve been fighting for the last 100 years’
‘100 years! It must be really important to keep fighting for this long’
‘Actually, I’ve forgotten what we were fighting about, it’s been so long’ Dorry admits with a slight chuckle, causing Kaos and Luffy to laugh and Vivi to groan
‘If you can’t remember why you’re here then just stop and go home’
‘No, even if we don’t remember the reason the fact Broggy and I are even here proves how serious it must have been. Plus this is a sacred duel, to back out dishonours the Gods of Elbaf, as well as both our families’
‘But…’
‘Vivi’ the princess turns to the taller straw hat ‘This is clearly a wide cultural difference between you both but you should let him follow his traditions unhindered. I’m sure if I knew anything about Alabasta I’d be able to point out things I viewed as flaws in the traditions of the sand people as an outsider, I mean besides making Crocodile a Sir even you know that was a bad idea, but they won’t make you charge your mind or ways’ he smiles as the bluenette looks thoughtful, then winces at the light punch to the kidney Luffy gives him ‘Hey!’
‘That wasn’t nice calling Vivi a sand person’
‘Actually it’s fine, in the old tongue that’s the name of the island before the Nefetari family took over and named it Alabasta, ‘Sunagakure’ the people of the sand’ Vivi explains
‘Oh, okay then’
Back on the Merry
‘G-G-G-GIANT!’ Usopp yells, as a large and rotund man with a bushy beard and wide grin crashes out of the forest.
‘Usopp stop yelling, holy sh*t, whoop’ Alvida groans before seeing the giant and slipping off the chair
‘Hi I’m Broggy, do you have any booze? I drank mine and people don’t come by very often so I hope you have some’ the giant booms
Usopp and the girls look to one another ‘The only thing we have big enough for him is the cleaning alcohol, but that’s not something that’s meant to be drunk’
‘Just give it to him, worst case he doesn’t like the taste’ Nami argues, wanting to make the giant go away as quickly as possible
Any arguments were cut off my Broggy’s loud yell, turning they see a T-Rex (to which they have the expected freak-out) had decided to chomp down on the giant’s butt, in response Broggy takes his axe off his belt an swings, removing the dinosaur’s head rather easily
‘Holy sh*t’
‘I’ll go get the alcohol just one moment’ Usopp yells, speeding into the bowels of the ship to retrieve it
‘Thanks, hey why don’t you come with me, let me feed you as thanks’ Broggy offers happily ‘I just caught dinner after all, so you know the meat will be fresh’ he grins as he holds the T-Rex head above him ‘Yababababa’
‘Oh we’d love to but…’
‘Yeah sure’
‘I got no problems’
‘WHAT!’ Nami screams at Kaya and Alivda, Usopp meanwhile stunned into silence
‘Broggy seems like a nice guy, it wouldn’t be polite to refuse’ Kaya explains
‘I’m just hungry and who knows when Sanji and Zoro will come back with food, this is my best chance to eat before nightfall’ Alvida answers bluntly
‘Yabababababa/ It’s settled, let’s go so I can feed my new friends, and get drunk for the first time in many years’ Broggy grins, placing his hand palm up on the deck of the ship
Later, at Broggy’s camp
‘This is actually better than I expected’ Alvida says, Broggy smiling as she digs into the meat with a speed only beaten by their captain, the other slab shared by Kaya, Usopp and Nami, all a bit leery about the giant staring down at them, though Kaya was at least trying to eat enough to show she appreciated the meal
‘I agree, it turns out dinosaurs doesn’t taste like anything in the East Blue’ the blond responds to which the others nod
‘Hey Mr. Broggy Sir, how long does it take for the log to reset for this island?’ Nami asks, both to fill the dead air and find out how long they would need to remain on this death-trap
‘One full year’ the giant responds with his jolly tones, which made the statement even worse
‘FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!’ was the only thing going through Nami’s head before passing out, Usopp not far behind her but managing to somehow remain conscious, Kaya paled to a greenish grey while Alivda laughed thinking Kaos and Robin had been right, they were screwed not because of any nefarious plans, but because of the screwed up nature of the Grand Line itself
The volcano in the centre of the island began to rumble and explode, Broggy sits straighter and drops his meat before standing, Usopp shivers when he sees the steely gaze in his eyes ‘I’m sorry to leave you little ones, but there’s something I must attend to’ he booms, picking up his axe and shield before walking off, the 4 stand and move to watch whatever was important enough to make the happy go lucky giant act so serious.
Turns out the cause was another giant, the 2 running towards one another, shaking the ground as they go before colliding with a thud of their blades against the other’s shields.
‘I have forgotten the reason for our brawl!’ Dorry yells as he swings
‘As have I!’ Broggy responds, batting away the strike with his shield
‘But I will still be victorious!’ they both bellow, their very will felt wash across the island for a moment, that was the strength of their conviction.
TBC
LW: Giants are definitely not something to be trifled with in the OP universe, especially when you consider according to Oda, the minimum height for someone to be considered a true giant is 12m tall.
No lore, terms or other stuff this time, but there will be next time everyone, I grantee it
Miss Golden Week: Hi, did I come to the right place?
LW: Right place wrong week, but while you’re here…
Miss GoldenWeek: Lonly doesn’t own anything from One Piece other than Kaos, his associated bits and bobs (weapon, devil fruit etc) and OP versions of characters from other series, such as Captain Nylock Morgan and his crew to name but 3,
Chapter 26: Baroque Works rebellion, organised chaos
Chapter Text
LW: Back to the island of giants and dinosaurs, here we go.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Baroque Works rebellion, organised chaos
It was strange but also impressive that even after a century of fighting those 2 could still lay into each other like they were in their prime, something which amazed, Kaos Luffy and surprisingly enough Usopp who couldn’t take his eyes off the 2 warriors deadly dance. Concluding in one final blow as the volcano sounded once more, both giants slamming their shields into the others face.
‘73,466 duel’ Dorry begins
’73,466 draws’ Broggy finishes as both keel over with a loud crash.
Yug yug yug yug
Yababababa
Interestingly enough it seemed the animosity the 2 giants had for one another was limited to their fights, as the 2 had no problem just lying there laughing to one another and talking civilly.
‘Hey Dorry, a couple of guests of mine gave me some alcohol, want some?’ Broggy asks
‘Drinks? That sounds great, after so long I’ll drink anything’ Dorry answered with another laugh
A little later, with Dorry
‘Yug yug yug. So Broggy’s new friends are also part of your crew?’ Dorry asks, slowly draining his alcohol barrels
‘Yep, Usopp, Nami, Kaya and Alvida. Guess they got a little cabin fever too’ Kaos replies with his usual smirk, himself and Luffy still eating the giant’s dinosaur meat
‘Well if you’re all here together, I guess I can thank you for the refreshments as much as them and Broggy’
‘Dory, does it really take a year for the log to reset on Little Garden?’ Vivi asks, wanting there to be some kind of misunderstanding at play here
The giant nods ‘Yes. Didn’t you notice the mounds of human skeletons lying around here?’ he asks bluntly
‘Actually I think she’s been actively trying to ignore them’ Luffy teases, words muffled by his full mouth
‘Little Garden is hard to survive on for humans, some get eaten by dinosaurs, die of starvation, thirst of exposure, or even being stupid enough to attack myself or Broggy, doesn’t matter, point is they all die here’
Vivi starts to break down into tears ‘Even if we could somehow survive for a year, there’s no telling what Crocodile could have done in that timeframe, Alabasta might not even exist any more’ she blubs
‘True, plus some of us don’t exactly have that good attention spans, Kaos and me get bored easily. Is there any other way off this island Giant Guy?’
Dory sets down his barrel and sighs ‘There is an Eternal Pose, but it’s set to our homeland of Elbaf, you asked what we’re fighting for, if you want to be materialistic you could say the pose and the way home is our prize. You can try take it, if you think you can beat me and Broggy’
Luffy frowns ‘No, that won’t work, we need one either to the next island or Vivi’s island’
Dorry strokes his beard ‘You could try sailing around randomly, should hit an island eventually, if you’re lucky. That’s all you need really, any island for the log to register’
Luffy looks to be thinking before bursting out laughing ‘You’re right, we could get lucky shishishi’
You could. Hey, you okay Tiny Girth?’ Dory asks as Kaos silently pulls himself to his feet
The purplette nods ‘Yeah I’m good, just need a walk’ he replies with a wave of his hand and a smile, but only Luffy noticed it looked pinched
‘Okay then, don’t get dead Yug yug yug’ Dory yells as the tallest straw hat wanders into the jungle
Kaos groans once he felt he was far enough distance ‘This is not good, Bomberman and Instant Weight loss were bad enough but there’s another paramecia as well as what I suppose Luffy would call a mystery power, and I feel it… calling to me. What are you?’ he thinks, his lips turning into a crooked grin when he feels the strange prescience on it’s own move away from the other agents, now was his chance
Following his senses to a clearing he found a girl in a sunhat drinking tea and munching on rice cakes. He must have made some noise because she turned and he saw her blank, young face and rosy cheeks
‘Damn, she’s just a kid, how’d she get mixed up in Baroque Works?’ he thinks, a pang of sympathy hitting his heart, as she stands, twirling a paintbrush between her fingers
‘This is not good’ she says flatly, frowning
Colour Trap: Laughter Yellow
Reflect Armour
Kaos felt something pass through him and sighed in relief, glad his childhood had granted him quick reflexes. The girl looked confused, tilting her head before asking
‘You’re not laughing, You don’t even feel like laughing do you?’
Kaos grins ‘No more than usual’ he then frowns when he realises his legs feel like lead and his arms swayed uselessly ‘Hm, I may have stopped your attack, but I’m a little stuck’ he muses
The painter gasps then smiles widely ‘Really? Oh that would be so cool if I could get one of my colour traps to do it. But what to call it, Paralysing Purple? Freezing Fuchsia? Immobilising Indigo?’
Despite himself Kaos chuckles at her enthusiasm ‘You are an odd one, but such an interesting mind indeed’
The girl smiles at this ‘That’s what Mama says too, she taught me the odd ones are the best’
‘That they are kid, that they are. Hey what are you doing out here moping? Come on I’m basically a captive audience, you can tell me’ Kaos asks with a sincere smile, which appeared to work on the girl
‘I’m worried about mama, Crocodile isn’t a nice man, he’ll hurt her and I can’t do anything to help her. I know she can hold her own, mama is awesome, but Crocoman is so bad, she might die’
‘Hey kid…’
‘Goldenweek, or Artemis I suppose, but only mama calls me that’
‘Well Artemis, my Captain is going up against Crocodile and we’re going to win. I promise you I will bring her back to you safe and sound’ Kaos declares, surprised when a crying Goldenweek slams into him
‘Thank you Papa! I know Mama will be safe with you’ she mumbles, the purplette not sure how to process what just happened which was why he didn’t notice till he held her close that her missile impression had smudged her paint.
‘Yes she will, we look after out own. Nakama’ he grins and Artemis mirrors it ‘Now we just need to get off this island’ at that her face falls again ‘Hm?’
‘That’s why we’re here, me and Mr. 3. We’re supposed to take out the Straw Hats and report back. But you’re going to help mama. I don’t want to kill you and I don’t want to go back to Crocodile after failing’ she sniffles and bites her lips, then blinks when she feels Kaos hand rubbing her back
‘It’s fine, you won’t have to, I bet you’ll be an official Straw Hat once we get back to Luffy. Then you’ll have nothing to worry about’
Artemis sniffles ‘Really, you’d let me join, just like that?’
Kaos grins as he lets her stand ‘Yep, that’s how the others joined up, Luffy asked if they wanted to join and they eventually relented’ the girl chuckles and begins to follow him back
Meanwhile with Broggy
With his axe handle broken, Broggy had to fix himself a new one ‘A brave warrior of the sea you say, what’s that?’
‘I want to be like you and Dorry’ Usopp explains
‘You want to be a giant?’ Broggy asks in confusion ‘Not sure there’s even a Devil Fruit for that’
‘That’s not what I meant!’ Usopp yells, meanwhile they girls all laugh at his expence ‘I want to be brave and strong like you and the other Warriors of Elbaf’
‘Oh’ Broggy nods in understanding, continuing to work on his axe ‘You know, even though our lifespans greatly exceed a human’s, we still think about how we’re going to die. We know everything we are and everything we make will fade to time, as it should, but if we die as a brave warrior, without compromising who we are, then we die with honour, and that would be an everlasting treasure. It something everyone in Elbaf wishes for’ he explains, Usopp hanging off his every word.
This lovely moment was ruined by 2 explosions, originating within the alcohol barrels. Broggy was more confused than anything while Dorry had already drunken the tainted barrel and it went off in his stomach, causing severe damage
‘Old Giant Guy! That was the same alcohol from the ship, why did it explode?’ Luffy wonders aloud as he and Vivi try to check on Dorry
‘Do you think the other giant could have tainted it?’ Vivi suggests only to be imidiaely smacked down yb Luffy
‘Were you not paying attention, these giants are honourable warriors, they would never approve of such tactics, they’d spit on you for even suggesting such a manouver’
‘Then who do you think did it?’
‘You stangers…’ the 2 look up and see Dorry had pulled himself to his feet, just barely, blood dripping from his mouth into his beard ‘…Broggy wouldn’t do something like this, he’s a warrior or Elbaf, he has his pride and honour. So who else is there to suspect… but you?’
‘Luffy we should go’ Vivi begins but is once more cut off
‘It won’t do much good, here hold this’ Luffy says seriously, passing his hat over to the confused bluenette
‘You’re going to fight Dorry?’
‘Don’t have much of a choice, man Kaos is going to be pisssssed he missed this’ he smirks for a second before turning serious once more ‘I don’t want to, but we need to settle this, so here I come Dorry!’
The giant swings his sword, clearly slower and more erratically than when they watched him fight Broggy a little while ago, but still very dangerous had Luffy not jumped out of the way. Luffy tries to use one of his Gum Gum attacks, but his body was bounced off the giant’s shield before he could even finish. Given the direct approach wasn’t going to work, Luffy reached out to the trees on the other side of the clearing, extending his arms to do so, letting it pull him towards it, overshoot and use the energy from the journey over to shoot right back, slamming Dorry squarely in the chest.
Gum Gum Rocket
Dorry drops his sword and nearly falls over, but manages to hold himself up long enough to stomp Luffy into the earth, Vivi shrieks as she worries the captain to be dead
‘So, he ate one of the Devil Fruits’ Dorry mumbles , blood soaked his lips and the top of his beard at this point in time ‘I guess I underestimated him’ was his final words before finally keeling over with a loud thump.
‘Luffy!’ Vivi yells in happiness when she see’s the boy pull himself out of a Luffy shaped crater, inside a boot shaped crater ‘Are you alright?’
‘I’ll be fine, it’s him I’m worried about’ Luffy replies, pointing to the unconscious giant ‘How is he by the way’
‘He’ll be fine, you were right though, the fighting actually calmed him down somehow’
‘Happened a lot back home, sometimes you just NEED to fight as a way to let off steam, Mama Dadan used to do so a lot, not to me or my brothers but the other guys we lived with, her gang’ Luffy explains before standing up, his hat on his head and a frown on his face ‘I on the other hand am not so calm. Dorry is right, Broggy wouldn’t do something like this, there duels are important to them, to important to ruin by cheating like this. No, someone else is here and they ruined everything, spat in the face of these nice giants and their honour, their pride. Damn it Kaos you picked a sh*tty time to go for a stroll’
As the last 5 minutes haven’t been going their way the volcano sounded, alerting both giants to the next duel, to which Vivi and Luffy grimaced, knowing Dorry was definitely in no condition to fight another giant if the straw hat captain was able to take him down. But still they heard it, the old giant pulling himself first to his knees and then his feet, retrieving his sword on the way.
‘Stop this Dorry, you can’t fight Broggy in this condition!’ Vivi pleads but he ignores it
‘It doesn’t matter, this isn’t simply an attack humans, this is a sign from our Gods, Broggy has been blessed and now I must go’
‘What no! You can’t just give up like that!’
Dorry laughs, but it sounded pained ‘Yug yug yug, you really think I’d let Broggy win, I wouldn’t dishonour my friend by handing him victory, he still needs to work for it’ he then turns from the duo straining his muscles to lift the rock formation behind him… then dropping it on Luffy, pinning him to the ground
‘Hey, what the Hell? Let me go!’ Luffy yells as he squirms and flails
‘I’m sorry little friend, but I can’t allow you to stop me from continuing the duel. I am a warrior of Elbaf, that alone means I can’t run from a fight, if I did, I wouldn’t know who I was anymore. Goodbye’ he then begins to slowly plod out towards the clearing him and Broggy had fought the last time in, ignoring Luffy and Vivi’s attempts to get him to come back, or to free them.
‘He’s going to die’
‘It’s not right’ Luffy growls ‘Someone’s interfering, everything’s wrong. Dorry’s going to die and it’s not even his fault’ the rubber boy sighs ‘Vivi, take Carue and try get the giants’ attention, there’s nothing I can do until get free’
Vivi blinks before yelling ‘Luffy are you insane?’
‘Probably, but that’s not important right now, getting them to stop their duel is’
The princess sighs, seeing she wasn’t going to get through to Luffy so agreed, calling her duck before hopping onto her back ‘This is a bad idea Lu, I’m not going to be able to do this alone’
‘Then find the others’
Vivi sighs ‘Okay, you stay safe here alright?’
‘Not like I can go anywhere’ Luffy grumbles as Carue runs off. Luckily he wasn’t alone for long as Usopp came crashing through the forest, flying through the air and landing directly in front of him
‘LUFFY! That God I found you, a dinosaur ate the girls!’
‘What? Are you serious?’
‘Yeah, one moment we were all together and the next I was all alone, I got my crewmates and best friend killed’ Usopp falls to his knees and begins to wail
‘Hey Usopp!’ the long nose stops for a moment at the yell ‘You didn’t see them get eaten? Or hear a scream?’ the sniper shakes his head ‘Then they’re not dead, just lost’ Usopp perks up at this
‘So they’re alright?’
‘As long as they didn’t all get separated like you did they should be fine. I presume Kaya and Alvida brought their weapons even if Nami didn’t’
Usopp nods ‘Yeah, all the dinosaurs and other nasties, Kaya wouldn’t leave the ship without them’
‘Well, well, seems the giant may have just made our jobs easier’ 5 says with a smile while Valentines Day cackles, the 2 entering the pirate’s field of vision
‘It was you, you did this! Interfering with the duel, taking our friends, everything’ Luffy accuses, to which the agents smile just a little
‘Correct Straw Hat, seems you’re not a dumb as they claim you to be. Right now Mr. 3 is taking care of your friends, we can take our time with you’ she chuckles as 5 steps forward to deliver an explosive kick to Luffy’s face, throwing Usopp back with a nose fancy cannon when he reaches for his slingshot.
BOOM
‘Hm, you’re a lot sturdier than I expected’ 5 muses as a slightly blackened Luffy coughs up some soot and glares at him ‘But it just means I’ll have to be more forceful
Colour Trap: Freezing Fuchsia
The 2 agents seize up as a bright pink design appears on their backs, Kaos and Artemis appearing from the tree line moments later
‘Hey Captain, looks like you’re in a tight spot. Also look what I found; she’s followed me home can we keep her?’ Both Kaos and Goldenweek try the puppydog pout, the younger obviously better at it than the elder.
‘Sure, hey did she make them seize up like that?’
‘Yep’
‘Awesome! I always wanted an artist’
Kaos grins and turns to Artemis ‘See, what did I tell you, official Straw Hat’
‘Um Kaos… Luffy’s still stuck under a mountain!’ Usopp yells
Kaos sighs deeply ‘Don’t worry Usopp, I have this covered’ his fists and forearms turn silver, flashing in the strong sun of Little Garden, just before he began punching around Luffy, only taking about 5 or so hits to do noticeable damage to the wall, though continued until there were deep cracks radiating from around Luffy’s trapped form ‘There we go’ he says, smiling proudly, though frowns when he hears the agents chuckle ‘What?’
‘Doesn’t matter if you beat us, there’s still 6 more officer agents. And that’s not even including Mr. 0…’
Kaos waves them off ‘I don’t care what you have to say about Crocodile, we’re kicking his ass for Vivi and Artemis’ he says, his declaration getting an odd response from the duo
‘Crocodile’s Mr. 0?’
‘We’ve been working for that sell-out this whole time?’
Luffy looks confused ‘Sell out?’
‘Crocodile’s a Warlord, an attack dog for the World Government through the Marines, therefore a puppet of the World Nobles’ 5 explains bitterly ‘Alabasta, it’s the middle ground, the only group of Nobles that still live on the Line rather than their Ivory towers on the Red Line, in Mariejois’
‘That’s why you targeted it? Cause they’re World Nobles?’
‘Yes, or at least I thought we did’ 5 answers unable to nod
‘Yeah, they sit pretty while everyone suffers, they need to see the consequences of their ignorance’ Valentines Day adds
Kaos’ lip curls into a smirk ‘Luffy, go kick Mr. 3’s ass for interfering with the fight, I have an idea’ the 2 Baroque Work agents gulp
‘Still stuck here’ Luffy points out to which Kaos just waves him off
‘Just blow up, the wall should be weak enough now’
Gum Gum Balloon
Just as the other boy predicted, the wall had been weakened significantly enough that as Luffy inflated he caused the surrounding wall to give way and move out of his way. Luffy didn’t need to blow up to full size, just enough that when he deflated again he was able to crawl out
QUACK, quack, quack, quack
‘Carue!’ Luffy cheers, hugging the duck before a weight settles in his stomach ‘Carue, where’s Vivi?’ the duck droops, quacking sadly while waving her wings in the direction of where Dorry and Broggy were fighting
‘Like we said, Mr. 3 has captured the rest of your crew, and it seems the candle man has the princess too’ 5 says, much more neutrally than before
Luffy clenches his teeth as Usopp stands and walks over to him ‘Luffy?’
‘I’m going to kick his ass! Who’s with me?’
‘I will’ Usopp volunteers, wanting to help rescue his crewmates and follow his mentor Broggy’s example
‘Quack’ Carue responds, nodding her head. Vivi was her friend, she was going to help
‘Okay… Charge!!!!!’ Luffy screams, running in the direction Carue just came, the other 2 following just slightly slower
‘Your brother’s insane’ Valentine’s day comments
‘Oh that’s a given’ Kaos replies with a chuckle ‘Now, I believe we have a few things to discuss…’
A couple minutes later
Gum Gum Rocket
Mr. 3 turns and jumps out of the way just in time to avoid Luffy shooting past him, catching Broggy’s helmet on the way so he could stop
‘You ruined everything! I’m going to kick your ass!’ he yells at the agent who just smirks
‘Luffy!’ he turns and sees a giant cake/candle thing, stuck to the base were Vivi, Kaya, Zoro, Nami and Alvida (who looked to be spiked to the cake just like Broggy was to the ground).
‘Hey guys’ Luffy grins but recoils when they start yelling at him
‘Mr. 3’s trying to turn us into waxworks’
‘Break the tower and get us loose!’
Luffy nods ‘Got it, one wrecking crew coming up’
Gum Gum…
Candle Wall
…Pistol
Luffy goes for the direct approach as usual but 3 summoned wax from his arms, stopping it in it’s tracks, followed by more wax to restrain the boy, though it only caught one of his arms
‘Hey thanks, I needed something heavy and there weren’t any rocks around to toss’ Luffy says with a grin
‘What is this idiot going on about?’ 3 thinks then begins to panic when Luffy hops back onto Broggy’s head and throws his candle trapped arm behind them
Gum Gum Sledgehammer
Bam!
The pillar breaks, practically explodes actually and the candles and their stand fall, during this Luffy’s candle is shattered due to the impact. Unfortunately the section begins spinning again, faster than before
‘Hahaha, you really thought that it would be that easy? All you’ve done is sped up the process’ Mr. 3 laughs before sending out more wax to try ensnare Luffy
Luckily Luffy managed to hop his way out of the sticky wax’s path ‘We’ll see about that’ he growls, sending his arm back
Gum Gum Pistol
… before slamming it directly into the Candle Man’s face, sending him flying into the forest
‘He took out Mr. 3 in one hit’ Vivi gasps
‘That’s all well and good, but we still need him to get us out of here before we all become waxworks’ Nami adds seriously
‘Take out the pumpkin head and then we can worry about getting free’ Alvida chimes in, looking to be getting twitchy without her mace around to try break them loose
‘Don’t worry guys. I’ve got this covered’ Luffy says with a grin, throwing his arm back, twisting it as he does
Gum Gum Ri…
‘Oh no you don’t!’
Luffy then takes a solid punch to the side, knocking him over and sending his attack off into the sky
‘Ow, what hit me?’ Luffy says, wincing as he stands
‘That would be me StrawHat’ 3 answers, now decked out in what looked to be mech armour
‘Wow, that’s so cool!’
‘I forgot I already painted that’ a female voice deadpans
3 turns ‘Ah there you are Miss Goldenweek, glad to see you’ve finally arrived and here I thought you’d gotten lost’ he says with a chuckle
Artemis shrugs ‘Nope, just had tea and crackers with this guy. He seems nice’ she smiles at the tall purplette, munching on a bag of crackers, looking at Mr. 3’s Candle Making Deathtrap with a look of quiet contemplation
‘Hm, did you say something? Here you go kiddo I have a weirdo to deal with’ Kaos says, passing the bag to Artemis who grins and digs in
‘Shishishi, you are definitely not Gramps’ Luffy chuckles
‘And why would I want to be that old grump anyway?’
‘Hm, so you’re another of Straw Hat’s crew? I must have missed you earlier’ Mr 3 says with a frown
Kaos smirks ‘I could feel the heat of your candle wax half way across the island. You never stood a chance. Also I’m not the only crewmate you missed…’
Usopp sneak attack!
Quack, Quack!
Mr. 3 back hands boy and duck into the cake with minimal effort on his part then turns his fists to Kaos
‘All I missed wasn’t worth making into statues, but I’m sure Mr. 0 will like proof you’re dead’
Candle Trap
Mirror Wall
Wax meets mirrors and luckily mirrors win, compressing 3’s wax back in on itself, so when Kaos releases his technique a hemisphere of semi solid wax drops to the ground
3 sneers ‘Well that didn’t work, I guess I’ll just have to pound you into the ground’
Breeze Breath Bomb
The explosion hits 3 in the chest, but his Candle Champion tanks it, meaning the agent was just annoyed
‘Mr. 5, how could you turn traitor after all this time?’
5 shrugs before blowing into his gun, reloading its volatile payload ‘You forget that while quite loyal to the cause, Baroque Works Agents are still mostly bounty hunters and mercenaries. Without giving away sensitive information, let’s just say Miss Valentine’s Day and I got a better offer’ he unloads into the candle man, but 3 blocks it with his armoured fist
‘Wait… Miss Valentine’s Day’s betraying us too?’
The lemon girl chooses this moment to join in the action ‘So what do we do now?’ Valentine’s Day asks as she drops down beside Usopp
‘I think I have a plan, but I have a question first. Mr. 3’s candle wax, while super strong, it’s still wax right?’
Valentine clicks her tongue before nodding ‘As far as I know yes, while stronger than the real thing, substances produced by Devil Fruits still retain most of their properties and behaviours. Why?’
‘Because my plan involves getting this rope lit’ he announces, holding the end of a length of rope
The lemon themed blond looks at him before shrugging and grabbing the end of rope ‘Oy lads, we need a light here’ she yells, waving the end of rope at them
Mr. 5 turns just after reloading ‘You got it then’ he says, aiming for the rope… (Which Valentina luckily held away from her)
Breeze Breath Bomb
… but is intercepted by Mr. 3 who blocks it with his candle armour
‘Did you really think that was going to work? Whatever idiotic scheme you have going on is no match for my superior intellect and battleizer. Those fools on the candle have another minute or 2 left to live, but you won’t even last that long
Candle…
Gum Gum Pistol
Whatever 3 planned to do, it was interrupted by Luffy’s fist planting itself in his unprotected face (1st Pearl now Mr 3, why make so called invincible armour and not protect your face?) knocking the crazed artist onto his back
‘Done’
‘That didn’t help at all’ Usopp argues until Valentine puts her hand on his shoulder
‘Actually he did, Mr. 3’s candle fruit works in 2 ways, he can produce wax from his body and his hair functions as a wick, sustaining and producing fire. Sure it’s not as strong as the Mera Mera no mi, but it’s all he needs. We just need to cause his hair to light up and then we’re done and as he said we need to act quickly’
‘I got this’ Artemis announces placing her hand on the chest on the mech style suit.
White Out
The paint dribbles onto the ground like water, exposing the wax underneath
‘My turn’ Valentine says, getting a boost from Mr. 5 in order to jump into the air
1kg bounce
500kg stomp
Her attack shattered the wax suit and giving a glancing blow to his ribs (she’s trying to hurt him, not kill him after all). The agent’s eyes bulge and he screams in pain, hair erupting into flames and igniting the oil soaked rope Usopp had Carue wrap around the candle Death Trap
As Usopp predicted, 3’s wax, while stronger than steel, still maintained the properties of wax such as melting while under direct heat… or being on fire in this case. The statue began to drip, lost its shape before finally falling apart, freeing the trapped Straw Hats, Vivi as well as Broggy
‘Everyone’s free!’ Luffy cheers
‘And on fire’ Artemis points out, causing the remaining Straw hats & Carue to run over and assist putting their friends out
‘How’d we get stuck with these idiots Vic?’ Valentine’s Day asks off to the side
‘The tall one made a compelling case, plus Goldenweek is a good judge of character Val’ Mr 5 replies
‘Fair point’
‘YOU BASTARDS!’ Everyone turns to see a burning mad Mr. 3, his hair forming a burning 3 in his anger ‘You’ve destroyed my Magnum Opis, my Masterpiece. Oh you don’t deserve to become part of my art, you and the traitors can drown in my candle…’
‘Luffy’
‘On it’
Gum Gum Bazooka!
Luffy’s strike slammed into the remaining officer agent, sending him flying away with a twinkle
‘And we’re done’ Luffy sighs in relief, before flopping onto his back on the ground
‘Yababababa. Thank you humans, for saving me, and for showing a duel of this magnitude the honour and respect it deserves’ Broggy booms, then his smile falls as he turns to the prone form of his friend ‘Dorry, I’m sorry I didn’t beat you fairly, but you fought with honour as a warrior always should’ he thinks, tears flowing freely… well until Dorry got up
‘Ow, who turned on the rain?’ the giant grumbles as he sits up, scaring the sh*t out of everyone
‘Dorry! You’re alive?’ Broggy asks, half happily half in confusion
‘I must have passed out or something. Guess you win this round. Hey all the humans are here too, did I miss something?’
‘Nothing much’ Luffy replies, causing the giant to shrug in an oh well kind of gesture
‘How are you still alive?’ Kaya asks
‘The Axe, it’s lost its edge. After all these years, it’s no longer strong enough to land a killing blow like that, I doubt my sword can do so either’ Dorry explains
‘Oh what a wonderful day, glad to have you back Dorry Yabababa’
‘You idiot, keep of my shoulder, you nearly cut it off Yug yug yug yug’
The giant’s reunion quickly devolved into lightly punching each other while laughting, enabling the humans to finally talk
‘So, we picked up some more strays?’ Zoro asks, referring mostly to Artemis sitting on Kaos’ lap, but also Mr.5 and Miss Valentine’s day standing behind him
‘Correct. Serpens offered us a tempory position on the ship in exchange for helping to deal with your croc problem’ Valentine’s Day answers
‘Is he allowed do that?’ Vivi asks Alvida who nods
‘He’s the first mate, if he does it in Luffy’s name and the captain doesn’t veto it he can basically do what he likes’ she responds, surprising Vivi by the level of control the elder straw hat technically had, even if it was subject to Luffy’s whims and final say.
‘Why should we believe you’re not going to stab us in the back the first chance you get?’ Nami asks suspiciously
5 shrugs ‘You may not trust us, but Crocodile is the one we’re gunning for right now, so for the moment our goals align. Afterwards, well we’ll see’
‘What’s your dream?’ Luffy asks, surprising the former agents
‘I…I want to build things, great things that can stand the test of time’ 5 answers honestly ‘Knowing how to break things, it helps me know how to make things stronger to withstand disasters and attack’ he adds
‘I want to be a great chocolatier’ Valentine answers
‘Sweet, an architect and a chocolatier. Join my crew! Oh and what about you painter girl, what’s your dream?’
Artemis stands a little straighter ‘I’m going to rescue Mama, then I’m going to become the greatest artist to ever live’
Luffy grins ‘Awesome. Now what do we call you guys, we can’t use your codenames, or else we’d have to still be calling Vivi Miss Wednesday’
5 sighs but nods ‘The names Victor’
Miss Valentine’s Day grins ‘And I’m Valentina… what?’
‘Your codename is your real name?’ Zoro asks with a paranoid look
‘Yeah so what? With Baroque Works anonymity policy the only person who would know is Victor if I so chose’ she yells defensively
‘I’m Artemis by the way’ the artist pipes in, trying to defuse the tension
‘So what now, stay on this island a year? Doesn’t sound like a great plan’ Alvida asks tiredly
‘No, there needs to be some other way to bypass it’ Vivi declares, clenching her fists and praying she was right
‘So this is where you all are’ a familiar voice says as a blond man exits the forest
‘Sanji!’
The cook smiles ‘Yep, it’s me. So what did I miss?’
‘Giants fighting, got some new crewmates and now we’re stuck waiting for the Pose to change’ Luffy answers, bypassing at least 80% of the events the cook had been absent from
‘The problem is it’ll take a year for the field to be recorded and we don’t have that long. We need to get to Alabasta now!’ Nami clarifies, wincing as she rubs her stomach.
‘Well if we can’t wait for the Log Pose, why don’t we just use this? Sanji asks, pulling out…
‘Is that an Eternal Pose to Alabasta?’ Vivi yells, grabbing the object to confirm that yes it was keyed to the magnetic field of her homeland
‘Where did you get this?’ Nami asks as Vivi passes it over, knowing the navigator would need it to get off Little Garden
‘Found it in a wax house, I also spoke to Mr. 0’
‘You exposed yourself! Crocodile didn’t know about you yet!’ Vivi yells fearfully
‘Fear not Vivi-chan, he thought I was Mr. 3 and I didn’t correct his assumption. The Pose was actually for him, Crocodile is calling in all his heavy hitters to Alabasta. His plan’s getting closer to completion’
‘Then we have no time to lose, Nami you can use that right?’ Luffy asks to which she nods
‘Yeah, this is all we’ll need till we finish dealing with Crocodile, then we can just switch back to the Log Pose, let it register Alabasta’s feild and continue on our journey’
‘Alrighty then, everyone back to the Merry, the Straw Hats are heading to Alabasta!’
A little while later
‘Okay, that’s everything right?’ Luffy asks, getting nods from Nami and Kaos ‘Then lets go, onward to Vivi’s homeland, the island of Alabasta!’
Zoro and Victor pull up the anchor while Usopp and Valentina set down the sails, allowing the Merry to once again move now she has a destination. All was going well for about 10 minutes, they had almost lost sight of Little Garden… when they were attacked by a giant goldfish
‘Crap’
‘We’re all going to die!’
‘Here we go again Sesese’
‘I will not die, I’m coming for you mama, Crocodile’
‘Remember what the giants said, No matter what just go straight!’
‘Well it was fun while it lasted Kyahahaha!’
The Strawhats willing sailed into the Island Eater’s mouth, allowing it to devour the Going Merry… until it was caught in a psychedelic red and blue shockwave, shooting it straight through the fish and out the other side (not that way, more like a bullet). From the edge of Little Garden the giants watch their friends sail away, off on their own adventures. It was while reminising Dorry turned to his friend and former crewmate.
‘Hey Broggy’
‘Yes Dorry’
‘Think we should have told them about the only other person to leave before letting their log reset?’
‘Nah, he probably died before reaching the next island, it wasn’t worth getting their hopes up’
‘Yug yug yug, you’re right. I mean who’s even heard of Gol D. Roger anyway?’ the giants laugh knowing their friends had a job to do, once they reached Alabasta
TBC
LW: Well that’s Little Garden over and done with, and hello new crew mates. If anyone has problems with how Artemis acted, remember like Kaos said, she’s a very young child who’s a high ranked member of a crime syndicate, there has to be something wrong with her from living through that.
Powers and weapons
Mr. 3 Eater of the Doru Doru no mi / Candle Candle fruit
Candle Trap – Traps his enemy’s limbs in candle shaped restraints.
Candle Wall – Mr. 3 summons a wall of wax to defend himself from enemies. While strong, it can be broken with sufficient force, or being stuck with another Doru Doru no mi construct.
Candle Champion – 3 uses the freeform manipulation ability of his wax to form a battle armour around himself, using paint from Goldenweek to increase it’s defensive power.
Giant Candle Service Set – The death trap thing mentioned earlier, the top section spins, causing flakes of wax to fall onto the people trapped below, incasing them in the wax which hardens, killing them and turning them into wax statues.
Miss Goldenweek/Artemis Not a Devil Fruit user
Colour Trap: In the anime and manga it’s described as some kind of hypnosis or something… I’m okay with just straight up calling it magic
Laughter Yellow – Those effected by this trap are supposed to be thrown into a fit of uncontrollable laughter
Freezing Fuschia – Those hit by her bright pink paint become unable to move the majority of their body, though can still do things such and breathing and speaking (thought that may have been Artemis’ choice)
White Out – Artemis can remove the effects of any of her paints by placing her hand on a target, casuing the paint to run, breaking its hold.
Victor
Weapon: .44 cal. Flintlock revolver, South Blue manufacturer, with rapid fire capabilities
Breeze Breath Bomb – Firing his explosive breath from his revolver Victor is able to get much better distance as well as accuracy to his attacks and explosions.
Valentina
1kg bounce – Lowering her body weight to 1kg Valentina is able to soar higher, it’s also a silent technique that enables her to float when paired with her umbrella
500kg stomp – Valentina increases her weight (often from 1kg) to 500 then lands feet first on her target, doing massive damage.
Luffy
Gum Gum Sledgehammer – Basically a pistol with extra strength caused by the increased weight of Mr.3’s Candle Trap on the end of it.
Chapter 27: Nami's Sick: To the island of Snow and Ice
Chapter Text
LW: Onto Drum Island… and I think after this arc I’ll be taking a break from OP. I’ve been doing this fortnightly for the past year, which is a lot for me so I’m thinking about stopping for a little while, then come back to it. Just a heads up, though it might not even happen so don’t worry too much about it yet.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Nami’s sick: To the island of Snow and Ice
The trip from Little Garden to Alabasta was another mostly smooth sailing trip, though ironically (given Alabasta was a desert island) the climate got colder as they went along. Things were going well until the ship lurched
‘Did we hit something? Usopp go check the lower deck, Kaos go check on Nami’ Luffy orders, the 2 guys nod and run off
Kaos enters the cabin to see Nami slumped against the steering paddle ‘Hey Nami, you okay?’ he asks, the ginger groans and pulls herself up
‘I’m fine, just tired I guess’ she grumbles, knees knocking as she tries to stand, only the purplette’s arms on her stopping her from hitting the floor
‘No you’re not, but even if you are you need to take a break, At least sit down before you burn out’ Kaos lightly orders, trying not to show his worry for the sarcastic bitch he still readily calls her friend
‘Shut up asshole, yer na the boss of me’ Nami groans, though her heart wasn’t in on it, sitting as he ordered and unfortunately for any argument she had passed out almost immediately onto the table.
‘This is bad, really bad’ Kaos thinks, deciding that whether or not it was the right thing to do or not, to let Nami sleep before getting Kaya to check on her.
A little later
Nami groans as she comes to, her head was throbbing and while it took the edge off things she still felt run down and exhausted. It was then something really important slammed into the forefront of her mind
‘THE SHIP!’ she yells, jumping up (and instantly regretting it) but was surprising when instead of the mayhem leaving the wheel unattended should cause, instead there was gentle whistling as Kaos kept their heading matching the Eternal Pose, though he stopped and turned in response to the red head’s outburst.
‘Hey Nami, did the break help?’ he asks, stepping aside when she walks over to the bar and Pose, which still pointed to the Merry’s figurehead
‘You, you’re steering the Merry?’
‘Sesese, of course I am, who did you expect me to let do so, Luffy? Zoro? I may not be anywhere near your level in terms of navigational skill, but I’m Nami tier, which for the record is just below God, compared to those 2 idiots’ he smiles and Nami giggles
‘Are you calling me a goddess?’ Nami purrs, though whether her eye flutter was intentional or due to her fatigue h wasn’t sure
Kaos smiles, making a scale motion with his hands ‘Almost, demi-god more so’
Nami smirks ‘Good enough’ she then sighs as she sits back down ‘By me, my head is killing me’ she whines and Kaos’ eyes widen
‘Nami, what happened to your stomach?’ he asks and the red head looks down, seeing the edge of a purple splodge peeking out from under her shirt ‘I’ll go get Kaya, that could be bad’ he then leaves as quickly as he could, leaving Nami to groan and stare up at the ceiling.
‘Hurry back’ she whispers, shutting her eyes
With the Merry now helmed by Valentina, also not at Nami’s level but better than Kaos, Kaya was free to examine Nami, with Kaos assistance and Luffy’s concerned pacing. Once she was done the others were called in
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with her, she has a blisteringly high fever and clearly she’s running low on energy. I can try to treat the symptoms but not the cause, unless we figure out what she has. All I know is it had to have happened while in Little Garden, anyone know anything about the island?’
The former Baroque Works agents shrug ‘Don’t know anything, it as our 1st time there same as you’
‘Yeah, we get Eternal Pose via the Unluckies for each job, just like the one to Alabasta we’re currently using’
Kaya sighs ‘So we have nothing useful?’
‘Only that it was a bug bite, based on the welt it caused. Does that help?’ Artemis asks
‘It does a little, but only in knowing we don’t have too much time, even in the East Blue insect carrier diseases were bad, to say the least’
‘This ship really needs a qualified doctor’ Valentina mutters, getting lightly tapped on the head by Alvida
‘We know that, but now’s not the best time to be pointing out the obvious’ she growls, causing the blond to gulp before returning to her helmsman duties.
‘I’ll put her somewhere comfortable, if there’s nothing else we can do at the moment’ Kaos says, picking her up
‘Taking me to bed already handsome? I’m afraid I won’t be as impressive as you give me credit for at the moment’ Nami purrs, nuzzling into his neck. Most of the crew thought Kaos was pale already, but he turned the shade of Mr.3’s wax while Luffy laughs his ass off
‘LUFFY!!!!!! We need to do something quick, Nami’s become delusional’ he yells, his outburst also causing Kaya to chuckle and Nami to burrow her warm nose into the cold skin of his neck/shoulder joint.
Couple hours later
With the exception of a large cyclone the crew just barely managed to avoid, Valentina managed to keep them on a direct and even course, right until they found something strange…
‘Guys, there’s a weirdo standing on the water’ Artemis calls from the Crow’s Nest
‘What are you talking about, that’s insane’ Usopp yells back up
‘Then look’ the artist responds, pointing directly infront of them, where yes, there was a man in jester like attire and a bow and arrows standing on the water
‘Just what we need, more stupid sh*t’ Vivi whispers, thought clearly not quietly enough when she sees both Kaos and Zoro smirk beside her
‘Think he’s a doctor?’ Luffy asks, only for Kaya to hit him, mostly because Nami wasn’t conscious enough to do so herself
The confusion lasts for several minutes, at which point a MASSIVE ship rises from the ocean, tossing the Merry back in it’s wake as everyone held to anything nearby to steady themselves. When the ship was steady they saw the figurehead was that of a retarded hippo, with the jolly roger being a skull with a crown and it’s tongue caught between it’s jaws. So yeah they just found their first Grand Line pirates.
‘Don’t tell me my raid ship took you by surprise, did it?’ a fat, grumpy looking old man says, between munching his way through a slab of meat, and the knife it was attached to, his men surrounding the members of the crew on deck at the time
‘So what I miss?’ Sanji asks, having come out just as Wapol’s men comondeared the ship
‘Nothing much, just some weirdo trying to steal from us’ Kaos answers, looking unimpressed by the rifle pointed at his face
‘You think yer pirates ay? With a crew of 7 you’ll never get anywhere’ Wapol laughs before throwing the sword in his mouth and chewing it up ‘Now, I’m looking to get to Drum Kingdom, any of you have an Eternal Pose or even a Log Pose to that region?’
‘Nope’
‘Never heard of it’
‘Is the island shaped like a drum? Ow’ Luffy whines as Kaya pulls Nami duty and hits him
Wapol frowns ‘Well that’s a shame, but what can you do. I guess we’ll just have to settle for your treasure… and your ship’ the man grins widely, before opening his jaws to unimaginable size and chomping through one of the side panels of the starboard decking
‘Hey, you can’t just eat our ship!’ Luffy yells
‘Quiet you, Wapol doesn’t like to be disturbed while eating’ one of the men orders, but Luffy ignored him and punches him into the ground, setting off the rest of the men on board to begin opening fire, as well as alerting the other straw hats below deck.
Usopp predictably tried to avoid most of the fighting, while Luffy tossed Wapol’s goons around like the cannon fodder they were, Sanji kicked them from one side of the ship to the other, Zoro’s swords proved to be too much for the idiots, and even Kaya managed to show them why they shouldn’t try taking her ship. The soldiers tried to get help from their captain, but he ignored them in favour of eating more of the ship
‘This is our home, not a buffet!’
Gum Gum Pistol
Bomberman kick
Luffy’s pistol caused him to tear out the section of the ship he’d been chewing on, separating him from the main structure, so when Vincent’s kick hit him directly in the face… well the shockwave sent him flying far enough all that remained was a twinkle in the sky
‘Wapol?’ Squeaked one of his lieutenants
‘They sent him flying, and with his Devil Fruit he’s gonna drown!’ The other yells
‘Recall the troops, we have to rescue Wapol before he sinks to the bottom!’ as he commands the Hippo opens it’s mouth and a ladder extends, which Wapol’s men gladly took to retreat, swearing revenge as they sank beneath the waves.
‘Well…. That happened’ Vivi says to herself, before deciding she preferred it indoors with Nami, where things made sense.
After another day of Grand Line waters they reached a point where things were strangely calm and peaceful, something which Vivi says was proof they were nearing an island, a statement Artemis confirmed a few minutes later
‘Land a hoy’ she calls down, smiling widely
‘There has to be a doctor down over there’ Luffy cheers ‘Na… Valentine, head straight for that island’
‘You got it Luffy’
When they reached the island all they could see at first was snow, winter follage and oddly shaped mountains, but they continued going inland until they reached a stream, where there was land close enough to the ship they could safely disembark. Tossing the anchor over Zoro calls out ‘Okay we’ve arrived, who’s joining in the Doctor search?’
‘I am’
‘And me’
‘We need all the help we can get’
‘I… will be staying here good luck’
‘You’re not going anywhere pirates’ Everyone tenses at the unfamiliar voice, only the realising they were surrounded on the land by an angry mob
‘sh*t, that was fast even for us’ Sanji groans
‘Think they’re the welcoming committee?’ Luffy asks, getting slapped by Alvida and Vivi
‘We don’t want your kind here’
‘Geez, what a bunch of dick’
‘Please, we just need a doctor, our friend is sick and we need medical attention’ Vivi pleads, to whch some of the mob scoff
‘You think we’re that stupid to fall for that trick?’
‘Raise anchor or we’ll blow you and your ship out of the water’
‘No, you need to understand…’
‘That’s enough Vivi’ Kaos says, stepping around and in front of the bluenette ‘Now to condense everything my friend was saying into a couple sentences: You can either let us get to your doctor and have her treat our navigator, then we can we on our way. Or you can fight us, we kick your asses, your doctor treats Nami, and while they treat you guys we leave never to return’
BANG
Prism
‘Ahh!’
‘Sven!’ Dalton yells as the redirected bullet hits the other man in the shoulder
‘Well I didn’t expect you to actually shoot us, still that’s the point of calling someone’s blu…’
BANG
‘Son of a bitch!’ Kaos hisses when Dalton shoots him in the leg, followed by himself and Vivi getting slapped in the back of the head ‘Hey?!’
‘Idiots!’ Luffy shouts at the 2 ‘Why did you stand in front of me? Bullets don’t work on me, why did you get in the way?’
‘I was trying to deal with the situation peacefully…’ Vivi begins
‘Which almost never works’ Luffy interrupts ‘is that the end goal for this journey, do you want us to talk Crocodile down? Oh Mr. Crocodile, stop f*cking up Vivi’s kingdom… oh you don’t want to, well thanks anyway. We could do that you know, after all Alabasta isn’t really our problem, or it is simply because it’s yours princess’
‘Wait, are you Princess Nefetari Vivi of Alabasta’ Dalton asks, to which Vivi nods ‘then why are you on a ship with these ruffians?’
‘Free transport’ Zoro answers ‘Vivi asked us to give her a ride home; we’d be almost there except the witch got sick. She’s our navigator so we’re kind of stuck without her, thought don’t let her know I said that’
Dalton frowns then sighs ‘Fine, I’ll show you to our village’ he then turns and the other let them pass
At the village
‘So where’s the Doctor?’ Luffy asks ‘Apparently you guys are famous for them, or at least Vivi says you are if we’re where she thinks we are’
Dalton frowns ‘We were, but they’re all gone now’
‘WHAT!’
‘A while back our island was attacked by an extremely dark, powerful and vicious pirate, called himself Blackbeard, it’s why we acted so harshly when you arrived. When that man attacked us, our previous ruler, King Wapol fled, taking the Isshi 20, all our best doctors with him, leaving us to that monster’s wrath. All we have left is Dr. Kureha, the old witch and her monster, who took up residence in Wapol’s old castle’
‘Well, guess that’s where we’re going’
‘No, you’re staying here’ Luffy orders
‘Why?’
The captain sighs ‘Kaya just took a bullet out of your thigh, you’re not in the best shape to go mountain climbing. Besides…’ at this Luffy grins ‘…who else could I leave in charge of these so called ruffians in my steed? Usopp?’
‘Hey! I’d make a great captain’ Usopp argues to the brother’s amusem*nt
Kaos sighs but nods ‘Okay, but Sanji’s going with you, you can’t heft Nami up a mountain by yourself’
The cook nods ‘I was about to volunteer myself, I’ll carry Nami, you make sure nothing stops us. You got that?’ Sanji then picks up Nami, nearly swooning when she nuzzles into his shoulder
‘Let’s go, the quicker we do this the better chance Nami has. Onward to the castle!’ Luffy screeches as he runs off, Sanji groans but follows the eccentric moron that was his captain.
A little later
Vivi approaches the 1st mate, a silent tension between them after what happened on the ship ‘Dalton says Kureha comes down from the castle every now and then to check on the villages of the Drum Kingdom, if we catch her we can at least give her a heads up on Nami’s condition, as well as send her on her way’ the bluenette explains
Kaos nods ‘Good idea, lets round up the others and find us an old bat’ he pulls himself to his feet, to Vivi’s panic
Whoa, whoa, whoa, you’re still injured, you can’t just go walking through the snow’
‘Sesese. Don’t worry princess, one of the benefits of my fruit is that if used correctly, it can function as a form of healing factor. I’ll be good as new before we see Nami next’
Vivi eyes him sceptically ‘If that’s true, why’d Luffy bench you, specifically telling you that you couldn’t go with him?’
Kaos flashes her a toothy grin ‘Because Luffy understands that healed doesn’t mean 100%. I’m not to over exert myself till the next island, which if we don’t have any more interruptions, will be Alabasta’
Despite everything Vivi smiles, they were on the last leg of their journey, they were so close to her homeland, and soon they’d take the fight to Crocodile directly.
TBC
LW: Well that happened. Also yes, I did remove Vivi telling Luffy he’s an unfit captain and that we can’t solve all our problem by hitting things, because that is precisely how they solve all their problems in this show and it works. You don’t like Luffy’s methods you can make your own way to Alabasta princess.
Chapter 28: 28 Witch and Monster
Chapter Text
LW: So here we are, the first appearance of the cutest character in OP, the one, the only Tony Tony ‘Cotton Candy’ Chopper! It’s not much, but it’s the start of something beautiful (I guess spoilers for anyone who’s reading this without having read the manga or watched this far into the anime, everyone else you know exactly what I’m talking about)
Rubber King and Mirror Master – The witch and the monster
Lapins; a vicious, carnivorous rabbit creature. The small ones are about the size of a large rabbit and are really more annoying than an actual threat. The problem is those are baby lapins, the adults are about the size of polar bears and even more aggressive. It was a pack of them that Luffy and Sanji end up walking into, clearly annoyed they booted its kid half way up a mountain for being an annoying little sh*t.
As he was holding Nami, even though his feet were his weapons rather than his hands Sanji wasn’t going to risk her getting hurt from the backlash of one of his kicks, meaning he was just dodging the animals. The good news was this meant Luffy was in his element, bouncing around like a loon, punching and kicking Lapins around the side of the mountain like they were just regular bunnies, he’d probably be enjoying himself if his friend’s life wasn’t in danger.
One thing they learnt was Lapins are a squishy as bunnies looked, enabling both pirates to use them as a leg up on the hike, well more a bounce up but same difference, as expected that just pissed them off more. It was at this point the Lapins revealed they had some form of intelligence as after they skirted around/ahead of the pirates began jumping up and down, sending out shockwaves which travelled through the mountain, setting off a huge avalanche.
As they flailed around trying avoid being crushed under the falling snow Luffy managed to get them all onto a tree sliding down the mountain, with the gang riding it like a sled
‘Well we’re not dead, but this is the exact opposite of where we need to be, we were almost at the top, so close to the doctor and now it’s slipping from our grasp’ Sanji loudly complains, gritting his teeth ‘It’s those damn bunnies fault, if they hadn’t started the avalanche we could be there by now and Nami would be okay, when I see them next…’
‘There they are’ Luffy interrupts to alert Sanji to something important… snowboarding Lapins. This was a pain to deal with as they kept leaping at the trio with claws extended or jaws open ready to chomp down on their heads, but with Luffy and Sanji’s strength as well as luck they were able to avoid damage until they reached a more immediate problem
‘Rock!!!’ Luffy yells as he saw their tree was on a collision course for a large boulder which unlike everything else was parting the snow rather than being buried under it
‘You can’t hit that, if you do we’re all going to die!’
‘What does it look like I’m doing’ Luffy fired back but he just couldn’t change the course, especially not with the Lapin’s boxing them in. Finally a minute before collision Sanji made a decision
‘Get her to safety’ he says to Luffy, just before passing him Nami and throwing them backwards, saving them from the collision which he and the lapins were injured by.
‘Sanji!’ Luffy yells, grabbing the rock with one hand, and after coiling his other around himself and Nami, shot it out trying to save his friend but unable to find him.
When things began to settle, Luffy lay Nami on the only bit of solid land he could see, wrapping her in his coat before hopping down to look for Sanji. On the way he found the baby lapin, fruitlessly using its tiny paws to try dig out one of the adults, and he felt bad for the vicious little furball so he yanked the adult out of the snow and continued his journey, now with both of his companions on his back.
Despite everything, including nearly dying himself and a momentary run in with Wapol and his goons, Luffy managed to haul both Nami and Sanji’s mostly unresponsive bodies up to the entrance of the castle before promptly collapsing, luckily it didn’t take long for them to be noticed
‘Idiot boy’ hissed a woman with the body of someone in their 30’s, and the face of someone in their 90’s, before turning to the still open door ‘Chopper, this one has clear signs of frostbite and hypothermia, prepare treatment…’ she stops when Luffy grabs her arm
‘Save my friends’ he chokes out ‘Don’t worry about me, Nami’s very sick and Sanji’s most likely severely injured, help them first’ the determination held in his eyes until Kureha nods, at which point Luffy smiles weakly and passes out.
Later
Nami groans as she opens her eyes, still rather weak but noticeably better. She smiles and turns her head, causing her eyes to widen at the sight before her: a small, bipedal furry creature with a cute button nose and adorable pink hat.
‘Is that some kind of reindeer?’ she thinks, seeing the antlers peek out of the hat, as well as the hoofs at the end of each visible limb ‘Hello’ she croaks, causing the creature to turn, pale and then run out of the room and crouching in the doorframe, though not before knocking over everything in it’s path along the way
The creature was clearly trying to hide, though was doing a poor job as only around half his face and even less than that of his body was actually hidden by the doorframe.
‘I think you’ve got it backwards’ she comments ‘The hiding thing I mean’ the creature freezes for a moment before slowly shuffling it’s way sideways, until only a single eye and the edge of his hat were visible ‘Now you’ve got it, though it’s too little too late as I know you’re there…’
‘Shut up lady!’ the furry yells ‘also can you tell me how you’re fever’s doing’
Nami gasps ‘It talks’ which causes the furball to jump back, crash into several objects and cause a general ruckus out of sight of the really confused navigator.
‘Keep it down Chopper’ a woman shouts, before stepping out of the smoke ‘Well it seems your fever is down. Tell me, are you happy?’ she asks Nami, swigging from a bottle of rum (are we sure she’s not a pirate?)
‘Who are you?’ Nami asks before the woman puts her finger to her forehead
‘Hm it’s gone down a couple degrees. I’m the only doctor on this island, Dr Kureha, or you can call me Doctorine’
‘Um, okay. Hey there were 2 others with me…’
‘They’re asleep in the other room. Real tough guys for managing to even get up here the way they did, you must be real special to them’ Kureha answers before she can even finish the question, then pushed up her shirt ‘See this, it’s why you were sick’
‘Yeah, I think Kaya said it was a bug bite of some sort, but she wasn’t able to do anything to help me’ Nami says sadly
‘Good girl, she’s right you were bitten by a Kestia, a tic with a wicked bite. The bacteria are mostly dormant for 5 days, though it does cause pain, swelling, fever and a whole host of other unpleasant symptoms. Based on the affected area I’d say you had been infected for about 3 days, so it’s a good thing you got here so quickly. Though the pain would have gone away in about 2 days without treatment’
Nami blinks and tilts her head ‘The pain would have stopped?’
‘Sure, cause you’d have been dead, the disease is known as the 5 day fever for a reason after all’ Kureha answers bluntly, causing Nami to pale significantly. ‘You know you’re very lucky’ the doctor notes
Nami looks confused ‘Why?’
‘The disease you contracted, or more specifically the Kestia tic that spreads it has been practically eradicated with the exception of a handful of prehistoric and desert islands. If I didn’t have some of the antibiotics on hand you would have died before I had time to make more of it’ Nami gulps ‘seriously, why were you walking around on a prehistoric island in a bikini?’
Nami splutters ‘It’s a long story’
‘A young one like myself has the time, and so do you as there’ll be another 3 days of treatment until I can allow you to leave’
Nami’s eyes bulged ‘3 days? But we need to have Vivi in Alabasta yesturday’ she moves to sit up, but Kureha shoves her back down and the navigator feels a scalpel against her throat
‘Listen here girlie, you can either lie down and get better or get up and die, and if you chose that option I might as well save you the pain and kill you now. Understand?’ Nami nods slightly at which point Kureha releases her. A moment later loud crashes and bangs can be heard within the castle.
‘What’s that?’
‘Kureha chuckles ‘Your friends must have finally met Chopper and as would be expected, are causing trouble’
‘Who’s Chopper, the little tanuki guy?’
Tony Tony Chopper is my son, well adopted as he’s a reindeer, but that doesn’t change much. He’s also one of the best doctors this island has ever housed, thanks to me of course, as well as the man who made me take him in, Dr. Hireluck, one of only a handful of people on this island I ever respected. Your friends will be fine, a little battered and bruised, but Chopper will have them patched up in no time at all’
‘Okay but what is he?’
‘Just a reindeer with a blue nose. Oh and he ate the Hito-Hito no mi, so he’s a reindeer human. Now get some rest kid, there’s nothing more you can do’
Nami nods before closing her eyes, deciding to take advantage of this chance for a little shut eye. She knew things would get messy very soon, just from being on Luffy’s crew for this long.
At Ground level, a while ago
‘Are you sure this is the way to Cocoa Weed?’ Kaos asks as they trek through the snow
‘These are the directions Dalton gave me, which is the best we can do’ Vivi replies, wishing she hadn’t left Carue in Big Horn but not wanting to inflict too much of the cold on her companion ‘Good thing the village is so close, or we’d never get there in time’
They didn’t
‘Mother f*cker!’ Vivi yells kicking the wall… and instantly regretting it. Kaos, Victor and Kaya staying what they believe to be a safe distance away from the angry princess.
‘This is not good, we missed the crazy old bag by minutes from what these people are saying’ Victor sighs while Kaya checks on the kid the Dr had treated, the boy happy to let her do so.
‘Hopefully we can find a lead, get her to calm down and stop swearing in front of kids’ Kaos mumbles
‘Um, I heard her say she was heading to Gyasta next’
The pirates perk up ‘Really, where’s that?’
‘Well you head east towards Big Horn, then keep going for another half hour’ that didn’t help very much
‘So what you’re saying is we should have stayed in Big Horn’ Vivi grumbles the other nod and begin turning back, Kaos tossing the princess over his shoulder much to her annoyance, but it did speed them up a little. They managed to arrive in Big Horn a little behind Wapol’s thugs, though from the opposite direction, just after Dalton attacked Wapol. It was then the strength and power of the Ishi 20 was shown, fixing up Wapol in a matter of moments to the point he was once more up and laughing
‘Damn, that could have made things a lot easier’ Usopp grumbles, then jumps when the 4 show up behind them
‘Hey Usopp, what we miss?’
‘That fat guy Luffy and Victor took out that tried eat our ship, he’s landed on the island and is now eating the village. Dalton just tried cut him in half but he got put back together again’
‘sh*t’
It was at this moment that Wapol noticed them, and steam puffed from his ears ‘So you did have a Pose to Drum Kingdom, lying to your King is Treason, trying to stop me retaking my rightful place on the throne makes it Double-Treason. Once I reclaim my castle from that old bat, you weaklings will be my first royal executions of the year’
Kaos sighs as Vivi clenches her fists ‘1st We’re not citizens of Drum Kingdom, therefore you’re not our King, f*ck, I don’t even know who was the king of my former homeland. 2nd We don’t have a pose to this island, how were we supposed to know it was almost directly between Little Garden and Alabasta, which was our actual destination? And 3rd, you still need to reclaim your throne and the castle from Dr. Kureha before getting to us by your own words’
Wapol growls and grinds his teeth ‘Men, slaughter these pirate scum!’ he orders, his cannon fodder soldiers charging the straw hats in basically a straight line
Double Nose Fancy Cannon
Special Attack: Tabasco Star Barrage
Crescent Wave
Peaco*ck Slashers
Oni Giri
Did they expect anything else, really? Also just for the record, Kaya and Alvida were also attacking, it’s just they don’t have named techniques at the moment. Valentina on the other hand has to play more tactically as her fruit can leave her vulnerable when she changes weights so can’t just drop into the middle of a fight.
One revelation that occurred during this battle was when Dalton shifted into a Minotaur like form and started tearing through Wapol’s men with his spade.
‘So he ate a Zoan Devil fruit eh’ Victor comments
‘Quick a rare treat in Paradise, especially given he’s lived in Drum his whole life’ Valentine adds
‘What the hell is that?’ Zoro asks as he avoids more idiots shooting at him
‘Zoan type Devil fruits allow their users to transform into animals, as well as a hybrid form like the one Dalton’s in right now. He must have eaten the Ushi Ushi no mi given his appearance’
‘Correct’ Dalton answers them, surprising a few Straw Hats ‘I ate the Ushi Ushi model Bison. Now if you’ll excuse me you’re getting in the way of me killing Wapol’ he then leaps at the metal man once more only to be shot by Chess
‘You are naïve Dalton, as well as foolish. You got a lucky shot at your king, we won’t let that happen again’ Kuromarimo taunts
‘You’re weak Dalton, we’re going to tear that bleeding heart of yours straight from your chest’ Chess adds, then shrieks and drops his arrows from a shot to the hand
‘Get away from him!’ Kaya yells, aiming her ocelots at the men, Usopp moving to support her
‘You really think you stand a chance girlie?’ Kuromarimo laughs before having to dodge two slashes, one from Zoro and the other from Kaos ‘Now who’s the sneaks? Take this!’
Marimo’s static cling
Kaos looks confused when KuroMarimo rips off one of his afros and throws it at him, until it sticks to his hand even when he tries to use his reflect powers, which more annoyed him than anything else, though ducking under a flaming arrow was unexpected.
‘Papa’ Kaos looks over and sees Artemis poking his ribs ‘I have an idea, bring the hairball down here and hold it still’ he shrugs but does so, holding his hand to the artist
Colour Trap: Laughter Yellow
‘Tada!’ Artemis grins ‘Now we’re both artists’
Kaos sweat drops ‘I don’t think that’s how it works’ he replies
Artemis puffs her cheeks, reminding him of how young she is, then gives him an unimpressed look he presumes she copied from her Mama before pointing into the group ‘Just hit the guy with the stupid face’ she orders, causing a few people to smirk and one guy to get offended
‘Hey!’ Chess yells loudly ‘My face is not stupid!’
‘Yes it is’ Artemis replies
‘No it isn’t’
‘Yes it is’
‘No it isn’t’
‘Is’
‘Isn’t’
‘Is’
‘Isn’t’
Bam!
‘Perfect 10’ Zoro jokes as the archer is knocked to the ground ‘What you think?’
‘Sounds about right’ Kaya agrees while reloading
‘Ah I’d give it a 7, he could have sent him flying much further’ Alvida chimes in, basically skating around the battle field thanks to her fruit
‘Bwhahahahahahahahaha’ Chess laughs even through the pain as his face was painted a bright yellow, unable to move or do much else besides laugh
‘Chess, No!’ Wapol yells, before sending Kuromarimo over to his court jester…I mean advisor
‘Damn, I knew he was a terrible person, but nobody can laugh like that and not be pure evil’ Valentine notes before jumping at a guard and slamming her 200kg body into his spine. During this Kuromarimo punches Chess with his boxing glove, smearing the paint enough to free him to Artemis’ spell
‘Thanks Kuromarimo, that brat’s paint is some really trippy sh*t’ Chess slurs as he stands back up
Before any more insanity could occur, the ground began to rumble, causing all the locals to look to the mountain, followed by the confused straw hats
‘What’s going on?’ Kaya asks
‘It’s an avalanche!’ Wapol yells, answering the question as he hops onto his hippo ‘Let’s get out of here. Serious mode’ the animal yawns before revealing its much larger legs
‘Don’t leave without us Wapol’ Kuromarimo shouts before him and Chess hop on
‘Everyone find cover, or shelter… actually maybe running would be best’ Kaos hums as Artemis jumps on his back and the pirates begin the potentially useless plan of outrunning an avalanche
TBC
LW: Well this is as good a spot as any to stop. See you in 2 weeks everybody!
Lore/Info
Tony Tony Chopper Eater of the Hito Hito no mi/ Human Human Fruit
Dalton Eater of the Ushi Ushi no mi/ Cow Cow fruit. Model Bison
Chapter 29: Drum Kingdom no more
Chapter Text
LW: I’ve decided to do my best to keep going until the end of the Alabasta Saga before taking a break. Doesn’t seem right to leave you hanging in the middle of a story, so I hope to keep working through.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Drum Kingdom no more
When the avalanche finally ended all was quiet for a moment… before Wapol popped up and spat out his advisors looking annoyed
“Oh it was you I ate, no wonder it tasted awful” he grumbles
“So what now boss, that avalanche came out of nowhere and it’ll have disrupted our men and plans a bunch” Marimo asks
“We deal with them”
“Hm?” Chess voices in confusion
“Don’t you see, this is all the Straw Hat’s fault. Some of them have gone up the mountain, they must have set off the avalanche in order to stop us or try to kill me. They must pay!” Wapol yells angrily his advisors nodding dumbly rather than try question his logic.
A little away there was a puff as snow was displaced, Kaos and Artemis standing up after shrugging off the elder’s cloak
“Why does that thing have so much space Papa?” Artemis asks curiously
“Because I used my fruit on it, makes travel a lot easier” Kaos explains, sort of, pulling out a pipe and lighting it “Now, lets find the others before Wapol gets away” he says that just as Artemis and him have to dodge flaming arrows “Never mind” he sighs, luckily seeing others pulling themselves out of the snow (though why Usopp and Kaya’s face are bright crimson he doesn’t want to know)
“Forget the small fry, we’re taking back the castle. I’m going to eat the Royal Armory then come back down here and level this little Revolutionary Army Stronghold” Wapol loudly proclaims as he hops onto his trusty hippo, his minions climbing aboard not long after
“Hey get back here you bastard”
Chi Chi Bomb
If the noises made by Wapol and his hippo were any indication the attack hit it’s target, though the explosion also covered their retrea…advance towards the castle
“Damn, he got away” Victor sighs then notices the islanders digging “what we miss?”
“They’re looking for Dalton, he took a couple arrows from that weirdo so they’re worried he might be too weak to pull himself free” Valentina explains before passing them a shovel, Victor began digging while Kaos shifted Hebi into something resembling Daltons spade and used that instead. All was quiet besides the shovelling of snow until…
“We got him!” one of the villagers yell getting the others to come running “Oh god, I can’t find a heart beat”
“Kaya!” Ussop yells and the blond nods before sliding into the hole that contained the bison man, frowning as she examines him
“There’s nothing we can do, I can’t get a pulse, I think his heart stopped” she says sadly
“He’s not dead”
“But he will be”
“If you don’t let us help him”
The group look up to see the Ishi 20 were still around
“Hey look, there actually are doctors on this island, why didn’t we bring Nami to them?” Zoro asks in confusion
“Cause those are the Ishi 20, Wapol’s personal medical team” Alvida answers tensely
“She’s right, we can’t trust them they could kill him so he can’t stand up to Wapol ever again” a villager yells
“We’re still Doctors, just because we were forced to work for Wapol doesn’t mean we don’t still follow our oaths, or continue our medical research for the benefit of everyone” the one closest says, the others nodding in agreement
“It was all thanks to a certain quack who taught us to never give up” the oldest one, based on his grey moustache and weathered appearance adds “We can’t afford to lose anyone else like him”
“We’ll heal Dalton, while you go deal with Wapol” the apparent leader of the Ishi 20 declares
Vivi nods “Agreed. Everyone let’s go, we don’t know if our friends are able to handle a fight with Wapol after their journey up there, never mind if they got caught in the avalanche” she says, getting nods of agreement from the others
“That settles it. Onward to Castle crazy witch. Also as motivation, if Dalton dies, all of you die, as it’s your fault Wapol’s still alive after Dalton removes his head after all” Kaos threatens the doctors before the entire crew head for the mountain, luckily getting redirected to a rope bridge before they left the village itself.
A little later
“What kind of tweedledoofer makes a castle this high up a mountain? And on this kind of island too” Valentina complains as they rise, Zoro pedalling as fast as he could to get them up to the mountain.
“Wapol, or more likely one of his ancestors. He doesn’t seem like the kind of man to put much thought or effort into plans, which a castle would require, plus it would inconvenience him to move all his stuff up here. This mechanism is clearly meant to bring supplies up to the castle, as we can’t all have reindeer capable of climbing to this height like Dr. Kureha, especially with provisions or luxuries given this would be a royal family” Kaos answers, it may be all bullsh*t but it was good enough for her “And we’ve arrived” he adds, stepping out of the transport then helping the others out.
Up at the castle (earlier)
With the guys forcefully sat down (requiring liberal use of Heavy Point and Kureha’s ability to find dangerous weapons to throw with scary accuracy) Kureha told them Chopper’s story: (While said reindeer human hid, close enough to hear them though) how he’d been treated poorly by the other reindeer for being a freak with a blue nose (Can’t see red, so probably hate Rudolph because her nose glows in the dark), then he ate a fruit which made him smarter… but even more of a freak. He tried to use his new form to approach the nearby human settlement, but all they saw was a monster, chasing him away and trying to shoot him. Some time later he was found and taken in by a Dr. Hiriluk, where the little fellow expressed his interest in becoming a doctor too. She rather enjoyed the expressions on their faces when she told them Hiriluk stripped off in order to get Chopper to trust him when he said he wouldn’t attack him
Chopper came into Kureha’s care when Hiriluk practically walked into a trap set by Wapol: Claiming his 20 doctors were all sick and needed help in order to capture the last 2 doctors in Drum not under his control. Kureha basically thought ‘f*ck em’ but Hiriluk was already dying and had been accidentally poisoned by Chopper while the kid was trying to help him get better, so had nothing to lose when he took his medical supplies to the castle… with a bomb in his bag. He may not have killed Wapol in the explosion, but the intent was clear as well as the message: The Kingdom of Drum was dying and they needed to remove the rot in order to begin the heading process. Kureha took over Chopper’s tutorage and while his skill has grown in leaps and bounds, she has grown fond of the bipolar little cutie, seeing him as the child she never ended up having in the over a century of her life.
“He should join our crew, we need a doctor” Luffy states, both Sanji and Nami nod while Kureha seemed interested “Plus if he thinks he’s a freak he should meet some of our friends Shishishi”
Bang!
“Idiot!” Nami and Sanji yell, the cook kicking him into the wall, while Kureha laughs, until Chopper rushes in.
“Wapol. He’s coming!”
At Chopper’s yell Nami and Kureha tense, Sanji frowns and Luffy clenches his fists
‘That guy tried eat our ship, now he’s here to hurt our new friends. I’m going to kick his ass’
At the front of the Castle
Wapol breathes deeply before sighing in relief “Finally I’ve returned to my home boys, Drum Castle”
“Hey freeloaders, get off my lawn!”
“Hm, what was that?”
“Um Sir” Kuromarimo pipes up “That was most likely Dr. Kureha. Remember the report, she’s been squatting in your castle since you left.”
“Grr, then get her out of there! She’ll stink up the place with that old people smell, it’ll take weeks to get rid of it” Wapol complains, then has to duck out the way of a battle axe that nearly removes his head once more
“Shut it you fat bastard, I’ll have you know I’m still in the prime of my life, a young 139 and don’t you forget it”
Wapol frowns “Well Dr. Kureha, the last doctor or Drum has finally revealed herself. You wouldn’t believe the number of my men I lost looking for you”
Kureha flicks down her shades “Does it look like I care? Leave Wapol, the kingdom of Drum is dead, it was rotten long ago but when you left this country finally had a chance at a fresh start”
“You old hag, you think you can tell me what to do I’m the king, arguing with the King is TREASON, and you know what that means”
“Wait a minute” everyone looks behind Kureha and Chopper to see Luffy running full speed toward them “Big mouth is mine”
Gum Gum Pistol
Luffy’s fist slammed straight into a panicked Wapol’s face, though it showed he wasn’t back to 100% when Wapol only flew a short distance before landing with a bang in the snow, though it was still far enough to scare his 2 advisors as well as break his nose
“Damn it Luffy have you jumped the gun again?” Sanji complains as he runs out after him
“That guy is pissing me off, first he tried eat our ship, then he tried attack us while I had to carry you and Nami, and now he’s here to hurt the old lady and the cool reindeer guy. So I’m going to kick their ass!”
Sanji pinches the bridge of his nose but nods and pulls out a cigarette “Well we better get to work then”
“You idiot, don’t you know what you’ve done? Who you’ve struck?” Chess shrieks
“You just assaulted the King of Drum Kingdom, supreme World Government appointed and approved Sovereign of these parts” Kuromarimo adds/explains
“So?” Luffy asks, causing the trio to face plant “He’s a dick and he pissed me off, so I hit him”
“You idiot… Hey wait, what that flag up there? That’s not the proud flag of Drum Kingdom” Wapol yells
“Yep, we torched it when me and Chopper moved in, that’s Hiriluk’s flag the kid insisted on it. The old Quack died up here, might as well give him a huge ass memorial” Kureha answers dismissively
Wapol began to laugh “Oh yeah I almost forgot about that bastard. HOW DARE YOU TARNISH MY BEAUTIFUL CASTLE WITH THAT USELESS QUACK’S FLAG! TAKE IT DOWN RIGHT NOW!”
Chopper growls “No. I won’t take it down, it’s all I have left, it’s the symbol of his dream, the dream I intend to see through to the end” he declares, shifting into Heavy Point (Big Yeti looking thing)
“That’s him Sir”
“The monster that attacked us 6 years ago after Hiriluk blew himself up”
Wapol hums “Well if that soft hearted Dalton can beat him you too shouldn’t have a problem. Now go men, take back my castle from that crone and her pet” he orders
“Let’s deal with this quick” Kuromarimo shouts before tossing an afro straight at Kureha’s face… only for it to be stopped by Sanji
Marimo Static Cling
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to strike a lady?” he asks then starts bouncing around when the hairball refused to budge, not helped when Marimo tore off more pieces of afro and they stuck to his arms and other leg
“Watch out, those hairballs are quite dry” Chess jokes as he lights an arrow on fire
‘Ah sh*t’ Sanji thinks before the afro on his leg is grazed, turning from a hairball into a fireball. The duo laugh at his misfortune, until a wall of fur and muscle barrels towards them, Chess narrowly avoids the punch, the Zoan on the other hand continues his path… directly into Wapol’s open mouth
Baku Baku grab
“Hey, give us back our crewmate” Luffy yells about to run over when Sanji stops him
“Luffy run over there, then grab my leg from that position” Luffy raises an eyebrow but does so “Ready?” the cook asks and the lightbulb goes off as Luffy grins
Gum Gum Cannonball
Luffy slams into Wapol’s body at incredible speed, forcing him to spit out the once more cute looking Chopper, him and Luffy continue their trajectory, until they reach his hippo, who stops them but the energy sends flying way off into the distance
“”Wapol!” his advisors scream, helping him up as Luffy runs to go check on the others
“You good Chopper?” he asks with a grin
“Um yeah, thanks for saving me”
“That’s what friends are for, we help each other”
‘Friends? I… I have friends?’ Chopper thinks, tearing up slightly
“Prepare to die StrawHats! Thanks to my Baku Baku no mi everything I eat becomes a part of me, now face the power of Wapol!”
Wapol House
The muncher transforms, a chimney popping out of his head, both his arms morphing into cannons and his body got even larger and even gained a door.
Baku Baku Factory
Wapol grabs his lieutenants and gobbles them up, strange noises emanate from his body before the door in the front opens. Much like how his Wapol House was made from combining the things he are, eating his men created a hybrid being retaining both of their faces but now armed with quad axes and crossbow.
“Now you must face King Wapol’s greatest warrior, the unbeatable Chessmarimo!” the hybrid spoke together through both faces, unnerving the others
“Great, as if these 2 weren’t stupid enough to begin with, now they’re on top of each other” Sanji grumbles, hitting Luffy so he stops gushing about how awesome that was.
“This kingdom’s most important Rule in my reign was this: All who disobey the king must be put to death. You broke this law and so will all die painfully, but I have to deal with that eyesore that is that quack’s flag first” Wapol announces before firing one of his arm cannons at the tower and flag
Kaboom!
“No!” Chopper screams, until the smoke clears and he sees the flag still intact
“You weren’t real pirates were you?” Luffy asks flatly “You were just fakers, which explains why you don’t understand what a pirate flag means”
Wapol frowns “Meaning? You idiot flags don’t mean anything; they just identify what something belongs to”
“If you think that you’re dumber than you look, which I didn’t think was possible”
A vein pops in Wapol’s head “YOU LITTLE sh*t TASTE MY CANNONS!”
Kaboom!
“There, now I’ve dealt with the flag and the idiot boy, who’s up for lunch?”
“That won’t work” Luffy says through the smoke, which clears to show both him and Hiriluk’s flag were okay “A flag is a pledge to fight and risk your life, it’s not something you can just laugh about and destroy!” he then looks down, scanning the ground for Chopper “Hey Chopper, I’m going to kick these guys asses for disrespecting the pirate flag, want to help?”
Chopper smirks as he shifts into Heavy Point “Always”
“Great, just give me a moment” Luffy says, trying to jam the end of the pole into the tower roof “You can start if you want”
Chopper was way ahead of him in that regard, inches from caving at least part of Wapol’s fat head in, when he was stopped by the 4 fists of Chessmarimo ‘Damn it’
“Nobody gets to Wapol besides through us, meaning nobody gets to Wapol, period” Chessmarimo gloats as Chopper sighs and shifts into his smaller form
Gum Gum Rocket
Wapol and Chessmarimo panic when Luffy shoots down on a collision course with them, missing by a couple feet but still hitting hard enough he knocked both over
“I said I’d be a moment, hey Chopper, buddy, think you can deal with the 2 headed weirdo while I fight this guy?” he asks, noticing Sanji’s spine was f*cked again, or maybe it was just the fact Kureha was standing on it, who knows
“I can do that”
“You think you can beat us freak? We’re undefeated”
“The name, is Tony Tony Chopper, the name was given to me by the greatest Doctor in the world. I will show no mercy for what you have done, his memory will not be tarnished by you” Chopper says, pulling out a yellow gumball looking thing
Rumble ball
“The effects last 3 minutes, which is long enough for me to deal with you” he says, putting it in his mouth and biting down with a crunch
“You don’t stand a chance, not against these” Chessmarimo says, launching 2 flaming arrows at the reindeer
Walk Point
Chopper’s body shifts from his adorable form to something that is basically a normal reindeer, easily bouncing around the projectiles, to the annoyance of Chessmarimo and Wapol
“Transformations, that’s it? You’re a Zoan like Dalton, 3 forms that’s it, you’re a reindeer human I presume?”
Heavy Point
“No, I’m a human reindeer” he corrects bulking up to his ‘yeti’ form
“Same difference” Chessmarimo scoff “We’ve seen all your forms so you’ve got no more tricks, which means we know you can’t stand up to these”
Quatro Hammer
Jump Point
Chopper transforms into a more streamlined hybrid form before using his long legs to hop out of the way with ease
“What, but his hybrid form was the little thing from earlier, what’s that?” they ask as they go for another shot
Guard Point
Chopper becomes an enormous mass of fur tanking the blows with no visible damage to himself.
“What the hell is going on? You Zoans have a 2 form limit where are you pulling these others out from?”
Chopper smiles “The Rumble Ball is a pill which enhances the power of the Devil Fruit transformation abilities, over the last 5 years I’ve managed to use it to create 3 additional forms. You can do the math yourself if you can count that high”
“A 7 form transformation sequence?”
“Correct, for once. Now take it in the face”
Arm Point
The fur falls from his body as his new form was similar to his heavy point in most regards, besides a more reindeer like face and more importantly the overly muscular and still hoofed arms/hands, which he uses to shatter the hammers with one shot each.
“No, our hammers. You’ll pay for that”
Chessmarimo special surprise: Quatro Axe
The chimera men then charged at Chopper who seamlessly shifted between his points as he dodged every slash, which just made Chessmarimo madder and flails more erratically
“You said you could beat us in 3 minutes, but you’re not fighting, you’re just dodging” Chessmarimo taunts
Brain Point
Chopper returns to his smaller form with a determined look in his eyes “I wasn’t just dodging, I was learning and searching for your weak point, and I found it”
Scope
‘There it is, Chess’s jaw’ Chopper thinks just before Chessmarimo tries to cleave him in two, missing only because the reindeer disappears
“Where’d the little bastard go?” they mumble angrily before a rumble beneath them has panic run through them.
Chopper’s attack, boosted by the enhanced strength behind his Arm Point slam their hooves into the lower face’s jaw, breaking it and knocking the duo out
“That was for Hiriluk, you bastards”
“Hey Luffy, where’d Wapol go?” Sanji asks
“Who?”
“The fat guy with the big mouth”
“Oh, I don’t know”
“You idiot, you got distracted by Chopper’s fight didn’t you?” Sanji yells at him
“Yep… So what do we do?”
“Check the castle dumbass, that’s his target after all” Kureha orders
“Got it old lady” Luffy runs off just before Kureha could kick him, so she just glares at his retreating form
Meanwhile in the castle
Nami was running for her life as some fat weirdo was chasing her, not having a clue who he was or why he seemed to hate the Straw Hats (though she blamed Luffy as it was almost always him) due to being mostly unconscious at the time. Her only reprieve was when she took some stairs and Wapol tried to jump down after her… and got stuck
“sh*t, must have gained a little weight since I was last here (A LITTLE!)” Wapol grumbles “Never mind I can fix this”
Baku Baku Factory
Wapol proceeds to eat himself? then his metal mouth hops after Nami who while very confused still knows to run for her life. Finally the bucket stops bouncing and it spits out a much thinner Wapol, keys jangling as he once more chases after the red headed navigator. Well he would have if he hadn’t been kicked in the face by a very pleased with himself Luffy
“Found you big mouth. Now we fight for real” Luffy announces, but gets distracted when Nami notices how much her coat he’d ‘borrowed’ was wrecked and began chewing him out (lucky she doesn’t have the Baku Baku no mi)
“Hello I’m still here” Wapol says after picking himself up
“Huh, you take a lot more hits than most people I’ve fought recently, oh well still gonna kick your butt”
“I’ll be doing the butt kicking once I devour the arsenal and my factory makes it part of my body… wait this isn’t the armoury this is the treasury… Excuse me!” he then runs off, his slimmer form making that easier than before
“Hey get back here” Luffy yells as he runs after him
Wapol sighs deeply as he stops, all this running wasn’t something he was used to “Damn, finally I lost that Straw Hat bastard”
“Hey Wapol!”
SLAM
Wapol recoils from the blow to the head, the slightly bloodied mace now resting on its wielder’s shoulders. As he clicked his jaw back into place the woman continues
“I’ve heard some pretty bad sh*t about you Wapol, from Vivi and Dalton, but right now, seeing you trying to kill an old lady and a racoon as well as hearing you try destroy a pirate’s flag, the symbol of their dreams and their pride, well I’m going to kick your ass on principle” she hefts the mace up, swinging it back as Wapol sneers and replies
“I think not”
Tongue Cannon
The explosion throws the Slip human through a wall as well as down a staircase without her bouncing off a single step.
“That all you got, where’s your big talk now? I hoped for a lot more, I like my women with attitude, well it’s more I enjoy breaking them of tha…” Wapol stops when he sees at the bottom of the stairs, cradling Alvida to his chest was the Straw Hat wearing boy from before, his face shadowed by the hat’s brim.
“Luffy” Alvida gasps, blushing in embarrassment when she sees that she’d coughed a little blood on his neck and cheek.
“You hurt my friends, you hurt people I care about, you won’t hurt anymore of MY NAKAMA!” he yells, Wapol winces at the pure rage flowing off this kid. Luffy gently sets Alvida down against the wall, then walks over to Wapol
Tongue Cannon
Gum Gum Shotgun
Wapol’s cannon blast hits at nearly point blank range, but Luffy keeps going, slamming both of his fists into the man’s metal jaw, denting it and throwing him back
“Wat ur yu?” he slurs through his broken jaw
“I’m pissed off that’s what” Luffy growls before his next punch throws him out of the castle, flying back to the start of their fight once more
“He’s still alive” Luffy hears Zoro yell up to him, confused for a second before shrugging and hopping out of the hole he’d just made.
Wapol pulls himself to his feet, only now noticing the others “Well lookie here, more straw hats. At least it means I can take you all out in one go”
“You’re going to need to try harder, this will have been your 3rd failure in as many days” Artemis points out bluntly, even Usopp chokes around a laugh as the man nearly falls over in shock and annoyance.
“You listen here you little brat, I’m the ruler of this island, appointed by the World Government itself, for going against me it puts you on the Black List of the most powerful group in the entire world… because they run it”
“Do you know why a winter island is almost as good as a summer island for someone like me?” Kaos asks with a smirk, clearly ignoring Wapol’s threats “The sunlight may be weaker, but the snow makes up for it and more” Sanji sees the 1st mate’s hands and arms change and despite his pain smiles
“What are you…”
Dazzle
Gum Gum Bazooka!
Luffy lands mere centimetres from the dazed and blinded Wapol, just as his arms begin to snap back, ensuring an undodgeable, point blank bazooka, once more turning the horrid man into a twinkle in the sky.
“Well he’s gone” Sanji says with a smile, one mirrored by Vivi as there was something really good about seeing that horrid man disappear, someone who gave people like her and her family a bad name.
“It seems something good did come from pirates coming to this island”
“Dalton, you’re alive!” Usopp yells, the bison man standing there, watching them with a sad smile
“Yes. The Ishi 20 are as good as its been said. Plus it seems they took your threat quite seriously as they almost threw me into the cable car the moment I said I wanted to follow you up and assist you, not that you guys needed it of course” Dalton chuckles
That evening
“So I heard your spine is currently f*cked” Kaos says with a smirk as he walks in on Sanji still strapped down “Good news is she let you keep your pants”
“Oh f*ck off, not even this crazy lady would let people in if she made me do that”
“True, I’d charge for entrance” Kureha teases from the doorway
‘sh*t, another Nami’ Kaos thinks as he slips out of the door before Kureha can continue working on Sanji’s spinal fissure
The morning, as the Straw Hats are leaving
“Papa, do you think the reindeer guy will be joining us?” Artemis asks, Kaos’ eyebrows knit as he considers his answer
“I don’t know kiddo, but I’d like him to, he did a good job with Nami and seems ni…”
“Everybody run!” Chopper screams, as he barrels past/around them in his Walk Point, Artemis jumping onto the 1st mate’s back for fear of being run over. They were confused for a moment, until
“Get back here you brat! You think I’ll just let you go off and be a pirate, well you’ve got another thing coming” Kureha screams as she exits the castle, it finally dawning on everyone
“Well that answers that question” Kaos replies over his shoulder to a grinning Artemis, before everyone follows Luffy as he chased their newest crewmate down to the Merry.
There was just one thing that gave them pause….
“Wow”
“So cool”
“The f*ck are we looking at?”
“That’s impossible”
Chopper just looks on silently, his face can barely contain his smile even as tears stream down his face, right there in front of him was the end result of Dr. Hiriluk’s work, the pink coloured snowfall looking just like the cherry blossoms he’d promised he would show the country, the old quack’s dream had finally come true.
‘Fair well Chopper’ Kureha thinks sadly as she stands with Dalton ‘Be the man you say you are, as well as the doctor your dad told me you’d be, and I made sure you would’
TBC
LW: Hi everyone, sorry I’m late. The problem was I keep all my fanfiction on a single memory stick (bad idea I know), and when I went down to my dad’s this weekend I forgot it. Meaning today I had the job of splicing what I did over the weekend with what I’d already written, hopefully it’s not too disjointed.
R&R
Chapter 30: Family reunion 1 of ???, Fireman Ace
Chapter Text
LW: Here we go, the main event itself the Alabasta Arc.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Family Reunion 1 of ???, Fire man Ace
The Straw Hat ship sailed it’s way to Alabasta, given the lack of issues at the moment Kaos had time to fulfil his main job, being the crew’s researcher, in this case his main focus being something only Dr. Vegapunk would also be working on, but that was less to do with the 1st mate’s level of work and more the fact Dr. V was a man who worked on everything. The only reprieve he had at the moment was peeking up to see if Vivi had noticed that Luffy had decided to use her duck as fishing bait, given the idiot was the reason they were all starving right now he was hoping for him to get painfully shown the error of his ways. Still at least nobody was going to understand his writing in its current form
“There should be a line” Kaos looks up from his notes (Nami’s navigation combined with Valentina’s helmsman skills making for a good speed) then to the girl reading over his shoulder
“Really, and how do you know?”
Artemis shrugs “Mama was teaching me, we haven’t gotten too far so I may be wrong but that symbol isn’t a word unless you put a slash through it” she explains, Kaos rereading the section she’d pointed out and chuckles as she was correct, that was the wrong symbol for that space.
Chuckling to himself he edits it while reaching into his waistcoat for his pocket watch, it was most likely incorrect now but he’d adjust it when they reached Alabasta, besides it did show how long they’d been sailing for. “Any idea on our progress?” he asks casually to which the girl shakes her head
“I slept through the trip to Little Garden. I have no idea where we are, only Nami or Vivi have any clue”
“Land ahoy!” Usopp yells from the crow’s nest
“Well that helps” Kaos chuckles closing the notebook and putting it in his coat “Time to get ready to disembark eh kiddo?”
Artemis nods “I’ll tell the others” she says, running into the ship’s main body
“Nice ship you got here” a high pitched voice purrs causing Kaos to look up again and twitched, standing on deck was a man in a swan themed coat, spherical outfit and ballerina flats as well as thick make up.
“LUFFY! WE GOT ANOTHER WEIRDO!” Kaos shouts, watching the crossdresser fall flat on his face in shock.
“Not again” the captain grumbles as the majority of the crew come out to see what’s wrong now.
“Hello, I’m Bon Clay, and I’ve kind of lost my way ha ha ha” he chuckles, scratching the back of his head, the he sees the girls on the upper deck “Hey cuties” he winks and they shudder
“So, what can you do?” Usopp asks, to which Luffy grins and starts hopping around wanting to see
Bon Clay grins “Okay then, let me show you” he says before slapping Luffy in the face, tossing him into the wall
“Hey! What you do that for?” Zoro growls, pulling out his swords until
“Wait just a moment green guy” ‘Luffy’ says, waving his hands around “I’m just having a little fun, besides, you asked what I could do so why can’t I show off my devil fruit?”
“Wow, you look just like me” Luffy gasps as he gets back up and he was right, where Bon Clay stood, now was Luffy in his clothes
“Exactly, that’s the power of the Mane Mane no mi. I can turn into someone with my right hand, and if I touch my face with my left hand” as he does this his body and voice blurs/buzzes, before he was back to normal “it resets back to me. Hoy hoy” he then takes a moment to lightly touch each of the lower deck spectators (Usopp, Nami, Zoro, Chopper, Kaya) right until he reached Kaos.
“Touch me and I rearrange all of your faces” the reflect human growls, his powers coating his eyes in a way that sent shivers down the other man’s spine
“Right, well I didn’t need to slap you it was just more fun that way. All I needed was to touch you with my right hand for it to work” he then cycles through the crew he’d touched, even dropping back into Luffy for a moment before stopping on Nami “And that’s not all, I change my body as well as my face and voice” to demonstrate (s)he opens his blue dancer’s shirt to show off Nami’s bare chest (the clothes don’t change, so no bra for fake Nami), causing the guys to stare in surprise… before Not Nami gets punched in the face by Real Nami, reverting him to normal and turning her hand black for a split second, though it seemed only Artemis noticed that little factoid, her eyebrows shooting into her hairline before returning to their normal position.
“You okay swan guy?” Luffy asks as the man gets back to his feet
“I’m fine straw hat, but I think that’s enough of using my powers for today” he sighs, to the uproar of protest coming from Luffy, Usopp and Chopper “Oh if you insist” he then began pirouetting, changing his faces randomly to the amusem*nt of the trio. While he did so, one of the more normal faces he produced caused Vivi to tense up and clench her fists
“So you saw it too” the bluenette turns at the voice
“Valentina?” she whispers then nods
“Hey Mr. 2, get off our ship” the lemon lady screams at him, causing the ballerina to pout
“That time already Miss Valentine’s Day? Oh look my ship is back, ta ta babies” he does one more spin before jumping over to the ship that sailed up along side them “Men, get back to work”
“Yes Mr 2 sir, Bon Clay Maam”
“That was Mr. 2!” Was yelled by quite a few of the straw hats
“Yep, and now he’s got your faces in his memory bank” Valentina answers, heading back to the steering pole so they keep on course
“You okay Vivi?” Luffy asks, stretching up to check on the princess
“One of his faces, it was my father Nefetari Cobra”
“The King of Alabasta” Nami gasps
“But how did he even get it?” Kaya wonders
“He probably has faces of other palace staff, all it takes is one touch and he has you” Vivi mumbles before tensing for a second, as Luffy and Alvida run their hands along her spine
“Don’t worry Vivi, once we beat Crocodile we won’t have to worry about any of this any more” Luffy declares with a serious look
“And the next time we see ballerina, I’ll give him a mace to the junk, think that’ll help?” the smooth woman asks with a teasing smile, causing a watery laugh to escape the bluenette.
“Hey guys” the trio looks down to Nami grinning “I have an idea to help with our Mr. 2 problems” she says, pulling out a black marker
“Every time Nami pulls things out of thin air I worry, at least it’s not rope this time” Luffy muses, causing a few crewmates to chuckle and Nami to turn beat red
“Tying you guys together was an option” Kaos added before letting Nami continue, drawing an X on her arm, which she covered with a bandage
“Mr. 2 has a template of our bodies, things like scars, birthmarks and tattoos as well as the general proportions and shape. But the X is just me ink, so we can use it to identify each other as something other than a doppelganger”
“That’s a great idea Nami” Luffy grins, jumping down and letting her put an X on him, shortly followed by all the others who were on the lower level. She got to the remaining crew members later, even Carue, who wasn’t sure Mr. 2 could even copy her form, he could do Chopper because he was part human but she was all duck.
Upon docking at Alabasta
“I’m hungry, going to go look for a restaurant” Luffy states before hopping off the ship and running off
“Wait you idiot, we need to come up with a plan, agree on a meeting place, lots of other important logistics,” Nami argues but their captain was long gone
“I presume the Merry is a viable meeting option? And if not I could just follow the trail to these guys and from them” Kaos offers, waving his hands in the direction of Chopper, Artemis, Victor and Valentina “After all, leaving Luffy alone…”
“Is a disaster waiting to happen” Nami finishes tiredly “Go try minimize the damages his idiocy causes” she jokingly orders, to which Kaos smiles and nods before running after the rubber boy “Everyone else, we need to be discreet and subtle, do at least the rest of you understand the meaning of those words?”
“Miss Nami” Artemis calls, pointing down the shore to a separate alcove “We have a problem”
“That’s Mr.3’s ship” Vivi gasps, and she was obviously right, given the abundance of 3’s everywhere as well as the fact it appeared to be made of wax
“Yep, and he knows the 3 of us have betrayed Crocodile and joined the Straw Hats” the artist says bluntly
“Guess Vivi won’t be the only one looking over her shoulder in Alabasta” Valentina says with a frown
“Hopefully we can find Mr. 3 before he can blab to Crocodile about our indiscretions” Victor offers, trying to be a little optimistic “As unlikely as that is. Otherwise I guess we’ll need to find some disguises”
“Another reason to head into town” Alvida agrees “Can we go now Nami?”
The navigator sighs “Alright, let’s go but at least try cause less of a scene than Luffy and Kaos”
“Won’t be difficult, Kaos is his namesake at times and I’m surprised by that logic Luffy wasn’t named Armageddon, or Disaster” Sanji jokes
“Do you think that’s what the D stands for?” Kaya asks
“Honestly I don’t know, but it has to mean something” Usopp answers with a shrug of his shoulders
Deeper into the city
Despite the relatively high class look to the place, there was still a shirtless man in a cowboy hat and shorts eating soup at the counter “It’s good” could be heard mumbled through his meal
“Thank you sir. Though if you don’t mind me asking, what is someone like you doing in Alabasta?”
Ace’s expression pinches for a moment before continuing “I’m looking for someone…” he then smiles for a few seconds and reaches into his pocket “… a few someones actua…” then collapses face first into the bowl
“Oh no he’s dead” a patron screams
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
“HE’S ASLEEP!!”
After a few minutes Ace pulls himself out of his food, blinks then wipes his face and continues eating as if nothing had happened, he hoped he could find those idiots, it had been way too long since they’d seen each other.
‘I may have Pops and the others, but you 2 will always be the most important, especially after Sabo’ he thinks, smiling sadly while he finishes his meal, just as a familiar marine enters the restaurant.
“Portas D. Ace, what’s a division head for the Yonko Whitebeard doing in Paradise?” Smoker asks gruffly, and there’s a collective shudder when the civilians realise what the tattoo on Ace’s back is, though how they mistook a skull with a crescent moustache as anything but the Jolly Roger of the Whitebeard Pirates is beyond me.
Ace smiles as he turns to face the Captain “I’m looking for my brothers” he answers vaguely, though from his expression he just saw no need to give anymore information over to a marine like Smoker “anything else?”
“That you come with me, quietly”
Ace’s smile twists into a smirk “No thanks that doesn’t sound that fun, so I’ll pass”
Smoker growls “I had a feeling you’d say something like that” he sighs “I’m here on the trail of another pirate and I really don’t want to get involved in the affairs of a Yonko without reason”
“So just let me walk away” Ace offers
“That’s the thing” Smoker says, his arm starting to exude smoke “I can’t”
“FOOD!” Was yelled as a Luffy shaped blur crashes into both of them, sending them flying through the wall
“Damn it Luffy, can you go anywhere without causing a scene?” Kaos groans as he finally catches up with his captain
“I didn’t cause a scene in Little Garden” Luffy argues, sitting down and proceeding to stuff his face
“You pissed off some plant eating dinosaurs enough they tried to eat you” Kaos deadpans “That counts” he then grabs a plate of meat from under Luffy’s nose, though there was enough food in front of them Luffy didn’t seem to notice
“Straw Hat!” Smoker yells as he renters the building
“Hey smokie” Luffy greets with a smile
“I’m taking you down in the name of justice” he growls, reaching for his jute
“That’s nice, but I prefer to… run away” Luffy and Kaos make a break for it, just after the rubber boy shoves all the remaining food into his expanded mouth, Smoker and Ace running after them, but for different reasons.
Jumping across rooftops, through alleys, around market stalls and somehow running into the rest of the crew (who were annoyed they hadn’t managed to shake their marine tail BEFORE running over to them) they managed to evade capture, though with the addition of Lucina and Tashigi at least Smoker had more than useless canon fodder as assistance. Jumping to the front of the mob Smoker prepares to capture the entire crew
White Blow
Heat Haze
Smoker’s attack was feet from the duo (who had not quite caught up to the others, due to them running the second they saw the size of the marine prescience chasing them) when the space between them erupted in flame, separating pirates and marine, when it cleared Ace was standing in the centre, his arm and some of the other hands fingers taking the form of deep red flames
“You again” Smoker grunts
“Yes. You may have smoke, but against my fruit we would be here all day” Ace says with a serious tone
“Ace, is that you?” Luffy asks in shock
“You guys haven’t changed a bit have you?” he asks teases
“You eat some kind of Devil fruit?” Luffy asks, causing Kaos to face palm and Ace to chuckle
“Sure did, the Mera Mera no mi. I’m a Fire Man”
“Hence the moniker of Fire Fist Ace” Tashigi adds in her usual expositional way, while Luci sneers and draws her Falchion
“Yep. Now isn’t the best time for a chat, so why don’t you leave and I’ll catch up later okay?”
“Okay, see you around Ace”
Clang
Kaos smirks as his blade clashes with Nylock Lucina’s, the towering woman’s expression pure rage “You know, sneaking is easier if you aren’t constantly yelling about JUSTICE! And saving your adorable little brother from the corrupting influences of piracy and big titted archers, I hear on the Grandline there are a lot of people with that body type around so you may have a little trouble there” he says before shoving the bluenette back, slashing her leg with a downward swing “You missed one Ace” he points just before having to jump out of the way of another swipe
“You die today!” the bluenette screams, nearly skewering the reflect human, but losing her blade when his kusarigama hooked into the void in the hilt of her sword, then yanked it from her grasp before kicking her back to Smoker and his group, enabling them to make an escape
“What I don’t get is why you’re getting in my way and helping the Straw Hats” Smoker wonders out loud
Ace smiles as his body begins to fully transform into fire “Can’t a guy help his little brothers out? Sounds like at least one of you understand that”
“I am nothing like you” Lucina scoffs
“Yeah I can see that, by the sound of things my brothers actually want to see me” he laughs as she silently steams, knowing even with the coating on her blade she wouldn’t be able to find Ace in the flames to hit him.
“Let’s get this over with” Smoker growls, turning entirely into smoke as he charges Ace, the duo forming a fire/smoke twister in the sky which held everyone’s attention long enough for the Straw Hats to escape, now if only Luffy didn’t go off in the wrong direction in a very Zoro like manner, which meant Kaos had to go look for him as the crew were once more without their idiot captain.
“Hey where’d everybody go?” Luffy wonders, having set down the barrel he’d been thrown by Zoro in the alley and was now sitting on it while he tried to think “Weird”
“Well looks like buying you time to escape was pointless as always you rubber brained idiot” Luffy looks up and grins, seeing Ace standing on the roof
“Hi Ace”
“Hey Lu, it’s been a while” Ace returns the greeting before hopping down to Luffy’s level, the Straw Hat captain getting off the barrel as he does.
“Yep, how long’s it been Ace?” Luffy asks, the 2 showing off as usual, this time with arm wrestling
“Not sure, but you’re exactly the same as I remember, taller but that’s about it, both of you have”
The brothers stare intensely as they try force the other to yield, this could have lasted for hours… but we all get bored easy so someone kicks the barrel to pieces
“Hey! I almost had him!”
“In your dreams cry baby”
“Ah hem” Kaos coughs “Luffy, you still have a long way to go before you can beat Ace. Ace, don’t be such a dick, I’m not afraid to kick you through a window again, Dadan isn’t here to protect you this time”
Ace grins “Same to you, I’ll be able to kick your ass easy”
“Hey Ace” the fireman stops and turns to Luffy “Why are you in Alabasta, I mean it’s great to see you but still?”
Ace sighs “You never got my message did you? The one I left on Drum Island”
“Message?”
“Best take that as a no” Kaos murmurs, now leaning against a wall with his hat over his eyes
Ace shrugs “It’s fine, it was mostly just telling you I’d be in Alabasta for a couple days, and as we caught up you can clearly see it anyway so no biggie. I’m here on important business”
“Business?” Luffy repeats curiously
“Yep. I’m part of the Whitebeard Pirates” Ace replies
“A Yonko’s crew in 3 years, nice work Firefly” Kaos grins, and Luffy’s eyes sparkle
“A Yonko, like Shanks? Cool!”
“It sure is, this is our mark, and my pride” Ace explains, turning so Luffy could see his tattoo of Newgate’s Jolly Roger “So, what do you saw about you and your crew joining up? Come on it would be fun”
Kaos raises an eyebrow but looks to Luffy, he was the captain so it was his answer that mattered “No thanks we’re good”
Ace laughs with a smile on his face “Yeah I had a feeling, though I do wish Pops could have met you 2, would have been a hell of a crazy day. Still, he’s the greatest pirate and the greatest man I’ve ever met, so I’m going to make sure he becomes King of the Pirates”
Luffy frowns “Not if I get there first” he retorts almost childishly, causing his older brothers to chuckle
“You know the rest of the crew are waiting for you Luffy?” Kaos asks standing up properly once more “We should probably head back”
Luffy nods “Good point, hey Ace, come meet our friends” Luffy orders, linking his arm with Ace and beginning to pull him in a random direction, which became the way to the ship with some gentle prodding from the middle sibling.
“So, this crew of yours, who you got?” Ace asks, having not got a good look at the fleeing group just ahead of his brothers during th commosion
“Well there’s us of course, but there’s also this really tough guy with green hair and fights with 3 swords, he wants to be the greatest swordsman. Then we have a navigator who loves money and tangerines, she even grows them on the ship and they’re good. We also have a liar who’s wicked with a slingshot and a gunslinger, well Kaos calls her that. We also have a cook who makes the best food ever, and a woman with a mace that turns people into paste in like one shot”
“And that’s just the ones from the East Blue” Kaos comments with a grin
“Right, we also have a princess and her giant duck, a guy with exploding boogers, a lemon girl who can make herself really heavy, an artist with magic paint and finally we got a talking reindeer as our doctor, that last one came from Drum Kingdom”
Ace whistles “That’s quite a crew you got there”
“I know, everyone is so interesting”
The 2nd division commander meets Kaos’ stare and laughs “Probably, but I bet you’re the most interesting one of them all”
“Stop right there” the trio follow the barked order mostly out of confusion as scruffy looking men appear from every nearby alley “Fire Fist Ace, your head is mine, it’s my ticket to a promotion” the apparent leader of the gang states causing Luffy and Kaos to turn to one another
“Croc’s men?”
“Baroque Works”
“Hey those guys with him, don’t they look a lot like Straw Hat Luffy and Mirror Master Kaos?” One of the goons notice, causing their leader to double take
“Hey you’re right, that promotion is looking more likely with each passing moment. 3 dead pirates and a number is ours!”
“So we should probably get you to your ship before they start to worry” Ace says as the trio walk around the idiots due to being distracted by greed
“Hey, you can’t just walk away from us. Get them men!”
What follows is almost predictable at this point, many idiots underestimate the power of Luffy and those close to him and are therefore rather painfully fed dirt. The difference was it was a family bonding moment too, with Ace rather skilfully sidestepping blades and billions, Luffy bouncing around like he’d been fed Caffeine, cocaine and molten sugar directly into his veins and Kaos had forgone his blade in favour of something more physical, that being tossing them around like the cannon fodder they were. This continued right up until the main guy stepped in, nearly splitting Luffy in half before taking a fist to the face… and out the other side.
Ace grins “Nice to see someone’s been keeping this dumbass alive in my absence” he teases as Kaos removes his still milky white, though now blood covered hand from the corpse
“You really need to stop sticking yourself into people” Luffy says in the closest he’s ever come to deadpan, causing the others to smirk
“Haven’t had any complaints yet” Kaos replies, the other 2 laugh and continue the journey while the billions were frozen in fear
Reaching the shore Luffy starts bouncing around excitedly again “I see the ship, it’s right there” he says with a grin “Hey guys” he shouts and waves, Kaos pinching the bridge of his nose and Ace laughs, having missed moments like this. The rubber boy loops one arms around Kaos’ waist and shoots the other out to the Going Merry, catapulting both of them onto her deck, right on top of Sanji and Victor, something neither of them were happy about
“Luffy you idiot!” Sanji yells, kicking the boy off him, Kaos rolling his eyes as he helps Victor up and readjusts the mans glasses so they were no longer crooked
“Sorry about that…”
“The captain’s an idiot, I know” the bomber man finishes with a chuckle, patting himself down, only then did the brothers notice the change in garb.
Nami, Vivi, Kaya and Valentina were dressed as dancers, the first 2 in blue and the latter in yellow, given Alvida’s usual outfit she was able to keep it, though switched out her pants for the same skirt as the others. Artemis was spared this fate and was dressed in the bandit costume the guys were wearing, partly due to her age and also because Sanji knew if Kaos even thought he looked at the artist the same way he did every other girl on the crew or he walked passed he’d find out what it feels like to be fisted up to the elbow, or preferable getting hilted by Traptrix and setting it off.
“Nice, but why are you all dressed funny?” Luffy asks in confusion, which just gets him another punch
“We can’t just walk around as we were, with you being pirates and me being the princess” Vivi explains “Plus we needed clothes that would let us get through the desert… admittedly letting Sanji get us our clothes instead of say Nami was a bad idea but it’s too late to do anything about it no” Kaos laughs at the way Sanji curls up in a corner at Vivi’s blunt criticism.
True, hey Kaos, where’d Ace go?”
“Who’s Ace?”
“He’s our big brother” Luffy and Kaos answer with a smile, it was good to have the family back together even if it was just for a moment, then the elder moves away from the decking, causing Luffy to look at him in slight confusion
“So this is you crew? Seems like a fun bunch” Ace smiles as he lands on deck, causing the other 2 to grin and some of his crew to pale
Luffy laughs before turning to the others “Guys, I want to introduce you to my oldest brother Ace. Ace, this is my crew, we’re the Straw Hat Pirates, cause of my hat” he says trying to break the ice, the still shirtless fireman waves with a familiar smile
“Your brother”
“Is Fire Fist Ace”
“Of the Whitebeard Pirates?” 3 of the 4 former Baroque Works Agents ask fearfully, while Artemis was hiding like Chopper, only the correct way so she was mostly hidden behind Kaos
“Papa, is Uncle Ace nice like Uncle Luffy?” she asks quietly, though not enough Ace didn’t notice her and turn to his big little brother
“You have a kid already?” he squeaks
“Adopted, more or less. I’m trying to save her mom from Crocodile, well she wants to and I just offered to help”
Ace nods in understanding “Makes sense. The mom… is she hot?” he asks, shocked when Kaos shrugs
“Mama’s the most beautiful woman in Paradise” Artemis declares, causing the Whitebeard Commander to ask what to him was an obvious question.
“Your Mom’s Boa Hanco*ck? Damn Shimmer you got the full Luck of the D’s it seems” he says with a laugh
“No. Amazon Lily is in the Calm Belt between Paradise and the East Blue, it’s not technically part of the Grand Line” the artist states bluntly, surprising everyone
“Damn. Hey Luffy, how’s it feel to no longer be the youngest, but still be the dumbest person on the crew?” Sanji asks to which Luffy laughs
“Chopper’s like 10 and he’s our Doctor, I never stood a f*cking chance. Shishishi”
“Anyway, thanks for taking care of my little brother, I mean he’s a handful so I’m sure both Kaos and I appreciate you not leaving him to watch Luffy on his own” Ace says jokingly, causing a few of the Straw hats to return a smile or nod in agreement
“Handful doesn’t even begin to describe it” Nami sighs but her expression is still positive, sure Luffy was a moron and Kaos was insane, but they grow on you and when you’re backed into a corner, this was the crew she would want to be on.
“Are we sure this guy is their brother, he acts nothing like them” Usopp whispers
“I’d agree with you, but Luffy and Kaos are really different too, so that doesn’t exactly work in your favour” Zoro retorts, but before Usopp could try argue his point Vivi yelps
“Those are the Billion’s ships”
“Looks like we have a fire fight on our hands” Victor says, himself and Ussop running to the cannons while Valentina returns to the steering pole.
“Don’t worry guy, I’ll handle this” Ace calls to them before hopping off the ship onto his much smaller vessel, confusing the Straw Hats, with the exception of captain and first mate who can’t stop grinning in anticipation.
“He’s going to fight them all by himself?” Kaya asks fearfully
“Relax, you can’t work for a Yonko and fall in Paradise, Ace will be fine” Kaos says, partly as a comfort. And he was right, Ace outmanoeuvring the Billion’s ships before letting loose the move which got him his name:
Fire Fist
The fireball he produced tore through all the Baroque Work ships with almost no resistance, leaving only his tiny boat intact
“Have I mentioned how glad I am to have already jumped ship as far as Baroque Works in concerned?” Valentina asks, having seen the destruction when she came out onto the deck
“Okay, he’s their brother, nobody else is that freakishly strong” Usopp concedes, getting a few chuckles from around the Merry.
A little later
“Luffy, Kaos, I got 2 things for you guys” Ace takes off his hat and pulls out 2 pieces of paper, handing one to each “That Luffy is a Vivre Card, more specifically part of MY card. This will seek out it’s owner no matter where they are, so you will always be able to find me and know I’m okay, I know you guys worry about me as much as I you” Luffy’s eyes shine as he examines the card, grinning the entire time “As for you, that’s the code to get you through to the Queen Den Den Mushi on the Moby Dick, hopefully I’ll be wrapping up this job soon and we can keep in touch when I get back to Pop’s ship”
“Finally we can do something other than feed the snail Kaos picked up in Loguetown, at least the thing stays in his room though” Nami mumbles as Kaos accepts the Den Den number and Luffy attaches the Vivre card to the brim of his hat “So why are you out here anyway, aren’t you the head of an entire division, why are you all alone?”
Ace frowns “I’m out here looking for a man who calls himself Blackbeard…” Ace begins
“We’ve heard of him, he’s the one who was terrorising Drum Kingdom a while back” Alvida interrupts
“Yeah, I heard that too, it’s why I was there and was able to leave the message Luffy never got. Anyway, he used to be a Whitebeard pirate, part of my division in fact until he did the unthinkable; he killed a member of our crew and fled. As the head it is my responsibility, so I can’t stop until I get him. My most recent information indicates the bastard is in Yuba so that’s where I’m heading”
“Hey Vivi, isn’t that where we’re supposed to be heading?” Luffy asks, the name sounding familiar to him
“Why yes, Yuba is where the rebels are supposed to be stationed”
“Great, Ace, why don’t you stick with us for a while, seeing as we’re all going the same way” Luffy grins and Ace returns it
“I don’t see why not, be nice to spend a little more time with my brothers and their friends” he laughs as the crew toast their temporary new member.
With the marines
“Captain Smoker, Captain Nylock, we’re combed the city but no sign of Straw hat or his crew” Tashigi reports, both her superiors frown
“This brat is causing us a lot more trouble than he should” Lucina grumbles, fiddling with the bandage on the cut Kaos gave her
“True, but there’s something else that we need to consider” both bluenettes look up in confusion “One of the women in his crew, I think it was Vivi”
Tashigi gasps “Nefetari Vivi, Alabasta’s princess?” she asks
Lucina raises an eyebrow “But why would she be with the Straw Hats, they haven’t even been a crew as long as she’s been out of the public eye so how could their paths have even crossed?”
Smoker sighs, a thick plume of smoke escaping his mouth “ I don’t know but you’re right about one thing, she didn’t act like a hostage, she acted like part of the crew” Lucina sneers but Tashigi looked confused
“Captains!” a random marine interrupts their conversation “Mr 11 was killed while we were out looking for Straw hat, who he have not managed to locate yet I’m afraid. We have also not been able to locate his crew or Fire Fist, sorry Captains”
Smoker stands “Then stop, it doesn’t matter anyway we know where he’s going even if we don’t know where he is” at this both women perk up, this was news
“Where is he going?”
“He mentioned Crocodile, so he’s heading for him”
“Sir Crocodile, of the 7 WarLords of the Sea?” Tashigi gasps and if the scowl is any indication then for once Smoker and Lucina appear to agree on something, it’s one of her more moderate stances if they were all being honest
“Personally I hate the War Lord system, a pirate is a pirate regardless of if you give them a title or not, but Crocodile is one of the worst and on top of that Alabasta is his territory as they call it”
“So that’s why Straw Hat is here”
Lucina nods “And maybe it’s why Vivi is working with him, if she thinks he can remove the croc from her homeland she might see him as the lesser of 2 evils, it’s stupid and naïve to trust a pirate, but there’s at least some logic behind it”
“That’s settled then, we find Crocodile and Straw Hat will be there as well, and we might be able to get answers out of one of them or maybe even the princess herself”
TBC
LW: Well we’ve met Mr. 2 and Ace, that’s pretty much the main point of this chapter. See you in 2 weeks :D
Bon Clay: Ate the Mane Mane no mi/ Clone clone fruit
He can alter his appearance to match that of anyone he’s touched with his right hand, changing back when he touches his own face with his left.
Portas D. Ace/ Fire Fist Ace
Ate the Mera Mera no mi/ Flare flare fruit (2nd logia to show up in the series)
Heat Haze: It’s a fireball, a really big fireball
Fire Fist: Honestly reminds me of the pokemon move Fire Punch, only kicked up to eleven, but should we expect any less from a D, who’s a division commander for a Yonko, and Luffy’s older and stronger brother? Didn’t think so
Kaos
Kusarigama/Chain scythe: A Japanese weapon consisting of the aforementioned scythe attached to a metal chain with a heavy weight on the end.
I’ve mentioned this as well as added it to Kaos’ list of forms for the Hebi no Oni no mi, mostly because it is the closest thing I can find to a real weapon that functions like Kaos uses it’s base form.
Chapter 31: Braving the desert
Chapter Text
LW:……. I got nothing, on with the chapter.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Braving the desert
The straw hats were trundling along on the path to Eramalu, the 1st stop on their journey to Yuba where the rebel camp was, during which Luffy and Usopp were (reluctantly) helping Sanji clean, Ace was watching in amusem*nt, Zoro Vincent and Alvida were training, Kaya and Valentina were relaxing and Kaos was helping Artemis with her symbols at the artist’s request. According to Nami they were making good time, which may have been one of the reasons Vivi asked them to make land for a moment. Once they did she called over Carue who looked confused
“Listen my friend, I need you to do something very important for me okay?” the duck nods and Vivi puts a letter under her hat “I need you to head to the Capital and deliver this letter to my father, in it are all the information us and Igaram were able to gather on the situation, as well as telling him that I have returned home accompanied by some strange but good friends who are here to help. Got that?”
Quack’ Carue nods, doing her equivalent of a smile
“Alright then, stay safe and conserve your water. I’ll see you soon” Vivi hugs her duck who nuzzles before hopping off the ship and disappearing in a trail of dust/sand like the Roadrunner “You idiot, pace yourself!” Vivi yells even though Carue was beyond her hearing range “Sigh, well hopefully she makes it to the capital without incident”
“She’ll be fine” Artemis predicts “After all, without you on her back she’ll be just another duck to Baroque Works”
“I suppose you’re right. Nami we can get back to sailing now”
“On it Vivi”
A little while later they reached their destination, at least as far as water travel, everyone covering up (Much to Sanji’s disappointment), with the exception of Kaos who just flipped the hood of his cloak. Zoro had just dropped anchor when…
“The hell are those?”
The shore filled with odd Dugong/Turtle hybrids, a fist raised as they cheerfully bleated
“Kung Fu Dugongs, maybe this isn’t the best place to anchor” Valentina mumbles
“If you want to come ashore you have to beat me but that’s never going to happen you shell-less cowards” Chopper says, everyone looks at him in confusion “What? I’m an animal, I understand them”
“Wait, did you understand Carue?” Vivi asks
Chopper nods “Yep, she reminds me of Nami actually, a sneaky, scaredy cat, but willing to fight when she needs to” the reindeer explains, the navigator smiling and playfully taps his hat, rather than slam his head into the deck for comparing her to a duck.
Usopp smirks “Nobody calls me a coward and gets away with it” he declares as he jumps off the edge of the ship “Usopp attack!”
“Usopp no!” Vivi yells, but it was too late, the odd creature easily able to take out the sniper “Kung Fu Dugongs are really tough”
“They’re not so tough” Luffy scoffs, taking out the boss in one punch
“THAT’S BAD TOO!” the bluenette yells, but once more the was nothing she could do, Luffy was now mobbed by sparkly eyed dugongs “When they lose a match they become the winner’s pupil”
Ace sighs “Only you Luffy”
“This was a lose/lose situation, maybe Valentina was right” Kaos says as he jumps off the deck, the lemon girl surprised he’d even heard her “Really hope this works” he says mostly to himself “Hey Luffy!”
“Yeah?” Luffy turns, not expecting a punch to the face, of course beign rubber he just bounced back and shot forward, into a reflect armoured fist
BANG
“Wow, nice to see he finally got it to work” Ace chuckles, sounding really impressed, confusing the others until he explained “The reflect armour can turn a devil fruit power back on itself, sometimes even removing it’s best qualities, in Luffy’s case his immunity to blunt force damage. It just never seemed to work on demand before, it was just something like a 60% chance of success” they nod in understanding as Luffy was on the ground with a missing tooth and a busted lip
“Wh jew hig mey?” Luffy splutters
“Best plan I had to get the dugongs off you” Kaos explains, and he was right, the new problem was…
“Now they’re following you around!”
“sh*t”
“Any more bright ideas?” Nami asks, a tic forming on the back of her head
“Just one”
Bang!
One of the dugongs yelp as Kaos shoots it in the flipper, the others shake their fists angrily at the purplette before scurrying away in fear
Vivi blinks “Wait, how did you know they detested weapons as they see them as dishonourable?” she asks, ignoring Artemis’ amused chuckling in the background
“I didn’t, I just though shooting one would get them to go away, and I didn’t want to kill any of them unless I absolutely had to. Thick you could remove the bullet before we go chopper?”
The reindeer nods “I got it”
A little later the dugongs were all at the ship again, with Chopper playing translator “You are dishonourable, but strong, and we respect that. Good luck and begone”
“Well that could have gone worse” Zoro thinks aloud as they begin their trek into the desert, Luffy waving at the happy little critters until they are out of sight
“Oh yes” Vincent agrees and they continue walking until Vivi stops dead
“Something wrong Vivi swan?” Sanji asks with heart eyes
“Are we in Yuba yet?” Luffy asks with a grumpy look on his face
“No this isn’t Yuba, we are in what remains or Eramalu, what was once known as the city of green” she explains
“This place was green” Luffy wonders, getting a light tap from Nami for his stupidity
Vivi sighs “Look around you, this is what Baroque Works has done to my country, this is what my people have had to suffer through” he declares, Vincent and Valentina look down in guilt, while Artemis just looks on, trying to imagine what this ruin once looked like
“Are you sure, this place looks just a s desert as the last few steps we took?” Zoro asks, knowing his sense of direction this would be common but he was sure Vivi knew her way around the kingdom even in broad strokes
“Yes. Water has always been scarce on this island but through conservation and using it sparingly we were able to make this place flourish like anywhere else in the world, but that was when we still got rain. Something which hasn’t happened in 3 years”
“3 years! That can’t be natural”
“It wasn’t. Never in the history of Alabasta have the rains just stopped, but there was still one place where there was rain, and more of it than usual, Alubarna the capital city. People called it the Kings Miracle, his power over the island allowing his city to remain lush and strong, until one day a cargo ship arrived, carrying dance powder”
“Dance powder?”
Luffy grimaces “That stuff is icky” he mumbles sticking out his tongue in disgust
“A powder which when burnt can summon rain”
“Which should be great, you can have all the water you need” Usopp declares, laughing until he sees Vivi’s face
“You’d think that, but the way Dance Powder works it basically steals the rain from other places by making the clouds drop their load early. At this point we’d been experiencing odd weather patterns and no rain had fallen at all outside the Capital”
“So they accused the king of using it to keep his city healthy” Ace guesses to which the princess nods
Exactly. And that’s not even mentioning that the production and possession of Dance Powder is illegal by order of the World government”
“But not it’s use?” Kaya asks in confusion
“If you can’t make it and you can’t own it then you can’t use it” Kaos answers
“Wait a minute, that means your dad is the bad guy here” Luffy declares, then runs off being chased by an angry Sanji
“Hm, never thought I’d see the day Sanji would defend a man” Kaos mutters
“Anything to get into Vivi’s princess pants” Zoro replies, causing a few of the others to chuckle, Chopper to look confused and Vivi to turn beat red.
“Ahem! Anyway, my father was framed, but that didn’t matter as a large amount of Dance Powder was found within the palace as well”
“sh*t, Crocodile’s even got men inside the capital” Usopp gasps
“More likely Miss All Sunday does, she’s the face of the Zero Squad after all” Valentina argues
“The lack of rain combined with the destruction of the canal meant the city had no water, and people started to get angry. Most left to try find water in the other oasies and cities, leaving the City of Green to return to the sand” tears drip down her cheeks as she finishes her story, only looking up when a pillar collapses
“He’s still the same” Ace smirks as Luffy walks over with a grumpy face on
“Vivi let’s move, we’ve got work to do, rebels to stop and a Crocodile in need of a good ass kicking”
Vivi smiles slightly “Right, I can’t just stand here lost in the memories, we need to get to Yuba so I can stop the rebels”
“And how are you going to do that?” Alvida asks
“I’m going to explain what happened, how it was all Crocodile and Baroque Works doing”
“And he’ll believe you?”
“It’s my only chance”
That evening
“Iiiiiit’s freezing, I thought deserts were supposed to be hot” Luffy stutters, picking up Chopper like a stuffed toy and cuddling him, much to the reindeer’s annoyance
“You’d think that, but the lack of cloud cover means it’s blisteringly hot during the day and freezing cold because there’s nothing to hold in the heat” Vivi explains as most of their convoy huddle around the fire or Chopper. The exceptions to this were Ace, being made of fire he was immune to heat and able to raise his internal temperature in order to ignore the cold, as well as…
“Do you think if we put food on his hat we can get him to cook us some supper?” Ace opened one of his eyes to see Artemis and Kaos with their hands rubbing together close to him, acting as if the Whitebeard Commander was a secondary campfire.
“What the…” Ace then chuckles “You’ve been wanting to do this since I told you my fruit’s name haven’t you Shimmer?” he asks, to which both his brother and niece (given how easily Whitebeard adopts people Ace takes after his Pops in that regard) respond with sh*t eating grins, which he actually preferred to any poor attempts at innocence.
“Well we’re in the desert…”
“And it’s cold, but you’re made of fire…”
“So we assumed you’d be okay with sharing the warmth”
Ace rolls his eyes “And you didn’t think to just ask me?”
“Nope, then you could have said no” Artemis replies without missing a beat
“Besides you need to use it for yourself anyway, the 2 of use are just mooching of you like we used to mooch off Dadan”
Ace smiles, remembering the bandit, before punching Kaos in the jaw “You may be smart one, but you’re also the bonkers one” he says tiredly “Oh and fort eh record, you can use me as your campfire, just don’t touch me” he pushes his hat over his eyes and drifts to sleep
After nearly getting killed by scorpions and a sandstorm (Vivi forgetting to inform anyone of these dangers beforehand) the group continued on their journey, trudging through the desert (which the expected amount of complaining from Luffy) before settling for a break in the first bit of shade they found in a while. Now he wasn’t dying of heatstroke Luffy was bored again, so when he heard weird croaking he went to investigate and was shocked by what he saw
“Guys you need to come see this!”
“What did you break now Luffy?” Valentina groans as the group head over to him
“I found these birds, they don’t look too good”
CRUNCH SNAP
“Hey Chopper can you see if this thing has any diseases, cause if it doesn’t maybe we can have Sanji or Ace cook it, it’s not much but it should stop Luffy eating all our supplies for a little longer” Kaos asks, tossing the bird to the reindeer, nearly getting flattened by it if he hadn’t jumped out of the way, all the time unaware of the scared sh*tless expression on the remaining birds faces
“Broken neck, body isn’t even cold, but it’s a desert so that may be normal” Chopper diagnoses “Probably safe to eat”
“Hey all those birds are flying away” Luffy whines, the feathered bandits clearly deciding robbing these pirates wasn’t worth their lives and left as quickly as possible “Come back you all look injured”
Vivi walks over to the amused reflect human “Hey Kaos” he turns “I think YOU are what killed that bird. Not that I’m complaining, we’re more likely to survive without those birds trying to steal out belongings, but I just thought you should be aware” he shrugged and Vivi helped set up lunch, that really being all she wanted to say on the matter.
Luffy being Luffy the idiot managed to get himself lost within 2 minutes of nobody watching him, leading to another 10 minutes of cursing his name and trying to figure out where he went… when he shows up riding a camel and being chased by a giant purple lizard
“Damn it Luffy, you keep causing trouble everywhere you go” Sanji complains, Zoro not far behind the blond as they run out to save their captain
“Hey guys, want to help kill it?”
Gum Gum Pistol
Oni Giri
Mutton Shot
“You know, when all 3, or even just 2 of those guys team up, I almost feel bad for whatever they’re fighting” Kaya muses, Alvida nodding while she chuckles
“Yeah, almost” she agrees, before rumbling shakes them out of their reprieve
“I guess none of you knew these guys hunt in pairs?” Vivi asks, getting a resounding yell of NO!!!! from everyone
“Well, guess the monster trio aren’t the only ones who get to cut loose today” Victor says with a smile, mirrored by Kaos and Ace
“This is bigger than anything back home, think you can take it?” Kaos teases, his fingers extending through his armour
“I could ask you the same question” Ace replies his arm igniting in preparation
Double nose fancy
Homunculus
Fire Fist
Victor’s explosions stunned it, Kaos’ finger spikes pierced its brain case and Ace charbroiled it just to be sure to be sure.
“Hey Vivi, can we eat this?” Luffy asks, remembering what happened with the scorpion so wanted to be sure, but Vivi was still a little broken seeing the top predator of the island being killed so easily… TWICE!
“Hey guys, what are we going to do with this camel?” Usopp asks, looking at the grumpy thing in front of him, until Chopper happily bouces over and begins talking to it
“Hey Chopper, you know this guy?” Luffy asks
“Yep, he helped me when I got lost back in the other town. He’s friendly and helpful”
“Yay free camel ride” Luffy cheers, trying to get onto the animal’s back only for it to bite him on the head and shove him away “Hey, you are a camel, you are meant to be ridden, so let me ride you!”
At this point Chopper plays translator again “I’m greatly appreciated for you saving me and all that, but I refuse to take male passengers”
There was a moment of silence from the reindeer as the other guys of the group beat up the camel
“…I’m afraid I’m much too macho”
Crunch
The noises made by the camel cause Chopper to curl up in a ball, while the animal in question falls to the group, tears, mucus and saliva covering its face
“What did you just do?” Sanji asks, before Vivi steps around to the back of the animal, where Kaos was
“Hm, that shouldn’t have worked” she notes, causing the purplette to raise an eyebrow “With riding camels the males are gelded, usually”
“Then I guess I fixed a mistake” Kaos says with a shrug
“Any chance it grew back?” Alvida asks, Vivi actually chuckling at the idea
“I don’t think any animal can regrow it’s testicl*s, especially after the procedure is done properly” she emphasises the last word to an amused Kaos
“Sanji could if Nami told him she’d sleep with him” Zoro mutters, earning snigg*rs from Victor, Alvida and Ussop, as well as a foot to the face from said cook.
“Still, a free ride is a free ride” Nami shrugs before jumping onto eyelash’s back “Come on Whoa!” the ginger yelps as Artemis is dropped on her lap by Kaos before she could offer the spot for Vivi “Hey, what’s the big idea?”
“Artemis is a child, you’re just lazy” he replies, confident Nami wasn’t going to get off the camel to hit him, and risk losing her spot to one of the other girls. He was right, as Nami just grumbled before placing Artemis on the seat behind her.
The crew had to take a minor detour when they ran into some sand pirates, but nothing much happened other than meeting some bitch with a grudge against Vivi, that and losing Ace for a couple hours. The sand pirate’s captain, a large man with an umbrella on his head was nice enough to give them a lift to just off from a small village called Edo, so that was nice of him.
“Hey guys” everyone stops for a moment before seeing it to be Ace riding some kind of lizard waddling towards them
“Oh, so that’s where he went” Luffy wonders, then is promptly distracted by the food and water his brother was hauling “Yay stuff!”
“Yep, dig in, there’s stuff for everyone”
Sanji smiles “This should keep us going another while, at least as long as we stop Luffy eating everything”
“We’ll just put him back under the cactus juice if need be” Kaos replies with a shrug, getting slaps on the knee from Chopper and Kaya “I’m kidding, don’t want to risk the idiot OD’ing on that crap”
Vivi walks up to Ace, tentatively “Ace, I’m fairly sure you didn’t use money to obtain these good, but please tell me you didn’t steal from these people, who are struggling to get by as it is?”
Ace laughs “Nah that’s not my style, besides that village over there doesn’t appear to be exactly struggling. Not important anyway, I was given it by the rebel army” Vivi’s yell caused more than a few of the straw hats to either spit take or choke on their food/water “Well I suppose it’s not exactly the right term, more fake rebels, it’s quite a good system too”
“Wait, how can there be fake rebels?” Usopp asks confused
“Simple really, they say they’re rebels and the village hires them to protect the village something the actual rebels may do. It’s not that hard, you look tough, have the confident swagger and you’re golden. Like I said I think the idea is quite smart”
Nami doesn’t look convinced “But it can’t be that simple, surely someone would have figured it out or they’d have been found out by now”
“Not necessarily” Victor answers “Knowing a village, settlement or even an island is under someone’s protection can scare away small time bandits, knowing it’s the rebel army, who are strong enough they’re giving the royal army themselves trouble and that keeps most of the others away. It’s like how only the stupid attack islands that are Warlord bases, like Crocodile in Alabasta or Doflamingo in Dressrosa, you know there’s something big and powerful there to kick you to the curb”
“Exactly, so let’s just let it go and head to your destination, you are on the clock after all” Ace suggests to the now silent Vivi
“You want to do something, don’t you?” Alvida asks with a smirk
“If they’re actually doing their job they can call themselves whatever they want, but that’s the problem, we don’t know if they would actually protect the village they’re squatting in”
Kaos sighs while Artemis smirks from Eyelash’s back “You want to test their resolve don’t you? Idiot” he asks with a groan, mostly when she nods enthusiastically in response “Fine but don’t be disappointed when this goes tit* up”
20 minutes later
The rebels, step out of the city gates, intending to run as soon as they had the chance, only to almost walk right into Luffy, his expression serious for the occasion, behind him were Kaos and Alvida, with Sanji, Usopp, Zoro and Chopper flanking them.
“sh*t there’s nowhere to run”
Prepare to be defeated dastardly pirates, by the invincible rebel army” the town’s mayor yells from the top of the gates
“What a fat man, are we sure this island is experiencing a famine?” Kaos mutters, Alvida biting her lip to stop a chuckle
“So according to the bowling ball you guys are the real deal, guess that means it’s time to fight” Luffy deadpans
There was much heming and hawing before their apparent leader steps forward “Sure you cn try fight us, but there’s much more than 4, guarding this village are 100,000,000!”
“100,000,000!” Luffy screams, till he gets face planted by Kaos and Alvida
“Idiot, this is the same trick Usopp used on us, it’s only slightly less moronic because he’s that desperate” the reflect human growls
“Oh yeah” Luffy claps, breaking character for a second before he frowns “Lie to me you bastards!”
Gum Gum Pistol
Luffy’s attack shoots the blond leader of the group through the door and part way down the path into the village, the man just lying there while the others panic
“This was a bad idea” Valentina comments from behind the rock the rest of the Straw Hats were observing from behind
“Yeah, but until Vivi gives the go ahead we have to let it play out, captain’s orders” Victor reminds her
The lemon girl frowns “I hate that pirate rule” she grumbles to Artemis’ amusem*nt
Kaos ruffled through his cloak and pulls out a pocket watch “How long did Vivi say we needed to play this game?”
Alvida shrugs “Until something happens. I don’t think we needed to be here, never mind the other 4, Luffy is dealing with them just fine” Kaos nods, though as the only other crewmates with bounties it helped raise the stakes and see just what would happen.
Seeing as they weren’t in any rush (it’s not like they have to be anywhere or something) Luffy casually strolled over to the rest of the rebels, stepping into what would be considered normal melee range and drew back his fist…. Only for the oldest to catch it. He looked pretty bruised and his nose was bleeding badly but he was standing and looked a lot more ready to fight than he did a minute ago.
“I’ll admit we’re not rebels, we said we were so we wouldn’t be starving any more. We wish we could become as strong as our heroes, but we’re just thugs and cowards. You may be able to beat us to a pulp, but I’m done running, I’m going to give those kids someone to look up to” he says, putting as much of his heart into his words as he still could.
Luffy blinks, then smiles “I believe you” he says then turns and yells “Hey Vivi, I think this village is safe with these guys guarding it, can we go now?”
“IDIOT!” Vivi and Nami yell, popping out of cover
“Is the show over, can we head to Yuba now?” Artemis asks as she walks over to a laughing Kaos and snigg*ring Alvida, Usopp and Chopper
“yeah I think we’re done, get up you’ve spent long enough on pervert camel, your mother will kill me if she finds out”
Artemis laughs as she climbs on his back, not telling him about the eye on the wall in front of them. With a small wave they head off after Luffy, currently being chased by an angry ginger and bluenette ‘Too late papa she saw everything’ she thinks with a smile, resting her head on his shoulder, waving to Ace when he finally catches up to them.
TBC
LW: I didn’t think it would happen this quickly, but my pattern of using about 3-4 episodes to make each chapter from may be coming around to bite me in the ass soon enough. Until then oh well.
R&R
Chapter 32: Filler and Yuba
Chapter Text
LW: The problem with how long it’s been since I saw early One Piece, is I don’t know what’s filler and what’s important until I rewatch the episodes. Such as the last couple chapters. Oh well, hopefully the story is still interesting for you guys.
Rubber King and Mirror – Filler, and Yuba (Aka desert chapter no. 2)
The next stage of their journey was uneventful, other than the usual ruckus Luffy Sanji and this time Usopp caused, which was why Vivi decided to help pass the time with a story which turned out to be rather important in the end.
They learnt that the rebel leader Koza was a childhood friend of Vivi’s, which some assumed was the reason she believed that she could talk sense into the man. Luffy had his patented ‘don’t give a sh*t’ expression which usually followed someone giving a back-story, though he was soon distracted by what turned out to be a giant desert scorpion, something which also turned out to be much tastier than expected once Mera Mera flame grilled.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Kaya asks while they watch the tri daily fight over food, this time Zoro getting involved because Luffy stole his food
“The best we can do is follow Vivi’s directions, it’s not like anyone else in this group had even been to Alabasta before now” Kaos answers, getting shrugs from Ace and the former baroque works teams
“I’ve been here before, just not Yuba. Mama works in Rainbase” Artemis adds, Kaos making a mental note to go there when they were done, if their search for Crocodile didn’t lead them there first
“Hey look, flying meat” Luffy yells
“Oh no he caught us”
“Run Chip”
“Cool it talks too, get back here meat!” Luffy immediately runs off, to the confusion and annoyance of his crew
“I don’t think it’s possible, but has he gotten dumber since I left?” Ace asks, getting a shake of the head from the remaining brother
“He’s as impulsive as ever, which while resembling stupidity, isn’t” he replies before standing up and beginning to walk in the direction Luffy just disappeared in
“He’s gone” a young boy sighs
“Yay, real meat, we never get this kind of food in the badlands”
“True, so eat it slowly 10 days without food means stuffing your face is a bad idea”
“The badlands huh?”
“Can I have some of the meat if you’re not going to eat it all?”
The boys tense before turning to see Kaos sitting on the rock behind them, and Artemis sitting cross-legged beside them (How she got there, they weren’t sure)
The older looking boy gulps and draws a pistol “Stay back, we don’t want any trouble but I will us this if I have to” he stutters
“You’re rude” Artemis pouts, reaching for her brush but Kaos waves it off
“You know, I have a rule of not letting people try to threaten me” he states flatly
“Then come and gggget it” says, pulling the trigger as his younger brother tackles him
Ping
“Word of advice, only fire at something you can hit” Ace critiques as he makes himself known as well as drawing the others to his location
“He deflected the bullet with a rock, just how strong is he?” the smaller boy gasps, shuddering, but the older one rushes over
“Please help us mister I need you to find someone for us. Do this and I’ll even pay you, 1 million beri” he pleads
“1million?” Nami asks with a raised eye brow
“Where would a kid get that kind of money?” Alvida asks curiously, seeing Vivi shrug out the corner of her eye
“Please, I can’t give it to you all at once, but once I’m a grown up I’ll do it” he then pulls out a photo from his pocket “I need you to find this man. He’s a bounty hunter, the name’s Scorpion”
Zoro looks suspiscious “What’s a couple of kids looking for a bounty hunter for?”
“Doesn’t matter, I’m looking for this guy too, he’s the reason I was heading to Yuba but if he’s out here then that just makes things easier” Ace replies, accepting the job
“We’re going on another detour aren’t we?” Artemis mumbles, oddly enough getting a nod from Chopper in response.
“So, how the f*ck are we going to find this guy?” Valentina complains “The desert is huge and there are basically no landmarks, we’ve not even made it to Yuba”
Turns out finding someone isn’t that hard when they’re also actively seeking you out, as was discovered when Scorpion showed up on an ostrich, alongside Luffy
“Hey guys, this old guy just gave me a lift on his bird”
“LUFFY YOU IDIOT!” was yelled in stereo by almost everyone involved
“So, do you think you can fight in an honourable battle pirate?” Scorpion asks, charging at Ace with his ostrich
“Remember this is serious, so don’t pull any punches or it’ll be boring” Luffy cheers
“I wasn’t planning…. Ah forget it” Ace sighs and steps forward just as Scorpion shoots a net him, the Commander actually seemed amused, letting the net envelop him before using his fruit power to produce a strong enough fireball to send it back at the man, knocking him off his bird and causing him to roll around in pain from the hot corded net.
“Damn, well I guess you have some skills, and if it were easy it wouldn’t be any fun” Scorpion laughs, pulling out his next gadget
“You’ve got some skills yourself, if I weren’t a Logia that might have been a small problem” Ace compliments, then dodges a blast of foam which tore a hole through the rock behind him
“This compressed air extinguisher foam blaster should do the trick, no problems” he laughs and continues to fire at Ace who dodges every shot before burying his fist in the man’s gut, knocking him to the ground.
Ace frowns “You lied didn’t you? You never beat Blackbeard, you just said you did so I’d come looking for you?”
Scorpion wheezes “Correct, but while you’re here I’m going to take you down…”
“Father stop he’ll kill you” one of the boys scream, stopping everyone in their tracks
“Did he say”
“Father?”
“Explains why these kids know a bounty hunter”
“He’s their dad”
Scorpion grimaces “Don’t worry boy’s I’ll be fine”
“Stop the fight” one of the boys yells as they both slide down the dune to their father “Please stop, we don’t want to lose you”
“We understand what you’re trying to teach us now, but we want you to stop before it kills you, we want you to be safe”
Scorpion sniffles as he pulls himself to his feet “I need to do this, to show you what a man can do when he doesn’t give up on his dreams” he clicks and Popo brings over a bazooka, which he points at Ace and lights “This ends here” he announces with all the confidence he can muster, until he feels small arms on his legs
“Please Dad just come home, that’s all we want that’s our dream”
“I want to go home, I’ll never complain again I just want you back, that’s all I want”
Seeing his boys cry broke the resolve he was clinging to, droping his weapon her pulls the 2 into a hug, unfortunately when he dropped it the bazooka went off, shooting it’s projectile into the structure behind them, causing it to fall towards them, they were nearly killed except…
Fire Fist
Ace jumped forward, his attack either knowing away or outright destroying any falling rubble in this path. There was shock and awe from some of the spectators, but Chip and Dip were more worried about their dad.
“Hey old guy, you still alive?” Luffy asks with his usual bluntness, getting a sigh from beneath the man’s hat before he pulls himself to his knees
“Of coure I am, you think I’d leave my kids to fend for themselves? Ha” he laughs before being tackled by the boys, happy they would be going home and that their dad would be okay.
A little later
“Are you sure you have to leave?” Luffy asks with a frown, most of the others just and unhappy to see him go, mostly because it meant they were stuck with Luffy
Ace nods sadly “Yeah, Blackbeard’s not in Alabasta which was the reason I was tagging along on your trek. Luckily Scorpion heard news that bastard has been spotted westward, so that’s my next destination. Hold onto that Vivre Card Lu, and remember to call when all this is over sparkles, hopefully I’ll have this situation dealt with and be back on the Moby Dick soon enough” the brothers hug, promising to be even stronger pirates when they next meet and Ace leaves, using his powers to make light work of the desert now he was going solo
The next day
“Anyone else miss Ace? Especially now we’re stuck with just these 2?” Sanji asks, but before anyone can reply Kaos and Luffy punch him into the sand Nami style
“Hey Vivi” Nami calls, ignoring the guys fighting “How much further”
The bluenette smiles as she turns “Just a little more, Yuba is basically right over there we just need to hold on a little longer” she declares, getting cheers from a good portion of the crew
“Finally, I have sand in places I really don’t want” Valentina complains
“Too much information” Usopp grumbles, then has to run away from an angry lemon girl
“Well ay least it’s motivating him to keep moving” Kaya says to Chopper with a tired smile, which the reindeer returns
A little later Luffy was complaining again “Come on, are we there yet? Is that Yuba?” he asks, pointing off into the distance
Vivi frowns “Something’s not right….. oh sh*t! The entire area is being struck by a sandstorm” she yelps
“Another one, are they common here?” Alvida asks
“Alabasta? Yes. The Yuba region? No they’re quite rare, making this all the more unnerving”
By the time they reached the town the storm had luckily dissipated, but the trail of destruction was clear
“This place looks just as bad as the last town we’ve come across” Zoro grumbles
“Well I doubt it’s all the easy for a town of this size to get through a sandstorm without ending up looking like a sh*thole by the end. And given the current climate on the island I get the feeling things are much harder for everyone, and recovery much slower” Kaos retorts, luckily both were far enough away from Vivi she didn’t respond to them directly
Luffy frowns as he scans the horizon “Water! Where’s the water? They said they’re be water!”
“While I only do this rarely I have to agree with the idiot, isn’t this place supposed to be an oasis or something?”
Vivi nods “Yes, but it seems even this oasis has been lost, either buried or just dried up”
The 1st option looked more likely when they noticed an old man digging, or more when he noticed them “Hello, you travellers must be exhausted from travelling in the desert heat. As you can see this town is quite parched as well, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stay here and rest, I don’t turn away those in need” he says politely “There are plenty of places to stay, Yuba prided itself on its inns and hospitality don’t you know?”
Vivi’s eyes glistened as she pulled up her collar “Thanks, but we’re looking for the rebel army…”
That was clearly the wrong this to say as the old man got angry and started throwing things at the group. The anger then moved form him to the pirates when he informed them the rebels were gone, had been for a while.
“Do you know where they are?” Vivi asks hopefully
The man shakes his head “Those idiots could be anywhere now. With no rain in 3 years the desert began to change, sandstorms became for common and this town was hit with many. Eventually our oasis was lost and the town became what you see before you. With nothing of value left the rebels packed up and left for other places most of them in Katorea, now it’s just me here.”
Luffy notices Vivi look faint “Um, is Katorea close to here Vivi?”
She shakes her head “No, it’s near Nanohana, where we first made land, we’d be quite literally going back the way we came”
The old man pulls himself from his pit “Vivi? Is that you?” he asks, causing the collective thought of ‘ah f*ck!’ to pass through everyone bar Vivi herself, who looked confused “It’s me Vivi, I’ve seen better days and I’ve lost a lot of weight but it’s so good to see you again” he tears up but smiles brightly, causing the bluenette to gasp
“Toto? It’s can’t be” she whispers, remembering a fat man with a jolly smile, like Santa but minus the beard, the moustache was the way it had been all those years ago but the almost skeletal man was very different than what she’d have expected.
Toto smiles “Hello my princess, it does me the world of good to see you once more. I know whatever has happened, it wasn’t you or the king’s fault, he was a good man, he’d have never done this to his people” he says, tears slipping down his cheeks, matched by Vivi’s own face “I believe in the king, most people do, but these rebels are stirring things up and making everything worse. What’s more, they’ve reached a limit in power and know this is there last chance, their next attack will be their last: victory or death” Vivi whimpers “Please princess, end this madness, please” Toto collapses to the ground and cries
“Toto my friend, don’t worry” Vivi says, placing her hand on his shoulder “We’re going to fix this, on my honour I swear it”
TBC
Chapter 33: Crocodile here we come
Chapter Text
LW: Here we go, time to meet the true enemy of this arc, face to face.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Crocodile here we come!
“Hey old guy, where’s the water, I still see no water” Luffy complains “How can you live here it’s really bad”
Toto sighs and stops digging “I’m still here because the oasis of Yuba still exists even if it is buried under all this sand. I won’t let it break me I’ll dig up this sand and make my village liveable again if it’s the last thing I do”
“Oh. Well in that case, lets get rid of all this sand and get us some water” Luffy cheers, Vivi and Toto look surprised, but happy the crew were trying to help so genuinely “And I have a great plan too Shishishi”
Nami groans “Run it by us first, you’re not exactly a strategist Lu”
“I just need Kaos, Victor, Valentina and some rope. You still got any Nami?” the navigator sighs deeply before pulling out several feet of rope from wherever.
“Well Zoro’s not part of your plan so you’re not simply digging it out. What are you playing at then?” Usopp asks in confusion
“Same here, I understand Victor’s being part of this plan, me and Val not so much” Kaos adds
“I know how strong you are and you’re the tallest here. I need you to throw Valentina really high” Luffy explains, stretching his arm straight up
“This is insane, also why did you need the rope?” Vivi asks, hoping the answer made more sense than what she believed his plan to be
“She’s a Devil Fruit user duh. If all goes right we’ll have water, but that means she’ll sink to the bottom if we don’t have a way to get her back” Luffy explains “Now let’s make sure the first part works… Victor”
My nose fancy cannon
“Awesome big hole” Luffy cheers “See, we need to make a big hole, then we have Valentina drop down at full power to give it that last bang!” he grins madly and oddly enough some of the others joined him
“As plans go, that’s not terrible” Zoro admits
“It could go very wrong but no point not trying”
Victor walks over to Kaya and hands her his gun “Just for the job, I highly doubt you regularly carry explosive rounds on your person” he jokes
“No, in fact before Loguetown I didn’t carry any weapons regularly”
“So, are we doing this?” Usopp asks, having pulled out a solid handful of his explosive pellets
Luffy nods “Once the hole is big enough toss her” he orders, Nami having secured her rope around Valentina’s waist, while Artemis sat between Vivi and Toto, content to watch the fireworks “Begin”
Double Nose Fancy
Breeze breath Bombs
Exploding Star
Chi Chi Bomb
Gum Gum Bazooka
“Looks like it’s your turn Val” Kaos offers a hand, which she plants her heel on, smiling as he gives her a leg up
1kg bounce
10,000 kg press
The resulting shockwave knocked a few of the watchers over, most notably Toto simple due to age and drought induced weakness, though Nami and Vivi weren’t far behind him. By the time they got back up, Kaos was pulling a soaked Valentina from the pit
Toto gasps “You-you did it! How could I possibly repay you?”
“Letting us have some of the water would be nice” Kaya suggests to which the old man laughs, a little harder after Nami pipes in about somewhere to sleep that wasn’t sand
“Of course of course, it’s the least I can do as I wouldn’t have any at all without you nice people”
The next day
“I wish you the best on your travels and for the road” Toto smiles, handing a small water barrel to Luffy who grins widely
“Thanks old guy, we’re going to kick Crocodile’s ass and make this country somewhere good to live in again” he waves at the now once more smiling man, the rest of the crew doing the same
Things were quiet for about an hour, before Luffy just stopped
“Hey, we don’t have time for games, we need to head back the way we came and get to the rebel base to get them to stop fighting” Sanji yells, but the straw hat just continues to sit, joined by a tired Artemis and Kaos though the latter was more standing nearby curiously
“I quit” Luffy replies, batting aside the swirly browed cook when he tries get in his face (to the amusem*nt of about half the crew at any other time) “Vivi, all I want to do is kick Crocodile’s ass from here to the Red Line. That’s why we’re here, because dealing with him fixes your problems. Going to Katorea and talking to the rebels won’t do much, because they’re not the real problem, HE is”
“The kid can be blunt as his powers sometimes” Victor notes
“Yeah but he does cut through everything else to get to the heart of the matter” Val retorts
“Luffy”
“You wanted things to go in such a way that nobody dies in this fight, not any citizens, not a royal or rebel or even any of us, am I right Vivi?”
The bluenette looks confused “Of course I want to end this fight without bloodshead and death….” She’s once more interrupted, this time by a hissing chuckle
“Sesese. It’s almost funny how idealistic and naïve you are Vivi. Wake up princess this is a war and people die, its already too late for everything to just be sorted with a quick chat and a how’d you do, there are already casualties, the best we can do is minimise it by taking out the root cause” Kaos states, then blinks when one of Vivi’s jewels split his cheek
“You bastard!” she screams before leaping at him
“Shouldn’t we at least try break them up?” Nami asks, not seeing the point of the fight, though Zoro and Alvida had already knocked Sanji out to stop him ‘defending’ Vivi. Luffy shakes his head and chuckles
“Nah, Vivi needs this and it’s not like Kaos is taking it seriously so it’s all good” he says with a shrug and even just from what she’s seen he had a point: other than snapping the slasher Kaos didn’t even use his devil fruit powers, most likely because Vivi wasn’t a brawler like Alvida or Luffy so with the exception of a lucky shot to the kidney Kaos probably didn’t really feel like he was being attacked (especially given he grew up with Luffy,Ace and Sabo, as well as Garp’s Training). It made her think they were waiting either for Vivi to get tired or Kaos to get bored
There was a part of Nami that expected the fight to end with something as unsportsmanlike as a nut shot, she just didn’t expect Kaos to catch Vivi’s knee, and flip her so she was eating sand
“Are you done beating yourself up Vivi, you can’t save this kingdom all alone” Kaos asks, sitting in front of her while Chopper makes sure there was no severe damage done to either of them
Vivi sniffles, her pride more broken than anything else “What else can I do, I don’t have anything else to throw at Crocodile but myself” she grumbles, then yelps as she receives two smacks to the head “Hey!”
“Did the idiot make you forget the entire trip here?” Alvida asks through gritted teeth
“You need to let people help you Vivi, so just let us, aren’t we your friends!” Luffy shouts, hoping it would get through Vivi’s thick skull that way
The princess finally cracks, falling against Alvida as she cries into the older woman’s chest, as she smooth woman runs her fingers through her hair. Meanwhile Luffy smacks Kaos for being an idiot and interfering, but he just smirks and lets Artemis sit on his lap while they wait for their next move. Finally Vivi was ready to move once more, standing with a determined and serious expression on hr face
“There we go, game face. So… where do we find Crocodile?” Luffy asks with a shark like smile, his eyes hidden below his hat
“Rainbase, the casino there, it’s the owned by Crocodile and the man’s only legitimate business I could find”
“Technically Baroque Works is a legitimate business, mercenary companies do pop up from time to time and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially as you’re often just outsourcing sh*t you don’t want to do to people willing to get paid for it. The problem is simply the way it’s being used, destabilising the country and trying to start a civil war” Kaos adds as he and Artemis also stand, the other former agents nod at least in understanding if not outright agreement.
“Anyway” Vivi interrupts as she pulls out the map “ The good news is unlike the rebels in Katorea who are basically on the other side of the island to us, Rainbase is a little north of Yuba, about a day’s walk if I’m not mistaken” she says partly to herself as she looks for the town on the map, smiling and putting a finger on it and Yuba to prove her point
“Then let’s get a move on, I have an idiot who’s ass I want to introduce to my foot” Luffy jumps up and begins marching on, until he gets a tug on his pants from Artemis, having been sent over by Vivi to explain he was going in the exact opposite direction “Opps. Thanks kiddo”
“No problem, I don’t want to lose my silly uncle Luffy” the artist grins in a way that seemed familiar but not quite the same, but Luffy stops caring, lifts up the now squealing/giggling girl and runs after the others
Later
Given it was Alivda and Valentina’s turn on Eyelash you’d be right to assume Nami was going to bitch and moan the entire trip… right until Vivi explained why Rainbase was still so full of life despite the 3 year drought: it was a gambling town, actually quite similar to Las Vegas in the real world, even surrounded by desert (Vivi didn’t say any of that, but I am to help you understand). Needless to say Nami found a lot of spare energy to continue trudging through the sand, imagining all the money she could win or steal from the people there.
“Hey Vivi, are we nearly there yet?” Luffy asks, now Usopp had stopped bugging him for Toto’s water, mostly because Zoro had finally gotten annoyed enough by his begging and attempts at stealing it from their captain he kicked the sniper over Eyelash.
“We still have a little more to go” Vivi assured Luffy who nods and keeps walking “Hey Lu”
“Yeah”
“Thanks for helping me figure out what to do, I don’t know how I’d be able to repay you”
“Join my crew” Luffy replies without thinking, nor looking back to see Vivi’s shocked face “Or feed us, either will do. I hope some of the people who’ve joined us on this trip stay, they’re nice people. Except the pervert camel, he can fall in a hole when all this is over”
“Papa, can I stay with you when you guys beat Crocodile?” Artemis asks, standing between Kaos and Victor as they walked
“This will come as no surprise to you, but the best answer I can give right now is… ask your mother” Kaos answers honestly, though Kaya and Chopper chuckle behind him
“Do you think any of the others will?”
Kaos laughs “Luffy hasn’t let anyone go yet, you should have seen the amount of work he put in to recruiting Nami, and she stole our ship right from under us. Not even Sanji was that difficult to have join up and besides them it was pretty easy to get everyone else on board”
Artemis nods “So pretty good record, sounds like we have nothing to worry about”
“Exactly Fufufu”
More Later
“FINALLY!!!!” Was the collective yell of Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and surprisingly Nami as they reach the city of Rainbase, the boys running on ahead in search of water, while Nami was wringing her hands and chuckling as she spots the enormous casino in the centre of town.
Meanwhile in the Sand café Smoker, Tashigi and Lucina were sitting and waiting
“Do you really think the straw hats are dumb enough to attack a Warlord?” Lucina asks, though there was less contempt than the other bluenette expected
“Yes, Straw Hat basically announced it when we last saw them, it’s the reason they’re here in Alabasta”
“And you think there’s some kind of connection between them, Crocodile and the situation here in Alabasta?” Tashigi asks to confirm
“I don’t know what but there is something off here” he grumbles, lighting another cigar
“Plus there’s princess Vivi being seen associating with the crew, not a good sign and especially not something the Nefatari’s will want known publicly” Lucina adds, knowing how dragons work as well as how this will need to be covered up somehow
While this conversation was going on a small commotion was going on, not that the marines cared… until Smoker turned to get a drink and noticed a very recognisable hat out of the corner of his eye. He froze, alerting the other 2 that something was off, just as Luffy and Usopp feel eyes boring holes in their skulls. Pulling down the barrels they’d been chugging they look and immediately spit take at the fact there were 3 rather competent marines right there beside them
“Run!”
“Protect the water” Usopp and Luffy scream as they flee the scene
“They’re here, Tashigi alert the marines, Lucina, see what’s taking the Black Cage corp so long to meet up with us” Smoker orders before taking off
“On it Sir” Tashigi salutes
“Where is Hina, she should have been here already” Lucina scowls before seeking the wayward captain and her underlings ‘The idiot can’t have gotten lost can she?’
“What are the damn marines doing here?” Luffy asks as the 2 continue to run
“How should I know?” Usopp argues back “Less talking more running!”
As the 2 get in sight of the others, Sangi sighs heavily “Well they’re back, but they’ve brought the marines with them”
“The marines! Then why the hell are they leading them back to us?” Nami shrieks, beginning to panic
“Not important right now, let’s just get out o here” Zoro retorts and the crew bolt
“We’re too big a group to actually sneak away” Vivi notes worryingly
Kaos shrugs “Then let’s split up. We’ll take the left, you guys take the right, then just keep running till they stop chasing you? Or better yet, seeing as stealth just got torched, where’s Crocodile hanging out in this place?”
Vivi rolls her eyes but answers “The building with the alligator on it’s roof, it’s called Rain dinners and it’s where we would have been heading had Luffy and Usopp not run off earlier. So…. All meet up there, maybe?”
“Anyone got a problem with that?” Victor asks
“Nope, see you all there” Luffy says before bouncing up into the air “Hey Smokie, bet you can’t catch me!”
“You cheeky little brat” Smoker growls before shifting into smoke and coiling around Luffy
White plume
Gum Gum Balloon
Luffy expands just before Smoker could tighten his grip, scattering the logia for long enough that Luffy was able to hit the ground and run off, much to the marine’s annoyance
As distractions go, Zoro was a little delayed not by his inability to understand directions but by running into Tashigi, luckily Alvida was around to distract the sword otaku for long enough he was able to get away
The team cowards (Nami and Ussop) made it to Rain dinners rather quickly as they ran as fast as possible in the hope of avoiding danger
Kaos managed to lose Artemis and narrowly avoid running into Lucina along with a group of marine grunts she had under her, deciding the direct approach was a good plan right about now, bumping back into Kaya on the way
Artemis wasn’t actually lost, she just decided to stick close to Vivi once Luffy gave the go ahead to split up, not having time to alert her papa, plus she knew Mama was around so she’d be safe.
The other Baroque work agents were a little apprehensive about fighting their old boss on his home turf so decided to take the long way to Rain Dinners, what this meant was they were nowhere near the casino when…
“Guys, just run I can’t shake this guy” Luffy shouts as he barrels towards them, Smoker a little behind but still poofing
“He’s called the White Hunter for a reason you know” Kaos mumbles but they all run in just as Luffy catches up to them, galloping up the steps and into the casino proper
After convincing Luffy just yelling wasn’t going to help the 6 of them tried come up with a plan… for about 5 seconds before they were interrupted again
“Straw Hat! You think I’m letting you get away that easily”
“sh*t it’s smokie, let’s just run” Luffy orders, and unsurprisingly the other agreed, interestingly when in a panic Luffy appeared unaware he’d ploughed through the building’s security/bouncers in his mad dash to avoid Smoker, something which would have amused at least Nami and Kaos at any other time
“Oh Manager so glad you were there we have a bit of a situation” a grumpy looking man with pointy hair explains in a flustered tone
“Send them to the VIP lounge” Miss All Sunday replies with a small smirk “Crocodile’s been expecting them”
“Oh, of course ma’am, we would have done it already if we’d known to expect these strange people” the man nods and Robin turns her gaze to the straw hats, finding Luffy rather easily as well as the guy who reminds her of a completely different Warlord to her current Boss. They were strange, she’ll give them that much.
“Anyone else worried or confused right about now?” Kaos asks, as they’re now clearly being directed to the VIP lounge
“Yeah, this screams trap” Nami nods
“Worry about it later, anything that keeps us away from the marines is welcome” Usopp pipes in fearfully
“Don’t they give free drinks in places like this?” Zoro thinks aloud, thought clearly he’s not being listened to as they all run through the door to a plain white corridor
“V.I.P., Pirates. Hey let’s go that way” Luffy yells as they spot a sign just where the corridor splits
“Luffy this is by far the dumbest plan I’ve ever heard you come up with. How can you not see an obvious trap like that?” Nami ask/yells at him as they keep running
“Would you like to discuss this with Smoker?” Luffy asks in a surprisingly good deadpan
“Like I was saying, best plan we’ve got so full speed ahead” the thief quickly backtracks, speeding up so slightly to right behind Luffy, rather then between Ussop and Zoro. As one they turn and find… a wall. This appears to basically just be a cul-de-sac inside the building. Well until Smoker runs up behind them, then the floor opens up and they all fall into the darkness
“As far as traps go, a pitfall wasn’t on my list of expected outcomes”
Nami nods “An indoor trap hole, got to hand it to him on originality” the thief grumbles as she sits up
“I feel weak” Luffy mumbles, like Usopp having been pounding at the bars of their cage until a moment ago
“Ah crap, what’s wrong now?” Zoro sighs, then moves to stand when Smoker smacks Luffy to the ground and pins him with his jitte
“What the Hell, I feel so weak, it’s like being underwater” Luffy says tiredly, blinking slowly up at the marine
“The tip of my weapon is made of kerioseki, also known as sea prison stone. It’s a rare mineral found in a distant corner of the ocean (also known as Wano) that can weaken devil fruit users as well as negate some of their strengths”
“Such as you actually winning by fighting Luffy with a blunt object” Kaos guesses “Or being able to hit someone like you while in your element” he adds with a smirk
Smoker growls but nods “Correct. All marine cells are made with this material to stop Devil Fruit users from escaping”
“Which means you’re stuck with us too” Nami gasps, realising what Smoker wasn’t telling them
He frowns “It’s the only reason I’m still in here and you aren’t all being carted off to the nearest execution platform, as I doubt you’re worth the trip to Marineford”
Crocodile raises an eyebrow at the catch ‘It can’t be that easy’ he thinks as he looks at the captured Straw Hats, and Smoker, especially as none of them have noticed his prescience
Zoro grits his teeth and reaches for his swords, Kaos doing the same with Hebi, feeling it coil around his arm.
“Stop it right now you idiots, this is a bad time to fight, plus what good will a sword do against someone who can turn into smoke?” Nami asks both angrily and fearfully
“She’s right” Crocodile’s rough voice pierces the air “You’re all going to die together, there’s no need to kill each other so soon” the chair turns with a creek, revealing the smirking War Lord to the group, the man unsurprised by the matching scowls on most of their faces.
“Crocodile, come closer so I can kick you asaaaaa” Luffy flops onto his back, having grabbed the bars in his anger
Crocodile chuckles, the boy’s stupidity was quite entertaining “You’ve done well to make it this far Straw Hat, and for that I’ll make sure your death is swift, as well as the rest of your crew. Once our special guest arrives that is”
“Guest?” Kaya asks, whimpering when Crocodile’s focus turns to her, as well as his smile
“Why even as we speak my partner is out there retrieving her, shouldn’t be too much longer”
Meanwhile outside Rain dinner
Vivi was dealing with a good number of millions, especially with the assistance of Artemis, (none of the other 3 able to find the wayward princess, though they were looking) but there were just too many for the 2 of them to deal with
“You’re good, as to be expected from number agents, but it’s time to give up, the boss is waiting after all” one of the millions says with a leering smirk after smacking Vivi upside the head with his rifle
BANG BANG BANG BANG
“What the f*ck was that?” several millions yell as the idiot was torn apart, then spotting something in the sky
“That some kind of bird?” was asked, causing Vivi to perk up slightly, as well as hold Artemis close to avoid any crossfire
RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA
The sound of machine gun fire had the edge of her lips curl upwards, but it was when the bird came into view it became an actual smile
“It’s a falcon”
“A f*cking huge one”
The bird paid the millions no notice as it swooped down and picked up the girls, dropping them off on the roof of a nearby building
“Oh Pell, you have no idea how glad I am to see you” Vivi smiles as the massive falcon changes back into one of the royal guards
“As I you, your father received your letter and is actually on his way quite soon to deal with Crocodile, I’m just here to scout and search for any hidden surprises” Pell explains
“Like Crocodile’s Devil Fruit powers?” Artemis asks getting a look from Pell before turning to Vivi
“Don’t worry about her she’s on our side”
“As long as you believe that, now if you’ll excuse me I need to deal with these ruffians” He then transforms again, making short work of the millions that had been harassing Vivi.
“The Tori Tori, model Falcon, quite impressive don’t you think Artemis?” Vivi asks the girl who shrugs
“Devil fruits are Papa’s thing, just like the void is mama’s and mine is art. Do you think there’s an Art Art fruit somewhere in the world?”
“I don’t know, like you said your papa’s the best person to ask that” Vivi answers then turns to look down at Pell “Thank you for the help, but I need to meet up with the others and fix things”
“Leaving so soon?” A voice purrs in her ear, causing Vivi to leap back when she sees Miss All Sunday right behind her
“Miss All Sunday” she curses, causing the older woman to raise an eyebrow before her grin widens
“Time to meet the Boss Vivi, it’s rude to keep him waiting”
At this point Pell turns and sees the oddly dressed woman with Vivi and Artemis “And who might you be?”
All Sunday smiles “You’re quite the enigma, having one of the Devil Fruits that enable flight as a service rather than an exploit. But still, do you think you can beat me?”
Pell frowns “That isn’t an answer but I’m going to assume you’re part of Baroque Works, in which case I will not allow you to harm the princess”
‘This may get messy’ Artemis thinks, having seen just how vicious All Sunday can be, though that usually requires her to be very annoyed or in a rush.
Tres Fleur
Arms sprouted from the falcon human’s body, 2 pinning his wings together while the 3rd ensured his sword wasn’t making an appearance in this fight. The resulting metaphorical wing clip meant Pell crash-landed on the roof rather than cutting down Sunday
“Didn’t see that coming did you Birdie?” Sunday teases as she uncrosses her arms
“You ate a Devil fruit, it’s the only explanation” Pell wheezes
“Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner. I ate the Hana Hana no mi, which enables me to bloom body parts like flowers. You can’t escape my reach even in the air, so it might be best to just let us go”
“Never, I won’t let you kidnap Alabasta’s princess without a fight” he yells before charging with his sword, aimed for her heart
“Silly man”
Seis Fleur
Vivi gasps as Sunday’s bloomed arm’s lock Pell in place, 2 around his neck, 1 for each arm and another coming out of the ground to grab his ankles
“Power, speed, these mean nothing to me, once you are within my grasp you are done. I’m sure I said this before but we’re in a little bit of a hurry, don’t want the Boss to think the country has a rude princess Tweety Pie. So let’s get this over with”
Seis Fleur: Clutch
Vivi whimpers when she hears the crunch of Pells spine, the greatest warrior in Alabasta defeated by a woman who clearly wasn’t even trying.
“Time to go princess, I won’t be made wait any longer. Coming Goldenweek?”
“Of course Miss All Sunday” Artemis replies, hopping up and following the women towards Rain Dinner
TBC
LW: So, how are our heroes going to make it out of this one? Well see yah in 2 weeks
Miss All Sunday/Nico Robin – Eater of the Hana Hana no mi/Bloom Bloom fruit
Tres Fleur: Blooms 3 arms on the opponent’s body,
Seis Fleur: Blooms 6 arms on or around her opponent, locking up their limbs and preventing attack of even movement really
Seis Fleur Clutch: Uses her bloomed arms to snap the spine of the enemies
Pell – Eater of the Tori Tori no mi: Model Falcon/ Bird Bird Fruit: Model Falcon
Chapter 34: Sand, Gators and a prince?
Chapter Text
LW: Okay here we are once again, tiny bit later than normal sorry about that. I tired, but this was as much content as was going to be shoved into this chapter, hope you still enjoy it.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Sand, Gators and a prince?
“Nami can you calm the f*ck down already, you might actually annoy this guy if you keep running your mouth like that” Kaos sighs deeply, the ginger hadn’t stopped yelling at Luffy and Usopp since they couldn’t find an escape root and decided to pass the time goofing off, and he could clearly see a twitch developing in Croc’s left eye. It meant he was just as glad as the rest of them when the door to the chamber opened.
“Ah Miss All Sunday, glad you finally joined us” Crocodile smiles around his cigar as the woman enters, along with Vivi (her arms pinned behind her back) and Artemis
“We would have been quicker, but someone was being difficult” Miss All Sunday drawls
“Sorry Mr. 0, I wanted another cake” Artemis says with a half smile
“Miss Goldenweek, it’s been too long” Crocodile chuckles “And no need to stand on ceremony, everyone here knows my real name, even you”
“Hello Crocodile” Artemis repeats
“That’s better Artemis” the straw hats tense when hey see the girl twitch/flinch, when her name passed his lips, she never reacted to any of the others “…and Miss Wednesday, how good it is to see you again. Sunday release her, she hasn’t done anything just yet and she’s our guest for the moment. So what are you going to do now?”
Vivi growls and jumps from the stairs, landing just in front of him “End you” she hisses, drawing a slasher and swinging it, slicing through both his neck and the back of the chair in one go.
“Wow, that was so cool!”
“And scary”
“Princess has balls… when she wants to”
“That was too easy”
“If I may interrupt?” Crocodile’s gruff voice asks, behind Vivi, the princess turns in time to see him reform from the dust… no the sand that had been lying on the floor of the basem*nt
“Logia, freaking called it”
“He’s a sand man”
Crocodile smiles grimly “Correct, I ate the Suna Suna no mi, and on an island like Alabasta I’m not a just a mere king or Warlord, I’m a God”
He then proceeds to manhandle Vivi into the chair she’s just ruined, Sunday blooming hands to pin her shoulders and knees as well as discourge escape attempts while she tied the princess’ hands and feet.
“There we go, wouldn’t want you running off again now would we. Where are our plans at the moment my dear?”
“It’s precisely noon, Operation Utopia has begun” Sunday states with a smile
“Good, then it is the beginning of the end. Shame you failed so miserably princess” Crocodile chuckles as he watches her struggle
“What did you do? What is Operation Utopia?” Vivi yells, her features twisted with hate
“If you must know, as we speak Mr 2 is ensuring no one will ever believe the kind again, as well as break the final support keeping this country from falling into total anarchy. While Nanohana burns down, the country will react exactly as expected and turn on it’s ruler. The guards will fight back and so many will die. And do you know what makes this all the sweeter? That everyone fighting and dying has only one thing on their minds: Protect Alabasta, and that love for their kingdom will tear it apart at its seams. You should be happy princess, this is the only goal Baroque Works was ever leading to, your work has finally bore fruit”
“How can you be so heartless?” Vivi hisses
“CROCODILE!!!!” Luffy yells, rushing at the bars, trying to push his way out despite their mere touch weakening him “I’m. Still. Going. To. Kick. Your. Ass.” He pants
“There’s something wrong with that kid, didn’t he listen to what I said about the kerioseki?” Smoker sighs, getting a dark chuckle from Kaos and a reflexive sigh from Zoro
“Oh there’s plenty wrong with Luffy, but his stubbornness is something that hasn’t been beaten yet”
“And that never say die attitude, whether due to his stupidity or bull headedness, is why he’s our captain”
Crocodile rolls his eyes and dismisses the prisoners “Now as I was saying Vivi, I’ve put so much work into setting up this little rebellion: causing droughts, manipulating the rebels and the royal guards, destroying essential infrastructure. Do you have any idea why I did all of this, and why Alabasta in particular?” he asks, clearly expecting some kind of response
Vivi scoffs “As if I have a chance of being able to understand anything going about in your twisted mind” she sneered, the muttered ‘you understand papa pretty well, even if you fight’ from Artemis only noticed by Sunday and Kaos. With that she rocked on her chair, toppling it and her to the ground, where she begins wriggling away, much to Crocodile’s amusem*nt
“And what might I ask are you doing, besides being even more undignified than before?” he asks
“Taking my chances, if I can make it to Alubarna before the rebels I can still stop this, I can still foil your heinous plans. I will never give up, not as long as there is life in my body and air in my lungs” Vivi declares, shuffling harder as she does so
‘Aunt Vivi is just as stubborn as Luffy, no wonder he wants her on the crew’
“He won’t get away with this!” Luffy shouts, his anger still rising since reaching the island in the first place.
Crocodile chuckles, but otherwise ignores the rubber boy “There’s no need for these dramatics Miss Wednesday, we were on our way to Alubarna ourselves and would be happy to take you. You can come with us, or you can save your friends” at that everyone perks up slightly, Vivi looking the warlord in the eye for the first time in a while, as he pulls a key from his coat and waves in her direction
“The key to the cell” Vivi whispers, to which Crocodile nods slightly before releasing his hold, as well as signalling to Sunday. Just before the key hits the ground in front of Vivi (frantically trying to free herself from her restraints) the floor opens up and the key clicks against the stone far below.
“You don’t have much time princess, the rebels are already heading for Alubarna, if you stand any chance of intercepting them you’ll need to act fast. You can either come with me, or save your friends, and is now a bad time to mention the only key to their cell just fell into my bananagator enclosure?” Crocodile asks, enjoying the hopeless look in Vivi’s eyes, as well as the inner turmoil.
“Hey guys look over there, that banana has a gator growing out of it! OW” Luffy grunts as Nami slams his head into the ground, the idiot having only now noticed the animals swimming in the area surrounding the room. Attention was returned when they heard Vivi’s meep “What happened Vivi?”
“A bananagator just ate the key”
Kaos groans “It’s that damn mutt all over again”
“Well go get him to spit it our, we need that key more than he does” Luffy orders, getting face palms from half the group
Crocodile chuckles before snapping his fingers and the door in front of him swings open “Time to go we have much work to do today. Also just as a heads up this room will be destroyed in an hour, it has been useful while I was here but there’s no more need for it after today. Soon the waters of Rainbase’s lake will fill this room, killing anyone still inside. Time to make your choice my dear, your people or these pirates, though I doubt any of them have much of a future left. Are you a betting girl Vivi, because much like upstairs you need to take a chance, much like I did too, but thanks to a country of idiots like those rebels and that old skeleton in Yuba it was not much of a gamble”
“Toto”
“Wait you know that old guy too?”
“Why of course, toiling away day in and day out searching for an oasis that is long dead…”
“Actually we fixed that” Luffy interrupts, mostly to see Crocodile’s eye’s bulge in shock
“I guess I’ll have to try harder next time, bury him along with it. Tell me boy, do you know how sandstorms can hit a town with pin point accuracy repeatedly?”
“That was you!” Vivi accuses, her fists clenched on the ground
“Didn’t think we’d get proof you’re a dick as well as everything else, but it’s good to cover all your bases” Kaos deadpans with a shrug
“I will kill you!” Vivi screams, getting to her feet
Sunday chuckles “Good luck child, though the saying is 3rd times the charm” she says, just as the floor opens up, releasing the lake water into the chamber.
“Goodbye Straw Hats, I’d say it had been nice knowing you, but you were a pain in my ass” Crocodile gloats as the 3 leave, Vivi standing but her mind torn
“Oh no you don’t, face me like a man you bastard”
Gum Gum Ricochet
Luffy’s fist shot through the bars, bouncing off the floor of the slowly filling room and slamming Crocodile straight in the face, throwing the Warlord up against the wall
“Holy sh*t”
“Go Luffy!”
“Impossible”
“You’ve just cut our remaining time in half you idiot”
“I don’t think that’s how that works Nami”
Kaos and Artemis grin madly, Robin’s mouth twitches into a smirk for half a second and Vivi just stands there frozen in shock, as Crocodile pulls himself to his feet, spitting blood before sneering
“You got a lucky shot there Straw Hat, but at least you can die knowing you managed to strike me” he said then opening another trap door and releasing one of his bananagators “As you probably guess my dear Vivi I did plan to kill you long before you made it to the capital, but why should I wait that long when I can just kill you now and feed my pets. So long you sky haired brat” he chuckles to himself, walking around the gator with Sunday
“You can do it Vivi” Luffy cheers
“Are you crazy, that thing is massive and Vivi’s not some kind of monster like you or those 2 idiots over there” Nami yells, Kaos and Zoro shrugging at the description
“She only needs to beat one to get the key out and free us all, then if the others show up Me, Kaos and Zoro can deal with them as we escape” Luffy explains, almost sounding like a good plan… except
“Look out the window” Usopp shouts “The others are getting ready to eat us too!”
“That’s a lot more organised than I expected” Kaya thought aloud, seeing the massive beasts basically queuing underwater
“More organised than Luffy too” Zoro adds
Vivi smiles for a second but quickly got back into the seriousness of the situation when she was forced to dodge the gator’s lunge, the stairs suffering instead of her at their jaws, though the tail swipe that followed she was less lucky with, getting tossed across the room from the attack.
“Vivi! Are you alright?” Luffy asks, Vivi shakily pulling herself up, blood dripping from a cut to her face, only to get a face full of bananagator staring down at her
‘So this is how it ends, I guess I won’t have to see the Hell Crocodile has in store for my country’
Puru puru puru
“Wait there’s a phone down here?” was a thought mirrored by both Luffy and the gator, or at least it must have if it actually stopped trying to kill Vivi to look for the Den Den Mushi. Turned out it was Sunday’s, the trio having not gotten very far as they were acting like it was just a simple stroll
“Who would be calling at a time like this?” she wonders as she answers the snail
“Hello? Can anyone hear me?” the Den Den asks
“We can hear you fine, geez how dim were some of the millions we hired?” Sunday pinches the bridge of her nose while Artemis smiles behind her at the familiar voice as they were basically listening to a separate conversation
“Is this thing on?”
“Yes it’s working fine they should be able to hear you”
“Thanks, 2nd time using the snail, my old man doesn’t have one so there’s nobody I ever need to borrow it from Sparkles to talk to”
Crocodile sighs “We can hear you fine, state your business and get on with it we’re very busy”
The snail pouts, then frowns “Oh I know I’ve heard that voice before” causing Crocodile to tense “Hello there, you reached the crap café”
The war lord grits his teeth “I remember you, from Little Garden. How many Straw Hats are on this damn crew, we have all but the pet and the traitors from Mr.2’s descriptions, did he miss someone?” he says to himself, though Sunday notes Artemis tight grip on the back of her coat, running her fingers through her hair to try calm the girl
Meanwhile the others were trying to keep Luffy quiet so he didn’t do something stupid like reveal Sanji’s identity, the level to which they were would have amused Smoker very slightly at a less potentially fatal time.
“I’m glad you remembered, you like codenames, you can call me Mr. Prince” the voice on the other end of the line replies (Got to love 20 years of lore for little moments like this)
“Fine Mr. Prince, mind telling me something useful like where you are and why you’re calling?” Crocodile asks
“If I did that you’d probably send your men to come kill me or else come yourself. Not that I think you could, but I’m not taking that chance, I prefer not to give away information like you just did Mr 0” The snail’s smile causes a tic to form on Croc’s temple
“Quick save us Mr. Prince, if you don’t hurry we’re going to be gator food!”
“Come on get the lead out we need to get out of this cage right now!”
The Den Den chuckles “That’s my crew all right, thanks for collecting them for me Luffy and Zoro tend to get lost easily and often” Artemis suppressed a laugh while Zoro rolls her eyes, he doesn’t get lost everything just moves.
Things were beginning to look up when a crash was heard on the other end
“Not so tough no are you? Hey boss we got him, he’s not going anywhere in the condition we have him”
‘Oh no, Sanji’ Vivi thinks, biting her lip
“where are you?” Sunday asks, hoping for a quick extraction
“In front of the building with the gator on top in Rainbase, Rain Dinners” was the reply
“sh*t”
“If that idiot isn’t dead he’s going to wish he was” Zoro grumbles, while Luffy was working himself into a frenzy, Kaos was sitting with his head in his hands and the other 3 were panicking once more.
“Very good, we’ll be there soon” Crocodile ends the call, the click audible even from their distance before the snail goes back to sleep
“Do you think this is wise, none of the Millions know you’re the Boss?” Sunday asks as she puts away her Den Den
Crocodile shrugs “Aside from the number agents and those Straw Hats nobody does, to the rest of the country I’m just a local hero and casino owner. They’re causing a commotion outside my building, there’s nothing wrong with me going to see what’s happened” he explains before walking again, this time with more purpose, the 2 girls following
Crash
“Vivi! What are you doing?” Luffy asks, seeing the bluenette pulling herself onto the stair, which the bananagator was still wrecking in a failed attempt to get her
“We still have time, I’m going to go help you know who” she calls back
“You’re right, he can’t be dead”
“Nobody on this crew would kick the bucket that easily” Kaya and Usopp assure themselves and the others, the sniper holding their medic close
“Plus there’s Chopper, Alvida, Victor and Valentina, if you can find them we’ll be out of here in no time” Nami adds, feeling the slightest hint of optimism
Vivi smiles and nods, until she was basically tackled by a mound of sand, getting in a solid smack to her throat as it knocked her back onto the ground
“I’m getting tired of your continued attempts at escape” Crocodile grunts “You want to stay and help your friends, well now you get to die with them. I’ll be back with Mr Prince soon enough, I would hate to keep any of you waiting” he gloats before disappearing
“Come on Vivi, wake up before the banana sees you”
‘They’ve been there for me this far, now it’s my turn to help’ Vivi thinks as she slowly stands, wiping blood off her face and staring down the gator “You will now get in my way again!” The gator jumps at her, then recoils from Vivi managing to slice at it’s unarmoured tongue then jumping first onto it’s back, then the stairs “I got this guys, just hold on a little longer”
“Well make it quick, we’re getting closed to f*cked right about now” Kaos complains, mostly because the windows had just shattered, severely increasing the amount of water being pumped into the room
“Right, double time” Vivi nods, running as fast as she could toward the front of Raindinners. The only problem being….
“The bridge is out”
‘What!’ Vivi freezes ‘If the bridge is destroyed, then I’m stuck in here’
“I didn’t do it to trap you” a man says nearby, causing Vivi to turn, and smile “I did it so we wouldn’t be interrupted by any more Baroque Work thugs. You can thank Victor when we get out, he knew exactly where to hit the bridge so it would fall in one hit, finally understand the Doctor metaphor Kaos was using, knowing how to make something helps when you want to break it too” Sanji smiles and stubs out his cigarette on the slot machine he was sitting at “So Vivi, mind leading us to where our friends are?”
“Us?” Vivi repeats before another Straw Hat bounces into her field of view, her bosom actually filling Vivi’s
“We’re here to save our idiots, also did you know Crocodile could turn into sand?” Alvida asks, when Vivi’s response came out as muffled noise she took a step back and Vivi breathed a sigh of relief, after filling them with precious oxygen.
“I do now, would have been useful to know before attempting to decapitate someone” she grumbles, then turns on her heels and begins running back into the depths of the casino “Come on our friends don’t have much time” she yells over her shoulder, the 2 others running after her.
TBC
LW: Well Sanji and co should probably get to work quick as the others don’t have long left. Also nice to see Vivi get to be badass… or at least try to, how was she supposed to know Croc was sand?
Crocodile: Eater of the Suna Suna no mi/Sand Sand Fruit.
2nd Logia of the series, can turn his body into sand and absorb moisture from anything he touches.
Chapter 35: Race to Alubarna: Luffy Vs Crocodile
Chapter Text
LW: Time to see Luffy’s 2nd attempt to fight a Logia, hopefully it goes better than his fight with Smoker in Loguetown.
It’s not is it? 0_0
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Race to Alubarna: Luffy Vs Crocodile
“So what’s stopping Crocodile from turning around and killing us?” Vivi asks as she leads Sanji and Alvida back through the casino
“Chopper’s running around Rain base, the little guy is tough when he wants to be, beat the ever loving sh*t out of the millions while proclaiming to be me, or Mr Prince I suppose” Sanji explains, though Vivi pales
“So you let Crocodile go after him?” Vivi yelps
Alvida sighs and squeezes her shoulder “Chopper just needs to keep Croc’s attention, the V’s will be around to help in that regard and it’s not like we asked him to fight the guy, just take his eyes off you and our missing crewmates” she adds, glad to see the princess relax slightly just before reaching the stairs
Meanwhile
“f*ck, how strong is this cage?” Nami cries as the bananagator’s teeth are shattered when it tried to get at it’s captive meat
“So, can we just assume kieroseki is some kind of magic diamond?” Kaos asks, sitting beside Smoker who actually seemed uninterested about being in a life or death situation
“Why are you just sitting there, you should be trying to help us out?” Usopp yells at both guys, though neither react to him directly Smoker does speak
“What do you know about Crocodile’s plans?”
“Very little, why?”
Smoker frowns “The woman, his 2nd in command, she’s wanted by the World Government for quite a lot, 70 mill as far as I know”
Luffy nods “Kaos mentioned it back at Cactus island, Nico Robin, 79 million berri, the Devil’s child. He also said if she wanted to hide all that she should wear a mask either as Robin or Sunday”
“Maybe she expects people to be too busy staring at her cleavage to remember her face” Zoro suggests mostly as a joke, getting a light kick (more a prod) to the back of the head by Kaos, and a more substantial smack from Nami
Smoker sighs “My point is that with those 2 working together this could become something the entire world gets dragged into rather than a simple internal island dispute/civil war” he finishes, pointedly ignoring Kaos coughed ‘Buster Call’, though his lips turned down into the start of a scowl, which clearly amused the younger man.
“I don’t care” Luffy states plainly “I don’t need any more reasons than I already do, I’m going to kick that bastard’s ass just like I promised I would”
‘Kid’s stupid as a sack of rocks, but he’s determined I’ll give him that’ Smoker thinks, probably the closest Luffy will ever get to a compliment from the marine (We’ll just have to wait and see, at least we can say it’s the best for now)
BANG
BANG
“What the f*ck?!” Was the collective exclamation from the prisoners as the bananagator was thrown into the air, landing on it’s back with another slam
“Looks like Vivi’s back” Kaos says, standing up for the 1st time since Sunday arrived
“And with reinforcements” Vivi answers, smiling from the destroyed stairway as Sanji stood before them and Alvida was basically posing like a badass on top of the downed gator (DF user, water bad)
“Been waiting long?” She asks, hefting her mace onto her shoulder and grinning
“Nami my dear, do you love me now?” Sanji asks as he does his ‘noodle dance’, causing most of the crew to sigh and Smoker to sweatdrop, this crew was insane but seriously?
“Damn lovesick idiot” Zoro grumbles
“Get us out of here and I’ll show you how much I love you” Nami replies between gritted teeth, there was a time and a place for everything, now was not the time for chivalrous pervert.
“Hey guys, the other gators are tired of waiting” Kaya yells as the room is now flooded with banana gators as well as water.
“The 3rd from the left has the key” Smoker shouts to the free Straw Hats, looking confused but considering Smoker most likely wanted out as badly as their friends follow the order, Alvida’s mace to the gut causing the reptile to spit out a white ball which bounced across the room
“Not a key that’s for sure” Sanji sighs
“You sure you’re hearing is any good Smokie?” Alvida asks, the water causing her to lean on her mace for stability
Wax Wax Ball: Release
The ball cracks open like an egg, a shrivelled up husk stepping out of it
“Hey it’s that wax guy from the dinosaur island, what’s he doing here?” Luffy thinks aloud, as the entire group frown
“Mr. 3” Vivi growls
After drinking his fill Mr. 3 stands up happy as could be “Sweet freedom, Crocodile though he could kill me, but he didn’t try hard enough” it as then he noticed his surroundings “Not you again!” he shrieks, then looks confused as he finds the key sitting in the remains of his wax ball ‘Hmm?’
“Toss it here”
“Give us the key”
“Don’t make me hurt you”
‘A room quickly filling with water, trapped straw hats, and this key? Interesting’ Mr. 3 grins “Well my dear Straw Hats I guess it’s time for me to go…” he grunts as he walks into Sanji
“Hey, I’ll be taking that key now” the cook demands
3 frowns, looking from Sanji to the key and back a couple times “You want this key? Go get it!” he yells, tossing the key into the water, somewhere in the middle of the gator mass “I don’t know who you are but if you’re with the Straw Hats you’re clearly an enemy of mine”
Homunculus
Bonebreaker
Mr. 3 shrieks as a spiked finger pierces his left knee and Alvida crushes his right foot, then wraps her hand around his throat so he was looking her in the eye “I’m going to enjoy breaking every bone in your body you wax spewing little sh*t” she growls, the look in her eyes familiar to anyone who tragically passed in Whiskey Peak.
“Sanji, save the key!” Luffy yells, the blond nods and runs towards the hungry gators
“Hold it!” Kaos shouts “There’s an easier way” he adds, and just as he hoped that was enough to interest the cook as well as the rest of the crew “If Alvida can hold off on murdering Waxy over there, I believe he could be of use to us… as in using his fruit to make us a key”
Alvida grins, which sends a shiver down Smoker’s spine ‘You only met Vice Admiral Medusa once, how can her smile still get this reaction out of me?’
“You heard him Waxy, make them a key and I might just spare you” she growls in his ear, the numbered agent just barely managing to keep bladder control before Sanji drags him over to the door
“Good, now we can leave” Nami cheers as Mr. 3 frees them, just before the man gets kicked into the wall by Sanji, probably more likely to survive that than whatever Alvida had planned for him
“One problem, the room is still full of banana…” Vivi doesn’t even get to finish her sentence when she’s interrupted by
“Done!” A surprisingly chipper Kaos announces as himself Zoro and Luffy deal with the remaining gators almost effortlessly
“Never mind let’s go then!” Usoop says with a grin, taking Kaya’s hand in his own he leads the way to the door, the blond behind him just as happy to be free.
That happiness lasted about 5 seconds, after which the passageway collapsed as well as most of the room
‘This is going to suck’ Luffy and Kaos groan as the wave of water barrels towards the group, sweeping them out into the lake.
What feels like minutes but was much less
Sanji grunts as he surfaces, pulling himself as well as both Luffy and Alivda to shore “Damn it, you 2 alive? I’m really not understanding the appeal of Devil Fruit powers right now” the cook grumbles to himself
“Come on Usopp, don’t die on me now” Kaya whimpers, checking on her currently unconscious friend
“For such a big guy I think his coat is most of this weight” Nami complains as her and Vivi ended up pulling Kaos onto dry land, the purplette moans weakly and rolls onto his back
The last one to surface was Zoro, along with…
“You stupid marino in case you forgot that’s our enemy!” Sanji reprimands, but is ignored by the swordsman
“I didn’t want to save him, but I wasn’t going to just let the man die” Zoro retorts in defence “I’d have no problems cutting him down in a fight, but this leaving him to drown would have been just plain wrong”
“So everyone’s alive right?” the non devil fruit users jump at the voice behind them, turning to see Artemis slowly walk over to Kaos and sit by his head “You going to get up now Papa?” she asks, getting a weak chuckle, water in her face and a cough that turned into a chuckle
“Just need a minute, damn slave driver”
“If she was a real slave driver you wouldn’t get that minute”
Vivi smiles despite the circ*mstances “Victor, Valentina, Chopper, glad to see you all survived”
“You too it would seem” the bomb man laughs
“Roronoa!” Zoro reflectively raises Wado, blocking Smoker’s jute handily “Why did you save me?”
The swordsman shrugged “Captains orders, plus it didn’t feel right” he confessed, noticing the marine captain’s frown deepen
At this point Luffy and Usopp jump up mostly alright, Alvida sits up and with minor encouragement Kaos stands up and wrings out his cloak over Nami and Artemis (Just because he’s kind of a dick sometimes)
“I should arrest you, but you’ve just saved my life” Smoker sighs deeply, returning his weapon to his back “On that note, just this once I’m letting you go. So run you dumbass” he orders, Luffy blinks in confusion before flashing him a Monkey Smile
“I knew you were one of the good ones Smokie, don’t let anyone tell you different” Luffy calls back as the crew hightail it out of there, leaving only Smoker when the marines finally figure out what the hell is going on, the man walking straight over to the only compentant people in the city.
“Captain!” Tashigi greets as Smoker catches up to them
“Tashigi, Lucina, have every man we have converge on the capital right now” he puffs, the swordswoman salute while the taller bluenette looks confused
“But Sir, the Straw Hats are…” she argues
“…a pittance compared to a crime syndicate destabilising a country and trying to overthrow it’s World Government appointed leader” Smoker interrupts tensely
Lucina blinks “The rebels are Revolutionaries?”
Smoker shakes his head “No, they’re unwitting pawns and canon fodder for the true enemy; Baroque Works, run by the Warlord Crocodile himself. Until further notice nothing is to be done about Straw Hat and his crew, our focus is on Baroque works and Sir crocodile. Given Straw Hat admitted to only being in Alabasta to kick Crocodile’s ass there is a chance one of problems could take out the other, but I’d much prefer they both ended up in marine custody. Understood?”
Lucina nods and grits her teeth “It’s your hunt Smoker” she says lowly, annoyed she’d have to hold off removing that smug bastard’s head for a little longer “One more thing, I got in touch with Hina, her ship ran into some bad weather so was a little delayed while they adjusted course. Hopefully she’ll reach us in time to actually be helpful” she adds
“Good, that puts people I trust to hold the right end of a sword at 3” he mumbles to himself, then takes off in the direction of Alubarna
Back with the pirates
“Good work finding this crab Chopper” Valentina praises the reindeer who squirms happily as the crew hop onto the moving crab Chopper had managed to find so they could cut their travel time down significantly, which considering they were on a timer was very good for everyone.
“And this one isn’t a pervert like the camel” Kaos teases, then frowns as he still couldn’t tell desert sand from Crocodile sand
“Ahh!” Vivi screams as she’s yanked off Scissors by Croc’s hook
“Vivi!” Luffy yells, wrapping his arms around her and kicking the sand, sure he probably couldn’t hurt crocodile in this form but what he could do was break the connection between his body and the hook long enough to free the princess, though he hadn’t expected the hook to crumble into sand too “We can’t just keep running in a desert, it’s his element” Luffy states seriously before dropping Vivi in Alvida’s lap
“Luffy, don’t” Kaos warns, seeing that expression before, but the rubber captain had already jumped off the back of the crab in the direction Crocodile’s hook had come from.
“We need to stop this crab!” Usopp shouts, about to force Chopper to pull the breaks, but was stopped by Zoro
“Idiot, he’s distracting Crocodile so we can get Vivi to the Capital, if we stop the gesture is worthless” the swordsman explains/scolds “Hurry up Chopper” he orders to which The Doctor nods
“Luffy, we’ll meet you in Alubarna, don’t take too long” Vivi yells, trying not to let the worry show in her voice
A little later
Kaos sits at the back o the crab, clenched fists on his knees, until a much smaller hand finds his wrist
“Relax Papa, Luffy will be fine” Artemis states flatly, and despite that Kaos laughs, being reminded of himself trying to talk Ace out of his ‘protective older brother’ stress outs. Feeling the artist sit back to back with him, the tension leaks out and his hands open, now resting on his crossed legs and he could feel it, Luffy’s hyperactive energy even through the sand, both the real and Crocodile.
Everything was fine, right until that energy faltered, stuttering for a moment before returning, but it was the 2nd flicker where he lost it, the sandstorm too strong and Crocodile’s prescience in the sand for him to detect Luffy even a little and with that went any sense of calm in the purplette
It was less the strength as that speed which caught everyone off guard, things were fine besides the general unease and then they were nearly floored by a suffocating pressure, even causing the giant crab to stumble but keep walking, the simple creature more panicked than crushed by the pressure
‘He can’t be, he just can’t. He’s too stubborn to die and he promised Vivi he’d see this through to the end’ Kaos thinks as every muscle in his body tenses, wanting nothing more than to rip Crocodile’s still beating heart out of his chest and crush it. His thoughts continued to spiral for a couple minutes before an air of calm filled his bones and despite how obviously unnatural it was it still managed to overshadow his unease and make him sit properly and relax, and when he did he was smiling, there it was, weaker than it usually was but it was clearly Luffy and if he wasn’t mistaken Robin too.
“Okay, what the f*ck was that?!” Nami practically screams, having noticed immediately both when Artemis put on and removed the green paint symbol on their 1st mate’s back
“Luffy’s alive” Kaos says with a slight slur, not fully back yet
“Great, but that doesn’t explain why it feels like my brain was being squeezed” Sanji grumbles
Kaos sighs “Because I lost him, for a moment but it was enough I began to panic and lost all concentration as well as the ability to detect him at all”
“You can track people?” Vivi asks, surprised that hadn’t come up before
“I can track Devil Fruit users, or at least know when they’re nearby”
“That’s how you knew we were Paramecia” Victor realised
“And Mr 3” Artemis adds, remembering what Kaos said ‘I could feel the heat of your wax from half way across the island…’
“Then you can tell us where Crocodile is” Kaya suggests, but the thinning of the researcher/strategist’s lips told him that wasn’t that simple
“Logias are difficult, due to the way it works with their element, as well as their intangibility it spreads out the feeling, like Smoker in Loguetown, or the fact I’ve been tasting sand since we stepped into Rainbase. I can’t pinpoint him, but I don’t need to, to know he’s on the way to Alubarna, same as us” he explains, running his fingers through his hair
Meanwhile/earlier/with Luffy
“Well looks like Vivi slipped through your fingers there Crocodile” Sunday notes, with her usual half smile, to which the warlord shrugs in response
“No matter, our agents are already gathering at Alubarna and will take out the princess the moment they find her” he replies
“CROCODILE!!!!!!” Luffy yells as he drops down in front of the 2
“So you’re alive Straw Hat. So tell me, why continue all this foolishness?” Crocodile asks
“It’s not foolishness, it’s not foolish to help your friends and Vivi cares about this country and is mad at all the destruction you have caused to it. Princess may be a slightly naïve optimist but that doesn’t mean I’m not going help her. I just wish she didn’t think this war could be settled without anyone dying”
Croc laughed “Nobody dying? And they say you’re the dim one. I presume that isn’t a viewpoint you share with Vivi?”
“Nope” Luffy replies automatically “But that doesn’t stop me from kicking your ass so we can end this war without Vivi killing herself trying to do the impossible”
Sunday chuckles and turns to leave, stopping when Crocodile calls to her “And where do you think you’re going Nico Robin?”
“This isn’t my fight, and you promised to never use my name while I worked for you. I’ll go on ahead while you deal with the little monkey” she answers walking off into the desert
“Damn unpredictable woman, you’d think threats would keep her in line but it just makes her more f*cking mouthy” Crocodile grumbles before fishing a blade from his coat and throwing it in Luffy’s direction, the rubber boy seeing the hilt contained an hourglass style timer “I have 3 minutes to spare, but I doubt you’ll last even that long. Take your shot kid”
“With pleasure”
Gum Gum Pistol
The punch is dodged by crocodile who smirks before separating into sand, impossible to follow in the desert, reforming about a foot in front of Luffy who bends backward in order to avoid a hook through the face, setting up the Warlord for a…
Gum Gum Stamp
The kick tears through Crocodile’s body with ease, but as he’s a logia it doesn’t exactly do… anything, He reformed in seconds with the same smug look on his face as before
“This is a pointless fight boy, even you should know that, just give up and we can end this tedium quickly”
Gum Gum Gattling
Luffy’s response came in the form of rapid fire punches, each attack punching a large hole through the Sandman’s body which was quickly repaired almost immediately after his body left the cavity
Gum Gum Bazooka
Gum Gum BattleAxe
Even with the 2 attacks tearing through his entire chest cavity and then cleaving him in 2, Crocodile still returns, only looking very mildly annoyed at the time wasting Luffy was doing
“I grow tired of your games, time to end this…”
Desert Spada
The sand blade shoots through the desert and is just barely dodged by Luffy, actually a little impressed by the gorge Croc’s attack caused.
“You have good reflexes kid I’ll give you that, let’s see if you can dodge this!”
Desert Girasole
Luffy yelps as the ground around him collapses dropping him into some kind of sand whirlpool kind of structure. Panicking he tries to run out of the sinking sand, but he remains rather low in the pit
“Of all the techniques my devil fruit grants me, this is the most helpful I’ve found for making people disappear, there’s no point fighting it, the sand will consume you and then I will go after and kill all of your friends” Crocodile gloats from the attack’s edge
“No, I’m not going to be beaten by this sand trap”
Gum Gum Bazooka
Gum Gum Net
The bazooka, aimed at the ground did a good job of getting him out of the trap, his attempt to catch Crocodile, not so much
“You are a simple minded fool and predictable”
Crescent Cutlass
Crocodile’s attack strike’s Luffy in the arm, pulling the moisture from him and causing his right arm to shrivel up like a mummy “Be glad all I struck was your arm boy, I could do this all day, systematically drying you out until you’re a pile of dust”
“No, it’s not going to end like this” Luffy yells, running over to the barrel he got from Toto and gulping it down, restoring his frail limb
“You’re only delaying the inevitable” Crocodile growls
“You think I’m predictable? Well how about something new!!!!!”
Gum Gum Munch Munch
Luffy’s head/mouth extends in a manner similar to a certain former king/current scumbag, biting off Croc’s upper torso as he sailed through the air. Unfortunately Croc was able to force his way out of Luffy’s mouth, and boy was he pissssssssssssssssssssssssssed!
“ENOUGH! Your 3 minutes are up, so now you will have to die”
Sables
From his hand the sand swirls, absorbing sand from the desert and growing larger until a proper sized sand storm was formed
“The prevailing winds in this land blow north to south, if I allow this little storm its freedom and it were to catch one of those winds it will grow exponentially until it was capable of destroying everything in its path. And do you know what would be destroyed first?”
“No. So tell me!”
Croc grins “Yuba”
Luffy’s eyes bulge and his teeth clench “You bastard! Why are you doing this?” He asks as he runs up to the Warlord who just stood there almost contently
“Because I can, and very soon my sandstorm will wipe Yuba off the map”
Luffy would probably have reacted to that… were he not trying to process the fact he’d just got a hook shoved in his gut
“Did you really think you stood a chance against me?” he asks, not even really looking at the boy skewered on his hook “You aren’t the first rookie to try fight me and as much as it annoys me you won’t be the last.” Crocodile says in a bored tone, until Luffy grabs his arm and squeezes ‘What? How are you still alive?’ He grimaces then tosses the broken teen into the still spinning vortex, if the hole in his chest doesn’t kill him suffocating under the sand or drowning in the underground waterways will, either way he’ll finally be out of his way.
Back with the others
“Well, didn’t think Sanji being a girl crazy pervert would actually be helpful” Kaos says with a slight amused tone, his smile large enough to show his fangs but little else, Artemis nodding as she sat on his lap, back pressed against his chest “Just wish it didn’t mean I have to retract my ‘at least it’s not a pervert like Eyelash’ comment” he mutters under his breath
“And Kaya is a remarkable dancer for such a sickly girl” the artist adds, watching the women of the group entice their current transport Scissors the moving crab to scuttle across the river, lucky this crew had a habit of attracting perverts as the grinning animal really liked the dancer girl outfits. Nami was the first to strip off her desert gear in favour of the dancer disguises their cook had gotten them, and seeing the love struck reaction he gave the navigator, Alvida, Valentina, Vivi and finally Kaya followed suit, even trying their hand at dancing to add to the appeal.
For a change it wasn’t just Sanji (and pervert camel) who couldn’t take their eyes off the dancing girls, Victor smiled as he watches his partner practically float around the crab’s back (Devil fruit related or just her normal grace?) while Usopp’s eyes never left his blond best friend’s form
“Seems everyone’s got a girl to watch, well except Sanji he’s watching everything that jiggles” Zoro jokes as he sits beside the duo
“True, though that means you’re focusing on something other than your swords, am I right?” Kaos flashes a grin “I mean I have Artemis to keep safe, so that just leaves you”
“Luffy wants us to keep the princess alive, so yeah I’ve got her in my sights. We’re not all perverts like swirly brow over there” he responds, both noticing Vivi looking carefree even if it was just for a few minutes
That carefree moment ended when the crab sank, seems even sexy girls can’t support a crab on water, meaning they had to swim the rest of the way, well until they ran into a giant catfish like creature, which was another thing on the list of dangerous things in Alabasta Vivi forgot to tell them about, as in the fact they like eating people! There was one moment of good luck though, as they were reunited with the Kung Fu Dugongs who promptly beat the ever loving crap out of the catfish, then helped the Straw Hats up so they could use it as a raft
“That was nice of them” Kaya says as the crew regain as much of their energy as they could with this momentary reprieve
“They said they were just looking out for their fellow pupils” Chopper explains/translates
“Wait, do they think Luffy is our master?” Usopp asks in confusion
“Either him or me, and given he’s our captain, it’s probably the best comparison they have” Kaos answers, lying on his back
“Don’t care, just glad we don’t have to swim anymore” Nami says with a sigh, the others agree, mostly because all the DF users basically impersonated limpets for the entire short swim due to the whole ‘water saps them of their strength’ thing, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience for anyone involved.
On land
“Thanks for the lift, bye” Chopper calls as the group leave the dugongs to their own things “Now what?”
“Now we have some small problems, mostly the fact I don’t know how long it’ll take to get to Alubarna from here, even if we were to ride Eyelash” Vivi admits with an undertone of irritation
“And considering the pervert carries 2 girls at the most, that leaves most of us without transport, half of which didn’t have a chance in the first place” Zoro adds, the guys still glaring at the camel.
“What’s that?” Alvida asks, pointing to what appeared to be a dust cloud flowing towards their location
“Is it Baroque Works?” Nami asks
“Is it another sand storm?” Valentina counters
Quack
Vivi flashes a momentary D grin, before laughing “It’s something much better than that, it’s Carue and the Super Sonic Duck Squad!”
“The who/what now?” the Straw Hats ask in confusion as a familiar duck appears, followed by an entire flock of them
Back with Luffy
Sunday looks down with something akin to curiosity and pity as she uses her fruit to lift the heavily injured boy from the sand trap, the extended summoning arms dropping him on the ground beside her.
“Thank you” Luffy wheezes, still clutching his perforated torso as he lays on mostly stable ground one more
“Why do you fight?” Sunday asks, her expression serious but mostly blank “The D’s I mean?” she elaborates, mostly because she was unsure as to whether Luffy’s confused face was because he didn’t understand the question, was a little out of it due to blood loss or was just that dim ‘Should have captured and ‘interrogated’ the other one, least then I’d get an answer’ she thinks with a sigh “Apparently you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, which is a shame” she says, mostly to herself given Luffy’s condition as she catches his hat which another of her bloomed arms retrieved from the sand
“I found you” Robin turns her head and sees Pell slowly walk towards her, his expression clearly one that promises vengeance “Where is Vivi?”
“Well look who’s up and awake, that was pretty quick, but I expected nothing less from Alabasta’s greatest warrior” Sunday grins as she tosses the straw hat onto Luffy’s chest
“I won’t be beaten again woman, I know your fruit’s power and won’t be tricked again” the bird man states, raising his sword
Sunday rolls her eyes and waves him off, before walking away herself “Don’t overstress your injuries the princess would cry if you died. Why don’t you do something useful and save the boy before he dies” she says as she walks over to her transport, a smaller bananagator “After all if it wasn’t for him who knows what could have happened to your precious Vivi” she sits on the beast and turns once more to the royal guard “If she’s lucky Luffy’s crew and Vivi should be almost at Alubarna by now. Thought you deserved an answer to your question as thanks for saving the kid’s life” she winks at him before her gator speeds off, leaving nothing but a smoke trail of sand behind seconds later.
‘Damn it, what can I do, who can protect Vivi now?’ Pell’s inner thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his sleeve, which despite his efforts wouldn’t let go “What the hell?”
“BRING ME MEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
TBC
LW: Well, looks like we’re on the brink of a war, let’s hope everyone can hold on until the next chapter…. Please?
Info dump
Crocodile
Desert Spada – His hand shifts into a blade of loose, fast moving sand, which he uses to cleave through anything in front of him
Desert Girasole – Like Spada, his hand shifts into sand, except this time he slams it into the ground, forming a sink hole
Crescent Cutlass – Sand blade which he uses to remove the moisture out of anything it touches, even being able to direct/localise it to specific body parts (such as Luffy’s arm)
Sables – OP move in a desert island like Alabasta. Basically it allows him to summon a sandstorm.
Kao’s sensory ability: It is based on a power in One Piece and I’m sure anyone who’s read that far into the series knows what it is, 100% certain I’m using it wrong but it does give you a glimpse into which version of that power he’ll excel at.
The pressure: Also based on a canon OP power, though in this case it behaves more like when in BLEACH one of the powerhouses flare their spiritual pressure and the weaker characters feel like their being crushed simply standing in their presence. Easiest example is when Yamamoto was about to fight Shunsui and Ukitake, he let his power off it’s reins and Nanao could barely remain conscious.
Chapter 36: Straw Hats Vs Baroque Works For real this time!
Chapter Text
LW: So, here we are, doing it right this time. Enjoy
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Straw Hats Vs Baroque Works, for real this time!
Aka Battle of Alabasta, Part 1
“Okay, so we have ducks, and they’re actually faster than I expected, but what are we going to do once we get to Alubarna? I doubt the rebel leader is in a mood to talk” Nami asks as the crew ride on Carue’s backup duck squad
“Finding somewhere to scout would be a good idea, we’re still ahead of the rebels, if only because we can’t hear the pitched battle you’d expect for something like this” Usopp suggests, getting nods from the others
Vivi points ahead of them “There’s a rocky bluff just over there, we’ll stop and try figure out where everything is when we get there, that good enough for everyone?”
“Yep”
“Good, the other option was flying blind, something we’ve been doing too much of on this journey” the princess grumbles to herself mostly, but Zoro being the closest did hear and snorts, they’ve been flying blind since they entered the Grand Line, maybe earlier if he was being honest with himself, though the concept wasn’t exactly new do him given his poor sense of direction after all.
Outcrop
“Oh sh*t, it’s the 1’s and 4’s” Vivi gasps, passing the binoculars back to Kaos
“The 1’s could be a problem but the 4’s should be no big deal, after all we beat Mr. 3” Usopp boasts
Quack, Quack, Quack
“She says WE didn’t beat Mr. 3, Luffy did, plus we only beat him and saved the others because his partner betrayed him” Chopper translates, the long nose droops when the others nod along with her, Artemis most of all
“So any preferences?” Zoro asks, grinning at the chance of a fight
“Dibs on Miss All Sunday” Kaos declares, reminding the crew that even if they don’t see her they’ll have to deal with Crocodile’s partner as well as him eventually.
“Oh no you don’t! You harm one hair on her beautiful head I’ll…” Sanji begins to rant but Kaos clearly isn’t in the mood, so puts his hand on the back of the cook’s head and slams him face first into the ground
“Shut up, we don’t have time for your perverted chivalry, go find that ballerina when we get into the city” he orders, Sanji grumbles but nods, Kaos was acting captain until Luffy comes back after all, plus Mr. 2 did seem like the kind to have a fighting style involving his legs.
“Well Valentina, want to try get that promotion?” Victor jokes to his partner, who smirks evilly
“It’s on! I’m going to beat that hag into the Red Line!” the kilo girl declares
Vivi sweat drops “That’s nice, but we still need a way to get into the capital as well as get the 1s and 4s to split up”
Nami smirks as she looks from the former agents to the rest of the crew and back, Carue looking confused when she focuses on her “Don’t worry Vivi, I have an idea”
A little later
“Hmm, seems the reports about any of the Straw hats having intelligence were exaggerating Mr. 1” the bluenette beside him comments “Charging right at us is beyond stupid”
Mr 1 frowns at his partner “Things are rarely as they appear Miss Doublefinger, you’d do well to remember that” he says flatly, the duck riding pirates getting closer, from what little could be seen it appeared Vivi was leading the charge.
“StopRightTherePrincess.There’sNowhereToRu…urk” Miss Merry Christmas groans as Vivi hops off her duck, their long legs slam the round woman face first into the ground, followed by using her as a springboard to jump over the others, the remaining ducks trampling her fully into the ground.
“It’s a trick!” Mr. 1 yells, slashing at the fake princess with his blades, tearing through the cloth
“Hey Lady Deathstrike!” he turns and looks up to see Kaos grinning as he dangles from the wall “You missed. Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop” he cackles as he hops up and runs along the roofs
“Mirror Master Kaos” 1 mutters before turning to the other 3 agents “Split up, the princess has to have been mixed in with the other pirates” They nod and begin to move, only for an explosion to go off between the 1’s and 4’s.
“Mr. 4! Miss Merry Christmas! We’re calling you lardasses out” Valentina yells, Victor beside her with a serious expression on his face.
“Don’t just stand there, deal with them” Doublefinger hisses, waving her hands in a shooing motion, mostly to piss off Merry Christmas, because it was fun
In Alubarna
‘f*ck, how does someone lose a princess?’ Kaos thinks to himself, making his way through the streets, until he yelps and ducks a sword swing “sh*t, not you again!”
Lucina growls “I don’t know what part you play in this, but I’m taking you down”
“Kind of busy at the moment, any chance of a rain check?” he smiles weakly, then jumps out of the way of another swing ‘I’ll take that as a no’ Kaos thinks
“I will eliminate you in the name of justice!” Lucina shrieks, Kaos narrowly avoiding getting his head lopped off
The reflect human was glad his reflexes were good enough to keep the blade at bay for as long as he had (though he’d never tell Garp that, didn’t want the idiot to think his insane training regime was a good idea after all), but eventually Lucina got the upper hand and her sword stabbed through his shoulder, pinning him to the wall
“f*ck!” Kaos hissed, the wound burning like a hot iron had been stabbed into it, but there was also the draining feel underneath it like he had been dunked in seawater
Lucina wraps her hand around his neck, Kaos too out of it due to the seastone to stop her when…
“sh*t, the marines are here too!”
Both turn (well Kaos’ eyes flick over to where the voices came from) and see a palace guard and rebel solider, standing at the entrance of the alley Lucina had funnelled him into. They turn to one another, nod and raise their rifles, chanting “For Baroque Works” as they fire
Kaos just manages to avoid biting through his tongue as Lucina reefs the sword from him in order to deflect the bullets away. The millions realise they’d f*cked up when Lucina yells and tears them apart with Parallel Falchion, the blade slicing through their weapons as easily as their bodies
“I’ll need to watch out for her in the future” Kaos thinks, using the distraction to put some well needed distance between himself and Captain Nylock, it was while slipping between streets he noticed something ‘Well, this could be fun’ he thinks with a wide grin, letting his fruit’s power flow over his entire form ‘I’ve only gotten to use this once since we started out, Luffy will be so pissed he missed this again’
Outside the city
“Damn it, we lost them already” Valentina huffs, kicking up the sand before sitting
“It’s not that simple Val, they wouldn’t be high ranked numbers if they were that weak. They’re clearly up to something”
Thump Thump
“Guys! We have a problem” Chopper yells, the other seeing the sink holes opening up in the sand near him, then hearing Merry Christmas’ voice coming from the holes
“I hope you didn’t think we’d be beaten that easily. Time to show off our Number 4 batter” she cackles and from one of the larger hole Mr. 4 rises, swinging a baseball bat around as he does
“He doesn’t look so tough” Alvida comments, her grip tightening on her mace reflectively
“True, but I get the feeling he’s at least better with that thing than Mr. 9 was” Victor adds, still unsure what to make of these 2 agents.
“Do they have Devil fruits?” Usopp asks, getting shrugs from the defectors
“Christmas most likely does, how else could she make these holes, but 4? No clue whatsoever”
Bark
“Four!” the rotund man yells, smacking the incoming ball towards the pirates who jump out of the way just in time to avoid the explosion
“Holy sh*t, exploding baseballs!” Usopp yelps
“Yep, definitely more of a threat than 9 ever was” Valentina confirms, though is confused by Victor’s smile “What now?”
The 4’s forgot something important”
“Four!” another baseball
Boom. Puff.
“Being a bomb man, means I’m explosion proof” Victor grins and Mr. 4 has to sink below the sand rather quickly to avoid an exploding snot ball in response
“Well that means one of us is safe, but where’s he getting those balls in the first place?” Chopper asks, then gets tapped on the arm by Usopp
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say that monstrosity over there” he suggests in a panicked tone, pointing to a dog/bazooka hybrid monster
“Does a Grenade-grenade fruit even exist?” Alvida wonders aloud, just before the dog-thing sneezes, shooting another ball which 4 redirects towards the crew “No thanks you can have it back!” the smooth woman retorts as she smacks it with her mace, though her aim is off and the explosion takes out some ruins instead “Damn it”
“Impressive” Alvida turns behind her to see Merry Christmas pop out of one of the holes “I’ve never seen anyone be able to redirect one of Mr.4 or Lasso’ balls before, given they’re time bombs and weight as much as a cannonball, but somehow a twig of a woman like you can do that. That makes no sense. ExplainWomanExplain!” she screams, then has to jump into one of her holes to dodge Alvida and Usopp’s attacks, the Exploding Star missing by an inch, which was less than the mace which came nowhere close
“sh*t, I just realised what this is” Valentina says with a groan “We’re about to enter a f*cked up version of whack a mole” the others stop for a moment to consider her words…. And the swearing begins
“Well that’s one way to look at it, plus its delicious irony given I ate the Mole Mole fruit. Luckily thanks to all my holes we’ll be just as hard to hit as the moles in that game, and we hit back”
Bark Bark Bark
“FOUR!” The rotund man drones, sending a trio of baseball bombs at the crew
“I got thi…”
Thump
The ground opens up at Victor’s feet, causing him to fall into the hole, the balls flying unimpeded and clocking Usopp in the face, as well as Chopper in the chest.
“That was actually smart, who knew these dumbasses had 2 brain cells to rub together” Valentina muses as her 1 kg form floats onto Alvida’s shoulder like she ate the parrot variant of the Bird Bird fruit “But they made one little miscalculation. Everyone get away from the holes!” she yells as loud as she could
“What?”
KABOOM!
“Stupid penguin, my body is a bomb, the only thing that would have stopped me blowing my way out of those tunnels would have been sea prism stone cuffs” Victor smirks as he pulls himself out of the now larger hole he’d fallen into, his full body detonation setting off a chain reaction throughout the entire molehill Merry Christmas had created “Go f*ck yourselves and the cannon dog you rode in on” he grunts, spitting into the hole as one last attempt at clearing house, the explosion caused was much smaller as would be expected.
Elsewhere – Sanji
Due to the erratic way in which the Straw Hats split up, it’s no wonder Vivi as well as each other’s locations were lost rather quickly, Sanji only running into Vivi accidentally on his path to finding Bon Clay but he was glad to run into the okama when he did, intercepting an attack on the princess and a barely conscious Carue, pissing him off as while not human Vivi’s companion/familiar was an honorary lady in his book, so seeing the poor duck that badly hurt sparked righteous fury in his heart.
“Vivi, don’t you have a rebellion to stop? I’ll deal with this creep, you head off and we’ll let the ducks get Carue to safety” he says, straightening his suit as 2 of the supersonic ducks tried get her onto the larger one’s back, to which Sanji smiles softly and lifts her “Get her out of here, it’s a literal war zone and those injuries look serious. Now Go!” he gives the bird a light slap on the flank, emitting a small yelp before running off in a plump of dust “Now that’s over, it’s just you and me dumbass”
Bon Clay stands and smirks “Yes but not for long, nothing I’ve fought so far has been able to stand up to more than a handful of strikes of my okama kempo!” he boasts flamboyantly. That boast would have meant something had Sanji not been able to block his kick with one of his own almost lazily
“You only fight Usopp on this island, that kick was weak. My old man kicks harder than that and he’s got a peg leg” Sanji taunts as he blocks another of Mr. 2’s ballet kicks
Elsewhere – Zoro
Once he entered the capital, Zoro took off in a random direction to the other 4 to enter, partly as that had been the plan (to get the agents to split up and divide their forces) but it was also proof of how easily Zoro could get lost. So here he was, standing somewhere near the middle of town, with no idea where he was, or where everyone else was either, at least until…
“Roronoa Zoro!”
‘Ah sh*t’ Zoro groans internally, seeing Tashigi marching over to him, hand clenched around Shiguri’s hilt “Listen, this isn’t the best time…”
“Shut up!” she yells in his face “I’ve tried to do this politely, but if you refuse to surrender those swords to most deserving hands I’ll take them by force”
“Yeah right, the only way you’d get these swords and more importantly be considered deserving of them is to beat me in a fight. Until then, go stick the hilt in your mouth and go annoy someone else” Zoro replies with a scoff, then as his well honed situational awareness kicked in the swordsman jumps at the marine sword-otaku. As Tashigi yelps Zoro knocks her to the ground, just barely avoiding a slash from Mr 1, deep gashes in the stone wall behind them fairly conclusive proof of that
“What the f*ck was that for?” Tashigi screams at Zoro, her cheeks red and blotchy (Zoro’s not much better) “Also get off me, you brute!”
“A thank you would be nice” Zoro grumbles as he stands, the marine finally noticing the damage done to the wall exactly where her head had been previously, the colour draining from her face. “So, no problem with collateral damage eh Mr.1?” he asks the stoic looking man in front of him.
“None. You’re Zoro right? The Straw Hat’s Swordsman?” Mr 1 answers and then asks, smiling ever so slightly when Zoro nods and reaches for his swords “I was hoping to get to fight you”
Vivi
As she ran through the streets, Vivi was running on fumes physiologically, seeing so many people being killed or maimed needlessly, under the orders of people she cared about, it was cutting her up inside worse than any blade.
‘Luffy, Carue, and all the others, risking their very lives and for what?’ she thinks as tears glisten in her clenched shut eyes, then her teeth clench, his hands curl into fists and the anger rises from the sea of depression and pity she was wallowing in ‘No! I have to do this, they’re counting on me! Everyone in Alabasta is counting on me! I won’t let HIM WIN!’ pushing herself to keep walking Vivi turns her attention to the palace, knowing Chakka would be much easier to find than Koza.
TBC
LW: Well, sh*t’s happening and I hopefully delivered on my promise.
Merry Christmas: Eater of the Mole Mole fruit/ Mogu Mogu no mi
Lassoo: A gun that ate the Dog Dog fruit/Inu Inu no mi model Dachshund.
No that hasn’t been explained as to how an inanimate object can ‘eat’ something, but it’s happened a couple of times in the series, Lassoo was just the first.
Q: Can we mark standing in front of the stampede known as the rebel army count as Vivi’s dumbest decision? Cause it has to be at least pretty high if it isn’t
This is the last chapter of One Piece for 2018, so thanks to everyone who started reading or has continued to read my work this year and I hope you come back in 2019, chapter 37 will be out on the 5th of January providing I can keep my schedule going.
Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!
Chapter 37: Battle for Alabasta part 2
Chapter Text
LW: Forgot to say this, but strap yourselves in, this is going to be a long section, may take a month or more for me to get to the end. Hope you enjoy it :D
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Battle of Alabasta part 2
Outside the capital
When Merry Christmas finally popped out of the ground she was steaming mad, while 4 looked slightly more dopey then usual “You little sh*ts are going down! When I’m through with you you’ll all be joining your pathetic captain in Hell!!!!!” she shrieks before diving into the ground once more
“But wait, Luffy’s not deaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Usopp begins to wonder, but it devolves into screaming when Christmas grabs him from below the sand and begins to pull him along like a bumper car in reverse “Somebody do something”
“sh*t, we can’t stop the hag like this, Ussop’s the only thing in that attack that’s visible” Alvida whines
“And hitting him negates the point of trying to save him” Valentina agrees
“Get into your batters stance Mr. 4” Christmas orders, driving Usopp through a wall before turning and dragging him on a collision course for the mad batter.
“I can’t watch!” Chopper yelps
“Victor, toss me” Valentina orders, the man looks confused for a second before complying, the lemon girl hitting her target perfectly… unfortunately for both of them Merry Christmas’ mole claws did a better job gripping Usopp than Valentina did so she ended up getting left behind while Usopp got a 4 ton bat to the face.
“Usopp!”
“You still alive?”
“c*nt!”
“HaHaHa. IwasrighthewasaweaklingjustlikeIsuspected” Christmas laughs and taunts, Usopp’s broken body lying face up in the sand
“Haw. Haw. Haw” 4 laughs slowly as expected.
“I’m going to kill both of you!” Alvida yells, the KI flowing off the other 3 showed they were pretty close to agreement with the mace wielder
“There. Are. Times…” everybody stops “…When. A. Real. Man. Must. Stay. And. Fight. Instead. Of. Running” the voice wheezed and broke, as if every sound hurt.
“No way, you survived that!”
“Usopp” Chopper cheers, happy his friend was able to move, though the doctor side of him grimaces at the sheer amount of damage done to the boy, as well as the amount of work he was going to need to do in order to fix it when all this was over”
Usopp grins with bloody lips and missing teeth “Like. Right. Now” He stands shakily, hoping he could survive long enough to see these bastards taken down, maybe see Kaya once more too “When. A. Friend. Needs. Them. To. Keep. Fighting”
“You idiot, you were hit with a 4 ton bat, in the face. You shouldn’t even be alive, never mind standing and blathering like that. Oh well, whatever kept you alive this time won’t work again. Time for another play Mr. 4” Christmas rants before diving once more into the sand, Mr. 4 getting into his ready stance. The difference being the Straw Hats had seen this move before, and had an idea.
“Give ‘em their worst” Usopp yelps as he was once more dragged across the plains
Horn Point
My Nose Fancy Cannon
With the sand kicked up from the explosion forming a makeshift smokescreen, Usopp manages to slip out of his shoes, just before Chopper catches Christmas in his new form’s oversized antlers, luckily structurally sound enough to hold the rotund mole woman
“What trickery is this” Christmas shouts as she struggles
“Mole Hill, Intersection Number 4” Valentina calls, confusing 4 who shrugs before swinging his bat, slamming directly into Miss Merry Christmas’ face, sending her flying
“Four?” the man gulps, then tenses when he feels someone right behind him
“New batter, Straw Hat Substitution” Alvida shouts with a wide grin, before her mace slams into the man’s gut, throwing him back with enough force to shatter a pillar and stop just before rolling over a passed out Merry Christmas
“We, did it” Usopp cheers weakly, raising his hands before collapsing onto his back
“Usopp!” Chopper screams, running over as fast as possible with the others just behind him “We’re gonna need a medic over here”
“You’re the ship’s Doctor!”
Chopper blushes “Oh yeah”
Meanwhile – In the city
He may be dressed like a weirdo and started off weak, but Sanji had to admit Bon Clay had some skills, the ballerina able to use his dance skills to dodge a lot of the cook’s kicks, making it look almost effortless, much to his annoyance. Sanji still managed to get some hits in but after stepping up his game so did he, culminating in a simultaneous throw back as they kicked each other square in the face, throwing both of them into the opposite walls of the street they were fighting in.
“You’re quite good Mr. Cook, in another life you might have been a dance rival to me” Bon Clay says as he pulls himself back to him feet, Sanji frowning as he spits out his cigarette.
“Same, you aren’t as bad as I thought, still can’t beat me but it’s at least more of a challenge”
Bon Clay frowns “Then it sounds like I need to use my secret weapon”
The blond scoffs “Don’t care, do whatever you want I’ll still beat you, ye crazy weirdo”
Mutton…
“Sanji no!”
“Nami my love” Sanji swoons, noodling over the sexy red head
Okama Kempo: Heartbreaker/Nutcracker
Sanji falls to his knees at the low blow from the ballerina “Well seems you’re much easier to read than I had expected. A real soft spot for the ladies ay cook?” Bon Clay laughs, switching back to Nami
‘Damn freak, even if the outside looks like Nami it’s still that balet weirdo underneath’ Sanji thinks as he stands up
“Oh my, in this heat I really shouldn’t be wearing so many layers” Nami purrs, unbuttoning her shirt, Sanji’s eye nearly falling out of his head at the sight of her breasts
“Oh my sweat Nami chan, truly the vision of a goddess”
Okama Chop
Keri Point
Sanji grunts as he takes the ginger’s fist to the face, before the ballerina slams both his feet into the cook’s head, throwing him up against the wall.
“Looks like this fight will be over sooner than expected, after all that you fall to such a simple move”
Sanji growls “I’ll show you simple when I shove my boot up your ass”
Mascara boomerang
The blond easily sidesteps the okama’s projectile and was this close to kicking the dancer’s teeth out when…
“Please Sanji, don’t hurt me”
..he transformed into Kaya, his honour code combined with Kaya’s light frame (he was trying to get her to a more healthy level but this sh*t takes time) stopped him in his tracks, leaving him wide open to the boomerang part of the attack
“Well this was fun, but I’m on a bit of a deadline so...” the dancer begins to spin, speeding up until it was a top shaped blur “Round and round and round I go, when I stop…”
‘Wait a second’
Okama Kempo: Memoirs of a summer’s day
Collier Shoot
Just as Bon Clay’s spin ends, Sanji’s kick hits him right in the centre of his sternum, throwing him through the bulidng right behind them
“I see the problem with your attacks, or at least the big ones. You can’t wear another’s body when you use them” Sanji taunts as the dancer pulls himself from the rubble, grinding his teeth in anger
You may have a point there cook, all my best techniques require this body, sculpted over years of rigorous training. But I’ll tell you this much loverboy…” running full sprint Bon Clay transforms into Nami, leaping onto her hands before planting both feet into Sanji’s shocked face “…cat burglar has quite the flexible form, it’ll do for the small stuff which when you can’t fight back is all I really need”
“Mr. 2!”
Bon Clay looks around (As does Sanji from his position on the ground) and gasps “M-M-Miss All Sunday!” he stutters
She looks down at Sanji and smirks “Dealt with the prince I see?” she muses, noticing the blond flinch at the title as she does
Bon Clay laughs “But of course, his legs may be strong but his heart is weak, thanks to my Mane Mane no mi I can use it to break him easily” he continues to laugh as Sunday gets closer
“Good to know” she whispers in his ear
CRUNCH
There was a very high pitched shriek as Mr. 2 collapses bonelessly to the ground on his back, feeling like his balls had receded all the way up to his heart.
“Why?” he wheezes, to which Sunday gives him a smile which doesn’t quite fit her face correctly, all teeth and wide eyes.
“Just evening the playing field” she answers before slamming her boot onto the okama’s right hand, causing enough damage to stop him using his fruit for a while, but not enough to maim him
At this point Sanji had gotten to his knees and was in the middle of pulling himself to his feet “Why are you helping me? You’re Baroque Works” he asks tensely
“Fu se fu. Oh Eros it’s quite simple, I always have and always will perform acts that benefit me or amuse me” Sunday laughs, then brings her hands up to her face, her right palm side to Sanji while the other palm faced her (Like when Alucard uses his release restraint level 1) so her right eye was framed by her hands
f*ckanzen'na hansha [Sheipu Sunacchi]
Sanji’s jaw drops as a silver sheen cover’s Robin’s curvy body, spreading out from her hands then her entire form looses definition, her large bosom retracts into the whole, her limbs extend and body shoots up like bamboo, even her cowgirl hat changes shape. By the time colour returns Kaos was standing there with a wide toothy grin on his face
“Hey Sanji you look like sh*t”
“Bastard”
“Probably. Also I’m going to assume that’s how you say thanks in pervert chef, so good luck with the fight, I need to find Vivi” Kaos chuckles and runs off, Sanji’s anger bubbling away
“That barbarian!” Bon Clay shrieks as he finally stands up, his legs shaking for a moment before steadying himself “Well, it seems that since I can no longer use the female form to distract you I’ll just have to use something a little more heavy duty” he then removes the swan themed ‘shoulder pads’ (No clue what else to call them) attach them to his ballet shoes and moves into a fighting stance “You don’t stand a chance cook, not against these babies”
Prima: Bombardier
Bon Clay lashes out with a kick, Sanji dodges, then gulps when he sees the swan had made a perfectly circular hole in the wall behind him
“Extended necks with steel beaks, it was smart to dodge that kick as I believe the closest comparison to the damage my prima attacks dish out are achieved with high powered rifles, except these beaks are much larger than the bullets in question” Bon clay laughs, meanwhile Sanji wishes he could go back to Nami kicking his teeth in
Collier
Sanji lashes out but the steel swan jabs itself into his collarbone, throwing him back, while the ballerina laughs and pirouettes before jumping into the air.
Memoirs of a Winter Sky
Basse Côte
Bon Clay launches a spinning kick, but Sanji manages to dodge it, then in a moment of ‘eye for an eye’ kicks the Mr. 2 in his left shoulder. What followed was a flurry of rapid fire kicks and dodges from both sides, and while Sanji had strength, as well as experience learning under Zeff, Bon Clay had reach as well as those spiked swans drilling into him whenever they did manage to hit him. Finally the 2 were barely standing, swaying in the warm desert breeze gritting their teeth and trying to will the other to fall. Finally both dig deep and go for their finishing move
Bombardier Arabesque
Veau Shot
Sanji falls to his knees, then his face… and Bon Clay crashes into the building behind him, taking out some of the wall and dropping him to the ground. The blond sighs deeply and lights a cigarette after pulling himself to a seated positon
“I give up” Bon Clay sighs, spread eagled on the ground in a bloody heap
Sanji’s swirly eyebrow rises into his hair “You’re still alive? Damn”
“Well co… Sanji, get it over with and kill me. There’s no point trying to avoid it, either you will or Baroque Works will when this is all over for failing to complete my mission. So get on with it” Bentham stops when he see that rather than preparing to end him, Sanji was standing with his hand offered, the flamboyant dancer’s eyes water and not from pain this time
“Shut up. It was a good fight, and that’s all that needs to be said doesn’t it” Sanji smiles just a little as Bentham grabs his hand and allows himself to be pulled up to a standing position, this guy may be a weirdo but he’s not bad per say. He still kicked him in the head to knock him out, but killing him seemed too far for Sanji.
With Vivi
“There you are wee lass” Vivi tenses then turns to see a stocky looking man with thick red hair and a bushy beard, as well as black arrows on the back of his hands
“Mr. 6” she gasps
“Ay”
“Don’t fret princess, this will be over in seconds” came a monotone as a woman steps out from behind her counterpart. Her hair was flat and lifeless, her face devoid of emotion and her white jackets lined with disc blades.
“Hello Miss New Years Eve” Artemis greets, appearing behind Vivi causing the bluenette to jump
“Miss Goldenweek” the 2 agents acknowledge with a nod
“Artemis, what are you doing here?” Vivi asks
Rather than answer the girl responds with “Aunt Vivi you shouldn’t be along, Baroque Works are looking for you in particular after all”
Vivi looks ready to respond before both jump out of the way of an arrow shaped spike which imbeds itself in the wall before being recalled
“Looks like it’s 2 on 2” Artemis says seriously, pulling out her brush and palette.
Vivi blanches “WHAT? NO! I can’t let you fight these people, your father would kill me if he found out”
The artist chuckles “Don’t worry Vivi, mama taught me well, plus I’m Rank 3, they’re Rank 6 and you are Rank 8, I should be more worried about you and New Years” she grins in a manner similar enough to Kaos to disturb the princess before running into the battle, tossing colour traps and other techniques as she goes.
Vivi sighs, then has to twist out of the way of New Year’s bladed rings “Okay, guess it’s you and me”
Peaco*ck Slasher
Dragon Blaze Slice
Artemis
Artemis smiles as she bounces along the area, her red traps keeping his attacks well away from her for the moment, but she knew it was only a matter of time.
“This is the power of the Vector Vector Fruit isn’t it? She asks, just as an arrow tipped attack slices through her shirt’s shoulder, also causing a shallow cut “sh*t” she hisses, looking up she sees how he’d managed to bypass her traps: His eyes were closed
“Ay, and my Vectors are going to tear you apart” he answers, opening his eyes and smirking when he spots the blood weeping from her cut. He then aims his arms in her direction, Vectors forming on his skin “Seeing as I have to fire blind in order to have any chance of hitting you, might as well use my most wide spread attack…”
Vector Storm
Artemis winces as his attack tore a large hole in the wall she’d ducked behind for cover. Peering out she sees Mr. 6 using several Vectors to hold himself up like a spider and Vivi was holding her own against New Years, but the woman’s variety of moves could catch the bluenette of guard if she lets up for even a moment. Frowning, Artemis looks down at her palette and prepares another trap.
Rolling out of cover Artemis tosses a blue trap, followed by a green and a purple, the first dodged while the others were disrupted by Vectors, she still smirked until 2 more managed to reach her, one shatters her palette and the other nicked her just before the ribs
‘Well, guess this is what a backup plan is for’ she thinks almost sadly
Back to Vivi
The bluenette yelps as she ducks luckily managing to avoid being burnt or having her hair singed by New Years now flaming disc ‘What the f*ck? How did she … oh I really hope it isn’t 12 rings for 12 signs.’ Vivi grimaces as she retaliates with her slashers, managing to cut New Years cheek, before the ring burns through her threads. The woman frowns and reaches for another ring, which she throws directly at Vivi, the princess using one of her slashers to alter the course rather than anything more severe
Snake Vemon Slice
Which was lucky for her as the bladed edge appeared to be coated in some kind of acid, burning/slicing through the building beside her with ease.
There was a momentary reprieve when both to take cover dodge 6’s Vector Storm, but once that passed they were once more slicing at each other
Rooster Jet
This disc was larger than he others, which Vivi guessed was the reason it moved slower, after being tossed than the others. That was until she flicked her wrist, the ring rotating around itself 3 times before releasing a compressed ball of air shot out, getting Vivi in the gut as it threw her up against the wall
‘I’ll never laugh when Dad complains about his bad back again’ Vivi thinks as she grimaces, meanwhile New Years stalks towards her…until she falls to her knees
“All the suffering, all the death and destruction, because of me” she whimpers, tears leaking down her cheeks. Vivi was shocked to see the normally emotionally distant woman break down like this but then she saw it: a curved blue line directly in front of New Year’s knees and she remembered something helpful, this wasn’t her against New Years, it was her and Artemis Vs Team 6.
Knocking the woman out Vivi moves to assist Artemis when she stops: Seeing Mr. 6 using his Vectors as spider legs and Artemis who had pushed back her left sleeve to reveal a jet black greave with a red eye near the elbow and an inkwell at her wrist.
“Let it be known, I don’t want to do this” Artemis says flicking open the ink and dipping her brush in it just before proceeding to draw on the air, what it was Vivi was unsure, but based on what she could follow there were a lot of eyes in the design. After a few seconds she stops and slams it in Mr. 6’s direction
Nightmare BLACK
The symbol slammed 6 right in the chest, causing all colour to drain from the man before falling forwards, mumbling incoherently
“W-w-what was that?” Vivi stutters a question, to which Artemis turns and sighs
“The strongest and most dangerous of my techniques. Nightmare black traps the target in an endless nightmare other their own making, usually their past experiences or things they have inflicted on others. This continues until their hearts give out, and I’m sure Mr 6 will be very annoyed and embarrassed he was killed with a calligraphy brush”
At this point Vivi notices the brush in her hand wasn’t her normal paintbrush, but one shorter and thinner “That’s…”
“The same brush I write script with Kaos with? Yes, same as the ink. Papa says I shouldn’t use writing equipment as a weapon, but Mama says to always use what’s available in order to survive” Artemis shrugs and slips the brush into her pocket and closes the inkpot.
“Good to know, also note to self don’t piss off your mom. Now come on, we need to get to the royal palace”
“On it Aunt Vivi” the artist salute playfully, running after Vivi who smiled, she liked the idea of being an aunt, of having a family larger than just her and her father, Artemis and Kaos were both insane but them and the rest of the crew really grew on you quickly. She sighs now was not the time, now she had to get to the palace and stop this fight before everything went to hell.
With the 6’s dealt with the rest was remarkably easy, sure it took a couple minutes for her to get the guards she ran into to allow Artemis to accompany her but once that was done it was smooth sailing. Now they just had to convince Chakka
“Are you insane, we can’t do that!” Yells the man with the 2nd longest nose the bluenette knew (his was larger, but Usopp’s was longer)
“Why not? Do you really think if the palace falls Alabasta does too? Alubarna is the capital but it isn’t Alabasta. Alabasta is it’s people, it has always been it’s people, it has struggled and it has suffered, and now it’s people are fighting and dying with the same ideas on either side. This needs to stop, before it’s too late and we go too far”
Chakka’s head drops, his eyes sad and lifeless “And how do we know it’s not already too late?”
“We won’t know until we try. All I need is their attention for a moment; we need some way to get everyone focused on one spot. If you can do that then I can take care of the rest” Vivi states confidently, even if her hands shook “Now do it Chakka, destroy the palace!”
“The rebels are going to do it anyway if they manage to get here, why give them the satisfaction?” Artemis adds, the smirk on her face unnerving a few of the palace guards even if some understood her train of thought
Chakka looks conflicted before kneeling before Vivi “As you wish princess, I will follow your order” he then gives a half smile “With Cobra unavailable you are technically Alabasta’s sovereign ruler after all” He then stands and turns to his men “You heard the princess, let’s move it!”
A little later
“I’m sorry about all of this” Chakka says sadly as they watch the preparations be made for Vivi’s plan to work
The princess nods before giving a small smile “You’ve done all you could, and you’ve managed to hold off the rebels the past 2 years that myself and Igaram have been gone. There’s nothing to apologise for, plus my friends will make sure things work end the way we hope and this war will be over soon”
“When this is over, I will ensure we have a proper banquet to celebrate all you and your pirate friends have done for this kingdom”
Vivi chuckles “Luffy will be happy to hear that, but we have to focus on the present for now, especially with how big this is going to be”
“Princess, we’re ready whenever you are” one of the guards announces, luckily the 3 of them were a good distance from the building
“4,000 years of history about to go up in smoke, I hope this is worth it” Chakka mutters to himself
“It better” Vivi growls then yells “Okay light your fuses now!”
The guards gulp but attempt to do as she asks, the only problem being a localised sand storm, which not only extinguishes their torches but send them all flying
“He’s here” Artemis chimes, she may not be a devil fruit detector but Crocodile’s not even trying to be subtle anymore is he?
“We can’t have that now can we” the gruff voice sound from the air, the sand flowing together and condensing into the smug grin of Crocodile “I mean this is about to be my house, can’t have you blowing it up on me now can I Miss Wednesday?
“CROCODILE!” Vivi shrieks, then turns a sickly white when she sees the Warlord had someone with him… and it wasn’t just All Sunday this time
“You majesty!” Chakka yells in shock seeing Cobra unconscious and on the ground beside Crocodile
“Isn’t it lovely Miss Sunday, to have a palace like this?” he asks, not paying the people below him any heed.
“Crocodile! Where is Luffy?” Vivi demands, her rage practically flowing off of her like steam
“Luffy? Oh you mean that stupid rookie in the straw hat?” Crocodile asks, grinning smugly “I hate to break it to you, but that brat’s dead” he laughs as Vivi looks sick to her stomach, her clenched fists shaking, meanwhile Artemis frowns hoping Crocodile was wrong because then Luffy can show up and kick his ass
With Zoro
“You’ve got quite the unusual body, Devil fruit related I presume?” Zoro asks seeing the outer edges of Mr. 1’s arms shift into blades
“Correct, I ate the Supa Supa no mi, enabling me to transform my body to adopt the properties of a steel blade. I’m a Fullbody Bladed Human. Now Roronoa Zoro, prepare to die by the hands of Mr. 1, Daz Bonz” Mr. 1 explains, jumping at Zoro who blocks with his 3 swords
“You’re not going to win that easily, just because your whole body is a sword doesn’t mean you’ll beat me or stop Vivi”
“You mean us” Tashigi declares, her Shiguri held in a ready position, causing Zoro to raise an eyebrow
“You’ve changed your tune quick” he says, causing the woman to scoff
“Not really, I still believe you’re undeserving of those blades on account of being a pirate, but right now you appear to be trying to do something good. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and right now Baroque Works is the bigger threat. Plus, while almost as bad I can put up with you as long as I pretend you’re mercenaries princess Vivi hired to deal with Baroque works and or the rebels”
Zoro chuckles to himself “We nearly were if Nami had anything to say about it, but Luffy agreed to help before she could bleed the royal coffers dry”
Speaking of Nami…
‘sh*t, f*ck, sh*t’ Nami swears in her head, while outside her and Kaya pant from their current hiding place, hoping they finally managed to loose their Baroque Works opponent, Miss Doublefinger.
“Think we lost her?” Kaya asks, getting the answer when a spike pierces her elbow and throws her to the ground
“Kaya!” Nami yells, running to her friend (as well as away from the wall they were just attacked by) and helping her up, both gulp when they see the perfectly round hole in the wall, followed by several more punctured before their very eyes until it formed the outline of a doorway ‘This is it, we have to fight’ Nami thinks, fear deadening her legs as she pulls out a blue metal pipe, hopefully Usopp’s best work yet… if it isn’t she’s going to haunt him for the rest of time.
Once complete the space between each hole cracks, the section falls and Miss Doublefinger sashays out of the door she just made “There’s no point in fighting me girls, just give up and I’ll make this quick” she raises her arm and the cuff of her jacket turn into a ring of spikes “With my Toge Toge no mi, I can end you with a simple shot to the heart or the brain, quick, simple, you won’t even feel it”
‘I’ve seen what Kaos can do with spikes, this isn’t going to be a pleasant experience’ Kaya thinks, wincing as she rests her hands on her revolver grips
Doublefinger blinks “Wait, you 2 are actually going to fight me? And he I pegged the guys as the dumb ones of this crew” she asks and thinks, just as Nami hooks up her new bo staff
“Stay away, or I will unleash the full force of the ClimaTact upon you” Nami shouts, her bold declaration causing Kaya’s lip to curl, it seemed Usopp was rubbing off on them more than she’d like to admit.
‘The f*ck is that?’
Nami grins as she arranges the segments into a triangle “Time to get this show arolling”
Fine Tempo
Of the things this could have done, a puff of smoke and 2 doves was not on the list for any of them, mostly Nami given the depressed aura she was releasing
“Are you alright?” Doublefinger asks, actually feeling bad for the girl
‘Okay, so one was a dud, and now she’s standing there confused, that must be a distraction technique’ Nam thinks as she readies another attack
Cloudy Tempo
The flowers the pop out of the end of the Clima tact was less than helpful
“Kaya I’m killing your boyfriend if we all survive this!” Nami shrieks as she tosses the staff on the ground in anger
“I believe it’s my turn now kids”
Double Stinger
Nami and Kaya bob and weave to avoid the flurry of spikes Doublefinger tries to impale the 2 with, decimating a wall, tearing through a barrel they shoved between them, and one shot pinned Nami until Kaya’s shots had her move defensively, enabling the thief to yank herself free
“We are way outclassed in this fight” Nami whimpers, her pride broken enough by the wound to her shoulder and the fact they had no actual way to hit this crazy lady she was able to admit even that.
“Are you finally ready to give up then?” Doublefinger purrs, swaying her hips as she stalks the two
Anger pushes fear to the side, even just for a moment “Hell no! This still has plenty of moves hidden inside it. Forcast Thunder” Nami shouts, connecting the segments into a Y formation before aiming it at the bluenette
Thunder Tempo
“That almost worked Nami” Kaya tries to comfort her borderline suicidal/homicidal crewmate, the boxing glove currently swinging from the end of the Tact looked like it had been moving at some speed, it just hadn’t been long enough to even touch Paula.
“That’s not an attack, this is!”
Finger Stinger
Doublefinger’s spike managed to draw blood and cut her cheek before the Nami’s reflexes and self preservation instincts kick in, meaning she was running for her life once more, Kaya not far behind.
“Long nosed fool, we’re going to die here, and it’s all his fault” Nami cries “Asshole, why can’t you make a real weapon, or admit that you couldn’t? These are all useless!”
“Um, Nami, what’s that on the back?” the red head raise an eyebrow and goes to turn over the instructions
“You’ve had your fun, it okay if I kill you now?” both Straw Hats look up, seeing Doublefinger hanging upside down directly above them
“How’d she get up there?” Nami asks, not that it mattered right now as she was on the way down…
Hedgehog Stinger
…As a giant spikeball of death. Of course she was. The girls gulp then run full sped away, the spike ball nipping at their heels
“Kaya, window now!” Nami yells and the blond follows her, jumping through an open window in the hopes to at least slow down their attacker. It did a little, as Doublefinger had to stop and basically give it a running start but oh well, The real help came when it burst through and both girls threw their desert cloaks on her, not because it revealed their dancer outfits (if this were Sanji it might) but because the cloaks got caught in the spikes, or maybe the other way around. Either way Doublefinger had to retract her spikes in order to free herself from the cloth, at which point Kaya fired, the only problem was…
Ping
The bullet bounced off her spiked hair, luckily that was more a parting shot as they both had already left by the time Doublefinger had actually pulled herself free and got a chance to survey her surrounding
With the girls
“I’m going to kill him!”
Kaya sighs “What did Usopp do now?”
“That moron made me a party favour, I asked for a weapon. These attacks on the back better actually do something” she grumbles the last part
“So that’s where you’re hiding” Doublefinger purrs, swaying towards them
“Yep, and now I’ve finally got this figured out”
Doublefinger pouts “No more magic tricks?”
“None, only your defeat!”
Heat Ball
“We’re in a desert island hun, it’s already too hot to think, also don’t use that as an excuse”
Cold Ball
“Okay this I like, a pleasant breeze after all this running around”
Thunder Ball
“You’re seriously fighting me with static cling? You do know I’m killing you first for being a pain in the ass right?”
Sewing Stinger
‘Damn it Usopp even your offensive attacks suck, now we’re going to die, this day can’t get any wor…..AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” Nami screams and falls as Doublefinger’s spike pierces her leg, falling into Kaya and both hit the ground in a heep
“Well, this was a pointless fight” Doublefinger grumbles raising her foot, and causing her show to resemble a porcupine
Stinger stomp
Cyclone Tempo
Nami swings her tact just before she gets hit, the upper sections slam into Doublefinger and throw her back, before returning to their original position on the end of the Tact like a boomerang
“Hm, so the balls are useless on their own, but combined together they actually can be useful” Nami grins as she finally starts to understand how to use her new staff ‘Guess you’re not completely useless after all Usopp’ she thinks
Doublefinger pulls herself free with a scowl, a tic forming on her forehead when she sees Nami standing around ‘damn co*cky brat’ she thinks before 5 spikes pierce the red heads body “Never turn your back to your opponent, unless you don’t value your life”
“Oh I value it very highly thanks” Doublefinger’s eyes widen as she hears that damn voice, the bitch should be dead. It was then the image of Nami faded and disappears, confusing her even more
“What the”
“I used the cool ball, combined with the heat from Alabasta’s climate and a little light I made myself…”
“A mirage! But… how?”
“Used properly this is a miracle weapon, I think it works well for me” Nami grins as she lifts the Climatact to her shoulder, while anger only deepens inside Miss Doublefinger
TBC
LW: Well that’s everything, ta ta everyone :D
Most of the new stuff is explained within the story, so I guess this section may not be needed any more. I’ll keep mentioning new Devil fruits as well as translations though, just because it helps sometimes. Unless you want me to keep doing this I mean.
Paula/ Miss Doublfinger Eater of the Toge Toge no mi/Spike Spike fruit
f*ckanzen'na hansha [Sheipu Sunacchi]/ Imperfect reflection [Shapesnatch]
Chapter 38: And then there was Zero, victory on the Horizon?
Chapter Text
LW: Hi guys, does anyone remember the opening in the anime for this part of the story? Because it gave a MAJOR spoiler as to the next person to join the crew, as well as who wouldn’t be (well in canon at least, I can do what I like ;D). Just thought I’d do a bit of memory lane that’s all, for anyone not rewatching them as I am to make sure I don’t miss anything too important.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Battle for Alabasta part 3: And then there was Zero, victory on the Horizon?
With Vivi and Artemis
“I don’t believe you Crocodile, Luffy can’t be dead” Vivi angrily denies, but Crocodile chuckles
“Deny it all you want Wednesday, I sent that boy on the path to his final resting place, and he’s not coming to save you”
“Luffy would never fall to the likes of you”
“Really princess, the poor fool gave his life for you, and all you’re going to do is yell impotently up at me. I bet he’s wishing he’d never met you at least then he’d still be alive”
“This is all a trick, or some sick joke. What’s your game Crocodile, I’m ready to listen this time” Vivi yells, her eyes glisten
BANG BANG BANG
“Protect the princess”
“Get in there”
“Someone get the cannons, we’ll blast our way in”
Crocodile frowns “Miss Sunday, deal with them” to which she nods
“Of course Sir” she smirks as she summons arms to deal with the rabble just outside the palace, at least buying them time to have a moment of peace. Then her and Crocodile bring Cobra down to Vivi, Artemis and Chaka, though clearly it was more for their own convenience than anything else. Mostly because the first thing they did was nearly crucify the man to one of the pillars on the front of the palace
“Now I have your attention, as well as you secured, I want to ask you a very important question: Where is Pluton?”
While most of the group looked confused (and Sunday looked bored) by the question Cobra’s eyes widen and he shudders “How? How do you know that name, of that thing’s existence?”
Crocodile smirks around his cigar “Pluton, a weapon so powerful it can annihilate an island in one shot, at least according to the legends. One of the 3 Ancient Weapons, of which this one if hidden in Alabasta, but you already knew that Cobra, else you wouldn’t care about the fact I knew about Pluton. It has been my target from the start, with it under my control this country will become a military power all its own and I will rule the very seas”
“That’s why you destroyed my country!” Vivi yells as Chaka argues against Crocodile’s control of Alabasta
“Correct princess but with Pluton at my command it won’t matter, I’ll subjugate every pirate in the region under my flag and start my conquest, even the World Government won’t be able to stop me”
“They won’t let you have that sort of power” Cobra growls, causing Crocodile to chuckle
“Also true, guess your family is smarter than I expected, still where is the Pluton? Tell me!”
“I don’t know where you heard that rumour Crocodile, but I don’t have the slightest idea where your weapon can be found. I don’t even know if it existed in the first place, never mind was hidden in this country”
Crocodile sighs as he removes his cigar “You’re not entirely wrong, I have considered the chance that Pluton never existed and was just a fable, but some people say he same for Poseidon, Uranus and the One Piece, but I choose to believe that it is real” He then turns and looks out to the gathering royal soldiers “If my calculations are correct the rebel forces should reach this point in about 20 minutes and fight the assembled royal army, and then in a little under 30 minutes, at 4:30 they will all be destroyed by the bomb I have set up to be thrown into the square”
“A bomb?”
“You’ll kill everyone!”
“Please no, I beg you” Cobra pleads to the Warlord who just shrugs
“Oh and I feel I should mention it’s no ordinary bomb, but one so powerful it’ll destroy everything in a 5 km radius” he says casually
“But if you do that…” Vivi begins but crocodile interrupts her
“Everyone will die as you said before, nobody from the royals or rebels will survive and the conflict will be over. Hear that princess in less than an hour your wish for them to stop this pointless fighting will come true”
“Like a fairy godmother arriving with a magic wand… and a crap ton of explosives” Sunday comments giggling to herself
“You’re both so heartless and cruel, what did these people ever do to deserve your hatred. They all have lives and families damn it!” Vivi screams, restrained by Chaka while Artemis for once considers the moral consequences of using one of her calm traps on the bluenette
“They don’t have to die, I might change my mind… if the king answers one more question” he steps into Cobra’s space, cigar rubbing against his cheek “I know there’s a poneglyph on this island, so you’re going to tell me where it is”
“If you promise to spare them I’ll tell you everything I know” Cobra offers flatly, a little broken inside “Even show you where it’s kept” he adds
Crocodile shrugs “of course, my word is my bond” he agrees, Vivi hearing a slight snort from both the other females in the area
With Nami and Kaya
After the momentary win for team chick, things went down hill once more, mostly involving both StrawHats nearly getting impaled on Doublefinger’s arms, beaked face and breasts ( one of the weirdest scene of this section of the anime, partly because it took me a minute to get out of the mental ‘the f*ck am I looking at?’ position and realise that was what she did), and not really being able to do anything to fight back, sure Kaya took some pot shots but the spike woman’s powers were able to deflect them with minimal damage if any.
“You know” Kaya pipes in, leafing through Usopp’s instructions “I think the Tornado Tempo is all we’ve got” she sighs grumpily, feeling pretty much useless right now
Nami nods “Yeah but we only get one shot at this and we don’t want her just dodging the attack. We need a distractio… no not you” she adds seeing the girl was about to volunteer “Usopp wouldn’t want his girlfriend to get impaled by someone she only just met”
Pale cheeks turned rosey red “Back to the plan”
“Right, I think I have an idea
Rain Tempo
“Back to the party tricks I see” Doublefinger purrs, though her irritation was beginning to bleed through “Guess it’s time to end this!” She declares, turning her hair into a good imitation of a spike ball
Sea Urchin Stinger
Both managed to dodge (Nami just barely) leaving Doublefinger to barrel right through the building in front of her.
“I really hope this plan of yours is almost done” Kaya gulps as Doublefinger sways out then jams her spikes into her own shoulders, her muscles swelling and tearing through her sleeves
Spike Spike doping
She then shifts her forearms into what could be described as maces and ran at the girls, taking out a pillar in the process
“That was way too close for comfort” Nami whines before her eyes shine ‘It worked, I made a little cloud. Emphasis on little it’s not ig enough for my plan to work. Damn’
Cool Ball
Heat Ball
Seeing the air bubbles didn’t do anything to her Doublefinger ignores them, charging straight at the girls with her spiked arms
Stinger Flail
Which were only barely blocked by Nami’s clima tact and Kaya’s interlocked revolvers, though the force behind the attack still throws them to the ground. Looking up though both girls grin ‘Show time’
Thunder ball
One more the static bubble is ignored by Doublefinger, though the pain it sends back to her isn’t as easily forgotten, striking the cloud Nami had formed it increased in power, then rained lighting down on the Spike woman with a vengeance. With her opponent distracted Nami set up her ultimate attack, unfortunately the bluenette got up faster than expected “Crap, Kaya lock her down, please, do anything!”
Bang Bang
Doublefinger gasps as she falls to her knees, shocked the frail looking girl had managed to shoot her in the knee, both of them
“Damn, if you’re this good, why’d you keep running from me?” she couldn’t help asking
“I’m still new to fighting, I don’t want to kill people, plus your spikes are pretty good at making you essentially bullet-proof” Kaya answers as Nami stands up, looking proud of herself
“A Tornado warning as been issued, I suggest you give up or buckle up” she says then grimaces she steps forward
“Oh my, seems I did quite a bit of damage to your leg there Speedy, but at least it means you can’t run away” With her own legs out of action for the moment she pushes forward with her enhanced arms
Sea Urchin Stinger
While she will definitely regret it later Nami still uses her injured leg to brace the attack, getting at least 2 of Doublefinger’s spikes through her foot (Given the damage done to Usopp Chopper should be able to patch that up easily enough), but on he bright side at this range she CAN’T miss
“This is for Vivi” Nami whispers before activating
Tornado Tempo
The actual attack surprised the 3 of them, birds on wires tangled up Doublefinger’s arms and legs before the entire head of the Tact rotates rapidly, spinning the woman at dizzying speeds before the ends detonate, sending the Number 1 female through several buildings.
Nami grins then stumbles, Kaya catching her before she fell “We did it Kaya, we beat her”
The blond smiles softly “That we did Nami, that we did”
With Usopp, Chopper, Victor, Valentina and Alvida
“Don’t worry Chopper I’ll be fine, just point me to the battle and I’ll keep fighting on even if my arms get ripped off and my nose is broken again” Usopp declares bravely…. Were he not bandaged up more than a mummy, something which amused Valentina for some reason
Quiet down and stop fidgeting or else you’ll cause internal bleeding” the doctor warns/scolds, causing the sniper to pout but shut up and slowly shuffle with assistance from the 2 heavy hitters of the team
“Well glad to see you all alive and well, for the most part” Sanji greets as they reunite, the cook a little banged up but alright
“You’re hurt” Chopper says as a statement more than a greeting, to which the blond shrugs
“I’ll live, oh and Usopp here are you goggles back”
“Thanks Sanji, ah crap that ballerina broke em, damn it and they were the latest model too” the sniper grumbles but the others were more focused on an approaching ‘dust cloud’
“Looks like there’s more trouble coming our way” Alivda says
“Back up for the rebels “Victor suggests
“More are coming?” Chopper asks, worried about his friends
“I’m afraid so, guess we’re going to have to head in and deal with the internal problems, hopefully before those idiots get here” the crew nod and run towards the steps of Alubarna, Usopp being helped up by Victor and Sanji.
With Zoro
“This guys seems familiar” Tashigi muses as the 2 duel against the blade man
“I as thinking the same thing, in fact if I’m right he used to be a pretty good bounty hunter… and assassin” Zoro agrees “So what happened to you, you went from a Big Man to Crocodile’s lapdog, sure Number 1 is a nice title but you’re still a lackey” he shouts, this time actually directed at Mr. 1
“Shut up” he growls, striking out once more at the duo
“Let’s see how you handle these blades”
Bull’s Needle
Spire Defence
Zoro strikes again and again, but Mr. 1 doesn’t even flinch never mind get noticeably injured, something which irritated the green and the blue swordsmen
“So basically his entire body is as hard as steel” Zoro observes with a frown “If we want to do any damage we need to be able to cut steel, which I can’t and I bet you can’t either, just an observation”
Tashigi flushes “Hey… that’s pretty accurate actually” she mumbles after her yell
Zoro shrugs “Well I guess there’s only one thing for it”
Mr.1 raises an eyebrow “Oh really, and what’s that”
He grins savagely “WE are going to learn to cut steel right here, right now, kick your ass and then deal with your boss if my boss hasn’t done it himself by then”
‘Zoro’s an idiot, you can’t just decide to learn to cut steel it takes years of training to even get close’ Tashigi complains in her head ‘This moron is going to get himself killed, and probably me along with him’
1 scoffs “Quite a co*cky bunch of children you are, I’ll have you know swordsman that since gaining my powers nobody has been able to so much as scratch me, never mind defeat me in combat. And as for your captain beating Zero, you and the girl have a better chance of beating me”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah now are we going to fight or are you planning to talk me to death over here?” Zoro asks, Tashigi looks ready to switch sides she was glaring at the moss haired boy so hard, but that ended when Mr.1 ran at them, throwing a bladed kick at Zoro’s head only for him to be blocked by 2 of his swords “We’re waiting”
1 growls “Keep talking, that way I’ll know the exact moment you die” just before sending a bladed hand to tear out his throat, Zoro once more blocks but can’t stop Mr. 1’s other hand, luckily Tashigi was there with Shiguri
“Nice to see you join in, also thanks” Zoro smirks at his partner who frowns
“Please tell me you have an actual plan” she pleads, then looks ready to cry when Zoro shrugs and shakes his head
“Plan’s aren’t really my thing, much like Luffy. Nami and Kaos complain, mostly the witch, but they say no plan survives first contact so what’s the point. I’m a swordsman so I use my swords to take out my opponents, simple as that”
She didn’t get to verbally respond as Mr. 1 started fighting for real, slashing at them with his hands and legs, their 4 against his body, neither side really getting anywhere until Tashigi manages to get a kick past his guard and into his gut, pushing him back long enough for Zoro to get into position
Oni-Giri
Tiger Trap
While on a regular opponent using 2 of his finishers would probably overkill, but as the 2 wait for the dust to clear they pale as Mr.1 steps out completely unharmed.
“I told you, you can’t hurt me I’m hard as steel. Give up before you embarrass yourself any further. Or don’t and die!”
Sparkling Daisy
‘For such a girly attack name, that was dangerous’ Zoro thinks as they pull themselves out of the wreckage Mr. 1 had just sent them into, lifting a good section of it off their backs himself ‘And scary too, he cut the building without even touching it, and with us in the way’
“Damn it, what I wouldn’t do for Captain Nylock’s sea prison stone blade right about now. I bet THAT could give this bastard some trouble” Tashigi wheezes as she pulls herself up with her sword
“Still alive I see, going to try cut me again eh?”
‘He’s too strong as is, but maybe…’ Tashigi bites her lip then moves her hand to her back
“Don’t” she stops, looking up at Zoro, still holding part of the building above them, “You’re still working on it aren’t you? That’s why you haven’t gone for it until now, you’re still best with one sword. A situation like this isn’t the best time to try out a new style, it’s for proving why you think you’re strong enough to add to what you have” the brunette frowns but her hand comes back to the front, both tighten on Shiguri’s grip as she glares at Mr. 1 “And you, that wasn’t a threat earlier, it’s a promise. We are going to learn to cut steel today, we’re going to beat you, and you are most likely going to die, failing that I’m sure Tashigi will he happy to bring you in or add you to her collection as a living sword” he smirks then grunts weakly from the light elbow to the stomach for his comment, not enough to really effect him, after all she didn’t want to drop a building on her own head, but enough to get her point across.
“Arrogance even now, your death will not be pleasant, it will be horrific, that I promise you” 1 grunts as Zoro drops the building on him, mostly to free up his hands so he could reclaim his own blades
Atomic Spar
Which was a good thing as the stone was diced into chunks before it even got close to the Blade human, his face as passive as ever. His body was more expressive as he dodged and parried the swordsmens strikes, both seemed to have a renewed determination in their eyes as they made it their one goal in life to draw blood from their enemy. While unable to cut him the stab to the solar plexus from Tashigi unsteadied him enough for Zoro to get into position
Crab Grip
On anyone else this would have decapitated the target, but like everything else, it did F***ing nothing.
“This guy is really starting to piss me off” Zoro grumbles around Wado, Tashigi nods with a frown
“Don’t worry, the feeling is mutual. Guess I’ll have to get creative if I’m going to kill you” Mr. 1 hums before forming rotating blades on his forearms
‘sh*t!’ was the mutual thoughts of the 2 swordsmen
Spiral Hollow
Sparks fly as Mr.1 holds both of his obstacles at bay with his rotating blades, smirking just a little as he feels the girl’s blade start to slip, at least that should take one of them out and allow him to focus on Zoro.
The problem with that came when he pushed Tashigi’s sword out of the way of his blades, namely Zoro pulling back to throw off his balance as well as give him a shot at another strike, which as always bounced off his skin
“You want to die that badly, let me help you then” 1 sighs as he slams one of his fists into Zoro’s gut, tossing him back and slamming him into a pillar, leaving as bloody smear as he lands, while his other arm digs into Tashigi’s side, throwing her up against the wall. He walks slowly over to Zoro, ignoring the bluenette for the moment as both were currently out of commission and missing their swords “Hm, so you’re still alive, that is actually surprising”
Zoro scoffs as he pulls himself into a sitting position against the pillar “I fought and survived Mihawk’s Yoru, I’m not going to die by the hands of a living blade who isn’t even a swordsman” he then spits a bloody wad at Mr.1’s feet, to which the man merely grunts
“We shall see about that claim”
Spar Break
“Zoro!” Tashigi yells as the swordsman as well as the pillar he was leaning against are sliced up by Mr.1’s attack, followed by the pillar cracking and collapsing on the green haired man.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be joining him soon enough” 1 states, amused she’d managed to stand as well as retrieve her blade… no this one was different. It was then something happened which chilled him to the bone and nearly had her drop her sword in shock
“I have to go somewhere first” Zoro manages to say, standing in the middle of the wreckage
‘But how? I tore him to shreds, and all those rocks, did he dodge them?’
Shuffling over to one of the rocks, Zoro pulls it up with the usual lack of effort he exudes when doing physical tasks, smiling slightly as he finds Wado hidden underneath
“After everything I’ve done to you, all the blood you’ve lost, how are you still alive?” Mr. 1 yells “No matter, when I’m done with you you’ll wish you’d stayed down and played dead” he moves to strike him down, only to feel something he hadn’t felt in a long time: blood on his cheek, specifically his own. Turning to his side he saw Tashigi, shaking like a leaf, with the tip of her blade dripping with his blood. She’d broken through his steel skin.
“I said we’d both learn it, didn’t I?” Zoro’s blood soaked smile looked as demonic as they said he was, but that wasn’t going to stop Daz Bonez from ending this once and for all
Atomic Spurt
Lion Strike
The fountain of blood was expected from an attack like this, the one doing the bleeding however wasn’t. Dropping to his knees Mr. 1 holds it together for a moment before passing out and falling flat on his face.
Back to Vivi and Artemis
Crocodile smirks as he was finally about to get what he wanted when he sees Sunday flinch and a cut form on her hand, followed by the doors she was keeping shut fly open revealing the Kicking Claw Force, an elite division of the Alabasta Guards “Well, someone got brave, eh Miss Sunday?”
“I’ll be fine, want me to take them out?” she asks, moving her hands into position but was stopped by a wave from Crocodile
“There’s no point, they’re already dead” he hums
Cobra yells for them to stop and leave but one of them calmly states they can’t, then shatters his braces with a flex of his arms, causing the king’s eyes to widen and his jaw to drop ‘No, please let me be wrong’
Vivi gulps “Chaka, what’s going on?” she asks, getting the answer from an unexpected source
“So they’re using the Odium, should be fun to watch while it lasts” Artemis says with a clinical gaze as some of the men nearly double in strength
“How does a child know about that?” Chaka questions, getting a smile from the artist as well as Sunday
“Goldenweek wasn’t an agent for her fighting skills but for her intellect, the fact she had those paints is the reason she was rank 3 though” Sunday explains with a proud smile as Vivi pinches her nose
“Before the conversation becomes a complete circle, what is the Odium?”
“A last resort, a strange concoction warriors with nowhere else to go can take it and become super strong and resilient, but they also die soon after, the process has already begun. I doubt it matters but most who ever consider using it also consider it dying with honour” the artist adds sadly and the princess notices the now pitch black eyes, as well as similar coloured fluid dripping from their eyes, and mouths
Crocodile gazes flatly at the men “Suppressing the rage and bloodlust from the moment you drank it until now, that has to have come at a steep cost to that time, what do you think Miss Sunday, 5 minutes at most?” Sunday’s eyes show a little pity though nothing else as she nods
“That’s all we need to end you!” the 4 men charge and strike him, which probably would have worked were he not a logia, as he was the sand was parted and swirls in the air, reforming the War Lord on the roof
“Such stupidity, some people never understand self preservation” he sighs almost sadly then smiles down at them “Seeing as you’re on a countdown already I don’t even need to kill you, I can just sit back and watch you die by your own hands” he laughs, pissing off practically everyone on the ground
“You won’t even fight them, you bastard!” Chaka shouts, his body shifting as he watches his men fall to the ground, their hearts giving out due to the overwhelming power they took into themselves
Crocodile smiles slightly at he next opponent “A Zoan type eh? We had a mutt in Baroque Works too, except he was a bazooka too” he laughs as the inky black dog zoan leaps up and attacks him
“I’m a Jackal”
Howling Fang
Once again a direct hit that SHOULD have done something, were Crocodile not made of sand. A fact he was happy to remind the Jackal Man while he easily beat the sh*t out of him
“Chaka no!” Vivi screams, then jumps when she hears a familiar voice at the gates behind her
“Vivi” she turns and there he was, Koza, worse for wear but still standing and alive, but also confused “What am I seeing? I expected the Royal Army, but what I see here, is Chaka beaten within an inch of his life, you looking about ready to pass out and the King… nailed to the wall and about to be killed by the man our country holds up as a hero”
“Oh this is going to be fun” Crocodile laughs “Both the heads of he conflict, neither on the battlefield but here at my mercy, what a good day to be me”
“You look a little lost kid” Koza turns his head to Sunday, still with her half smile “Let me help clear the fog. Open your mind, think of the worst possible scenario that would fit this situation, and double the horror” the smile becomes a full smirk when she sees it in his eyes, he knows exactly what’s going on
“Father was right, the king didn’t abandon or betray us, IT WAS YOU!” Koza shouts at Crocodile who bows like he was giving a show
“Correct, everything you’ve accused the king of doing these past few years, was done by me or more specifically my men, all leading up to this moment. Thank you for playing your part of the unwitting pawn dear Koza, without your rebels this would never have worked out quite as well as it did”
“Koza”
“Yes your highness?” the rebel leader asks as he turns to his king, shame filling his heart at having believed he could do the things he was accused of.
“There’s still time to save people if you have the courage. You need to get as many people to safety as possible. The palace square will be blown higher than the Sky islands in less than half an hour”
“What? How?”
Vivi tenses before answering “Crocodile has a bomb, ready to go off at half 4. We need to do this now or so many people will needlessly die” then grabs Koza by the back before he could run off and tell people “HOLD IT!”
“What are you doing you crazy bitch, you just said there was a bomb in the square and to save people, so why are you stopping me?”
The bluenette sighs “Because if you go out there and tell them there’s a bomb people will panic, and even if you can get them to leave, or defuse the bomb the fighting will continue, this needs to end now or it will just keep poisoning our country until it finally breaks apart.
Crocodile chuckles “You’re smarter than I gave you credit for Vivi”
Koza frowns “So what do you suggest we do?”
“What should have been done a lot sooner, we end this rebellion and stop the bloodshed. You are the only person with that power Koza, please try for all of Alabasta you need to make them stop!” tears flowed down her face as she finishes her speech, which Koza wipes away
“Vivi” he begins but both stop when the sand starts to swirl around them
“Did you really think I’d just stand by and watch you try to put an end to my plans?” Crocodile asks, aiming to jam his hook straight through Vivi’s heart… were it not for Chaka catching the hook with his sword “You’re still alive?”
“You will never harm he princess while I draw breath” Chaka declares pushing the Warlord back “Go, end this fighting and bring our country back” he orders to Vivi and Koza who nod and run off
“Should we have mentioned the traitors to either of them?” Robin’s eyes widen as Artemis appears beside her, looking bored as she waited for her papa or Uncle Luffy to show up, Crocodile was just asking for a butt kicking being such a dick to everyone.
“No, why spoil the surprise?” she smirks and prepares to move; once Crocodile is done with this Cobra will be leading them to the poneglyph.
“Royal Army, raise the white flag!” Vivi yells, confusing the men below
“Is she serious?”
“That would mean the end of Alabasta”
“Listen up” again their attention goes up the steps, this time to Koza standing beside her “The princess speaks the truth, we no longer seek victory, only to end the conflict, enough people have died in this fight, let it end here and now” He holds out his sword, still sheathed “I will make every rebel understand as I do the pointlessness of continuing this civil war, just raise the damn flag, I beg you!”
About 5 minutes later the rebels enter the square, and stopped dead in their tracks when the saw the Royal Army standing with white flags billowing in the wind, but even more so Koza standing at the very front, holding one as well
“The Royal Army, surrendering?”
“What’s Koza doing here?”
“When’d he get ahead of us?”
“Everyone listen, lower your weapons and hold your anger, the royal army has agreed to stop, let no more blood flow through the streets of Alubarna. The War is over”
‘Please work’ Vivi pleads with any deity that will listen, on her knees practically begging the heavens for the fighting to stop
The silence was suffocating, though what followed was much, much worse………
BANG BANG BANG
Koza gasps and falls to the ground, shot in the back by Royal army soldiers ‘converted’ by Baroque Works
“NO! KOZA!!!!!!!!!!!” Vivi screams, as things go from bad to worse
TBC
LW: Well that’s as good a spot as any to end it, hope you’re all still enjoying this fic.
Chaka: Inu Inu no mi/Dog Dog fruit Model Jackal (Makes sense considering Alabasta is basically Anime Egypt, he’s a Zoan to resemble Anubis, like how Pell is meant to be Horus)
Chapter 39: Water Luffy Vs Sand Croc. Round 2, Fight!
Chapter Text
LW: Herea we go, ceasefire over!
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Water Luffy Vs Sand Croc? Round 2, Fight!
“KOZA!” Vivi screams as he falls, luckily the shots were damaging but not instantly fatal as the man still pleaded for his men to stop, until a convenient sandstorm blocked off vision to both sides within the square, shortly followed by shots being fired, setting off both the royals and rebels into attacking each other once more.
“It’s too bad Crocodile had a plan even for this. So what are we going to do now princess?” Vivi turns to see Artemis standing beside her, though she noticed the girl was more sad for Vivi’s sake/because it was affecting Vivi than the heavy loss of life happening unseen in front of them
Steadying herself Vivi stands in a rigid posture “We continue the original plan, force both sides to listen to reason and stop Baroque Works from ruining this country any more than it already has”
The artist nods “Okay, but wasn’t that what we just failed to do? You said Koza was the only person they’d listen to” at this Vivi blushes in embarrassment
“Actually, I think there are a couple of other people they’ll at least stop and listen to, I just said it because Koza IS one of them and it would stop him running in half co*cked as he often did when we were younger”
“Oh. So new plan?”
“We stop the bomb, we have 15 minutes and if we do that we can limit the casualties, especially as even if we were to stop the armies they’d still get blown up if we don’t deal with the bomb” she explains, then gets lifted by her throat by a bored Crocodile
“Are you really still trying to stop the inevitable, really princess I’m starting to think you’re the one with the rubber brain” Crocodile almost jokes as he slams her against the wall, Cobra watching on helplessly, Artemis looking panicked and Robin bored
“I don’t care what you think, I will stop you even if it takes my last breath” Vivi wheezes, and Crocodile flashes a smirk
“That can be arranged my dear” he purrs, dangling her over he edge of the palace “You know, if you’d warned the royal army about the bomb their may have been a panic, but at least then you’d have let some live to see the sunset, where as now they will perish in a fireball”
“Stop Crocodile, let her go!” Cobra pleads, then turns when he hears Sunday chuckle beside him
“A Poor choice of words there your highness, if Crocodile lets go of the princess, she makes a red and blue splat on the ground below. Fufufu”
“She’s not wrong” the warlord comments in a deadpan “You did a reasonable job as Miss Wednesday, but besides that every step you took to stop me has just made things easier for me to tear this country apart, or manoeuvre it to tear its own throat out. So goodbye Vivi, may you find heaven more appealing than Alabasta” he laughs as he allows his hand to collapse into sand, sending the girl plummeting over the edge
“Vivi!”
Whoosh
Crocodiles smile drops when he sees it, ‘that shouldn’t be possible, I killed that brat already!’ he thinks, panic flickering in his eyes before annoyance settles over it
“CROCODILE!!” Luffy yells from Pell’s back, both boy and falcon looking pretty close to murderous right now
‘Luffy’ Vivi’s heart skips as she hears his voice, despite her own circ*mstances she smiles widely, overjoyed at the sight of her cap…. Her friend alive and well despite what Crocodile had told them ‘Note to self: Kaos is insane but rarely wrong’
‘Took you long enough Straw hat’ Robin thinks as Luffy and Pell dive after the falling royal, swooping down and catching her with little space between her and the ground
“Just in time” Luffy mumbles as he holds Vivi close, assisted by the girl nuzzling into him as further proof he was real
“Luffy. Pell. There’s a bomb in the square, everyone down there is going to die in under 10 minutes and everyone else I can turn to is already either broken, dead or dying. I can’t do this anymore I’ve failed and my country is finished. I can’t stop the rebels or get either side to see reason, no matter how hard I try they just don’t hear my cry” Vivi sobs into Luffy’s shoulder, the boy both sad and angry to see the girl who so stubbornly defended her decision (even to some of the other crewmates) to save everyone giving up and sounding so broken and hollow.
“Don’t worry Vivi” the princess looks up and sees a faint smile on Luffy’s face, which grows when he continues “As long as we’re here this isn’t over. We will make them hear you and save them all!” the watery smile she returns was the best she could do, but with a declaration like that hope began to take root once again. The grin she received from their stowaway helped too, Artemis happy to see Uncle Luffy was okay after holding off Crocodile for them
“You guys go deal with the clock tower and the bomb, I have a rematch I need to deal with” Luffy orders, fulfilling his captain duties immediately, both girls nod along with Pell as the rubber man limbers up
“Luffy’s alive!” there was a momentary pause from the 4 already gathered before they look behind them and see Chopper with tears streaming down his cheeks, being shortly followed by a heavily bandaged Usopp, badly bruised Sanji and a roughed up Victor, Valentina and Alvida, the latter dragging her blood stained mace behind her.
“See, I told you he’d be fine” Usopp boasts proudly
“For someone who knew he was fine, you sure looked surprised a second ago” Sanji snarks, the group amused for a moment to see Usopp fall flat on his face and mope “Good to see you’re back, it means I can stop listening to that psycho”
Luffy blinks, the turns to Vivi “Was Kaos that bad?”
Valentina laughs “ Kya kya kya. He’s just a little sour Kaos called dibs on Miss All Sunday as his opponent while he had to fight Mr 2”
“That makes sense” Luffy nods, he was pretty sure Sunday was the pretty lady Kaos and Artemis like with the big boobs that are even more on display than Nami’s, definitely would have been a problem for a lover of women like Sanji to fight.
Vivi on the other hand was smiling widely “You’re all okay, that’s brilliant!” an expression actually got wider when she hears the arguing of some familiar voices
“I don’t see why he couldn’t carry me, or more importantly why you stopped me from making him”
“Because as the healer pre Chopper and the only one of the 3 of you with medical knowledge it’s a miracle his insides are still inside him, meanwhile you’re are just walking with a limp until Chopper can fix you up”
“Be thankful I’m letting you lean on me at all you crazy bitch”
“Nami, Kaya, Zoro” she cheers, the Straw Hats watching their companions step out of the dust cloud, then noticing they were still missing one “Anyone seen Kaos?”
Sanji sighs “He interrupted my fight to kick Mr. 2 in the balls wearing Sunday’s face and body, but other than that I haven’t seen him”
“He did what now?”
Luffy laughs “Imperfect reflection, nice shishishi” then sees everyone looking at him “What? It’s a good play again Mr. 2’s face stealing power, especially as he didn’t have Kaos’ face”
“When did you figure out tactics?” Nami asks, having stopped beating Usopp with her new weapon upon hearing Luffy make sense
“I know what Kaos’ moves do, and given how worried we were about Bon Clay’s powers his version of the move would be pretty dangerous against Baroque works, especially wearing the unofficial face of their boss” Luffy defends, the others agreeing with his logic, especially as with Crocodile’s whole persona being based on anonymity, Miss All Sunday was basically the Head of Baroque Works, even if she just relayed orders.
“Wait, when you said face and body do you mean?” Valentina performs a gesture miming cupping her breasts, but much further forward than on herself, at least mentally aware how much of a size difference there was between her and Sunday.
“Ha, must have been the weirdest boner you ever felt seeing that chick melt into Kaos” Zoro laughs, then coughs up blood worrying Chopper and Kaya
“No, that was Mr. 2 constantly switching between himself and Nami, seeing that bombshell melt into the psycho was more a disappointment than anything else” Sanji admits with a sigh
“We can discuss all this later, right now I have a croc to skin” Luffy growls, surprising the crew by the vicious intent behind it “I know I lost to him before, but this time I’m going to kick his ass. Plus fighting a sand man in the middle of a desert is dumb even for me” Luffy admits, before catapulting himself up into the palace.
‘Don’t die Luffy, we just got you back’ Vivi thinks as Luffy gets within striking distance of Crocodile… and the attack hits, throwing the man across the empty space
“How? How can this rookie even lay a hand on me?” Crocodile mumbles as he stands, only to get shoved up against a wall, unable to dodge Luffy’s next attack
Gum Gum Buzzsaw
The resulting head butt cracked the wall behind the warlord as well as dropping him once again
“This kid, he hit crocodile, what is he?” Cobra thinks aloud, everything up to now has neither phased Crocodile nor managed to even inconvenience him never him hurt him but this straw hat boy was tossing him around like a chump.
“That kid, is your daughter’s friend Luffy, more specifically Monkey D. Luffy” Sunday supplies the answer, mostly to see the wide eyed shock at the name, given his position in the world he had to know the other holders of THAT name.
“He can’t be connected to them, can he?”
Sunday shrugs “Don’t know, but it’s pretty likely all things considered. Would explain the strength and the stubbornness, at least rivalling your lovely Vivi’s if not outright eclipsing it”
“Get up!” Luffy orders “I figured something out in our last fight, as well as from our first meeting in Rain Dinners. If you get wet, then you can’t turn into sand. No sand powers, then that means I can hit you just as easily as any non-logia. This fight just became a lot more even, eh Crocodile?”
Crocodile clearly didn’t think so given the cackling the man was doing as he pulled himself up, completely ignoring the blood dripping from the side of his mouth “You really think you can beat me kid?”
“I just said I could, so yeah. Besides I found your weakness so that stops you simply ghosting all my attacks” Luffy responds
Crocodile nods “I’ll admit I’m impressed you figured out that, I suppose you could call it a design flaw in my fruit’s power, but that doesn’t mean it’s an even fight, I’m still strong enough to be one of the 7 Shichibukai, so you don’t stand a chance”
Luffy frowns “If power is all it takes to be part of that group then you can call me the 8th Shichibukai!”
Gum Gum Pistol
Crocodile smirks “If I dodge it doesn’t matter whether or not you can hit me. Plus my fruit allows me to absorb all liquid I touch, including the liquid inside you” he explains, grabbing Luffy’s arm and sucking it dry
“Crap, forgot about that, don’t know how given it’s kind of disturbing” Luffy grumbles, running at Crocodile and kicking him in the face so as to free his trapped limb, the man dispersing into sand once more as Luffy drank from the barrel on his back to restore his arm to normal “Well, guess I’ll need to add a little chaos into the mix if you can dodge that easily” he grins, throwing a pistol but just before it hit twanging his arm like a rubber band
Gum Gum Scatter Shot
Crocodile grits his teeth, dodging rather severely to avoid any chance of the brat’s punch actually hitting him
Desert Spada
“That could have hurt, a lot” Luffy whispers as he just barely avoided the attack which cut a deep gash in the front of the palace. With that he rushes forward with a Pistol, then slams his other fist into Crocodile’s face once he dodged it. Seeing the Warlord down takes the barrel off his back, jumps into the air and tries to slam it down on the sand man, the only problem being…
Sables
…Crocodile saw that move coming a mile away, the mini sand twister sending him flying, though luckily he managed to stop the barrel smashing as he landed
“At least even a simpleton like you realise that barrel is the only thing stopping you from repeating our last fight step for step. Give up kid you can never beat me!”
Luffy frowns then his brows meet as he adopts his thinking face “You’re right Crocodile, this is the same fight, I should fix that”
GULP GULP GULP GULP GULP
The 3 adults were mildly disturbed by the young pirate’s actions, tossing the now empty barrel to reveal a more rotund Luffy “There we go, Water Luffy” he says dramatically, before something impossible happens “Oh no a leak!” as Luffy starts to spurt water like a sprinkler, Crocodile fumes, while Robin laughs at the oddity that was Straw Hat Luffy.
[Anyone want to give up on understanding how Luffy’s body works? We haven’t even gotten to the Gears and this makes no sense, though I am probably giving up because I know what’s still to come]
“Stupid kid. STOP MESSING AROUND!” Crocodile yells as he rushes as Luffy, clearly intending to impale the boy on his hook once more, only to get caught in the face with a water ball courtesy of ‘Water Luffy’
“Who said I was messing around, I’m always serious in a fight. Here, let me show you”
Gum Gum Bazooka
The blow slam directly into Crocodile’s torso, causing the Warlord to cough up blood and go flying, shattering one of the smaller structures as he crashes through it
Cobra gasps “That kid beat Crocodile? He’s weird but damn it he strong. Vivi, you found some good friends”
Sunday hums “We don’t have time for this right now, looks like it’s just you and I that have a date with the Poneglyph” she says, blooming arms to tear out the spikes holding the king to the wall, then yanks him up to look her in the eye “Get moving”
“What’s the point, looking at that rock won’t do a damn thing” he asks, getting his arm twisted behind him for his trouble
“That’s none of your concern, all you need to do is take me there and that is all. Don’t ask questions, they only get you in trouble, found that out the hard way a long time ago[1]” she then looks over to see Luffy staring at her, partly curious, but mostly confused “Word of advice kid, Run. Because your luck is about to run out” at that moment the rubble explodes, revealing a very pissed off Crocodile standing there panting
“Get out of here Nico Robin, unless you’d like to join the brat as a dried up corpse” Crocodile growls “I’m through playing games, you’ve managed to piss me off enough to actually fight serious, for the 3 seconds it’ll take to end you”
“And that’s our cue to leave Cobra, you first” Robin orders, clearly annoyed Crocodile used her name… again, and even more so because Cobra recognised it ‘Damn it, I was so close, f*cking super strong kids, f*cking prideful logias. f*ck. Them. All!’
“Straw hat, I’m going to show you the full extent of my power, and end your life with it” placing his hand on the ground everything around him dried up and died in a growing wave outwards from the Sand-man, in fact as he put more energy into it even the rock started to crack and crumble
Ground Secco
The entire area around them broke into sections, mostly centred on a deep fissure that was aimed straight for Luffy, luckily the boy was able to catch the edge with his feet and return fire…
Water Pistol
Shame they were instantly absorbed by Crocodile’s Devil Fruit powers
‘We’ll I’m screwed’
“You really thought I’d be that easy to beat, you really are a stupid kid. The true power of sand is to dry, and my right hand allows me to direct that power however I choose. Now I will end you boy!” he shouts, his powers causing the entire area around them to disintegrate to dust/sand, even Luffy’s sandals.
Ground Death
‘FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!’ Was the only thing going through Luffy’s mind as he clung to the balcony of the palace, looking down at the miniature desert Crocodile had formed from the lawn “That right hand, that’s going to be a pain to deal with. Now where did he go?” Luffy didn’t have long to wonder as Crocodile helpfully reformed directly above him
“Enough silliness, I don’t have time to play anymore” he says gravely, wrapping his hand around Luffy’s throat and dangling him off the roof, dodging another Water bullet as he does “You missed, figures your last act in this life is failure. This is the second time you’ve lost to me, I will make sure there won’t be a third” With that he focused his powers solely on Luffy, draining the boy till his entire body resembled a mummy, his straw hat slipping from limp fingers and falling into the sand below. With Luffy now lifeless Crocodile lets him fall to the desert that was once the palace garden then dispersed into sand and left for Robin and Cobra.
Back with the others
“Are you serious? The entire square is going to blow in 10 minutes?” Usopp asks in disbelief, something shared by a good many of the others
“As serious as Luffy dying” Artemis answers, chilling them to the bone “Crocodile even admitted to have a bomb set up to annihilate everything in a 5km radius once the clock strikes half. We need to stop him quickly”
“Then we need to find the cannon and deal with its operator” Zoro puts forward, at least giving them a concrete goal
“But where would it be, if the cannoner wants to survive it would need to be a fair distance from the Square right?” Kaya asks, then frowns when Vivi shakes her head
“No, I believe the cannon is set up near the palace itself” she explains, shocking the rest of the crew
“You’re serious, Crocodile’s really that heartless?”
Chopper frowns “But if they’re that close, they won’t be able to get away from the blast. Crocodile’s going to kill his own men?”
Victor grimaces “All the stories about Crocodile say he’s cutthroat, but this is going too far”
“Well then let’s quit yapping and get searching, there can’t be that many places that could house a cannon big enough for the payload in the area Vivi suggested” Valentina adds, trying to lift their spirits by pointing out how easy it should be to find their objective.
“You’re right lets…” Vivi begins but stops when a chill runs down her spine, she turns just in time to see a Million exit the sand storm with his sword coming down at her. Luckily some of the others noticed before her, as the sword was blocked by Zoro, and Sanji kicked the man square in the face
“Crap, more Baroque Works” Nami hisses, clicking her Climatact back together
“Princess, find the cannon we’ll deal with these ruffians then join you” Pell orders, drawing his sword
“Do you mean Baroque Works or us, Drum Island called us that too” Zoro jokes as he holds Wado in front of him, itching for another fight
“Shut up and get fighting!” Alvida yells, swinging her mace into the skull of an agent, slamming them into a wall
“Got it!” the remaining Straw Hats run out of the sand cloud, knowing the clock was ticking on the lives of everyone around them, they needed to find that bomb.
With Cobra and Robin
“He called you Nico Robin yes?” Cobra asks, he was stuck with this woman he might as well ask her what he was thinking
“Yes, but what’s your point?” Sunday replies, already dreading where this was going
“That name was known to all 20 years ago. So tell me, why are you here?”
Robin chuckles “You’re leading me to my prize, nothing more, nothing less” she then looks up and sighs “Marines, as if this day can’t get any more tedious. Get out of the way”
“Not a chance, we know everything that is going on and we’re not going to let you go” Tashigi declares, her hand on Shiguri’s hilt, while Lucina had already drawn hers, the smile on the bluenette’s face slightly worrying her co-workers
“Well, I guess you won’t live long enough to regret your decision” Robin says in a tone which suggests she’s already tuning out the conversation
“Don’t worry about me we have bigger problems. At 4:30 a bomb is going to be shot into the Palace Square, you need to find it before that happens or a million people will be wiped off the face of the planet” Cobra demands/begs
Tashigi gasps “But, that’s only minutes away”
“Good, you can tell time, now get moving. You can either attempt to capture me and fail, or you can do your f*cking jobs and try to save the people of Alubarna!” Robin hisses angrily
“We’ll just have to end you, then deal with the other threats” Lucina yells charging at her
“Disappointing” Robin whispers, her lips curling into a frown when the marine drops her blade to try remove the bloomed hand cutting off her airways
Un Fleur. Strangle
“Sergeant Major, that’s her. I know it is. That’s Nico Robin!” One of the marines yell, causing the 2 higher ups to tense “I looked her up, just like Captain Smoker ordered me to. She earned a scary high bounty 20 years ago, everyone on the Grand Line knew that name. I still remember some of the reports, 6 marine warships sunk, some say an 8 year old girl did it. They declared her a level 1 threat, 79 million beri bounty for ‘Devil’s child’ Nico Robin”
(Damn guys, do you really want to let people believe a little girl kicked all your asses that badly?)
“Enough of this wasted air, either move or die it’s that simple” Robin finally yells,
‘We don’t have time for this, especially if the threat is real’ Tashigi thinks, before turning to the men “Sergeant, take the men and find that bomb. That’s an order”
“But Major…”
“Don’t argue, just move! We only have minutes left” With the remaining men gone and Lucina released but coughing she turned her attention back to Robin “Now, let the man go”
“this is getting us nowhere, I really must be going” Robin growls as she crosses her arms and before either marine could blink they were pinned with Robin’s bloomed arms, their own swords pressed to their throats “This should keep you quiet and out of my way for a little while” she muses aloud, before walking around both of them, though not before crippling one of their legs each, Cobra shivering as the slasher smile on her face as she did it.
Back to Luffy for a minute
SPLASH
“That was waaaaaaaaaaay too close” Luffy pants, the water from his ‘missed’ water bullets falling onto him in a single orb, rehydrating the frantically panting rubber boy. Seeing Crocodile gone he frowns then stands, retrieves his hat and begins running in the direction he believed the sandman to have left.
Hi Luffy, bye Luffy!
“So, this is it, the royal tomb of Alabasta” Robin hums, it did look the part, old but well maintained, its people respected the dead “So, what does this have to do with the poneglyph?” Rather than answer her verbally Cobra pushes and then rotates one of the statues in front of the tomb, revealing… “A hidden passageway, now I’m impressed” Cobra frowns, unsure if she was being sarcastic or not “Well, lets get a move on”
“Most people aren’t even aware of the existence of poneglyphs…” Cobra finally speaks as they descend the stairs “…and yet here you are”
“Yes here I am, I doubt my story is accurately told by anyone, so I understand why nobody knows there still exist people who can read the carvings on the rock” Robin’s voice sounded flat and sad, but didn’t break stride even when Cobra stops and gasps
“You can read poneglyph?”
“Yes, though I wonder if the World Government actually knows I do, or are just being thorough” she sneers at that, then tightens her grip on his arm to get him moving once again until she stops near the bottom “Is the legend true, that this poneglyph tells of where Pluton is kept?” this time she turns, reading his face for a lie
He nods “The royal family has guarded that secret for generations, though all we know is to protect the information, nothing more”
Robin looks surprised by the answer “Protect it? Well isn’t that a strange idea” they continue and reach the main chamber, but no poneglyph
“It’s through those doors, in the back” Cobra answers before she could turn and ask, she still turns but it was to give him a small smile before opening the doors where is grows into a full grin
“There you are my dear, just as I imagined it”
10 minutes later
Sitting in a corner watching a woman stare at a giant rock is about as boring as it sounds, so Cobra had to ask eventually “So, did you find the answers you were seeking?” not really expecting any kind of answer
“Are there any more here? Is this the only thing Alabasta has hidden?” Robin asks in response, or more so ignoring the original question
“This is the only poneglyph on the island, I kept my promise and brought you to it”
Robin sighs “That you did. Damn, it’s still not here either’
“And here we are, the poneglyph that will make everything better for us my dear” Crocodile says as he enters the chamber “Done translating Nico Robin?”
Resisting the urge to strangle him for repeatedly using her name she nods “Yes”
“Good, then tell us what it says”
Robin begins to list of the history of Alabasta, from it’s original settlement as Sunagakure, to the renaming and restructuring that would one day become Alabasta itself, with each word Crocodile got more and more angry, while Cobra’s eyes widen in shock and confusion
“Enough with the history lesson woman!” Crocodile finally snaps “I don’t care about this, tell me where they’re hiding Pluton!”
Robin shrugs, while holding back a smirk “That information isn’t on THIS poneglyph, which means even if Pluton is real it’s not in Alabasta. The history of the People of the Sand is all that is etched into this cube”
Crocodile closes his eyes and sighs, breathing heavily for a minute before opening them again “That is… unfortunate, for you. As you are of no more use to me, I’ll just kill you here, leave you to rot beside the stones you love so much”
“What?”
“We’ve reached the end of our arrangement, I brought you to the poneglyph and you relayed me the information. Unfortunately it’s not Pluton, making it a waste of both our time and your life” he swipes at her with his hook, missing flesh but ripping her hat off “Unless it was there and you never intended to give me the information, in which case your betrayal will earn you the death you deserve”
Robin looks unimpressed, clueing Crocodile into something important “I always knew it would come to this, which is why I came prepared” she smirks before pulling a vial from her coat
“Water!”
Exactly. You may be able to dry out but while you’re wet a knife can kill you as easily as any other man” Robin yells, tossing the vial to a bloomed hand which tried to smash it on him, only for it to phase through and shatter on the ground, leaving Robin and Cobra alone ‘Damn it, where’d that bastard go?’ Robin thinks, her instincts screaming at her to run, but she couldn’t and in the end it didn’t matter
Urk
“Now we’re even Nico Robin” Crocodile whispers in her ear, pulling his hook out of her back and letting her fall to the ground “Because I knew it was a stupid idea to ever trust you, so I expected a double-cross like this from the start, and as I thought, you waited till you got what you wanted before trying to stab me in the back. Goodbye Nico Robin”
His monologue was interrupted by rumbling above him “What? It’s still too early for the bomb to have gone off” her grumbles, then sees the relaxed look on Cobra’s face “What did you do?”
“Sealed you fate. This temple was designed so if one column was moved the entire structure would become unstable and collapse. We’re all going to die here, and I’m okay with that if it means taking you with me. A thug like you will never be allowed to rule over Alabasta” Cobra explains, a part of him liking the apoplectic rage on Crocodile’s face, cathartic after all this man had caused him and his people
TBC
LW: Well, that went badly for everyone bar Crocodile really. Hopefully things get better next time.
[1] Anyone who knows Robin’s backstory knows exactly what she’s taking about
Chapter 40: Crocodile's last Stand: Out with a bang?
Chapter Text
LW: Well here we are, almost done and the war reaches its peak
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Crocodile’s last stand. Out with a bang?
????
‘You better prove these skills of yours are worth having around, I’m not going to overturn my predecessor’s decisions on a whim’
‘I’ll make you a believer no denial, when the Monkey beats the Crocodile. Good enough for you your highness?’
‘We shall see, maybe you can assist on another matter if your prediction comes true’
Sigh ‘The Spiral eye and the great Snake Queen, even without my concoction that can be clearly seen. Just as much as what your question was, obviously’
Alubarna
Artemis grunts as she walks into Vivi’s back “What’s wrong?” she asks
“I know where the cannon is. The clock tower, it’s large enough to hide the device and close enough to do the level of devastation Crocodile told us it would”
The artist hums and nods “Then let’s go, times a wasting!”
“Okay, just one second” Vivi says, grabbing a fleeing Ussop as he tries to run past them “Artemis and I are heading to the Clock tower as I believe it’s the best place they could have hidden the cannon. Can you get the others together and tell them?”
“You sure it’s there?” Usopp asks to which Vivi nods “Okay, time to bust out the SOS”
Special Attack: Red Serpent Star
As the red smoke trail forms in the sky Vivi leaves Usopp to it and runs to the tower, focusing the anger at the thought Baroque works corrupted/perverting another part of her past and country, even if unknowingly.
The bang as they were climbing the stairs of the tower worried Vivi as to the forces Crocodile left to guard the cannon… but also confirm for her the fact that yes the cannon was where she thought it was. Though when they did reach the top they found they did find the cannon, but no cannoner
“What, but how are they supposed to fire without anyone here?” Vivi asks aloud
“Ribbit, ribbit looking for something my dear?” both turn and spot 2 officer agents
“Mr. 7, Miss April Fools!” Vivi gasps, swearing under her breath
The man raises a 7 shaped eyebrow “Ah Miss Wednesday, Miss Goldenweek, 2 traitors at once, what a perfect day” both him and his partner raise their guns, when 5 silver spikes pierce his head and torso
“Papa!” Artemis cheers as the former agent was casually tosses aside, revealing the smirking 1st mate
“So, what we got here?” he asks, kicking April Fools into the wall when she tried to flee “Also sorry about the Zoro moment, aka me getting lost, but in my defence I’ve never been to Alabasta before, plus there are a lot of Baroque Works goons to kill”
“There’s a bomb” Vivi explains “One which could level a good portion of Alubarna”
“sh*t you really should get on that” he mumbles, opening the hatch “Okay, that’s a big bomb, moving it to a safe distance may be a problem” Kaos thinks aloud, though softly enough they heard the slight landing of some unexpected help
“Princess, you’re okay”
“Pell, just when I needed you most” Vivi turns and smiles as the bird transforms back into one of the guards
“Hey bird guy, Pell was it?” the man looks at Kaos and nods “Think your Zoan form can get this bomb out of the city?”
The falcon zoan looked thoughtful for a moment before answering “Yes, I believe I could fly it a safe distance before it explodes”
Kaos hums “That’s nice but I think something less suicidal” he says, then pressing his forearms as well as the heels of his hands together, leaning in and puts his open palms on the bomb
Homunculus: Nightmare Cage
His fingers extend as they slide along the surface of the bomb, linking together on the other side. His arms also fused almost completely as he pulled back “I was thinking whether or not you could get me high enough this won’t blow up and kill everyone in Alubarna that isn’t a logia”
“That doesn’t sound any less suicidal; it just means the one dying is you!” Vivi yells angrily, but Pell still transformed, only a light grunt the proof Kaos and the bomb were an uncomfortable weight on his back before flying off.
“Idiots, there had to be another way” Vivi hisses angrily, only then noticing the bundle of cloth where Artemis was previously
“He’ll come back” came a voice from the cloak, Vivi then realising it was Artemis wrapped up in Kaos’ cloak and wearing his fedora, though the slight frown on her face told the princess she was trying to convince herself as much as the bluenette
Seeing this Vivi decided it was her turn “He WILL! Just like Luffy your Papa is too stubborn to die and there are so many things he wants to know, he’ll punch death in the face so he can stay and learn them”
The young girl’s smile was bright as the sun “Thanks Aunt Vivi, and you’re right, they’ll be back and Crocodile will lose” she says, hugging the bluenette who pulls her close, praying she was right this once.
In the sky
Kaos grunts as he adjusts his grip, Pell continuing to rise until Alubarna looked like a model and his Mirror Wall reformed into something more akin to a basin than a cage, his knuckles resting on the back of his neck
“This a safe distance from the Capital?” he asks, smiling slightly when the bird nods “Good, now you can leave now”
Pell’s eyes widen “You’re insane! Even I can’t drop safely faster than that dead weight. Hell the drop could set the damn thing off” then winces when he feels the reflect human shift above him as well as feel his knees against the back of his head
“Given how little time we have left there’s little chance it would get that far” he deadpans “Just drop when I leave, this is actually the best chance you have to survive this”
Shimmer
Using his only high speed technique to augment the distance, Kaos jumps off Pell’s back, the man diving the first chance he got
‘Really hope I timed this right’ he thinks as silver spreads over his form, then shoving the bomb away and letting himself fall
KABOOM!!!!!!
The clock tower
Vivi and Artemis watch as the sky lights up, windows shattering from the shockwave as well as all clouds practically vaporising in the blast, people getting tossed around even on the ground level it was a miracle neither were hurt, physically.
‘Bastard, how could you do this to her? How could you do this for me Pell?’ Vivi thinks as she grits her teeth and clenches her fists, though the other girls’ reaction was much worse…
“Papa? No, this can’t be true you can’t be gone, you can’t, we were going to save Mama from Crocodile. PAPA NO!” Artemis screams and Vivi’s legs buckle as she feels pressure pushing her to the ground, slowly sliding even as she grips the wall for balance. April Fools had already passed out and Vivi was about to join her when it stopped. Turning her head she saw the little red head swaying in the wind, Kaos’ heavy cloak having fallen off her shoulders and her eyes hidden in the shadow of his fedora “I’m tired Aunt Vivi. I think I need a nap” she says quietly, before falling back and passing out, light snores coming from her unresponsive body, and both her and Kaos’ hats on either side of her head.
‘Damn, what the f*ck was that? And if she can do that, do I even want to know who her parents are?’ Vivi thinks, then remembers Artemis claiming Kaos as her papa, feels bad for the psycho for half a second before sighing and guessing he was the yard stick for power and sanity in this family, or at least one end of the spectrum of it. Still she moves the researcher’s cloak so it covered the girl, who looked so small and innocent now she was unconscious ‘Just a little more, then you can rest too Vivi’ she tells herself, the bomb may be dealt with, blessed be Pell and Kaos, but the rebellion was still ongoing and Crocodile was…. somewhere. Pulling in all the anger and frustration, hopelessness and despair, Vivi began to scream her lungs out, praying someone would hear her before she ran out of energy, or people to listen.
On the ground
“STOP FIGHTING! PLEASE STOP! YOU NEED TO STOP FIGHTING!” over and over practically on repeat, but with everything else going on only the Straw Hats and the few marines near the clock tower could even hear the bluenette tear her heart out is desperation to stop this conflict
“This is heartbreaking” Valentina says with tears held in her eyes (something Kaya, Usopp and Nami failed to do), watching the royals and rebels tear each other apart almost mindlessly, like zombies shuffling to their final end
Alvida growls and slams her mace into a wall “f*ck this, I don’t care how, but we’re going to stop the fighting and in doing so, stop Vivi’s crying. Now get to work!”
Half jokingly Victor and Zoro salute “Yes Ma’am” before the group (Minus a critically injured Usopp and their medical team) rush into the crowd, no real goal in mind beyond taking as many of these fools out of the fight as possible. Seeing as they really didn’t have anything else Tashigi ordered any marines within range to follow their lead, with one stipulation (as she felt it needed to be said and assumed pirates didn’t care)
“Try to subdue not kill, only if necessary. The exception is anyone wearing Baroque Works gear as they’re the cause of this incident, take out with extreme prejudice, like Lucina level violence” she orders as she slams the flat of the blade into the throat of one of the rebels
Meanwhile underground
Laughter isn’t a reaction usually associated with being told of your imminent demise, but Cobra still was sitting there watching Crocodile laugh in his face
“I’m sorry, really I am” the man apologises once he was calmer “It’s just that just like your daughter this plan would have worked for almost anyone, if Nico Robin wasn’t already bleeding out this would probably end her, but you both forgot something important, I’m a logia, this won’t kill me, mildly inconvenience while I shift into sand and escape but not even hurt me really. You’ve thrown your life away for nothing your highness” He surveys the room, Nico Robin dying, Cobra defeated, and once the bomb goes off the country will lay at his feet, then laughs once more, everything was coming up Crocodile.
Which makes it fun to inform you of what happens precisely 10 seconds later, besides Crocodile just barely refraining from sh*tting himself (I’m kidding, this is Croc we’re talking about not Buggy or Moria), a visibly angry, panting Luffy crashes through the wall, not even yelling his name anymore.
‘How? I drained him like a mummy, and I know Nico Robin didn’t play a hand in this as she left before I did with Cobra. Why is this kid unable to die?’ Crocodile thinks in fear before it’s swallowed up by anger “So you’re still around” he says, trying to sound unimpressed
“You’re not going any further, cause I’m going to beat you” Luffy says, a lot flatter than before, but also more serious
“What is your problem, I kill you, several times now and you keep coming back, I guess I’ll have to test the old saying that 3rd times the charm, seeing as you’re too stupid to take this as a chance to get away” he growls “What drives you, what makes you keep coming back over and over again despite how thoroughly I destroy you. Well boy?”
“I want you to return something, until then I’m not done with you”
Crocodile chuckles “And what is it you want back, I’ve taken a lot from this place: money, power, trust, lives, rain, the list goes on, so you’ll need to be a tad more specific Straw Hat”
“This land, you’ll be giving it back and then I’ll be through with you”
“Oh you stupid child, why would I give back this country when I’m about to become it’s next king?”
“Because I came to this island to help Vivi save her country, but it was gone because you stole it. I’m going to make you give it back no matter the cost!” Luffy declares, then throws the first punch… by kicking Crocodile in the face, throwing the arrogant logia into the opposite wall
‘Ah f*ck, that wasn’t haki, so how did that kid hit me?’ Crocodile wonders as he gets up, well tries to as Luffy’s fist gets to him first. When he does get up he smirks just a little “Now I see, you found another way to exploit my defect, you used your own blood”
“Yep, the sand just needs to be wet, doesn’t matter what. I could probably piss on you… but that’s weird even for Nami (cause she has all that rope and seemed eager to tie Luffy up) so I’ll stick to blood thank you very much. Looks like the damage you’ve dealt me up to now is kicking you in the balls eh Crocodile?”
“First Rainbase, then the palace, and now here in this underground tomb. You really seem determined to fight me despite everything I’ve done to you so far” he chuckles as he removes the gold shell from his hook, a purple liquid dripping from the holes in the weapon “You’re a pirate, nobody I know is that stubborn otherwise, so I’ll just have to unleash everything and make sure this fight ends like a true pirate duel, and this time I’m going to rip that head from your shoulders when I’m done, to make sure nothing will be able to bring you back (That’s step 1, what about 2 through 10?)”
“So what’s that supposed to be”
“A poison hook, which will ensure this end will be the most painful and unpleasant of the 3 you’ll receive from me” Crocodile explains “Between pirates nothing is underhanded or below the belt. Now seeing as the explosion in the square will most likely turn this place to dust along with it, this will be the last time we brawl”
And so the two began to duke it out, neither quite managing to land a hit on the other, only a couple nicks from the very tip of Crocodile’s hook on Luffy’s arms and legs. Both pant as this hand been a long day from them, Crocodile unleashing his strongest moves and Luffy having to actually pull through all the damage his 2 other fights with the warlord caused. The closest calls had been an aborted Gum Gum Pistol, which would have been caught and drained by Crocodile, and a slash of his hook, which misses Luffy but melted a good portion of the boulder in the process. Neither seemed to even care about the tomb literally crumbling around them, too focuses on killing/beating the crap out of their opponent.
“I don’t know why you continue to fight, especially now my poison has entered your wounds” Crocodile hums, dodging a gattling and smiling as Luffy sways “You’re fighting for the princess, but that’s not why you’re out here it’s just a side mission, what makes you tick, what brought you to the Grand Line boy? Why are you here?”
“We’re here because Vivi doesn’t want people to die, though she’s the first person to risk her neck or put her own life on the line for others. If we hadn’t have come, she’d be dead by now”
Crocodile grunts “Exactly, so ditch the girl, she’s become quite the anchor around your neck”
“That’s what you don’t understand, NONE OF US WANT VIVI TO DIE! She’s our friend, she’s nakama, you risk your own lives to make sure you all come out of it alive and that’s exactly what we’re doing right now. Vivi wants her country back I’m going to give it to her”
“You stupid boy, you can’t save her and once the time bomb goes off there won’t be anything left to mourn, not that you’d be around to do it”
Cobra gasps “Time bomb?”
“Yes, call it insurance, I had a feeling those idiots I left with the bomb may be insufficient to deal with this brat’s crew, mostly because it contains several turncoats of the organisation, so I made sure it will explode no matter what and there’s no way or how to defuse this timer, in fact even attempting to will set if off early. Their entire attempt to end the rebellion was a waste of time; all it did was give them all front row seats to the detonation. Your friends all died pointlessly; do you understand me Straw Hat?”
KABOOM!!!
“And there it is, the time of the Nefetari family has ended, long live the dynasty of Crocodile. The men of this world never lose; to think a little girl and a stupid boy could beat me is even more laughable. You’re the last one left, Straw Hat Luffy, I’ll make this quick, now sit back and think of Hell!” he yells as he jumps forward, seeing if putting the hook through his head instead of his gut would work this time. It didn’t work as Luffy manages to evade the strike as well as catch the bulb of the hook with his foot and slam it into the floor, shattering Crocodile’s poison hook
“You won’t beat me, for I have a dream I will never give up on, once I beat you, we’ll finish up here then we’ll get right back to it, and one day I WILL BE KING OF THE PIRATES!!” Luffy shouts as he punches Crocodile in the gut, kicks him in the side of the head and as he’s sent flying slams him face first into the ground.
‘How is this kid still alive, the scorpion venom should be working by now, he should be as worthless as he looked in his poster’ Crocodile thinks as he reveals his final weapon in his hook, a knife “You’re just some brat from who the f*ck cares, I won’t be beaten by some hick! Do you have any idea who I am?”
Luffy stops him dead “I don’t care who you are, I just know I’m going to beat you” then in a mirror of his Hammer technique punts Crocodile into the ceiling.
Sables Fulgarite
Crocodile’s sand blade released a bolt of static electricity, decimating the area below him, but Luffy tanked it like a boss. He then inflates himself and twists, using the air to shot him up after the warlord to deal with him once and for all
Desert La Spada
Gum Gum Rifle
Even with his sand compressed into the closet approximation of actual sandstone blades, they still dispersed as Luffy’s fist flew right through it and found it’s mark dead centre of Crocodile’s face, throwing the Sand Man through the roof and back into Alubarna (I have no idea how the geography of this place works, the entrance looks pretty far but Luffy shoots Crocodile out pretty close to the centre of town) levelling any buildings directly above them at the time (Eh they were doomed anyway once the tomb stopped collapsing)
With the other straw hats
“Hey guys, look at that!” Sanji shouts, much like everyone else apparently missing the ground opening up a few seconds ago, but did managed to catch Crocodile floating in the air “Is that?”
“Crocodile!”
“That means Luffy won, who else could beat that bastard?”
“I knew he’d win, never doubted him for a second”
“Don’t lie to us Usopp, we saw your tears”
“Fine”
‘Luffy, you did it, you actually bloody well did it’ Vivi thinks, her lips twitching, trying to rise into a D grin, but it hurt too much “STOP FIGHTING, THE ENEMY HAS BEEN DEFEATED YOU DON’T NEED TO SHEAD ANY MORE BLOOD” she wails between sobs
Drip
“Koza?” One of the rebels ask in concern, seeing his commander and friend hit the ground… again
“Did you not feel it?”
“Feel what?”
“The rain, it has returned” As he says that it happens, after 3 long years the rain finally begins to fall on Alabasta once more [Yes it’s in the capital, where rain apparently still happened. Not important, these people haven’t seen or felt rain in years, it’s a good distraction as well as something to calm them even a little] “The rebellion, is over!” he declares.
With the men all free of madness and distraction, as well as calmer, they finally heard Vivi’s desperate screams for them to stop and put down their weapons.
It was this stop, that proceeded Crocodile slamming back to earth with a thud, on his neck (I’d say good thing he’s a logia, but he’s all wet so that probably hurt, like a lot)
In the tomb
‘It’s finally over, the end is near’ Robin thinks as she leans against the wall to the ruins. Now was as good a time as any to go, the boy was safe thanks to the antidote she tossed Cobra and she had nothing left to keep fighting for, especially not like this
Drip drip drip
“Rain, after 4 years even the island weeps for her people” Robin chuckles to herself as her eyes close
And then it stops
‘Is this it, the next life?’ Robin wonders but knows it can’t be, she could still hear the rain even if for some reason it wasn’t falling on her any more, plus if this was the underworld/afterlife she shouldn’t have retained her injuries and also wouldn’t feel like she’d taken a nap on broken glass, her shoulder blades and back of her knees most of all.
Given she wasn’t going to get any answers lying here like a lump Robin forces her eyes open. Her first sight was a jade green umbrella (Who the f*ck brings an umbrella to a desert?), large enough to protect both her and her new companion from the current downpour that was another surprise, that she was being carried bridal style through the royal catacombs towards the Poneglyph. A sense of dread filled her core when bloodshot eyes followed the symbols in the correct direction to read, which practically doubled when he ran his fingers along certain sections
“So close yet so far away. Fu fu fu” he wheezes painfully, blood leaking from cracks in his skin, Robin almost believing he had given up except for 2 things marked with his bloodied fingers
Goa
Fuschia
A violent cough caused blood to drip down the side of his mouth, as well as spray some onto Robin’s stomach
“Why? Why help me?”
He chuckles, giving her a broken smile “It’s not your time yet my dear. Now, seeing as neither of us are up for the quick and stupid way, I guess we’ll be taking the long way back” he says, carrying her through the crumbling tomb with visible swaying back and forth, Robin worries he’ll either collapse before they reach the end, or be crushed by the falling rubble, except the rumbling was ending and the place was calming down. Maybe she was getting out of this alive, once more saved from damnation….
By a ‘D’
TBC
LW: It’s finally done, Crocodile has been vanquished and Alabasta can recover.
One other thing, between this and the last chapter, I found out about some information Oda revealed, mostly the names and bounties of most of the Baroque Works agents. I’m not going to change them now they have cannon names, but I will put them here just to inform, only the important ones, aka the ones I’ve actually done anything with of course.
Victor – Gem of the Border, 24, Bounty: 10 million
Valentina – ‘Courier’ Mikita, 22, Bounty 7.5 million
Artemis – Marianne ‘Flag bearer of freedom’ 16 during Alabasta (That’s right, she’s older than Rebecca, Shirohoshi and possibly Pudding and only a year younger than Luffy. Makes the papa thing a little creepy given it’s only a 3 year gap, luckily she’s not that age in this series) Bounty of 29 million, though whether that’s during Alabasta or after all the sh*t she pulled behind the scenes after is unknown, most likely her current bounty after the breakouts she helped do.
Chapter 41: Recovery of a Nation and Crew
Chapter Text
LW: 11 chapters. I think it’s time we said goodbye to the desert, don’t you?
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Recovery of a nation and crew
The Palace of Alubarna
Finding the others was easier than expected, but given mind and body can work separately it was less a surprise and more good fortune on his part, Kaos smiled slightly as he was let through by the royal guards and walked with a sway towards the largest collection of the crew
“There you are, you idiot!” Kaos looks down and sees an angry Chopper pointing at him “Don’t try denying it, Vivi and Artemis told me what you did. You really are as big an idiot as Luffy aren’t you?” Kaos chuckles only to violently cough. He tried wipe it away but Chopper noticed first “You’re bleeding and limping? Come on, I need to get you checked out pronto” the zoan then begins pulling Kaos towards the infirmary by his long limbs, mumbling about ‘stupid stubborn humans’ under his breath
“So how’s Luffy by the way?”
“Still out of it, Crocodile did a lot to him but our captain gave as good as he got, better even given he won”
“I heard he finally got to use Rifle in a combat situation” he chuckles, sitting down at the reindeer insistence “You know my fruit makes normal tests kind of pointless…”
Chopper sighs as he runs his hooves across the spider webbed cracks on his hands and forearms, grimacing as some of them went all the way through his arm “I know, but I still have to try, you’re part of the crew I can’t just ignore you”
Kaos smiles painfully “You’re the nicest doctor I’ve ever met Chopper, don’t ever change”
“You think I care about the opinion of some crazy human?” Chopper yells again, but given the flattered look and the swaying he did care
“What did I miss?”
“The bomb blew up, Luffy punched Crocodile into the sky, it started to rain, we all tried make a break for it only to run into Cobra, Mr. 8 returned and explained what happened over in Nanohana, oh and get this, once everything was over and done with THEN the marines showed up and arrested Crocodile, can you believe that?” Valentina asks as she explains, here as a set of extra hands more than anything else given she was one of the least injured of the entire crew
The purplette sighs deeply “I can actually, Crocodile is one of them, even if they don’t like to admit it, so they can’t be seen arresting one of their own without irrefutable proof, such as the King himself telling them how Crocodile tried to kill him and blow up the entire town”
“Still, it’s been a long day, maybe say hi to Artemis, Vivi and the others, tell them you’re not dead or something then go to sleep, Doctor’s orders” Chopper tells him, Kaos nods and stands, Valentina slipping in beside him when he sways.
“Got it Doctor Chopper”
It took 3 people to stop Artemis tackle hugging her papa when she saw him in the doorway, mostly because the people still awake could see how badly damaged their 1st mate was, even though he was still alive and technically doing better than Luffy, who was still unconscious. The ones who didn’t react at all were Vivi and Alvida, both sitting by the rubber boy’s bedside silently, their fingers threaded with his own.
“He’s going to be fine”
The bluenette snorts “You took a bomb to the face, of course you’d say that” she sighs “Father says the poison should be neutralised, that he’ll recover and be right as rain, but…”
“Until he wakes up those are just comforting words from a father who doesn’t want to see his daughter heartbroken” Kaos finishes, to which both women nod. Running a hand through his hair (causing Sanji to shiver when he sees the crack running across his right temple) Kaos sighs before collapsing onto the nearest unoccupied bed, Artemis snuggling in beside him, now aware she had to be careful for the moment “In that case I might as well stay here, wouldn’t want to miss my brother’s triumphant return” he lies back and his eyes flick shut, breath evening into sleep within seconds
“We all need the break” Zoro mutters, but smiles when he sees Artemis finally relax and sleep herself, the girl had been stressing herself into a frenzy since Vivi brought her down from the clock tower this afternoon, and while they understood completely it still wasn’t healthy.
The next day – Marine Vessel
Puru puru puru
“This is marine headquarters, we wish to speak to Captain Smoker”
The smoke man sighs around his cigars before taking the call “Yes”
“Good job subduing Crocodile and dealing with Baroque Works, as compensation the World Government has promotions and medals being prepared for yourself, Sergeant Major Tashigi and Captain Nylock Lucina” the snail explains, a smug grin on it’s face
Hina looked amused while both Bluenettes clearly weren’t in a celebratory mood right now (Tashigi currently sniffling in the corner while Lucina was glaring at anyone who even looked at her wrong), Smoker just growled “Idiots. Subduing, that was the Straw Hats, seriously why have us write reports if you aren’t going to read them?”
“Further more, it’s been decided you will all be getting a rank increase….” The man on the other end continued to blather on, but it was clear the people on this end weren’t listening
“You stupid clerk, I already told you it wasn’t us, I wasn’t even in Alubarna at the damn time it was those Straw Hat pirates….” He stops when he feels Hina’s hand on his shoulder
“You’re wasting your breath, it’s clear the entire incident is going to get covered up, the World Government isn’t going to want people to know pirates not under their control did something good, including taking down one of their Dogs of War. The scandal could rock the stability of the world to it’s core, and given we have enough problems with the Revolutionary army popping up to jam the gears every so often, something like this would only make it worse” Hina explains, though she knew it was pointless given how stubborn her old friend was
“Hey, any chance you can pass on a message to the guys upstairs?” Smoker asks, his teeth clenched as he’d removed his cigars
“Smoker, don’t you dare” Lucina warns, having seen a similar expression on a former friend turned enemy
“Tell them to go f*ck themselves!”
Click
“Well, now you’ve gone and done it” Tashigi whimpers
“It was kind of nice knowing you Smoker” Lucina chimes in
Back in Alubarna, some time later
Luffy yawns as he sits up “That was a nice nap, I wonder when breakfast is” he brings his hand to his head and freezes when his treasure wasn’t there “Where’s my hat?” then his stomach growls “Where’s breakfast? Hat! Food! Hat! Food!”
“Well, good to see nothing has changed in terms of priorities Luffy” Kaos chuckles, not looking up from the book he’d taken from the royal library (with Cobra’s permission of course)
“Oh hey Kaos, have you seen my hat?”
“It’s right here Luffy” Alvida chuckles, placing the hat on his head and watching his entire face light up with a smile
“Thanks Alvida, I know you guys kept it safe for me”
Vivi smiles from her own chair “It’s good to see you back with us Luffy, and allow me to be the first to congratulate you on beating Crocodile”
“And now we know the baseline recovery time for defeating a War Lord”
Luffy raises an eyebrow “Hm?”
“You were unconscious, practically in a coma for the last 3 days” Kaya explains “Chopper and I have been treating you along with the others this whole time”
“WHAT!” Luffy yells, then is silent for a minute “I missed 15 meals”
Nami face palms “Why am I not surprised you can do math real easy when food is involved?”
“He still miscounted, that’s 5 meals a day” Ussop argues
“Breakfast, 2nd breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Supper. Yep 5” Luffy lists off almost automatically, though before anyone can comment the doors open
“I see the captain is awake, dinner will be served shortly but hopefully this should keep you all satisfied until then”
“Hey the curly haired guy is still alive” Luffy cheers, he liked Igaram, he looked funny
“So you are a cross dresser” Zoro mumbles, getting a light slap to the head from Vivi
“No Zoro, this is Terracotta, Igaram’s wife and head of the palace servers” she explains
“It’s the hair, that’s what makes the comparison easy” Kaos suggests, as they know it might be hard even for Vivi to know which is which when viewed from behind.
“Anyway, I heard your Captain has a big apatite so I brought up something to keep you topped up till dinner” she says as 3 trays are brought in, and devoured by Luffy in not even as many seconds
“I’m going to eat about 3 days worth of food” Luffy states plainly, to which Terracotta chuckles
“Oh a challenge, this should be fun. Also you have my thanks for what you did for Vivi, my husband and my country in general” she says before leaving the room once more
The banquet that followed went about as well as expected, everyone being both impressed and horrified by the amount of food Luffy could pack away, and the newer members learnt something very important: protect your food. Luffy’s rubber arms snatched food from every plate on the table, even those being used by the rest of the team as well as Cobra and Vivi, though unlike the guards the 2 royals were actually amused by the rubber boy’s enthusiasm, as was Terracotta and Igaram, one for giving her something to do, and the other because the bottomless stomach was ensuring his wife did what she loved.
“I’m a little surprised we haven’t been thrown out yet” Kaos deadpans, currently pinning Luffy’s left hand to the table with his reflect armoured fingers, chewing on some of the lobster his captain had just failed to steal
Vivi chuckles “The feast is in your honour, why throw you out when we should be letting you act normal”
“She has a point” Alvida chimes in, tearing into the beef in front of her “We saved their country, if they have a problem with how we celebrate all they need to do is look away”
“How are you so thin when you eat like that?” Valentina asks, looking up from her seafood and noodles
“Devil Fruit” she answers automatically, causing both Kaos and Luffy to snort, the latter chocking on a bone until Nami punches him in the head
“At least it’s never boring on this crew eh Chopper?” Kaya smiles, her salad safe from Luffy even if she does need to keep her chicken and shrimp out of sight of their captain
“Never” the reindeer grins back
“We need more booze” Zoro announces
“You always say that” Sanji argues
“He’s not wrong this time” Nami and Kaos respond, then blink and chuckle to one another, while the servers refill the 3 of their cups
Of course it wouldn’t be a Straw Hat party if everyone wasn’t laughing and having fun by the end of it, even the Chakka and the guards were all pulled into the fun energy of the loveable pirate crew.
Not long after
“This is nice” Kaos sighs in contentment, even in a desert climate the royal baths was as opulent as anywhere else in the world. Even if half the crew were Devil Fruit users the water was more calming then draining
“Hey your majesty, where are the girls bathing at the moment?” Sanji asks with a grin, causing a few of the group to sigh (and one to grit his teeth)
“You idiot, there’s no way he’d tell you where you can peek on his own dau…” Zoro scoffs
“It’s just over this wall” the king announces helpfully to everyone’s shock, even pointing to it for extra assistance.
“Cobra!” Igaram gasps, too shocked to even refer to the king by his proper title
Speaking of the other side
“After so long in the desert it’s good to soak” Nami moans as she lies back on the water, getting nods from Kaya and Valentina
“Very true, that dry air was testing the limits of my Devil fruit it was so bad” Alvida grumbles, adjusting her bikini top as she gets off her seat
Vivi smiles to her friends “It’s the least we can do after what you all did for this kingdom, Our freedom is worth so much more than food and a bath”
“We have visitors” Artemis deadpans, only the top half of her blue and green one-piece visible above the floater she was using, bobbing beside a half asleep Carue (yes Carue is a girl in this universe, I didn’t mess up earlier it was intentional)
Looking over to the wall the girls caught 6 pairs of eyes looking over at them
Nami sighs “Damn perverts! I’m charging you next time” she growls, flashing the boys and causing most to collapse in geysers of blood
“Bye papa” Artemis waves as the last pair crinkle in an eye-smile before sinking below the wall
“Hey Nami, looks like your tit* weren’t big enough for Kaos’ tastes” Alvida teases, causing Valentina to cackle and Kaya to blush while the ginger tries to tackle the older woman, her lunge leading her to sliding off her as would be expected
“OR he could have been checking up on his kid, rather than perving on us, using the time the others were looking so as to not get teased” Vivi ever the optimist suggests, as well as wanting to believe the only other unattached male with an inkling of sexuality was less of a pervert than the other, not that she hated Sanji, just that he was draining in large doses.
Artemis shrugs as she climbs onto Carue’s back, the duck quacks but doesn’t mind the passenger that much “He can do both, Papa seemed like the kind who can multitask. I wasn’t trying to draw attention to myself and 3 of you aren’t exactly objects of modesty, so he probably got a good eyeful in the process”
“I don’t know any guys who can multitask, though if anyone could sleep and eat at the same time, it would probably be our captain” Valentina suggests, getting laughs from they girl, while on the other side Kaos makes sure nobody has died of blood loss from seeing Nami’s naked breasts.
A little later (Sorry about the complete lack of a time frame)
“You wanted to see me your majesty?” Kaos asks in confusion as was let into Cobra’s room
“Yes. It’s about Straw Hat Luffy. He’s done so much for my country and need to find a way to repay the amount he deserves. As his brother I hoped that you would be able to help”
The 1st mate frowns “I’m sorry, Luffy isn’t like most people and he won’t look at it like this was something more than helping a friend, I doubt he’d even see flying our flag under yours for what it is… the lad is a bit dim at times” he jokes a little “Your daughter may have a better idea as the only person with both Luffy experience and a knowledge of what this country could actually provide. For example, despite being Nami’s opening offer, I doubt you have 1 billion beri lying around”
Cobra nods while scratching his chin “Yes, Vivi did come to mind but I needed a more neutral opinion on the matter”
A shiver passes down the reflect human’s spine as he realises where this conversation was heading “Before this goes any further, I recommend using this”
“ A den den mushi number?”
“3 actually, though given the skull I drew beside the bottom one I don’t recommend calling that one except as a last resort, Jiji shouldn’t be allowed make his opinion known on matters like this, much like Luffy he thinks subtlety is for other people” he sighs, on the one hand glad he wasn’t actually related to the crazy bastard, but on the other, he was still the only grandfather he had and loved the idiot all the same.
“I’ll keep that in mind” Cobra replies with a sweatdrop before dismissing the purplette “Igaram, bring me a Den Den, this need to be dealt with tonight!”
With the entire crew, after Kaos returns to them
“You ho Straw Hats” the familiar high pitch of Bon Clay escape the Den Den Mushi “I’m calling to give you the good news. I got your ship”
“WHAT!!!”
“Give us back our ship, you tip toeing bastard” Luffy yells, shaking the Den Den until Kaos takes it from him
“Luffy knock it off, all you’re doing is annoy the snail”
“ I’m in the north quadrant of the Sandoro River. Come right away, if you know your ship you should have no trouble finding it”
Nami frowns “It’s a trap”
“Not exactly, but I couldn’t pilot the ship alone, so my crew ARE here with me. Ta ta my friends, Bentham is waiting for you”
Click
“So, can we trust him?” Kaya asks
“Well we did become friends before finding out her was Mr. 2” Luffy suggests
“And while annoyingly flamboyant, he wasn’t a bad person back in Baroque Works” Victor adds
“The one person who would never stab you in the back, might kick you in the face but still the closest you could get to trustworthy in that group” Valentina continues
“I say we go” Artemis chimes in
“Yeah…. Wait, so you’re guys?” Ussop asks
“Mama said I could go, can I stay with the Straw Hats Papa?” Artemis gives a puppy pout, alternating the target between Kaos and Luffy
“She has permission… ah what the hell, welcome to the crew full time Artemis. Straw Hat artist” Luffy announces, getting a jumping hug from the girl
“Thanks Uncle Luffy” Artemis cheers, while the captain looks to the others
“What about you, our arrangement is done and Crocodile is defeated. Will you stay or will you go?”
The former 5s look to one another, seeming to have a silent conversation, before nodding “We’ll take the positions if they’re still open”
“Awesome, I got a demolition expert and a chocolatier. Well, we best get moving so we can steal Merry back from Bon Clay”
“You got it Boss” Zoro nods as he stands up, as well as Vivi
“Take the Duck Squad, most of you know just how fast they are so you also know it’s the quickest way to get from here to there before the marines even know you’re gone” she suggests, getting a hug from Luffy
“Thanks Vivi, we’ll be seeing you” he ruffles her hair before directing the others to move.
A little while later Igaram rushes intoVivi’s room, carrying 7 bounties with him “Princess, where are your friends?”
“Gone” she replies flatly, Carue sitting beside her as she stares out the window
“I need to warn them, their bounties have been increased. Marine Headquarters will be gunning for them even harder than before”
Vivi smiles as she turns “It doesn’t matter, not really. They’d actually be happy to hear they got higher bounties. Who did by the way?” Igaram hands her the papers and walks back out “Wow, that’s more than Crocodile, by a lot. Hm, wonder if that’s his first bounty? Oh my, I didn’t know she already had one” Carue nods to each reaction over the princess’ shoulder, wishing their friends had stayed long enough to see this ‘This makes things so much harder, I’m going to need all the time to work through my decision’ Vivi thinks, biting her lip and running her hand through Carue’s feathers.
At the ship
“Hey babies, miss little old me?” Bon Clay asks, posing by the Crow’s Nest
“Not in the slightest” Kaos answers as the 4 (himself, Zoro, Victor and Alvida) of them start loading the ship, smirking as the dancer falls anime style and nearly falls onto the deck on his head
“Hey ballerina weirdo, why’d you steal our ship?” Luffy asks angrily, arms crossed and glaring
“You idiot, what do you think would have happened if I had left the ship where it was?”
“The marines would probably have seized it, and we’d be either stuck in Alabasta, or be forced to steal it back” Nami answers, completely ignoring the idea of getting a new ship from Cobra, as it would have put the Alabasta royals in a difficult position, much worse than even their current one.
“Change that probably to a definitely, I believe they arrived just as I left, missed me by a duck. They really don’t like you, thumbing your nose at their marines, defeating their warlord and doing their jobs better than they could. They want you all captured or dead and probably want to burn your ship down right in front of you just for kicks. So as a good friend, I saved your ship, so you can leave without trouble, see” Bon Clay explains, getting nods from the crew listening and a wide grin from Luffy
“That was really nice of you Bon Clay, I forgive you for being part of Crocodile’s gang, we can be friends again”
“Yay!” Bon Clay, Ussop, Chopper and Luffy all hug, until Nami slaps them all on the head
“We’re in a hurry, like this moron said we have the marines on our tail, most likely combing every inch looking for us”
“I guess this is goodbye my friends, may we meet again in the future” Bon Clay bows before jumping off the side of the boat, landing on the deck of his own ship completely fine “Oh and just so you know, I left you a little gift as a sign of our friendship, it’s surprise but I’m sure you’ll like it :D” the ballerina cheers as the ship leaves.
“You heard Nami, get moving!” Kaos yells, Nami grinning as she moves to the helm and sees everyone where they’re supposed to be
The morning
“sh*t! f*ck!”
“Damn marines, stop shooting pointy things, I can only deflect cannon balls” Luffy complains as the Merry is repeatedly skewered
“Guess they really don’t want us leaving, either that or they’ve upgraded and are using us as target practice” Kaos guesses, helping Ussop and Victor move cannons into place “Well what do we have here?”
“If we take any more iron spears to the Hull we’re done for, the ship can’t take much more” Sanji shouts, just as another volley peppers the 2 ships
“They have us trapped, firing from all sides and no matter what we do they won’t change formation” Zoro grumbles, then looks up when there is a whistling sound followed by a loud explosion “What was that?”
“Ahem” Kaos coughs “Who ordered the bazooka?” he asks, holding the tan coloured launcher over his shoulder “Because this wasn’t on board when we left”
Bon Clay pouts from his ship “I was hoping to be gone before you found my gift, but given what we’re dealing with maybe it’s best we use it now”
“I doesn’t look like it did much beyond pissing them off though” Alvida says with gritted teeth, like most of the crew she was a melee user, meaning she was useless in a battle like this, can’t they try boarding or at least get close enough for them to try boarding the marine ships?
“Hey Usopp, put those sniping skills to use and hit something with this, I’m pretty sure I missed” Kaos sighs and throws the weapon to the long nose, nearly knocking him off the ship in the process but he survived.
“Aim for the ship with the hypnotist on it” Luffy orders, being able to hear the weirdo even from this distance
“On it captain!”
Boom!
“Well you’ve earned my respect for the week” Valentina teases, though she was clearly impressed that not only did Usopp’s attack take out Jango and Fullbody’s ship, but it also caused it to collide and take out the ship it was next to in it’s formation.
“And now we have an escape angle, my long nosed friend you’ve just saved our bacon” Bon Clay cheers, then frowns when one of his crew run over with news “We need to move it, move it, move it! ‘Black Cage’ Hina is here, she’s a marine captain and not someone you want to mess with” he yells over to the Straw Hats
“We can’t go that way, you go on we’ll figure something out” Luffy waves, a smile on his face but his eyes were serious
“What? Why aren’t you taking an escape when it’s presented to you?”
This time Nami responds “We have an appointment to keep, noon at the eastern harbour, if we go that way we’ll never make it in time, or else risk getting caught in another formation like that trying to circle around”
Bon Clay frowns “What could be so important you won’t save yourselves, is there so kind of treasure waiting for you that you didn’t tell me about? A reward for what you did for the kingdom?”
Ignoring Nami’s muttered ‘I wish’ Luffy answers “We’re going to get a friend, and hopefully make her stay as a nakama” this time the smile reaches his eyes, as he flashes a full D grin, causing the former Mr. 2 to freeze
‘All this for a friend?’ he thinks ‘Such selfless people’ tears well in his eyes as he turns to his crew
“Risking their lives for a friend, if we abandon them now, could we live with ourselves tomorrow?”
“No Mr Bon Clay!” Several shout frantically
“Then let’s do what we do best, help our friends, in the most beautiful way” he winks, and even with tears streaming down his face has his usual flair and energy.
“I have a bad feeling about this” Artemis says as they watch Bon Clay’s ship trundle away
“We just have to hope the Mr Bon Clay has a plan I guess” Kaya attempts to comfort the girl, who shrugs then smiles sadly as the marines begin to close in on the ballerina’s vessel
“1 track minds are good for something it seems” Kaos hums in slight amusem*nt “They’ve left the east path wide open” the pipe clenched in his teeth release a small puff of white smoke
Luffy frowns before sighing and turning to Nami “Set course for the harbour, we shouldn’t waste the opening Bentham gave us” the ginger nods and Valentina gets them moving again.
“At least the okama is putting up a good fight” Alvida says with a slight smile, seeing both the Swan ship and the nutters that are it’s crew were getting in some good hits on the marines and their ships
“Just cause he’s a weirdo doesn’t mean he wasn’t strong Alvida-chan” Sanji replies, bowing his head to the dancer, he then raises it and smirks “You’d think this crew would have taught you that”
“Guys! They’re on us again” Usopp screams from the crows nest and god damn it he was telling the truth for a change
“Damn them. Victor, can you fire those air bomb things from the cannon?” Luffy asks
The bomb man shrugs “I can try, a cannon isn’t meant to hold air in that way though so it could be a dud”
“Just do it!” there is a bang as one of the ships manages to get close enough to slam into the side of the Merry “Who wanted a fair fight again?” he asks, though also raises his hand along side Zoro, Alvida, Sanji and Kaos. Nami gulps and bolts the door to the steering bar shut, locking herself and Valentina inside and ensuring the ship remained on course. Luckily they were regular marines, Hina and her ship nowhere near them, meaning compared to everything else they’d done since entering the Grand Line, it was remarkably easy to sink the 3 marine ships that were attacking them.
A little later
“She’s not here, you know it as well as I do, who would give up their lives as a royal to be a pirate?” Sanji complains, going through his third cigarette since they got there, but Luffy continues to frown at the shore
“No, Vivi is here, I know it” he states, and as Captain there wasn’t really anything they could do to go against him, meaning they stayed until he finally gave up.
“You know, right now would be a good time for Vivi to have a Devil fruit, maybe something cool like a logia” Artemis says as she tries to read her father’s notes over his shoulder
“No, logia’s are difficult to trace, a paramecia would be good, both due to how common they are and because they don’t have issues like logia or even zoans do” Kaos argues, the artist pouts before shrugging and going to bother Chopper‘I wonder if she thinks she’s being stealthy’ he thinks, then sighs and looks over to the land much like Luffy
“Guys, there are more marines on our tail, if Vivi doesn’t show up soon we’re going to have to cut our losses and book it!” Usopp yells down, and as they say, speak of the devil….
“Guys!” All heads turn, smiles bloom and even Usopp stops panicking for a second
“Vivi!” everyone cheers, seeing the bluenette and her duck on one of the rocky outcrops on the edge of the shore “You made it!”
Luffy bounces onto the side of the ship “So, made your choice yet?”
Vivi smiles, even as her eyes sparkle with tears “I spent a lot of time thinking, even spoke to my father and Igaram, and I realised I needed to follow my destiny” this sentence had more than a few of the Straw Hats lose their smiles, not Luffy though, in fact his got bigger as the princess climbed onto Carue’s back “My home will always be the sands of Alabasta, but my journey with you has shown me, that my heart was calling for the ocean. I will be a Straw Hat, if you’ll have me, my captain” there was an odd tone to those last 2 words, making Kaos and Nami smirk while Sanji felt the urge to crawl into a corner and weep.
“Of course Vivi, there’s always room for you” Luffy laughs as he throws his arms back, stretching them out so they were long enough to shoot forward and wrap around girl and duck then yank them onto the ship, Carue screaming right until she collides head first with Luffy, knocking them all onto the deck. We got our crew mate back, set sail for the next island!” Luffy orders from under several pounds of duck and princess, mostly duck as Vivi had gotten out of the dog pile as quickly as she was able to, Carue more annoyed about the grabbing and flying so was sitting on his chest glaring at him.
“Carue up, no disrespecting the captain”
Quack
“She says, ‘only if I’m not being used as fish bait ever again’ is that okay Luffy?” Chopper translates and asks, to which Luffy grins and scratches Carue on the back of her head
“That’s fine, you’re nakama now, I wouldn’t purposefully put any of you in danger” he says happily, Carue nods and gets up, giving Chopper a close enough to a hug as she could, which had the reindeer wriggling around in embarrassment again.
Vivi then stops and reaches into her dress “I almost forgot, Igaram gave me these. It seems that even though they’re covering up your involvement in ending the Civil War, the marines still upped your bounties in response to what happened in Alubarna”
“Seems like the bullsh*t they’d do” Zoro grumbles, then smiles as he’s joined the ranks of Luffy and Kaos to have a bounty, solely as a Straw Hat (As in Alvida and the BW crew all had prior bounties in canon)
‘Straw Hat’ Luffy: 110 million
‘Mirror Master’ Kaos: 50 million
‘Pirate Hunter’ Zoro: 60 million
‘Iron Mace’ Alvida: 12 million
‘Courier’ Valentina: 10 million
‘Bomberman’ Victor: 18 million
‘Artist of Death’ Goldenweek: 7 million
“Holy sh*t!” Nami yells, then proceeds to try slap every wanted idiot on the crew “Look what you’ve all done now”
“Hey, why did your bounty go up Kaos, you didn’t even do anything?” Sanji complains
“Most likely for collateral damage, the bomb I was carrying broke some windows and stuff, can’t tell people I saved the town from being vaporised and all that so instead I get blamed for what did happen” Kaos says with a bored tone, until Artemis slaps her Wanted Poster on his face
“Papa look, I got a bounty, like you and Mama!” she says with a wide grin
“Why do I get the feeling your mother is going to kill me?” he asks with a groan
“Cause you’re the smart one, like how Uncle Luffy is the Luffy one, and Uncle Zoro is the sleepy one” Artemis explains
“I’m pretty sure Luffy isn’t an adjective” Usopp whispers to Vivi, having come down from the crows nest
“Leave her be, you know the captain is quite indescribable, his name is good enough” Nami chuckles
BOOM!
“Oh yeah, marines, wait how are they gaining on us?” Vivi asks
“Don’t know, Usopp, you’re the shipwright of this ship, go fix the hull before we sink!” the thief yells, causing the sniper to run, their medic following along with Alvida and Chopper, well he did, until falling over a large pile of metal spikes
“When did this get here?” he asks, confused and a little annoyed, getting attacked by marines 3 times in one day is very stressful
“Oh that, Usopp said to hang onto them when we pulled them out of the sides of the Merry, said they might be useful” Artemis explains
Zoro sighs “Well they’re the reason we’re slowing down and the marines are catching up”
Luffy looks to Kaos who raises an eyebrow before smirking “We can handle them” the captain says as his 1st mate stands
The marines didn’t know what hit them, one minute they were closing in on the Straw Hats, the next their ships resembled a pin cushion as several volleys of iron lances skewered them
“Is it weird I missed these crazy feats of strength in the 4 days it’s been since anything bad happened?” Vivi asks, Carue and Chopper both try to take her temperature, while Luffy laughs, having made it a game for himself, Kaos and Zoro to see how many spears they could throw and how much damage they could do to the vessels.
On Smoker’s ship
“Glad to see you’re up Tashigi” Smoker greets as he reads the paper shirtless, hey it’s his ship he can do what he likes, plus he rarely has time for fun so watching the bluenette try not to stare will do for now as he pours her a drink
“Thank you sir.” She nods and takes the seat beside him, spotting the bounties “Quite a rise, for all of them, especially Roronoa”
Smoker nods “Well, he did take down ‘Murderer’ Daz Bones… with your help” he smirks around his cigar, impressed the girl had learnt to cut steel (albeit unreliably for the moment) while in Alabasta, as well as be able to work with the man she seemed so confused by, to deal with the real threat “You did good out there Tashigi, prevented a crisis and everything”
“Hopefully enough to deal with the swordsman when we next find the Straw Hats” Tashigi nearly jumps when she hears Lucina beside her, having not heard the woman approach “But he is correct, and you do deserve the promotion” she smiles as Smoker grunts, while her fellow bluenette blushes
“Thank you Miss Nylock”
“Anytime, so long as you earn it”
Back with the Straw Hats
“Good news, it seems the marines have stopped following us” Zoro calls, taking lookout duties as Usopp was still busy repairing the lower deck
“Probably helps Luffy took a leaf out of Gramps book and toss their ammunition back at them” Kaos says, laughing by himself simply due to lack of information on the other’s part.
“Looks like we’re finally out of the woods, and onto the next step of the journey”
“Sure are” Luffy answers with a grin…. Then stops ‘Wait, that’s not a crewmate, but she does sound familiar’ his brain begins to try process, but even he knows it’s easier to just turn around to see the source of the speech “Hey, you’re back on the ship” he yells, drawing the others attention to the woman standing in the doorway
“This is a lot nicer than I’d expected it to, sorry I didn’t mention that last time I was here” Robin says with a lazy smile
“Miss All Sunday!” Vivi yells, falling out of her chair
“Here to finish the job Crocodile started?” Nami hisses angrily, almost all the crew pulling out readying weapons
Robin rolls her eyes and blooms hands to disarm the Straw Hats “Must we really do this again? To think these are the people to beat a War Lord”
“How long have you been on the ship?” Vivi asks, her fingers itching to go for another slasher
“Since you/we left Alabasta” Robin and Kaos answer
“You knew?”
The purplette grins and taps his skull “Devil Fruit detector, or close enough Sesese” he laughs
“STOP” Luffy commands, surprising everyone with the force, as well as the order itself “Robin is why I’m still alive, she had an antidote to Crocodile’s poison hook”
“Mama, you saved the Captain? Awesome!” Artemis gushes with stars in her eyes, giving the others the answer to a question none thought to ask the strange artist
“Explains the protectiveness” Valentina mumbles, though still loud enough Vivi and Victor agreed, even they noticed Miss All Sunday had been invested in Goldenweek’s condition and health, including breaking the arms and balls of a billion who tried get handsy with her. She’d then snapped his neck but those parts tended to stick out as more important in retellings.
“Hey Mama, I got a bounty poster, I’m just like you now” she grins and Robin smiles, her entire demeanour appearing lighter even for just a moment
“You can show me later sweetie, is that alright?” she asks and Artemis nods, looking pleased with herself. “Now you” Robin points to Kaos who blinks “Back in the catacombs you did something serious, borderline unforgivable to me, and it’s time to take responsibility for your actions”
‘Wait, that wasn’t a dream?’
“What he do?”
“Wow, Shimmer works fast”
“Tall, Dark and Creepy got laid?”
“You bastard better not have laid a hand on this goddess!”
“Mama no!” Artemis cries as she leaps at Robin, practically head butting her in the tit before being manoeuvred to sit in her lap “Don’t hurt Papa, he hasn’t done anything bad”
A hand blooms and slips the hat from her head so Robin could run her fingers through the artist’s hair “Fufufu, don’t worry Artemis, though whether he did nothing wrong is a matter of perspective really. He saved my life in the Royal Tomb” Robin explains, a few crewmates gasp and Artemis quickly spins around to see her papa
“Is it true? Did you really save Mama like you said you would?” the red head’s eyes sparkle like jewels, getting even brighter when he smirks and nods “Thank you Papa, you’re the best” she cheers, then turns back and hugs Robin tightly
“As I was saying, given you’re taken my life into your hands, I should probably stick around so you don’t think I’m wasting your generosity” Robin’s tone and smirk was teasing, but her eyes were unsure, clearly in unfamiliar waters here
“Wait a minute, you’re inviting yourself onto our crew?” Alvida asks, equal parts confused and annoyed
“Of course, my daughter is already a full member of your crew, and how else is Kaos supposed to take responsibility if I’m not here?” Robin asks, as if it was obvious
“It’s not that simple, you can’t just walk onto a pirate ship and say….” Nami begins but gets interrupted
“She can stay” Luffy states, causing Artemis to give a good imitation of a D. grin, Robin to smirk and Kaos to once more laugh his ass off
“WHAT!”
5 minutes later
Luffy and Chopper laugh as they watch Robin’s blooms wriggle in front of them, meanwhile Usopp tries to intimidate her, or at least make her uncomfortable
“What do you do?”
“I’m an archaeologist by trade, but I do have certain other skills I’ve picked up over the years, mostly killing, it’s actually almost fun these day. I’ve learnt to be quite good at rub outs, and pay lip service easily in order to survive and get what I want” she smirks as the boy goes bright red, not helped by the extra grinning mouth on her palm “You know, as last tests go this is pitifully easy, at least the girl required a bribe” Robin complains, Zoro and Vivi sigh as like Robin said all it took was a bag of gems and their navigator was Team Robin, it also annoyed them that Alvida, Victor and Valentina weren’t even trying to help them get Robin off the ship, at least they knew ahead of time Sanji would be a pushover, Robin does have the biggest set of boobs he or any of the others had ever seen “I’m guessing you’re a late substitution, given the usual guy is already on my side” she smiles and her eyes wander to Kaos and Kaya, who were designated as the ones to ‘watch the kids’, here meaning Luffy, Chopper and Artemis.
“That’s not the point, you still need to pass the Usopp test!” the sniper yells, until he gets called by Luffy
“Chopper” the captain cheers, Robin’s hands forming little antlers on his hat, causing Usopp to laugh and ease up on the archaeologist.
“Guess it’s just you and me Zoro” Vivi says, frowning as those were REALLY poor odds
“Can you both give it a rest already?” Alvida groans, pinching the bridge of her nose “It’s simple really, Luffy’s the captain, he chooses who says and who goes, in case you don’t know princess, with the exception of Kaos, everyone before me didn’t want to come along at the start, but they’re still here”
Kaos chuckles as he joins the conversation “You don’t have to like our newest crew mate, there are times we all hate Sanji or Nami after all” Zoro nods even if he looks unhappy to do so “but unless she actually does something to warrant being booted off the ship there’s no point dragging your feet”
“Warrant? She tried to destroy my kingdom!”
“She also lead you to Crocodile, tried stab him in the back, didn’t tell him where Pluton as despite knowing the location, oh and saved the captain’s life” Vivi grits her teeth but remains silent, he wasn’t saying get along with her, just stop being a bitch about the new addition “Oh and Zoro, if I’m wrong, I won’t be apologising on the tip of my sword, though you’ll be the one explaining to Artemis why you’re throwing her mom off the ship” he slips past and heads to his quarters, returning with the crews Den Den Mushi.
A little later (again)
“I didn’t know the Den Den’s were speakers too” Nami says in surprise as Cobra’s speech boomed from the snail, Vivi had been worried how he would handle her absence even though he said that he’d be fine
“Got the gear in Alubarna before we left, just finished installing it in time for the speech” Kaos replies, smiling as the others listened in
“… now I know you’re all curious as to the location of our princess, my lovely daughter Vivi. After risking her life trying to return this country to order and find the cause of the turmoil, my precious girl deserves her rest, which is why she’s gone off travelling the world with her betrothed, Alabasta’s Hero, Sir Monkey!”
The king’s statement caused several spit takes and WTF from the crew of the Going Merry, Kaos being the notable exception as due to having a feeling this could happen was instead laughing his ass off
“I can’t be a hero, heroes have to share the meat”
“Sir Monkey?”
“That dim witted bastard got himself a betrothed”
“It’s nothing official of course…”
“Actually” Vivi interrupts, looking a little embarrassed and tapping her index fingers together “Father mentioned he would be considering it but he also said that he’d discuss it with Luffy first, which he clearly didn’t”
“Okay” Luffy nods, then turns to his grinning first mate/ brother “Hey Kaos, a captain can marry people, right?” he asks, surprising everyone
“Not if they’re the one getting married Lu” Kaos chuckles before Luffy does something which shocks even him, stretching out his arms, one removes Kaos’ fedora while the other places his Straw hat on the purplette’s head
“There, until further notice, you are the Captain of the Straw Hat pirates”
“Luffy” Kaos warns, before sighing and reaching for his notebook, at least for the illusion of knowing what he was doing
“Wait a minute!” Alvida interrupts “Are we not even going to discuss whether or not Little Miss Princess is worthy of the Captain, the future Pirate King?”
Vivi chuckles “Alvida, how about we skip some heated words and actions we’ll regret later and you just allow me to offer you the position of consort”
Alvida blushes “I’d say I’m quite flatter….. Hold it, isn’t consort noble speak for whor*!?” she yells angrily [May have borrowed that idea from Measure Each Step to Infinity, can’t remember 100%. It’s a good fic by the way, if any of my readers like Azutara]
The bluenette chuckles as she loops her arms with the smooth woman’s “That’s concubine, at least in Alabasta it is, consort is like a marriage, in fact there’s little difference on paper. Off hand the only thing I can think of that differs is your children will not be in line for the throne of Alabasta, or more accurately only Luffy’s kids that I have will be considered royals of Alabsta.” she clicks her tongue then shrugs, drawing a blank as rubber arms wrap around the duo and pull them to Luffy”
“It’s settled. Kaos, do the thing!”
“Luffy you can’t be serious”
“That sh*tty captain getting himself 2 girlfriends” Sanji grumbles
“Actually 2 wives” Zoro corrects just to see the cook spiral further into depression, actually allowing Robin to high 5 him his mood was so good right now
Kaos looks at Luffy’s blank grin and groans “Luffy, are you sure about this, you don’t need to jump straight into marriage”
“No, Vivi deserves an answer, not me avoiding the question” Luffy responds seriously, everyone blinks at the statement, then look confused. The rubber boy takes a deep, calming breath before explaining “We’re pirates, we could die at any time. Because of that I don’t see the point in waiting around. Do I care about Vivi and Alvida? Yes. Am I in love with them? I don’t know, I’ve never felt non-familial love before. Does the idea of being joined with these 2 lovely ladies make me giddy? Yes, and that’s good enough for me” the girls awe as Vivi and Alvida kiss his cheeks, causing him to steam
Kaos chuckles then ruffles the girls hair playfully, sidestepping a swipe from Alvida as he does “Welcome to the family then girls, nice to have someone else to keep Luffy out of trouble” he laughs as a look of fear flashes across their faces “”Well, time to begin”
“Wait don’t you need rings and a lot of other things for this to be official?”
“Like the idiot would know the first thing about marriage, or a wedding” Sanji grumbles, his jealousy obvious even without having to look in his direction
Luffy nods “Next island we pass you can get any rings you want” he says, causing Vivi to chuckle
“Actually, as the princess, I’ll be following tradition and wearing the royal ring as tradition dictates, to show the princess or Queen is spoken for”
“I still think you deserve an actual ring, especially when it sound like we’re being married twice each” Luffy argues
“Fine, but we’ll worry about that when we get to it, okay?” Luffy nods
“Kaos, get to it like I said!”
The current captain sighs, but after arranging everyone properly he begins
“We gather here under Rao so that he may bless this union between Nefetari Vivi, Monkey D. Luffy and Alvida. Does anyone have any issues?” he asks, glad Zoro and Valentina had pre-emptively tackled Sanji so he couldn’t do anything “Great. Now Vivi, are you sure you want to marry Luffy? I can’t give you any better offers, but I still have to ask” ignoring Sanji’s ‘I’ll marry you Vivi-Swan’ which was silenced by the gag unknowingly donated by (aka stolen from) Nami.
Vivi chuckles “Luffy is the one for me”
“And Alvida?” he asks, getting a smile from the bluenette
“I can see the 3 of us making a good life for ourselves out on the sea”
Kaos nods then turns “Alvida, what about you?”
The smooth woman smiles “Luffy is the only man I’ve ever loved, I’ve made that fact clear before, and dear little Vivi has grown on me and found a place in my heart. Much like the sand princess I can see a long and messy future ahead of us, but one we’ll get through together, plus me and Luffy need a voice of reason every once in a while” she jokes at the end
Luffy nods “If we’re nominating someone for voice of reason, I’d say Nami except she is easily distracted by money and like to hit people OW” Luffy whines, rubbing his head “See?”
Kaos chuckles and nods his head, but otherwise ignores Luffy’s addition “Messy I also see, it’s the long part we’re going to need to work on, though like you said together is key. Now Luffy, are you sure you want to tie the knot with Vivi and Alvida? It’s a simple question that doesn’t always mean a simple answer”
“I want these girls and they want me as well as each other, sometimes simple answers are also the ones that make the most sense” Luffy says, pulling the girls closer who smile and kiss his cheeks again “Besides, what’s a King without his Queens?” the D grin was infectious.
“Hey, hey control yourselves ladies” Kaos scolds, though his smirk refuses to leave his face “Anyway, as captain I deem this union legitimate, you may now kiss the brides and groom” he says, then along side Zoro and Robin rather enjoyed the reaction, or more the amount of blood the left Sanji’s nose when Alvida pulled Vivi into a very tongue heavy make out session, though it may have been the fact the princess took the kiss as an opportunity to cope a feel of the smooth woman’s impressive rack, something which Luffy was laughing about along side them.
“Well if that’s over, we’d best be on our way, don’t want the honeymoon to take place in marine headquarters now do we?” Robin teases, snapping most out of their trance and getting things back to working over the ship
“Kaos, may I borrow the Den Den to inform my father of my change of status?” Vivi asks once the others had left
“Sure, not like I’m using it or anything” he replies
“Thanks. Also thank you for officiating the ceremony; you clearly put a lot of work into it”
“How’d you know?” he asks with a raised eyebrow
“Rao, bringer of life and watcher of the land. Very few islands still honour those kinds of traditions like that and fewer the sun. Clearly you found something to do with your unrestricted access to the Royal Library”
“Such as how to open an Alabastan wedding ceremony?” Kaos finishes “I thought you’d appreciate the gesture given the only other thing from Alabasta on the ship is Carue”
Vivi nods, her eyes misty “Thank you”
Kaos smiles and ruffles her hair again “Anything for my little sister, now go tell your dad the news so he can do whatever nobles do when their kids elope with pirates” he shoos her away, chuckling when he hears the muttered response ‘Even though I’m a pirate, I’m still a f*cking Dragon!’ then makes his way to the figurehead, where Luffy was sitting, after which he proceeds to jam the straw hat back onto his head “Tag, you’re it”
Luffy turns and grins at him “Don’t mind if I do”
TBC
LW: Well that’s Alabasta officially over, I think.
I’m sure somebody will notice this chapter is longer than most, and this time I don’t think it’s because I used content from 4 episodes rather than my usual 3, it’s all the other random crap including a freaking wedding that did it.
Just want to say, nothing I could have written would have been as good as the Vivi’s goodbye scene, which makes me very glad I’d planned to have her come along from the very start :D
So, I don’t think I do romance well, and Luffy is known for being dim, so betrothal seemed a good way to get that ball rolling, and yes it has always been planned for Luffy to get with Vivi and Alvida
If anyone is going to ask about the age gap, Alvida is 25, (yeah, younger than Robin, who is 28 at this point in the story), and Vivi is 16 (didn’t know that, also it makes her the same age as canon Goldenweek, which makes it both weird and funny she called her Aunt Vivi in previous chapters), so nothing major. I got these ages from the wiki in case anyone’s wondering.
End of Arc Bounty Tally
Luffy: 110,000,000 beri
Kaos: 50,000,000 beri
Zoro: 60,000,000 beri
Nami,Ussop,Kaya,Sanji: 0 beri
Alvida: 12,000,000
Valentina: 10,000,000 beri
Victor: 18,000,000 beri
Artemis: 7,000,000 beri
Vivi and Carue: 0 beri
[Robin: 79 million. Not part of official tally yet]
Straw Hat Crew: 267,000,000 beri
Which in the real world would be…. 2,096,897.85 euro.
Chapter 42: Dead End Adventure, LW edition
Summary:
I attempt turn the 4th One Piece Movie into a chapter of this story, good luck to me.
Chapter Text
LW: Well here we go, I don’t know if I’ll do the other movies as I’m not sure about canon and timelines (okay they’re all non-canon but I mean physically possible to occur, eg. when does Film Gold happen with all the sh*t they’ve done back to back in the New World?). Anyway this is maybe a 2 parter or else a really long 1 part saga, so good luck and I hope you enjoy.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Dead End, LW edition
1 day since the last chapter ended
“Hey Usopp, what ya doing?” Kaos asks, curious as to why their sniper was hidden away in the ship, even if this area was his unofficial workshop.
The long nose stops what he was doing and turns “Oh, hi Kaos, just working on some equipment for our newest recruit. After seeing Nami’s climatact Vivi asked me to make her something just as good” he sighs “the problem is, Nami’s weapon is still a Bo staff, it just as some bells and whistles on it. I’m not sure how to improve Vivi’s slashers, other than trying to strengthen her threads and sharpen her jewels”
The researcher hums to himself, picking up something off the table “This is monofilament wire, correct?” he asks, already tangling his fingers in a cat’s cradle, not that you could tell unless you really tried.
“Yeah, it’s how she can hide the weapon in her clothes without anyone noticing, the stuff is practically invisible”
Kaos nods “Then maybe what you need to do, is instead of making the blades sharper or the wires stronger…” he pulls, the wires drawing blood wherever they crossed his skin, digging into the flesh until he activated his reflect armour “…you give her a weapon that can’t be seen, until it’s too late” he smirks while Usopp panics
“What the f*ck? Seriously, with Alubarna and now this I’m really starting to worry. Are you trying to hurt yourself?” the long nose asks and Kaos chuckles
“Relax, this was the safer option, I know how much pressure I’m using because I can feel it and know where to stop, if I did it on you or someone else, there is always the chance I misjudge my own strength and you lose a finger, or the entire hand” he spreads his arms, the wire snapping like thread against his armour “So me dripping blood on you table is a much better option than crippling our best ranged fighter” he looks down at his hands and grimaces, Usopp was right about one thing (though the lad was too busy having a panic attack imagining Kaos doing that to his hands), Chopper was going to be mad he hurt himself again so soon. He then noticed the sniper snapped out of his panic attack…. By another panic attack (O_O?)
BARK
The purplette’s eyebrow rises “We have a dog?” he asks, Usopp running past him onto the deck. Up top Robin was giggling to herself while Artemis cuddled the large and slightly dopey looking animal, looking content to just lie there beside the artist. It seemed Usopp wasn’t the only one acting weird though as Alvida, Victor, Valentina and Chopper all ran out when they heard the bark, the others followed due to curiosity as well as the fact the new thing was drawing the crowd
“When did we pick up the stray?” Nami asks, reaching to pet it only for Chopper to slap her hand away “Hey, what was that for?”
“That dog, it’s Mr.4’s gun, it ate the Dog Dog fruit, model: Dachshund” Victor explains, as expected those who weren’t there for the fight with the 4’s had a very simple question
“How does a gun eat a fruit?”
“Does it poop?”
Okay everyone else had the obvious question, Luffy wanted to know just how alive the gun-dog was. Artemis also had a different question
“Lasoo is so well behaved and he can fight… sort of, can we keep him Uncle Luffy, please?” she gives a puppy pout while Lasoo moves off her lap and sits at Alvida’s feet
Bark, bark, bark
“Please mistress, I’ll be good, I’ll even help you slay all your enemies, just let me stay” Chopper translates, seems the dog was animal enough for that to work
The heavy hitter clicks her tongue and turns to Luffy who shrugs “It’s you he asked, should we keep him?”
“Can you alter your payload, or are they always going to be timed baseballs?”
Bark
“I can make them whatever you need”
The brothers grin, and both Nami and Vivi worry “Have something in mind love?” Luffy asks
“Actually yes, a 2 stage detonator for one” Alvida answers
“What’s that going to do?” Zoro asks, not understanding the point of Alvida’s alteration
“So it explodes the 2nd time it hits something, or something hits it” Valentina’s eyes widen then she laughs
“Kya kya kya, oh my god you plan to pitch those things at the enemy don’t you? Luffy must be rubbing off on you” she chuckles
“So it’s settled, we’re keeping it?” the captain asks again, getting a nod from the smooth woman “Okay, welcome to the crew Lasoo” Luffy grins
Bark
“Thanks, I’m going to sleep now” Chopper translates, Lasoo shivering before turning into the bazooka they’re seen previously
“So THAT was Mr. 2’s gift” Vivi says, rubbing her eyes, but still laughing at the okama’s parting gift.
“Bon gave us a pet bazooka, such a nice friend”
A few days later
“So first we hit this storm then nearly get blown up by marines, this is not our best day! Valentina complains as her and Nami keep the Merry on course
“Relax, they can’t get a clear shot in this weather and by the time it calms enough for them to steady themselves we’ll be long gone” the navigator replies “Besides, we’re nearly at the island, we can restock the ship and by the time we’re ready to go the marines will have found some other idiot to chase”
“Or they’ll wait around and try get us on the way out, or simply land and arrest us while on it” Kaya adds, cleaning her guns to try settle her nerves
“You’re making me look happy, you’re not supposed to make the panicked person look happy” Valentina whines, only stopping when they all hear Usopp’s ‘Land Ho!’
“See, now we can relax and cool off, no marines or crazy Grand Line shenanigans, just one day of less crazy” Nami says with a sigh
Hannabal Island, a little later
“I’m surprised we haven’t been thrown out yet” Kaos muses, watching the plates pile up along with the volume of Luffy’s fight with most of the crew for their food
“It’s a pirate bar, they’re used to this level of stupid, thank you Sanji” Robin replies, taking the coffee from their returning cook, before swatting Luffy’s wandering hand from Artemis’ plate, it seemed only Vivi was safe from their captain’s reach and that was because Alvida seemed to find the entire mid meal fighting amusing and quite fun, even if her mace was too big to help keep her partners away from her food, though she did take as much as she lost.
“You’re welcome Robin-chan” the blond says with a charismatic smile before turning to Nami “How’s the money situation looking Nami-swan?”
The red head sighs “Not good, we have enough to stock up, even with Luffy, Alvida and Kaos stomachs, and pay for this meal of course, but once we do, there won’t be many beri in the treasury when we set sail again”
Zoro frowns “Well that’s a problem, anyone got any plans for quick cash, besides letting the witch do her thing and turn tricks on a street cor…” the swordsman chokes, a hand gripping his throat hard enough to cut off his airway
“There is a child at the table” Vivi scolds, mostly because the hand’s owner is too busy glaring at the idiot and blooming hands to cover Artemis’ ears
“Is it about Aunt Vivi being a stripper, because she can’t do that anymore now she’s Uncle Luffy’s? she asks, a little louder due to the impromptu earmuffs
“Where did you hear that?” Chopper asks, confused but also curious
“I remember what Miss Wednesday used to wear, was she not posing as a stripper mama?” Artemis turns and looks at Robin, who sighs and releases her grip, ruffling Artemis hair with her actual hand
“No sweetie, Aunt Vivi was never a stripper”
“Don’t worry about it Artemis, we thought the same when we first met Vivi too, but she was in disguise” Luffy explains, surprising a few that he was actually following the conversation
“You okay there Nami, you look like you zoned out?” Victor asks now Robin stopped trying to kill Zoro and they could all breath again
The navigator hums “I’m fine, though my money senses are tingling”
“If they’re anything like Kaos’ Devil fruit senses we might just leave this island with more money than we arrived” Valentina jokes, the purplette smiles and nods, now interested in what they were going to do about their funding issue, also glad Zoro decided to antagonise Nami as usual rather than direct the suggestion Robin’s way, as none of them would have been able to react quick enough to help him with that mistake.
Massaging his throat and coughing Zoro turns and smirks to the red head “So, did you see what I saw, well before I started seeing spots of course”
Nami grins widely “Oh yes. Kids, I sense an adventure, that a way” she points behind her, Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Artemis smiling and now bouncing around happily
“They’re going to be like that all night at this rate” Alvida chuckles before draining her tankard “So, are we moving now Captain?”
“You betcha, lead the way Nami, to money and adventure!”
So with a little bit of chatting up the bartender and showing they were serious and not that worried about potential loss of life (Luffy actually looked excited, both Nami and Vivi smacked him for that) the man finally gave in, showing them to a secret tunnel where the chance of a lifetime lay just beyond. He was tight lipped about details, something which annoyed everyone but Chopper and Luffy, who was grinning dopily and being held back by Kaos and Zoro to stop him running down the tunnel before they were even finished being warned at. Other than the creepy weirdo at the end the tunnel was boring and managed to simmer Luffy down enough he was just grinning rather than nearly bouncing off the walls.
“Whoa! Look at all the pirate flags!” Luffy cheers and he wasn’t wrong, the massive chamber was full of both pirates and flags, everyone happy and carefree, but Nami’s money senses were also making her a wee bit paranoid
“I see us losing more money” she grumbles, waving her hand in the direction of the bar “But nowhere to make money”
“You could try right here love” one of the scruffier looking pirates says, leering at the navigator before getting kicked in the face by Sanji
“Maybe we should move, before he wakes up or his friends see us” Usopp suggests, getting nods from most of the others
“This place seems familiar, give me a minute it’ll come back to me” Robin hums as she leans over the side, eyes scanning the entire area. Her eyes widen and she laughs “Of course, the race”
“Race?”
The archaeologist nods “It was quite a few years back, I was here with another pirate crew. This is the starting line, of the Dead End Race, a race created by pirates, for pirates, no holds bared, everything goes. Quite a large prize if I’m not mistaken” she clicks her tongue, resting her chin in her hand as Nami’s eyes turn to berri
“Prize? How much, I NEED TO KNOW WOMAN!”
“300,000,000 berri” the answer was supplied not by Robin, but Kaya, pointing to a banner stating this year’s reward for completing the Dead End Race
“We’re doing this race” Nami announces, getting cheers from Luffy and Chopper and a smirk from Kaos, having known the minute she heard the amount their navigator would lock them in to this decision.
Signing up was easy, though apparently they entered the island wrong and nearly gave the man taking their details a heart attack due to how blatant and obvious they were parking in plain view. Still they were registered and now have an Eternal Pose to Partia, the finish line for this year. After that the group split a little, some of the crew remaining near the entrance where it was peaceful, while Luffy and the louder of the crew followed him down for more food, especially as it was free.
“This is nice, all the food we could eat, and a race in the morning” Luffy cheers, continuing to stuff his face while he does, things were pretty good, almost calm, until he started his usual food stealing habit on a much larger crowd, grabbing the food basically the moment it left the kitchen. This stopped when his head was slammed into the table, splitting it in 2, by some weirdo in a yellow jumpsuit. Apparently that was he signal for everyone to get a shot at the straw hat boy
“You think you can just steal our food without consequence, do you know who we are?”
“No”
“We’re Gasparde’s crew” some guy with short pink hair answers
“Gasparde…. Nope never heard of him. He must be a really sh*tty pirate then, shi shi shi” Luffy laughs
‘God damn it Luffy’ Zoro and Valentina think, both face palming at their dumbass of a captain, as well as a little impressed he can cause some much of a mess without consciously trying.
“You little sh*t, think you can disrespect US!” the man yells, shooting Luffy point blank in the chest
“Well, that happened” for once he sounded unenthused, tilting his head just as the bullet rebounds, putting a hole in the wall behind the crowd “Yeah bullets don’t work on me, perks of being a rubber man” at this he smiles, then takes his shot
Gum Gum Pistol
The attack slams 5 guys into the wall, which was at least enough to make the others think before trying to attack him
“Anyone forget how strong Luffy is?” Chopper asks
“Because of how much of a dumbass he acts when not kicking ass? Yes, all the time” Valentina answers as she stands up, her captain and the guy who broke their table having turned the lower level into a bar brawl, might as well enjoy herself, even if the idiot had left them here.
Kaos sighs, head in hands as he grumbles “I am seeing that right?” the others turn due to confusion and understand: Luffy riding a chain just behind a mob of very angry looking pirates
“Luffy, what are you doing?” Nami asks, praying she was wrong
“Nothing, just having a fight, I didn’t start it though, the guy who shot me did”
Robin smiles “Well at least there’s that, small mercies and all” she teases, pulling Kaos hand off his face, while Artemis chuckles
“You and Alvida didn’t kill anyone down there, did you?” Vivi asks in worry, not helped by Luffy’s shrug as he rises
“Don’t know, probably not” he answers, swinging around to avoid the falling pirates, before hopping onto the ship dangling from the roof “That was fun, you’re really light on your feet and bouncy, it was fun to watch you fight”
The man, who had wavy light brown hair and a hook tattoo under her eye smiles “I’m glad I was able to amuse you, not often I meet a man with 30 million on his head”
’30? Guess he didn’t get the memo’ Luffy thinks, before smiling at the intent behind the comment “You clearly know my name, so what’s yours?”
“Me? Why it’s…” he begins but gets interrupted by the pink guy from before, looking mighty pissed
“Don’t think you’ll get away with this just cause you’ve got 30 million, our boss is way bigger with 95 million” he boasts
“Nice, even more than Crocodile” Luffy yells ‘But less than me’ he mentally grins
“Take this seriously you brat” pinkie shouts, swinging at Luffy, missing and cutting the string holding the boat up
‘Well f*ck’
Thinking quickly Luffy wraps his arms around both men and jumps, luckily managing to land on the tier directly below the boat which now hangs from one side only
“That was close” Luffy sighs
“You saved us both, strange”
Luffy shrugs “Just felt like it” then turns when he feels eyes boring into the back of his head “Huh?”
Pinkie shrieks “Gasparde, what are you doing here?”
“Do I need your permission to leave the ship?” the blond man with a weird shaped head grunts
“No General Gasparde, it’s just a surprise given you said you’d be drinking alone on deck”
Gasparde hums “I don’t know you”
“Of course you do, I’m…”
“No, a member of my crew wouldn’t have this much trouble dealing with a no name pirate” he waves his hand, his first mate tossing the man over the railing “You’re a brat, but you’ve done well for yourself, join my crew”
“No” Luffy answers almost before Gasparde finished the question “I don’t bow to trash”
The man grits his teeth and moves to stand…
Ping, ping
Only for his hands to be pinned to the seat, one by an arrow, and the other by a white lance
“Yah aha, for someone who has been to a few of these, I guess you didn’t get the memo, or it’s a not a thing anymore and Aunt Grima was here before the rule change: no killing the competition before the race” Luffy turns to the speaker, seeing a man not much taller than him, short blue hair and a wide grin, an ornate captain’s coat with a 6 eyed design he was sure Robin or Kaos would recognise but went right over his head and a deep blue shirt with black pants. On either side were a woman with snow white hair, purple eyes and a chest that was almost but not quite competition for Robin in size, dressed in a dark green corset like shirt and shorts along with thigh high boots, a compound bow in her left hand, and a rail thin man with messy bone white hair, iridescent blue eyes and a laid back, almost bored expression, dressed in a blue shirt and a black jacket with furry edges that reminded Luffy of Smoker
Gasparde winces as Needless pulls the projectiles out of his hands, then steps back so his captain could stand “Do you know who I…”
“Do you know who I am brat?” the bluenette hisses “Let me tell you, because it seems the General is just a big fish in a small pond. Nylock Morgan, Captain of the Smile Pirates, current bounty 270,000,000. 95 doesn’t mean sh*t, though 100 in less than a year does impress me Straw Hat, I expect great things from you” as Gasparde moves to attack Morgan unsheathes an inch of his sword, enough for both captains to see the shimmering black edge of his blade “You were a marine, I’m sure you know what this means. The world is a LOT bigger than you think it is Candyman, your bravado doesn’t impress a New World Pirate”
“You think you can order me around!” Garpade shouts, only for the woman to shoot another arrow, this one in his knee, while the man produces a white blade from… who knows, nicking the side of his first mate’s throat before he can go for his claws.
“Yes I do. Save it for the race” Morgan answers, still smiling before his subordinates relax with a wave of his hand
“I presume you’re going to say he’s not worth killing” the woman thinks aloud, to which Morgan laughs
“No sweet Noire, I just don’t want to break the rule I just told him not to, he has till tomorrow to get his affairs in order, that is all” the man beside him chuckles then stops when he sees the man beside Luffy
“Well, didn’t expect the pirate executioner to be at one of these, the race really does attract all kinds eh boss?”
Morgan nods “Shuraiya, I won’t repeat myself, whoever you’re here to kill can wait till tomorrow”
Luffy looks positively giddy as he bounces over “You guys are so cool, who are you?” he asks
“I already told you my name, this is my navigator, Nocturne Noire, and my first mate Comic Century”
“Yo” Century waves which Luffy returns
“Pleasure to see a D. in real life, also I saw your girlfriend tearing her way through a good portion of the idiots still on the ground floor”
Luffy raises an eyebrow “That’s not my girlfriend that’s my wife”
Morgan blinks “You’re married to the blond? Or the one with the mace?”
“The one with the mace and the light blue haired one, Alvida and Vivi. I think Valentine’s with Bomberman, but I never thought to ask and I doubt it matters” Luffy answers to which Noire chuckles
“Oh it must be interesting on your ship kid”
“Actually yes, though keeping it from falling apart is a chore and a half, just ask Nami and Usopp”
“Kaos!” Luffy cheers, seeing the reflect human along with Robin, Sanji, Vivi, Nami and Artemis walking towards him “Come meet my new friends, they’re so cool!”
“You have the Devil’s Child on your crew, interesting” Century notes, getting a jab to the ribs by Noire’s bony elbow
“Oh sweet goddess of the snow, allow me to prove my love to a beauty such a…” Sanji’s usual routine is interrupted when Century produces blades with a twist of his wrists and lock them in an X/Scissor shape against the blond’s throat
“The captain doesn’t like people flirting with his woman, and I don’t like idiots gawking at someone I see as a sister. So you keep that in mind and remember where Noire’s eyes are, or next time, I take the head that’s doing all the thinking Yo ho ho ho ho” Century removes the blades when he sees the cook understands, then steps back to Morgan’s right side
Robin raises an eyebrow and turns to Kaos “I didn’t realise that fruit was back in circulation” Kaos nods though it seems the white haired man heard them
“It was my father’s, he was a good man and pirate, but an even better father. When he passed, it only seemed right to honour his legacy by being the next holder” Century answers the question in the 2’s eyes
“So we have ‘Smiler’, ‘Bone Daddy’ and ‘Deadshot’ all in Paradise, why is that?” Kaos asks, Luffy looking curious himself
Morgan chuckles “For the race and to see if anything strong is in this side of the Grand Line, after all, your crew is mostly East Blue natives and look what you’ve done, we actually did pick up a nice gall with a passion for smithing the last time we passed through”
“Captain!” the bluenette turns and sees a girl with deep crimson hair, tied up in pigtails and well maintained though still light armour running up to them “We’re signed up and ready to go, and Forest thought I couldn’t handle a simple task Ha”
Noire smirks behind her hand “Actually the doc just couldn’t be arsed doing it, as well as wanting to avoid drunken idiots flirting with them” Century corrects, causing the girl’s face to drop until Morgan grips her shoulder
“Don’t worry Severa, you did good plus we all know Forest’s not the most social of people”
Severa giggles “It probably doesn’t help I think the corset’s too tight, her voice is practically a whisper most days”
“True, but I’m not going to tell my crew what to wear… actually while you’re here, where are Ren and Kjelle, I was sure they were with you when we left?”
Severa shugs “Ren headed back to the ship, decided things were too loud and messy for him tonight, and Kjelle was in the middle of a drinking contest last I checked, though knowing her she’s probably in the middle of that brawl on the ground floor” Noire giggles and Morgan rolls his eyes
“Sounds like her. Well it was nice meeting you Straw Hat and some of his crew, good luck with the race tomorrow, and try not die” he waves and turns to leave, the other 3 following on his heels
“So, that’s a New World level Pirate” Artemis hums
“Yep, and he didn’t even need to do anything to beat up Gasparde, his crew mates did it with barely any effort” Luffy praises, still grinning like a fool
“Gasparde?” Nami gasps “What did you do?”
“Nothing, just didn’t accept his offered demand to join his crew. He got mad and Morgan’s guys got involved. Nothing more”
“Well he’s the favourite to win this year, I bet he’s glad it’s not a fighting tournament or else he’d be in deep trouble” Vivi says, getting nods and a few smiles from the group
“We should probably get the others and head back to the ship, nobody wants to sail hung-over” Kaya suggests, the group nod and make the trek down to the ground floor, finding Alvida, Zoro and Valentina content and eating once more at one of the few surviving tables, waving goodbye to a woman with short teal hair as they arrive
Morning
“Everybody ready?” Nami yells, smiling as she gets affirmatives from the various members unrolling the sails, raising the anchor and ensuring all their equipment was secure for sailing, she then frowns as she looks down at the Eternal Pose they’d been given “It’s still pointing at the mountain, why?” she thinks aloud
“Maybe we’re on the wrong side” Kaya suggests “After all we are the only ship in sight”
“Maybe the others just got lost” Zoro says with a shrug
“Like Zoro”
“Bite me swirlbrow”
Robin chuckles and steps between the cook and swordsman “Boys, boy, no need to fight, we’re just not at the starting line yet”
Luffy frowns “But the guy said the starting line was the town”
“True, but it’s actually over there, on the mountain. All the other ships are on the other tributary rivers leading up to it”
“Up to… we’re meant to go up the mountain?” Vivi yells
“Just like Reverse mountain, only smaller” Alvida summarises, worrying Nami
“But, we have a massive current for Reverse…”
“And there will be one for this, along with a strong gale, the 2 combined will get us to the top of he mountain, and with it the starting line of this years Dead End race”
“Okay then, Nami, get us to one of the mountain rivers”
The navigator pinches her nose before nodding, the sooner they get through this race, the sooner she could receive those 300,000,000 beri.
Aprox 2 minutes later
“Holy sh*t you weren’t kidding about a gale” Victor shouts as the Merry shoots forward like a bullet, into the tunnel directly in front of them, then more or less straight up the mountain
“This is almost better than Reverse Mountain” Luffy cheers, laughing as the land rushes past them… or the other way around, the ship levels out a little but continues to ascend when it reaches a village area, where many of the locals had come out to cheer them on as they passed
“This race is a really big event for them” Chopper guesses, smiling again now they weren’t at risk of falling off the ship
“Well it’s rather sporadic, they celebrate when it comes around” Robin explains “The race has no set time, it was lucky we arrived when we did”, then braces herself as the ship begins ascending once more proper
“And now we’re going straight up, it really is Reverse mountain again” Kaya sighs, lying back on the wall of the Merry’s cabin, Usopp beside her
“Well it’s a lot smaller, so should be over quicker” he tries comfort her
“True, except as this shows, steep climb, most likely followed by a sheer drop” Valentina adds, causing the sniper to panic and the medic to chuckle at his flailing.
They finally reach the top, everyone gasps, marvelling at the sunrise from this angle… before remembering something, the Merry can’t fly
‘Damn it Luffy/Nami’ was the collective thoughts of the crew, as gravity took hold once more and the Merry descended rapidly, it was a bit of a bumpy landing, but neither Merry nor the crew were hurt so no complaints here. And now the race could begin proper :D
“And now we begin the insanity. Victor fire both cannons” Kaos orders, the bomb man doing so with a shrug while the others were confused
“What, the hell?” Nami yells, getting as close to Kaos’s face as their height difference allowed
“No rules and the Merry is a small and fragile ship, I’m merely setting off a new pre-emptive strikes” the researcher shrugs, the clicks to Lasoo “Alvida, want a little training with your new pet bazooka?”
“Is this really the time, I want to watch the race?” Luffy whines
“I meant the dog”
“Oh” Luffy blinks and Vivi turns crimson while Alvida laughs and picks up her mace
“That was more than I needed to know” Zoro sighs, then smirks when he sees Sanji crying in a corner
“So, timed explosions or 2 stage detonation?” Kaos asks as Lasoo shifts into it’s hybrid form
“Stick to the timed explosions, need to work on my aim after all so as to not accidentally blow up the ship in the process”
“Yosh!”
Bark Bark Bark
BOOM!!!
“Well, besides the one that missed you entirely and hit the ship full of old guys, I’d say you’re doing pretty good” Usopp grins and gives her the thumbs up, given he was their ranged specialist that actually made feel happy to be told.
“Um guys, we have a problem” Nami points to the broken ship directly in front of them
“Can’t we go around it?” Luffy asks
“What do you think we’re trying to do?” Valentina and Chopper yell from the cabin
“Well, if we have to go through it, maybe another repeat from Reverse Mountain will give us the hand we require” Kaos suggests, waving his arm in Luffy’s direction.
The captain frowns for a moment, trying to think before it hits him… Nami’s fist to the back of his head “I’ve got it!” he yells, running off the front of the Merry just before it hits the ship
Gum Gum Balloon
The idea works, Luffy’s expanded body being the perfect buffer between their ship and the wreck, allowing them to ramp over the ship and into the air. Once the Merry left the ground, Luffy shot out his arm and grabbed the back, pulling himself back onto the main deck
“That’s one problem dealt with, but we still have the landing” Sanji shouts and he was right, their ship was about to make a collision course with the ground
“I believe it’s my turn to save our skins” Robin offers with a smirk and crossed arms
Grand Fleur
Bloom after bloom forms and shoot from the side of the Merry and each other, forming a rudimentary arm and pulling the Going Merry back into the River (Huh, so Robin’s Giant Bloom powers weren’t a Time Skip ability, though refining them was)
“That was awesome, let’s do it again!” Luffy grins, then gets hugged by Vivi “I’m good, no need to worry”
“Well now we’re left the river the Race begins proper, the only thing we need to worry about now are the other pirates” Zoro says trying to be helpful
“Should I reload the cannons?” Victor asks, getting a nod from Usopp
“Probably best to be safe” the long nose says, moving the help their demolition expert
Bang, thump, crash
“What was that?” Nami asks as the door opens and Kaos comes out with a kid in his arms
“We got a stowaway, can anyone with medical experience check him, I may have kicked him a little too hard”
“You’re a dick, you know that right?” the navigator huffs at him as Chopper and Kaya examine they kid
“And thanks to the brat having sh*tty aim I still have mine”
Luffy, Usopp and Alvida chuckle “You got shot in the dick?”
“Almost, like I said the kid luckily couldn’t hit a barn from inside it”
Robin nods “It’s a good thing you’re so tall, the kid aiming at that level would have killed our doctor had he found her instead of you”
Kaos frowns “Thanks, I think. Wait did you say she?”
“Papa found a new kid, I’m not being replaced am I?” Artemis asks, lighting tugging on Robin’s pants as she does
“Did Kaos start this relationship by kicking you unconscious?” Chopper asks, both curious and a little worried
“No, he kind of just let me use my yellow on him and we talked”
“Then no, he’s not taking the new kid as his daughter, you’re still his one and only” Kaya soothes verbally, while Robin’s hand on her head soothes her physically
“You’re all I need Artemis, besides; I’ve never called you a brat now have I?”
No, you’ve called Uncle Luffy it though”
Vivi chuckles “Well your uncle Luffy acts younger than you do sometimes” she explains
At this point the kid wakes up, groaning as they sit up “Ow, what happened?”
“You shot my brother in the dick”
“Almost, you rubber brained idiot!”
Zoro groans, this was going nowhere “Mind telling us why you’re on our ship?”
“Zoro, he’s weak and injured, and I don’t mean what Kaos did. He needs time to res…”
“To kill you” the kid states quietly, but given they were all gathered around them everyone heard “I was trying to kill you and make some money”
Usopp nods “Well, 7 of you guys have bounties so you probably would make a fair amount” mostly joking
“That doesn’t explain why you picked our ship” Nami continues
“Well we are getting popular these days” Valentina grins “The Straw Hat Pirates, so big we’re Big News even in the New World circles, Kyahaha”
“No you weirdo, you’re ship looked small and weak I though it would be easy to kill you” the kid retorts
“He’s right about small, but you really shouldn’t judge a crew by their ship” Kaos hums, while Luffy laughs, annoying the brat
“Don’t laugh at me, I will kill you! And then…” he stops when a gun gets tossed into his hands, the same gun Gasparde gave him
“You want to show you’re a badass, kill the captain with that gun” Robin orders “Take out ‘Straw Hat’ Luffy, a boy with 100,000,000 beris on his head”
The kid gulps but points it, Luffy not even seeming interested, and fires. As would be expected the bullet hit him, stretched the surrounding area and shot back, flying out into sea somewhere
“What are you?”
“As Robin said, Monkey D. Luffy, rubber man and future Pirate King”
The kid gasped “You ate a Devil fruit, like Captain Gasparde”
“So he’s the one with the sickly sweet scent, eh it was either him or his lackey” Kaos shrugs “So, now we’re done traumatising children can we talk about why you’re… oh crap they passed out again” the purplette sighs “I’ll put them to bed”
“Thank you Kaos-san”
“Yeah, yeah”
Some time later
“Hey guys, there’s a ship behind us”
“Really, but I thought we were in last place?”
“Guess they’re in real last place shishishi”
Boom
Luffy gets bounced back, currently holding a cannon ball in his hands “Huh, I’m getting a lot better at this”
Kaos whistles “Damn Luffy you really do have arms like Gramps”
“No, my arms are rubber, Gramps are solid muscle how else could he be The Fist?” Luffy argues, co*cking his arm back before tossing the cannonball back at the other ship, tearing through its cabin
“Well, they’re officially pissed at us, now what?” Artemis asks, Carue hiding behind her fearfully
“Now I kick some ass” Luffy answers, only to be held back
“Chill Captain, these riff raff aren’t worth your time, give us a turn” Victor states calmly, adjusting his shades and blowing into his gun
“He’s right, some of us need to de-stress and cut loose, and kicking ass is one of the most fun ways” Alvida grins, mace already on her shoulder
Vivi nods “It’s almost sad having someone as strong as you beat them down”
Luffy blinks “Vivi, where are you going?”
“Onto the ship of course” the rubber boy tilts his head and turns to Kaos
“Didn’t we assign her as diplomatic relations?”
“I’m still surprised you can both say and understand those words but yes”
Luffy grins “Great” he then turns to Vivi “You already have a job, finding out what the kid knows”
“But he’s unconscious”
“We still need to find out why one of Gasparde’s crew was on our ship” Nami adds having come out to see the commotion
“Exactly, and one of Morgan’s” Kaos adds, finding this conversation more interesting than whatever Sanji and Zoro were arguing over
“Yea….wait what?” Nami retorts, though it came out as more of a strangled yelp, making Chopper, Carue and Lasoo groan and wince
Kaos sighs “Seriously, am I the only one who saw that?” he points up, drawing attention to the bird on top of the cabin. After looking at it the crew couldn’t’ help but agree, how did they miss a creature that looked like it had fallen into a rainbow backwards a few times over, though the strangest thing was the colours didn’t follow the feathers or anything physically about the animal, as if the details were only added in after, the only exception were eyes the colour of emeralds, staring unblinking at them
“What is that?” Zoro asks
“Tosō chirashi” Kaos answers
“Dépliant peint” Robin answers
“Huh?” was the collective response, causing Robin and Kaos to sigh before translating
“Painted Flier”
The bird caws and almost looks to be smiling, before closing its eyes and sleeping
“So that is one of Morgan’s crew? Kind of a lazy bird guy” Luffy mumbles, while Kaos chuckles
“It would if that were the actual crewmate, but it’s not, it’s a construct created from his Devil fruit, the Peinto Peinto no mi, if I’m not mistaken”
“Oh, so it’s a mystery crewmate”
“Don’t strain yourself Lu, worry about the bird while Victor, Queen 2 and I deal with these idiots. Zoro, you guard Queen 1 with your life, got it? Be the guard dog you were meant to be”
“How bout I bite you dartboard?” Zoro grumbles, then smiles when Vivi scratches him behind the ear
“Why is she Queen 1?” Alvida asks, frowning
“Luffy had to get with her, as they were betrothed, while you he chose to be with, though you still joined after Vivi in that sense” Sanji explains before the trio hop onto Vigaro’s ship. Really between Sanji’s kicks, Victor’s explosions and Alvida’s whack happy macing the ship didn’t last longer than 2 minutes, before they had to be retrieved from the sinking mess of wood and bodies by Luffy
“See Luffy, weaklings the lot of them, nobody fun to fight” Usopp comforts their captain who sighs but nods
“I hope we run into someone strong, someone I need to fight” he huffs, before Nami smacks him on the back of the head
“You dumbass, you just jinxed us!”
“Oh…. Whoops?”
A couple hours later
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
‘Crap, what did Luffy do now?’ thought several of the crew as they ran to check on their screaming navigator
“What’s wrong Nami-swan?” Sanji asks, his eye burning protectively
The pose is fake; it’s set for Navarone, a Marine Stronghold”
“So we’re f*cked?”
“Peito, peito peito, nice to see you finally noticed, I was beginning to worry, though the captain had faith the entire time” they look up to see the ‘bird’ speak
“This was Gasparde’s doing, wasn’t it?” Luffy asks, the bird nods
“Correct Straw Hat, it’s why Morgan had Noire toss the pose and follow the Salamander the moment we left the island. She’s had it locked in the entire race and it paid off once he broke away from the rest of the racers”
Luffy frowns “This bastard needs a good ass kicking, where do we find him? Also who am I speaking to?” Vivi face palms, while Nami looks to Kaos with a ‘see what he’s done’ expression on her face.
“Just follow my bird, I call it back and it will lead you straight to us. As for my name, it’s Ashton Renaissance, known as ‘The Painter’ simply because of my Devil Fruit, much like Century as well as Marco the Phoenix”
“When you beat him, will you save my grandpa?”
“You’re awake?” Chopper squeaks, seeing the kid standing in the doorway, looking smaller than even before
“What’s this about your grandfather?” Valentina asks
“He’s not my real grandfather, but he saved me, he’s all I have” a lot of the Straw Hats understood, their bonds to family not simply limited by blood “He’s sick, but because the guys on Gasparde’s ship say he’s not one of them they won’t give him any medicine, he’ll die without it!”
“So you snuck aboard, hoping to make some money to but medicine yourself?” Nami asks, seeing a little of herself in the kid, much smaller scale in terms of the goal, but doing something bad to get money and protect those you care about? It tugs at the strings of her black heart and her money purse.
“Well, we better get going, doesn’t seem fair for the General to wait around for his ass kicking. Usopp, release the Ravens!” the long nose looks confused “Throw the paint bird out the window”
“Oh” he does, the construct flying a circle around the ship before heading home, Nami and Valentina manoeuvring the ship to keep the bird directly above Merry’s head as far as they could see.
Meanwhile
“Are we really letting that idiot fight Candyman?” Noire asks with a frown, her bow resting on her shoulders as the General beats Shuraiya black and blue
“It gives them both something to do” Morgan replies with an uncaring wave of the hand “If you want to make sure they can’t escape feel free” at that the archer flashes a feral grin and notches and arrow, her iris glow for a moment, followed by the arrow tip
Lock Down
The arrow flies true, hitting the centre of the paddlewheel and digging in a couple inches, the indigo pulse that spreads from it causing the entire wheel to lock up and seize. With only one functioning paddle the Salamander begins to tilt and spin, but it was going nowhere under its own power for a while
“Anyone have a preference about what they want to do with these weaklings?” Morgan asks, walking to the side of the ship
“I just want him dead” Noire answers
“Wrecking the ship should be fun”
“I’ll remain here and guard the Grinning Naga”
“I’ll sit this one out, also the Straw Hats are on their way” Morgan turns to the final speaker, ash blond hair under s beret, striped shirt and a content smile on his face, his green eyes a little hazy, a sign he was watching through his art
“Never doubted them for a minute” Morgan clicks his tongue, resting his hand on his palm “You know, after hearing about them beating Crocodile, I’d rather like to see how they deal with a logia, first hand”
Noire pouts “So I won’t…”
“Oh you can kill him if you want, just let the kids have some fun first. They are the Worst Generation after all, we might as well see who we’re leaving our titles to” at that the archer and 1st mate grin, seeing a Supernova in the making was definitely a fun experience, and they were seeing a few at once, Renaissance’s bird appeared, melting and being drawn under his coat, just before the Straw Hats make their prescience known as only their captain can
“GASPARDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Ren turns to the steamship “Morgan, Century, Severa. You all wanted to play right?” he asks, paint dripping form his fingers
“Yes we did” the artist smirks, the throws his hand out, a black tendril shooting out and sticking to the other vessel, linking them when he places the hand on their starboard and spread it, forming a makeshift bridge
“Good luck” he nods, noting the Devil Fruit user went first, then Severa and finally the captain, Ren letting the tether snap on his end and follow them over once Morgan’s feet hit the deck ‘This should be fun’ he thinks, the paint forming a blotchy black and red dog, which swelled to the size of a Saint Bernard.
“Well we’re here, what now?” Kaya asks, hands on her revolvers just in case she was needed
“Luffy, make sure they have the welcome mat out for us, will you?” Nami asks with a smile and a bat of the eyes, Kaos chuckling behind her
“Okay then”
Gum Gum Pistol
Gum Gum Rocket
The rubber boy plows through the pirates on deck, landing just in front of Gasparde, the man looking unimpressed and a little annoyed
“I’m Luffy, I’ll be delivering an ass kicking today”
“You think you can fight me? This is what happens to men who get that kind of idea in their heads” he points down to Shuraiya, the bounty hunter looking on the verge of passing out, beaten bloody and broken “But you may be able to sate my boredom, in a way this race was unable to”
“Could have just come to the New World, we’d have kicked your ass for free” Morgan jokes, his dodges looking easy, while Century’s hand slips effortlessly into a man’s shoulder, then stabbing him in the throat with a small piece of bone.
“But then he wouldn’t be able to act like he’s the big tough guy, our doctor could kick his ass, and they almost never leave the ship” the blue eyed man taunts, knowing he was right when a vein pulses in Gasparde’s neck and he jumps at him.
“I’ll show you a weakling!” he shouts, Century grabbing at his face while he side steps the punch, though frowns when all her gets for it is a handful of goo
“Well, that didn’t go how I expected” he grumbles, then gets punched in the back and slides over to the rest of the former marine’s crew
“I’m guessing he were trying to remove Gasparde’s skull?” Morgan turns and sees Kaos, Sanji and Zoro, hop onto the ship, the swordsman with a child on his back
“Yep, his fruit enables him to pull bone from the body and form it into weapons, when pulled from his own body it’s fine, practically clones itself, but straight up remove the object when used on others” the captain explains, his sword unsheathed and slices through his opponent’s like it was glass
“He is right here” Century grouches, removing a femur and batting some canon fodder off the ship “also Straw Hat look’s kind of stuck”
Kaos and Sanji turn, and like other man said, Luffy was currently trying to remove his fist from Gasparde’s currently green chest
“My fruit is the Ame Ame no mi, my body now has the consistency of candy syrup when I chose, it is a good trap, so I can’t miss” Gasparde gloats before punching Luffy repeatedly, the man’s body stopping Luffy from going anywhere no matter the strength behind the hit
“We need to help him” Vivi yells
“This is Luffy’s fight, if you interfere directly he’ll just kick your ass later. Plus what can you do against a man who is immune to melee attacks?” Kaos scolds her, then smiles when someone else does follow the advice
My nose fancy cannon
The projectile hits Gaspard in the side of his head, blowing up a good 40% of it… the bad news was the man in a logia, so the green goo that was his head reformed with the same smug ‘Punch me in the face’ look it had previously
“Well I’m out of ideas”
But Luffy wasn’t, rapid firing Pistol, Bell and Axe, all of which did minimal damage as would be expected, followed by…
Gum Gum, Munch Munch
Which probably should have worked, but the expression on Luffy’s face before spitting an angry Gasparde out showed even if it was candy syrup, the man tasted disgusting. Despite how things looked it was a pretty tame and even fight (Luffy’s rubber body ignored blunt force, and Gasparde’s logia form ignored all damage) until the man reformed his arm into a candy spike and tore a hole in Luffy’s hat
“Well he’s not leaving this ship alive” Kaos sighs, backhanding Pinkie into a wall then jumping back, allowing the poor unfortunate to get impaled on a bonemerang courtesy of Century.
Morgan shrugs “He wasn’t going to anyway”, then gasps when Luffy’s next punch made the Candyman bleed ‘Oh Luffy, you are going to rock this world to its core one day, aren’t you lad?’ he thinks, turning to the mutt that barrelled through about 5 of Gasparde’s goons.
“What the Hell is that?” Zoro asks, the beast turning emerald eyes on the man and growls
“Ren’s best attacker, I’m trying to convince him to call it Baskerville, but for now it’s Ban” Century answers, pinning people down with his finger bones and leaping over Morgan with a laugh “We done yet boss, Noire would kill you if we’re still here when the cyclone hits?”
“Cyclone?”
Morgan nods “Yep, they’re pretty common in this region, and given the fact your navigator looks about ready to die herself, I’m betting she’s noticed it too. Ren, tell Noire to get ready and line up the shot, he’s done once Luffy’s had enough” the hound nods, his master grinning wider as he stands up from the Deck of the Grinning Naga.
“Guys. Get back to the ship, right now!” Nami screams, just as Luffy is shot from one end of the Salamander to the other “There’s a cyclone heading this way, we need to be ready to leave, Hell we should have already left”
“Should someone tell Luffy?” Kaos asks as he jumps back down to the Merry’s deck “Or even Sanji”
“What about my grandfather?” the kid asks, looking about ready to jump back on board them self
“Well hopefully he’s almost done, nobody should be able to walk away from that” Usopp points over to the battle, where Luffy had just impaled Gasparde with the last remaining mast of the ship
“Luffy” the rubber boy turns, surprised to see Sanji running over with 2 large sacks on his shoulders “Here, you’ll need these” the cook tosses the bags, knowing Luffy wasn’t leaving until Gasparde was beaten, and given he was a logia that would take a while
“What are they?”
“Not important, just do to him what you did to Crocodile” the currently straw hat-less boy nods and turns to the now reformed Gasparde
“This ends now” Luffy swears, then yelps as he leaps out of the way of Gasprade’s candy claws, tearing the bag and covering everything in the vicinity in flour ‘Okay, why did Sanji give me food ingredients?’ he thinks, right until he punches Gasparde again and knocks the guy over.
“How? You shouldn’t be able to touch me”
“Guess I found your other weakness besides the normal one, flour makes you solid, and if you’re solid I can punch you” Luffy smirks and demonstrates by slamming his fist into the former marine’s face
‘Okay Straw hat, you’ve had your fun’ Morgan thinks, walking to the edge as he gives a signal to the Hound, in response Ren jumps to the top deck where Noire is waiting
“Take the shot Noire, though before you do, a few parting gifts, just to ensure he sinks” the painter grins, handing her an arrowhead made of bone, with electric blue lines interlaced in it, causing the woman’s eyes to widen
“Seriously, he infused it and it’s still active?” Ren nods and summons some paint, wrapping around the bone to form a shaft and fletching for her arrow, the energy within giving a few green lines to add to the blue
“Boss said make sure he’s dead, we’re making sure even the best logia can’t stand after you hit him”
Noire gives a very shark like grin, then takes the arrow, notches it and pushes her own haki into the projectile, adding indigo stripes to the other 2 “Say goodbye Candyman” she purrs, a crosshair forming around her left eye
Lock on
“You think this can stop me, in this world there is only the strong and the weak, I am strong and I will prove it when I beat you into the ground, and toss you into the se…” Gasparde’s threat was cut short, mostly due to the arrow entering his head through his right eye and leaving the back of his head through the left side. The man gurgles a little blood, but keels over with little fanfare, though his ‘parting gift’ was noticed by one eagle eyed pirate, and made it’s way into a certain mirror master’s hands.
“He’s dead” Luffy sighs, partly from relief as he nurses the wounds he got from the bastard’s candy spikes
“That he is” the rubber boy turns to see Morgan beside him, offering him a hand up “Let’s go, your ship has already moved, they’re a lot more vulnerable in this storm than mine” he chuckles and sees Century had already grabbed the bounty hunter like he told him to, no reason to let him die with this ship. Helping the boy up the 2 Smile Pirates nod and just before anything else can happen
BANG
“Come on idiots, we have to move before we all die” Severa yells, already running across the ropes shot over to link the 2 ships, the old man unconscious on her back
“Captain?”
“Follow the red head, there’s nothing left here to worry about” Century nods, Forest should be able to patch up both guys easy, they’ll pass them over to the Straw Hat crew later. He didn’t mention seeing the captain grab a broken hat, as it was none of his business.
The next day
“This is the only place the Straw Hats could have stopped, meaning we shouldn’t have long to wait before running into them” Noire states as the ship docks, or close enough with no port. Luffy was standing beside her, as were the old man and Shuraiya sitting a little further back, Forest was a miracle worker at times, but even so those 2 looked rather beat up, the medic was currently explaining to them how they needed to refrain from doing anything strenuous and idiotic, looking kind of cute frowning and hands on flaired hips.
“Thanks for this, and also…” Luffy points to his head, the captain with a little help from Kjelle of all people having fixed his hat up good as new, or close enough.
Morgan laughs as he hears that “Yah aha, did you really think I’d deprive you of your symbol, it’s an unspeakable crime to even consider it” he clutches his heart, Ren and Pyro giggling in the background, until Noire head slaps her lover “Ow” he whines
“Behave then”
“Luffy!” the boy looks up, displaying a full D grin when he sees Vivi and Alvida calling to him from the Merry
“Guess that’s your ride, we could take the kid and these 2 with us to the next island, keep the heat off you if nothing else” Morgan offers, getting a nod from the 3 involved
“I’ll go get her” Luffy says, stretching and grabbing the girl, screaming the entire flight until she lands in her grandfather’s arms “There we go, a family reunited, Yosh! Well, see you around Morgan, I’ll get past your bounty one day”
Gum Gum Rocket
“Oh I hope you do Luffy, the waves you’re making are going to keep things interesting for YEARS to come” Morgan says to himself, though he sees Noire and Ren nod out the corner of his eye
A few hours later
“So, this may not be the best time, but I felt we should get this over and done with as soon as possible” Kaos explains, placing a tangerine on the table, one that was now a dark amber yellow, as well as covered in swirls
“Is that?”
“Gasparde’s Ame-Ame no mi? Most likely but unless anyone eats it there’s no way for US to be sure” the purplette answers then looks around the room “Now I gathered everyone here, well besides Nami to figure out what we’re going to do with this” he waves his hands in the fruit’s direction
“Well, either someone can eat it, or we can sell it on” Robin lays out the options, keeping things straight forward
“Nami will want to sell it, especially after missing out on that 300 million prize money” Zoro adds, realising pretty quickly why Kaos left the red head out of the loop, as far as this discussion went
“Pretty much. Now, there are 7 people who can eat this fruit, and I’m offering it to 6 of you, again because Nami will reject it out of hand and just demand we sell it”
Zoro shakes his head “My skill is with swords, there’s no need for me to eat a Devil fruit. Find me a better sword and I’ll listen though”
“I’m a sniper, this kind of thing is more a close range kind of attacker, even if it’s a logia I’d rather not be somewhere that I need to be intangible” Ussop chimes in
Luffy looks at the bluenette on his lap “what about it Vivi, candy powers, you could make syrup slashers” he suggests, trying to see the girl’s reaction
“Not to mention making some things a lot more fun between us” Alvida whispers, giggling with Luffy when her face turns bright red
“No, I, I don’t think this fruit is for me. But I do thank you for the gratious offer
Crunch
“Aw, they were right about the taste, mouldy honey for sure”
A pin drops as all eyes turn to Kaya, the half eaten tangerine in her hand
“Kaya” Usopp gasps
The blond pinks “I wanted to be stronger; I wanted to contribute and not be a burden”
“And now you’re leaking all over the floor” Artemis deadpans, the girl looks down and yelps, her lower half having melted into a golden yellow goo, which looked to have the consistency of honey.
“Well… this can’t go badly” Luffy says sarcastically, while Kaya slams her head into the table, not even making he proper thump as she does due to her new candy body.
“As long as something very important is remembered”
SLAP
Usopp growls and Sanji had to be restrained as Kaos practically bitchslaps the medic onto the ground “Logia’s aren’t like paramecia, you aren’t always syrup like Luffy is always rubber and Alvida is always smooth. Eventually you can be like Crocodile, able to reflexively transform when in danger, but until then you will need to will yourself to change or else you might as well still be a normal human” he explains, Kaya nods and the reflect human relaxes… until getting a candy spike glancing off his temple, drawing blood and jamming into the wall behind him. He grins widely, a smaller version on the new logia’s face “Oh this is going to be a lot of fun dearie”
TBC
LW: So, all in one go, somehow. We meet a complete OC pirate crew, some are actual OC’s of a friend of mine while others are OP versions of other characters.
Also there is now one of every type of fruit on the Straw hat Crew:
Paramecia: Luffy, Kaos, Alvida, Victor, Valentina, Robin
Zoan: Chopper, Lasoo(It counts)
Logia: Kaya
Chapter 43: Mock Town, Jaya: Where Dreams go to die
Chapter Text
LW: Well here we are the opening chapter to the Skypeia Arc. I know I may have said and indeed planned to take a break from this story after Alabasta… but it’s been a constant thing in my schedule and I’d already started bits of this even before saying that, so I might as well keep going. Besides, (Spoliers) who could resist punching God in the face? Good luck to me I guess
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Mock Town, Jaya: Where dreams go to die
The Deck of the Going Merry
“So, what’s on your mind?” Robin asks, walking over to Kaos who looked to be staring into space with his back against the Merry’s figurehead
Kaos nods frowning slightly “It’s about Artemis” he replies, both looking over to the girl laughing and screaming as she plays with Chopper, Carue and Lasoo “What do you know about her?”
“Surprisingly little” Robin admits, not looking at the purplette, knowing just for a moment he smirked, seeing her not knowing something, especially when she sold herself as practically knowing everything “Crocodile was also annoyed by that lack of information, but that was to be expected from World Government experiment logs”
Kaos blinks then chokes “The World Government? sh*t, this runs deep” he mumbles “How did this happen?”
“Baroque Works agents found a lab and in it they found her. After relaying the information to Crocodile he went there himself, making sure nobody lived to tell about it, before burning the place to the ground. He then had her tested, less invasively than the people in the lab did to see if she really could do the things the scientists clamed. On that day, Miss Goldenweek was born”
“So I assume you chose the name Artemis?”
“Correct, her name was most likely subject something or other of Project Hypnos. It’s been her name for the last 4 years”
Kaos stands “4 years! Crocodile sent an 8 year old on dangerous missions?”
“1st, it would be a 10 year old, and 2nd, no, Artemis has never been on the highly dangerous missions you’re imagining, I made sure of it. She’s a support character in terms of fighting not a brawler like Luffy, though I did teach her to defend herself up to and including stabbing her paintbrush in her attacker’s eye”
Kaos looks her deep in the eyes “You care about her, you coddle her and she’s got you wrapped around her finger” at Robin’s expression he quickly raises his hands “It’s the same for me, I’m 19, and somehow have a 14 year old who calls me papa… still weird… and I let her. Just like you, she’s snuck her way into my heart and I neither can not want to try get her to leave, nor see her go”
Robin blushes slightly as Artemis runs inside, most likely to get some treats from Sanji or Valentina “I can never thank you or this crew enough, she acts much more human since joining up with you guys, plus I heard someone’s been helping her with her symbols” she grins and they sit in comfortable silence until a scream of frustration is heard coming from inside “Think she knocked over Nami’s maps again?” Robin asks with a chuckle
“No, sounds like we’re having another navigational crisis. Last time Nami made that noise, was when she was trying to use a compass to chart a course through the Grand Line and the thing just spun uselessly. Want to wake the newly weds or should I?”
In the end they decided to compromise, in this instance meaning opening the door and shoving Zoro in, and given the swordsman nearly got his head removed by a half naked Alvida neither regretted the decision. While the those 3 got dressed they gathered the rest of the crew and everyone met up in the main room of the ship.
“We have a problem” Nami begins the meeting, placing the log on the table, a log which was pointing nearly straight up “Now this could be a fluke or proof of damage…”
“It’s not” Kaos responds, placing another pose beside hers, it’s heading practically identical “The pose is telling us the next island is Skyward”
“How do you have another like this?” Victor asks
“Simple really, since we left the lighthouse I’ve had on of our spares calibrated to the previous island, just in case Luffy does something stupid and break it. When Nami screamed I checked my active pose, and understood her frustration” Kaos explains before putting the pose back into his cloak
“So what does it mean?” Chopper asks
“Sky Islands” Robin replies “The problem being that they’re pretty much just a legend, mostly because nobody knows for sure how to get up there to them. Now we have 2 options, try find a way up to these sky islands through whatever insane plans there are or we can stop at another island then we wait for that island’s field to override our current heading and continue onwards”
The group waited silently for Luffy’s decision, even though a handful of them already knew the answer
“Set a course Nami, we’re going to find ourselves a Sky Island!” Luffy yells with a wide grin
An hour later
“f*ck!” Nami screams, shoving everything off her table in anger
“Nothing in the books Cobra gave you?” Kaos asks, picking up the books and stacking them on the ground
“No, how can we get to the islands when nobody knows where they even are and how they can be reached?” she sighs, running her hand through her hair “All we have to go on is a pose currently telling us to somehow fly into the sun”
Vivi frowns and sighs “I’m sorry, all I know about the islands is bedtime stories from when my mother was still around”
“GUYS WE HAVE A PROBLEM” they turn as they hear Usopp yell from the crows nest
As they come out everyone could see why… there was a ship falling from the sky.
“This is going to be severely unpleasant” Robin notes, giving the understatement of the week.
“Everyone grab onto something, doubly important for Devil Fruit eaters” Zoro yells, taking charge as Nami was still BSOD at the time, snapping out of it enough to grab the railing, also giving her a good view of their newest fruit user sticking herself to the mast and solidifying her candy form to secure herself, as well as sending out several candy feelers to try at least give the others an extra lifeline.
The splash from the ship hitting the water sent the Merry bouncing, but luckily the girl was undamaged once the waves settled “Everyone still here?” Vivi asks, after untangling herself from Luffy and her slasher cords.
“Looks like it, now can someone explain how a ship falls from the sky?” Nami asks with a glare, today being a particularly bad one for her.
“And why it’s full of skeletons?” Chopper adds, setting off another wave of panic as they notice a few had landed on the ship during the downpour of ship parts.
Robin stands and approaches one “There are a few ways to find out, you just need to put some effort into it” finding a badly broken skull and beginning to put the pieces back together
“That’s kind of freaky” Valentina mutters, while Artemis and Kaos step closer along with Luffy
“It’s nice to do actual archaeological work after so long” Robin muses aloud, smiling to herself “Now if you can all hold your stomachs for long enough to look at the skull, you’ll see something important”
“That there are pieces missing?” Sanji asks, referring to the 2 holes in the top of the skull, while Kaya and Chopper’s eyes widen
“Close but not quite correct, these holes are proof of trepanation, a medical technique where a hole is cut into the skull for a number of reasons, from superstitious ones like expelling evil spirits, or more understandable ones like removal of a brain tumour. One of the reasons the holes are this rather than the cause of death… is because the bone shows signs of healing and regrowth, meaning this wasn’t an injury that occurred close to death” she explains, both medics nodding as she got everything pretty much right
“It’s a pretty old technique, not a lot of people would do it now a days, nor even be able to attempt it” Chopper admits
“And because of the trepanning done to this man, I’d wager them and the ship to be over 200 years old” Robin hums then blooms hands to retrieve one of their history books “The condition of his teeth and the methods used to keep them that way were common to the south Blue at that point in time… ah there we are! The St. Briss of the Briss Kingdom, exploratory vessel sent out 208 years ago”
“Pretty close prediction there, 8 years off when talking about centuries” Victor praises, causing her to chuckle
“You sure can tell a lot from just some old bones there Robin” Alvida comments, the archaeologist nods
“True, but as an exploratory vessel, we would learn a lot more from the ship itself”
Nami frowns “And that is currently sinking like a stone, or Luffy” the captain nods like a bobble head, chuckling to himself
“So, the fact the ship got up there, means there has to be some way up to the Sky islands, and hopefully we can use it too” Kaos interjects “Anyone got any ideas, because even the normal members of this crew can’t survive going down to that vessel for intel”
“We can, if they bring the air down with them”
Vivi and Kaos groan “Why does this sound like the start of a really bad idea?” she asks sadly
“Because it probably is” the purplette answers
A little later Sanji, Zoro and for some reason (aka nobody could convince him not to) Luffy were decked out in barrel type scuba gear (I’m calling them that, because that’s what they are), Luffy’s covering his entire body due to the whole fruit eater problem, while Sanji and Zoro just had their upper body enclosed.
“This is going to be fun” Luffy cheers
“Nami, I swear to bring you every last scrap of information on that ship back to you” Sanji shouts, waving his arms frantically
“You owe me for this, keeping these 2 idiots alive down there will be a full time job” Zoro grumbles as the tubes are attached and checked. Once everything was safe and secure the Monster trio went in, passing through a nest of giant sea snakes or Sea Kings, hard to tell with such a wide ranging class of creature, until they finally reached the wreck
SALVAGE! SALVAGE THE SEA! SALVAGE!
‘Oh sweet kami’ was the thoughts of about half the crew when another ship came into visual and audible range, the banana/monkey themed vessel was… odd to say the least, but it suited the monkey that appeared to be its captain
“Are we on top of where the ship landed?” the monkey asked
“Yes Captain Sir” was the response from the crew
“Then as Captain of the Mashira pirates I claim this ship as our salvage and property, says the king of Salvagers, Mashira!” Mashira the monkey shrieks
“Well, looks like we have company” Victor states “Should we fire a warning shot?”
“Bark” responds Lasoo, wagging his tail, while Carue and Chopper shrug
“We could try deal with this peacefully?” Vivi suggests, getting a smirk from Kaos
“And that is why Luffy made you Head of diplomatic relations” he says with a laugh “Let’s see what happens next” he adds, just as the Merry gets noticed
“Hey, what are you doing? Trying to steal a ship out from under me ay?” Mashira asks
“No” Kaos answers, unsure if the monkey would believe him
“You know, if they raise the ship, that would make things a lot easier for us all” Robin points out “After all, that is the only way to salvage a ship”
“Good for intel on sky islands, but not good for Sanji, Zoro and Luffy who are still down there” Vivi hisses
“Well, now is as good a time as any to find out if that’s the case” Nami says, before stepping around Kaos and into the salvagers’ view “Excuse me, I have a question!”
Mashira coughs “You have a question for me? Sure, ask me anything you want”
“Are all you big, strong, good looking men going to bring up that ship?” Nami asks, batting her eyelashes and causing most of her own crew to shiver
Mashira grins “It’s nice you can see what a real man looks like”
“Huh?”
“You said we were strong and good looking, which included me”
Nami tilts her head in confusion “Of course”
The monkey’s face currently resembled Chopper’s when he gets compliments “Anyone else mildly traumatised?” Kaos whispers
“I turned my eyes into candy to protect myself; does that answer your question?” Kaya replies, the 1st mate’s eyebrows shoot into his hairline when he sees yellow liquid leaking from between her eyelids
“So are you going to?”
“Of course. If there’s a sunken ship I’ll salvage it, if it’s not sunken, I’ll sink it and then salvage it later”
“Well at least he’s thorough” Alvida says, having taken out the deck chair expecting this to be a lot of waiting around.
“Can we watch you guys salvage the ship?” Nami asks
Mashira looks confused “You mean you’ve never seen a professional salvage crew? Well you’re in for a treat!” he grins, then turns to see what a commotion on the other side of his ship was “What now?”
“The divers, they were attacked”
The monkey groans “Was it the Sea Kings again?”
“No, it looks like someone beat them black and blue with their fists”
“Well it was nice knowing them” Valentina whines, flopping into Victor’s lap
“Hey you guys over there”
“Yes”
“There are some strong guys in the water around here, be careful”
Beat
“Thank God this guy is an idiot” Kaos releases a sigh of relief, the others nodding in agreement.
Watching the Mashira pirates Salvage Squad was actually rather interesting, and what surprised them the most was the captain was able to start the ship’s ascension form the sea floor with his breath alone, something they we’re sure Luffy couldn’t even attempt to do outside of his Balloon form. Finally the St. Briss was on the surface once more, though there was another scuffle midway up (the guys are getting the sh*t beat out of the when they get back to the Going Merry) which lead to Mashira jumping in to investigate… oh and the fact the ship was less on the surface as in the mouth of a giant prehistoric looking turtle which had now risen to the surface
“I should have stayed in bed” Vivi groans, a sentiment shared by everyone right about now
“Well it was nice knowing you all” Artemis chimes in, squeezing between Robin and Kaos as the safest place in her mind to be if all goes to Hell in a hand basket, such as the beast beginning to drag them alongside it
“It appears we are all headed for a grisly fate, either being devoured by the beast, or drowning when it sinks the ship” Robin muses, not helping the already frightened Nami, Ussop, Chopper and Kaya
“Cut the air hoses! We need to save our skins!” the navigator screams, until Kaos smacks her across the ship
“Calm the f*ck down, also everyone step back please” he says calmly, the crew confused but comply, enabling them not to be run over by a flying Luffy shooting out of the air and hitting the deck, shortly followed by Sanji and Zoro climbing up the side “Now we can run for our lives like the cowards some of us are”
“Finally” Usopp sighs, while the medics check up on Luffy and Nami bats the stars out of her eyes. And then it goes dark
“The Grand Line just keeps getting weirder” Zoro grunts, not getting any argument here, especially when the monkey returned, landing on the edge of their ship
“Hand over all the treasure you stole right now, don’t make me sink this ship and find it later, cause I’m not very nice to people who make me do that”
Hearing the T word gets Nami’s attention, the red head instantly zipping over to the monster trio “Treasure, what did you find?”
“Captain, look behind you” one of the monkey man’s crew yell over, prompting everyone on the Merry to do so… and promptly PANIC from the giant shadow of several winged humanoid, cutting an imposing figure if nothing else
“Well…. We’re officially screwed” Robin states almost matter of factly
“Thanks for the vote of confidence”
“Oh like you weren’t thinking it”
This argument broke the shock long enough for one decision to be made: EVERYONE break out the oars and paddle until those things are a distant memory
However long it takes for this crew to keel over in exhaustion
“Okay, I’m about ready to give up on today, who’s with me?” Kaos asks, Artemis passed out on his back, chin on his hands
“So you guys found NOTHNG!” Nami screams at their own salvagers
“Other than a map to some place called Skypeia, no. Nothing that could tell us how to get up there or if the map is even where the pose to directing us” Zoro answers
“Believe me, if there was anything useful down there I would have brought you it, but the place was devoid of anything worthwhile” Sanji promises
“So the boys were unable to find anything, meaning that ship was a bust, but maybe not the other one” Robin grins tossing something to Nami who just barely managed to not get skulled by it
Her eyes widen “This is an Eternal Pose”
“Yep. Snagged it from the salvager’s ship. Seeing as our own pose are less than helpful I thought it best we get something to help in the here and now” Robin explains as she lounges against the railing of the ship
“So, I guess we’re going to Jaya then” Luffy reads over Nami’s shoulder “Maybe they know how to get to Sky islands”
Nami smiles, for once Luffy was being smart-ish “That’s the hope. Should we start moving captain?”
“Of course, the sooner we get to Jaya the sooner we can find Skypeia, or whatever the island’s name is”
“It’ll have to be just a quick stop, or else we might lose the sky island’s magnetic field” Vivi adds, Nami nodding though they both know the others will need reminding when they actually get there again.
Later
“Are you sure this pose isn’t broken too?” Alvida asks, as even according to Nami they should have seen or reached Jaya within the hour
Thump Thump Thump
“Ah, these sea gulls just got shot!” Chopper screams, alerting the others to the commotion and the pile of dead birds on deck
“How could they have been shot, we didn’t hear a thing” Zoro asks
“And killing sky rats seem like a waste of effort for the Nagi Nagi no mi” Kaos adds, looking over the reindeer’s shoulder as he removes a bullet from the animal “Guess we were wrong”
“See they were shot, and the bullets came from that direction” Chopper points a little to the right of them
Luffy grins when he realises what the doctor was saying “So Jaya must be over that a way too”
Another half hour
“This place looks so cool!” Luffy cheers, Chopper and Usopp joining him “It looks like some kind of resort”
“Seems to be a popular place for pirates, at least given how many are out in the open” Robin draws their attention to the row of ships with Jolly Rogers on the dock “Guess Jaya doesn’t get much Marine traffic”
“Good for us then, what with Luffy reaching 100 mill and all” Valentina pipes in, her and Nami ensuring the Merry stops correctly and without damage
“So, anyone want to bet how long it takes Luffy to get into a fight?” Kaos asks as Luffy and Zoro hop off the ship the moment it stopped
“Under an hour, now try prove me wrong” Nami bets, then shoves the reflect human onto the pier “Come on everyone, we need to get supplies and see if anyone knows about Sky islands”
With Luffy, Zoro, and now Kaos
After being given explicit instructions not to cause a scene by Nami, and running into a weirdo handing out apples, some which blow up and some like the one Luffy grabbed which didn’t they reached somewhere they guessed would have useful information… hotel. A nice place too, well until a twitchy guy shuffled over to them
“Um excuse me, this entire place has been rented out by Mr Bellemy, and he has asked me to tell all other guests such as yourself to leave. As you can see I have no say in the matter”
“Of course you do, it’s your establishment after all” Kaos responds, not looking at the man get more worried
“Who’s Bellemy?” Luffy asks
“You don’t know who Mr Bellemy is? He’s a strong pirate worth 55 million beri”
“So he’s an arrogant little sh*t, thanks” the purplette smirks, causing Luffy to laugh and Zoro to smile just a little, as he knew these 2 were going to cause a scene eventually, but at least it would be entertaining
“Who are these riffraff and what are they doing in our hotel?” asks a man with goggles and light blue hair as he walks into the area
“Oh Mr. Sarquiss, I was just explaining to these gentlemen that the hotel has been booked by your captain and that they should leave” the manager explains, continuing to twitch rather painfully
“I don’t care, just get rid of them, Boss gave you a lot to ensure the place is ours while we’re here” the blond beside him whines
“Hey guys, can I beat him up?” Luffy asks, getting lightly head slapped by both guys
“Nami said no fighting, even if this dumbass deserves an anal lobotomy” Kaos grumbles, his fingers twitching around Hebi as he shoves the captain out of the hotel
“Hope the next place has someone useful in it” Zoro says mostly to himself, though loud enough he other 2 could hear, just before they stop in front of a bar “Think we have time for a booze break?”
“Nothing says we can’t” Luffy answers and the three walk in, Zoro and Kaos looking away from him for a minute and the rubber boy already getting himself in a fight with some fat guy with missing teeth kind of resembling an ape, luckily it was just shouting at the moment, but given neither were high on the intelligence scale, it was bound to devolve into a fist fight
“Should we do something?”
“Nah, Luffy can handle himself, it’s just one guy” Zoro raises an eyebrow from Kaos’ bland delivery
“You all right there?” the first mate shrugs
“Yeah, just things are muted, since we got to the island. f*ck if I know what it means” he sighs and orders another drink, sensing another paramecia heading their way, and the headache was forming pre-emptively.
“I’m looking for a pirate that wears a straw hat” came a voice from the door
“If you can’t find him, open your f*cking eyes” Kaos says with a grunt of annoyance
“Are you talking back to me?” he looks up and sees some blond freak show standing over him “I’m Bellemy the Hyena, you’d best be showing me the respect I deserve”
“Bellemy? Oh that little sh*t goggles guy was talking about!” Luffy yells, slapping himself for forgetting, while Zoro facepalms and Kaos grins, just as Bellemy’s crew enter the bar.
Bellemy’s eyes shrink in anger, punching Luffy through the bar, in response both accompanying Straw Hats draw their weapons “You think you can take me, you brats?”
“Actually, yes” Zoro answers
“Listen, we’re probably going to wreck the place and coat the walls in your blood, so before we start fighting and Nami gets pissed at us… Hey Barkeep, do you know how to get to the Sky Islands?” Kaos asks, Hebi in khopesh form, the hook resting on his shoulder
There was silence for a few minutes, during which Luffy stood up and patted himself down, before the entire bar erupts into laughter
“I should have known a crew of weaklings like yourselves were dreamers. You don’t even know about the Knock up Stream” Bellemy laughs as he sits down, looking smug as ever
‘Sounds like that’s where we’re going, even if just to be sure’
“What’s that?” Luffy asks
“Any ship caught in a knock up stream is catapulted into the sky and later slams into the ocean, many years ago ignorant sailors saw ships falling from the sky and assumed there were islands up there, fools just like you 3. Anything strange and supernatural always has a rational explanation” he explains then punches Luffy to the ground “The time of dreams is over, you’re just too stupid to realise it”
“LUFFY!” the scream draws attention to the door, where Nami, Robin and Vivi were standing the eldest confused and a little amused, the navigator looked fearful and worried, and finally Vivi was concerned for nothing but her Captain.
Seeing 3 pretty ladies enter Bellemy attempted to look soave “Hey sexy, how about I show you how a real man treats a lady. I’m kind of a big deal around here, 55 million beri bounty” he cackles, making the reason for his epithet really obvious
The bluenette scoffs “I don’t have time to play with little boys playing pirate, come back with a real bounty” she says, walking over to Luffy as Zoro helps him stand
The blond growls “That wasn’t a request” he yells, his hand extending out…
Honk “Ahh”
CRASH
The second his hand left Vivi’s breast Bellemy found a fist slamming into the centre of his face, throwing him out of the bar so fast some of his crew got whiplash just watching
“NOBODY TOUCHES MY VIVI!” Luffy hisses, the anger palatable in the air
“That kid just punched the boss”
Saquiss grits his teeth and pulls out his ‘big knife’ “Who cares, we’ll just make him pay” he aims for Luffy only for his blade to be split in 2 “What?”
“You assholes look like showmen to me” Kaos says with a taunting smirk “So how about we make thing fun? I presume you’re his first mate?”
“Yeah so what?” the bluenette asks
“So am I, my captain beat yours, so you’re not good enough for him to fight. If you beat me, then maybe you’re worth his time” the purplette then turns to Zoro “I’ll need to borrow a sword”
Zoro grumbles “You better not break it, I need 3 to be able to fight”, Kaos just smiles
“Wouldn’t dream of it, now mister knife” he taunts “pick your poison” he says, placing Kitetsu and Hebi on the table, Luffy, Zoro and Nami’s eye’s blow up like balloons, Robin’s eyebrows rise and Vivi is just confused “Who can stand the cursed blades, who is worthy, time to find out” he explains, before picking up and unsheathing Sandai Kitetsu.
Saquiss laughs “You just showed me which blade is better, you really are a stupid dreamer” he then picks up the khopesh, testing the weight “It’s smaller than I’d like, but I’ll still use it to carve out your hea…ah” the blunette grunts and grabs his shoulder, pain flooding his body
Kaos smirks “You lose” he then puts the katana back into it’s sheath and throws it to Zoro, the swordsman catching it with no effort on his part “Still in one piece, not even a scratch on the guard or blood to wipe off, happy?”
Zoro shrugs “I kind of wanted to see you either do something cool with the sword, or cut your own hand off for being an idiot, so disappointed is the best word to describe my emotional state right now” he replies before putting the sword back with the others
“What are you on about, you didn’t even touch Saquiss and you just threw away your weapon, how dumb are you?” one of the Bellemy pirates scream, leading to Kaos turning to them with a blood thirsty grin
“He lost the second he picked up the blade. I wasn’t lying when I spoke about cursed blades and our worth, both weapons were cursed, and I chose the one I hadn’t yet been tested by. I survived unscaved, partly because I wasn’t dumb enough to risk the Kitetsu’s power. My sword on the other hand has a more direct affliction, Anord Nathair (According to a friend of mine it means Chaos Serpent in irish) if she doesn’t deem you worthy, she will kill you” he then walks over to the twitching Saquiss and grabbed his shirt, tearing the entire right side off to prove his point: the snake usually coiled around the hilt in it’s base form had extended, coiling up the man’s arm and digging it’s fangs into his shoulder, which had slowly spreading black veins emanating from it “I’ll simplify this for you goggles, when the poison reaches your heart you’re dead” he states, dripping with condescension and not even interested when he catches the wrist from his weak swing “You can tell the story of what happened today 2 ways, though I bet I know which way you’ll go, either this moron killed himself…” he pauses to squeeze the man’s wrist so he could remove the khopesh from his hand, doing so causing the snake’s jaw to release and recoil around the hilt once more “... or he was slain by the power of the Sajio O Wazamono Grade Hebi no Oni no mi”
“How do we know that sword can even be used, and it’s not just something you have for tricks like these?”
Kaos sighs and Luffy face palms, the purplette pushes back his cloak so his arm can be seen and holds out Hebi, allowing the serpent to slither up his arm and latch onto his shoulder much like Saquiss. He then spins the blade till it blurs and swings forward, splitting the shades of one of the Bellemy girls and causing it to fall off her face “That’s how. Hebi likes me, just like how Kitetsu seems to like Zoro. Now get lost”
“Zehahaha. You’re quite an odd one boy”
“Hm, oh you’re that cherry guy” Kaos notes clicking his tongue “Why are you back?”
“Noticed the fight, wanted to see if anyone actually would stand up to the brat. Nice to see you’re captain can do that, and that he dreams like a true pirate” the fat man explains with a smile “So, what’s your name and Bounty?
“Mirror Master Kaos, 50 million” he answers, the entirety of Bellemy’s crew collectively thinking of f*ck, this guy was almost as strong as the boss “You?”
“Marshall Teach, and I don’t have a bounty just yet, but I’ve still got time. Dream for the best and then set out to achieve it. Oh and Straw Hat”
“Yes”
“Sky islands are real. Happy hunting, Zehahaha” he laughs as he walks back out
“Well, that was at least kind of helpful” Robin states, then smiles when she sees Vivi was still checking Luffy for injuries.
“Let’s head back, clearly that scruffy guy was the only person worth talking to in this place” Zoro says as he steps around Nami, though the red head grabs him so he doesn’t get lost
“He’s right, we’re done” Luffy once more pants himself down, smiles to Vivi who moves closer to his side and starts moving, though he did stop beside the twitching bluenette long enough to speak “I’ve never seen someone die from the curse on my brother’s blade, Kaos is pretty possessive of it, but I’ll tell you know, you’re probably going to wish he’d given you that anal lobotomy before it reaches your heart” the shadow his hat formed over his face adding to the seriousness of his statement, before letting Vivi lead him back to the ship.
Just before the monkey man finds them again… damn it!
TBC
LW: And done, see you all next month. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
So now we get to see the curse Tashigi was so worried about back in Loguetown, and I think it’s quite understandable why she doesn’t want to risk it.
Chapter 44: Path of the liar
Chapter Text
LW: We’re heading to the sky soon enough, but we need one more chapter of set up. Here we go
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Path of the liar
“For f*ck sake, didn’t we get rid of you already?” Zoro thinks aloud, though the others were thinking something similar, believing kicking the monkey off their ship to be the last they see of Mashira the monkey… apparently not.
“Zoro, just because he looks like a monkey, doesn’t mean he’s the same idiot as before” Nami scolds, though right now wishing Luffy would stop taking directions from Robin, as it was her map which led to them running into another crew helmed by a big ape
“I am Shoujou! This is my territory, so pay the toll or be sunk by my beautiful and powerful voice!” The orangatan looking man yells over at them
“Are we sure it’s not the same person, he certainly sounds like it” Chopper asks, causing Artemis to chuckle
“He just told us his name was Shoujou, so he can’t be Mashira” she replies, getting the green haired man’s attention
“Wait, you know Mashira?”
“Yep, we just tossed him of the boat like an hour ago” Luffy answers with a smile
This was the wrong thing to do “How dare you harm my sworn brother, face my fury” taking his microphone and shrieking into it
Havoc Sonar
“That would have probably hurt, if it had gone off on the Merry” Kaos notes, watching the destruction the man was causing to his own ship with a kind of morbid fascination
Nami was less amused “Then let’s get moving, while he’s distracted” she orders, getting enthusiastic responses as they attempt to skirt around the crew of sonar surveyors, and just in time too as the Merry was beginning to show strain and break apart, from being within range of the attack.
Once a safe distance away Usopp and Victor began to make repairs, the others offering to help wherever they could, though it was clear the ship was beginning to wear thin in places, unfortunately they were important places like the keel and the majority of the hull, rather than say the windows or beds. Plus while an architect by profession, Victor wasn’t exactly good with wood, neither was Usopp but they were clearly the best the ship had, so they made due.
“This pile of crap of falling apart, I say we trade it in for something better, plus it’s getting kind of crowded” Sanji complains as the main deck was being put back together
“How dare you say something like that, do you even know how we got this ship?” Usopp shrieks defensively, calming a little when Kaya puts a hand on his shoulder as she sits beside him
“Calm down Usopp, I’m sure he isn’t trying to make you feel bad” she says comfortingly, causing the sniper to smile sadly at her
“Whatever we plan to do, we need an actual shipwright, can’t have Usopp shouldering the burden all the time. Plus having someone who knows what they’re doing would be more efficient than any of us starting from scratch” Kaos adds, accepting another nail from Carue’s bill, before she runs over to deliver one to Luffy who nods
“Right, shipwright, then a musician” he agrees, hammers his finger, blinks and continues working.
A little while later
“So, we left Mock Town, circled the 2 outcrops of the island…”
“They look like sea monsters” Luffy chuckles before Nami punches him out of the way of the map
“… and now we’ve reached the believed home of this?” Nami waves her hand in the air, hoping to get an answer
“Mont Blanc Cricket” Robin finally responds, mostly because Nami had turned a strawberry colour, usually associated with violent behaviour in the navigator
“Hey guys look at this” Chopper yells, getting gasps when they see the majestic castle right in front of them.
“This must be the place” Vivi announces “Should we send a boarding party?”
“No need” Luffy responds, hopping over the side and landing safely “Ah man, it’s a fake, the real house isn’t anywhere near as cool”
“So, why is Cricket all the way out in the middle of nowhere anyway?” Alvida asks while they anchor the ship and prepare to disembark
Robin shrugs “From what I heard, it’s due to his belief there’s a large amount of gold on Jaya, but I don’t have all the details”
“GOLD” Nami and yells, her eyes turning into berri signs “So he’s looking for buried treasure out here?”
“Yes, that’s the general consensus”
“It’s mine I tell you mine!” the red head cackles, picking up Chopper and running onto the land, hoping to use him to dig up the gold for her
“And you wonder why I’ve called her Gold-On, was it really necessary to tell her there’s gold in them hills?” Kaos chuckles as he follows Luffy, who desides Breaking and Entering is on the list of acceptable crimes he can perform “Find anything yet?”
“Nope, the guy’s not here.” Luffy sighs, his face looking bored
“What’s this?” Valentina hums as she picks up a book “Hey guys, I found something. It’s a book, a really old one. Noland the Liar”
“Noland? Sounds familiar” Sanji wonders aloud, scratching his head
“It says it was first published in the North Blue, does that help?” she asks, getting a smile from the cook
“It does, I was born in the North, I probably read or at least leafed through it when I was younger”
“Hm, I didn’t know you were from the North” Nami says
“It’s not really something you can see, but given the Red Line I understand if you assumed I was East born and raised” Sanji waves off the comment
“Anyway, what’s in the book” Usopp whines, getting the kilo girl to continue talking, the story she recalled, alongside Sanji who was remembering more bits and pieces of it as she went on, actually reminded the crew of their own liar/sniper, given Noland also had a habit of regaling the people of his village with his tall tales, much like Usopp used to do with Kaya. It took a darker turn than their liar, as when he told the King of the City of Gold and he set out looking for it, only to find an ordinary island, he was sentenced to death for lying to his king, as well as being the reason for all but a hundred of his best warriors dying along the way. Noland died, claiming the city must have sunk into the sea between when he discovered it and when he returned, but nobody believed him, and he went down in history as simply Liar Noland.
“Well, that was sad” Victor sighed “Though this city of gold must be what Cricket is looking for”
“What are you all doing here, this is my land?” everyone turns to see an angry and muscular blond man with a chestnut on his head running towards them “Loughing around on someone’s doorstep is rude, but given it’s mine I know why you’re here. You won’t get my gold” he yells lashing out and trying to punch or kick anyone he could, knocking Luffy into his wall and nearly hitting Sanji a couple times, before collapsing in pain
“That was weird” Robin notes “What do we do now?”
“Doctor, we need a doctor” Chopper mumbles hopping from one foot to the other
Quack [‘You’re a DOCTOR’]
Chopper blinks “Oh yeah”
A little later
“So this weirdo has the bends?” Kaos asks as Chopper and Kaya begin treatment
“Correct, it’s a condition that effects divers who don’t return to the surface correctly, failing to allow time for decompression”
“And given his ancestor said the City of Gold was under the Ocean, it makes sense he’d be down there” Kaya agrees “Frantically searching for something to prove Noland wasn’t just some crazy liar like everyone thinks, he probably almost never thought to let his body readjust, causing damage to accumulate over time, until he passed out just now”
Nami frowns “Damn. For once I’m glad I don’t have a family name or legacy”
Luffy waves his arm dismissively “Don’t worry about it Nami, Kaos Ace and I have family names and they don’t mean sh*t” he attempts to assure her, in the end only getting punched in the head by his navigator and brother
Vivi tears up a little, as she places a comforting hand on Cricket’s shoulder “The weight of a family legacy, of its history. It’s never an easy thing to bear” she whispers before standing.
It was at this point the door was flung open and both the large monkeys from earlier in the day appeared
‘Well sh*t’
“What are you doing here? What did you do to the old geezer?” they ask loudly
“We’re trying to help him, he collapsed right in front of us” Luffy explains, pointing to his 2 medics
“Oh. Thank you for helping our friend” Mashira and Shoujou state warmly, making Luffy and a couple others smile
“So you guys live on this island”
Mashira nods “Yeah, this is the main base of the Saruyara Alliance, between me, my brother and the Big Boss Cricket” he explains
Shoujou agrees “But we spend most of our time on the ships, so it’s mostly the old guys place. Plus it’s a bit too small for the 3 of us”
“True”
“Luffy!” the captain turns as Chopper throws the door open “He’s awake”
“Awesome” Luffy cheers then runs in “Hey chestnut head” he greets, the man smiles as he puts out a cigarette
“Sorry about earlier, I thought you were bandits out for my gold” Nami had to be restrained (turns out eating a syrup fruit makes that a lot easier) to stop her asking where the gold was “So what brings you to me?”
“We’re looking for the sky islands and was told you might be able to help us” Vivi explains
Cricket looks at her like she’d grown another head “You….” He then begins laughing, proper genuine belly laugh, right until Luffy and Kaos punch him into the wall
“Ah, don’t do that he’s still recovering” Chopper shrieks and the blond gets back on his feet
“We’ve had enough of people laughing in our faces every time sky islands existence come up in conversation. Now can you help us or not”
Cricket takes another drag and sighs “I don’t know, the only person who’s ever claimed to have seen the islands is a liar of epic proportions” Kaos grabs Usopp with Traptrix and secures him to Cricket’s bed “Can you do that somewhere else?”
“Where’s the Sky Islands?” Luffy yells in the long nose’s face, causing Cricket to face palm
“Not him you idiot. Noland”
“Oh” Luffy grunts as Kaos lets Usopp free, sidestepping his angry, flailing limbs.
“So, you’re here looking for the treasure, to show Noland was right?” Alvida asks, the response being a bullet which slide off her arm
“No. After this long there’s not a drop of Noland’s blood in my veins and I never cared if the story was true or not. I was still the only one in my family after 400 years to end up back on this island though so I took this as a sign that my family’s legacy of ridicule will end with me one way or another” Cricket states bitterly, putting the gun down once more and staring out into the sea
“That still doesn’t explain the monkeys” Artemis pipes in
“They’re fans of the book” Cricket answers, causing everyone to fall over in shock “They believe the city is down there somewhere, and they’re helping me look for it. They found me on this island about 5 years ago, they’re loud, annoying and spend nearly every moment together fighting, but they grow on you and I’m sure I’d miss having them around if they ever decided to leave”
Sanji chuckles “Yeah, I think the same about moss head and psycho sometimes”
“Really, we thought of you and Zoro, especially the fighting each other part” Luffy retorts, Chopper and Usopp nodding “Anyway, what can you tell us about the Sky Islands”
“Like I already said, the only person who has seen the sky islands, is Noland and nobody knows if that’s true or another of his tall tales” Cricket rubs his eyes, then picks a book off his shelf “This should help” he says, opening it and handing it to Nami “Bottom of the page”
Nami reads the passage from Noland’s logbook aloud, the information on the page catching a few of her crew’s attention, as well as invigorating them to finding a way to the island. While they cheered, imagined and tried to come up with something that should work Cricket slipped away, stopping where Mashira and Shoujou were wresting “So boys, what do you think of those pirates?”
“Crazy, but strong. Why old man?”
Cricket sighs, then turns back to his house and smiles “Those kids, they’re determined to reach the sky island, nothings going to deter them. Feel like helping them get there?”
The 2 monkey men smile “It’ll be our pleasure”
“Those kids won’t stand a chance without our help” Mashira boasts and laughs, Cricket feeling younger already, something about these people filling him with life and energy.
A little later
“So, why did you call us over here?” Usopp asks Cricket who folds his arms
“Simple. I can tell nothing I say is going to stop you from trying to reach the sky islands, so I’m going to tell you everything I know about them”
“Really, thanks Mister” Luffy replies with a grin.
“Now, nothing I say here is a proven fact, so take it all with a pinch of salt okay?” everyone nods “Good. Now there’s a strange phenomenon that occurs around here, where the sky goes black as night even in the middle of the brightest day…”
“That happened to us, when we met Mashira” Chopper gasps
“And then we saw those giant monsters” Kaya adds
Cricket raises an eyebrow “You saw them. There is a story as to what they are, but that’s a discussion for later. Right now we focus on the darkness, which is formed by an extremely dense cloud…”
“Cumulonimbus clouds, but the sky turned to night, clouds just make the day…” Nami interrupts then stops, looking for the right word
“Cloudy?”
“Cloudy”
“Cloudy!”
“Shut your traps I’m trying to explain sh*t!” Cricket yells silencing them “It’s called a Cumuloregalia. It forms high in the sky, has no internal air currents and doesn’t cause rain, no light can reach the ground through it and a sunny day turns black as pitch. It’s like a giant hand reached out and snuffed out the sun, leaving only the darkness of the void. Some people think they’re fossil clouds, petrified and now drift through the air for thousands of years. Feel free to think whatever you want about that theory, but the point is if the Sky Islands are anywhere, it’ll be on one of those clouds”
“So it’s a mystery cloud” Luffy summarises then jumps up “We have a destination, to the shadow cloud!”
“And how do you plan for us to get up there?” Kaos asks, lowering the hype significantly
“He has a point, getting up there is the hard part, in this case the best option will most likely be the Knock Up Stream, which can send ships shooting into the air, and theoretically shoot you high enough to reach the cloud in question”
“So, the mystery current will get us there, sounds easy” Luffy says with a grin
“Except for the part where we come back down to the ocean with a smash, like the St. Briss did” Robin points out, allowing panic to set in once more
“She’s right, just sailing into the knock up stream is practically suicide and is usually best avoided at all costs. These things occur about 5 times a month a various locations, last about a minute and essentially connect the sea and the sky for that length of time”
“So we’re supposed to sail into an exploding jet of water that occurs randomly 5 times a month and HOPE there’s a sky island nearby?” Usopp asks
“Yep, and if you miss or time it incorrectly, you get blasted into fish food, either from the knock up stream itself, or hitting the ground afterwards” Cricket agrees with a nod, leading to the coward getting in Luffy’s face
“So, I guess we’re giving up on the Sky Islands then, because this plan is insane and you’d need to be the luckiest man in all creation to pull off something like this”
“And that’s why we’re doing it” Kaos answers, based on the fact Luffy hadn’t stopped smiling since Cricket started talking, his grin actually getting larger as time went on
“Yes, we’re riding the Knock Up Stream and finding ourselves a Sky Island!” Luffy declares, causing Usopp, Nami and Kaya to faint, Cricket and Robin to chuckle, Kaos and Artemis to laugh and Zoro to sigh, the rest unsure how to process what they were about to undertake
“The next problem is your ship, even bran new there is no way it could survive the intense power of what it’s about to experience. Luckily I’m going to have Mashira and Shoujou work on it, get it ready to fly as well as reinforce the main super structure. Right boys?”
“You betcha pops!” the monkey men cheer
“Thanks guys” Luffy shouts back
“We’re completely screwed aren’t we?” Valentina asks, getting nods form pretty much everyone still conscious
“So, when does the Knock up Stream coincide with this shadow cloud thing?” Alvida asks, while Chopper tries rouse their crewmates
“About noon tomorrow” Cricket answers
“WHAT!”
“So we have a pretty good chance of making it then” Kaos grins as Nami and Usopp huddle together and cry
“Food’s ready everyone!” Sanji yells from the house, drawing attention to slightly better things, in this case Sanji’s cooking
It was during the standard Straw Hat gathering/party Cricket revealed his treasures, bell shaped golden ingots he’d pulled up on some of his dives, as well as telling them the story of Noland regarding the island, or more importantly the giant golden bell these were clearly meant to represent or resemble.
Robin smiles around her cup “At least it’s proof there was a civilization here at some point, you don’t melt your resources into ingots unless you have a more advanced trading system than simple barter, after all an ingot has no inherent use, other than the resources it’s made of, but if it represents something, such as say 1,000,000 berri then you can buy things with the bell” she explains, hopefully well enough her slightly drunk crewmates understood, if the nods were genuine then they did
“So the city of gold is real” Nami swoons, hugging one of the bells against her chest
“And the golden bell of the story” Usopp adds with a smile
“And sky islands” Luffy finishes
“one more thing” Cricket reveals another golden statue, this of a bird “The call, far as anyone can tell, is of a south bird, they still exist and actually be found on Jaya to this day
Mashira nods “Yeah, in the old days sailors used to use the south bird to navi….” He stops, and both monkeys and Crickey let out a yell
“What’s wrong?” Victor asks
“You all need to head into the forest in the south side of Jaya right away”
“Why?” Nami asks
“You’re looking for the knock up stream, which is directly south of this island, how do you plan to get there?” Cricket asks
“Sail due south of course” Luffy answers like Cricket is the idiot, meanwhile Kaos groans and Nami’s eyes widen, both realising the problem
“You dumbass, have you forgotten you’re in the Grand Line? Compasses don’t work out here and Log Pose only point to the next or specific islands” Cricket yells, hitting the straw hat boy “What you need is the South Bird. Like the name suggests, if left to it’s own devices it will point itself due south, which is exactly what you need for this to work”
“So we need to find this bird or else we have no chance of getting to the Knock Up Stream in time” Vivi summarises, to which Cricket nods
“Pretty much. Now get moving, you need to have the bird by morning or you can kiss your chances of seeing Sky Island goodbye, We’ll stay here and work on the repairs to the ship” The entire crew bolt from the house, catching the nets Mashira tosses them along the way “In hind sight, maybe that party wasn’t the best plan” he thinks aloud
“Probably true boss, but it was fun” Shoujou agrees with a shrug
In the forest
Between spider, centipedes, moths, quicksand and a purple fish headed bird being an asshole, let’s just say it wasn’t a good night for the straw hats, though Luffy did find some nice beetles for his collection, Usopp found a friendly tarantula, and Zoro found every puddle of quicksand/sinking mud in the forest… in hind sight it may have been a good idea to put a rope around his waist to stop him waking off and getting lost as usual. The fact Cricket forgot to mention the bird appeared to be able to control insects was a pain in the ass, though at least most of the bugs could be easily beaten and those that weren’t could be outrun, but with every wave of bugs there was a growing urge to pluck and roast the damn bird rather than use it as a living compass. The only reason they managed to catch one in the end, was because one of them got co*cky when the crew were about to give up, bouncing around on a branch and left itself wide open to Robin grabbing it, thought it was only her immense restraint she didn’t also wring it’s damn neck
Back we go to Cricket and the monkeys
“Hey old guy, we got one of the birds, you forgot to mention they’re dicks” Luffy shouts as they exit the forest… and stop dead at the devastation in front of them.
“Holy sh*t what happened here?” Alvida gasps
“Cricket!” Vivi yelps as she sees the beaten body of the old man
“Mashira” Valentina adds, grimacing when she sees the large gash in his back
“Shoujou too” Sanji says before jumping in to pull the man back to land
“The Merry’s been split in 2” Kaya meeps
“What!” Usopp screams “Who would do such a thing?”
“Sorry about the mess kids” Cricket coughs as he comes too and sees the Straw Hats were back “Looks like I’m not as strong as I used to be, doesn’t help that bastard likes to use sneak attacks to win” he growls then slowly pulls himself up “But there’s still a lot of work to do, if that ship is going to fly tomorrow”
Luffy is quickly by his side, steadying him “Hold it chestnut head, what happened, who did this?”
Cricket grmaces “Doesn’t matter, what’s more important is…” he smiles as he see’s Zoro holding the South Bird upside down by it’s ankles “Well I’ll be damned you did catch one”
“They’re assholes, you forgot to mention that” the swordsman grumbles, as the bird howls once more
“Luffy!” at his name being called the rubber boy turns from Cricket to Nami “Cricket’s gold, it’s gone”
The anger flowing from the straw hat crew could be felt in the air, thick and heavy on Cricket and the monkeys, thought they were glad not to be the targets of this rage
“Who did this?” Kaos asks again, this time there was no room for dismissal
“Some punk with spring powers, has the strength of a pirate, but none of the heart, he’s a coward who’s afraid to dream” Cricket grumbles, hoping to sidestep the issue
“He means Bellemy, that punk who you punched through a wall after he groped Vivi” Kaos translates
“HE DID WHAT?!” Sanji and Alvida shout
“Nobody gets away with touching princess Vivi while I’m around”
“Nobody gets to touch Vivi’s tit* but me and Luffy” [You can figure out who said what without me telling you, right?]
“Hey look a nightlight, that should help the alliance fix Merry” Despite the circ*mstances Kaos couldn’t resist a the joke when he saw the bluenette’s luminous blush “Need a hand?” he then asks Luffy who shakes his head
“Robin, if I follow the coast will I get to Mock Town?” Luffy ask, his voice devoid of life
“It should” Robin answers with a shrug
Cricket rises to his knees “Don’t be stupid kid, there are more important things than some gold”
“You make the ship good enough to sail on, I’ll be back by morning” Luffy orders and reassures, cracking his knuckles before running straight for Mock Town. Straight for Bellemy.
TBC
LW: Well, seems the punch to the face Luffy gave him in the previous chapter didn’t teach Bellemy to not be a dick.
Hope you enjoyed this, see you all next time.
Chapter 45: Beat Down and Rise Up
Chapter Text
LW: So, this is shorter than normal, I blame the stuff with the marines not giving me anything worth changing/writing. Anyway, up, up and away :D
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Beat Down and Rise Up
“110 million for a runt like you, the marines must have made some kind of mistake” Bellemy laughs as he stares down the silently glaring straw hat, Luffy not speaking a word other than to call the blond out of the bar. He then proceeds to spring onto the roof Luffy was standing on “Only good thing is beating you black and blue will make my bounty rise even higher, and show the world dreamers don’t belong on the ocean any more”
Luffy snorts “And when I’m done kicking your ass, I’m taking back Cricket’s gold, bringing it back to him and heading for the sky in the morning” he says, cracking his knuckles
“Hahahaha, you stupid brat, there is no island in the sky, I’m going to teach you that even if I have to beat it into your thick…”
Gum Gum Battle Axe
Bellemy didn’t get to finish that remark, mostly because Luffy’s kick took him out as well as the building they were both standing on, Luffy walking away like nothing happened until he was standing in front of the remainder of the blonde’s scared sh*tless crew “The Gold. NOW!” they were gone fast enough to leave smoke trails, then dropping the gold in a bag at the rubber boy’s feet. He threw it over his shoulder without comment and went back the way he came, leaving the pirates to fish their unconscious captain out of the wreckage, and the rest of Mock Town counting their blessings Luffy hadn’t been there for them
[I know the fight was longer in the anime, though Luffy still 1 hit KO’d the spring dick, I just thought skipping his monologue and generally dumbassery was a good nut shot to his ego]
Meanwhile with the rest of the crew
“This guys are making swift work on the repairs” Nami notes, staying out of the way of the Alliance, Usopp, Victor, Kaos and Zoro (he was conscripted for heavy lifting duties)
“And given they were beaten unconscious and Mashira nearly got his spine removed, they really are quite a strong bunch” Vivi adds, then sighs “I really hope Luffy isn’t biting off more than he can handle going after Bellemy”
“Those idiots can’t even touch the captain, if there was any chance of Luffy getting hurt then Kaos, Zoro or both of them would have insisted on going with him, rather than just letting him run off” Robin assures, cradling a sleeping Artemis to her chest, the red head mumbling incoherently
“At least someone has the right idea” Alvida mumbles, not able to get any shut eye with how bad the ground was as a bed, though Valentina didn’t seem to care, snoring quietly not that far from the other girls
The next day
“Where’s that moron, we’re going to miss the Knock Up Stream if he takes any longer” Nami complains, she may not want to risk her life like this, but not doing so simply because their captain was a no show would annoy her more than relive her.
“Maybe one of us should have gone with him” Zoro suggests, passing the time sparing with Kaos, the taller straw hat keeping the swordsman out of his usual striking range as well as bouncing around to avoid speed strikes.
“You don’t think something bad happened to him, do you?” Artemis asks
“If they didn’t I’m going to” the navigator replies, fists clenched in her pants
“Hey! Guys!”
“Luffy!” everyone yells as they see the boy running towards them with a bag on his back
“I got Crickets gold, and I found a Hercules beetle on the way back” the straw hat teen cheers, waving the bug in the air. He then stops when he sees the new improved Merry, decked out with wings and off additions which turned the Lamb at the front into a messed up chicken “That’s…. so cool!”
Usopp grins “May I present to you the Merry Mark 2, flying edition”
“It can fly?” Luffy gasps
“Yes, thanks to the work of the Sarayama alliance and the elbow grease of the rest of the lads in the crew we have a new and improved ship ready for the voyage ahead” Alvida explains
After returning the gold to Cricket, who took it without response, Luffy thanked the monkey men and their crew before hoping onto the Merry and giving the order they were all waiting for, to set sail for the Knock Up Stream, and the Sky Island.
Things were pretty chill for a while, mostly comprised of Luffy tormenting the South bird, or trying to get the others to relax a little, until like most things in the Grand Line the cumuloregalus cloud decided to ignore the rules and showed up early, setting everyone into a frenzy of action as they frantically searched for signs of the Knock Up Stream about to erupt. Which they managed to locate and sail towards, leading to the Merry as well as both monkey’s boats hopping around in the rough waves, a signal of an upcoming Stream, and usually a sign to get the Hell out of dodge.
“Nami, what does the Log Pose say?” Robin shouts, breaking the red head from her frozen shock
“Um, it’s pointing directly at the cloud”
“So the theory must be true then, the cloud does hold the sky island” Valentina says with a grin, holding the steering rod steady as the ship rocks.
“We’re about to find out” Kaos responds as the Monkeys clamp onto the Merry “Hm?”
“We’re leading you closer, head for the centre and everything should go smoothly” Mashira shouts
“He wants us to go to the centre? Of that!” Nami shrieks, as the size of the whirlpool in front of them is finally revealed
“Well, it was nice knowing you guys” Artemis deadpans, before hiding inside along with Valentina, Carue and Lasoo
“I don’t wanna die, quick lets turn back, that sounds great doesn’t it?” Ussop asks, practically begs
“Too late, Captain’s excited and we’re locked in, best hold onto the ship and your ass, then just let the ship take us to the sky” Victor replies, partly to calm and also to point out a simple fact: Luffy wants this, they’re not changing course.
The sea king popping up right next to them, then getting sucked into the whirlpool may have killed some of the enthusiasm, mostly in Chopper, who went from cheering to scared, but mostly was a sign for those who didn’t want to go that this was a bad idea
“It’s time for us to go, you’re on your own from here” Mashira says as he unclamps the Merry, him and Shoujou sailing their ships away, despite protest from a few of the now paniked Straw Hats
“Bye, see you later” Luffy calls with a wave, then cheerily looks into the abyss with Kaos, the other having his hat over his eyes “Think we’re ready?”
“The f*ck if I know, we better” was the purplette’s answer, as Luffy had expected.
Shouting, screaming and even pleading for Luffy to let them turn back lasted for practically the entire time they were being pulled towards the whirlpool, Kaos ‘helpfully’ pointing out they’d passed the point of no return… yesterday, to Nami’s annoyance. The weird thing was, when they reached what was supposed to be the centre of the vortex, nothing happened. The sea turned flat calm, which just unnerved the crew
Until 2 words left their navigator’s lips “It’s starting”
“You sure Nami swan?” Sanji asks
“Yes, I can feel it” she squeaks “We’re right in the path of the Knock Up Stream”
“Stop right there!” a voice called from somewhere behind them
“Hey guys, we have company” Vivi calls, Luffy bouncing over to see who
“Hey it’s that fat, scruffy guy from Jaya” he notes “looks like he has an even smaller crew than we did when we entered the Grand Line” and he was right, including Blackbeard there were only 4 of them on the boat
“Straw Hat Luffy, I’m come all this way to collect on the 110 million beri bounty, might even take the rest of your crew while I’m at it. No need to be shy boy Zehahaha!”
“This man has really sh*tty timing” Alvida mumbles, getting nods from a few of the others
“We can take him” Zoro assures them, readying his blades while Kaos sighs deeply
“We don’t have time for this crap” he groans, just as the ship begins to rise “See what I mean”
“Everyone hold onto something, or get inside, this isn’t going to be a nice trip” Sanji warns, checking all the girls are safe before securing himself (the guys can all fall off the side of the ship for all he cares)
WHOOOOOM
‘HOLY sh*t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’
“We’re sailing upwards”
“Just like Reverse Mountain, again”
“Only we didn’t get shot out of a cannon last time”
“This is so cool, Skypeia here we come!”
Things were going well until the Merry started to loose it’s connection to the stream, it’s nose rising and beginning to mess with it’s balance. Luckily Nami realised they could use the Merry’s sails to catch the energy and wind flow coming off the explosive Knock Up Stream to help keep them on the path, so once they got the sails open they actually began to rise faster, to the point it was practically flying, to the amusem*nt of a few of her crewmates, soaring higher and higher until it finally pierces the cloud layer, shooting into the air and dropping onto something, knocking everyone to the ground
“Okay, who’s not dead?” Kaos wheezes, like most of the others lying spread eagle on the deck of the Merry
“Look’s like everyone’s alive, though I wouldn’t call anyone’s condition as good” Sanji answers, breathing slowly and deliberately like the few sitting members, mostly Zoro and Robin
“Hey guys, come look at this” Luffy chirps, looking annoyingly cheerful and hyper, making a few of them want to punch him. They still did as asked, and found themselves surrounded by clouds, or something similar to it which the ship was actually floating on
“This is impossible” Nami whispers “How are we doing this, we should have fallen back through the cloud already”
“Boats float, clouds float, same thing” Luffy dismisses with a shrug, getting a punch from Nami and Vivi
“No it isn’t!”
“It’s like an ocean of clouds” Victor summarises, surprised and impressed, the Grand Line keeps getting weirder
Nami nods then frowns deeply “We have another problem guys” she says, holding out her arm “The log pose is still pointing up”
Robin chuckles “So I guess that means we’re somewhere in the middle of the regalus, and more elevation is required”
“What? How are we supposed to get higher, it took the Knock Up Stream to get us this far?” Valentina asks, not seeing any way around that
Given there was no danger, stupid occurred as per usual with this crew, in this case Usopp decides to take a dip in the White Sea, Luffy and Chopper happy to let him… until a little later Robin pointed out an ocean in the sky probably didn’t have a bottom like the Blue seas, but instead opened out into the sky. This sent everyone into a panic, Luffy stretching his arms and Kaya forming candy tentacles in order to try find Usopp, Robin blooming eyes onto the appendages so they could locate Usopp and therefore have better than pure luck when it came to actually retrieving him. When Robin managed to find Usopp Kaya’s syrup stuck fast, as well as wrapping itself around his bare chest, then pulling him back in like a fish on a hook, a comparison Alvida actually made (well more about hooking her man) and was promptly head slapped by Nami and Kaos. Luffy on the other hand, managed to find sky fish, possibly even Sky Sea Kings, hard to tell when they popped like balloons when Zoro struck one, while the other deflated when Sanji kicked it.
“It’s hard to breath up here, air’s pretty thin” Zoro pants while the others were examining the fish Sanji knocked into the side of the Merry, as well as the ones accidentally ‘caught’ by Kaya’s fishing line.
“Well we are incredibly high in the sky Zoro, it’s like being on top of a mountain but even more so” Robin explains, poking and prodding at the small blue fish in her hand, at least until it gets taken away by Sanji and made into food “It seems the creatures up here have evolved to better survive in this sky sea, getting lighter, more elastic body and forming inflatable organs, all of which can help catch prey, deter predators, or simply make swimming in the sky easier” she then smiles after accepting a plate from Sanji, the sky fish tasting even better than Noland’s journel led them to believe after the 2 blonds got their hands on it.
A small thump caught their attention, Chopper falling off the side of the ship, clearly in shock “What’s wrong Chopper?” Vivi asks, helping the reindeer up
“I saw another ship, but something attacked it, it’s gone now” he explains fearfully, a shiver running down their spines; they weren’t alone, and what was up here wasn’t friendly
“So there are sky pirates?” Luffy asks, this time not getting head slapped as they really had no clue what was up here.
“We don’t know… ah f*ck, we got another weirdo heading in our direction” Alvida groans, looking the same way she was the crew saw a man in a mask sliding towards them “Oy, what do you want?”
“To destroy you!” the man answers, at least he was direct about it, kicking Sanji in the face as he landed on the deck of the Merry
“How about no?” Kaos responds, readying his weapon like the others. Unfortuntely for them (despite Nami’s ‘encouragement’ which was yelling at them to do better) the masked man was able to jump and weave his way around the deck, kicking their asses before jumping off the ship and readying his bazooka and preparing to fire
“We’re boned” Valentina sighs, seeing stars from the kick to the face
Luckily God hears prayers of ‘I don’t want to die’ as a knight on a winged horse appeared and attacked the other man, who had to stop trying to blow up the ship in order to block the older man’s lance, the knight landing on the side of the ship where he steps down and looks over the Straw Hats
“Another one, just who are you?” Nami asks, having enough for one day of these nutters
“You may call me the Sky Knight” the man says, his bird dropping down beside him as he steps off the side and other the main deck of the Merry.
“What the Hell was going one, and more importantly what was that?” she directs the 2nd question at the panting and nearly collapsed fighters on deck “You had him at a major disadvantage, numbers and most likely power, and he still kicked your as…” Kaos pulled himself to a standing position… mostly so he could wrap his hand around Nami’s face and slam her into the deck.
“Feel free to f*cking participate next f*cking time you ginger bitch” he growls before falling over
“Why does it hurt so much to move, and breath?” Luffy whines, panting like veryone else
“It must be the thin air, there’s not enough oxygen, or your body hasn’t quite realised there’s so little and so you can’t get enough energy into your body in order to fight well” Robin theorises, getting a nod from the Sky Knight, making her smirk
The sky knight looks them over appraisingly “You must all be Blue Sea people” he notes out loud
“Blue Sea?” Vivi asks
“What we call people who come from below the clouds, you’re currently on the White Sea, 7,000 m up” the Sky knight explains “The White White Sea is further up, about 10,000 m up, ordinary blue sea people can’t handle that kind of terrain”
“Who said anything about ordinary?” Luffy responds with a D grin
“He’s right, I think I’m getting used to it, or at least it’s not hurting to breath” Alvida and Zoro add, the woman stands while the swordsman is content to remain sitting for now. Either way the sky knight is surprised by their recovery speed
“Um, Mr Sky Knight” Chopper pipes in, getting the old man’s attention “Who was that guy, and why did he attack us?”
“Hold your wings, I’m sure you have questions but we need to handle business first”
“Business?” Nami asks, having recovered from her faceplant and was now standing, the scent of money most liely helped
“I’m what you call a solider for hire…”
“So were we, mercenaries aren’t a Blue Sea exclusive club I guess” Victor jokes, getting a nod from Valentina and Artemis, while Robin just smiles
“…anyway. The White Sea is quite a dangerous place, with many gurilla’s more than happy to sink your vessel and have you feed the sky fish, but if you purchase a 5million extol warn whistle I can protect you”
“5 million extol?”
The old man looks to be annoyed by the question “Listen here, that is a very good price and I can’t afford to lower it any more, I have to make a living myself after all”
“That’s nice, but we still have no clue what extol are” Sanji explains
“What? But you must have come here from the Sumit of High West right? You’ve got to have passed an island or two since then”
“High what? No, we used the Knock Up Stream” Luffy answers
The Sky Knight appeared shocked “Seriously, there are still people who use that monsterous current? Did you loose anyone on the trip?”
“No, we’re good, everyone was fine” Luffy replies dodging an angry Nami’s attempt to strangle him for sending them on a suicide mission
“Good to hear, had you used any other method you would have lost a good few, where as the Knock Up Stream has 2 possible outcomes, everyone lives, or everyone dies. Not many people are willing to risk it all, especially these days, you have quite a talented navigational crew there boy”
“We don’t mean to brag” Usopp begins but gets knocked aside by Nami, who catchs the whistle tossed to her
“This is the One whistle blow it and I shall come. As I said, normally I would charge you 5 million extol, but consider it a gift for today, as a good job for suriving that current. Good day”
“Wait, we still don’t know your name” Vivi shouts
“I am Ganfal. And this is my friend Pier” he says pointing to his bird, which then began shifting and contorting, sounding painful even if it wasn’t “And he’s no ordinary bird, some time ago he ate a horse horse fruit, meaning he can now transform into a Pegasus” that sounded impressive, but the end result really was underwhelming, and a disappointment for the girls. Ganfall got on Piere’s back and the bird horse rode into the sky, leaving the Straw Hats to whatever.
“Well, that happened”
“He didn’t really tell us anything useful did he?” Artemis asks, getting shaken heads from those near by
“So, any idea what we do next? Or where to go?” Zoro asks
“I know we can call the old man back and ask him” Luffy suggests, getting headslapped by Nami for being stupid
“We could try over there” Kaya suggests, pointing to something that resembled a waterfall “It is the only landmark in sight, so either it helps us get higher, or there will be people there to ask for directions”
“Good plan Kaya. Valentina, Nami, set course for that thing” Luffy orders, the 2 girls nod and get the Merry sailing again. Well it was until they reached an oddly solid piece of cloud blocking their path, finding it functioned like the ground and at times like a trampoline, Luffy had to play with it, joined shortly by Usopp and Chopper, Artemis kept on the ship by Robin, much to the young girls annoyance. Good news came when Usopp spotted some kind of gate just in front of the ‘waterfall’, and all they had to do was go around the ‘solid cloud’, so while suspicious a man made structure should mean people, so if nothing else they can ask the people there what the Hell was going on
“Well, that’s definitely a gate” Kaos deadpans, as what else can you call an arch with ‘Heaven’s Gate’ written on top of it
“Let’s go through it” Luffy cheers, grinning like a loon from the Merry head
“Hey guys, we’ve been spotted” Artemis says, pointing to the old lady taking pictures of them from the side of the gate
“Well, that can’t be good” Alvida sighs, then blinks “Um am I seeing things or doe she…”
“Have wings, yes she does Kyahaha” valentina replies, laughing as the strangeness just keeps coming
“Um Hello Miss” Vivi greets
“I am Amazon, Heaven’s Gate inspector. State your business: Sightseeing, Warmongering, Other”
“I think what we’re doing counts as sightseeing” Nami suggests
“We’re going to the Sky Islands if they’re through this gate we’re going through” Luffy adds
“Can we just say all of the above and move on?” Zoro asks with a grunt
“It makes no difference to me, but passing through the gate requires you to pay the entrance fee, of 1 billion Extol”
“1 BILLION!”
“Per person” the wrinkled old bird lady adds
“Um we still don’t know what the exchange rate is, Kaos pipes in, lowering the panic…. slightly
“I doubt it matters, 1 billion anything is a lot, and per person means the price for the crew is 14 billion” Robin adds up, making Nami want to die in a corner, or at least curl up and be forgotten
“This seems weird, 1 billion just to pass through an arch, think she’s trying to scam us?” Usopp asks, getting a head slap before the navigator to slip infront of Vivi
“Um about this entrance fee, what if we don’t have it?” she asks
“Then you can still pass” the angel replies
“Well, I’m officially confused” Kaos admits, most of the crew nodding in agreement, this lady is confusing them
“It’s not like I can stop you after all. My job isn’t to guard the gate, just to ask your intention as well as that you pay the entrance fee”
“Pretty simple job then” Valentina notes “Also pretty pointless too”
“Okay then, well we still want to go up, but we don’t have the money, so we’re going up anyway” Luffy shouts
“Okay. The 14 of you?” she asks
“Yeah. Only we don’t know how to get up” Luffy answers, then looks confused until something clamps onto the sides of the ship, at which point confusion becomes panic
“The White Sea’s Express Lobster. Good bye Blue sea people” the angel says, the giant lobsters leading the Merry towards and then up the waterfall
This is Gate inspector Amazon to the Great God and his priests, I bear tidings. 14 illegal instances (Sounds like an SCP outbreak) have entered God’s Land Skypeia, bestow upon them Heaven’s Judgement! Show them Heaven's Wrath!
TBC
LW: Well, we’re in the sky, not quite Skypeia, but as you can tell we’re just a small distance away, only 3,000m.
Chapter 46: Enter God's Land
Chapter Text
LW: Does anyone think Skypeia is ready for the Straw Hats? Yeah probably not.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Enter God’s Land
“My money says we survive this” Sanji says as the lobster takes them higher and higher
“Sucker’s bet, mostly because money doesn’t mean sh*t when you’re dead” Kaos responds
“Besides, how do you know we aren’t already dead, and this is just how pirates enter the afterlife?” Robin asks with a curious tone, sending shivers down the spine of anyone who considered it.
“Luffy’s killed us, I don’t want to head into the light” Usopp whines, as they near the top of the cloud formation
“Hey look, we’re nearly there, they even put up a sign telling us we’re arrived” Chopper cheers
“Godland Skypeia, what’s that?” Vivi wonders
Alvida smirks “Our destination, Skypeia was the name on that map we found wasn’t it?” Luffy nods, grinning widely as he held onto the head of the Merry
“We made it, yahoo!” he shouts gleefully as they shoot into the air, landing on more water type clouds, bobbing along as land enters their field of view
“Well, I’m officially confused, who’s with me?” everyone agrees with the researcher, how was there solid ground (or at least what looked like solid ground) all the way up here?
This is so cool! I’m going exploring” Luffy announces before jumping of the ship into the shallow clouds, Usopp and Chopper following him
“Hey Luffy, what do we do about the anchor, there isn’t exactly a sea bed to hit when we let it go” Zoro calls, getting the expected answer from the captain
“I don’t know, just drop it and see what happens”
Zoro sighs but does as asked, then spots Kaos watching from the edge of the Merry “Seems the clouds beneath are sturdy enough to keep us secure” he nods in understanding “Have to say, it’s weird to see you without that cloak of yours”
Kaos chuckles but he knows the swordsman is right “It’s warmer here, I’m wearing all I need” he replies, referring to the waistcoat and loose fitting pants he was currently wearing, having even removed his shoes much like Sanji who had just followed the others off the front of the ship “Think we should wait for the girls?”
Zoro shrugs “They should be fine…” he begins but stops when Nami is chased out by the south bird “Oh, that f*cker is still around” he hums, noticing the blue bikini top the red head was currently wearing as she ran past
“We really should have let him go when we were waiting for the Knock Up Stream, think he’ll be okay?” Kaya asks, now wearing a light yellow bikini top and long skirt
“He’ll be fine, and if not there should be people around to care for the bastard” Valentina replies, forgoing her jacket but wearing a lemon yellow coloured dress and green flats.
“The boarding party appears to basically be everyone, are you coming boys?” Robin asks Kaos and Zoro, the taller chuckles while the swordsman doesn’t really react
“I’m coming, I’m coming, somebody needs to try keeping Luffy in line”
“And get blamed when Vivi fails to do that?” Victor teases, Kaos flips him the bird and jumps off the ship, then walks towards the cloud-land with curiosity his only discernable expression.
Amusem*nt managed to bubble to the surface once he noticed Luffy had found food… which upon discovering had skin like stone decided to attack Usopp with them. He turns to see what the others were doing when he see’s a very confused Robin pulling a flower from her hair, Artemis had one too, she just left it peeking out from under her hat
“Sanji get to you?” he asks with a smirk, which shrinks when he frown remains
“I don’t know what this is” she admits “Well besides a flower I mean”
“Well we can ask the locals, when we find some locals” Kaos suggests, the archaeologist nods
“Might as well try, I don’t normally have 1st had sources in my line of work” she says, most likely as an attempt at a joke, then lets it die and merely points to Zoro who had accidentally found a…cloud-fox?
“Anyone else hear music?” Vivi calls and once the ruckus that follows the Straw Hats was quieted she was right, there was gentle harp music, setting off alarm bells in a few of their minds
“It’s coming from over there!” Kaya shouts, and low and behold there was someone standing on the cloud, strumming a harp
“is it a monster?”
“Where’s the whistle, the Sky Knight could save us”
“Think we can take her?”
“Everyone quiet down” Sanji demands “We don’t need to worry, for that there, is an angel”
“Angel?” some of the others repeat, then eyes widen when they see Sanji wasn’t just being his usual chivalrous pervert, the girl playing the harp, had small white wings, like a dove… or angel. She also had antenna, but they blended in with her hair so were less noticeable than the wings
Quack
“No we’re not dead, that girl just happens to have angel wings” Chopper answers, then his words register in his brain and panic fills him
“Hesu”
“Think that’s her name, of how they say hello?” Nami asks Robin who raises an eyebrow and shrugs
“Come here Su” the angel repeats, causing the fox to jump off Zoro and run to her feet “Hello, you must be from the Blue Sea”
“That’s what the old guy called it” Artemis agrees
“Well I am Conis, and I welcome you to Skypeia. This is angel beach” Connis turns to Luffy “I bet you want to drink that” she says, pointing to the rock fruit Luffy was still carrying around
“Yeah, its food right?”
Conis laughs “Of course it is, it’s just the top is hard as steel, so you have to cut in from below and then you can drink the juice with no difficulty at all” she explains as Luffy allows her to flip it in his hands and cut a small hole in the centre, which he chugs from and then bounces in joy, rushing over to Vivi and Alvida to share with them
“I’m sure you have questions, ask me anything” the angel smiles, Sanji attempts to flirt until Nami grabs him by the ear and tries to drag him away, only to be distracted by an approaching vessel
“Conis what’s that?” she points
“Oh that’s my father and his Waver. Hesu Father”
“Hesu daughter, and friends” the balding man greets
“Can’t they just say hello like normal people?” Luffy wonder aloud, getting lightly head slapped by Vivi
“Try to be respectful Luffy” she scolds
“Plus they’re bird people Lu, they ain’t normal” Alvida says with a laugh, which Luffy joins in with, until both get slapped by Vivi
“Children, I’m surrounded by children” she grumbles, then smiles as they hug her, until Alvida pinches her ass
“Should we worry about them?” Valentina stage whispers
“Nah, they’ll be fine” Kaos hand waves, much like the others interested in the Sky Waver… until it nearly killed them “Watch where you’re going you crazy bastard!”
The man groans as he stands up “Is everyone okay?”
“Besides you I think everyone’s fine” Vivi replies
“Father these people have just arrived from the Blue Sea World” Conis explains, getting a nod from the man
“Ah, so still adjusting to the White White Sea then. My name is Paguya”
“Hey”
“How was the fishing father?” Conis asks getting a smile, or as visible as one from someone with such a thick beard
“It was good my dear” he then stops and turns to the Straw Hats “I say, you should come over for dinner, get a taste of Skypeia” he offers, food being a good reason for most of them to agree, Sanji and Valentina even volunteering to help.
Hey Paguya” Nami calls “Before I forget, how does the waver work? It doesn’t have sails and you clearly weren’t rowing it” she wonders and Conis blinks
“Oh, I forgot you Blue Sea people wouldn’t know about Dials”
“What are dials?” Luffy asks, proving her point perfectly
2 minutes later
“That looked like it hurt” Artemis notes as they all watch Luffy figuratively crash and burn in his attempt to drive the Waver
Paguya droops “This is all my fault, I shouldn’t have let a rookie use the waver” he says with a sigh
“On that we can agree, especially someone like Luffy who either didn’t understand or didn’t retain what little instructions you gave him” Robin agrees, just before Zoro heads out to retrieve their idiot captain before he drowns
“I’m sorry about that, with it’s light body even the gentlest wave could tilt the ruder, meaning unless you know the White White Sea like the back of your hand, the Waver is between incredibly difficult to impossible to use” Paguya explains
Kaos chuckles and points to the red head “Let Nami have a go, I bet she gets it right first try”
“That’s silly, it can take up to 10 years to…” the bearded angel is ignored as Nami takes the Waver and as expected handles it like she’s been riding it her whole life “But how?”
“Nami’s our navigator; her job is to understand the sea so we don’t get lost or caught in a typhoon with our pants down. Even amongst those with her job description Nami has always been, exceedingly gifted in this area of expertise” Kaos explains, not exactly lying, more making assumptions and running with them along with giving the honest truth
Conis stares out with wide eyes and a wider grin “She’s incredible, I’ve only just gotten good at using the waver and she makes it look easy”
“If it’s aquatic Nami can sail it” Sanji says with a proud smile
“Think you can do anything like that?” Victor asks his friend “Or at least do better than Luffy?”
“No to the first, f*ck yeah to the second” Valentina answers, getting chuckles from the group
“Nami, get back here, we’re supposed to be getting fed” Luffy shouts
“I’m fine, if it’s alright with Paguya I’d like to keep going for a bit. Catch you later?”
Paguya laughs, who was he to deny such a skilled rider “Sure thing, our home is just over there, leave the waver on the beach and come up when you get hungry” he calls back, Nami gives a passable impression of a D grin before continuing to play with the Waver.
Along the way Paguya explains about the cloud factory as well as the 2 types of cloud in Skypeia, adding that it was due to Sea Prism Stone that their clouds behave differently to the Blue Sea Clouds, a fact which had the Devil Fruit users spit take, given the last time that material came up it was to render their kind as limp noodles.
With Paguya, Sanji and Valentina commandeering the kitchen (You could hear the complaining from the other side of the house) Robin decided now was the best time to return to the topic of dials, having gotten side tracked by the waver last time. Conis was happy to explain and demonstrate her island’s technology to the crew.
“Luffy please talk into the shell” she asks, the straw hat kid shrugs but does so
“Usopp stinks”
“Why me?” the sniper moans, to which Kaya pats his back and Alvida chuckles
“Good, now press down on the apex of the shell”
“Um”
“The point, the other end to the opening” Kaos explains, Luffy nods his head and pressed down on the end, depressing it like a button
“Usopp stinks”
“Great now the furniture is making fun of me”
“So the shell stores sound? Interesting” Zoro hums
“So those shells, are dials. What else can they do?” Robin asks
Conis nods “Yes, this is called a Tone Dial, it records and replays any sound made nearby” she explains, then walks over to another shell sitting on the table “As for this one, I mentioned previously that my father’s waver was powered by a dial, well this is a smaller version but it should give you a picture” she says, holding it up to a wind chime and pressing it’s apex, a light breeze escapes and jostles the item “This one is a Breath Dial, which can store the wind and release it at any time you desire” Luffy then asks to play with it and she allows, mostly because even with as little time spent with the crew as she had, she knew watching him mess with the dials would be entertaining
“So what other dials are there?” Victor asks, these things were strange but interesting
“Well the one on the table over there is a Lamp Dial. We also have Flame Dials to store fire or simply heat, Aroma Dials which hold scents and even Vision Dials which record what you see and can be watched again and again”
“I think we have something that does that last one too, only ours are still alive rather than just the carcass” Kaos hums, Robin nodding as Visual Den Den Mushi did spring to mind at that last dial
“Really, guess some things mirror throughout the Seas” Conis notes with a smile
A little later
“Food is served. Tonight we have Sky Lobster with secret sauce, and some Sky fruits I can’t pronounce for the life of me” Sanji explains as he sets food on the table for everyone
“Better to admit you can’t than butcher their language and words” Kaos responds with a respectful nod, which Sanji returns
“Hey does anyone know where Nami is?” he asks, looking out over the balcony
“Probably still playing with the Waver” Luffy answers, still a little bitter about how good Nami was especially compared to his disastrous attempt “Why?”
“I can’t see her”
“She probably went out too far to been seen from here, the girl knows her currents and clouds she’ll be fine” Zoro adds, almost sounding comforting to the cook
Conis tenses and her fearful expression is noticed
“What’s wrong?” Vivi asks
The angel bites her lip “There’s a place in the clouds that is forbidden to land on. It’s called Upper Yard and is just a short trip from here by waver”
Kaos sighs “For a coward, Nami will probably have entered that place, and it’s going to bite us in the ass later” he rubs the back of his neck and frowns
“You’re scared” Robin hums, then points to his neck “The hairs are standing up” which causes the frown to deepen
“Yep, Nami’s just f*cked us all” he groans, head in hands
“So what’s wrong with Upper Yard? Is it full of monsters or something?” Luffy asks
“No, it’s sacred ground” Conis replies
“Sacred ground?” Artemis repeats, looking confused
Conis looks awkward before answering “The island, it’s where God lives” she finally says, the crew spit take at the information
“Of course it f*cking is”
Vivi’s eyebrows shoot into her hair “This is the kingdom of Rao?” she asks, looking both fearful and … hopeful?
“No” Robin answers flatly, then glares when Kaos flicks her in the side of her head
“What she means is whoever the ‘God’ of Skypeia is, he’s not one of the Gods of Alabasta. In fact he’s probably not even divine, just someone with a god complex and superhuman abilities” Kaos explains, resisting the urge to smirk when thunder rolls in the clear sky when he said that
‘…on an island like Alabasta I’m not a just a mere king or Warlord, I’m a God’ Vivi remembers, her fists clench in her lap “It’s a logia isn’t it? That’s the God of Skypeia” she asks, getting a tired sigh from Kaos and confused look from Conis.
“Pretty much, my brain is pinging off something for a while now and given there’s no point of origin the only option is Logia”
“Isn’t there some way to focus on the source?” Chopper asks, to which the purplette shakes his head
“Maybe you should develop a mantra or something” Valentina suggests as a joke, causing the 2 angels to spit take “Something I said?” she wonders in confusion
“Mantra?” Paguya repeats
“A sound, word or phrase used in meditation” Robin explains
“You did look like you were napping on Scissors when you were trying to find Luffy” Sanji adds in agreement “Sounds like meditation to me”
“How about, Azarath Metriom Zin…” Luffy gets punched in the face from across the table before he could finish
“How about no?”
“Back to the point of this argument, how likely is it Nami found her way to the big man…” Alvida begins
“God’s name is Enaru” Conis adds, trying to help
“Okay… Still, chances of Nami stopping in Enaru’s front yard anyone?”
“With this crew, 86%” Kaya guesses “Though that is factoring the 0.1% chance she fell off the waver and drowned”
“So the witch is flash fried” Zoro asks having been thought to have fallen asleep as usual until that moment
“Don’t you dare say that about Nami” Sanji yells, about to kick the crap out of Zoro only for Robin to grab him and hold him still
“So Conis, does God look like all the stories, big guy, white beard, majestic throne of clouds? That last one makes sense given you make furniture out of clouds up here” Victors asks, causing the girl to go into panic mode again
“Of course not it’s forbidden to enter the Yard, only God can reside in it”
“But if you haven’t seen him, how do you know God is there, or I suppose is still there?” Usopp asks
“He sees all, and when things happen that he doesn’t approve of, he shows his power. Also there are those who carry out his will”
“So… does this mean we’re beating up God?” Luffy asks bluntly, causing Conis to develop palpitations, Usopp and Kaya to collapse to the ground and most of the others to face palm
“No Luffy, we’re not beating up God just because we’re passing through, he might not be a bad person besides his complex and general dickishness that usually accompanies it” Kaos answers, hopefully slowing his brother’s desire for battle, at least for long enough for the pose to change.
Given Luffy was bound to say or do something else Robin decides to get as much information as she could from the angels before Luffy gave them heart attacks “Given it’s forbidden by God, I bet there are quite severe consequences for entering the Upper Yard”
“Yes, there are severe punishments for disobeying any of the commands given by the Great God Enaru”
“Those that go to Upper Yard, never return alive. That is the answer to the question you’re not asking, as well as how we know Enaru is still there” Paguya finishes, setting Sanji off as he begins to call for Nami from the balcony
“In that case, let’s go get her from Upper Yard” Luffy decides… and there we go Conis is down
A few minutes later
“Off we go to the place we’re not supposed to” Luffy cheers from the Merry Head, which the others watch in amusem*nt and worry
“I’m sorry my friends, the wind is quite unfavourable for your intended journey” Paguya states with a presumed frown, hard to tell with the beard
“Well how convenient” Alvida mutters
“The guy is God, sh*t like this is probably pretty easy” Zoro suggests “Or we’re being bullsh*tted”
“If only the person we’re looking for, wasn’t also the person who understood how to navigate” Valentina complains
“We could put the sails on backwards, see if that helps” Luffy suggests
“Who’s turn is it to pull Nami duty?” Kaos asks, getting the response in the form of Luffy getting head slapped by Kaya “Thank you”
Luckily they managed to distract Luffy by having him give Paguya the waver they found to him to repair, as otherwise the idiot would have most likely tried use is as is to go look for Nami. Also they managed to get another distraction in the form of a bunch of weirdoes yelling at them
“You on the beach, don’t move” the apparent leader yells
“Does he mean us?” Luffy asks
“Yes Luffy, there’s nobody else on the beach” Zoro answers from the boat, having not seen the point in moving
“Um, is there any reason they’re doing that?” Chopper asks, referring to the group of men now army crawling towards them
“Nope, that’s a stealth manoeuvre, and given he already revealed himself to us, as well as told us to stay put, it’s kind of pointless” Kaos answers, hopping off the ship to join the boys on the beach
“White Berets assemble. Hesu” the leader stands, greeting the too natives with a salute of antennae behind his hat, Conis and Paguya awkwardly return the greeting, though not the gesture
“Are these guys the local military?” Zoro wonders, a few of the others noticing similarly that they held themselves the same way the marines back home did
“Most likely. Don’t know why they’re here though, Luffy hasn’t broken anything yet” Vivi responds, Luffy giving her a mock glare
The leader steps forward “You must be the Blue Sea natives who illegally entered Godland Skypeia, prepare to face justice at the hands of the White Berets, prepare to face, Heaven’s Judgement!” (Yep, definitely marines)
“The old lady snitched on us” Luffy gasps
“Is it really illegal if they let you enter? I mean it’s not like the gate was even closed never mind locked” Usopp blusters
“Don’t even try deny it, Lady Amazon already showed us the proof of your crime. Luckily illegal entry is only an 11th degree crime, and once you accept your punishment, which given the level will be minimal, you’ll all become legal tourists and be allowed go about your business undisturbed” the Mcinna explains
“Probably should have started with that” Zoro grumbles
“So what’s the punishment then?” Alvida asks, keeping a grip on her mace, just in case
“You just have to pay 10 times the original price, and if you do it right now we can pretend this incident never happened in the first place”
“Which I’m sure would either sound reasonable or like daylight robbery, if we knew how much an Extol was in Beri” Kaos thinks out loud
“Beri, that’s the currency of the Blue Seas. The current exchange rate is 10,000 extol per beri”
“So, 10,000, carry the 1, divide by 13…” Usopp’s eyes start to spin
“140 billion extol, which makes 14 million beri” Robin answers
“Holy sh*t, we don’t have that kind of money!” Valentina screams
“Not that Nami would let us give away that much money even if we had it, Ship Treasurer” Artemis sing songs beside Kaos
“This is your own fault; if you’d paid the 1.4 million in the first place we wouldn’t be having this discussion”
“Again, way too much to sail through an arch, we don’t have it” this time Sanji was the one getting annoyed
The man frowns “This was your first warning, the white berets serve under the priests who are vassals of the great God Enaru, so arguing with us will only raise your crime’s severity” he states, then grits his teeth when he realises the pirates had stopped caring already and were now ignoring him
“I’m starting to think Luffy’s policy would work wonders right about now” Usopp mutters under his breath, causing a few raised eyebrows and Vivi to hide her face in her hands
“Please don’t, Luffy can bounce back, you’ll just get yourself and probably the rest of us killed” she says, though muffled by her hand
“Okay, seeing as we can’t go looking for Nami given the ‘wind’ is unfavourable, how about we stay here and wait for her to come back” Kaya suggests, the rest seem okay with the idea, even if Luffy still wants to explore, luckily he was drawn into doing a little fishing by Usopp and Chopper, luckily without Carue being bait this time.
This was fine until the guys actually caught something, that something being a giant, angry looking lumpy yellow fish which after being pulled from the cloud sea proceeded to try devour Conis…
SLAM
…only for Alvida to knock the animal into the bank the 3 had been fishing from
“You saved my daughter, how can I possibly repay you?” Paguya asks, hugging Conis close to him, then tenses when he hears a chuckle filled with malice
“Well lookie here, this fish is so rare it’s illegal to catch it, looks like you Blue Sea folk just committed a Level 9 crime”
“That thing just tried eat Conis, and how the hell were we supposed to know it was illegal to be caught until after we caught it?” Chopper asks angrily
“Besides, she didn’t kill it, so if we throw it back into the sea it’s like we never caught it” Usopp suggests, hoping to smooth things over until Luffy’s stomach started acting up
“Yay, Sushi!”
“Luffy don’t you dare”
The White Beret smirks “Eating an endangered fish is an 8th Degree crime”
“For f*ck sake, you’re making this stuff up, what do you have against Blue Sea people?” Zoro asks through gritted teeth, his hand clenched on Wado’s hilt
“Are you about to try extort me? That’s a 7th degree crime”
After picking the shattered tea cup from his hand Kaos gets up from the chair he’d been sitting in between Robin and Artemis and walked over to the idiots and Chopper “Can we just get to the violence Luffy, even Vivi looks on the end of her rope” he asks, pointing to the dark haze of anger and depression a foetal position Vivi was enveloped in
“I’m back” it seemed the universe wanted them to calm down for a minute as Nami chose this moment to return to the Upper Yard
“Nami-Swan, you have returned to me safe and sound” Sanji swoons, his noodle dance at least distracting the White Berets for a minute
“Nami, we need you to fork over 14 million beri to pay for the fine we got for coming into Skypeia without paying the toll” Usopp shouts
“That’s fine, we pay the toll and everything good? Wait… did you say, 14 MILLION!” Nami pressed down on the waver’s pedal, aiming for the White Berets captain “You’re ripping us off!” she screams as she does, then jumps off before the waver could crash land anywhere
“Nami threw the first punch, that means everything else is free game right?” Luffy asks, Kaos unsure how to answer that
“Knocking out an official like that is a 5th degree crime” Paguya explains, as the other berets were busy checking on the man Nami just knocked into a wall
“We’re really ranking up that aren’t we?” Victor jokes, then sees Conis’s worried look “Clearly we missed something, so help here?”
“Once you’re found guilty of a level 5 crime, Enaru banishes you to the land of the drifting cloud”
“Or we could just go back down” Kaos points out, not that Luffy would go for it, this sounds like a good reason to fight Enaru, something he’d been hoping they’d be able to avoid
“What’s that?” Luffy asks
“It’s a death sentence, you die”
“That’s kind of what a death sentence is birdie” Robin jokes, ignoring the panicked cries of the usual suspects
“They will put you and your ship on a cloud and set you off with no chance of rescue. You’ll die a slow and painful death, this is no laughing matter” Conis argues
“Is it too late to vote on Kaos’ get the hell out of dodge suggestion?” Ussop asks
“YOU! CRIMINALS!”
“Oh look, the sky marines remembered we’re here” Alvida notes, joining the others in taking a more aggressive stance, as this was not going to end well
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“Yeah it was quite a lucky shot” Nami replies
“LUCKY!”
“Yep, dumb luck and completely accidental. You see it was only my first time piloting a waver and those things are so difficult to control, so I may have miscalculated and the thing did a bit of a bunny hop and steamrolled your boss” Nami lies through her teeth, a thick gag of syrup courtesy of Kaya stopping Luffy from doing something stupid, such as point out Nami was practically riding it blindfolded earlier
“Gentlemen, while I’m sure this is very important, maybe the captain’s health should take priority” Paguya suggests, the berets acting like headless chickens for a minute before putting the unconscious captain on a stretcher and army crawling to Paguya’s house
“Was that really necessary?” Artemis asks
“No”
“So, now what, those guys say we were arrested but didn’t even try cuff us, and I though Smokie’s regular goons were stupid” Luffy complains once the pirates were left alone
Vivi sighs and hugs the confused boy “It doesn’t matter, I’m just glad our current predicament isn’t your fault this time” she says, to which Luffy nods dumbly
“Yeah, it’s Nami’s, shishishi” he laughs until Nami hits him “Ow”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this but we should take crazy’s advice and get out of here, before we get in more trouble or those White berets charge Conis and Paguya as our accomplices” Sanji says as he lights a cigarette
“Exactly, all aboard the Merry, we’re heading somewhere else!” Usopp cheers
A little later
“Luffy, you’ve been standing there this entire time, we need to go and like it or not the ship can’t leave without her captain” Nami scolds, walking back to the straw hat boy who was staring up at Skypeia
“Why are we running?” he asks
“Because we’re in deep sh*t dumbass”
“We’re pirates, I punched out a Warlord and if what Kaos won’t tell us is true Robin is a pretty wanted criminal down in the Blue Sea. What I mean is, we’re always going to be in deep sh*t and there’s always going to be someone after us, so why are we running when we took the fight to Arlong and Crocodile previously?”
“Because it’s not just us, our friends could get in trouble if we stay any longer” Nami argues, ignoring what she guessed was a direct jab at her
Luffy frowns “They haven’t done anything. Whoever arrests them is an idiot” he states flatly
“When Luffy calls someone an idiot it’s probably true” Kaos says with a smirk, then it morphs into a scowl “The morons are back, but they figured out how to walk like normal people this time”
“Please go, you need to get away” Conis pleads, but the captain silence her with a wave of his arm
“Silence. One more word and I will treat you and your father as accomplices. These Blue Sea dwellers need to be punished for their actions. I find you all guilty of 5th degree crimes, and I now sentence you to drift in the clouds forever”
“Or until the ship plummets back down to the Grand Line, so give or take 200 years” Kaos stage whispers to Luffy who nods like a bobble head
“Not helping!” Nami hisses
“White berets, attack! Fire the milky arrows!” the captain orders, the arrows leaving a solid cloud trail in their wake
“Nami run, we’ll handle this” Luffy orders, glad to see even if the clouds are solid blades and mirror claws can cut them.
“So now we have a fight, are you happy Lu?” Kaos asks, his own smile pinched but still present
“Not really, these guys seem weak” Luffy admits, watching Alvida knock 5 of them out like bowling pins
“No, Devil fruit eaters” The captain gasps as Luffy dodges an attack by rocketing himself around a tree and slamming headfirst into them on the recoil
“So you do have them up here, good to know” Kaos thinks aloud as his armoured hands catch and deflect blades while Hebi slices through limbs “I see what you mean Luffy, sh*tty canon fodder at best. Looks like things will hopefully get better soon”
“Which translates as getting worse for all of us” Sanji snarks as he kicks away one of the stragglers
“Well, that’s all of them. Now what?” Zoro wonders
“They took out the White Berets, and made it look easy” Paguya gasps
“But how, at this altitude Blue Sea dwellers shouldn’t be able to do anything more than move around” Conis thinks as she bites her lip
“You think you’ve won don’t you, but you’ve only made things worse” the guys (And Alvida) look over to the captain, who is now grinning maniacally “Of all the law enforcement of Skypeia the White Berets are by far the most lenient. But now, I dub you as Level 2 criminals, meaning you will be judged by the priests of Upper Yard” he declares, pointing at them with a smug look on his face… until the razor wire, ensnared, tore through and eviscerated the arm “AHHHHHHHH!”
“Do we look like we give a sh*t?” Kaos asks, letting Hebi reform from it’s Traptrix state before placing it on his hip “Luffy, that good fight you wanted, either the priests or God himself are going to be it, are you ready?”
Luffy gives a full D grin, which has several on the ship turn white as snow “You betcha!”
TBC
LW: Didn’t even last a day, well at least they won’t be bored.
Chapter 47: God's Trial: Rescue the Crew
Chapter Text
LW: Well, sh*t’s getting real around here, and Luffy finds someone knew to beat up. Yay!
Rubber King and Mirror Master – God’s Trials: Rescue the Crew!
“Why’d you rip his arm off you damn psychopath?” Nami shrieks as she slaps Kaos, the purplette looking not that impressed by her actions
“Sure, ignore all the other people I killed or maimed and focus on that guy” he grumbles
“Don’t you get it, since that old lady ratted us out and let us into Skypeia we became wanted criminals, and you are making things worse”
“You’re a f*cking idiot” Kaos hisses, slapping the irate navigator “We’re already wanted criminals, it’s part of being a pirate. I know you’re a coward but I thought you were supposed to be the 3rd smartest person in the East, we will always be wanted criminals, therefore the fact we’re wanted criminals means precisely dick when it comes to making me want to leave”
“By the way, why did you come back we were about to go off looking for you, the house was getting boring and I needed some more adventure
“You idiot, we’re not going anywhere near that death trap again, not now not ever!” Nami shouts, repeatedly punching Luffy in the chest, the rubber body stepping back each time “The things on that island, they’re real and dangerous, and way out of our league
“The other problem is, that now you are all level 2 criminals I’m afraid we can no longer assist you” Paguya explains from a good distance away
“Not that you were any assistance in the first place” Valentina yells back, looking annoyed “I’m liking get the hell out of dodge right now, except I don’t know how that will actually work” she looks around the crew, all of whom shrug or wave their hands in a ‘not me’ gesture
“She has a point, we put all that energy into getting up here, but had no plan on how to get back down” Usopp mopes “Is there even a way back down, one that doesn’t result in us shattering when we hit the ocean like the St Briss?”
Connis steps closer so the crew could hear “There is a way, but given your current status it’s not safe. The only option you have left is Cloud End”
“And Cloud End is?” Vivi asks curiously
“Directly East through the White White Sea. From there you should be able to make it back down to the Blue Sea”
“So we sail east and get back to our original sea, sounds easy… which means it isn’t” Zoro comments, adding his 2 beri
“No it’s that easy, just head east and you’ll be fine” Paguya assures, and this time they believe him
“Aw, but I don’t want to go, I want to have an adventure” Luffy whines
“Quiet Luffy we’re about to get out of this mad house” Usopp whisper shouts
“Plus the other option is getting executed by these priests” Nami reminds him, forcefully, with her fist “Now come on you’ll have your adventure later”
“Fine” Luffy grumbles “Oh wait. Hey old guy, can we take the left over food for the trip?” he asks
“Sure, it’ll go to waste otherwise” the bearded man says with a handwave, letting the Rubber Boy bounce over him
“Where are you going?” Nami asks Sanji and Usopp who were heading in the same direction
“Might as well turn those leftovers into something nice to have on the way back, won’t take long”
“And Paguya’s an engineer, he’s got to have some parts and tools to help fix the Merry”
“Just let them go, focus on the ship and we’ll head when they get back” Kaos says, now lying on the sand and using Hebi in some kind of fan form as a tanning mirror, mostly out of boredom more than wanting to loose his ivory skin tone
“He’s right you know?” the navigator turns and see’s Alvida also sitting on the beach “We’ll keep watch for the 3 dumbos, you make sure the ship is pointing the right way after leaving Zoro in charge for the 5 minutes you’ve been here complaining at us” she teases, watching the red head storm off angrily
“You know she’ll get you back somehow” Kaos states, it wasn’t a question but a promise
Alvida shrugs “She can try, I’ll be fine”
“Okay, don’t say I didn’t warn you” he sighs, then the sky fox distracts him and lets it curl up on his lap, rubbing between it’s ears.
A few minutes later, Going Merry
“You’re saying there’s a cloud current that can get us to the White Sea?” Nami asks Conis who nods
“Exactly, it should get you to Cloud End and home free without any chance of getting lost. Plus if you remain in this current there’s no chance you’ll be able to be caught” she explains
‘This kid thinks we’re idiots’ Robin thinks, a scowl on her usually pleasant features ‘or desperate and Nami is certainly that’ she amends, seeing how happy this information was making their navigator
“Perfect… oh and we can just not tell Luffy and sail into the current and ride the waves home” Nami cheers
“You do know that’s not going to work, Luffy will want his adventure” Vivi tries to point out as calmly as possible, a necessary precaution given the red head was just as unstable as the others on the crew
“Quiet, what he doesn’t know won’t get me killed”
“But as the captain where we go is his decision” Victor adds, indifferent about the decision if he was being asked
“Like when he broke the Eternal Pose, if he finds out you dooped him he’ll be annoyed” Zoro adds, still in his usual not killing people pose, which was a meditative/napping position against the main mast
“If you like I can lead you to the current, so you can get out as quickly as possible” Conis offers, as Artemis slides up beside Robin
“Angels aren’t very good at subtlety are they?” she asks, causing a short bark of a laugh to leave the archaeologist’s mouth
“No they are not, especially one as twitchy as her” she replies, then sees their resident logia was taking a leaf out of Zoro’s book and resting while she waited for their captain, cook and sniper to return.
“Well, then all we need to do is make sure Luffy sticks to the plan. Leave that to us” Nami says with a smile and 2 thumbs up, hoping that wasn’t something else up here
“I’ll go check on the others, be back when they are” Conis says, her wings causing her to hop over to the ladder
“Okay, you do that, thanks for all this by the way” Nami calls before turning back to the ship to ensure everything was ready for Luffy’s return
Angel Beach, a little later
“Well…f*ck” Kaos groans, watching the Merry get carried away “Alvida, let’s meet up with Luffy, Sanji and Usopp, hopefully we’ll be able to find a way to rescue the others. Maybe the locals know the f*ck just happened”
Alvida jumps to her feet, mace over her head “The Merry is our home, I’ll clobber the bastard who stole it from us” she growls, then follows the taller straw hat until they run into the returning trio “That was quick”
“Did you see what happened? Why they took off like that?” Luffy asks, sounding worried
“No, just that the ship was dragged or pulled out to sea” Kaos answers, not helping the guys mood
“It was the Super Express Lobster” they look up to see Paguya and Conis had followed them “it’s a messenger of Enaru, it must have taken your ship and it’s crew as a sacrifice”
“Where is it going?” Usopp asks
“To the North of Upper Yard, to the sacrificial alter”
‘Vivi’
‘Vivi’
‘Nami’
‘Kaya’
‘Artemis, Robin’
“And how do we get to Upper Yard, without the Merry?” Kaos asks, his milky white fingers gripped tightly around the hilt of his blade
“That’s actually an important detail I hadn’t told you yet” the old man admits “There are 2 types of divine punishment, your friends are receiving one or will in the near future, but the other is a challenge with them as hostages”
“Hostages” Usopp squeaks
“Yes, and I’m afraid the trials for this form of judgement rests on your shoulders”
“Really hope they’re not intelligence trials, or the Luffy is going to fail us all” Kaos sighs, just barely side stepping a swing from Alvida “On the other hand if it’s a physical or battle trial we should be in the clear.. except for the fact we have Usopp with us”
“You didn’t answer Kaos question, how do we get to Upper Yard for these trials?” Sanji asks, the thought of Nami in danger trying his patience
“You take the Milky Road, it should lead you right to Upper Yard” Conis answers
“But won’t that be like walking up the front door, isn’t there an better way in?” Usopp asks
“I’m afraid not, the cloud canals criss cross most of skypeia, making a maze of paths I don’t think anyone knows the full layout to. The safest path is to use the main path and enter the forest there”
“Kicking in the front door, it’s like Arlong Park all over again Sesese” Kaos laughs, getting a tight smile from the cook in response, probably the only thing stopping him from biting through his cigarette right now
“So we get to upper Yard beat up the priests and rescue our friends” Luffy summarises, his face shadowed by his hat
“You make it sound easy when you say it like that” Usopp mutters
“It will be” Alvida confirms “Because we’re the Straw hats, WE DON’T LOSE”
10 minutes later, after much arguing on the beach
“This is getting us nowhere, hey Conis, are you going to do something besides stalk us?”
Sanji’s eye blooms into a heart “Conis my love did you come to give me a goodbye kiss?” he swoons
“Actually, I was sent by my father, to help you make your way to Upper Yard and the Sacrificial alter to save your friends” she explains with a smile “I can accompany you as far as Angel isle docks, I’m sure they’ll have a boat to accommodate you”
“Really, thanks Conis, lead the way” Luffy cheers, letting the girl lead them through Lovely Street
“Adventure awaits”
“You do realise there’s a high chance you will all die on this trip
Luffy shrugs “Eh, everyone’s got to die sometime”
“Plus, Thunder Thighs hasn’t tried hit us yet, so why give a sh*t?” Kaos asks, chuckling to himself at the back of the procession
Luckily any comment the others were going to make was lost in their distraction, Lovely Street was the centre of commerce in Skypeia and as such had plenty of things to interest the pirates
“It’s too bad we can’t stick around this place is wonderful” Alvida moans, until Luffy rubs her shoulder
“Maybe when we’re done we can come back and both my girls can find something nice, we just can’t tell Nami” Luffy whispers, getting a kiss from the smooth woman
“Good point, lets go save everyone”
“Hey, it might just be because I’m at the back of the line, but does anyone else notice the dirty looks we’re getting?” Kaos slips forward between the 2
“It’s not just you, everyone here looks at us with either fear or disgust, I guess the White Beret puss* has a big mouth” Sanji agrees/complains
“With how loud he was declaring our criminal status that goes without saying” Usopp adds in annoyance
Kaos sighs in relief “Good, I wasn’t just being paranoid. Though that doesn’t explain why Paguya and Conis are still helping us”
“Maybe Conis is as pure as the angel she represents?” Sanji coos, and is promptly ignored by the other 2 guys (Luffy and Alvida had already walked off)
“Unlikely. Also that weirdo’s still following us, can I kill him this time?” Kaos half whines half asks
“They kidnapped Vivi, make it hurt” was the surprising serious response from Luffy, Alvida nodding with angry eyes
“Thank you my captain” the purplette grins and continues walking, followed by Usopp and Sanji
Somehow keeping Luffy out of trouble, they eventually came across something known as Verth
“Hey Conis, what’s with the dirt gremlin?” Alvida asks, getting a nod from Luffy as that was better than any description he could come up with
“That’s Vert, it represents the eternal longing of our people”
“Okay, but does that mean you pray to it, or you make offerings to make it go away, if it the avatar of a sin or a virtue?” Kaos asks curiously, kind of wishing Robin hadn’t been kidnapped as she would have found this more interesting than they do
Conis chuckles “I’m sure the concept is strange to a Blue Sea dweller, oh my we’re almost at the docks, this way please”
“Aw, we’re done already” Luffy complains but follows
“Did she just call us stupid for not understanding her dirt golem?” Kaos asks, getting a shrug from a frowning Alvida
“Probably, but not overtly or in a hateful way, it’s like not knowing about dials here. She thinks it’s so ingrained in her culture…”
“That she doesn’t believe you can learn about Vert, despite that fact she learnt about Vert when she was a child” Kaos finishes “Well best be going, also seeing as we can’t go higher without punching God in the face…” he flicks the golem, or the ice it was held within, the crack splitting the statue’s head just off centre “…might as well see if we can make things worse” he cackles madly before following along
“This place is so cool” Luffy cheers, looking at the wide array of Gondelas on display in the harbour
“True, but how are we supposed to hire one of these, if nobody will talk to us?” Usopp yells, acting as the voice of reason for Luffy’s spirit of adventure at the moment
“Well, we could steal one, I doubt stealing a gondola is a level 1 crime, so it’s not like things can get worse for us” Kaos suggests, though halfassing it as he would rather not
“Actually, your boat is over here” Conis explains, gesturing them to continue following
“And we have a boat reserved because?” Sanji asks
“Must be the challenger gondola” Alvida guesses, drawing a blank otherwise
“I present to you, the Crow” she announces happily, gesturing to the rather crap little boat behind her
“Crows don’t even swim” Sanji blurts out
“And Chickens don’t fly, is that the biggest problem you have Sanji?” Usopp shouts
“It’s a pile of crap” Alvida groans
“I’ll be back with the waver from the ship” Kaos grunts and he turns on his heels
“No! You can’t go back, you’ve already come this far” Conis screams, clearly panicked, but the researcher just smiles
“We’re not going” Luffy says softly, surprising most of the crew, Conis and the hidden White Berets
“W-w-w-w-what? But your friends?” Conis stutters
“You’re being an idiot again aren’t you Lu?”
“Well doy, the future Pirate King, Queen, Chef, Sniper and Researcher can’t trudge around on this piece of sky shrap, we should take that one” he point to the gondola he’d been eyeing earlier. Kaos had to toss Luffy away to get him out of Sanji’s kicking range, though didn’t try as hard to get said cook out of the range of Alvida’s mace.
Conis sighs in relief, then rolls her eyes at Luffy’s stupidity “Your exit is gate number 2, that will take you to the Milky Road and from there Upper Yard”
“That’s a lot less security for such a normally forbidden zone than I expected” Alvida thinks aloud
“Well when their God sees all, human guards are crap in comparison” Kaos replies with a shrug
“Hey Conis” the blond remains bowed even when Luffy starts talking “You’ve been trembling, since we left the house”
“Oh sweet kami, someone else noticed” the researcher sighs in relief, pinching the bridge of his nose
“Are you okay?”
Conis tenses “Is it that noticeable”
“Yes” Kaos answers automatically ignoring Sanji’s attempt to kick some manners into him, assisted by Alvida kicking the cook in the balls
“He’s right. It’s like you’re scared or something”
“Speaking of scared, are things going to be okay for you and Paguya when we leave? I mean everyone else is avoiding us like we have Amber Lead, but you, you’re still the same girl we met on the beach with the harp and the sky fox” Usopp asks, looking concerned “Won’t they treat you as our accomplice?”
Luffy grits his teeth and puts his hands on Conis’ shoulders “Conis, everything is going to be okay, I swear it”
Conis sighs “You don’t get it do you?”
‘she, she can’t serious be going to tell them’
“After telling you how scary and deadly upper Yard is, I lead you here, hire a boat for you and give you directions; doesn’t that strike you as odd?”
“Extremely, but this is technically, probably still the Grand Line, so I’m just waiting for the punch line”
‘She’s really going to do it’ “Watch your tongue little girl, don’t do anyth….gurk” the White beret no longer had to worry about his own tongue, given his entire lower jaw had just been torn from it’s socket
“The traitor is confessing, be quiet before she loses her nerve” Kaos hisses, dropping the skypeian jawbone and shimmering back to the remaining Straw Hats and mildly traumatised Conis “Continue”
“You already know, don’t you?”
“That you’re acting suspicious, yeah of course, why? Not a chance” Luffy admits
“Um guys, the bird people are backing up” Usopp whispers, pointing to the Skypeians who were in deed rather quickly getting away from them
“Must be getting out of the Splash Zone” the purplette chuckles, wiping his hand on his waistcoat
Conis explains why Paguya had her guide them, which actually had Kaos and Alvida laugh and Sanji and Usopp groan
“You thought Luffy, valued his life over adventure? Mr I’m going to be King of the Pirates or Die trying over here” Sanji points his shoe at the grinning moron who waves
“But, the lives of your crew?”
“Captains orders” Kaos and Alvida chorus still grinning like idiots
“I called the Super express Lobster” apparently that was what ended the amusem*nt, given she went from kneeling in repentance to having her head pinned to the pavement
“YOU WHAT!”
“Kaos, she can’t talk if she’s eating cloud dirt” Luffy says, ordering a release without using the words. He complies
“While you were preparing, I told your friends about a current to get them to Cloud End quickly and safely, when they raised anchor they signalled the Lobster. If we learn someone is a criminal we must lead them to Upper Yard, or the penalty is death”
‘Stupid girl’
‘she’s bring Ereru’s wrath on us all’
“it’s the duty of every citizen” she sniffles
Kaos groans as Luffy steps closer “If what you say is true, then you’re being forced tolead us here?” nod “Then why tell us any of this at all?” Conis’s neck nearly snaps with the speed it goes from looking at the ground to Luffy’s angry face “You idiot, now you’re in danger!”
“Luffy, grab the girl and hold on” Kaos shouts just as a bright light erupts in the sky “Everyone else make a break for it”
‘Really hope this works’
ZAP BOOM!
“Well, that wasn’t fun” Sanji groans as the him and 3 other Straw Hats slowly stand up
“Okay, maybe he’s stronger than a normal Logia” Kaos says with a wince, seeing the crater left behind by that lightning strike
“This is what happens to people who defy the mighty Ener.ah!” one skypean croons, until he gets yanked across the still smoky clearly and was left staring into his own face reflected in 2 mirror coated eyes that pulsed with anger.
“Alvida, do want to kill this moron or should I?”
“There will be no need for that”
Usopp gasps “It’s that weirdo with the parrot horse”
“I’m not weird, I’m the skyknight Ganfall. This one’s on the house by the way” he says with a slight smile, dropping Luffy off beside them, but keeping Conis on his steed
“And Conis?” Sanji asks
“She is under my protection for now, Eneru will not touch her” Ganfall declares gravely and even the straw hats believe him
Crunch
“Well, guess we didn’t need that guy” Kaos says before helping Luffy up “Are you ready to face Ereru now Luffy?”
“Yeah, that bastard tried kill our friend and is still trying to kill our family; he needs to go down hard!”
“Exactly what we expect from you Luffy, don’t ever change” Alvida smiles, pulling him in for a hug “Now, to Conis’ sh*tty Crow gondola!”
The 5 manage to somehow all fit in the gondola (Usopp requiring a little convincing, also reminding him Kaya was waiting up there for him to rescue her had him nearly imitating Sanji), Luffy in the front while Kaos was left to handle the controls, the crew were fine with the arrangement the brothers decided on, especially after the waver incident
“Dear passangers if you’ll look dead a head you’ll see a giant forest, hopefully filled with less giant animals than Little Garden, as well as our friends who we are here to rescue” Kaos announces, trying to keep the mood high on the painfully slow Crow
“The map never mentioned giant mangroves” Usopp squeaks
“We don’t know how old the map is, only the minimum of 200 years because it was on the St. Briss, plus who knows how fast or large things grow up here?” Alvida responds, leaning back with her mace on her lap
“All I know is I’ve got to climb one of those trees, they’re huge!”
“We’ll do it later Lu, we are most likely on the clock here” Kaos reminds a now frowning Luffy, until he spots something near where the Milky Road meets the forest
“Look the entrance” he says, pointing to the lit torches and Verth statues lining the arch formed in the trees “Guess this is where the Trial officially begins”
“Feel like chickening out Usopp, because I’m pretty sure this is the point of no return” Sanji asks getting a hesitant shake of he head from the cowardly sniper “Great, you’re going first”
“No, that’s the captains job, right Luffy?” Usopp quickly denies, happy to deny his captain claim if it meant saving his hide for a little longer, though he has bigger things to worry about now “Um guys… You can see those too right?” he yells, pointing to the shipwrecks along the sides of the road
“Yes, guess this place isn’t meant for Blue sea vessels, they all got destroyed” Alvida notes, until they hear something heavy coming their way “Or not”
SWING
“Well, now we know what happened to the ships, the trial path is boobytrapped, and probably so is the forest” Kaos announces, for once everyone was glad the Crow was so slow, as the giant blade actually missed them by an inch by going too early “Everyone paddle for your lives”
By some miracle their flailing that was just about called paddling managed to enable them to avoid the barrage of swinging blades, only to run into spears being flung from practically every direction
“Usopp take the wheel” Kaos yells, the sniper more than happy too, other than having to listen to Luffy’s backseat driving
“I’ve said this once and I’ve said it a thousand times, stop throwing pointy things, I can’t deflect them!” Luffy growls, tossing back any spears Kaos, Sanji and Alvida mange to deflect from hitting their boat, but still landed in said boat.
The spinning wheel of death, which seemed to be part boomerang and part Straw Hat/idiot seeking missile was both an annoyance and a chance for both Alvida and Kaos to do a little target training, the reflect human eventually seeing his companions were getting as annoyed with these trials as he was and decided to try catch the thing, luckily it worked
“Anyone else glad this thing is serrated like a saw rather than straight like an axe?” he wonders aloud before dropping it into the cloud sea, wincing at the shallow grove in his palm.
After everything they’d just gone through, a sky lamprey was easy, Sanji only needing on well placed kick to send it flying into the forest
10 minutes later
“You’d think with how trigger happy God is he’d have made the travel distance between town and his trial shorter, eh maybe his predecessor was less of a dick” Kaos grumbles, now lying down at the back of the boat, his fedora over his eyes
“Predecessor?” Sanji and Usopp ask
“Eneru’s a lightning man, or something along those lines, but more importantly Conis said something before she left with Ganfall. ‘I know who you are. Come back to us God’” the straw hats gasp “Seems God is a title or rank up here, and Eneru’s abilities definitely seem quite close to divine”
“I suppose that means we’re going to need to make sure none of them start worshiping you or Luffy when we’re done kicking his Godly ass of his golden throne” Alvida chuckles
“Exactly”
Not much more was said before they reached what looked to be the end of the road, until 4 spaces were noted in the obstructing wall. Each gate had a corresponding title written above it, labelling it as an Ordeal. They were the Ordeals of:
Swamp
Iron
String
Balls (Usopp says spheres in the anime, but the subtitle says Ball Ordeal so I’m going with that)
“Okay, should we vote , draw straws or just have Luffy decide?” Kaos asks as they let the Gondola come to a rest just in front of the gateways
TBC
LW: Yeah, I’m ending it here, hope everyone’s okay with that. See you all next time. Also, at least the next chapter will stick to Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, (Kaos and Alvida), we’ll be checking in on the others in a separate chapter just for them.
Chapter 48: So many balls
Chapter Text
LW: Here we go, onto the 1st trial
Rubber King and Mirror Master – So many balls (Sorry, not sorry)
“So, which path do we take?” Usopp asks Luffy, who answers surprisingly quickly
“Balls, the Trial of the Balls”
“Why?”
“Balls are fun, it sounds like the least bad trial” Luffy answers with a smile, to which the sniper had no response
“Yes they are” Alvida purrs beside him, cuddling up to him as Kaos considers sepuku and Sanji considers curling up in a corner of the boat for the foreseeable future.
“At least it’s been decided, but remember anything can happen regardless of how mundane the challenge sounds”
“Ruin the mood why don’t cha?”
Once they entered the gate the pirates were flung into pitch darkness, only the pull of the canal keeping them on course and away from the sides. Just as Luffy got Usopp’s heart rate to a level it could be heard outside his body they reached the end of the tunnel, which was apparently attached to a waterfall…
‘f*ck my life!’
How they survived is completely unknown given how weak the Crow appeared, but given they don’t understand how water clouds work maybe they just negate fall damage, either way the 4 of them were just fine, other than some mild trauma.
“Let’s not do that again any time soon” Sanji pants as he tries get his heart and breathing back to normal levels
“Agreed” Kaos replies with a deep sigh, his head resting on the steering wheel of the gondola “Now, where the f*ck are we?”
“A forest” Luffy answers “with balls”
That statement had both older boys look up, and just as the captain stated there were a lot of large, white balls floating around in the air, it was really strange
“Guess we can see why it’s called the Ordeal of Balls” Alvida hums
“Well, the ball part at least, we still don’t know about the ordeal part” Usopp adds, his eyes constantly flickering around the area they were floating through
“The coward is right” Kaos says, pinching the bridge of his nose “we need to keep on our guard, this is a trial by one of the priests of this Thunderus rip off, so there has to be more than just cloud balls everywhere”
“The canal is rising, taking us up through the trees” Sanji notices, the others feeling the unease rising with them.
‘It’s too quiet, you’d think someone working for Ereru would want to show off how loyal they are, maybe fanatics are built differently in the sky’ Kaos thinks, the lightning logia’s prescience beginning to give him a headache as well as his hair standing slightly on end. The fact Usopp and Luffy had gotten bored and were now playing with the cloud balls weren’t helping at all
“Will you 2 cut it out already?” Sanji yells angrily, seems the cook was annoyed as much as the researcher by their blasé attitude, so it was probably a good thing he ball took this moment to pop, releasing a sky snake which tried to attack Usopp, only for Alvida to bat it off the side of the canal
“That’s not good” the sniper squeaks, now looking panicked at all the balls hanging around them
“Kaos, another ball, dead ahead!” Luffy shouts in warning, the purplette frowns as he pulls out Hebi
“I’m not in the mood for snakes today. Shinso” he hisses, the hook blade straightening before shooting forward like a piston, spearing the cloud ball with unlike the other one, blew up rather than release some snakes
“Well sh*t, we’re floating through a forest of boobytrapped cloud balls” Sanji gasps
“Hoh hoh hooooo, silly children these are Surprise Clouds” came a voice above them, before a cloud ball floated down to reveal the priest using it as a chair “Hesu, I’m so glad you chose my challenge, the Ordeal of Spheres!”
“Great, now we have talking cloud balls” Kaos groans, causing a few to attempt to hold in a laugh, mostly because the description actually did fit the rotund man who’s wings were still somehow able to support his weight.
“Anyone know what kind of drugs this guy is on? And if he’s willing to share, I’m sure Chopper and Robin could find a use for the stuff?” Alvida asks rhetorically, trying to avoid simply throwing her mace at the now dancing and giggling idiot in front of them
“No, but he clearly doesn’t have the dosage right” Sanji remarks, then grimaces when the angel-ball throws himself into the air, aiming for the boat
“Luffy, ball guy at 12 o’clock”
“I see him”
Gum Gum …
“Oh, you a stretchy boy” Satori coos “strike from the left”
…Pistol
Satori laughs, dodging the strike with ease, then with a energy pulse from his hand sends Luffy flying onto the land beside him
“That’s not a Devil Fruit power, so it must be dials, you’re going to be a pain in the ass to deal with” Kaos sighs then reaches out, surprising both himself and the others when he was able to place his hand on Satori’s face “Sakanade” he says with a chuckle, before attempting to smack the ball man, only to miss by a good foot or so
“A palm strike to the bridge of my nose, that might have hurt, had it connected” Satori cackles “But to one such as I, granted the power of Mantra by Eneru, it’s nothing Hoh hoh hooooo”
“He can predict our attacks”
“Before we even make them”
“Well, sort of” the purplette smirks, reflect armour coating his hands “Given the attacks have both been head on, you have to at least see the attack coming, right?”
“Hoh hoh hooooo, nope, much like God, I see all, no attacks can strike me”
“Let me test that, it is my job after all”
Flashbang
Kaos clicks his fingers before fanning his hands out to try blind/daze the angel, before going in for a rib strike. The shades seemed to protect Satori, as he only laughed before floating…directly into the path of Kaos’ kick
“What?” Satori screams, clutching his side “How, that shouldn’t have worked, my Mantra clearly told me you’d kick me on the right”
Kaos’ smirk widens “which I did, your eyes just think it came from the left. I must thank you for wearing mirrored shades like you do, it makes this so much easier. Also it sounds like mantra isn’t affected by my fruit, good to know for the next guy”
“I’m confused” Usopp whines, meanwhile Alvida was focusing on Luffy pulling himself to his feet
“What’s the name of my fruit Usopp?”
“The reflect reflect fruit?” Usopp responds, hoping he was right
“Correct. And with that in mind, do you know what I did?” Kaos asks, before jumping out of the way of a shockwave courtesy of Satori
“Reflections. Also should we get away, like now, this boat is too small to fight in?” the sniper guesses, the nod from Kaos answering both questions, before he’s grabbed by his bag and thrown down to where Luffy is, Sanji and Alvida not needing the help to jump off themselves
“Close enough” he hums, then laughs at the mirroring of actions, leading to Satori’s hand on the back o his head, before the dial discharged, luckily for him and unfortunately for the priest at this close range, being a precog doesn’t mean you have time to avoid the kick to the gut left behind as a gift when Kaos shot forwards into the nearby tree, the spherical red head grunts as the wind is knocked out of him, sneering at the purplette who landed on his back with a thud
“You okay Kaos?” Luffy asks
“I’m fine, or will be in a minute of two” Kaos replies, smile still in place
“You won’t have time to, not when I’m through with you blasphemers!” Satori yells as he floats down to them
“Get bent you walking dumpling!” Alvida screams, swinging her mace but missing just barely, the angel laughs and slams his hand into her gut shooting her back into the tree with a thud
“See, the big one was just a fluke, God’s power is absolute and with it I shall destroy you”
Luffy grits his teeth and swings his arm, limbering up before sending forth his attack
Gum Gum Scatter shot
“You really think another punch will topple me, it’s quite clear your attack will…” the fist connects with Sataori’s fat face, sending him skipping across a cloud canal
“What just happened?” Sanji asks, confused by the inconsistent power the ball man had
“The attack needs to be predictable in order for Satori to be able to dodge it… actually that’s probably wrong, the attack needs an actual target in order for Satori to defend, Scattershot literally is a scattered mess of an attack, designed to hit the opponent somehow or have them dodge wildly in order to avoid a punch that could hit any part of their body” Kaos explains
“That’s nice, but how does that help those of us who don’t have a rubber body?” Usopp asks
“We overwhelm him with attacks, unless any of you idiots, and Alvida have any better ideas” Sanji says before running straight at the annoyed priest, a barrage of kicks deftly avoided by the fat bastard
“Does he really need to call out where he’s aiming, the whole problem is he knows what we’re going to do, so why tell him?” the sniper asks in confusion
“It hasn’t been a problem before” Luffy suggests with a shrug
“True, Sanji has been doing this pretty much since we met him, with his opponent s never fast enough to react to the declared target. Which shows not only does the cloud ball know what he’s doing before he hits him, he knows before Sanji tells him and can move out of the way” Kaos theorises, then walks forward seeing an opening he can use.
“Done tiring yourself out blondie Hoh hoh hooooo” Satori giggles, having managed to dodge every strike thanks to his Obser…Mantra with little effort on his part. Grinning like a maniac he raises his left arm and proceeds to slam his dial into Sanji’s face… only for the strike to be caught by Kaos’ hand
DING
“For the love of Eneru, do you have nay idea what you’ve done?” Satori screams as he flies back, the fully redirected shockwave breaking a few bones in his arm, as well as shatter the dial in his glove rendering the entire hand useless
“Learnt your mantra can only detect attacks, which a reflection isn’t, it’s a counter which does nothing unless you activate it. All I did was catch your hand, you’re the one with the dial” Kaos explains with a tight smile, given he was just wearing the waistcoat it was clear to everyone there were 2 cracks that went from his wrist to just before his elbow on his right arm “Oh and heads up” he taunts
‘Strike to the left side, predictable even for a Blue Sea dweller, I’ll just move a litt..’ “f*cking Bitch!” Satori shrieks as Alvida’s swing cracked 3 ribs “How, you were aiming for the left so I weaved ri…”
“Left, thanks for that by the way I think the attack would have hurt but not broken anything without your help” Kaos smirks and Satori noticed the khopesh was on his right hip instead of his left. While distracted the priest’s mantra seemed to falter, as there was no other reason for him to miss..
Lead Star Bombardment
…the maximum load a slingshot can hold of lead pellets being fired directly at his face, knocking him onto his fat ass and shattering his shades to pieces, to his and the purplette’s annoyance
“Luffy punch the idiot for me” he sighs, not even reacting to Ussop’s whine of pain when Luffy does as instructed
“Why’d you hit me?”
“Because you broke his shades, meaning we need to find another way to deal with his mantra” Kaos answers as the priest gets back up, steaming mad
“Hm?”
“One thing people forget about reflections, is that they’re backwards, left is right and vice versa. The reversal of perspective was something I noticed happened on occasion when I used my reflect armour on my face, and it messed with my head quite a bit. That disorientation and inability to know left from right, possibly even up and down but that’s a little extreme, as well as being unable to trust your eyes was something I’ve wanted to try for a while but never had a chance to, until Satori’s mirrored shades.”
Sanji face palms “That’s why the dumpling got his predictions wrong when you and Alvida struck him, his brain followed his eyes, moving out of the way of the strike, and into the real one”
“3 cheers for the pervert cook” Kaos teases, then grunts when Satori slams his other impact dial into his gut, before flying into the tree several feet behind him.
“You think you can get one over on one of the priests of Eneru smart guy? Well lets see if you can deal with this!” he declares, pulling out a cane and spinning it around
Tama Dragon
“Ah f*ck” Alvida swears, given there was a giant dragon creature made of Surprise Clouds flying towards them, with Satori flying out of the way of the creature so he could watch them fail
“Anyone got a plan?” Luffy shouts “Also this is awesome… if it wasn’t coming straight for us!”
“I have an idea, though it’ll probably hurt like a bitch” came an irritated voice, as Kaos was helped up by Alvida, taking Hebi from his belt and pressing the hilt against the centre of his chest, the snake animating and wrapping herself around his chest, then digging her fangs directly over his heart
Odo no gosuto no boyaketa hansha: Kamishini no Yari
Much like before Hebi straightened and then shot forward, the difference being it went a lot further than last time, shooting through the entire surprise cloud dragon, popping almost simultaneously, and continuing on until it reached a very different cloud. Even with his mantra Satori didn’t see this coming, the force of the blow slamming him into a tree, but more importantly the blade impaling his heart, killing him almost instantly
“Is it over?” he pants, hands shaking around Hebi’s hilt, leaning slightly against Alvida.
“Give us a minute for the smoke to clea…. Yep, the bastard’s dead, can’t be any more over than that” Sanji answers, Kaos sighs in relief and releases the technique, the blade retracting like a tape measure, luckily without the kickback or he would have been the next person to get injured by his blade. Hebi releases her fangs from his chest and coils back around the hilt, returning to it’s base form just before the purplette fall back, lying spread eagle on the ground
“Is he okay?” Alvida asks Luffy who shrugs
“I’ll be fine, just going to take a break if there’s no complaints from the peanut gallery” Kaos answers, pushing his hat over his eyes and closing them, grunting in annoyance when Luffy grabs him by his coat and throwing him back onto the Crow, though he does find a spot to sleep in while Luffy catches and throws up the rest of his reluctant crew.
“Well, I’m going to assume killing the priest counts as finishing the trial, so let’s get the hell out of here” Sanji decides, turning back on the Crow’s dials and setting them down the canal once more
“So, anyone have a plan for if we come across any more ‘mantra’ users?” Alvida asks as they wait for the boat to slowly plod through the forest
“Given we can’t count on them all being dressed the same, Kaos’ mirror trick probably won’t be useable on them” Usopp guesses sadly
“Then we’ll just have to imoblise them” Kaos suggests, not opening his eyes or even moving, getting a minute of silence before Luffy of all people face palm
“Of course, why didn’t we think of it sooner. It doesn’t matter if you can predict your opponent’s moves before they make them… if you can’t do anything to avoid or counter said attacks” he fist pumps, grinning madly
“Wow, that’s actually pretty smart” Sanji says, giving his captain a rare compliment
“Of course”
“So how do you think the others are doing?”
“Eh, they’re probably fine”
Meanwhile at the Sacrificial Alter
“I don’t wanna die” Chopper cries as he runs away from the fireballs falling from the sky, trying to turn him into a reindeer roast
TBC
LW: Yeah, this isn’t as long as other chapters, Satori annoyed the f*ck out of me. So much like Don Krieg there was less effort put into this chapter, of which I apologise to my readers’ whole heartedly. Hopefully the next chapter will make up for it.
Chapter 49: How the others are doing
Chapter Text
LW: And now for something completely different… sort of
Rubber King and Mirror Master: How the others are doing
Around the middle of chapter 47 – Sacrificial Alter
“Okay, so where the f*ck are we?” Zoro asks after the Sky lobster finally let them go, even if it was on top of a step pyramid
“Besides Upper Yard… I have no clue” Nami sighs, this day just wasn’t going well for her
“It appears to be an alter, most likely sacrificial in nature” Robin notes in a more clinical tone than some of the crew would like, especially given the subject material
“Sacrifice?” Vivi squeaks, while Kaya and Nami turn green
“What’s a sacrifice?” Chopper asks in confusion, turning to Robin as already knows she’s the smartest one on the ship
“Ritualistic slaying of animals or humans, usually as an act of devotion to a deity” Robin explains, Vivi nodding alongside her
“She’s right, the practice was part of Alabasta’s ancient history until Crocodile’s drought, then the sacrifice of prized livestock and a portion of what little harvest was produced became a more common thing, anything to bring the rains back as they say” the bluenette adds,
“Makes sense” Nami nods, then realisation dawns “Hold on, that means we’re the sacrifices!”
“Pretty much” Artemis agrees, sitting beside Zoro frowning at the symbols on the wall that just look like jibberish.
“I don’t wanna die, wah!” Chopper screams, before falling off the Merry, bouncing down the stairs of the alter and nearly falling into the cloud sea beyond was he not caught near the end by a pair of Robin’s bloomed hands
“That was way too close” Victor sighs, Kaya and Carue releasing their held breath
“Not done yet” Valentina shouts as a sky shark bursts out of the water, luckily Zoro was there to intercept it, saving Chopper and allowing the little reindeer to flee, only for him to fall into the cloud sea himself
“Zoro!” Chopper screams, tears running down his face
“Uncle Zoro’s going to be okay, right Nami?” Artemis asks, poking Nami’s butt with her brush to get her attention
“He’ll be fine, this is Zoro we’re talking about” Nami bluffs, not wanting to scare the child with her own fears for the swordsman’s fate
“He’s still alive, and uninjured, this place may be strange but water still turns red when blood is spilled within it” Robin assures her in a more direct and logical way “Plus just like Luffy and your papa, he’s wicked strong, a sky shark won’t be able to beat him” she adds bloomed hands rubbing Chopper’s head between his antlers and running through her hair to sooth them both
Bang
“Did Zoro just punch a shark?” Kaya asks, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things
“Yes, it seems all that weight lifting isn’t just for show” Robin says with a chuckle as Zoro trudges back up the steps
He grunts as he gets back onto the boat “So, in other news, we’re not getting out of this mess, by swimming” as he says that, several fins peek out of the water
“Oh great, more sky sharks” Nami grumbles
“I wonder if this is the so called Heaven’s Judgement that military guy was blabbering on about” Robin wonders aloud
“Not much of a trial, unless the only options are starve or get eaten by sky sharks” Valentina notes, almost looking bored
“She’s right, you’d think this God would try something a little flashier, like a bolt from the sky to smite his enemies” Zoro adds, looking unimpressed and a little annoyed
“Not every God is a drama Queen Zoro” Vivi defends “Some are more subtle and indirect. Though on saying that, maybe Eneru expects us to kill each other and then he kills the survivors”
“Dick move, especially for a God” Victor grumbles “We’re kind of stuck here though, the hull took a battering when that Lobster clawhandled it, so even if we could move it down to the water it wouldn’t do us much good” he says with a deep sigh, unlike Usopp the bomber man was willing to admit: that the Merry was dying, and would need to be replaced sooner rather than later.
Zoro nods “Think you can at least have a go at fixing it, all we need is a patch job? I’ll head out into the forest, see if there’s anything that can help us out there”
“And how do you intend to do that? You told us yourself swimming isn’t an option, even ignoring most of us are Devil Fruit users” Nami asks with a bitter tone to which Zoro just rolls his eyes
“This whole place is God’s Land, what do you hope to find out here?” Vivi asks
“God. If he’s really up here, I’d like to meet him” the expression on Zoro’s face could be classed as demonic that was for sure
“That’s a really stupid idea, what will you even do if you meet him, slice him with your swords? Kaos thinks he’s some kind of Logia, that means normal attacks do precisely Jack sh*t!” Valentina argues
“Eh, I’ll figure it out if and when I meet him, also depending on if he behaves himself or acts like a little bitch” Zoro answers pretty nonchalantly, checking he still had all his swords after the shark fight “I don’t believe in him anyway, why would I care about pissing him off?” he asks mostly thinking out loud
“Oh great Enaru…”
BANG
“Ow, why the f*ck did you hit me?” Nami shouts at Vivi, more annoyed about the fact she’d used her own weapon than he thwack itself
“Praying to the being who’s going to kill us all, besides being stupid it’s also disrespectful to the rest of us, as well as the boys and Alvida most likely fighting their way through Eraru’s priests as we speak trying to rescue us” Vivi growls, though the climitact is removed from her hands by Kaya’s syrup tentacles before she can hit Nami again. Now unarmed the bluenette appears to calm, moving into a meditative pose before reciting what sounded to be a prayer, or at least part of one
“Hikari no buringā, anata wa anata no namae to mokuteki no kono chōshō ni taish*te watashinokazoku no shōri o sh*tatamerudeshou.”
“She has a point you know” Robin adds, still examining the alter itself “God’s often gain power through worship, praying to him, may just doom our friends” the archaeologist suggests, leading to Nami taking a paintbrush to the back of the head. Turning around she’s met with a grumpy looking Artemis
“Don’t try hurt Papa again” she commands with a slight hiss in her voice, sending a shiver down the navigator’s spine
“That vine looks pretty sturdy” Zoro says, spotting one in a tree just above them “Hey Robin, think you could lend a hand and get that for me?”
“Sure thing swordsman. Provided I can tag along” Robin says with a smirk
Zoro shrugs “That’s fine as long as you don’t slow me down” Robin nods and blooms hands to bring it down
“Wait a minute, where are you going?” Valentina asks, wondering what had caught the older woman’s eye
“You see this alter, it’s still standing after over a thousand years”
“WHAT!”
“You can practically feel the history in the very air, somewhere like this is bound to be full of old relics. It’s my duty as an archaeologist to find those relics. Just think of all the valuables we could uncover, not seen in centuries” Robin sighs deeply, a soft smile on her face
Of course say valuables in front of Nami and the expected reaction occurs “Hm, in that case I’ll join you” she declares, eyes already turned into Berri telling everyone exactly what they needed to know
“I guess that leaves us to fix the ship then” Vivi presumes, actually glad the red head wasn’t going to be on the ship complaining the entire time. She’s now Zoro and Robin’s problem
“Stay safe mama” Artemis says, getting a hug from Robin
“Of course I will, I have our swordsman to protect me” she teases, Zoro rolling his eyes but smiling at the kid, tugging at the vine before getting ready to go
“A hem. Aaaaaahahah” he bellows, swinging over the sky shark infested lake (Eh, close enough to the Tarzan yell I’m probably not going to change it) “You’re turn” he shouts, tossing the vine back, Robin barely letting it stop before jumping off herself and letting her swing gracefully to the other side. “Last call witch”
“I’ll be fine” Nami tells herself, pulling on the vine to test its strength, then gulping when she looked down ‘This is a lot higher than I though’
“Be very careful Miss Nami, if you fall you’ll most certainly die, though whether it’s from the fall or the sharks I’m not sure” Robin ‘helpfully’ encourages
“How is that supposed to help me…….ah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Nami screams as she’s pushed, her shriek most likely scaring every bird in the area away before she reaches the other side, the only thing stopping her slamming into a tree, being Robin’s blooms
“Well, not the total coward I expected you to be” Robin says with a smirk
“She was pushed” Zoro adds
“I stand corrected”
“Oh you can both go straight to Hell!” Nami yells at them both, Zoro ignoring her though Robin’s flat ‘yes I probably am’ sent a cold shiver down her spine.
“So, now they’re gone, should we get to work” Vivi asks, getting nods from all those who stayed “Okay, Victor you’re the one of us with the most experience in this kind of thing, so lead the way”
“It’s not really that much, barely worth the fanfare” the bomberman admits, getting nods of agreement from Vivi and the others.
“True, but some is better than none at all, which is what all but you, Usopp and maybe Kao given he seems to be the one most likely to help Usopp with his repairs before you joined the crew have in terms of repair and carpentry skills” Kaya explains while Chopper goes to get the tools
“Thanks, guess there’s no point standing around complaining”
“Agreed, let’s make the Merry sailable again” Valentina cheers.
With Zoro, Nami and Robin
“We’ve been walking for over an hour, and still no sign of this God, nor any of his priests” Zoro complains as he climbs over another tree root
“Well given if God is as powerful as he claims, or is supposed to it won’t matter where we look as he should already know where we are. Then again maybe he does and is avoiding us on purpose” Robin guesses impassively
“If he knows where we are, can’t he just show up already” the swordsman growls impatiently
Nami groans “You say that because you haven’t seen the things I have, something on this island could wipe us off the map in a single strike!”
“If you start praying again I’ll smack you” Robin states plainly, seeing the girl already dropping to her knees
“Let her do it if she wants, it’s just as pointless as standing around complaining. We need to get across the river though as there’s nothing over here” Zoro grumbles, then has to rescue Nami who got a little too close to the edge and caught the attention of a Sky Shark in the clouds.
“Okay, it’s official I’m not crossing that, no how no way, might as well just throw myself to the sharks now and give them what hey want. I’m staying right here and nothing will make me move!”
“We probably will” Robin remarks, acknowledging Nami as dead weight, something Zoro told her not to be specifically (though it may have been he didn’t see the point in repeating himself, or knew Nami would just argue if he told her off as well)
“You idiot, if you were so scared why did you come in the first place?” Zoro yells in her face
‘Because she’s a greedy, gold obsessed, bitch’ Robin thinks, the information safe in her head from Nami’s explosive temper, then she looks down and her eyes widen “Guys, look over here” she shouts, dropping to her knees
“What, is it gold, treasure, gemstones?” Nami asks with eye sparkles
“It’s dirt”
“Of course it’s dirt” the navigator responds, getting a look from Robin Luffy was familiar with, the ‘you’re a f*cking idiot!’
“We’re in the sky” Robin reminds her, her voice dead calm
“Oh yeah” Nami says with a face palm “But how did it get up here?”
“No clue, but the fact this place is made of dirt rather than clouds, might be why it’s so special to this God person and the skypians in general” Robin theorises, standing back up
Robin hums as she spots something after a little more walking, something moving out the corner of her eye, potential proof they weren’t alone in this forest
“Something wrong Robin?” Nami asks, having noticed the woman stop moving and looked almost lost
“Nothing of concern, we may continue” Robin waves off, it might have actually been nothing, she just wasn’t sure.
Back with the Merry
Repairs actually were going better than expected, the girls and Chopper able to follow orders better than Luffy did 90% of the time, there was only one incident involving a lost hammer and a sky shark, but Victor’s bombs seemed to do the trick to at least keep them away from the steps
“This is a rather smooth repair job, especially for such amateurs as ourselves” Vivi says with a smile a she continues hammering, accepting a nail from Carue before she runs over to Victor to give him one
“And a lot less complaining Kyahaha” Valentina cackles, sitting on Chopper’s shoulder as they work on the hull “Weird isn’t it?”
“That the most complaints don’t come from the pretty pink princess?” Artemis asks completely shamelessly “But instead the poor, greedy, navigator?”
“Pretty much” Kaya admits, the devil fruit and Nami’s lack of prescience on the boat allowing her to pluck up the courage to answer such a question
The peace didn’t last too long as soon heavy wing beats could be heard, something was flying in their direction, at a quick pace too
“Holy sh*t!” Vivi screams as a skull faced bird enters visual range, a man with a pointy moustache, goggles and dressed like an aviator with pale grey wings riding on its back, his lance already drawn as he approaches
“5? Well better than nothing I suppose” he grouses “Those about to be sacrificed, I am Shura, one of the 4 priests of Enaru” he states, arrogance almost palatable in the air
Before anyone could stop him, Chopper blew Ganfall’s whistle
Meanwhile
‘Hm, what’s cobblestone doing all the way up here?’ Robin wonders, this island wasn’t making any sense; nothing about this island was any different to any other on the Blue Sea… except it was high above the clouds, on the White White Sea.
“Wait, did you hear that?” Nami asks, drawing her attention away from the ground long enough to… yes that sounded like a whistle, or maybe another wind instrument she as unfamiliar with, it could be the sound of an Alarm Tone for all she knew. She shrugs and dismisses it, moving onto a more interesting mystery to solve: why would someone build a well under the roots of a tree?
Back on the Merry
“Those who offer up their lives to Enaru, I shall make this quick” Shura shouts before trying to skewer Chopper on the tip of his lance, missing and leaving a groove in the deck, which quickly came a light
“Fire on deck”
“Damn”
Shura growls “Why resist, die with dignity” he squeezes his legs and his bird exhales a torrent of flame
Bark
KABOOM
“Lasoo” Vivi cheers the gun dog’s payload causing an explosion too high for the flames to do anymore damage to the ship… for now
“Okay, now he’s asking for an ass kicking” Valentina says with gritted teeth “Let’s give him what he wants eh guys?”
“Took the words right out of my mouth” Victor says before shooting an exploding snot ball, which Shura dodges with disinterest
“You really think something like that will be able to hurt a priest of Enaru?” he boasts, then frowns when a yellow blob entangles his hand “What is this?” he asks before ducking a similarly coloured projectile which embeds itself in the wall
“Me doing what Victor and Kaos do, combine my weapons, with my Devil Fruit.” Kaya says as she opens her revolver, her hand liquefying enough for golden syrup to flow into the chambers before reforming her hands and closing them. She then spins the chambers, smirking slightly “Want to play guess the payload Mr Fireguy?” she asks, before firing a round from each gun
Given the intent flowing from her Shura’s mantra was telling him to dodge as if they were real bullets, only for the left round to come undone, the sticky syrup tangling around the handle of his lance, not that he saw it as a problem as it meant they would be unable to disarm him
“You are nothing but an annoyance” Shura grunts, not even reacting as he moves out of the way of Valentina’s drop, diving to avoid a tackle from Chopper, who was swiftly kicked into the mast of the ship “You will all die, same as the idiots who already abandoned you and the fools who believe you can be rescued by surviving the trials” he then catches Vivi as she tries using her slashers, lifting her by the throat “I offer your life to God….” He stops, the spear tip inches from her heart as a prescience enters the range of his mantra, someone powerful, and moving very fast. Dropping Vivi he turns just as Ganfall arrives, blocking his strike with his lance
“Sorry to keep you waiting children”
Quack
“I presume that’s about Chopper using the whistle, in which case Go Chopper sounds about right” Valentina says, pulling herself to her feet as she watches Kaya’s syrup tentacles extinguish any flames the priest had started while he was here, only mild discomfort showing on her face
Shura sneers at the man “So you’ve finally returned, allow me to fix a mistake and put you in the ground for Lord Enaru” he then hops onto his bird’s back, who growls and spits fire at Pierre who dodges before the 2 riders begin dogfighting, all the while watched by angry eyes
‘I hope Usopp’s training is good enough… for this’
Each strike sends shockwaves through the air, Shura only a little surprised Ganfall was still this strong, despite appearing to be a decrepit old man he was still God before Enaru dethroned him. The problem for him, was his focus on Ganfall, something he needed to do or else the former God would get past his guard and skewer him, meant he suffered a much more humiliating blow, taking a round in the back from the Blue Sea pirates, the fact Ganfall managed to strike him with his Impact Dial gauntlet a moment later when he lost track of him due to pain and anger, was just the cherry on top for him. Lucky for Shura his bird was able to catch both him and his lance before becoming shark bait, rising back up to Ganfall’s level
“You think you can beat me? You’re just a shell of your former self and the brats below are barely worth my time, ants beneath God’s boot. It’s time I ended this farce of a fight. Ordeal Of Strings!” he declares loudly
The 2 warriors strike in a blur of motion, clashes could be heard even if the Straw Hats couldn’t tell anything that was going on, either due to distance or speed. When they landed on their mounts once more neither were wounded badly, but there had been some hits given and taken on both sides of the fight. Ganfall was turning to make another attempt when him and Pierre found themselves unable to move
“What! He’s just floating” Chopper gasps
“Clearly not on purpose, he looks to be stuck” Valentina notes, tilting her head confused as to the cause
“You have failed the Ordeal of Strings, and now you die” Shura says as he appears in front of Ganfall, impaling the old man on his flaming spear “Nobody enters Upper Yard without answering to the 4 priests, and now even you Ganfall are simply another offering to the Great God Enaru” he pushes forward with his weapon, pushing Ganfall off his mount and sending him into the cloud sea below
“Ganfall!” The straw hats yell, one realising his only chance hops over the edge of the ship and runs to the edge
“Vivi! What are you doing?” Chopper screams, realsing the princess was no longer standing beside him
“What I must, I’m the only one who can save him” she calls back, uncoiling her slashers before diving off the alter into the clouds
Shura scoffs “Diving into your own demise I see, at least you’ve made it quick” he then turns to Pierre, who was still frantically trying to escape the strings “And now for the Sky Knight’s noble steed. You’re without a master, and so without purpose. Time to join that fool in death” he shouts, his bird about to tear into the Horse/Bird
Bark
When it was forced to bank out of the way of a grenade being lobbed at it
“We’re not going to just let you do this” Chopper declares, shifting into Heavy Point “We’re going to beat you, for Ganfall”
Thump, thump, thump
“Hey guys” Victor, Valentina and Kaya turn at the sound of Artemis’ voice “I think we should help her, as that’s clearly not working” she says, pointing to Carue trying to move the cannons to point at Shura and his bird, Lasoo beside her firing his exploding baseballs at the enemies, with some degree of accuracy, at least enough to keep them off Pierre.
“You’re beginning to annoy me” Shura growls, his mantra picking up the next attack ‘explosive rounds the heat dial will cause an early detonation and tank the hit easily’ swinging his lance he was right, except for on thing… his lance beign blasted out of his hand and landing point down in the centre of the Merry’s deck, Valentina quickly yanking it free so as to avoid burning the ship down “How?” he thinks aloud, before noticing the syrup previously wrapped around his hand and weapon, had moved, crawling it’s way up his arm and arounf to his back. The priest chuckles “So it seems you can’t just keep making that yellow goo, so now you’re trying to salvage as much as you can, removing the bullet from my back. Pity you won’t last long enough to use it” he boasts, Foosa dodging the cannon fire as well as Victor’s breath bombs. His smirk faded when his mantra picked up the real plan “Oh no you don’t you little bitch!” he shouts, jumping off his bird, aiming to kill the girl as quickly as he could before she could activate her technique
The remaining Straw Hats were surprised when Kaya drops her guns, Chopper worrying when he sees her smile as well as her eyes turned solely the colour of honey, before moving her hands into her hair, fingers spread as if they were a crown or headdress
Syrup Sea Urchin
Shura was dead before he hit the deck, the syrup Kaya had managed to get to hit him converging on the on round that entered his back, once contained inside him it shifted, forming a spike ball which lead to dozens of needle sized spikes exiting his chest cavity like a reverse pin cushion. Without a master Foosa didn’t fair much better or last much longer, going down when it took a cannon ball to the jaw, cracking his Flame Dial, shortly followed by a 2 stager Lasso carefully regurgitated into the cannon before Chopper fired it
“That was scary” Artemis notes, even as Kaya falls to the ground both due to exhaustion as well as her brian processing what she just did “Remind me never to annoy Aunt Kaya” the artist smiles sweetly and sits with the blond, who accepts the hug being offered.
“CHOPPER! KAYA! I need a medic here!” The straw hats all rush to the side of the ship, Vivi struggling to heave Ganfall up the steps of the alter. Chopper and Victor jump off the ship to help, while Pierre, now free from Shura’s cloud strings glides slowly down to meet them, concerned for it’s friend and master.
“Okay, we’re good he’s still alive I can do this” Chopper assures himself, while Kaya slowly made her way down the side of the boat with their medical supplies
With Zoro, Robin and Nami
“From what I can tell we’re almost at the shoreline” Robin says to Zoro, who nods gruffly
“And only Nami had a nervous breakdown, guess there are benefits to loosing Usopp, and not having Kaos around to facilitate the aforementioned breakdown” he jokes lightly, turning back to see the red head mumbling to herself “I wish she’s just tell us what she saw”
“Clearly it shocked her to her core, as well as cause a temporary break from reality” Robin clicks her tongue as she looks at Nami curiously, she then frowns “I hear more than just the tide now, you?”
“Yeah, actually sounds like an army” he pauses for a moment and chuckles “An some explosions thrown in for good measure. Whatever’s going on out there, I hope it’s enough to distract this Enaru prick long enough for us to find a way to get off this dirt heap”
“Agreed, this could get very complicated… hey where’d Nami go?”
Zoro blinks and looks behind him “Damn it Nami we don’t have time for your games”
“Found her… oh my” Robin gasps as she runs off, Zoro following her as quickly as he could “I understand now” she says quietly, once she heard Zoro stop behind her, equally in shock “Why Nami’s brain left her. This shouldn’t be possible”
“This, is the other half of Cricket’s house… which ended up here, when the rest of the island did” Nami voices Robin’s current theory, that Upper Yard was originally from the Blue Sea, this proving it more specifically… to be part of the island of Jaya in particular
TBC
LW: Well I think there’s a good place to end it, hope you liked it. Also, 2 priests down, 2 to go.
Translation of Vivi’s prayer: (aka what I put into Google translate to get that) Bringer of light, may you grant my family victory against this mockery of your name and purpose.
Chapter 50: Straw Hat reunion
Chapter Text
LW: Wow, chapter 50. I hope everyone reading has enjoyed it as much as I have, and that you’re all still around when I eventually reach chapter 100. Given I’ve come this far in almost 2 years, I could theoretically reach that marker some time in 2021… let’s not hold our breath. Anyway, enjoy the chapter everyone, Lonly loves you all :D
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Straw Hat Reunion
“This place… is the city of Gold!” Nami cheers then drops to her knees “I bet this is my reward for good behaviour eh God?”
“Well Nami has officially lost what little sense she has” Robin notes, to which Zoro snorts
“Nah she didn’t bring any with her, she heard there might be gold or treasure and jumped with us, the fact this place is the legendary city of gold is a coincidence” he retorts, not that the red head noticed
Meanwhile
“Whoever designed this place… needs glasses and to join their art” Kaos grumbles, plucking on of the skulls off it’s stake with disinterest
“Ah, don’t touch that, whoever controls this section put them there, and we’re next” Usopp scolds, knocking the skull from the older teen’s hand “We barely dealt with one trial, and now we’re in another”
“Another trial, sounds fun” Luffy cheers, getting lightly head slapped by Alvida
“Luffy, even if they sound fun, they are slowing our progress and in doing so making it harder to get to our friends” she reminds him, making Luffy frown
“Stupid trials, think you can distract me by being kind of awesome, I’m not afraid of you!” Luffy declares loudly
KABOOM
“Ah, it’s them, the priests have heard you!” Usopp aqueaks
Kaos sighs as he sits up properly “Unless Ordeal of Strings, meant fuses… then no, that’s an unrelated explosion”
“Why are there explosions on God’s island anyway?” Sanji asks, taking his eye off the controls for a moment to look in the direction of the smoke.
A he does a group of Shandoreans hop out, gliding over the gondola and ignoring it, until one looks back at them, then aims his bazooka at the group, firing dead on
“Luffy!”
“On it”
Gum Gum, GO f*ck YOURSELF
The bomb was sent back, Luffy’s aim surprisingly accurate, as it managed to get a few of Wiper’s goons in the blast radius
“Wiper” one of the shandorians stutters, having watched the boy rather casually deflect their attack
Wiper grunts “Paramecia. He ate one of the Devil Fruits, it’s the only explanation for how he could do that. These must be those Blue Sea dwellers causing all the ruckus”
“Luffy, it’s him, that guy who attacked us in the White Sea. Just left his tiki mask at home I guess” Sanji notices
“Oh yeah. We’re not afraid of you, come out and fight like a man!”
“If you don’t want to die, go back to your blue sea” Wiper orders, his voice dripping with condescension “Otherwise, we’ll execute you along with Enaru” he then gasps in pain, looking back he sees a metal spike had pierced his right wing
“Just go ahead and f*cking try” Kaos hisses, his lips curled into a sneer “Sanji, we’re wasting time with these idiots, step on the dial and get moving” he orders, getting nods from Luffy and Alvida, while Usopp cries in the corner, mumbling about ‘suicidal crewmates’
Ripping out the spike Wiper gives them a dead eyed stare “I won’t forget this, get in our way and we’ll destroy you” he then turns and using his skates disappears into the trees with the remaining able bodied warriors.
“Well, that was boring” Luffy complains with a sigh, then sat on the boat in a huff.
A little later
“Yah hoo! If this is how I die, at least it was fun” Luffy cheers as the gondola drops down a spiralling cloud canal
“The point is not to die!” Usopp shouts “And what’s the point of making a canal spiral like this?”
“Amusem*nt, or boredom depending on who you ask” Kaos replies, gripping the mast as tight as his nails allowed “Amusem*nt for those riding and boredom on the half of the creator”
So was the loop de loop for that matter, which did an excellent job of helping Usopp stick to whatever his current diet was, as he purged the contents of his stomach once they reached the end of it.
With the others, a little later
“Guys we’re back, are you okay?” Nami yells as the trio return to the alter, or at least the other side of the clouds to the alter
“Mama, Uncle Zoro, and Miss Navigator are back!” Artemis shouts from the crows nest, getting the others to come out of the Merry to see
“Oh good, we were worried you got killed” Valentina admits as Vivi throws them back the vine so they could return to the ship
At that exact same moment
“Do you want the good news or the bad news first Usopp?” Sanji asks as they begin their final decent
“Good?”
“It’s not priests” he deadpans
“It’s just a school of sky sharks” Alvida continues with a smirk
“Oh that’s a re… SKY SHARKS!”
“Luffy, your turn”
Luffy grins before wrapping his legs around the figurehead of the Crow “Easy”
Gum Gum Gattling
“It’s a good thing Luffy’s so scary strong, I don’t think those guys are meant to go down in one hit” Usopp sighs in relief as the canal levels out again, and they pass through a river of unconscious sky sharks
“Guys, I think we’ve reached our destination” Kaos chuckles as he points to the alter which the Going Merry was sitting on, then waves to both the exploration party and the repair crew
“It’s Luffy and the others” Nami gasps
“Papa!” Artemis cheers, hopping up and down after making it back on deck
“The Straw Hat pirates, reunited at last” Kaya smiles, Chopper doing his happy dance beside her
Inside the Merry
“So, will he make it?” Luffy asks, as they all gather around the unconscious Ganfall
“I believe so, with Chopper and I we should be able to patch him up, even if he won’t be much help against Enaru for a while” Kaya answers,
Luffy nods, then he turns to Vivi who sweats “You jumped into sky shark water to save him” he says quietly
“Luffy I…” she begins but gets pulled into a hug by the captain who laughs
“That’s so badass Vivi, you rock as always, I wish I’d been there to see it” he grins widely, giving her a quick peck, which Alvida slips in to add her own immediately after
“Don’t get me wrong, it was stupid and dangerous, but you were the only one who could have saved the old gheezer, so I’m glad you did Vivi”
“So, now we have the gondola and the Luffy dealt with the sky sharks, we can go over to the shore and make camp” Robin suggests
“Why?” Luffy asks
“So that when Enaru or his minions come looking for us… again… we’ll be working from solid ground, and won’t get our ship wrecked in a fight with these bastards” Kaos explains “Same reasoning but regarding those weirdoes with the skates we ran into on the way here”
“Oh, okay. Awesome, camping trip!” Luffy cheers, bouncing around
“This isn’t a party, we’re neck deep in enemy territory, so calm down” Usopp scolds
“Not a party, got it” Luffy then turns to his cook “Hey Sanji, is a barbecue a party?”
Evening
“This sky shark is really good” Luffy cheers, getting nods from a few of the others
Sanji scoffs “As if I’d make anything less than perfection for the ladies to enjoy”
“Quiet down” Usopp scolds, tapping on a blackboard he pulled from the ship “Everyone, time to give your field reports”
“Still not the captain Usopp Kya ha ha” Valentina teases, chuckling to herself, while Kaya rolls her eyes
“We got attacked by some giant dumpling looking bastard named Satori who had cloud balls that had all kinds of crap hidden inside: bombs, snakes, spikes, the works” Sanji begins
“But it’s his mantra power that was the worst, he could predict most of our attacks with almost no effort on his part” Alvida adds
“Shi shi shi, good thing Kaos turned that dumpling into a shish kabob ay guys?” Luffy asks with a laugh, digging into more sky shark
Usopp nods “Right, the fact Kaos’ reflect powers need someone to attack him in order to do anything is a loophole to the mantra, as well as a trickier one of finding a way to immobilise them without them predicting or even just seeing it coming” he continues “Like those 2 were saying, doesn’t matter if you can see 5 seconds or 5 years into the future if you can’t DO anything about it”
“We got attacked by a priest called Shura, on a fire bird. He used a lance which burned anything it touched” Chopper begins
“We found a dial in the base of the lance, we presume it’s either a heat or flame dial, as that’s the only thing that makes sense” Victor adds, having had the time to examine the priests weapon since dealing with him
“He also appeared to have that weird mantra power you mentioned, as most of our attacks he was able to dodge easily” Kaya agrees
“Luckily, Aunt Kaya turned him into a reverse pincushion, and Chopper’s animal squad dealt with his bird” Artemis announces proudly
“Wait a minute, we’ve killed 2 of Enaru’s priests?” Nami asks “That’s insane, those guys made them sound super powerful”
“They were” Kaos argues
“Oh please, you taking out one I believe, but Kaya, how did that happen if they were so stro….” She stops when a syrup needle stops about an inch from her eye, turning her gaze she sees Kaya had curled up slightly, resembling a honey coloured hedgehog with her back of spines
“Now imagine that, but coming out of someone who isn’t a logia. That’s what Shura looked like when Kaya was done with him” Valentina explains as the spines retract and Kaya sits up again, looking sheepish
“That… WAS AWESOME!” Luffy cheers
“Moving swiftly on. We didn’t get to fight anyone, but we did find out why there’s an island in the sky” Robin say, changing the subject
“R-r-right. Upper Yard as originally part of Jaya, the City of Gold didn’t sink, it was shot into the sky like we were” Nami explains, her heart still beating like a drum inside her chest
“So the City of Gold, is on this island. Well let’s go find it then” Luffy cheers,
“Nice to see you on my team for once Luffy” the red head smirks
“Damn it Luffy, don’t you remember what the scary guy with the bazooka said. We’ll be executed”
“And God will be mad at us” Chopper adds
“Fu fu fu. I think I might just enjoy this little excursion after all” Robin chuckles, grinning madly, an expression mirrored by her daughter as well as Kaos
“Don’t encourage them, you’re supposed to be the voice of reason on this crew” Usopp moans, falling to the ground in a heap, Kaya rubbing his back in comfort
Zoro shrugs “Eh, we’ve pissed off God just by being here, why not hunt for the city of gold while we’re up here” he thinks aloud, getting murmurs or nods of agreement from the others
“To spitting in God’s face” Kaos toasts
“And getting lots of gold” Nami cackles
“Adventure!” Luffy shouts into the sky
Given it was getting dark rather quickly it was decided they should put off gold hunting until tomorrow, and lucky for all of them as things got darker the land also got quieter, seems the rebels didn’t want to fight the priests in the dark any more than the Straw Hats did. From there, while enjoying their late supper, Nami laid out their plans for tomorrow, as well as her theory as to where the City of gold was, but since most of it was her repeating herself Artemis got bored, so Kao watched her as she painted Pierre guarding Ganfall, in a similar manner to Carue with Vivi. Things were actually going well… until the sky wolves appeared
“I’m to young and pretty to die up here” Nami cries, hiding behind Zoro
“Chopper, we need translations please” Luffy yells, as the leader, given his gruff aura and scar across his right eye padded forward and growled at the crew
“You damn 2 legs, we can’t hunt with all this racket, go the f*ck to sleep!” Chopper translates, wincing at the anger being displayed
“Jeez, calm down a little, we’re just camping, we’ll be gone as soon as we can” Luffy complains
“Stupid humans, everything up here belongs to us, the dirt, the trees, even the air” the wolf responds (Well Chopper does for him)
“Nobody’s stoping me getting my treasure!” Nami screams, punching the wold into the dirt
“Well, we’re boned” Valentina sighs, the others tensing as the wolves circle them, until the pack leader howls and they relax
“Girl, you pack one mean punch and I like that rage. If you were like me, I’d want you to have my babies” the wolf says with a smirk, Kaya’s syrup tentacles required to stop Sanji attacking him for talking to ‘Nami-Swan’ like that
“Well, since we’re all happy again… it’s party time!” Luffy shouts at the top of his lungs
20 minutes later
“You look lost Robin” Kaos muses as he sits with the archiologist
“Tell me I’m seeing what I think I am”
“Luffy having convinced the sky wolves to party with us, then the animals revealing to be expert liquer distillers which has now lead to Nami, Zoro, Alvida, Victor and about a half dozen wolves getting into a drinking contest, while Usopp runs around banging his drum like a crazy person” Kaos lists off everything he sees, chuckling to himself as only Luffy could cause this much insanity unintentionally
“Pinch me this has to be a dream… oh” Robin gasps, turning to Kaos with a raises eyebrow “You had to go for the tit, didn’t you?”
He smirks unapologetically and nods “Well, you did say to pinch you” he grins then turns back just as Luffy starts a conga line “Of course you are Lu, never a dull moment”
Robin nods, now smiling herself “indeed”
The next morning
“Ha, see I wasn’t hallucinating!” Usopp cheers, jumping around when the group went up to the Merry.
“Someone fixed the ship” Chopper gasps, the damage done by Shura being patched up while they were sleeping
“Nothing special, but it’s a good patch job” Valentina notes “Nice of whoever it was, though they also took off the wings and chicken thingie”
“Yeah, weird. It’s like whoever it was knew what the Going Merry originally was supposed to look like” Kaya hums, though privately admits the ship did look better as Merry had imagined it
“Well, if the ship’s fixed, that just leaves getting her off the alter” Zoro points out “And how the hell do we do that, more importantly, how do we do that without damaging it again?”
Usopp clicks his tongue “I think I have an idea”
“You have a theory” Robin guesses, walking over to Kaos who was rubbing the Merry’s figurehead like the ship was a horse or sheep
“1, but not exactly something I’d want to tell Usopp given the rest of the legend” he sighs ‘Thank you Klabautermann, you did good work’ he thinks, feeling something nudge against his senses as if trying to respond and smiles
“If you won’t tell the whole story, will I at least get a name?” she asks, curious
“Usopp saw the ship's kobold.” Kaos replies, Robin’s eyes widen and she understands
A little later
“Anyone else think this version of ‘Operation get the Going Merry off that stupid alter’ isn’t going to work?” Alvida asks while the others watch Usopp and Chopper drive the Crow out into the cloud lake
“Yes, but let’s let the boys have their fun” Nami says with a shrug. The Straw hats watched Usopp skillfully grapple the Merry’s figurehead then after attaching it to the gondola had Chopper take off at full speed, unfortunately this didn’t move the Merry at all, and just damaged the Crow
“Well that didn’t work” Vivi says, sighing deeply
“Probably a good thing too” Kaos adds, confusing everyone “If the Merry had moved, where do you think it would have gone?” he asks, pointing to the steps they were all standing on.
“f*ck”
“Papa” Kaos turns and Artemis was pushing on his leg, while pointing out into the lake “What’s Usopp doing to brother Chopper?”
“Using him as bait, apparently” Robin answers with a frown “At least he remembered Carue is off limits I guess”
“How does he know Sky Sharks even like reindeer?” Luffy asks
“He doesn’t, but he doesn’t want to dangle himself out there so Chopper is the next best thing” Victor guesses
“Fire the harpoon Sanji!” Usopp shouts, once Chopper’s flailing had managed to attract a bite
The cook frowns but does as asked, kicking the projectile and sending it through the shark’s fin, now tethering it to the Merry. With another pass from Usopp the shark had the Merry moving, and in the direction of the crew as predicted. Opps. When everyone had got on the ship, Chopper had been untied and the shark dealt with and cooked (Luffy got hungry watching the shark fail to eat Chopper) Nami pulled out the maps once more
“So, we need to figure out where we go from here. The exploration crew will go this way…” she points on the map “…heading south for the skull’s right eye, avoid enemies and bring back that gold!” she orders
“The ruins should be fun to explore and document” Robin thinks aloud, smiling softly
“Wait a minute” Luffy stops them all “You’re the one who’s been going on about gold and treaure since we were back on Jaya but you’re not coming?”
“Of course not, it’s really scary out there” Nami replies, technically pointing out the obvious
“Oh, is that why Kaos is sitting this one out? Cause that seems kind of silly” Luffy says with a shrug
“He what?” Nami shrieks, going over her list (which she remembered specifically writing the 2 idiots were to be OFF HER SHIP for as long as physically possible) to see his name scratched out and written on Merry guarding duty. She then freezes when she feels a weight on her shoulder
“Actually I put myself down. Nami in her greedy bitch mentaility forgot something important, that the ship is just as in danger as the gold hunters and unlike some of us, the Merry isn’t the tank we’d like it to be so needs somebody around to help keep it safe. No offence to you Artemis, but I think we need more than you and Kaya defending it” the 2 girls nod in agreement, the navigator not moving a muscle until he removed Shura’s lance from her body, the heated weapon slightly singing her clothes
“Hey wait a minute I’m staying too” Sanji argues
“And the first pair of tit* you see and you’ll be dead” Kaos deadpans
“And me, I’m obviously the captain…” Usopp begins
“Kaos is in charge while I’m gone, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, no backtalk” Luffy shouts, caring a lot more about the others disrespecting his borther than himself
“Who are you and what have you done with Luffy?” Zoro asks, surprised to see Luffy act like this outside his random “I’m gonna kick your ass” moments with the big bad
“What are you talking about, I’m right here” Luffy says in confusion, causing Zoro to sigh
“You know what, never mind. We all get our jobs done and hopefully meet back up when all this is done in the north and move onto the next problem… getting down”
“Agreed”
“To Victory” Alvida shouts
“To Victory” the others chorus
“To Gold” Nami adds, giggling like mad
“To the lost history” Robin says, getting smirks from Artemis and Kaos
“Straw Hats…. Move out!” Luffy orders
TBC
LW: So the straw hats have all been reunited… only to separate again, though at least it’s voluntary this time. And Kaos remains on the ship because there’s something I want him to do, besides annoy Nami of course ;). Chopper might be remaining on the ship, not full decided yet.
For the record, according to the One Piece Wiki Klabautermann translates to ‘ship's kobold’ from German, which is why Kaos said that rather than the actual name, not wanting to risk incuring the legend/curse until they were safely back in the Blue Sea.
Chapter 51: May the odds be ever in your favour
Chapter Text
LW: Here we go, the big gold heist. Also happy 22nd anniversary for the series, last Friday. I was 2 when One Piece began… wow.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – May the odds be ever in your favour
Team Gold diggers started their journey quite smoothly, even if Luffy and Zoro reminded their team they were both equally bad at navigation, lucky for them Robin could remember as well as tell directions, keeping the ground on track and as a single unit, avoiding the threat of splitting up and being picked off one by one.
“This is so boring” Luffy whines, waving a stick around in anger “Nothing here but big tree and dirt”
“It almost sounds like you want them to find us” Vivi says, laughing nervously
“Oh he does, Zoro and Alvida too” Robin informs her, causing Vivi, Kaya and Chopper to pale “They’re warriors, we’ve come all the way into the sky, if they don’t fight something big it’s a wasted trip” she explains
“Kaos too?” Valentina asks for confirmation, to which Robin nods
“And he knows the ship will be targeted again eventually so is letting them come to him, quite brilliant actually” Victor adds, smirking as they keep walking “And he can conserve his energy for the fight by not walking, talking and putting up with Luffy”
“But he has to put up with Nami, so even trade” Kaya adds, getting a few nods and chuckles
“It doesn’t matter our motives” Zoro refutes gruffly “What does it that it’s weird things are so quiet, especially given the pitched combat that was going on just yesterday” he points out the others unable to argue that fact.
“Yep, all we’ve seen is a weird stripy root” Chopper sighs in relief… then freezes when he sees another stripy root, move
“Chopper, did you… see something?” Vivi’s jaw drops when she sees something large shifting through the undergrowth
Robin sighs deeply “You just had to tempt fate boys” she grumbles as the root was finally identified… as a HUGE ASS SNAKE! “Luffy. I recommend the next crewmate be a Kuja, or of Kuja descent”
“Why?”
“They can talk to snakes” Robin answers like it obvious
“Really? Awesome!”
“FOCUS!” Alvida and Vivi scream
Meanwhile with the others on the Going Merry
“Any chance we can go any faster Nami?” Kaos asks, sitting with Ganfall and the zoological members of the crew (Lasoo, Carue and Piere) while Artemis tried painting the trio while they trundled along the cloud canal
“Afraid not captain” Nami answers sarcastically “The milky road is too steep for conventional sailing, we only have the Crow as a means of forward momentum for the uphill sections” she replies properly
“Then I guess we’ll just have to keep pace, thank you Nami. Hey Ganfall, is it time for your medicine?”
The old man shrugs “Probably, your doctor and medic were insistent on me taking it often” the researcher nods as Ussop goes to retrieve Chopper’s pills “Would you kids like to know about the history of this land?”
“Sure, boy Robin is going to be unhappy she missed this”
Ganfall then explained about how Skypeia was quiet and peaceful until about 400 year ago when the section of Jaya/Upper Yard appeared in their land. How they stole it from the original inhabitants, the ancestors of the Shandorians / Guerrillas Ussop, Sanji and Kaos had run into earlier, as well as the man in the mask they all fought in the White Sea. He also admits to have been ‘God’ until he Eneru appeared 6 years ago, took out his Divine Squad and took his place, not that it matters in the general sense of the conflict
“The Shandorians don’t care who God is, only about getting back Upper Yard” he explains
Sanji scoffs “If that were true why’d that nutjob try kill us when we first arrived?” he asks
“The Divine Squad sometimes steal a ship in the hopes of escaping Eneru’s control, but the Shandorians still see them as enemies and will attack. He must have assumed that was what you were” Ganfall explains/theorises
“Shoot first, ask questions never cause you dead son! I hope Luffy beats the sh*t out of that idiot, or I hurt him enough he gets himself killed” Kaos grouses, standing up to check on Artemis’ painting “Nice work kiddo, but I don’t think Ganfall is smiling under that beard”
“Let her do as she wishes, I like to see children happy” Ganfall responds, Artemis smiling before continuing silently “You are right about Wiper, the man will not rest until either Upper Yard is solely in his possession or he dies trying, he and his followers were the biggest obstacle in trying to negotiate a compromise” he admits “The man wanted the debt of our history to be paid in blood, and I would not allow the innocent to be caught up in his madness”
“And now I’m regretting volunteering for babysitting duty with Artemis” Kaos mutters under his breath, the artist chuckles beside him
Back with the others
“Everybody run, giant snake!”
“We can see that Luffy” Vivi screams back, keeping pace with him as the blue reptile chases them through the forest, moving at speeds unexpected for something that size, as well as to their horror revealing it’s jaws contained venom that burned through the trees like acid when it missed biting Valentina and chomped on the plant behind her.
“Change of plan, don’t engage just run” Zoro says in an unfamiliarly panicked tone
“Sounds good” Robin responds in a relaxed, practically conversational tone
With some skilful manoeuvring, and Zoro running around blindly as usual they managed to lose it, but also managed to get themselves separated like a bunch of idiots, Zoro and Luffy it’s no surprise, but the others it was just unfortunate.
On the Merry
“Holy sh*t!” Kaos gasps as the dial explodes the barrel and sends Sanji flying across the deck “Okay, new favourite sky to”
“That my young friend is an impact Dial” Ganfall explains, amused by the Blue Sea pirate’s reactions and antics “It absorbs and releases all kinetic energy applied to it. In combat they are usually attached to the hand, via a glove or bandage, and if used correctly could maim or even kill an average human”
“Like that living gumball, Satori” Ussop realises “Good thing Luffy, Alvida and Kaos were his main targets, that would have done a LOT of damage to Sanji or me”
“Correct long nose, and if rumor and heresay is to be believed this would be considered the ‘base’ form, the so called Reject Dial is said to magnify the absorbed damage 10 times before release. Of course the recoil/blowback could often injury or potentially kill the user too, so Reject Dials are rarely seen anywhere”
“10,000,000 berri Wiper has at least one” Kaos whispers to Artemis who chuckle and nods
“Dials are this dangerous, but they’re so commonplace up here” Nami gasps, getting a laugh from the researcher before Ganfall could reply
“It seems the people of the sky are just as good as the Blue Sea people at finding ways to make weapons out of their environment, or at least turning things on hand to their advantage”
Ganfall nods “Correct. Dials, even mundane ones can be turned into weapons in the right circ*mstances. Such as putting a Heat Dial, usually used to cook food into a lance, creating a weapon that burns anything it touches, or putting a flame dial in an animal’s mouth, so it appears to breathe fire”
“The guys Kaya killed, and his bird” Artemis notes, figuring out quickly where Ganfall had taken his examples
“Yes, Shura had a heat dial, and he also was adept at manipulating string cloud to ensnare and immobilise his opponent, all Eneru’s priests specialise in a form of cloud warfare”
Sanji nods as he stands “Like Satori’s cloud balls. Hey old man, what do you know about this Mantra bullsh*t they were talking about?”
Ganfall’s eyes widen “Mantra is very real my friends. I am unable to use it myself so my explanation may not be as accurate as I would like but I will try to explain. It is believed that all living things have a voice, that exists as long as they do. A skilled mantra user can listen to this voice and use it to predict their opponent’s next move”
“Wow, hearing the voices of all things, and gaining forsight from it, no wonder this Eneru guy thought he could take on and become God” Usopp whimpers and Nami pales
“The priests skill in mantra enables them to ‘hear’ throughout the Upper Yard, while Eneru, he can sense the goings on of the entirety of Skypeia. That is why he thinks himself God, and why nobody has been able to stand up to him these past 6 years” Ganfall continues
With Luffy
“Stupid weirdo, I thought I was going to see a sky goat” Luffy grumbles to himself, having just one shoted one of Divine Warriors without even having a fight. He was about to continue singing when he ran into Wiper, the man bloodied and scared but still looking like Enaru pissed on him and said it was raining “Oh, it’s you again” he says with a frown
“I told you to leave, I told your little boat of idiots to get out of Upper Yard or suffer the consequences” he growls, reminding Luffy a little of Smoker, only more of a dick
“Hey screw you! I’m a pirate I can go wherever I want” Luffy retorts
“No you can’t! This island belongs to the Shandorians”
Luffy frowns “Really, I heard this was God’s land. Oh well, it’s still a nice place. Besides, I’m just walking through it, not like I’m claiming this land for myself” he says, then begins walking away
“That’s not… never mind I’m through playing your games, or indulging your idiotic babble” Wiper grunts, lifting his bazooka to his bandaged shoulder
Luffy smirks, turning to Wiper and cracking his knuckles “Oh so it’s a fight you’re after, all you had to do was ask”
With Robin
“Judging by the architecture, I must be getting close to the city, shame time and the increased plant growth has done so much damage to the building’s stability and structure” Robin thinks aloud, a twinge of disappointment in her voice, though her features only turn down when one of the goat men land on the roof, causing some of the stone roof to crumble
“Tuuuuuurn baaaack. This is the pathway to God’s shrine” the man bleets
“Do you have any idea the significance of what you’re standing on?” Robin asks, ignoring the idiot’s statement “They’re priceless”
“Insolent Blue Sea dweller, I was chosen by God himself to guard this path and eliminate anyone who comes through”
“Oh really” Robin hums “Well, then this is justified”
Deus Fleur
SNAP
If the broken neck didn’t kill him, landing on his head definitely did. Sighing to herself Robin steps over the body and continues her journey into the City, 2 words breathed out quietly
“Self defence”
Zoro
“South is left so if I keep going left…” Zoro mumbles to himself before catching something out the corner of his eye “sh*t it’s a guerrilla, why’s he mad at me?” he wonders, drawing one of his swords as he dodges a spear thrust “Go away!” he shouts, slamming his sword and fist into the man’s face, throwing him against a tree. “Really hope that’s it for the moment”
Bang Bang
A body drops out of the bushes, that of a bald man with 2 small goat horn wearing a dress (Like Amenadial says, it’s a robe, but it looks like a dress so oh well) ‘Crap, more of them’ Zoro thinks as a gruff looking man with a bucket hat covering his eyes steps out as well, frowning before turning his twin pistols towards the swordsman and firing, the guns flashing like strobe lights as he fires. Zoro raises his swords to try deflect when something grabs his leg and pulls him out of the way and behind a tree.
“And here I thought you were the crew’s defender, since when do you need someone to save your butt?” Zoro looks and see’s his rescuer was Kaya, her hand reforming from the previous syrup tendril, and at that moment the swordsman was sure their medic spent too much time around Kaos and Robin.
“Thanks, though I had him” Zoro grumbles, hearing the hiss of the Shandorian’s boots and turned, rolling out of the way of the gun fire which explodes the blond’s head and chest like ripe fruit… before the honey coloured goo pulls itself back together. Kaya smirks then winces, rolling behind a root and cursing as she lets the bullet pass through her forearm.
“Forgot the Logia thing isn’t automatic yet didn’t you?” Zoro asks, partly out of concern, but also because he hadn’t actually seen the girl fight before. Kaya nods and draws her revolvers, firing back and the man had to dash with his dial skates to avoid her ballistic as well as syrup rounds
“I won’t make the same mistake twice” she says through clenched teeth, reloading and firing again, Zoro using her distraction as an opening to get closer to the man, having drawn all swords and gotten himself into his correct alignment. The rebel uses a milky dial to get the high ground, the cloud getting him to the high branches where Zoro couldn’t strike him and began to return fire.
“I don’t know what you are girl, but I know you are a swordsman, which means you need to get close enough to hit me, something I won’t allow” the rebel, Braham states “You aren’t looking so hot, are my flash guns giving you trouble?” he taunts, smirking when he manages to get Zoro in the leg, as any bullets that don’t pass through the Syrup girl she passes by shifting the injured part and reforming it, letting the bullet drop to the ground
Zoro pants as they take shelter behind a tree, Kaya also looking tired from using her fruit power so much “He’s right, we’re not doing so good. I’ve got something, that might work…but it’s still a work in progress”
The medic nods “Do it, I can’t help you with your leg until we’ve dealt with that buzzard over there. So be the monster and clear the path” she orders, Zoro flashes her a feral smirk at her reference to the group within the crew, he, Luffy and Sanji had formed.
“Hey dumbass”
“What, decided to surrender and beg for a swift death?” Braham asks with an arrogant scoff
“Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste, Touch, Thought. These 6 thoughts root us through Good, Evil, and Peace. And lastly, all these can be either Pure or Impure, for these are the 36 Earthly Desires”
“What are you blathering about?” Braham sneers, shooting forward as Zoro holds Wado alone, held over his head
Ittoryu: 36 Caliber Phoenix
Braham hits the ground it a thud, while Zoro sheathes his swords and begins to go the wrong way… until Kaya turns him around.
Elsewhere
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“I know that scream, we need to catch up to Chopper the poor guy needs us” Valentina gasps, turning on her heels and running in the screams direction, Victor close behind her
“Sounds like the little guy is all on his lonesome, didn’t even manage to run into any of the other” Victor guesses, something confirmed when the reindeer practically runs him over, though he does smirk just a little as Chopper shifts from walk to brain point to hug him.
“Victor! Valentina! I was beginning to worry, but I found you guys. I was so worried I’d die alone and never find the ruins, but together we’ll find them easy” Chopper cheers
“He’s right you know, other than Robin this group we have here is the best navigation on the exploration group” Valentina agrees, helping her former partner up with a smile.
“You’re right, let’s keep going, I’ll be pissed if Zoro gets there before us” he jokes, laughing at the scandalised look on the blond’s face at the very idea.
Back with Luffy
Gum Gum Balloon
“I can do this all day, your gun is useless against me” Luffy states, not even as a taunt, more just out of boredom
Wiper’s sneer just hardens as he reloads his bazooka and fires multiple shots at the rubber boy, to which Luffy just sighs in annoyance
On the Merry
ZAP
“Sanji” Nami gasps
“I don’t hear a heart beat” Usopp panics, checking on the slightly charred cook
Kaos stands, looking the man in the eye as he gently pushes Artemis behind him “So you’re the logia I’ve been sensing since we got here, Enaru I presume?”
Enaru smiles “And you must be the boy with the primitive, imitation Mantra. Yes I am Enaru, but you can call me God”
TBC
LW: Sorry about the length, I decided not to talk about Non Straw Hat related stuff, so less of the source was useable in any way. Oh well, maybe next chapter.
Chapter 52: God appears, let the Survival game begin!
Chapter Text
LW: Like with quite a few things, they happen sooner than I remember/ would have liked, which will probably throw some of my plans out of whack. Eh only time will tell, enjoy until then. Eh the fight will have to happen on a different ship I guess L
Rubber King and Mirror Master – God appears, Let the Survival Game begin!
“Sanji! Oh sweet cook, gone before he could even reach 1st base with a woman” Usopp moans, cradling the burned blond to him closely “Oh why didn’t we keep one of our doctors on board?”
“They wanted to leave” Artemis offers with a shrug “Plus Chopper is good with heavy lifting, and Nami’s gold fetish needs as much as we can carry”
“Either we get Nami to rub her boobs in his face, see if that wakes him up, or…… you could check the left side of his chest, where the heart usually is on a human” Kaos suggests. Usopp cheering that Sanji was still alive when he hears a weak pulse
“Enaru” Ganfall hisses angrily
“Oh Ganfall, don’t look so cross, you’re ruining such a lovely reunion” Enaru pouts and complains, as Sanji is set on the ground and the sniper stands
“I don’t know what you did, but if you don’t want me to set my 8,000 followers on you I order you to leave!” Usopp commands, though not just his knees but most of his body was shaking. Surprisingly this appeared to work, Enaru disappearing in a flash of light “Huh, that actually worked, that never works” Usopp says what the others were thinking until…
ZAP
A charred Usopp falls with Eneru standing right in front of where he was, energy crackling at his fingertips as Nami and Artemis watch in horror, Kaos looking as angry as Ganfall, silver streaking down from his eyes and spreading from his fingertips
“If you don’t want to join your friends, I suggest you be quiet” Eneru states, then turns to Ganfall
“What do you want Enaru, why are you here?” he asks, Eneru going off on a tangent instead of really answering
“During the 6 years I’ve controlled this island, I’ve kept your former subordinates VERY busy. They’ve been slaving away for me all this time, with barly any time to rest” Eneru taunts
“My Divine warriors, reduced to slaves”
“Yes, very useful slaves, but slaves none the less. Though I bring good news, that their years of hard labour are over. This island is no longer useful to me, so their services are no longer required” Enaru smirks and sits “I presume you believed me to arrive with sinister motives, but I’m merely here to bid you farewell”
“Why do I not believe that?” Kaos mutters lowly, the logia ignoring him most likely.
“I will admit, there are times when I envy the naïve idiocy of the Skypeins. They see a clump of Verth in the sky, nothing more”
“What are you talking about?” Ganfall asks
“You still don’t get it you old coot, why we took this island in the first place. The same reason the Blue sea flies (ironic given they’re the only ones without wings) are here, and the Shandorians keep trying to take it back rather than simply find a new island to live on. They are all here for the treasures of Shandora, the legendary city of gold, that once prospered on the Blue Seas before it ascended to the White White Sea where it rests until now. Gold is what brings us all to this land!”
“What is gold, and why do you all desire it so much?” Ganfall asks, the same confusion the straw hats had over Dials clear in his voice, which is probably why Eneru laughed so hard
“That ignorance continues to amuse me. The people who don’t understand gold and it’s value, are the ones practically swimming in it” he laughs “You don’y even know what it is, so how could you win this game”
‘Game?’ they all think
“Interesting this game of survival is reaching it’s Endgame, and the winners get the gold. Can you hear it now, the sounds of the game being played?” he asks, explosions audible from the Merry, the Straw hats praying it was the Shandorians and priests, not any of their friends “In fact, I’m a contestant myself, so I must be off”
“Eneru wait!” Ganfall shouts “Will you release the warriors?”
“God only knows, and I’m not telling” Eneru quips, before flickering away
“He just vanished” Nami gasped
“Yeah, being made of lightning means he can do that I guess” Kaos shrugs, then heads down to Choppers quarters to try find something to help their injured crewmates.
“haha”
“hoho”
‘Oh God, not more of him’ a barely conscious Usopp thinks, remembering how much of a pain in the ass Satori was, so 2 of them should be even worse
“Who are you?” Artemis asks “Are you bad guys, cause Papa will kick your ass if you are”
With Luffy
“I can do this all day” Luffy remarks “A rubber body, means your gun is useless”
Wiper scowls “Just means I’m using the wrong payload” then clicks open his bazooka and slots in a shell/dial. He then aims it at Luffy, and a strong gust of wind slams into him
“What the?”
“This is the power of the Burn Bazooka, or it will when I ignite the gas being released by the Breath Dial, producing a blue flame which should incinerate anything in it’s path. Can your rubber body handle the heat punk?”
Click
Whack
Whooooosh BANG
Wiper fired the bazooka, but a blow to the side threw off his aim, missing Luffy by feet, to the rubber boys relief
“I can see why Kaos keeps such a close eye on you most of the time”
“We turn around for one minute and already you’re nearly dead”
Luffy grins “Alvida, Vivi” he cheers, the duo nod as Alvida catches her mace, which he noticed had one of Vivi’s slashers wrapped around it’s grip
“I remember you, you were on the boat with this idiot” Wiper says, looking angry as usual
“And you’re the dumbass with the bazooka. What’s this?” Alvida smirks, pointing to his bandaged wings “Seems our brother left some war wounds on Mr Deathwish over there” she says to Vivi who giggles
Wiper grits his teeth “Make a fool out of me you bitch!” he growls, aiming his bazooka at the 2 before having to avoid a kick to the face
Gum Gum Stamp
“Nobody hurts my girls, nobody hurts my crew. Your fight is with me…” his head shoots forward due to being smacked with Alvida’s mace, even if it doesn’t hurt
“Idiot, you can’t just go fight every dipstick on your own, this fight will be quicker with help” she shouts, sliding over as Wiper uses his skates to get the aerial advantage, firing his bazooka which the others barely dodge
Gum Gum Pistol
Frictionless Takedown!
Wiper skates out of the way of both attacks, kicking Alvida causing his seastone skates to send her flying. Slasher cord wraps around his left arm but he just pulls Vivi towards him, smashing his bazooka into her face so she’ll drop the threads. He then dodges another kick to the face, firing back with blue flame and missing
“You like Bazooka’s huh, well take a lookie here at mind!”
Gum Gum…
Burn…
BAZOOKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The colliding attacks shoot both men several yards away, A bruised and probably internally bleeding Wiper sitting up with a glare and growl of Straw Hat, while and blackened and pissed off Luffy sits up and dusts himself off.
“Luffy!” Vivi and Alvida shout as they help him up “What the hell is up with that guy?”
“He’s a dick, so I’m going to kick his a… hey what’s that?” Luffy looks up just as a shadow envelops them
‘f*ck!’
“Where’d those weirdoes go” Wiper thinks aloud then looks at his bandaged hand “Doesn’t matter, I should save my energy for Eneru, the Reject Dial should be strong enough to kill even a man like him, and if it doesn’t at least I’ll die spitting in his face” he then skates off, heading for the monster in the clouds
Back on the Merry
“She has a point, who are you weirdoes?” Nami asks, creeped out by the 2 dancing bouncy balls
“That’s a stupid question”
“We’re deputy Divine Warriors”
“You killed our brother Satori”
“So now we’re here for revenge”
“Brother?” Nami repeats in confusion
“The ball guy? With the glasses?” Artemis asks, thinking the name sounded familiar
“That’s him, our big brother, Priest Satori” the 2 agree, then stand with a glove pointing towards the girls
“You can call me Hotori
“And I go by Kotari” they introduce themselves, not that it made things make more sense at all.
“That’s nice, but we didn’t kill anyone” Nami argues
“Unless it’s that ball guy, then papa killed him real good…OW” Artemis whines, rubbing her head
“Not helping” Nami hisses, now with her climatact out.
“See you did know who he was this whole time, and now you’re going to pay” the brothers yell, their high pitched shrieks a pain on the ears, even more than they were a pain in the eyes.
Ganfall stands with a grunt and a sigh “Enough of this foolishness, Piere!” he shouts, the horse/bird tossing him Shura’s Lance “We must deal with these cretins before they can further delay us”
Nami sighs “Fine, but combat isn’t what I’m here for” she says, swinging her climatact as she steps over Sanji and Usopp, putting herself between the junior priests and her friends “Doesn’t mean I’m going to just roll over though”
Meanwhile
“Okay, where the f*ck are we now?” Vivi asks, the other 2 knowing she was getting annoyed given the royal rarely swore, unlike the rest of them.
With Chopper, Valentina and Victor
“Hello, anybody!” Chopper yells as the trio make their way across the clouds, they reached the ruins, but still hadn’t come across any of the others yet
“Think we’re the first here?” Victor asks
“Unlikely, Robin might even have Nami beat in terms of directional ability on a personal level, even after that scuffle there’s no way she got lost. Unless she ran into Zoro in which case…” Valentina argues
“…she’s spending all her time NOT losing him” they finish together, laughing until they see the man in front of them “Hey Chopper, we got a problem”
“Hm?” Chopper looks up, then immediately hides behind Victor “Scary no eyes man! Protect me!” he shouts, trembling
There were a few minutes of silence, Valentina and Victor preparing for an attack, Chopper cowering behind them, and Getatsu staring blankly at nothing, until…
“Getatsu, you can’t see the enemy with your eyes rolled back” one of the divine warriors called to him, causing the man to immediately correct his issue with a yelp of ‘How careless’
“Well, we got us a dumb one this time” Valentina grouses, not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, after all Luffy’s practically brain dead at times, and nobody on the crew would want him as an enemy
“3 trespassers, allow me to introduce myself. I am Getatsu, priest of God Enaru and master of the Ordeal of Swamp’
“We’re waiting” Chopper mumbles
“Getatsu, you forgot to speak out loud again”
“So Careless!” the priest shouts dramatically, then composes himself “Anyway, this entire region is my domain, once you step into my Swamp Clouds you’ll be trapped. My ordeal has a survival rate of 50%”
“That’s not so bad, pretty sure we’ve dealt with much worse” Victor notes with a smile, getting nods from the other 2
“The ordeal begins, Milky Dial!” he yells, shooting up into the air with the dials in his shoes
“That’s really cool” Chopper swoons, mostly because nothing bad had happened yet, changing when Getatsu formed a purple cloud between his hands “Hm, what’s that?”
“Prepare to be defeated. I present my Swamp Cloud, inescapable and unstoppable” he explains, before throwing it down… and hitting the divine warrior rather than any straw hats
Swamp Cloud Burger
“sh*tty aim, but damn is that a nasty power” Valentina grimaces as the goat man succumbs to the cloud and collapses, only for Chopper to try pull him free “What’s he doing, he’s the enemy?”
“He’s a Doctor, the desire to help is strong in them” Victor answers, watching Chopper rescue and resuscitate the warrior “He okay Chopper?”
“Yeah, good as new” Chopper grins from his Brain Point
“Having to be saved by a heretic, pathetic” Getatsu sneers, as he floats down onto a piece of rubble
“You’ve gone too far this time, I will never serve you again Getatsu. Fear my Axe Dial as I spill your lifeblood”
Jet punch
Despite behaving like a complete idiot, much like Luffy this priest was quite strong, as seen when he punched his former subordinate into a pillar, collapsing it on top of him
“Well, sh*t” Victor winces “Guess he’ll be a problem after all”
“With a Jet Dial, an enemy can be dealt with before they even know the fight as been won. The only downside is it’s not clothing friendly” Getastu appears to joke, referring to the hole in his jacket from using the dial on his elbow
“We’re all going to die!” Chopper screams before running away
“I think not”
Jet Punch
Bombardier Guard
BOOM!
“Think they’re okay?” Valentina asks, using her fruit to float over to Chopper
“Victor has to, plus I doubt a priest can be felled with one explosion” he answers sadly in the end, then smiles when Victor stumbles out of the smokescreen
“Note to self, don’t do that again” he grimaces, then coughs up some blood, worrying Valentina and Chopper who rush over to him
“That was stronger than I expected, you even caught me off guard, my mantra didn’t see that attack coming” Getatsu wheezes as he too becomes visible
“2 for 2, now what?”
Chopper hums “I could scan for a weak point, if he has one” he offers
“Do it” Victor orders
Brain Point: Scope
‘Hm, his feet. Guys we need to unbalance him, then Val can take him out form above” Chopper says with a determined look in his eye
“Kya ha ha, well it is my specialty, can I have a leg up Vic?”
“Of course”
1kg bounce
Valentina shoots up into the air, just as Chopper dives for Getatsu, grabbing him by the leg
“Grr, get off me you stupid Raccon-Dog!” Getatsu yells, kicking Chopper and slamming him into some of the rubble, then noticing Valentina hovering in the air via her umbrella “You think you can hide up there, the sky is MY domain!” he announces, rising… and flailing erratically as he does. “What?” he thinks out loud, only then seeing he was missing a shoe ‘That little sh*t’
“You stole his shoe, of course. The dials he used to fly were in both shoes…” Victor begins
“So remove one and he loses power and control, leaving him wide open for Valentina” Chopper finishes grinning widely in Heavy Point
“What?” Getatsu squeaks
500 kg skull cracker
While missing the intended point of the body, she did crack his shoulder and send him flying into one of his own swamp clouds, though his milky dial shot him through the trap cloud and downward, far below
“We did it? WE DID IT!” Chopper cheers, catching Valentina and hugging her, to the woman’s amusem*nt and slight embarrassment
“I can see why this trial was 50%, the cloud is deadly, the priest was a moron” Victor chuckles
“True, now let’s continue on our journey, hopefully Luffy and Zoro don’t have all the treasure collected already” Valentina teases as Chopper lets her go
“You’re right, onwards and upwards!” he cheers, leading the way towards the beanstalk looking structure (Called Giant Jack, because you know what that’s supposed to reference)
With Robin
“Shandora” Robin reads as she examines a totem like monument on her way, as old and crumbling as everything else she’s seen so far, as well as learning of the city’s rise, peak prosperity and fall from the carvings on and around it, noting to her joy the city’s fall coincided perfectly with a period of history completely undocumented in the Blue Sea, the Void Century, approximately 800 years ago “This place as been separate from the land below for so long, there may be clues as to what happened, maybe if I go further into the ruins I’ll find my answers” she thinks aloud, jotting down the city plans on the monument, before her work was interrupted by some fat guy “Who’s there?” she shouts, turning on her heels
“Why aren’t you a pretty thing” Yama leers, his 3 chins jiggling as he moves closer to her
“Hm, are you more of Eneru’s henchmen? The last ones were pathetically weak” Robin asks with a tone of disinterest, having barely needed to exert herself to deal with them
Yama scowls “Henchmen!? I am Divine Commander Yama in service to God Eneru”
“And what do you want then, Divine commander?” Robin asks curiously
“I don’t want to talk” he grunts, then bellows loudly, scaring the south birds from the trees, before throwing a punch through the pillar, though Robin’s limber form was able to dodge easily
“You brute, can’t you see the damage you’re inflicting, the history you’re destroying!” Robin shouts angrily, to which Yama laughs
“I’d be more concerned about saving yourself than this pile of rubble” he cackles, to which Robin sneers, crossing her arms over her chest. She dodges a couple more strikes before being backed up against and then punched through another pillar
“Bastard” she hisses, pulling herself to her knees
Back to the Merry
“Hold still you little punks” Nami growls as she swings her climatact, though much like Ganfall’s lance and Artemis’ colour traps the 2 gumballs bobbed and weaved around them. One catches her bo, then presses a gloved hand to her face ‘I’m doomed’
Pffffffffft
Nami gags as she falls to the ground “What, is this?”
“Flavour Dial fart” Hatori chirps, bouncing around with his brother
“These 2 are morons” Artemis sighs, then yelps as she dodges a blast from the other’s Flame Dial
“Revenge will be ou……yahhohohhohoho!” Kotori is interrupted… by being backhanded through at least 2 trees.
“I leave, for 5 minutessssss” Kaos hisses, looking annoyed even as his hair hides his eyes.
“You! You’re the one who killed our big brother Hotori shouts “Eat this”
Flavour Dial
The marshmallow laughs as the researcher sways, then screams as he’s headbutted by his own face visible on a featureless head. He’s then punched backwards, right into Ganfall’s Heat Lance, which causes a small explosion when the puffball accidentally reactivates his flavour dial
BOOM
Crack
“Who’s on clean up duty again, cause I get the feeling he’s going to be a pain to get out of the wood” the voice was tinny, and echoed, but it was still Kaos, even through a smile crack in his armour
“1st Satori, now Hotori, you’ll pay for this” Kotori shrieks, going for the offensive, until he landed on Artemis’ purple colour trap “What, I can’t move!”
“True” Kaos laughs, then kicks and pins the cloud man against the side of the ship with his boot on his sternum “You 2 were also so beneath me, I didn’t need to use my Devil Fruit to end either of you”
Splash
“Did you really need to do that, on the deck, in front of the child?” Nami scolds, referring to the rather messy decapitation the purplette had just performed, followed by the only thing she did approve of, tossing both parts of the carcass into the cloud canal
Kaos shrugs “Eh, probably not, but they’re gone, and the ship is safe. Does that help?”
Nami groans, pinching the bridge of her nose “A little, now get back to healing the others, Boss” she makes her way to the steering pole, while Kaos and Artemis smirk, meanwhile Ganfall sits with the anmals, this ship was insane but he was getting used to it.
20 minutes later (Anyone know how long it takes to put on armour?)
“You’re leaving, right now?” Nami asks/yells “You’re leaving a lady defenceless? Some knight” she scoffs, to which Ganfall chuckles to himself
“You’ll be fine, you are a fairly competent staff wielder, plus the little girl and the Hosomi no Otoko, they will provide adequate protection while they care for the others” he says pointing below deck where Kaos and Artemis had moved the other 2 into Chopper’s infirmary “You will be fine, I need to find out why Eneru had come down from his temple, and what he meant when he said he was leaving. Locating and rescuing my surviving Divine Warriors is also a priority” He whistles for Pierre who comes over carrying his original lance “You can keep the Heat Lance, it’s weighted differently to mine so I will do better keeping what I had. Plus it gives you another weapon against any more attackers” he retrieves his weapon and climbs on the birds back, flying away without even looking back
“Come Back Here you BASTARD!” Nami screams, then sighs when it’s clear Ganfall was gone “Just great, what could possibly happen now
Boom
“Damn it Anna, what did you do now?” Kaos shouts as he follows Artemis back on deck
“It’s not a guerrilla, they’d have shot that at us” Nami responds, still tense though, until the waver comes closer
“Hey, it’s that angel girl who sold us out” Artemis states, causing Carue and Lasoo to get mad, Nami to look confused and Kaos to chuckle, mostly because he was sure none of the Trial 4 had even implied they’d been betrayed/sold out, much less by Conis or Paguya.
“Hesu everyone…. Or just Miss Nami, Artemis and Ser Kaos” Conis greets and waves as the Waver/Gondola stops beside the Merry
After a brief kafuffle, and Kaos learning there was a non gory use for a blade that produces wire, that being restraining irritating and violent Shandorian brats from the mast, Conis, Paguya and their reluctant passenger Aisa were all let onto the Merry, as well as briefed on the current situation
“This is terrible, and it’s all my fault” Conis whimpers, until she gets head slapped by both Kaos and Artemis
“Even if us being here is partly your fault, you didn’t tell the knuckle dragger to attack Upper Yard while we were still up here”
“Hey, don’t bad mouth Wiper, he’s gonna kill God so show him respect”
“Shut up brat!” he growls, just as a grey syrupy resin covers her mouth, gagging her “For one I have a better chance of killing God than he does, not that it matters killing Logia’s are pretty close to impossible without SeaStone weaponry” (Because Haki isn’t a thing yet)
“Anyhow, you’d best get the Merry going across the bridge we just made, before any of the enemy notice” Paguya pleads
“Unless they somehow missed the obnoxious horn, I think they know already” Nami grouses
“I doubt they heard it over all the explosions” Artemis argues and the navigator agrees after some thought
“Oh, one more thing, I brought you a gift”
“A gift?” Nami asks in confusion, then gapes in shock “You got us a Waver?”
Paguya blushes “Actually I repaired the one you gave me, it’s now at peak performance” he says proudly
The mood drops when light flashes in the sky and Aisa flails madly above them, sensing more of her people’s life being snuffed out
“Looks like God is having another temper tantrum, wonder how many of his troops got caught in friendly fire” Kaos muses with a smirk, just before letting Aisa down
TBC
LW: Back to normal with fighting and a 4,000+ word chapter.
On the subject of Enaru and Seastone, given his arrogance, it would be pretty easy to kill Enaru with even a small seastone dagger, and given it’s what the Shandorian’s skates are apparently made of, they could melt one down really easily, or just kick him to death. Hell at this point in the anime Kamakiri put a spear through his head; a seastone tip like Smoker’s jitte would have killed him right then and there.
Also for the record, Ganfall called Kaos slender man, which is what Hosomi no Otoko means in English (well I did it the other way round, so Japanese speakers, feel free to correct me as always).
Chapter 53: Final Priest, Ohm
Chapter Text
LW: More fighting as the game continues and the crew keeps heading closer to the City.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Final Priest, Ohm.
Going Merry
“So this kid…” Artemis muses, poking Aisa with her brush “is the only Shandorian with that mantra thing Eneru and his goons can do?”
“Hey quit it, you don’t know what it’s like, feeling the voices of everyone around you, then the sensation of someone you know just stop” Aisa yells back, her eyes misting up
“Is the kid crying again, I though you were going to get her to stop” Nami asks as she returns from trying out the repaired/upgraded Waver, getting a shrug and monotoned ‘I tried’ from Kaos
“I’m not crying you dumb blue sea weirdo”
“Sure you aren’t. Remind me to keep Luffy away from the waver he nearly broke Paguya’s one and this is a lot stronger and delicate” Kaos and Artemis nod then smirk when they see Aisa shiver as Lasso tries comfort her, by lying on her lap with his big dopey face staring up at her.
Meanwhile
“This place just goes on forever, you as hungry as I am?” Zoro asks as he sits on a tree root, Kaya nodding as a rumble proves his point, the 2 taking out the food Sanji made everyone (Kaya’s obviously better than Zoro’s but both were still great) when they attracted unwanted company
“Doooooooo” Crooned the giant South bird
“I think it wants our food” Kaya notes
“Well it can’t have any, we need the food in case the priests or rebels attack, plus if we feed it it’ll never leave us alone” Zoro argues, speeding up the stuffing of his face with the lunch to prevent the bird trying to steal from him
Kaya nods sadly, petting the bird’s oddly shaped head “Sorry big guy, we need it more, plus I doubt you’d get much nutrients from the small amount we could spare anyway”
“Dooooooooooo” the southbird groans, but stays with the duo, even when they finish their meals and continue their journey
Elsewhere
“Well, seems you’re all talk Blue girl” Yama taunts as Robin spits blood, having just been tackled through another ruined wall.
Drop Mountain
Veinte Fleur
Robin’s blooms were able to protect the pillar from Yama’s bulk, but even spread across 20 arms the recoil still caused a lot of pain to shoot through her real arms, not helped by being slammed into the ground by the impact itself
“How long will you protect this withered husk of a ruined city? Will you die for it, or will you finally break and save yourself?”
“I will never stop. Why must you disrespect and desecrate that which your ancestors held sacred?” Robin asks, not quite able to stand again yet
“The past means nothing to me, why should I care about this place?” Yama grunts and shrugs (oddly enough Luffy has a similar mindset, given he doesn’t care about what people have done, just who they are now.)
Robin sneers “That doesn’t surprise me, only fools think that way” she responds, causing Yama to frown, as he could tell she was insulting him
“How dare you mock your betters!” He shouts
Punch Mountain
‘I have to lead this brute away before he destroys everything’ Robin thinks as she jumps out of the way of Yama’ fist, the Brekan following behind her as she runs, destroying everything in his path in his quest for revenge on his pride/honour. She stops when Yama kicks some rubble into the structure in front of her, finally annoying her enough to fight for real. Luckily for her own plan, they were on the edge of the city by that point, though as she turns to face him she sees all the mindless destruction caused by the man’s pursuit of her
“So, you’ve finally stopped running, ready to die then?” Yama asks
“It’s too late for you” Robin says flatly
“Too late?” Yama repeats in confusion
“Even if you repent, I will never forgive you for what you have done”
Yama scoffs “You won’t forgive me, just because I wrecked a few worthless ruins you seem so enamoured with? A pile of rubble that isn’t even yours?”
“Correct” Robin notes, setting aside her hat and bag “Those ruins don’t belong to anyone. I’m tired of this fight, and I’m bored trying to make you see sense. This ends now”
“You’re right, cause I’m going to bury you in the ruins you love so much
Drop Mountain
Treinta Fleur: Hang
Bloomed hands stretch out and grab Yama’s legs, stopping his attack mid wind up “All you do, is rush blindly like a wild boar, never thinking about the history you carelessly destroy” Robin hisses before swinging/slamming him face first into the tree she’d bloomed the arms from, before having to drop him due to being too much dead weight for her blooms to hold up for long
A red mist fills Yama’s vision as he stands, seeing Robin still standing where she’d been when he first tried attacking her. With a series of flips that should probably be impossible for a man of his body shape he leaps high above Robin screaming “I’ll tear you to ribbons!” and revealed his Ten Fold Axe, a sash fitted with 10 Axe Dials.
Robin’s lip curls as she crosses her arm, blinding Yama as she flips his sash around, only releasing the blooms when it was too late for the Commander to either flip them back or stop himself slamming into the tree behind her, activating the dials and causing a veritable bloodbath.
Slowly approaching the groaning and heavily injured man Robin blooms extra hands so she could actually lift his thick skull so they could speak once more “What you’ve destroyed, is priceless relics of a time so far back it’s worth is actually incalcuble. History repeats itself, whether we like it or not, but we still can’t go back in time despite many attempts to try, not that a brute like you could understand”
“I, I understand” Yama wheezes, pleading to Robin “ Please, I’m sorry, won’t you forgive me?”
Robin flashes a cruel smile “You already know the answer. I warned you, that what you’ve done, is unforgivable in my eyes”
“Then I’ll just kill you” Yama yells, reaching out to grab her with his meaty fists
Clutch
Crack
Yama’s hands fall limp and Robin sighs, so much history destroyed, and for what?
It will surprise no one that Robin was the first to arrive in their agreed meet up spot, and she was amazed, but unsurprised to find ruins, effigies, a poneglyph…. Wait what!?
Yep, after digging through the island cloud to enter the main structure of Shandora, Robin found herself frozen as she found something she believed she wouldn’t find in a million years, another poneglyph. Maybe this one will contain the history of the Void Century
With Chopper, Valentina and Victor
“Are you sure climbing this is the correct move?” Val grumbles, probably a little late to be voicing the complaint
“Well, there was no gold down there, so the only other option was up” Chopper says cheerfully
“Besides, we’re nearly at the top, plus if we get their first, maybe we can convince the others to use it as a way to muzzle the crew’s true wild beast” Victor assures her, then both share a private smirk, Chopper high enough above them not to hear the last part
“I like that idea, let’s keep moving then” Val nods and keeps moving, following their reindeer through the cloud layer and up to the ruins “We made it, whoops!”
“The ground is crooked, watch your step” Chopper warns her, the 2 decide to follow his lead as they make their way through the city
Grrrrrr
“Did Lasoo follow us?” Victor asks jokingly, the others shake their head, also hearing the noise, then Val jumps just before a large dog flops down beside her, looking mostly bored
“Hm, more of you” Ohm, a bald man with shades and purple swirl tattoos on his right arm notes “So you must have been the ones who killed that spider haired freak”
“Think he means Gezuntight?”
“You mean Getatsu” Chopper corrects, not that Ohm cared or wa really listening
“Eh doesn’t matter, one less idiot in the world is a blessing, don’t you agree?” he asks, the others unsure if he was being rhetorical, while he assumed they were silent due to fear, Chopper even beginning to back away slowly “Don’t be afraid of Holy, he’s just my pet”
Valentina scoffs “And I’m sure Priest Shura thought the same of his bird, didn’t stop him roasting us”
Ohm shakes his head “No, Shura saw his bird, Foosa as a war mount, completely different. Foosa is perfectly well trained, wouldn’t hurt anyone” he assures them, just as Chopper finds the body of the last person to enter Ohm’s trial
“Then how do you explain THAT!” Chopper yells from behind Victor, pointing to the dead Shandorian
“Oh him, I did that” Ohm states flatly, still sitting with his legs crossed from the area he was watching them from, he then frowns “Why do men fight, when they know how fragile their lives are?”
“Are we about to get a philosophy lecture?” Val mutters
“Possibly”
“Man was put here to find happiness, and yet they throw themselves into battle, time after time, only to lose their lives and with it the happiness they sought, as well as the happiness of others alongwith it. The nature of man is tragic, and selfdestructive, and so the only way for man to be redeemed…. Is for them all to die”
His last statement causes a metaphorical spit take in the 3 straw hats, as well as a calmer ‘Oh great, another f*cking loon’
“Why are you here?” Ohm addresses them directly
Chopper happily answers “That’ easy, we were looking for the City of Gold…”
“Greed only leads to ruin” Ohm interrupts “You must be rescued”
“Well we are in a ruin”
“Why do I get the feeling that word means something different up her than down in the Blue Seas?” Val worries
Ohm finally stands, drawing a pure white sword “Only death will save you from your earthly desires”
“f*cking called it!” the kilo girl yells as they take the sensible response to that, aka running away, the 2 humans periodically checking behind them to see if Ohm was following or not
“Okay, so we’ve put some distance between ourselves and killdozer over there, now what?” Valentina pants, the trio finally taking a moment to breathe, unfortunetly they didn’t count on the blue energy from the priests attack, cutting them down before they could even run away
“This is the Ordeal of Iron, the Survival Rate is… 0” Ohm states solumly.
At the Going Merry
“Nami, the brat jumped ship” Kaos calls with a sigh, watching the navigator wrestle the irritable shandorian child into the waver after diving in after her “That wasn’t an order to go save her you know, if she wants to be burnt to ash so badly let he be, or she could have just asked” he grouses, slamming Hebi’s current form against the deck, electricity arcing between the trident’s points.
“Everything is giant around here, even the snakes” Artemis chirps, setting up her easel
“It would se…. what?” Nami squeaks, looking up as Kaos turns, seeing a large, blue, bearded serpent beside the Merry
“§Well sh*t§” Kaos hisses, noticing the others on deck were frozen in fear, even though much like Laboon the animal seems completely unaware of their prescience “Artemis, is this really the best time?” he asks, rather genuinely
“Oh course Papa, otherwise the snake will have moved”
Speak of the devil… the snake shrieks and begins flailing, worrying the people on the boat as it may damage or outright destroy the Merry in it’s spasms
“Why’s it doing that?”
“It looks to be in pain, maybe something it ate disagrees with it?” Kaos guesses, getting a nod from Artemis as it sounds possible
“Well as long as it doesn’t eat us I don’t really care” Nami shouts up, as she drives Aisa back to the Merry, only to catch the snake’s attention ‘Oh crap’
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
“Nami don’t go into the forest” Paguya warns but the navigator ignores him, speeding away with the Lord of the Sky on her and Aisa’s heels
“Do you think she’ll be alright?” Conis asks when the rumbling subsides
“Realistically, Nami should be screwed, but the ginger quim has surprised me before so she’ll survive this with only severe mental scaring. The crew is going to need a psychologist one of these days” Kaos answers, sitting beside Artemis who frowns at the rough sketch she’d drawn of the snake before Nami made it run away
“It was in a lot of pain just now” she says quietly
“I know” he agrees “Well, no point standing around doing nothing, we already have a destination we should be getting to”
Meanwhile. With Zoro and Kaya
“We should have thought of this ages ago” Kaya chuckles, referring to the syrup strands keeping Zoro from straying too far from her, preventing his usual method of disappearing which is going off in a random direction when he should be still walking straight
“We only got that fruit before reaching Jaya, also where the hell are we?” Zoro grumbles, not wanting to admit she had kept them from getting lost or separated
“A rope would have done just fine, all my powers mean is you can’t simply slip free by accident. As for location” Kaya hums, looking for some kind of marker in the ruins “I guess we’re almost at the base of that stalk, something important must be at the top or they’d have cut it down by now rather than just let it grow” Zoro grunts in agreement and they keep walking, inadvertently entering a confrontation near it’s breaking point
“More of Straw hat’s friends” Wiper growls from above them, alerting them to his as well as Ganfall, Piere and Ohm’s prescience
“Hey look it’s Ganfall, but he’s supposed to still be on the ship” Kaya gasps
“Correct my dear, but I had urgent business to attend”
“So we have Sky Knight, tiki guy, and some weirdo with cool shades” Zoro lists off, turning to Ohm “Hand over all your gold” he demands, causing his travelling companion to facepalm
Ohm scoffs “Another greedy sinner stands before me, seeking salvation”
“I’ve had enough of this, out of my way, or be annihilated” Wiper shouts
‘Wrath, the 2nd most deadly sin’
“Ohm, enough of this, tell me where Eneru and my Divine warriors are” Ganfall orders
Kaya sighs “Looks like we’re going to have to fight him” she says quietly
Zoro chuckles “What was your first clue, him being a priest, the giant dog, the almost comedically long (not big, the blade appears to not be much wider than a normal length katana) sword, or the dead angels littered around this area
Ohm stands, readying his blade “I’m sure you all think yourselves important, but if you desire anything, then first you must either beat or find salvation, in the Ordeal Of Iron!”
‘Not another one, Ordeal of String was bad enough’ the logia grimaces, just as the Lord of the Sky crashes into the vicinity
“Prepare for death, Mighty Enaru has prophesized you won’t survive to the end of the Survival Game” Ohm says as he adjusts his shades
“Is that so?” Zoro scoffs, readying his own swords
“If your hearts hadn’t been tainted by greed, you might have lived longer, not by much, but still. I’ll give you all a few minutes to repent before administering judgement” Ohm states in his usual voice/demeanour, then jumps on his dog’s back “You can go all out Holy, these sinners must be squashed like the others”
Ganfall’s empression was thunderous as he takes to the sky with Pierre “That is Enaru’s last priest as well as the strongest of his subordinates, we must take him out”
Zoro meanwhile had his sights on something else “Damn snake why do you keep showing up, leave us alone asshat!”
There was a stare down between everyone, until predictably Wiper shoots first, Zoro and Kaya just barely dodging a shot from his Burn Bazooka, starting the fighting off with a bang and a flash of blue fire.
“You missed” Zoro smirks, ticking Wiper off even more… somehow
“Incolent Blue Sea weaklings, you think you can just come up here and take what’s ours?” he screams, aiming his bazooka again “This Is Shandora!”
“We don’t want to be a part of your conflict” Kaya admits, though pulling her revolvers from her arms
“Right. You idiots can blow each other, Hell this whole sky island apart for all I care, we’re just here for the gold” Zoro adds, swinging at Wiper, who parries with his seastone skates
Wiper growls “I should have killed you when I had the chance” he fires, but the shot went wide due to a syrup whip, the shandorian then having to dodge a round of pistol fire, though all 3 had to separate to avoid being crushed by the giant snake, who was crashing and chomping his way through the upper ruins
“Note to self, avoid the acid fanged snake” Zoro mumbles to himself, before running into a dog standing on his hind legs “Ok, that’s weird”
“This is Holy, I taught him a lot of things, most importantly how to stand on 2 legs, an box like a champion. Show him how it’s done boy” Ohm explains/boasts then points towards the straw hats who gulp, before his attention turns skyward, blocking a lance strike from Ganfall with his sword “Ganfall! Shura already beat you, why don’t you give up, are you that intent on dying old man?”
“I don’t know what Eneru has planned, but I will glad give my life to putting an end to his tyranny” Ganfall replies seriously
Ohm sighs “Then you are a fool”
Meanwhile
“Hurry up, the Divine Warriors are catching up” Aisa whines, still clinging to Nami’s waist
“I’d love to… only I have no idea where I’m going” Nami shouts, just as a large stalk could be seen through the trees
“Head for Giant Jack, Wiper’s there, and some Blue sea people” Aisa commands, Nami agreeing mostly to reunite with at least some of her crewmates, partly so she has meat shields in case Eneru comes looking for her again.
“They’re heading for Giant Jack, we can’t let them reach God’s shrine”
“Leave us alone!” Nami screams behind her, pushing the waver to go faster
Back in the ruins
Zoro once more leaps from a building as the Lord of the Sky smashes through it, cursing the creature’s existence, as well as it’s unpredictable nature, when he sees something out the corner of his eye that chills him to the bone
‘Chopper? Valentina? Victor?’ he thinks fearfully “Kaya, we got men down” he shouts as he runs towards them as quick as he could
“Hm, so they were part of your team” Ohm notes impassively “Watch your step”
“Hm?”
Shing
Zoro hisses as something slashes against him as well as knock him back, the swordsman’s eyes widen when it stops and he can see it “Barbed wire?” he thinks aloud, as Kaya catches up to him
“Oh God, are any of you okay? Come on, move, speak, blow up, something!” Kaya whimpers as she checks over the 3 straw hats, their wounds severe and painful
“Those are Iron cloud, light as a cloud but hard as iron, blown into shape with a Milky Dial. I’ve set up several of those dials with hidden triggers around this area, and both you and your friends have seen the end result of activating them” Ohm explains, watching them from Holy’s head “This entire area is the weapon, I don’t need to attack you, your clueless blundering will kill you without me needing to lay a finger on you” he gloats “I’m partly responsible for their condition, but they are as well, for entering my ordeal and triggering the dials” he sighs as Zoro turns to face him “I suppose you’re going to try take revenge now?”
“No” Zoro answers, suprising those in hearing range “Believe it or not, but I don’t usually like to fight for THAT reason”
Ohm smirks “I’m impressed”
“I’m not done” Zoro interrupts “I said usually, you hurt my friends, that makes this personal. I will end you” he states with an edge sharper than Yoru
Zoro jumps around, striking and missing as much as dodging return jabs from Holy, Ohm not moving from it’s head while doing so, his shaded eyes making it difficult to tell what he was thinking
‘Just keep moving around mutt, the more you do, the more openings you giv…’ his thoughts were interrupted as his side was nearly torn open, why Ohm’s sword which snakes out and slashes him “What the f*ck is that?”
Ohm chuckles “Typical Blue sea fool, didn’t expect that. My sword is made of iron cloud, or more accurately it’s formed from Iron cloud expelled from a dial conviently imbedded in the hilt, and it will hunt it’s prey to the ends of the Earth!” Ohm states before swinging, luckily Zoro was able to block the strike with 2 blades. He then frowns and looks to his steed “We’re going to need to split up Holy, things are about to get busy up here”
Zoro looks confused until they hear the puff of skates as people shoot out of the clouds, both Divine Warriors and rebel Shandorians, all still fighting one another, shortly followed by Nami and Aisa being chased by 3 more goat men, Zoro Ganfall and Wiper unintentionally teaming up to rescue them, before the winged wanker decided the best corse of action was deep frying Nami, even though Aisa was still technically attached to her, luckily Ganfall/Piere was faster than The Burn Bazooka
“Thanks Ganfall, I think we really owe you for this one” Nami pants, her heart throbbing in her throat
“Wiper, you’re a monster!” Aisa screams, still clinging to Nami like the child she is
“What are you 2 doing up here?” Ganfall asks/scolds the 2 girls
“It wasn’t intentional, we were chased by this giant…” Nami pauses, her eyes shrink to pin prick as the snake appears behind Pierre, jaw fully extended before devouring the 4 and swallowing them whole.
“Nami!”
“Aisa”
Slam
The distraction was taken full advantage of by Ohm and Holy, who slice Zoro up bad and punched Wiper through a ruined wall respectively
“Wiper!” Yelled several shandorians
“Zoro!” Kaya screams, seeing the swordsman fall
With the Merry
“We. Have. Arrived.” Kaos sighs in relief as they drop anchor, the ship now in the predetermined meet up spot, now was a matter of the rest of them getting back
“That’s good, how long do you think it’ll be before the others get here?” Connis asks, helping nurse Sanji and Ussop back to health
“Given they pissed off God, we may need to go get them” Artemis answers bluntly, causing the researcher to try suppress a hissing chuckle.
“She has a point, once these 2 are either able to move, or guard the ship we can head out, I’m sure Lasoo is itching to destroy something” Kaos agrees, then smiles as the dopey looking bazooka dog nods and nuzzles his leg “Also we need to get your dad to turn off the horn, it’s more likely to draw unwanted attention than scare it away” he says to Connis, who panics and runs off to stop Paguya, to the pirate’s amusem*nt.
TBC
LW: The survival game is running out, and only Ohm and Enaru are still standing on God’s side (well those worth mentioning at least), also fun fact: The snake has taken out more straw hats than Enaru or Ohm, but not the 2 together.
Chapter 54: Zoro and Kaya: Support Rank A+
Chapter Text
LW: So now the fight with Ohm and his Aizen Dial (Damn it Tekking!) against Zoro and Kaya. Also most of the crew is out of commission for a number of reasons, mostly giant snake, struck by lightning or attacked by cloudwire.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Zoro and Kaya, Support Rank A+.
“Let’s see how many players we have in this game, Me, Holy, Lord of the Sky, 4 Divine Warriors, 2 Blue sea people and 4 Shandorians, 11 people and 2 animals, we have a little work left to do to pair that down to 5 like God predicted” Ohm gloats, the divine squad bleeting as Kaya runs over to Zoro and the remaining Shandorians attack Ohm head on and get taken out by his dog, before the animal sets of a load of Tripwire milky dials, forming an iron cloud cage around the ruined area, beginning the True Ordeal of Iron
“So you can make fences, big Whoop” Zoro scoffs as he pulls himself up “You hurt our friends, so we had no intention of running right Kaya?”
“Right” she nods, loading her guns with a stony look on her face
“Foolish fools, the White Barbs aren’t just to stop you running away” one of the goat men laughs, until he’s kicked into the fence by Wiper, screaming in pain before passing out
“Huh, the bars hurt, thanks for the heads up” he says with a shrug, the turns to Ohm
“So if this cage is so tough, where’s the exit for when we kick all of your asses?” Zoro asks, not seeing any gaps or weaknesses in the cage
“You can worry about that if you survive”
“Wiper!” the man in question, as well as the 2 remaining Straw Hats turn, seeing a screaming shandorian running towards the barrier
“Locki? What are you doing here?”
“I had to come; to give you Kamakiri’s warning. Run away, abandon this fight. Enaru is in the forest, he is lightning itself he truly has the powers of a God”
“Lightning Logia, we f*cking called it” Zoro chuckles, getting a nod from their own logia
Zap
“Locki!” Wiper shouts as Enaru appears, then cuts her down with a bolt of lightning “Enaru! I’ll destroy you!”
“Oh please, an insect like you has no chance against a God. Though I’ll get to you eventually Wiper, just not quite yet” Enaru laughs before fading into electricity once more
“Wiper” Ohm calls to the shandorian, currently unmoving and unresponsive “Weep not for her, your friend has received the divine judgement all God’s children pray for” (Well… all 4 priests are messed up I guess)
The swordsman groans “Since we’re getting all sentimental, there’s something personal I need to deal with” he says, for once having the same target as Wiper
“The snake!” the 2 pirates and Shandorian run towards the animal, Wiper firing at them along the way because he’s a dick, until…
Eisen Whip
… Ohm decided to deal with the wingless ones first, sending his iron cloud blade to seek and destroy, luckily Zoro was able to block, even if it did throw him back, leaving the snake to deal with the minor annoyance (for something his size) of Wiper and his Burn Bazooka, which only managed to annoy it more by burning it’s tongue
“Damn it, between the priest and the snake, not do mention the idiot with the bazooka our chances of rescuing Nami and the others is getting lower by the minute” Zoro grumbles, as the 2 make their way through the ruins, trying to avoid getting flambéed, or sliced with cloud iron
Eisen Whip
“Zoro!” was screamed just before someone slammed into his back, the green haired swordsman watched as their medic was sliced at the waist by Ohm’s cloud iron whip sword. His mind seized until he saw the blade recalled, while having a similar consistency he knew humans didn’t have yellow blood (He’s half right, blood plasma is actually a straw yellow colour when separated from the other materials in blood, and Sea cucumbers have yellow blood due to having Vanadium in theirs instead of Iron)
“Rejoice, your friend has found salvation in God’s eyes” Ohm declares, sheathing his sword
Teke teke teke teke
Ohm’s glasses slip and Wiper gasps as while Kaya’s lower half melts she hobbles on her hands closer to Zoro, then the stump that was her hips bubbled before reabsorbing the honey coloured slime and moulding it into useable legs, doing an impromptu cartwheel to right herself “I may not be God, but I’m the next Ame Ame girl” Kaya winks, shooting 2 of the remaining Divine Warriors in the confusion “Logia fruit eaters, we’re hard to injure never mind kill”
Ohm frowns “I guess I’ll leave you in God’s hands” he sighs, then turns as Zoro leaps at him with 2 swords
Nintoryu: Taka Nami (Hawk Wave)
Eisen Back
The blades were stopped by a wall of cloud iron, leading Zoro to basically crash into the solid structure “An Iron Wall?”
“Weren’t you paying attention, my blade is made of cloud iron, and since clouds don’t have a set shape, I can mould it into whatever I choose. It makes a perfect defence as well as an offence” Ohm explains as it retracts back into sword form
“A shape shifting sword? Where’s the lanky bastard when you need him?” the swordsman grunts as he tries come up with a plan (it was a toss up between Kaos being in this fight and another 1 in the hopeful near future, I chose that one instead), meanwhile dodging the multitude of forms Ohm contorted his weapon into
Eisen Fan
Eisen Fork
Eisen Rapier
“He’s predicting my moves, and Kaya doesn’t miss this much so he’s doing that while dodging her shots, but how?” he thinks aloud, drawn back into the fight itself by the priests laugh
“Staying all the way over there? Not going to do you much good when you depend on those swords to deal damage” he taunts, pushing up his shades
“I’ll show you, I don’t need to be right next to you, to hurt you”
72 Calibre Pheonix
Eisen Whip
‘f*ck! How’d he manage to block it?’ Zoro thinks before the 2 blue sea dwellers have to run to avoid more strikes from his whip blade
“It’s like he can see the future or something” Kaya pants, what felt like a safe distance away
“Not the future, or else he wouldn’t have been surprised by your reformation, just predict attacks, as well as dodges” Zoro counters, clutching his side “Really accurately I might add”
“So, what do we do, whatever power his uses, it’s really strong”
“Well it works on line of sight, or at least appears to, so if we could attack him through something else then we might have a chance to at least take him by surprise”
Kaya nods “And in case it doesn’t… I may be able to provide a distraction, to give you an opening to strike true when you’re ready”
Zoro chuckles “I think that might just win us this trial” he says, removing his goggles and trying his bandana over his head.
It was then Ohm made his prescience known, speaking to Zoro as if the wall between them was either glass or non existent “So you’re the leader of the Blue Sea people up here?” he greets/questions “You and your crew put up a good fight, however my sword is pointed directly at your heart, and I will soon free you from your greed and suffering. Say your prayers swordsman”
“I never pray for anything, why should I start now?” Zoro asks, just before putting Wado into his mouth
“That’s too bad, you should have tried harder to survive!”
Crack. Smash
108 Calibre Phoenix!
Just as Zoro releases his technique, Ohm’s Eisen Dial shatters in a spike ball of yellow syrup, stabbing through his hand and cutting the flow of iron cloud, leaving him wide open for a borderline evisceration from Zoro’s strongest ranged attack
“That worked well, you’re getting good at that pin cushion thing Kaya” Zoro smirks as he sheathes his swords, amused by the lemon yellow blush her syrup form produced
“It’s nothing, I didn’t even know it would be able to effect a dial the way it did… oh crap the doggo” she shouts, both dodging the punch, then nearly faceplanting when they see the animal now sitting in front of them, clearly awaiting orders
“You obey anyone don’t you?” Zoro asks, getting a nod from the dog “Guess he is well trained. Hey screw it, go knock yourself out” he handwave, then stares in shock when the dog does as asked, falling to the ground with a painful bump to the noggin “Who’s tally do we add that one to?” he asks in jest, before running in the direction of Wiper and the snake, while Kaya checks on their injured crewmates.
With Robin
“Shandora, the City of Gold, home of one of the poneglyphs, but where is it’s Golden Bell?” Robin wonders aloud, standing before Giant Jack “The Belfry should be here, or near here and the Bell should be engraved with poneglyphs. If so, then the City fell, protecting the information written on it. They should be here, even after all this time… but they’re not, at least not anywhere I can see” she sighs deeply “They’re hidden, and I will find them” she then sees something on the ground “Hm, this city had railways, but these are new, something was transported through here recently, but what?”
Deep chuckles are heard above “Isn’t it amazing, even after being blown up into the sky, the City of Shandora still exists, mostly intact even” Enaru smirks, biting into his apple “Even if it’s the city everyone knows, how can it show off it’s majesty covered in clouds? I’m the only one who CAN see it, I discovered it, and the former God’s never even noticed”
“And who are you?” Robin asked
“I’m God of course”
“Eneru then” Robin hums, looking at the tall man with drums on his back, arranged into an ornamental ring. Unlike the other sky people this man had no wings, though the drums seemed to originate in the same spot where wings SHOULD be, and had long earlobes as well as gold rings on several of his fingers and toes
“You’re quiet a bright girl, I presume you’re an archaeologist, based on how quickly you found this city of ruins” Eneru continues, seeming to ignore the use of his name “it took us several months to find the same thing, good work” he smirks “I presume it’s easier when you can read the squiggles on the walls, like I bet you can Miss Archaeologist. Unfortunately the gold you’re looking for isn’t here anymore, you’re a few years too late for that”
“That is true, I haven’t seen any gold despite the fact it should be plentiful given it’s original title of the region. I presume you’re the one who removed it?” Robin states/asks
“Gold is a wonderful, conductive metal, and I think it suits my divine status nicely” Eneru answers, looking smug
“And I guess you also took the gold bell too?”
Eneru’s eyebrow rises “Hm, there was a golden bell too?” he muses, finishing his apple “So tell me, what did you learn from the writing on the Bell my dear?”
“Nothing, if you say you never saw it, then it must not exist, the Golden Bell and it’s majestic Belfry must be just legends, embellishments of the stories of the City itself”
“No, it must be here, in the sky with us. When Shandoria was shot into the sky and Upper Yard… God’s Land was formed, there were tales of a ringing that could be heard all throughout the land” Eneru recalls “The elder inhabitants called it the island’s singing voice, but that wasn’t it. It was the Bell, this huge, golden Bell. Amazing” he smirks and leans back in his seating position “Soon the game will be over, only 8 minutes left” he says, mostly to himself but Robin was close enough to overhear “That’s not long at all, but it gives me just enough time to find that golden bell” he then stops and frowns “There’s an escapee” he whispers, raising his hand and releasing a flash of light
“What did you just do?” Robin gasps
“I showed mercy” Eneru replies, clearly not something he does often “A pitiful worm was in a great deal of pain, so I saved him by releasing him from his torment” (Seems he’s where Ohm got his kill to save mentality then) “Now if you’ll excuse me I need to set events in motion, so my true plans can come to fruition”
“What plan, all I’ve seen is mayhem and ignorance”
Eneru chuckles “The Sky Lord calls you, heed my call lowly being and come to me!” he bellows, releasing a shockwave of lightning that blinds Robin as well as shooting up the beanstalk to the arena containing Zoro, Wiper, Lord of the Sky, and the others.
“And now we bring the Survival Games, to their climactic finale!” he laughs giddily, while Robin stares in shock
On the Merry
“Connis, the fox is freaking out” Artemis yells, getting the others to run over to her and Suu, where they see a skypeian pull himself out of the forests, just barely conscious
“Another patient” Kaos says humourlessly, as he shimmers over to the man, Conis and Paguya following slowly behind as he’s propped up against a tree root for stability
“Who are you?” Connis asks
“I, was one of the men, who served under Ganfall when he was God” the man wheezes
“So you’re one of the Divine Warriors” Paguya gasps
“Yes. And you need to get this message back to everyone: Eneru, he’s returning everything” at their looks of confusion he elaborates “He’s going to send Upper Yard, back into the Blue Sea World, and this nation will no longer exist”
‘Well, sh*t’ thought the 2 straw hats, while Paguya’s face darkens and Conis turns a sickly pale
“That’s impossi…” he stops when the Divine Warrior grabs his shirt
“You need to tell everyone, Eneru is planning to eliminate every living soul in the sky”
“Every living soul! But if he does that, there will be nobody for him to rule over, or anywhere for him to live, that doesn’t make sense”
“Well he didn’t exactly look sane when he showed up on the ship flash fried 2 of our crewmates and said have fun with the Survival Game, now did he?” Kaos asks, looking annoyed, and also worried
“He’s built an ark, the Ark Maxim!”
“Ark, maxim?”
ZING
“FATHER!” Conis screams, as silver arms wrap around her waist and she’s pulled, brought back to the Merry at high speed, narrowly avoiding a direct hit from one of Enaru’s Master Bolts.
f*ck
No other reaction worked to describe the level of destruction, Eneru basically atomising an area of Upper Yard as well as throwing the Merry like a dingy, the most badly effected obviously being Connis, as her father had been caught in the blast radius, crying in a ball where Kaos left her, until she stopped, pulled herself slowly to her feet and turns to the remaining Straw Hats “I can’t just stay here and mope, Eneru is going to wipe Skypeia off the map... I have to go now, and warn the others”
“Do you think they’ll listen?”
“Do you want us to come with you?”
“They might not, but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t try. As for company… Sanji and Usopp, as well as your other friends need you more, this is something I must do, for myself, father and my people” the 2 watched her leave, hoping the locals would see sense, if only for Conis’ sake.
Back in the cage fight
“Why won’t you die!?” Wiper shouts after another of many failed attempts to injure the snake, never mind kill it and rescue Aisa from its belly. Zoro joining the fight didn’t do much either, not even leaving a scratch on him
‘Damn, what’s it’s scales made of, they must be harder than steel’ Zoro mentally curses, knowing he was running out of time t save Nami and the old man, but nothing was working
Songo
A shockwave of blue energy struck the Upper Ruins, tearing the ancient structure apart, as well as sending them all crashing down to the lower ruins, where Eneru and Robin currently resided.
“What the f*ck?”
“This is Eneru’s doing, nothing else is this powerful” Wiper shouts as they all fall, Kaya trying to protect the unconscious trio with her syrup, while Zoro keeps his distance so as not to have her worrying about him and risking the others safety.
In the commotion, it was understandable nobody noticed Nami and Ganfall flying out of the snake’s mouth, though it didn’t help them much as they were in freefall just as much as the others, just now didn’t have a giant snake to cushion their fall, in fact she might end up falling on them instead.
“What. The. f*ck?” Robin forwent any attempt at an intellectual response, there was none when ruins fell from the sky, though the shifting rubble did draw her eye, as well as the cause of it “Zoro, Kaya, you didn’t fall down here in that crash did you?” she asks in shock, getting a grunt from Zoro and a tired nod from Kaya, having recalled her syrup once they hit the ground, as relative a term as that was up here.
“Good to see you too, nice to see you surivied all this. Now where the hell are we?” Zoro asks
“This is the City of Gold we were after, minus the gold unfortunately. Eneru already stripped it bare”
“Nami’s not going to like that” Kaya sighs, their navigator was going to be pissed, provided she survived the giant snake
“Ow my ass” Nami groans as she gets up “Thanks for nothing you old weirdo”
“We were lucky to land on these clouds, given all the debris, we could have died VERY painfully in the fall” Ganfall sighs, readjusting his armour, knowing another fight was inevitable
Nami frowns as she looks around “We left Luffy, Aisa and the others in the belly of the beast”
“Yes, but we also sent Pierre back to retrieve them, do not blame yourself for something outside your control Miss Navigator”
Nami sees the giant snake acting weird out the corner of her eye “Is it just me, or does the snake look like it’s looking for something? Well either that or Luffy’s playing with it’s insides again, which got us into this mess in the first place” she continues to observe until… “I think it’s crying” she gasps, not knowing they could even do that, the bellows that followed actually containing a rather mournful tone to it, pulling at her heart
EL THOR
Which imidiately shattered when the animal was stuck with a bolt of electricity, showing the power difference between Eneru and the others pretty definitely given they couldn’t even cut it and he just knocked her the f*ck out. Zoro had a momentary panic attack seeing that and assuming it meant Nami was charcoal, until she noticed them and popped her head out to greet them.
“I’m fine, it’s just Luffy…”
“sh*t, there were more people in that thing?” Zoro facepalms, while Kaya tenses, Robin now watching the snake to see if anything came out of it’s mouth as the beast slumped to the floor with an almighty thud
As to be expected, the moment was interrupted by Eneru making it all about him, appearing above them on a ball cloud, not to dissimilar to Hotori’s introduction
“Well done, I’m happy so many of you have made it this far, I extend my welcome to you survivors. And now the game is explained, it was to see how many of the original 87 of you, including myself, survived after 3 hours on this island. The 1 survivor is the winner of course. A few amongst you were latecomers to the game, however I allow you to stay, out of the goodness of my heart, as well as making the game more interesting. Now the 5 of us (Like canon: Eneru, Wiper, Ganfall, Zoro & Robin. Kaya is hidden with Nami, working on their friends) will compete in the final stage of the game. In the next few minutes, the 3 hours will be up, meaning the 7 people here are too many”
The swearing coming from Nami’s hiding place (as she’d assumed 5 meant he didn’t notice her and Kaya) even drew looks of shock from Wiper and a raise of the eyebrows of Eneru himself.
“The one thing I know, is God’s prophecy will not falter, because he is absolute. I wonder who will die, and how you will kill them? Will you all fight each other and see who falls, gang up on one of the weaklings hiding from my eyes, or maybe you’ll resist your fate and I’ll be forced to intervene, which won’t be any fun at all”
It seems all it takes to turn 3 factions into one, is a huge dickhe*d with a god complex telling them to kill each other, Weapons were drawn, and pointed to the logia Birkan floating above them
“I’m not killing on your command; you’re the one who will die Eneru!” They declared, except Nami and Kaya, though the syrup girl did check her guns were correctly loaded in case the lightning man came a zapping
TBC
LW: And cut! Sorry for the delay everyone, there were a few issues that needed work outside of this series, and as such I was a little behind on everything else. There shouldn’t be any more issues, and the next chapter should come out at the expected time of next Sunday.
Thank you for continuing to read this story, goodnight
Chapter 55: Striking God
Chapter Text
LW: Time for Eneru to actually do sh*t, good luck for the rest of them.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Striking God
“You really think any of you insects, even fighting together can even injure me?” Eneru asks, laughing manically “You don’t know what you’re dealing with, nor could you even comprehend my power” he boasts, spinning his staff before beginning to unleash/show off his fruit’s power, his hands glowing as they shifted into lightning “So many disprite souls, unable to see that it’s all for naught”
Ganfal snarls, swinging the Heat Lance in Eneru’s direction “Enough of this monologuing, where are my Divine Warriors? And what are your plans for this place?”
“Why an Ascension of course” Eneru answers blandly “Namely mine”
“What, you’re saying you’re leaving Skypeia?” the old man gasp in shock
“Correct. On my home island there were legends of a place known as God’s Home, the Fairy Verth, where the ground extends in all directions as far as the eye can see! It’s my dream, my goal, my destiny to find this paradise, and rule it as the God I truly am!” His smile lessons as he turns to the fighters “My battles over the Upper Yard, are worthless in consequence when compared to that. Everything around you is an abomination, an affront to the natural order”
“Now what are you blathering about?” Wiper growls, not having taken his bazooka’a sights off Eneru even as he floats down to the stone across from them
“This place, is unnatural, it’s in the sky, but it’s earth not cloud, it floats amongst those clouds but it’s no bird or bat. This place is wrong on a fundamental level, so it should come as no surprise that as God, an enforcer of the rules of the universe I only have one course of action”
Robin’s eyes widen and her skin pales “You’re going to drop Shandora, back into the Blue Sea, back into the Grand Line” the Straw Hats were horrified, while Ganfall and Wiper were inciced.
“You fool, God is a title to refer to the island’s leader, it doesn’t give you the right to decide who lives and dies, or to use your subjects like playthings”
Eneru chuckles, sitting down on the stone “You asked about your former warriors” he says, confusing his opponents as he picks up a handful of pebbles in his fist “As I told you they’ve been doing my bidding since I captured them all those years ago… until today” a pulse of his power and sand spills from between his fingers “The people you see before you, are the only ones still alive on this floating abomination” he says with a sneer
Ganfall recoils as if struck “You killed them?”
“Yes. Well technically I defended myself, I told them my plans and they chose to challenge me… so I destroyed them”
“You are a Devil!” Ganfall screams as he charges, Eneru not even trying to defend himself as he tosses his staff away, Ganfall’s lance felt not resistance as it phased through his lightning body, Eneru zipping to his predecessor’s side before charging an attack
5 million
10 million
20 million volts
Bari
Zap
Ganfall drops like a stone, charged black from the electrical blast, not helped by the knight’s metal armour
“There is a god on this island, and that God is me” Eneru says, grinning before catching his staff and turning to the remaining fighters
“It’s the Goro Goro no mi” Wiper gasps
“sh*t, even for a logia it’s said this fruit is powerful enough that its user is basically invincible” Robin says with a grimace
“So you’re saying it doesn’t have a weakness we can exploit, like Crocodile and Gaspard?” Zoro asks through clenched teeth
“How do you fight a lightning storm swordsman?” Robin asks in response, shutting him up
“And so it has come to pass, my prophecy made true. Come with me as we reach the alter of my ascension, and passage to the Fairy Verth”
“Why should we?” Zoro asks, the others nod as they too wondered why they should follow a psychopath like Eneru anywhere
“Because I plan to turn the Fairy Verth into a kingdom of Godhood, where only the worthy can be in my prescience, failures, like my worthless subordinates can be left to rot, while you all passed the test, and are granted entrance to my domain”
“And if we refuse?” Robin asks stonely, ignoring Nami’s hissing yells to shut up and confusing Eneru something awful
“What? But why would you refuse my gift? If you stay here you’ll be destroyed along with everything else in this unnatural nation”
“I don’t doubt you can destroy Upper Yard in a single blow, your fruit’s reputation precedes you, but if you destroy this place, you’ll also destroy something very precious to you as well”
“You mean the Golden Bell don’t you?”
“Yes, the Golden Bell”
Eneru laughs “Oh don’t worry, I’ve already made arrangements. And given I know where you all went as you traipsed around Upper Yard, I know exactly where the Bell is” he says, surprising Robin to the point she had no response “Yes I’ve already figured it out, did you really think a mere human such as yourself could be better than me in any way?”
“I might be spending too much time around Luffy and Kaos which is why this was even an option, but yeah I kind of did” Robin admits, just before getting a lightning bolt to the face from an annoyed looking Eneru, luckily getting caught by Zoro before she cracked her skull off the stone ground
“You’ve gone too far”
“I’m God bitch, I do what I like” Enaru laughs, lazily blocking Zoro’s charging sword strike, then manoeuvring around his 2nd blade rather than use his intangibility, this did put him in an open position in the air…
Burn Bazooka
Bari
Unfortunately his lightning power was stronger than Wiper’s bazooka, something his dispatching of Nola implied, and was now 100 % confirmed
“Fighting is pointless, you’d make better use of your time preparing for the journey to the Fairy Verth, the worthy shall be leaving soon, together” Eneru says casually, his expression that of boredom
“And what makes you think, any of us would follow you willingly?” Zoro asks, irritating Eneru as yet another Blue Sea dweller denies his offer “I don’t give a f*ck about your dream land, you and your minions hurt my crew, my friends, and I’m going to carve payment from your twitching corpse, maybe even give that fruit of yours to Kaos and see what he wants to do with it” he shouts, once more running at Eneru, cleaving through both him and the stone wall behind him, though it had no effect
“I possess a power you mortals can’t…”
Ocelot needles
“Kaya, he was leaving us alone, why’s you fire?” Nami shrieks in the medic/gunslinger/syrup girl’s ear, especially when the syrup bullets, turned spikes did as much damage as Zoro’s swords did, nil.
“Close, but still not divine level power little girl. Now to show you divine punishment” he scolds her, then shoots a bolt at her, before discharging his power through Zoro’s swords, taking him down too.
“Oh no” Nami whimpers as both collapse, Kaya coughing up a syrupy river before dropping onto her back, mildly burned compared to the others, but still down for the count.
Eneru was savouring his victory, when Wiper jumps on him “What’s with all you people wanting to die all of a sudden?” his asks, partly out of amusem*nt, and the other frustration
“Are you familiar with Sea Prison Stone?” Wiper asks, Eneru realising why he asked when he tried and failed to use his powers to instakill the Shandorian, the look of confusion and even fear in the so called God’s eyes made Wiper smile “You have, it neutralises the powers of Devil Fruit users, meaning I can do this, as if you were any other man” he places his bandaged hand on Eneru’s chest “Now Die!”
Reject Dial
The blast throws Wiper a good few feet from the blast radius, as well as leaving him with severe burns across his body and his right arm most likely rendered useless. It was too bad being made of electricity, it was a trivial matter for Eneru to restart his heart now the sea stone wasn’t touching him, his entire body acting like an organic defibulator, his chest convulsing with each pulse. Then he slowly sat up, his face twisted into a cruel visage of an angry god.
“Should have aimed for the head, boy” he says, the smugness returning to his face and voice, before tapping his staff against one of the drums on his back, producing an electrical construct
30 million Volt Hino
A literal thunderbird slammed through Wiper, finally finishing the job the Rject dial’s lethal recoil started, while Zoro acquired one of his broken skates, as once he had the sea stone on Eneru’s body again, he could be cut up as easily as an ordinary human, in fact easier, given his remembered what happened to Luffy when they were in Crocodile’s Sea Stone cage.
“Still you fight, you’re stronger than I expected swordsman” Eneru half asses a compliment, then taps the opposite drum, charging another attack
Kiten
The lightning cat hits its mark, sending Zoro to the ground, unresponsive. Now only Nami and Eneru remain, and the navigator didn’t like her chances.
‘This… monster, nothing can stop him. If he can take out Zoro like he’s some nobody, not even Luffy or Kaos could beat him’ Nami thinks, her mind screaming to run as Eneru turns, setting his sights on her, then stops when he see’s Wiper is still standing, or had gotten back up while he was dealing with Zoro
“Are you still trying to fight me? You’re literally at death’s door, give up.” He then smirks “You said you’ve been fighting for this island for 400 years, yet in all this time, you are the only one to reach the City. No wonder this place will be destroyed so soon, it’s a land of weaklings. You’re fighting for a lost cause, a hopeless endeavour, can’t you see this place will never be yours? So why get back up, why challenge me despite having already been knocked down several times already?
“For my Ascestors, for the people of Shandora” He wheezes
Eneru sighs “I really was hoping for a better answer than that, (Not sure why that line made me laugh, but it did) though in your defence I’m not sure how much of your brain isn’t cooked right now” he muses, shifting his arm into lightning
El Thor
The quite literal pillar of light slammed into Wiper with a blinding flash, the shockwave throwing everyone except Eneru back several feet and leaving a massive crater where the shandorian once was
“Of all the people who reached the end of my trial, only you are still standing” Nami freezes when she hears Eneru’s voice just behind her, as well as the crackle of electricity sparking across his skin
“I-i-is the invitation to go with you to the Fairy Verth still open?” Nami asks, trying to hold back her fear, and mostly succeeding “I’ve always wanted to go to such an amazing place
Eneru looks at her blankly for a few minutes before nodding and turning on his heels “Of course, follow me” he says calmly, almostl robotically, Nami timidly wheeling the Waver behind her as they walk. “Do you mourn them?” he asks, sensing her looking between each still body
“Um, no Sir, not me”
Eneru chuckles “There’s not need for the formal heirs, express yourself, just don’t make the same mistakes those fools did in challenging the power of God”
After little while walking Eneru leads Nami to a cavern/mine, the particions all marked with the same 3 Tomoe as his drums.
“Um excuse me…” Nami begins, wanting to aks where they were going
“Keep your mouth shut and follow me” Eneru snaps, though without a change in tone
‘ok then’ Nami thinks, jumping back a little at the dismissal, though continues to follow him to the central chamber.
“So what do you think?” Enaru asks “It’s the only one of it’s kind in the world, and it can only be controlled by me. In other words, it’s lightning powered” he explains, revealing the Arc Maxim “The gold I harvested is the perfect conductor for my powers, so my limitless power will see this majestic work soar. Might as well let the people on this island see God’s ship before it’s annihilation”
Meanwhile
“We’re NEVER taking directions from you again!” Vivi screams as she punches Luffy’s head into the stone ground, the 4 of them and 1 horse/bird/thing having just fallen out of the Giant Snake’s mouth, after taking a slight detour to it’s eye
“Relax Vivi, we made it out alive and without injury” Alvida tries to assure her, meanwhile taking in her surroundings “Man, wherever we are, the locals sure let it go to sh*t”
“This, it’s Shandora, our homeland” Aisa whispers, her brain going into shock, until a certain idiot ran past/through her “Luffy!”
“Oh Rao” Vivi whimpers, seeing the devastation, as well as their friends in such bad condition
“Zoro! What happened? Who did this to you?” he asks, shaking the swordsman more violently than he probably should, meanwhile Ganfall and Wiper were found by Pierre and Aisa respectively
“Wait a minute, where’s Nami?” the bluenette asks aloud, being the only straw hat unacounted for, at least that they knew was on Upper Yard and wasn’t cut or burned to f*ck all around them
“It was Eneru, he did this” Aisa states, tears running down her face and she sits beside Wiper’s unresponsive body
“That God guy?” Luffy asks, frowning heavily, then seeing movement out the corner of his eye “Robin! You’re alive!”
“Nami, she went, with him” Robin croaks, her eyes unfocused and barely meeting Luffy’s gaze
“So God took Nami?” the captain asks, to which she nods weakly “Guess I’m kicking some dickhe*d’s ass to save Nami, again. Where did she go?”
“I don’t know. But you need to hurry, if Eneru isn’t stopped, all of Skypeia will be lost”
“Lost? What the hell are you talking about?” Alvida asks, confused and angry with what she sees in front of her
“Everything up here will fall. Eneru said this place, it was unnatural, so he plans to destroy it all, on his way to the so called Fairy
Verth”
“Eneru still wants that Golden Bell, he won’t leave or destroy Skypeia without it” Luffy states confidently
“Exactly, so you need to stop him before it finds it, no matter the cost”
“Don’t worry, I know where they are” the remaining straw hats all look over to Aisa, her fists clenched nearly hard enough to bleed “There are only 2 other voices in Upper Yard, they have to be Eneru and Nami. I will lead you there, in you promise to stop him”
Luffy lays Robin in his girl’s arms, standing to his full height “That’s something I have no problem agreeing to” he declares, his face serious, the jovial adventurer gone from the island.
On the Maxim
“Yaaaaa ha ha ha” Eneru laughs, sitting on his throne/control centre to his vessel, confusing Nami, as well as making her worry “Remember your friend from Angel Island? She seems to be making quite a stir over in the village, it’s quite fun to listen in”
The navigator blinks “Connis? But she should still be on the Merry” she thinks aloud
“Don’t worry, your ship is still where it was when you left, just lacking your sky friend” Eneru responds dismissively “Not that it really matters”
Nami winces, worry creeping in as she tries come up with a distraction “So, this Mantra thing you guys have up here… how does it work, can you zero in on a specific person or is it just an all at once thing?”
“Not usually, most lack the ability to focus that strongly in our ability, but I can. I’m unique that way. The combination of my Mantra and I believe your friend called my lightning powers Goro Goro no mi, I’m able to pick up electrical vibrations, listen in on conversations, I see all as a divine being should. And when I hear things, that shouldn’t be said, well I cast judgement on them. My power extends throughout the entirety of this land. This land is reaching it’s swan song, a party on angels singing to the tune of my powers, Yaaa ha ha ha”
‘Why do I keep finding the crazies, he makes the crew look normal. I HAVE to get out of here soon’ Nami thinks in a panic, then realises Eneru was watching her and frowning “Is something wrong sir?”
Eneru turns his head, his frown deepening “No, it’s nothing” he answers, though his focus remained on something beyond his Ark. There was silence for a few minutes before he speaks again “No, they weren’t among the 5, so where were they?” he wonders aloud
“Eneru” Nami whispers before the man leaps to the edge of the ark, just as there was commotion below
“There is nothing I hate more than my predictions being wrong” he scowls, looking down his nose at Luffy as he enters the cave.
There was a moment of silence, and the audible intake of breath, followed by “HEY! ARE YOU THE GUY THEY CALL GOD? ENERU?” Luffy yells at full volume, making Nami face palm despite everything going on, before her brain catche up with itself and she throws herself at the edge of the ship to see her captain had arrived, she had a chance “You hurt some friends of mine, so I’m going to kick your ass!”
Eneru scoffs “Those weaklings were your friends? Pitiful”
“Don’t go anywhere I’ll be up to teach you a lesson shortly”
“Mind your tongue insect, you’re speaking to God afterall” he chuckles
“WHAT MAKES YOU GOD ANYWAY!” Luffy shouts as he runs and springs his way up the Ark, the title and current owner starting to piss him off
“Strange as you are, you’re just a paramecia, nothing compared to me. No living being can stand in my way, that is what makes me God” Eneru boasts, charging up his fist
Sango
The blinding flash of light seemed to annihilate the pirate, causing Nami, Aisa and Pierre’s hearts to drop, until their vision readjusted and they could see a hole in the wall, and a perfectly fine Luffy standing on the edge of the Maxim
“Hm, I’m surprised and a little impressed you were able to dodge that, but let’s see you pull that off a 2nd time” he smirks before slapping 2 drums, releasing an electrical attack in the shape of a dragon
60 million Volt Julungul
Luffy tanked the hit, and kept walking, annoying Eneru who zipped over and decided to use the direct approach instead if the other attacks failed
100 million Volt Bari
The acrobatic display seconds later was done partly out of fear, as Eneru realised something everyone who has fought him up to now have: that his attacks did nothing to this boy. This fact was enough to cause everyone elses brain to short for just a moment, as they realised Luffy was their only hope… on in Aisa’s case that someone could actually make God run scared.
‘Stay calm, the boy is immune to your lightning but he’s a brawler, and given you can’t be affected by physical attacks…’ that line of thought was interrupted by Luffy burying his foot in Eneru’s gut, throwing him across the deck of the Maxim
‘His electrical powers are completely useless. We wanted to find something to even the playing field, like with the other logias’ we’ve faced, by all we needed was Luffy’ Nami thinks, a small part of her amused that if they’d just let Luffy fight the biggest dumbass on the island, like he normally does, this would have been over a lot quicker.
TBC
LW: And that’s it for now, hope everyone’s enjoying everything so far as the arc is getting closer to the end.
Also in response to a guest reviewer who said this:
You should add (Note: Nami Bashing with OOC moments) in your summary. You clearly don't like her and so you just force everyone to act SO out of character around her. I'm glad I read this chapter first so I won't tire myself reading a f*cking bad-written story where canon characters get bashing for no reason.
Nami is kind of a bitch in my opinion, but the entire crew can be a bunch of assholes when they want to so that doesn’t really mean much, Nami is just more noticeable to this person because she canonically gets away with her bitchiness and her anger is usually directed towards Luffy who at least partly deserves her anger due to being a dumbass. The fact Kaos calls her out, and at times gives her a swift kick up the ass is probably the main reason for the perceived Nami bashing, or at least it being on the level of bashing as that wasn’t my intention. Plus I personally thought I made fun of Usopp as much as if not more than Nami, but oh well
Having more people interacting with each other and growing because of it, I wonder why some people are acting OOC compared to canon?
Also, what idiot starts anything at chapter 50 of a story, especially when it wasn’t even the most recent chapter written?
Chapter 56: D enemy of God
Chapter Text
LW: Let’s see if an asskicking will take a man with a God complex down a peg or two. I kind of doubt it but oh well ;)
Rubber King and Mirror Master – D enemy of God
Eneru pulls himself to his feet, then zips to the other side of the Maxim’s deck to Luffy “You’re no mere mortal, what are you demon?” he asks, a trace of fear audible in his voice
“I’m Luffy, a pirate, and a rubber man” Luffy answers, preparing for his next attack
‘Rubber, the f*ck is that?’ Eneru thinks
“That lightning of yours, won’t work on me” he shouts, almost like a battle cry before charging at him
“Mantra” Eneru hums, closing his eyes and the punch slips past him by inches, Luffy being pulled along with it
‘Crap, another one of these physic weirdoes’ Luffy mentally groans, before using his next attack to get back onto the Maxim, that was all it did as Eneru dissipated into his element to avoid the strike
Gum Gum Whip
Gum Gum Spear
Eneru uses the gold that lined the ship to blink his way out of harms way, causing the navigator to nearly get kicked in the face herself
“That’s incredible; he can predict Luffy’s moves”
“It’s that mantra stuff, like the balloon guy, and the other priests too. He knows what you plan to do, so can counter it” Luffy explains, just before getting clocked across the face with Eneru’s Bo staff, smacked a couple more times before being pinned against the wall on the control panel
“Don’t get co*cky boy, lightning can do much more to someone than simply electrical damage” Eneru smirks, pressing his gold staff against Luffy’s throat “But I don’t need to explain that to you do I boy, you’ve already experienced it, haven’t you?”
“You’ll have to do better than that” Luffy growls, grabbing the staff and trying to kick Eneru, only for him to zip away before contact could be made
“Lightning does nothing, beating him does practically nothing, what is this Rubber, and how do I break it?” Eneru thinks aloud before smirking “He’s a paramecia, they all have their weaknesses, and their limits” he mumbles, before sending lightning into his staff
Glome paddling
“I have things to do, so I don’t have time to play, therefore I’ll just have to end this quickly” he says, before revealing his lighting had reformed his staff into a trident, then leaping at Luffy who dodges “As I suspected, you shrug off blunt force, but sharp force damage is your weak point”
“Yep” Luffy admits, not seeing a point in denying what he saw as a basic fact, then leaping off the top of the Maxim
Gum Gum Gattling
Well he would have pummelled the false God into the ground, but his flickered into the gold once more, leaping out of it and stabbing his trident into the still in mid air Luffy, who just barely dodges, but still ends up with a just below molten gold staff in his hands
“You’re immune to direct lightning, but not the heat it generates” Eneru taunts, then looks confused for a moment when Luffy kicks up nowhere near him… until he realises, he can’t dodge from this position either
Gum Gum Battle Axe
Luffy’s kick hits it’s mark driving Eneru face first through the main deck of the Ark Maxim
“You blasphemous little brat” Eneru shouts as he pulls himself back to his feet, getting very annoyed with these Blue Sea humans and their defiance
Gum Gum Gattling
Eneru’s face looked disinterested as he grabs Luffy’s hands mid punch, then slam him into the ground “It’s not like you grew more arms idiot, even if you throw them fast enough to leave motion blur”
“Luffy!” Nami screams, panic setting in when the captain didn’t surface
“Sightseeing on a Sky Island, you blue sea pirates have strange tastes, and bad timing” Eneru muses “I’m God here, I can do anything my will desires. I have long dreamed of creating an ideal world, this dream will soon become a reality, and nobody will stand in my way, especially not when I’m so close to climax” he then makes his way back to his throne “Now where were we? Oh yes, we were about to watch Skypeia die, purging the sky of its unnaturalness” he laughs, setting his hands on the probes either side of his stand
Max: 200 million Bari
As energy pulses out of Eneru, the Maxim slowly began to power up and rise from the ground
“Witness the divine majesty of the Ark Maxim, the vessel with will bring me my desires the Fairy Verth of legends” Eneru proclaims “Rise Maxim, Rise!”
“Oh God, we have no good options, if we beat Eneru the Maxim drops and we die, if we don’t stop him Skypeia is destroyed, and if we do nothing we’ll be brought to this Fairy place and be stuck there with Eneru. Either way we lose!” Nami whimpers, her heart having palpitations “Luffy, do something, I’m scared”
Luffy does something, throwing his hat to the scared red head, who lets it settle on her head in confusion
“Calm down” he says oddly calmly himself
“Calm down? How can I do that?”
“You forget, you sail on the crew of the future Pirate King. A false God won’t stop us” he reminds her, a glimmer of hope starting to reawaken
“Pirate King” Eneru repeats, the title having peaked his interest “And what domain does he rule over?” he asks, just as the Maxim punches through, out of the cavern it had been built in
“He’s the king of the sea, the Greatest King of All” Luffy declares
Eneru smirks “So you claim, but let’s see if that’s true” he then turns to the main arc of the Maxim and the smile grows “The circuit of the Maxim’s ultimate is now running at full capacity”
“Ultimate function?” Nami repeats questioningly
“Yes, it’s called Deathpia, the despair that will destroy this island”
Deathpia: Activate
From a port in the roof of the Ark a thick black cloud was released, blotting out the sun for a good portion of Upper Yard
“Those are…”
“Thunder clouds yes” Eneru finishes “My powers enable me to create this wondrous billowing thunder cloud. Soon they will envelop all of Skypeia in darkness and despair, meanwhile the energy within will continue to built to maximum capacity, then, on my command it will release it’s payload, dropping thunderbolts so powerful not a fragment of this land will remain” Eneru explains, enjoying the red head’s scared frozen face “Allow me to give you a small demonstration” he shoots a small bolt into the cloud, the reflected bolt destroying a portion of Skypeia, increasing the frantic evacuation
“You just” Nami whimpers, unable to wrap her head around what she just saw
“I just teased the angels a little as is my right as God. Giving them a preview of what’s to come as they stay” Eneru states casually
“So being God, gives you the right to destroy everything?” Luffy asks, angrily
“But of course, everything here is mine for the taking, and as it’s mine I can destroy anything here if I chose to do so. Their land, their lives, and on that note… I’ll celebrate my ascension by taking yours” he says, lunging with his trident which Luffy dodges, then blocking the return kick, Luffy bouncing away as the hot metal burns his skin even if it didn’t manage to cut him “This spear is highly charged, I wouldn’t recommend getting hit if you want to live” he laughs, thrusting and being deflected several more times, one missing completely as Luffy ducks down to try cool his burning hands
“How do I beat a guy, who can predict my moves?” Luffy asks himself, then his brain locks onto Eneru’s one miss, Luffy didn’t think he reacted, ducking down and trying to cool his hands off by blowing on them ‘That’s it!’
Gum Gum…daze
“Luffy, what are you doing? Hey answer me you rubber brained idiot!” Nami shrieks, but all Luffy does is stand there with a dopey look on his face
Eneru frowns “Giving up are we” he muses, thrusting to impale only for Luffy to weave out of the way effortlessly, shocking him “How?” he asks the air after multiple failed attempts to even touch the drooling moron, who continues to step and bend his way out of the God’s strikes
‘He’s dodging Eneru’s strikes unconsciously, protected by his incredible reflexes. He’s moving through the air like a blade of grass in the wind and Eneru can’t predict his movements because he’s not thinking, so there’s nothing for him to detect’ Nami thinks, figuring out Luffy’s perfect defence for a man who relies so heavily on his mantra as Eneru.
Luffy then leaps away, closer to his navigator “But if I switch my brain off, I can’t attack him, it’s all defence and no offense” he admits to her “I’ve got to get my hands on him somehow, like the other guy if I can immobilise him somehow it won’t matter if he can see it coming if he can’t stop it. Wait, I got it” Luffy then blows his head up really big… but can’t hold his breath and it deflates quickly, his limbs now long and noodly
“No stupid tricks, this is life or death!” Nami yells, panicing again
“I see you’re not a big fan of my mantra, which makes sense when it’s what makes me the God I am today in combination with my Devil Fruit” Eneru gloats, spinning his spear in his right hand
“I’ve got it” Luffy says to himself, then turns around and aims for the ark itself
Gum Gum Octopus: Fireworks
“What’s he do…whoa” Nami yelps as she ducks to avoid a wayward punch, the plan dawning on her: Luffy’s using redirected attacks as a blind scatter shot, if Luffy has no set goal Eneru has no idea where the punches will land and can’t use his mantra to dodge them. This worked, especially as like Nami Eneru assumed Luffy had given up on him and decided to attack the Ark in frustration, and once he did figure it out it was too late, taking hit after hit of rebounded punches, getting the Gum Gum Gattling he’d stopped earlier, or it seemed just delayed.
When Eneru was sent flying, only then did Luffy stop punching the ship, turning around and running right at Eneru “I’m not letting you get away this time” he shouts
Gum Gum Bazooka
The beating he just took meant Eneru’s mantra was inactive, meaning Luffy was able to plant his usual finisher right in the man’s gut, bringing him to his knees, leaving him wide open to one more strike
Gum Gum Rifle
A direct hit, slamming Eneru right through the wall and knocking him down, to Nami and even Luffy’s surprise, also to both their relief, beating him didn’t immediately send the Maxim on a collision course for the Verth, meaning it was mostly just the jump start he was needed for and the Ark would be fine on it’s own for the moment.
“He’s down, you did it Luffy” Nami cheers, then freezes when Eneru began to stand once more ‘Damn it spoke too soon’ she thinks
“Is that the best you can do, humans?” he asks, on one knee but regaining his breath “Make no mistake, this world will be mine, once I’m done with you. And then, everyone will fear me, worship me, as it should be as I am the All powerful God Eneru!” he stands to his full height “Insects like you must learn, that for a being such as I, nothing is impossible”
Meanwhile
“A flying ship, just what we f*cking need right now” Vivi curses, about ready to keel over after helping Robin and Alvida haul Wiper, Ganfall, Zoro, Kaya, Chopper, Valantina and Victor to a safer area
“You’re really having a bad day princess” Robin purrs, trying to lighten the mood, catching Vivi’s slap with a bloom for her troubles “Never mind then” she sighs deeply
Back With ‘god’
“Look around you, rubber boy, at the despair of the doomed and the damned. Skypeia will be annihilated, the angel’s species extinguished1, and there isn’t any thing you can do to stop me” he smirks, charging his fist with electricity
Luffy growls “Wanna bet?” then runs at Eneru, who’s smirk gets wider, just as he places his hand on the golden wall behind him
Glome Paddling
He pulls out a ball of molten gold, placing it directly in the path between himself and Luffy, so the rubber boy’s hand is painfully trapped within, burning him as well as weighting him down significantly
Eneru laughs “What’s wrong little boy, don’t like how I’ve evened the odds, I’ve simply taken the fight out of you. You see, I’m not actually sure I can take another hit from you, and this way, I don’t need to find out. I believe we should part ways now, but as a symbol of my respect for you, take this gold bauble as a parting gift” Eneru kicks the golden ball off the side of the Maxim, it’s weight meaning Luffy didn’t stand a chance of pulling it back, his rubber body delaying what was inevitable “Once you are dealt with, there won’t be a soul alive who can stand against me”
“Not a soul?” Luffy repeats, actually smirking “You’re an idiot. Even if I can’t beat you, down in the Blue Sea there are hundreds of people who could put you in your place!”
( He has a point, the thing about Logia users is their arrogance that they’re unstoppable now they can’t be touched, but if Eneru went to the new world, he’d probably get his ass kicked by any of the Yonko or even a good number of their direct subordinates. Especially as they would probably have at least similar levels of observation haki to him and they would have armament haki to bypass his lightning powers and kick his ass from one end of the Red Line to the other. Also it would interesting to see how the self proclaimed God handles a Yonko’s Conqueror’s Haki)
“You talk to much boy” Eneru sneers, jabbing his staff into the side of the ship to weaken it enough to remove it’s ability to support Luffy “Now fall, fall like the Sky Islands will soon enough!”
“You won’t win” Luffy declares, just as the side panel gives way, sending him plummeting into the abyss below
“Luffy!” Nami screams, running to the side, her eyes widen when she sees there was another familiar face in the sky “Aisa?” she squeaks
“So that annoying little voice has a name” Eneru hums, jumping onto the side, frowning when he sees her flying on Pierre, trying to catch Luffy, or at least slow his descent “I grow tired of this defiance”
“Aisa, look out, he’s going to shoot you!” Nami shouts as loud as she could, hoping the shandorian could do something, anything to save herself
God’s Judgement: El Thor
As always with that attack, HUGE flash of light, big explosion and nothing left to be seen, which had Nami’s heart sink lower than Fishman Island
“For all my power, the rubber boy managed to hurt me” Eneru says in a moment of self reflection “He was a good challenge. However, as expected here I stand, the victor” he boasts, angering the currently emotionally distraught ginger
Meanwhile, on the Merry
“Oh good, you’re awake, I was worried I was going to have to spend the entire trip playing nursemaid” Kaos hums as Sanji runs out onto the deck yelling for Nami, allowing Hebi to reform into a Khopesh from the glaive it was a moment ago “I presume you think you’re fighting fit Eros?” he asks, just before the Ark Maxim flies over them, blocking out the sun “Well, sh*t”
“What is that?” Sanji asks
“It’s them city folk and their flying machines, no good will come from that” Artemis answers, trying to lighten the mood
“Nami! She’s in trouble” Sanji’s outburst catching their attention, causing them to look up, Kaos even pulling a telescope from his coat
“Well I’m damned anyway, so she is. Any idea how we get up there?” he asks, but doesn’t get a response as Sanji had run off to wake Ussop, rather violently to both their annoyance
“So, now that we’re all officially half co*cked, what is your 12% of a plan cook?”
2 minutes later
“I really hate this plan”
“Shut up and keep running, my love needs us and like it or not you’re the only one who didn’t get thunderstruck so you’re probably going to need to rescue her for me, but remember to tell her I sent you” Sanji swoons, getting kicked several feet forward by a rapidly losing patience Kaos
“Um, why am I coming?” Usopp asks from behind them both
“I need your grapple ropes to get onto the ship” answered Sanji
“If I’m going on this suicide mission so are you” replies Kaos, in a deadpan
“I really hate you both” Usopp weeps, but keeps running, knowing the others would drag him if necessary
Back on the Maxim
“Now the Ark is working at full capacity Skypeia’s time is measured in hours, it is destined to fall as I rise to the Fairy Verth, all is as it was meant to be” Enaru gloats from his throne, while the Maxim trundles through the air “Though I will admit there is still one thing I need to claim before I leave, that Golden Bell. None deserve it more than I, the man who rules the heavens themselves” he then notices Nami’s scowl “What’s wrong, you’re lucky a weakling such as yourself made it this far, mostly because the others were stupid and thought they could take me, but still, abandon those useless fools and accept the future given to you by my divine mercy”
“Yeah thanks, you’re such a merciful soul” Nami says, Eneru clearly unfamiliar with sarcasm “But one thing is more precious than gold, it’s a treasure called friendship. (Excuse me I appear to have Tea’s lines in Nami’s box… no this is right. Character development is cool, good on you Nami!) What good is owning it all, without any friends to share it with, to enjoy the rich bounty you possess? This island if FULL of riches I’d love to get my hands on, but sacrificing my friends and having to stand here and stand under the weight of your ego is too much to bare. So your treasure… is yours, I don’t want it!” she shouts the last part, her the anger and pain written all over her face
“Really, you don’t want anything?” Eneru asks, sounding almost amused, lighting crackling across his arms “Not even, your life?” (Well, sh*t) “Really, that was a foolish declaration; you’re chosen your ideals over self preservation, though I probably should have expected that, the other Blue sea weaklings did before I snuffed them out. If you don’t wish to remain on the ship, then there is only one thing that can be done about that… Death. So long Miss Navigator”
‘He’s playing with me, just like he’s done with everyone but Luffy, it’ll take all I have, but I will survive this, I WILL return to the ship and sail the Grand Line with my friends, I will draw my map of the world!’ Nami thinks, preparing herself for a fight for her life, her nerves acting up when she remembers even Luffy couldn’t beat this monster of a man ‘Luffy, I’m borrowing your courage, and possibly those rubber balls of steel, this isn’t going to be pleasant’
“I know what you’re thinking, and I’m sure you know by now that you won’t be leaving this Ark safely, well, unless you’re pinned your hopes on those rats trying to sneak into the ship” he muses, surprising Nami, someone managed to sneak onto the ship while in flight?
Meanwhile, lower down
“Sorry guys, I don’t know how many people are on the ship, even if there were other Devil Fruit users on board Eneru envelops the ship with his powers like a thick fog made of lightning” Kaos sighs deeply, annoyed by his failure
“Doesn’t matter how many of them there are, I’m kicking all their asses to get to Nami, plus they have that mantra crap, or at least they most likely do, so we might as well go in guns blazing so to speak” Sanji suggests, angrily chewing more than smoking his cigarette
“You guys clearly have this covered I’ll go back and look after Artemis” Usopp offers, only for Kaos to grab his shoulder
“You try retreat, I cut the line and let you drop down that way, understand?”
“Perfectly” the sniper swallows and nods, before the researcher helps him up, groaning when he see’s the love cook had already run off “Damn moron!” he shouts, before the 2 give chase
Back on deck
“It seems they’re quite serious about rescuing you, fools willing to die for an impossible cause” Eneru scoffs as he steps down from his throne
‘Who could it be? Kaos maybe, Artemis is out because there’s no way he’d send her up here, but other than them Luffy was the only person in a condition to move, never mind fight’ Nami wonders, then has to roll out of the way of a lightning bolt shot from Eneru’s body
“While help has arrived, you haven’t been saved yet, in fact I believe you’ll be dead long before they get a chance to attempt to strike me down, maybe they can cradle your charred corpse before joining you in the next life”
‘All I can do is jump and pray I don’t explode when I hit the ground’ Nami thinks, mentally grimacing at the idea ‘I’m up against lightning up here, there’s not really much else I can do’
Thinking fast with another bolt Nami swings with her climatact, managing to deflect it out into the sky
“It worked”
“My, my, what interesting toys you Blue sea folk come up with” Eneru almost purrs, grinning softly, then launches another bolt
Thunder Ball
Another strike, another deflection
“Creating a path for the lightning to follow, so it doesn’t go through you instead. Clever” Eneru compliments her “You’re obviously well versed in weather phenomenon. It’s cute, which is why it’s a shame all I need to do to stop it is to raise the voltage of my bolts. Now I’m a very busy man, islands to destroy, Godhood to solidify, so BE GONE!”
“Why don’t you be gone?”
Exploding Star
Kaboom
“Opps, I’m sorry” Usopp squeaks, seeing Eneru’s unamused expression at the failed attack/successful distraction
“Usopp!” Nami screams, shocked to see him moving around, especially after the damage Eneru had done to him already
“I know you, from the ship”
“Hey, wait a minute, where are Sanji, and Kaos?”
“That’s who it was, Usopp, Sanji and Kaos?” Nami asks/repeats, mostly to herself
“You mean they’re not up here yet?” Usopp asks, looking around for the other 2 “Later” he waves, before closing the door
“Coward!” Nami shouts angrily, there was a moment of silence before Usopp flings open the door once more
“Bring it on god!”
ZAP
“Ahh” Usopp screams as he dodges the bolt, rolling his way through the blasts until he made his way over to Nami “Hey Nami”
“Usopp, what do we need to do, tell me so I can help”
“Save me” Usopp suggests, getting punched for his troubles
“You’re supposed to be here to save me!”
“Yeah, but things have gotten messy and complicated, I have literally no idea what’s going on”
“Well man up and save my ass, and probably your own too while you’re at it”
Usopp nods “Um, how do I do that exactly, we are fighting God after all?”
“Oh yeah” Nami muses, then both leap away to avoid Eneru’s next attack
“Hey Nami, about the hat…” Usopp begins
“Yes it’s Luffy’s, he was here a little while ago, but Enaru threw him overboard. He’s not dead, I just know he isn’t”
“The ark keeps rising, there’s no way Luffy can get up here and save us”
“As much as it annoys me, that’s completely true” Nami sighs in annoyance
“We need to find a way out of this cause I’m not a big fan of dying”
“Same here” Nami agrees, both rolling in opposite directions to split Enaru’s focus and attacks “Usopp, look over there”
“A waver?” Usopp asks, looking confused
“Yeah, we need to get off the ship with it” Nami explains
“Are you insane? We’d never survive the fall from this height!”
“Not to the ground, look, there’s a patch of island cloud in the middle of the forest, we aim for that and should be fine” Nami explains to the sniper who still looks dubious
“Ok. I’ll create a diversion, you get the waver up and running” he orders, the red head nods and runs, while he turn to face God
“Prepare yourself, for…”
Usopp spell
(Ah the power of cringe, yeah I’m not writing that, good luck)
Unfortunately the mental images/phantom pains did nothing, as Eneru zipped up and clobbered Usopp across the face with his staff, then began to beat him savagely
“Usopp the waver’s ready let’s…”
ZAP!
Once more Nami watches helplessly as Usopp is struck by lightning courtesy of Eneru’s powers, the burned long nose drop to the ground like a sack of coal, smoking lightly and practically unresponsive
“Though you want so badly to run away, facing me it will not be that simple” Eneru states, smirking at Nami as he turns to face her once more “But please, do try it again, I love it when they run”
“You need to do this Usopp” Nami shouts as she revs the waver, driving straight for him “You need to grab my hand!”
Usopp tries, but his arm is pinned by Enaru’s staff just before Nami reaches him, causing her to zip past
“For you there is no hope for salvation” Eneru states, clearly abut to charge up another bolt, when Usopp is kicked onto the waver
“Gun it Nami”
“We got the little drummer boy”
“Guys” Nami whimpers
“Just do it Nami”! Usopp wheezes, his hand joining hers on the throttle
EL Thor
Zap, Crack, Smash
“Well, that’s unfortunate” Kaos winces, the bolt deflected, but his right arm was shattered at the elbow, silver shards the size of his thumbnail were the average size
“Oh God” Nami squeaks
“Papa’s not happy” came a voice, which nearly had her lose control of the waver
“Wha, Artemis?”
“Hi Nami” the artist greets with a blank expression
“How did you get here?”
“I travelled by coat” she replied as if it was a thing that happened, confusing Nami even more then Kaos wasn’t even wearing his usual coat/cloak, just the waistcoat he wore underneath as had been his attire since entering the White White Sea, he’d even forgone his hat, his purple hair currently silver tipped and spreading, unlike the rest of his body which appeared to already be fully covered
“Hey Sanji, are you lightning proof?”
“No, but clearly neither are you” the cook argues
“Go save your girlfriend, I think I have a plan” Sanji couldn’t tell given the armour diluted his features but he add a feeling that dam smirk of his was still there, so he clearly had some idea of what he was doing, even if it was stupid and possibly suicidal, like the bomb incident back in Alabasta
“Ok, also, holy crap Artemis is here!” Sanji shouts
“What? Damn it, get moving Eros, protect the girls, and Usopp”
“You got it crazy” Sanji nods, running over to the currently stalling waver
“We should probably start moving once Papa is done with earlobe guy” Artemis suggests, confusing Nami
“Why?”
“Because the ship is too complicated for a 10 year old girl to understand” she flashes a grin reminiscent of Luffy, sending a shiver down her spine
“You really think you can beat me, you don’t even have Mantra, or rubber” Eneru taunts
“Very true, but I have this, which will have to do” Kaos responds, waving his fist in Eneru’s direction, the so called god laughs, bobbing and weaving on both sides as he slid past punches and slashes, while Kaos hoped around bolts of lightning, all was going smoothly, until the purplette’s fist found Eneru’s gut, the punch throwing him against the outer machinery of the Maxim
“But, how? You’re not a logia, you’re a common paramecia like the boy from earlier”
“So you’ve already fought Luffy, explains the ‘got the crap kicked out of me’ look you’re sporting, and by the way, it’s not the common paramecia, it’s the ultra rare special paramecia, Suru Suru no mi. One of the benefits of my fruit, is I negate devil fruit defences, by reflecting them back onto themselves, to simplify it Thunderus, it’s like punching yourself when used offensively” Kaos grins widely, while Enaru scowls
“If that’s the case, I’ll just remove your only other weapon…” he zips to Kaos’ left side, placing his hand on his shoulder
100 million volt Bari
Shimmer
“Papa”
“Ok, now you’re just being an asshole” Kaos growls, his waistcoat flapping in the air with only one side supporting it, though her smirks as Eneru carelessly walks through the shards “Though I suppose I should thank you, without you I might not have gotten to try this, as trying to set it up would have been painful for me, or just uncomfortable for the others”
Eneru raises an eyebrow “What are you blathering on about?”
Sauzandmirāshādo [Thousand Mirror Shards]
With a raising of his arm the sky shimmers like snowflakes were falling through it, the mirror shards floating around in the air, glistening in the high altitude sun
“I don’t see what makes this so special, I suppose its defensive but what’s the point if I can just shatter them again or pierce right through them?” Eneru asks, just as Kaos smirks
Gokei
The shards move quickly encircling and encroaching on the God of the Sky, who scoffs and begins to use his mantra and logia abilities to dodge, though as he flickers within Kaos keeps his eyes trained on him, directing the shards with a glace when he escapes their cage. Eventually, as the technique was clearly unfinished he commanded
Scatter
Settle
The shards stopped their attack on Eneru, first by simply forming a wide ring around him, before drifting back to their owner
“That was pointless boy, you can’t kill a God” Eneru taunts, his silver rings flash in the light
Kaos looks amused, mostly because as the shards re-entered his body his stumps bubbled and began to reform, unfortunately for him the regeneration was rather slow “It wasn’t meant to kill you, not really, it was merely a test, as well as an attempt to strike you. I didn’t know Luffy already had, but was stubbornly determined to prove my point. Nami dear, can you imitate Bentham reverting his face for the nice dumbass, I can’t right now”
Nami looks confused “Um, ok” she touches her cheek, just as a palm sized collection of shards joined and hovered in front of Kaos’ face, red with blood
‘What is she…’ Eneru thinks as he replicates, then winces and his eyes widen, pulling his hand back he sees blood, his own blood on his fingers
“If you can make God bleed, then you know he can die” Kaos smiles as a shard cuts his belt loop, releasing Hebi which he kicks so he can grab it in his mouth, a hiss like acid sounds as it forms into a dark grey katana, he then speeds at Eneru, using the distraction as a gap in his mantra, cutting him deeply across the side, but not gutting him as intended as his own reflexes still enabled him to dodge the attack
“How, that’s impossible?” Eneru shouts, the straw hats thinking the same thing
“Sea stone blade” Kaos coughs after spitting out the hilt, the burns on his face extending his mouth enough his back teeth were visible in his smile “Doesn’t matter what you are, it’s gonna cut you, and for a Devil Fruit user, it’s going to hurt like a hot wire in the wound” He turns, his smile reaching close to Joker levels at the moment “I was hoping to disembowel you, but this…”
Shing thunk
“Papa!”
“Kaos!”
The researcher stumbles, sways and with a wet cough spits out some blood, but the biggest problem was the hole through his head where his right eye had been, courtesy of an angry Eneru launching his spear through it “Just die already heathen, you think you’re tough cutting me, when I’ve already shown your armour’s just not hard enough to defend you from God’s Wrath”
NIGHTMARE BLACK
The attack name was screamed at full volume, Eneru barely dodged it, and was glad to when he saw the paint/technique burn it’s sygil into the wall of the Maxim
“You missed, God” was quietly murmured, though given the rumble of the maxim had dimmed everyone heard it. Kaos smiled as he lowered his arm, then fell back, Nami and Sanji managing to just barely catch him, the smile on his face not wavering even when he appeared to have passed out, the only aberrations being his body twitching
Kitta
Eneru yells as several digits were severed from his hands and feet, the snowflake looking shards joining the others in their now accelerated return to their fruit user.
“Bastard! Heathen!” Eneru shouts, just as the ship lurches, then the smoke stack producing the thunder clouds sputters to a stop “What? How?”
“You don’t mess with a D” Artemis whispered, her eyes practically crimson with anger
TBC
LW: Well, that was fun, hope everyone enjoyed that and for the record, the title is a reference to 2 things: That Rosinante says, later in the series that the D clan are the ‘sworn enemy of the gods’, and that the people to harm or had any chance at harming him are all D’s: Monkey D. Luffy, Serpens D Kaos and (Still not 100% but trying it out) Nico D. Artemis.
Also on more wide reaching news, we got bounties for the big names of the One Piece world, the relevant ones I’m going to put here. Also for the record, pretty sure these are some of the crew’s targets, to reach or exceed these bounties
Shanks: 4,048,900,000 beri
Whitebeard: 5,046,000,000 beri
And last but not least…
Gol D. Roger: 5,564,800,000 beri
Jesus, that’s a lot of money. Nice work lads
Chapter 57: God slaying king
Chapter Text
LW: Ok, I believe this is the chapter that ends Skypeia, hope everyone has been enjoying this as much as I have (6 episodes of content converted into a chapter, tada)
Rubber King and Mirror Master – God slaying king
“What have you done to my ark, my masterpiece you brat?” Eneru growls, before disappearing in a flash of lightning, muttering about ‘fixing their mistakes’
Nami sighs deeply, while Artemis crawls onto Kaos’ prone form, removing her hat and placing it over his head wound, the shards brushing against her but floating past harmlessly “Well, we’re not going to get a better opening than this, everyone hold on!” she shouts, gunning the ignition and shooting them off the side of the Maxim, luckily clouds negate fall damage and everyone was fine, thought still scared witless
“Um, question now we’re not about to be chargrilled… How the Hell is he still alive?” Usopp asks, pointing to Kaos who had 4 limbs again, even if the upper ones were rudimentary at best
“Devil fruit” Nami and Sanji both guess, before the red head elaborates “He turned his entire body into whatever substance his armour is made from, and I get the feeling this is why it was probably not a good idea. Plus it could explain the spazzing out he’s currently doing, his mind is trying to process the nonfatal loss of 30-40% of his brain, especially when there’s now way to do that to a normal person without killing them instantly”
“Is papa going to be ok?” Artemis asks quietly, resting her head on his once more milk white chest
“If his mind can hold itself together until after his parts put themselves back together than yes, he should be fine, eventually” the navigator guesses, rubbing her head like she’d seen Robin and Kaos do to sooth the young girl, hoping the purplette would make a full recovery, she’d seen her mother die in front of her, she didn’t want the artist to go through the same pain any time soon “But enough of this, we need to find the others and try get back to the Merry, otherwise we’re going down with the island if Enaru has his way” she states, trying to push the 3 into action, and it worked, their focus solely on the crew that were out there, rather than the one down with them. Activating the waver Nami sped them onward, toward Giant Jack.
Meanwhile
“Hey girls, catch!” Luffy yells, throwing Aisa and Pierre off his back and towards Vivi, Alvida, Robin and the others, his wives trying to catch the screaming shandorian girl, while the archaeologist smiles weakly and steps back, knowing the clouds will break their fall, which they do
“What happened to you Luffy, what’s that on your arm?” Vivi asks, worried for her captain’s safety
“A gift from Enaru before he kicked me off his ship, as for what’s going on, the bastard has hurt too many of my family, my friends, my crew, I need to stop him”
“All things you knew when you ran off towards the Maxim, what’s changed?” Alvida repeats “Something must have happened since then as you’re angrier than even then”
“That might be my fault” Asia squeaks
“Why?” Robin asks curiously
“I, I told him the tall one’s voice was fading, that it must have been Enaru as it was loud and maddening, but oddly pleasant on the Ark, then it was a scream, followed by whimpers” she explains, causing the still conscious straw hats to turn as sickly grey.
“Oh Kaos” Robin mutters, fists clenching tight enough her knuckles turned white
“I almost feel sorry for Enaru” Alvida tries to joke “We’ve seen how far Luffy will go to help people he barely knew, this is his brother the bastard has nearly killed. The captain will not be holding back on this one”
“Robin, the Golden Bell, it’s at the top of this plant isn’t it? And it’s the reason Eneru hasn’t blown this place up right?” Luffy asks, seemingly out of the blue
“Correct, if the Bellfry exists, then it’s at the summit of… I believe the locals call it Giant Jack?” she turns to Aisa who had calmed down enough to nod to Robin that she was right, then sees Wiper and runs over to check on him
“Good, I’ll be back down when he’s dead” Luffy shouts before once more hauling himself up the stalk
“Luffy… oh dear Rao this guy has made Luffy very mad” Vivi bites her lip, wishing she was able to be some help in this fight, but what good was she against something like Enaru, when even Luffy, Kaos and Zoro couldn’t beat him
“So Aisa” Robin looks down, hoping to change the subject “have you seen our navigator?”
“She was on the ship, same as the tall one and that painter girl, but I don’t know where she is now” she then whimpers “I only sense one voice up there now” she says quietly, before chocking as Robin’s bloomed hands wrap around her throat
“My daughter was on that ship!?” Robin growls, scaring Vivi and Alvida as they’d never seen the woman as anything but bored, curious and amused for longer than a moment
“I. Don’t. Know.” Aisa gasps out, nearly passing out when the sound of a waver could be heard, followed by yelling from their crewmates currently manning it
“Nami, Ussop, Sanji” Vivi cheers, grinning widely as she thought that meant everyone would soon be accounted for
“Hi Aunt Vivi” Artemis chirps, unseen but still loud enough to snap Robin out of her red haze
“Are you ok? Enaru didn’t hurt you?” she asks as the waver comes to a stop in front of them
“I’m fine, little stuck but good” the artist assures her, Robin smiling slightly as she see’s the redhead in Kaos’ arms, the problem being that half formed arms, plus intense pain, means him gripping them the way they were equated to his fingers practically fusing to the opposite bicep “I think I can wriggle out… Don’t touch that!” she shouts as Alvida picks up her hat, only to nearly slam it back down
“Jeez, what happened?” she asks, meanwhile Robin turned her attention to Kaos and chuckles, before sighing deeply
“You’re a true f*cking D, aren’t you?” she mutters, then notices the confused look on everyone’s face “Nobody see’s the burns on his face?”
“Was a little preoccupied by the hole really” Sanji retorts
“His lips, they’re burned, practically splits his face ear to ear. Giving him a, hopefully semi permanent at worst, grin” Robin explains
“Papa’s smiling, that’s good for us and bad for Enaru” Artemis grins, wriggling out of his arms and getting off the waver “Now what?”
“Holy sh*t what happened to everyone he…Kaya!” Usopp yells, running over to the blond but stopping short
“Enaru happened, he took us all down like we were nothing” Robin answers, her fists clenched “When Luffy and his Queens escaped the snake, he took off in Nami’s direction, while they helped me move everyone up here where it’s at least a little safer
“Enaru took out all of them?” Sanji repeats in disbelief
“Most of them, I don’t know what took out Chopper, or the V’s as they all came down to the lower level with Kaya and Zoro already unconscious and injured”
“Ok, the whole gangs together… but where’s Luffy?” Nami asks
“He just left to go fight Enaru, but with everyone here so badly injured and him going at full speed, he left to fight him alone” Aisa answered
“We missed him didn’t we, by how much?”
“A couple minutes at best, but given he was scaling that beanstalk faster than most of us it might as well have been an hour ago” Alvida answers, wishing she had been able to follow him, show that jumped up electric eel not to mess with her cre…her family, Luffy was right there, this was nakama, your crew are your family
“sh*t, we don’t have much time, I’ll take the waver you all try get back to the Merry as quick as you can” Nami orders, grimacing at the thought of running towards this so called God after only just escaping, but she couldn’t let Luffy go it alone, not again
“You heard the navigator; we’re moving out, head for the ship”
Zap Boom
“It’s starting” they turn to Nami “Enaru’s Deathpeia, it’s beginning to be unleashed. We need to go now, full speed, don’t stop till you reach the Merry’s deck!” She yells, just as pillars of lightning formed all throughout Skypeia before detonating in larger and larger explosions
‘Well, sh*t’
The only thing the strengthening tremors did, seemed to be rouse Enaru’s most recent victims, as Wiper, Zoro, Kaya and even Ganfall slowly sat and then stood up
“Seems the only ones left are Chopper, Victor and Valentina, shouldn’t be too hard” Sanji says, trying to keep everyone calm and focused, helping Zoro to stand while Usopp did the same with Kaya, meanwhile Artemis was passed Chopper and Robin picked up Valentina, leaving Vivi and Alvida with Victor.
“Wiper, please snap out of it” Aisa pleads, but the man stands still as stone
Robin hums as she looks up “He’s almost directly above us, he’ll be at the peak soon enough”
“What does he even want up there?” Ganfall asks, Eneru’s actions confusing him, even more than it angered him
“He’s looking for the Bell” she answers
“A Bell?”
Wiper turns his head, then mutters “The Fire of Shandora” he then turns to face Robin “You said Eneru is looking for a golden bell correct?”
“Yes”
“Um, anyone else really confused?” Usopp asks, getting several nods
“You were talking about a bell before Enaru struck you down, you both seemed rather interested now I think about it. Now that we know what Enaru’s looking for, you need to tell me where it is” the shandorian demands
“It’s up the beanstalk, most likely at the very top” Robin theorises, ignoring Usopp’s flailing which would usually amuse her
“Are you sure? How can you know it’s there”
“It’s not down here and it is part of Shandora, so it must be on the tip of the stalk. While I was exploring the ruins I found a map which seemed to indicate the Bell was located in the heart of the city, which just so happens…”
“To be where Giant Jack pierces the island” Wiper finishes, understanding where she was going, then grunts as he falls to his knee
“Wiper are you okay?” Aisa squeaks rushing over, shortly followed by Kaya “Please tell me you’re not thinking of climbing the beanstalk”
“He won’t have to” Usopp shouts, drawing their attention “Everybody run, the beanstalk is falling!”
‘Oh sh*t’
Luckily the entire beanstalk wasn’t collapsing, just the top, but it was still a large enough chunk they needed to move it
“The top, it’s fallen, what’s going on up there?”
“Please tell me Nami isn’t hurt”
“Wiper” Aisa shrieks watching the man try stand again “Don’t do it, you can’t fight Enaru in this condition, never mind the fact nobody can reach him which he’s on the ship
“It doesn’t matter, the Bell is within our grasp. We need to ring it, light the fire of Shandora just as Calgara wished” Wiper pants, his eyes hardened with determination
“Great Warrior Calgara”
“This is our true goal, to set the bell ringing again, as it was meant to be”
Meanwhile/ earlier – A little higher
Mamaragan
Enaru laughs manically as he wipes the Shandorian village off the face of the map, finding the destruction he was causing, magnificent “This is the Sky, it is God’s domain. Everything here is unnatural, the people, the trees, the land, fall and return to the Blue where you belong, let this island crumble and rain upon the Blue Sea!”
As the Maxim rose Enaru also decided to destroy God’s Shrine as well as Sharoda’s ruins, as neither were of any use to him any more, when he was so close to his end goal. He then pauses and frowns “Hm, suddenly I sense 2 voices, they’re not running away, they’re getting closer” though he mostly ignores it until he reaches his final destination “I’m fnally above Giant Jack, never needed to be this high before, nor do I believe anyone else has, which was their own mistake as it means the Bell will be mine” he laughs, then stops as he senses Luffy push through the cloud layer of God’s shrine “Persistent little maggot isn’t he”
“ENARU! Stay right there!” Luffy yells, charging straight up the remainder of the beanstalk towards the Maxim, dodging a lightning bolt, but unfortunately the strike was powerful enough to damage the stalk, causing it to tilt and break, sending Luffy (and the Bell) tumbling down, luckily the straw hat was able to grab a growth from the main stalk, hanging on for dear life, the ball stretching his arms to an uncomfortable level
“This little mishap will make getting up here very difficult now won’t it?” Enaru taunts from the Maxim
“Keep talking, you’re not the 1st logia I’ve smacked the smug grin off when I beat the sh*t out of them” Luffy growls defiantly
“Hang around rubber boy, you’ll get to see something miraculous” Enaru boasts before zipping away to cause more destruction.
“Hm, I guess I should try get out of this while he isn’t here” Luffy thinks aloud, then starts trying to bounce and spring himself using the ball to increase his momentum, finally just before the growth snaps…
Gum Gum Yoyo
..he rockets up the stalk, landing back on God’s Shrine, through the ball landed on him when it finally stopped “My plan worked… somehow” he laughs, then stands up and gets serious again, just as Nami arrives with the Waver, by stopping on him “Oh hey Nami. Wait, what are you doing here I haven’t rescued you yet?” he asks in confusion
“You idiot. Sanji, Usopp and Kaos rescued me, I was fine on the ground until I decided to rescue you”
“Oh. Hey Nami is Kaos…”
Nami chuckles “Like I said to Artemis he’s about as stubborn as you, so I’m sure he’ll be fine eventually” Luffy smiles with her, but then she tenses
“Nami?”
“Something’s wrong” she mumbles, then turns “The clouds, they’re changing shape” and she was right, a ball of pitch black cloud was separating from the rest of the mass, hovering directly over Angel Island “I have a very bad feeling we’re not going to like whatever Enaru is about to do with that cloud ball” she says, to which Luffy nods “That Thunderhead is bursting at the seams with Hurricane winds and Lightning bolts, it’s not going to be a pleasant sight when that drops it’s payload”
Raigo
The thundercloud sinks into the clouds of Angel island… before detonating, practically annihilating the Skypeian homeland as well as anyone who hadn’t evacuated by then, all in plain view of the Straw Hats, Shandorians, Skypeians, everyone! Enaru had just wiped a region off the map in one attack
At the base of Giant Jack
“What was that? How did he do something like that?” Usopp panics and rambles
“Angel island, gone. Enaru how could you?” Ganfall gasps, falling to his knees and crying “What kind of monster are you?” he weeps, the others unable to fully process what they just witnessed
Back at God’s Shrine
“Come on Luffy, get on the waver we need to meet back up with the others and get back to the Merry” Nami orders, gunning the throttle to make her point
“I can’t. I may not need to save you anymore, but I still have unfinished business with Enaru”
“Are you kidding me Luffy, this isn’t worth it”
“I need to find the golden Bell”
Nami blinks “What? Listen Luffy you may never hear this from me again, but forget about the gold it’s not worth your life! Enaru may not be able to hurt you with his ligntning directly, but as we just saw there are a million different ways from someone like him to kill a man, so give up. If it’s gold you’re after there’s a giant ball stuck to your arm!” she screams
“I won’t die”
“Luffy this stuburness isn’t going to help”
“You saw it right?” he asks, confusing his navigator
“Saw it?”
“City of gold, you’ve seen it, and know it’s real? Then it wasn’t a lie. The old man down in Jaya, his ancestor wasn’t the liar everyone says he was, I need to ring the bell, and show everyone Shandora was real, and it’s in the sky, that sky islands are real! I need to do this, show them it’s up here, so they can finally stop looking hopelessly in the sea until Cricket and the monkeys kill themselves doing it”
Nami didn’t know what to say, his actions looked selfish, a giant gold bell, and kicking some deushbag in the face, but his reasons, he wanted to help, he wanted to make things right “Luffy…” she begins
“Enaru won’t take the golden bell, I won’t let him. The ringing of that bell, if it’s a large as the legend says, will be heard farther than the eye can see, it’ll reach the Blue Sea. I’m not stopping, until I hear that bell ringing once again!” Luffy declares, then begins running back up the remains of Giant Jack
Back down below
“Please tell me you’re joking” Usopp pleads, looking worried when Vivi shakes her head
“No, that’s what he said, he was going to hit that bell as hard as he could so Cricket and the monkeys could hear it, maybe those asshats in Mock Town as well” Alvida confirms
A low chuckle causes heads to turn “A Blue Sea Dweller lighting the Fire or Shandora, seems oddly fitting given it’s where we came from, where both Calgara and Noland were born” Wiper says, a ghost of a smile breaking through his pained expression
And back up we go
Using his arm like a grappling hook, Luffy catches the side of the Maxim, and begins to pull himself up, only for Enaru to blink to where he was holding
“As Captain of this ship, I don’t give you permission to board” he states arrogantly
“I’m a pirate, do you really think I give a sh*t about permission?” Luffy retorts, unfortunately not in any position to stop Enaru kicking his hand and making him lose his grip, landing back where he started, almost directly on top of Nami in fact
“I told you that wasn’t going to work”
“Not now, save the I told you so’s for when we’re done”
“Haha, did you both enjoy my destruction of that pathetic angel island as much as I did?” Enaru asks, ignoring their growled retorts “I’m sure you both know how forgiving I am, so girl, would you still like a ride to the Fairy Verth?” he offers, expecting the coward to agree
“Not on your life” Nami shouts
“Once I find the bell, I’ll use another Raigo to remove this abomination from the sky, you will regret not taking this out when I graciously offered it to you my dear. All the voices will perish, including those directly beneath you” he gloats, the 2 straw hats tensing and getting angrier, nobody gets away with threatening their nakama
“I’m not going to let that happen. You’re not going to get away with this!” Luffy shouts as he once more charges up the beanstalk, to which Enaru is actually intrigued, striking him with lightning and sending him falling back to the remains of the shrine
“You’re life ends now rubber brat, try to die with dignity” Enaru chuckles stopping Luffy advances a couple more times before growing bored “Accept it, there’s nothing in this world that can stop me now”
“Enaru” Luffy growls, his blood boiling in his veins “I’m going to take you down, and RING. THAT. BELL!” he declares, before continuing to try make his way up the beanstalk, though this time his failures seemed to be more due to blind rage than God f*cking with him, not helped by the Maxim stopping by a cloud and hovering, while no increase to the lightning fall meant Enaru wasn’t messing with the angels again
“Luffy, this isn’t working, The signs all point to the fact Enaru has the Bell, you need to stop before you kill yourself, no matter how much you stretch yourself you can’t get up to that ship” Nami pleads with her idiot captain, his actions making her feel his pain even just sympathetically
“No! If he’s taken it I’ll just have to take it back” Luffy shouts, grabbing the waver from under Nami and trying to use it to give him even the slight boost he might need to accomplish his goal
‘This isn’t working, how can we possibly get to that ship from here?’ Nami thinks, trying to come up with something to help Luffy even if just to make him stop running up a wall pointlessly ‘Wait a minute, the others!’ Nami turns just as Luffy faceplants once again “Hey Luffy, I have an idea”
Down below
“More debris, take cover!” Usopp shouts, diving… just as a giant leap floats down, not even disturbing Artemis as it lands on her, other than ruining her light
“It’s a leaf, with writing on it” Aisa shouts, causing the others to come look
“Chop down this beanstalk, and make sure it falls to the West” Robin reads “Well, this is interesting, wonder what our navigator has planned fu fu fu”
“No time like the present to find out, hey old guy, which way is West?” Zoro asks, getting out his swords
“If I’m not mistaken, that way, in line with where Enaru’s ark is currently stationed”
“Wait, we’re going to do it just like that?”
“This clearly has something to do with Luffy and Nami’s confrontation with Enaru” Vivi guesses “Anything that can help end this madness gets a yes in my book”
“Nami-Swan is never wrong, so let’s chop down this overgrown Beanstalk” Sanji swoons, and is promptly ignored
Arguments ended when light reached them, what should be a good thing, meant things were just getting worse as it meant clouds were being diverted away from their current location, in this case condensing into another ball, which hovered menacingly over the entire island
“Another cloud”
“And this one’s even bigger”
“It hits the clouds…” Asia begins
“And goodbye existence” Robin finishes bluntly
“Well what are you doing staring at the sky, let’s cut down this stalk and stop this lunatic!” Alvida shouts, snapping most of them out of their mental loop
“Wait, you actually think this will work?” Usopp asks sceptically
“Do you have any better ideas, because we’re open for suggestions” Zoro counters, the sniper sighing as he had nothing, but was mostly just venting about how insane and impossible this plan sounded… also because timing sucks in this universe, the lightning remembered they were there, and began raining down on them “Everyone run, grab someone and get out of here, I’ll deal with this overgrown vine and be right behind you”
The others looked reluctant to leave him, especially their medic, but Zoro was right, they needed to get the others to safety, and chopping down a beanstalk should be trivial for their swordsman. Nodding Zoro runs towards the stalk, dodging bolts as he does, the others running the other direction as fast as possible, Chopper, Pierre, Victor, Valentina and Kaos as secure as they could make them, which apparently means an oakleaf mochi cake
“I have had it with you Enaru, taste this you long eared freak!” Zoro shouts as he slices through the plant, a moment of triumph fills him, before electricity fills him from a direct hit
“He did it, he got zapped like a bug but he did it” Alvida cheers, then frowns when nothing happens
“What’s that thing made of?” Sanji grumbles “Looks like a plant but it might as well be sea stone”
“Don’t worry. I’ll save us” Usopp declares, puffing out his chest, before digging into his bag “Zoro’s done the hard work, I just have to finish the job” he then sprints and rolls his way over to Giant Jack, peppering it with Exploding Stars, all the while on the lookout for lightning bolts
“This crew is insane, but I get the feeling it’s the only thing that’s kept us alive this long” Vivi sighs, but her smile still refused to leave her face
Bwaaaa
“The big snake wants to help” Artemis says, watching it barrel towards the stalk “Should we tell it which way to shove the thing?”
“How about right up Enaru’s a….” The smooth woman’s mouth is covered by a bloom, as Robin gives her a clear ‘shut the f*ck up’ stare
“No sweetie, I think it can figure it out for itself”
Slam Creeeeeeek
“It certainly looks like it” Wiper notes, seeing the snake topple the stalk after throwing it’s full weight behind a tackle “That wasn’t the plan, but it worked”
“That’s this crew in a nutshell” Artemis grins “They try to plan, but in the end hitting things is the most effective method of dealing with problems we come across”
With Nami and Luffy
“I think they got the message” Luffy says as he gets behind Nami on the Waver
“Looks like, now hold on, we have one shot at this so we can’t waste it” she reminds him, gunning the throttle “oh and one thing… I haven’t actually tried out this waver’s Jet Dial at max strength, I was a little worried about how strong it would be, and how fast I would end up going” Nami admits a little sheepishly
“Well, there’s no better time to try it out when we have literally nothing else to lose” Luffy replies, which was basically a ‘Gun it Nami’ to the navigator’s ears, releasing the breaks and shooting forward at speeds she didn’t think possible, but still she held it straight, driving up the collapsing beanstalk with Luffy’s golden dead weight bouncing happily behind them, the lightning being hurled at them was barely worth a mention, speeding too quick for even Enaru to aim accurately, though under better circ*mstances nami would probably be punching Luffy for antagonising the bastard attacking them, especially once he started blasting at the beanstalk to try speed up it’s fall and prevent them from reaching him at all
Meanwhile with Enaru
The man who would be God grins as he zips off the Maxim, his final treasure now within his grasp “At last, the legendary Bellfry of Shadora, it’s just as majestic as the stories fortold” he says gleefully “and now it’s mine, a prize worthy of a deity such as myself”
After basking in the glory, and stroking his ego a little (read a LOT) he decides to end things with a bang, pulling much larger amount of his thunder clouds into a Raigo ball he hovers in the air, like the God he was and looks down on his subjects
“I have accomplished my goal, the golden bell is mine. It’s time to finally destroy this island and the Cumulo Regalus clouds they sit within, then finally set off for the Fairy Verth” he laughs as he senses all the panicked skypeian and shandorians “I think I might actually miss playing with this insects… oh well, it’s a small price to pay for my ascension” he then senses an aberration from the Blue sea dwellers at the base “Really now, that’s a very dim move boy. You think you can win, the moment you entered the game your fate was sealed” he rains down bolt upon bolt, fnally striking the swordsman before he could finish his job. “Now maybe they’ll…. Wait that thing’s not dead, I must be losing my touch” he frowns as Nola awakens and starts Jack’s descent, immediately followed by the approaching voices of Luffy and Nami “Cute, but also dim, even thinking about trying to reach me at this point is a level of insolence beyond simple stupidity, but if you’re that impatient you can’t wait to die with the rest of Skypeia I’ll help with that”
Mamaragan
He begins volleying lighting, but he soon learnt even with his mantra, striking a fast moving waver, on a falling beanstalk was difficult, with the closest to a good hit being deflected by Luffy’s rubber arm batting it aside, so he switched to plan B: accelerate Giant Jack’s fall, so they don’t even have a chance to reach him, never mind fail to stop him. That as a much easier thing to do as besides falling the beanstalk wasn’t exactly going anywhere and was literally just a target for the Mad God.
“I can still hear the fools scuttling around below, let’s change that” he muses, charing up an extra large bolt, which tore through a good portion of the cloud cover around the ruins, but somehow they still stood, unlike the beanstalk which fell at it’s current pace.
“Enaru, I’m going to kick your ass”
“That boy has a rock for a brain, how many times to I need to smack him down before he gives up?” Enaru grunts, no longer amused by the straw hats’ antics
“Give back the Golden Bell, Right Now!”
“That is enough, your foolishness has reached the end. My decimator is finally complete” Enaru announces “Now disappear along with this eyesore” he orders, giving the finishing jolt to his thunder cloud
‘Luffy, you better have a plan’ Nami thinks in panic
Raigo
As the waver flies off Giant Jack the dial finally putters out, though Luffy isn’t worried, he smiles slightly, and jumps as hard as he could, Nami watches in fear and horror as she realises his target was the Raigo cloud
“You idiot, that thing will kill even you”
“What can some ant do against me, rubber boy?” Enaru asks in a dismissive manner, just as Luffy enters the cloud “Hahaha, a quick death for the stubborn fool”
Gum Gum FIREWORKS: Golden Peony
Lightning cracks and sparks across the surface of the thunderball, before completely gong haywire, confusing even Enaru, while Nami shields her eyes, knowing somehow this was all Luffy’s doing even if she didn’t know how or if he even knew it was going to do that (scratch that she knew Luffy had no idea what he was doing, it just worked)
“That golden ball on his arm, it’s a natural conductor” Enaru realises belatedly “Well I’ll just have to use it before you can discharge the payload up here. Fall and end this place”
CLEAR THE SKY!!!!!!!
No words were uttered for a few minutes as the thunderball shattered, not Enaru, not Nami, not any of the Shandorian, Skypeian or remaining straw hats, the moment too much for their brains to handle, the blinding flash not helping matters as entering the light was usually a sign you’d died, so maybe Enaru’s plan did work.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“Luffy did it” Ussop cheers, himself and Kaya bouncing around together with matching grins
“The captain saved our collective asses, again” Robin chuckles, turning to Artemis and Kaos, the girls’s eyes sparkling like diamonds “This is one hell of a crazy family you’ve brought me to” she whispers, taking his hand in hers and smiling when Artemis notices her staring
“Ring the Bell Straw Hat” Ganfall shouts
“Light the Fire of Shandora!!” Wiper and Aisa scream
“You destroyed my Raigo, blasphemous worm!” Enaru shouts with pure rage
“Yeah, and now I’m gonna ring you along with that bell” Luffy declares, arm already coiled in it’s ready position ‘Oh crap what’s he doing now?’
200 million volt, Mamaroo
Enaru… got fat. Well sort of. He charged up to his full capacity and used it to agment his current form, getting larger, becoming entirely electric blue, and his hair, including his eyebrows gaining a wavy, jagged lightning bolt style to it “Ring the Bell you say?” he repeats, the arrogance back once more “You must be one of those fools who believes the war will end when the Bell rings once more. I am God” No words proceeded his attack, just a stream of lightning that streaked across the sky, straight through where Luffy had been a moment ago “I don’t care how strong you think you are, you’re still just a paramecia, you can’t even try to match the strength of a logia like myself, even if there were a hundred of you!”
“That won’t work on me” Luffy repeats, passing through the lightning arm of Enaru’s elemental form, then running across it “And stop calling yourself God, no God would simply destroy everything, and save nothing. Faker!” He shouts, kicking Enaru right in the jaw, then gritting his teeth to avoid screaming in pain as he just barely stops Enaru’s (now pitifully small) trident impaling his side
“Quick reflexes rubber boy, you stopped it from impaling you, but it still burns doesn’t it? Now what, you have nowhere to run, and the dead weight on your arm will ensure you end up skewered on the blades of my trident. And if you let go, not only will you fall to your death, but everyone still on Skypeia will join you in a matter of moments” Enaru taunts, seeing no way for his opponent to counter “You lose Rubber Boy, I can and will create another Raigo easily, and then there will be nothing left of this land but a memory”
Luffy pulls himself off the edge of the speartip, and leaps over it, falling a good few feet before catching Nami’s cloud “Get out of the way” he says flatly, the navigator knowing that look, as well as being able to see his fully extended arms, this was going to be painful, most likely for both of the guys involved “You shouldn’t have messed with this pirate, Earlobes”
Gum Gum Rocket
Gum Gum Jet Golden Rifle
The punch hit at a speed that even if Enaru could sense, he couldn’t avoid, and the power behind, it cracked the ball, it also didn’t stop when it broke the Ball, when it hit Enaru’s body after dispersing his Mamaroo form as well as caving in his chest cavity, the fist continued going until it hit the Bell, ringing it and leaving a small, fist shaped indent in it.
“Let it Ring! Hey Pops, the City of Gold, is up HERE!” Luffy shouts as he falls, luckily landing back on Nami’s cloud, the navigator happy he was okay
Bong! Bong!
On Jaya
Bong! Bong!
“Hey boss, can you hear the ringing?” Mashira shouts, him and his brother running around the island looking for Cricket, finding him looking up into the sky, more specifically the distinctly Luffy shaped shadow in the clouds
“Boss?” he turns and they were shocked to see him crying
“The kid did it, he proved the legend true. I’m sorry they said you were a liar, and I’m sorry I cursed your name from the day I learnt it. You did find the City, and you were a true adventurer Noland” he says quietly ‘Thank you Luffy’
Back in the sky
“Holy sh*t, he actually did it”
“Try not sound so surprised Sanji, have you seen Luffy fail anything yet?” Vivi asks, having bypassed shock to joy when she heard the bell toll.
“It sounds so pretty” Chopper says with smile
“Quite an alarm clock isn’t it?” Valentina mumbles, wincing as she does
“Damn this place looks blown to sh*t, we must have missed a lot”
“Yes you did” Alvida agrees, nut was just happy they were all still alive at this point, even if one was still unconscious.
Little later
Chopper and kaya had their work cut out for them, patching up their friends as well as Wiper at Aisa’s request, when the gang finally got back together, a dust cloud signally the arrival of Nami, Connis and Luffy, the last one eating while dragging a massive sack behind him
“Hey guys, we’re back!” Luffy cheers “And we brought supplies”
“We found the preists’ storage rooms on the way down, I think we’re basically restocked adter that” Nami explains
“Ok, but how did you get down so quickly and without injury?” Kaya asks, seeing no damage on Nami, and no more damage than would be expected on Luffy
“Gum Gum Balloon” Luffy answers as if it was obvious, causing the medic to chuckle and face palm
“Hey Conis, good to see you’re in one piece, how’s your pops?” Zoro asks with a slight wave, getting an elbow to the ribs from a frowning Artemis “What?”
“Father… he was caught in Enaru’s lightning, when the Divine warrior told us about his plan”
“Papa got her back to the Merry, but Whoosh” Artemis adds, pushing her hat over her eyes
“Oh my”
“Paguya”
“I’m sorry for your loss”
“I feel your pain”
“As do I” Paguya says, looking sad
“Exactly” Luffy nods
Beat
“YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!” was shouted by most of the straw hats
“Yes I should, I don’t know how lucky I was to survive, never mind end up in the White sea rather than a pile of ash” the older angel agrees
“Wait, you were blasted down to the White Sea?” Nami asks
“Yes, luckily I was rescued by one of the boats fleeing Enaru’s wrath, but with him dealt with, they should be heading back up the repaired milky road” he explains “Of course given there’s no longer an Angel Island, they’ll be relocating somewhere else, Upper Yard”
Later, on the Merry
“Guy’s he’s waking up” commotion was heard as a green eye snaps open then his vision filled with angry reindeer boy “Do you know how hard it is to treat someone like you? There was a hole in your head, plus I think there were teeth in the void when I was wrapping it up” the doctor complains
“Santa Teresca” Kaos hums, wincing when he tries to smirk “So Chopper, did we win?” he asks, then grunts as Artemis tackles him
“Luffy won papa, Luffy killed God!” the artist chirps, getting a raised eyebrow from the researcher
“Luffy…”
“Yeah, he stopped Enaru, saved the sky island from complete annihilation and rung the bell just like he promised” he turns to see Robin by the bedside, leafing through his notebook
“Se se se, seems the Captain can do anything but float” he chuckles weakly
“You picked a swell time to take a nap” Zoro grumbles, before being pushed aside by Luffy
“You’re back, and you kind of look like a real pirate shi shi shi” the straw hat chuckles, the purplette frowns, then moves his hand and finds the right side of his face was bandaged up
“There wasn’t really much else I could do, now you’re awake we can see what the damage actually is” Chopper says now in full doctor mode
“Yeah, what’s the damages to getting impaled through the face” the swordsman half teases, giving a smirk which Kaos weakly returns while Chopper and Kaya unwrap his head, the 2 medics surprised while Luffy just laughed
“Guess we found something that could blemish that milky skin of yours Kaos” he laughs, as Artemis hand him a mirror so he wasn’t tempted to use his devil fruit.
Around his right eye were spiral burns, which seemed to radiate outwards from the pupil, even if they had no prescience in the eye itself, that was reserved for 4 cracks in his iris, which if they connected would form an X through his right eye
“If this is what it takes to do permanent damage, I think we’re going to be fine” the purplette smiles slightly, also noticing the Seastone burns on his mouth were still healing, giving him an extended but also tender grin.
“Good, now get off your lazy ass there’s a party going on to celebrate the war ending. Meat cures everything, if you’d been awake I’d have fed you to see if that would have fixed your eye” Luffy cheers, getting slapped by Kaya before Chopper starts lecturing Luffy about how that’s not how medicine works, which Kaos had a feeling even he knew was going in one ear, getting lost in Luffy’s rubber head and leaving out the other sometime the next day.
“He’s right about one thing, a little air and moving around should help, provided you get your doctor’s permission” Robin notes, catching Chopper’s attention and getting a nod from the reindeer.
Kaos also nods, after everything that had happened up here, the sky people deserved a party for surviving Enaru, and they might as well have some time off too.
Technically an omake – After returning to the Grand Line
Chopper walks gingerly across the deck, through squeaks embarrassingly when he’s picked up and set on Robin’s lap, running her fingers through his fur while resting his head against her breasts “Shouldn’t you be resting, or recovering?” she asks with a hint of amusem*nt at the squirming reindeer
“Mama, can I play with Chopper?” Artemis asks, running over with pigtails swinging, pouting cutely as she does
“Not now sweetie, Chopper is very tired from having to put everyone back together after that last adventure, maybe Carue and Lasso will play” the artist frowns but nods, going to find the duck to see if she’ll let her chase her around the ship. Robin watches her kid run into the ship before looking down “I didn’t know something so big, could fit something so small, ey Serpens?” she purrs, as Chopper peers up at her, mismatched eyes staring out from her overflowing cleavage, the spiral scars hidden under the fur “Care to explain the change in form?”
“After the separation, I feel, more comfortable compact, and Chopper’s the smallest thing I know that isn’t using memory and kid versions of my family”
“I bet kid you looked super cute” Robin thinks aloud, watching Kaos imitate embarrassed Chopper near flawlessly as he wriggles and denies until she lets go. The reindeer hops off her lap and onto the deck
f*ckanzen'na hansha [Sheipu Sunacchi]
“Didn’t Chopper tell you not to use your devil fruit for a few days?” she asks dryly before sitting up and allowing Kaos to sit where her legs had been prior “Also, how’s the recovery going?” she asks, seeing faded, thought still discoloured marks on his bare skin.
“Good enough, there’s still stiffness in my right elbow and left shoulder but my vision is back to normal in my right eye even if the marks don’t seem to be going away. Plus as you already saw it’s messed with my fruit’s power, just a little but it’s very noticeable given what it’s meant to do” he replies, sighing deeply, the burns still giving his supposed to be blank expression a slight grin.
“You know, I could help, relieve that stiffness” Robin purrs, her smile wide and her voice teasing “As well as any others. I have quite a lot of experience releasing tension and giving rub outs, plus nobody has complained yet” Kaos laughs, then turns his head and smirking widely in response
“I’m sure they haven’t, and I don’t need my devil fruit to reciprocate” he counters, wanting to see if Robin would blink first
“Oh that will need to be tested, boy” she whispers in his ear, chuckling when his cheeks take on a pinkish tone “Care to lead a lady someplace private?”
“Of course Miss Robin”
TBC
LW: And end, now they just need to get down again. All I can say is good luck to them.
Also 2 Moana quotes/lyrics in one arc, didn’t expect that
Also to the nicer of the 2 guests I’ve gotten in recent weeks (Well I think the 2 reviews with the same question on consecutive chapters were the same person). 1) log in so I can actually answer you & 2) Yes.
Chapter 58: Down, Down Down to the Deep Blue Sea
Chapter Text
LW: Well, it’s been fun in the clouds, but what goes up must come down eventually.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Down, down, down, to the deep Blue Sea
“We don’t need alarm clocks with those 2 idiots around” Kaos sighs tiredly, Robin smiling into his shoulder as Artemis slept through Luffy and Nami’s screaming match across both their laps “Come on kid, we have piracy to do” he says, poking the girl on her cheek till she rose with a grumpy face
“But I want to sleep” she whines
“You can sleep on the Merry, for now just grab as much gold as you can safely carry ok Artemis” Robin explains, the girl yawns but then nods in understanding
“Got it mama”
“Also, should someone point out to those 2 their yelling has woken everyone in the ruins up, not just us?” Valentina asks
“No, they’ll just yell at you for pointing out the problem”
Later on
“Where are we going Mama?” Artemis asks, herself and Kaos following the archaeologist
“The Shandorians have found the golden belfry, legends say there’s a poneglyph in it’s heart”
“And you want to see if it’s the one you’re seeking” Kaos finishes
“Raju”
“Rio Artemis, the Rio Poneglyph” Robin corrects, following the commotion to the group of sky people heaving and hauling the giant golden monstrosity, as well as getting to see the 2 races co-operate especially given they were trying to kill each other about 5 days ago.
“It’s big, and pretty” Artemis cheers, grinning as she follows Robin through the crowd
“So that’s the poneglyph our ancestors died for?” A shandorian asks
“What does it say?” asked another
The chief sighs “it’s in an ancient text, impossible to read” he answers
“We shall know the true meaning and utter it to no one” Robin says, shocking the old man “it’s our legacy to be the inheritors of history, and our duty to protect it with the sounding of the Grand Belfry”
“How, how do you know that?” he asks
“They were inscribed on a wall near the heart of the ruins of Shandora” Robin explains, her companions following her as she examines the poneglyph “Generations ago, your people were entrusted with it, to be it’s guardians, correct?”
“You, you can actually read the inscriptions?”
“At that size it’s hard not to” Kaos laughs then coughs wetly “The Ancient Weapon Poseidon, correct?”
Robin nods “Yes, as well as it’s location. If I remember the Line as as well as I think I do, we’ll end up running into it eventually” she gives a hollow smile, then turns “It’s not the Rio Poneglyph, so it’s worthless to me, but it’s good to keep my skills from getting rusty”
“Um Miss, is that part of the poneglyph?” One of the Skypeians ask, pointing to engravings in the gold
“Gol D. Roger. Papa, why does that sound familiar?” Artemis asks
“The previous Pirate King. ‘I made it here, and I will guide this passage to the ends of the earth’. Seems Luffy really is following in the King’s footsteps Sesese” Kaos laughs, then frowns, seeing Robin was having a mild nervous breakdown
“The Pirate King was here, but why, and how could he use the language of the Poneglyphs?” she wonders aloud
“The engraving says Roger does it?” the 3 straw hats turn to Ganfall
“Yes, what do you know?”
“Nothing much, he was a Blue Sea dweller who came to this land 20 years ago, a nice guy. I take it his name is enscribed there, as well as some kind of message”
“Correct. I have no idea how he reached the bell, but he did, and as he quite literally says, the inscription is proof he was here on Skypeia. She pauses, deep in thought “Wait, there are 2 kinds of Poneglyph, ones containing information, and others which lead to other poneglyphs. This one here obviously has information, in this case about the Ancient Weapon Poseidon, I will guide this passage to the ends of the earth, but, could he be referring to the Rio when he claims to have taken one with him?” she turns to the elder “This poneglyph has fulfilled it’s duty”
“What?”
“Like I just said, many of the poneglyphs contain information, which I when put together will give the complete history of the Void Century, the key to this is the Rio Poneglyph. Gol D Roger took the information with him, most likely to the location of the one I seek.”
“Does that mean, our duty has been fulfilled also?” the elder asks her “Does it mean we don’t have to fight any more?” he asks with tears starting to slide down his face “Our ancestor’s wish has been fulfilled. Thank you Miss”
‘One more poneglyph, one step closer to Laugh Tale, and my destiny’ Robin thinks as they walk over to Ganfall
“Now where was I? Oh yes, your friend in the straw hat actually reminds me a lot of Roger.”
“His name is Monkey D. Luffy, and he’s quite an interesting lad” Robin agrees
“My brother is an idiot at times, but he fights for what he feels is right and as we can see is following Roger’s footsteps all the way to the King’s Throne” Kaos adds with a crooked grin
“Uncle Luffy kicks all the butts, be it a spring dick or God himself” Artemis finishes, not seeing the glare Robin sent Kaos for her swearing, Ganfall did though and laughs
“The boy shares the D. initial too, quite a stroke of fate”
“True, and from what I’ve found, that usually means they’re going to do something big with their lives, I’m happy to watch my captain do that, and help where I can”
“Um, excuse me” they turn and see the Elder had composed himself once more “I remember hearing you were looking for gold? And that it was worth more than Verth on the Blue Sea?”
“That’s correct, why?” Robin asks
“Well, for ending the war, and defeating Enaru we want to give you something. We can’t give the Bell, but maybe the broken support”
“That’s not going to fit on the ship” Kaos whispers, getting a nod from Robin even as she thanks them for their generosity
“Wow, that’s bigger than the Going Merry” Artemis gasps
“Let’s hope something happens before Nami sees it, don’t want her to have a heart attack, or an org*sm in public” Kaos chuckles as he follows the girls leading the way from the Bell back to the ruins where their crew had been removing all the valuables they could from an sleeping Nola’s belly
A little later
“There they are” Luffy cheers “Robin, Kaos, Artemis, get moving! We stole all this gold and need to leave quickly!”
“Don’t tell them that!” Sanji shouts, kicking the rubber boy in the head “Look behind them, the angels are back”
“Just our luck, they all come back before we could escape with the loot” Victor sighs “I guess we should start running?”
“Let’s. Also what’s that?” Valentina asks, pointing to the wrapped item being heaved across the stone
“You idiot it’s obvious what it is” Usopp scolds her
“What?” Chopper ask curiously
“A cannon”
“Oh….AHHHHH!” the reindeer screams, hopping onto Zoro who sets him down
“Whether it’s true or not, stop scaring the kid” Zoro growls, hitting Usopp with his sword hilt “Now let’s get a move on, the others can find their own way back to the ship, Robin’s the 2nd best navigator we’ve got” he says before the groups starts moving
“See you at the Merry, get moving!” Luffy shouts, then follows his crew “Everyone keep running, we don’t stop till we reach Cloud End”
Meanwhile
“Wait, why are they leaving? Don’t they want the gold?” One of the skypeians ask
Robin chuckles, seeing her crewmates act like idiots “It seems not” she replies with a smile, running after the others, Kaos following once Artemis had wrapped her arms around his neck
[If I did One Piece chapter like I do Arrow or Once, A) this would be where I stopped, and B) I would have named it Family outing, as that’s basically what’s happened so far, there were a couple other things but that was a majority of the chapter up to this point. Moving on.]
Several minutes of running later
“Should we tell them that wasn’t a cannon?”
“No, let them believe what they want, if they knew what that thing was Nami would make us haul it into the ship, somehow”
“Nami’s kind of dim like that sometimes” Artemis notes, luckily out of earshot of Sanji
Kaos chuckles “only when gold is involved. Hey I can see the Merry”
“Home” Artemis cheers, running and catching up to Chopper somewhere in the middle of the group, the Straw hats piling into the Merry and it could finally set sail like it was meant to, following Conis and Paguya’s overly loud waver to Cloud End
“Ok, we’re almost there, you just have to pass through that arch and you’ll be on the way home” Conis explains, sad her new friends were leaving, but understanding that their home was the Blue Sea and they had things to do down there.
“This is as far as we can go, take care my young friends” Paguya shouts
“Come back one day, don’t forget us” Conis adds
“We won’t, this place was fun” Luffy shouts back, him and most of the others smiling as they waved goodbye
“We didn’t have time to say goodbye to everyone, so please give them our best” Vivi calls, not wanting to end their meeting on a low note when they’d met such lovely people, once they stopped trying to kill each other at least.
“One last thing” Paguya yells “Tuck in your sails and hold on tight, the way down isn’t for the faint of heart, you’re in for a bumpy ride”
“What fun” Kaos grins, identical expressions on Luffy, Artemis and Chopper’s faces, while Robin has her relaxed smirk as she settles down for the descent
“Hey Luffy, the Log posse has finally got a new heading, ready for the next island?” Nami asks
“Of course. Blue Sea here we come, new adventure on the horizon!” Luffy cheers, just as the Merry passes through the gate
Weeeee…… oh fu….AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
As if the sheer plummet wasn’t enough, they were grabbed by a giant octopus, another reason to panic, until they realised the gas bag was actually slowing their drop
“Think this was Conis and Paguya’s last gift?” Alvida asks
Bong! Bong!
“Yes, and that’s the Shandorian’s goodbye to us” Kaos grins “Definitely the best way to do it”
“So what now?” Nami asks
“Nothing we can do till we touch down, just enjoy the floating while we’re up here” Valentina assures her
Evening
‘Bored. So bored’
“This is taking much longer than I expected” Robin says with a sigh
“True and with the wind I’m worried about how far we’ve drifted from our original course” Nami adds with a groan
“Plus the island moves anyway, who knows where we was when we jumped off?” Kaos adds his 2 berri
“Hey guys, get up here it’s so much fun!” Luffy could be heard from what felt like far above
“Please tell me he isn’t” Vivi whimpers
“Ha, that dumbass really is bouncing on the octopus” Alvida laughs
Nami steams as she leans over the edge of the ship “Luffy don’t do anything dumber than usual, we need this balloon to get us to the Blue Sea without smashing against the water surface!” she yells up, but Luffy was clearly ignoring her
“Luffy get down from there, you’re making things worse” Sanji shouts frantically, climbing up the animal to the captain
The others look confused “What’s got your panties in a bunch Sanji?” Valentina calls up
“The Octopus is shrinking, and Luffy’s probably accelerating the problem”
“Shrinking?” Kaya squeaks
Robin hums, standing as close to the middle and looking straight up “Now you mention it, it does look smaller than when it first latched on. Maybe it means we’re getting closer to the ground”
“Or that Luffy’s pushing the air out of it and we’re all going to go splat” Nami argues, just as Luffy and Sanji slide down the octopus, luckily Luffy was able to grab the side and Sanji before anything more than a scare could occur. Well, until the ballon went below it’s boyency level, and the ship began to actually fall, then real panic began. Luckily despite everything Usopp was able to think on his feet, using his grapple and suction boots to get under the falling Merry, then attach breath dials along it’s spine, slowing the fall to a much more gentle descent. Well until the octopus balloon finally ran out, and the weight of the Merry became too much for the little breath dials to handle. The good news was that while a very rough landing, everyone survived, cold and grumpy, with aches and pains all over but the ship was still floating and nobody was really injured in any way shape or form by the drop.
“Everyone still alive?” Kaos asks, wringing his waistcoat and cloak of seawater
“We’re good”
“Nothing broken”
“That was fun”
“Everyone’s still on the ship”
“Great, now for Nami and Valentina to find us a new island” Luffy declares with a grin
“Luffy, we’ve just fallen out of the sky; don’t you think we should take a break first?” Usopp asks
“Not really, no”
“Plus the waves look a little too strange for comfort, it would probably be in our best interests to get moving as quick as possible” Nami says, agreeing with Luffy as she and Valentina move to the steering pole “Speaking of, the pose says turn to port!”
“Of course Nami Swan!” Sanji swoons, just as a rumble could be heard in the distance. The answer to what is was became quickly apparent, as a wave began speeding towards them
“As you can see, we should probably get moving” she navigator says smugly before closing the door, leaving the others to panic and get the Merry out of harms way, or at least get pushed rather than flattened by the wave
Morning
“Things are calm, for the moment” Sanji comments, sighing in relief as he leans against the mast
“True, but on the Line calm is usually a bad sign, makes you complacent” Victor warns
“Then we’ll savour it while it lasts, but we won’t let our guard down” Zoro agrees
“Emergency Alert! Emergency Alert!” Usopp shouts from the crows nest “Ship approaching”
“Is it bad? Are they pirates?” Luffy asks
“I don’t know, there’s no flags or sails out, no identifiers at all really” Usopp conveys, while the others come out to see the commotion
“It’s naked, who would do that to a ship?”
“Also from what I can see, the crew look bored and lethargic, it’s kind of weird”
“Did we sail into the Calm Belt by accident? Would explain the lack of sails given there’s no current or wind?” Kaos asks getting a shake of the head from Valentina. And then the Sea Monkeys arrived
“For f*ck sake, Full speed ahead, the seamonkeys are back!” Luffy orders, the Merry shooting forward with the wave of monkeys following just behind, the lack of wind meaning everyone was flailing around with the oars as fast as they physically could, leaving the odd ship to it’s fate as they had more pressing issues to deal with
Later
“Ok, those monkey have given up following us, so we should be safe from giant waves, plus the weather has evened out, meaning we’re probably nearing another island” Nami deduces
“So there’s an island nearby” Luffy grins
“Hey Robin do you see anything?” Usopp calls up
Robin nods “Actually yes, we’ve been approaching an island for the last couple hours” she replies, causing a few people to face palm
“You could see land for a few hours, and never thought to tell us?” Alvida shouts
“The fog looks to be quite thick, not good for us” Robin calls down, ignoring the smooth woman’s question/complaint
Nami frowns “Heavy fog? Chopper I need you on forward watch”
“Got it” Chopper nods before running to the Merry head
“I have a bad feeling about this, especially after that weird ship we passed” Usopp whines
“Don’t worry Usopp, things won’t be as bad as you think they’ll be, they quite literally can’t” Kaya says as they enter the fog, trying to cheer her best friend up, he smiles slightly at the attempt.
“Rao damn it”
“THERE’S NOTHING HERE!” Luffy shouts, then deflates in disappointment
“Well, I guess it was bound to happen eventually, not all islands on the Grand Line can be bustling villages or towns, some on the other side might even be completely uninhabitable” Kaos says with a sigh
“Have you heard the rumors of an island where it constantly rains lightning?” Robin asks after coming down from the crows nest
“No, but that proves my point remarkably well” he answers
“Nobody home, now what?” Artemis asks
“It’s simple” Luffy answers “We go exploring!” he screams, jumping off the Merry, shortly followed by Usopp and Chopper who begin messing around like little kids
“Idiots” Zoro sighs, while some of his older crewmates just watch in amusem*nt, Robin glad she’d kept Artemis on the ship though when the 3 on land decided to annoy a Long Bear, and disappear though at least Luffy found them some food even if it was just Long Apples.
It was then Usopp found signs of human life, and began to lead the other 2 towards it, running into more sausage style overly long animals along the way, weirding out the 3 of them, though Luffy just laughed the strangeness off, partly because it made him feel like there were other things with stretchy powers. Getting to the building Usopp saw Luffy was disappointed to see it was empty of life, though Chopper seemed to like making a new giraffe friend, until Usopp pointed out it was a horse… then he was happy to make a new horse friend, even if she was build like a giraffe. While Chopper made a friend, Luffy and Usopp attacked some weird moving bamboo stalks, which turned out to have an old, scruffy looking old guy attached to them
“Oh Luffy, what have you done now?” Chopper sighs as he runs over to the old man
“Ow. I don’t know who you people are, but thanks for getting me off those stilts, I’d been stuck up there for 10 years”
“What! 10 whole years?” Usopp shouts
“More or less”
“How’d you get up there?” Luffy asks curiously
“I was trying to break the record for longest stilts, but when I completed them and got up… I was up so high I was afraid to get down” the old man admits with a shameful turn of the head
Back with the others
Just as they got off the ship to explore and go on a supply run, paw like grapples attached to massive chains slammed into the island, boxing in the Merry between the chains as well as the larger ship they were attached to
“What are those bastards up to?” Zoro wonders aloud
“We are the notorious Foxy Pirates!” A loud voice announces “We want more than just a fight, we want a show down”
‘f*ck’
TBC
LW: Long Ring Long Land, and The Davy Back fight is next.
I’m going to screw with this bastard’s head because the straw hats don’t take sh*t from anyone ;)
Chapter 59: Davy Back Fight, Part 1
Chapter Text
LW: Time for the straw hats to annoy one annoying f*cker.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Davy Back Fight, part 1
After getting the rundown of the island(s), known as Long Ring Long Land due to being a ring of land which with the exception of 1 day a year is divided into 10, Luffy and company managed to reunite the old stilt man with his hooooorse, Shelly, the animal happy to have her owner by her side and on her back once more, galloping carefree across the unnaturally flat plains of the island, while the Straw Hats watched contently.
Bang
Until some asshole decided to shot her. Chopper and Usopp ran to check on the old man and his horse, while Luffy was more focused on the source of the attack
“Are you ok?” Chopper asks “Where are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, check on Shelly” the old man orders, which Usopp does as he tries removing the netting binding her limbs together
“Fe fe fe. Hey losers, I’d advice you to get your hands off my horse”
“Yeah, like the boss said, back off it’s Foxy pirate property” Added a female voice
Luffy scowls “I don’t know who you people are, but I’m going to make you pay!”
“He doesn’t know us?” the leader asks in apparent shock
“What a dim witt” the girl huffs
“Shame” the block head behind them agrees
“You’ve got to be lying boy, you’re telling me you don’t recognise this handsome face?”
“All I can say about your face is it’s about to be unrecognisable in about 5 seconds” Luffy rears back but stops when he sees the man drop into a depressed stance
“He really doesn’t know who I am” he mumbles sadly, then gets annoyed “I’m Foxy, what’s mine is mine, and what’s yours just isn’t mine yet”
“Shut up stupid you’re not making sense!” Luffy shouts
“Hold it Luffy, let’s settle this like men”
Luffy pauses in confusion “Wait, how did you know my name?” he asks
The girl sighs in annoyance “Because unlike some people we did our homework. Monkey D. Luffy, Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, and the highest bounty at 110 million, though the others aren’t exactly anything to sneeze at either, given the running total is 267 million”
Foxy nods “Exactly, and with that in mind, I challenge you Straw Hat Luffy, to a Davy Back Fight!”
“Sure I’ll fight you, if it means you’ll shut the Hell up” Luffy agrees
“Luffy, stop!” the rubber boy turns and sees Usopp running towards him “I know this guy’s a dick, but don’t agree to a Davy Back Fight or we’ll lose the crew”
“fe fe fe. Sorry kid but no take backs, he already ageed right Porcha?”
“He sure did Boss, his exact words were ‘Sure I’ll fight you’ which is a bell you just can’t unring” Porcha agrees
Meanwhile
“What do you mean the fight has already started?” Nami asks in confusion
“Simple, a Davy Back Fight begins when one captain accepts another captain’s challenge, no take backs”
“Question. Since when do pirates follow any rules, ever?” Vivi asks what she sees a valid question
“There are rules, just some people prefer to look at them as guidelines, plus, if we wait for Luffy to get back we can just kick all their asses and be done with it” Kaos answers, though his lack of a smile was concerning to the bluenette
“Unfortunately that’s not how a Davy Back Fight works” Robin pipes in to ruin the moment “It’s a contest, which allows pirate crews to plunder desirable members from the opponent” she explains
“Exactly, the Davy Back is the best way to recruit only the best of the best, especially because when a team loses the crewmate had to swear their undying loyalty to the victor’s crew in the name of Davy Jo…” the dumbasses head mysteriously found itself removed from it’s shoulders, funny that
“Kya kya kya, well it was always going to be a toss up between you and Roranoa on who’s murder boner was satisfied first” Valentina chuckles “Plus I had a feeling said murder boner would get us in hot water one day”
“So, anyone want to tell us what happens if we don’t decide to betray our captain for some idiot who clearly can only get new members by stealing from other pirate crews?” Alvida asks
Bang
“Looks like the captain agreed, so the fight begins”
Later
“This is a lot of pomp and circ*mstance for a crew stealing mission” Victor notes
“Well, they’re clearly overconfident, though why nobody will let us see the rules of this sh*t is… concerning at best” Kaos sighs, Nami, Robin and even he had asked around and been stonewalled, f*cking Foxy bastards.
“Hello everybody!” Porcha shouts from the stage “No as our challengers have never played we’ll give them the basics down
- Whatever you lose, be it crewmembers, supplies or your flag, the only way to get it back is with another Davy Back Fight
“Or kill everyone, that and simply ignoring these people are viable options” Robin mentions, only to get her mouth covered by Vivi
“Quiet, we’ll miss something if you talk over her”
- Any crewmembers won must swear undying loyalty to their new captain on the spot, no exceptions
“f*ck you”
- If your Jolly Roger is taken, you can’t ever fly it again, ever ever ever
“Double f*ck you”
And last, if you break any of these rules you’ll be labelled as a disgrace and banished to Davy Jone’s Locker
Kaos sighs deeply “No witnesses?”
Robin gives a half smile and nods “No witnesses”
“Papa and Mama are acting weird again” Artemis complains from Caroo’s back, worrying the others as if she thinks it’s weird there’s definitely something wrong
“Vivi, get the gloves”
“Yes Vice Captain crazy blade” Vivi mock salutes, deciding to roll with the madness for a change, if only for the good of her health
“And Luffy’s just set us up for 3 games of stupid. Somebody punch him for me” Nami groans, then curls up in the fetal position
“Be honest with me, how f*cked are we?” Kaya asks, hoping to get the truth from either their researcher, or archaeologist
“Severely”
“Damn it Luffy!”
“Hey, you guys need to fill in the team rosters, you can all play twice. Once you’re down you’re locked in, no backing out” one of the scruffier Foxy pirates says, handing them a piece of paper, just as Luffy comes back and gets attacked by his girls, Nami and Ussop
Zoro picks up the sheet “Ok, so the games are racing, sports and combat
Sanji nods, reading over the swordsman’s shoulder “Yeah and it seems we can all participate in the race, then 3 in the sport match and well there’s only one allowed for the combat trial”
“Great, sign me up for everything” Luffy cheers
“Were you not listening to the old fart, only 2 games per person” Valentina complains, which only causes Luffy to pout.
“Let’s just fill this thing in, the sooner we start the sooner we can get to the end of this train wreck”
A little later
“Ok, we have the team rosters for the event, first the entire Straw Hat crew will be participating in the 1st event, the Doughnut race”
“I have a bad feeling about this” Chopper shudders
“Did I ever tell you I have a medical condition that prevents me from racing” Usopp asks, fake coughing until Nami grabs him by the ear
“I don’t want to do this stupid thing either, but you’re not getting out of this that easily”
Round 2 will be Roanoa Zoro, Sanji the cook, and Serpens D. Kaos
“Don’t do anything too stupid ok Papa” Artemis asks, getting a nod from the purplette
Round 3 will be Monkey D. Luffy
“This is going to be so much fun!” Luffy bounces around like a rubber ball, full D grin on display
“Round 1. Doughnut Race: All boats must be made of 2 oars and 3 barrels, anything else is an illegal move” the commentator announces
“Well, we’re already f*cked” Vivi sighs
A couple hours of pain and stupidity later
“Who bet on these morons cheating before the events even began?” Kaos asks several hands, including his own rise, though he pretends to be shocked by that “Thought so. Also, is it even worth considering attaching Caroo to the front of Vivi’s boat?” he adds, the duck voicing her displeasure at the idea from the deck of the Merry “Didn’t think so, guess those legal weapons have a target, whoever kills the shark gets 1st pick on the treasure we loot from the Foxy pirates” he announces, getting whoops and cheers from a few of the newer Straw Hats
“Are you sure this thing will float?” Nami complains as she sits with Kaya on the vessel Usopp built. And given the only other vessel that came close was Victor’s vessel, shared with Zoro and Val, it was pretty good
“In case you’ve forgotten, none of us are shipwrights, all we can do is our best” he grumbles, Kaya hugs him to try cheer him up
“I see myself having to haul your ass out of the water in less than 10 minutes” Sanji complains, not letting any of the ladies get on Luffy’s abomination of a boat, Alvida comfortably sitting with Vivi and Chopper, while Robin had joined Kaos and Artemis
“Shi shi shi, probably, but as long as one of us get to the end it’s a win” Luffy answers, surprising Sanji with that admittance, enough so he didn’t see the boat with the ladies in it until it was floating right beside them, nor the comedically large barrels used for one of the Foxy pirate vessels
“Hey, can we let some of the air out of their egos?” Victor asks, pointing at the ‘Overcompensator’, which confused Luffy and Artemis, and also had more than a few of the older straw hat’s smirk behind their hands
Luffy shrugs “Sure, knock yourself out”
“Ahem, wait until the race begins before fighting each other, it’s simple decency” the announcer complains, but is ignored, as breath and syrup rounds are loaded “And begin”
Ping WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
“That, shouldn’t have happened” Victor admits, as Kaos pulls out his umbrella to shield himself, Artemis and Robin from flaming barrel and viscera from the chain explosion that was once the Overcompensator
“There must have been bombs in the ship, when our gunners shot the ship they triggered all at once, add to that the confined space and incompressible water…” Robin theorises
“We’re being pelted with Foxy pirate, we already know” Nami shouts, neither having the heart, or balls to tell her there was an eyeball hanging from her hair
“If it helps, all this chum in the water is making it difficult to control that shark powered barrel boat” Alvida jokes, now paddling with both oars due to a near catatonic Vivi and she was right, for those who were willing to look they could see despite a green Porcha’s efforts her shark kept getting distracted by chunks of bloody flesh and veering towards it, evening the odds, if only a little
“Didn’t we feed Luffy before the race?” Ussop groans, the other look to see their captain being distracted by the Foxy pirates offering him food, while Sanji was being entertained
“Foxy’s whor*s anyone?” Valentina quips, hoping Artemis was out of hearing range, and learning she wasn’t when she got a bloomed hand slapping her across the face “Alright I get it, the idots are lost and we need to finish the race”
“You’re half right, you should be paying more attention to your own boat than your team mates. Capodi give ‘em a taste of fishman karate!”
The green fishman with Porcha and her shark grins “With pleasure”
Surface splitter
Being the closest to the front it made sense they aimed for Ussop’s vessel, Kaya quickly jumping into the sniper’s middle barrel just before her’s was destroyed
“What an unpleasant being” Robin frowns “Want to deal with this?”
“Not quite” Kaos hums “Wait till we’re a little closer” though even as he says that she notices he sets the flat of his blade against his forearm, Hebi already slipping into the front of his shirt
Breeze Breath Bombs
Ami bullet barrage
Odo no gosuto no boyaketa hansha: Kamishini no Yari
Porcha squeaks as the blade bit into her inner thigh and cut through Mondo’s skull like butter, meanwhile a mix of explosive shots, hardened syrup rounds and sticky sryup cords ensured her other teammate was out of the race if not more. Guess she was going to have to break out those paddles after all.
“You know I think we might actually win this” Nami says with a twinge of hope in her voice
“Then don’t look left” Vivi sighs, and as expected she did, seeing Foxy sitting on his dimwitted assistant as he hobbled across the land beside them, grinning in a way that showed things were about to get very painful in their future
“I just got a brilliant idea” he says to himself “Fa fa fa”
“Can we ignore him and focus on not dying in this weird coral patch for the moment?” Kaya asks, Foxy nearly falling off his ape like companion in shock
“Kaya’s right, the coral’s creating very strange currents, we need to focus or our boats will be destroyed” Nami nods in agreement, her caution rewarded when the corals spat back out Porcha’s ‘Cutie Wagon’ “I knew it wasn’t that easy, guys follow my lead exactly ok?”
“You’re the navigator, this is technically what you’re on the crew to do” Vivi says as she does her part to row their boat behind her, though visibility became essentially zero after Foxy shot a smokescreen arrow into the reef
“Fafafa, I’d like to see you navigate, when you can’t even see in front oh ya face” Foxy laughs, the face plants when it seemed to not do a damn thing
“Dumbass, we don’t need to see if we’re just using the currents formed by the reef to get through” Nami scoffs
“This is why you’re our navigator Nami” Luffy cheers “Cause none of us would be able to do any of this junk”
“He’s not wrong” Robin says with a chuckle “Though we still have one last problem”
“Don’t worry, that’s what the impact dial is for” Nami explains
“What, but I don’t…” Usopp tries to deny, only for Nami to shove the dial in his face “Ok, but why can’t you use it?”
“Because I don’t know how dials work, that’s your job” she says as if it were obvious
“A likely story” Usopp grumbles “Fine, if we want to survive this we’ll need to link up”
Rinke Fleur
Sticky tendrils
“Everything is secure Usopp, fire the impact dial” Alvida shouts, each barrel filled with nodding and prepared Straw Hats
The sniper sighs deeply “Ok, here it goes…”
IMPACT DIAL
The shockwave shoots the collection of semi-competently built rafts and boats into the air, unfortunately in the process, Luffy& Sanji, as well as Alvida,Vivi&Chopper’s boats fell apart, landing their occupants on Long Cape, Luffy catching his girls before they hit the ground, while Sanji landed face first, with Chopper landing safely on his back
“Well, that could have been worse” Valentina notes “Still, we’ve got quite the lead on those dumbasses”
“Um guys, what’s that?” Artemis asks, pointing to the approaching vessel
“Damn, guess we didn’t hit that bastard hard enough” Zoro groans, seeing the ‘Cutie Wagon’ being hauled by Capodi
“Turn right, should be turn right?” Kaya asks, seeing a signpost sitting in the ocean in front of them
“How dumb do you think we are?!” Nami shouts, punching the fake sign and nearly landing a direct hit on Foxy
“Dumber than they are” Robin answers, assuming Foxy thought they would fall for it, because all the morons on his crew would have
“Help, a dying grandma, won’t you stop and help me” A poorly disguised Foxy shouts from the shore
“Zoro, put the old lady out of her misery” Kaos responds, knowing Nami was too annoyed by all this bullsh*t to actually respond
36 calibre Phoenix
Given the swordsman probably couldn’t give less of a f*ck right now, it should be of no surprise that his attack missed, but it did put the fear of God into the announcer as if it were a little to the right it would have cleaved his bird in 2
“Guys, I see the finish line, we’re actually going to win this!” Nami shouts, the end in sight giving a final burst of adrenaline for hers. Usopp’s and Kaya’s paddling efforts, the others not exactly slowing down either
“You’re not winning this race, Round 1 is ours like it is every other time!” Porcha bellows as she closes in on the straw hat’s tail
“Morons, I’m still not falling for your sh*t!” Nami grumbles, punching the goal “Keep moving, we’re not done yet”
“The goal does have to be close though, or that wouldn’t even make sense, given we’re supposed to end the race where we began” Robin notes, the others agreeing as it makes sense
It seems Robin’s prediction that Foxy’s tricks were meant to fool them because it would fool his band of morons proved true, as Porcha and Capodi stopped at the fake Goal, looking lost and confused for a minute or 2.
‘f*cking morons’ was the collective thought of the remaining racers
“There it is, the end of Round 1, we actually did it, this might not be as bad as I thought” Kaya says, sighing in relief
Slow Slow Beam
Until Foxy went with plan “f*ck you”, using his Devil fruit powers to slow the Straw Hats long enough for Porcha’s team to get across the finish line.
“Devil Fruit” Kaos hisses as the remaining barrel boats rock to the finish line
“Was that a statement or a request?” Robin asks
“Yes”
“Fe fe fe, time to pay up Straw Hats. My first prize, is Serpens D, Kaos” Foxy announces, the researcher looking annoyed as he walks onto the stage, brushing past the bluenette before doing so
“Now hold still while we get you fi…” bony fingers wrap around the foxy pirate about to touch his face
“Try put a mask on me, and I’ll be wearing your face as my mask” he growls
“Now it’s time to swear your undying loyalty to the greatest crew this side of everywhere, the Foxy Pirates!” Porcha announces, grinning widely
“No” her smile and Foxy’s face fall
“What?”
“I said no”
“But those are the rules! You have to swear!”
Kaos shrugs “I’ll swear when the Fight is over. For 1, I already swore to a much better crew to serve it faithfully, and while I’ve come close I’m not dead yet. For another, undying doesn’t mean sh*t if I flip flop between teams, then I’d be a weak, spineless, coward, like… those guys” he dips his head as he points to the former Frog Pirates, though by the end he was standing in the middle of the stage like a preacher, though with his head down and face obscured
Vivi gasps “Is he crying?” she asks, noticing his shaking shoulders
“No, it can’t be” Nami says in disbelief, he couldn’t be crying, Hell she’s seen him cough up blood more than she’s seen him cry
“Fufufu”
“Sesese”
“Care to share with the rest of the class” Sanji asks, seeing Robin and Artemis giggling to themselves
“He’s not crying, Papa’s trying not to laugh in their stupid faces” Artemis explains
“Plus he just called them all spineless, cowards, to their faces” Robin adds, and the straw hats realised, he was pointing to all the gathered Foxy pirates. Crafty bastard, crafty like a fox! (yohohoho)
Nami groans, a migraine forming “Can I be the first to punch him after we win him back Luffy?”
“2nd, I get first blow” Luffy denies “We’re going to win you back, and then we’re going to kick Foxy’s ass together!”
“Sesese, I hope you’re right Luffy, cause I don’t feel like abandoning a sinking ship will look good for me” Kaos smirks as he sits, this next game should be fun.
TBC
LW: I do have reasons for Kaos being taken instead of Chopper, and yes him being taken is why he was rostered for round 2 instead of Chopper.
Chapter 60: Davy Back Fight, Part 2
Chapter Text
LW: Time for more stupid sh*t, but did you really expect differently with this crew?
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Davy Back Fight, Round 2
“Sport next, guess it’s you and me Moss Head” Sanji sighs as he puts out his cigarette
“Just don’t get in my way and we should be able to avoid losing anyone else” Zoro grumbles a reply which Sanji actually laughs to
“Like that bastard would actually let those morons hold him, if we don’t win him back, we’ll be leaving the island and their ship will explode, then he’ll appear on deck, probably drinking Nami’s tangerine juice looking like nothing is wrong” the cook predicts, the 2 now standing and waiting in the arena
Ok folks, time for round 2, Groggy ball! Both teams just have to get the ball into the opponent’s goal, but the catch is that one of them IS the ball. Please chose now Straw Hats” the announcer bellows, Zoro pointing to Sanji who gets a beach ball looking hat shoved on his head, to his visible displeasure.
“Damn I wish we’d known this was the game, we could have had Alvida or Victor be the ball” Nami groans, while Luffy laughs
“An exploding ball, or one so smooth it can’t be caught, great idea Nami” he grins, then frowns “That’s probably why the roster sheet was so vague, so we couldn’t make good choices like that”
“That is a high probability of being true” Robin nods, before turning attention back to the team
Before Sanji could complain much, the front of the Foxy ship opens up, revealing their opponents: Foxy’s monkey man (which explained why Kaos was standing behind Foxy with Porcha when the smug bastard walked over to watch the match), some stocky dumbass with shields on his arm, and a HUGE, bearded guy, apparently a giant/fishman hybrid who towered over everyone on the island
“We have to fight these guys?” Zoro asks
“And that giant’s their ball” Sanji gasps, then flinches when someone closes the strap of his hat
“Sanji, it’s not helpful for you to lose your hat like this, we’ll have a hard enough time without losing track of our team’s ball” Vivi lightly scolds him, chuckling to herself
“Vivi” the blond gasps “What are you doing here?” he asks, noticing Vivi was decked out in her old Miss Wednesday gear with the exception of elbow length sky blue gloves, which he’d never seen the girl wear before
Vivi gives a mock salute, clearly giving up on playing fair or panicking and instead just taking the piss and having fun herself “Nefetari Vivi, 3rd member of the Straw Hats sports event team” she states
“WHAT!” Foxy screams “You can’t do that, no changes, what you see is what you got, you lost a crewmate so you play without the full team”
“I tagged out” Kaos gleefully interjected “Vivi still had the ability to do another game, so I gave her my slot”
“That’s not how the game works” Porcha argues
“Ref!”
“I’ll allow it, we don’t have a no tagging rule, provided you did it before becoming a Foxy pirate”
“You hear that everyone, in a surprise decision Nefetari Vivi has been allowed take Serpens D. Kaos’ position in the Groggy Ball game, evening out the teams, well in a way at least”
“So, is the point to get our ball into their goal, or their ball in their goal?” Vivi asks, still unsure what she had been asked to do
“Probably their ball in their goal, they wouldn’t need a big boi to be the ball if it were to get our ball in theirs, they’d have picked a small and speedy thing to zip around our defences” Zoro guesses, unsheathing his swords
“Right, like if we used Chopper. Hell either answer works if psycho hadn’t been taken and we made him the ball, anyone dumb enough to get near him would be filleted to usable standards” Sanji adds,
“Quit yapping, we need to do the coin toss” A foxy pirate shouts “Heads or tails?”
“Tails, pupupu” Foxy’s monkey chuckles
“Ok, and you?” he asks, turning to the straw hats
‘We’re really losing to these retards?’ Vivi thinks, he fists clenched painfully tight “Heads, it’s the only other option”
The man shrugs “Ok” he then removes his hand “Tails. Field or ball”
“Ball please”
Now for where things get interesting, each team has to get the ballman of the other team into their ring, which in case you don’t already know is the teammate with the silly hat on their head
“Well, time to get into position ballman, so we can get this over with” Zoro orders, Sanji grumbles but agrees at least with the getting this sh*t over with sentiment, especially when Vivi offered to be the ballman if he was that opposed.
“Wait, you with the swords, you need to get those off the field” the ref calls
“What? Are you serious?” Zoro grouses
Yep, cause this is a ball game not a combat challenge, we don’t want you slicing up our undefeated champions
Zoro fumes, but hands his swords to Chopper who promises to keep them safe and sound, Artemis and Caruu offering to help
“Stupid rules, why didn’t we get told any of this before hand?” Usopp grumbles
“The Davy Back Fight handbook is 8000 pages long, do you really want us to read out every rule in the book, as well as the etiquette required for Pirate Dodgeball and Masthauling?” Porcha asks taunting
“Not really, but the rules and regulations of the games we’re ACTUALLY playing would be nice” Robin replies coldly “Then we could have picked team-mates who don’t use weapons”
“Like Luffy, Victor, Sanji, even Kaya since eating her fruit” Nami lists “Robin too, but I get the feeling she’d just kill everyone and make us accidentally lose or some bullsh*t” she adds with a sigh, while Robin shrugs, knowing the navigator is probably 100% correct about that, snapping your opponent’s necks in 1 simultaneous crunch is probably considered unsporting
“Let’s just get this sideshow over with” Sanji sighs around his cigarette as he looks up at the lumbering dumbasses around him
Game Start!
As the closest one to the other team Sanji rushes forward, trying to end the game quick with a kick to Big Pan’s face, only to start slipping and sliding on the half-fishman’s slimy skin
“Well, that’s a new record for stupid, even for us” Vivi almost laughs, as in any other situation Sanji’s rapid flailing would be at least a little funny
“Quit screwing around, you’re gonna make us lose” Zoro shouts, then grimaces when the half-giant palms Sanji, shooting him across the field “Damn it, we need to stop him going in the goal” he curses, both straw hats running towards the other end of the arena, though the Foxy pirates were moving to intercept. Monkey leaping into the air and sending Sanji further across he field, planning on dunking the cook just to add extra injury to defeat, while Shield Hero blocks Zoro’s path, not that it did much more than slow him down, as the swordsman’s fist imbedded in his face at least broke the man’s nose, if not anything more serious
Shing, loop
“Zoro, little help here” the green haired man looked up and while confused still ran over to the bluenette “On 3? 3!”
“Heev!”
“Hoo!”
“You don’t score!”
Yank. Crash
I have literally no idea what just happened but The Straw Hats stopped Hamburg’s perfect score dunk, the game is still everything to play for. But how? Clearly the princess Vivi has some tricks up her sleeves, is it psychokinesis, string powers, we just don’t know!
“Hey, are you guys cheating?” The ref calls
“Yes why?” Vivi answers with a question, causing half the crew to faceplant
“No reason, just checking” now even Vivi was confused
“Ref, I’m calling foul, those are clearly weapons” Porcha shouts
“No they’re not, these gloves are clearly defensive implements, you didn’t tell that fat guy to give back his shields” Vivi argues, pointing to the man Zoro basically ran through as proof
These was deemed unimportant, as the 3 were soon running away from Pan, who tried to stomp them into the ground with his blade soled shoes…wait a minute
“Hey ref, I though you said no weapons!” Sanji shouts in between dodges, the man whistling innocently until…
Crunch
“Captain Foxy Captain Foxy, I think I know why the ref missed our rule violation” Kaos says with frantically waving arms, trying to get the man’s attention “His head’s on backwards” he points, as a large number of Foxy pirates turn grey or green as the description was accurate “I’ll fix it” the purplette says kindly, resetting the man’s head with a snap, which upon seeing the look of pain and horror on their deceased comrade’s face, had Foxy’s whor*s vomit and pass out, while Porcha just looked on the verge of doing similar.
The remaining straw hats turning to Robin who shook her head, this wasn’t her, though she could have if she felt it would have actually helped
“Um, if the ref’s dead, what does that mean for the game?” Valentina asks, getting shrugs from most of the nearby pirates
“No rules I guess” Luffy suggests, getting a nod from Robin and Alvida
Kaos smirks from Foxy’s left “In that case. Vivi, time to tidy up!”*
The bluenette sighs and lets the wires in her gloves free “I’m going to regret letting you name this aren’t I?” she asks rhetorically, before turning on her heel and facing the giant
“Vivi no!”
Has our sweet flower realised she doesn’t stand a chance, perhaps she wants to end this on her terms, or just doesn’t want to have to dishonour herself when Foxy obviously chooses her next?
Shing, tear, slice
“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!” Pan bellows, clutching his injured hand, the severed and in fact partly shredded fingers landing on the field with a wet splat, and most of the audience’s jaws dropped
“See, I told you those were weapons!” Porcha shouts angrily
“Then what are they?” she turns to see Artemis had asked the Foxy shipwright the question “If you can’t say, then you can’t charge her”
“Plus no ref means no rules, we’ve already gone over this” Nami adds with a shark like grin “Though she does have a point, what the f*ck is Vivi using?”
“Practically invisible Monofilament wires weaved into and extending out of her gloves, through inbuilt stabilizer rings within the fingers” Usopp answers “Kaos gave me the idea, and I turned it into an actual weapon” he puffs up his chest as he grins proudly, behind him Chopper and Luffy were cheering his awesomeness
“Nice first attempt Vivi, but I think you’ll need a lesson in aiming, or at least efficiency” Kaos critiques, then pulls out Hebi
Traptrix: Ensnare. Game Over!
With a powerful swing wires shoot out of the rapier like weapon, tangling themselves around Pan’s currently uninjured right arm, before with a yank the wires tears through and apart the giant/fishman hybrid’s entire arm, turning it into bloody chunks
My goodness, audience interferrance, that’s a clear penalty to the Str…mhhhh…..
“Technically if there was a ref, and rules still in this game it would be a Foxy pirate foul, or nothing at all, as the Foxy pirates are self sabotaging, like with the false finish line they caught themselves in” Robin’s voice replaces the announcer over the Den Den for a moment, in order to explain what just happened to the dimwitted crowd, and her crewmates.
“So, we still in the clear?” Kaya asks, as Foxy and Porcha turn on their new teammate
“You are a Foxy Pirate, forget your team and start acting like one!” Porcha shrieks only for the reflect human to backhand her and turn to Foxy
“It’s yours or Straw hat’s, I’m not picky as long as I get what I’m owed” he hisses, the scars around his eye shimmering in the sunlight
“Anyone know what he’s talking about?” Luffy asks, looking confused “Is Kaos trying to be Captain? We said we were going to do this together!” he shouts/whines
“Relax Luffy, once we win our nakama will be whole again” Robin soothes, glad the purplette had left the rest of them out of the firing line, as well as choosing not to tell Luffy he was half right, due to her belief that Kaos had just threatened to kill the slow-mo human.
“Zoro, do you want your swords back?” Alvida shouts, prompted by the fact the other 2 Foxy pirates had pulled out weapons of their own
“I want to take them, but right now we have a slippery field and a ball which is leaking everywhere. If we get him to the ring it won’t matter what the other idiots are doing” Zoro responds “Vivi, Eros, let’s show this dumbass what happens when you fight the Straw Hats”
“He’s missing his right arm and 2 fingers on his left hand, I think he’s figured out you don’t survive intact fighting the Straw hat’s Monsters, Demons or even princess” Sanji retorts, grimacing as the blood was making the field rather difficult to stay standing in “I don’t think the Big Guy is going to last much longer, we need to take him down before he expires
“Then aim for his legs” the 2 turn to the bluenette “He’s clearly in pain and unbalanced, if you manage to make him loose his footing he’ll fall right where we want him to”
“And failing that, I’ll be reliving my bounty hunting days, though this will be the biggest proof of kill I’ve delivered. Hey Chopper, unsheathe my swords but keep them on standby” he bellows, the reindeer nods and begins doing so, as well as shimmying his way alongside Artemis, Caroo and Valentina closer to the Foxy Goal Ring.
“Ok we have a plan, let’s do it” Sanji then turns and lashes out with a kick “And stay away from Vivi-chan!” he shouts, slamming his foot directly in the middle of Hamburg’s face
“You hurt Big Pan, so now I’m gonna smash you into paste” Pickles shouts, charging at Vivi who grimaces before performing several rapid hand gestures, only a slight shimmer of wires for a second or 2 showing anything besides waving her arms was occurring. Well until Pickles trips, Vivi hopping over him as he rolls helplessly after skidding in the now muddy field “What the f*ck?” he thinks aloud just as Vivi lands and pulls slightly, the wires digging into his flesh
“I forgot to mention, that as long as I keep the tension below a certain threshold, my wires can restrain without injury, for the most part” she gives an insincere look of apology for the fact she’s probably severed the fat guy’s achillies tendons (eh, Chopper can check later), these f*ckers were fighting dirty, why should she follow rules nobody else was, seems a pretty pirate thing to do right? “Now, can you boys work together for 10 seconds, please?” she calls to the other straw hats with a sigh
“Ok, but no longer you got that marimo?” Sanji grunts
“Sure thing pervert, just don’t slow me down” Zoro replies, giving a smirk usually only seen before he ends his fights
What could the Straw Hats be planning, thanks to some underhanded tactics by Miss Vivi, and a Foxy Pirate WHO SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT SIDE HE’S ON…
“Sanji, what did Miss All Sunday tell you in Alabasta, when she kicked Bentham’s balls into his throat?” Kaos asks with a smirk, currently sitting in a lotus position on the middle line of the arena
“I always have and always will perform acts which benefit or amuse me” Sanji quotes verbatim “Right after slamming your boot down on Mr.2’s right hand”
“Exactly. What side am I on? Mine of course!”
“Team Straw Hat, 10 seconds begin……NOW!” Valentina shouts, grinning when both of the guys rush forward
“This crew is like herding kids sometimes” Nami sighs tiredly
“Try cats, children can be trained” Robin corrects, smirking to herself and winks at Artemis who’s cheeks are puffed in anger
Mutoryu: Tatsu Maki
Bad Manner Kick Course
Given Big Pan wasn’t exactly going anywhere in his current condition all the Straw Hats were trying to do was give him enough of a push he over balanced and fell back, his head hitting the goal with a loud THUD
“We won? WE WON!” Usopp screams joyfully, him and Luffy bouncing around excitedly
“You know what that means” Alvida singsongs, grinning widely while Artemis’ eyes sparkle
“We get our res…” Luffy begins but is stopped by Nami
“Hold it. Luffy, we need to do this strategically. You’re obviously going to have to face Foxy next round, and we saw in the last game just how bad his Slow-Slow fruit is. So if we take him, then the crew will be too disorganised and in shambles to be able to win the next round, when you can take Kaos back, and if you feel like it, boot Foxy off the ship with extreme prejudice” Nami suggests, getting gasps of horror followed by boos from the Foxy pirates
Well I never, a little cheating is all well and good in a Davy Back Fight, but to take a ship’s captain, that’s just unsporting. Can you even call winning against a team without a captain a real victory? For shame on you Straw Hats, and SHAME on the black hearted monster who suggested it…”
“Zoro. Swords. Bird. Now” Kaos orders, not yet having stood up, though he did see Zoro had already been returned his blades from Chopper and Artemis
“You’re surprisingly violent today” Luffy notes, but doesn’t say more
“Must be his time of the month” Robin suggests, not visibly reacting when the blade of Kamashi no Yari shot past less than an inch from her face, impaling 3 Foxy pirates through the throat before recoiling “Can’t take a joke Fufufu?” she asks
“I can, it’s why I was only trying to make you flinch, rather than even consider harming you” the purplette says, shrugging before standing up, just as Zoro launches an attack on the annoying announcer
108 Calibre Phoenix
“Hey Nami, you forgot something, if we went with your plan, then we’d need to accept split head as part of our crew, no way, no how” Luffy argues, to which the navigator sighs, as it was something she actually agreed with
“He keeps saying that, what a rude little boy” Foxy mopes, Hamberg and Porcha try comfort him
“I’ve decided. Ready to come back to the crew brother?” Luffy asks, smiling
“Of course. Just one thing first” Kaos says before bending the knee to the younger captain “I pledge my ceaseless loyalty to the captain, and crew of the Straw Hat Pirates, if I fail in this regard I shall end my life the only honourable way, sepuku” he swears, shocking everyone
“What’s this bullsh*t? You said you weren’t swearing until the game is over!” Foxy shouts
Kaos smirks along with Robin, Valentina and Artemis “Oh it is, once you agreed to fight Luffy you lost. My Captain has beaten Shichibukai and even God, a pissant like you will be child’s play”
“You hear me good Foxy, I’m going to kick your ass!” Luffy shouts with enthusiasm pushed to 28!
TBC
LW: Well, score one for Team ‘Don’t give a f*ck’ aka the Straw Hats. Next is the final round. Luffy Vs Foxy in the Combat Trial
* “Of course Sir, I shall do exactly as the butler does, and tidy up” Walter C. Dornez, Helsing Ultimate Abridged episode 2
Yes, I did give Vivi Walter’s wire gloves, it just seemed a good progression from her slashers and gave her some more combat abilities to improve with the others
Chapter 61: Davy Back Fight, Part 3, Slowbro Vs Rubberman
Chapter Text
LW: And the final round begins!
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Davy Back 3: Slowbro Vs Rubberman
“Finally it’s almost over” Vivi sighs in relief as Luffy and Foxy stand and prepare for the 3rd game “Once Luffy wins we can get off this island and never think about it again” she says happily, though is confused as to where Luffy and Usopp managed to find an afro on this island
Nami scoffs “If he lets us”
“What do you mean Nami?” Kaya asks curiously
“If Luffy does beat Foxy, we’ll have injured his pride, taken something of his and broken his unbeatable/undefeated streak. He’ll force us to fight again and again until he picks the Merry clean” the navigator explains
“If that happens we won’t play we’ll fight. Do to these morons what we did to Arlong’s crew, Baroque Works and Enaru’s priests” Zoro states definitively, possibly even looking forward to letting his swords taste blood, even if it’s just the cannon fodder that was >90% of Foxy’s crew
And now we begin the combat section of the Davy Back Fight, the location of which will be determined by the fighters spinning this completely unbiased decision cannon…
Unbiased my ass, as the cannon veers straight towards Foxy’s shi…
Acho-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The Going Merry?
“Are you guys seriously cheating already?” Porcha accuses
“No, it’s just my allergies kicking in, I can only handle so much bullsh*t in one day” Victor sniffles as he responds, Valentina chuckling behind her hands, while a few of his crewmates just smirked
Ok, I guess the match will take place on the deck of the Straw Hat’s ship, the Going Merry. This rinkadink vessel will have to handle the power of a Davy Back combat match, will it survive?
“IT BETTER, OR ELSE WE’RE TAKING YOUR SHIP AS PAYMENT; LEAVE YOU ON THIS PILE OF NOTHING!” Nami screams over to the announcer, who gulps fearfully
“Things are finally turning in our favour, thanks to the Merry Luffy should be fine” Kaos says with a grin
“What are you talking about, sure the Foxy pirates most likely booby trapped their ship for these fights, but the Merry isn’t” Sanji argues, as Robin gasps
“Thanks to the Merry… you mean the Klabautermann?” she asks to which he grins
“What’s that?” Artemis asks, voicing a thought a good few of the others had
“It’s a spirit, drawn to ships that are loved and sometimes help their crews when in need. Though it is said they only reveal themselves when the ship’s journey is reaching its end” Robin explains sadly
“So, you’re saying the Merry has a ghost, because we love her?” Nami repeats with a disbelieving expression
“Either it was drawn to it, or it was born from it, either way, the Merry has a Klabautermann” Kaos replies “Luffy’s clearly a better brawler than Foxy, so really he just needs a little bit of extra good luck to balance out whatever dumb decision Foxy decides to do to cheat”
“I still think we should have just beat the ever loving sh*t out of them” Alvida groans, getting a nod from Zoro and Kaos, but murder boners aside she was ignored as Luffy and Foxy got into position
DING
Gum Gum...
Slow Slow Beam
Luffy throws a punch but Foxy catches his fist in his beam, the combination of a timelocked fist and normal everything else messing with his body, causing his arm to just wiggle uselessly between himself and his unresponsive fist
“This is going to be ugly isn’t it?” Vivi groans, hiding her face in Alvida’s chest, the older woman running her fingers through her hair
Due to the understandable distraction Luffy was caught off guard by another beam, this one getting his entire body, allowing Foxy to lay into his with rapid fire punches which had most of the crew wince in sympathetic pain
“He’s taking quite a beating” Robin notes
“Luffy can take it, he’s our captain and he’s never backed down before” Usopp declares, mostly to keep his own nerves calm, especially when the beam wore off, Luffy taking the concussive force off what looked like blows numbering in the low triple digits all at once, nearly flying off the side of the Merry had he not gotten his leg caught in some rope
“Huh, usually that’s bad luck, but thanks Nami’s secret rope” Luffy says to himself, unaware of a beet red Nami face palming when she heard his comment
“I’m never going to live that down am I?” she thinks aloud, only to get a flat ‘no’ from both Kaos and Zoro
“Now, where’d you go split head, you can’t just run around my ship, it’s too flammable to sterilize” Luffy shouts as he runs across the deck, getting annoyed when Foxy failed to appear, until…
“Try this on for size boy fey fey fey” Foxy laughs, hefting a bazooka onto his shoulder
“Time for some fox hunting Lassoo” Luffy orders, Foxy looking at him like he’d gone nuts, until jaws clamp down on his face, the bazooka turning into a very angry dachshund, causing the slowmo man to flail around erratically
“Yes, go Lassoo, show that bastard who’s boss!” Valentina cheers, bouncing up and down with joy, until Foxy manages to punch the animal until he let go, shifting back into his base/bazooka form
“Hey, don’t mess with my dog” Luffy yells, his next punch barely missing the split head, though he does see something that makes him smile
“What’s got you so happy straw hat? I haven’t even come close to hurting me and I can lay into you whenever I want” Foxy taunts “Then I’ll take your women, your flag and everything you love till…”
“Shut up dumb ass” Luffy says throwing back his arm for his next attack “You know the good thing about your rule, everything on the ship is good, just no additons after?” he asks, confusing Foxy
QUACK!
Full force Sonic duck tackle to the side sent the man flying, right into
Gum Gum Pistol
…right in his usually smug face, causing him to slam into the outside of the Merry’s main cabin
It would seem Straw Hat isn’t playing around, what will the boss do nex.. opps I appear to have dropped the Foxy Slowmo cannon, clumsy me
“That commentator is starting to piss me off” Sanji grunts around his smoke, Nami giving him a look of ‘starting to?’ which Alvida actually voiced just before Foxy started firing at Luffy and Caroo
“He’s going to destroy the ship!” Victor shouts
“Come on Luffy, kick his ass, the Merry doesn’t have all day” Usopp and Kaya try encourage him
“Damn split head, stop messing with my ship!” Luffy yells, jumping off Karoo and landing a punch right in Foxy’s face, the duck stealing and throwing his cannon overboard while the cheater recovered
“You little brat take this!”
Slow Slow Beam
Nine Tails Fury
Luffy dodged the beam but he wasn’t the target, both attacks were aimed at Caroo, the spiked boxing gloves doing a lot of damage to her feathery, unarmoured body. Kaos covers Vivi’s eyes, but she still cried as she heard the beating her oldest companion was taking, especially when the beam wore off and she was shot off the side of the Merry
“Now things are fair once again boy allow me to fini…”
Gum Gum Bazooka
The double palm strike to the gut shot Foxy into the air and through the Merry’s Crows nest, hitting the ground just shy of knocking the figurehead off the ship for the 5th time.
“What was that for you rude little sh*t?”
“You don’t TOUCH any members of my crew, not without answering to me” Luffy growls, walking towards Foxy as the older pirate pulls out a bright pink blade
Slow Slow Sword
‘Ah frak, not again’ Luffy whines, as he finds his arms and legs won’t respond to his attempts to move them
Foxy chuckles “Well, now I have a captive audience, I’ll pay you back for that low blow” he swears, raising his spiked gloves
Nine Tails Wrath
“30 seconds” Foxy taunts, as the recoil shoots Luffy into and partially embeds him into the mast
“No”
“Luffy get up, the afro compels you…OW!”
“Shut up about the afro, Luffy’s in real danger”
“Papa?” Artemis looks confused as Kaos stands up, while Robin and Chopper were more curious
“Luffy, that fat bastard’s punches are a child’s compared to Jiji’s and you’ve taken those without backing down. So get on your feet and show him why you’re the King and he’s just chum!” the purplette bellows, his eyes practically glowing
“This crew is full of such rude and disrespectful people” Foxy mopes as to his shock Luffy pulls himself free, dusts himself off and settles into a fighting stance
“He’s right, you want to feel a real punch Foxy?” he smirks, pulling back, though not using his devil fruit power, to everyone’s surprise
Fist of Love
The Straw Hats were shocked by the more Sanji named technique, but everyone was floored when the head on punch threw Foxy against the back of the figurehead with enough force to send it flying to the mainland
“Holy sh*t, how strong is he?” Usopp whimpers
“4, I’ll give it a 4” Kaos scores, looking a little under whelmed
“Oh come on it was way better than that!” Luffy complains
“If I’d done that, what would you have scored me?”
Luffy sighs, then grumbles “4 and a half, obviously”
The researcher chuckles “Fine take the extra .5 points” he says, causing Luffy to cheer, and making everyone within range, really f*cking confused
“Straw hat, this isn’t some game now take things seriously!” Foxy yells as he pulls himself free of the ship
“He’s kicking your ass quite well as is, do you really want him to fight harder?” Nami shouts, heckling the cheating pirate
“Stay down brat!”
Megaton Nine tails onslaught
Gum Gum Gattling
“sh*t, who knew Mr. slow could move that fast” Victor gasps as he watched the 2 fighters pummel each other in a blur of fists, nobody able to determine much of anything, besides the continued blurs meaning both were still punching the other.
Slow Slow Beam
‘Bored now’ Saita Kagami
Just before Foxy could use his signature move, a shimmering, something formed on the point of Luffy’s tattoo, where Agya chakra would be, redirecting the pink energy pulses back at their creator, who was oddly enough just as susceptible to its effects as everyone else
Luffy grins “Shi shi shi, looks like you finally pulled the same trick one too many times” he says, throwing back his right arm, while twisting it repeatedly
Gum Gum Rifle
The punch landed dead on, but nothing seemed to happen, but everyone pretty much knew it was over, they just had to wait
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1!
Foxy left the Merry as if shot out of a cannon, slamming into the land with a loud and tactile THUMP!
“He won… HE WON!” Nami screams, jumping out of her seat and cheering, the others beginning to follow
“Not so fast!” Foxy groans, standing back up
The Boss is of course Correct. Due to how small your vessel is, the 50m radius circle that is the battle arena does include some of the mainland, this fight isn’t ov..
Gum Gum Stamp
“There, now it’s over” Luffy declares, kicking Foxy out of bounds “Yeah!”
“Is it finally over?” Chopper asks Zoro who shrugs
“I want to say yes, but…”
“Nobody gets to take my winning streak and live!” Foxy shouts, diving at Luffy with a dagger
“Boss no!”
Deux Fleur: Clutch
Snap
Shimmer
The Foxy pirates didn’t actually catch the incident as it happened, only the aftermath, Robin’s blooms breaking Foxy’s arm and causing him to drop the knife, but given he was in the air at the time be still flew in Luffy’s direction, onto Kaos’ blade
“Ku ku ku, I told you I’d get it Split head” Kaos purrs, smiling as Robin brings over a grapefruit, which as the light left Foxy’s eyes warped and contorted, as well as turning pink with think black swirls
“Seem’s someone is starting a very rare collection there” Robin grins as the former Foxy pirates Captain was dropped to the ground.
“Well I can’t study something I don’t have” he replies as if the answer was obvious, wiping Hebi in Foxy’s pant leg before reattaching her to his hip
“You can’t go anywhere without killing people can you?”
“Oh Miss Navigator, you make it sound like all I do is kill people” the purplette chuckles as he slips the Devil Fruit into his coat
“You just killed someone” Nami groans
“Oh sure bring up that one time”
“We should probably leave those 2 to their bickering, and move to a safe distance before Nami drags us into her squabble” Vivi advises “And while doing that… SOMEONE GET CARUE AND CHECK SHE’S OK!” she shouts, prompting Sanji to jump in and bring the duck to Chopper, who said she would be bruised and tender for a while, but otherwise she was fine.
For winning the Davy Back, Luffy chose their flag as his boon, despite Sanji begging/threatening the captain to choose ‘sexy shipwright’ Porcha, and gave them one of his own design in return. As you would expect, it was really bad, but they couldn’t do anything about it, as the rules stated they could never use their old flag again, meaning they would now be forced to sail the seas with that deformed abomination Luffy says was a fox head, apparently.
With that out of the way, Luffy made the journey inland, followed by the others as he met back up with the old stilt man and his hoooorse Shelly, even presenting him with the Foxy Flag, to show he’d beaten them and that they wouldn’t bother him again.
“You did this for the old man? Why didn’t you tell us?” Alvida asks
“Yeah, Nami might have yelled less, maybe” Zoro adds
“Doesn’t matter, what’s done is done and the old guy and his horse are safe. Hey Nami, has the Log Pose changed yet?”
Nami nods “Yeah it’s ready whenever you are Luffy”
“Great. It was nice to meet you old stilt guy, and giraffe horse, but we kind of need to get going, find someone who can fix the Merry” Luffy explains “I hope we meet again sometime, or that you at least find your friends”
The old man laughs, then wheezes “Thank’s kid, for getting me off my stilts, reuniting me with my sweet Shelly and driving away those monsters. I wish you the best out there on the sea” he says, Shelly neighs in agreement
The 2 follow the straw hats to the ship to properly see them off, the old man promising Luffy and Usopp he’ll stay away from stilts, with Shelly promising Chopper and a tired looking Carue that she’ll make sure he sticks to it.
With another island of madness over and done with, the Straw Hat Pirates set off on their next adventure, wherever that may be
TBC
LW: Well, that’s done and with Foxy dead I will never have to entertain the notion of another Davy Back Fight EVER again.
Next arc in 2 weeks, then I think that will be it for 2019
Chapter 62: The Iceman Cometh
Chapter Text
LW: Well, now Foxy is out of the way, how about we meet a real heavy hitter.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – The Ice-Man Cometh
“You seem relaxed there” Robin muses, swaggering over to Kaos, his eyes closed and Artemis practically curled up in his lap. The purplette smiles but doesn’t move
“My latest acquisition, means these eyes are no longer… necessary” he purrs, his right eye opens lazily, its silver X locking onto Robin “But they are more convenient, se se se”
“Well, as long as I can help, you learn anything from Foxy’s fruit?”
“No, just that it feels like split head, so I moved it to a separate box so I can keep interactions to a minimum. Also I need to wait until we get some more grapefruit before I can do anything major with it” the researcher admits with a sigh, running his bony fingers through his kid’s hair, like stroking a cat as it was clear she liked it that way.
“Guys, I see an island!” Usopp calls from the crow’s nest, prompting Nami to move to the front of the Merry
“Hm, looks pretty uninhabited” she thinks aloud, not that it deterred Luffy
“Sounds like fun, everyone we’re checking out the new island in about 20 minutes, so get ready” he shouts, getting the attention of the others.
“Hopefully there’s some food on this island. Find some and I can make us all lunch” Sanji says as the Merry weighs anchor and everyone disembarks
“Nothing slimy or gross ok?” Nami whines, accompanied by a full body shiver
“I don’t think you’d notice by the time Sanji was done with it” Vivi argues
“Not that it matters, once it gets to your stomach it’s all the same” Zoro grouses, getting a thump to the head for his troubles
As luck was good today the ones who went scavenging brought back a good haul, enabling Sanji and Valentina to cook up a veritable feast, not that it was going to last much longer than a normal meal with Luffy scarfing it all down.
“We’re going to need more if we expect to survive with Luffy eating everything until we get to the next island” Nami says as a starting point to get everyone moving again, this time the whole crew taking a trip through the forest
A little later
“Find any good herbs guys?” Usopp asks, having noticed their 2 medics picking non-food items up while they were trekking
“Yes, some of these are very handy to have on the ship given the fights we seem to get into so often” Kaya answers, chuckling as some of the others roll their eyes
“Plus some of the plants on this island can substitute harder to make and obtain medicinal plants and concoctions” Chopper adds happily “This island has so many amazing things, though I’ve noticed something odd while we’ve been walking.”
“Really, what?” Valentina asks
“A weird groove in the dirt, it’s been going down the middle of this path for while now” the doctor answers
“So it is, kind of looks the right size to be a bike trail” Victor notes
Sanji scoffs “That’s stupid, why would someone use a bike all the way out here?”
Robin tenses, though given she was near the back nobody really noticed, though when she calmed herself she heard something strange
Click click click click
Looking down she noticed small blades exiting the bottom of Kaos’ shoes, in fact on a 2nd look they seemed to resemble… ice skates? There were also the clenched fists, the 1st phalange of each digit a shining silver
“We’re walking into danger aren’t we?” she asks quietly, the purplette looks down with a blank expression
“Define danger” he replies
“Devil fruit, something strong”
“Then yes, we’re walking towards danger” he answers with a deep sigh, just as the group reach a clearing
“Well, this is boring” Luffy complains “There’s nothing here” then Chopper rushes past him “What… hey Chopper you need to learn to share a little guy like you shouldn’t hog giant mushrooms” he shouts, running after the reindeer, though stops when Chopper rushes around the rock and it thrown back
“Clearly there’s something bad behind that rock” Zoro guesses, hands on his sword hilts
“Then let’s check it out”
“Ow, my butt” Chopper mutters to himself as he stands up “Wait a minute you’re not a mushroom, you’re a person, a really big person, bigger than Kaos”
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
‘And you’re asleep’ the doctor thinks, then with a loud snort and a grunt the man reaches for his face and pushes his sleep mask off his eyes
“Hm, a tanooki, didn’t think you were real” the man thinks aloud
“I’m a reindeer, can’t you stupid humans see the antlers!!” Chopper shouts in a rare moment of anger
“Chopper I saw you fall, and bounce, are you ok?” Luffy asks as he makes his way around the rock, then pauses when he sees the man “Who’re you?”
“Guess the island isn’t so uninhabited as we thought” Alvida notes
“Do you mind, I was sleeping” the man grumbles (Extreme sleeping, standing completely vertical for hours at a time)
“Holy crap that guy’s huge” Usopp gasp, while Robin seizes up when she sees him
“Mama?” Artemis calls, the 1st to notice the reaction, Kaos noticing when she falls onto her ass in terror, shortly followed by the others
“Robin’s freaking out, that means run right?” Vivi asks, having never seem the older woman loose her chill before, even back in Baroque Works
“You know this guy, who is he?” Luffy asks, as tensions rise
“Hey, hey, hey, everyone calm down. I see you’re afraid but there’s no need for that. It’s not like I’m here on official orders or anything, I’m just here to get some uninterrupted sleeping” the tall man says, trying to calm the Straw Hats, especially the hyperventilating Robin down.
“Orders? From who?” Zoro asks, Wado already drawn
“Navy Headquarters, He’s a marine, Admiral Aokiji to be precise” Robin answers, her eyes not leaving the marine’s face “One of the 3 powerhouses, alongside Akanu, and Kizaru, the Red Dog, Yellow Monkey and Blue Pheasant. Out ranked only by Fleet Admiral Sengoku (Hi Seagull hat... again)”
Aokiji chuckles, the turns to Nami, worrying her immensely “Yes?” she squeaks
“Damn, another hottie with massive tatas, you free tonight?” Aokiji asks, clearing the tension, with annoyance
“Hands off her you crazy pervert!” Sanji yells, any other time there would have been amusem*nt at the irony
“Geez, did none of you kids listen to what I said, I’m here for a little stroll, then decided to take a nap, that’s all. Don’t get yourselves in such a spin, you guys are just… what cha ma call its”
“Huh? What?” Luffy asks, now just confused
“Eh I’ve forgotten, probably wasn’t that important” the marine rubs his head and shrugs
“Try make sense ya weirdo!” Valentina and Alvida yell
“Robin, you can’t be serious, this guy can’t be some big shot marine, he’s almost dumber than Luffy” Usopp argues
“Hey, don’t go around judging people by their appearance it’s rude and makes you look like a dick. Anyway, my motto as a marine, is complete Slovenly Justice” Aokiji says with a relaxed shrug (For some reason that sounds better than Lazy Justice, not sure why)
“Then we were right!”
“Anyway as I was saying… wait a minute” he kneels and then lies on his side, using his coat as a pillow “Sorry, standing for too long makes me sleepy”
“Then maybe don’t sleep standing up” Nami suggests irritably
“Any who, back to the topic at hand, I have no intention of trying to arrest or capture any of you, so relax, take a chill pill, you’ll live longer. I’m only here to confirm the whereabouts of Nico Robin, who was rumoured to have been travelling with some Supernova rookies as we didn’t have any confirmed sightings of her since Alabasta. Clearly she’s been with you guys this entire time. I’ll make a report on that some time later, now you have another crew member with an existing bounty, your crew’s overall bounty has gone up. 110, 60, 50, 12, 10, 18, 7 and finally 79 added together is… some huge ass number”
“Just try do the damn math” Zoro grumbles
“I call bullsh*t for 346 million” Kaos whispers as he helps Robin stand, then groans when Luffy tries pick a fight “Luffy, ice beats rubber”
From the ground, Aokiji smiles “My, my, a sensor from the East Blue, colour me surprised. But it doesn’t matter; I already said I wasn’t going to do anything” then raises an eyebrow as a commosion occurs behind the crew from out of a bush
“You’re really a marine? I wish we’d known that sooner” one of the men says weakly
“Really not so uninhabited” Valentina comments
“Who are these people?” Nami asks
“Castaways most likely. There was a passenger liner who disappeared about a month ago” Aokiji says with his default apathy. (How are there passenger liners on the Grand Line?)
“I can see the marines were trying real hard to find these people” Valentina says sarcastically, to which the admiral just shrugs
Chopper and Kaya immediately get to work checking over the survivors, happy to see they were doing pretty well for their circ*mstances, none were too badly injured and Sanji didn’t even need convincing to cook up something to feed these poor souls, he actually seemed happy to. Though how they ended up in this position was… odd to say the least
“Your ship was destroyed, by a giant frog doing the front crawl?” Alvida repeats ‘f*ck the Grand Line is weird’
“That doesn’t even make sense, Usopp could lie better than that” Zoro grunts
“We’re telling you the truth!” one of the castaways shouts
“No he’s serious, that’s Yuko Zuna” Aokiji says blandly, going quiet once more until the next strange statement
“A man riding a bicycle on the water. Are you guys sure you weren’t hallucinating due to starvation?” Usopp asks, holding in a laugh or snort at the stupidity of the statement
“Actually, that was me” the marine interrupts, causing several facepalms
“And the only other ship we’ve seen since arriving here looked like a pirate ship”
“Yeah, that was most likely us” Vivi answers, happy something made sense for the moment
“Well, you should probably get moving along, I can give you a little assist in pointing you in the direction of an inhabited island not too far from here, you should be able to make it home yourselves from there” Aokiji says as he stands up
“How? You admitted to only having a bike with you not a ship, and nobody has a log pose that could lead them to the next island so they’re stuck” Nami complains, but Robin shakes her head
“He can help them, it just won’t be how you expect it to”
A little later
“Alright, that’s everything you guys had, plus some food and water for the journey” Sanji smiles as he finishes helping the survivors pack up, along with the other straw hats and Aokiji, Luffy actually getting along rather well with the lazy marine, and Robin looked to be much calmer again
“So, how are you going to help these guys, haul them to the next island with your bike?” Luffy asks, getting a chuckle from the admiral
“Not exactly” he hums, crouching at the waters edge and dipping his hands in the water. There was a couple minutes of silence, where people wondered what he was doing, then a sea king rose from the depths, causing focus to shift to ‘Get away, save yourself you lazy f*cker!’
Ice Age
Turns out they didn’t need to worry, as the sea and the beast were froxen solid in seconds by Aokiji’s Devil Fruit ability
“Wow”
“Holy freaking sh*t!”
Robin sighs “Now you understand, the power of an admiral”
“Especially one with a Logia” Kaos adds, mostly to her.
Aokiji slowly stands and turns to walk back up to the group “It should stay like that for about a week. Gives you plenty of time to make land. Head straight that way and you’ll reach the island I mentioned in about 4 days” he says as he walks through/past the dumfounded crowd.
With the admiral gone, once everyone’s brain kicked back into gear the straw hats helped the castaways move their supplies onto the ice and waved them off, the problem solved and now they just had to leave themselves. Happily trekking off the ice they were surprised to see Aokiji was still there, staring at Luffy
“What? Is there something on my face?” the rubber boy asks confused
“No, you’re just the spitting image of your grandfather Monkey D. Luffy” he says, causing Luffy and Kaos to tense “That, and you’re just as reckless and hard to figure out”
“You knew Gramps?” Luffy squeaks, confusing the others as this was the meekest they’d seen their captain
“Your Grandfather helped me out once, which is why I’m here. I wanted to see you and Nico Robin together, see what happens. But on 2nd thought, maybe I should just kill you” Everyone began to worry at that statement “Right now you’re pretty much unknowns, small fry on a world scale, but if you’re anything like your father and grandfather, this crew will be something formidable. You may be smaller than most pirate crews, but with the rogues gathered before me, you WILL be a problem in the future. Taking everything into account, I’ve spent most of my life hunting and taking down outlaws, and you my boy, and your crew, scare me just thinking of what you could become”
“Hey, you said you were just here to check things out” Usopp shouts in a panic
“One of you I consider most dangerous, Nico Robin” the marine continues, blooms catching her legs beign the only think stopping Artemis from moving defensively in front of Robin.
“So you lied, you are here for Robin” Luffy growls “You can’t have her, she’s one of us!”
“There’s a part of me that’s impressed by what you’ve accomplished since getting a 79 million beri bounty on your head at age 8. Surviving in the underworld by being a skilled opportunist, quick to switch sides and find an new mark to latch onto. And now you have these fools” Robin’s eyes widen and she pales while some of the others just get angry
“Don’t talk about Mama like that, she’s part of the crew, it’s a family, a nakama” Artemis shouts, managing to get Aokiji to express and emotion, that of surprise, though when she reaches for her paint 2 blooms throw them away “Mama”
“No Artemis, this isn’t a fight you can win” she says calmly, hoping this would be over quickly
“What have you got against Robin you frigid bastard?” Alvida asks, hefting her mace onto her shoulder
“I have nothing against the girl, nor any connection, besides letting her go once before. But I’ll leave you with this, every organisation she’s a part of is annihilated, with only her as the survivor” Aokiji says as he stands, the former Baroque Works thought about arguing, except they had technically already quit before reaching Alabasta, and so probably didn’t count as part of the organisation for the time frame he was referring to.
“Shut up, the past doesn’t matter!”
“Most of the people on this crew have done bad things, or at least tried kill the people already on it before them”
“Who you are is always more important that who you were, people change”
“Robin’s our friend, you can’t try turn us against her”
Aokiji chuckles, locking eyes with the Last Oharan “Well, it seems you’re in the perfect spot to slide in the knife” he says, Robin’s teeth and fists clench as she crosses her arms, blooms locking the man in place
“SHUT UP! DON’T YOU SAY ANOTHER WORD!”
“Did I stike a nerve, or just underestimate your patience?” Aokiji asks, still with his flat tone, which just annoyed Robin more
Clutch
Chopper jumps, huddling behind Carue “Ah, he shattered into a million pieces”
“f*cking logias man” Kaos hisses, unclipping Hebi and letting it curl around his arm as Aokiji reforms like some kind of demonic snowman
“That was cold Nico Robin. I didn’t want to kill you, but it seems you’re not giving me any other choice”
Ice Saber
Robin closes her eyes, hoping it would be quick until she heard a clang like metal on metal, opening them she saw Zoro holding back the swing with Wado, determination clear on his face. Sanji then took the moment of surprise for Aokiji due to people actually defending the Devil’s Child to kick the ice blade away, giving them a moment at least.
Gum Gum Pistol
Aokiji didn’t react visually to Luffy’s direct hit to the gut, though due to his pre-emptive grab of Zoro and Sanji, he was able to flash freeze all 3 of the Straw Hat’s heavy hitters without moving a muscle
“He’s cold” Luffy mutters, before pain, shoots through his arm as it’s encased in ice
“Hei Hei no mi, Freeze man” Kaos sighs, Hebi expanding and contorting without a command
“You have some very loyal friends, but you’ll never change Nico Robin, you’ll do anything to survive, no line you won’t cross”
“I won’t, I’m not that person any more” Robin responds, a waver in her voice, fear, and guilt, seeing them writhing in pain. His arm was around her before she could do anything, not that she would have been able to, her entire body now frozen solid
“So you finally gave up, after all this running” the ice man says, with a barely detectable hint of… was that amusem*nt “Well, since you were good enough to surrender, I’ll end this quickly
Shimmer
Serpentello
Aokiji winces at the cut across his chest, even if the blood froze over seconds later, turning his attention back to the pirates he saw Robin held between Artemis and Kaos, a large, jet black fan like weapon hanging from his left arm, while the right, looped around her waist was completely covering in his reflect armour.
“Please somebody tell me we’re not playing keep away with an admiral” Kaya chews her lip, though still goes for her guns
“We’re not playing keep away with an admiral, we’re playing it with Robin, as in keeping her away from the walking ice cube trying to smash her” Victor corrects, sending a couple of nose fancy cannon’s but Aokiji just shifts into his frozen state and tanks then regenerates the damage
“Listen here, you’re not getting Robin. Kaos keep her safe!” Luffy orders, the older brother nods with gritted teeth
“Of course” he hums, frowning sadly at the look of pain and fear in Robin’s icy visage “He’s going through both of us to get to Robin” then turns when Chopper starts tugging on his coat
“We need to get Robin to the ship and thaw her out, she’s a liability out here as she is” Usopp explains
“I don’t know why you idiots are resisting, the world would be a better place without the woman in it” Aokiji mostly thinks aloud, dodging ami bullets and catching Nami’s climatact with little effort
“I may not be as smart as Robin, but isn’t that true for all pirates?” Alvida asks, then metaphorically freezes when Aokiji stops her mace swing dead
The admiral chuckles “I suppose, now get out of my way!” he says slightly louder before using his grip on both weapons to slam the women’s heads together
“Nami!”
“Alvida!”
“Stop!” Luffy shouts, before the others could try retaliate “Nobody interfere, I’m going to fight him one on one” he orders, the rest of the crew visibly conflicted
“Luffy, don’t be an idiot, we’re not exactly even tiring him out together, what can you do alone?” Valentina asks, having not exactly been able to do much in this fight herself anyway
“Yeah. So what do you say, think you can beat me in a straight fight?”
“Boy, you really are as crazy as Garp, but without a Sengoku to balance him. Word of warning though, I don’t have a ship, so I’ll just have to kill you
On the Going Merry
“Papa? Chopper? Is this going to work, will Robin be ok?” Artemis asks as she keeps splashing water on the frozen woman.
Seeing the reindeer’s distress Kaos answers “We don’t know kiddo, we’re doing the best we can, so we just have to hope”
“That’s why your hand is white then, because we’re throwing everything at her?”
The purplette suppresses a smile, Robin’s kid indeed “Yes Artemis, I’m pulling out all the stops, because Robin will be fine, and we’ll all make it through”
Hearing a commotion Chopper ran outside, leaving the 3 to continue working on Robin, until Nami joined them
“What are you doing here?” Usopp asks
“Chopper sent me in, so he and Kaya can check on Sanji and Zoro’s injuries” she explains “Any changes?”
“Well, her body is still intact, so we’re kind of assuming that means she’s still alive. But other than that, no” Kaos answers disappointedly
“And the others? Why are we still here if you’re all back?” Usopp questions fearfully
“Because we’re not all back” Vivi answers from the door “Luffy, he’s still out there, duelling Aokiji”
“WHAT?” Sniper and Artist shout
“Luffy’s an idiot, but clearly he wants to keep the rest of his crew from ending up like Robin” Kaos guesses, getting a nod from Nami and Vivi
“Wait, you’re ok with this, he’s fighting a freaking Admiral, you can see what he can do to some”
“OF COURSE IM NOT OK WITH THIS!” Kaos shouts, grabbing Usopp by his nose, pupils contracting into slits “But there’s nothing I can do about it, not just because Luffy is stubborn or the captain, but because we’d get in the way if we all tried to mob someone like Aokiji. All we can do, is look at Luffy’s track record, having beaten 3 logias before now, and hope” he sighs and releases their sniper, who after checking his nose wasn’t crushed leaves in a hurry
Back with Luffy
Running towards Aokiji Luffy feins a punch before kicking the man into the air. While in freefall, Luffy fills himself up with air, releasing it to propel himself upwards on a collision course, after all it’s practically impossible for someone to dodge in mid air
Gum Gum Storm
Aokiji shattered into ice crystals, Luffy thinking for a moment that he won, until he reformed holding onto the rubber boy “I think it’s time for the ice age”
‘sh*t, this is going to hurt’ Luffy thinks as just like Robin he’s frozen solid
As he sits across from the Luffy ice sculpture Aokiji sighs and chuckles “Well played Luffy. When I agreed to your terms, fighting you, and only you, that left your crew in the clear, as I can’t even go after them without being the bad guy in this situation. Smart… or I suppose there’s a chance you actually thought you could beat me, making you stupid but really ballsy”. Some of the straw hats would be here soon, he could tell, either to retrieve what was left of their captain, or carry him to receive well needed medical attention, either way they wouldn’t be long now “I know you can hear me Luffy so I’ll give you some free advice, keep an eye on Nico Robin, because no matter what you think of her, the burden she was born into, will be too much for you to handle one day, and when it does, don’t say I didn’t warn you” after that he stands up, dusts himself off “I could kill you in seconds, but I do owe you a debt. Consider us even for Crocodile, and good luck I guess” he shrugs as he walks away, draping his coat over his shoulders
A couple hours later
“Everyone. Luffy and Robin… are going to make it” Chopper announces, getting cheers from the straw hats not currently in the infirmary.
“So what should we do now?” Victor asks, turning to Valentina and Nami
“it’s probably best if we stick around for a few days, give those 2 time to recover, then we can set sail for the next island. The Log Pose is set we just need to wait for the captain’s go ahead” Nami answers, the blond agreeing with their navigator
“With Freezerburn gone I think we should be fine for another few days, as the danger is gone, in all sense of the word” she adds, a few of the others sigh in relief at the accuracy of that statement. Plus a few days to calm down sounds nice.
About a week later
“Hey guys, look at this” Luffy cheers, before dousing himself in flour and posing “Tata, ice Luffy” he garbles, getting laughs from Chopper, Usopp, Artemis and Valentina, while Nami sighs from above the deck
“You’d never guess he nearly froze to death a few days ago the way he’s acting” she grumbles, munching her way through Sanji potatoe piea.
“Would you prefer crippling depression, or doubting his every move?” the red head turns, seeing Kaos watching them with his hat and coat nowhere to be seen “The fact Luffy could literally bounce back after all this, is amazing, especially given how one sided that fight must have been, someone like Aokiji kicked his ass without any real effort”
Nami sighs but nods “You’re right, but it doesn’t stop him being a pain in the ass”
Kaos laughs “Oh don’t I know it. But Luffy has always been a hyperactive knucklehead, you just kind of get used to it over time” he then smiles as the main door opens, a calm though still peaky robin stands in the doorway “Nice to see you’re up and moving around Robin” he calls, getting a smile and nod
“Robin, you’re up!” cheered some of the others, Sanji rushing off to make her something.
“Yes, thanks to our doctors I’m fine” she replies, liking the pale yellow blush of Kaya and almost break dancing level of spasms Chopper was doing in response to her compliment “Thank you Sanji” she gives a half smile as she accepts his offered mug of coffee, and takes in the sight of her crewmates, everything was calm, how she wished it could stay that way.
TBC
LW: I know I skipped a couple filler arcs, in my defence after killing Foxy last chapter 1 of them was compulsory.
Any who, that’s the end of 2019’s Rubber King and Mirror Master, We’ll start 2020 with the Water 7 Arc. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my readers, goodnight!
Chapter 63: Welcome to Water 7
Chapter Text
LW: Well here we are, a new year and a new arc. Enjoy
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Welcome to Water 7
“Everybody move it. Full reverse we need to get the Merry out of the way!” Nami shrieks over the noise
“That can’t be what I think it is, can it?” Kaya asks worryingly
“Well, it sure looks and sounds like a train, as weird as that statement may be” Valentina answers, as the whistling gets louder, the combined efforts of the crew managing to get out of danger just as the train rushes past.
“Yep, definetly a train, now how the f*ck is there a train going along the water?” Zoro ask/yells
“Well, the thing we got snagged on/stopped by might have been the track, or whatever the equivalent for this sea train is” Kaos suggests, his breathing returning to normal levels
“Granny we’ve got pirates!” the crew turn to see a girl with pigtails that stick up to form a Y on her head shouting from the lighthouse, though not in a fearful way, which was odd as usually people seem to run in fear or not give a sh*t.
“Give me a mo kiddo, well it seems you’re right, get me the Den Den from out back” the old woman slurs before falling over
“What do we do? If they call the marines we’re screwed” Vivi asks
“Well, I don’t want to hurt old ladies or children, so we could just steal the snail from them” Kaos offers
“Hello? Who’s this? Wrong number bye”
“Well she’s drunk off her ass!” Zoro grumbles, while Usopp collapses in relief beside him.
“Well, good luck captain, and Vivi this is what we pay you for” Valentina chirps, lightly shoving the bluenette towards the side of the ship, accompanying Luffy and Nami
“Hello strangers” the old lady waves
“Granny, those are the pirates I told you about” the little girl whines “Hello, my name’s Chimney” she greets “this is my kitty Gombe and Granny Kokoro” she introduces the clearly a rabbit and old drunkard after.
“Um, hello. You’re a lot more relaxed than I though you would be” Vivi notes, especially given their first meeting involved screaming
“Na ga ga, you kids wouldn’t happen to be train robbers would you?” Kokoro asks, getting a shake of the head from the 3 “Good”
“I’m Luffy, and I’m going to be king of the pirates” the rubber boy elaborates
“Really?” Chimney says with starry eyes
“I like you kid, you’re nuts” Kokoro laughs
“Chimney, that was a steam boat right? Because what it looked like seems pretty impossible” Nami asks, chuckling nervously to herself
“Well if you thought it was a steam train then you’re right. This is the one and only Sea Train: the Puffing Tom, transporting passengers from island to island everyday thanks to the tracks hidden just below the surface” Chimey explains, munching on a cookie “Plus it carries goods and messages as well, you want it the Puffing Tom can get it to you, or at least your island”
“Wow, weird” Luffy thinks aloud, looking down at the tracks
“This is incredible, how is it possible?” Vivi asks, getting in just ahead of the navigator and the curious sniper who’d popped down to check out the sea train tracks
Chimney shrugs “I don’t know how they figured it out, it was done back in Granny’s time, but the tracks keep the train on target, while the engine runs the paddles on the train’s wheels making it rush through the water like it was air”
“Very impressive” Victor whistles, liking the ingenuity of an engineering marvel like this
“So where are you young things going? The next train isn’t till tomorrow though, sorry loves” Kokoro asks, her drunken tone and permanent grin hiding the sympathetic message she was trying to impart.
Nami waves her off “It’s fine, we don’t need the train when we have a ship and a log pose” she replies, pointing to her wrist
“Oh, and where is it pointing?” Kokoro asks curiously
“That way” Nami answers, pointing straight ahead and a little to the left of the station they were at
Kokoro nods, still smiling “Ah, then you’re heading to Water 7, also known as the City of Water. Nice place, you’ll like it there”
“Water 7, sounds delightful” Vivi smiles sweetly
“It is. Real good shipyards there it’s their claim to fame, though technically their claim to infamy is/was the Oro Jackson” Kokoro slurs, missing the spitake from the researcher, though given she wrung her hat out over Usopp Artemis clearly didn’t.
“Really, then they must have some great shipwrights too” Luffy cheers “Guy’s I know what we’re going to do today. Head to Water 7 and get us a shipwright to fix the Merry”
“In that case, hold on a tic” Kokoro says before waddling back into the house
“Wonder what that was about” Alvida thinks aloud, getting shrugs from anyone who heard her
“Here you go dearies, a map of the city, and a reference letter, give it to a man named Iceburg and he’ll fix your ship up good I promise”
“Thanks weird old lady” Luffy says with a grin, causing the yellow haired woman to cackle
“We’ll be heading that way soon so I hope to see you there so I can show you my favourite drinking holes” Kokoro grins as the crew prepared to head off “It’ll take a week for the log to lock on to the next island so I know you’ll still be there. Good luck”
“See you then Koko, Chinmey” Luffy waves as Valentina gets them moving again
A little while later
“Leave finding the shipwright to me, I’ll find the hottest girl in town” Sanji declares, swooning already
“What do I care about how hot she is, I want a big manly man, 16ft tall and built like a bear!” Luffy argues
“A person that size wouldn’t fit on the ship moron, plus think of how much food they’d need” Usopp vetos
“Idiots” Zoro sighs “What they look like doesn’t matter, the problem will be finding someone mad enough to join a crew of pirates” he adds
Kaos shrugs “I don’t know, we got a good few people to join willingly, and those that didn’t, well Luffy is the more stubborn bullheaded person most of us have ever met, he won’t take no for an answer”
“He’s not wrong” Vivi and Alvida agree, Chopper and Carue chuckle to themselves as Luffy shoots his girls a look of betrayal and flops onto the deck sadly
“I agree with Zoro, the appearance don’t mean anything, all we need is a good shipwright” Victor pipes in, adding to the main conversation
“Keeping the kids in line down there girls?” Robin calls from her position between Nami and Valentina
“About as well as usual” Vivi replies, letting herself be pulled into Luffy’s lap and hugged
About half an hour later
“I think we’ve arrived” Kaya calls happily
“Wow, it’s so cool” Luffy cheers
“I can see why it’s called thw City of Water, they have rivers for streets, basically” Nami notes, until Robin corrects her
“Given they’re most likely artificial, they’re canals” she says, still smiling
Lucky for the straw hats they managed to prevent another Dead Race incident by being directed to the canal equivalent of back alleys and going into Water 7 that way, avoiding any potential marine prescience.
“I like this place, there was a lot of work put into the construction of all these buildings” Victor notes with a grin, then pointing how to Chopper how the buildings were high and dry despite the initial appearance.
“It’s so cool, like all the houses are built on stilts, or maybe bridges with all the arches” he cheers, awed by the designs
Once more they were oddly helpfully directed elsewhere to dock their ship, probably so they’d keep out of trouble and the city would remain intact. All was good as it weighted achor… less when the sails were raised
Creeeeek. Snap!
“sh*t” Zoro curses, himself and Alvida catching the once more broken mast
“Are you trying to break the ship idiot!” Usopp yells, about to slap the swordsman until Kaya restrained him
“No, I didn’t do anything that I don’t normally do. Damn the Merry is falling apart, how the Hell did we make it this far into the Grand Line in the first place?”
“Sheer dumb f*cking luck” Kaos answers, himself and Victor moving to help centre and secure the mast once more.
“Hey, did anyone find it weird nobody cared that we’re pirates?” Nami asks
“They’re shipwrights, anyone with a ship is a potential customer, therefore as long as we don’t cause trouble they don’t give a sh*t” Valentina guesses, getting nods of agreement from a few of the others
“Possibly, or the security they have is good enough some minor league pirates like us won’t be much of an issue for them to deal with, so they have no reason to worry” Robin adds, giving her own idea to the blaze reactions they’d been getting.
“Ok, before everyone goes crazy we need to remember why we’re here. Find Iceburg and give him Kokoro’s reference letter so he can work on the Merry, then we find somewhere to cash in all the gold we got for Berri. Now obviously half the crew can’t do the 2nd mission, as you have bounties on your heads, so Usopp, Vivi and I shall do that. The rest of you can help unload the gold, then I guess do whatever, see the sights, stock up on supplies, anything, as long as somebody stays behind to guard the ship” Nami explains the plan, the large crew making short work getting the gold into a sack and off the ship, Luffy deciding to make it his job to mind the treasure, slightly altering Nami’s plan, but given Luffy wasn’t listening in the first place she decided to allow it, plus it meant she didn’t have to carry all their gold.
“Rental Bullpen. Any idea what that is?” Usopp asks as he reads the plaque over the city entrance
“Well, Bull’s are animals, usually beasts of burden, or just really stocky animals like bulldogs. Other than that, no idea” Vivi guesses
“Guess we’ll just have to go find out” Luffy shugs, following the 3 in front of him into the city
As it turned out ‘bulls’ were plesiosaur looking animals with horse like faces, their head/necks sticking out of the water and when a boat is attached to their back like a saddle made for simple transportation in the mostly aquatic Water 7. 2 boats were provided, Nami and Usopp in one, while Vivi and Luffy (the sack on his lap) in the other. The renter also gave them a map and directions, both for somewhere to trade the gold for berri, but also a shipyard, hopefully Iceburg’s, at least that was the thoughts of the 4 pirates.
“Wow, this place is incredible” Nami gasps as they ride through the canals, forcing herself to keep one eye on the map so they didn’t get lost
Vivi nods “Yes it is. Too bad we didn’t get Alvida to come with us”
“Don’t worry about it, we’ll find a yagara fit for 3 and go sightseeing later, how does that sound?” Luffy asks, turning to see the bluenette smile and kiss his cheek
“Lovely Luffy, almost romantically so” she says with a wink, causing both to laugh
“Who’s the one with the sweet Devil fruit again, the cavities I’m getting seem to be affecting my memory” Nami deadpans, ignoring some random guy flirting with her, and lucky she did as his wife pulled him back in a minute later and apologised
“This place is really weird, even ignoring that as Nami and Robin seem to get flirted at everywhere, these people are so friendly, it’s actually a little unerving” Usopp thinks aloud, the sniper clearly feeling a little paranoid in their current condition
“Relax Usopp we’re stuck here for a week, try to relax, maybe you and Kaya can take a Yagura to the other side of town, do a little shopping for herbs or weapon maintenance supplies” Luffy suggests with a shrug
Of course the long nose’s worry was at least in his and Nami’s eyes warranted when the bulls decided to take a different canal than the one she wanted and their equivalent of a gentle stroll turned into a high octane roller coaster, Luffy cheering as they went up and then a rather sharp down, Vivi, once secured by one of Luffy’s arms, giggled at his antics, while Nami and Ussop swore and screamed, especially the jump which even had the bluenette cling to Luffy’s shirt before they landed with a splash
“Never do that aga...wait a minute” Nami begins to yell, but stops when she sees a sign “This is the shopping district, this is exactly where we were trying to go. You took us on a shortcut, didn’t you?” she asks the yagura, who nods and whinnies, louder when she rubs his mane/fin and coos at it.
“Ok, we need a plan….” Usopp begins, right until Luffy speeds past “Hey where are you guys going?”
“I don’t know ask my ride” Luffy calls back with a shrug. Luckily it was just hungry, so returned a few minutes later with an arm full of water-water meat, which was apparently rather good, not that Luffy was letting anyone but Vivi and their Yagura have any of the ones he bought
“Nami, Luffy’s eating in front of us, make him share the local food” Usopp whines, though Nami didn’t notice, too distracted by the odd masks some of the people were wearing, ornate but expressionless marvels, reminding her of pictures of a masquerade ball from a storybook.
Frowning she puts the weirdos to the back of her mind and gets back to work “Ok, so now all we need to do is go up the watergate elevator and we’ve finished this part of the job”
“The what now?” Luffy asks in confusion
“The tower thing, right in front of us” she responds, pointing straight ahead.
“Wow, they really do use water for everything” the navigator laughs as they take the elevator, which used the water like a lock (which makes sense when you remember most of the city is canals) to float the bulls and their passengers to the upper level.
10 minutes later
“So this is the greatest shipyard in Paradise. Everything’s so huge!” Luffy shouts when they finally exit the elevator and catch a look at the upper region
Drawn to a crowd the 4 discovered just how big a deal it was to be a shipwright in this town, with the locals treating the Galley La company like celebrities, one reason being their ability to beat up any pirates who try to mess with them.
“I can’t wait to meet these guys” Luffy gushes, nearly dropping the treasure on Usopp’s foot
“Hold the boat Luffy, we still need to get the gold converted, then we can come back” Nami reminds him, getting a grumpy sigh before turning on his heels and following the person he recruited because she could read a map.
Meanwhile
“This place is so cool, and it’s just the shopping district” Artemis gasps, grinning widely as she follows directly behind Robin, Chopper on the woman’s right and Kaos essentially guarding their rears
“It’s a good thing they have walkways as well as these canals” Chopper notes, then shivers as a masked person walks past him
“Yes, the amount of planning required for the construction of somewhere like this is incredible” Robin agrees, ignoring the flirting idiots staring at her cleavage, luckily Artemis strategically clinging to her, and a glare from Kaos got them moving, the artist having to switch parent a couple times when the rare local girl flirted with the reflect human
Chopper grimaces “This place is full of Sanji’s and girl-Sanji’s”
“I think the word you’re looking for is Regu, and I’m glad we don’t have one on the ship or I’d have lost something important a lot earlier on this journey” Kaos muses, chuckling to himself while Robin stiffles a giggle behind her hand
“Hey guys, what’s that guy selling?” Chopper asks gesturing with his head to the stands on the other side of the canal “They look creepy”
“Don’t worry Chopper it’s just a mask shop. I’ve seen quite a few people walking around town with them on, I guess they buy them from him”
“You wear them, I thought they were those guys faces” Chopper laughs as they continue on
“There’s a costume carnaval on most days a few islands over, so people take the sea train over to participate”
“How’d you know that Mama?” Artemis asks, eyeing the masks
“Everyone’s talking about it, side effect of always being on the lookout for danger is you see and hear practically everything around you, even if it does sometimes cause a light touch of paranoia” Robin explains, then something catches her eye and smiles “Hey Chopper I found the bookstore”
“Really?” the reindeer’s eyes sparkle, shooting over to where she points, Artemis chasing after him, “Can we go in Robin, please, please, please?” he begging, bouncing around like an excited child, the redhead not far behind in excitement.
“Seems like you’ve adopted another one” Kaos teases, then see’s Robin freeze when one of the masked men brush past her “You ok?”
Robin blinks and quickly fakes an enthusiastic smile “Of course, everything’s fine, just feeling a little peeky. I’ll follow you in, in a minute” she assures him, the purplette looked unconvinced, but Chopper and Artemis’ combined whining forced his hand, to Robin’s relief
It seemed that a carnival city was the best place for Chopper, as everyone assumed he was wearing a really nice costume, rather than calling him some kind of freak.
Eventually worry entered the younger member’s heads, as Robin still hadn’t come in, all 3 of them worried something was wrong
Back on the Merry
Zoro was doing the one thing he seemed to love more than his swords, sleeping, on the Merry’s deck, one of the few to remain on the ship, when a group of people snuck on board and interrupted it by trying to split his head open with a sword
“Pity, I was hoping we could kill you quickly in your sleep” the man taunts in response to Zoro’s annoyed face
“Who the hell are you morons?” he asks
“You really don’t know? Cause we know you Pirate Hunter. We’re a colection of bounty hunters, known as the Franky Family. We’ll be taking the 60 mill bounty for you, then wait in the cabin for the others to come back and deal with them” one of the goggle wearing dumbasses boasts, swinging his sword which Zoro blocks with practically no effort, then rather than cut him, just knocks him out with the hilt of another of his swords.
Seeing the man go flying the rest of the Family charge, Zoro looking bored as he held 2 blades towards them and countered
Nitoryu: Rhino Cyclone
Sending them all over Water 7
“The f*ck is going on up here?” Alvida asks as he come out onto the deck, looking annoyed when she see’s Zoro had his swords out “Did we just get attacked?”
“In the most basic sense of the word, yes. And here I thought we’d stop seeing incompetent bounty hunters when we got to the Grand Line” Zoro replies with a sigh, sheathing his weapons and sitting back down “They won’t be back any time soon, so don’t worry about it”
Meanwhile, in Upper Water 7
“Wow, VIP, think we’ll get caught in an indoor pitfall again?” Luffy wonders aloud as they all sit in the rather fancy looking room, well until him and Usopp start bouncing on the cushions, Vivi looking nervous while Nami was still as a statue, not taking her eyes off the aprasier.
“You’re oddly quiet, what, do you think the gold is fake or something?” the sniper asks after calming down
“No my boy far from it, this is some of the best quality gold I’ve seen in a long time, and I’ve been at this for over 20 years. I’d estimate the value at about 100,000,000 beri”
“100 million!” Luffy yells, before getting his mouth covered by Vivi and Usopp
“Quiet idiot, do you want people to know how much money we’re lugging around?” the long nose hisses
“Usopp is right about one thing, it’s probably best we leave the negotiation with the ship’s treasurer rather than risk messing things up” Vivi adds, Luffy nodding as he understood both of their points, plus he was confused as to why Nami hadn’t yelled at him yet either
“Well, I belive all we’re going to need is your thumb print and signiture then we can get everything done nice and quickly” the moustachioed man says as he slides a document across the table, only for Nami to kick it away
‘Ugh oh, Nami’s mad’ thought the 3 straw hats as their navigator began to speak
“3 things before we negociate.
- This idiot here as a 100 million beri bounty
- I don’t belive your apracial to be accurate
- If you lie to ME again, it’ll be the last lie you ever tell.”
The man swallows thickly “A-a-ah of course.
A little later
“300 million beri!” Usopp cheers, much like Nami practically cuddling their new found wealth
“Skypeia paid off, big time” she purrs, wide grin on her face
“Well, at least we now have all the funding we need, for whatever it takes to get us a vessel off this island” Vivi notes, as a royal the amount of money in front of her wasn’t as brain melting as it was for the others, but it was still an impressive haul that she was proud to have been a part of
“Yeah, let’s get this bagged up and head to… who are we looking for again?” Luffy asks, clearly Nami was in a good mood as she only lightly threw one of the stacks of berri at his face, rather than punch him
“Iceberg. That’s the man Kokoro gave us a referal for, so he’s the man we’re going to ask to have fix the ship” she repeats
Later
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with us carrying around all this money, shouldn’t we head back to the Merry?” Usopp asks, Nami having loaded their 3 suitcases of money into her and Usopp’s boat, leaving Luffy and Vivi a chance to be free of the burden for this leg of the journey
“It would be a waste of time to do that, especially when the shipyard is just over there. Besides, we’ll be heading back to the Merry in no time, after all the shipwrights will have to come down to see how much damage has been done before we can agree on a price” Nami counters/explains, smiling brightly at the fact they were all rolling in it right now
“You’re right, i guess I’m just a littler nervous, I’ve never even seen this much cash before in my life, never mind having it in my posession”
“Well don’t worry Usopp, I trust you not to do anything monumentally stupid with our money, something I can’t say about Luffy, even with Vivi supervising him. Hell if he used it on a ring I doubt she’d care”
Usopp nods “Yeah, you’re probably right there, plus even if she is a pirate now, you’d assume a princess would like to be spoiled from time to time,” he says, while hoping to be just out of earshot of the bluenette
When the 4 returned to the shipyard it was a lot quieter, which was perfect for a group carrying so much money with them, as well as meaning they won’t have any trouble from the shipwright’s fan club.
“Well, we’re here, now to find Iceberg” Luffy announces, mostly to remind himself what he was looking for. Given much like his grandfather Luffy seemed to have a distain for procedure he decided to just step over the fence, until some weirdo with a nose about as long as Usopp’s but square stopped him.
“Luffy’s going to get us kicked out, then how will we fix the Merry” Usopp whines as they follow their captain over to the fence.
“So, what are you outsiders doing here?” Square nosed Usopp asked, to which Nami handed him the referral in lue of an answer “interesting, not many youngesters these days show up with a letter signed by Granny Kokoro” he laughs, handing it back to the navigator
“You talk weird, how old are you?” Luffy asks before either of the girls could stop him
“I’m 23, why?”
“Because you talk like you’re at least 50, when we’re got I think around 3 crewmates older than you that still talk like normal people” Usopp replies
“So, do you know Iceberg, or are we at the wrong yard?” Vivi asks, causing the man to laugh
“Know him? Of course I do, everyone in Water 7 does given he’s the mayor”
“Damn drunk idiot, she could have told us that!” Nami shouts, glaring angrily in the direction of the train station the old bat was probably still at right now
“So this ice guy is just as much a big shot as the last one we met” Luffy says
“Yep, not only that, but he’s the president of our Galley La company, and the manager of the Sea Train” the shipwright adds
“Wow, Kokoro really did us a big favour with that letter if Iceberg is such an important guy” Vivi hums, smiling sweetly “So, can you help us get in touch with him?”
The man chuckles his eyes hidden under his hat “Now that’s the hard part, pinning down Iceberg. He keeps himself real busy, so it’s not easy to find him for most people”
“But you could get in touch with him for us, right?” Nami asks
“I suppose. Though we may be able to speed up a few things first. Where’s your ship docked” the worker asks, doing a few stretches, to the straw hat’s confusion
“Down by that rocky bluff, why?” Usopp answers,pointing down to where the Merry was
“I’m going to go check out what needs to be fixed, that way when you get to Iceberg you can get straight into discussing cost and work, given how precious his time is he’ll apreciate it”
“How are you going to get down there, on a Yagura?”
“I’m trying to save time, not waste it, give me 10 minutes and I’ll have an evaluation, maybe even a ballparked quote”
“10 minutes?” Nami mouths to the others, before the dock worker vanishes in a burst of wind, rocketing through the island in the direction of the Merry
Soru
Gepo
“Holy crap this guy’s fast!” Usopp shrieks “Do you think he’ll be ok?”
“Don’t worry, he’s always doing that” a voice behind them says, causing the 4 pirates to turn and see a man with blue hair and lips, in a suit, with a mouse in his breast pocket “He’s Kaku, Galley La’s foreman”
On the Merry
Kaku lands gracefully on the Merry’s deck, looking around and only seeing a sleeping green haired teen “Hello, anyone around” he calls, causing Zoro to crack open his eyes and double take when he saw a square nosed Usopp. Then Alvida, Kaya and Victor came out and were confused as to why there was a stranger on their ship
“Who are you?” Victor asks, the others at least resting their hands on their weapons, understandable after the Franky family tried to attack them
“Kaku of the Galley La, I was sent down to have a look at the damages, and wow I’m impressed this old girl still floats even just from a casual look. She’s held together with hope and dreams, or practically” he jokes as he continues his unofficial tour of the Merry
Back at the top
“I’ve never seen someone jump that far, I don’t think I can with my fruit, nor Kaos with his” Luffy gushes, then pouts
“Well, my men are the best in the business, so of course they can do things nobody else can” the man in the suit boasts
“I see… wait a minute, your men, then you must be Iceberg” Nami gasps
“Correct. Califa” Iceburg calls to the bespectacled woman beside him, who looked like she had a naginata shoved in an uncomfortable place
“I’ve already done the background check. The boy in the centre is ‘Straw Hat’ Luffy, his crew containing other noteworthy pirates as ‘Pirate Hunter’ Zoro, ‘Mirror Master Kaos’ and ‘Devil Child’, Nico Robin” she says “Also the girl closest to him on the right, is Nefetari Vivi of Alabasta, if I’m not mistaken” she adds, giving a barely noticeable bow, surprising the princess “Combined the crew has a bounty of 346 million, though a handful of the crew have no registered bounty so the bulk is the captain and the few I just named, the crew was formed in the East Blue and still has a majority East native crew, and due to being named after their captain are known collectively as the Straw Hat pirates” she finishes, flashing her glasses
“Very interesting. My name is Iceberg, this here is a mouse I found on the way here, I’m thinking about naming him Tyranosarus” the mouse squeaked in what he assumed was approval
“Nami, is this the guy we’re looking for, he doesn’t seem that special, just kind of a weirdo” Luffy asks, while Iceberg complains to his secretary and has her clear his day of things he didn’t want to do
“This is the guy. Which means we need to give you this” Nami smiles as she passes him the letter
“Take a look at their ship X” he reads, then rips up the page, crushing their hearts
“Why’d you do that you dick?” Luffy shouts, then ducks a kick from Califa, which hits Usopp instead
“Please, we need someone to look at the ship, money isn’t an issue” Nami pleads
“Come on, if you’re the best than you’re the perfect choice to fix Merry, so please” Luffy asks, now putting his navigator between himself, Vivi and the crazy lady with poor aim in kicks.
“Ok” Iceberg responds imidiately, shocking the 4 pirates
“Just like that? Then why did you rip up the letter?” Usopp yells
“The lipstick mark was creepy. Though given we’re drinking buddies Granny Kokoro is a good friend of mine, so I’ll take her word that you’re good people” he then sighs, picking his nose “Besides, Kaku has already run off to asess your ship and it’s not like I have anything else to do so there’s no reason to turn you away, now would you like a tour of the facility?” he asks
“Sure, sounds like fun” Luffy agrees, following the odd blue haired man through the gate with Vivi, Nami not far behind and Usopp was about to follow until he noticed…
“Guys! The money’s gone!” that statement had Nami turn on her heel’s eyes wide with panic
“WHAT!!!!” she shrieks
“Hey, there it goes” Usopp shouts, seeing 2 Yagura’s carrying weirdoes with wonky shades and odd clothes bob away, the people in the boats not even trying to hide the fact they’d stolen 3 suitcases of money “Who are you people, or better yet, come back here and give us our money back!”
“I’ll wring all your necks if I catch you!” the navigator shouts, even from the distance Vivi could see the men shiver, seemed they might have some functional brain cells up there after all
TBC
LW: 2020 yo. Hope you enjoy the new chapter and that you stick around for another year of content, bye everybody :D
Chapter 64: Final diagnosis of the Going Merry
Chapter Text
LW: Hey people, I’m still here. Let’s go
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Final diagnosis of the Going Merry
“Holy sh*t we’ve been robbed. Nami how could you let this happen?” Luffy asks, not getting a response from the twitching red head, so moves on
“This is bad, how are we going to get that back, we need it to repair the Merry” Vivi thinks aloud, the 2 making their way over to Usopp who had to stop at the water’s edge.
“I thought the point of me not carrying the money was to prevent this from happening” the rubber boy muses, as expected getting a headslap from his wife, with Usopp joining in for good measure “Sorry” he mumbles, then see’s a commotion heading their way
“Is that?” Iceburg asks
“Yes, the debt collectors are after him again” Califa answers, referring to the blond man running across the bridge like his ass was on fire, until he spots the Franky family and their Yagura’s below him
“Why how convenient, I’ll be taking your ride boys” he shouts before jumping off the bridge, throwing out ropes to subdue the crooks before floating away on one of the yagura, laughing maniacally
“Well that’s the original thieves dealt with” Vivi notes “Now for the new guy”
Nami unclenches enough to comment, and given what we’ve just witnessed, I doubt he’ll just hand over the money to us” she says with a sigh, Luffy about to go and deal with it Straw Hat style, when someone grabs his hand
“Don’t worry, I’ll get your money” chirps the pigeon on the man’s shoulder, momentarily surprising the crew, before filing it away under ‘Grand Line WTFs’ like most of the other insanity they’ve run into on their journey, especially when the man makes quick work of subduing the other dock worker, then bringing him back by his ear like a disobedient child.
Meanwhile
“It’s bad isn’t it?” Kaku looks up from examining the floorboards to see Kaya standing on the stairs, watching him “That’s why you haven’t said anything, because the Merry is getting close to the end of her journey?”
The square nose stands “I won’t know the specifics until I’m finished examining the entire ship, but if it helps, I can compliment you guys on how clear you keep this place, even a room as manly and spartan as this one is clean as a whistle, only the lack of dust shows this place isn’t simply a display ship” he says with a sweet smile, making the Ami girl nod and return to her duties
Back with Luffy’s team
“We apologie for Poly’s behavior, though his actions did enable you to regain your lost finances from the Franky Family” Califa states clinically
“Of course, that should even things out, more of less” Vivi assures her, ignoring Nami trying to cause damage to Luffy, and failing because rubber as always
“So, this Franky family, do they do that to everyone or are we a special exception?” the navigator finally asks
“Usually they’re dismantling ships, but 200 million was probably too good a prize to resist trying to take” Iceburg answers “They’re ship dismantlers, and bounty hunters, whenever pirates come in they try take them out for their bounties, then take their ship, strip it for parts and sell them on the open market”
“They’re quite frankly, a public nuisance” Califa adds, scrunching her nose
“They don’t seem all that tough” Luffy says “I doubt they could take any of us on”
Iceburg nods, true but they aren’t the real problem, their boss Franky is. If you run into him don’t try confront him as it won’t be pretty”
“Well here you go Iceburg, one idiot, and 2 suitcases of money” the pigeon chirps, his handler passively staring
“That bird really is talking” Luffy yells, then catches the suitcases as they’re tossed to him “Thanks”
“So the money is yours, guess I saved you a lot of trouble dealing with the Franky Family” Poly says gruffly
“Yeah, that would have been annoying, not hard but still a pain” Luffy nods
“If you want to show your appreciation, I’ll accept 10%” the blond’s eyes glint before falling to the ground after taking a hammer blow to the back of the head by Lucci
“Do we even want to know what is going on?” Vivi asks rhetorically, something it seems only humans understand
“This here idiot is a compulsive gambler, and a bad one at that, so he owes a lot of people a lot of money” the bird explains
“Will you give it a rest you annoying little sh*t?” Poly shouts, shooting out rope which knots around Lucci’s arm then pulls, sending the statue like man flying in an arc until he hits the ground with a thud, the straw hats looking away before the smoke cloud obscures it anyway
“I can’t look, is he ok?” Nami squeaks behind her hand
“What the? He stopped it with his hand, not only that he dug his fingers into the rock itself!” Usopp shouts, which ahd the girls quickly look while Luffy just laughed, this Lucci guy was really strong
“Enough Poly, get back to work” Iceburg scolds the shipwright as Lucci rights himself and his bird returns to its usual resting place on his shoulder
“We apologise for the commotion, we hope this will not happen again and you can continue your business smoothly”
“Um, thanks Mr pigeon” Nami replies awkwardly
“Oh right. My name is Ro… my name is Hattori and this here is Rob Lucci, we both work in the Galy Law factory”
“Wait, the bird almost… you’re a ventriloquist” Nami declares, jabbing her finger in the top hat wear man’s face
“Awesome”
“I’ve never seen a skill like that before”
“I never suspected a thing, and tricks like that are usually my specialty”
“Please stop, it’s nothing too special” Hattori/Lucci says, giving placating gestures as he steps back. This was interrupted by Poly having a minor episode as he scolds Nami and Vivi for their scandalous outfits, not the cleavage the navigator has on display, but for wearing a skirt and exposing most of her leg with the exception of her thighs.
“This guys is serious isn’t he?” Vivi ask, having side stepped behind Luffy when the man started to rant at Califa, who based on her expression had heard it all before and had stopped caring a long time ago
“Poly, enough of this. Let’s open the gate so we can begin the tour” Iceburg says, growing tired of the blond’s complaints
“This is a very large and impressive door” Usopp says as it opens to reveal the shipyard “And to open it by hand, just how strong are these people?”
“I think would take the whole monster trio to do that, they do make them tough on the Grand Line” Nami notes, whistling as they were let in, after Iceberg reminded them to keep a good eye on their finances, especially after Franky incident.
“I see what Kaku meant, Iceberg is quite the celebrity around here” Vivi muses as practically every dock worker they came across greeted the man with a smile and enthusiasm.
“Of course Miss Vivi” Califa agrees before continuing “In a place like this, where skill is all that matters of course he would shine. But it’s more than that. Before Iceberg there were 7 competing factions, now Iceberg runs the show with all the docks co-operating to fill orders even faster than his predecessor could have imagined. His pasion for shipbuilding and grounded nature spreads to everyone around him, and even when he’s their boss he’s still so aproachable for the workers, and constantly re-earns their respect with every day”
“You’re awesome Ice guy, how about you join my crew?” Luffy asks, causing Poly and Califa to go into apoplectic fits, and Lucci’s cheek to twitch
“I’m sorry about him, Luffy is direct to put it mildly” Vivi attempts to pacate the shipbuilder and secretary as well as explain to Iceberg the reason for Luffy’s request “We’re looking for a shipwright as well as repairs so hearing how great Iceberg is, his decided to start at the top and work down so to speak”
Iceberg blinks and turns to Luffy “Is it true, you don’t have a shipwright on your crew?”
“Nope. Usopp and later Victor were the closest we’ve had, but the trip here is as much a chance to try get us a new crewmate as fixing up the Merry” Luffy admits, grinning as always
“Hm, well if you manage to find someone in Gally La willing to join, I won’t get in the way” Iceberg replies, then see’s something else catch his attention “Those the new designs we were trying to improve?” he asks
The woman before him, petit with grey eyes and a bob cut nods “Yes Mr Iceberg, I belive the new design will actually exceed our original expectations, based on the new calculations” she replies, giving a meek smile “You can recheck the numbers if you want to be sure”
Iceberg laughs but shakes his head “No I beleive you, you earned the position by skill alone. Hey, Straw Hat, if your ship needs any improvements or a replacement, Sui Feng here is the best in the business for ship designs” he claps her shoulder, causing her to blush and hide her face
“We’ll keep that in mind, oh dear” Vivi says politely before noticing Luffy run off “I’m sorry but without his brother around, somebody needs to be around to make sure Luffy doesn’t cause any trouble” she explains before running after her captain, trusting Nami to get them a good deal on the Merry’s repairs
Meanwhile
“I don’t understand why Robin would just up and disappear like that” Chopper wonders as he tries to follow her scent, Artemis and Kaos following not to far behind
“Can you sense her Papa?” the artist asks
“Enough to know she’s still in Water 7, I don’t know this place enough to be any more exact than that I’m afraid” he answers with a sigh, then both perk up when Chopper speeds up, though have to quickly hide their disappointment when it turns out to be Sanji that Chopper found rather than Robin
“Oh, hey guys, what are you doing here?” the cook asks “Shouldn’t you be with Robin or something?”
“You saw Robin?” they ask
“Yeah, she was with some masked weirdo, then they disappeared when I turned this corner. By this point I had gotten tired of this maze of an island and kind of just decided to mope for a few minutes”
“When was that?” Artemis asks curious
“About...10 minutes ago I think” Sanji guesses, while Kaos pulls out a pocket watch from his coat
Back at Dock 1
“Kaku, where did you disappear to, you’re never late” Poly asks, now smoking a cigar
“I wasn’t late, I was doing an assessment” the square nosed man replies, which has Nami’s ears prick up
“You’re done already, you really are fast” Nami says with a grin
“Sure am. Oh there you are boss, these kids were looking for you earlier, nice to see they found you” Iceberg nods, petting his mouse absently
“I gathered. So, how is the ship”
Kaku’s smile fades “About that…” while Nami calls Luffy and Vivi down, yelling for Usopp as she hadn’t seen him in a little while.
“Hey Square Usopp is back. So how much will it cost to fix the Merry, no price is too high for our ship. Then we can work on upgrading her, make her stronger, faster, and more dangerous, MORE CANNONS!”
“I wouldn’t mind some decorative engravings on the hull, the Merry is lovely but we got her before we were even a proper crew, just 3 idiots and demon and myself” Nami adds, sighing almost nostalgicly
Kaku frowns “Hold your horses. That ship of yours, it’s been through a lot hasn’t it?” he asks
“Well we went to the sky islands, does that count?” Luffy asks in responce
“Yes. The problem is that your ship has some rather impressive, but deep scars”
“So it’ll just take a while to fix her right?” Vivi asks, crossing her fingers
“No, it’s not a matter of time, or skill. Your ship can’t be repaired by anyone” Kaku tells them
Poly sighs, resembling a blond Smoker for a second “The keel?” he asks, to which Kaku nods
“It’s taken a lot of damage” he says “it’s also the biggest problem with repairing it or any ship”
“No, we’ve gone everywhere with this ship without a problem” Nami shouts
“I’m sure you have, but the thing is, even if we did everything we could for her, the probability of your ship making it to the next island, is 0” Kaku says seriously, a cold shudder ran down their spines
Meanwhile, on the Going Merry
“This is f*cking bullsh*t!” Valentina shouts, kicking a barrel apart before falling back against the cabin
Kaya sniffles as she runs her hand along the side of the caravel “This is as far as you can go ay Merry?” she asks rhetorically “We’ve been through a lot, and I know we’re sorry for any part we’ve played in what’s happened to you”
Zoro grips her shoulder, trying to help as best he could “It’ll be ok, we’ll get through this, somehow. And just because she can’t go any further down the Grand Line, doesn’t mean she won’t get a respectful end she deserves, she’s part of the crew after all” he hears a low chuckle across the deck
“Seems the swordsman does care, nice work. You’re also right: Kaos and Robin, their talk about the klaburthingy, everyone loves the Merry so she’s going to go out the way she’s meant to, with love and respect”
With the other Straw Hats in Water 7
“Well, this sucks” Sanji grumbles as the 4 make their way back to the ship with their supplies, and minus their archiologist
“I’m sorry Sanji, she told us to go in ahead of her and we thought she’d be right in” Chopper whimpers, Artemis nods while Kaos remains silent
“It’s not your fault Chopper, none of your need to apologize. I just want to know who that guy I saw he walking with was. Given he was a big fella with a cloak I’d have thought it was you had I not known Chopper and Artemis would be tagging along on your little trip” the cook says to the reflect human “Unfortunely that cloak, as well as some kind of mask, means I don’t have anything to tell you about the guy”
“Too bad everyone seems to be wearing masks around here, or else a big guy wearing a mask would be really helpful in finding her” Artemis notes with a frown
“There’s also the fact they managed to just disappear, not even poof, but they were there and then not” Sanji adds “Hey you’re the expert, know any fruits that can do that?”
“No, but the feeling I got in that culdesac, it’s a fairly good bet whoever the man with Robin was, he had a Devil fruit”
“Well, there’s clearly nothign else we can do, so all that’s left is to head back to the Merry and if there’s nothing wrong Robin will show up on her own”
“And if something is wrong?” Chopper asks
“Then just like with nami and Vivi’s problems…” the blond begins
“...we beat it into the ground and deal with things that way” Kaos finishes, a grin that promises pain across his face.
Up in Galley La
“What do you mean you can’t fix the Merry? You’re supposed to be these awesome shipwrights, what a load of bull” Luffy shouts angrilly “If it’s about the money we have more than enough”
“It’s not money” Kaku repeats “There’s nothing we can do that will get her back to where she once was. In fact, if I’m being honest with you I’m impressed you made it this far given her current condition”
“Current condition?” Vivi asks
“Do you know what the keel is princess blue?” Poly asks
“Actually no” Vivi admits
“It’s the bit at the bottom of the ship, the bit that goes along the middle?” Nami asks, the name sounding right in her head at least
“Correct. It’s also the most important part of the ship, structurally speaking. It’s the starting point and the part in which the entire ship is built off of. It’s the core or spine of the ship, and when it breaks, the ship is dead in the water, or it’s not far off” Poly explains “You can’t just replace it, due to the building process you’re basically building a new ship entirely at that point. And that is why nobody, not even we can fix her. Your ship is just a pile of wood awaiting her end”
“Hey, you don’t have to be such an ass about this!” Nami shouts, clenching her fists “The Merry is important to us show her some decency”
“I’m being straight with you, that ship isn’t going anywhere, if you try it’s basically suicide”
“Well if you have to build her again then do that. Build us a new Going Merry, maybe even have bee girl spruce her up or something”
“We can’t do that” Lucci says through Hatori “We could build you a very similar ship, but nobody could build you the same ship over again, not here, not anywhere”
“So you’re saying there’s no way for us to continue sailing on the Going Merry?” Vivi asks, really hoping she’d misunderstood
“Exactly. Your only options, are to wait for her to sink, or dismantle her immidiately” Kaku tells them bluntly.
“Oh don’t just look at the negatives, think of this as an opportunity. This is the best place in the world to get a new ship. Kaku said the Merry was a Caravel correct? An old ship like that, it’s a miracle you made it this deep into the Grand Line.
“We don’t want a new ship” Luffy says flatly “The Going Merry is the Straw Hat’s Pirate Ship, if we repair her she can sail. She got us here, she’s given us no trouble since we got on her back on Kaya and Ussop’s home island and now you say she’s useless out of the blue? I refuse to believe this bullsh*t!” he continues, getting progressively angrier
“So you plan to sail her till she sinks then?” Iceberg asks, knocking the wind out of Luffy’s sails “That’s the decision of her captain? This discussion is over, go clear your head and process what we’ve told you, if you decide to get a new ship we’ll be happy to build you one. 300 million will get you quite an impressive marvel in a place like this” he says, about to walk off when one of the shipwrights run over, saying there were WG suits looking for him “Damn it. Tell them I’m not here, come on Califa I guess we’re leaving the back way”
“Iceberg, there you are” the bluenette cringes when a shifty looking man with a scar and wirey facial hair, and his goons saunter into the shipyard, Poly hissing at the straw hats to make themselves scarce, as pirates and government idiots are a bad combo
“Hello Corgi, as you can see I’m not here today, try again tomorrow please” Iceberg somehow says with a straight face
“Yes you are” Corgi growls “I’ve come all the way here by seatrain, don’t turn me away it’s very rude. I expected better from the mayor and Tom’s sucsessor” the suit smirks, then sniffs the air “That’s strange, I thought I caught a whiff of pirate for a second there, must have been my imagination. Anyway, I’m here to talk”
“I don’t like you, go away” Iceberg replies bluntly, reminding both female straw hats of their captain in terms of bluntness
“You can’t be that stupid. Listen I need to discuss something important with you Mr Iceberg, best done in private” the bluenette frowns, but follows the suits, his loyal secretary never far behind
“Those suits, always sniffing around Iceberg, what do they want?” Poly grumbles to himself
“It’s none of our business, probably hush hush political stuff”
“Nami, we have a problem” Luffy says, gently poking the red head
“What now?”
“These suitcases, they felt really light when I grabbed them to hide them over here with us”
“Luffy, I think you’re imagining things. You’re a lot stronger than the rest of us, unless those things were full of gold again I doubt you’d feel any weight at all” Vivi assures him, until Nami clicks them open…
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
“Can you weirdos calm down, you’re drawing attention to yourselves” Luci squaks through his pigeon, him and Poly walking over to see them screaming over 2 empty cases
“200 million beri” Nami squeaks
“Gone” Vivi finishes, knowing the navigator couldn’t bring herself to
“Wait a minute, these cases are different, all worn and kind of sh*tty” Luffy notes
“These people are weird. Hey Kaku, what were you doing with the Franky Family earlier?” one of the shipwirights ask, the square nosed man looks at him in confusion
“What are you talking about, I haven’t even seen one of the Franky squad in at least a week”
The moustachioued man frowns “Really, I was sure it was you, given that long nose” the description snapped Nami out of her daze
“Did you just say someone with a long nose, was with the Franky family?” she asks in a panic
“Well, you could say with, or you could say, being dragged away”
“That’s Kidnapping You Dolt!” the red head shrieks
“So once again, the Franky family have taken our money, and now they have Usopp too” Vivi sumerises, twitching slightly “Where can we find the Franky Family hideout, or whatever these thugs are calling it?”
“Given their honest business, it’s a workshop more than anything else. From where you’re ship is docked, follow the shore clockwise, the next outcrop will have one building out on it’s lonesome. It’s called the Franky House, you literally can’t miss it”
“Thanks Parrot guy. Let’s go!” Luffy shouts, running off, the girls sigh deeply before following him slower, until Nami stops
“We need to go back to the ship. Going to these people with our money is asking for trouble, plus it might be easier to deal with whoever these bozo’s are with some of our more combat oriented crewmates helping”
Vivi nods, understanding her point, both getting into a Yagura which made a beeline for the Merry, until they were distracted by a comosion
“Stop the Yagura!” Vivi shouts, Nami turning and following through when she see’s what the other girl did: Usopp, badly beaten and left on the side of the path “Detour, we need to pick up Usopp, get him and the money to the Merry, then while Kaya and Chopper treat him, the others can beat the Franku Family blue and retreive our ship money” the navigator nods and directs the yagura to make it’s way over to their sniper
“Come on Usopp, you better be alive” Nami calls frnatically as she shakes the long nose, scaring away the crowd in her haste
“Nami” Usopp croaks, eyes half open
“You’re alive!” she cheers, then her smile drops again “Who did this to you, was it the Franky Family?”
“I, it happened because I was weak” he wheezes between tears “They beat me and then they took all the money” Nami winces, having suspected but confirmation sucks Sea King balls “How, will I face the others, after losing our money, losing the chance to fix Merry?” he asks/blubbers
“Nami, he looks really hurt, I don’t we can just move him, especially not at the speed we were just going with the Yagura” Vivi notes, wincing as she watches Usopp cry his heart out “Listen Usopp, don’t worry about the money, we’re on our way to get it back and beat those thugs who hurt you. I sure wouldn’t want to be those guys if we sent the Monster Trio and Demon twins on them” she lightly jokes, mostly to stop herself from crying alongside him “We’ll grab Chopper and Kaya, they’ll patch you up real good, just relax and everything will be ok” she assures him, then helps Nami set him down against the wall “We’ll be back before you know it” Usopp barely grunts an acknowledgement, then the girls are back on the Yagura and speeding out of Water 7
On the Merry, a little before this comes to a head
“f*ck!” Kaos groans, the first of the 4 to react to the news, that the Merry was done for
“You can’t be serious” Sanji gasps
“That’s what the shipwright with an Usopp sized nose said” Valentina replies glumly “That the Merry can’t be repaired, no way, no how”
“But, if we can’t repair it, what will happen to the Merry?” Chopper asks, getting less than helpful answers, as they’re mostly shrugs
“No clue, we need to wait for Luffy and the others to get back, see what they think. They might have already made a decision on the way back” Victor answers the scared reindeer
Kaya frowns “It’s so weird to even think, The Merry has been our home, it’s gotten us all the way from the East Blue to here. It’s literally been part of the crew as long as Usopp and I, she’s a founding member”
“Exactly, why now, what happened that broke her?” Sanji asks
“Most likely what you just point out, she’s gone through a lot because of us, and unlike one of us, who can heal and get stronger as we get beat down, a ship, it’s damage simply accumulates” Zoro replies
“Plus I’m pretty sure whatever springdick did didn’t help” Kaos grumbles, anger flashing through all of them as they remembered that the Merry had been damaged while they had been getting her ready to fly.
“The Merry is apparently screwed and Robin is missing, I think I could kill for some good news right about now” Alvida fumes, though having something to swing her mace at would be a welcome 2nd choice
“Hey everyone!” they hear Nami shout
“It’s Nami-kun and Vivi-chan” Sanji swoons, then stops “But where are Luffy and Usopp?”
“Hey girls, everything ok?” Valentina calls, then notices the expressions on both girls faces ‘Well sh*t’
A little later - Franky House
The Franky Family were celebrating their sudden windfall, 200 million beri scored by robbing some weak pirate… when the doors were blown off the hinges of their base
“What the? Who dares attack the Franky Family?” One of the goons shout, surprised to see Usopp, panting in the doorway, blood still dripping from his wounds, but his slingshot out and his bag of tricks open
“Hey it’s that weakling from earlier” One Franky thug notes
“Give us our money back” Usopp demands, breathing slowly and evenly
The man in charge, hidden behind a mask laughs “Give you your money back? So you must be one of those Straw Hats”
“Yuk yuk yuk, yeah boss, I heard all the Straw hats were Super strong, but this one’s a real weakling yahuk”
“Stay out of things that don’t concern you” Usopp shouts, making a dive for the money only for Franky to pull it away
“Nice try, but you’re going to need to try harder than that” he says as the Franky Family laugh in the background “Ballsy trying to take us all on yourself though, I respect that”
“You don’t understand, we need the money, to fix the Merry. Her scar are deep, the damage sevre, we need that money to help her heal! So I’m not letting you thugs stop me getting what I need to fix our ship!”
“Sounds like you love that ship of yours quite a lot. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean anything to us, as this money, belongs to the Franky Family now” he laughs, the others chorusing alongside him “Too bad for you, stealing from pirates isn’t exactly seen as a crime (Hear that East Blue Nami, you did nothing wrong!), besides people like you don’t earn money, you make it by pillaging it from innocent victims, so really we’re just liberating it into much more deserving hands” Franky laughs, before kicking Usopp out of his way and turning on his heels “Show the boy how we treat intruders in the Family boys, I got some money to spend”
Exploding Star
Usopp launches one of his explosive pellets but it’s stopped by the masked man’s fist, no visible damage made.
“Listen to me good boy. My name is Franky, and if you want to live long enough to leave this island, you’ll do good not to cross me” he says with an unseen scowl, walking away as his boys restrain and then take turns beating the already badly injured Usopp
On the Merry
“Seriously where does the bastard keep all this stuff?” Nami thinks aloud as she sits with Valentina, Artemis and Carue, all having decided to stay and guard the ship, while waiting for Robin to come back, going through the pile of weapons Kaos had left for them to use to defend themselves in case the Franky family came knocking while they were gone.
“His coat” Artemis answers with a shrug, scratching Lasoo behind the ears as it rested it’s head on her lap
With the others
“What the, where could Usopp have gone?” Vivi gasps “He shouldn’t have even been standing up, never mind walk off on us”
“So we’re not lost, makes a change” Zoro hums, though is curious as to what happened to their sniper
“Guys! Come quick” they all turn as Chopper yells “It’s blood, a lot of blood”
“Usopp!” Kaya squeaks, the scowls “We need to make these monsters pay”
“Oh Usopp, you do love making this difficult” Kaos sighs tiredly, knowing the long nose was as stubborn as the rest of the crew, so clearly didn’t take being ordered to stay put all that well.
The moment was ruined by a pinballing of Luffy, bouncing off the wall in front of them before falling into the canal, prompting Zoro to go fish him out before anything else happened.
“Well the gang’s back together, can we go kick some ass now?” Alvida asks, itching to show these scavangers why you don’t mess with the Straw Hats
“Yes. We’re going to get our money back and show them that nobody beats up a straw hat without punishment” Luffy bellows, about to run off until Kaos and Kays grab him, mostly because he clearly had no idea where he was going, as usual
About 10 minutes later
There was a tense silence, as the pirates watched Kaya and Chopper at work, finally coming to a head when Luffy asks “Is he still breathing?”
Kaya tenses, syrup spikes blooming from her shoulders, but it was Chopper who answered “He’s unconscious, beaten almost as badly as when we fought Merry Christmas and Mr. 4, but he’s still alive. Kaya and I should be able to patch him up, once we get him back to the Merry”
Vivi sighs, sniffling before pulling her gloves tight “Stay here for real this time Usopp, we won’t be long and you’ll be in good hands soon enough”
“You mess with one you mess with all of us” Zoro growls, bandana on and all 3 swords already out
“This stupid house is going to be raized to the ground” Luffy declares, his eyes hidden under his hat
“We’re about to become a wrecking crew for one day only. I just wish you were awake to see it” Victor say with a frown
“No Mercy, not this time” Kaya’s statement is barely a whisper, but the anger in it could be felt in the air, mixing and strengthened by the same aura coming off the rest of the crew, as they march together towards the Franky House.
Meanwhile the Franky Family were being their usual dumbass selves, drinking and partying like there wasn’t an impending doom about to befall them. Clearly looking out the window was too much for these people, but as always, doors needed to be destroyed in order to get the ‘don’t f*ck with us’ message across, this time with a well place Gum Gum Pistol dead centre, knocking out the idiot who had been about to go off to resupply.
“The f*ck, who’d be dumb enough to pick a fight with the family?” One of the Frankuy Family asks
“Funny, we were asking ourselves a similar question” Alvida muses, moving her mace from her shoulder so it was pointed straight at the Franky crew “What suicidal dumb ass thought it was a good idea…”
“To f*ck with the Straw Hats” Luffy finishes, co*cking his arm back to another swing
Several of the Franky family began to panic, though a few had brains equivilaent to the amount Enaru gave a potato, so this was always going to end badly
“He’s the captain of that weakling we beat earlier, he can’t be that tough to have something like that on his cre…” the sentence didn’t end with words, but gurgles, as a yellow slime encased his head, bringing him to the ground
Honey Smother
“Nobody badmouths Usopp around me” Kaya screams, her fruit forming tendrils of syrup from her arms and back, yellow teartreds running down her cheeks
“Um, maybe we can talk about this, right guys?” One of the wreckers asks, rasing his hands in surrender “Guys… fire the cannons!”
Breeze Breath Bomb
Shinso
Victor’s air gun and Kaos’ extended blade made short work of the cannonfire, really making the Franky Family panic inside, not helped when Zoro decided to stop them repeating their failures by slicing their cannons apart, which was the catalyst for them to immidiately flee, running for the back door
“Leaving so soon?”
“You started this fight, at least have the balls to stay till the end”
The Franky Family stop dead when they see Alvida had slid her way around them, while Sanji had jumped over, using a few of them as platforms, so they were truely boxed in within their own hideout
“Quick, run for the windows!”
Traptrix: Arena of Death
Neith’s wrath
Vivi’s wires coupled with Kaos’ formed a dome of interwoven misery, stopping the Franky Family in their tracks
“H-H-Hold on a sec, it’s the money you wanted, right?” One asks, stuttering in panic “The 200 million we took from the long nose. Well it’s not here, Franky, the family boss took it for a shopping spree. And since it’s a Black Market Deal, we can’t tell you where he is, will be or even how to find him. So no matter how much you wreck the place, that 200” he was interrupted by a punch from Luffy sending him through the opposite wall
“Shut up already” Sanji grunts, lighting another cigerette “This isn’t about money anymore, it was barely about it to begin with”
“You hurt a member of our crew, our family” Chopper growls, having gone on a bit of a rampage himself in his Horn Point
“There’s not going to be anything left but a crater when we’re done with you” Luffy finally says, the tone cold as ice “For Usopp, we break EVERYTHING!” he orders, a few vicious grins flicker across the faces of his crewmates, before the jump into the fight, dodging random junk fired at them, and take their anger out on the building as much as the Frankys, if Usopp had been conscious he’d have been impressed and intrigued by the explosions and quakes seen and felt from the distance away he’d been dumped, ending with a showstopper
GUM GUM JET BAZOOKA
The explosion big enough even Nami, Artemis and Valentina saw it, hoping it meant their guys were successful ,rather than beat to Hell like their sniper
“Damn, you didn’t make a crater but it was close” Kaos notes with a little amusem*nt, kicking one of the idiots out of his path to check on the others “So what now?”
“We should go looking for Franky” Zoro begins
“But if these bozo’s don’t know where he is, how will we be able to find him, we don’t even know what he looks like” Alvida counters, sighing heavily as she sits down
“Plus, even if we do find him, he’ll have most likely spent it all by the time we get to him, making the attempt pointless” Vivi adds
“We can’t just stick around here, who knows when Franky will come back and we left some of our least combat ready crewmates on the Merry, plus Robin’s still missing. Best we head back and deal with the real Franky if and when he comes looking for us” Sanji suggests, getting nods from some of the crew
‘Come on Usopp, stay with us’ Kaya thinks, holding in tears as she and Chopper bandage their sniper up, prepping him for the journey back to the Merry, as well as recovery.
“You ready to go Luffy?” Kaos asks, shouting up to the boy standing on the highest part of what remained of the Franky House.
“I’ve made a decision about what we’re going to do with the ship” he responds, catching the other straw hat’s attention “It’s time we parted ways with the Merry, we say our goodbyes here”
TBC
LW: So sh*t’s got real and the Straw Hats don’t mess around. And this is just the beginning, oh boy.
Chapter 65: Luffy Vs Usopp: Fight for the Merry
Chapter Text
LW: I predict a lot of pain in this chapter, for a good few of our heroes.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Luffy Vs Usopp: Fight for the Merry
Going Merry
“Guys, guys guys!” Chopper shouts as he rushs out to where the others were gathered on the deck “Usopp’s going to be ok” he announces
“Awesome!” Luffy cheers, though is grabbed by Kaos before he could rush in and annoy his friend
“Relax Luffy, I think he should get some time with Kaya before you barge in on them” the purplette teases, causing the straw hat boy to sigh and nod
“5 minutes, then everyone come in slowly” he decides “I know you were all as worried as I was” he winks then laughs, a few rolling their eyes, but denied nothing
A little later
“If you weren’t so banged up I’d kick your ass for making us worry like that” Nami scolds, but it lacked the anger you’d expect
“Yeah, do you have any idea how scared we were for you when we saw you banged up, and then when you disappeared from where we asked you to stay?” Vivi argues
“Plus what were you thinking, trying to fight those guys yourself, heavily injured at that?” Sanji asks with a sigh
“You’re not a brawler Usopp, your strengths don’t include being able to take a beating, your main one is being insanely accurate with a slingshot, cannons and probably a gun if the mood struck you” Kaos adds, chin resting on his knuckles as his elbow was propper up by his knee
Usopp sniffles “I’m sorry everyone, this wouldn’t have happened if I were stronger, I’ve let everyone down” he then shakily stands and throws himself at the crew, now on his knees crying into Zoro’s leg “Please forgive me, I knew how important the money was, that we needed it to fix Merry, but I still couldn’t stop it being taken” he bawled, clinging like a limpet despite the swordsman attempting to get him off
“Calm down you idiot, I can see you’re sorry but you don’t need to grab me like that” the swordsman whines
“Usopp stop flailing, you’re still hurt” Chopper scolds, as Kaya tries to help untangle the sniper from Zoro’s leg
“Don’t worry about it, you did all you could” Luffy says as he watches his medical team get Usopp sitting and calm
“So, is there any way we can get the money back?” the long nose finally asks
“Don’t know, until Franky reappears we don’t have any leads” Luffy replies with a shrug “Besides, we still have 100 million to work with, that’s a tidy sum” he grins
“Yeah but he lost TWICE that!” Nami shrieks in his ear, nearly knocking his hat off… before remembering who else was in the room “Sorry Usopp”
“No you’re right, that was my mistake” Usopp says flatly “But what about Merry, can we fix her?” everyone tenses “I mean we still have enough money right? With all these amazing shipwrights it should be easy, and with the way the Grandline has been so far she’ll need it, in fact she needs to be better than she ever was before” the sniper started to get more passionate and excited as he continues, the other squirming as they really didn’t want to hurt him anymore, so soon after the Franky Family beat him black and blue
“Yeah, about that” Luffy bites the bullet “We’re not getting the Merry repaired”
“What?”
“We’re using the money to get a whole new ship. The Merry did her job well beyond what was expected of her class of ship, but the adventures we’ve been on, some of them have left scars even the Water 7 shipwrights can’t make right. We don’t have any other choice but to get a new one, I’m sorry you weren’t around for the discussion but that is my decision” Luffy explains, hating himself as he watches a the light fade from Usopp’s eyes
“No, stop lying! This is because I lost the money isn’t it, because of me we can’t afford to fix the girl up?”
“No you idiot, listen to him. Do you think any of us want to believe this? That any of us are happy about this? The ship is on her last legs, she won’t even make it to the next island. The only way any of us are leaving Water 7 alive, is if we get a new ship” Kaos growls, stabbing Hebi into the table as he stands
“This is wrong, we can’t just throw the Merry away like she’s some broken doll, she’s our home, she’s practically part of the crew”
“We know, we’ve had this conversation already, even that she’s been a part of the crew longer than everyone but Luffy, Kaos and myself” Zoro adds “Tying with you and Kaya of course”
“Exactly, this isn’t right, after everything we’ve done, everything she’s been through you can’t just abandon her without even a backwards glance because some strangers say she’s broken. She more than earned your respect and some dignity!” Usopp bellows, getting in Luffy’s face, the others stepping back, knowing this wasn’t going to end well
“You think this doesn’t kill me inside? You think only you love the Merry?” Luffy asks, clenching his fists “I’ve already made my decision. Besides, do you think that you, or anyone on this ship know more about what makes a vessel sea worthy than those shipwrights up there?” he asks, pointing out the window, towards Water 7 “If we had someone with those skills I wouldn’t even be asking those guys for a 2nd opinion, but we don’t, you and Victor do your best, as do we all, but the Merry is just too far gone”
“That’s not what the Luffy I know would say, he knew to trust in his crew, and his ship. What kind of captain are you to trust some sales pitch over his men’s own hard work? You’ve fallen hard and fast Luffy, and it’s not even been a day”
“Hey that’s not fair, Luffy was just as mad as you when he was tol…” Nami tries to argue but Luffy waves her off, shocking the navigator
“Usopp you need to calm down and rest, you’re going to aggravate your injuries” Kaya pleads, even with his fist clenched in Luffy’s shirt the sniper was swaying uneasily, looking about ready to keel over any moment now
“Everyone shut up. I stand by my decision Usopp, and we’re getting a new ship as soon as we’ve found one that suits the crew”
“Suits the crew, the Merry is exactly what we needed if you’d just put some effort into fixing her instead of trading her in for a new model you heartless bastard!”
“You think this doesn’t hurt, to let the ship go?”
“If it did you wouldn’t be doing it!”
“That’s not how that works Usopp, I don’t want to do this, but it’s the only real option we have, otherwise we’re not going anywhere, ever again” Luffy yells “If you don’t like the way I’m running this ship then why don’t you just…”
“ENOUGH!” yell several of the crew, Kaya ensnaring and gagging Usopp in her syrup, while Sanji kicks Luffy against a wall, Vivi using her wires to make him hold still
“This conversation is getting you nowhere except into a spiralling rage. You both need to calm down before something happens that you can’t take back” Kaos groans, his face hidden in his hand “So would you kindly calm the f*ck down?”
Luffy breathes deeply, staring up at Vivi’s worried face “Thanks, I was working myself up into quite a meltdown wasn’t I?” he chuckles bitterly
“Yeah, but it got the truth to come out” Usopp says, pulling himself free of Kaya’s syrup “When something doesn’t work or starts complaining, toss it and keep moving ay?”
“What? That’s not true” Luffy argues as he gets up
“Bull! You were about to tell me to take a hike, plus you’re abandoning the Merry and getting a new ship, so what’s the difference?” Usopp growls “In fact, you clearly don’t deserve to be her captain, not if you refuse to show the Merry the respect she’s earned
“Usopp?” Nami asks, having a very bad feeling seeing her fellow coward acting like this
“You wouldn’t dare” Alvida hisses, getting a few raised eyebrows
“I challenge you for the Merry’s captaincy! Clearly it’s the only way I’ll know someone will do her right”
“Ussop stop this now, don’t you think Luffy would be fighting just as hard to repair the Merry if there was even a chance of success? Look at what happened less than a month ago, we were in the sky because we all took a chance that might work. If Luffy says we’re getting a new ship, it means there’s nothing we can do” Kaya pleads
“I can see that” Usopp says in a monotone, chilling the Ami girl’s insides “But he’s talking about scrapping our home like it was a torn shirt, I can’t let that stand”
“Chopper, you did check him for brain damage right?” Valentina tried ask the reindeer as covertly as she could, meaning only Nami and Victor heard, besides the doc in question
“He has at worst a concussion but nothing permanent” Chopper replies
“It’s not because I’m hurt, but it is a prime example of what I’ve been thinking about. You’re all so strong and i’m a weak link, just look at today. I lost most of our funding, at one point for the Merry’s repairs but now apparently her replacement. It’s clear things will just get tougher as we keep going further into the Grand Line and I’m just going to slow you all down”
“You idiot, you’re a ranged fighter, you’re not supposed to be a monster brawler like Luffy or Kaos” Sanji argues
“Plus you’re talking like Nami or Vivi could take any more of a beating than you did” Kaos sighs “You’re part of this crew, a founding member and the best marksman any of us have seen on this trip, how can you think you’re useless?”
“Luffy” Usopp speaks directly, ignoring both of the other’s arguments “I still believe you’ll be king of the pirates, but I’m clearly not going to make it that far. I’m not going to hang around as some mascot or charity case, so at least this way I can make sure the Merry is treated well when she ends her journey, and maybe I’ll be able to learn a craft here” he sighs “There’s no sense traveling together when we don’t even have the same goal”
“We all have different goals, idiot” Zoro grunts “We’re all here to help each other achieve them”
“So, will you do it Luffy? Will you fight me for the Merry?” he asks, Luffy nods, the shadows hiding his eyes as he stops
A little later
“This is so f*cking stupid” Nami complains as the 2 get ready to beat the crap out of each other on the shore, getting a responce from an unlikely source
“True, but it may also have been a necesarry throw down” Vivi says, sighing deeply before sitting between Alvida and Kaos
“Vivi, you’re actually ok with this?” the navigator asks “What happened to the princess who didn’t want people fighting?” she says, partly in jest, but mostly confusion
“She became a pirate, besides I didn’t say the fighting was the problem, but hundreds of people dying over nothing was. This is more than surface level problems, or even Zoro and Sanji’s competitive sniping, Usopp feels inadequate and needs to prove to himself and us that he’s still strong enough to keep going, that he’s not just dead weight. Despite the fact he’s helped you and I get out of a similar thought process when we went to him looking for weapon upgrades” Vivi notes, referring to her wire gloves and Nami’s climatact “Unfortunately a new slingshot won’t do the trick for him this time, so seeing where he stands against Luffy just might”
“But he’s already beaten to Hell, how is this even fair?” Valentina grouses, a shiver runs down her spine hearing a familiar chuckle she shouldn’t be hearing this far from home
“Kufufufu. You say that like he could take more than a single hit from Luffy on a normal day. Much like Nami, Vivi and to a lesser sense you if the enemy catches you off guard Usopp is a glass cannon, able to deal a good bit of damage, but not able to take it. Which is one of the reasons he’s like this, in a regular fight those idiots wouldn’t have gotten close enough to hurt him without getting shot, smacked, cut up, exploded, crushed or sliced to peices” Kaos explains, calmly watching the 2 get ready
“I still don’t like it” Nami says, returning to the conversation
“Join the club, now shut up” Zoro grunts from his perch on the side of the Merry, standing beside a visibly shaking Kaya, her only solace being that she had been allowed work on Usopp before the fight, to get him as patched up as the deadline allowed for.
“You’re still doing this, proves you’re less of a coward than when you first set off” Luffy notes, the comment should have made one of them smile, any other time it would have “I don’t want this to be a regret Usopp, you have to be sure”
“Oh I know what I’m doing Luffy, in fact I know I can win against you” Usopp declares, in a more serious tone than his usual boasts, making the others worry a little for both sides now
“Luffy’s not coming out of this one unharmed is he?” Artemis asks with a frown
“Probably not, he’ll still be better off than Usopp, but he’ll take some hits if Usopp really does have something planned” Kaos responds, curious as to what their former sniper had in his bag of tricks
“We’ve been through quite a few battles, I’ve seen most if not all your moves. I know your strengths and weaknesses” Usopp lists, not breaking eye contact with Luffy “But what you’ve forgotten about me is….”
I HAVE OVER 8000 MEN ON MY SIDE!
“Surrender now, or I’ll have them attack you!” Usopp orders
“What? Why didn’t he tell us he had this kind of support?” Chopper shrieks in panic
“Even when he’s pissed, Usopp is still Usopp” Nami sighs, lightly chuckling
Luffy frowns “You asked for this fight, at least take it seriously!”
Usopp psychological warfare
“You have razor sharp needles, stuck between all your teeth, and cactus spines under your fingernai…” he stops when he see’s the attack didn’t phase the rubber boy
Gum Gum Pis…
Luffy stops when he sees Usopp cough up blood and fall to his knees
“sh*t, he really should have waited until he was patched up before doing this” Sanji swears, while several grimace and Chopper & Kaya whimper seeing their friend in such pain
“Are you standing there pitying me? What kind of fight is this?” Usopp taunts readying his next trick
Flash Dial
While Luffy flails blindly Usopp pulls out his slingshot and aims another ‘special attack’
Egg star
“Damn it, these are rotten. Stop messing around and fight me!”
“This is how I fight, now best to watch that big mouth of yours”
Tabasco Star
The pellet goes right in Luffy’s mouth as expected, the rubber boy turning bright red and spitting fire
“Watch where you step, this entire area is a caltrop deathtrap” Usopp shouts, just before Luffy falls backwards onto several
“He’s controlling the battlefield” Chopper gasps
“He’s a f*cking idiot, but also a tactical genius. Now if only he’d focus on that rather than his comparatively glass jaw and we wouldn’t be in this mess” Kaos groans, pinching the bridge of his nose, wondering how long Usopp can keep this up, as Luffy only needs one good hit to end this fight. He was also glad nobody with even half the endurance of some of Luffy’s tougher opponents had the skills Usopp was showcasing or he’d have been f*cked by now.
Pepper Star
The pepper cloud did several things, temporary blindness for Luffy, in a mix of the cloud itself and the sneezing, as well as messing with his balance and getting the captain spiked with several more of the caltrops
“I’m not going to give you an inch Luffy!”
Special Attack: Shuriken shooting star
‘Shuriken Kage Bunshin. Impressive Long nose’
Luffy blanched as he jumps to avoid the rapidly approaching walls of death, Usopp clearly trying to capitalise on his devil fruit’s only unique weakness to sharp objects.
“Damn, why did he never do this sh*t when we were fighting enemies?” Alvida complains, but was notably ignored by more important issues
“Finally noticed have you?” Usopp asks, Luffy panting and frowns as a mist seems to be filling the area “I’m using a breath dial, you just didn’t notice the gas due to the overpowering smell of the rotten eggs”
“Gas?”
“Oh sh*t”
“Long nose isn’t playing around”
“Oh Usopp”
“Everyone back on the Merry!”
Flaming Star
The fireball and shockwave hide Luffy from them, then pushed the Merry a few feet deeper into the water, the crew holding on just in case things got worse
“Yeah, that’s not something you can just walk away from” Zoro says, wincing in the flash of flames
“But he’ll survive right?” Vivi asks fearfully
“If it’s a flash and puff, Luffy will be fine eventually, the problem is if he’s actually ON FIRE” Kaya replies, chewing her lip as they wait for the smoke to clear, Chopper calling for them with no response
“I know you’re out there” Usopp says, mostly to himself “You don’t give up, you fight until there’s nothing left in you” he finishes just as Luffy comes rushing out of the smoke
Gum Gum Gatling
Exploding Cactus Star
The rain of needle like cactus barbs pepper Luffy as the explosion knocks him back, giving him barely a moment to breathe before the next…
Triple Exploding Star
...Luffy bobs and weaves his way around the slowly being destroyed battlefield, Ussop continuing to take out the wasteland around them. But the sniper knew he couldn’t keep it up forever as seen from one moment of weakness
Gum Gum Pistol
Leading to a rubber fist colliding with the centre of his face, throwing him back an impressive distance, which Luffy capitalises on to charge up
Gum Gum Bazooka
Which does nothing, as the attack was absorbed by Usopp’s impact dial
“That probably would have hurt, how about we check” Usopp says, before shoving the shell in Luffy’s face
IMPACT
“Bet he wished he’d waited now” Kaos winces along with the others as the Impact dial sends Luffy flying back, but the recoil clearly f*cked Usopp’s arm up even more than it already had been “A trick like that, could have won him the fight if he was in good health right now”
“Does that mean it’s over?” Chopper asks hopefully, Artemis turning with a similar, questioning look
“No, not yet” Victor answers, seeing Luffy was still standing, while Usopp was shaky, but still ready and willing to continue
“I won’t lose to you!” Usopp yells/declares, Luffy just stares, breathing heavy and deep, before sending his arm back far enough it nearly reached the ship before pulling it back
Gum Gum Bullet
The impact of Luffy’s fist practically embedding itself in his guts had Usopp coughing up blood for real this time, his knees knock before collapsing, sending him face first into the dirt
“Now, it’s over” Zoro says, his face stony with no discernable emotion, as Luffy slides more than falls to his knees, holding his arm to his chest
“Usopp, you idiot. You knew there was no way you could beat me? Why do this, why make me beat you up when you’ve already gone through so much today?” he groans as he pulls himself to his feet again “You can do whatever you want with the Merry” he says, surprising the sniper “I’m not letting anything hold us back, we’re getting a new ship, it’s the only way forward” Luffy then sways as he walks slowly back to the Merry, where Sanji was fighting Chopper to keep him on the ship and away from Usopp, with marginal success, even if the crying Yeti of a reindeer was crying like the small child he was. He turns to his brother “She’s gone already, isn’t she?” he asks, getting a humourless chuckle before Kaos looks down with an oddly expressionless face
“Was there ever any doubt?” he responds, the cue for the rest of them to notice that Kaya had slipped away after the duel ended, Valentina preemptively kneeing Sanji in the gut before he could run off looking for her, despite the lecture he’d just given Chopper
“No, those 2 were a package deal, even if they didn’t know when we first picked them up” Luffy’s lip curl for a second, while his girls are surprised by his moment of insight, before they snap out of it and move on to fussing over his injuries, as well as doing their best to stem the flow of tears running down his and their faces.
Seeing the captain was out of commision, the researcher took temporary command “Ok everyone, pack your things, we need to go. This was our last time on the Merry, let’s not make it any more painful than it already is by dragging it out” he orders, turning on his heels with a swish of his cloak and making his way into the ship, Artemis and Zoro following, with the others moving soon after, though slowly and just shy of unwilling.
Meanwhile, back in the crater Luffy had left him in, Kaya cries along with Usopp as she patches him up, it tearing at the young logia’s heart to see her most precious person broken like this, confident, bombastic Usopp, now just a whimpering mess. She kisses him softly as he passes out from the pain, knowing she would have to wait until the others left before moving him back into what would remain of the Merry’s infirmary.
Next day
Sanji sighs as he steps onto the roof where the others appear to have gathered “Was there any point in renting those rooms if nobody used them?” he asks rhetorically, seeing even Artemis had just curled up on Kaos’ lap and fallen asleep there after several hours of doing exactly the same as researcher and chef did: waiting to hear back from Robin. The others, far as he could tell, while drained, just couldn’t bring themselves to sleep after the previous night
“I hate this place” Chopper says, mostly to the air “Since we got here it’s just been one bad thing after another. The Merry is broken, Robin disappears and now we lost Usopp and Kaya”
“There’s nothing we can do, they chose to leave the crew, we can’t force them to stay” Zoro argues “What you got planned for today cook?”
“I’m going to keep looking for Robin, give her the update on what’s happened. She’s still in the city sparkles?” the blond asks, Kaos raises an eyebrow but nods
“Yes, don’t ask me where, but I can still feel her in Water 7”
“Good enough for me, I’ll head out shortly”
“I want to help too, count me in” Chopper perks up, trying to distract himself
Suddenly the door is flung open and Nami rushes in “Luffy! It’s all anyone can talk about in town, Iceberg was attacked last night and shot!” the navigator shouts, Vivi and Luffy perking up at the nice but very odd blue haired man’s name, then frown when the rest of the statement registered
“Icepops from the shipyard? But why, he seemed to be everyone’s favourite guy” Luffy wonders, though remained on his perch
“Who?” Valentina asks, visibly confused
“Iceberg, he’s the head of the Galley La company, the shipbuilders, and the Mayor of Water 7” Vivi explains, to which Alvida whistles
“So a big shot. Yeah people like him don’t just randomly get shot, something weird is going on”
Luffy nods and stands “I’m going to go check on him” he announces before bouncing away
“Hey, wait for me Luffy”
“Slow down you rubber dumbass!”
Kaos chuckles as Vivi and Nami chase after him, before standing himself and wondering if there was any point following, or if he should try his hand at locating Robin himself?
Luffy rushed through the streets of Water 7, theories as to the assassin (Pirates, Franky, a few brave souls blaming the WG) going in one ear and out the other, his mind focused on getting to and checking out Ice-pops. He probably would have barreled straight into the door of the main shipyard, if Vivi and Nami hadn’t caught up to him on Yaguras, and pointed out that he wouldn't be there, given the whole ‘he just got shot’ thing. This lead Luffy to suggest they visit his home, which was situated in the main office of Galley La, so they directed their yagura’s in that direction, the 2 animals cheerfully bobbing along. Things were quiet between the 3, until blaring sirens shattered the silence, as well as a warning for an incoming ‘Aqua Lagoona’
“Um Nami, what the Hell is that?” Luffy asks, as the announcer didn’t give any details besides ‘sometime tonight’
“Not a clue, but sirens are never a sign of something good” the navigator admits, getting nods from her 2 crewmates.
When they reached Dock one it was as crowded as expected, and the trio were disappointed, even if they understood the reason, that the place was locked down to everyone but authorised personnel.
“This sucks, how are we supposed to see Ice-Pops now?” Luffy grumbles, though was immediately distracted by loud drum beats ‘Hmm?’
“Did you people say my name?” Came a loud, and enthusiastic bellow
“My idiot senses are tingling” Nami sighs, hiding her head in her hands while Luffy and Vivi look up at the source of the commotion, 3 shadowed figures behind a tarp
“Don’t be shy, come on out an say my name!” he continues, then frowns when the gathered crowd start yelling at him to leave “I’m too good for these plebs” he sighs, as the tarp is pulled away “I’m Water 7’s number 1 SUPER Guy. The face of the underworld and you know why. I’m the man with the plan, the power and fame, and people everywhere call out my name!”
“FRANKY!” the blue haired man shouts, a small explosion going off behind him as he and his entourage stand in his Super! Pose. Given most of them thought he attacked Iceberg, and the explosion a moment ago, it made sense there was an almost immediate stampede as they tried to get away from the odd man with blue hair and a metal nose, dressed in only an open hawaiyan shirt and speedo
“What just happened?” Vivi asks, really confused
“Come out and show yourself Straw Hat!” Franky shouts down at the fleeing crowd
“Franky… he’s the boss of those goons who took our money” Luffy gasps, frowning deeply
TBC
LW: Well, things are getting more intense, and the Super Cyborg makes his true first appearance. Also I kind of tilted the fight more onto Usopp’s feeling of weakness and away from the Merry’s condition itself, as I felt in these circ*mstances it would be the bigger issue, Merry and his defeat at the hands of the Franky family were just the reasons it was brought to the forefront and became something to fight about, the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak.
Chapter 66: Pain just keeps coming
Chapter Text
LW: Well, no point hanging around, off we go!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Pain just keeps coming
“Why does he want you?” Nami asks, looking between the half naked weirdo with the metal nose, and her captain
“Maybe he saw what we did to his hideout?” Vivi suggests sheepishly, think back a little surprised by how much she contributed to the damages
“Hey StrawHat, I know you’re down there, quit being such a pansy and fight me!” Franky shouts, clearly getting impatient and annoyed
“Hey bikini weirdo!” Luffy shouts back, making the girls faceplant “I’m right here”
“So you’re Luffy. Pretty shrimpy if you ask me”
“Come down here, I’ll show you this shrimp is packing some heavy duty pistols” Luffy retorts, ignoring Vivi’s snort/cough/choking which Nami deals with in the background
“I got a bone to pick with you shimpo. You and your gang had a bit of a party at my place while I was gone, and I don’t like unsanctioned raves, especially ones that level the entire building! Now I’m going to kick your ass and make you pay for the beat down you gave my guys. When I’m done with you, your own mother won’t recognise you”
“If you find her tell her I’d like to finally meet, I sure hope she works at the hospital here because that’s where I’m going to send yah”
“Hey chrome nose!” Nami yells, surprising her companions “Give us back our 200 million beri, we went through a lot of crap to get that money, nearly killed our 1st mate and the ship doing so, I’m not letting this go!”
Franky laughs “You want your money back girlie? Well too bad, I spent it already. Don’t act like you have honour pirate, sounds like you stole from the wrong people and nearly got ended doing so”
“The money doesn’t matter” Luffy says, in a tone that even stops Nami from arguing that it does “All i care about now is revenge, so money or not, I’m going to make you pay!”
The mohawked bluenette scoffs and readjusts his shades “You’re stealing my lines ya punk. You really have a talent for pissing people don’t cha?”
Luffy rolls his eyes “Don’t care, fight now. So come on down here and fight me like a man instead of crowing like a poser”
Franky’s response wasn’t to shout back this time, but to suck in his breathe for a solid minute… the spit a fireball down at the fleeing crowd and pirates
‘Holy sh*t!’ the girls mentally shrieked as the yagura’s paddle them to safety
“He, he just spit fire” Luffy gasps “How’d he do that?”
“Careful Luffy, if he can do that, he might have eaten a Devil fruit” Nami warns, a warning that was made very confusing by Franky jumping into the canal like it was a high dive
“Um, correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s not something a Devil fruit user is meant to do right?” Vivi asks, being mildly aware of DF limitations from Kaos and knowing from Luffy’s fight with Crocodile that water was HIS weakness, but not having the entire picture
“Maybe nobody told him you die if you get in the water after eating one? Or maybe he only ate it recently?” Luffy guesses, before his and Vivi’s boat is attacked and smashed by Franky, shooting up out of the water “Never mind it looks like he can swim”
“I didn’t eat a Devil fruit, you think I’m crazy or something?” Franky asks with a fairly jovial tone (Actually… yes)
“Doesn’t matter to me, I’ll still kick your ass” Luffy says, co*cking back his arm as he falls
Franky laughs “You dingus I already know about your special power
Strong Right
Franky’s right arm shoots forward on a chain, slamming right into Luffy’s abdomen and sending him crashing into the shipyard’s gate
“What” Vivi gasps
“The f*ck?” Nami finishes, as Franky recalls his fist and Luffy drops to the ground with a thump, both girls scrambling over to check on him
“Well, that was easy” Franky laughs
“If you’re not a Devil fruit user, what the Hell was that?” the navigator asks
“Oh this. I’m an ordinary guy with a couple upgrades, I believe the term for that is a cyborg” he grins, once more detaching his hand to show off to the girls
Luffy stands, getting pissed off this guy and his mystery power were making him harder to beat down, but he hasn’t given up so far and he’s still standing so that’s what would do, keep hitting him till he went down.
It didn’t go so well.
Franky punched him through the shipyard gate, then proceeded to beat the everloving crap out of him, his metal body seemingly immune to all of Luffy’s attacks, though at least aiming for his face meant he could knock him back and around so it at least felt less one sided.
It didn’t help that both Nami and Franky’s side hoe’s were cheering their respective boss on, while Vivi groaned as she waited for it all to end. Sure she wanted Luffy to win, but the amount of collateral damage was making her wish she’d stayed at the hotel with the others right about now.
“You’re a lot stronger than I thought you’d be” Luffy pants “But I’m still going to kick your ass”
Franky chuckles “Then you better up your game, your attacks are f*ckign weak kid” he then twists his left arm, turning it into a cannon
Weapons Left
Luffy jumps out of the blast radius sharply, really hoping Franky would run out of tricks soon, preferably before he ran out of steam.
The fight probably could have gone on for a couple more hours, were both fighters not knocked on their asses by simultaneous punches to the face from the newly arrived shipwrights
“Well, it’s too late to run” Vivi sighs and puts her hands in her pockets, her mood notably melancholy.
“Uh, Vivi, you ok?” Nami asks, then yelps when Poly wraps his rope around Luffy’s neck and sends him flying into a pile of debris, the other shipwrights pulling out weapons of their own “What the f*ck, why are the shipwrights fighting him too?”
“Good thing it was just the 3 of us” the bluenette comments “Zoro, Kaos and Alvida would have wanted to join in, don’t ya think?”
“Unfortunately, I agree. Doesn’t change our current situation though” Nami sighs, then watches as Franky gets knocked out of the docks like a baseball, only for Kaku to slam him back into the ground. Only good news for them was that Luffy seemed to be holding his own against Lucci, for the moment. Never mind, another wall bites the dust as Luffy is punched through it.
“Damn these guys are strong. Now can somebody tell me why you decided to beat me up, that would be real nice” Luffy groans as he sits up
“Straw Hat, it’s us who deserve an explanation, not you” Poly growls around hid cigar “Last night, 2 people broke into Iceberg’s home, shot him twice in the front and 3 times in the front, then left. Those people were from your crew!”
“Iceberg was shot, damn” Franky grunts, surprised someone actually had the balls to attack the bastard
“That’s a lie, we had no reason to hurt Iceberg” Vivi shouts, herself and Nami running over now everyone seemed to have at least stopped beating the everloving crap out of each other
“That’s not true caho” Lucci’s dove chirps “You wanted a ship that we couldn’t repair. And Nico Robin was identified as one of the attackers”
“sh*t, that’s where Robin disappeared to, what’s her beef with Iceberg?” Nami wonders, though quietly enough the shipwrights didn’t hear her
“You’re lying, Robin wouldn’t do something like that” Luffy yells, defending his crewmate “Plus, no of the fighters on our crew uses guns”
“I don’t care what you say, we have evidence your crew took part in this and now we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen again”
Franky raises an eyebrow “Wait a minute, Iceberg’s still alive, after getting shot 5 times?”
“Polly scoffs “Don’t sound so surprised” he says as Luffy dodges a file through the head, though it did manage to cut his cheek
“Dead or Alive. The government doesn’t really care too much which. That is the reality of having a bounty on your head” Kaku says emotionlessly “Therefore you can’t complain, no matter how terrible your fate may be”
“I can complain all I want when I’m being blamed for something I didn’t do” Luffy fires back, getting angry again “If you knew Robin you wouldn’t say those things!”
“Extra Extra read all about it, Straw hats...urf” the man grunts as Nami elbows him in the gut and steals his paper
“f*ck” she hisses “Every bountied crewmate is in the line of fire”
“Give me that” Vivi whispers her eyes scanning the paper “1,2,4,6, yeah all 8 of them are there. We’re well beyond screwed right now” she groans, head in her hands “What are the chances Kaos and Alvida don’t turn this into a massacre?”
Nami shrugs “He’s your brother in law, and she’s your wife, how the f*ck should I know?”
“This is the end of the line pirate, you messed with the wrong man. Mess with Iceberg and not only do you have the entire Galley Law company gunning for you, but all of Water 7 calling for your head” Polly yells, laying things clear for the straw hats, before firing more rope which wraps around Luffy’s wrist
“I really don’t have any reason to fight you people, we didn’t do anything!” Luffy argues, but clearly these guys were past the point of listening. Polly moves to pull Luffy towards the now blade weidling Gally Law guys, when he jumps to avoid a hail of wires
“Vivi!” Nami screams “What are you doing?”
“Trying to help Luffy. It’s clear we’re not getting through to these neanderthals…” a file clips off the tip of her ponytail
“You are very rude little lady” Kaku notes, as the bluenette recalls her wires “You also are of no interest to us princess so run along”
“He’s right you know, Luffy will be able to escape himself we should probably get to the others so we can leave as soon as pos…”
Shing
The navigator groans “What now?”
“Just remining the general populus that we’re not having a lynching today of the only unarmed person in the area” Vivi explains, Nami seeing the groove behind her the wire dancer carved into the ground “Luffy will obviously be their main focus, he’s the captain and the one with the highest bounty, best we can do is distract some of the others to give him less things to worry about” she adds just as an explosion rocks the dock
“I GOT HIM” the bearded man bellows, hefting a cannon like it was a shotgun
“No, you didn’t” Polly sighs, just as Lucci jumps up to the hanging crates Luffy was hiding on, cutting the ropes and sending it crash landing to the ground
“Ow. These guys aren’t screwing around. Well, diplomacy failed, maybe epp” he jumps as the man with the saws tries to strike him Luffy getting a lucky break when one of his weapons was yanked out of his grasp
“Hey, give that back you little hooligan!” he shouts, 2 spikes popping out of his hair
“Hooligan? I’ll have you know… ah screw it you don’t care. Nami catch” Vivi groans, then flicking her wrists sends the saw the red head’s way, only for her to expertly dodge it
“Are you trying to kill me?”
“No”
“One down, sort of, just...f*ck” Luffy yelps as Kaku pins him to the side of the wall with his files, then the loudmouth once more aims his cannon, only this time he can’t dodge
BOOM
“Hey, stop kill stealing, i called dibs on straw hat long before you punks got here!” Franky shouts, finally reminding people he was still here
“Go away Franky, we’ll play with you later” Kaku waves him off dismissively
“Connector attached” was Franky’s response, which in turn had the dockworkers turn to look at him
“Run, Franky’s going on another rampage”
“He took out a crane with that move”
“A CRANE” the loud man bellows, then looks up “THAT LOOKS LIKE A CANNON SHOT”
Franky laughs “That may be, but I don’t use something so pedestrian as an iron ball in this attack, this shot is nothing but air” he explains, his forearms begin to puff up like balloons, which was odd as they already had a slight Popeye look to them, freaking out the assembled group and making a little bit of worry creep into the shipwright’s subconscious
“The f*ck is that?” Lucci whispers
Coup De Vent
The pressure wave of his airblast completed the destruction of Dock One, as well as send most of the dockworkers and a good number of the crowd flying
“Well sh*t, cannon doesn’t do it justice” Polly groans, staring up into the sky
“He really is a cyborg” Nami gapes
“Yep, really glad he stuck to punching and shooting Luffy if he had something like that hidden away” Vivi sighs, then smiles when she sees her captain running towards them “Luffy, you’re ok”
“It’ll take more than that to beat me. Now we need to get moving, we need to talk to Icepops, somehow”
“Luffy, in case you weren’t listening, EVERYONE is looking for you and the others” Vivi explains, showing him the express paper
“Yeah it’d be suicide to try break into Iceberg’s home with things the way they are now” Nami adds “It’s not a good idea to be here either” she says, seeing the mob was recovring and begining to ensnare them
“You’re right. Hold on” Luffy orders, Nami and Vivi quickly wrap their arms around his waist, whether they wanted to or not this was probably the best way out of this situation, and went flying as Luffy Gum Gum Rocket’s them onto the room of one of the still standing buildings, the trio running across rooftops from there.
A little later
“Do you have a plan on how to get around all these reporters and shipwrights?” Nami asks from their vantage point above and in front of Galley La HQ “Because I don’t see a way”
“Are you sure you need to do this Luffy?” Vivi asks, equally wary as their navigator
Luffy nods “Yes. I need to talk to Icepops myself, see what’s the problem with him and Robin. Considering she’s pulled a disappearing act since yesterday he’s the only option we’ve got”
“Well at least try do this with a hint of subtlety and stealth Luffy, the entire island wants our heads” the red head sighs, Vivi chuckles morbidly, knowing she was talking to the wrong person if she wanted stealth
“Got it” Luffy nods, before stretching out his arms, grabbing the roof of Galley La and slingshotting himself into the building through one of it’s many windows, scaring the sh*t out of the people he landed on upon entry. Lucky for him the foremen assumed Luffy and the rest of the crew would do the smart thing and try to leave Water 7, meaning they were all scouting the island and/or staking out the station for the Sea Train, meaning nobody on Luffy’s level was present in the building at the time of his ‘infiltration’.
They made up for it in sheer numbers though, giving him a very intense chase up and down both buildings, randomly shooting at him or waving construction equipment which he had to jump around. They weren’t very good at this, but they were clearly too pissed off to care. What surprised him was when Califa got his attention, the secetrary then snuck him into Iceberg’s chambers, as well as ensuring they wouldn’t be disturbed
“Well, it seems you went to an awful lot of trouble, to see me” Iceberg hums, now sitting up in his bed “I presume it’s not to kill me boy?”
“All I want to know, is what happened last night” Luffy replies, causing the mayor to sigh deeply
“I was attacked last night, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that Nico Robin was one of them. And I’ll remind you, I have nothing against you or your crew, so I gain nothing from lying about that”
“Are you sure it wasn’t someone who looked like her?” Luffy asks, trying to think of another explanation, so was a little surprised when Iceberg pulled a gun on him
“I didn’t call you in here to argue Straw Hat, I did that because I have a favour to ask, one which you would be most encouraged to accept and fulfill. No matter what it takes, I need to see Nico Robin again” the request threw him, why did Iceberg want to see the woman he claimed tried to kill him?
Click
“I’ll say it again, bring me Nico Robin”
“I can’t do that Mr. Icepops, Nico Robin has been MIA since yesterday, right now, I know as much about her location, as you do” Luffy admits
BANG
Hearing the sound of gunfire a large mob of dock workers charged towards Iceberg’s bedroom, finding the man safe, but the window broken and his flintlock expended.
“Are you ok sir?” one asked
“I had hoped to get answers, but that was clearly a fools dream. Arrest all of the Straw Hats, and get it done by nightfall” Iceberg orders, his voice weary, but with a hint of anger
On the other rooftop
“So, did you get your answers?” Vivi asks
“He says it was Robin who shot him” Luffy replies, worrying the girls “And I believe he’s telling the truth, or at least what he thinks is the truth. The problem is, I don’t understand how that can be true”
Unknown location
“We’ll be infiltrating Iceberg’s home again tonight, and if this goes south, feel free to remove all the evidence” a shadowy figure explains, Robin looking a mix of bored and uninterested “Of the possible holders, Iceberg is the last of Tom’s apprentices, so he must have it. It’s a matter of justice that we acquire it from him immediately”
“I understand” Robin says with a slight nod
“You better, hopefully there won’t be any more incidents involving your fromer associates, or Project Mystic, both of which I’m sure you’re aware” there was a smirk in his tone, making Robin clench her fists and grit her teeth
Later on - Down by the Merry
“You sure this is the right boat?”
“Are you blind? That’s the straw hat’s pirate flag, of course it’s their ship”
“Looks pretty beat up, and there are very few supplies still here, they must have abandoned it, or been planning to and Aqua Lagoona had them speed up the timetable, leave all this junk behind”
While the dock workers searched and complains, Kaya and Usopp hid within the rocky shore, both with their weapons drawn and ready to fire, should they be discovered.
“What’s up with those guys, think Luffy did something?” Usopp asks Kaya who shrugs
“Possibly, but half the crew these days are the combative type, only Nami, Vivi, Chopper and Robin look for another solution and most have a trigger that makes them as violent as the rest. What I’m saying is anything could have happened” the ami girl sighs “Maybe we should check, see if there’s any news in Water 7”
“Beats hiding behind this rock, plus neither of us have bounties so they won’t be able to identify us” he grins, getting a playful shove
Elsewhere
“Well Sunday, you f*cked up big time” Robin nearly stumbles when she hears the voice, steadying herself she turns her head confirming her suspicions “You look surprised” Cobra muses “you of all people know Bentham’s not the only one who can play the mimic” his shrugged shoulders were hidden by the cloak “What I want to understand is why you did it, because I know you didn’t intend for her to get caught up in all this”
Robin scoffs “The crew is a mess, the ship is dead, Luffy won’t be able to punch his way out of this mess, and there’s not a hope in Hell you can convince me to come back, even for another short roll on deck” Kaos chuckles as Cobra’s features melt and his own return, seemingly unaffected by the statement, which actually looked to light her currently short fuse “Isn’t it Sanji who’s supposed to think he’s God’s gift to all women, don’t tell me you’re following the cook down that path”
Kaos laughs “I don’t believe it, as I told you the 1st time, mine in fact, but you’re not exactly the type to do that for the mission, more flirt and or murder than sleep with. Besides, you’re a woman who is fine giving her opinions and your only criticism was (mimicking Robin’s voice) ‘if you even think about stopping I will rip it off and shove it up your ass’ so besides being a bitch… you’re reaching, and making excuses. Every StrawHat with a bounty is being hunted right now, something I doubt you intentionally inflicted on your daughter”
“She is not my daughter!”
Clatter
Robin’s eyes shrink to pinpricks, while Kaos turns and hisses
“f*ck, I thought she’d stay with Alvida” he groans, seeing Artemis, her easel on the floor beside her brush, sniffling and trying not to flood the streets early with her tears
“Artemis” Robin’s voice was quiet, timid, through her eyes turned hard seeing the dark bruise on her left arm
“Robin!”
‘sh*t!’ the archaeologist thinks, seeing Sanji and Chopper running towards her, luckily there was a canal between them, though that would only stop Chopper due to his Devil Fruit
“Hey, Robin we’ve been looking everywhere, just hang there we’ll find a way around then we can get back to the inn. This island is going crazy” the cook jokes, both him and Chopper looked so happy to see her
“I’m afraid I won’t be doing that. Water 7 is where we part ways” she says flatly, confusing the 2.
“Is this about that bullsh*t they were spreading in the paper? About you being the assassin that tried kill Iceberg? We don’t believe that junk, pirates are easy targets”
“I do apologise for that, it was never my intention to get you all mixed up in that, for the Straw Hats to take the fall like this. But the papers are correct in blaming me, for I did shoot Iceberg” Sanji and Chopper were horrified, while Kaos actually looked… unimpressed? Oh well.
“Inside me lurks a darkness which none of you know about or can fathom, one day, that darkness would have been the end of all of you. You’re about to take the fall while I escape…”
“Then go already!” Artemis screams “I hate you, you’re tearing my family apart and breaking mine and Papa’s hearts. I never want to se…” Silver resin covers her mouth gagging the clearly pissed off artist
“Artemis, don’t say something you’ll regret” Kaos says, tone flat and emotionless “And Robin” the archaeologist barely nods before being thrown up against the wall, reflect armoured hand around her throat and staring into what was once a featureless mirror, now there was a black void where his right eye should be, and currently a bloody teartrack “This won’t end how you think. I guarantee it” he croons, the blank face cracks into a facsimile of a beastly maw before letting her go.
Robin coughs, then adresses the 4 straw hats “The last 5 minutes aside, thank you for the kindness you all showed me, but we shall never me…” she jumps to dodge a 4 fingered claw strike
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep Nico Robin”
“I did love you both, I never lied about that” she says quietly, so only the 2 on this side of the canal heard
“Now” the tone was clear, she was to leave like she promised, the reflect human’s patience, and mercy, as worn as hers was. She turned on her heels and walked away, adding her own heart to Artemis’ list of broken things.
“What the f*ck, you can’t just let her leave” Sanji yells, which Kaos ignores in favour of picking up Artemis and shimmering over to the other 2
“I can and I will” he replies “she’s a grown woman, she can make her own decisions and she was free to leave the crew at any time. All of you are, or did you forget about Usopp and Kaya already?” he asks bitterly
“This is different”
“No it isn’t” Chopper says surprisingly “Robin’s gone, the crew really is splintering” the reindeer boy looked on the verge of tears
“I’m afraid so” Kaos says with a deep sigh “This place really has f*cked us 7 ways to Hell”
TBC
LW: Well, sh*t. Also while that scene at the end was going to be there anyway, I wonder if that was enough of an acknowledgement or confirmation of Kaos/Robin for the guest(s) who asked me repeatedly in some chapters.
Chapter 67: Pulling back the curtain: CP9 exposed
Chapter Text
LW: So, we’ve lost 3 straw hats in 2 chapters, lets see if we can stem the flow ay guys?
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Pulling back the curtain: CP9 exposed
Kaos sighs as he keeps pace with Chopper, a pouting Artemis over his shoulder like a grumpy sack of potatoes. Sanji had some hair brained scheme whiring in his head so they were going to just leave him to it, the others needed to be informed of Robin’s departure. Letting his senses lock onto any devil fruit users in the area, finding a few unfamiliar ones in the process, Luffy’s rang out and he directed Chopper of their next turn. Despite the situation he chuckles as he begins to hear a few of their crewmates arguing, as would be expected
“This is all your fault Zoro!”
“The whole town is looking for us, I ain’t taking the f*cking blame”
“Maybe we should avoid fighting each other until we actually find some shelter”
“Found them, knew going in the direction of the noise would lead us to the Captain”
“Yes Val, for a change you managed to make our jobs deliberately easier”
“Hey look it’s all out friends” Chopper cheers, happy to see people who wanted to be near him again
“And an angry mob” Artemis adds with a sigh “Nothing the whole crew can’t beat right?”
Kaos chuckles “Of course. Hey guys, these cannon fodder really giving you this much trouble?” he shouts
“Look it’s another one, get him”
BOOM
“As good a signal as any” Alvida laughs, smashing a mans face with her mace before sidestepping a saw blade
“We were trying to avoid as much conflict and commotion as possible” Vivi argues weakly, though still digs her gloves out of her pockets
“Which would be great, if the entire town wasn’t out for blood” Artemis argues, hopping off Kaos’ shoulder as he backhands a thug and trips another into the canal
“Yeah yeah yeah, now duck
Gum Gum Gatling
With everyone beaten Luffy lets out a sigh of relief, then gets slammed in the back of the head
“You could have done that the entire time?” Nami shouts with shark teeth
“No, I needed time and space. Not exactly easy to come by when running about”
“Luffy I need to tell you something” Chopper interrupts, looking a little twitchy
“Hm, Chopper are you ok?” Nami asks, distracted by their clearly distressed doctor
“Nico Robin has left the crew” Artemis announces, the tone as shocking to the crew as the statement and the words, they’d never heard Artemis call Robin anything but Mama...what the f*ck happened while they’d been chased across the island?
“She also admitted to trying to kill Iceberg, something emo about a darkness lurking inside her and that we are basically going to be a distraction for her while she gets away” Kaos adds “She apologises for that by the way, we weren’t meant to get involved apparently”
“Thanks, means precisely jack sh*t” Valentina grumbles
“We should have seen this coming you know” Zoro says flatly “She was Crocodile’s dragon before joining the crew, and that was after the fighting ended, not convinced to switch sides like the V’s” he adds, remembering Robin wasn’t the only Ex-Baroque Works agent to join, assuring them he wasn’t waiting for them to turn on him as well.
“That doesn’t explain why Artemis is clearly pissed off” Alvida notes “Are you mad she didn’t bring you with her, leaving her own kid…”
“I’m not her kid, I’m some stray she picked up for sh*ts and giggles” Artemis grunts, then yelps in pain at the slap to the back of the head “Ow, papa”
“She didn’t say that, you weren’t even meant to hear her say that. Robin was trying to push buttons, which she clearly did for you sweetie, because I wasn’t walking away when she told me to. And remember she says she did love you, so even just remember that”
Artemis huffs “Is that what you’re going to tell yourself too? Robin loved me. She just had to dig the knife in extra deep on the way out?” she’s picked up and held, the tears streaming from her face once more as Kaos kisses her forehead
“So what do we do now?” Vivi asks
“Robin’s not going anywhere, there was a reason she attacked Icepops and it’s not complete. We need to find her before the mob do, and get some real answers” Luffy decides “If Kaos is right, she’s pushing us away for a reason, and just like last time, I don’t feel like taking orders from people who think they don’t need help” he gives a slightly feral smirk, Nami getting shiver up her spine as she knows exactly what he’s talking about
“She said we’d never see her again, and that things were about to get worse. Does that mean…” Chopper asks
“That she’s going to try again with whoever the other guy is. Yeah” Victor agrees with a frown “Robin’s turned into Sunday again” the bomberman notes, getting a nod from his partner
“Correct, but the thing is, were we the job, or is Iceberg?”
“Considering how bad things have gone just attacking Iceberg, she’s going to kill him this time, isn’t she?” Vivi sighs bitterly, having just gotten used to seeing the archaeologist as a friend and ally rather than the woman who helped nearly destroy her country. She really hoped the woman had a good reason for this, or her wires were going to find their way around Robin’s neck rather soon.
“Yes. The only good news is that means we know where she’s going to be tonight, and intercept” Kaos nods
“You’re forgetting something though” Nami pipes in “The masked man, the one Robin was seen with, and the statement Iceberg gave said he was there with Robin when she attacked the mayor. There’s a chance he’s the reason she’s doing all this, he might be holding something over Robin so she’s comply”
“Or he has something she needs or strongly desires, given what I’ve heard about her partnership with Crocodile”
“So if we beat the big guy up we can get Robin back?” Chopper asks
“That’s the best case scenario” Zoro replies, clearly not putting too much stock in the option “But it might not be that simple”
“Either way, we’re doing this tonight” Luffy decides, everyone agreeing with their captain “We’re going to try capture her, as we won’t get any answers to what’s going on otherwise”
That evening
“There sure are a lot of people out there, and they’re really loud” Chopper notes as he puts down the binoculars “Think Robin can actually do this?”
“Technically she just needs line of sight to kill him, it’s the fact she clearly wants something that makes it difficult” Kaos answers, Artemis frowns as she rests her head on his shoulder “That fact means she has to somehow get into the building around the entire Galley La company without being spotted”
“Which even for someone like Sunday would be a big ask” Valentina adds “As a full team we could probably take this place, but a lone commando, yeah I don’t like her chances”
Victor frowns “Except she’s not, that mystery man in the mask is helping her, which is an unknown that makes guessing her chances… difficult”
“Ug, I hate all this waiting around, shouldn’t we try get in to intercept her already?” Alvida asks, her right hand twitching on the grip of her mace
Luffy turns to Kaos and nods, the reflect human passes Artemis to Chopper and shimmers out of view
“What was that for?” Vivi asks
“If we make a commotion the guards will focus on us and Robin along with whoever she’s working with will just sneak in during the commotion. We need to wait until she’s already inside, then I rocket in and stop her. You guys need to be ready in case she tries to run”
Zoro settles down into his usual ready position “This is going to be a long night, but it’s our only chance to get answers”
Turns out Robin had clearly spent too long around Luffy and the straw hats, as subtle clearly had been lost somewhere along the way… at least based on the huge ass explosion that was set off in the front of the office building
“I think she’s here” Artemis says, clicking her tongue
“As distractions go, it’s not a bad one” Victor comments “Draws everyone’s attention to right there, meaning during both the panic and the firefighting routine she should be able to slip in with little issue. Val and I have done it a couple times, though our fruits are better suited to this plan than Robin’s”
“True, you cause the distraction and I float over the wall to the target” the blond chuckles, then sobers up as they prepare to fight their friend
“Um guys, I see a caped figure and someone in a bear mask on running through the crowd, and some weirdo on the roof” Chopper calls alerting the others to the fact things were definitely underway.
“Well, score one for whoever said she was working with a team” Nami groans, knowing that made things more complicated “So, how much longer till we move Luffy? Luffy?” she turns and the captain wasn’t there “HOW THE f*ck DO YOU PEOPLE LOSE THE LIVING RUBBERBANDBALL!” she screams, luckily there was enough going on she didn’t draw attention to herself, what with the masked woman flying through the air, slicing up dockworkers with a thorn whip, a bull and skull faced man fisting their way through the inside of the building, Robin and bear mask were actually doing the least damage, besides the woman with a hornet mask shadowing Polly, the blond not even noticing she was there.
While the cloak he used may have obscured the duo’s escape when they were cornered and essentially put before a firing squad of angry shipwrights, it was in clear view of an odd spiral carved into the roof partitions
‘So that’s how you do it’ Kaos muses, now finally having a fruit to go with the feeling of the large man, now he just needed to meet the feral.
Meanwhile Robin and her partner had an easy walk now the rest of CP9 had either dealt with or were continuing to distract the workers “It’s right here” Robin says, the man nods and stands against the wall
“Now just give me a push” he grunts, Robin sighing internally before doing so, the wall opening like a door…
Bang
...before slamming shut again, sending both to the ground, Robin pinned until she was able to roll the man off her
“What the Hell was that?” Iceberg asks in confusion, only then noticing the young man standing in the shadows
“Really good luck I guess” Kaos replies with a shrug “That could have ended badl…” he stops when bear mask simply opens another section of wall to step through, Robin following close behind “Helu, nice Devil fruit, want to exchange names?”
“That’s how you got into my office last night” Iceberg gasps
“Correct. I ate the Doa Doa no mi, where most see a wall, and obstacle to remove, I see a path to my destination” door man replies “And I don’t need you to tell me your fruit, we are already aware of it and it’s properties, probably better than you are”
Kaos huffs “Use that air door of yours to go f*ck yourself” then crossing his arms asks “So, is there a point to killing Iceberg or are you just tired of the growing list of people telling you no?” In response Door Man shoots Iceberg “Ok, lover’s spat it is”
“It’s not time yet, we still need him” Robin reminds the man, a small part of her thinking she may of swapped one idiot for another
“Relax, it’s a non fatal wound, and it won’t do anything to affect his ability to talk. In fact it gives you an easy way to make him talk” the man shrugs in his response
“So, this is how CP9 operates?” Iceberg wheezes
“You’re not exactly doing anything, I expected to be dodging a punch, kick or some other attack by now” Door man notes, getting a disinterested shrug from Kaos
“I’m pretty sure you guys are the no witnesses kind of Government thugs, so I’m fine standing on the sidelines until you decide to kill me, then see how long I can last for” he smirks, silver eyes flashing, making Robin frown, though the Door Man’s face was unreadable under his mask
“You’re right, you’re no threat to CP9, we can deal with you after the mission is over” he drones, turning his attention back to Iceberg
“Kid, you’re an asshole” Iceberg grumbles, getting an honest nod from Kaos “But it seems I was wrong about you straw hats, you weren’t part of this. Sorry about that”
“I’ll pass on the message, I’m sure Vivi will send you a fruit basket… or is it she will expect a fruit basket, pirates don’t get apologized to alot” he chuckles “Eh it’s the princess’ job to be polite, mine is to make sure we actually survive when sh*t like this happens” shimmering over to Iceberg to help him sit back on his bed
“At least with his blood on your hands the frame job will stick this time” Door man booms “Iceberg, you are alive for 2 reasons 1) to give the account of your failed assassination by a member of the straw hat crew, and 2) so we could feret out and now retreive a document we’ve been searching for, for a long time. Blueprints passed on from shipwright to chosen apprentice for generations. With your life in danger, we knew we could accelerate the process, get Pluton’s schematics out in the open for the World Government’s rightful acquisition”
Kaos laughs bitterly “It’s always Pluton with you Robin, here’s hoping he’s checked you for water bottles before bringing you along Sesese”
Door man ignores the pirate “As I was saying, you made that transfer tonight, our associates are with your foreman Polly as we speak” Iceberg pales, luckily not from blood loss, though it was a momentary worry in both Robin and Kaos’ mind, and grits his teeth in anger
“So all going according to plan then” Iceberg scoffs
“Actually yes” the was a tiny flicker of amusem*nt in the masked man’s tone then he turns to Robin “I leave you to finish the job, while I deal with the guards outside the door. When we have the blueprints in hand we’ll give you the signal to eliminate Iceberg and plug the leak. After that the last casualty for justice will be Polly, and we already have an agent ready to deal with him” he then leaves, a commotion was heard outside, and given how quiet the bedroom had become, one word was heard from Door Man
Tekkai
Meanwhile
“Hey Luffy” the trapped straw hat turned his eyes to the voice”
“Vlntin” he slurs seeing the blond, her heels dug into the wall and hooks or grips on the fingerless gloves she was wearing “Wt R U do’n hr?”
“Same as you I recon, kyahaha” she laughs “This storm makes air travel 7 kinds of f*cked, I thought I was in a bad spot but that rubber body has finally screwed you over in a way I would have managed to escape”
Luffy hums, clearly pissed off about his current predicament “Whr are te othrs?” he asks
“Causing mayhem. Did you see the idiot with the whips, Vic seems to be pissing her off with his bombs, and if she comes any closer Vivi’s wires might actually be able to catch her. Nami and Chopper are panicking while Zoro and Alvida seem to have decided to just hit things until either you show up, or they run into Robin. Speaking off, want a hand?”
“Thanks” Luffy sighs, Valentina grabbing his hand and disengaging from the wall, increasing her weight to normal, but all it did was stretch Luffy’s arm as she went down
“Crap, that didn’t work” she groans, letting go and allowing Luffy’s arm to snap back
“Yeah, wait a minute, don’t all the buildings in this place have weird spiky things?” Luffy shouts, having managed to push his head forward enough to talk properly
“I think so, why?”
“I might be able to free myself, give me a moment”
The blond does as asked, smiling when she hears the ‘signature’ Yahoo of her captain “You good boss”
“Yeah, thanks for trying, now I better get back to catching Robin. See you later” Luffy calls down, shooting his arm out and grabbing the Galley La office roof
Gum Gum Rocket
Back with Robin
“You have a fan Robin, I feel like I’ve been replaced” Kaos purrs, giving a pout Robin now knew Artemis had learnt it from.
Robin rolls her eyes “So you have my picture on your wall, want me to sign it on the way out?” she asks sarcastically
“Oh you can sign it alright, in blood!” Iceberg shouts, pulling a pistol on Robin only for her to reveal 4: one in each hand, including 2 bloomed arms just below her own
“All this, just to kill me?” Robin asks in confusion
“Yes, to end you, before you destroy the world” Robin tenses “Why are you looking for the Poneglyphs? The world government has made their research illegal for as long as anyone can remember, so why do you want to know so badly about them?”
Robin scoffs “If they’re so bad, why do you know about them?”
Iceberg chuckles, a little blood drips down his chin “Knowing about their existence isn’t a crime, they’re too large and unbreakable to hide, but deciypering them, that’s a big deal, and you’re the only person alive capable of that”
“Then you’re going to need another gun, actually 2” Kaos interrupts “And while I don’t think Artemis is bulletproof, it took the hand of God to scar me, you’ll need to actually produce Pluton to kill me Iceberg” his grin is feral and sad*stic
Iceberg freezes “You’ve been teaching people, do you know what the Government will do to them and you if they find out?”
“I didn’t teach Kaos, I was as surprised as anyone when he was able to determine Pluton’s last known location from Alabasta’s poneglyph. Artemis though… She is my daughter, my only mark on this world, she saw mommy reading and writing with odd squiggles and wanted in on my ‘secret code’ bet she was shocked when she got her first glimpse of her papa’s journal. I’ll admit to improving his work though, he’s almost as good as me, well in a couple years” the tone was almost teasing, but the room’s tension was too high for it to matter.
“You can’t be serious, you don’t believe working with CP9 will actually bring you mercy, not after all these years just below Dragon and the Yonko on the World Government’s sh*t list?” he sighs swaying from his seated position “Though I suppose it doesn’t matter, least of all to a dead man walking like myself. If you translate those stones, reactivate the Ancient weapons, it won’t matter who has them, they will bring nothing but destruction and death! We worked so hard to bury the past, so just let it lie”
Robin’s shoulders slump slightly “We agree on certain parts, but that doesn’t mean you can dictate to me what I chose to sacrifice my life for, nor what I decide is worthy of my time and research. I don’t want the weapons, but people keep coming to me asking about them, last time I got a poneglyph out of the arrangement, and a hook to the gut” the lower hands take their fingers off the trigger “Besides, is it really fair to lecture me, when you had Pluton’s blueprints and never once thought about burning them?”
“It was a precaution, in case the weapon ever fell into the wrong hands. Though I do agree it’s now brought the hand of CP9 down on me, not that burning them would have helped me in this instance” Iceberg tries to argue, though does admit she has a point “Still, ending you would be the best option as you’re the only person they know who can still read it, unless you told your new friends about the forbidden knowledge you’ve been shari...ah!” Iceberg yells as his arm is bent backwards, snapping the bone and causing him to drop the gun
“Thanks for the new info, I though crossing your arms was an activation stance” Kaos chuckles, picking up the gun and slipping it into his coat
“It’s not, but it makes defending my core easier” Robin admits, putting away most of her guns and putting the last one to Iceberg’s head “For the record, they didn’t need me to steal the blueprints, I was just a useful addition” she admits “They probably have it right now”
Iceberg chuckles “Now it sounds like someone is calling the game prematurely. All you’ve done, is walk right into my trap” the 2 straw hats eye’s widen, one in worry, the other intrigue.
Pura pura pura click
“We’ve hit a snag in the operation, reconvene at the bedroom, DON’T shoot Iceberg yet” came the voice on the other end of the baby Den Den Mushi
“Well, there goes your trap” Robin muses, but Iceberg still looked smug
“Why is he still alive?” asked the woman as CP9 enter the room together
“Bluno told me to eliminate all witnesses AFTER killing Iceberg, besides other than helping Iceberg back onto his bed he hasn’t done anything” Robin replies, the hornet masked woman annoyed by the tensing of her body
“Pirates and your loopholes, you should have just ended him before leaving the room” she hisses to the Door Man who shrugs
“So this is CP9, go away I have nothing to say to you” Iceberg scowls, then freezes when Hattori lands on the Bull mask’s shoulder
“Well, now the jig is up there’s no point in these silly disguises” Lucci says removing his mask and replacing it with a top hat
“This wouldn’t have happened if you had just given us the plans when we were still asking nicely” Kaku adds, removing the skull mask
“I was hoping we didn’t have to resort to bloodshed but it’s much too late for that” Califa sighs
“I’m not, personally I think we should have done this from the start” Sui Feng argues
“Stubborn as your old master, it’s a shame that was what you learnt from him” Blueno sighs removing the bear mask
“We’re really running out of time here old man, so tell me before anyone else dies, where did you hide the blueprints, for the Ancient Weapon Pluton?” Luci asks, her body tense like a spring
TBC
LW: Well, sh*t’s happening and CP9 have shown up, plus one because I like randomly adding extra characters to spice things up. Sui, she’s a bit like Lucci, only she doesn’t hide her bloodlust as well as he does in a normal setting. I’d say it’s because of her Devil Fruit, but Lucci’s does the same to him so she’s just more of a murder junkie I guess. IDK.
Also, to JustMe, the guest from chapter 66… I really would love to see that remade 5th opening. Link please? Or did I misunderstand?
R&R people, see you in 2 weeks
Chapter 68: The plot revealed, The Straw Hats Fall
Chapter Text
LW: We’ll just keep moving from here I guess
Rubber King and Mirror Master - The plot revealed, the Straw Hats fall.
“Phew, I don’t think I’ve ever been more glad I’m made of rubber” Luffy sighs as he pulls his head and arms free of the staple like hooks CP9 had pinned him to the ground with.
“That’s nice… now finish the job and help me free!” Poly yells, in a similar position to Luffy, but without the Devil Fruit assisted means to get free, though with how badly the Hornet masked woman beat him he probably wouldn’t have been able to get free too easily regardless.
Luffy nods “Right, be there in a minute” he says, pulling stretching his body to free his waist and legs, slamming into another wall but luckily just bouncing off this time “I’m free, now to get you out and we can save Icepops”
“Exactly” Poly smiles for a second, before a scowl replaces it ‘I’ll get you, you masked bastards, you won’t get away with this’
Meanwhile
“5 years of undercover work, don’t worry we took our jobs as seriously as if it weren’t just a cover, now for the payoff. Our time is running low, as you can tell from the fact we’ve had to come out of the shadows and actually take it ourselves… well we shall once you tell us where the plans are'' Lucci explains and demands “I’m sure you know about the Cypher Pol branches the government’s intelligence agencies CP 1 through 8. The WG’s eyes and ears throughout the globe, how they keep the peace on a world wide scale”
Iceberg rolls his eyes “I’m aware of all this, though not how you all fit into this”
Lucci chuckles as the smallest agent continues “As members of the 9th branch, we don’t exist, meaning we have a certain amount of leeway and privileges, provided we work with discretion among other things” she grimaces slightly “We are the blades of justice striking from the shadows, be it eliminating a voice the government can’t allow to continue to spread propaganda…” her lips curl into a sad*stic smirk
“Or retrieving plans for a weapon that would be much safer in the hands of the Government” Lucci continues, a little peeved he was interrupted
“You idiots, you can’t just use justice as an excuse for your actions”
Lucci shrugs “The government has had to alter its rules in recent years in order to maintain justice, such as rather than fearing the return of Pluton and the other Ancient Weapons, they plan to revive or reactivate them all, and use them to be an unstoppable force of Justice, so we can finally put an end to the so called ‘Great Pirate Era’, and bring the world to an era of peace and Justice” he explains “And yet you continue to stand in our way, it’s almost like you don’t care about all the people those crinimals hurt, maim, rape and murder. That’s a bad place to be, and I implore you to reconsider”
“You are a bunch of stupid children, if the weapons are awakened it will just breed more conflict, power like that always has, look at the ancient civilation who created them, or the turncoats of the marines…” he chuckles, coughing up a little blood “you even lost one of your attack dogs a couple months back, because he wanted more power”
“Oh my, it sounds like somebody doesn’t trust the government” Sui purrs Iceberg tenses when her middle finger shifts into a talon/stinger “Such a dangerous position to hold, especially around loyal ‘attack dogs’ like us”
“I never said that, it’s human nature that’s the problem and the WG are all human, they make sure we know it. Humans are naturally power hungry, selfish and most importantly aggressive creatures” As if to prove his point Lucci kicks him in the face
“Show some respect, you’re not my boss anymore Iceberg. Speaking of, I think our pirate has had enough time spent being a little voyeur, Sui, eliminate him”
The girl with the whip like twintails smirks “I thought you’d never ask” she then jumps and kicks out, as Kaos clicks his heels together
Rankyaku
The wind blade miss by a few inches as the floor opens up and he drops through, though the sh*t eating grin was unmistakable
“f*ck” Lucci curses, glaring at the hole as it closes up like it was never there
“That shouldn’t be… Bluno, you didn’t let him see you, did he?” Kaku asks
The larger man tenses, especially with the other’s angry glares directed at him “It’s possible, not intentionally of course” he tries to defend, grunting when Sui Feng’s fist embeds itself in his gut
“Idiot, that’s why the file said end quickly or else don’t show off anything. Even if he’s a lot younger than the last user to figure it out, you were meant to be careful damn it” Califa scolds, while Kaku sighs
“Enough, we have more important things to deal with than one rough pirate. The plans”
Lucci nods “He’s right. Calm yourself Sui, he’s not worth the time you’d waste hunting him down and killing him” the woman grits her teeth but nods and stands stoically once more “Now, where were we? Oh yes, Kaku take his pulse, then we can begin this interrogation properly” Lucci orders, the square nosed man nods and gets into position while Robin watches curiously
“Hold still, this will only be as painful as you make it” Kaku says, squeezing Iceberg’s wrist when the man tries to squirm out of his grip
“Now, I have a theory I want to run by you, you don’t need to say anything, that I’m right wrong or even to go to Hell, your heart rate is all I need” Lucci smiles as he begins “You had this whole song and dance about getting us to go for these fake plans, but you had no way of knowing for sure that was what we were after, Nico Robin could have just been hired to kill you, then what would happen to the plans, lost and unguarded, your sacred oath broken. But, besides the obvious decoy you made no attempt to pass along the real blueprints tonight, nor any time while we’ve been observing you, so it’s clear you don’t have them, not any more”
Iceberg continues to stare blankly at the man, but his steady pulse was enough of a yes for Kaku who nods
“Of course we need evidence to see if this theory actually holds water, and we can start with these blueprints, and the names of the workers at the bottom: Tom, Iceberg and Cutty Flam, of Tom’s Workers. If it was anyone else, they would just shrug and drop the plans in disappointment, as this was clearly not Pluton, but we’ve been working here for 5 years, and the names chosen are VERY interesting indeed. Everyone knows of the Legendary Tom, but the records of his company and those within it are much harder to uncover. It took us a very long time to discover you were one of his apprentices, though in hindsight someone trained by Tom would be able to run the entire Water 7 shipyards as easily as you do. The problem is, Tom only trained 2 apprentices, and one of them died in an accident 8 years ago, a government official confirmed it at the time. There’s just one problem, 4 years ago, Cutty Flam reappeared. He’s been seen all over Water 7, whether people want him to or not, but he only used that name once” Lucci’s face twists into a feral smirk “Cutty Flam is still alive, he’s still on this island, he just goes by the name Franky” as he says that Iceberg’s pulse skyrockets out of panic
“Seems pretty obvious when you lay it all out like that doesn’t it” Kaku muses, Iceberg still pinned “Can’t believe it took us 5 years to put the pieces together though”
“It helped that ‘Franky’ was an oaf and a buffoon without an ounce of subtlety in his body. Plus the family was always around, trading lumber from dismantled ships, giving you practically limitless chances over the last 4 years to pass the blueprints on. It explains why you were so calm when dealing with us, you knew as long as we were searching you then we would come up empty. But now we’ve figured out Franky has the plans, your heart is racing which just proves our theory is correct. Don’t feel too bad about it though, you’re only human, and under these circ*mstances, very few people would be able to hide the truth from us, for very long. Be glad that Justice will prevail soon enough” Lucci says arrogantly
“It’s been a good 5 years, but you’ve outlived your usefulness” Kaku adds, just before the wall cracks and crumbles, the door on the other wall being sliced apart at almost the same time, Luffy and Zoro charging in from the 2 new entrances to Iceberg’s quarters
“Give Robin back!” the rubber boy shouts/demands
“Luffy” Robin sighs
“Luffy?” Zoro says in confusion
Lucci raises an eyebrow “You again?”
“Iceberg” Poly gasps, seeing his condition “What the Hell is going on here?” he shouts
“Damn it Poly I told you to run” Iceberg groans, struggling to sit up, as more of the Straw Hats make their way up to where the new commotion was
“No, I want to know what’s going on. Blueno, Califa, Sui Feng, Kaku, Lucci, what’s with the weird costumes and why were you attacking Iceberg?”
Luffy blinks “Wait a minute, yeah those guys were with you in the shipyard, even pigeon man”
“And the long nosed one was on our ship” Zoro growls
“The short one Iceberg recommended design our new ship and the woman with glasses is his assistant” Nami adds, recognising everyone except Blueno
“Poly, this may come as a shock to you, but we’re really secret agents working for the government (when does that line ever work ;)? ) but you’ll forgive an old friend and fellow shipwright if I say I’m sorry right?” Lucci’s voice was sarcastic and a little condescending “All that time, working together building ships from dawn till dusk, I’m sure you’ll be fine, maybe even enjoy the promotion when I smash Iceberg’s face in”
“Shut up! You were the asshole in the bull mask, you knew it was safe to speak instead of Kaku, because nobody here’s ever heard your voice” Poly accuses “I’ll teach you to make fun of me, treat me like a fool” he shouts, running straight for him
“Poly stop!” Iceberg yells in worry
Pipe hitch knives
Soru
Lucci dodges Poly’s bladed rope with ease, moving faster than even the shipwright could comprehend, until he was directly in front of him… and in him
Shigen
“You still don’t learn” Lucci sighs, his finger imbedded in Poly’s chest, removing it when it appeared the man wasn’t going to fight back.
“Poly, you ok?” Luffy calls
“f*ck. You. Lucci.” Poly pants, though the attack on top of the previous beatdown still brought him to his knees
“There’s no point in trying to fight us” Sui muses “Our abilities exceed that of normal humans like yourself, we outclass you so badly it’s almost pathetic” she taunts, metaphorically kicking the man while he’s down “We’ve spent most of our lives learning and perfecting the 6 paths of the Rokushiki”
“These techniques transform the body into a living weapon stronger than 100 men, so I’m sure you can see why you were so easily beaten” Lucci continues “Now I’m afraid our friendship is over, you need to be eliminated same as all the other witnesses”
“Lucci no!”
“Get away from him pigeon dick!” Luffy shouts, launching a rubber kick to the top hat wearing man’s face, which he caught rather casually ‘crap’ he thinks, before letting his body follow his leg, giving him a little air and space once Lucci let go to attack
Gum Gum Gattling
Tekkai
“He didn’t even flinch” Alvida gasps when Luffy stopped his onslaught “The f*ck is up with this guy?”
“You’re nothing but a pest, boy” Lucci growls
Soru
‘The hell, this is like the puss* guy from East Blue, only better’ Luffy swallows, seeing flickers in his vision but nothing discernible until it was too late, and Lucci was in his face
Shigen
The finger jab into Luffy’s throat, while not piercing it like Poly’s chest, did have enough force behind it to throw the rubber boy into the wall beside the rest of his crew
“If you weren’t made of rubber you’d be dead right now, with a hole in your neck” Lucci explains to the still coughing/choking Luffy, as well as the other pirates “Lucky you”
Luffy doesn't respond immediately to the comment, instead just reaching out and pulling Poly out of the line of fire and to them
“You’re protecting him, even after all that happened today, why?” Lucci asks, sounding curious
“Why? Because I don’t want you to kill him, what other reason do I need?” Luffy replies, Vivi resisting the urge to smile when she sees Luffy’s more heroic moments, even if he denies it when comparing it to his definition of hero “You guys were all friends the other day, how can you just up and try murder someone today?”
“We were, and now we’re not, things change” Sui scoffs, the brat irritating her
“Don’t care. You guys are my enemy now, I promised Poly I was going to beat the everloving crap out of whoever was trying to hurt Icepops, so bad news for you guys, I tend to keep my promises” Luffy declares, Nami and Vivi nodding unconsciously, as he’d dealt with their problems by beating the crap out of the bad guy too.
“What changed is they almost found the design plans for Pluton, so they could finally drop the act” the straw hat wearing boy turns
“Took your time, get lost or something?” he asks, seeing Kaos follow Artemis and Valentina to the now destroyed entrance to the room
“No, just took a shortcut down and had to come back up the normal way, I had help though”
“So, you trust him over us then” Kaku hums, drawign Luffy’s attention back to CP9
“Of course I do, you guys were already on my sh*t list for stealing one of my friends and crew mates, and hurting my family” Luffy declares angrily “Speaking of, hey Robin, why are you acting like this and working with this assholes? Do I need to beat them up like Crocodile to get you back or something, cause if one of these is another Logia I think it’s Kaos’ turn to get his ass kicked a few times. If you wanted to leave, all you had to do is say so, just tell me why!”
Robin frowns “Do I have to repeat myself?” she asks “I already said my farewells to at this point just under half the crew, did none of them pass it along?
“Probably, I’m not a good listener when people are lying or talking bullsh*t” Luffy responds with a shrug “And yeah they passed it along, I just don’t believe a word of it”
“I did this to make my wish come true, something I couldn’t do as part of your crew. If you can’t accept that then I’m sorry”
“Ok, now I’m even more confused” Chopper sighs
“This is what happens when you just let people walk onto the ship without even asking why” Nami sighs, at a less serious time Vivi and Zoro would be a little smug, as they were the loudest in favour of not letting Robin join
“You may not like it, or think it’s fair, but to accomplish my goal I’ll make any sacrifice”
“Even your heart, and your soul, Nico Robin” Artemis states rather than asks, Luffy noticing the way the former oldest member of his crew just barely suppressed a flinch at the use of her name
“And framing your crew for murder, you’re a peice of work. So what’s this dream, so big and special you’ll throw us to the dogs for?”
“I don’t need to answer that”
“Don’t do this you selfish brat, no matter your goals, the consequences will be dire” Iceberg wheezes, trying and failing to yell
“This is none of your concern, nor are you in any position to lecture me, this should shut you up” Robin hisses, with a wave gesture she blooms arms to restrain the man, then releases it with a curse and hiss, the straw hats surprised and confused to see her hand was bleeding
“New tricksssss from an old fruit” Kaos hisses, chuckling humorlessly with his hands by his side, not hidden by his cloak
“This doesn’t change a thing, I won’t let you or anyone get in my way” Robin says through gritted teeth
“Robin you’re not making sense, which is rare for you. Do you expect us to believe this bullsh*t?” Luffy asks, starting to get annoyed at the non-answers
“Come on Robin stop acting weird we’re your friends, we’re supposed to help and support each other” Chopper begs, the your reindeer getting extremely worked up
Robin doesn’t respond as Lucci draws attention back to himself “I’m afraid I need to cut this little get together short. We really must be going, we have a meeting elsewhere that we just can’t miss. Califa, how long do we have?”
“2 minutes and counting” the glasses wearing woman replies, checking a pocket watch
“Thank you. Now as I’m sure staying and talking would lead to positively riviting stories, but this place is going to disappear in a massive fireball in 2 minutes so I’m afraid this is where we part ways”
“You’re kidding, he’s kidding right?” Nami asks, getting shakes of the head from a few other crewmates
“Why would I, fire is very good at dealing with pesky things like evidence. Now I’d say you should probably get out of here quickly… but that implies I’m going to let you live, period” Lucci smirks
“So it’s us against these numbnu*ts, just great” Valentina sighs, while everyone gets ready to fight
“Now are you ready to accept Robin is the enemy… again?” Zoro asks, a little tiredness and annoyance in his voice
“No!” Luffy answers almost immediately,
“Noisy, Jeez. Anyway, the lower levels are about to be consumed in flames, messy and unsubtle, but it was an attack by pirates, they were never considered sneaky, just destructive” Lucci chuckles to himself
“I think I’ll pass on this crime thank you very much” Alivda quips, both hands on the handle of her mace
Bluno shrugs “What’s one more crime to add to the list, we’re about to execute you anyway, so it’s not like you’ll be around to be annoyed” he grunts
Robin sighs, putting up her hood “I believe this is where I take my leave”
“Correct, you did the job perfectly Nico Robin”
“Straw Hat, don’t let her escape” Iceberg pants
“Don’t worry I had no intention of letting her” Luffy says as he jumps forward, hoping to knock Bluno out of the way and keep running
Tekkai
But nope, Mr. Door took a kick to the face and didn’t budge
“Damn it, why do none of you people move when I hit you?” Luffy grunts
“One of the techniques we’ve been taught was tensing our bodies to the point they are as strong as iron walls” Bluno explains
“Then take this!”
Gum Gum Gattling
Kami-e
But the attacks simply passed through empty air
“This bastard is faster than he appears” Victor notes with a scowl
Gum Gum Pistol
Soru
Once more Bluno evades Luffy’s attack but this time leaves the captain’s line of sight
“The strength of my legs allow me to move faster than the eye can follow...”
“Like that cat bastard from Syrup Village” Luffy responds, causing a momentary twitch of annoyance to surface from the man’s expressionless face before reverting to best described as, bored
Geppo
“...in fact my strength means I can leap off the very air itself as if it were solid matter” he boasts
Rankyaku (X2) (Kalifa and Sui Feng)
“Someone catch Luffy, also duck!” Kaos shouts as the rubber boy is shot straight into Victor and Alvida, throwing the 3 down the hallway while slice through the wall around the doorway.
“Holy sh*t, they did that with a kick!” Vivi screams
“Actually it was the pressure wave/wind given off my the kick than the kick itself, but still, yes” Sui says with a smirk “Rankyaku, or the tempest kick, it’s the go to long range technique for those who perform Rokushiki”
Shing
“We met on your ship didn’t we Roronoa?” Kaku asks, blocking Zoro’s blade with one of his own
“If you assholes lied about being shipwrights, did you also lie about the Merry too?” the swordsman asks, unsure which answer he’d prefer, that the crew were broken up over nothing, or that the Merry really was completely f*cked
“No I was completely honest there, I took my job seriously for as long as I had it” Kaku replies, torching that possibility
Zoro sighs “I’m sorry to hear that” then after pushing the square nosed man back a step began to properly engage him in sword fighting, both clearly being masters of Nitoryu, so this could go either way.
Pulling himself to his feet Luffy see’s Robin open the window “Hold it right there Robin, we’re not done talking yet!”
“Yes we are. This is the last time we’ll ever see each other. Goodbye Luffy” Robin says, not even turning her head back to the boy
Zoro growls as he cuts through Kaku’s blades “Luffy, don’t let her get away, we’ll handle the guys here” he barks getting a nod from the captain
Kaku smirks “Don’t get co*cky boy, and never take your eyes off your opponent”
Shigen
Zoro doubles over, getting 3 penetrating jabs to the torso from the long nosed agent
Meanwhile Lucci catches Luffy out of the air, holding him up by his face and ignoring the flailing teen’s punches like they were nothing
“He’s taking Luffy’s attacks and not even blinking. How can any of us go up against this monster?” Nami thinks aloud, visibly shaking
“I have him, now go” Lucci orders, getting a very slight nod from Robin
“Papa?” Artemis looks to the purple haired straw hat
“I know” he sighs
Shimmer
“I think no… ah f*ck” Bluno grunts his hand cut up and Kaos appearing behind him
“You tried grab my leg didn’t you?” he asks, sounding more like himself at that moment “I’d tell you why that happened, but you apparently know everything about my fruit so I guess that means you cut yourself on purpose. Also good to know you can’t use that defence and move, else I doubt you’d be bleeding quite as heavily” he smirks, then returns his focus to the window Robin just jumped out of “Really hope these guys don’t have a Gran Ray Cero under their belt” he mutters under his breath, sidestepping a Shigen he was pretty sure was aimed for his heart from Sui and jumped out after her.
With Robin gone, Lucci tossed a still struggling Luffy into the wall beside him, now having lost all their heavy hitters the Straw Hats were at a loss
“How, they made them look like marine grunts” Vivi whimpers, the others not much better
“I knew you guys were strong but this should be impossible” Poly gasps
“You just don’t get it do you?” Sui sneers
“We’re not like you, as members or CP9 we’ve spent our entire lives training, working to test and surpass the limits of humanity, honing those skills into a weapon of Absolute Justice. The results of that training are the 6 techniques we’ve just beaten you to a pulp with, the Rokushiki. So I’m sure by now you can see why and how the 5 of us are the Government’s best and most elite agents” Lucci continues “and in the same breath you can see how much of an overkill we are to be dealing with a weak band of pirates like you are. Of course the details of our techniques and training is strictly classified, but I’ll give you a spoiler, none of you would have made the cut”
“Lucci we need to go, the ignition system is about to blow” Califa reminds the leader, but he seems to ignore her
“But a moment like this, is so rare” he smirks, then begins to transform
“As if we weren’t screwed already” Nami cries, seeing the man get bigger and scarier by the second
“He ate a Zoan fruit, no wonder he’s so strong” Victor curses
“Correct. I ate the Neko Neko no mi: Model Leopard” Lucci grunts, now towering over all those around him
“He’s a leopard human”
“He’s huge”
“It appears the fire is already spreading” Lucci says casually, as smoke begins to waft up to the room “There’s not much time left for you all”
Poly grimace as he pulls himself up “I don’t care what you are, I’m not letting you lay another finger on Iceberg!”
“Chopper, are you ok?” Nami asks, having noticed the reindeer almost vibrating at the edge of her vision
“He’s a carnivore class zoan, they’re the most viscious of them all” he whimpers
“Correct. Zoan, Logia, Paramecia. All wonderful artefacts capable of increasing one’s ability, of which physical strength is a zoan specialty” he gives a feline smirk as he says that “Meaning the harder we train the stronger we get, and if you thought I was tough as a human, this form is practically divine” he laughs
“Lucci, the workers are coming up the stairs, they’re on the way to us” Califa relays
“It won’t matter, they won’t get that far”
Rankyaku
Unlike previous uses of the attack, which hurt people and cut through walls, this attack practically cleaved through the entire building. This caused a good portion of Galley La to collapse in on itself, as well as destroy the hallway and a portion of the ceiling of the room they were all currently standing in. The only person who managed to take advantage of the mess was Poly, who hobbled over to Iceberg and pulled him up, bracing the older man against his own body (though at this point Iceberg was probably in better condition than Polly)
“Poly don’t do this”
“I’m not leaving this place without you Iceberg”
“Actually” the blond looks to Califa who was addressing him directly “I’m afraid to tell you, neither of you will be leaving”
Poly chuckles, coughing up a little blood along the way “Then I guess I’ll have to prove you wrong, and go through you. Unless you’d rather just step aside” he then scowls “Why did it have to be you? Why? Why did you trick me, I thought you were my friends damn it!”
“Then you were a fool” Lucci scoffs as he stomps forward, leopard swoll raises his arm to tear both men apart, when he takes a rubber fist to the face, causing him to turn his head away slightly
“Pigeon dick!”
“Straw Hat?”
“Imbecile” Lucci growls, before impaling Luffy on one of his claws
Shigen
‘f*ck, why do people keep doing that’ Luffy thinks in a corner of his mind, now panting on the floor and hoping he doesn’t bleed out… at least his finger was smaller than Crocodile’s hook. Meanwhile Lucci licks his claws clean of blood, if they crew weren’t on the verge of pissing themselves with fear they’d probably be a little nauseous right now.
“Have a nice flight” Lucci snarks, grabbing Luffy by the head and tossing him through the wall, taking him out of the fight completely.
Tekkai
He blocks a sword swing from Zoro, then plants strong kick into the swordsman’s side, launching him out into the water below
“Now, who’s next?” he growls, turning to the remaining group, smirking as he sees Alvida and Victor charging at him
Tekkai
Shigen
BOOOOOOOM!
His iron body was strong enough to not just tank but knock back the smooth woman, then a quick strike enabled him to shove away the bomberman before he could explode, protecting himself, as well as adding to the collateral damage.
A little later
“This is the end of Iceberg, despite all his accomplishments, he really should have known the World Government can’t be challenged by anyone who wishes to continue breathing” Sui hums, watching the flames consume Iceberg’s office, where the bound mayor and Poly were.
“Correct. Now we must locate Franky and retrieve the plans, quickly before he has time to hide them or flee the island” Lucci orders
“It’s unlikely he’s be able to go anywhere, given Aqua Lagoona is about to hit” Kaku argues, but follows the boss regardless
“True, now where would Franky be?” Califa wonders
“He was in the bar earlier, but then he left to find Straw Hat, settle the score so to speak” Blueno answers “After that, who knows”
“It gives us a general location and a starting point” Lucci says with a nod
Soru
Geppo
The agents zip through the sky and across the rooftops, their end goal their only thought
“Well, that’s convenient” Sui purrs, stopping to overhear some of the Franky family talking about sending Straw Hat a message, then yelling about it, meaning her covert work was mostly pointless. Sighing she catches up to the others with the information “Franky’s in a warehouse under bridge 6, apparently he has some more of the Straw Hats with him, hoping to use them as hostages and bait to draw in Straw Hat” she relays to Lucci
“Perfect”
Meanwhile
“That’s so sad, you left the friends you made and have been traveling with since the East Blue for your ship” Franky balls, his Garnet cosplayers crying just as hard
“Jeez, why are you crying?” Usopp yells, Kaya sighing as she makes tea
“I’m not crying, just everything that’s happened, it takes some guts to stand up to your boss, and walk away like that” Franky says with a sniffle, causing the sniper to sigh deeply and contiue patching up the Merry
A few minutes later
“Here you go everyone, tea’s ready” Kaya says, her syrup tendrils each holding a steaming cup, which she places most on the table, except for one which she lays beside Ussop “Be careful it’s hot”
“Thanks kid, you’re a nice, polite girl, never would have pegged you for a pirate” Franky smiles as he picks up and sips his tea “HOT!!!!!”
“Moron, she just told you it was hot” Usopp yells
“You know, you should probably take a break” one of Franky’s girls say
“You’ll burn yourself out, your girlfriend even made you some nice tea” the other adds, her lips curl when both straw hat’s blush
“You know they’re right Usopp” Kaya whispers, the medic worrying about him making things worse
“I get it, you don’t want to sit down with us, after all we did steal the 200 mill, which in a way lead to the fight with your captain” Franky guesses, standing up again
“It’s not that, what’s done is done, no point holding a grudge” Usopp says in a tired tone
“Taking the high road, what a man” Franky smiles “also about that money. I Spent All Of It!” he cheers, his girls posing with him
“I will bury you, or just watch Kaya suffocate you in honey” Usopp growls, while the Ami girl pinches her nose
“Hey, don’t get all worked up about it, especially not after showing just how laid back and forgiving you are. I mean can’t we just start over with blank slates? I mean I haven’t tried to hurt you for destroying my place and demolition factory, or beating the crap out of my boys…. You long nosed freak I’ll tear you limb from limb” the cyborg flails, his girls keeping him away from the injured sniper and the medic
Kaya frowns, seeing Usopp lost in thought, most likely about abandoning their friends, even if it felt like the only option
“Anyway, like I was saying given how crazy the last few days have been, what do you say we put the axe in the ground and let bygones be bygones?” Franky suggests, having calmed down and drinking Kaya’s tea again
“I think it’s bury the Hatchet”
“She’s right bro that’s the phrase”
Franky shrugs “What they said, the meaning’s the same kid” he sighs and looks at the 2 former straw hats “So, what are you going to do know it’s just the 2 of you? Doesn’t exactly look like you have anywhere to go” the question was left unanswered until the cyborg had an idea “Hey why don’t you let me take you in, join the Franky Family, we could use a smar…”
“Shut up!” Usopp shouts “I’m not about to become a ship dismantler, and Kaya’s talents would be wasted in that field as well”
“We’re not straw hats any more, but we’re still pirates, till the end” Kaya adds, a serious expression on her face
“You 2, are breaking my heart” Franky cries, strumming a guitar he keeps in the warehouse “Don’t be so cold, I’m just looking out for you, trying to see where your future lies”
“Thank you, but our future isn’t your concern” the syrup girl responds
“Besides, don’t you have other things to worry about, like that big storm about to hit”
Franky shrugs “Nah, Aqua Lagoona is only dangerous if you get caught with your pants down. We’re safe here” he assures them, then gives them a little history lesson about the island partly because of the storm, but also to help them understand how things lead to this point. The 2 noticed he got very energetic and proud when he moved to explaining about the Puffing Tom, the sea train, as well as it’s creator, the shipwright Tom.
“Wow, this Tom guy was some kind of genius to come up with and actually build the seatrain” Usopp praises, getting a small, content smile from Franky
“Hit the nail on the head long nose, brilliant, and kind, that was Tom” he sighs deeply, lost in his own memories
TBC
LW: Well, f*ck, these guys can’t catch a break.
Yes I used the japanese names for both the techniques and the 6 powers itself, because they sound better and more interesting.
JustMe: If you could send it to me somehow whenever you’re done, that would be great. Thanks and glad you’ve enjoyed it so far
See you in 2 weeks, stay safe and try not catch the Coronavirus ok everyone?
Chapter 69: A Ray of Hope
Chapter Text
LW: I don’t really have much to say as an intro, other than hoping all my readers are ok given everything happening in the world right now, mostly corona-virus. Stay safe and enjoy everyone.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - A ray of hope
A little later
“Bro don’t”
Crack
Franky is barely back on the ground when he’s dodging pellets and syrup balls
“You bastard, there are less destructive ways of getting your point across!” Usopp shouts
“We get what you’re saying, but breaking the Merry was a bad decision” Kaya growls, her devil fruit turning her hair into honey coloured tendrils
“f*cking idiots the both of you” Franky grunts, running forward, slamming Kaya into the wall causing her to explode into syrup before grabbing Usopp by the throat “You’re still not listening, the ship is done for. Take A Look!” he jumps high then throws Usopp into the water directly beside the Merry, then waits for him to surface, his girls keeping their eye on the sniper’s companion. After a few minutes he heard splashing as Usopp pulls himself out of the water “Understand now kid?” he asks, calmer than last time.
Usopp doesn’t respond at first, instead moving to the broken piece of the Merry and begins dragging it back into place, Kaya assisting out of concern of him overexerting himself and opening up any of his recent injuries. “And, there” he whispers to the blond, who smiles sadly “Now she’s almost good as new again”
Franky groans “You moron! You saw it for yourself, the keel’s shot and the panels are already starting to come loose and lose cohesion. You wouldn’t survive a bad wave never mind the trip back to the East”
“Shut the f*ck up!” Usopp shouts, throwing the hammer and just barely missing the cyborg “I know that” the statement surprises Franky and his girls “I know what we’re doing is like putting a band-aid over a bullet wound, but… I don’t know what else I can do” his eyes water and tears start falling hard and fast, the sniper falling to his hands and knees, while the medic slides down the side of the hull onto her butt.
‘What?’
“I’ve had suspicions for a while, that the Merry was getting to the end of her journey. Even back as far as Skypeia. Kaos thinks him and Robin are the only ones who know the legends, but I saw it, I know what it means. I heard the mallet strikes in the dead of night, even though nobody should have been up there. The next morning, the ship had been noticeably, though haphazardly repaired, even removed the add ons and modifications we put on to help get us up there, back to default so to speak” he explains, now sitting and trying to remain calm “Someone who knew what she was supposed to look like, back when we first took off from Syrup Village in the East. Then there were these words, I felt them more than heard them, so for a while I thought I’d imagined them, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll carry us for a little longer’. It sounds silly, but it felt like it was the Merry reaching out and speaking to me, somehow” the tears had returned and the sniffling “She most likely knew she was at her end, and wanted us to know we’d make it this far, that she wouldn’t let us die up there. That was my thoughts after hearing the shipwright's assessment” at this point everyone but Franky was teary eyed or crying “You may not believe me, but I don’t care it’s what I saw”
“Big Bro?” one of the girls call as Franky sits down, expression unreadable
“Whether I believe you or not is ultimately unimportant, but you said it looked to have a wooden mallet right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Because then what you’re recalling is accurate, you saw the Merry’s klabautermann” he stated seriously
“It is real” Usopp gasps, giving a teary smile
‘They were right’ Kaya thinks, shuffling over to Usopp
“Um, big bro…”
“Care to explain what a klabautermann is?” the girls ask
“A klabautermann is a type of fae, who is drawn to ships treated with great care and love, most look at it as the spirit or soul of the ship. The most common description of it was small with a wooden mallet dressed in a sailor’s raincoat, and in times of danger it would find some way to warn everyone. They help in other ways from what I’ve heard, but you’re the first one I’ve actually heard claim to have seen one of these elusive spirits. The more care is given to the ship, the more it grows to love and appreciate the crew. Damn, think about how much this one loved you and your crew it appeared to you and spoke to you, how much she wanted to help you make it to the next safe shore. That’s actually beautiful” Franky explains, complimenting the straw hats during his story “Despite all this, what I don’t understand is why you had a big fight with your captain over something you knew wasn’t something you could fix” Franku wonders aloud, causing Usopp to sigh
“It wasn’t that simple, there was a lot more to it than that” he argues, though everything stopped when the bell at the door began to chime
“Someone’s at the door, should we open it bro?”
“Who could be out on that side at a time like this? Plus if it’s the boy’s, why haven’t they just come in? Weird” Franky hums, then waves it off and lets them open it “Now personally, I think you should just get back with your crew…” Mozu is sent flying across the room “What the?”
“I apologise” Califa says, fiddling with her glasses after kicking Kiwi into a wall “These girls were just… in our way”
“You wouldn’t believe the amount of work it’s taken for us to find you, Cutty Flam” Lucci says flatly, causing Franky to tense and the former straw hats to look confused
“How do you know that name, and how did you find me here, nobody knows about this warehouse base?” Franky asks/yells
“Well, since you’re not going to see tomorrow I have no problem telling you: We’re secret agents working for the World Government. We were sent here on a secret mission 5 years ago. Considering what I just called you, I think you know what I’m talking about. The rumors and reports all said you died 8 years ago, and we believed them for quite some time, spending most of our time undercover tailing Iceberg. But it was all in vain, given you had what we were searching for, not him” Lucci explains
“This is giving me bad vibes, has been since you people walked in. Where’s Iceberg?”
“He’s dead” Sui answers with a grin, sending chills down Franky, Usopp and Kaya’s spines
“It’s too late to feign innocence now Franky, we already know everything, that Iceberg had the plans, and then he passed them on to you. Now what we want, is for you to hand over Pluton’s blueprints to us now” Luci orders, frowning when Franky stands there like a statue “Hey moron, I said hand them over!”
Franky’s eyes harden “Did you say hand?” he asks, shooting his arm out by it’s chain, which the agent dodges smoothly, then punches the cyborg in the gut, sending him playing and destroying the wall behind him
“Hm, so it appears his secret bunker has a secret room, intersting” Kaku notes
“Those are drafting tables, where blueprints are usually designed, and where they can be hidden amongst several other designs” Sui says, using soru to get to the opening
“Well don’t just stand there, find it” Luci commands, CP9 beginning to search the secret room for the correct blueprints
“Interesting, the name plates here, are Cutty Flam, Icebarg, and Tom, as in the shipwright” Bluno says, after wiping the dust off the plaks so they could be read, while Lucci finds an old picture of Tom and his workers
“Hey, paws off that. You creeps are poking around my stuff, and I don’t like it” Franky growls, getting back to his feet and standing in the opening “This is my home, my childhood, and I won’t let you contaminate it with your filth! This is where Tom’s Workers, the best damn shipwrights on the island used to work out of”
“So, this is it. So many ships were built in this old place, but look at it now, broken, decrepit and forgotten” Lucci sighs, picking up a photo “Tom, Iceberg and Cutty Flam. This place must be a treasure to you, all those memories. And now you call it, your top secret base, that’s actually cute”
Franky growls “Shut the hell up and get out of here already”
“We can’t leave, not until we have the blueprints” Bluno states
“So make this easy on yourself and just hand it over” Sui adds
“There aren’t any blueprints here, not in years. I’m a dismantler not a builder, what do I need blueprints for?” Franky argues
“So you claim, meaning this is worthless to you” Lucci purrs, kicking over one of the desks “Califa, restrain him”
Franky holds in a scream of pain as the spiked cord of Califa’s whip wraps around his body, the 2 former straw hats frozen in fear “Bastard” he grunts out, glaring up at the leopard man on his knees
“Try to fight all you want, we know more about you than you think, including several things I’m sure you’d prefer remain buried. Like what happened 8 years ago, and your hand in those events, the crime you still remain unpunished for. A dirty criminal, just like your old master, Tom”
“You take that back, Tom was a great man, not some criminal, you stupid freak”
Lucci’s initial response was to kick Franky in the face, shutting him up if nothing else
“From where I’m standing, you and him are the same, and therefore need to suffer the consequences of your actions” Lucci replies, while Franky grits his teeth
“You smug f*ck, you think you know everything don’t you? Well you don’t know a thing about Tom, and you don’t know a thing, about Water 7!”
Meanwhile - With Zoro
“Ow, that f*cking hurt” the swordsman groases, pulling himself to his feet “Never been glad to be in the middle of a storm, but those waves saved me the trouble of swimming back, well most of the way” he sighs, looking up at his destination “You stupid furball, all you’ve done, is piss me off” he says to himself, before begining to jump his way across the rooftops, back towards Galley La.
And we’re back
“We’ve heard Tom was an incredible shipbuilder and designer, but he was also an uncontrollable fishman, their genetic super strength not exactly helping matters” Sui notes, smirking as she steps closer to the bound Franky “The people here don’t exactly have a lot to say about him though, even when he’s only been gone what, 8 years?” Franky clenches his teeth “Must have been hard to apprentice under someone like that”
“Though Iceberg was in the same position and he seemed to come out of it reasonably normal” Califa argues
“True” Lucci nods “Anyway, during the incident over a hundred people, both marine and civilian were injured in the attack, caused by your ships. Causing the World Government that much trouble, is a bad idea Cutty Flam, want me to show you why?”
“Why don’t you go f*ck yourself, I ain’t talking to goons like you” Franky yells, Usopp and Kaya wince, even as they reach for their weapons just in case, not that either of them thought they stood any chance against these people.
“Because Spandam’s report said you were killed in a Sea Train accident that same day, all charges against you were annulled, but seeing as you’re still alive…” Lucci purrs “You’ll be taken to Ennis Lobby to face justice, immediately”
“It’s a two for one special” the smaller agent chuckles
“Ahem. There, you will have all the time in the world to answer one simple question: Where are the blueprints to the Ancient Weapon Pluton?” He then turns to Blueno who had retrieved a Den Den Mushi from… somewhere “Is it ready?”
“I just got a connection”
“Excellent. When we gave our latest report our superior wanted to speak to you the moment we had you apprehended. Remember to be on your best behavior, he’s the current Head of CP9” Lucci chuckles, his shoulders slumping as Bluno brings the snail over to the bound Franky
“We’re good boss, you can talk” Blueno says flatly
“OW!!!! HOT HOT HOT! I JUST SPILT COFFEE ON MYSELF, STUPID COFFEE!” The snail bellows at uncomfortable levels, getting sweat drops or sighs of annoyance from all the assembled groups “Well, we meet again Cutty Flam, nice to see you’re not dead. It’s so strange to believe you actually survived the accident, but I guess it’s good fortune for us”
“Wait is that Spaz-dick?” Franky thinks aloud
“SPANDAM YOU SIMPLETON! SPANDAM!” Spandam yells through the snail “When you arrive at Ennis Lobby, I’ll make sure you never forget it again. Get to it… OW OW OW, STUPID LAMP”
“f*cking moron” Sui grumbles, but was ignored
“Regardless, we still need to tie him up so he can’t escape during transport” Kaku states, before Blueno essentially shoves the cyborg into a sack and ties it, before throwing him over his shoulder and CP9 begin to leave, more or less ignoring the scared Kaya and Usopp, until
“Let him go!” Lucci turns and raises an eyebrow “sorry, never mind” Usopp mumbles
“Jeez you idiot, don’t get my hopes up like that” Franky complains from the sack
“Wait a minute” Kaku hums, turning to look at the 2 “Weren’t you 2 members of the Strawhats?”
‘sh*t’
Meanwhile/earlier - Galley La
“This isn’t working, the wind’s just making the fire bigger!”
“Well what else can we do, Iceberg might still be in there, we need to put out the fire, try save some of the building and him too”
Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound as above them the window was broken, by a reindeer with a sword in its mouth, Iceberg and Poly on his back and a fearful Tyrannosaurus on his hat. How the animal managed to stick the landing is unknown but impressive nonetheless
Chopper pants heavily, smoke inhalation, burns and the injuries caused by having part of a building dropped on you not exactly putting him in a good place at the moment, even less when he sees some of his crewmates ‘Nami! Alvida! I need to help them’ he thinks, trying to put one hoof in front of the other, and failing after the first one, falling to his knees before slumping onto his belly.
“Wow, that reindeer just saved Iceberg!” One of the workers cheered
“Polly too” another adds laughing, then stops, wondering aloud “But wait, I thought this thing was part of the Straw Hats, Hm”
“Not important right now, just check on the boss” a 3rd man shouts
A little while later
“You’re alive, I’m so glad to see you’ve made it Sir” one of the dock workers smile as Iceberg opens his eyes, sighing deeply as he stares up into the sky
“We need to stop, there’s no hope this building is coming down!” was yelled, then the signal was given to shut off the hoses
“Hey guys, what are we going to do with these girls? They’re straw hats, should we tie them up and question them or something?” one asks
“Don’t worry yourself about it” the man turns and nearly jumps
“Mr. Iceberg, you shouldn’t be standing in your condition”
“Relax” the blue haired man waves off the concern “I need to speak with these 2 women privately. If you come across anyone else from this pirate crew, please send them my way” he orders, looking down at a battered, bruised, and annoyed Nami and Alvida, before sitting between them.
“1st, I want to apologise about accusing your crew of trying to kill me, that was wrong” Iceberg says in a soft, but tired tone “I’ll have that cleared up as soon as possible”
“Right now, I don’t give a f*ck, our reputation in Water 7 is the least of our concerns” Nami snaps, wanting this day to be over now more than ever
“True. So for now, I want to talk about Nico Robin. Did she start acting strange when she arrived?”
“Robin was acting fine, until some fat guy bumped into her and she didn’t follow us into the bookstore” Iceberg turns his head to see a sad looking Artemis walking over to them, Vivi not far behind
“Oh thank God you’re ok” Nami sighs in relief “But how?”
“Aunt Vivi tried break my fall as best she could” Artemis admits, wrining her hands “I think she broke a rib”
“Artermis, relax. Chopper will check me out later” Vivi says as she joins the 3, now 5, pulled into Alvida’s arms who gently began checking her for damages
Iceberg tunes the couple out and returns focus to the 2 redheads “So everything was fine, until she disappeared?”
“Yeah, when Papa found her she was talking about how she had darkness inside and that it was our final goodbye. She also said, much like you did, that she was sorry we got caught up in all this” the artist replies
“Of course we didn’t believe any of that, least of all Luffy, so, we decided to break into your mansion, stop the 2nd assassination attempt and hopefully see Robin again, trying to get some real answers along the way” Nami adds, her expression a mix of sadness and disapointment, while her fists were clenched on her lap “What kind of wish was so important she needed to give up and throw away her friends, her family?” Nami asks, not expecting an answer, but needing to get it out in the open
“I think I can explain this, or at least give a good guess” Iceberg says, drawing the 4 straw hats attention to him “This entire incident began pretty much the moment you all lost sight of her, CP9 drew her into their plans once they became aware she was in the city. I can continue, but before that, I need you to understand, that Nico Robin and I, both have the power to unlock an ancient weapon of unimaginable power”
“sh*t, this is Pluton all over again isn’t it?” Victor asks, overhearing it after beign directed by one of the workers to the gathering, Valentina running behind him
“You look fine, which is really annoying right now” Alvida says, gritting her teeth
“It takes more than a collapsing building to hurt a bomberman” he replies, smirking before looking over at Iceberg “Is it Pluton, or one of the other 2?” he asks
“Yes it is. CP9 are here in this town because I held the blueprints for Pluton, and as one of only 3 people who can read the Poneglyphs Nico Robin could have lead them to the original one, as well as the other 2. When I confronted her on this, how her desire for knowledge was going to get people killed like it did the Devils of Ohara…” he stops and gasps when a paintbrush is painfully thrown into his bruised liver
“Artemis!” Nami shrieks, looking about ready to scold the girl
“Mother isn’t a Devil, you don’t get to talk about things you know nothing about” she growls, getting a bitter chuckle from Iceberg
“So you do know her history, well enough I suppose. Anyway, when I hit a tender spot, she revealed a few things, such as why she caved to CP9’s demands so easily, despite knowing once they had a hold on her she wasn’t going to survive this mission: They had been given the authority to order a Buster Call be deployed and used against your crew”
“Um, sorry, East blue newbies, but what’s a Buster Call?” Alvida asks, Nami nodding alongside her
“5 Vice-Admirals and a contingent of Battleships, all focused on a single target. It’s usually seen as overkill to be used on an island, but a single ship, it’s insane”
“Why were these monsters given that kind of power?” Vivi asks
“They wouldn’t normally, most of the time, only the 4 highest ranking marines have that kind of power, the Admirals and the Fleet Admiral. But CP9 were given the power, by Admiral Alkoji”
“f*ck that icicle bastard, we should have all tried kicking his ass when we ran into his earlier” Valentina shouts angrilly
“We had priorities, namely unfreezing Robin” Nami reminds her “Plus Luffy sent us away to duel him one on one, so he’d let us leave be, rather than freeze and smash us all without breaking a sweat”
“Regardless, she did everything they asked, because she couldn’t just disappear like she always had before, especially not leaving you to deal with a Buster Call alone. She… she said you made her want to live again, set her heart beating again and returned life to her dreams. She cares about you, so she chose the lesser of 2 evils in order to protect you as best she could. She made a deal, her compliance, for allowing your crew to leave this island”
“Well we already know how well that turned out, Catman wasn’t exactly interested in letting us walk away after all” Alvida grumbles
“As long as my family lives, f*ck the rest of the world, more or less” Iceberg concludes, staring Artemis in the eyes, the artist now wriggling under his scrutiny “I wanted to kill her, even more after hearing that, but I couldn’t”
“Papa was there, what did he say?” she asked
“If you honestly believe we’d be happy with that deal, and aren’t about to go Arlong Park on these sh*tbags, you’re not as clever as I thought you were dearie” the mayor quotes, causing Artemis to laugh and Nami to lose all colour in her face
“So Robin isn’t a traitor, she’s just an idiot?” Valentina asks, getting nods from the rest of the crew “Great, now why does Nami look like she’s about to throw up?”
The navigator looks nervous for once in her life “I don’t exactly advertise it, but like Robin, I’ve betrayed and abandoned the crew, as well as stolen the ship. Arlong Park, is the name of what used to be my metaphorical prison the home of the Fishman Arlong”
“I’ve heard of him, he was a big shot because of how strong fishmen are, especially given how quiet the East Blue is” Alvida hums
“Yeah, well now Arlong Park is a pile of rubble and Arlong is rotting in the ground with a piercing stab through the brain and heart. All thanks to Luffy and Kaos respecitively, though the rest of the crew at the time helped, they just each dealt a finishing blow” Nami explains
“So that’s why he ran off”
“He did it for me too, I’d call him a vanguard, if I didn’t also call him a moron” the navigator sighs, then gives a small smile “I’m happy about one thing though, that Robin didn’t betray us, she was trying to protect us. I also know what’s going to happen once Luffy hears about this, hint hint Vivi we’ve done this all before” the princess nods, looking resigned to their fate
“We’re going to kick ass and save Robin, everyone, we need to find Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Chopper. Let’s go!”
Iceberg gasps “What are you doing, you already lost to CP9, you don’t stand a chance”
“Who decided that?” he stops, looking into the determined eyes of the artist “The straw hats never back down, and never surrender, we’ve stopped the destruction of a kingdom and fought God, we’re not going to let the Government stand in our way”
Nami nods “She’s right, we haven’t even started fighting yet, now we have something worth fighting for with all our heart. Luffy’s not here so I guess it’s my turn: Nakama!”
“Nakama!” the others shout, raising their right arms into the air, then begin to panic when their navigator starts slapping Chopper awake
The Seatrain station
“Nice of you to finally turn yourself in, 20 years is a long time to be on the run” Agent Corgi sneers as he brushes past Robin, both waiting for the arrival of CP9. The Last Oharan sighs as she awaits her end, unaware of 2 sets of eyes watching her intently, one thought shared between them
‘This isn’t over Robin!’
TBC
LW: And that’s it. We’re almost finished Water 7 and moving swiftly on to Ennis Lobby. See you all in 2 weeks
Justme(X2): While I had thought about doing a spin off with the movies, as I’m not exactly sure how they fit into the One Piece timeline, with the exception of 4 and the retellings of the Drum and Alabasta Arcs, I hadn’t thought to do the same with filler arcs. Maybe one day, but yeah Kaos and Artemis would probably have made Robin’s scenes a little more fun, or at least stranger.
Would anyone be surprised if I told you Spandam’s English dub Voice Actor is also the Joker’s? Not Mark Hamill, Christopher Smith. Amongst other things he’s done, Lego Joker, Zoria from the Seven Deadly Sins movie and Molag Bal from Skyrim are the ones I actually recognize. He’s also a voice for High School DXD and Attack on Titan, but I haven’t watched either of those things so all I can say is ‘That’s nice’
Chapter 70: All Aboard!
Chapter Text
LW: We’re nearly done, just a little more time in Water 7. Also Aqua Lagoona has arrived, oh boy.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - All Aboard!
“CP9 should be here shortly” Corgi says with a smirk “Time to get on that train Robin. Men, escort the lady, make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid like try run away” he orders, the 4 goons in suits and shades nod before shooing the woman forward
‘This is it, the end for me. But at least the others will be safe. I’ve hurt them, some more than others…’ she tries get the heartbroken look on Artemis’ face out of her head ‘...but they’ll recover and be stronger than ever’ she thinks as she enters the seatrain
Meanwhile
Sanji was in his own little world, imagining her thanking him for rescuing her, after seeing her be taken away without any issue, until he heard familiar shouting
“...if you don’t let us go, my 8,000 men will leap out of the shadows and tear you apart”
“Wha! Usopp” Sanji mutters in confusion then his eyes widen seeing the blond held in Kaku’s arms, delirious from her seastone chains “Kaya-chan!” he gasps ‘Crap, now they’re taking away 2 of the best people on the crew’ he thinks sadly, ignoring the fact both of them and Robin left, you’re a Straw Hat till you die.
Elsewhere
With a little help from Iceberg and Poly, mostly yelling on the latter’s part the straw hats were given a hand in both getting to the sea train and locating their missing members, Chopper, Artemis, Vivi and Valentina heading up the search team, while Nami, Victor and Alvida followed Polly as he lead them to the station as quickly as he could, taking every shortcut and backroad the man could think of.
“LUFFY!”
“ZORO!”
“SANJI!”
“Usopp and Kaya, you guys are welcome back too”
“Think this will work?” Artemis asks, keeping her eyes on the roofs for their missing family
“It has to kiddo, we’re going to need everyone to deal with these government goons” Vivi assures her, squeezing her shoulder and smiling, even if even the kid could see how tight and forced it was
“Thanks for trying Aunt Vivi” Artemis responds, then continues hunting, though in the pit of her stomach she feels, they won’t make it in time.
Blue Station
“Due to Aqua Lagoona the 11:00 seatrain to Ennis Lobby will be departing early, please board now so departure can begin” the voice on the intercom snail announces, causing Sanji to sigh
“Whelp, guess there’s no point waiting around any longer, time to rescue Robin and Kaya-chan, oh and Usopp I suppose” the cook shrugs and runs towards the train, just as it begins to pull away from the station. Because of this, he missed the arrival of the other 3 by about a minute and a half, long enough there was no chance for the 3 to get anywhere near the train.
“This is Bullsh*t!” Alvida shouts, nearly throwing her mace at the train, but catching herself enough to stop and silently fume, Nami was practically in the fetal position, and Victor grimaces as the rain begins to soak them. This was the sight Poly entered onto, the crew looking kind of pitiful if he was being honest.
“Train left a little early there” he says aloud, noticing the conductors badly attempting to spy/easedrop on them
“Yes, well the passangers were already on board” one begins, then gets interupted
“And with Aqua Lagoona so close it was decided the best plan was to just send it on early
Poly nods “Figures” he then looks down at the shaking navigator “Hey listen, don’t get too upset, maybe it’s for the best, Ennis Lobby isn’t exactly a good place for anyone to go…”
“AFTER THEM!!” Nami yells with the fury of a Yonko
‘Damn, that girl is pissed’ Poly think, then notices the girl getting in his face “Yeah?”
“We need a ship” she states rather than asks or demands
“What are you on now?”
“The strongest, and fastest you’ve got”
“You straw hats really are insane aren’t you?” Poly asks rhetorically “You want to sail in that? Don’t you have any idea how dangerous Aqua Lagoona is?”
“No, and if it’s to rescue Robin I don’t particularly care” Alvida responds, getting nods from Nami and Victor
“You idiots don’t understand, going out there is a death sentence, nothing less” he growls around his cigar
“I don’t care, Robin is risking her life for us, so we’re going to do the sa…” Nami is interrupted when Poly grabs the conductors and runs up the stairs, the 6 being chased by a massive wave which floors the main level of the station
“See. What. I. Mean?” Poly pants once they were in a safer position, then grimaces “sh*t, these waves are stronger than usual, this year’s Aqua Lagoona is going to be a bad one”
“Hey, if things are this bad now, is the sea train in any danger?” Victor asks
“On the one hand, it should be out of harms wave long before the main storm hits, plus unless it’s a direct hit the train was built to pretty much cut through all waves even ones this bad” Poly explains
“Hey, one of you are Nami right?” one of the dock workers call as he runs down the stairs “There was a note left outside for you”
“I’m Nami, but how did you find such a small note?” the red head asks, her companions thinking the same thing
“It was actually really easy, whoever left you the note wanted to make sure you saw it” he chuckled, the 3 straw hat’s jaws dropped when they saw the massive arrow and message on the station entrance wall
Nami-Swan! Please Read This!
(Those other than Nami-swan don’t have to read it, because they’re stupid)
“Sanji?” Victor asks rhetorically
“Sanji” Alvida nods
“I’m going to beat that moron’s face in the next time I see him” Nami growls, before actually looking at the note, then sighs
“Problem?” Poly asks “How bad is the news?”
“Give me a minute, the first part is a really sappy love note. Ok here’s the important… crap. Sanji’s on the train, he got on because he saw Robin boarding”
“Did he see Kaos as well?” Alvida asks, the researcher did run off after Robin after all, it would make sense he’d have stuck to her
“I doubt he’d have mentioned it even if he had. He mentioned Kaya being carried on board so Usopp is probably there too. Plus I don’t understand his fruit, if it makes him invisible I’m just going to nod politely at this point” the navigator sighs again “Main point, Sanji, Robin, Usopp and Kaya are on that train, and we need to catch it, or at worst, meet up with them at Ennis Lobby” she declares confidently, meanwhile one of the dock workers pass the nearby baby/portable den den to Alvida, the smooth woman kind of liking the psychic snails now her fruit stopped them sliming her, they were cute, friendly, and slept most of the time when not hungry or working.
On the Sea Train
“Damn, this storm’s so bad I can’t even light a smoke” Sanji sighs to himself, watching Water 7 disappear into the night fog “Well, that’s a problem for another time, right now I need to figure out how to get into this thing”
“Damn, the storm’s really getting bad tonight” an agent says as he opens the door, seems the universe was being nice to Sanji tonight. He thanks the man by kicking him into the other side of the carriage, announcing his presence to the entire car.
“Who are you?” an agent asks/shouts, all but 2 pulling out guns and getting into defensive positions. Sanji doesn’t answer, instead reaching into his coat “Hands where I can see them!”
“Did you see that kick, he’s not some ordinary civilian” another whispers, causign Sanji to smirk ever so slightly before revealing it to be a cigerette, which he puts in his mouth and lights
“Stop that, you’ll make me blush” he says in an even tone
“It’s not a compliment!”
“Quick, someone tell Rob Lucci we have an intruder” the still seated agent moves to leave but is stopped
“Now hold on #cough, cough# there’s no need to have CP9 come down for this bug. Not while I’m here!” a very tall man, so much he needs to bend over in order to fit in the carriage says, coughing when Sanji’s smoke plume rises into his face “I’m Jerry of CP6, undefeated boxing champion of the South Blue Karate island”
“Boxings not really my thing, I do enjoy karate though” Sanji interrupts
“Well, let’s see if you can handle my punches” he smirks, before unleashing a series of blows fast enough the blur gave the illusion of multiple arms
Jerry Aurora Flicker Jab
Of course given the man’s size, this wasn’t a good idea to do in a confined space, plus Sanji simply walked between the man’s long legs, avoiding the attack entirely and instead Jerry pummeled most of the other agents in the car.
“Hm” the boxer then moves to something resembling a handstand, looking at an upside down Sanji “Don’t think you have me at a disadvantage here, just because I’m so large and this train car is so tiny, I can still…”
“I’ve never spoken to someone where their head is where their crotch should be” Sanji grumbles, wishing it had been a woman, especially because given the position Jerry was in, her breasts would have gotten in the way, giving him something nice to look at, though it would have stopped him kicking her ass, so there’s that.
“Arrogant brat. What I was trying to say was my boxing technique is actually better in tight spaces, now behold, battle yoga!”
“You idiot, you’ve just shortened your reach” Sanji groans
“That’s what you think”
Screw Drop Kick
“That’s not even boxing!” Sanji shouts as he dodges the spinning kick
“Sesese, I hope you don’t need my help to deal with one lanky dumbass” a familiar voice mocks him
“That’s what you think psycho” the cook responds, jumping just as Jerry makes a return strike, kicking him in the face and knocking him out in one blow. He smirks, looking at the panicking agents “Duck or jump?” he asks casually
“What?” the men think
Crescent Blade. Crescent Wave
The wind blades slam into the agent’s unprotected backs, cutting into them, some through, and the others being knocked out with the force they hit the seats, walls or ceiling of the train. Sanji lands with a soft thud, unsurprised Kaos had been hiding in the carriage
“What gave it away Eros?” he asks curiously
“You have a sword, the others have guns” the blond replies
Bang
The cook jumps as the man behind him falls, the reflect human sliding the firearm into his coat, ripples barely visible in the silver coloured surface.
I’ll keep that in mind, also sorry I missed that one” Kaos says with a shrug “Ready to go?”
“As I’ll ever be”
Meanwhile back on Water 7- Galley La
“Mr. Iceberg, where are you going?” one of the men ask, the blue haired man pushing himself to his feet and slowly making his way out the gate, he had somewhere to be, his injuries be damned
In the lower levels
“Damn it feels like we’ve been yelling for hours and still no reply”
“Well we have to keep trying, these people are counting on us to find them”
“You don’t think that they’re… you know?”
“No way, don’t think like that. They’re here”
Nami’s jaw clenches for a moment, overhearing the workers ‘Luffy and Zoro wouldn’t go down like that, by some leopard nobody’ she thinks, her eyes locked on the wanted poster containing most of her crewmates ‘We finally know why Robin left us, we need you guys in order to rescue her.’
“Poly, get over here!”
“What do you wa…. Holy f*ck” the blond yells, seeing the bare ocean floor all the way to the horizon “I thought the waves seemed larger than before, but this… this doesn’t seem possible. A wave this big, it’ll destroy most of the lower level of Water 7, anyone down there will be killed instantly”
‘All this searching, and still not Luffy or Zoro’ Alvida fumes internally, though given the wide berth the others seemed to be giving her, the feeling was probably able to be felt outside her mind as well
“Granny, look, look, see it, Granny” the smooth woman hears the yelling and turns, seeing a little girl, a rabbit and a drunk old coot
“Kokoro!” she shouts, the woman turns
“Oh look it’s one of those straw hat girls, how you doing?”
“Hey Miss Pirate Lady, I see something between the buildings, come look!” Chimney yells, looking really excited
Seeing as nothing else was working she decided to humour the girl and take a peek, following the girl’s flailing arms was hard but she managed to zero in… and her heart stopped ‘Luffy’ she thinks, seeing the edge of the hat, and with a little more focus, part of her idiot of a husband, wedged between the buildings “f*ck”
“Isn’t that your king of the pirates captain down there?” Kokoro asks, taking another swig
“Yes it is. Goodbye old lady, I have somewhere to be” Alvida gives a quick bow before running/sliding across the paths and down some steps towards Luffy’s position
“Whaa! You can’t go down to the backstreets!” Kokoro bellows, drawing the attention of any foremen and straw hat in the area “Aqua Lagoona is minutes away, you’ll die!”
“I know what I’m doing: Getting Luffy back” she shouts back, sliding down the wall of the bridge before using the speed to hop onto one of the rooftops and continues running “And Nothing is going to stop me”
“Please tell me she isn’t doing what I think she is?” Nami asks fearfully, the 2 girls having been drawn to the yelling of the workers trying to get Alvida to stop
“She’s going to get Luffy, luckily her fruit will help her avoid slipping as much as it lets her slide when needed. I just hope she can get to him and back before the waters come crashing back” Vivi says, trying to sound confident but the navigator could practically feel her shaking.
“Chopper, now’s not the time to run off!” Valentina yells, the reindeer nearly bowling her over in his haste.
“It’s Zoro, I found him!” Chopper calls back, before running and jumping off the same bridge as Alvida, though off the other side and cantering across the rooftops
“So, we’ve found your missing crewmates, and just in the nick of time too” Poly says, sighing in relief
“Provided Aunt Nami is right and Papa’s on the train with Sanji, then yes, all that’s missing are Luffy and Zoro” Artemis, the closest straw hat to the foreman replies “Zoro would have probably been fine, but Luffy’s Devil fruit, means he wouldn’t have stood a chance when the wave hit” she adds morbidly “He’s have drowned in seconds”
“You’re a dark kid, you know that?” the blond asks, getting a chuckle from the 14 year old artist.
“I get that from my mom, she has a weird sense of humour” she admits, smiling at him sweetly, making him smile slightly in her direction
“Go pirate lady, you’re so cool!” Chimney yells, cheering Alvida on as she practically skates across rooftops on her path to Luffy
“You stupid girl, you won’t make it there and back in time. Turn back, the waves are already on the way towards you, you’ll die if you keep this up!” Kokoro shouts, as the missing water had finally appeared on the horizon.
Alvida stops just across from Luffy “f*ck, I can’t go any further, this roof isn’t even long enough for me to try some kind of running start” she grits her teeth hard enough she can feel her jaw protest her actions “What do I do? He’s right there” she asks herself, then her eyes widen when she see’s his arm twitch ‘he’s awake? Maybe…’ “LUFFY!!” she shouts, seeing she had his attention when his hand freezes “What are you doing there at a time like this? Robin’s on her way to Ennis Lobby, and we need to rescue her because she’s an idiot trying to protect us”
“Alvida? You’re ok! Are the others? 1st, this isn’t my fault, that cat guy threw me into the storm and I got stuck between these buildings….wait did you say we’re rescuing Robin? Yes!” Luffy says in a mix of confusion, annoyance and joy, which has Alvida chuckle even as she shakes her head
“Robin did everything to save us, she gave herself to them in order to keep us safe. She’s willing to die, just so we can live. And just what are you going to do about that?” she shouts, if anyone but Luffy could hear her right now, they’d be reminded this woman had been a captain of her own ship once, before joining up with Luffy.
A growl could be heard in the shadow between those buildings, anger nearly palatable leaking from the crack “They think they can hurt my friends, my family, by taking Robin away from us? Well who decided that?” With renewed motivation and anger helping fuel his body, he began to push against the buildings, just as the waves began to encroach on the edges of Water 7
“Come on Zoro!” Chopper grunts, pulling in his human form “Why won’t you budge?”
“How the f*ck should I know, I’m just stuck here” Zoro grumbles, then stops “Hey Chopper, are you carrying the Kitetsu blade by any chance?”
Chopper blinks “I have one of your swords, so maybe. How did you know”
“It’s cursed, I can just sort of tell” Zoro admits, scaring the reindeer enough he freezes up for a moment “Not important right now, just give it to me” he requests, he hand twitching at the edge of the chimney entrance.
“AHHHHHHHH!”/”36 Calibre Phoenix!”
Crack
Slice
No words were enough to describe how shocked everyone was, nor how happy the straw hats were as Luffy and Zoro managed to free themselves in time to avoid being hit by the waves, Luffy grabbing Alvida on his way to slingshotting them back to safety, while Zoro, who had been unaware of what was happening, given his upper half had been stuck in a chimney, was frozen in shock, luckily Chopper was able to grab him using ‘Jump Point’ then similarly bounce his way out of harm’s way.
“Yay! Perfect 10” Chimney cheers, her rabbit nodding in agreement, while Vivi and Nami were the first to run towards the returning straw hats, the others not far behind
“Luffy!” the princess screams, wrapping her arms around him, then pulls the smooth woman into the hug “Alvida! You 2 need to stop scaring me like that” she whimpers, the aura of rage having faded for now as Luffy relaxes against his lovers.
“You’re back” Nami states, her eyes watery, as 2 of the Monster Trio look up at her “You guys ready to launch a rescue mission?” she asks, then her face loses colour “Everyone run!”
Luffy and Zoro look behind and stand, the waves were still coming, larger and more destructive as it moves. With full power the straw hats already on the bridge make a break for it at full tilt, the few at the top encouraging them to hurry, then on Polly’s orders start running themselves, heading for higher ground.
“f*ck, these waves aren’t supposed to come this far” Poly groans, sitting as the pirates try catch their breath
“You kids are a few shells short of crazy” Kokoro chuckles as she approaches them
“Hey drunk granny, how you doing?” Luffy says with a slight wave
“Fine, especially while I’m off the sea given this weather” she cackles
“Nami, you mentioned a rescue mission, what’s going on?” Zoro asks, causing the navigator to facepalm
“Right, you missed it, though I think Alvida’s yelling as Luffy at least partly up to speed. Robin didn’t betray us, not exactly. She turned herself over to World Government in order to protect us, it’s not her fault they used her to help them with this heist. Now Robin, Sanji, probably Kaos, as well as Usopp and Kaya are on the seatrain bound for Ennis Lobby”
“And we’re going to go get them, right Captain?” the swordsman deduces
“Exactly, we’re leaving right away” Luffy declares loudly
“Just as we thought” Victor and Valentina respond together
“Let’s save Mama!” Artemis shouts, trying to do a serious face
“Look out Ennis Lobby, you won’t stop us reuniting with Robin!”
TBC
LW: The gang’s mostly back together, and now we’re heading for Ennis Lobby. Also for anyone who noticed, yes what you think is a 7 Deadly Sins reference is exactly that.
JustMe: I hadn’t really put much thought into a voice actor for Kaos, he had a voice in my head obviously but it wasn’t a specific person. I like your suggestions though, so picked one that suited him rather well, especially with some of the things I have set up for him in the future. Also on the subject of filler, because unlike some series the filler fits into the story, as basically another island between arcs (at least so far) I’ll probably either add them to the main series, or skip them entirely. Movies will probably be put in a spin-off story, with Film 4 being the exception as it’s already part of this one.
Update of information:
Serpens D. Kaos: Voiced by John Swasey, best known for…
All for One (MHA)
Crocodile (One Piece, the funimation dub, though I’ll be honest I prefer his 4kids voice actor for the role so that’s what he sounds like in this story)
Van Hohenheim (Full Metal Alchemist)
Lord Death (Soul Eater)
Undertaker (Black Butler)
Interestingly, this technically means The straw hats have All for One, and One for All (who has the same english voice actor as Zoro) on their side.
Let’s see CP9 get through that :P
Chapter 71: Voyage of the Rocketman, Let’s catch Robin!
Chapter Text
LW: Hey people, hope you’re all doing ok with the lockdown. I’m good, and will try to keep things running smoothly.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Voyage of the Rocketman, Let’s catch Robin!
“Hey rope guy, we need to borrow a sea train, you have one of them lying around?” Luffy asks, to which the man grumbles around his cigar
“There is no OTHER sea train, the Puffing Tom is one of a kind” he argues
“Seems kind of silly, you’re in trouble if the Tom ever breaks, plus you could make more and increase your productivity” Nami comments/critiques but is ignored
“The man who built it was a genius, I’m not even sure how it managed to get built at all. So no, I can’t pull a sea train out of my ass to help you guys”
“What about a ship then? The best ship you have” Luffy requests
“Moron! Look out there, do you really think anything can survive the storm, it’s tearing the lower levels of Water 7 apart, never mind a boat!” Poly shouts, clearly getting annoyed “Even in our best ship you’d be killed easily, and I’m not letting you go out unless I know you’ll survive the trip” he sighs “Just wait until morning when the storm passes, you can have any ship you like then” he groases, then sends the men off
“If we wait until tomorrow, we won’t make it in time to save Robin, will we?” Nami asks, causing the blond to freeze, and draw all eyes to her “Ennis Lobby, I’d heard about it even before we got here”
“As have I at least in passing, it’s military base the marines are quite proud of” Vivi confirms
“True, but it’s also the location of the Gates Of Justice!”
“The gates of justice?” Chopper repeats
“Why do I get the feeling it’s not as nice as it sounds, because even the name is giving me bad vibes” Valentina complains, getting nods from Victor and a frowning Artemis
“Ennis Lobby is known as a ‘judicial island’ but that’s a blatant lie. If you’ve been taken to that island, your guilt has already been decided, it’s merely a formality or sentencing hearing. The condemned are taken through a narrow corridor to enormous steel doors, taller than almost all other structures on the island. Those are the Gates Of Justice, where hope is left abandoned, because once you enter… you’ll never see the light of day ever again” the navigator explains “The only options afterwards are Execution or Impel Down, which are basically the same thing to most people. Go on, tell me I’m wrong”
Poly stares at her, as did everyone else, clearly the locals were at least partially aware of Ennis Lobby’s reputation, especially given nobody was even trying to argue with her
“Robin has a bounty on her head, and the World Government has been after her for 20 years, she doesn’t have any other future but death. The longer we stand around yapping the closer she gets to the Gates, and after that a painful demise, so shut the f*ck up about waiting around, we need to leave NOW!” she shouts, anger coming off her in waves,
“If you know all that already, I don’t know what you’re thinking right now. Most of you are also wanted criminals so you’d want to stay as far away from that place even if the seas were calm and your old ship wasn’t a pile of crap. That place is basically the World Government’s personal playground, no pirate no matter how strong would be dumb enough to launch a rescue mission to that place because they know what even attempting such an act would do. You’d be declaring war, on the Entire Navy, as well as the World Government itself!” Poly shouts, trying to get it through the pirate’s thick skulls
Luffy shrugs “Guess that’s what we’re doing” he responds “If you won’t give us a ship, we’ll just have to steal it. Our friend is counting on us, so I’m not going to hold back” the captain responds, all of them getting into battle stances
“This kid’s joking right?”
“He isn’t actually going to fight us?”
Poly grimaces, then pulls out some rope “It seems like it. Stubourn fools”
“Calm down you dumbasses”
Several heads turn “Kokoro?” Alvida says in confusion, while Luffy grunts “Stay out of this Granny”
“Nope. These boys are just trying to stop you from killing yourselves. Like it or not, no ship can survive Aqua Lagoona, especially not this one” she says, sounding almost sober for a change
“Then what are you suggesting?”
“The only thing that can survive out there, is a Sea Train”
“We know, and the only one in existence is occupied and on it’s way to Ennis Lobby, it’s kind of the reason for the fighting right now” Vivi reinterates to the old drunk, who laughs
“Well, if you guys are that determined to die, follow me Straw Hat, and company. We’ll just take my sea train”
Meanwhile
“I can see why you kept the disguise, shame the fact you were escorting me wasn’t enough for these morons” Sanji grumbles as the 2 of them side step unconscious agents and make their way over to the prisoners
“Sanji, Kaos, what are you guys doing here?” Usopp yelps, though before answers can be given, 2 goons who were clearly playing up the twin aesthetic interrupted them
“I don’t have the energy to deal with boring gimmicks like these, give me a minute Eros” Kaos says stepping in front of the cook as the 2 slash into him...
Reversal
...only for the wounds to show up on them, as it hits his reflect armour. In the shock, the reflect human slams their heads together with a wet thud, out for the count if not longer.
“That’s a new one, when’d you learn that?” the cook asked, just a little impressed
“It’s not new, just an extension. I’ve been practicing with Zoro to put the damage in the reflected target, rather than just what hits me. As in what Arlong thought I could do. It actually took longer to get it to work than you might expect, and I broke a few marine issue swords along the way, mostly because neither Zoro nor I trusted me to get it right first time. Then came how much I could reflect, that was a full counter more or less, as if they choped into themselves, which was more than enough for this” Kaos explains with a lazy grin, happy to get to talk about his own abilities once in a while.
“Wait, you guys both got on this train to rescue me?” Usopp asks, getting emotional
“I didn’t even know you were going to be here” Sanji admits “but seeing you and Kaya did give me another reason to climb aboard. Also, who are you? I don’t think we’ve met, the only person I know with blue hair is a sexy princess who’s married to a moron”
Kaos groans “It’s going to be one of those nights isn’t it” he thinks aloud then croches to check on Kaya, happy to see that while the chains were seastone, the lock wasn’t, pulling it off with a sharp tug. Meanwhile Sanji finds Den Den Mushi and was about to put in a call to Nami
“These some of your pirate friends?” Franky asks
“Ex-friends” the 3 respond, meanwhile Kaos uses his cloak as a barrier between himself and the chains, enabling him to start rolling Kaya out of it “Thanks for the rescue or whatever this is though” Usopp adds
“No problem” the researcher smirks
“Once more, who the hell are you?” Sanji asks the cyborg, who seems to puff up and get a little co*cky
“I’m the face of Water 7’s underworld: Franky!” he announces, the gets kicked in the face by Sanji, Kaos having no reason to stop him
“You’re the bastard who beat up Usopp!” the blond shouts “He may be dead to me now, but back then he was part of the crew, plus you made Kaya cry and nothing makes me angrier than a guy who makes a lady cry” he growls around his cigarette.
“Calm down Sanji, we’ve come to an understanding, he’s not such a bad guy” Usopp defends, meanwhile Kaya sits up looking tired and grumpy
“You bastard, you’re lucky I’m tied up or I’d kick your ass!” Franky shouts, not helping his case
“You can stay in that potato sack forever, for all I care you bastard”
“Big words for a guy who beats people up when they can’t defend themselves”
“Guys, stop yelling, you’ll alert the marines!”
“THEN YOU SHUT UP!”
‘I can’t believe I missed this’ Kaos thinks with a sigh
Meanwhile
“Cool, a secret base” Chimney shouts
“Pretty much, been hidden here for about 8 years, and the seatrain has been untouched for about 12 at this point” Kokoro informs them, before the group make their way down the stairs into the base itself “Slow down kids, it doesn’t matter how fast you get to the end, you need the key to get in” she calls, then is surprised when Luffy just opens the doors, many of them transfixed by the much ‘cooler’ design, like some kind of robot shark train hybrid “I’m glad you like it, this here is Rocketman, no guarantee of your safety, but it’s your best chance to make it to Ennis Lobby in time”
“It’s awesome, we have to use it” Luffy declares, getting easy nods of agreement from Chopper, Artemis and Alvida. The fact Iceberg just casually walked off the train did surprise them though
“Hello Straw Hat, and company, glad to see you’re all ok” he greets with a nod and half smile “i see you led them here Kokoro”
“Of course, though I’d like to know why you’re here Iceberg” the old lady responds
“Well, it would seem you and I had a similar idea when I heard the seatrain had left without these pirates. Plus it seems we still have a soft spot for reckless idiots” he says with a chuckle, which Kokoro joins in. The man sits himself down on some crates before addressing the group “I’ve just finished servicing her, water and coal are loaded and the boiler is heating up nicely. Should be ready to go in no time”
“Thanks Icepops” Luffy cheers, before leading the charge towards the seatrain,
“Don’t thank me yet, it could still kill you. RocketMan was our failed prototype, the predecessor to the Puffing Tom. No matter what you do it’s speed is uncontrollable, but you guys seem desperate enough that’s probably not going to stop you, even if you’re going to regret it later”
Vivi sighs, then chuckles morbidly “That sounds like the Straw Hat way, just wish I knew where Nami went so we could leave” the loud banging of a cart on the stone ground answered her question, as Nami ran in followed by the station workers
“Took your time” Valentina snarks, adjusting her fingerless gloves “Almost thought we’d have to grab you on the way”
“You were the one who said we needed to hurry, why are you the last one on board?” Luffy asks angrilly
“I come bearing food and booze” she replies, the fact she’d barely finished speaking and Luffy, Zoro and Alvida were already on it told her things were fine
“I instantly forgive you” the 2 heavy eaters respond together, Zoro nodding before continuing to down a bottle by himself
“Once you shoot out of the canal, you should be fine if you can latch onto the tracks ok?” Iceberg says to Kokoro, who had already set herself up by the train’s engine, ready to go like she used to.
“I’ll be fine Iceberg, don’t worry so much. I’ll have these pirate folks to their destination, though I hope you don’t mind watching the kid and her bunny while I’m gone”
Iceberg shrugs “Seems fair” then frowns
“Relax Iceberg, don’t worry about the boy” the man looked confused. “Cutty survived getting run over by a Seatrain, he’ll survive this” hearing those words, the mayor nods and lets them be on their way.
“STRAWHAT!” the pirates look towards the entrance to see several of the Franky Family in the doorway “You gotta take us with you, those goons took our bro, we need to get him back!”
“We’re do anything”
“Lay down our lives”
“But we need to get Big Bro Franky back”
Nami groans “Seriously? You rob us, beat up our friend, and then you have the gal to ask us for help?”
“We should go, there’s not much time left” Victor argues
Luffy nods, opening up a carriage door “Well, what are you waiting for, get on we need to leave like 5 minutes ago!” he shouts, surprising basically everyone
“What?” Vivi squeaks
“It’s fine, the more the merrier, plus it’ll divide their attention if we’re all there fighting” Luffy answers with a grin
“Oh don’t worry, we don’t need to get on the train, we’ll just have our King Bulls latch onto your tail. Thanks Straw Hat” the spokesman says then all of them rush off
“That was weird” Artemis notes, getting nods of agreement from basically everyone.
“All aboard, time’s a wastin” Kokoro calls, the straw hats all rush into the carriage, except Luffy who semi predictably gets onto the main train body and sits on it like it’s the Merry’s figurehead “The immediate departure from Water 7 to Ennis Lobby, Rocketman, begins now” she announces, before the seatrain shoots forward down the tunnel, everything going well, until the train started to dip
“Hey granny, why does it feel like we’re falling?” Luffy calls back
“Because we’re nearing the end of the canal, we should shoot out in a couple of minutes at most” Kokoro responds with a yell, downing the rest of her bottle before hand
“Shoot out!” the others repeat in panic, just before it happens, the Rocketman flying out of one of the vents in Water 7’s main structure, Luffy cheering as they’re basically soaring once again, while the girls scream, Chopper goes catatonic and Zoro sighs, knowing tonight was getting really f*cking weird.
“There they are. Sodem, Gamora, catch that train!” Luffy turns his head in time to see the Franky Squad and 2 large sea monsters looking things right behind them “We are here! Quick, fire the connection cables” the carriage and bulls lock onto the back of the train, just before it lands, luckily the seatrain was part ship, otherwise the thing would have sunk and killed all of them.
“Hey Monster Granny” Luffy calls with a frown “Is this really the fastest it can go, because I’m not exactly impressed” the rubber boy admits, causing the old lady to laugh
“Don’t worry kid, you’ve seen nothing yet. Just you wait until this thing hits the track, then we’re cooking with gas” she cackles, then looks out to sea with more focus than the captain expected from such a heavy drinker “There it is” she shouts, adjusting Rocketman so it could more easily hook onto the tracks “Dear all passangers, we’re about to reach the track, at which point this train will begin to accelerate exponentially. Hold onto something, so we can keep injuries to a minimum”
“Minimum?” Nami repeats “Maybe I should have stayed on Water 7”
“Well, it’s too late to back down now, best just hold on and don’t fall out of the carriage” Victor suggests, pairing up with Valentina the same way Vivi and Alvida did, before pulling Artemis into their protective cuddle.
“Damn this storm, I missed. I won’t let it get away from me again” Kokoro growls
“That was so close Granny, nice work” Chimney says with a massive grin, mirrored by the bunny
“Why thank you…..” the old woman stops, then looks outside in shock and fear “Chimney, what are you doing?” she asks, seeing much like Luffy the younger yellow haired girl was clinging onto the outside of the train “I left you with Iceberg” Chimney shrugs “Get in here you idiots, it’s not safe out there”
“But it’s fun” Chimney chirps, then sways as the train once more tries to click onto the track, slipping and just barely managing to hold onto the side before falling “This is awesome!”
“Chimney! Hold on a second I’ve got you” Kokoro shouts, pulling the break, calming her for a moment before remembering…. “Crap this train has no breaks!”
“Hey, what are you doing, looks like fun though” Luffy hums, as he finds Chimney clinging to the side
“Hi Straw hat guy, I nearly fell” Chimney replies with a laugh
“Straw Hat, grab Chimney and get her inside now, if she’s still out there when we hit the track she’ll be blown away into the sea!” Kokoro orders, then because the universe is pissed off today, the train latches onto the tracks, and instantly accelerates, sending the 3 flying, but luckily for them they were stopped when they all slammed into the Franky Family, safe, for now. The 3 were moved to the main carriage, now the train was on it’s track Kokoro was able to join the others. All animal companions were passed out, mostly from shock.
“Wow, I thought I was a gonner” Luffy an Chimney echoed, thought were still grinning annoyingly
“You almost were! I told you to get in the train or else you’d get blown off, which you did” Kokoro scolds as everyone of importance has regrouped in the main carriage, as well as their stowaways
“Seriously, this place is getting a wee bit crowded” Valentina sighs, with the remaining crew, a handful of Franky goons, and 3 Dock one shiphands they were running out of space
“I decided to come with you, after everything I did to try stop you failed, it seemed the safest option was to come along and try give you a slight improvement of your admittedly poor odds” Polly explains “Plus we share a common enemy, those government goons who took your friend, are the same ones who tried to kill Iceberg”
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend” Vivi quotes, nodding “We understand, it’s why we’re also working with the Franky family, despite them beating our sniper half to death, and us raizing their base to the ground” the more diplomatic Straw Hat responds
Luffy stands, throwing away the bone he’d just picked clean “Listen, I know we’ve had some scuffles, both with the Franky Family, and Galley La, but those World Government thugs, especially pigeon man, they’re going to regret everything they did to our friends. From this point on, until our goals are acomplished we fight as one” Luffy states, the aura of command sending shivers down a few people’s spines, but Poly and the main Franky Bro still extend their arms for the 3 to link up “Not counting Robin, there are 4 members of my crew on that boat, or at least allies willing to fight to save Robin. Some of them are some real heavy hitters, so once we catch up to that train, our power will get even stronger and our odds even better” the other 2 heads nod, Luffy then turns his head to see Nami having a panic attack “What I miss?”
“We need to alter course, or else we’re going to be killed by that wave” the navigator shrieks
“No can do, even I was listening to that part. This train can’t stop, and once it hits the tracks it’s not changing course. Hold onto your butts, we’re riding this thing to Ennis Lobby, and nothing is going to stop us!” he shouts, the confidence and energy behind his words, had the others believe him, joining in on the cheer with equal enthusiasm
With everyone in agreement work began to be done to set up enough firepower to blast through the wave, luckily the Franky Family were demolition experts with access to a lot of cannons, the loud dock worker brought his own, and Victor had his Bomb powers and explosive air bullets.
Puru puru puru, Puru puru puru
“Um Nami” Vivi calls, pointing to the red head’s vibrating cleavage
“Oh the snail, it must be Sanji!” she shouts, rummaging around before pulling out the Den Den
Meanwhile
Franky pants lightly as he pulls himself onto the roof of the train cart, the others following along with assistance from Kaya’s syrup tendrils. Once everyone was on top of the train, and therefore unlikely to be detected by the marine prescience Sanji pulls out the Den Den he’d stolen from the carriage.
“Nami, Nami can you hear me?”
“Yeah I hear you, what’s going on Sanji?”
“I’ve got some bad news, there have been… complications”
“Really… wait what was that noise?” Nami asks, overhearing the panicked sounds of Usopp and Franky trying to keep themselves attached to the train, Kaya and Kaos watching in uncomfortable silence.
Sanji grimaces “Nothing, just some dumbasses”
“I’m serious Sanji, what the Hell is going on over there?”
“We located Usopp, Kaya and Franky, Robin is most likely in the front of the car so as to ensure she doesn’t literally jump ship and rob CP9 the glory of killing her themselves” Kaos responds, having taken the speaker off the cook
“You’re all ok though, right?” she asks
“Just fine, perched on the top of a train cart, but fine” he answers, waiting the expected 2 seconds before passing the speaker back to Sanji before the inevitable Nami blow up
“WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? Are you insane have you seen the weather outside it’s f*cking Hell, especially with 2 Devil fruit users on your team!” she shouts, though between breaths a loud commotion could be heard
“Sounds like things are getting messy on your end too, care to share?” Sanji asks
“Well, I want to tell you why Robin’s with CP9, why we’re going to rescue her and why EVERYONE IS SCREAMING. SHUT UP AND LET ME FOCUS!” even not directed at them, the Den Den picked up most of the volume of Nami’s yelling “It’s a long story, though I bet our mirror master knows a thing or 2…”
“Robin did something stupid, throwing herself onto the fire because she didn’t think we could stand the heat.”
“That’s about the jist of it, I’ll fill in the gaps when we meet up. Currently our problem is a massive tidal wave we’re literally about to drive into. The guys are trying to deal with it as best they can, but… it’s not looking good right now”
Back on Rocketman
Zoro frowns as he stares up at the roof of the carriage, then turns his head “Hey Luffy”
“I know, that wave’s asking for it. Let’s go” he says, opening a window and shimmying his way onto the roof, the swordsman following him not that far behind. The 2 stretch and move into position, only the noticing a lul in the explosions
“What are you 2 doing?” Polly asks
“The same as you, now keep firing” Zoro answers, before putting Wado in his jaw
“You heard him V’s, keep blasting” Luffy orders, Victor nods before refilling his air revolver for Valentina and both began firing explosions alongside the Franky Family and the Galley La workers
“Hey how much is 108 times 2?” Luffy asks Zoro as the wave gets uncomfortably close
“216, why?”
“No that’s too long, can’t we round up or something?” Luffy half whines
“You want a round number, let’s make it 300 then” Zoro graoses
“What the Hell are they doing?” one of the Franky family ask
“Showing off as to why those are ⅔ of what we call the Monster trio” Vivi answers, having come to see what Luffy was about to do as well, Artemis holding her hand in a death grip
“Trio, who’s number 3?” The man with the weird hair spike asks
“You don’t know him, he’s the cook, Sanji. The other inner monikors are the Demon Duo, neither of which are her right now” the princess explains
“My parents” Artemis supplies before the question can be asked “They’ve both got rather ‘dark’ reputations wherever they’re known of, so Demons make sense”
Gum Gum...
300 Calibre...
CANNON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Holy f*cking sh*t man!” The main Franky guy screams as everyone else was frozen in shock at the massive hole in the wave the pirates’ shockwave attack managed punch through it.
“That’s our Luffy” Alvida chuckles, having peeked out when she noticed things had started to get quiet down below.
Vivi blinks as her brain kicks back into gear then turns and grins “Sure is. Doesn’t mean he didn’t give me a minor heart attack just now”
The smooth woman shrugs “Eh you’re still young you’ll get over it”
“Not helping”
“Everybody hold on” Artemis chirps, her free hand clutching the railing as Rocketman enters the passage.
While mildly traumatising everyone on board, the train did manage to keep on it’s track the entire time and pas through the wave unscaved and without losing any passengers, something which had everyone up top cheering and dancing around like loons.
“We made it!”
“Take that Aqua Lagoona!”
“I thought we were going to die back there” The lead FF guy says, eyes watering but also wearing a relieved smile.
“Hey, Hey Nami, are you OK?” Nami groans as she hears Sanji’s voice in her ear, pulling herself to at least a seated position she groans before picking back up the Den Den Mushi
“Yeah, I think we’re good for now. We’re all going to be battered and bruised in the near future but I kind of saw that one coming” she answers, rubbing her head as Luffy slips back into the carriage through the window
“Did you guys see that, it was awesome!” he shouts
“No kidding”
“Kid, you might be stronger than Big Bro Franky”
“Are you some kind of alien, cause that punch was out of this world”
Luffy shrugs, then is kicked across the area when Zoro swings in after his captain “Opps. Sorry Luffy but what did you expect clogging the window like that?”
“Hey Luffy, get up and get over here” Nami calls, Luffy bouncing over with his signiture smile
“Yes”
“Call from Sanji and Kaos” she says Zoro swallowing a chuckle when he sees the snail has the same swirl on it’s right eye as the researcher
“Luffy, you there?” came Sanji’s voice
“Hey guys, you get Robin yet?” he asks grinning
“Not yet, but we’re working on it. Nami and Kaos have brought me up to speed for the most part on the whole Robin situation. I know what’s going on and ready when you are”
Luffy nods “I understand, that’s good. You go out there and give ‘em Hell boys, you hear me?” Luffy orders, shocking the crew mates within earshot
“Hold on” Zoro shouts “They’ll die if they fight now, going in all half co*cked like that. It would be better if they wait for us to catch up, it shouldn’t be too long if this train is as fast as Kokoro claims it to be” the swordsman argues “You hear me cook? Uzumaki?”
“Zoro” Luffy says softly “If it was you over there, would you stand there and do nothing? Even if Kaos or myself told you to?” the swordsman stops, embarrassed to admit Luffy was right, if he was where Sanji was, he’d be wanting to cut his way through the train to get to Robin and get her away from those CP9 assholes, even if it was for a more noble reason that the blond, as he knew about the Demon Duo’s relations, unlike the pervert cook who most likely still wants to get into the archaeologist's tight pants or high lettered bra.
“Thanks for showing concern Zoro, I’ll try keep Eros alive for yah” Kaos could be heard with a wide grin on his face, the cackle like laugh overshadowed by Zoro’s almost Tsundere denial and yell of ‘ I hope he f*cking dies over there’ before a click was heard and the Den Den went back to sleep, purring cutely in Nami’s hand
“Well, that settles it. Granny, make the train go faster” Luffy commands
“Faster?” Kokoro repeats in confusion
“Yeah, something like ZOOOOM or WHoooosh! We need to catch up to the other train, preferably before Kaos, Sanji, Franky, Usopp, and Kaya get in over their heads” Luffy explains, his arm springing forward and extending before shooting back.
Kokoro laughs “Oh don’t you worry, this baby is already going a lot faster than it was ever supposed to” she replies, panic flickering through Chopper and Nami for a moment, not helped by her ending comment “In fact, we’re going so fast we can’t even really stop any more”
On the Puffing Tom
“We missed a lot didn’t we?” Usopp asks flatly, Kaya sitting in his lap while she regains her strength “It doesn’t seem real to think so much has happened in what, 2 days”
Sanji nods “In a way, you 2 and Robin are in the same boat, she got separated from us before we found out about the Merry, or you and Luffy had your wasteland beat down, so she’ll have quite a lot of things to process too. It churns my stomach to think Robin was offering up her life to the World Government after 20 years, just to keep our useless asses safe” the cook almost spits out his cigarette, but given the downpour wasn’t going to be able to light another one for a while so held on for a little longer.
Meanwhile Franky was balling like a baby “All this stuff is so conflicting and messy, everything I’ve heard up to now made Robin out to be some evil heartless bitch, but she’s got a soft side, it breaks my heart”
“Say that again, in front of me or Artemis and you will have one” Kaos hisses, his hood keeping the rain off his face
“Geez, what’s your f*cking problem spinner?” Franky grunts
“Well, Artemis is basically Robin’s daughter, and Kaos is defieneltly the crewmate she gets along with best” Usopp tries to explain, while Kaya uses her fruit to pull Kaos’ hand into her own
“Robin dumped you, didn’t she?” she asks softly, getting a wet laugh from the reflect human
“Pretty much. She also said Artemis was no child of hers, though she didn’t intend to say if in front of the girl herself” he explains, getting gasps from the 2 former straw hats
“Now isn’t the time to talk, Robin is so close and we can get her back from these goons before we reach the point of no return” Sanji says, standing up and beginning to make his way along the roof of the train.
“Sounds like a plan eyebrows bro. I also have a good reason to keep Robin away from government stooges, but like you said talk later, kick ass now!” Franky cheers
Kaos chuckles as he stands “Took you long enough Eros. You two coming?” he asks Usopp and Kaya, neither of whom looked ready to fight anytime soon
“I’m not going” the sniper announces, surprising his former crew “This has nothing to do with us any more, meanwhile you guys are about to practically declare war on the entire World. Besides, Luffy and the others are coming, after everything that happened, I can’t just laugh it off and pretend it never happened. I feel bad for Robin, but I’m not a part of Luffy’s crew any more, it’s not my job to save her” he says, standing tall… until he’s grabbed by his bandages and held over the side of the train “Stop, stop don’t do this, I don’t wanna die!”
“Neither do we, neither does Robin” the voice was cold and flat as Usopp was pulled back, now looking into his own reflection “But she would still come and save you’re clearly ungrateful ass, though I guess that’s more a slight on her character than yours, helping those who don’t deserve it. Not that you would have been much use in a fight anyway, given you still look like crap” Kaos drones, turning to see Sanji had already gone on ahead ‘crap’
“You could have just said he was too injured to fight” Kaya argues
“So could he, all he had to say was that he’d be more a liability than a asset in this operation, rather than f*ck Robin I got better things to do. If you were in there with Robin, you know he’d be ahead of even Sanji trying to save you?” he responds to the medic who nods with a sigh
“I’ll talk to him, see if I can do something” she offers, getting a tired shrug
“You can try, I doubt it’ll do much, but knock yourself out” he says before walking away.
“Usopp” Kaya sighs as she helps him to stand
“I know Kaya. I want to help, Robin is important to both of us as much as she is to Luffy and the others. But I just can’t show my face around them, not after everything I did. I just hope they’ll play along” he says, digging into his bag, confusing Kaya
A little further down the carriage, just as Kaos catches up to them, a marine peeks onto the top of the cart and spots them
“Crap, there goes stealth” Sanji swears, getting ready to fight when a pellet smacks into the marine, unbalancing before a tentacle slaps him into the sea
“The hell was that?” Franky thinks aloud
“Never fear, I am Here” calls the newcomer, the reflect human’s lips twitch before relaxing then he turns to the masked man “Your friends told me everything, I understand you’re here to rescue a certain mademoiselle, and that was reason enough for me and my companion to agree to help you brave souls. My weapons are at your disposal. We are: Sogeking, and Minazuki-Ami” he states, the 3 then noticing the hooded figure behind him, vicious yellow fluid dripping from out of the hood, similar coloured tentacles peeking from under the cloak
TBC
LW: There we go, everything is moving along and we have 2 new people join the rescue operation, oh how I wish I knew who they were…. Maybe next time ;)
Sogeking is voiced by Kyle Hebert, mostly because Escanor: Day form is a good voice for the Sniper King.
Review corner (Yeah, I somehow got enough to have one of these)
Just Me: If I was told where I can read them I will, because that sounds really interesting :D
NezzuzDH: Maybe we’re just ahead of the curve being already Aspergic, or however that would be spelt
ZILLAFAN: Yeah he was definitely one of the better voice actors of that show. I presume this was a response to mentioning I prefer Crocodile’s 4Kids VA for the man, unless you meant Marc would be a good VA for Kaos, or that he’s the voice you think of when you think of Zoro, otherwise I’m very slightly confused. Sorry.
Chapter 72: Complications
Chapter Text
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Complications
“The hell is this idiot doing?” Franky thinks aloud
“Performing his theme song, it’s not half bad actually” Kaos muses, chuckling
Sanji rolls his eye “Just let him be, this is probably the best outcome we could have gotten out of this. His pride won’t let him face the crew, but his desire to help, to save Robin outweighs it, at least enough to try help while in disguise”
“I guess it’s better than nothing, but can you get him to shut up now?” Franky sighs then shouts “Oy you two, get over here, we’re on a deadline after all!”
Sogeking blinks (not that they could see) “Oh yes, of course” then he follows them along with his companion, who remained silent
“Wait! We need a plan first. Everyone settle down while we go over the layout of Operation Rescue Robin” Sanji announces
“Go in, beat up government goons, rescue the girl… seems pretty easy eyebrows” Franky complains
“It’s not. For one thing we don’t know where Robin is on the train, also rescue is higher priority to fighting, we’re here for Robin not to fight these goons, though given she’s most likely heavily guarded, that statement is probably redundant” the cook grumbles the end of that statement
“True. So, seeing as we’re all sitting here, do you actually have a plan Eros, or are we just going to punch and kick our way through every cart?” Kaos asks
“Depends, can you sniff her out?” Sanji retorts, getting punched in the nose
“I’m not a f*cking mutt! Also there are too many Devil Fruit users in one place, the energies are all mixed together. All I know for sure is we’re right to be here, and that counting Robin there are about 4 or 5 users on the train, but I might be wrong as unfamiliar fruits tend to mix in my head, unfortunately” the reflect man admits sadly
Meanwhile with the others
“What the f*ck is wrong with you imoral broads! Changing in front of people and showing so much skin, it’s people like you and those square head sisters who are corrupting society!” Poly yells angrily, mostly at Nami and Alvida as Nami had the most dramatic change, Vivi and Valentina had at least hid behind Luffy&Alvida, or Victor respectively, while the Smooth woman much like their navigator just didn’t care.
“Calm yer tit* yah prude, all you had to do was look away, not their fault Nami let them watch without charging” the kilo girl sight, adjusting her fingerless gloves and hoping the plan worked
“I’m not a damn prude you harlots, cover you ankles, yer stomach and most of all yer chest, the red head’s are practically falling out of that excuse for a shirt I’d barely call a bra”
Kokoro laughs as the arguments were some good free entertainment for the old coot “You know, seeing you all ready and battle ready, I think you might just pull this off” she half slurrs with a rosy grin
“You bet your ass we will Granny. They took Robin from us, hurt my crew, and I’m not going to stop until I fix this!” Luffy declares confidently
Zoro finishes up adjusting his swords and sash when he catches something out the corner of his eye “Hey Nami, is now really the best time to pull out a new weapon?”
Nami’s eyebrow rises in confusion, then looks down at her climatact “Oh, don’t worry it works the same as before, the new design is just because Ussop improved it’s power with some Dials, as well as renaming it: Say hello to the Perfect Climatact . I’m sure if anyone else had weapons that could be upgraded with Dial Power he’d have offered, you didn’t so he didn’t” the navigator explains
“Makes sense, if Kaya and I hadn’t destroyed the … Aizen? Dial fighting the shades priest we’d probably have given it to Kaos, mostly because having a backup sword is handy, especially when it can change shape just as easily as his other one” Zoro agrees, remembering the syrup girl’s disappointment when she heard how rare those specific dials were “So, this Perfect bo staff of yours is his Magnum Opis?”
“Wow, I didn’t think you knew such big words swordsman” Alvida teases, mostly because Luffy and Nami looked about ready to go into a depressive spiral (Chopper not that far behind)
“Shut up bitch, just because you’re not a whale anymore, doesn’t mean I can’t hit you, I’m not like eyebrows” he fires back, then has to duck a wild swing which puts a hole in the wall behind him
“What did you say Marimo?!” Alvida bellows, only stopped from removing Zoro’s head due to a combination of Luffy’s rubber limbs and Vivi’s wires to restrain her.
Back on the Puffing Tom
“You sure this’ll work Eros?” Kaos asks, getting a nod from the cook “Fine, go annoy the marines, I’ll wait here”
“T Bone sir, I don’t think the intruders are here” a marine announces to the withered looking man in a matine captain’s coat
“Keep your eyes open men, they have to be here somewhere” he wheezes
“You’re right, here we are!” Franky and Sogeking announce as Sanji opens the door to the rear carriage, waves an slams it shut just before the marines run at it
“Everyone come quick”
“The intruders have been spotted in cart 7”
“Same as 2 of the criminals”
“Get moving Jimmy”
“Where’d you learn to swing a hammer, you suck at it” Franky complains as Sogeking hammers the door shut with a couple of wooden planks, all the while the door is battered by marines and suits eager to capture the criminals. It didn’t help him when they started shooting, but luckily the guy was reminded they wanted the criminals alive (Franky most of all)
T Bone frowns “This is taking too long, I’ll handle it.” he says, drawing his sword “I detest crooked men as much as crooked swordsplay. Taste my right angle flash!”
Bone Soir
A perfectly square hole was cleaved in the back of the train, the force sending it flying out into the choppy sea… but there was no sign of the pirates, or Franky.
“Where could they be” T bone wonders aloud “The roof?” before pulling himself up enough to see, and see them he did, Sogeking, Franky, Sanji and Ami running across the train carts, just before Kaos jumps up from between carts to join them ‘ Oh no ’ he thinks then drops down “Everyone get back to the front of the train it was a trap!” he shouts
“Sir we can’t the door’s been barricaded” a marine informs him, then a shout is heard from the end of their 2 cars: that they were decoupled by an unfamiliar man wearing a government issue suit.
“I can’t believe that worked” Kaos hums, a little unhappy not to get a response from the bubbling, slime faced girl, beyond a tilt of her head.
“I must say this is going remarkably well” Sogeking laughs heartily
“Don’t get too used to it, things usually go downhill from here as far as plans go” Sanji responds
Ami gurgles, pulling a tendril over to Sogeking, who hums and nods “Good point. But what about Luffy and the others? Aren’t they also taking this same line?” he asks, to which the cook shrugs
“Eh they’ll think of something”
“You’re also assuming the rocketman has brakes” Kaos chuckles, making Franky freeze up
“It doesn’t. I really hope we don’t run into that old train, it’ll tear through a good few cars if it rear ends us” the cyborg says, as Sanji opens the door, just as a marine comes charging out and into the water
“Don’t know if that’s a good or bad sign. Oh well” the cook says before entering the car, to a troop of more goons ‘crap’
Collier Shoot
Gunpowder Star
Kamishini no Yari: Butō Renjin
Strong Right
There was a moment of silence between all the pirates as they watched Franky’s right arm shoot off on a chain and knock out a couple marines, long enough for one of them to pull out and fire their rifle at the blue pompadour sporting cyborg
Ping
“Ow, that hurt” Franky says gruffly, even when the bullet was partly smushed and his chest was only bruised
“Don’t just stand there idiot, keep firing!” another marine bellows, snapping the other man out of his trance.
“Sounds like a bell, or maybe a gong, and I know what it’s sounding” Kaos purrs, sidestepping to avoid a syrup tendril to the back of the head. Bullets keep firing, bouncing off the man’s chest, until he finally tears one of the seats from the floor and throws it at the 2, knocking them out.
“The f*ck are you?” Sanji asks, causing Franky to turn and look confused for a second
“Wait, did I forget to tell you? I’m a cyborg!” Franky announced proudly
“Those are real?” Usopp and Kaya whisper yell
“Yep. I got steel and practically an armory built into my body. Getting shot still hurts, and I bleed like an ordinary man, but nothing too serious”
“Just when you think you’ve seen it all, you get a blue haired cyborg in a speedo crossing your path” Sanji sighs, causing Kaos to laugh and Ami to release a bubbly giggle. Until Usopp pokes Franky with a needle and he jumps 5 feet in the air
“What the, bullets do nothing but needles hurt?” he asks in confusion
“1st, dick move, 2nd, I’m not some lab rat you can experiment on, or poke and prod for kicks. And 3rd, I did the work on myself, so I couldn’t reach my back, only the front is cyborg, the back of me is still fleshy human, unfortunately” Franky explains, rubbing the stabbed area angrily, then smirks “And while we’re here I’ll give you another bit of info about me. My belly’s always cold, can you guess why?”
“No clue”
“Powersource for an icecannon?”
“Nope! Minifridge for ma cola!” Franky states cheerfully, opening his stomach to show 3 bottles of cola.
“Ok, that’s really cool… but we’re kind of in the middle of something here. Let’s keep moving!”
They move into car 4… and see a weirdo with roller skates barreling towards them “I’m Wanze, it’s a mad mad mad world and I’m mad mad mad Wanze!”
‘The things I do for Robin’ was one of the few times Kaos and Sanji were thinking the same thing
“What’s up guys, are you hungry, you sure look hungry? How about I make you some ramen?” Wanze asks, his hyper personality already beginning to annoy the pirates “I’m the head steward on this train so I can cook up anything you guys want to eat”
“No thanks, I prefer to eat food prepared by someone with functional brain cells” Kaos sighs, really hoping they could simply sidestep this moron and get on to the next car.
“Great, ramen it is then. Fun fact, my nose hairs crisscross, like fishnet stockings” Wanze giggles “Now, I take the flour and stuff it all in, then mix it around” he says, barely intelligible with his mouth full of flour, man handling his own face didn’t help, though the look of disgust on Sanji’s face was a level not normally seen unless someone disrespects a woman in his prescience. He the snorted out a bowl full of noodles, adding the extra pieces for his ramen before offering it to the annoyed and mildly disgusted pirates “Ta da, there you go”
“Well, that was 2 minutes i’m never going to get back” the researcher sighs, getting a weak nod from Minazuki-Ami
“Yeah. We’re kind of in a hurry so enjoy that nose ramen on your own, bye” Sanji says and begins to walk away, until he gets a face full of Wanze’s ugly mug once again
“If you want to pass, you need to get past me” he shouts, removing his chef’s coat, to reveal a black coat with MAD on the back
“You really think you can stop us you dumbass?” Franky asks
“But of course, now go go go go go go! This is an important escort mission, so they got an important guy like me to ensure it flow smoothly”
“Everyone else must have had actually important work to do I guess” Kaos mutters
“If you want to save your friend, first you’ll have to defeat my Ramen Kenpo!”
“We really don’t have time for this sh*t. Ami” the reflect human points to the floor while Wanze imitated Usopp to try piss him off, and it seemed to working
“What did you think of my idiot impression, was it gooooo.. Where’d all this goo come from. How unsanitary” Wanze whines, his face still stuck in a retarded grin as his skates were stuck to the ground thanks to Minazuki’s ami tendrils “No fair, no fair, cheaters”
“Shut up already!” Kaos hisses, getting steadily pissed off if the 2 reflect armoured finger spikes through Wanze’s lungs were anything to go by.
“Damn, that’s kind of brutal” Franky gasps
“Me thinks he’s not so cool with Robin dumping him as he makes it out to be” Usopp whispers to Kaya who nods, the usually playfully insane 1st mate was currently in a really bad mood.
“Yeah, but we really don’t have time to dwell on it, let’s just keep moving and rescue Robin” Sanji orders
“She’s probably in the 1st cart, putting the most people between her and either escape or rescue, though whether CP9 will be in the same or the previous car… remains to be seen” Kaos hums, before opening the door and stepping out into the rain once again
“Wait, doesn’t it make more sense given the nature of our mission, to sneak rather than fight?” Sogeking asks, following the reflect human
“Your point” Sanji hums
“If we use the roofs, we should be able to avoid fighting until we get to the 1st car. Besides, nobody would think to look for us up there” the sniper explains
Franky nods “Makes sense, you’d have to be stupid, crazy of both to go up there in this weather after all”
“Is that a yes or a no to the plan Pompadour?” Kaos asks
“It’s a Super Yeah! Let’s do this” the cyborg cheers, the purple haired man chuckles before pulling himself onto the roof
“This might just wor… crap we’ve got a ferret on the roof” he groans, then has to quickly roll out of the way as an angry bellow of ‘I’M A SEA WEASEL!’ could heard, much to the other’s confusion
“I’ll see what this is all about, you 3 find another way around, or just take advantage of this as a distraction” Franky says before jumping onto the roof “Hello weirdo! Now who the f*ck are you?”
The man with whiskers and a funny hat turns and grins “Me? I’m Neiro the sea weasel, wielder of 4 powers and newest member of CP9. It’s a shame I can’t kill you both, but I’ll just have to make do with this lanky bastard”
Kaos stands up and slips his hat into his cloak, pushing his hair off his face “Hey Franky, I’m all for teaming up and kicking this furret’s ass, if you are”
“Sure thing. Hey Weasel, what the hell is going on just ahead of us? We can’t be at Ennis Lobby already?” Franky asks
Nerio scoffs but turns “Of course not, we still have several…”
Strong Right
The agent’s statement was interrupted by a solid steel punch to the jaw courtesy of Franky
“Ak, that was dirty trick” Nerio sneers
“Says the assassin. Also I’m a pirate and he’s… I’m not actually sure, what are you other than strong and a pain in the ass?”
Franky laughs and flexes “I’m Franky, the face of Water 7’s underworld!” while Nerio scowls
Soru
Strong Hammer
Kami-e
The whiskered man speeds towards Franky, then expertly dodges the punch before cartwheeling to the end of the train car.
“Ok, so Nero has dumbass mode too, that’s annoying” Kaos grumbles
Rankyaku
Reversal
The junior agent has to quickly perform splits on the wet roof to avoid his redirected Tempest Kick, his former target looking grumpy, with most of his front now a shimmering silver colour. He looks up just in time to see Franky spitting flames
Fresh Fire
Soru
Weasel makes the decision to speed to the only safe zone he could… unfortunately for most people, flying off the roof of a moving train would be bad, unless you’re CP9
Geppo
Neiro simply bounces back onto the roof, Franky freaking out, while Kaos is simply annoyed
“How the f*ck can you jump in mid air? And why aren’t you freaking out?”
“I saw the others use it earlier, the fact newbie here can do it is interesting and probably impressive, but not shocking” he responds, in an unimpressed, analytical tone “Thank you for more data though, it will be useful in the future” he bows, most likely mockingly
“Don’t talk down to me you damn crook!” Neiro screams
Rankyaku
Star Shield
The attack dissipates, Kaos raises an eyebrow as Franky lets his forearm compress back from its previous form, which looked like an imitation Captain America shield
“Wasn’t sure your face was as armoured as your chest and didn’t think it was a good idea to risk it shimmer” Franky explains, getting a nod and chuckle from the researcher
“Thanks Franky and for the record, it can but usually isn’t” he replies, before pointing Hebi towards the agent
Kamishini no Yari: Butō Renjin
Kami-e
“ Yep, basically dumb ass mode without actually turning off your brain” Kaos hisses, annoyed his attack didn’t even graze the weasel, then notices Franky swelling up again ‘ Let’s see what you can do now metal man’ he thinks
Master Nails
Gepo
Gepo
Gepo
“Combat nail-gun, impressive” Kaos chuckles, getting a grin from the cyborg
“Yeah, shame the jumping bean didn’t get hit” he adds with a frown
‘These 2 are inhuman, at least the bony one has a Devil fruit so I know how he can do that sh*t, but Franky… I was sure my 4 powers would be enough to take ‘em, but it seems not. I can’t do the finger pistols just yet… so the real things will have to do’ Nero thinks aloud, while still in the air, reaching into the back of his pants to retrieve 2 flintlocks
“Hey while that dude’s monologuing, let’s make a break for the next car” Franky suggests
“No complaints here, just hope it doesn’t draw the other’s attention” Kaos agrees
“Hey, don’t ignore me!” Nero whines, using Geppo to catch up with the 2
“Right on time” Franky grins, turning and holding up his left arm
Beans Left
“I saw that pitiful attempt at deception, from a mile away” Nero sneers, zipping behind the 2 and shot Franky in the back
“Ow, f*ck that hurts” Franky hisses, opening his left pointer finger, which was now essentially a modified pistol
Owchie finger
Nero dodges the pistol shots, the 2 losing sight of him
“Crap, this guy’s going to be a bigger pain now he’s found my weak spot”
“Both of them in fact” cyborg and researcher look to see the agent had stopped to gloat “Your back, and then there’s the obvious one, of your brain, but that one I can’t really target given we need you alive”
“Not so sure about that 2nd one” Kaos muses, wracking his knuckles against the side of Franky’s head “Pretty thick skull there, must be at least some metal plating up there” he half teases, inwardly curious about the possibility
“Well, I guess I should use my secret technique, to make sure you can’t hit my weak point” Franky announces
Franky Invincible
Before flopping backwards onto the roof of the train.
‘I mean that’s technically true’ Kaos thinks, using the momentary brain fart from Nero to revert Hebi to her normal form
The weasel faced CP9 agent stares for a moment, before admiting “This is too stupid for me to even deliver a come back”. This began a sort of staredown until Nero loses his cool “Stop messing around, you don’t get to give up just because you’re losing” he whines and moans
“Who said anything about giving up, I’m doing Super, it’s you who’s acting like a brat. Hey by the way, did your fruit make you invisible or something?”
“No, he just doesn’t care about me with an actual target in front of him. The tunnel vision is setting in I guess” Kaos explains
“Just great. Hey weasel brat, you ever heard of a centaur?” Franky asks as he stands back up
“Yeah, those things in story books that are half horse and half human” Nero answers in confusion
“Convert” Franky shouts, standing weirdly and confusing both of his viewers. Then with a hiss like steam and whir of machinery his legs split vertically along the sides, opening out into 4 limbs
Franky Centaur!
“You perverted dumbass, it’s backwards! Your head’s supposed to be in the front, not your junk” Nero shouts in annoyance, while Kaos laughs, used to stupid sh*t having grown up with Luffy
Franku smirks, flicking up his sunglasses “You think this is backwards, just wait until we’re don rearranging your face weaselton”
Meanwhile
‘ Well, he was half right, she is in the front car ’ Kaya thinks as she and Ussop shimmy their way across the side of the cars until they reached Robin’s window, the syrup human acting as support for Usopp’s octoshoes and gloves, one can never be too careful given what they’re doing… plus it gives her a reason to wrap her body around her love like an amorous slime, which is a plus in her books ‘Though why she seems to be on her own is… odd’ she thinks just as Usopp frees one of his hands to knock on the window, the oldest straw hat blinks before focusing on the sound, eye’s widen as she sees Usopp’s maksed visage, as well as Kaya’s syrup tendrils, her now honey yellow eyes peering out from behind his head.
“Long nose? Syrup girl?” Robin whispers in shock, getting a grin and thumbs up from the sniper, two tendrils forming mini thumbs up as a confirmation from the medic
While the 2 managed to actually get inside the cart, Robin had transitioned from surprise to anger “What are you doing here, don’t you know how dangerous this is?” she asks
“It’s quite simple Ma’am, we’re here to rescue you. I am Sogeking, the king of snipers, this is my loyal and faithful companion Minazuki-Ami, the honey medic. We’re not alone though, a cook named Sanji, a cyborg thug known as Franky and a rather creepy guy in much less awesome cape than mine named Kaos are also here engaging in battle… actually Ami and I kind of lost Sanji a little while ago, he’s around somewhere no doubt about that” Robin looks unimpressed “Furthermore, Captain Luffy the remaining Straw Hats are hot on our tail with another Sea Train and a veritable army”
“You don’t look happy” Ami gurgles “I heard from the tall one you’re new, but the stories say Luffy doesn’t abandon his friends. There’s also the fact you won’t beat him in a battle of will. He won’t give up, THEY won’t give up on you. You can’t run away from your family damn it!”
“You don’t know anything about what I’ve done! You’d already left!” Robin snaps, Usopp flinching behind his mask while Kaya’s syrup droops
“We may have left, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know the story of what happened” Sogeking announces, trying to keep the confidence in his voice strong
Ami sighs, before using the relative privacy of the cart to revert back to her normal form, as Kaya “We know you gave up your freedom to save us all, but if you thought Luffy, or any of the others would just let you throw your life away you don’t know this crew at all”
‘...given you’re taken my life into your hands, I should probably stick around so you don’t think I’m wasting your generosity’ the memory is another broken shard digging into her heart “I’m not going with you, it’s better this way”
“Bullsh*t! You think they’re just going to let you do this, that they’re just going to walk away like nothing happened, like you don’t mean anything? You’re not the first person to abandon the crew, stab us in the back, admittedly yours was the most noble, Nami did it to rob us blind” Usopp says, then begins to go off on a tangent
“The point is, they fought Fishmen, Luffy pounded their boss into the dirt before Kaos put him down, for someone who stole from us to protect some village none of us cared about. Do you really think we aren’t going to follow you to Hell with a smile and weapons loaded, for you Robin? You may have invited yourself onto the crew, but you don’t get to just leave when things get dicey, you never acted like a coward before now” Kaya adds, things getting heated between the 3 former straw Hats
The stare off was interrupted by banging on the car’s door “Hey quiet down in there” Corgi bellows, before entering “Now we’re almost there, has that icy shell finally broken?” he asks, as he approaches Robin
“Everything is fine” Robin states in a flat tone, a bandaged arm shooing him away
‘That wasn’t the response I expected, she should be broken in fear by now, trying to find a way out of her inevitable fate. Something’s not right here’ he thinks, looking at the hooded woman critically ‘Maybe it’s just my imagination, but something feels off right now’
Back with the Rocketman
“Hey guys, I see a train in front of us” Luffy calls from his position on the nose of the train, refusing to come back in despite Namis shrieks along with Vivi an Alvida’s requests
“We can’t have caught up to it that quick” Poly hums, grimacing while the other fight amongst themselves to get out of the train car and get a look at their target
“That’s the Puffing Tom all right, but it’s only the back cars, like 70% is missing'' one of the Franky Family call, having scouted out with his goggles.
“That might be a problem. But the bigger question is how did it get detached?” One of the dock workers ask aloud
“I doesn’t matter how it happened, all that matters is right now it’s in our way” Alvida reminds them, mostly of the fact this train has no brakes, so the cars are literally only an obstacle
“Wait, what if our guys are in those cars?” Chopper asks fearfully
“Big bro Franky too?” Kiwi whimpers
“Then they’re screwed, hahaha” Kokoro chuckles, then goes back to her drinking
“I’ll go check, if it’s the guys and Robin we can prepare for retrieval… aka jumping onto the train head before it smushes us” Luffy explains/shouts, before pulling back and Gum Gum Rocketing himself over to the marooned cars
“Sanji, Kaos, ussop, kaya, hello! Damn it, what I wouldn’t do for magic people sensing powers right about now. Sanji!” Luffy calls, the marines pancing and mostly confused, until one of them recognises Luffy and orders them to fire. It does nothing as you’d expect but Luffy does grab one of them and ‘interogate’ him
“I’m not ssssccared ooof you” the marine stutters
“Don’t care, where are Sanji and Kaos?” Luffy asks
“Who?”
“My friend, and my brother, you seen them?” Luffy asks again
“Never heard of them”
The rubber boy frowns “Oh, well that sucks. This trip was a waste of time” he grumbles, turning around to figure out how to get back onto the Rocketman, mostly ignoring the 2nd wave of gunfire aimed at him
“Seems they’re not on the car, but whoever is, is shooting at him”
“So his trip was useless, but the bigger issue is if we don’t move those cars we might end up getting derailed” Poly grimaces
“Then what should we do?” Valentina asks
“HEY ZORO!” Luffy’s shout was audible even in the storm and at their current distance “CUT ‘EM!”
The swordsman shrugs “Ok” then climbs onto the nose of the train, then gripped 2 of his swords
Nitoryu Sword draw: Rashom*on
The train carts were vertically split, everyone but Zoro and Luffy shocked into silence as the Rocketman passes through the space previously occupied by the cars, the rubber boy jumping onto his train before the pieces hit the water
“Why am I even surprised by the crap you people can do?” Poly asks with a deep sigh
“You get used to it” Vivi admits, sipping tea to calm her nerves
“Well, with how strong some of you guys are, we might actually succeed with the crazy plan”
“That’s our intention” Nami says, giving a determined grin “We will catch up with the Sea Train, rescue Robin, and continue our journey!”
TBC
LW: Well, that’s that. Yes I insta-killed Wanze, mostly because he annoyed me too much to put up with more than absolutely necessary.
Just Me: What site am I looking for these things on? All I have is user/justwhat11
ZILLAFAN: Kaos may not have a beard... But I do. I think that evens it all out ;)
Chapter 73: End of the Line
Summary:
Sorry it's late, health related issues.
I'm good now though ;)
Chapter Text
LW: Hi everyone, I’m not dead, but I am late. Sorry about that being unable to see makes writing difficult…. That sounds really bad. What I meant was due to eye pain I was unable to use my laptop to watch OP and in turn write fanfiction. As such this chapter is a week late and the schedule has now shifted over by about a week. That’s about it really, hope you enjoy :D
Rubber King and Mirror Master -
“Sooooooo, are we going to talk about, THAT anytime soon, if ever?” Valentina asks after a few minutes of painful silence, referring to the cleanly split sea king the train had just sped past/through
“I’d prefer not to, mostly because I don’t want to know who could do that, because make no mistake, that was a person not a creature that did that” Nami responds, shivering “I don’t even know if Zoro could slice something up like that”
“I probably could, but not as even as it appeared, not at a 90’ angle to the tracks or the sea” the swordsman shouts down, still outside the cart, but remaining within earshot for the moment.
“Seems a bit like showing off to be honest” Alvida scoffs “Look at me I can cut something completely in half, at right angles to the ground!”
“Guy’s! There’s someone on the track!” Zambei shouts, adjusting his goggle/eyepiece then begins to panic “Oh no, it’s the ShipSlasher!”
“THAT’S BAD” bellows Tilestone, which isn’t unusual for the large man, except the edge of fear just barely noticeable, something Luffy didn’t
“The what now?” he asks in confusion, as Zoro makes his way past to the very front of the Rocketman
“He’s Ship Slasher T-Bone from the Navy. They say his sword cuts through pirate ships like a knife through steak” Zambei explains
“Great, now I want steak” Luffy grumbles “But that does sound like a really cool skill”
“Maybe if it were aimed somewhere else, but we’re heading right for him, meaning that ship cutting slash is going to be pointed straight at the sea train!” the Franky bro panics a little, then turns to the others “We only get one shot at this, aim everything we can at T-Bone!” he orders, the rest of the family nod and get to work until…
“Hold it!” Luffy commands, everyone stopping, some just in confusion
“What, we don’t have time to stop”
Luffy sighs “Calm down, Zoro’s got this covered” he explains, pointing to the swordsman who was ready to go, perched on Rocketman’s nose
“He can’t be serious” Zambei mutters
“Oh he is, like Aunt Vivi said, you get used to stuff like this on the crew” the man looks to see a hatless Artemis peeking out of the window at him “Zoro can cut anything… well he’s working on it” the artist teases, giving a crooked grin before slipping back into the cabin
“You have one warning, get the hell out of our way right now!” Zoro shouts at the zombie looking marine, who simply scowls back in response before pulling out his sword
“I am a proud captain of the Navy, I shall not let you pass. Be it wood or steel, I’ll slash your ship in 2!” he declares
“Good luck with that, we won’t stop until we reach our goal, and I shall cut down anything blocking our path to that goal” Zoro responds as he unsheathed his own swords, starting with Wado in his mouth, leaving out the fact they couldn’t stop even if they wanted to, the marine didn’t NEED to know that after all
“I hate crooked men and crooked swordplay” the captain says as he runs at the speeding seatrain
Right Angle Slash: Bone Odori
Santoryu Gyuki: Yuzume
Zoro lept from the train as T Bone unleashes his attack, even the energy shockwave making sharp right turns rather than curve as it approached the train, before being dissipated by Zoro’s own swords, he then makes a side strike in mid air, shattering the marine’s sword in a single blow, as well as more importantly, removing him from their path.
The collective of Franky Family and Galley La shipwrights were speechless, this guy just one shotted the Ship Slasher. As if they needed more proof they shouldn’t mess with the straw hats.
They’d managed to snap out of their funk by the time Zoro had gotten back onto the train though, cheering and celebrating the teen’s success. Zoro, after that, decided to take a well deserved nap, and after what he’d done nobody was going to argue about it.
Back with Robin, Usopp and Kaya… aka car 1
Corgie scowls as he stares into Robin’s cold, empty eyes, before deciding there was no point trying to intimidate the woman and turns to leave, not like he was going to get anything from this one after all. But as he reaches the door he stops, his nose twitching as he smells something ‘I wasn’t imagining things, that’s a pirate I smell… and honey? Not important right now, the smell of pirate is though’
“Is something wrong?” Robin asks flatly, even as Usopp begins to panic, feeling the sniper shaking from her position on his lap. The marine grunts as he begins to slowly walk back, Usopp’s heartbeat rising as he did
“Just like all the other government officials I’ve seen, you have extremely bad manners” Robin states “and if you get any closer to me with that nose pervert will be another trait all you goons seem to share” she mutters, though loud enough Corgi could hear her at his current distance, sniffing around nearby. He then noticed shifting of the cloak out the corner of his eye and see’s 2 too many legs
“Ah ha, my nose has never let me down. Remove that cloak this instant! Come on, do it, do it now!” he demands, getting in Robin’s face
‘Crap, we’ve been busted’ Usopp thinks, before leaping out of Robin’s cloak, slingshot drawn and aimed for the man’s face, causing him to back away a few steps
“Hold on a sec” Corgi pants, visibly shaken having the weapon in his face
“My name is Sogeking, I’m the mysterious stranger from Sniper Island” Usopp narrates, slipping back into his cover
“Sogeking. Calm down why don’t you, you can’t possibly think you’re going to get away with this, do you?” Corgi asks
“Actually, yes” came a semi understandable gurgle, followed by the barrel of a gun digging into the man’s side, Kaya having returned in her Minazuki-Ami persona
Seeing no way out of this, Corgi opts to simply scream “Lucci, help!”
Kaos and Franky
While it was probably an impressive manoeuvre, and an interesting feat of engineering, as Franky and Kaos dodged Nerio’s shots and tried to return fire… it was clear the centaur wasn’t designed for wet metallic surfaces… such as the roof of a sea train in the middle of a storm, slipping and sliding all over the place. Eventually it went too far, Franky sliding off the edge and holding on to the side of the car, Kaos having skidded to the opposite end of the car while dodging the gunfire
“Looks like you’re even more useless with 4 legs than 2 ey Centaur” Nerio sneers, standing over the flailing cyborg “Here, let me give you a hand” he taunts, clearly forgetting the ‘keep the blue haired dumbass alive’ as he moves to stomp on the cyborg’s hand and knock him from the train. Luckily for Franky, he dodged, then used his immense strength to throw himself back onto the roof, catching Neiro’s limbs in his 4 ‘legs’, looking smug himself as he had the agent pinned once they stopped sliding with a little help from the reflect human
“Really, those were the best one liners you had?” Franky sighs, Kaos amused the man was taking the time to critique something like this, even though he did agree about the one liners, they were poor at best.
Neiro growls then squirms “I never thought you’d pull such a dumb trick, I let my guard down” he scolds himself aloud, while looking for some way to get out of this and either get the others, or deal with them in order to impress the higher ups.
Franky laughs “Yeah, cause I’m the dumb one” then with a dark look he appears to peel the skin off his right hand, revealing it’s metallic skeleton (Wow, he really is a Terminator) “So, what do you want written on your grave stone, Brother?” he asks
“Here lies Furret the dumbass, who did what all co*cky brats do, and f*ck with the wrong guy” Kaos suggests, Hebi making a rather nice click as he taps it against Franky’s shoulder, currently in it’s Khopesh form
The cyborg chuckles as he raises his fist “I don’t think he gets it Twinkler, that this fight is over. Then again, he dodged all my punches and most of not all your slashes so he has no idea how much damage we can dish out” he laughs as what little colour was present drains from the agent, before dropping the ...
HAMMER
Taking out the roof, which in turn brings the 3 of them falling into the train car they’re previously been brawling on top of.
With Sanji (Hi Eros, thought I lost you didn’t yeah?)
“Well, so much for those CP bozo’s guarding Robin” Sanji mutters, seeing the same weirdos who arrived with his friends and Franky, but no sweet, busty Robin in sight, much to his disappointment. Sighing deeply, the cook lit a cigarette and entered the car, deciding he’ll just have to beat his way through them to get to Robin.
This entrance was interrupted by the ceiling collapsing behind him, drawing CP9’s attention to behind them, and in turn the cook, as well as both Franky and Kaos
“Nice entrance, you been busy?” he quips, seeing Nerio was conked out, though from what he was unsure.
Franky snorts “Of course, we've been kicking ass” he boasts, letting the taller pirate punt the junior agent so he landed at the other’s feet, resetting his legs and covering up his hand in the distraction.
Califa huffs “It appears things have gotten a bit noisy all of a sudden”
“And drafty” Sui adds, a low hum or buzz barely audible as she stands
“I presume the others have all been annihilated” Bluno states rather than asks flatly
“Most likely, not that I expected much from the ones I saw” Kaku adds, lowering him to being equally hated by Kaos as he seemed like… was basically not an asshole until this moment. During all this Lucci just stares with a look of disinterest at the 2 pirates and the cyborg.
“So, these are the bastards who kidnapped Robin?” Sanji asks, partly rhetorically, partly directed towards Kaos who nods slightly, pushing his hair out of his face.
The leopard man watches as Nerio pushes himself to his knees, boredom with just a tinge of disgust in his eyes “Who is this?” he asks
“Based on the files Corgi left us, Nerio, a new addition to CP9. He knows 4 of the 6 powers, currently” Kaku explains, their smallest member slipping between the 2 of them.
“You bastards” Nerio pants, dripping blood all over the floor as he shifts into a crouching position “You’re in for it now. Nobody gets away with doing this to me, I’ll show you why I’m known as ‘The Genius of Fighting’ ” he boasts, preparing to lash out at his 2 opponents “Now prepare to die!”
“Hey, new guy”
The weasel turns his head towards the shout “Hm, you must be Rob Lucci, sorry I wasn’t around to introduce myself, I’ll be with you in a moment, once I’ve dealt with these pests”
“Our orders were to bring ‘Franky’ in alive. You’ve let your emotions get the better of you.” Lucci states passively, ignoring the humming in the air “Well, that just won’t do. I’ll give you 3 seconds to run for your life” he says, Nero’s face contorting into a mix of confusion, panic and fear “3”
“Run for my life, run from who?”
“2” the buzzing got louder
“Stop kidding around Lucci, I’m serious!”
“And 1”
Neiro’s head snaps back as his body collapses like a puppet with its strings cut, a hole right through the centre of his forehead.
“They really thought he was CP9 material? This feels like incompetence bordering on nepotism” Sui sneers, her right middle finger covered in blood.
Lucci nods, before tossing the body out the window “You need to master all 6 to be one of us” he scoffs, then turns to the only normal one of the group “Califa, make a note on the report: Newbie too weak, he was therefore deemed worthless and dealt with”
“Of course” the bespectacled woman nods
“These are the agents of Justice?” Sanji asks in disbelief, mostly due to the casual murder of an allie right in front of them
“Maybe we should have killed him, been more respectful than that at least” Kaos muses to Franky in an only half serious manner
“I don’t need to ask why you’re here intruders” Lucci says, finally addressing the pirates “You’re here to rescue Nico Robin, a soon to be fatal mistake” he continues, voice now dripping with condescension “Listen, her problems are beyond your comprehension. There are people who are just born under a bad sign, those who are, for the sake of everyone else, better off dead”
“Speak English, we don’t all talk psycho” Sanji retorts, the cook commenting just before Kaos gets a chance to
“For example: suppose there exists a sleeping Devil, someone with the power to burn the whole world around them. Then suppose there exists someone capable of awakening that Devil, is that key player not someone that should be removed from the board, for the sake of the entire world? Even if that person happened to be an 8 year old girl?” Lucci asks
“Honestly I’m surprised you guys didn’t just wake this Devil up and try tame it, seems like your MO” Kaos mutters, Lucci’s neck muscles tighten, cueing the reflect human in on the fact he’d been heard
“Did you understand anything he just said, I think he’s gone of on some stupid tangent” Franky pipes in
Acting as if nothing had been said Lucci continues “What I’ve just told you is the true history of Nico Robin, of her first transgression, and she’s built up a long, blood soaked ledger in the 20 years since that moment. Her existence has been a sin as far back as she’s able to recall, the only good she can do in this world is forfeit her life and disappear. That is her misfortune, she has no other choice but to accept her fate and die”
“If that were true why go through the song and dance, why not just shoot her in the face when she entered your line of sight?” Kaos asks, his eyes glazing over with a metallic silver sheen “Because you need her, and she can’t die until she’s completed whatever task you require of her, most likely a poneglyph or other ancient writing” he theories, annoying Sui Feng who jumps up but Lucci swats down her attempt at attacking the pirate
“The boy speaks words he can barely comprehend, he’s not worth you losing control. He’s correct about one thing though, her death won’t come quick, the World Government will get every last drop of intelligence and intel out of her, before she’s finally allowed to die like she should have all those years ago”
Bastard!” Sanji shouts lashing out with a kick, which Lucci stops cold before pushing him back “I won’t let you talk about Robin like that any more, nor do we intend to let you keep her”
“Eros may have jumped the gun… but he’s 100% correct” Kaos agrees “Robin will not be staying with you for any longer, she’s coming with us” Hebi coils around his arm before latching onto his shoulder
Before any more of a fight can continue there is a commission from the next car
“Wait Robin please don’t go in there, this is a really, really bad idea” Usopp’s panicked tones could be heard even through the closed door, getting Sanji, Kaos and Franky’s attention, just before the door opens, Robin standing in the doorway, with Usopp and Kaya hanging off her “I said wait, not keep going!”
“Robin!” Sanji cheers, while Kaos gives a melancholy smile at the semi reunion “I’m so happy to see you, tell me you’re ok!”
“We’re in deep trouble now” Usopp mumbles, Kaya nods in agreement from Robin’s other side
“We went through all the trouble of sneaking in, even took out that Snoopy guy as stealthily as we could, and she just walks into the middle of the Heavy hitters” the Ami girl whines
“So that’s Nico Robin? I buy it, she looks like the girl from the Wanted Poster, only a lot older… which given the 20 years since it was taken makes a lot of sense” Franky decides to comment
“Give us a minute, we’ll kick these guys asses and be right on our way” Sanji announces optimistically, missing the smirk on Lucci’s face, but he did catch Robin’s blooms tossing Usopp and Kaya right at them, managing to catch the logia off guard, as well as taking advantage of the fact syrup is in a way more ‘solid’ than sand so taking her chances “What the Hell Robin?”
“Are we really going to do this? You’re not the 1st person who didn’t want to be saved” Kaos hisses as Robin sprouts 6 arms from her back before letting them dissipate
“It seems my words, mean nothing to you people” she says coldly
“Yeah, we tend to get annoyed when people do things that involve the crew without consulting at least the captain first” the reflect human snarks, though was surprised when the until now stoic Lucci began to laugh, Sui he was less surprised by he saw enough familiar tendencies to know what she was.
“Franky!” Usopp shouts, his voice cracking between his normal and Sogeking voices “Detach the 3rd car”
The cyborg looked confused “Why, what’s the plan?”
“We run away” the sniper said bluntly, standing up as Sanji helped Kaya
“You’re kidding right?”
“You too Sanji, and Kaos. I’ll be just a moment” Usopp announces
“Make sure Franky doesn’t escape” Kaku orders, Bluno nodding before cracking his knuckles
Sniper King: Smoke Star
In the thick smoke nobody was actually sure what was going on, making it the perfect time for Usopp and Kaya to grab/restrain Robin, then run as fast as the Sniper’s legs could carry them into the previous car, just as Franky had managed to decouple the car.
“It worked, somehow we managed to complete a rescue mission on the first try” Usopp cheers, ignoring Robin’s maddening expression as she’s set down beside them.
“Seems sometimes the dumbest idea possible works, because nobody expects someone to actually go through with it” Sanji adds, as he watches the front of the train chug away
“Some plans only work, if you’re mad enough to actually attempt them” Kaos chuckles, turning his head away from the doorway and back to the archaeologist. Unfortuently just as he does the car is latched onto by thorny whips “f*ck, someone’s copycating Traptrix”
“Wait, you can… never mind” Franky shakes his head “Important thing is, we’re not done just yet” he says, getting ready to fight
“I’ve got them, you know what to do now” Califa shouts, as the blue headed man yanks on the whips, causing the cart to lurch and bounce closer to CP9
“Did you honestly think a smokescreen could stop us?” Blueno asks flatly, physically pulling the cars together
“No, but we hoped it just might” Kaya admits
“Remember, the agreement was to NOT kill the straw hats” Lucci says as the agents board the car.
“In that case” Sanji hums “Sogeking, Minazuki, protect Robin with your lives” he orders then runs at Bluno who tanks the kick without even flinching
“Sanji, these guys skills, they’re not like anything we’ve faced before” Kaos warns “You have to put everything into your strikes if you even want to dent them”
“Duely noted, only like 20 seconds late” Sanji scoffs, before charging up with a spin and landing a kick to Blueno’s ribs which visibly wind the large man
“Damn, to do that much damage against Bluno’s Tekai, blondie’s kicks are no joke” Sui notes with slight amusem*nt
“Don’t underestimate him Blueno, he may not have a bounty, but he’s one of the strongest fighters on the crew” Kaku supplies as a sort of pep talk to the Door Man.
Ocio Fleur
Clutch
“What the f*ck crazy lady?” Franky yells as Robin restrains and then forcefully bends Usopp’s already damaged body backwards
“Didn’t you hear me? Stay out of my business and leave me alone!” Robin screams, bending Usopp until his head slaps off the ground. With the cook distracted Kaku leaps forward, kicking him into Kaos and throwing both of them across the car
“You straw hats make no sense, especially when your friends are involved’ Franky thinks “You dumbasses want to escape, well here’s your chance!” he shouts, pushing against the wall with all his strength, surprising even Robin when the front panel of the car begins to crack and separate under the strain, before shooting forward, free of the surrounding walls. In doing so, Franky separated the cars once more, but at the cost of throwing himself into CP9’s car
“Damn it Franky!” Kaos curses as he gets up, then with a sway sets himself down beside Robin, before she runs to the edge
“Stop, I’m not trying to escape, I won’t run!” she screams, pleading with the agents
“What the Hell is wrong with you Robin?” Kaya asks, not looking up at the woman as she checks on Usopp
“She’s right, we know everything, there’s no point hiding or playing pretend. We’re not abandoning you, no matter how many Buster Calls they throw at us we’ll just keep fighting until we win” the reflect human says with a grin, which lasts until just before an Air Door opens above a now standing Sanji
“You’re wrong. If a Buster Call is deployed, you’ll be obliterated” Blueno says, his deep, flat voice adding to the finality of the statement
Rankyaku
Point blank, Sanji had no chance of dodging at he took the strike to the chest, nearly throwing him out of the car
‘He came out of literally nowhere, how did he do that?’ Usopp thinks fearfully, sight practically bouncing between the cook and the agent ‘I can’t just let this end’ he forces himself to stand, like with Corgi aiming a flash star in the man’s face “Halt!”
“What are you doing?” Robin asks frantically, while Kaya was thinking similarly, though more bitterly
“What needs to be done to help a friend” he replies, turning to her to answer, then shocked when he looked back “He’s gone”
“Really wish it meant he left, but...sh*t” Kaos curses as the creaking of old hinges could be heard, Bluno opening another Air Door directly behind the sniper
Shigen
While ordered not to kill the straw hats, given the previous injuries, which continued to pile up, it was probably going to be a bit touch and go as he collapses into Kaya’s embrace
“Bastard!”
Tekkai
Hebi’s Khopesh form, even with it’s saw like outer rim, bounced off Blueno’s arm, the man scoffs when he see’s the blade had ripped through his sleeve but didn’t even break the skin “Fabric is a poor conductor of Rokushiki” he drones, then shoves Robin towards his Air Door
“You really think this is over tin man?” Kaos spits “You saw back in Galley La, your doors won’t be enough to stop me” he says, his fingers lengthening into claws/talons “You’re going to need to work a lot harder than tha…”
“No, you promised!” Robin screams as Bluno slams his hand onto the researcher’s chest
Revolving door
Kaos chokes and gasps as the centre of his chest begins to rotate and circle, separating either part of or all of his lungs from the rest of his body.
“Usopp! Kaos!” Sanji shouts before throwing a flying kick at Bluno’s face, who blocks it with Tekkai
“You’re last kick was a lot stronger, tired already boy?” he drones, clearly unimpressed as he tosses the blond across the car. He is about to move onto Kaya when bloomed arms stop him in his tracks
“Stop, I’m not trying to escape, I’m keeping my side of the agreement, now keep yours by letting them live” Robin commands as strongly as she could
“They’re the ones attacking me, what would you have me do?” Blueno asks, acting as if the pirates were even a challenge to him.
“Then let’s go, leave them here on the car and let us continue the trip” Robin have suggests, half pleads with the Door man, who hums and nods, at which point she released her blooms, and turns to enter the door
“You’re not worth it” Robin freezes, turning her head to look the medic in the eye “It’s what you think, what I think right now, and what you clearly want the others to think. But the Straw Hats don’t work that way, we don’t abandon our own, no matter what they do or say. In fact…” she catches her fellow fruit eater’s eye, the taller teen wheezing on his knees but nods very slightly “... I have it on good authority the captain refuses to acknowledge your resignation!”
Robin bites back a response before stepping through the door, not seeing Kaya’s face fall before…
Rankyaku
Her upper body explodes into yellow gloop. Bluno knew it couldn’t kill them, especially a logia that easily, but slowing her down and shutting her up were his main goals behind that attack. Following Robin through the door, it seals behind him, not even there anymore
“These people, are everything wrong with the World Government” Sanji spits as he pulls himself to his feet “We’re going to get her back” he says to Kaos’ unmoving form, Kaya reforming beside a half conscious Usopp
“It doesn’t end like this, they don’t get to make the last move” the voice hisses as Kaos flows more than stands, limping over to the edge of the car
“Hey, don’t do anything stupid, you can’t swim on a good day, middle of a storm is just just asking for trouble” Sanji says in a panic as the researcher holds out Hebi, then braces his right arm with his left hand
Shinso: Korose
Rankyaku
The blade shot straight and true, aimed for the closest CP9 agent in the hope of dealing at least some damage after what just happened… only for Sui to kick it off course, the only damage being to the wall of the front car as it cleaved through it about a foot in.
“f*ck” it came out as more a hiss than even a whisper, just before his legs gave out and he slumped against the train seat.
Well, f*ck. Let’s see if the others are doing any better?
“Please tell me I’m imagining things” Nami whines, her head between her thighs as Vivi rubs her back comfortingly, meanwhile Zoro and Artemis were chuckling, mostly because everyone was fine… even if they were now a little off course, and missing the back car (luckily the Seabulls attached to them meant unlike the cars of the Puffing Tom, that they’ll just meet up with the others later/at Ennis Lobby)
“No, we did just get derailed by a giant frog” Victor responds, peering out of the window to see Luffy arguing with said frog on the front of the sea train
“Stupid Yokozuna” Chimney grumbles, to which Kokoro laughs as she steers the train back onto something resembling a path to their destination
“You do know how to get to Ennis Lobby right? Even like this?” Alvida asks, seeing the redhead had become sufficiently calmed out the corner of her eye
“Of course I do. When we built the trains we had them equipped with Eternal Pose attuned to all islands the sea train would be able to stop at” kokoro explains
Nami nods and makes her way to the window “In that case you focus on those and I’ll keep my eyes on the sea” she says, getting back into the flow
“You think that’ll do any good missy?” Kokoro asks with a drunken cackle
“I’m the navigator, watching the sea is practically my job”
“Good to know. One thing though. Hey Yokozuna, quit messing around and get over here!” she shouts out the other window, the frog stopping his fight with Luffy to happily bounce over to Kokoro, situating himself on top of the coals
“Kero, kero, kero”
“I’m glad you’re happy to see me safe and sound, but you jumped the gun by a lot. These people didn’t kidnap me, I’m helping them get to Ennis Lobby” Kokoro explains with a laugh, surprising everyone in earshot
‘Granny can speak frog?’ Chimney thinks, looking really confused.
“It’s been a long 8 years hasn’t it. I’ve watched you fight the seatrain every day, watch you try your hardest to become stronger, so you won’t ever lose the people you care about, not after what happened to Tom.” Kokoro’s voice was low and melancholy, but then it rose “Well it’s time to put that training to the ultimate test!”
“Kero?”
“You remember your old pal Franky? Well he was taken by the bad men just like Tom. He’s one of the reasons we’re out here, to rescue out blue dummy. So you ready for a fight, you want to help us save Franky?”
“KERO!” Yokozuna cheers, even those who couldn’t speak frog understood what he was trying to say… that he was in.
Yokozuna has joined the party
With the rest of the Franky Family
“I don’t see them, that damn frog practically threw them into the clouds”
“We can’t talk like that, we need to hope Zachi and the others are ok, and that we’ll meet up with them at Ennis Lobby so we can all rescue Big Bro together!”
“You’re right. Sodem, Gomorah. Full speed, follow the tracks to Ennis lobby!”
The beasts roar and bellow before the large cart began to once more trundle it’s way through the water, the Family coming across another obstacle not long after
“Watch out, it’s another lost car, it might be full of enemies so keep your guard up” one yell, the others following the suggestion given the last one had been literally full of marines “Wait, there’s someone at the door… it’s the swirly brow guy”
“So they’re friendlies?”
“Most likely”
“Yeah!!”
With Franky and Robin
“You’re kidding, he’s still alive?” Franky asks, holding back a wide grin for a moment before laughing heartily “He had me worried for a while there, but I knew Ice for brains wasn’t gonna die like some chump, he was stronger than that”
Robin nods “Quite, but I doubt CP9 know of Iceberg’s survival, so best to keep that to yourself” she suggests, to which the cyborg agrees, then grimaces as he see’s their destination was close enough to be seen.
“This might just be the end, those goons have everything they wanted out of their mission: the woman who can awaken ancient weapons, and the man with the blueprints to create the strongest of the 3. If this goes as they plan it’ll be the end of the Pirate Era, and then those weapons will be turned on anyone who disagrees with the World Government running the show, and we won’t have any way to fight back. I say no, my master didn’t lay down his life protecting these blueprints to let them fall into these bastard’s grubby paws, not if I have anything to say about it” he clenches his fists and looks at the morose woman “But there’s no point in me doing it alone, which is why you need to find a way back to Straw Hat, or even just wait for them to come to you given what I heard from swirly brow and shimmer”
Robin tenses “I can’t. If I’m with them, I will only bring them suffering”
“Bullsh*t. I think it hurts you all more being apart, even if you say you’re doing it to help them, besides you’re not the cause of their pain. Those bastards in the other room may say your existence is a crime or a sin, but no matter who you are, or what you do, just being alive isn’t and never is wrong, you got that Nico Robin? What you do is your choice, but there’s no right or wrong in who you are. You are you, nothing more and nothing less, never let people tell you different” Franky declares, Robin surprised, a little bit of hope shifting somewhere underneath her self loathing.
Ennis Lobby, not long after
“Do you think your attitude has any connection to how harshly they’re treating you?” Robin asks stoically, watching a chained up Franky yell at the assembled marines, with one poor unfortunates head clamped in his metal jaws
“That works both ways Airbags” he graoses, to which the archaeologist shrugs, it was just a simple question “They treat me like crap I’ll make my displeasure apparent” he adds, spitting out the poor soul and knocking over 3 marines in the process, before both of them are added to the procession CP9 were given, Bluno dragging Franky by the previously mentioned chain, while Robin kept in step with the cyborg, unrestrained as they knew she wasn’t going to try anything.
All was going well until the gates opened and they saw Enies Lobby, a rather simple looking building if it were not for the seemingly endless abyss it was precariously perched over… or as Franky described it
“What the f*ck? There’s a freaking hole in the ocean!!”
[Is it too late to opt out of continuing this story? I'm kidding, don't panic]
TBC
LW: Hey guys, a week late but it’s finally out, hope you enjoy it and I’ll see you in another 2 weeks.
Just of note, the buzzing/hum that follows Sui around, sounds similar to the background noise that is heard every time Eobard Thawne does anything on Flash.
Chapter 74: Impossible Island: Enies Lobby
Chapter Text
LW: Here we go, new chapter.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Impossible Island: Enies Lobby
With the Family
“So, big bro sacrificed himself to save you guys, and so the government still has him?” a large bald man asks, tearing up
“That sums it up pretty well, oddly enough” Sanji replies, none of the others looked in the mood to talk, hell with his hood up the cook couldn’t even tell what Kaos’ face looked like right now “He was trying to help us rescue Robin and all escape together. We need to hurry up, we don’t know how long either of them have”
“The nightless island is in sight, we’re almost there” bellowed the lookout, getting cheers of enthusiasm and declarations of ‘rescuing their big bro’, though the statement itself drew the pirate’s attention
“Nightless island?”
“Yeah, the sun never sets on that island, so it’s called either a nightless, or a daytime island” one of the family explain
“Add it to the list” Kaya groans, knowing the researcher was keeping a record of the crazy sh*t that happened to them on the Grand Line, mostly as a hobby. His response was interrupted by the shrill whistle of a train, the 4 look out the window to see Rocketman’s light as it made its way towards them
“There he is, did you take the scenic route Luffy?” Kaos calls, flashing a grin which showed all his teeth
“Sanji, Kaos! Great to see you guys!” Luffy cheers, waving alongside the massive frog from the front of the train
“Haha, see, I told ya we’d catch up to them no problem” Kokoro cackles as she steers rather well for a drunkard.
“Yes you did, and Enies Lobby is right ahead of us both” Nami announces as she partly hangs out the main window, the declaration getting the others pumped for a fight.
“Let’s do this!”
Not long after
Sogeking once more gave his spiel, the story enthralling Luffy and Chopper, while some of the others, (Artemis, Vivi and Valentina) were more amused by the theatrics.
“Sniper King from sniper island? And his sidekick/love interest Minazuki-Ami” The 2 most childlike members squealed
“That’s right, we’re close personal friends of Usopp and Kaya, who heard about your dilemma and asked us to provide assistance in rescuing your friend Robin” Sogeking explains, Kaya taking advantage of her Ami form to just sit in the corner like a sleeping slime.
“We have a real live superhero, I know it because of the mask and cape!” Luffy shouts happily
“You have superpowers if you wear a mask and cape?” Chopper asks curiously, causing his captain to roll his eyes
“Of course Chopper everyone knows that”
“I’m getting you a mask when we get back to Water 7, k?” Alvida teases the purples haired teen, who was calm, but holding Artemis rather close to his chest, the girl not having a problem with being hugged by her papa so just nuzzled closer
“I’m happy to see both of you are safe Miss Kaya” Vivi whispered to the syrup girl, who nods from under her hood
“Yeah, it’s a load off all our minds” Nami agrees
“Should we burst their bubble now or later?” Victor asks, as the 2 continue to gush over Usopp
“Let them have it, it’s a morale boost as well as a distraction from what we’re about to do” his partner argues “Just be glad we have 2 more Straw Hats in the mix for the rescue mission”
“True, also it’s in the South Blue” Victor says, overhearing Nami and Chopper both ask where Sniper Island was “It’s actually a pretty nice place, though I was only there once for a job a few former associates are from that island”
“Mr. 3 was from the South Blue, I don’t think it was Sniper Island though” Artemis chimes in, now sitting on Kaos’ lap, with the older pirate resting his chin on her hat
“Nami” the red head turns to Sanji as she was called
“Yes?”
“Actually it might be best everyone hears” he decides, the 2 getting everyone's attention before the cook explains what Robin was ‘protecting’ them from by running away: A Buster Call. 10 Battleships led by 5 Vice Admirals, the attack was capable of leveling an island from what Blueno described, as well as how CP9 were using Robin’s understandable terror of such a thing being pointed at her family, to control her.
“The hold they have over her, using her childhood nightmare, it’s not an excuse, but it’s more forewarning that she may not come quietly when we get there” Sanji finishes
“f*ck it. She’s not the first difficult crewmate we’ve had to help, why should this be any different?” Zoro responds with a shrug, as an OG member he’d been present for both Nami and Vivi’s incidents.
“NONE OF THIS MATTERS! I WON’T STAND FOR THIS!!!” Luffy bellows at full volume, his usual bluntness cutting through everything and getting to the main point: Robin was one of us, we’re not leaving without her, we either win or we die trying.
Artemis frowns, her young features unfortunately making it more of a cute pout “We’re saving Mama, no matter the cost” she practically growls
“Yes we are kiddo, even if we have to fight our way through the entire World Government” Kaos agrees, his tone cold as ice.
With the pirates ‘sufficiently motivated’, Poly took his turn as spokesman, showing them a sketch of what he remembered of Enies Lobby (and was vague about the black void around the island in the picture… because he really didn’t want to try explain that to Luffy), as well as how the plan would have to work, mostly about getting Robin and Franky before they reached the Tower of Law, which was basically the point of no return.
“I hate to say this, but the only people here who could stand against those CP9 f*cks, are you Straw Hats, so the best plan is for you to hold back, give us 5 minutes to thin the herd so to speak then launch yourselves towards the target with Rocketman” he finishes
“Yeah, the Franky Family is behind this plan, we’ll handle the lower marines, you guys just focus on rescuing your friend as well as Big Bro Franky”
“We’re approaching Enies Lobby folks, if you look out the windows you’ll see the Gates of Justice, as over the top as the name implies” Kokoro says over the intercom
“Damn, she’s not wrong” Valentina gasps, seeing the massive structure behind the island “Hey wait, where’s Luffy?” then a familiar feeling passing through the Straw Hat’s spines ‘f*ck!’ just as Luffy springs off the train car, onto the gates surrounding Enies Lobby
“What is he doing?”
“He didn’t understand the plan at all!”
Kaos sighs “Oh he did, he just chose to ignore it as always. I guess we better prepare to deal with his enthusiasm everyone” he says, letting Hebi slide and coil up his arm.
“Well, the element of surprise is gone, but we can still be your distraction” Poly assures the remaining Straw Hats, before the Gally La and Franky Family get into the latter’s ship, and their Mega bulls, prepare to hop the fence and cause Hell.
Meanwhile Luffy was reminding the marines that they were really not even worth his time as he one shots an entire troop of them looking for Robin. His decision to ditch the actual plan was useful in that the marines had no clue what the hell was going on and were highly disorganised, making things easier for Galley La and the Franky Family to fight them.
The captain does stop outside the gates though, politely asking if he could be let in, surprising the guards before one runs at him
“I’m not surprised, but it would have been nice. Anyway, guess it’s time to fight
Gum Gum Ally Robot
Wrapping his rubber limbs around their counterpart on the marine closest to him Luffy piloted the man like his own little mech, though due to where he was situated, essentially piggybacking a ride from the marine, he had the same back weakness as Franky, not that it mattered to Luffy at the moment, having a little fun along the way as he made the expected beeps and boops that a robot should. When the marines mustered up the brain power to strike from behind he hopped off his ride and let him get taken out by his own comrades, before slamming both of their heads together, knocking them out. The rest of the group he either jumped off or ran through, latching onto the oversized brass handles on the gate/door and Rocket-ing his way over, leaving the marines completely ineffectual.
All things considered the distraction team were doing a pretty good job especially within the 5 minute head start they’d been given, even the revelation that the gate keepers were a pair of proper 20ft+ giants didn’t stop them for more than a few minutes of panic, before rushing at them with the same stubbornness and determination they put into every job. The giants initially beat the everloving crap out of them, but you can’t say these guys let them do so.
Luckily reinforcements were right behind them in the form of Zambei, Kiwi and Mozu riding one of their mega bulls, Galley La on the other, to sick them on the giants, at least managing to stop them stomping on the Family (which seems kind of dangerous on a floating island, directly over an abyss)
“Sorry we’re late guys, needed to give Sodom and Gomora their land legs” Zambei shouts, referring to what looked to be tank tread like devices on the bull’s underside
“Zambei, they beat the Destroyers” one yells, referring to the 3 largest and most destructive of the group (after Franky of course)
Zambei grimaces “I can see that, but right now the priority is getting the gate open for the Straw Hats and Rocketman so we can save Big Bro Franky. We don’t have time to patch them up now, we need to hold off for the moment and fix them later” he orders
One of the giants growls, the bulls being the only thing to do damage to either of them so far. Given he was the closest, he was their first target. Kiwi and Mozu with a flurry of sword slashes practically fileted one of his boots, putting him off balance for a combo attack by Polly and Zambei: the dockworker having been thrown over and catching enough of the giant’s hair in his ropes to start overbalancing him him the direction they wanted, and Zambei in typical Franky Family fashion, shot his cannon into the man’s face, ensuring he went down exactly where he needed to go in order to allow Tilestone and Peepley Lulu to literally nail him to the wall, the final blow actually being delivered by the other giant after Zambei and the others goaded him into trying to smash them with his club. With one giant dealt with, morale amongst the Family rose higher than they had even been initially, they might actually get through this.
Meanwhile in the Main building
“Report” Spandam yelled into his Mushi, the man on the other end wincing before responding
“The commotion outside the main gate should be child's play for Oimo and Kashii to deal with, that should quiet down shortly”
“Good, and as for straw hat, how’s that debacle going?”
“At the moment, I’d guess about 400” the man answers, confusing the 3 CP9 agents and Spandam
“400? What are you talking about?” Spadam shouts angrily
“Our current casualty numbers, Straw hat is practically plowing through our men”
“That’s impossible, our guards are extremely well trained and you say one boy took out almost half? Insane!”
At that moment Luffy ran past on his minor rampage through the city, though much less… messy than when Alvida did the same back on Whiskey Peak “He doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon’ the operator thinks, before returning to giving his report, there have been some changes I’ll need to amend those numbers” he says, watching more and more of his colleagues get beaten black and blue “I’d guess around five hu..grk” he groans as one of the unconscious marines fly through the air and slam into him head first, sending both of them to the land of nod
“5? How the f*ck did you make that much of a mistake?” Spandam screams, then slams the receiver down on the snail’s back when he gets no response “Well, Straw Hat is clearly no threat to us, running around the city he’ll soon tire himself out and we’ll capture him no trouble” the man boasts, grinning proudly
“Chief, Mr Lucci’s party has arrived” called the guard outside the room
Spandam’s grin widens “Excellent. Send them in right away” the doors creaking open almost as soon as he finishes speaking “Welcome back, it’s been so long since we’ve last seen one another”
Lucci’s face gives nothing away as he begins his report “As we relayed, our mission was a success as we’ve managed to capture Cutty Flam, now known as Franky who assaulted government officials 8 years ago” he states flatly
“And after over 20 years of searching, the last survivor of Ohara: Nico Robin has been located and secured” Sui Feng adds, a feral smirk flashes through her previously expressionless face.
“She is correct. Both are being watched by the guards outside if you would like us to bring them in for you”
Spandam smiles “Oh it is good to have you all back, Lucci, Kaku, Blueno, Sui Feng and Kalifa”
“That’s harassment” the karen says, adjusting her glasses
“Oh for fu… never mind” the government agent groans, his elephant companion gently patting his back with his trunk.
One of the already seated agents, a man with shades on his head, his hair in a queue, scar running down his left eye, a goatee and long Fu Manchu moustache turns his head and smirks at the returning agents “Just like old times ay Lucci, actually I think you somehow got even more smug while you were undercover. The rest of you look the same, though Buzzard seems almost happy, bet she got to kill someone today” he laughs
“But sadly you’re not any smarter Jabra” Lucci retorts, angering the other agent who jumps for the couch the 3 had been sitting on
“Lucci, Jabra, it’s been less than 5 minutes, can you please not be at each other’s throats every time we’re all in the room together?” Kaku asks tiredly, at least trying to play mediator.
Click clack
“YOYOI! Kakuu is riaight, can’t we all just get alonnng” Kumadori, a large man with wild pink hair says in a rather dramatic and over the top manner (why do I the the feeling writing him will be the best and worst part of this arc?) “For 5 long yeeaars we’ve awaited their reeturrn”
Rather than talk, the final member, a ball shaped man with a mouth zipper, flings himself at the group, which leads to him being kicked or punched around by all the returning members.
“Is this silly test really necessary f*ckurou?” Sui asks with a hint of annoyance
“Chapapa, of course, it’s been 5 years we should see where your power ranks on the Doriki scale. Using a regular marine as a base line of 10” the man hums and chirps “Interesting, very interesting. First we have Califa with a power level of 630, Blueno is 820, Kaku is 2,200, Sui is an incredible 3010, and Lucci…. Power Level 4000”
“4,000! You’re sh*tting me you damn bird brain!” Jabra yells angrily “There’s no such thing as a power level that high”
“Chapapa, not before, but there is now. Having already measured Jabra and Kumadori earlier I can finally rank CP9 with their current power levels”
Rob Lucci: 4000
Sui Feng: 3010
Kaku: 2200
Jabra: 2180
Blueno: 820
Kumadori: 810
f*ckurou: 800
Kalifa: 630
“The hell, I demand a recount, even taking Lucci and his crazy four thousand out of the equation, how am I weaker than Kaku AND Sui”
“Because they got stronger too chapapa”
Jabra hops the couch “Well the test only measures the player’s physical strength, in a real fight I also have my devil fruit, so don’t get a big head, either of you” he boasts
“I don’t care, keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better” Kaku responds with a sigh, which Sui Feng cackles
“I have a fruit too dumbass, and I have speed on my side, while all that ego slows you down by quite a lot” she taunts
“Both are correct, ignore the mangy mutt” Lucci says flatly, turning to walk away from Jabra
“I’m a mangy mutt ay you cat bastard” he growls, getting the leopard man’s attention, both activate their fruits and look about ready to brawl
“Honestly this is what happens when you do this stupid ranking nonsense, your Rokushiki training already makes you all Super-Human” Spandum grouses “Nothing higher than 500 should really be needed”
“He’s saying that because he ranks 9 on the scale, even lower than a guard” f*ckurou says after unzipping his mouth, which Jabra had resealed after the ball man had spilled the beans about him being dumped by his girlfriend.
“It’s not important! Besides, I have my special sword and you guys are the muscle I just give the orders”
“Don’t worry boss, we always knew you were a weak little pissant” Sui hand waves away
“Damn it! Why must you girls be so needlessly cruel?”
“Boss”
“Yes Califa?”
“That’s sexual harassment”
“f*ck!” he grunts, slamming his head on the desk. Then with a heavy sigh stands up and continues the meeting “Despite how long it’s been I must say I’m extremely pleased with your performance in this mission, the fact you also captured Nico Robin is a wonderful bonus indeed. It’s no exaggeration the World will praise you when word of this finally gets out. As your commander in chief, this is one of the proudest moments of my life, and I do mean that honestly” he looks down at his desk “Also, while not exactly a gift for your hard work I do have a gift for both Califa and Kaku… but that’s something for later. For now let’s meet the prisoners shall we? Send them in!”
On Rocketman
“Everybody ready, if they don’t have those gates open they aren’t going to” Kokoro says over the intercom, the straw hats tense but double check their weapons and gear one last time before calling out they were ready, though the tension was so thick it was unlikely that even Zoro could cut through it “I’m going to need you to take out the iron fence samurai man” she shouts out the window, Zoro, still seated on the front of the train nods, hands clenched on 2 hilts
“Just don’t miss and I’ll deal with this easily” the swordsman responds with a nod, eyes on his target as the seatrain barreled towards it at full speed.
TBC
LW: This one feels shorter than the others, probably because not much happened. So glad this wasn’t the one I was putting up after my absence/delay, probably wouldn’t have been worth the wait :P.
Anyway, things are slowly ramping up and all of CP9 have finally made an appearance, so there’s that.
Chapter 75: I Want To Live!
Chapter Text
LW: Hi people, special occasion, it’s my birthday today, and it oddly manages to line up with the milestone of my 75th chapter. Weird but cool.
If anyone knows what happens in this arc, then you know what the chapter title is referring to. If not, then hold on tight.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - I Want To Live!
Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek
The doors slowly opened before the guards shoved in a gruff looking Franky and a resigned Robin, though neither deined to actually look Spandam in the eye, or even in his general direction.
“This is too good to be true, I didn’t truly believe you survived your accident but here you are, Cutey Flam. And Nico Robin, the most dangerous woman in the world”
(Seems a bit of a waste of a title given Dragon is the most dangerous man, and there are other more dangerous and powerful women, such as any female crew mate of a Yonko, though maybe she’s dangerous in different ways, plus it might mean independents)
“What a glorious day, shame the world will probably never know what CP9 managed to accomplish today, though I suppose that’s the drawback to being an elite secret organisation” Spandam boasts, continuing to talk even though nobody was really listening “Honestly, the news of your capture could take years to break. The Justice those old farts dole out is much to lenient and slow. Action must be swift and decisive. I mean, it is world peace we’re aiming for after all” he laughs, then begins to approach the prisoners “Surely there’s nothing wrong with sacrificing a few fools along the way to our righteous goals. If everyone rolled over and did what we told them to 1st time, extreme measures such a these would be unneeded, like what we did, with poor Tom” the idiot then laughs in Franky’s face, the cyborg’s face stony, until Spandam’s back turned, then he ran at the moron and clamped his jaws around his head like a Carnivine, with the expected flailing from weedy Spandam. Oddly enough only Robin reacted, and even then it was wide eyed shock, the other agents sat back and enjoyed the show, so to speak, pretty much tuning out Spandam’s pleads for help, until he called specifically for Kumadori, the man separating the two in his overdramatic way, while also causing Spandam to slam face first into the ceiling, Franky face down on the floor, beaten but mostly unharmed due to his body.
“No need to thaank me chief, no neEed” the staff wielder says, knowing he mildly f*cked up, even if he completed his objective of removing Franky from Spandam, none of which noticed his fall had knocked the Den Den receiver off it’s cradle, preventing communication between the Tower and the main island, where Luffy was beating the crap out of everyone in range of his attacks.
Meanwhile, at the main gate
“Ok guys, we picked the lock, now you just have to get it open” Kiwi shouts, distracting the others, but also doing the same to the giant they were fighting, so the stalemate still stood (unfortunately)
“What! No fair” the giant whines
“You heard the girls, everyone get those gates open, for Rocketman, the straw hats, and Big Bro Franky!” Zambei bellows, the still standing Franky family members stormed the gates, made easier with the giant distracted and partly restrained…
Rope Action: Topknot
...by Poly and the Galley La, then with help from all that could spare, especially their Mega Bulls, they grabbed the ropes ensnaring the giant and pulled, literally spinning him like a top, before letting him twirl helplessly and returned focus to the getting the gate open, causing quite a ruckus when then finally did, a group of demolition experts, shipwrights, Mega Bulls and a still spinning giant catching the assembled marines off guard, the falling giant definitely dealing with a fair few of them.
Enies Lobby - Front Gate
“What the, is that a sea train?”
“Yeah and it’s not the Puffing Tom either”
“It’s coming right for us a full speed, they can’t seriously be trying to jump the fence… can they?”
In fact, they kind of were, or at least were heading in that direction, full speed towards the island, people and structures be damned. It was the main reason Zoro was sitting right on Rocketman’s nose, swords at the ready. Seeing as the train didn’t look to have any intention of stopping, and they already had enough intruders as it is, the marines pulled themselves to their feet and immediately ran to the gate to shut it as fast as possible.
“Attention passengers” Kokoro’s voice came through the intercom “Your swordsman friend wanted me to pass on a message due to an unforeseen change of plans. Hold onto your butts, as well as something a little more solid, we’re seeing just how fast Rocketman can go!” Her cackles could be heard even from their car, not exactly helping morale, or soothe nerves.
“What the f*ck happened Marimo?” Sanji yells out the window
“Well, they kind of closed the front gate” Zoro admits, with a hint of nerves, cue panic from the usual suspects
“How screwed are we Papa?” Artemis asks, latching onto his cloak as a ‘something solid’, though it was technically the entire researcher she was being kept steady by
“No more than usual. We’re making it through even if we have to leap from Rocketman as it blows up, taking the gates with it” Kaos assures her, looking a little amused by the idea himself, until Valentina head slaps him
“Don’t be so happy about our impending demise. f*ck is this why you and All Sunday got along so well?” she whines.
“Hey frog, see fence?” the frog nods “Smash!”
“Gero Gero!”
‘We’re boned’
“That was his plan!” Kokoro screams as Rocketman slams into the fence, though the frog slammed his fists palms into it first, the strength behind him causing the metal to bend and in turn, form a ramp which managed to do the impossible: send Rocketman flying OVER the gate itself,
“You better have thought long and hard about how we’re getting down from here!” Alvida shouts out the window
“I have” Zoro nods, getting everyone’s attention “We fall” he replies bluntly, some of the crew unsure as to why that surprised them “We’ll just have to see if luck is on our side”
Back on the main island, or at least the ground
“Ok, we made it this far, but we need to go deeper!” Zamei orders, hefting his bazooka as something zipped in front of them, stabbing Poly in the shoulder
“Who the hell are you” the shipwright yells, trying punch the f*ck but he zipped away
“We, are the Watchdogs of Justice” the apparent head of the dog riding weirdos announces, the helmets looking really dumb, but the blades/spikes extending past their knuckles on their elbow length gloves were kind of cool “By order of Chief Justice Baskerville, you’re sentence is Death!” he then rides his dog over to the giant and stabs him, though it was like being jabbed with a pin for the giant “What are you doing, how could you let this happen?”
“Hm, that was embarrassing, I must have passed out” Oimo grunts as he stands up, the shipwrights and Family members all falling off him as he does
“Crap, he’s awake and back on his feet” Mozu squeaks, before God smiles on the alliance, in the form of a Seatrain crashing full speed into his back, one shotting the giant, damaging the nose, and also breaking it’s fall so it could come to a stop in the middle of the main island.
“That was one hell of a landing, do you think they’re ok?” Zambei thinks aloud, the smoke billowing out of most of the train obscuring any movement to their point there may not be any
“They’re not coming out” Poly says, disappointment and worry bubbling up inside, meanwhile the marines cautiously approach the downed Rocketman.
This was their mistake, as Zoro, Sanji, Kaos and Alvida proceeded to beat the crap out of anyone in range, getting cheers of joy at the clear sign they were ok from Galley La and the Family.
“What the, who are these people?” One of the marines yelp
“Hm, maybe we should have started with introductions” Zoro hums rhetorically
“Nah, would have ruined the element of surprise” Kaos chuckles, flicking blood off Hebi’s normal form.
“GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!!!!!!!”
“Found the idiot” Vivi says between pants, huddled with the others against Rocketman’s car “Nice to see he’s still in one piece” she chuckles to herself, while Artemis looks at her funny.
BOOM
“I think you spoke too soon princess” Victor notes, to which Vivi nods with a sigh, then yelps when she’s grabbed by Alvida just before the marines fire their bazooka’s at the sea train
“Was that really necessary, it’s not like we were going to be able to leave on it anyway?” Valentina hums, having bounced herself and Chopper onto a nearby building.
“Stop! Hold your fire!” One of the marines shout, as Kokoro and Chimney pop out of the still mostly undamaged main body of the train
“Hello. I’m just an old lady”
“And I’m a little girl with a kitty cat” Chimney adds, both waving happily
“Those Straw Hats threatened to do such terrible and imoral things to me and my grandaughter if I didn’t operate the train, I had no choice” Kokoro states
“Yeah, bunch of meanies” Chimney adds, pouting, causing Kokoro to laugh and take another glug of her bottle
‘What idiot would give their hostages alcohol, especially if she’s supposed to be their driver?’ Zambei thinks, not voicing the hole in Kokoro’s excuse
“What kind of monsters would take a sweet old lady, a small child and a cat as hostages?” A marine asks disapprovingly “Hey wait, when did that cloud appear? It shouldn’t be possible here!” he shouts, finally noticing Nami using her climatact to form a large and dark cloud above their heads
“Granny, the cloud is getting bigger” Chimney cheers, bouncing around while the drunkard laughs
“Yeah. But it’s starting to look dangerous, we should probably move” she decides, pulling the girl away to safety with her.
“Perfect suits the new piece pretty well, that cloud grew a lot faster than I expected” Nami mutters to herself, putting away her Hot and Cold bars, while letting the energy build in her thunder bar “Time to see the new and improved…”
Thunderbolt Tempo
The resulting lightning barrage shattered every window in the area as well as light up the marines enough their skeletons were visible as if a Dalak had invaded instead of a group of pirates. Luckily the other Straw Hats and their associates were a safe distance away, having been either further back than the marines, or having jumped away when they had started firing on Rocketman. The exception to this was, as you’d probably expect, Nami herself, who was thrown from the blast site by the initial shockwave. She was mostly fine, definitely better off than the marines, but still felt the need to physically express her displeasure on Sojeking’s head
“Were you trying to f*cking kill me!?” She screams
“Nami, why are you attacking Sniper King?” Chopper asks, the innocent smol boi that he is
“Don’t know, I felt like it” Nami sighs, not having the heart to pop the bubble
“Not my fault you didn’t test it out first” Usopp grooses before switching back to his Sogeking voice “Besides, Usopp told me he didn’t design a feature like that, what you come up with on your own isn’t his fault if it’s overpowered” (Glass Cannon Nami is born) he defends, Ami nodding and bubbling/gurgling angrily at the navigator’s mistreatment of her partner
“We should probably get moving, finding Luffy and then Robin and Franky before it’s too late are our main concerns” Kaos states, trying to regain focus amongst the group, while Artemis comes out of hiding from within his cloak now Nami had stopped Zeusing everyone.
“That’s a good plan in theory, but how would we even find the damn rubberbrain?” Sanji grunts, then everyone turns as a loud bang and plume of smoke echoes through the island “Never mind, that way?”
“That way!”
They made it a good distance into the island proper, before the Watchdog’s decided to block their path.
“Anyone have a problem with putting down some rabid mutts?” the researcher asks jokingly
“We are the WatchDog’s guardian’s of the island’s front gate….” the leader croaks
“Then you’re as lost as Zoro, the front gate is over there” Nami says, pointing behind them, but the boss clearly wasn’t listening
“...you’ve run rampant for far too long, Villains! No criminal shall cross this line!” he boldly declares, just as a platoon of marines appear and surround the group
“f*ck”
“We’re so dead!” Nami and Ussop yell, grabbing the other in panic
“Well, sh*t. Hey Vic, think you can help us with this minor issue?” Kaos asks, looking unimpressed and a little annoyed
“Sure can” the Bomb man answers, picking his nose with a look of disinterest, not that he was needed too much given…
“Gojira!!!!!!” marines scream as the Mega Bulls, the lead one being led by Poly crash through a building and among other things make a mess of the trap that had been set by the dog riders.
“Grab on, we’re doing this the easy way” Poly shouts, before tossing down ropes for the Straw hats to grab onto, then yanking them all up into the attached seating on the bull’s back.
“Thanks for the assist Mr. Poly” Vivi smiles kindly, having dropped into the front seat alongside the driver “It would have taken much too long to deal with all of those canon fodder”
“Exactly why I did it little Miss blue. You need to save your energy for when you go up against those CP jackasses. Saving your friend is no.1 priority, like I said before leave the grunt work to us” Poly reminds them, smiling slightly even if it was a gruff as he was
While he was on transport duty, the other Mega Bull and Zambei were providing cover fire, distracting the marines so they couldn’t even try to take down or even really delay the Straw Hat’s Bull. The only exception being the watchdogs, as their mutts were more adgile than regular humans
“They’re going to try climb the Yagara!” Chopper screams in panic as the begin to catch up on them.
“Hey princess” Vivi turns “Take the reins, I’ve got another appointment right now” Poly says, the girl nods and takes control as he jumps to the back alongside Tilestone and Peepley Lulu “Just one thing. When you see those tratorous bastards I want you to pass a message on for me K? It’s a simple one: You’re All Fired!”
Kaos chuckles to himself while Zoro smirks “Sure thing” before the Galley La men hop off and engage the Watchdogs, taking out about 6 almost without trying, to the shock and horror of the agents around them, and awe in the case of Chopper and Artemis
“That’s so cool!” the reindeer squees
(We should probably check in on Robin and Franky…. Well if I didn’t already know, that’s definitely a Joker VA voicing Spandam there.)
“...when I say the winds are blowing in my direction I mean it, Bwhahahahahaha! Every man in every nation MUST answer to me! All that power at the tip of my fingers!” Spandam cackles, finally reaching the end of his villainous monologue, Robin being chief amongst the assembled group who were trying to keep a look of disgust off their faces
‘Why can’t we just kill this moron?’
“I don’t understand, why would Aokiji allow you of all people to unleash a Buster Call?” Robin finally asks, when she thought the dumbass in front of her was calming down. This was probably a bad time/idea, given his answer was a punch to the jaw, knocking her on her ass
“What gives you the right to question me? You shut your mouth!” He practically screams, spittle getting about half of the distance between them “You get to play a part in the rebirth of this world, isn’t that enough you insolent witch? I’ll finally wipe the books clean of Ohara’s legacy, but if you’re that needy, maybe you can help start my own legacy before I’ve bled you dry” he cackles, not seeing Robin’s eyes harden almost becoming lapis itself “I’m going to make the rest of your existence a living Hell, I’m going to break you, use you, and then throw you out into the sea, nothing more is worth a devil such as you. Oh, and I thought you should know, a ragtag group of weak peons have infiltrated the island, most likely in an attempt to rescue you” he sneers and Robin’s eyes widen
“You don’t mean…”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ve been apprehended by now, Straw Hat Luffy and his crew will bother us no longer” the manlet declares [Pay no attention to the screams and massive explosions rocking the other island, Hm, K?] “They’re no more than ants compared to the 10,000 soldiers of Enies Lobby. They have perfect timing my dear, given we were already getting a prison transport ship ready, saves on resources to send them all down now”
Something broke in the archaeologist “THAT wasn’t our deal! You promised that in return for my co-operation you’d let the Straw Hats go” Robin screams, not seeing the shimmer in her tears.
Spandam chuckles “Stupid girl. Lucci, remind her of the exact terms of our bargain”
The leopard man sighs “In exchange for her assistance, all straw hats with the exception of Nico Robin herself, were able to leave Water 7 un-harassed” he states flatly
“And what do you know, they did that and now they’re in Enise Lobby, which isn’t Water 7”
“Are you kidding me? You’re breaking the heart of our agreement on such a minor technicality?” Robin asks angrily, her neck almost snapping when it turns to an amused giggle
“You clearly don’t understand that the World Government works strictly to the letter of the law, once you stray, then you’re a criminal, unless you’re a Dragon” Sui purrs, her chin resting on her knuckles with a rather sad*stic smirk on her face.
“Government scum, not an ounce of decency within a mile radius of us” Franky grunts, causing Spandam’s ire to be directed at him once more
“Shut up trash, we’re not under any obligation to keep our agreements to pirate filth. You too” he finishes by kicking the still kneeling Robin in the face then taking a few more free hits to the gut “Capturing criminals is what the Navy does, not our fault you were stupid enough to make a deal and expect us to honor it”
Robin lays on the ground, hacking up a small amount of blood “coward” she whispers, though while a weed of a man it seemed Spandam had rather good hearing, pulling her up to eye level by her hair
“Still running your mouth I see, I’ll have to think of a suitable punishment for that, it’s a shame we need you to talk, as otherwise I could just cut out your tongue and be done with you. Don’t worry, I have plenty of time to find the perfect death for a backstabbing traitor such as yourself” he sneers before letting her flop to the ground once more “That’s enough for now. Take them away men”
“Yes Sir” the 2 goons by the door salute
“Make sure Nico Robin’s sea stone cuffs are secure, then remember that Cutty Flam is being sent to Impel Down with the rest of the Straw Hats, and Nico Robin is being sent directly to Navy Headquarters in Marineford. Once the ships are prepared, set off immediately through the Gates of Justice!” Spandam orders “Oh and one more thing, be extra vigilant with Cutty Fla…” he was interrupted by Franky once more latching onto him with his mouth, prompting another bout of chaos and stupid
Bluno sighs, the turns to the resident gossip “Any news on Straw Hat?” he asks, the others listening in as f*ckoro’s zipper opens
“Chapapa, before you arrived we got a report and the chief got really mad, he said Straw hat only took out 5 men but that doesn’t sound right” the large man nods, that did sound strange, sure the kid wasn’t much compared to them, but the regular marines weren’t really any stronger here than anywhere else in paradise. It was then they noticed the Den Den was off the hook. Once the prisoners were escorted out, CP9 saw no point in sticking around, leaving with little fanfare, though Spandam was mildly scared sh*tless at leopard and hornet’s admittance that their only true loyalty was due to the fact they were allowed to kill without consequence, provided it was the ‘right’ people ending up dead.
Back on the main island
“This is actually going better than I thought it would” Vivi admits to herself just as Kaya slips into the seat beside her
“The marines are all pretty weak around her when you’re going up against 2 of the Monster Trio, 2 former Baroque assassins, and a pissed off Alivda, never mind our resident mirror demon” the Ami girl agrees, chuckling to herself before using a tendril to whip a guy trying to climb onto their seats in the face
Fūton: Daitoppa
“And Val is really getting in some practice with Usopp’s newest gear” she tacks on after a marine is essentially bitch-slapped into a wall by the kilo girl.
“I just hope we’re going the right way, not exactly any signposts of directions in this place” the wire fighter notes with a nervous chuckle
“Don’t worry, Papa would have told you off if you were going the wrong way” Artemis adds from her positon on Vivi’s other side “He’s either locked onto Mama, or one of the CP9 goons, probably the cat man” she explains, making the other 2 sigh in relief as their living Devil Fruit detector at least told them going straight was still the correct move, though given bloodied, 4 taloned hands he was currently sporting he might not exactly be focused on Robin at the moment… though that anger would probably at least have them barreling toward Lucci, which was good enough for the moment.
On the other hand… they had lost Usopp on the way through the town. f*ck! Well, they really don’t have time to look for him, so I guess he’ll just have to survive long enough for them to pick him up and the way back :)
Meanwhile
“This is the last building, though the gap is kind of far” Luffy think aloud as he sees the precipass between his current position on the courthouse roof, and the Hall of Justice.
Air Door
Unfortunately, after all the cannon fodder he’d just outrun, NOW was the time for Blueno to show up literally out of thin air.
“Hey wait a minute, you’re that Bull guy who works for the Pigeon guy!” Luffy shouts angrily
“There seems to be some discrepancies between the reports and the actual situation” Bluno says, mostly to himself
“That’s really cool how you appeared out of nowhere though, is it magic?” Luffy asks, getting distracted
“Plus it seemed off just from hearing it, you only taking out 5 marines” the Door man scoffs “This is unexpected. It is also the furthest anyone has come to infiltrating through the mouth of the World Government, which will stop right here”
Luffy clenches his fists, recognising that a fight was about to go down “Out of my way Bull”
“Tell me, how long do you plan to keep fighting?” he asks
“Until I win, or die” Luffy answers, a rather serious look in his eyes as he smirks widely and gets into a battle stance.
[I feel like I should say, that if this was any other week, the chapter would end here. So let’s keep going then.]
Back with the rest of the crew
BOOM
RAAARG
“Well sh*t, they pulled out the big guns” Victor curses as their Bull takes a direct hit “We may have to go on foot from here…” his suggestion was interrupted by the Franky Family and their bull pulling up alongside them
“Hurry up, Sodem can’t go any further, you need to jump to Gomora” Zambei orders “He took that mortar straight to the chest, the big guy’s going down”
After giving a heartfelt goodbye as well as an order to GO! (Both translated by Chopper) Sodem tried do make the most of his current condition, by making as much trouble for the marines as he could, as well as crush as many as he could as he fell
“I’m sorry Zambei, if you hadn’t come to help us Sodom would…” Vivi begins, but the teary eyed man covers her mouth
“They took Franky, we’d have come either way, teaming up with you means a lot less of us are going to die. Sodem would be touched you feel the need to apologise for his death, but it’s not your fault” he then scowls “It’s those monkey suited bastards who did it. 1st Franky, now Sodom, you’re not taking anyone else from us!” he bellows, Gomora roaring in agreement.
With the mortar in front of them, Zambei took the reins and diverted them off the main street, partly to put things like buildings between them and the artillery fire for as long as possible, not wanting to loose both of their Mega Bull’s today.
Pura pura pura
Nami blinks, then peers into her shirt to the baby Den Den she’d been storing in there (how she has the space… I don’t know) then takes it out “Who could be calling us now of all times?” Nami thinks aloud
“Usopp” Kaos suggests, but Kaya shakes her head as he wouldn’t have a Den Den on him
“Howdey Howdey” Kokoro’s slurred voice is heard
“Granny Kokoro, glad to hear you’re still ok”
“Same here, you’re not dead yet. How’s progress?” she asks
“We’re almost at the courthouse, shouldn’t be too long now” Nami answers, getting an unseen nod of understanding from the old drunk “Though we did have to make some detours along the way”
“That’s nice, now there was something I forgot to mention to your earlier”
“That sounds bad” Valentina says with a grimace “What did you forget?”
“If you remember Poly’s drawing, you’ll notice there’s no land between the Courthouse and the Gates of Justice”
“Honestly, I was just rolling with all this sh*t, but continue” Alvida admits, the bottomless hole in the ocean was kind of a bigger issue in her mind, at least at the time
“If you look at the courthouse you’ll see 2 towers, at the top of both of them are levers. Pull both of them and a drawbridge will come down, granting you access to the Gates and your friends” Kokoro explains, fairly lucidly in fact.
“Also I saw your Rubber friend on the roof of the courthouse, he looked to be wrecking some stuff so he’s probably busy” Chimney chimes in, causing Kaos to smirk
“Luffy’s closing Bluno’s door in his own face” he laughs, hoping his brother made it hurt after what the bull headed prick did to him.
The good mood was shattered when Gamora was knocked over by giant wrecking balls, weilded/ chained to 11 weirdos in prison uniforms. With the bull down, it made it a lot easier for the marines to surround the Family and Straw Hats
Back with Luffy
“So, Robin’s being held in that building behind you right?” Luffy asks, pointing to the Tower of Law “In that case, get out of my way!”
“Listen closely boy, I’m sure you’re unaware, but what you’re doing right now is nothing short of a World Class Crime” he lets the air hang.
“You missed the part where I should care, get to the point already” Luffy grunts impatiently
“The World Government’s power encompasses over 170 nations in all 4 corners of this world. Enise Lobby is a symbol of our strength and resolve, so attacking it isn’t simply a stupid moment of defiance, but the 1st strike in starting a war between you and all our allied nations throughout the world. We are honour bound, to strike you down” Bluno explains, his voice not changing in the slightest “You will not only be ended mercilessly, but you will be used as an example for any who get a funny little idea to challenge our power and authority in the future. You’re at most a few dozen men, you should have thought this through better”
“I said, get out of my way. So are you going to move or am I going to have to make you?” Luffy asks, not caring one bit about Bluno’s attempt at intimidation/explaining the facts to him.
“It doesn’t matter whether I move or not, the point is the moment you stepped onto this island, you signed your own death warrant. Fighting is a waste of time, you got a mere taste of it back on Water 7 and were soundly defeated” Bluno almost boasted, while Luffy just began to stretch and psych himself up “You can’t stop our 6 powers, the difference between us is simply too great for you to even hope to surpass”
Luffy smirks under his hat “You may have a point, but I have a feeling I’m going to win this time” he then rushes at Bluno, his arm extended and twisted/coiled for a strike
Gum Gum Rifle
Tekkai
Unlike previous attacks, not only did Luffy’s ‘rifle’ manage to move the Iron Wall, sending him skidding a few feet back, it also caused him to cough up a little blood.
‘That shouldn’t be possible, how could he have gotten so much stronger in only a few hours?’ Bluno thinks, a moment of panic as Luffy unleashes…
Gum Gum Gatling
Soro
The Doorman flickers out of the way, but then is shocked when Luffy turns mid swing and slams his fist directly into Bluno’s face, shattering a pillar as he plows him into and in the end, through it.
“I don’t care about your ‘honour’ or your government or any of that crap. All I care about is that you took a member of my nakama, my family, and I’m going to get her back” Luffy declares
The 2 stare for a minute before Bluno scoffs and wipes the blood from his jaw “You’re not bad” he grunts, surprising Luffy
“Wha? Not bad?”
‘It’s impressive he’s able to follow me while using Soro, but given what the taller one could do he’s probably at least had some practice fighting a high speed opponent’ Bluno guesses ‘And given his fruit made him rubber I direct attacks are essentially useless’
Gepo
Bluno bounces around in the air, Luffy lining up a punch once he reappeared in his line of sight when...
Rankyaku
...he had to dodge the shockwave from his Tempest Kick, which took out a small section of the roof in the process
Tekkai: Wheel
Using the built up momentum from his Gepo Bluno’s body became a human shaped version of the bolder from Indeana Jones, all Luffy was able to do being bounce away from it
Floor Door
“And now he’s gone, great” Luffy grumbles to himself, really hating the sneakier fighters as he preferred to just punch it till it drops than slip and sneak around, his mood not helped when Bluno opened smaller doors and pulled Luffy’s feet into the roof
“Now there are little doors, are you even trying to play fair dickhe*d? This is what your Devil Fruit can do?”
“It’s the Doa Doa no mi, so of course it does” Bluno confirms, opening another door in the roof to re-enter the fight properly
“You’re a doorman?” Luffy asks retorically
“Yes. I can turn anything I touch into a door” he confirms, before slapping Luffy
Revolving door
“Ahhhhhhhhhh I’m not moving but I’m spinning! This is so weird” Luffy shouts as the part of his head containing his eyes began to spin and rotate sideways, making the rubber boy a very dizzy mess, something which Bluno had no problems taking advantage of
Rankyaku
With the others
“You saw that right?” Sanji asks getting nods from most of the crew “Seems Luffy is already fighting CP9”
“And it’s Mr. Door too” Kaos sneers “I hope Luffy kicks his ass”
“Damn it Luffy, we’re already too late, and we can’t even do anything to let to him” Alvida shrieks, nearly snapping her mace’s handle in anger
“With that in mind, we really don’t have any other choice. We need to get off and make our own way to the Courthouse, both to bring down the drawbridge and provide support in case there are more than just the one of those CP9 bastards up there” Zoro commands
“There aren’t, but the counter has reached 6” the researcher says, somehow both calming and panicking the others at the same time.
“WAIT!” Chopper yells, stopping the Family and Straw Hats in their tracks. Before anyone could ask why, Gamora pulls himself to his feet “Everyone, hold on tight!”
“This is going to hurt a lot isn’t it?” Nami whimpers, not helped by Vivi and Artemis’ rather deadpan ‘most likely’
“Gamora, charge! Men, we need to return fire, keep those guys from doing too much more damage to Gamora, got it!” Zambei orders, the Family putting everything they had into it, as well as some additional firepower from Victor and Kaya, being ranged fighters themselves.
Unfortunately, the previous attack had left Gomora practically blind, meaning it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for the team “This is starting to feel like animal abuse, just let us off we’ve pushed you more than far enough” Kaos sighs, resting his palm on what he guesses was Gomora’s withers, he was a fairly horse like creature
“No” Chopper translated “I’m not going to stop, not after I made my promise. I swore to Sodem, that I would carry his burden, and ensure his sacrifice wasn’t in vain” the reindeer says, tears streaming down his face
“Damn it Gomora, we can’t lose you too” Zambei shouts, but knows the Bulls were just as stubborn as the rest of the family, and would literally carry them until he dies “Don’t die big guy, make it to the courthouse, and we’ll make sure you’re good as new after” he whispers, Mozu and Kiwi whimper but nod rapidly in agreement.
“Well, that looks inconvenient” Victor hums, just as some of family panic about the building Gomora was about to ram himself into “Zoro, Sanji, think you can take out enough of the structure of the building to send it toppling down?”
“Easy”
“I don’t need moss head to do some demolition work”
The bomb man chuckles “Good enough, weaken the support and I’ll land the finishing blow” he states, moving to the front of the seats just before Sanji and Zoro jump off the back to do serious damage, the last strike being an explosion caused by Victor using a blowgun to extend his range to the building before his breath exploded. As Gomora barreled through the rubble like the living tank he was, collapsing at the door to the courthouse just as Zoro and Sanji drop down beside his head
“ We made it, you hear that Gomora, you got use to the courthouse” Some of the Family cheer, the Bull giving a weak roar of understanding.
At the Tower of Law
“What do you want Spazdick?” Franky grunts, seeing the bastard walking over to them looking smug as all hell
“It’s Spandam you dolt! Anyway, I just received a report from the main island, given what it’s most likely about, I thought we could listen to it together. Given Straw Hat was only able to take out about 5 of the marines here, it’s most likely death notices, but no time like the present to find out” he cackles, while Robin frowns, the idea of Luffy (never mind the entire crew) ONLY taking out 5 people seemed all kinds of dumb. “This is Spandam, how about you continue your report where you last left off”
“Ok sir, the Straw hats…” the man begins nervously but is interrupted
“You made a mess didn’t you, understandable given they were such weaklings” Spandam crows
“But Sir. The assault squad consisted of between 60 and 70 pirates, they all either broke through or went over the front gate and have made it all the way to the Courthouse, we couldn’t stop them, we could barely slow them down”
“WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Spandam shrieks, while Robin feels something shudder in her chest and Franky smiles, a part of him hoping some of those guys were his Family, as he knew the Straw Hats were less than 20 for sure.
“Also the gatekeepers Oimo and Kashi have joined up with the pirates, they’re currently rampaging through the central sector of the main island! Based on estimated casualty reports, we’ve lost over 2,000 men to these pirates!”
“Wait, not 5?” Spandam asks, his brain struggling to fit everything together
“And the man who took out over 1,000 singlehandedly, Straw Hat Luffy has disappeared. We’re still assessing the situation here” the report continued, though the Den Den was dropped as Spandam ran to the window of his office, where he could see Bluno on the roof of the courthouse, as well as clear signs of battle damage to the rooftop.
“What happened, and why now? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??!”
And with the report given and Spandam having a freak out, we return to outside :)
“Can anyone see Luffy?” Vivi asks as everyone disembarked from Gomora
“He’s still up there, as is Doorman” Kaos confirms “He’s ok for now, so we need to worry about getting the drawbridge down first”
But if we run into him we could still help” Chopper suggests
“Hear that Zoro if you get lost and end up on the roof give Luffy a hand ay?” Sanji taunts, Zoro’s grip on Wado tightening before a giant metal ball and chain was thrown at them
GERO!
“Ok, the frog is cool, I admit it, happy?” Nami sighs, as Yokozuna stopped the ball in its tracks
Shimmer
Saigo no bito
“Was killing him really necessary?” Kiwi asks, as the researcher drags the oddly dressed weirdo over to the group
“Damn, whoever he was, he must have been pretty strong to be able to lug a ball like this around, never mind use it as a weapon” Valentina whistles “Kya ha ha”
“We need to move, now the only issue will be getting those doors open before reinforc…” Zambei didn’t get to finish before Zoro had cut through enough of one of the doors that everyone could get through
“We’ll go in ahead, don’t get lost” the swordsman says before rushing in, his crewmates groan but follow
“We still need to split up though” Mozu points out “Both towers have levers which need to be held down for the drawbridge to open, meaning 2 teams are needed”
Zambei nods “You heard her men, we need to get that drawbridge down so the Straw Hats can free Big Bro. But we’re breaking into 3 teams: 1 with Mozu, 1 with Kiwi, and the 3rd with me to help take out as many goons in the courthouse as we can. Let’s move it men”
“Got it!”
“For Franky!”
“For the Family!”
On the roof
Bluno stands still as a statue, watching a hole in the roof until Luffy finally bounces back out of it
“Finally, my face closed” he grumbles, still holding his cheeks
“Of course it has, all open doors will eventually close” Bluno answers with a scoff “I’m still amazed you managed to dodge my Rankyaku despite your disadvantage”
Luffy shrugs, brushing stone dust off his shorts “Yeah, no big deal”
“How unsettling”
Soru
Geppo
Tekkai: Sai
Luffy stood in wait as Bluno flitters around high in the air, then flips back just before the bull headed man punches the roof with his index finger extended
“Damn jerk!”
Gum Gum Pistol
Tekkai
Luffy proceeds to unload punch after punch into the agent, trying to get through the man’s defence, meanwhile Bluno tried to find an opening to
Rankyaku
...only for Luffy to interrupt his kick with one of his own, sending the pressure wave way off target.
“This brat, he’s keeping up with my speed, and even managed to alter the trajectory of a rankyaku.
“I can’t stay like this” Luffy says out of the blue, confusing the agent “When I was taken out by Alkiji I realised I kept running into guys who were stronger and stronger, and eventually I’d run into someone I couldn’t beat if I stayed at the level I was at, and then I wouldn’t be able to protect those close to me. They’re not all as strong as me, some not even close, but they're MINE, and I will protect them with my last breath. So I have to keep getting stronger, otherwise I risk losing them”
“Then what are you going to do?” Bluno asks, almost sounding curious
“I’ve come up with a new way to fight with all my heart, so I won’t lose anyone, so I won’t let anyone slip away” Luffy explains, bending into a squat and pumping the muscles in his legs, his body turning pink and beginning to steam “You won’t be able to beat me like this”
“What do you mean?”
“All my techniques, just went to the next level”
GEAR SECOND
Several floors below
“Chief justice Baskerville, I have a report. The pirates have breached our defences and broken through the front door” the marine started, basically pointing out the obvious given he’s just been blown into the main courtroom by Zoro’s most recent attack.
“That, was actually easier than I expected. Guess we’ll get through this faster than we’d planned, which is the first bit of good news we’ve gotten in a while” Zoro grins, before a gavel banging caught their attention
“WHHHAAAA! That guy has 3 heads!” One of the Family yell “He’s like that Underworld dog Cerballcheck”
“Cerberus” Artemis corrects, having taken a liking to the mythology mixed in with Robin’s many archaeology texts.
“There was something about the cerberus I always wondered, mostly if it’s origin was in any way similar to the Hydra” Kaos almost purrs, Hebi bubbling and expanding in a way which reminded Zoro and Kaya of Ohm’s cloud sword
“Order in the court! This is a sacred room of justice you hooligans” the older, central head bellows “You have the nerve to bust in here so shut up sit still and receive your sentence!”
“Get to the roof guys, we’ll handle these chumps with Yokozuna’s help” Zambei says, assuring the Straw Hats
“Which way then?”
“Doesn’t really matter, there are stairs on both sides” Kaya points out, having given up on hiding herself, there were more important things to worry about right now
“Hey, they’re ignoring the trial, I know they’re pirates, but that’s just rude” one marine complains
Enbima Yonezu Oni Giri
Zoro shoots forward, cutting through every marine in his path between his start point and the end of the courtroom. Besides Kaos borrowing Artemis’ brush to throw at Sanji for being a moron and trying to ‘rescue’ Nami from being in Zoro and Chopper’s prescience, but mostly for claiming Robin was ‘waiting for her prince to save her and sweep her off her feet’. Artemis approved, not liking the way the pervert cook leered at her mom, even if the woman had a habit of having about half her large breasts on display sometimes, and even when she didn’t the blond was drawn to her deep cleavage like it had its own gravitational pull.
“These are grave crimes”
“Indeed”
“But we should show restraint, and sentence them, TO DEATH”
As a good few of the straw hats reached the top of the stairs, (even Zoro, with a little help from Kaya’s syrup) A shadow appeared over Chopper, the reindeer in a panic reverted back into brain point as the 3 headed man was jumping at him with his sword out
“You dare to ignore the Chief Justice BAskerville!” The middle head shouts, his final words
Mirāburēdo (Mirror Blade): Ruinous Atrocity
Turns out Cerberus didn’t regenerate like a Hydra, mostly because it wasn’t a 3 headed man, but 3 guys in one costume, left and right quick to vacate said outfit after Central Freeway was split vertically down the middle via the pitch black ‘f*ck off’ greatsword Hebi had managed to form into, on a second look resembling an uneven battle axe as the back half was much smaller than the front.
“Well, that was disappointing” Kaos pouts “Hey Zambei, think you can deal with the other 2 dumbasses while we find Luffy?”
“You got it you crazy bastard”
“Thanks Mr. Zombie, we’re off to save Mama!” Artemis cheers, deciding to take the Yachiru route of clinging to Kaos’ shoulder as they make their way up to the roof.
And back to the roof while someone cleans up all the blood and guts O-O
“Gear? Your moves have changed?” Bluno asks in confusion, not seeing any noteworthy differences besides the steam coming off the now reddish pink rubber boy’s skin “Are you supposed to be a steam engine, because right now you’re just a load of hot air” he grunts
“The truth is, I’m glad I met you guys when I did” Luffy says, further confusing the doorman “because thanks to you, I won’t ever lose my friends” he declares with a wide grin
“You’re not making sense boy, aren’t you about to lose one of your friends precisely because we crossed paths?” Bluno asks, wondering if the boy had accidentally fried his own brain.
“Gum Gum…” Luffy starts, co*cking his arm back
“What are you doing, trying to aim? Stoping like that only gives me more time to dodge, not that I needed that much of a head start” Luffy doesn’t respond “Fine, lets see how good your aim is”
Soru
...JET Pistol
The punch got Bluno straight in the gut, as well as shooting him into the opposite wall in the span of a couple seconds at most. When the man pulled himself out of the wall, and dust cloud Luffy had vanished, only to take a suckerpunch to the side of his jaw, punting him several feet with a bounce.
JET Rifle
The follow up partly embedding the man into the roof. Seems the fight was as one sided as he thought it would be, just in the other direction.
‘f*ck, I can’t see him, I can’t follow him at the speed he’s going. How did he get this fast, he’s moving at speeds rivaling Kaku or even Jabra’s Soru’ Bluno begins to panic, before getting a double ‘spear’ kick in the back, then before he could recover Luffy grabbed his ‘horns’ and proceeded to ‘Jet Rocket’ both of them into the roof. From there the only warning Bluno had was a rush of air about a second before blinding pain, his eyes unable to follow Luffy in any way, leaving the only option being to open an Air Door and peace out for a moment to clear his head.
‘That boy, he’s using Soru, I don’t know how, but he is. A pirate able to use even one of the Rokushiki techniques it’s unheard of, and that he’s using it against one of us is a sick joke. Still, the only thing to do is turn parts of his body into doors, and while he’s incapacitated end him quickly’ he decides from within his little outer dimension
Air Door
Door Door
He puts his plan into action but misses, not having considered that Luffy’s reactions would have also increased in order to be able to follow his own movements.
“When we fought earlier and it looked like you were disappearing, you were really just moving your feet about 20 times a second” Luffy says, basically explaining how Soru worked “I can do that too, gattling is proof of it, but I’d have never thought to do something like that on my own. Like I said, I’m really glad I met you guys” Luffy finishes with a smirk, pissing off Bluno as he throws his arms back for his finisher
‘I can tank this hit, then he’ll be too close to dodge my counter attack’ Bluno thinks activating his strongest technique
Tekkai: GO!
JET Bazooka!!
Unlike his regular bazooka, this looked more like a body slam, though with how far it pushed Bluno it may have still had the same range of strike, just not something that could be seen at the speed he was going at the time.
As the steam finally stopped being pumped out for Luffy he frowns when he see’s Bluno was still standing, even grinning smugly at the kid “You’re one tanky bastard aren’t you” he huffs “Fine then, I guess I’ll have to break out the next level” at this point he’d put his thumb in his mouth “This is Gear….” Luffy stops when he see’s the Door man’s body finally give out, relax and flop almost bonelessly to the floor “Hm guess I’ll just save that one for the next dumbass who crosses my path” the captain says to himself, happy to have taken out a member of CP9, as it means they stand a chance at taking out the rest of them and rescuing Robin (Franky too, as a thanks for the Family helping them, plus to give the WG over 100 middle fingers). Half bouncing, half stumbling Luffy made his way to the side of the roof facing the Tower of Law, and filled his lungs just sky of entering Balloon, then bellowed
“ROBIN!! WE’RE HERE TO SAVE YOU!!!”
Inside the tower Franky laughs, giving the woman in question a playful elbow to the ribs “The kid made it, looks like rescue is on the cards eh babe?” he chuckles, while Spandam continue’s his panic and frantic attempts to speed up the transport in the hope it will stop this rampage. With that in mind Robin’s shoulders begin to shake “Hey, you ok Robin?” Franky asks, not expecting dark chuckles to escape her throat
“If Spandam is successful, all he’ll have done is sign his own death warrant. These idiots won’t give up, they’ll just break him on the way to opening the gates and following us into the abyss” she gives a momentary smirk, imagining the vile bastard being lifted by his throat by another demon, before squeezing the life out of him with a smile.
“Anyone ever told you you’re one scary lady?” Franky asks with a shiver
“Only 70% of Baroque Works” Robin says with a disinterested shrug
“Chief Spandam, there appears to be a man standing on the roof of the courthouse screaming for Nico Robin, I’m unable to confirm completely, but I believe it to be Straw Hat Luffy” a marine reports running up to the twitching man
“WHAT! But I just saw Bluno up there, he was supposed to be keeping watch!” Spandam grumbles, stomping his way over to the window, then immediately losing his mind when he see’s Luffy standing on the roof munching through some meat, while Bluno is knocked out several feet away “That’s not possible! Bluno is a member of CP9, a master of Rokushiki and a Devil Fruit user. How could that scrawny brat beat him?”
“What should we do sir?” a marine asks
“Summon Lucci, and the rest of CP9. I want them here now, then I want them to destroy Straw Hat and every member of his f*cking crew!” Spandam shrieks
“Yes sir” the man salutes, then runs full speed out of the room
After a moment to compose himself, Spandam stomps out of his office “listen up men, we’re taking Nico Robin out of Straw Hat’s reach immediately. Follow me we’re taking her to the transport”
“But sir…”
“No buts!” Spandam screams
“Actually, there’s a big one” the guard says, pointing behind him, the chief gapes at Franky who appears to have inflated his rear like a crash test airbag
“What are you doing!”
Franky turns “Oh there you are Spandam, I’ve been thinking while you left me here to do nothing. Basically I’m screwed, so I decided the best option for me, is to blow myself up, hopefully taking you and maybe even a couple of your goon squad down with me. When my butt explodes, the blast radius should be about a mile wide, never tested it for sure given I wouldn’t have survived, but I can make pretty good estimates”
“Wait, hold on a minute” Spandam pleads
“Running won’t do you much good, but you can still try” Franky laughs before beginning to count down, Spandam nearly falling over himself to get away, even accidentally falling down the stairs in the process “Well, time to meet up with your friends” the cyborg hums, looping his legs around Robin’s waist and rolling so she was above him
Coup De Boo
His ‘immature’ variant of his arm’s air cannons did it’s job, blasting both of them through the wall and the window of Spandam’s office, only the outer railing stopping them from flying into the abyss, even then they almost fell in had Franky not jumped them back to the balcony.
“Well, we’re free, really wish i had more cola, then we could get across that caysm easy. Hey, you ok Robin? You didn’t get hurt in the escape did you?” Franky asks, as the woman was deadly silent again, the her looks over the small wall “Hey look Straw Hat’s right over there, I hope you know what to say to him, and the others” the cyborg half teases
“That bastard tricked us, get him!” Came the shout from some of the marines
“You’re interrupting an emotional moment, so piss off” Franky growls, looking annoyed
Weapons Left
If the initial bang didn’t get his attention, the machine gun and heavy artillery fire Franky was unloading certainly did “Hey Robin, there you are. Did you hear me earlier?” he calls up, waving happily “and that sounds like Franky too, that makes things easier. Hold on I’ll be right there, it’s a little far so I’ll have to put a bit more umpf into it” Luffy says, partly to himself as he hops off the section of roof he’d been standing on and runs back, then grabs onto it in preparation of Rocket-ing over to them, when
“STOP!” Luffy does, mostly out of confusion, why was Robin screaming, she was almost free? “How many times do I need to tell you this? I’m not coming back, and I’m part of your crew any more” Robin shouts down to him “Just go away, i never want to see your face ever again. Why do you keep doing this? Why did you come to save me, why can’t you just let me go? I never asked for this, you’re gone way too far Luffy. For the last f*cking time, I Don’t Want You Here”
Luffy lets go, letting his arms spring back as he stares up at his archaeologist
“Do you hear me? I Just Want To Die!!” Robin screams, shocking the rubber boy [Then f*cking jump! Remember to bloom as many middle fingers as you can on the way down ;P]
The slow clap ruins the scene though “Wonderful, what a twist, this is entertainment” Spandam cackles as he re-enters his office
“What’s wrong with you, you crazy bitch? You friends risked their lives coming here” Franky bellows, angry with the metaphorical slap to the face she was giving these guys
“They decided to do that of their own accord” Robin responds, interrupting him
“Are you kidding me, who care….” he was once more interrupted, this time by a kick to the face by Kaku as CP9 arrive
“You’re in the way” square nose mumbles
“Someone’s in a mood, annoyed you got such a sh*tty fruit Kaku” Jabra teases
“Shut up!” he barks, not denying the wolf man’s claim
“All this for one pirate, boring” Califa sighs
“Yoyoy! But to make it this far, is still AdMirable” Kumadori exposes
“And he beat Bluno, now I have a reason to give a sh*t” Sui laughs, then grins maliciously.
“I’m glad you could all make it CP9” Spandam cheers from inside the office “And just in time, things are about to get interesting with the Straw Hat’s little incident.
“You want to die?” Luffy repeats, hoping he’d misheard with everything else going on (He was pretty sure that explained the giants rampaging just behind him)
“That is correct” Robin states bluntly
“Hey boss, why are we just standing around listening to this instead of kicking Straw Hat’s ass and being on our way?” Jabra asks
“Mostly for amusem*nt. That’s the captain of the crew who went to all this work to assault and invade Enies Lobby, only to have his hopes dashed when his crew mate didn’t want to be rescued. It’s poetic and tragic, but I love it!” Spandam swoons, before stepping onto the balcony beside Robin
“Robin, I don’t know what to say. Guess I’ll just tell you that sounds really dumb to me” Luffy calls up, looking a little disappointed “Listen, we’re already here and it took a lot of work to do so” as he says that the roof behind him erupts into a twister of energy and rubble, spitting out Nami and Chopper, as well as a confused Valentina “We’re going to just save you and figure out the technical stuff later, such as if you still want to die that badly for one” just as he finishes Zoro crawls out of the hole, mumbling something about stairs, though if Nami beating him with her staff was anything to go on, he was the cause of their abrupt entrance. Not to be outdone, Sanji also arrived via exploding through the ceiling/roof, while the others entered the sane way, that being the door!
“Glad you see you’re still in one piece Val” Victor smiles helping the kilo girl up
“No thanks to moss head of course” she grumbles, glaring at the swordsman, just in time to miss a ‘Flying Usopp’ having been hurled up onto the roof by the giants, Kaya managing to soften his landing with her syrup, much to Alvida and Kaos’ amusem*nt, though now was not the time.
“This isn’t funny anymore, just go away now” Spandam pleads, while Robin watched in shocked silence, everyone was here, just because of her.
“Work with me here woman! If you want to die then that’s fine, but you say it like you mean it, and say it as a Straw Hat!” Luffy shouts, the others catching his statement and quick as a flash turn their heads in the eldest’s direction.
“He’s right Robin, you’re one of us!”
“This crew is a family, you don’t just get to walk away”
“We fight as one, no matter the cost!”
Robin was shocked, as well as touched, she’d not had people actually care about her in many years. And with eyes hardened with resolve the Straw Hats all make a stand, getting onto the raised sections off the roof and awaiting Robin’s response, tears sparkling as the wind blows them from her face.
“From this point on, leave everything to us” Luffy declares.
“These are the fools who braved Aqua Lagoona to get here” Califa notes dismisively “They’re determined if nothing else”
“Or lucky” Jabra scoffs
“Remember, we’re allowed to kill them this time” Lucci says with an audible smirk
“But if we kill them the fight will be too short to be any fun” Kaku responds
“For once I agree with square nose” Sui says with a smirk, planning to make their deaths long and slow.
“So there’s a drawbridge?” Luffy repeats, his girls currently explaining their end of the plan
“Yeah, once the Franky Family pull the levers we can head over and rescue Robin and Franky” Vivi confirms
“CP9 here are your orders: Kill the Straw Hats, but only in the Tower of Law, understand” Spandam orders, wanting the threat eliminated, but not wanting to see the only strong fighters under his control to be too far from him in case something bad happens, Franky has broken free and tried to kill him with his metal mouth twice already. He then turns his attention to the Straw Hats “Stupid pirates, you may act tough but there’s no way you could think you can beat all of CP9, do you? And what about the Gates Of Justice, you don’t think you can open them do you? And even then if things go wrong, I have this” he pulls out a Golden Den Den Mushi “This little snail gives me the authority to issue a Buster Call!”
“A buster call” Robin parrots in fright, her eyes wider than Franky had seen so far
“Yes” Spandam purrs slimily “I’m sure you remember it’s power very well, given you’re the only surviving inhabitant of Ohara, or the charred lump of rock that used to be called Ohara over 20 years ago. At least I think it was called Ohara, not exactly easy to check the name of something that was wiped off the map”
“They destroyed Robin’s homeland?” Chopper says, eyes watering in sympathy, while others were getting more angry by the news.
“f*ck, I’d heard stories, but the marine’s really totaled the island” Valantina mutters, being the only West Blue native (besides Robin of course) she’d at least heard of Ohara even if she’d only been a child at the time of it’s destruction
“No, anything but that, please I beg you!” Robin pleads, eyes glistening with tears
“Oh begging, that’s always a good sign for me” Spandam laughs, while across the abyss he finds himself on 2 people’s kill list, right at the VERY top “What's this, you don’t want me to press this button and annihilate all your little friends with a Buster Call, is that it?”
“You’re an insane fool” Robin states through clenched teeth “Do you have any idea what you’re playing with?”
“I know this little thing will remove any hope of rescue, that’s for sure...” Spandam laughs
‘Yeah, by destroying them and the island they’re standing on’ Robin thinks bitterly
“...all it takes is one little press, it couldn’t be more simple” he boasts
“If you think that you understand nothing!” she screams at him, but he just keeps grinning
“Are all those bad memories coming back to you sweetie? Maybe I should press it, might actually be fun” he hums, finger dangerously close to the trigger
“Stop playing around, this isn’t a joke!”
Spandam frowns “I’m the one who makes demands around here wench” (Jeez he’s like Shigiraki before MHA was even an idea… only a useless weakling, at least Tomura has contact disintegration)
“You said Ohara was wiped off the map, but a map doesn’t show the lives ended and destroyed by that action. Your world view is so twisted it’s beyond recognition, they’re not an ounce of humanity inside you anymore is there?” she drops to her knees “There’s a line in the sand, a limit to what can and should be sacrificed in the name of justice. A Buster Call, is so far beyond that line you can’t even see it any more. You can’t use it, anything but that. If you trigger a Buster Call, everything you see before you, will be destroyed, including every inch of Enise Lobby and most likely, you as well” (Well, nothing of value will be lost there)
“Nonsense, they wouldn’t kill a VIP like me” Spandam hastily defends “I’m not falling for your bluff”
“20 years ago, everything was taken from me, in fire and death, and so many lives were lost with a simple push of a button” She pulls herself to her feet “They awoke a demon that day, and now it rears its head once more, setting its sights on the friends I’ve spent so long searching for. The more I want to reunite with the people I care for, the more it bares its fangs at them” Robin grimaces when she notices her standing beside her father ‘Damn it Artemis, this isn’t where you should be. History really is repeating itself’ “Even now, no matter where we sail, there’s an enemy that stalks me at every turn. Because I’m facing the World, and all its darkness. 1st Alkiji, now CP9, I’ve dragged you all into MY troubles twice already, never mind back to back. If this continues, now matter how kind you are, one day you’ll see me as a burden, just like all the others. Someday you’ll have to betray me or thrown me away, that’s what I’m afraid of. Do you understand now, this is why I didn’t want you to rescue me! If that’s the only future I have, I’d rather die to save me the pain and get it all over with”
“And there we have it, just as it should be” Spandam croons “What a tragedy, even if you make friends, all you can do, is drag them through the mud. You can’t win pirates, look at this flag” he points straight up, where the World Government Flag flies proudly “This symbol represents the unity of over 170 nations, a power which spans all 4 Blues and the Grand Line. Now matter how strong you little upstarts think you are, you can’t hope to stand up to an enemy such as that, just give up already. Do you not understand how strong our organisation is? Do you realise how devoted and determined we are to capture her again?”
Luffy stares up at the flag for a moment before making a decision “If that’s Robin’s enemy, I know what to do” then turns his head to Usopp, who was still being subtly supported by Kaya “Hey Sogeking, I have a target for you: Shoot down that flag”
Usopp nods “Understood” he then readys his attack “This is my latest weapon, a massive slingshot known as Kabuto. Nothing would better break it in than this. Behold, it's awesome power!” he shouts drawing back the strings.
Special Attack: Firebird Star
As the biggest F you they could give, Usopp’s firebird shot straight through the flag, the resulting strike was witnessed by everyone on Enies Lobby . Shock and horror was on most everyone’s face, except the straw hats, who were still serious and determined as the flag burned to ash.
“Mission complete” Usopp announces, tapping Kabuto off the ground like a staff.
“You morons have gone and done it now, you can’t really think you can declare war on the World and win!” Spandam screams
“You bet we can, Bring It On!” Luffy bellows, the weed screaming in fright while Robin cries “Robin, there’s still something I need to hear you say! Tell me you want to live”
“Robin”
“Robin”
“Mama”
“Robin”
“Come on Robin, show the world there’s nothing wrong with your existence” even Franky joins in, though his was more a whisper in her direction
‘I can live?’ Robin thinks, eyes eyes streaming tears as the thought finally makes its way into her mind ‘I never dared to wish for something like that. The World had denied me that hope, for so long’
‘The sea’s a vast place, so I know someday you’ll find people who will never leave you’
‘But, if I can say my wish, just this once’
“I WANT TO LIVE! Take me with you, take me away from here, I want to sail the seas with my friends, my family once again” Robin finally shouts, the composed woman now a blubbering mess, as you’d expect.
Luffy smirks as everyone prepares for war “Then we’ll be right there.
TBC
LW: And now we finish up for the moment. Happy birthday to me, hope everyone else is also having a nice day. See you all in 2 weeks, with the more normal sized chapters, I went all out mostly because I forgot where certain events lined up and so thought this bit was shorter. Oh well I ended it where I had planned to so all’s well that ends well ;)
Damn you Oda, making me cry with all your sad flashbacks. Poor Robin :(.
Also, the people of Ohara were assholes.
Fun fact about the Ohara flashbacks, much like his son Spandam’s dad only had a Golden Den Den because it was loaned to him by an Admiral, making the entire incident Sengoku’s fault :P.
Well as much his fault as what’s soon to happen is Aokiji’s
Chapter 76: Straw Hats Vs CP9 (part 1)
Chapter Text
LW: So many flashbacks, I’ve realised why this arc is longer than I remember it to be: everyone’s backstories getting recapped.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs CP9 [Part 1]
CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK
“There’s the drawbridge, the Franky Family came through for us” Victor praises, actually liking the dismantlers when they weren’t stealing their money or beating up his fellow crewmates.
Unfortunately the marines of Enies Lobby refused to let the Straw Hats have any kind of victory, turning their cannons inward and firing, hoping to stop the drawbridge’s descent.
“Damn it, this is why I hate marines” Luffy grumbles “Think you could cross the gap?” he asks turning to Kaos
“I can think of a few things that could help” he muses, moving into a crouch
Shimmer
There was a sound similar to a metallic buzzing, following by a bang at which point the researcher and 1st mate was standing, precariously on the edge of the window right in front of Robin “There are a few jokes I’d love to say right now, but it isn’t the time” he muses grinning widely at Robin “Oh good you’re both here, saves us the search time”
“Dadashishi. You can tell me them when we’re back on the Merry” Robin says with a slight chuckle, her mind on a bit of a high now she was finally able to hope
Bang
Smash
Which ended rather quickly as she stepped back through Spandam’s coffee cup, watching Kaos slip and fall backwards after the idiot shot him. Hearts were in mouths as the cloaked pirate fell…
Gepo
Before essentially firing himself (rather sloppily) through one of the windows
“Damn it, someone get down there and deal with him, if he’s alive kill him, if he’s dead find that fruit, we won’t have another Naga incident on my watch!” Spandam screamed, Sui sighs deeply before volunteering herself, mostly by being the only one to Gepo away.
“Hey Straw hats, what are you doing standing around?” Nami blinks and looks down, remembering the Den den
“Kokoro? We’re not standing around the bridge is out!” she argues
“It’s about half way down, that’s good enough. Go on and jump into the waterfall, give it extra gusto” she cackles, the sound of Rocketman in the background
Luffy grins widely, then favouring speed over stealth, wraps his arms around the furthest members of the crew (Nami and Chopper) and he jumps forward, taking everyone else with him, all but Luffy himself and oddly enough Artemis screaming, crying or pleading for their lives as they drop
“Robin! Wait for us!” He shouts up to her as they fall, grinning when he sees he’d managed to time it just right for the Sea Train to pass right below them, Luffy himself getting caught by the chimney, while the others were as gently as you could, deposited onto the rest of the train.
“We made it” Luffy cheers, as the sea train barrels right through the wall like it wasn’t even there. Everyone was tossed clear and far from the train itself, but they were mostly uninjured besides some bruises and/or tenderness from being skipped across the stone floor like a stone over a lake.
“Damn, that was one SUPER! entrance” Franky cheers
“Robot guy? How did you get here, you were up there?” Luffy asks in confusion, the others wondering the same as they got their bearings back.
“I made a daring escape!” Franky announces, standing in his ‘Super’ pose
“Really?”
“Well…”
A few minutes prior
“With them stuck over there, now’s the best time to get out of here, so move it” Spandam says with a panic, jamming his gun into Robin’s ribs “One of you idiots grab Cutty Flam, I have this one” he commands ‘these no names will be out of my hair the moment we go through the gates of Justice. Then I’ll have all the power in the world, as well as something to pass the time with, before I slit her throat’ he thinks, internally cackling like a mad man before turning and seeing Franky looking at him with a blank expression “What?” the cyborg lifts his arm, holding out a stack of papers, most importantly though was what was written on the front: Pluton “Those aren’t the real plans, are they?”
Franky smirks “Oh they are, want to see? Luci, Kaku, care to verify?” he says, flicking through a few pages, the 2 agents’ have momentary looks of surprise before nodding
“We should have seen this coming, given you can store soda and weapons in your body, blueprints would be child’s play” the square nose sighs
“So they’re real, like really real?” Spandam asks then grins “Great, then hand them over, saves us the trouble of searching you for them” he makes a grabby motion, which Franky ignores
“Nico Robin. Everything I’ve heard about you is as wrong as it is possible to be, and on the way here I’ve seen that you’re not the one who would use the Ancient Weapons to destroy the world. I know these blueprints were passed down since whenever Pluton was first built, but we weren’t doing so to hoard a weapon, or even to build one”
“That’s nice now hand them over!”
Franky scoffs “You don’t get it. These blueprints were kept safe in case some power hungry dumbass, like yourself, ever managed to find and awaken the original one, so we had some form of countermeasure. Now, I still believe Robin’s a dangerous woman, her knowledge can be too easily abused… but now she has people fighting in her corner, I don’t see much point in this” he flips the papers 180, then puffs up his cheeks, before spitting out a fireball, incinerating the plans for the most powerful battleship to ever be created.
“GAH!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” Spandam shrieks, diving for the burning fragments as they turn to ash in his hands “My dream, it’s been burnt to a crisp”
“5 years, for nothing” Califa whispers, teeth grinding
“Not it for telling Sui” Jabra quickly states
“Se-con-ded”
“3rd Chapapa”
Lucci and Kaku look at one another and in unison agree…
“Bluno?”
“Bluno”
“Those blueprints were a countermeasure, you having them is the exact opposite of their purpose. Hence they can no longer exist. Sure you might be able to make a weapon of your own and we’ll be screwed, if you manage to get Nico Robin to the Gates of Justice, meaning the fate of the world, now rests on the Straw Hat’s shoulders” Franky states in a serious tone, though he had a triumphant smile on his face
“You’ve made a mockery of me for the last time, take your last breath of freedom because you’re not leaving this island alive” Spandam sneers as he stands
Franky then notices something across the gap: the Franky Family, all yelling and trying to get his attention. They’d come with the Straw Hats, here to help get him back just like the pirates had come for Robin. Given where Kiwi and Mozu were screaming at him from, they were the ones to activate the drawbridge, before the marines f*cked it up “You, you guys actually came for me? That’s Super awesome!” Franky cries, proud and honoured his gang risked everything to save him, especially coming to Enies Lobby, something he’d never expect or even have asked them to do for him… but they did anyway.
“Cutty Flam, you’re about to pay for destroying MY blueprints” Spanam sneers, then shoulder charges the cyborg, being so close to the edge he fell, pretty sure he was about to meet his maker… when he hit the Sea Train instead
“Oh Kokoro, I haven’t been this happy to see you in nearly 10 years” he blubbered, then screamed alongside the straw hats as they plowed right into the Tower of Law, coming to a not at all gentle stop somewhere deep inside.
“Ok, everyone still alive?” Artemis asks, one of the least affected given she’d actually grabbed Luffy when the lightbulb went off in his head.
“We’re fine, no thanks to the rubberbrain over there” Sanji snarks, kicking debris out of the girls’ path
“We still have to find Robin though, the guy with the facebrace might look as strong as a wet noodle, but the rest… well they’ve kicked our ass once before, so let’s give it our all” Victor adds
Valentina then pipes in “Should we be worried about Kaos? He did get shot and then did exactly what we just did without a seatrain to assist him getting in”
“He’ll be fine, crazy bastard wouldn’t know death if it kicked him in the balls” Zoro chuckles
“Plus there was the Enaru incident, no permanent damage” Nami adds
“So it’s settled, we find and rescue Robin. If we bump into Kaos… then we assist until we can continue with the main objective” Luffy announces “Everyone, to the staircase!”
“Not so fast” the strawhats pause, seeing a beach ball with a face in a suit in the corner of the room
“What the hell is that?” Alvida asks
“Chapapa. So you have invaded The Tower Of Law, but there’s no point continuing as Lucci has already taken her to the Gates of Justice” the zipper mouthed person says “Oh, and the chief’s with them too”
“That makes about as much difference as Lucci carrying a spare plank of wood with him” Luffy points out, even he could tell Spandam was worthless combat wise.
“Thanks for the info by the way, tells us exactly where to look” Vivi says with a smile
“Chapapa, why did I tell them that?” f*ckuro whines
“This one isn’t the brightest bulb in the tower is he?” Chopper mutters getting a nod from Zoro and Artemis
“It doesn’t matter, I may have told you where they’re going, but I didn’t tell you the key to Robin’s cuffs is with one of the members of CP9. Not that it matters, as Chief Spandam has given us orders to eliminate all of you, chapapa”
‘Did he say eliminate?’
“We kind of figured, dumbo isn’t exactly quiet” Alvida hums
“You won’t survive this gauntlet, nothing in this world can even hope to beat the entire CP9 squad. And even then, given there’s no way for you to know which of us have the key to Nico Robin’s Seastone cuffs, you’ll have to fight us all if you even want to save your friend Chapapa!”
“Then give me that key!” Luffy shouts, shooting his fist forward but the zipperman dodges, then begins dancing around like a moron “Damn it, all these CP9 weirdos can use that speed thing. Any volunteers to deal with this one while we find Robin?”
“It’s more than that Luffy, we need to split up in order to deal with all the members of CP9, as we don’t know which of them has Robin’s key” Vivi reminds him
“Lucci’s the pigeon guy Luffy was yelling about before right?” Sanji asks Franky “Probably best we let Luffy deal with him”
“Given he most likely survived, Kaos has Sui covered, though she might not even have a key” Valentina says
“5 agents with keys, and given there are 11 of us, we can practically double up and deal with them” Victor suggests
“Problem is we don’t know anything about the others, all we can do is split up and seek them out” Kaya reminds them, putting a damper on the main plan.
“Damn it. Guess we’ll just have to make do with fighting whoever we come across while Luffy deals with Lucci, then meet up with him and Robin to free her from those cuffs” Zoro shouts, Luffy springing forward as he races towards where he assumes Lucci to be, not noticing Artemis follow, wanting to have a shot at Spandam before her papa gets to him.
A little later
“This place… is a f*cking maze!” Valentina whines, herself and Victor having gotten lost and then running into Franky who was on his way to refuel his cola before trying to fight any agents “Why would you make something like this, do people actually work under these conditions?”
“Given the number of grunts I saw when I was first dragged here, yeah they do. Our only hope is that the messed up architecture means Spanda can’t just yeet Robin out from under our noses” the cyborg confirms, then jumps back into them to avoid being flattened by a dropping f*ckuro
“Halt, you will go no further. Your path has been blocked by the gossip loving ‘Silent f*ckuro’ chapapa” the zipperball announces “I presume you want me key”
“That would be nice” Victor replies, adjusting his shades as Franky flicks his own down, and Valentina adjusts his red and green gloves.
Elsewhere
“Yo-Yoi. You can-not hope to sta-and against me-e-e, your FOolish attempts to save your friend has le-ad you to tis path of pain” Kumidori overacts, tapping his staff rapidly against the ground
‘ Yez this guy is loud and annoying ’ Nami thinks, sighing internally, then nearly jumps out of her skin when Alvida pops up behind her
“So big guy, do you have the key or not?”
“The ke-e-ey”
“Yeah”
“The-e-e Keey. Iis, he-re. Or maybe here? Here” Kumidori bounces around rifling through his pockets as he does so
“This is going to be a long day, isn’t it?” the smooth woman says with a deep sigh
Sanji
“I’m getting real tired of this sh*t” the cook grumbles, having once more found an empty room. As he moves to check it for some kind of hint as to where CP9 could be, he hears the door click closed and lock
“What’s wrong? Just relax, I’ll pour us some tea” Califa purrs from the doorway, Sanji’s heart doing flips before he turns with heart eyes and a perverted grin
“Sounds lovely my darling” he swoons, though his chef side did rear its head when Califa was, in his eyes preparing tea incorrectly, to which he corrected, then both sat down and waited (I don’t think there’s going to be a fight between these 2, do you?)
Zoro
“Impatient aren’t you, coming into the room with your swords already out” Kaku muses as he looks up at the swordsman, who gives him a vicious smirk
“They don’t like to be kept waiting, I’ll be spilling your blood and taking your key. So, you have the key or not, I’d prefer if we get this over with quickly so just hand it over”
Kaku chuckles “I think not. You made a rather pitiful effort back in Water 7, so I expect to be properly entertained this time” he says as he stands “If you pirates made it this far, you might actually be worth something. You’re quite the savage from what I’ve heard, will be interesting to see how that pans out. Fair warning though, I’m the best swordsman in all of CP9” Kaku boasts, standing with both blades out
“Nitoryu?” Zoro thinks aloud, then has to bat away 2 Rankyaku, which slice clearly through the furniture of the room
“Hate to disappoint you, but I use Yontoryu”
“No problem” Zoro says with a shrug, before moving Wado to his mouth and charging, managing to either block or parry each of the long nose’s strikes, though unable to land any of his own blows. Finally Kaku dodges, using Gepo to leap into the air
72 Calibre Phoenix
Rankyaku: Hakurai
Kaku uses the colliding attacks as a distraction to attack from the side, but Zoro blocks and sends the man skidding across the floor, but manages to dodge the following slash damage wise, only getting a cut in his suit jacket
“Now we’re having fun eh 3 swords?” Kaku laughs
“I don’t have time for this crap” Zoro growls in response
“Shame, guess you’ll have to kill me quickly” Kaku hums, before shooting up and digging his swords into the ceiling, then raining down pressure waves which Zoro frantically blocks with his swords
Rankyaku: Ran
The onslaught levels most of the room, leaving a rather large opening to which the Gates of Justice could be seen amongst other things.
“I’m impressed, didn’t expect you to actually be able to hold your own against that attack. You said you were in a hurry though, so I guess I’ll use my new power to speed this up for us both” Kaku says, dropping his swords, which worries Zoro
‘Crap, it was probably a Devil fruit wasn’t it… holy sh*t!’ The swordsman thinks as Kaku’s body ripples then grows, longer, and longer, especially his nose.
Kaos
“Well, that was a pain” Kaos grunts as he pulls himself to his feet, not happy with how that turned out as it could have saved them a lot of work fighting these guys. Something which he can’t avoid any longer given the speed he could feel one of the zoan’s moving towards him, shortly followed by the bangs produced by using Gepo. Diving to the side, her barely misses being hit by the Rankyaku Sui uses to announce her arrival, destroying the door and the window frame before landing silently in the middle of the room
“So you’re alive, I’m actually glad as it means I can have fun with this” she says with a smirk “Don’t die too quickly ok?”
Kaos sighs, before coating his left arm and letting Hebi coil around his right “Don’t exactly have much of a choice do I?” he jokes, then sidesteps a punch which embeds her fist into the wall “Ok, short stack might be as strong as the Big Cat” he hums
“2nd best, but thanks I guess” she responds with a smirk, the buzzing from earlier getting louder, the swift Rankyaku blocked by Hebi, though there was a bigger pushback than expected.
Kaos spins Hebi on her cord before lancing at the agent, unfortunately her Kami-e skill was good enough all he managed to get on her was a cut on her cheek “Did you file your elf ears down or something, no human should be able to bend like that” he pants, getting annoyed and deciding there was one other way for him to deal with this killer jumping bean.
Watching the silver spread along both arms Sui bounces into the air with Gepo, doing several bangs to build up speed before throwing herself at the reflect human, who rather than dodge spreads his arms so everything visible was mirror just before her fist found his sternum
Tekkai: Sai
Mugen mirātorappu
The moment the edges of his cloak meet behind her, there was a ripple and then the room was empty, the heavy fabric flopping empty onto the ground
Sogeking
‘ This guy’s sleeping with the key right in front of him, I can’t be that lucky ’ he thinks, after checking several floors of rooms coming across Jabra snoring in some kind of meditation room, the key most likely having fallen out of his pocket. What follows was a comedy of errors, or just proof the universe hates him. His heart stopping for a few seconds due to panic, a wasp landing on his nose and stinging it, both of which Jabra somehow managed to sleep through and finally, a rooster finding its way into the meditation room.
“chirp”
“Roosters don’t chirp!” Usopp screams as he jumps back in fright, finally waking up the agent
“Oh, there you are pirate” Jabra says with a yawn “Guess it’s time to kick your ass” he says to himself after picking up the key, punching the sniper into the wall rather easily.
‘Damn, why’d I have to run into someone this strong’ Usopp mentally whines
“Wait a minute, you’re the guy who burned down the flag. Well too bad sniping won’t help you in this fight” Jabra laughs, taking another swig of his booze “Now, sorry about the punch there, it was kind of sloppy, not really my style, give me a minute” he smirks, then his body expands, gaining a muzzle, sharp claws and a fluffy tail due to his Zoan fruit’s activation “ I may look scary, but this Big Bad Wolf’s no sad*st like some of my coworkers, I like my fights clean and simple” he states gruffly
“You have Devil Fruit powers” Usopp squeaks
“Correct, the Inu Inu no mi: Model Wolf to be specific. Now excuse me, I’m going to rip out your throat and end this quickly. You’re gonna die anyway, no need to drag this out or make you suffer now should I” he smirks, then is surprised when Usopp pulls back his Kabuto “Really, you don’t look strong enough to even scratch me” he purrs
“Don’t try to intimidate me, I won’t back down that easily” Usopp shouts, even though his entire body was shaking.
This fight was interrupted though, by the ceiling collapsing, causing Zoro and Kaku to drop in on the duo
“Crap, I was aiming for my hybrid form but went all the way to full beast mode”
“There’s a talking giraffe falling from the ceiling!” the sniper screams, as both jump out of the way of debris and teammates, Jabra laughing his ass off now he finally gets to see what fruit Kaku had been given
“That’s too good, I’m so happy I got to see this”
“What the, a wolf? Is this place some kind of zoo or something?” Zoro wonders out loud
“Well, with now 4 Zoan Devil fruit users in CP9, it’s not entirely inaccurate” Jabra responds with a shrug, then continues to laugh as Kaku “Ushi Ushi no mi: Model Giraffe ay! You dumbass, I told you not to eat the damn fruit didn’t I?”
Kaku is clearly not impressed “And what’s so bad about being a giraffe, I happen to like it”
“I happen to like it, sure you do, giraffe’s are so cool after all” Jabra taunts still laughing
“Hey, if you 2 want to argue, do it on your own time, I’m a little busy. Also while we’re talking about animals, that long neck is one hell of a weak spot” Zoro says, drawing their attention
“You fool, time to learn about the limitless destructive power of giraffes” Kaku growls, shocking and confusing Zoro as he shifts into his hybrid form “I have been reborn, with unspeakable power!”
“Wow, that is really lame” Zoro says, mostly because Kaku looked REALLY stupid in this form. Kaku then panics a little while Jabra goes off on another giggle fit ‘ Damn it, that wasn’t meant to be said out loud, I need to focus and get this down with quickly, otherwise that weed will take Robin from us ’
“Are you going to sit there all day and laugh or what?” Kaku snaps at Jabra who tries to focus, but is set off again by Kaku’s big, twitchy ears
Unfortunately the moment was kind of broken when Zoro got accidentally cuffed by Usopp “What the hell are you playing at moron?” he shouts
“Sorry. I thought these were sea stone cuffs like the ones Robin is wearing, and so would be good against our opponents who both have Devil Fruits” Usopp explains
“I see that… but why did you cuff me?”
“Well, I looked in the room, saw… that, and my hand slipped” Usopp then begins laughing at Kaku, probably earning him a dash of respect from Jabra for having a sense of humor.
“You’ll pay, YOU’LL ALL PAY!” Kaku bellows, before beginning to spin on one of his hands
Rankyaku Amane Dachi
The attack releases a wind blade which shot out in a perfect circle, slicing cleanly through the entire building in every direction, which had the giraffe man smirk and he landed.
TBC
LW: Things are starting to get busy, hope I can make this go well
Chapter 77: Straw Hats Vs CP9 (part 2)
Chapter Text
LW: Ok, I see no need to say anything besides: Continue
Rubber King Vs Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs CP9 (part 2)
Artemis
“Maybe bringing along the girl and her cat, rabbit, thing was a good idea, they found me this secret tunnel” the artist says to herself as she descends into the depths, happy that she was following an arrogant brat who didn’t even think to wait until the door was closed before walking off, allowing her to slip in unnoticed as far as she could tell herself.
Immobilizing Indigo
Unfortunately she didn’t take into account Lucci’s enhanced senses due to his Zoan fruit, meaning he’s detected her once she was in a certain range, and was also able to dodge her colour trap, zip around the girl and kick her into the wall, a moment which drew both Spandam and Robin’s attention
“Artemis!” Robin screams
“The brat, well, best deal with it quickly” Spandam hums before drawing his pistol, at which point Robin throws herself at him
“Don’t you dare, I will never let you hurt my daughter!”
Rather than surprise Spadam looked amused “So you did manage to read the reports then?” he purrs, confusing them both
“What reports?” Artemis asks
“This isn’t your 1st run in with the World Government my dear, the closest we came before now was oh… 10 years ago. During which, while we had you in captivity, genetic material was extracted” the older woman turns a sickly grey, while the artist looked confused
“What?”
“You see we’ve always known there was an indefinable factor in the Ponyglyphs, a how would you call it, genetic lock or blood bound knowledge, sure you can learn it, but you’ll never be quite as good as someone born with it. Therefore we took material from someone we knew had that inbuilt ability as well as something from storage, and made ourselves someone to do your job for us” Spandam explains, grinning madly
“That doesn’t explain what it has to do with Artemis” Robin shouts
“Oh it does. Humans, even a part human like this one, take too long to grow, so we captured someone with a time altering Devil Fruit in order to accelerate the process. Vegapunk was only able to make one entity, but she was perfect… until the lab was destroyed” Lucci continues, knowing he now had both of the female’s attention “We didn’t know what happened, all that time and energy wasted… until the Alabasta incident occurred. Those eyes and what the reports claimed she could do, Project Mystic was alive, and she now had a moniker and a real name: ‘Artist of Death’ Nico D. Artemis”
“Artemis, is my full daughter?” Robin gasps, her eyes watering in joy, and fear ‘Oh what kind of world have I brought you into? And seriously, a D.?’ she thinks
“Robin, is my real Mom?” Artemis asks, her heritage showing when she gives a D. grin at the knowledge
“Yes” Spandam purrs, then draws his sword “And if you don’t want Mummy’s blood all over the floor you’ll get in line. We only need one of you to read the Ponyglyphs and I’m not picky. Though I’m sure given your heritage you’d have made a fine woman, given how ‘mature’ you are for a 10 year old” both women shudder at the tone in his voice, before Lucci lightly kicks the red head in order to get her moving. It looked like her rescue attempt was a bust, but Artemis was still happy she had finally reunited with her mother, and even if her eyes were shimmering with tears, so was Robin to finally have her child returned to her.
Zoro & Usopp
“Guess their are benefits to that hybrid form, increased reach for one” Zoro notes as he gets back onto his feet “Plus the increased mass has to at least proportionally increase his power too”
“Zoro! He cut through the entire Tower of Law, the upper floors are sliding” Usopp says in a panic, pointing to the roof as it begins to grind it’s way sideways
“True, hopefully we’re the highest group otherwise things are going to get dangerous for our friends” the swordsman agrees
“Kaku you amatur, you shouldn’t be letting your emotions rule your actions” Jabra scolds, dropping to the ground back in his human form
“Oh shut up, I’ve had it up to here with you. Giraffes are awesome, I LOVE giraffes” Kaku growls
“And now you can f*ck ‘em guilt free, yay!” the wolf zoan cheers sarcastically.
“Oh go hump a bitch!”
“Are you done yet?” Zoro calls “I’m not afraid of your power, I knew just how big I fight I was getting myself into…” he stops when he sees… he’d ended up catching Usopp in his cuff during the dive to escape Kaku’s attack ‘f*ck!’
“This wasn’t how I planned this to go” Usopp pleads, mostly because he could feel the murderous glare Zoro was aiming at him
“That’s why you don’t mess with things you barely understand, you’re just lucky neither of us are Devil fruit users, especially given that’s a minority on our crew” Zoro states through gritted teeth
“Bbbut look on the bright side, nothing’s really changed really, we still need to get those keys off these guys, it’s just now to separate US, as well as free Robin” the sniper quickly explains, to which Zoro grunts, agreeing but still pissed off
“Hey bozos” the 2 turn to Kaku who had returned to human form while they were arguing “What’s the number on your cuff?”
“Number?”
“Well they all look the same, so the keys and cuffs are all numbered so we know which ones go with what” the giraffe man explains
“It was either that or make them all the same, which was too dangerous in case someone managed to swipe a key, they’d then be capable of releasing all our sea stone cuffed prisoners” Jabra adds
The pirates nod in understanding then check the cuff “It’s number 2”
“Damn, I got 1” Jabra huffs
“It’s not mine either, guess you’re out of luck” Kaku adds “It also means this is a free for all”
“First come, first kill” Jabra grins as both agents transform back into the hybrid forms, leading to Zoro and Usopp making a break for it, as difficult as that was with their current impairment.
A storey of 2 up
“Ok, officially panicking now” Vivi whimpers, seeing the stairway and wall just below them carved up and slowly sliding to the left
“You’re telling me, these guys are stronger than anything we’ve seen before” Chopper agrees, in his Heavy Point because he knew he was going to have to fight at some point. Seeing that their current position wasn’t structurally sound, the duo made it down the stairs right sharp, drawn to the sound of a commotion, which turned out to be Zoro and Usopp running around the room being chased by 2 CP9 agents
“It’s Zoro, and Sogeking! And they’re waving at us” Chopper says happily, mostly glad his friends were still ok
“Technically, but they’re also handcuffed to each other” Vivi notes, hearing them shout for them to find key 2 or they were going to die, or be stuck together forever “Damn, well you heard them Chopper, we have another key to go on the hunt for, right?”
Chopper nods “Right!”
Meanwhile- Nami and Alvida
“Yo Yoi! AYve Cought Wan of EWe, noow hold still” Kumadori drawls, restraining Nami with his hair and currently failing to do the same with Alvida, her Smooth Smooth fruit meaning the hair was unable to get a good enough grip before she slipped out of it “Never mine-d I’ll just deal with Diz one” he holds his staff like a pool cue, and prepares to lance her, but Nami wriggles out of her jacket just before taking a fatal shot
‘Cutting it close there Nami’ Alvida thinks as the navigator rolls over to her, eyes wide and panicked
Lower down - Franky, Victor & Valentina
Franky Boxing
Boom fist
Fūton: Daitoppa
Tekkai
Soru
f*ckoru coughs as he jumps onto a nearby wall “What the hell are you people? The reports said you pirates had Devil Fruits, but Cutty, you can’t be human those punches clock in at over 1,000”
Franky laughs “It’s cute seeing you government stooges try make your body hard as iron, cause mine, are the real deal brother! These 2 on the other hand… I have no f*cking clue” he admits, the former 5’s sigh but continue their attempt to get the zippermouth’s key.
Somewhere in the tower - Sanji
“Damn it, I can’t just sit here drinking tea I need to get your key and save Robin! No messing around, give me your key!” Sanji demands, Califa looking unimpressed
“If you must, feel free to take it”
Sanji blinks “That… was easy. Where is it?”
“Who knows, you’ll have to search my body for it. Think you can handle it?” Califa asks seductively
“YOU BET I CAN!!!!” Sanji cheers, jumping towards her before getting kicked into the wall ‘Ow’
“You didn’t exactly put your best foot forward there blondie”
“Yeah, that was almost Luffy level stupid” Sanji grunts as he sits up
“Need I remind you as time passes your ‘friend’ Nico Robin comes ever closer to the Gates of Justice and out of your reach?”
“No, I already know I’m in here doing nothing while Robin’s life is on the line. I’m done screwing around, I don’t care if you’re a woman, if you don’t give me that key you’re going to get hurt” the cook threatens
Califa laughs “Well, that escalated quickly, almost flirting to limp dick threats. Do you really think I care if you treat me like a woman, I am an assassin, and a complete professional, you don’t stand a chance against me. My orders are to eliminate you, and so I’m going to do just that”
Sanji pulls out a cigarette, lights it and takes a drag before speaking “You’re going to take me out huh, I don’t see this turning out the way you think it will, because I’m not leaving without that key”
Soru
Sanji blocks the high speed kick “Seems the rumours about you CP9 goons aren’t exaggerations after all” then proceeds to block or avoid a flurry of kicks a few intentional near misses on his part evening them out until Califa decides to remind him assassin’s aren’t all honourable… by kicking him in the balls.
“Bitch!” Sanji squeaks with a wince
Gepo
The cook stands again, trying to follow the agent as she kicks through the air repeatedly, bending over to avoid a kick to the face before leaping over her and slamming his foot down, pinning her without touching her.
“There you’re down, I beat you fair and square, now give me the God Damn Key!”
Shigen
Rankyaku
Sanji gasps as he’s stabbed in the chest, unable to dodge the pressure wave that followed when Califa managed to get out from under him, once more throwing him into the wall, in fact the same hole he’d already made in said wall.
“You’re not much of a pirate little boy, scared to even touch me” Califa sneers, angering Sanji
“You take that back” he lashes out but she dodges, then grabs him by the leg and tie before he could move back.
“You’re boring me blondie, time to end this quickly. Let’s see if you can stand up to this attack”
Elsewhere
“Time Two DIIIE!” Kumodori emotes, preparing to lance Nami now he’s recaptured her...
Cloven Roseo
...were he not punched into a wall by an Arm Point Chopper, the hair losing its strength long enough for Vivi’s wires to shred their connection to Nami, who was happy to be caught by Chopper before she hit the ground, but even happier to still be breathing after that near miss
“Thanks guys, a second longer and I’d have been skewered” Nami wheezes “It was lucky you were nearby”
“Actually we’d have kept walking if Alvida hadn’t flagged us down” the bluenette admits “sorry, but it’s not like we knew you would be down this corridor in this maze of a building” she defends her statement with her arms crossed
Nami huffs, massaging her throat “Yeah, yeah. Thanks for getting help, makes me less annoyed you ditched me. If he had been anyone else on this squad of government bastards I’d be dead already!”
“Not to take attention away, but what the Hell was that guy, did he eat some kind of Devil fruit?” Chopper asks
“No clue, but he seems to be able to do a lot of things with his hair” Alvida replies
“Yeah, it’s like fighting a man with an octopus on his head” Nami agrees “And for hair it sure can form a tight grip. We should probably leave no, put as much distance between us and him and possible”
“But what about the key? How do we know he isn’t the one with Robin’s?” Vivi asks, getting a smile from Nami
“You mean, this key?” she asks, grinning widely as Key 3 was held up for all to see “Now can we go?” the 3 nod and make their way towards the stairs, just before something falls from high above, slamming into the ground with a loud bang
“Holy… is that a doll? Singles life, Kami smiles I prefer my rubber living and active” Alvida chuckles then stops when she hears Chopper’s yell
“It’s not a doll, it’s Sanji!”
“Really? f*ck, this is defeintely a Devil Fruit, right?” Nami asks, then rushes over when Sanji moves, as well as has a minor coughing fit.
“Are you ok?” the 4 ask as he moves to his hands and knees
“I’m sorry I lost the fight, I couldn’t get the key.” he wheezes, Chopper checking on him while Vivi attempts to assist however she could (really wish I remembered where I sent Kaya right about now). It was at this point the smugness was detectable by Nami who looks up to see Califa smirking as she looks down at them
“It’s always the tit*” she groans “Seriously Sanji, Robin’s life is on the line, we don’t have time for your bullsh*t! They’re all trying to kill us and you’re the 3rd best fighter on the crew, so how and why the f*ck did you loose to the bimbo up there?”
“I don’t want to die, I want to save Robin, but my upbringing, I was taught to never hurt a lady. So no matter how badn things get, even with my life on the line, I will never kick a woman”
“Then bitchslap the weak little nerd in the face, in fact, how about Nami and I show you how” Alvida scowls, grabbing the navigator’s arm and pulling her towards the stairs, it was clear the red head wasn’t thinking straight if she was allowing herself to be lead TOWARDS danger “For the record, I’m looking forward to shoving my club up your ass”
Califa laughs “I’d like to see you try whale-girl”
“STTop Right there!”
“Ah sh*t” Nami and Alvida groan, seems Chopper didn’t hit Kumodori hard enough if he’s back to bother them again so soon
“I Won’t AlLow dis to goo on Eny further” he drones, then f*cks to avoid gunfire
‘Wait a minute…’
“Finally I found people, I thought I was going to be lost in this Hell maze forever” Kaya cheers, hugging Vivi and Chopper, then gasping at how badly beaten up Sanji was “It seems I missed a lot, need some help guys”
Vivi nods “All things considered, against these guys the more the merrier. I want the best odds we can get in these fights”
“Yo Yoi! Just try and stop me”
Chopper huffs as he shifts into Arm Point “I will”
Cloven Cross
With bad hair day occupied Nami and Alvida continued the climb up to Califa, both looking forward to kicking the bitch’s ass, seeing as she ‘technically’ took advantage of Sanji’s inability to hit a woman
“How DarE YU, they’re Getting aWey”
“That was kind of the point, you’ll have to go through us to get to Nami and Alvida”
Following Nami and Alvida
“Even if he most likely stood there like an idiot and got dropkicked down the stairs… I still worry about what the hell kind of powers this lady has” Alvida sighs, still leading the way as the duo reach the room Califa had already reentered waiting for them
“Yeah, Sanji looked, wrong, not just beat up but like something major had been done to him” Nami replies with a grimace, as well as a flicker of something else burning beneath her anger. When the 2 entered the room it seemed the CP9 agent had gotten bored of waiting and decided to draw herself a bath (was that always there?), and was actually about 80% finished stripping herself when the 2 came in
“Well, that wasn’t what I expected to see when I came in here” Nami mumbles to herself, her eyebrows rising sharply when she heard Alvida’s similarly volumed comment
“Meh, seen better, bigger too” she says with a slight leer, then it turns into a frown of disappointment.
“I really didn’t need to know that”
“Come on Nami, you know Vivi’s got a killer set, and it’s not my fault Robin is incapable of wearing a shirt that can contain those massive tit*” the mace wielder purrs, getting an eye roll from the navigator, though she’d didn’t give any kind of argument
Luffy
After separating from Artemis, Chimney ended up running into Luffy, and then had to save the idiot devil fruit user from drowning… twice. After the 2nd revival Luffy had calmed down enough to actually listen to what the little girl was saying, that she’d found a way to the Gates of Justice that didn’t involve nearly killing himself by going over the water.
“So what’s this, some kind of basem*nt?” Luffy asks, peering into the darkness
“As far as we can tell, a way to get to the Gates by going under the seafloor”
“Hm, makes sense, thanks kid away!”
“Hold it, where do you think you’re going?”
“To rescue Robin?”
“Do you know where that is?”
A minute later Luffy is running down the stairs with Chimney’s arms around his neck so she can give him directions without slowing him down “This is great, how did you end up finding this place?”
“I saw Lucci, Robin and his noisy servant come down this path, he was talking so loud they didn’t even hear me right behind them” Chimney laughs then they stop at a large door with the World Government’s brand plastered on it for everyone to see
“Damn, this is a big door, do you know how to open it Chimney?” Luffy asks
“The servant was messing with this thing, oh it seems you need a key… don’t know how the pirate girl managed to get in then” Chimney huffs “Sorry”
Luffy shrugs “Don’t worry about it, just take a few steps back please”
Chimney tilts her head “Why?”
“Because if this is the way we need to go, I’m going to have to bust my way in” Luffy states, waiting for Chimney and her rabbit to get a safe distance before biting down on his thumb
GEAR THIRD
The force of Luffy’s attack destroyed the door, as well as push the section separated by Kaku’s attack further across the slope, getting closer by the minute to falling into the hole. The only side effect was for the moment, Luffy looked like Mini Mario, so he was going to need to hold off actually fighting Lucci until his body regained it’s normal size
Further down the line
“Did you hear something?”
“Probably one of the pirates knocking down the door” Lucci suggests, sending Spandam into a panicked frenzy
“That’s impossible, those are solid Iron doors, not to mention the fact they’d need to find them first”
“But they did, a girl and her pet were following us, and that was before our newest prisoner joined us, so she could have easily informed the others” Lucci counters with a smirk
“HUWHAAAAA! Why didn’t you do anything about her, or at least tell me?” Spandam asks/ demands an explanation, to which the leopard man’s grin just widens
“I wasn’t ordered to” he answers, getting a ghost of the smile from Robin and Artemis before remembering he was the enemy.
?????
Rankyaku
Smash
Sui grits her teeth and holds in a scream, more broken glass but no blood, proof she’d once more missed her target. She wants to close her eyes, just standing in this sideshow of a battlefield was giving her a headache, but she didn’t risk closing her eyes otherwise…
Soru
Her instincts protect her from taking another suckerpunch to the jaw, Kaos having risen from the mirrored floor and was about an inch off from punching her square in the nose, instead cracking one of the walls, not that it would mean much, as the cracks were already resealing themselves, forming a uniform infinity once again. She’ll admit she’d been played, tricked into this hall of mirrors, but she wasn’t going to let some smug f*ck of a novice pirate crew beat her
Tekkai: Sai
She held back the smirk as she was sure she heard bone crunch, as the lanky bastard was thrown into and rippled through one of the mirrors, which was when it turned into a frown
“So close” he whispers in her ear, dodging a kick to the face, then grabbing her leg and throwing her into one of the walls. This time she tried to counter by using Gepo to rebound against the mirror only for him to dodge and her to phase through the wall and out the floor… for about a second before he smashes her back into it, the floor remaining solid in this direction
Back with Franky, and the V’s
“For a fat bastard he sure moves fast” Valentina grumbles as they once more miss f*ckuro as he zips around above them using Gepo
‘She’s right, he’s moving too fast for us to hit, especially with how low on cola power I’m at’ Franky grimaces, then blinks in confusion when he gets hit with an apple “Hm?”
“Chapapa, looking for me?” f*ckuro taunts from above them
“Yes, but only because you’re acting more like our sniper than any of the actual main fighters on our crew” Victor retorts, shooting a Nose Fancy at f*ckuro who dodges with little effort
“Chapapa, well if any of you were faster I’d actually see why you’re so proud of your combat skills”
Franky Triangle Daggers
“You really think throwing your sideburns would work on me?” the zipperman jeers, appearing behind Franky (Bon Clay uses mascara, why not sideburns?), who smirks
“Doesn’t matter, when I’ve got you right where I want you” Franky yells, grabbing the beachball by the mouth and slamming him into the wall
Weapons left
Breeze bomb
Katon: Endan
The heavy guns fire, explosion and actually fire… did pretty much nothing, though they didn’t know that for a few minutes, instead…
“I think you need stronger stuff in your hair metal man” Valentina teases, seeing Franky’s pompadour had gone limp and drooped over his face
“Crap, I really am low on power, need to get to the kitchen” Franky thinks aloud, turning on his heels to continue his search for cola, when he ran right into f*ckuro
“Not so fast”
“Seriously, you managed to dodge all of that” Victor growls
“You that afraid it’ll hurt you then” Franky taunts, trying to distract their opponent, or even just throw him off balance
“He has a point, beach ball should have run off by now like the coward he is” Val adds, smirking ad f*ckuro gets mad
“Coward? Nobody calls me that! You just pissed off the wrong guy, have a taste of my fists, here’s what happens when you mix a punch with a Shigan”
Jugon
Franky stumbles back a few steps, then spits a little blood, surprising the duo who think ‘f*ck, that was actually strong enough to do even a little damage to this guy’
“What do you think? Chapapa”
Franky smirks, then unsleeves his right hand revealing the metal underneath “Weak, especially compared to my…”
Tekkai
Strong Hammer
The attack bruises Kumdori’s face, but the beachball remains standing “That’s it? That was the weakest punch you’ve done so far”
“Then try a combo on for size!” the agent turns his attention from Franky in time for Victor’s fist and Valentina’s palm to strike his face
500kilo
Boom Fist
Fūton: Reppūshō
The enhanced explosion threw the agent back several feet through the wall behind him, shocking Franky and impressing the duo
“Ok, whatever you’re doing Val, I like, though I still don’t know what it is” Victor hums, turning to his partner
“Dial gloves, I had Usopp design them because the dials effects reminded me of a few tricks from home. Where do you think I’m getting all the names from?” the blond laughs
“Hey, think you can help me refill while he recovers, my cyborg body needs cola to be any good in a fight and as you’ve already pointed out…” he points to his flat and lifeless hair “... I’m kind of running on empty over here”
“Sure thing, in fact if I’m not mistaken, by assisted explosion appears to have blasted our purseboy into the kitchen, giving us a shortcut to get to it ourselves” Victor notes with a nod and a smile
“It has to be, if that’s not a fridge I don’t know what it could be… and given this place I don’t think I want to know Kyahahaha” Val adds with a chuckle as the 3 step through the hole f*ckuro made in the wall, though before they could do anything the opposite wall came crashing down as Chopper and Kumadori came through it mid brawl, the commotion causing f*ckuro to come to “Danzō’s shriveled ballsack!” the blond curses, seeing the zipper bastard stand up with nothing more than a scowl and some bruising
“Damn it, out of time, seems starting the fight with the Rumble Ball was a bad idea” Chopper grunts as he sits up in Heavy Point
“Yo Yoi! Time for mY Fin-Ish-eng BLOWWWW”
Kumadori moves to strike when Chopper blocks him using the fridge door, then closing it on the overacting Kabuki player before he had time to react
“Chopper!” the 3 straw hats and Franky turn as Vivi makes her way through the rubble, Kaya just sliding through with her Syrup form “I’m so glad to see you’re ok, means I don’t feel as guilty for worrying about the structural integrity of this building right now”
“She has a point, if everyone else’s brawls are as destructive as ours right now, this place is coming down by the end of it” Victor notes “We really need to end these things quickly before the entire tower comes down on our heads”
“Yeah, so we kind of need to get that fridge open again, otherwise I’m not exactly going to be much help around here” Franky argues “Gorilla guy, you’re over there, open the door and toss me 3 bottles of cola K?”
“Who are you calling a gorilla?”
“Then what the hell are you you hairy beast?”
“I’m a reindeer you big metal jerk!”
“Chopper, you can be mad at him later, priorities now please!” Valentina shouts, hoping to get this over with before…
“Are you idiots done with your little comedy routine? Taking a tea break during a fight is disrespectful and rude”
Secret Technique: Jugon "f*ckuro Dataki"
… that happened, f*ckuro blitzing the trio with a flurry of Rokushiki enhances punches
“Oh Rao, Chopper, just open the door and we’ll grab everything we can hold to give him” Vivi orders, the reindeer nods and quickly opens the door, the trio filling their arms then slamming it in Kumadori’s face once more
“Franky catch!” Kaya shouts, throwing 3 bottles at the cyborg after a failed counter attack on f*ckuro
“Thanks quickshot, time to GET FRESH!” he shouts, putting the bottles into his belly. Unfortunately, whatever he just put into himself, it wasn’t as good as cola.
fresh punch
Jugon
“That was vegtable juice you dumbasses, COLA, C-O-L-A, if it ain’t cola it ain’t good enough for me to be able to use my attacks!” Franky bellows angrily, missing Chopper by inches as he tosses back the bottles
“Oh, damn it, here try this” the reindeer throws another set, which instead of pumping him up, chill him down
“I think I’ll just sit a spell” Franky drawls, pulling a hoe from somewhere and pulling up a chair… until Valentina kicks the bottles out of him
“NEXT!”
“Found them, Cola for sure!” Vivi calls, throwing them 3 cola bottles
“Finally, thanks princess” Franky grins (Franky doesn’t know she is one, she just holds herself like someone with that kind of breeding… mostly because she is one)
‘I have literally know clue what the f*ck is going on, but there is no way I’m giving this dumbass what he wants
Rankyaku
Body blow
“You really need to stop doing that” Valentina whines, always hating Victor’s self destruct technique, even if his fruit meant he should be fine.
SUUUUUUUPPPPPEEERRRRRR POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Franky stands tall, hair back in it’s rock hard pompadour style, full power go “Thanks for the recharge girls and tanooki gorilla. Now, I believe we had a living purse that needed the beris kicked out of it ay guys?” the cyborg says grinning at the V’s who nod, an idea forming in their heads.
“Chapapa. You really think you can beat me just because you drank some cola, give me a break” f*ckuro scoffs, right until Franky gets in his face
Strong Hammer
The impact knocks the beachball off his feet and sends him flying through a good 3-4 walls, in fact to the point they could see daylight again now, to the shock and amazement of the straw hats there to see it.
“He was right about me previous hits being weak, nice to be firing on all cylinders again though” the cyborg laughs
“One down, and one key closer to Robin” Victor says, grinning widely
“Oh, I almost forgot, Zoro and Usopp got cuffed together, so we need to find the key that opens their cuffs as well as Robin’s” Vivi informs all but Chopper, Kaya facepalms while Val just laughs
“Chapa. You’ve really got me fired up now Chapapapapa!” f*ckuro growls as he pulls himself to his feet
“f*ck, won’t this bastard stay down. The last beachball died in one hit” Valentina whines
“To be fair, Kaos stabbed that one in the heart. At least that’s how Alvida explained it” Vivi reminds her, the bluenette sure she’d only been given the bare minimum of an explanation, as neither of her partners were the detail oriented type.
“You want a show of force handbag, well check out these guns!” Franky announces, pushing back his shirt so 2 cannons rise from his shoulder, then whimpers “Damn it, forgot I had to dislocate my shoulder to do this”
“Reckless idiot!” Chopper and Kaya shout
“Chapapa, moron, I’m trained in all 6 of the Rokushiki techniques, no bullet is faster than me” f*ckuro boasts
“That may be, but these aren’t ordinary missiles, they’re high powered tracking rounds” the cyborg retorts, impressing the others, until f*ckuro dodges the initial barrage and they realise Franky is the one doing the tracking, especially when he runs after the suit wearing zipperman
“We should probably follow him, I don’t like to leave a fight unfinished”
“Agreed Vic, let’s get that key. See you later girls, and Chopper” Val waves before following Victor through the hole in the walls, by which point f*ckuro had disappeared “So, we lost him?”
“Yep, sneaky bastard” Franky grunts, resetting his shoulders
“Foolish fools, searching for me is pointless. Not only am I a master of the high speed technique Soru, with it’s power, not only am I faster than lightning, I’m also completely silent, my targets unaware of my prescience until the moment I end their lives, just like an owl”
“Just like an owl huh?” Franky hums
“Precisely, this has allowed me to perform countless flawless assassinations, only beaten by 2 step Sui Feng the skeletal bitc...OW MY BALLS!” f*ckuro squeals as Valentina stands behind him and kicks him with the highest weight she can still comfortably move at.
“All that bragging was really stealthy, I can see why nobody sees you coming”
“Is it because they can hear him coming?” Victor asks with a chuckle
“co*cky brats, how dare you humiliate me…”
“That’s my job” Valentina tacks on under her breath
“...nobody makes fun of CP9 and LIVES!” f*ckuro bellows as he rolls backwards to the nearest wall.
Soru "Tekkai Dama"
f*ckuro plows into Franky, sending the 2 of them through the outer barrier and into the water, the 4 DF users in the group thanking their lucky stars… then beginning to worry about their new metal friend.
BanG
“Yo Yoi!”
“Damn it, nearly forgot about that one” Vivi groans “Come on Chopper, Kaya, we have a hairy beast to beat unconscious”
“Feel like taking pot shots at the world’s fattest and loudest owl?” Val asks, seeing f*ckuro burst out of the water, with Franky frantically paddling his way back towards them.
“Do you even need to ask?” he scoffs, sighing into the revolver before beginning to provide Franky with explosive cover fire
Breeze breath barrage
Weapons left
Kami-e: Slime
“Well, I’ve found my new, least favorite of these Roku-Shaggers moves” Val grumbles, as f*ckuro was able to physically contort/compress his body out of the way of Franky’s bullets. It lead to Franky having to go with an… unorthodox method of escape
1L cola: Coup-De-Boo
Franky shoots out of the water as if fired from a cannon, giving them hope he was going to make it to dry land, only for f*ckuro to drop kick him back down, luckily…
Strong Right: Rocket Fist
He shot his right arm out on it’s chain, latching onto the zipperman’s leg and pulling him down with him
“If I’m taking a dive, the least I can do is take you with me Ah hahahaha!” he laughs, as the true point of his plan was revealed just before they both fell into the abyss, the cyborg grabbing on tightly to one of f*ckuro’s legs, meaning the only way to survive to to save them both.
“You jerk, I can’t use Soru with one foot, while carrying someone else! You’ll make us fall!” f*ckuro whines
“Yeah I can see that, here’s the only offer I’m going to make, I’ll let go, only AFTER you get us back to dry land. We’ll fight there, or you can try fight me now and see how long your leg can keep you hovering”
Seeing Franky had him by the leg, and metaphorically by the balls, f*ckuro complied “Just so you know, this battle will end once we get to shore”
“Oh really?”
“I just remembered a technique which should beat you in one hit”
“That's convenient, so did we” the agent looks up to see Valentina and Victor waiting for them “Care to see which one is stronger?” she asks with a devious smirk
“I’ll take that bet” f*ckuro grins before with a little spin added to his Soru tosses Franky at the duo, who dodge
“Ok, so what was the plan you crazy chick?” Franky asks with a small amount of panic
“Combo move. Explosions, Firefists, and an overpowered air cannon, care to provide that last one?” Valentina asks
“I’m really confused”
“That makes 2 of us” Victor nods, even more so when Valentina removes her green, right glove “Don’t you need that?
“Not that breath dial, but if we want the best result Cola man here needs to go full power and I don’t want my flame dial to be snuffed out, so double barrel is the only option” the blond explains, exchanging it for a 2nd red glove
“A firework display, that’s your best shot? Pathetic” f*ckruo taunts as the 3 get into position
Cho Sokuten Tekkai Dama
“This better work”
“It will”
70mm Kokei 1.5 MAX Cola Power Coup de Vent
Backdraft blaze
Katon: Gōka Senpū
The attacks mixed and were carried by Franky’s cannon, powering through f*ckuro’s own attack and smashing the CP9 agent right into the Tower of Law, knocking him out and taking him out of the fight.
“Damn, we make a good team. Wish I’d had guys like you in the Family” Franky laughs, putting an arm around each of the V’s
Several floors up
“Where are Chopper and Vivi with that No.2 key?” Zoro groans as they continue to keep ahead of their zoan pursuers
“Zoro, I’m almost out, carry me?” Usopp whines, getting a punch to the head from the swordsman
“I’m only in this mess because of you, so keep your damn mouth shut unless it’s a plan on how to get out of this situation!” he growls, though they were able to lessen their pace when the 2 agents behind them started arguing amongst themselves again
“Wow, what a coincidence, we were just having this same argument back on the Merry” Usopp says loudly, catching the agent’s attention “Weren’t you one of the more curious ones on who was better a giraffe or a wolf Zoro?”
“Not real…” the swordsman was silenced Usopp’s hand over his mouth
“Exactly, so we’ll just sit back and let you determine the answer for us, and then the winner can take us both, seem fair” Usopp suggests
“You know this distraction won’t actually give us enough time to escape for more than a few minutes at most?” Zoro asks, pointing to the biggest hole in Usopp’s plan, that while they were arguing, they would snap out of it soon enough
“Well what’s your plan Mr Negative?” Usopp demands
“Simple: Rock, Paper, Scissors” Zoro replies, Usopp giving him a silent look of confusion “Loser cuts off their hand”
“Nope, no way, we’re not doing that!” the sniper adamantly refuses
Zoro sighs “Fine, just one more question: How much do you weigh?”
Shing
The 2 Zoans looks over in confusion as Zoro returns to meet them in battle, now with Usopp rigid by fear as he holds Shunsui, Wado and Kitetsu in Zoro’s mouth and free hand respectively
“Hold position Sogeking, I’m going to put these animals down, then we’re going to find the key that separates us, as well as whichever of them has Robin’s key” Zoro orders, eyes ablaze with determination
TBC
LW: 1 down, 5 to go I believe.
I’m fully aware the Kaos and Sui fight is currently more Luffy Vs Bluno than Vs Lucci, but it will hopefully get more interesting later, and whether it does or doesn’t I feel the need to point out that unlike Catman, Sui Feng is more of a glass cannon than a brawler, which is perfectly fine given she’s a assassin, a job which usually involves sneak attacks and getting the actual job done as quickly as possible.
Valentina, her previous fighting style was very situational, so she’ll be using the Dial Gloves and silently altering her weight either to increase melee damage, or passively assist herself in one way or another. Points to whoever figures out where her move names are coming from :D
Also the revelation of Goldenweek being Robin’s child isn’t originally mine, I’ve previously read it in one of FunahoMisaki’s fics, don’t remember which (sorry bud) though I have been planning to go with that from the very start. Robin was always going to be Artemis’ biological mother, it just wasn’t official until now. It also fits well with Robin’s flashback, thank you anime for having Olivia voiced by Adult Robin, up to and including denying her own child in the hope it would keep them safe from the WG.
Chapter 78: Straw Hats Vs CP9 (part 3)
Chapter Text
LW: Things are heating up, but the Straw Hats are still keeping themselves on top of everything
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs CP9 (part 3)
“Damn, that’s one fat bastard” Kaya notes now the smoke had cleared from between them and Kumadori
“Did he seriously eat all the food in that fridge while trying to get out?” Chopper thinks aloud “Geez, I thought Luffy had poor self control, this guy takes the cake”
“And probably ate it too” Vivi chuckles “But seriously, Luffy has reasonable self control over non-food based situations and actions, such as keeping certain actions contained within the captain’s quarters” she adds with a slight pinkening of her cheeks
“Do you think he’ll have noticed you 2 haven’t been paying him any attention in the near future?” the Ami girl teases, as it seemed the chubby staff wielder was currently in his own little world, as seemed to be a regular/frequent thing.
“One moment please” Kumadori says, getting the trio’s attention
Seimei Kikan: Shoka, Kyushu
“Ok, if we didn’t already know these guys were cheating, now they can metabolise fat in about 10 seconds… great” Kaya groans
“That’s so weird, but so cool, how do you do that?” Chopper yells, then asks with sparkling eyes, surprising the agent
“How Kay-And of you to ask. 1,000 years at sea, 1,000 years in the mountains, breathing in the wind and drinking the morning dew. I lived as a hermit to complete my training, and low and behold the secrets of Life Return revealed themselves to me. From your head, to your toes, every inch of a man’s body can be controlled by one with a strong enough will. Why, you can even command and control your internal organs, and even the strands of your hair from root to tip, with enough training and willpower”
“Using the mind to control the working of the body” Chopper summarises “I read about something similar once, only they called it Bio-feedback”
“So that must be how he ensnared Nami with his hair, literal mind over matter” Vivi theorises “His octopus hair is as much a weapon as his staff in that case”
“An Octo-Puss, how Ruuuude! I am a Shishi, a Noble Lion!”
“Does he think we care, Chopper?” Kaya asks, getting a shrug from the reindeer as he clearly didn’t
“Yo Yoi, you’ll care, about this hon”
Kami Shibari
‘Please work’ Vivi prays as she releases her wires and extends them towards Kumadori, just as the Kabuki actor lashes out with his hair
Barber’s net
While able to be used as easily as limbs, Kumadori’s hair was still about the same strength, even if it wasn’t there wasn’t much that could hold up to monofilament wires when pulled taut, the princess giving the Agent a buzzcut on the right side of his head
“My haaaair!” Kumadori shrieks, then scowls “To Hell with the mandate. Diz Draaagon must be SlayAn Today!!”
Shigan: Cue
Vivi rolls to avoid the strike, which puts a perfectly round hole in the ground where she’d been a moment ago ‘Ok, not my best plan’ she thinks, but he’s distracts
“Leave her alone you clown
Tekkai
Crunch
“Ow, ow ow ow” Chopper whimpers as he shakes his hand and tries get regular feeling to return to it
“Disappointing, now back to work”
Soru
Cue
Cue
The first strike caught the 2 off guard, allowing a strike to the abdomen, but the 2nd, which was aimed for her face failed to hit it’s target, only due to Kaya shoving her aside and taking the strike herself, her head exploding into yellow slime
‘Damn it, I can’t fight him like this, but I’ve already used my safe limit of Rumble balls, and don’t have nearly 6 hours to wait. Damn it!’ Chopper internally panics, considering taking another Rumble ball, as well as the impossible idea of taking 3, but that line of thought was interrupted, by Kumadori setting his staff on fire
Shishi Kebab
“Screw it, we’re not going to live through this if I don’t” Chopper decides, stuffing the pill into his mouth and crunching it, shivering at the boost it gave him “Here we go”
Horn Guard Point
The flaming staff was stopped, but because the guard was Chopper’s own fluff it immediately bounced away in pain and panic, as he was quite literally on fire. Putting himself out, Chopper moves to what he hopes would be the right one this time
Jumping Heavy Point
Another wrong transformation, which once more lead to him running headfirst into a flaming strike, this time a staff strike to the gut which throws him back into the wall
“Yo Yoi. Yo Yoi. Seems your guard dog is DeFeeted, there’s nobody else to proKek you”
‘Damn it, my transformations are out of whack, and he’s still gunning for Vivi. We don’t have time for this, he doesn’t even have a key. I need to stop him so we can help Zoro and Sogeking get free and fight. I just need Arm Point, and just hold it long enough for one attack, that’s all I need to save my friends’ Chopper thinks to himself as he tries to will himself to stand up again “I’m here to save my friend, and I’m not going to let anyone get in my way!”
“Spoke too soon, the beast is still breathing, I’ll have to fix that. Don’t move, actually…”
Shishi Kabab
“Bastard!” Vivi screams as he slams his flaming staff on her leg like a mallet, the man smirks at the audible crunch as well as the burn on her lower leg.
“Get away from her!” Chopper shouts as he charges at Kumadori, who uses his left side to shape his hair into crude hands before launching...
Shishi Shigan
Despite being made of hair, there was no difference between these and any other CP9 agent’s Shigan, each impact leaving something indistinguishable from a bullethole at first glance. When the onslaught finally ended, Chopper collapsed onto his back, possibly bleeding out
“A Lion’s fury NO’s no limit, he bends for no man or beast” Kumadori waxes poetically
“Damn it, with my forms randomized, I only have a 14% chance to get Arm Point. But, I can’t give up, Robin, Vivi, and the others are all counting on me. I refuse to give up” Chopper shouts the last part as he stands and charges again
Brain Point
Only to get batted aside by Kumadori, but he just kept trying
Walk Point
Jump Point
‘Damn it, at this point I think I’ve run through everything BUT Arm Point. I really hope it works this time, I’m running out of energy, and we’re all running out of time’ Chopper winces before preparing what could be his final strike
“YoYoi”
Arm Point
Shishi Shigan
Shing
“Wire you getting so upset?” Kumadori’s eye widens hearing the Dragon speak, Kaya doing her best to keep things stable, her hands bleeding as she used her wires to remove that avenue of attack, permanently
‘sh*t’
Tekkai: Go!
Kokutei Roseo Metel
‘Oh Kami that had better have worked, that was my strongest attack, we’ve literally got nothing else left’ Chopper thinks, as Kumadori sways, his chest covering in hoof print shaped indents, meanwhile the reindeer himself falls to his knees, then face, running on fumes at this point.
“A beautiful, cherry blossom, blizzard. Not yet, not yet” Kumadori slurs before going quiet
“Did I win?” Chopper asks, weakly, getting his answer when the agent stomped on his head
“You have awakened the wrath of Heaven! Feel the Lion’s Roar, YoYoYoYoi!” Kumadori screams before kicking Chopper at Vivi and Kaya, knocking the girls out the hole f*ckuro made earlier.
Rankyaku: Renge
‘This is it, we’re done for’ Chopper thinks as he hits the ground with a thud ‘Which means, this can’t make things any worse…’ he slips the Rumble Ball into his mouth ‘I’m sorry Doctorene, but this is the only way to protect the people I care about, I can’t do it as Chopper, but I can end this as something else… as a monster.’
Crunch
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRR!!
“Yo Yoi, nobody told me there was a Devil Fruit, which actually turned someone into the Devil” Kumadori says, over exaggerating as he often does, though the hairy beast Chopper currently was, was a rather intimidating sight “Regardless, whether you’re a Demon or the Devil himself, I swear I will send you down to the fiery pits of He….” Monster Point clearly didn’t care one bit, as it almost casually slaps the Kabuki man into the floor.
Nearby
“We beat that balloon owl bastard, and got a key” Franky cheers, following the others to where Vivi and Kaya were huddled, the medic looking rather worried, while the princess was simply in pain
“Broken femur, and a hole in your chest from that monk pole thing, you have no idea how lucky you are he didn’t puncture your lung when he hit you” Kaya explains, the V’s and Franky grimacing
“He seemed pretty determined to split my head open like a melon, so it was probably on purpose that the wound was painful and debilitating, but not inherently fatal, know what I mean” Vivi guesses, her head like the others turning sharply when they hear the loud roar, followed by the bang of someone clearly not knowing what he was f*cking with
“I, don’t think I want to know what that was, for the moment at least” Victor hums, getting nods from the others
“Hey, what number key were we looking for, for your friends who got cuffed together, cause f*ckuro had Key 4?” the cyborg asks, offering up the key as he did so
“Number 2, which means we’re running out of targets”
Franky nods “The only ones with unknown keys are Lucci and the secretary… Cauliflower or something”
“Which Nami and Alvida are currently fighting. Only good news is that Robin is most likely wearing the No. 1 cuffs, so as long as they win, someone on our crew will be free. Then Luffy will take out Mr. Kitten and we’ll be on the home stretch” Valentina cheers, then sits down beside the other girls to catch her breath… until she notices they’re missing someone “Where’s Chopper?”
“He was fighting Kumadori, I don’t know if he won, or is still fighting, all I know is the fact the sandal wearing bastard isn’t down hear killing us, means he didn’t lose” Kaya Vivi answers, then he eyes widen when Valentina runs up the wall in order to go check on the status of their doctor “Get back here you can’t go alone”
“The girl is right, I need to refill again anyway so I’ll go up after her. You ok keeping watch over the girls, ugh… Victor right?”
“Yes, to both” Victor nods as Franky uses the grapple feature of Strong Left in order to follow the blond kilo girl.
“Holy crap, what is that?” he shouts, seeing the massive creature holding a beaten unconscious Kumadori by his head, before yeeting him all the way to the main island of Ennis Lobby
“I don’t know how, but it’s Chopper, it has to be given the hat and the antlers” Valentina gasps
“You’re kidding right? That’s that deer, gorilla, tanuki thing?” Franky asks, unconvinced.
“I’m not joking, and I already said I don’t know how but it has to be Chopper. Kami, what I won’t do for some seastone chains right about now” she grouses, then both have to dodge as the creature smashes the ground in front of him before starting to climb the Tower like King Kong.
“What’s his problem, and what the hell are you smiling about?” Franky bellows
“ Kyahaha, sorry, just had this strange feeling someone got exactly what they deserved” she chuckles, unaware that at that moment Artemis had just kicked Spandam in the balls as hard as her should, bringing the man to his knees, though Lucci stepped in and stopped her before she could also kick him in the head “I’ll follow Chopper while you fill up? Or should I regroup with the others?”
“I’ll follow, Chopper? You make sure the others are ready to go when we have all the keys, K?”
???????
Crunch
“Ok, so you’re clearly more difficult to fight when pissed off, my bad” Kaos grumbles to himself, having taken 3 rapid fire Shigin to the shoulder and chest, causing him to slam right into one of the mirrors. Taking Hebi and letting it extend, he swings it at the wall behind him
Refraction: Shinso
Sui was expecting him to do this so was able to easily dodge it when the blade shot out of the floor, it was when it shot out of the walls twice she had a problem. The blade was quickly retracted as Kaos stands opposite her once more
“Quite good agility and flexibility, all without using your techniques, guess it was a little silly to use something you have room to avoid then” he muses then zips towards her
Shimmer
Tekkai: Chitin
‘Ah crap’ the researcher thinks as his attack is stopped by her now almost shimmering forearm, and allows for a kangaroo kick to the abdomen to be returned
“I think the time for games is over, given you’ve forced me to tap into my Devil Fruit’s abilities. Do you know what it is?” Sui asks, calming herself now she has the upper hand
“Zoan of some type, the last technique leads me to think some kind of insect, given that’s clearly the addition of exoskeleton like armour to your Iron Body defence technique” Kaos theories, as he comes up with a new plan, which began with putting his armoured hand on one of the mirrors
Sakanade
The mix of a rippled shimmer and whatever else it was doing had Sui wince as she had momentary double vision, or something close to it as what were visually infinite mirrors made the term pretty much redundant.
“Are you able to do anything that doesn’t give me a headache” she hisses, clenching her fists as he smirks and holds Hebi in his left hand
“Come over here and find out!” he laughs as both run at each other
Shigin
Shing
Sui’s eyes widen as her ‘direct’ hit missed entirely, and the young pirate was able to land a clean slash down her back
“How? Your fruit shouldn’t be able to allow you to dodge that hit, you should be dead!” she shouts,wincing as the slash begins to pulse in pain
“You adjusted at the last minute, ‘centuring’ yourself, as close as you thought. That put me just out of range of your attack, and in turn gave me the opening you hit you from behind”
The agent grits her teeth, how did do that? It was then she looked at the reflection, seeing the Khopesh like weapon being spun in his left hand, and it all clicked “You’re messing with my head, my sense of right and left most of all” she guesses, getting a momentary frown before Kaos chuckles and shrugs
“Pretty much, I was kind of hoping you’d take longer, I was going to really mess with your head by flip flopping when it was most unhelpful for you, usually just before an attack, or not at all. Anything to comment?”
“Not really, the concept would definitely be a bit of a trip, having to do the opposite of what your brain is telling you, and even then only some of the time, but you forget something, this technique most likely only works on Human Eyes” at that point she turns on her heel and smirks, a shiver going down his spine “Unlike Lucci I rarely use my fruit, your reward for this Fun House is to be killed by my hybrid form”
The humming that seemed to be a constant low presence around Sui Feng grew louder, as large wings erupted from her back, beating rapidly and allowing her to rise as her body thinned and limbs lengthened. Her face narrowed slightly but more importantly her jaw shifted, her mouth now a set of mandibles with pincer like appendages on the sides. Finally there were the 2 extra limbs now sprouting from her abdomen, though they lacked the hands or feet of the others, so were more like spikes or spears than anything else
“So, any thoughts on the Hachi Hachi no mi?” Sui hummed [Wasp Wasp fruit]
“2. That compound eyes are just as nauseating up close as imagined” Kaos grimaces, as much like the animal itself the woman’s black eyes were now a blurred amalgamation of potentially thousands of tiny lenses “And…. what the f*ck is the ass knife (Damn it Alteori!) on your hand?” he asks more frantically, as instead of having a thorax with a stinger on the end, at least in her Hybrid form Sui had a blade like stinger in place of her right middle finger, adding at least her palm, if not a palm and finger to the length of that digit.
Sui gives an approximation of a grin and lands allowing him to see her wings formed a Hōmonka, which would probably amuse him later “Life Return, it allows me to manipulate the wavelength of my Devil Fruit, in this case giving me a weapon somewhere I can much more easily use. If you want to see it in action though… survive this!” she jumps, using her wings to hover before firing attacks with all 6 available limbs
Rankyaku: Mure
Kaos decides, wisely to stay as far away from the attacks, Shimmer-ing out of the way and into another area, the Wasp woman cursing as she’d forgotten the term Fun House was actually more accurate than she’d want to admit, the arena being more a mirror maze than a single mirrored arena. Using her wings rather than Rokushiki she began searching the area, finding no other living things though she did find several random weapons and armour, including one that caught her eye, a large, blood red weapon resembling a shotgun
“A Fate’s Ember? How did a pirate get his hands on a restricted…” she didn’t get to finish her question/thought, as she was blindsided with an elbow to the jaw, then watched as the gun was kicked into a mirror and sent through with nothing but a few ripples
“Not for you” Kaos scolds her like a child “Also, for the record, Ennis Lobby had 3, though only one had the payload you were expecting”
“That one?” Sui asks with a deadpan expression
“Yep. Now, how do you feel about one more go each, see what happens and all that?” he asks, grinning widely until her features were lost under his fully covered Reflect Armour.
“You really think you can stand up to me, with that?” Sui asks, unsure if she should be amused or offended. She then noticed that while he did appear featureless with the armour there were ‘shadows’ which told her where his eye was, or that he was still smiling. She also said eye because unlike the smooth surface of the rest of his body, there was a broken section where the right eye should be, with 4 cracks radiating out in a spiral from it (1)
“I can try, worst case scenario you kill me, and even then, I’m sure the others will stop you, only one way to find out”
Sui Feng growls “You’re way too eager to die brat!” she shouts, aiming for what she sees as a weak point
Soru
Shigin: Suzumebachi (2)
She hits the target, then is stopped dead, her arm unable to move from his left hand’s grip on her wrist, shocking her.
The face cracks into a rictus grin “Nice try, I’ll give you that much, but you can’t break what’s already broken” there’s an odd hiss to his tone, from somewhere the assassin couldn’t quite place
Hōrudingu Āmuzu
Hōrudingu Reggusu
Clutch
The Wasp girl holds in a scream as her limbs are pinned, claws dig into them like knives. The grin widens as he moves his free hand to her stomach “Now I’ve never done this before and only seen it performed a handful of times, the last 3 being you stabbing me, so hopefully this works out” he notices what little colour drain from her face as she feels his knuckles against her skin
Tekkai: Chitin
Shigin: Handokyanon
Somewhere in the Tower of Law
Sui barely manages a groan as she hits the floor, her mind a little busy panicking over the fist sized hole in the guts, practically dead to the outside world until a shadow crossed over her head, focusing on that a small part of her smirked seeing the bloody tears, she had hurt him, even if he did a lot more damage to her that last round.
I…. really overdid that last one, sorry. Hope you survive, fighting you out in the open might have been fun” he chuckles morbidly “Now, if you excuse me, I have someone very important to me, to save” he turns and zips away, Sui unsure if that was his Shimmer, or a mimicry of their Soru, either way he was gone.
Back in her human form Sui winces as she tries to assess the damage, her eyes snapping open when she groggily places her hand on her stomach and finds it clear of blood, oh fu…
“The kid did a real number on you” a voice purrs, much to amused at seeing his lover at death’s door “Now you see why the Boss is so interested” removing the shades so his red eyes were visible he kneels beside her, collecting the blood in his hands
“He has the Hebi” Sui wheezes, hoping he was doing what she thought it was, though also dreading it as the pain was supposed to be unimaginable, especially given how severe her injury is.
“I know, Zelena-chan was happy to tell us, after she gave it to him” the man hums before using the blood to cut into his own hand, the free bleeding wounds forming a simple pentagram, before mixing with the already collected blood into a frisbee sized mass of swirling/spiraling liquid “Now hold still, this is going to hurt a lot. Also if anyone asks, you’ve been invited into or were attacked by an Uzumaki” she wishes he would take things seriously, but it was probably better he didn’t, at it helps her think she’ll actually survive this
Ryūketsu no saisei
AHH!
Underground
“You little brat, I’m going to make you watch as we rip your mother apart, digits, then limbs, then disemboweling her” Spandam threatens, though the higher pitch and slight treble took away some of the intimidation factor, hence why the girl was unimpressed. Not helped by
“ROBIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Lucci gives a feral smirk as Luffy’s voice carries to the assembled group, hope blazing in Robin’s heart, while Artemis grins, only partly due to Spandam’s scared sh*tless expression.
“You should probably escort the prisoners alone, I’ll deal with Straw Hat” Lucci almost purrs as he shoos the 3 along, he had more important things to worry about after all.
“Oh, of course, get over here Nico Robin” he pulls out Funkfreed and holds it to her throat “I only need one of you alive, so don’t try anything kid and follow us to the Bridge, now!” he orders, Artemis nodding with a shiver of fear.
With Zoro & Usopp
“These morons are at least amusing, I’ll give them that” Kaku admits, while Jabra snigg*rs
“Time for your debut” Zoro hums around Wado, meanwhile Usopp was shaking and pleading for the swordsman to find another way, anything that didn’t involve him fighting as well
Oni Giri
Tiger Trap
Both attacks were off target due to Usopp’s shaking, but he was the one to pay the price for it as both Kaku and Jabra’s counters hit him square in the face
“I told you not to move didn’t I!” Zoro shouts as Usopp
“If it’s so easy you do it, all that’s happened so far is that wolf guy’s broken my nose” the sniper counters angrily
“Are they, mocking us?” Jabra asks, getting a shrug from Kaku
“Either that, or they really are that stupid, hard to tell really”
Zoro sighs “Guess we’re back to plan A: Rock,Paper,Scissors. Better to lose a hand, than your life”
“Oh come on, can’t you think of a safer option, one that doesn’t involve mutilation”
“No” Zoro replies almost immediately
“You didn’t even try!” Usopp cries/screams
Nami & Alvida
“Well, this is a clusterf*ck amongst other things” Alvida hums, as Califa smirks from the bath, and Nami lies prone on the ground
“You can say that again” Nami grunts as she twitches, trying to get back up while the Agent watches “Though the co*cky bitch seems to have been uniformed of her weaknesses, given she decided to take a bath during a battle, water drains you of energy, and neutralises conscious control of your powers”
Califa chuckles “Oh please, like I’d be dumb enough to let my guard down, I can beat you even with those handicaps, but I guess you’re both dumb enough to fight me at full strenght. A moment please” she says standing up, Alvida giving a half hearted wolf whistle, as she’ll admit the girl has a nice ass even if she’d seen better up top, then moves behind a screen she pulls down for false modesty.
“Little help here, really have no idea what she did to me, though it was probably lucky you dodged” Nami groans, Alvida trying to help only for the red head to slip through her fingers “Crap”
“It’s not me this time”
“I know. Whatever her power is, it at the very least means she can replicate your slipperiness and have it affect other people” Nami sighs “We NEED to find a way to counter Devil Fruits soon. Don’t say Seastone I know that stuff does that but it’s also not something we can simply acquire. Oh thank berri I’m getting feeling back in my arms and legs” she then with a little help heaves herself to her feet “You think I’m weak, taste the Perfect Climatact you slu*tty bitch!”
Thunder Charge: Swing Arm
Nami charges forward, the end of her Climatact burning through the screen but missing Califa who was now properly dressed again
“Maybe she’s a ninja, she’s wearing enough mesh” Alvida teases, noticing the woman twitch
“Impressive weapon, it do any more tricks?” Califa asks, trying to avoid acknowledging the pervert, then blinks when she notices something that shouldn’t be there “Are those…”
“Clouds, yep” Alvida chirps, standing a safe distance away as this wasn’t her part
“You really were stupid to underestimate me, I’m not the bulkiest on the crew, far from it, so I have to pull my weight in other ways, I forecast Thunder!”
Thunderbolt Tempo
The resulting explosion and smoke at least told them Nami had managed to land a direct hit, even if Califa’s devil fruit most likely mitigated some of the damage, that much she could tell when the navigator saw what was a bar of soap with CP9 etched into it. Key word being was, as just before it started to fade away
Slip and Slide SMASH
Alvida gave her contribution to the battle, slamming her mace hard enough into the soap bar it cracked and crumbled, throwing Califa into the wall with the force just shy of one of Luffy’s Pistol shots.
“Did she, are we fighting a soap girl?” Nami asks, hoping she was wrong but knowing she wasn’t “Who the f*ck thought that was a good idea?”
“I kind of feel bad for her getting the, Awa Awa no mi?, I think. We can ask Kaos later. I’m still going to kick her ass, just not tell anyone about it after” Alvida replies, though is also holding back laughter
“Don’t think you can talk down to me like that you skan*!” Califa shouts as she gets back up “But you’re both correct, I’m a soap human thanks to the Awa Awa no mi, so my entire body produces a lather, isn’t that something ay?”
“Ok, I’ll admit that’s kind of hot, also we need a secretary like th…. f*ck I’m thinking and talking like some old pervert, or Sanji”
“We already have a Vivi, don’t need an, admittedly fine assed, imitation. Oh do you think Vivi would eat the Awa Awa no mi if I offered it to her?” the smooth woman asks Nami, completely ignoring its current owner
“No, Vivi strikes me as the type of person you’d need to force feed one, plus I know they supposedly all taste bad, but do you really want her to eat soap?” Nami asks in response
“You have a point. Back to asskicking then! Lucky we have someone with a fruit completely useless in combat then”
“On the contrary, the bubbles I produce obey my every command, and I have quite a vivid imagination” Califa states, causing Nami’s eyebrows to rise
“So do I, but you don’t see me bringing up my bedroom habits during a fight… well except now” Alvida replies, then sidesteps the torrent of bubbles that leaped out of the bath
“So… she wasn’t taking a bath, she was producing bubbles?” Nami gasps
Bubble Master: Soap Sheep
“And now I don’t care” Alvida admits, as Califa now looks all kinds of stupid “Do your bubbles make people sleepy or if it like Chopper’s Guard Point, actually that’s the Soap Tombstone you made earlier?”
“Talk all you want, this will be a short fight”
Sheep Cloud: Relaxing Bubbles
“Didn’t you wonder why you fell to the ground the moment you came in?” Califa asks with a smirk
“Your bubbles drain the energy out of people!” Nami gasps, panicking inside
“Correct, but I’m afraid you’re far too late to do anything about it” she chuckles, until something gets in the way…
“Oh thank God I was right!” Alvida cheers, standing in a pile of bubbles which were still dripping off her chest and arms, though other than being a little annoyed she appeared perfectly fine
“You, saved me. And you’re not being drained” Nami gasped
“No, impossible, my bubbles drain the energy of anyone but myself that they touch, how can you stand tall when both your friends fell from far less?” Califa demands an answer, to which the mace wielder smirks
“It’s simple really, your bubbles slid right off me. You’re not the only person who’s squeaky clean thanks to their devil fruit. I’m happy to inform you, late as it may be, that the Sube Sube no mi, my fruit, does exactly that”
“Wow, you’re Califa’s perfect counter” Nami laughs, though still technically hiding behind Alvida given the woman was willing being her human shield.
“No, I am the world’s most deadly assassin, I won’t be beaten by some 2 bit pirates!” Califa shouts, charging at the 2 with Soru
Meanwhile, West Blue
Achoooo!
“Are you ok sensei? There weren’t complications to the transfer this time right?”
“Kukuku, no need to worry Kabuto, probably just nee-san talking about me. You saw the wanted poster, she’s doing well for herself”
“§True, but she would do better if she actually used her training§”
“§Now Anko-chan, we agreed not to judge people in this family, even if they make really stupid decisions. Not my best rule, but we inforce it when we can§”
“Sorry”
“Forget about it, now do you have the target?”
“I have Tora, the kids who are assigned to catch it are currently… anywhere but here” the woman sighs, repressing the urge to slam her head into the wall she was leaning against “Why are we even doing this?”
“The explosion, you caused, that destroyed my lab and the rest of the building, by not listening to my warnings. This is our community service, as well as remedial lessons, given you can’t detect 3 brats 2 streets over”
Back to your regularly scheduled pirate anime
Thunder Ball
“That weapon is interesting, but it won’t save you” Califa purrs in Nami’s ear, having zipped around them before they could do anything. She then proceeded to molest the 18 year old redhead.
Golden Bubble
“Get away from me you weirdo, I don’t swing that whaow” Nami squeaks as she swings her climatact, only to fall on her rear when her legs are no longer able to support her weight
“Pretty sure that counts as sexual harassment” Alvida deadpans, before moving to hold Nami up while they figure out how to unbubble her legs
“It’s also f*cking creepy” Nami complains, trying her hardest to keep her legs from moving until she’s able to put enough weight on them to stand unassisted
“You’re just jealous, so sad you’ll never possess even a fraction of my beauty”
“Speak for yourself, Nami’s barely legal, she has plenty of time to bloom into at least an 8 if not a 9 ½. Don’t say sh*t like that just because you’re past your prime” Alvida argues, to which Califa grits her teeth
“Thanks” Nami says with a smile, before she realises something and starts yelling “She was talking about both of us you moron!”
Alvida chuckles “True, but why should I care about blatant lies from some senile old crone? Much like her my fruit makes my body the best it can be. You’ve got a cute tush and that chest is filling out nicely, but you’ve still got plenty of time to grow” she giggles as the navigator blushes
Luffy
‘Finally, that tunnel was going on forever’ Luffy thinks as he slams through the door into what looks to be some kind of storeroom “Hey, it’s you, Pigeon bastard!” he yells, while Lucci just smirks
“I’m not too proud that I won’t admit when I’m wrong, I didn’t think you could make it, I’m actually almost impressed” Lucci says as he stands
Slightly further ahead, part way up a flight of stairs
“This is a day of one mess after another, KEEP MOVING!” Spandam bellows jabbing at Robin and Artemis before pulling a Den Den from his jacket “CP9 this is Chief Spandam calling, one of those Straw Hats is practically on my ass, what are you morons doing over there? Hello, don’t ignore me! I am the chief, and you will answer when I call”
Robin peers behind her and the colour drains from her face, worrying Artemis “Mom?” she whispers
“You didn’t, please tell me you aren’t THAT stupid” she asks, right now not caring if he slaps her again “You didn’t activate the Golden DenDen Mushi!”
Spandam blinks, then looks down “WHAT!!! No, this is…”
“The trigger for the Buster Call” Artemis finishes, understanding why Robin looked barely able to stand “ You just told them to level Ennis Lobby” she adds, almost amused, except for the part where they’re all still ON Ennis Lobby
“I knew you were a weakling, but this braindead, nepotism is alive and well in the upper echelons of government” Robin grumbles bitterly, only spared a beating because Spandam kind of had more important things to worry about than disciplining his future se…… not important.
“Yes Chief Spandam?” a voice came from the regular Den Den
“There you are, this was the line I was trying to get earlier. Not that it matters now, not now I’ve pushed the button. Not now I’ve TRIGGERED THE BUSTER CALL!!” Spandam relays, the information being broadcast through every Den Den speaker on the island
“You have to cancel it right away!” Robin’s voice screams over the connection, some of the straw hats perking up as they hear her, as it means she’s still ok, and they still have a chance
“Cancel it? Don’t tell me what to do” a slap was heard before things continued “What’s the problem with a Buster Call anyway?” he asks like a moron “To ensure your transfer goes smoothly, I requested a Buster Call, it may seem a little Overkill but it’s well within my power as dictated by Admiral Aokiji. It’s a small price to pay for ensuring those pirates are eliminated”
“Along with everyone else on the island when they get here” Robin adds with a tone cold as ice “This will be an attack without mercy, they won’t stop until the entire island has been razed to the ground. If this island had trees they wouldn’t even be standing when they’re done. Just look at Ohara! It isn’t even able to be labeled as an inhabitable island on a map anymore! They don’t stop until nothing is left, that’s the power you’re messing with, like a toddler playing with artillery shells”
“The government is well aware of the sacrifices involved, that’s why this mission is so important” spandam retorts, dismissing most of her arguments “Since Cutty Flam has already burned Pluton’s blueprints, we can’t afford to make any more mistakes today. You 2 are the last hope we have of reviving the Ancient Weapons, and ensuring world wide Peace and Justice. We’re talking about artefacts capable of essentially altering the world as we know it, if a few thousand soldiers have to die, it’s a necessary sacrifice, to ensure you don’t get out of our grasp again. I know the consequences, I just don’t care” Spandam reveals, shaking Robin to her core (Yeah, he definitely needed a Joker to voice him. Bastard!) “Don’t think of it as murder, think of it as a sacrifice for the future. Speaking of which, my promotion, and reward depend on you making it to Government Headquarters in one piece, haha.”
“Reconsider please, human lives are at stake!” Robin pleads
“Allow me to remind you, CP9 can freely and legally kill in the name of justice, though I usually have brutes like Lucci and Sui Feng do the actual killing for me, keeps the bloodthirsty beasts happy and off my back. In short, if we think 100 deaths are needed in order to save 1000 lives, then we shall kill those hundred immediately, without question. For True Justice you must be merciless at times. Besides, if those worthless grunts can’t even keep a puny crew of pirates as weak as your so called family from invading a Government Base as important as Ennis Lobby, they might as well already be dead Hahahaha!”
Robin’s eyes widen as she looks as the Den Den being jostled around by Spandam’s flailing “I think the line is still active” she states
“It’s staring at me. Papa says they can only blink when not connected to another snail” Artemis adds with a nod, causing Spandam to check his Den Den… and it was still broadcasting
“FUUUUUU….” click
The transmission goes dead, and everyone in Ennis Lobby begins to PANIC!!!!!!!
TBC
This is probably the best place to end it this time, 2 more agents are down, the Buster Call had been… well called, and Luffy is about to duke it out with Lucci. Good times on the way. See you in a fortnight everyone, bye!
(1) I don’t know how many of my readers have seen/read BLEACH, but this is similar to, or more so inspired by Barragan and Tesra, more so the former but they’re both good examples of what I’m referring to. Both characters have damage to their mask/skull in their hollow form, which translates to a scar across Barragan’s eye, and possibly complete loss of Tesra’s or at least enough damage he felt the need for an eyepatch. Point is, severe enough damage translates across forms and stays there, in this case the spiral scar, is because of a spiraling crack/groove in his Armoured form.
(2) This is a mix of a reference to the character she’s based on, her devil fruit (wasp and hornet are called the same thing in japanese) and the theme of CP9 all being animal related, like f*ckuro’s Owl, Kumadori’s Lion and the others are fairly obvious. Sui’s is a wasp/hornet, a Suzumibachi.
Chapter 79: Straw Hats Vs CP9 (part 4)
Chapter Text
LW: Sorry for the late chapter, my internet was kind of crappy this morning. Luckily it seems to be working at the moment so it’s still the right day even if it’s evening rather than morning for me. Please enjoy.
Rubber King & Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs CP9 (part 4)
Nami and Alvida
“It appears we’ve reached the climax. I better finish you both off quickly or I may die along with the rest of these idiots” Califa sighs as she puts away her Den Den
“You know that Golden shower technique won’t work on me, nor will you be able to get to Nami with me here, unless you want me to perform dentistry with a mace” Alvida threatens
“Golden bubble you East Blue hick!” Califa shouts
“Don’t care either way I don’t want your hands bad-touching me anytime in the near future” Nami snaps, pointing the Climatact directly at the Bubble woman
Cool charge
“Your tricks are useless against me you little weakling” Califa scoffs before shooting a Rankyaku at the duo, though is shocked when they fade like mist after the attack cleaves through them “What!”
“Like it, I call it the Mirage Tempo. Don’t worry, you’re not the first bimbo to fall for it. Behind you by the way” Nami teases, Califa turning on her heel and jabbing her finger through the girl’s head, which turned out to be another mirage when it faded as well.
“Damn, you really do need those glasses don’t you Cali?” Alvida coos, fading away as the agent’s spin kick passes through her.
“Illusions. Where are you?” Califa growls
“Over here dumbo” Nami taunts, just before the wall is smashed in ‘what the f*ck?’
ROOOOOOAAAAAAAR
“So I was wrong, you do have a Devil Fruit. Well I’ve fought enough zoan to know how to deal with you” Califa says, the 2 straw hats look to each other in confusion, before silently snigg*ring, thinking ‘what a dumbass’
“Wait a minute, that… that can’t be Chopper, can it?” Alvida asks the navigator, who hums, before noticing the antlers and the distinct hat…
“Holy sh*t how did Chopper turn into something like this?” Nami squeaks as Califa dodges a slam from the beast’s hand
Gepo
Rankyaku
“Hey, leave Chopper alone you bitch!” Alvida shouts, drawing the agent’s attention back to them
“That is you isn’t it Chopper? How did… well this happen, was it you or one of the CP9 goons?” Nami calls up to him, but Alvida has to slide the 2 of them out of the way as it roars and palm strikes the ground where they were a moment prior
“Ok, so whatever happened, he’s a feral manbeast. I think the safest option is to avoid getting squished and hope this form has a time limit like his Rumble Balls” the smooth woman suggests, good call after Chopper rips the bath off the floor and tosses it through the wall. Luckily for all of them after maybe another minute of so of roaring and flailing, the beast seemed to finally run out of energy and slump over with a loud thump.
“Oh Chopper, what did they do to you?” Nami sighs, before shouting “Alvida my legs are back to normal. They’re wet… I’m such an idiot when Chopper ripped up the bath he soaked me, washing the soap off. Thanks buddy!” she grins then turns to Califa, knuckles white with how hard she was gripping the climatact
“So you managed to counter my Golden Bubbles, big whoop, you still don’t have the power to beat someone like me” Califa states, covering her ass
“We’ll see about that” Nami smirks
Cool Charge
Mirage Tempo
“Damn it, they’ve disappeared again” Califa groases, then her eyes widen as something flickers into existence
“You think you’re so tough, but we’ve seen all you can do, while we’re just getting started” the voice came from several distorted versions of Nami, all but one looking like they fell out of the funhouse mirror
“Not the most flattering I’ve ever felt” came a complaint from ‘loli-Alvida’, standing beside what was best described as ‘pre-Devil fruit Alvida’ “But if it means kicking this thick bitch’s ass then I’ll live”
“What, what is this?”
Mirage Tempo: Fata Morgana
Califa scowls “This isn’t some duplication technique, only one of your images is the real you?” the soap woman asks
“Correct, the rest are just illusions created by the chilled air, problem is finding the real one among the fakes” Nami replies, her voice coming from somewhere among the mirages, as they all charge Thunderball, while the Alvidas ready their maces “The problem for you is that while only 20% of these attacks are real, there’s no way for you to tell which of them those are” the 5 Nami’s begin firing, Califa tries to avoid the attacks, but a mix of losing track of which Nami the balls came from and not knowing which one was real in the first place meant it was just a matter of time before she was hit and lightly fried “Nice to see how strong the upgraded Climatact is against a person” Nami chuckles, before forming a black cloud with her climatact
“Don’t get co*cky, I still have the Rokushiki” Califa growls before disappearing in a burst of Soru, kicking through both the normal and beefy Nami as well as taking out loli and stretched Alvida with a Rankyaku, only for her next kick to be blocked by old Alvida’s mace, pushing her back and into Nami’s attack range
“For today’s forcast, although we have a stable pressure system you should be on the lookout for small storm clouds (Hi Zeus, what are you doing in Paradise?) and violent winds. We also see a 100% chance of a large bolt of lightning piercing your chest” Nami says as she turns to face Califa, creating more mirage doubles to confuse her “You can expect paralysis of the heart to follow shortly after”
Dark Cloud Tempo
“This again, I’ve already shown you I have ways to render your lightning ineffective against me” Claifa scoffs “what makes you think it will be any different this time?”
“Your soap shell is good for blocking, but it locks you in place, plus we’ve already determined Alvida can very easily smash through it” Nami reminds her, smirking
“You underestimate me greatly, you think either of you can actually break through my soap shell, not just speed up it’s disintegration?” Califa asks arrogantly “I’ll deal with the other one later, first I’ll make sure you can’t even make static cling never mind a lightning bolt”
Soap Sheep
“I don’t need to be able to see you, when I can just cover everything in a wave of bubbles”
Sheep Cloud: Tidal Wave
“The real you will be on the ground drained of energy, simple as” Califa laughs, then gasps
Cyclone Tempo
‘No, she’s blowing away my bubbles’ Califa grimaces as a couple Nami’s make it through the gap in the bubbles before she lets it fall rather then remain a wave, the Alvidas remaining as she knew the bubbles had no effect on her “And then there were one, it wasn’t how I planned to determine that, but it worked” she hums, as Nami’s form returned to it’s normal proportions, showing she was no longer using Mirage Tempo.
Shigin
“f*ck” Nami curses, falling over after getting a jab to the shoulder “lose sight for a second and that’s when they get yah”
“Good, not an illusion this time” Califa grins
“What was your first clue?” Alvida snarks, but Califa Sorus out of the way of her swing “You good Nami?”
“I’ve been better, but Doublefinger did more damage to me than bubble bitch. Besides, she’s right where I want her, so thanks for the last minute adjustment” she winks confusing the agent “My crewmates have long since learnt something you’re about to, though much more painfully than they did: never disregard my forecasts. Especially not when the bolt of lightning connects the Perfect Climatact to the Thunder Cloud, with you caught in the middle” Califa’s eyes widen and all she could think was ‘f*ck me, not again’ before…
Thunder Lance Tempo
Just as she predicted the Soap woman was dropped by one of Nami’s lightning bolts, smoke wafting from her body and out of her mouth.
“You might be a LOT tankier than me, but I can predict the weather, so don’t f*ck with me” Nami smirks, helped up by Alvida before asking the important question “So, where do you think he key is?”
“On her body, somewhere” the smooth woman shrugs “Search her for pockets and work from there?” she suggests, getting a nod from the navigator.
A few minutes later
“Damn it, should have had the blond do this, walk climbing seemed to be something she could do easy as breathing. Now where the f*ck is that deer-gorilla” Franky grumbles to himself before seeing the 2 straw hats, and they noticed him
“Franky?” Nami thinks aloud
“What are you doing here, and more importantly, why did you climb the tower to do so?” Alvida adds
“I was following the deer-gorilla, you 2 didn’t happen to see him recently, did you?” the cyborg asks
“Deer-gorilla? Think he means Chopper?”
“Most likely”
“I’ll worry about remembering his name when he’s NOT rampaging through the Tower”
“About that, do you know how he ended up like that?”
Franky shrugs “Nope, was busy with the owl zipper guy. I’m guessing that’s not something he could normally do then”
“No, meaning something bad must have happened during his fight, to trigger whatever that was” Nami guesses
“Well, if there’s no way to capture, contain or calm him, he might just have to kill him” Franky suggests, getting a fist to the head, and a mace to the junk from Chopper’s crew mates
“Never say that again” they growl
“Message received” Franky wheezes painfully, but nods “It’ll be a pain in the as though, any idea how this could have happened”
“Probably related to his Devil fruit” Nami guesses
“Or his Rumble Balls” Alvida adds “They are his main weapon so to speak”
It was then Franky noticed the unconscious and barely covered Califa “Damn, nice to see you two held your own, though that does look rather kinky down there”
Alvida scoffs “Please I’m a happily married woman, this harlot has a nice ass but none of the personality or stamina of Vivi or Luffy”
“Really didn’t want to know that. Anyway we found key no.2 in her fishnets, so now we can free Zoro from Usopp” Nami grins, waving the key in their direction
Over with Zoro and Ussop
“Hurry up, we need to deal with these pirates before the Buster Call hits” Kaku orders
“Shut up, I don’t need you explaining sh*t I already know” Jabra scowls, both still chasing the cuffed duo.
“Taste the wrath of the mighty ‘NoseStorm’ ” Zoro shouts, naming his combination attack with Usopp, mostly because it felt weird to use a technically nameless ‘sword’ in combat after so long.
Rankyaku
Shigen
Through a mix of Zoro’s skill and Ussop’s flailing both agent’s attacks were redirected back at them, the 1st time. 2nd time Zoro had to dodge, barely missing and the attacks tore through some of the rocks in the garden area.
“Can we please do something else, I really don’t want to be dismembered” Usopp whines
“No, besides, look over there. They fear the power of NoseStorm, that is why they seem to refuse to attack” Zoro declares, Usopp noting he appeared right and felt his confidence soar
“Zoro, your blade has been forged and hardened, it is ready for battle. Strike without hesitation as it will never falter” Usopp says, putting on his Sogeking voice
“Damn, that swordsman is ruthless” Kaku winces “Using his own crewmate as a weapon”
“Nah he’s just pragmatic, mixed with a little bit of desperate” Jabra argues, “If we were stuck together I’d probably use that long neck of yours like a lance, so I at least understand why he’d use the guy handcuffed to him as a way to hold his sword” the wolf man explains
“We’ll talk about that the other side of never ok?” Kaku hums, getting a nod from the wolf before…
Secret attack: Nosestorm. Allure
“Is he asking us to come over and kill him?” Kaku asks as Zoro seems to just be waving Usopp around in their general direction
“Don’t mind if I do” Jabra cackles then charges in, Kaku not far behind when Zoro reveals his feint, luring them in so he could counter with the sword in his other hand, launching a phoenix which the 2 barely dodge
“I can’t believe I fell for such a stupid trick” Jabra grunts
“Damn it, guess it’s time for plan B” Zoro mutters, ignoring Usopp’s complaints as he raises both ‘swords’ into upright positions
Makie: Hana Arashi Sanjuroku Pound Ho
With Luffy
“I don’t know if I should be impressed or insulted he could stand up to even my basic level of combat” Lucci growls lowly as he pushes aside some of the wreckage Luffy and him had created from the many crates in the storeroom.
“Get out of my way pigeon bastard. Robin is just beyond that door, I’m not giving up this close to the finish” Luffy shouts, swaying with a slight bounce in his legs
“You just don’t get it kid. You’re not leaving this room, never mind rescuing Robin and Project Mystic!”
Luffy's response besides his scowl was to do some stretches, which did slightly amuse Lucci as much as confuse him, unsure if it meant the rubber boy was taking him seriously or not. Him jumping forward then throwing Lucci over his shoulder was the answer, yes he was. The leopard man was sent crashing through one of the unbroken crates so he could rush through the door. Lucci in answer, dusts himself off and kicks Luffy away from the exit, he wasn’t letting the kid just run away from him, especially not that easily. The box thrown at him didn’t phase Lucci, though his eyes did widen when Lucci unleashed a Gum Gum Gatling through it, though his level of Kami-e was high enough he was able to dodge around all the blows, the retaliate with a punch Luffy blocks with his leg. The resulting, proper melee was a lot closer than Lucci had expected, though the agent was still landing blows while Luffy wasn’t, most recent of which being a kick which slammed him into the ceiling.
“You don’t give up do you?” he mutters rhetorically, bending out of the way as Luffy rockets past him, blocking the punch that follows with one of his own, though was blindsided by the first thing to draw blood from him… Luffy biting him. Lucci backhand the rubber boy before wiping it away, now more interested in what this kid had up his sleeves, before once again bitchslapping Luffy away from the door to Robin and Artemis.
Back to Zoro and Ussop - A little later
“This isn’t working, seems they’re done toying with us with the Buster Call fast approaching” Zoro hums as he once more dodges both zoan’s Shigin
“Where is Chopper with that key? We need you to save us!” Usopp shouts, just before his prayers are answered via broken wall
Roooooooooooaaaarrrrggggg.
“Ahhhhhhhh another monster!” Ussop shrieks as Zoro dodges the creature blundering it’s way through the wall “Wait a minute, it can’t be… Chopper?”
Zoro raises an eyebrow “You sure?”
“Not entirely, but who else has antlers and a hat like that? Better question is how he did that, why he’s a rampaging berserker and where is the damn key?”
“I don’t know how, but I can say one thing, Chopper clearly went up against a powerful opponent, and when the enemy was still too powerful, he went beyond, and whatever it was, he can’t control it at his current power level. Just look at him, he’s on the verge of passing out but he’s still standing, for now” Zoro says, then turns when he sees the 2 agents singling out their friend as a target “No you don’t
36 calibre phoenix
“Bastards” Kaku curses, glaring at Zoro most of all
Boom
“Out of the way lads, the cavalry has arrived” Franky announces from the doorway “Anyone order a key? I got one right here courtesy of the girls, though right now we kind of have bigger things to deal with” he says as he charges up his arms
Zoro’s eyes widen “Hold on Franky, that hairy beast is one of ours, you can’t just attack it!”
“I can and will, besides, I’m not trying to kill him, the only thing on hand we can do, is knock him into the sea”
“You can’t be serious!”
Coup De Burst
The shot it Chopper square in the chest, knocking him back into the wall, which crumbles with little resistance. Franky taking the moment of confusion to follow suit, leaping out the window
“What the hells is that man doing?”
“Don’t worry, right now we have more important things to worry about” Nami says, appearing between them “Like, this”
Click
Kaku smirks “Finally free are you, now things will be interesting.
Rankyaku
The energy wave is knocked aside by Zoro’s swing “I agree, but now I’m separated from the sniper, it’s one on one, just as it should be. I’m not sure if I said or just thought it, but all that neck, it’s one hell of weak spot” the swordsman says as he leaps for the zoan, who manages to bend his neck back enough to avoid the swing
“Oh please, with my training this isn’t a liability. Plus it’s given me access to another new move…”
Bigan
His head shoots forward, Zoro blocking the brick like nose with all 3 swords, the shockwaves from the standoff felt even across the room, until Zoro manages to move enough to avoid the attack, leading to a perfectly square hole being put in one of the surrounding rocks.
“Holy sh*t! That’s really an impressive attack. And an even more impressive nose than Soge-sop” Alvida gasps
“Usopp turns “Soge-sop, that’s just rude”
“Kaku is really getting better with his Devil fruit, the kid’s smarter than I thought” the 3 turn to see Jabra sitting beside them looking rather calm “Hey”
“What are you doing just sitting here?” Nami asks
“You want to save your friend right?” he answers her question with a question
“Yes”
“Then take the key and go” he replies, tossing his key to the side of him, confusing the pirates “I’m a pacifist, I hate when I have to kill and the sight of blood disgusts me” he adds
Usopp is the 1st to respond “Um, thanks” he then moves to pick up the key, as Jabra licks his lips
“Usopp stop”
Jusshigan
Taking a 10 fold strike cut up the sniper pretty bad, as well as throw his bloodied body hard against the wall
“You dumbass I’m a wolf, I stalk and outsmart my pre….ow ow oru!!” he whines as he takes a solid smack to the snout with Alvida’s mace
“Are you ok Usopp?” Nami asks in panic
“I’ll live, but we don’t have time to worry about me, not until we have all the keys” Ussop winces as he stands, then pulls back his Kabuto
Special attack: Sunflower Star
The attack initially looked like it was a single pellet before splitting apart like buckshot into a handful of exploding pellets.
Boom
‘Did we get him?’ Nami thinks
“Cool, fireworks” Jabra muses from behind Usopp, before kicking the teen across the room, then using Geppo to get ahead of him and palm strike him into the ground
“Leave him alone!” Nami shouts, running at the wolf man with her climatact already sparking, Alvida running with his mace held ready to smash bones. Unfortunately Jabra’s speed meant he was able to kick up a smokescreen in moments, then use the blindness to toss both girls around, before lifting up Usopp, preparing to end him
“Now you die long nose, and the bitches are next, at least the busty one looks like she can put up a little bit of a fight” Jabra chuckles before aiming to smash Ussop’s face in…
“USOPP!!!!!”
Only to be stopped by a high speed kick to the face, knocking him back, and causing him to release his grasp on Ussop’s neck
Zoro’s lip curls into a smirk ‘Took you long enough you damn idiot, I was getting tired of picking up the slack’ he thinks as the blond readjusts his suit
“Who the Hell are you?” Jabra slurs as he sits back up
“I have arrived” Sanji says in response, lighting a cigarette before winking to Nami, smiling at Alvida as he was here to protect her too “Seems you took out the secretary when I couldn’t, allow me to repay the favour”
“How did you get your strength and body back?” Nami asks
The cook chuckles “You won’t believe me, but a bathtub fell from the sky and smashed when it hit the ground, washing over me like a small tidal wave and washing away the soap effect.”
“Seems legit, it’s how we got my legs un-jelloed” the navigator nods
“Guess we all have Chopper to thank when this is all over. Even in Ultra Beast mode he’s still helping his friends” Alvida jokes
“Sanji” Usopp wheezes, blood dripping out of his mask “I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop him”
“You’re alive aren’t you, idiot? Everyone has things they can and can’t do, in your case one of the can’ts is a straight up melee/brawl, you know, that thing Luffy does practically on auto pilot. Besides, we have bigger problems, just look outside” Sanji says pointing to one of the many large holes the fights have made in the walls of the Tower
“No way”
“f*ck!”
“We’re running out of time!”
The Gates of Justice, were beginning to open
“If Robin passes through those, she’ll be out of our reach, either in the legendary prison Impel Down, or Navy Headquarters at Marineford” the cook explains
“But, shouldn’t Luffy or Kaos have caught up to her by now?” Nami thinks aloud
“It’s probably the cat man Lucci, if anyone could slow those boys down, it’s him” Alvida guesses,
Final room - Luffy and Lucci
Smash
Luffy bounces and then skips as he’s once more thrown back “Damn it, I just can’t get past this guy” Luffy pants, when he hears chuckling
“Just give up boy, you’ll never see your friends again. Hell you’ll never leave this room again either” he says, before spin kicking a charging Luffy into the wall
“I don’t believe you”
Gum Gum Gattling
“That move doesn’t work on me” Lucci boasts, dodging with Kami-e before grabbing Luffy’s wrists and swinging him away.
Back to the meditation garden
“Leave this guy to me, you need to regroup with the others and help them get out of the line of fire, then make a break for the Gates, best case scenario Lucci IS being held off by the captain and psycho, meaning it will be the 3 of you, against Spandam, and he seems weak enough Usopp should be able to take him out on his own even with how badly injured he is” Sanji explains, the trio nod before Nami and Alvida help the sniper to stand
“Good luck Eros, this one’s a speedy one” Alvida warns before they run out of the room
“So I’ve got a new opponent? Doesn’t matter to me, I’ll kill you all eventually” Jabra gives a bark like laugh
“No, you won’t, because I’m going to beat you for that key” Sanji declares, moving into his fighting stance.
TBC
LW: And, that’s it for this week. We’re slowly getting there, only 3 CP9 agents left to deal with. Oh and Spandam, but he doesn’t count as Sanji already pointed out.
See you next month/in a fortnight, and I’ll try be on time for chapter 80
R&R
Chapter 80: Straw Hats Vs CP9 (part 5)
Chapter Text
LW: Happy Anniversary everyone! No seriously, I started uploading this fic September 6th 2017 and now chapter 80, is uploaded September 6th 2020 (Well it is for me, timezones mean this might not be true for all my readers). Happy 3 year anniversary everyone, I wonder if anyone has actually been here that long, besides me of course. If anyone actually has, please tell me. And now for what you’re actually here for: BATTLE!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs CP9 (part 5)
Sanji Vs Jabra
Soru
Tekkai Kenpo: Wolf repel
The wolfman’s eyes widen slightly, as Sanji appears to be able to block his technique, only for it to morph into a smirk when the blond finally loses the stand off, getting thrown back out of the room.
“Not much of a hunter there are you, f*cking weakling” Jabra mutters, then thumps his way over to the hole in the wall he’d made, stopping when he hears the 3 from earlier yelling about something “Well, well, looks like I get to kill them as well” he smirks, before taking a solid kick to the face, sending him through a wall. “Damn, direct hit. Now I’m pissed” the wolf grumbles as he pulls himself back onto the landing, seeing Sanji he turns and prepares to attack, cupping his hands and setting his hands together at the wrists
Jusshigan
Sanji dodges the strike, jumping to get behind the wolf and land a kick to his back, which even with the use of Tekkai on Jabra’s part did a surprising amount of damage, not that he’d admit it
“You think I felt that you punk?” he taunts, while internally panicking just a little ‘Blondie has some strong kicks, need to keep him from getting any more direct hits even with Tekkai as a defence’
“That Iron Body technique, or whatever it’s called, it’s really starting to piss me off” Sanji says, mostly to himself as he sighs
Rankyaku: Koro
Rather than a slicing wave, Jabra’s attack bounced along the ground, Sanji jumping over and proceeding to rapid fire kicks into the wolf zoan’s chest and upper body. Things looked to actually be going well until...
Tekkai Kenpo: Rogu
“How many times to I have to tell you, your kicks are nothing to me!” Jabra bellows, striking Sanji and sending him flying “What do you think blondie, that’s Wolf Stance. I’m the only Rokushiki master who can move while using Tekkai
“Am I supposed to care about this sh*t?” Sanji asks dismissively, drop kicking Jabra in the face, before once more rapid firing until he was thrown back into the opposite wall “That should be enough to take him down, but he could be faking, plus I really don’t know how much protection that Tekkai thing can give someone” Sanji grumbles to himself
“Nice” Jabra smiles, still sitting against the wall “I’ve been looking for a worthy opponent, and I’ve finally found him” he then tosses the key over to Sanji, confusing him “Can you do me a favour though? Save Robin” (Hi Renji, why is your dialogue in this series)
“Wait what? Why?”
Jabra chuckles weakly “You see, this is awkward and difficult to explain. Robin, is my long lost little sister”
“SAY WHAT?!” Sanji shouts in shock the coughs “I never knew, she didn’t mention having an older brother before, bet Shimmer will be glad he didn’t face you when all this is over”
The wolf scoffs “I’m not surprised, but it’s the truth. It’s been over 20 years since we were separated. I’ll never forget that day: it happened on a small island in the West blue, the weather was sunny and warm, Robin and I were having a wonderful carefree time just playing around on the beach. My sister and I were the best of friends, so naturally we always played together. We couldn’t possibly have been happier that day, little did we know what was waiting for us. I turned my back on her for a second, when a pirate crew kidnapped my sister and took her from me. And that was the last time I saw her. By the time she managed to escape from the pirates, they’d already given her a bounty, thinking she was one of them by choice” Jabra expositions “I blame myself for all this, and that’s why I’ll do anything to make sure she’s safe. But I can’t help her now, as much as I hate to admit it, I’m not strong enough. So please, I’m begging on my knees, you HAVE to save Robin, for all our sakes”
“Sure thing, I’ll just grab the key and go free her” Sanji says, bending down and picking up the key… then kicking Jabra in the chin as the wolf pounces at him “You think I’m gullible enough to buy that crap?” the cook asks angrily [Be honest Sanji, if Califa or Sui had said it, you’d have nodded like a good pup and gotten your ass handed to you]
“You claim sweet Robin is your long lost sister, I’ll have to double your beatings for that slander”
Meanwhile - With Robin and Artemis
“Stop squirming and move forward you stupid brat, why won’t you just give up like Nico Robin, nobody is going to help you!” Spandam bellows, the man even having to pull out his elephant sword, but the artist seems to be just making things more difficult. Robin wasn’t sure if she should be impressed, amused, or saddened by Artemis’ antics, as if they aren’t rescued, he wasn’t going to take her disobedience lightly.
Finally the stairs end, and Spandam laughs “Now we have finally reached the Bridge of Hesitation. Stare into the abyss that is your future, the Gates of Justice are opening, and once we’re through there I’ll be getting a promotion, you’ll be pressed for information Nico Robin, and I’m sure someone will find a good use for a young thing like you Nico Artemis” the man cackles, enjoying the look of fear and hopelessness in Robin’s eyes, missing the anger in Artemis, before shoving both of them forward “Can you hear the bridge rising, it’s calling out to the Hero of the World!” he gloats
“No, but I do hear a Gepo” Robin notes, the man stopping behind them and listening, surprised that she was right, the tell tell bangs of the air dash technique was audible, and getting closer
‘Seems at least one of those pirates was more talk than action, though there should be more’ he grimaces, then grins widely when the agent lands, knowing only one person with whip like, braided twintails “Ah Sui Feng, dealt with your foe so soon? Probably should have expected the 1st fight, to be the 1st one to end” he muses “So, did you get it?” he asks eyes shining greedily while his prisoners worry
“There was a slight complication” Sui says flatly, head bowed, her slight fringe covering her eyes “We’re out of pomegranates” she explains with deadly seriousness
Over with Luffy and Luci
“Is the truth any closer to penetrating that rubber head of yours, no matter how hard you fight, I’m not letting you through those doors” Lucci asks smuggly
“Not even close, because no matter how long you try to stop me, I WILL get through those doors and rescue Robin” Luffy counters
Lucci sighs “Clearly you’re too stubborn for your own good, as neither of us will be agreeing with the other any time soon. Which means the time for talk is over”
“Good because it was just slowing me down” Luffy agrees, launching a Gatling which was dodged, followed by a rapidly strung together Stamp, Whip, Spear, which unfortunately ended with Lucci slamming his fist into Luffy’s gut, sending him back down onto the ground with a painful thump.
Back with Sanji and Jabra
With a pained grunt Jabra pulls his head free of the ceiling, dropping down to see that rather than flee, Sanji was standing exactly where he had been prior, tossing the key up and down mockingly.
“Am I beginning to make an impression Fido?” Sanji asks with a smirk
“Hey, that’s my key!” Jabra shouts
“Well, you did give it to me, I’d have had to be pretty stupid not to accept it after all”
“You bastard”
Tekkai Kenpo
The 2 stare at each other for a moment before “Later” Sanji says and makes a full speed dash in the other direction, pissing off the wolf and making him chase after the cook in a rage.
Soru
Sanji dodges a claw strike and kicks Jabra clean in the snout, pushing him back then jumping over him in order to kick out his legs from behind. The flying, spin kick almost worked, but Jabra dodged just in time for it to be a miss
“Damn bastard, guess I’ll have to show you the true power of Tekkai Kenpo
Tekkai Kenpo: Wolf Banana (Yeah I translated it because I found it funny)
Rankyaku: Koro
‘Crap’ Sanji thinks as he has to dodge multiple bouncing energy attacks from several different directions, then Jabra appears right in front of him
Tekkai Kenpo: Don Poro
The punch knocks the cigarette from Sanji’s mouth, and more importantly shoots him across the staircase gap, slamming him into the opposite wall.
“That Tekkai infused punch is gonna hurt like a bitch for what little time you have left in this world” the wolfman laughs, before jumping off the railing
Geppo
Rankyaku: Lupus Fall
“That was pretty stupid trying to steal my key while I’m still alive” Jabra taunts, sure he got a direct hit after the 4 energy wolves striking him, when coupled with the previous damage at least “I’m a wolf dumbass, I won’t stop hunting you until you’re dead by my own hands” he then raises an eyebrow when Sanji steps out of the smoke “Still hanging in there then?”
“I’m not going anywhere, I’m not dying today, and I’m not going to forgive you” Sanji states, holding his shoulder
“Forgive me?” Jabra laughs then laughs “Upset with how we treated Robin? Upset you didn’t get to screw her first? Getting all emotional will only cloud your judgement during a fight, making you easy pickings for me ARU!!!” he howls
“Watch your tongue mutt, you won’t like me when I’m angry, I tend to boil over when that happens”
“Are you seriously threatening me boy? You won’t win with idle threats, I can see how badly broken you are, though I’d be happy to help you cross over to the other side”
Tekkai Kenpo: Matenro
Sanji blocks the kick, mostly, but if still knocked back by the force behind the Wolf Zoan’s hybrid form, still he pulls himself to his feet while Jabra is cackling more like a hyena than a wolf
“Laugh it up, it might just be the last time you get to do so” Sanji mutters, then kicks off, beginning to spin fast enough to become a mostly black blur.
“I don’t see what you’re trying to achieve, besides making me dizzy, which isn’t working by the way” Jabra grunts, preparing his hands for a Jusshigan, just in case. When Sanji finally stops spinning though he’s shocked “Why’s his foot all red like that?” he asks aloud
“The foot of the Devil, Diable Jambe” Sanji answers, raising his red hot in preparation to attack “The heat I generated from all that spinning, will burn my kicks right through you” he says gravely before slamming his foot into centre mass
“Ahh it burns!”
“The heat from these kicks, are stronger than the fires of Hell” Sanji says as he sends Jabra back across the gap, now with an angry red boot shaped burn on his chest. As he recovers, mostly complaining about the pain (as would be expected) Sanji leaps into the air after him, catching his eye
“Idiot, you never try fight a Rokushiki master in the air” he scoffs as he leaps at him
Diable Jambe: Premiere Hache
Unfortunately the attack misses due to a well timed Gepo “Too bad, you got in a big hurry to win and got sloppy, what a rookie mistake kid”
Gekko Jusshigan
One claw was batted away with a kick from Sanji, but the other hand, those nails dug in deep “Haha, looks like this is the end, sure you knocked one hand away, but I still got you. Shame that other kick missed” Jabra taunts as the 2 begin to fall
“Who said it was a miss?” the wolf’s eyes bulge “I needed you get you close enough, and make sure my last attack couldn’t miss”
“W-what?”
Diable Jambe: Flambé Shot
Jabra has no time to react before Sanji’s burning foot kicks him in the face, sending him full speed to the bottom of the stairwell, the THUD as he hits the ground most likely felt by most of the people still conscious within the tower.
The cook manages to land without issue, just outside the crater left by the agent “God may have created food, but the Devil created spices” Sanji says, looking down at Jabra’s beaten, unconscious body, Diable Jambe’s heat dissipating from his leg as he does so “If you think that kick was hot, my heart was burning even hotter” he mutters, then makes his way to locate the others, hopefully so he can lend his hands to rescuing Robin.
Several Floors up - Zoro and Kaku
Oni Giri
The swordsman lunges but it seems the giraffe’s head is at least strong enough to tank the hit as it retaliates, though the severed upper portion continues to slide with each consecutive shockwave.
“For the record, despite my appearance, I prefer meat” Kaku says as they break their standoff
“And for the record, I didn’t really care in the first place” Zoro responds, taking the momentary break to put on his bandana “Now, enough small talk, I’ll be taking that key from you whether you like it or not”
Nitoryu: Nigiri
Kaku chuckles “You supposed to get stronger or something when you put that bandana on your head?” he asks mockingly
Zoro chuckles “Let’s find out” before blitzing forward,
Toro
Otoro
Hirameki
Samon
“You’ve left yourself major opening” Kaku points out, before capitalising on Zoro being unable to defend himself in the air, as he’s slapped aside by Kaku’s long neck
Kama Kirin
Tekkai: Mushikaku
“There's no blind spot, on a square” Kaku comments, as he folds his arms, legs, and neck up in a way that makes him look even more ridiculous than before, as well as look like a giraffe cube.
“If you can’t move who cares if you have no blind spots, you’re still wide open!” Zoro complains angrily
“That may be true, but unlike humans, giraffe’s have 4 legs” Kaku states
“And I should care because…”
“Because this” Kaku then flails his legs around like he was having a fit
“Are you ok? I mean are you on something or just stupid?”
Kaku sighs “Idiot, look up, and witness death” he commands as his attack finally begins to fall down on the swordsman
Rankyaku: Kiri Shigure
Tekkai
Zoro deflected the rain of attacks for as long as he could before having to give up and just take the hits, the wide range of the attack also meaning if not for his use of Tekkai Kaku would be in a similar position, possibly worse as his current condition meant he couldn’t have even put up an initial fight against the onslaught. So Kaku was basically sitting pretty, while Zoro was being shredded by the rain of death.
‘There’s too many of them, I can’t block’ Zoro thinks as the attack continues to carve him up. Until finally it stops, and Zoro amazingly was still standing
Bigan
Luckily he was still able to block, even if only barely when Kaku’s neck shot his head forward like a gun, hoping to skewer the swordsman and end the fight. It still sent him flying, but the attack itself did no damage to him, only hitting the ground when he landed. Still, after a moment of faltering, Zoro pulled himself up, breathing heavily but still willing to fight
“You’re quite tough for a human, unluckily for you boy but I’m a giraffe” Kaku says mockingly
“That your Superhero name: Giraffe boy?” Zoro asks after spitting blood (Ok, now you’ve brought this on yourself)
“Giraffe boy? No it’s just Giraffe, fool!”
“Now it’s Giraffe Fool? That’s not exactly an improvement, though it might be the Alzheimer's kicking in” Zoro hums, pissing Kaku off even more
“No I’m the giraffe, you’re the fool!”
“I don’t care what the f*ck you are, if you’re a swordsman, you let your blades do the talking” Zoro states as he sheathes the 2 he’d been using and pulls out Wado
“You think you can get under my skin that easily boy?” Kaku asks
“Oh I’m not going to get under your skin, I’m going to cut right through it, and if you try to use your Hardening technique, I’ll cut through that too” the swordsman declares
Kaku scoffs “Think you’re a funny guy, claiming you can cut through my Tekkai? You haven’t even broken the skin, I can’t see where you get the idea of cutting me from”
“Just sit back and watch Giraffe Boy, I’ll show you”
Ittoryu Iai: Shishi Sonson
Rankyaku: Rodan
Kaku chuckles “You appear to have missed the biggest issue. If you can’t hit me, it doesn’t matter if my body is iron or not” he hums, as both of their attack cancelled each other out
Zoro frowns, before pulling out all 3 swords once more “Then I guess I’ll just have to hit harder” he says, flexing his arms, causing the muscles to bulge
1 Gorilla, 2 Gorilla
Bigan
Nigori-Zake
The 2 clash in mid air, until finally, Kaku is the one to get slapped across the room, Zoro dropping to the ground with surprising grace, while Kaku scrambles out of the rubble
“You never thought you could lose did you?” Zoro asks mockingly “You can’t even imagine that I’m stronger than you. I’m about to wake you from your delusions”
Kaku sneers “I could say the same to you. You haven’t yet seen the true saw savagery of a giraffe”
“Then show me, don’t just boast about nothing like a weakling” the swordsman taunts
“Oh I’m about to, witness the power of Nature itself!”
Kirin Hodai
“There is nothing f*cking natural about that” Zoro says with a grimace as while Kaku was standing like a normal giraffe, he’d also collapsed his neck into himself
Kyoku Bigan "Kirimanjaro"
“Damn, now his neck stretches like Luffy” Zoro mutters as he dodges “But all that neck, still leaves to miles of weak spots”
Kaku chuckles “Keep telling yourself that”
Rankyaku "Neji Hakujin"
Zoro grimaces as he’s forced to block the twister of shockwave blasts
“Stop complaining about my weak points and worry about your own” kaku retorts readying another attack
Kirin Hodai
“Ah crap, I pushed my neck in too far and popped my legs out” Kaku whines as he now more closely resembles a baby giraffe, that being a body on stilts.
“This f*cker keeps getting weirder and weirder” Zoro says
“It’s like when you push dough through a little hole and it comes out as noodles, like a pasta machine” Kaku explains, then a lightbulb goes off in his head as he stands up
Pasta Machine
“Don’t act like this was intentional, you even just admitted it was a f*ck up!” Zoro shouts angrily
“A long neck is nice, but long limbs can be handy as well. A pro like me can turn even situations like this, into fresh opportunities. Prepare yourself as I unleash a new and devastating long range technique”
Kirimanjaro
“That’s the same… you know what, f*ck it!” Zoro groans
Tatsu Maki
“It’s too strong”
Soru
Zoro’s attack easily tears through the ceiling, and has the swordsman smirk as he finally managed to make the giraffe feel fear
Gepo
“What’s he doing?” Zoro wonders as Kaku disappears into the hole “He better not be running away
Pasta Machine
The once more long limbed giraffe man drops straight down onto Zoro, swords drawn and now clashing with the pirate “Thank you for waiting” he jumps back “Never mind the neck, if I can control the reach of all 4 blades, I will be unstoppable” Kaku boasts before leaping forward to strike and get into a clash with Zoro “I bet you were so distracted by my giraffe form, that you forgot I was a master of Yontoryu too. You’ve done well so far, but this battle is over now”
“You’ve been saying that since you turning into a giraffe, I believe you less now than I did then” Zoro retorts “Even if you have the power of a wild animal, can attack with that freakishly long neck of yours and are a master of 4 blades…” the 2 fighters separate
“He, deflected all 4 of my blades” Kaku gasped
“None of those things, will make you strong enough to beat me.”
Kaku sneers “You’re just talk kid, if you really think you can take me down, then prove it” he says, as Zoro leaps at him with some kind of spin technique
Santoryu: Hyokindama
Kami-e
Shing
‘What! How, I was sure he missed me’ Kaku thinks as Zoro manages to cut him across the chest ‘Could he have predicted which way I was going to dodge? No, there’s no way some kid from the East could have been taught that’ he grimaces as he stands up again
“Don’t act so shocked, the way you fight, if it weren’t for your Iron Body technique I’d have cut you many times over the course of this fight” Zoro says dismissively
Kaku hums “Well, it seems you have at least enough strength to back up your boasts, I’ll have to stop underestimating you then, but that means that one hit, is the only damage you’re going to inflict upon me. I recommend you savour it. I have 4 blades, mastery of all 6 of the Rokushiki techniques, and the unparalleled strength of a giraffe on my side, all together your chances of victory are snuffed out”
Rankyaku: Shuriken
Zoro frantically blocks and parries the flurry of strikes, which unfortunately for him meant he couldn’t see and in turn defend himself from another Kirimanjaro, slamming him right in the gut and sending him flying back
‘Damn it, should have seen that coming’
“My neck’s like a whip in this form” Kaku says, before using it to slam Zoro into the ground, which the swordsman manages to dodge on the return strike
Henchikirin
“And now even faster” the giraffeman shouts, swinging his neck around and at Zoro it left after images similar to Luffy’s gatling as they repeatedly pummel the swordsman
Mochikirin
“How do you like these slams, still think you stand a chance against me punk?” Kaku taunts as he continues to lay into the swordsman. He then stops “I think the best way to end this is with my 4 swords style, don’t you think? As a swordsman after all”
Yontoryu: Gekirin
Zoro was giving it his all, but with everything that had happened in this fight, all he was able to do was block Kaku’s attacks, and even then some were getting through and cutting deep
“You pirates were foolish and naive to think you could go up against the world government and actually win” Kaku laughs bitterly “A crime that severe will only end with your death! The same goes for Nico Robin and all your friends, Justice is Absolute!” he shouts as he continues to push back the swordsman.
Zoro stops, a dark aura flaring across him “You bastard!” he growls around Wado, even stopping Kaku for a second as he was shocked to feel this level of rage and bloodlust so suddenly, though it faded almost as quickly
‘That, he looked like a demon, multiple snarling faces and bladed arms. That’s not possible, not even the Yōkai class Devil fruits can give you that kind of transformation, I must be seeing things’ Kaku rationalises, but still watches Zoro warilly, on edge even as the pirate’s breaths sound pained and wheery.
“Your mouth just crossed the line, now you’re gonna pay you lanky freak” Zoro growls
“Oh, did I touch a nerve? Well if you’re quite done I think I’ll end this how it began, splitting you like I did the Tower” Kaku declares before balancing on his hand and beginning to spin once again “This will all be over in a second, I doubt you’ll survive long enough to even feel it”
‘No, I refuse to lose to something like this bastard, I will save my crew, I will become the greatest swordsman, and to do so I won’t let something as trivial as the limit of human endurance or strength hold me back. I will go beyond!’ Zoro thinks, a dark aura billowing off of him like a miasma, as well as a previously untapped well of energy
Demon Aura: 9 Swords Style - Asura
‘It’s that demon again, how is he doing that? It’s not a Devil fruit and not even the most strong willed person can do that with their haki’ Kaku thinks, nearly wavering in his spins “nice try, but you’re too late, my attack is all charged up”
“Is it too late for me, or you?” Zoro asks, the aura sending shivers down the giraffe man’s spine
“Unless you can dodge this attack, it’s obvious what the end result will be, conclusive proof that you’re all talk as you bleed out as a failure”
Rankyaku: Amane Dachi
As the people counting on him flashed through his mind, the ‘weight’ of his swords increased as Zoro leaps forward, dissipating the attack with a 9 bladed slash.
“Impossible, you turned it to mist” Kaku gasped, his brain taking a nosedive for a moment out of sheer shock and fear.
“You did well, I commend you. Suffering is welcome on the path to bloodshed” Zoro announces, before laying waste to his opponent
Asura: Ichibugin
The battle complete, Zoro’s demons fade and Kaku seems to visibly deflate, as he falls to the ground, beaten and bloodied. “I got a message I have to deliver” Zoro says, panting deeply as he sheaths his swords and removes his bandana “From your other boss, back in Galley La. He said, you’re all fired”
“Polly” Kaku sighs “Fired huh? Shame, assassination skills aren’t exactly useful in other professions” he says weakly
“You could always get a job at the Zoo” Zoro suggests with shrug, causing Kaku to chuckle weakly, and painfully
“Good one. Here, you earned it” he says, removing the key from his breast pocket and tossing it in the swordsman’s direction before passing out
“Sorry” Zoro mumbles, before taking the key and about to go looking for a crewmate, when Sanji found him instead
“Hey mosshead, you win? You get a key?” he asks
“Sure did, Key 5. You?”
“Key 1. You guys sure made a mess of this tower, think it’ll stand?” the cook asks curiously
“It’ll do for now, but that’s not exactly a high priority to me” Zoro answers “From what I can tell, this guy was the last key holder, meaning no matter which one it is, we have the means to free Robin once we get to her” he says, getting a determined nod from the cook
“Then let’s get moving”
Over at the Gates of Justice
“What the f*ck is that supposed to mean? I didn’t order lunch. I told you to eliminate that mirror fruit bastard!” Spandam shrieks angrilly
“You did, the problem being, that my ‘questioning’ of the boy revealed his fruit would reincarnate into a pomegranate. Those were actually his last words, as I tore out his throat not long after” Sui explains with frustration in her tone “I’ve already checked, by the way, there were no pomegranates in the Tower, and more importantly, no Suru Suru no mi”
While Spandam throws a tantrum like the brat he is Robin’s heart clenches, once more losing another person she cared about, until she sees Artemis’ expression, first confusion, then eyes widening as some kind of epiphany is made, and a small smirk ‘She knows something, something that’s giving her hope despite everything. Clearly I’m not seeing something’ Robin thinks as Spandam finally lashes out
“You are useless!” he shouts, moving to strike the agent but she simply sidesteps it, Robin catching her attention as their eyes meet, seeing herself in the wasp woman’s pitch black void, as well as something behind her. It was just a second, but as her insides froze, Robin hoped it was just her brain acting up, all sharp corners and jagged edges, she hoped it was just a figment “This is the Naga Naga all over again, only now it’s going to be blamed on me! I can’t have that I’m about to become hero of the world soon” he then sighs “Well, if you’re going to continue to be useless, might as well do something for me and help me escort the prisoners”
“Prisoners?” Sui hums, eyebrows raise when she sees Artemis
“Yes, a family affair. You were already aware of Nico Robin, but we’ve also managed to re-acquire Project Mystic, known these days as Nico D. Artemis, given we used two devils to make her it’s only fitting” Spandam explains, cackling then stops “Hey, you’re not buzzing, why is that?”
Sui sighs, tension building in her shoulders “Bastard cut off one of my wings, 3 sounds wrong even for me, so I retracted them until I can regenerate it back to full”
“Fine with me it was annoying anyway. Now get those bitches over to the bridge! Once she passes through the Gate I’ll be the hero of the world!” Spandam shouts, then leaps in shock when Funkfred starts trying to flail around despite being still in sword form, and on his back.
“Damn it, why did you have to have some good reflexes after all” came a hissed growl as Spandam turns and is shocked to see Agent Feng with her hand where his ribs were a moment ago
“You’re betraying me! After everything you’ve done you’re walking away now?” Spadam shrieks, paling when the woman smirks and stands tall, metaphorically speaking
“I’d have to have worked for you, to betray you” she purrs, Spandam, Robin and Artemis finally noticing that while her left eye was a soulless black, the other was bloodshot, but still had a green iris “Bitch stung me, but I sure as f*ck ain’t dead, sesese” she laughs, moving her hands to her face, framing her right eye
f*ckanzen'na hansha
Growing like Bamboo CP9’s hornet reformed into a rather pissed off Kaos, fingers coated and extended like talons “Now, feel like taking on a real threat?” he asks with a shark grin
Not too far away
“Ok, nearly made it” Franky says to himself as he enters the room, just as Luffy and Lucci pause in their smacking each other around “Hey Straw Hat…”
“Go away, I don’t have time to deal with you” Luffy interrupts, clearly annoyed
“Hey that’s not fair, we’re doing the good ol team up, even helped some of your bros with some goons in suits” Franky defends “So, where’s Robin kid?”
“Through that door, the problem is the pigeon bastard is in the way” Luffy explains
“So, team up? That sounds Super!”
“No” Luffy says, stopping the cyborg before he gets going “Robin is more important than beating up this guy, I need you to get past while I’m fighting him, and rescue Robin from the weirdo in the face brace”
Franky grumbles before sighing “On the one hand, I don’t want to just run from a fight, especially with this annoying f*cker, but on the other, revenge against Spazdick, I think that would be something a long time coming”
Lucci chuckles “You say that like I’d allow you to get to the door, never mind past it”
“You will if I force you to” Luffy declares, running head first at the agent
Gum Gum gatling
Kami-e
Lucci catches his fist and while his kick was blocked managed to push him away, dodging a Pistol with a quick Soru, getting behind Luffy to kick him into a wall, barely missing Franky who was trying to sneak his way around the room to the door as planned.
“Straw Hat, you alright?” Franky shouts, worried about how much of a beating the kid could actually take, leaving him open for Lucci’s Rankyaku, only his metal body stopped the attack from doing much more than knocking him back.
Weapons Left
Soru
‘Ah crap’ Franky thinks as Lucci dodges his cannon blast an moves to punch him
Gum Gum Rocket
Only for Luffy to get between them, tanking the hit with a headbutt before launching a bazooka, which failed but with their hands now locked he’d at least managed to essentially pin Lucci to one spot, giving Franky an opening.
“Good job Straw Hat, now hold him steady so I can blast him!”
“NO! Stick to the plan, get Robin while I hold off Pigeon Man. That is the only thing you have to do!” Luffy shouts, clearly getting annoyed with the cyborg “This is our one shot at getting her back, don’t blow this for us”
Ridiculous” Lucci scoffs, kneeing Luffy in the face before approaching Franky “You don’t stand a chance at escaping” he sneers just before Luffy ensnares him with his extended limbs
“You sure Straw ha…”
“GO”
Franky gulps “You got it bro” he says then begins running
“You’re both fools” Lucci sighs, jumping before using Gepo to slam himself and Luffy into the ground, the rubber boy releasing reflexively, giving him the opportunity to Soru away and once more reappear in front of Franky “You’re becoming a pest Cutey Flam” he growls
Shigan
Before the attack could connect, Luffy catches his arm “Get back here, you’re fighting me remember” before pulling him towards him
Shigan
“I told you before, that attack, doesn’t work on me” Luffy smirks the attack ‘dull’ enough his body was able to simply bounce back, well until
Shigan: Madara
Even if the actual damage was minimal, the force behind so many near simultaneous strikes still threw Luffy a good distance away, allowing him to once more focus on Franky
“Have you given up yet, you can’t possibly believe I’ll let you pass”
“I don’t expect you to ‘let’ anything happen, I’m gonna force my way past with…”
Strong Hammer
Tekkai
The thud was audible, but Lucci didn’t even flinch as Franky’s metal fist suckerpunched him in the gut “What the, that same punch sent the Chapapa f*cker flying, but him, nothing”
Lucci’s eyebrow rises “You beat f*ckuro then, too bad for you then that my power level is 5 times his” the leopard man smirks
Shigan: Oren
“Still, I’m impressed you managed to beat any of the others, as to do so requires Super-human strength” Lucci continues after barraging Franky’s chest and gut till he was bent over, sounding genuinely impressed by the achievement “Alas, now you die”
Gum Gum Jet Pistol
The high speed attack clocks Lucci straight in the jaw, throwing him out of the way and giving Franky an opening, and also scaring him sh*tless
“What the, how did you do that, and why are you steaming?” the cyborg ask yells
“Gear 2nd. I can’t hold this form for long, but I’ll do so for as long as I have to, and deal with this guy, while you save Robin. Got it?”
“You got it. I have literally no idea what you’re doing, but if it helps us then keep doing it” Franky says encouragingly, then runs for the door, only to stop when Lucci was once more blocking him, now in his hybrid form
“I said, you’ll never get passed me” he growls
“Crap, another one of you has Devil fruit powers!” Franky shouts
“Yes, now time to die” Lucci says, flickering out of Franky’s sight, but not Luffy’s as the now high speed rubber boy got between cat and cyborg...
Jet Whip
Slapping the top agent into the ground, before landing as they face off, both lightly panting
“Have you forgotten already? This is the form I was in the last time I beat you, what makes you think the outcome will be any different this time?” Lucci asks with a growl
“Well, I was hungry that day, and I’m fine right now” Luffy responds, annoying the cat man.
Soru
Shigan
While not showing on his face, Lucci was surprised when Luffy was able to dodge his attack, moving fast enough he might even be on par with a medium level Soru user, hearing Luffy set up an attack he activates Tekkai…
Jet Bazooka
… only to still be sent into the wall like he’d been shot out of a cannon. This was the opening Franky needed to bolt out the door, making his way up the steps toward Robin.
TBC
And then there was one, well 2 but Spandam doesn't count.
Spandam lives for another chapter, mostly because at least in my head if I continued it, it would have messed with the chapter’s flow. Sorry for anyone wanting him to be painfully mutilated or anything else.
Fun Fact: Jabra is 35 at this point in the story, so even if it was a lie, he’s at least old enough to have possibly been Robin’s ‘older’ brother, though the fact he’s from the North Blue then pisses out that fire.
Chapter 81: Straw Hats Vs CP9 (part 6)
Chapter Text
LW: Now for the chapter people have been waiting for, the end of Spazdick, I mean Spandam.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs CP9 (Part 6) Robin Rescued, the Buster Call arrives.
Bridge of Hesitation
“You really think a lanky brat like yourself can go up against a marine of my ranking. Delusional” Spandam scoffs, trying to ignore how profusely he was sweating “Once I’m done with you, I’ll take Nico Robin and Project Mystic through the Gates, and the skurge that is the Devils of Ohara will finally be eradicated!”
“If” Kaos hums, clicking his tongue as he turns his head
“What?”
“If you beat me, if you manage to take Robin and Artemis across the bridge, if you live to see the sunset” he replies, giving a bloodthirsty grin that spread to nearly reach his ears “None of which I shall allow to happen”
Spandam scoffs “co*cky bastard, Funkfreed protect me, and slaughter this bastard!” he bellows, unsheathing his sword and swinging it forward, only releasing the hilt when the elephant was almost fully transformed, the only difference between Funkfreed and a normal elephant was the underside of his trunk was clearly a metal blade.
Kaos scowls as he crosses his arms across his chest “I don’t like hurting animals Spazdick, so I’m going to make sure you suffer for what I’m about to do” he states, watching and waiting for the moment Funkfreed slices down at him. The researcher Shimmers out of the way, stopping alongside the elephant sword’s head before punching right below/behind it’s eye. Given the audible crunch as well as the force when Funkfreed hit the wall of the bridge before reverting back to sword form, if it had been an actual elephant it would probably be dead, not helping matters when Kaos gives an almost feral grin as he turns his hand to Spandam, showing only his knuckles were armoured at the time/moment. This has the most likely desired effect of pissing off the already unstable man, who draws his gun and aims for the 1st mate’s face
“Just die already why won’t you!” Spandam screams firing at the purplette who smirks
Kaizoku o ni ore wa naru (1)
Spandam yelps as the bullet is redirected, cutting across his cheek “You really did hit every branch on the idiot tree on the way down Spazdick, I’ve had a long time to figure out that trick” then pulling out Hebi which morphs into it’s Shinso form and holding it to his chest
Butō: Renjin
He smirks as he pierces the agent’s shoulder, elbow and wrist “Is it sinking in yet Spazdick?” he taunts, actually kind of enjoying tormenting the bastard “You never stood a chance against me, the gap is that wide between us”
Spandam grits his teeth as he moves the gun from his now mostly useless right hand to his left “If I can’t kill you, then I can at least make you watch the bitch die” he shouts, turning his head as he points the weapon at Artemis, enjoying Robin’s flash of rage in her eyes, but missing the smile drop from his actual opponent.
Soru
Thump
The gun drops from limp fingers as Spandam’s limbs flail chaotically, gasping as Kaos tightens the hold on his throat “Don’t worry, you’re not about to pass out, I’m not going to give you the option of missing out on what I have in store for you” he hisses in Spandam’s ear, loosening just enough for the agent to take a breath before tightening again. He doesn’t see Kaos’ left eye change from green to blue, but does feel the hands on his back.
Shigan: Madara
Given Kaos had long, pianist fingers, using Shigan was quite similar to stabbing someone with a railroad spike, using Madara… the only reason the living pincushion was still … well alive, was because Kaos made sure to steer clear of the heart, his lungs, stomach, pancreas, liver and intestines he could make look like they’d been hole punched, but he’d live long enough, so long as the heart remained intact
Kudakero (2)
Much like Robin’s blooms the hands pressed against Spandam’s back dissipated, but instead of dispersing into flower petals these shattered into small pieces of glass “It’s almost a shame you’ll only experience this for a few minutes at most, but I’d rather not have to touch you for longer than is strictly necessary” Kaos scowls before directing a final command
Kitta
With the efficiency/speed of Vivi’s wires Kaos removed Spandam’s hands and feet, though it was much less clean a cut, the remaining edge looked brutally torn apart “Any last words?” Kaos asks, getting gurgles and coughing blood in response “Hm, maybe putting 3 holes in your lungs wasn’t my best plan. Eh, the more you know”
Snap
He drops Spandam’s limp carcass at his feet, considering spitting on it when he gets side tackled, his arms quickly wrapping around Robin as she cries into his chest
“Thank you, all of you for coming to rescue me. I don’t know how I can repay you” she whimpers, to which Kaos sighs and kisses her forehead
“We’re family, and crewmates Mom, you can’t repay us” Artemis giggles, then pushes her way into the middle of the hug, getting a watery chuckle from Robin
“Robin, I’m here to save… oh, am I late?” Franky asks, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. (Guess Spandam’s landmine was a sh*tty dud. Not my problem though :P)
“Just a little” Kaos hums, getting a nod from Artemis and a wet giggle from Robin.
“Well, I got a couple keys, hopefully one of them will be for Robin’s cuffs” the cyborg offers, Robin smiling as she turns so he can check them. This moment was interrupted when the marines finally decided to see what was taking Spandam so long, and upon assessing the situation (Dead agent, passed out elephant sword, 3 pirates and a cyborg on the bridge) the took immediate battle stations
“Guess those cuffs will have to wait just a little longer then” Artemis hums, getting a chuckle and nod from Robin
“Correct little one, but now, we’re so much closer to freedom”
“Cause of Papa and funny hair, mostly Kaos” the artist grins, making Robin wish she could hug her close, or just ruffle her hair
“Numbers aren’t exactly on our side Slendy” Franky grouses as marines charge them
“They never are” Kaos nods, then grins widely as something streaks past him, blasting one of the goons in the face “But it’s also never mattered to a Straw Hat pirate Sesese”
Robin’s eyes widen ‘It couldn’t have been, could it?’ she wonders, turning around, and laughing “You cowardly bastard. Thank you Usopp dedeshishi” she whispers, seeing the sniper provide cover fire from the top of the Tower of Law.
“You ok Mom?” Artemis asks, getting a gentle nod
“Yeah I’m fine, also glad to see more than just your papa survived his encounter with CP9”
“I think everyone did, if the baggie that just got shot at us was the other keys” Artemis muses, picking up the red bundle a few feet from where they’d been standing “Yay, more keys!” she beams, flashing Robin an unmistakable ‘D’ grin “Want me to test them out while the guys beat up some extras?”
“Of course, these cuffs are REALLY uncomfortable” Robin grimaces
“Being bulletproof has its perks” Kaos muses to Franky, the former more likely to try to dodge or redirect as opposed to the cyborg’s default of simply tanking the hit and continuing forward.
“Only from the front brother”
“Then that’s incentive to not retreat” the researcher jokes, getting a dry chuckle from the cola powered man
“Very true, might steal that if anyone ever asks why only my front is made of metal”
BOOM
“Well, there goes the neighbourhood, the Buster Call has arrived” Kaos groans, luckily the first shot was to the fencing surrounding the entire island, rather than the island itself.
“Papa, Mom’s frozen!” Artemis shouts, the reflect human shimmering over to see Robin staring into the fog at the approaching Battleships
“I’m not one of the medical officials in the crew, but I’m going with PTSD or something similar, given this is what she previously watched destroy her entire island and cause her to go on the run from the tender age of 8” Kaos guesses
BOOM
“sh*t, there goes the Tower of Law, like an oversized Jenja tower” he grimaces
“Usopp was still up there!” Robin shouts, snapping out of her fear freeze
“See, this is why Chopper and Kaya are the doctors” Kaos sighs then turns back to Robin and Artemis, noticing Franky running over “I’m sure he’s fine, the idiot is never alone, though I’m surprised it’s Alvida that’s the closest signature, rather than Kaya”
“Is she the pale blond one?” Franky asks “She was taking care of the blue chick along with Victor and Valentina”
“You know their names?” Artemis asks in confusion
“We took out that loudmouth f*ckuro together, that makes them worth remembering k?” the cyborg explains
“Hey Franky, Robin, and anyone else, we’re all ok and heading your way now” came Sanji’s voice over Franky’s Den Den
“Good to hear you’re still alive Eros, how’s Usopp?” Kaos asks
“He’s got some more bumps and bruises, but besides that he’s fine” Zoro replies leading to a fight between the 2
“Seems you were right, everyone did survive”
“Good luck guys, just watch out, Lucci is probably still fighting Straw Hat at the moment, so try not get killed by the leopard’s claws” Franky warns then turns to the others after putting the snail away “Anyone up for stealing a ship?”
“Sure”
“No problems here”
“I need to stretch my limbs after having those cuffs on for so long”
“Great, then let’s go, Charge!” the cyborg yells, rushing forward with the other 3 grinning before following
Deis Ses Fleur
With all the guns redirected skyward the danger dropped to practically none, especially given Franky was bulletproof and still in front of most of the current crewmates.
Strong… Faceslap
“Fusefu, can we keep him Papa? He’d fit in well with the rest of the crew?” Artemis asks, Kaos also chuckling as Franky extended his right arm on it’s chain, just so he could slap all the marines across the face repeatedly from a distance.
Trente Fleur
Master Nail
“You know, I think I’m going to sit this one out kiddo” Kaos muses, rolling his eyes when Artemis decides to climb onto him like a shoulder loli “Really?”
“Mom needs the exercise, and to vent, mostly the latter given Spazdick’s too busy being dead” the artist responds to which the researcher shrugs unapologetically
Weapons Left!
“Sorry, did you want a swing at these goons?” Franky asks, partly sarcastic, partly curious
“Not really, the hornet was a major pain in the ass to fight, also I think her stinger pierced my brain. Explains the headache” Kaos groans missing the look of shock on Franky’s face, and the looks of worry and concern on Robin & Artemis’ faces
“You are being treated by Chopper the minute we’re back on the Merry” Robin orders “Messed up body due to special paramecia or not, that sounds bad and should at least be examined by a trained doctor”
“Yeah, maybe sit this one out, I got some more tricks up my sleeve” Franky laugh before activating
Transform: Franky Centaur
“Still back to front” Kaos sighs, getting a chuckle from Artemis as she watches the marines panic and run away, with Franky chasing after them
“I’m quite certain that he either doesn’t care, or that’s the point” Robin muses, chuckling to herself, then stops as the full contingent comes out of the fog
“We are so screwed” Artemis whines “Got any back up plans Papa?”
“One, but it requires a charge up time, so I don’t exactly have chances to use it often, haven’t even named it yet. Maybe the Spandam, as that’s how slow someone would have to be to actually get hit with it”
“Less brainstorming, more firing!” Robin shouts, getting a tired nod from Kaos who presses his arms together, splays his hands and shifts both of them and the inner side of his arms, letting the sun shine on it
‘Mahna Mahna do doo be-do-do. Mahna Mahna do do-do do. Mahna Mahna do doo de-do-do de-do-do de-do-do de-do-do I’ma chargin’ my atta...oh it’s done’
BWOOOOOOOOOM
[Damn, he sunk a battleship]
“Putain de merde!” Robin gasps
“What?” Artemis asks
“Holy f*cking sh*t!” Franky shouts
“What he said” Robin responds “THAT isn’t getting named after Spandam, what other options did you have?” Robin asks
“Makankosappo, or Lance-Soleil (Wanted to use the Japanese for Solar beam, but that’s also SolarBeam), given I’m just collecting and focusing the sun’s rays… that’s why the charge time was so much smaller” Kaos facepalms
“What about Himawari Kyanon? (Sunflower Cannon)” Artemis suggests, mimicking him “You do a flower mime while you’re charging it after all”
“I’ll think about it” Kaos hums, but grins over his shoulder at the artist.
Underground at the same time
“Nice of you to join us Nami”
“Holy crap what happened to you Vivi? Also why is Chopper strapped to Kokoro’s hat?”
“She was non fatally stabbed in the chest, as well as painfully and at least temporarily debilitating injuries to both legs” Kaya lists off “She also has minor lacerations to her hands due to misusing her wires while mentally compromised due to pain. All of these occurred during our fight with Kumadori. Chopper is there for security reasons until he comes to”
“So for the moment, I guess I’m on princess carry duty” Victor jokes, getting lightly bopped on the head
“Don’t complain, Luffy or Alvida will practically volunteer once we run into one of them. By the way…”
“Alvida is with Ussop, basically being his guard, I’m during my best, scouting ahead and looking for you guys” Nami explains
“Where there are no enemies, good decision” Valentina teases
Luffy & Lucci
The 2 guys pant deeply, the battle taking more out of them, than at least Lucci expected
“Robin will be fine, Franky will save her” Luffy says calmly but with a small smile, as if it was a known fact
‘I underestimated this kid, this Gear 2nd is strong’ Lucci thinks with a grimace “Whatever you’re doing it’s taking quite a heavy toll on your body isn’t it? Shame, things were just getting interesting” the leopard purrs
“How I am at the end of this, is meaningless, all that matters, is that I beat you”
BOOM
Soru
Both combatants leap into action, before Luffy stops and aims his attack, his Jet Pistol striking close enough to draw blood, while his Jet Whip throws Lucci into the wall with enough force to make him react in pain. It didn’t stop him though
Soru
Shigan: Oren
Luckily even with a barrage, Gear 2nd improved Luffy’s reaction time enough to dodge the attacks, though Lucci also managed to dodge his Jet Stamp before it could do any damage to him, though he did end up crashing rather haphazardly into some crates in order to do so. Luffy watches as the crates shift, then get tossed aside as Lucci stands once more
‘This kid, his strength and speed are comparable to a Rokushiki master, completely different to when I fought him back in Water 7. The steam, and pink tint, there’s something very strange going on inside this boy, but what?’ Lucci thinks before leaping once more, their punches cancelling each other out then Luffy manages to get in a sneaky strike to the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him and pushing him back, panting on the ground as Luffy does the same, Gear 2nd cutting out.
“Hm, I think I’ve figured you out. It’s like you’re doping yourself with your own blood, your legs are the pumps accelerating the blood flow to incredible speeds. If you were anyone else that level of blood pressure would kill you, your heart wouldn’t be able to handle it and explode. Even with your rubber body, you have to have a limit to how much you can do without permanent damage” Lucci theorizes/accuses “You’re strong but not very bright, shaving years off your lifespan for a few minutes of strength”
“I don’t care, if it ensures you can’t take away what’s important to me and my family, then I’m fine with paying the price”
“But in the end you’ve still lost” Lucci says, confusing Luffy “Tell me you didn’t miss that explosion earlier, it means the Buster Call has already arrived, and Enies Lobby is already being destroyed. Your friend is either on the way to Marineford, or already dead in the barrage. Fitting, given that was supposed to be her initial fate back on Ohara. Plus there’s a chance all your friends are dead, or maybe they’re in the underground passageway that leads to this chamber” Lucci muses, then turns
Rankyaku
“Hey dumbass, you ate a Devil fruit too, that water will have the same effect on you as me” Luffy points out
“That’s not the point, the point is the water will drain into the tunnels, and ensure your friends either drown or best case for them, are cut off from us, unable to assist you in this fight”
“You’re several layers of bastard all squished together aren’t you?”
Lucci chuckles “Face the facts kid, the odds haven’t been in your favour since before you set foot on Water 7. But don’t take my word for it, I actually want to see just how far you can go to save your friends before I kill you”
In the underground tunnel
“Wait, Luffy yelled Gear 3rd, busted through iron doors and got all small?” Nami repeats “What the hell is that idiot doing?”
“Hey, do either you or Alvida have a shotacon kink?” Valentina teases, winking in Vivi’s direction, only to get smacked in the back of the head by Nami
“Shut up moron, Alvida’s got us covered for barely tolerable perv humour” she grouses
“Hey granny, I think I hear something” Chimney says, looking worried
“Don’t worry about it, we’re in a hurry kiddo, if the sounds are bad we’ll deal with them later” Kokoro responds, swigging another bottle of booze.
It turned out, the sound was bad… as in indoor tsunami bad.
“f*ck, full speed retreat!” Nami, the tactical coward she was, gave the order that nobody had any issues following as they all ran full speed the way they came, guess Luffy was on his own.
A little further back down the path
“Sounds like the attack is well underway” Sanji grunts, following Alvida’s pace as best he could, when both him and Zoro were carrying Ussop down the path as well.
“Speaking of sounds, I’ve been hearing something weird for the last few minutes” Usopp whines
“Is it me telling you to shut up, because it feels like I’ve been doing it for at least that long?” Zoro grumbles
“Oy, shut up and keep moving, we’re trying to reach Luffy so we can deal with catman and then finally save Robin before this island turns into a crater” Alvida shouts behind her, causing the 2 guys to speed up, jostling Usop from the hammock/stretcher they’d been carrying him on
“Hey, there was no need to be so rough” Ussop complains, then starts hobbling after the others when he sees they’ve basically left him behind
And back to Luffy
“Regardless of whether or not they drowned, nobody is coming to help you now” Lucci taunts “even this room will soon fill with water, though I won’t be waiting around for that” he purrs before using Geppo to get to the ladder/hatch in the roof, his pigeon following with understandable urgency
“Get back here you bastard!” Luffy screams, shooting his arms out to grab the ladder and pull himself to safety. Speed climbing Luffy caught up with the leopard man in about a minute.
“Good, you’re here. We’re above sea level now boy, so we can continue the fight without the fear of drowning” Lucci explains, grinning “You can hear it now, from up here, the ships’ cannon fire? I wonder how your ‘pirate crew’ is doing against the barrage, and Nico Robin, is she even still up there, or is she already lost to you all? I won’t stop you if you’d prefer to go save them” he hums
“I’m not taking my eye off you until you’re down for the count” Luffy declares, shocking the agent “No matter what’s going on, my friends can survive anything thrown their way. Plus if I go help them that frees you up to go kill them yourself, so no, I’m not leaving, until I know you’re no longer a threat to my friends, my girls, or anyone in my Nakama, do you understand me?”
Lucci chuckles “You’ve got quite the iron will kid, too bad you’re on the wrong side of The Law. Though, now it’s time to see if you can back those words up with action” he says leaping towards Luffy who charges forward “Because this story ends the same whether you live or die!” The 2 were able to match their strikes for a small amount of time, but without Gear 2nd Luffy was soon overwhelmed and knocked away, only for Lucci to use Gepo so he could slam the rubber boy into the ground.
Shigan
Rankyaku: Hyobi
Luffy managed to dodge the claw, but took the spiral wind blade to the gut, stunning him for a moment as Lucci crosses the distance between them
“You think you can beat me?”
“I can’t save anyone unless I do!” Luffy fires back, coiling his leg around Lucci’s, locking him in place so he could land a point blank...
Gum Gum Rifle
Tekkai: Utsugi
Only for the force to be redirected right back at him, like an impact/reject dial, or Kaos’ full strength Reflect Armour. The recoil force pushes Luffy away, giving both some breathing room.
Kamisori
Space immediately lost when Lucci zips over and uses his tail to lift Luffy up by his neck
“While you may be about to die, I’m actually impressed you managed to get this far against the World Government” the leopard muses “Still, there is nothing different about you than any other pirate I’ve killed before, you’re stubborn and have have balls of steel, but it takes more than that to beat me kid”
Luffy grits his teeth before spinning his current;y flailing lower body, stretching it so it touched the ground then gripping Lucci’s tail with all his strength, deciding to use a technique he’d never thought he’d have reason to perform again
Gum Gum Pinwheel
Lucci is lifted, spun and tossed away by the force of Luffy’s spin, but his training and instincts still allowed him to dodge Luffy’s Pistol, landing on his feet as Luffy charges straight for him
Tobu Shigan: Bachi
Flicking his finger the leopard manges to do what shout be impossible: injure Luffy with a ‘gun’, each strike drawing blood and causing noticeable damage and pain.
Tobu Shigan: Hibachi
The literal fireball launched at him did catch Luffy by surprise, but mostly it was pain as it tossed him aside with a fiery explosion.
“It’s a good thing I wasn’t expecting an actual challange from you Straw Hat, or I’d be greatly disappointed right about now” Lucci taunts “You wasted all your stamina on those leg pumps earlier, so now you’re running on fumes, making this all the more saddening” he says, then his eyes widen when through the dust/smoke, he sees Luffy smiling, legs bend and body tense
“So you wanted a real challenge pigeon dick? Well, I think I’ve got one more trick up these sleeves, but let the record be known, you wanted me to do this” Luffy says, just before putting his thumb between his teeth
Gear 3rd: Bone Balloon
“Balloon?” Lucci repeats before watching in confusion as Luffy’s right arm puffs up, then the expansion moves from there, to his torso and finally stopping in the fist of his extended left arm
“Yeah, now try and stop the fist of a giant!”
“I won’t be intimidated by some rookie pirate” Lucci declares, crossing his arms over his chest
Tekkai
Gum Gum GIANT Pistol
The expanded punch hits Lucci dead on, and continues, slamming him into and them through the wall of the area they were fighting in, demolishing a good portion of the actual structure in a single blow.
TBC
LW: And that is how you end a chapter, with a mega sized f*ck off punch! Also, inspired by a suggestion made by JohnCG on AO3, I have an alternate death for Spandam, just under the numbered notiations. Enjoy :D and just so you know, the italicized part is where the 2 versions diverge, as in if you so desired you could read the chapter up to that part and then skip down here to see what could have been.
(1) It’s not an attack name, it’s a joke. It translates as ‘I will be King of the Pirates’ which is pretty much Luffy’s catchphrase. And what are the 2 best known things about Luffy, physically? That he stretches because he’s made of rubber, and he’s pretty much bulletproof.
(2) Fun Fact: If you translate this into english it means Crush, unless you’re a Bleach fan in which case it means break down, or more importantly for this instance ‘Shatter’... as in “Kudakero Kyōka Suigetsu”
Option 2
Spandam yelps as the bullet is redirected, cutting across his cheek “You really did hit every branch on the idiot tree on the way down Spazdick, I’ve had a long time to figure out that trick” then pulling out Hebi spinning the blade he throws it like a lance, cutting across his rib cage and … imbeds itself in the bridge floor
‘What?’ the straw hats think, the Robin notices his arm was shaking, his fingers twitching ‘That fight with Sui Feng, it did more damage than he let on’ she worries, but her thoughts are cut off by Spandam’s obnoxious voice
“See Nico Robin, even your rescue attempt is a failure. You know what would be most fitting, for me to force you to watch as I kill the only people in this world who still love you, that should break you enough you don’t ever fight back. I do love obedient pets” he cackles before putting his hand around the hilt of the khopesh.
“Goodbye” Kaos whispers amusingly as he sees the snake zip into the man’s sleeve “You f*cking dumbass”
“Hm?” Spandam grunts, then screams loudly in blinding pain before falling onto his back
“Well, that was actually less fun than I expected” Kaos sighs as the agent begin twitching and spasming, having a moment of panic when he tries to swing at Artemis, only for her to side step it
“Jeez, what did you do to the guy?” Franky asks, having shown up just as Spandam fell
“Not good things” Kaos says with a sad*stic smirk, just before slamming his shoe into Spandam’s wrist, breaking it and enabling him to pull Hebi out of his hand “Especially when the shakes start”
“Hm?” the 3 look confused, but do notice when he takes a large back step, just before Spandam starts screaming and spasming like he was having some kind of fit, black veins seen on the visible patches of greying skin.
“sh*t, what did you do to him, you creepy weirdo?” Franky asks/demands of Kaos, but the purplette waves him off, right until Spandam wheezes and stops squirming, stone cold dead.
“Anord Nathair, the venom Hebi releases if she deems you unworthy, though even I was surprised by how fast that turned out. On the other hand…” he gives a lazy swing which cuts open Spandam’s shirt as well as disturbs the body.
Robin gags and Artemis covers her mouth, Franky watching in shock and a level of disgust “The f*ck?”
Inky black pathways lead from his shoulder, up his neck to the base of his skull, while also going down to his chest cavity/heart. The other problem was the distinct scent of rot and unnaturally fast spreading decay along those lines and now covering a large portion of his torso, as well as spreading across his neck, up to his already pretty messed up face.
“Seems what Zelena said was true, the poison does cause accelerated decay following death. Yeah that smells as bad as I thought it would” Kaos continues with a wince and a cough “You have some kind of in built flamethrower right?”
“Yeah?”
“Good, any chance it’s good enough to be used for corpse disposal?” Kaos asks, then feels something bounce against the back of his hand, looking away from the cyborg he saw Robin trying to back herself into him “Robin, now isn’t the time to be reminding me of you’re fine arse” he teases
“Grab my hand you dumbass” Robin sighs, then smiles as he interlaces their fingers “I’m glad you’re both ok, even if you just did something really stupid just now”
“I’ve done plenty stupid, still here though” he teases, then leads them away while Franky turns Spandam into a charcoal briquette
“Mepp”
The 2 adults and 1 teen’s necks almost snap when they turn and see Artemis holding Hebi, jaws drop and eyes shoot out when they notice the snake coiled around her arm and biting into her shoulder
“Do something!” Robin shouts, her panic rising until she hears artemis giggle
“It feels weird but not exactly bad, is this how you feel when you fight with her Papa?” the artist asks curiously, rubbing behind it’s head until the snake releases its fangs and recoils around the hilt
“That’s not something that normally happens is it?” Franky asks
“No, I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I’m curious to know how you survived that”
“§Like I’d hurt master’s hatching, any more than I would his successor§” came the sibilant purr of the snake sword, Kaos and Artemis’ eyes widen
“Oh §f*ck!§”
Chapter 82
Chapter Text
LW: Ok, the arc is near climax and things are getting intense, plus we still need the entire crew to reunite… which is right now, yay! Enjoy
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Luffy Vs Lucci, Straw Hats Vs The Buster Call
The only reason Luffy’s Giant Pistol didn’t end the fight was due to poor luck on his part, as the hit threw Lucci onto a nearby battleship. Shame the marines didn’t just shoot him (seems to be a theme in this series)
“What are you doing here?”
“Is it a monster?”
“No, he’s a Rokushiki user”
‘So I landed on the deck of one of the battleships, that was close’ Lucci thinks as he breathes heavily ‘if they’d been a little further away I’d probably be in the water right now’
“He came from over there” one of the marines shout, pointing to the wrecked section of the bridge of Hesitation
“Is he a pirate?”
“Did anyone else see that giant hand? Tell me I didn’t mix my meds wrong again”
Lucci sits up and returns to his human form, which seemed to get the marines around him even more agitated
“Who are you, answer us or we’ll open fire!” One marine shouts
“Hold it” the captain orders “Do you idiots know what you’re doing, or who that is? He’s Rob Lucci of CP9” he explains, Lucci having ripped off his shirt, exposing his scars
Elsewhere
“Hey look it’s the pirate guys, hi… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” Chimney greets with a grin, before going back to screaming in terror as they tried to outrun the wave directly behind them
“Hey that’s everyone…” Zoro begins
“...but Luffy and Kaos, yeah” Sanji agrees
“Don’t just stand there like morons, do something!” Nami screams
“Got any bright ideas, anyone?” the swordsman asks, genuinely hoping someone did as he was fresh out, well he was once he took some swings at the wall and precisely zip happened
“We’re underwater dumbass, those walls have to withstand the pressure, plus even if you did cut it you’d only add to the water rushing in to kill us” Sanji complains just as the groups regroup, and are overtaken by the wave.
And back to the fighting
Gum Gum Rocket
“What’s that, some kind of balloon?”
“No you idiot, it’s straw hat Luffy”
“He’s fatter than I expected” one comments, as the air from Gear 3rd was currently being held in his chest cavity/ribs.
“Open fire” the captain orders, clearly not getting the memo that guns don’t work on the rubber kid
“Nice try but my Bone Balloon is too strong for such small fire” Luffy scoffs, then focuses on Lucci before stretching his leg up and directing the air into it
Giant Axe
The attack, while not enough to sink the ship, sure messed it up and knocked a good amount of it’s crew off the ship, however it completely missed Lucci, who leap onto the mast in order to be within range, before poncing, shifting into his full beast form mid jump so he could bite down on the rubber boy when they collided.
Screaming in pain Luffy pulls back the air into his torso, causing it to bloat and push Lucci away, who returns to human form just before landing once more on the mast, blood dripping down his chin
Giant Whip
With all the masts broken the battleship was pretty much screwed, Lucci being as fast as he was, much less so, able to easily dodge the attack and once more began peppering the boy with Tobu Shigan “Seems this new power of yours, while a good strength enhancer, comes at the cost of your speed, and without that, you don’t stand a chance against me” the leopard man taunts/critiques, just before kicking Luffy down onto the deck
Rankyaku: Gaicho
The strike cut a deep gash into the ship, even cleaving through the solid iron plating, but Luffy managed to dodge in the nick of time, by releasing Gear 3rd, using the air to push himself out of harm’s way. This was a mixed blessing as it meant he ended up flying away like a balloon that had the air let out of it, just in time to avoid being blown up when the Vice Admirals decided to fire on the ship they’d been fighting on. I mean it was only 1,000 men who’s going to miss them?
“Wow, that was way too close” Luffy sighs, not in his mini form “Are they really that stupid to fire on each other? See, this is why I never listened to Gramps about becoming a marine, they’re all idiots” he thinks aloud “Gear 3rd was pretty cool but the side effects, not fun. I’m probably going to be stuck like this for about a minute given I used 3rd for that long, so I better hide before he finds me” the rubber boy says to himself before running off to hide somewhere in the rubble
‘Was that a side effect or some kind of joke?’ Lucci wonders as he uses Gepo to return to the bridge “Well, either way he’s still alive, after all that it would have been boring for a simple cannon attack to take him out I suppose” he muses, using his enhances senses to locate the shrunken pirate
Over on the bridge
“Mom, Pops, can I keep the elephant?” Artemis asks, seemingly unaffected by the battleship bombardment
“It’s already on your back sweetie” Robin points out “It’s a little late to ask”
“You should have waited until we got back to Water 7, then said ‘It followed me home, can we keep him?’ I doubt even Nami could say no at that point ” Kaos teases, backhanding a marine into the water as they walk down the steps toward the boat
“Hey kid, is now really the time, also are none of you worried even a little about Straw Hat? The ship he was on got blown the f*ck up” Franky asks
Artemis shakes her head and smiles “I’m not worried, because Papa isn’t worried. He can detect Devil fruits and people with Devil fruits” the artist explains
“Holy crap, that’s a thing?”
“Indeed, Aolkiji even confirmed it, seemed amused there was and I quote ‘A sensor from the East Blue’ when we ran into him a week ago, which is good enough for me” Robin explains “So, what exactly do we need to do to this ship to make it capable of surviving a Buster Call?”
Back with Luffy
Bang
Crash
“Damn it, he sniffed me out” Luffy groans, still waiting for for his timer to end so he could fight again, a problem Lucci clearly didn’t have
“So that power of yours takes as much as it gives, seems like a fair trade especially if your attacks had been successful. After all great power always comes with a great cost” Lucci notes, before slimming down significantly
Life Return: Kami-e Bushin
Shigan
Luffy grunts as Lucci impales him with his claws, slamming him into the wall hard enough to leave a crater
“Time to give up brat, if you continue this farce I’ll be forced to…” he stops mostly out of shock when Luffy punches him, though in his current form it wasn’t even a slap. It was a metaphorical spit in the face though, as Lucci grits his teeth and shoves Luffy deeper into the wall so he was pretty much imbedded, then jumps back
“sh*t, I can’t move, this is bad” Luffy thinks aloud as he squirms and wriggles
“I apologise, but I’m going to kill you now in that puny form” Lucci says, sounding at least honest, as well as a little disappointed
Shigan: Madara
...well he tried, mid way through he stumbled and nearly fell, stopping mid way between where he’d started and Luffy ‘Damn it, that first Bone Balloon attack, it did more damage to me than I thought. f*ck, it had to be my legs, I could probably ignore a rib or 2 but this will be a problem’ the agent thinks, just a Luffy finally manages to pull himself out of the wall, normal size again
“Seems 3rd was worth it, I messed you up pretty badly didn’t I?” Luffy asks, half tauntingly, seeing Lucci’s wince and grimace a minute ago
“So, that over the top fighting style you were using, it wasn’t just fun and games then, interesting. But it’ll take more than tricks to beat a master at all 6 Rokushiki techniques” Lucci declares “In order to use them, their body must be powerful enough to sustain them”
“Why do you keep telling me things like I’m supposed to care?” Luffy shouts in response, running straight at the leopard man, his punch blocked by a kick before he’s forced to dodge another Rakyaku: Gaicho.
In the tunnel
Given 5 of the current 10 straw hats in the tunnel were Devil fruit users, it isn’t surprising that the group as a whole weren’t fairing too well within a submerged tunnel system, simply being carried by the water with a very limited amount of air still in their lungs, hope was nearly lost for the few still conscious until…
“No need to worry, I’m not going to let you die down here” a melodious voice coos, before the crew find themselve caught in something, which then proceeds to pull them along through the water
‘I’ve got to be hallucinating, but I guess a cute mermaid girl is a nice final image before I drown’ Sanji thinks, seeing a pink tail flick in and out of his vision
“I’m swimming as fast as I can, none of you are going to die on my watch!” The dream was broken for all of them as Kokoro shouts, her tail beating as fast as she could make it, as well as a shocked gasp from the non-Devil fruit users, not exactly helping their situation there.
Back with Robin and company
“And stay out!” Franky shouts, him and Kaos having managed to clear out most of the ship that had been meant to bring Robin to marine headquarters, the cyborg laughing as he watches the grunts swim away in terror… honestly that razor wire thing probably would have worried him if the lanky bastard had been on the marine’s instead of their side
“That’s all of them Mr. Franky” Artemis chirps happily
“Just Franky kid, and good to know, now all we need to do is find and round up the others, hopefully Luffy will have beaten or else given Lucci the slip by then” Franky explains, watching Robin and Kaos look for the wheel, or whatever method is used to control this particular vessel (in their/my defense, Merry used a pole with a sheep on the top).
“They’re almost here, so keep an eye out Franky” Kaos shouts, not seeing the bluenette nod but the yell did bring both of them out to see the commission
“DON’T YOU DIE ON ME NOW!”
“WHAAAAAAAAA!”
“That’s…” Robin gasps
“The crazy old lady from the train station” Kaos supplies, getting an elbow to the ribs
“I was going to say a mermaid, but yes I believe that is that Kokoro woman” the archaeologist agrees
“Are they saggy because she’s old or because she’s a mermaid and the water should be holding them up?” Artemis asks, causing coughing fits in the 2 men and a sigh from Robin
“Age kiddo, but that’s not important right now, getting the others to wake up is” she orders, snapping Franky and Kaos out of their moments, and in turn moving to assist Kokoro with getting the rest of the crew to regain consciousness. Understandably Robin and Kaos started with the Devil fruit users, while the other 3 kind of just started shaking people, eh, same end result: many fountains of water and coughing straw hats as they greedily sucked in air.
“Ok, everyone seems to be breathing and mildly conscious” Robin says, sighing in relief
“Any injuries sustained during this rescue incident were probably made worse by whatever the f*ck happened but this was necessary” Kaos muses, again NOT the ship doctor “Speaking of…”
“Tunnel sprung a leak or something either way there was a tidal wave inside the structure. We all got swept up in it” Kokoro explains
“You have flippers for feet” Artemis points out, now the others were as safe as they could make them the ‘mermaid’ had all her attention
“That I do little lady” Kokoro replies, then see’s Robin “There you are, the girl that all this fuss is over. Pirate King boy may not be here but everyone else is so I count that as a rescue half complete. When I met you all back at the terminal I’d never of suspected you had the strength or willpower to actually pull something like this off, but now, I’m really quite impressed” she chuckles, as the Straw hats start to come to, and see a still mostly topless Kokoro, shells covering the important parts
“It wasn’t a nightmare!” Usopp shrieks
“Looks like they were right, mermaid sightings really are dugong while delirious” Zoro grumbles
“Shut up asshole and stop killing my fantasies. She didn’t even claim to be a mermaid” Sanji growls, glaring murderously as the back of the swordsman’s head.
“Specifically I’m an icefish mermaid” Kokoro decides to admit
“Shut up!” the cook cries
“Sanji, mermaids age like regular people, an old mermaid will look the same as a old lady, just with a tail instead of legs” Kaos sighs, not that he was going to even think about looking in Kokoro’s direction until Franky or one of the others give the all clear.
“Also for the record, once a mermaid reaches the age of about 30, her tail splits in two and she can walk on land like a regular human. If you guys manage to survive long enough to make it to Fishman island you’ll see exactly what I mean” kokoro says, while continuing to laugh at Sanji’s mental collapse.
“Ah, f*ck that tumble really didn’t do much for my legs” Vivi whimpers, getting grimaces from some of the more aware crewmates
“Damn, that… wait who did you fight?” Zoro asks
“The hair guy” Kaya coughs [“Attention pirates, my hair will now capture you” Really wish I’d thought of that joke like a month ago :(]
“Kumadori” Nami adds, then her brain catches up to her on where she is, and alongside Chopper the 2 tackle hug Robin “Are you hurt, did those bastards do anything to you?”
“Any damage done to me has been paid in full with interest by Spandam courtesy of Kaos. I’m actually most likely the least injured person here, after Artemis so really my injuries should low priority” she assures them, as well as a still sitting Kaya (she was going to need to work on repairing her relationship with the young medic)
“Damn, these marines clearly known what ‘Scorched Earth’ is” Valentino mutters half jokingly
“I can see why even the thought of a Buster Call scares you” Victor adds, directed as Robin who nods “This is some messed up stuff”
“Yeah, but they also seem to rather notably be ignoring where Robin is supposed to be, otherwise they’d have already destroyed the bridge by now” Franky notes “Guess they plan to capture her and take her in once they’re finished with the rest of Ennis Lobby”
“You don’t, or I suppose more accurately can’t use a battleship to take someone in alive, so they’ll probably be letting off hand to hand units once their current objective is complete” Sanji agrees
“Which is bad, given most of us are mildly screwed after taking out CP9” Alvida adds, checking on Vivi “Also, where the Hell is Luffy?”
“Last I saw, on the first tower of the bridge” Franky answers, getting a nod from Kaos to pretty much confirm their captain was still there “Him and that pigeon guy”
“So, should we go help him?” Usopp asks
“No, against Rob Lucci we’d just get in the way” Kaos states, now sitting on the deck with his arms crossed
“Even you?” Nami teases, surprised by the nod
“Most likely yes, I’d probably be able to distract him, but if I’m being honest, Luffy works best alone when he can just focus on the fight and not worry about allies or things to defend. All we can do is wait here, and make sure there’s somewhere for him to run to when he’s done”
“You’re keeping an eye on the situation though, right?” Robin whispers to him
“Of course I am. He may be my captain, but he’ll always be my little brother” the purplette chuckles
“Things are about to get worse before they get better,” Valentina sighs, preparing to fight.
“The ship is ready to go, all that’s missing is Luffy” Nami announces “He's still holding his own, right?”
“The captain is fine, a little beat up but we all are at this point” the researcher answers, standing up and considering joining in on the bridge, but the 4 (Franky, Zoro, Sanji, Ussop) seemed to be more than enough for cannon fodder and it was probably a good idea to have a 2nd line for them to fall back to if things go south. Such as right now given what just came over the Den Den’s
“This is a report from the main island’s front gate. We have collected and accounted for all personnel from Enies Lobby, during which about 50 pirates as well as the 2 mutinous giants were located attempting to flee the island via the northwest gate. We hit them with a full barrage, all targets are believed to be eliminated. In the island’s current condition the chances of survival are minimal. Report, the number of survivors on Enise Lobby are 0”
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!
“Galley La, and the Franky Family” Vivi gasps
“Oimo and Kashi” Usopp whimpers, tears leaking out of his mask
“Yokozuna too, I know he wouldn’t have abandoned them so he must have been taken out too” Kokoro states, her tone sad even if her face seemed unable to make that expression
“That means Sodem and Gomorra are dead too” Chopper cries, lying on the deck of the ship
Robin didn’t know any of the Franky Family or Galley La, but they had helped her crew get this far, so turned to Kaos, whose face was expressionless for once “Ready the cannon” this caused actual cracks to form a smile across his cheeks, his lips still held in an straight line
“I don’t know how many times I can use it” he warns
“I don’t care, and I doubt you do right now either” Robin snaps
“You’ve got me there”
“If we’re going down…” Valentina declares
“...we’re taking as many of them with us as we can” Victor finishes
“This is Battleship 2, the Tower of Law as well as the underground passages connecting it to the Bridge of Hesitation have both been destroyed. This along with the general leveling of the island, means the only remaining structures are the Bridge itself”
Over with Luffy
Luffy pants heavily, forcing his body to enter Gear 2nd, and having menial success “This is the last time, I’m not going to stop until I beat you” he says
“Don’t kid yourself, your body can’t take much more of this, keep using that technique and you’ll die” Lucci scoffs
“I don’t care, if I die stopping you from taking my friends from me, then so be it” Luffy states just as his skin starts to pink and steam.
Jet Pistol
Gepo
‘Damn it, he jumped back so he wouldn’t take the full force of the blow’ Luffy grimaces, before having to dodge several Shigan coming from his side, bobbing and weaving before catching a punch from Lucci with his hand, so he knew the leopard couldn’t dodge a...
Jet Bullet
...right in his ribs, throwing him back and disorientating him enough for another direct hit, this time
Jet Shotgun
This attack leaving fist shaped imprints in Lucci’s chest, and probably the rumble he’d been thrown through if it hadn’t shattered on impact
‘Damn it, this kid is making me go all out. I’m going to have to go to my limit and use the secret technique to end this’ Lucci thinks as he shakilly pulls himself to his feet, leaping towards a charging Luffy, his clenched fists just shy of touching his chest when he unleashes it
ROKUOGAN
“That, was like an impact dial from skypiea” Luffy wheezes, thinking aloud “only a lot more painful, so maybe that’s what it feels to take a Reject to the chest” he didn’t really have much time to think it over as Lucci took less time to recover from using the Rokuogan
Rakyaku: Gaicho
On the actual bridge
“Luffy’s not going to die, is he?” Usopp asks
“Did you hit your head again while I wasn’t looking, because I know you can’t be that stupid” Zoro retorts
“There’s no need to be so rude”
“He means Luffy won’t die here long nose” Alvida translates “you shouldn’t think so negatively about the captain, it’s bad manners for a pirate” she adds, just as the battleships begin to converge on the bridge
BANG
“What are those idiots doing now?” Vivi moans, not able to see from the boat
“The 1st support has been cut off” announced one of the marines on the Den Den
“Oh no, if only the kid was made of rubber or something he could just bounce to freedom” Kaos sighs “We’re not going to die surrounded by these morons”
“Rob Lucci and Straw Hat Luffy are both inside the support column. All ships converge on the bridge, on the vessel we’re located 14 pirates, including Pirate Hunter Zoro, Nico Robin, Mirror Master Kaos and the Artist of Death Artemis. We believe these to be the criminals who defeated CP9 in the Tower or Law,”
“I don’t know if I should be happy or annoyed to not be important enough to recognise” Alvida huffs
“They’re going to try kill us anyway, feel free to be as pissed off as you like” Robin responds “Any chance?”
“I know”
Himawari Kyannon
“Yeah, recoil’s a bitch. I’m going to be leaving this island with broken arms, which sucks” the researcher sighs, annoyed that the side on attack did notably less damage than head on.
“Hey guys, look over there!” Usopp shouts, pointing to the wrecked support pillar, the wall being destroyed meaning the could finally see Luffy again as well as Lucci, both clearly starting to reach their limit “Hey Luffy!” he calls, trying to get his attention “We made it!”
“Everyone made it to the bridge safe and sound, little banged up but they’ll live” Franky adds
“We even rescued Robin and Artemis. Beat this puss* cat so we can get out of here!” Sanji shouts, his side objective successful when Lucci scowls just as Luffy smiles, his friends were alive and Robin had been rescued, everything was going according to plan.
“Now, we just need to figure out how to hold off this many marines while he deals with Lucci” Zoro says to the rest of the crew
‘To the 200 elite captain and commanders, eliminate these criminals immediately, all lower ranked soldiers remain on the ship’ was heard from the ships
“200!” Ussop screams “We can’t deal with that many all at once, especially if they’re all at least as strong as that Smoker guy from Loguetown and Alabasta”
“The fact they’re trying to overwhelm us with numbers, just means they’re afraid of what we can do. If they didn’t think we were a threat they’d have sent one guy, or even a handful of lieutenants” Zoro argues, trying to reassure or at least relight the sniper’s confidence, helped by the fact he did believe throwing so many high ranked men against so few enemies showed how powerful they thought they were.
“Nami, you Robin, Vivi and Kaya can hold the ship right?” Alvida asks, the question returning a smirk to the researcher’s face as well as a determined grin on the V’s
“I guess, where are you going?” the navigator asks, not quite connecting the dots just yet
“Making sure the boys don’t have all the fun, and more importantly, not letting those bastards get anywhere near this ship” the smooth woman explains/declares, hopping off the ship and back onto the bridge’s platform, Kaos, Valentina and Victor following swiftly after.
“Destroy them!” came the apparent battle cry “Capture Nico Robin and bring her in!” as the captain lept from the battleships onto the Bridge of Hesitation
“Not a chance, not after all the sh*t we had to go through to get her back” Zoro growls before putting Wado in his mouth
“Send all the goons you want, we’ll break ‘em really good” Franky smirks as he opens up his cannon arm
Weapons Left
“We don’t have time for single combat, take out as many as you can” Kaos shouts, Hebi lancing a couple before deciding on something else
Combo move: Subarashī hinotama
After ensuring he wasn’t about to get incinerated Usopp turns and smiles behind his mask “Those Dial gloves working how you wanted them?”
Valentina grins “Almost perfect, but really as imitations go I couldn’t ask for better” she replies, before making a hand gesture and flicking her arm behind her, sending a couple captains flying off the bridge
Fūton: Daitoppa
“That’s what I call Super there Val, keep knocking them off like that and we might actually be able to get this done” Franky cheers, knocking a handful of captains away with his chain arm
Not wanting to be outdone Usopp aims up at some of the still falling/leaping marines “Feast your eyes upon my crowd control techniques”
Sunflower Star
“For so called captains these guys only have their numbers going for them, they’re all weak” Zoro complains “Not to steal a line from mirror eyes, but I’m almost bored fighting these weaklings” until a large man with a axe steps in his path “Ooh a broadaxe, but can you use it?” he taunts, blocking a strike with 2 swords “Ok, now I’m invested again, thanks” he smirks around Wado, the smile growing when the man began to spin like a top while swinging the axe, it pushed him back a little, but that didn’t mean he was in any danger. Like the rest he went down in one hit, but at least it was one of his usual finishers for a change.
Oni Giri
“Anyone seen Sanji?” Alvida wonders aloud, glad her fruit kept her clean as otherwise she’d once more be covering in blood and viscera like back on Whisky peak
“Not since the battleships showed up, and he isn’t like you or me so tracking him is out of the question” Kaos replies, spinning his Firedance Rathmaul and severing a sword wielding commander’s arm, the heat from the blades cauterising the wounds ‘Oh I’ve missed using one of these’
“Of all the times to piss off it’s now” the mace wielder groans
Thunderbolt tempo
ZAP
“Guess we missed a few” Victor sighs “At least that explosion means Nami and the others are holding their own”
“Yeah, seems our little staff wielding thief has got some ranged side options”
Clutch
“Boom, broken spine!” Artemis cheers alongside Chimney as Robin takes out a handful of marines
“Keep it up big boobied pirate lady!”
“Stay off the ship!” Vivi shouts, her wires doing damage to anyone who manages to dodge Nami’s thunderbolts, before either Robin or Kaya take them down
In the tower
“So, your friends ARE still alive, sometimes things can even surprise me” Lucci hums, before the fight resumes, Luffy going all out just as much as he was “Seems you really are on your last legs, that blood pumping technique seems to be losing it’s edge, guess it only multiples your base strength so as you weaken so does it” he taunts even as Luffy’s punches become blurs to anyone who could see them right now “It’s pointless to struggle, you never stood a chance in the first place, not against me, and certainly not the World Government. Face the facts”
Jet Axe
Lucci leaps into the air to dodge then rains down Rankyakus on Luffy who punches back in response “I don’t care if this island burns, I will chase that woman to the ends of the earth as long as she’s wanted by the World Government. I’ll never stop chasing her and there’s not a damn thing you can do to stop me, that is the meaning of Dark Justice”
“You won’t be chasing anyone ever again, because I’m going to stop you right here right now!” Luffy declares
Jet Stamp
Another wall collapses and Luffy grimaces, then eyes widen in shock as Lucci is once more in his face
ROKUOGAN
Luffy hits the ground like a comet, Lucci landing with a touch more grace but the recoil/toll using the King gun was clear in his body language and stance, it was unlikely he had enough in him to use it a 3rd time. Which was why he was shocked to see Luffy pull himself to his feet, (even if he did drop back to his knees a moment later body) still steaming in Gear 2nd, having thought at the very least he would have knocked the rubber brat out of his power up. Still, it didn’t look like he was going to last much longer, this fight was as good as over…
“LUFFY!”
TBC
LW: Yeah, I’m gonna be a dick and end it here, eh we’re almost done so I’m sure everything should be fine. This arc is most likely going to be one more chapter so definitely come back next time to see Enise Lobby end.
I’d like to state here, all the Vice Admirals introduced in this arc, can go die in a fire. Just f*ck them all!
Chapter 83: One last adventure, Merry’s farewell tour
Chapter Text
LW: ‘Sigh’ you all know what’s coming, here’s the final chapter of the arc, enjoy.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - One last adventure, Merry’s farewell tour
Bridge of Hesitation
“Super!” Franky shouts as he flings a marine back onto the ship she came from (probably) “Are we sure these guys are captains, they’re kind of weak?” he grumbles
“Eh, rank doesn’t always mean strength, I knocked out a captain with one punch back in the East Blue… God that guy was a dumbass” Kaos sighs, ducking under a Strong Right and stabbing another marine in the gut “But yeah, very few of these people would give us even a fraction of the trouble Smoker would, even the handful of Devil Fruit users they brought with them”
“I know we shouldn’t complain about easy fights, but…”
“It sucks and it boring, we know” Alvida snaps her mace turning one captain’s head to paste
Nitoryu: Taka Nami
Another handful of marines are thrown back by the force of Zoro’s swings, though after everything he was starting to tire, even if these guys were pretty weak they were chipping away at the whole crew. Didn’t help that Sanji had disappeared and Usopp was having a moment.
“LUFFY!” Usopp bellows, the Sogeking mask finally coming off “What the hell are you doing? Get Up Luffy!”
In the tower
The noise draws his attention and Luffy turns his head, eyes widen slightly when he sees a familiar long nosed sniper “Usopp?” he wheezes “I, didn’t know, you were here too”
“Don’t get the wrong idea, I just came here to save Robin alright?” Usopp shouts, seeing Luffy had noticed him “I didn’t come here to see you or your stupid face ok?” [It’s not like you’re my friend or anything bbbb- baka!] he then turns his attention to Lucci, now standing tall after having a minute to recover “Hey you, CP9 boss cat, I know you can hear me! From here on out I’m your opponent, come and get some” Usopp declares, though the leopard barely gives him a side glance “Yeah you heard me, you’re not laying a hand on Robin, I’m a world renowned warrior of the sea, a man with over 8,000 men under his command, I am the Great Captain Usopp!” Lucci continues to stare “I’ve sailed up and down the Grand Line, I’ve destroyed countless islands, you think a kitty cat like you can stand against me?”
Oh crap…
Lucci’s body tenses before he turns, slowly walking over to the edge of the tower, murder in his eyes which locked onto Usopp’s.
“Hey, get back here. Ignore him your fight is with me” Luffy tries to yell, but it comes out more like a whisper shout
Lucci stops and chuckles “You’re already done I have no more reason to stay, but I’ll let you live a little longer. I’m going to go up there, kill every last pirate I see, then come down here and end you, that way you’ll die covered in the blood of those you were too weak to save”
“Come on scaredy cat, I’m right here!”
“Idiot. Shut up, he’ll kill you” Luffy calls up to Usopp
“No you shut up, what can you do about it lying on the ground at death’s door? Someone has to save Robin and the others if you’re not going to” Usopp counters, Luffy’s jaw clenches in anger, at Usopp, Lucci, but also himself
“Pigeon bastard’s mine, I’m going to kick his ass for what he’s done, stealing Robin, hurting my family” Luffy growls, his body trying and failing to pull itself back to it’s feet
“Then get up, prove me wrong, show him and everyone here…. Why you’re the captain, and why you will be the KING!”
“Are you done yet kid?” Lucci asks, growing bored of this display “I’ve got a lot of killing still to do today” he chuckles, then stops when he hears the voice behind him
“You’re right Usopp” Luffy says tiredly, but once more mostly standing and with Gear 2nd still going strong, somehow “I can’t die here, there’s too much I promised we’d do. Too many people are counting on me”
“Luffy” the sniper whimpers, happy tears leaking out as he sees that it worked, now he just has to hope Luffy can actually beat the cat bastard “Finish him, then we can finally leave this place forever!”
“I’LL WIN THIS NO MATTER WHAT!” Luffy screams, the steam actually getting stronger and thicker as it billows off his body
“I’m surprised you can stand, your willpower is truly extraordinary”
“I’m never giving up, you hear me Lucci? Until I beat you, I won’t drop again” he declares, Lucci responding by bulking up again
Life Return: Release
“These games end now. You’re teetering over the edge, I can end this with a single blow” he boasts “And don’t worry about your friends. After I end you, you’ll all be reunited in Hell in no time”
The half leopard leaps and tries to do as promised, end it in a single blow only for Luffy’s punches to block his, both jump back before charging arms swinging fast enough both fighters were a blur of limbs, neither side giving even an inch...at first. As both continued to brawl Luffy was slowly being pushed back.
Back near the boat
Thunderbolt Tempo
“Please, tell me they’ve nearly run out of goons to throw at us” a panting Nami pleads, getting an frown from Robin and a tired shrug from Kaya
“You’re doing great, we’ll look after you racoon-dog, the kid and miss blue here while you help the others clean up” Kokoro suggests/ half orders, ignoring Choppers whines about being a reindeer and feeling useless, which Vivi tries to comfort him about, Artemis pouting over being just called ‘the kid’.
“She has a point, if we go up there we’ll see just how many are still remaining, as well as finish the job quicker” Robin muses
On the main bridge
“Hey guys, this one just turned into balls” Frankys shouts, his guard up as he’s pelted with the marine’s cannon ball sized parts
“You can’t stand up to my Berry Berry fruit, it’s berry deadly, haha” the goon laughs, until...
Boom Fist
“You deserved that for the pun alone” Victor huffs, punching the head and causing it to fly into one of the battleships “You hanging in their Franky?”
“I’m still Super, got enough cola in the tank to keep fighting for a bit longer” the cyborg assures him, giving the thumbs up and a grin.
“See what I meant, even the Devil fruit users aren’t too much of a problem for us, speaking of… Zoro the one behind you with the veil is a paramecia type” Kaos calls, getting a nod from the swordsman
Trente Fleur: Clutch
“The cavalry has arrived” Alvida says with a chuckle, the group in front of her dropping with a painful snap to reveal Robin, Nami and Kaya, the smooth woman noticing she was using regular rather than syrup bullets
“Does that mean we get a break now?” Valentina asks jokingly, still sitting on the marine she’d tackled at 1,000kg.
“You’re Roronoa Zoro, correct?” The veiled marine asks
“Yeah, who’s asking?” Zoro mumbles through his sword
“The man who’s going to kill you” he declares, before running at the swordsman
Zoro rolls his eyes “Really, you think you can beat a swordsman barehanded? You captains really are braindead aren’t you” he swung with Yubishiri, only for the blade to crumble when the marine caught it “What?”
“I am Shu, eater of the Sabi Sabi no mi, making me a Rust man. Your swords are useless against me” the now named Shu gloats
“Paramecia, you couldn’t have given me more information, like the fact he can disintegrate metal objects via rust?” Zoro shouts
“Hey, I can only tell if someone has one, and their general type due to feeling” Kaos argues, getting defensive “do you really think I’d have let you fight someone like that if I knew what he could actually do? Speaking of, any volunteers?”
“Not me, I don’t want to know if he can rust my parts even through the skin” Franky understandably ‘Not it’s himself immediately
Firebird Star
“Thanks Usopp, could have used it like 2 minutes ago but better late than never” Zoro nods to the sniper before sheathing his swords
“Everyone’s a critic” the long nose sighs
In the tower
Lucci zips through the air, dodging strikes before trying to return one of his own
Jet Pistol
Only to be unbalanced when one of Luffy’s attacks glances off his ribs, he wavered but managed to land within striking distance of Luffy, preparing his ultimate strike, he even thought to wrap his tail around Luffy’s waist as it was unlikely even in his current condition the rubber boy was just going to let himself get hit with one of these a 3rd time
Sai Dai Rin: ROKUOGAN
Luffy’s mouth practically erupted the amount of blood he hacked up, the shockwave even causing damage to the wall behind him never mind what nasty sh*t it did to his body. Releasing his grip on the boy, Lucci was surprised he was still standing after that attack, but given how much his body swayed and his face seemed to be pretty vacant, he started to move away, he had other targets to take out. Until he noticed, he didn’t hear the body drop, turning his head he say Luffy was still standing, tall and defiant… and it pissed him off
“Why won’t you just die!” Lucci roars, just as Luffy makes his last stand
GUM GUM…
Tekkai
...JET GATLING
ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA
Luffy’s punches were imperceptible even to someone with Rob Lucci’s heightened senses, but the impact sure wasn’t, even with his Tekkai active Jet Gatling punched through it like it wasn’t even there, slamming him up against the wall until neither the leopard or the wall could take any more hits and he was thrown through it, landing unconscious on one of the battleships. His opponent beaten, Luffy finally fell, Gear 2nd dissipating from his body as he lay there, on the verge of passing out.
“We’re safe now” he says to himself, before expanding his chest as much as was comfortable right now before yelling “WE’RE ALL GOING BACK, TOGETHER! ROBIN”
Robin smiles through her tears while Alvida sniffles, trying to keep a level head “Damn idiot, don’t scare us like that” she grouses, getting a low chuckle from Kaos behind her
“You heard the captain, sounds like a strategic retreat is next on the agenda!”
“Wait a go straw hat” came a far off voice, catching everyone's attention
“Shut up moron they’ll hear us”
“Who cares, we want him to know!”
“Seems someone nabbed themselves a Den Den” Valentina hums
“Wait a go Big Bro!” Franky gasps, could it really?
“Stop it, they still think we’re dead remember, you’re gonna blow it” came a gruff rebuttal, the Straw Hats realising who it was even if the marines were still mostly confused
“They survived, somehow” Vivi smiles from the ship, an imoblie Chopper resting on her lap.
“Too late. Anyway, the giants took most of the blast but thanks to the fact Galley La ropes don’t break we’re ok, so are Sodom, Gamora and Yokozuna” Kiwi explains
“That’s good” the reindeer cries, getting a no and a laugh from Kokoro
“Knew those bastards were stubborn, serves them well in a situation like this” the mermaid cackles
“Exactly. Don’t worry about us Big Bro, we’ve got a plan to get ourselves out of here, you just worry about getting yourself out alive” Zambei transmits, causing Franky to burst into tears
“I wasn’t worried, not one bit. Bwaaaaa!”
“Cry later, survive now Franky. Nother Paramecia dead ahead” Kaos shouts, Franky snapping out of it in time to block… a wheel?
“Damn it, guys, I got a weird one, and I don’t just mean the headgear” the cyborg calls “f*ck it, I’ll just beat you all till I make a path to the ship
Strong Right
Thunderbolt Tempo
Oni Giri
36 calibre phoenix
Rinke Fleur
Breeze breath bomb
Butō: Renjin
Unfortunately there was one flaw with their current plan: Luffy was too heavily injured and worn out from his fight with Lucci to make his way to the bridge, never mind the former escort ship, even Usopp’s encouragement wasn’t doing much good.
“Come on Luffy, we’re surrounded by water and battleships, if we stay any longer we’ll all be blown to bits! Please just move!” the sniper shouts, seeing Luffy’s body twitch and shudder, but actual movement seemed to be alluding him “Guys we have a problem, Luffy can’t move! What do we do?”
“Get over her Usopp, we’ll grab him on the way past” Nami shouts, all but one ignoring her “Hey wait…”
Shimmer
“Idiot” the red head groans as Kaos zips past Usopp and over to the pillar “Ignore the dumbass, get moving now!”
“FIRE”
BOOM WHOOOSH
Everyone stops, frozen in shock as the battleships bombard their escape ship… but more importantly
“Vivi!”
“Chopper!”
“Artemis!”
“Kokoro!”
“f*ck, now we’re screwed in every direction. That ship was the only way out, now what do we do?” Zoro growls
“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Came a shout/bellow from the smoke, revealed to be Sanji, carrying Kokoro with Vivi’s arms around his neck, meanwhile Artemis was running close behind with Chopper on her back like a rucksack, Chimney and her rabbit not far behind “We made it, out of my way!” Sanji shouts, kicking some gaping marines out of the way as he ran towards the others
“Thank goodness you’re all ok” Nami cheers, smiling as Artemis is yanked off her feet by Robin, the artist nearly getting suffocated in her chest.
“I’ve just found you I don’t want to lose you any time soon” she whispers holding her tight
“I take back all the bad things I was thinking for you ditching up cook” Alvida says as she takes Vivi off his shoulders, holding the now blushing princess in a bridal carry “Though an explaination would still be nice”
“Sorry, there was something I needed to do” Sanji explains while trying to catch his breath “Didn’t expect things to get this bad though, given they want to take Robin alive I mean”
“Yeah, I think they realised that wasn’t actually possible so are going to just bomb us all to hell” Kaya guesses, taking Chopper off the ground where he fell and stitching him to her back.
She was proven right when the cannons began to fire on the Straw Hats/ remains of the bridge, hurrying them away from the docking area an closer to the already destroyed section Luffy and Kaos were on the other side of.
“How do we keep getting caught in sh*t like this?” Nami screams as the group continue to just about outrun the destruction
“How are they allowed to bomb their own guys?” Vivi wonders aloud
“It’s possible sociopathic tendencies are highly valued among any marines sent for Buster Call Duty, either that or their idea of justice sees loss during something like this, while trying to kill pirates as acceptable losses” Robin replies, at least trying to come up with an answer, until the straw hats were together at last, but pinned and surrounded on the remaining column of the bridge
“Well, as last stands go, I can think of worse” Victor hums, loading his guns
“And I couldn’t ask for a better group to go down with” Valentina adds, trying to raise some spirits
“All ships, prepare to open fire on the first column” was heard from one of the battleships
“1st column… but thats” Nami gasps
“Where Luffy and Kaos are, yeah” Zoro nods “Really hope mirror eyes can keep the captain alive till someone comes up with a plan here”
“Can’t he just Shimmer back?” Kaya asks, getting a shake of the head from Artemis
“Given the damage he did to Blueno’s hand when he tried to grab him, Papa’s Shimmer is more than just a high speed technique like CP9’s Soru” the artist guesses, then sighs
On the 1st column
“You did it Luffy, nice work” Kaos smiles, one mirrored by his captain before he pulls the body onto his back
“Looks like you took some damage, that arm gonna be any good to you today?” Luffy half jokes, before Hebi’s barbed wires wrapped around his waist and torso to keep him secure
“Look who’s talking, damn steamed jumping bean, who’s idea was it to fight a cat while on speed?”
“Shishishi, it was actually kind of awesome, did you see Gear 3rd?” Luffy asked
“Yeah, seems you turned GumGum Balloon into an entire subset of attacks” Kaos teases
“All ships, prepare to open fire on the first column” was heard from one of the battleships
“Oh f*ck off” the researcher sighs, then swallows heavily as the cannons aim directly for them
“Any plans?” Luffy asks tiredly “Besides getting blown up or me getting shredded?”
“I’m trying Lu, this isn’t exactly what I thought was going to happen” he sighs then stops “Can you hear that?”
Luffy blinks “I think so, it’s like a whisper and a song?” he asks “Look below”
“All ships commence firing one Straw Hat Luffy and Mirror Master Kaos in 5…”
“Jump in the sea!” Both snap out of their haze as they hear Usopp’s shout
“4”
“The Sea, you need to get off the platform and jump into the sea!”
“He does remember both of us ate Devil fruits right?” Luffy asks
“3”
“Honestly, at this point suicide is looking pretty nice, lets me flip these guys off on the way down by stealing the kill” Kaos replies, only half jokingly “You ok going down with me Cap?”
“2”
“We’ve had a good run, let’s not let the marines end it for us. Don’t forget to smile though Shishishi”
“1”
“Oh there she is, clever girl” Kaos chuckles
“Jeronimoh!”
“To the Sea!”
Soru
“That’s the signal, everyone follow them!” Usopp calls before jumping himself “To the sea!”
“To the sea!”
“It’s been a nice run, but to the sea we return”
Fūton: Reppūshō
“To the sea!” Artemis cheers, leaping with Robin and laughing on the way down
“They’re jumping off the bridge” one marine gasps
“There’s no way they could survive in these waters, those Straw Hats are completely out of their minds” another scoffs
They weren’t… well maybe some of them were, but there was another reason the straw hats all jumped.
‘Let’s go back everyone’ a soft, sweet voice whispers in their ears
“Fire”
BOOM
‘Back to the seas of adventure’ the Going Merry coos, as her passengers/friends all landed relatively safely on the deck ‘I came to get you’
“Anyone else glad Kaya ate that fruit when we got it?” Valentina asks once everyone was accounted for “Otherwise most of us would have had to aim for the water… a bad move for like half the crew”
“Always happy to help” she chuckles
“We’re on the Merry!” Chopper cries, fidgeting weakly as he balls his eyes out
“You came to get us girl” Usopp whimpers, caressing the mast
“But how, I saw the ship fall into the sea myself” FRanky wonders aloud “Those CP9 bastards sent her falling when they grabbed us”
“More importantly, who sailed it here, it’s the Grand Line she couldn’t have just bobbed over, especially not in time to reach us” Nami adds
“Less thinking more escaping, there are like 8 battleships pointed at us” Zoro shouts, while Kaos was separating himself and Luffy, the rubber boy dropping onto the deck, then moved to joining Vivi on Alvida’s lap
“You alright Luffy?” Vivi asks in concern
“I think I’ll be fine, my body’s just too weak to do much actual moving around” he sighs “Nami, Valentina, let’s get a move on, Robin has been rescued and the crew has been reunited. Away!”
Robin smiles seeing everyone working together again, how could she throw this away? “Everyone, thank you for doing this, for thinking me worth saving” she says, jumping when she gets a surprise jab in the kidney
“Mom, don’t be dumb that’s Uncle Luffy’s job. The straw hats are a family, they were always going to come get you”
Kaos nods, giving a slightly wheezing laugh “She’s right, you don’t just leave the crew, and we especially won’t let someone be forced to leave. You thought the best choice was to get away, when the real best option, is for us to stick together, we work best as a group” he says, getting nods from quite a few of the straw hats
“Besides, nobody else actually wants to work with Kaos, you can’t just abandon your fellow Demon Twin” Zoro teases, getting a head slap from a bloomed hand in response.
‘ALL SHIPS, PREPARE TO FIRE!”
‘sh*t!’
“Anyone got any ideas, at this range they can’t possibly miss us” Franky asks
Only miss they did, some cannons even managing to hit other battleships, while others started to drift towards and even into each other
“Um, what just happened?” Usopp asks in confusion
“Maybe the universe is giving us a win?” Chopper guesses
“Or the Gates are closing” Kaos responds, pointing right behind them “That thing screws with the currents something aweful, or at least it does while closed”
“So is that why those whirlpools disappeared?” Luffy asked, remembering seeing some before being directed to the underground tunnel
“Pretty much, yeah”
“You’re welcome by the way” Sanji says with a smug grin on his face “I thought we were going to need more than just luck and the captain’s stubbornness to get out of this alive”
“You’re some kind of genius!” Chopper cheers
“That’s so cool, now’s our chance to escape while they’re all panicking” Luffy adds grinning.
“Kiss ass later, escape now, Nami, I presume you can navigate through this” Zoro asks
“And if you can’t … do it anyway” Kaos adds, as they didn’t exactly have much too lose at this point.
“Yeah, yeah don’t get in my face. I can get us through, I just need you guys to hold off any attacks while I find us a safe path” the navigator explains
“Ay ay Navigator Nami” Robin says chuckling to herself
“Yara yara daze” Nami sighs, before her and Chopper head to the controls, the others taking positions around the ship to deflect any cannon fire
Triple Firebird star
36 Calibre Phoenix
“That’s the best I can do, being down a sword means I can’t do a full 108 phoenix” Zoro grumbles to himself
“Don’t worry, we’ll find you another one when we’re not in imminent danger” Vivi assures him from the seats her and Luffy had been left on
“We’ll find you the best sword ever!” Luffy whisper shouts
Collier Shoot
Mirror Gate
Bark BOOM
“Lasoo seems to have joined the party too” the researcher laughs, the bazooka dog barks and wags his tail, before spitting another bomb at the pursuing battleships
Honeysuckle shooter
Raiton: Raiga
Raiton: Raikiri
“Static Dial works” Valentina cheers grinning to Usopp and flashing a thumbs up, wearing a purple glove on her left hand
Katon: Endan
Nose Fancy Cannon
Trente Fleur: Barricade
“We don’t want ‘em, have them back!” Franky shouts, tossing the cannonballs Robin manages to catch with her blooms
“Chopper, helm hard to port, I’ve found our escape route” Nami orders, the reindeer nods and follows the command, wager to help after being useless in the last battle.
“We’re almost at the end, get ready Franky!”
“You got it Miss Navigator, watch this kids, it’s about to get super wild” the cyborg says, getting into position on the back of the Merry “Also, this might bang up your ship a little, so apologies in advance” he adds before pulling out his connector pipe
Coup De Vent
“We’re flying, someone find that parachute squid” Chopper yells
“We’re going to be fine Chopper, it’s more a bounce than a drop, at the very least we’re not going to need extra help stopping” Kaos assures the reindeer
“Lanky’s right, I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t think we were going to survive the attempt” Franky explains, flashing a grin and a thumbs up.
Soon enough they Merry returned to the water, skipping a couple times like a skimming stone but besides that no complaints and the Straw Hats were going to be home free, though Robin and Luffy were both curious about the frigid glare Kaos sent to the island as it faded from view.
“Luffy, even if you didn’t have a Devil fruit this would be stupid, especially given your current condition” the researcher sighs as with Kokoro and Franky’s help Luffy was draped over Merry’s lamb figurehead.
“Don’t care it’s my seat” Luffy says sticking out his tongue before turning his head and addressing the ship “You really came through for us girl, it was a shock but a good one. We’d have never made it off that island without you”
“Not to ruin the moment kid” Franky interrupts “but you all did some pretty major sh*t back there, the government aren’t just going to let that slide, especially burning down their flag”
“Given they burnt down the entire island themselves, at least they have no proof we did it” Usopp tries to lighten the mood
“Why would that stop them? Most of Robin’s life is proof that evidence isn’t required, only an accusation”
“Besides, I don’t really care what they think or do, I only came to the island and torched the flag because they took Robin, if they hadn’t done that their stupid flag and island would both be unburnt” Luffy responds with an implied shrug, which was currently outside his range of movements “Also, thanks for helping Franky, we couldn’t have done it without you”
“Uh, you’re welcome there Straw Hat” Franky responds awkwardly, not expecting the thanks
“Point is, we did it. We got back Robin and are all safe and sound. To Victory!” Luffy cheers loudly
Later
“I’ve checked the ship top to bottom, and we’re the only ones on it” Nami states, her as well as the people she’s talking to ignoring Luffy’s search for Usopp, as the coward had put back on his mask and that was enough to fool their captain
“That’s weird, the Merry couldn’t have sailed itself to Enise Lobby, and given the storm we had to go through to get here ourselves I doubt luck it just happened to end up here either” Sanji hums
“Plus there was the voice, calling us to the sea” Zoro adds
“Like the sirens of legend, only this time there was a ship to break our fall, rather than death by drowning” Robin says with a chuckle, the others sigh, seeing she’s returned to her morbid humour
“Idiots, why didn’t any of you listen, it was Merry’s voice, she called to us, she saved our lives” Luffy argues, stopping his search to pitch in to the conversation
“Luffy, hun, I think if Merry could talk we’d have already known” Alvida counters, though she did like the idea, however impossible it may be
“True, but it was also what I was thinking” Nami admits
“That klabautermann thing, can it do something this big?” Robin asks Kaos, Franky and Kokoro, catching the others attention
“Unlikely, or they wouldn’t be such an obscure legend. A ship that pilots itself, it’s insane” the cyborg laughs
“But it is pretty much the only option we have left, so maybe it was her, Merry’s helpful spirit, making sure we got back to safety” Kaos muses, smiling softly
“Hey guys, we got a ship incoming!” Victor calls from the crows nest
“Really, is it dangerous?” Usopp jumps to attention
“No, the sails say… Galley La. Looks like they came to see how we did” the bomberman chuckles.
“Damn, Ice for brains is with ‘em, he must really like you punks” Franky whistles, seeing the blue haired man in the front of the group, in fact he was even smiling.
‘Nico Robin survived, meaning they actually did it, they fought the World Government and not only survived, but managed to win’ the mayor thinks, impressed above all else ‘They lost it all, and then they got it all back’
Creeeeeeak
Spoke too soon there as just as the man was thinking that, Merry bounces a wave and the front supports finally gave way, the entire section pitching forward and away from the main body.
“What the, why’s the ship falling apart all of a sudden?” Zoro shouts, the few on the front deck holding on tight
“Not sudden, just badly timed. Kaku did say Merry wouldn’t make it to the next island, or she shouldn’t have been able to. She made it to Enies Lobby in record time, rescued us and probably got a fair distance back to Water 7. Merry has been falling apart, possibly since Skypeia, what’s happening now, is her finally reaching the limit, where she physically can’t hold herself together any longer” Kaos explains, having jumped back when the front started creaking
“Icepops” Luffy yells jumping onto the Merry’s head “You’re here and you’re all shipwrights, you can save Merry. Please, do anything you can, we can’t let her die. Merry isn’t just a ship she’s part of the crew, she’s one of the original 6 members” he begs “She’s the only reason any of us are still alive after that, she came to save us and now you need to save her!”
Iceberg stares into angry, desperate eyes and sighs “She’s fought hard for her crew, but it’s time for you to let her stop and rest” he responds, the message draining the energy out of the entire crew, even Franky feeling sympathetic pain over the news “Besides, I already did everything I could, nothing more can be done to that ship”
Previously, on scrap island
“This is the straw hats ship” Iceberg notes as he steps closer to the broken vessel “Aqua Lagoona banged you up real good it seems” he says, then frowns as he checks the keel “No, this damage is much older than tonight”
‘I want to sail’ a gentle voice is heard ‘I want to sail, one last time, with my friends’
Despite his better judgement Iceberg got to work, patching up the Merry as best he could, though he wasn’t sure why he was putting so much energy into trying to repair a ship that was basically a dead man walking, he felt almost compelled. Plus a part of him felt right doing so, actually working on a ship like the old days rather than running the business side of the operation. He’d probably have gone at it all night, blissfully unaware, until some of his men found him, yelling about another tidal wave incoming. Sighing deeply, Iceberg decides he’s done all he could and packs up, though the voice wafts through his mind as he gets off the island, nothing major or complicated, just a simple ‘Thank you’ before the waves crashes over her and carried the ship out to sea… she had a crew to get to after all.
Seeing it as a sign, Iceberg had his men ready a ship, they were going after those pirates,
Back to regular time
“This is a miracle, and even that doesn’t seem to fully encompass it. The lengths this ship went, far beyond her limits just to reunite with you all, it’s legendary, beyond anything I’ve seen before. I’ve been a shipwright for over 20 years, but I’ve never seen a ship like yours, it’s lived a wonderful life and now the only thing left is to give her a proper send off”
Luffy nods, understandably in serious captain mode as some call it “I understand now, it’s what’s best for the Merry”
A short time later
It was lucky Galley La came with a smaller vessel that could fit all the straw hats as they moved from the Merry to it, the mood somber but calm for the moment. They all took their last chance to see the Merry in her full glory, some wince at the amount of damage she’s sustained over the course of their journeys, looking a lot worse off than on her.
“Everyone ready?” Luffy asks, before accepting the torch from Iceberg “Merry, I know the seafloor is a dark and lonely place, but don’t worry, we’re here to see you off, and make sure it’s done right” he stretches out his arm, starting the fire in the newly formed crack in the front “I know you’d prefer he be here, but it’s probably best Usopp isn’t here to see this, he really wanted to find a way to keep you going and I’m sorry I couldn’t find a way to do so”
“Are you ok Usopp?” Kaya asks
“I will be, but this IS for the best, everything has it’s time and we all have to say goodbye at some point. Merry was just the first to go” the sniper says, sighing behind his mask, promising himself he’d be a man and not cry over a ship.
Despite how wet the wood was from the storm, and general sea faring the fire quickly overtook it, covering nearly every inch of the Merry in a manner of minutes, the Straw Hats, Galley La and Franky watch silently as Merry was given her ‘Viking funeral’
“Thank you for going this far with us Merry, we won’t forget you” Luffy says, hat covering his eyes.
In a mix of Grand Line randomness and a little pathetic fallacy, it actually began to snow as the Merry burned, the straw hats reminiscing on all the time they spent on that ship, the Merry had been their home since they joined the crew, kept them safe through thick and thin, she wouldn’t be forgotten, ever.
‘I’m sorry’ Merry’s voice was heard in their heads, pushing a few of the crew over the edge into full waterworks ‘I wanted to carry us just a little bit further. I had so much fun, I wish our adventures never had to end, but this is mine. Thank you for letting me be part of this journey, and let me give back something you’ve all given me up to now’
The entire crew buckled, as they were filled to the brim with a feeling of love and care, even the most stoic were starting to tear up
“Damn smoke, it’s getting in my eyes” Zoro grumbles, getting a watery chuckles from Sanji
“Shut up Zoro” he says flatly “Just admit you’ll miss the Merry”
“Was there ever any doubt?” was his response
“MERRY!” Chopper screams, only Robin’s blooms stopping the hysterical reindeer falling off the little boat they were all perched in.
“Merry, this wasn’t your fault it was us, we should have taken better care of you. Usopp, and later Victor and Kaos tried but they weren’t really good at it, and then there was me, Zoro, Sanji and Alvida wrecking things, you got hurt because of us, and we’ll never be able to take that back!” Luffy shouts, now on his knees with tears streaming down his face, Vivi and Alvida wrapped around him and in equally somber states
‘You did your best, all of you did and for that I’m glad. Our time together may have been short, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Make your dreams come true, I’ll be watching’, they felt one more gentle caress against their senses, before all went silent other than the crackle of burning wood.
“MERRY!!!!!!!!!!!” Luffy screams into the air, letting out all the pain and frustration inside him.
TBC
LW: One Piece, the only series that will make you cry over a ship. But it’s true, Merry did a good job getting them through 76 chapters of adventure but she’s reached her end. Goodbye little sheep, you did good :(
This marks the end of the Enise Lobby arc, hopefully tomorrow will be able to be a more lighthearted afair without feeling like mood whiplash. Here’s hoping.
Chapter 84: Off time and interruptions
Notes:
Alternate Title: Family reunion 2 of ???: The Fist!
Chapter Text
LW: So this should be a nice, fun, filler type chapter, hope you all enjoy it.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Off time and interruptions.
With no ship the Straw hats all were brought back to Water 7 on Iceberg’s, the man also ensuring they had somewhere to stay while they worked things out as an apology for what happened just before Aqua Lagoona, as well as returned all their items which the citizens had taken while they were gone. This gave the straw hats time to reflect on their current predicaments.
Zoro was unfortunately stuck with 2 swords for the moment, as the katana’s he favoured weren’t something they actually made in Water 7 or the nearby islands, and he knew from experience the swords the marines used wouldn’t last that long under the strain he puts them under, which would just put him back in this same position, most likely in the middle of a battle. The search for new weapons for others though…
“Do I even want to know why I’m your 1st stop, even before the market?” Kaos asks, sitting with Robin and Artemis on the roof
“Because you’re a hoarder, and you seem to be at least mildly competent in most styles of weaponry because of your shape shifting sword so would probably keep a few on hand in case you needed spares” Valentina explains
“She’s got you there Sparkles” Kaya teases, taking the time off to sunbathe before Ussop was taking her on a stroll through Water 7 and maybe a little shopping too.
Kaos stands, his spine crunching slightly “Fine, what do you want?”
“A dagger, kunai or shikoro sized blade” Valentino requests, her hand splayed, trying to estimate a size
“A bow, I’m little out of practice but it’s the only weapon I actually do HAVE some skill with” Victor admits, amusing their little audience.
Clicking his tongue the researcher slaps his palms together and slowly spreads them, revealing a silver coloured, wave style dagger with a solid black hilt, reminding Robin of a Kris dagger, but she kept that to herself “No, that won’t do” he sighs, then walks over to his discarded coat and plunges his arm into it, routing around before clicking his tongue and smirking. Valentina was about to ask what happened when he threw something at her, catching the handle just before it stabbed her in the eye “Will that do?” he asks, like he hadn’t nearly killed her
“You’re an ass, but yes this is perfect” she sighs, checking the weight and balance, though already knowing it should throw well if needed.
“Great, now as for our build-a-bomb-er… I’m going to be honest with you, archery is on that mental list of things I always wanted to learn to do, but never did. As such, this is going to go to waste anywhere else” Kaos explains, presenting a silver and blue recursive bow to Victor along with a quiver.
“Nice quality stuff, Alabasta?” Victor hums, testing the draw weight and accuracy of the bow
“Enies Lobby. Took a wrong turn and ended up in the armory” the reflect human admits, not seeing anything wrong with looting a place that was now a crater.
“Well, thanks for that, but I’m not sure how to replay you” the kilo girl admits
“Babysitting duty” Robin responds, most likely before Kaos could make a joke “Artemis can take care of herself, but an adult nearby is never anything but a bonus” she adds, knowing her daughter was pouting behind her.
“Gonna get an itch scratched, or your spine snapped by our favourite psycho?” Val teases getting a chuckle from Victor and Kaya, though the syrup girl was also blushing
“None of your business, but there are a few things I do require his assistance for” Robin replies, the kilo girl deciding not to push her luck.
Later that day - Market District
“I said this back in Alabasta, you don’t need to get me a ring Luffy, I have the traditional one” Vivi says, as Luffy searches for a jeweler of some kind
“But I don’t, plus shouldn’t we be getting each other something nice, mirror eyes did make us a threesome not just give the Captain his own harem” Alvida argues, seeing some very nice pendants and bangles as they kept walking
“Exactly, plus there’s nothing too good for my girls” Luffy grins, stopping to look at the gems in one of the windows
“Speaking of, you didn’t borrow money from Nami did you?” Vivi asks worryingly
“Nope, we’re safe from her” Luffy assures the bluenette, then walks into the store “Hi, do you guys do custom rings?” the boys asks the owner
“What you looking for?” they ask as Vivi and Alvida enter behind him
Wedding rings, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing so I didn’t have them on hand” Luffy admits, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment
The owner chuckles in amusem*nt “You’d be surprised by how often that happens, so which is the lucky lady?” he asks pointing to the 2 behind him
Luffy looks confused “Both. I was thinking silver with a piece of Lapis in a raindrop shape for Vivi…” he points to the bluenette who smiles “and a gold band for Alvida with either a Ruby or Aquamarine as a centrepiece” he hums, unsure and conflicted
“How about one of each, if we’re actually going through with this I should be getting something for my sister wife” Vivi suggests, winking at Alvida
The smooth woman hums “True, and I think if that’s the case, can I have some blue agate set into a pyrite ring for this cutie here?” she asks, hugging a now blushing Vivi to her chest “Though I think we’re forgetting one person in all this, our darling husband. Gold band of course, then maybe a Lapis and Ruby, because aquamarine would be too similar that it would look weird, flanking a Garnet centrepiece”
Luffy chuckles “Looks like someone else has been reading Robin’s books since we left Alabasta” he teases “Are those rings all possible?” he asks
The owner grins “Of course my boy, provided you have the funds I can have them made in the next couple days. I’ll just need to get your sizes so we won’t need to adjust them later” he explains, all 3 pirates offering their left hands “Thank you”
Elsewhere
“You do know she could have come with us right?” Kaos asks as he runs his fingers along the spine of a rather old looking book “I doubt Artemis wants to be stuck in Iceberg’s house any more than the rest of us do”
Robin sighs “You are correct, however given recent revelations, things have been different between us and I felt we both needed space, and that you and I required the opposite” she explains, her eyes drawn to an ornate looking hand mirror
“Still wrapping your head around the fact she actually IS your kid, and should be 10 rather than 14?” he asks with a hint of amusem*nt in his tone as he stepped closer to her
“Among other things” Robin agrees “Valentina wasn’t entirely wrong with her comments earlier today, there are a few things my captivity put in my mind I’d like you to sterilize and overwrite, physically and forcefully” she explains, shivering as long arms wrap around her waist and hot breath caresses her neck
“I’m not going to even pretend this sounds like a healthy way to handle your issues, but much like Artemis I’m just happy to have you back. To the point I got you a welcome back present while helping Sanji shore up our supplies of food” Kaos purrs, nipping softly on her ear
“I’ll accept it, so long as you accept a gift from me, for actually showing up to rescue me, even after I tried to break both our hearts, and for taking me back” Robin says with a hint of melancholy
“Like it was even a choice” the researcher chuckles “I’ve said this before, you’re stuck with us Robin, just in different ways” he then smirks and points out something dead ahead of them “One benefit to not bringing the kid, you can get them things without them knowing” he teases, getting a similar grin from Robin, agreeing Artemis would appreciate it.
Iceberg’s backyard
Thunk
Thunk
“I think your going to need Kaos to pull more of those out of his ass if you intend to throw them, Val” Victor teases, though impressed by how close she came to the centre of the target Artemis had painted on the trees in front of her
“Don’t worry I intend to have him pass along any he comes across, though for one outside of Wano or back home it’s pretty good quality” the kilo girl muses as she pulls the kunai from the trunk “Solid construction, well balanced, I suppose I could attach a rope to the end but that’s always thrown off my aim… maybe when I get back in practice. Speaking of…”
“That was awesome Uncle Vic!” Artemis cheers, as the arrow had hit his target right in the bullseye “It was perfect”
The bomb man chuckles “Guess archery is like riding a bike, GG will be proud”
“Who?” Artemis asks curiously
“And old friend, mad as a hatter but as chipper and energetic as the captain and your pops in one person”
“She sounds nice” Valentina hums
“She was like an annoying little sister, but yeah” Victor agrees before taking aim at the next target
2 days later - remains/construction site of the Franky House
“So the reindeer Doc says Gamorra’s eyes should be fully healed by the end of the month as long as he doesn’t strain himself and takes it easy”
“That’s great news, the little guy’s a miracle worker”
Zambei smiles, happy to hear their Bulls were going to be ok, as well as the progress the family had made to building a new base. Sure they were better demolition workers, but they could build things too, plus that guy with the shades and bow helped work out the kinks of their plan, so the new Franky House should be better and more sturdy than ever before, might even be able to stand up to an Aqua Lagoona… provided they did it right.
Iceberg’s home
“So, you finally burnt the blueprints?” Iceberg summarises, sounding almost amused “It’s probably best that way, now we don’t HAVE anything for the Government to try to take from us. Though you also made yourself their enemy in the process”
Franky chuckles before taking another gulp of cola “Yeah I guess, not like I wasn’t already Icicle. By the way, what are you drawing over there?” the cyborg asks, Iceberg’s eyes having remained on the table since he arrived
“As you probably noticed, Aqua Lagoona was quite bad this year, which has people worried that one day it will become strong enough to simply wipe the island from the map” Iceberg explains
Franky sighs “Yeah, we’re going to have more of the city underwater than above soon enough. So what’s the plan then?”
“I’m going to make the city float” Iceberg says completely seriously in a deadpan
“WHAT! I’m the one meant to have the stupid ideas Ice for brains!” Franky bellows “Would making the island… a boat even be possible?”
Iceberg chuckles “Have you forgotten already, we grew up watching a man make the impossible true, as proven by the fact nobody, not even we have managed to make another Sea Train since he died. But now I’m going to carry on his legacy and do the same. If you’re really a man, show some Gusto”
Franky frowns “f*ck you Iceberg, using the old man’s words against me” then he smirks, readjusting his shades “But it’s definitely something Tom would have liked to see, so good luck to you”
Pura pura pura, click
“What?”
“Oh good you’re still there boss, it’s arrived, your 200 million beri treasure” Zambei calls over the Den Den “We’re down by the train station”
Franky laughs “Great, I’ll be right there”
With the pirates
“You know I was joking right?” Valentina asks as Luffy stuffs his face while still conked out asleep “I didn’t actually think the captain could sleep eat”
“You’d be surprised at how good he can sleep eat” Alvida says with a smirk, until Vivi gives her a headslap, it didn’t hurt but the smooth woman pouted like it did “Vivi” she whines as the doors open again
“We have returned” Chopper cheers, Kaya smiling alongside him “We even stopped for supplies and everything and we didn’t let Robin out of our sight the entire time” he grins, having completed the assignment Kaos had jokingly given him and Artemis when the woman decided she wanted to tag along with the medics
“We even got stopped by some guy to deliver some boxes, here you go Uncle Luffy” Artemis says with a smile, setting the box on the table in front of him, Sanji a second ahead of Kaos when it came to waking their captain up
“Ow, I was trying to sleep. Do you know how draining Gear 3rd and multiple Gear 2nd’s are?” Luffy grunts, a large chunk of meat hanging out of his mouth
“Something quite important and expensive arrived for you, I’ve already removed what I ordered” Robin explained, drawing attention to herself until the word ‘expensive’ summoned Nami like a genie
“What did you do?” she asks through gritted teeth, not getting an answer but instead a chuckle, pulling Vivi and Alvida over and kneeling
“So, we made this pirate official a while back, how about we make it physically official” he says jokingly
“I thought we did that the same night we…” Alvida begins but is silenced by Vivi
“Yes Luffy of course we will” she answers for both of them, extending her left hand, which the smooth woman follows suit with.
“Aw, this is so sweet” Kaya coos, just as the rest of the crew enter to see what was going on
“Luffy, you forgot something” Vivi hums, the rubber boy blinks before removing the 3rd box, which the princess takes from him
“Are you sure you want to make this official hon?” Alvida asks, just barely finishing the question when Luffy gives a quick yes, grinning widely as he slipped his own ring on “I’m no expert, but I like the way this one looks” he thinks aloud, then notices his girls get pulled into a mob consisting of all nearby females, even a mildly confused Artemis and Carue, though the duck did think the rings looked nice on her friend’s finger.
It was this commotion Franky walked in on, and by walked I mean entered the room butt first while also knocking the door open “You guys feeling SUPER!” he yells, Kiwi and Mozu mimicking him on either side
“Actually yes, Luffy finally put a ring on it” Alvida cheers, finding the 2 gems contrasted nicely alongside one another
“Sweet, you hitting that brother?” Franky asks with a thumbs up, only to be kicked in the face by Sanji for ‘disrespecting women’
“Yeah, why?” Luffy replies in the usual way
“Not important just asking”
“Are you here for a reason?” Zoro asks
Kaos nods in agreement “That entrance did seem kind of big news-y”
Franky chuckles “Yeah I do, now listen close kiddos. Now there’s an island constantly at war…”
“Boring! Get to the important part” Luffy complains
“Context matters brat!” Franky shouts, before continuing his story, a few of the pirates actually were interested “For years fires reigned on this island, death and destruction all it’s people know. Cities destroyed, houses burned to the ground, there’s nowhere for people to run to, and in the midst of all this madness there’s a single tree”
‘Sounds like Jashin heaven’
“No matter how much the island is wrecked the tree stands tall, and no matter how much time passes the people return and gather around it. It’s said to be the strongest wood in the world, only a few are known to exist. It’s known as the Jewel Tree, Adam”
“Still bored” Luffy grunts
“I’m getting to it. Anyway, every now and then some Adam Wood shows up on the black market. I’ve wanted some for years now, but the going price is 200 million berris…”
“So that’s what you spent our money on!” Nami screams, only for Kaya to shut her up with a syrup gag
“Got it in one, sister” Franky sighs “A long time ago, I swore I was done building ships, after what happened to Tom, it felt wrong. But I still followed in the old man’s footsteps, and I designed a ship, something even he could be proud of me for building, a Magnum Opus so to speak. Now, my goal is to use the Adam wood to build it, put my heart and soul into one last ship, a ship of dreams that could sail across any sea!” he declares, Kaos seeing the gears turning in his brother’s head… and smirks “I’ve had the plans for years, and I finally have the wood. What I’m here to ask, is that when it’s finished, you take my ship and sail the world!!”
“Wait, you’re serious?” Sanji gasps
“You’ll just GIVE us the ship?” Nami asks, not believing her ears
“Right again missy, that way I know it’s in good hands, I saw the care you had for your last ship, I know she’d be perfect for you guys” Franky replies with a grin “Plus… technically you guys paid for the wood already” he laughs, dodging the punch to the head from their still salty navigator, then turns serious again “Gol D. Roger is the only person to sail the entire Grand Line and his ship was also made of Adam Wood, in fact it was built by my old master, Tom. Give me this chance and I’ll give you the best ship you’ve ever seen!”
“Sound good captain?” Zoro asks, as Luffy had been silent since Franky’s offer
“Yeah, I think we’ll take the ship shishishi” Luffy grins “Now if you don’t mind, I have some celebrations to attend to” he winks but gets stopped by Nami grabbing his ear
“Speaking of, where did you get the money to afford those rings?” Nami asks, voice cold as ice. Luffy points to Kaos who nods, reminding the navigator of one of the few people who doesn’t let her handle their finances
“I only hoard things that would be of use or value to me, everything else I sell on whenever I find somewhere to do so” he explains, getting a nod from Luffy, as his rubber body means Nami grabbing him was mostly pointless.
“Fine, but you better not be taking my mon...I mean dipping into the ship’s treasury” Nami warns them both, getting chuckles and smiles from the 2 of them, before a shiver runs down the elder’s spine
“Something wrong?” Chopper asks
“Not quite, just a very bad feeling, one I hope I’m just imagining” the researcher replies
That bad feeling, manifested in the wall exploding due to a marine punching it “Pardon me, but are you folks the straw hat pirates?” came a gruff, weathered voice, which had all colour drain from Luffy and Kaos’ faces
‘Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!’
“You see, I have some friends here who would like to have a word with Monkey D. Luffy. Ah, there you boys are” the marine, wearing a dog mask/headgear zips forward, punching both Luffy and Kaos in the face, causing the former to writhe around in pain for a minute and the latter to spit blood and a tooth
“How, one punch like that shouldn’t be able to hurt him, he’s made of rubber” Alvida gasps
The marine laughs “That’s because even a devil fruit is no defence, from the Fist Of Love” he says, removing the mask “You boys have been making quite a mess these past few months, just like Ace”
“Grandpa?” Luffy gasps
“Still an asshole Gramps, guess you’re too old to change that” Kaos wheezes, glad Garp’s punch didn’t break his jaw
“WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Was the collective yell from the Straw Hats, Franky, his companions, Kokoro and Chimney
“A marine Vice Admiral, is your Grandfather?” Chopper squeaks
“Technically, Garp is Luffy’s Grandfather as far as blood is concerned” Kaos answers “But he’s the only one I have so I guess yeah for me too”
“Don’t worry your mother was a Vice Admiral too before she died” Garp says casually, causing the reflect human to give a bloody spit take
“What?”
“Yeah, damn Kuja broad” he grumbles, causing a little light bulb to go off over Luffy’s head
“That explains so much, and yet so little” he whispers, getting a minor punch to the back of his head, meanwhile a different light went off over Vivi’s head
“Fist of… you’re the reason Luffy won the Davy Back Fight” she gasps, catching Garp’s attention
“What?” he grunts, along with most of the crew
“When Luffy threw what he called a REAL punch at Foxy, it wasn’t GumGum anything, it was Fist Of Love” the bluenette explains
“Stealing my moves boy? Can’t have that, not unless you’re planning on becoming a respectable marine” Garp scolds “You 2 have been causing a lot of headaches over at headquarters, especially this rumour about you taking on CP9, complete poppyco*ck”
“Rokuogan” Kaos mutters, before being essentially folded by Garp’s fist in his gut
“That word, never mind the technique itself is a navy secret, where did you hear it?” Garp asks
“Where else, from Rob Lucci when he fired it into Luffy’s guts at point blank range, twice” Kaos coughs, blood dripping from the side of his mouth “Also, kind of saw that coming”
“If you saw it coming why didn’t you dodge I thought I taught you that much kid?”
The gears had finished turning in Nami’s head as she asked “Garp, as in the man who fought Gol D. Roger back in the day?”
Luffy nods and Garp laughs “Yep, that’s me, Monkey D. Garp, also known as Garp the Hero, but I prefer my other title more: Garp D. Fist” (Couldn’t resist)
“Nobody fight him, he’ll kill you if you try. To this day I’m surprised Kaos and I made it to our teens never mind Reverse Mountain with how many times he tried” Luffy orders/admits, Kaos nodding as he stands up again
Garp chuckles “Now now, don’t give your little friends the wrong idea about me, though I did throw you into that ravine once, and punched a hole through Serpens’ stomach… speaking of you still can’t dodge for crap kid” the old bastard ‘defends’ “Also there were those times I left you in the jungle, and tied you to those balloons. But I didn’t do any of those things to kill you, I did it to make my grandkids into MEN, like ME!”
“So that’s why these 2 take every hit and keep going” Zoro mutters
“When I left you 2 with my friend for training, I thought everything would work out fine, but I turned my back for one minute and this happened” he sighs “I tried to make you the perfect marines, how could you run off and become criminals?”
“Maybe leaving us with mountain bandit’s wasn’t the 1000iQ move you think it was” Kaos muses “I mean Dadan will always be our mom, but she’s still a bandit”
“I’ve been telling you my whole life I was going to be a pirate, not my fault you don’t listen to anything you disagree with” Luffy screams
“This is Red Hair’s fault, corrupting you into becoming scum like him!”
“I’m only alive because of Shanks! Where were you? You dropped me on an island and only visited to torture us!” Luffy shouts, anger overriding fear for a minute, something put right when Garp grabs him by this shirt and proceeds to punch the rubber boy repeatedly in the head
“Is that any way to speak to your only grandfather, disrespectful brat?” Garp asks while swinging, until he nods off.
“Are we sure… damn it!” Kaos groans, saving his question for later as Luffy has also fallen asleep again.
“Should we run?” Nami asks, just as Garp awakens with a snort and a yelp
“Who, what, where, Sengoku! Oh crap did I fall asleep again, training new recruits is exhausting, and boring” Garp whines then see’s Luffy sleeping “Wake up you ungrateful, disrespectful little sh*t!”
“Gramps, maybe stop beating him when he wakes up, and before you beat him into unconsciousness. You have altered the shape of a man’s head with that fist after all” Kaos reminds the old marine, mostly worried as the Monkey family does, he would do something stupid otherwise.
“I still don’t know how you’re NOT related to Sengoku, and instead that stoner, you take all the fun out of everything” he sighs, Luffy groaning weakly in his hand “Speaking of Red Hair, have you heard the dangerous things he’s been up to these days?”
“No, I haven’t heard from him since he came to the village for a couple weeks nearly 10 years ago. Ask Nami or Kaos, they read the papers” Luffy argues “is he ok?”
“Ok, the boy’s a Damn Yonko of course he is! He’s on par with Whitebeard, Linlin and Kaido, luckily most of their activities are limited to the 2nd half of the Grand Line, but the New World is still basically their playground”
‘Wow, and Usopp’s dad is strong enough to be part of those pirates’ Kaya thinks to herself, noticing the commotion had caught the renegade sniper’s attention, peeking his eyes and nose in through the window
“The Warlords and the marines have allied ourselves against them, keeping the balance of power to stop them controlling the world”
“I don’t care about anything you just said, but it’s good to hear Shanks is ok”
“Well, I’m bored now. Boys, time to see if you’ve improved” Garp orders, dropping Luffy as Vivi helps him up, a blond with a black visor and a pink haired boy step forward
“Family bonding?” Kaos teases, getting a grin from Luffy as the 2 face what they presume are Garp’s ‘newbies’ the blond jumping at him with dual kukri blades, blocked by Kaos rapid spinning Hebi directly in front of him “Damn Buttchin, who knew you could fight?” he laughs, taking advantage of the momentary surprise to slip into range and backhand the blond into the wall “I’ll admit the knives are cool, but not quite enough”
Meanwhile Luffy’s fight was similarly short, as while a random marine being able to use Soru surprised him, he’d fought both Bluno and Lucci, meaning he was able to follow and counter the pink boy’s attack and throw him to the ground
Garp just laughs “You boys still suck, given how fast my prized pupil’s kicked your ass”
“Given how much of a weakling you used to be, I’m impressed by your skills, and more so the speed of your growth” Kaos admits, feeling sympathy for a fellow sufferer of Garp’s ‘training’
“You’re as tough as I thought you’d be, fighting you was an honour, as much as seeing you again, Luffy” pinkie says unfazed by Luffy’s fist raised above his head “I give, maybe next time?” he chuckles as he and his companion are allowed get up
“Huh, do I know you?” Luffy asks in confusion, but someone else on the crew did.
Vivi’s eyebrows rise as she see’s Alvida suck in as much air as she could before bellowing at the top of her lungs…
“KOBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Proving her right the pink haired marine nearly jumps out of his skin, which has Luffy laughing “Wait, holy sh*t how did you change so much in so little time?”
Ignoring Luffy Koby’s teeth clench “Iron Mace Alvida, we heard there had been… changes, due to eating a Devil Fruit, but that won’t stop me taking you…” he stops when Luffy pushes him back “Luffy, why are you protecting her?”
“I’m not going to let anyone just take a member of my crew, just ask Enies Lobby or CP9, least of all one of my wives” Luffy replies completely seriously
Garp chokes “Wives? What the Hell did I miss that you got snared by some girls?” he shouts
“Clearly you don’t read your own records, much like Water 7, Alabasta considers Luffy and the Straw Hats to be heroes because of their actions in stopping the war perpetrated by the Warlord Sir Crocodile” Vivi steps forward to explain “His reward, besides taking Crocodile’s title as ‘Hero of Alabasta’ was a betrothal to the nation’s princess, namely me. Alvida was an addition we mutually agreed to, as feelings had blossomed while traveling”
“Poppyco*ck, there’s no way that’s true” Garp argues
“On the contrary, it’s legally binding and filed within Alabasta, and whether you admit it or not, there are certain ‘individuals’ who even the navy know not to cross, my family being one of them” there’s a hint of steel in her voice, though the gloves haven’t gone on so she was still in ‘royal diplomat’ mode rather than ‘future Pirate Queen’ mode.
“Besides, did you really think I was going to just hand myself over to you Koby? Just cause we’re friends doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you, why would taking one of my girls be any different?” Luffy asks the question serious, even if the tone was light.
Koby blushes and rubs the back of his head “I suppose you’re right, I let bad memories get in the way of my brain” he chuckles “You’re looking well Alvida, the cloud of anger that used to envelop the ship is pretty much gone”
“My husband is made of rubber and there’s a literal princess on my other arm, take a wild guess as to why my mood is better than back when I had you as my cabin boy” the smooth woman drawls, Koby twitches before chuckling, then getting strong armed by Luffy to follow him
With that out of the way, and his brain resetting Garp turns to the remaining marines “Men, I have an important job for you: Fix this wall” he orders, a few of the straw hats chuckle as they watch what feels like a Luffy mood from an outside perspective
“But sir, if you were going to have us fix it why’d you break it in the first place?” one marine asks
“Because entering the room through a door doesn’t leave as much of an impression, or is anywhere near as fun” Garp admits, and while unseen both Luffy, Kaos and even Franky nod in agreement, just walking through a doorway ‘like a normal person’ is boring
“Ok we’ll fix it but it’s your fault so you have to help”
“Aw, do I have to?” Garp whines, and at that moment they could clearly see the family resemblance (and some of Vivi and Alvida’s worries about their future evaporate, as Garp is well built and healthy for a 76 year old man who regularly fights pirates and throws cannon balls almost for fun), before he relents and gets to work repairing the hole in the wall
“At least Iceberg won’t be mad at us if they repair it” Valentina points out “And if he still is we can blame the the marines”
“So Luffy” Sanji says, getting the rubber boy’s attention “Your grandfather’s really some bigshot?”
Luffy shrugs “I don’t know, never really cared to ask what he did if I’m being honest”
“He’s a Vice Admiral, like the assholes in charge of the Buster Call, and it is the 3rd highest rank so yeah, Gramps is a bigshot” Kaos clarifies
“Great Grandpa Garp, are you an asshole?” Artemis asks, the man turns and stares at her while some of the crew freeze up in panic (Robin included) and Kaos considers throwing Luffy in the way to defend ‘his kid’ from Garp’s fist of love
“Yes, mostly to people who I don’t know or particularly like, which is most people. If you ask Sengoku I’m also an asshole to people I like, such as him and Tsuru” Garp answers, shocking everyone, he then turns his attention to Luffy “By the way kid, I heard or I guess inferred from some reports that you finally met your old man, must have been one Hell of a reunion”
Luffy tilts his head in confusion “My dad? Where? When?”
“Loguetown, he didn’t introduce himself?” Garp asks, oddly amused by the response
“Kind of creepy dude, with diamond tattoos on his face?” Kaos asks, remembering the man who saved them from Smoker
“That’s him. Luffy, your dad, is Monkey D. Dragon, The Revolutionary” Garp drops the bombshell in typical Monkey fashion, with a finger in his nose and no f*cks given.
“Luffy’s father is the Head of the Revolutionary Army?” Vivi gasps, causing Garp’s head to turn
“How’d you… oh yeah princess, so you were at the Levely when he was brought up” Garp sighs
“Yes I was, it also reminds me Wapol has somehow gotten worse since that day” the bluenette groans, pinching the bridge of her nose while Garp laughs
“Yeah, metal mouth was always a dick”
“Can someone explain what the big deal is?” Luffy asks, everyone automatically turning to Robin for an explanation which she gave after some collecting of her thoughts
“Let me try to explain it this way: Pirates are enemies of the navy, but we don’t spontaneously decide to attack them, it’s usually a response to them trying to arrest us”
“Like how we stormed Enies Lobby to get you back” Victor offers
“Exactly. But, there is one organisation that directly opposes the world government, technically 2 if you burning the flag hadn’t simply been proof of determination and intent. The Revolutionary Army, with your father Dragon as the Sōshireikan (Supreme Commander). By now his ideology has spread all over the world sparking rebellion in countless islands, the government’s hold having collapsed in a number of regions, which obviously has pissed them off, in response besides trying to take back or destroy said regions, they labelled him as The ‘World’s Worst Criminal’, though how high his bounty is I’m unsure. They will stop at nothing to take him down, but the problem for them is that nobody actually knows anything about him, it’s all very mysterious don’t you think?”
“Oh. So Dad’s a big shot just like Gramps” Luffy summaries in a way only he could
Kaos chuckles “Pretty much Lu” which Garp rubs the back of his head in embarrassment
“I, probably shouldn’t have told you any of that, should I?” he asks, knowing the answer already as he begins to laugh “Just forget about it kid, K?” he then stands up and dusts himself off “Anywho, you’re my grandkids so I won’t arrest you and haul yer asses to Marineford, I’ll be honest with them and explain you can’t put work before family, I’m sure they’ll understand” he says
“Sir, that’s not going to work, just say they got away” one of his marines suggest
“I’m pretty much just here as a favour for Koby and Helmeppo, you kids have fun and I’m going to go back to my ship, take care kids, don’t do anything too stupid Luffy” Garp laughs as he leaves
“Don’t hold your breath Gramps, stupid is coded in his DNA” Kaos hums, settling himself for a rest while Luffy dragged Koby aside to chat, Nami slipped away to work on her easedropping/wiretapping skills, and Vivi as well as a less reluctant than expected Alvida followed their husband in the hopes he wouldn’t go too crazy too soon.
It was almost a shame Koby couldn’t even stay the entire day, but it made sense as despite being kind of a lazy bastard Garp was still a Vice Admiral and had technically more important things he should be doing than visiting his pirate Grandsons, meaning this was at best a pit stop/ supply run on the way to Headquarters.
“I know, that one day we will meet and do battle in the New World, you as the King of the Pirates, and me and marine Admiral” Koby declares, partly as a goodbye, but also as proof that even if they were enemies, he still believed Luffy could follow his dream
“You better be that strong when we have our fight, I’m not going to let some weakling like a Captain take me down” Luffy fires back, grinning widely before Koby and Helmeppo leave, as well as give a more normal/proper ‘goodbye’.
A little later
Given how the day has gone, a barbecue made by Sanji was greatly appreciated by all, even if the cook only did it for the ladies. Though given the Franky Family, Galley La and even Ussop’s new giant friends invited themselves to the party it was a good thing he made so much, otherwise there would have quite the angry mob, with Luffy or Alvida at the helm.
“This is quite the party, why don’t we do this more often?” Iceberg wonders aloud, privately amused at Poly’s usual freakout about any women showing skin, in this case Nami’s swimsuit as there was a table full of food, and Luffy between him and Alvida, plus the table helped hide Kaya and Vivi’s ankles so they were spared his complaints.
“Cause you’re a workaholic?” Luffy suggests with a mouth full of Watermeat, getting a light chuckle from the mayor
“Probably, even given the company pool specifically for things such as this, it’s more accurate than I’d care to admit” he hums before settling down to share a drink with Kokoro, realising it had been a while since he’d done so with the old mermaid “They’re something else aren’t they?”
“Yeah, it’s been so long since I’ve seen pirates like these, probably that Roger lad was the last one when he came to Tom looking for the perfect ship” Kokoro slurs then laughs
Robin stepped away for a minute, wanting a little quiet as well as getting enough distance to actually see everyone enjoying themselves without needing to use her Devil fruit… “Stay right where you are Nico Robin” when she froze hearing Aokiji’s voice behind her
‘It can’t be, please let me be wrong for a change’ she pleads in her head
“So, why didn’t you run like you usually do?” he asks, staying on the other side of the wall “If you’d acted alone, you could have probably given CP9 the slip easily, given your experience and skill at not being found”
Robin scoffs “Even you should have realised things were different this time, I couldn’t abandon my crew, my family, and I couldn’t just leave them to die at the hands of CP9. Speaking of, did you know she was my daughter, or just that she was an experiment?”
“Neither, I don’t usually seek out shady sh*t like that but I deal with it if I run into them. You might find this hard to believe, but your friend Jaguar D. Saul who you saw me kill in Ohara, was my friend too” he stops when he hears Robin’s sharp intake of breath, then continued “While I did my duty ensuring the Buster Call was carried out to completion, I also honoured his wish, by sparing you and assisting with your escape. After that, I still felt responsible for your life, but after 20 years and you still bounced from island to island, I feared Saul had been wrong about you. In the end, even I had decided you were too dangerous to be allowed to live, and I was sure Ohara’s legacy would finally end in Enies Lobby, and in a way it did, but only by becoming entwined in Straw Hat’s tale. I never thought a crew as green as Straw Hat’s could actually be a challenge, never mind beat CP9, but as we’re already established, I’ve been wrong before and will be again. So, Nico Robin, have you finally found a place to call home”
“Yes” Robin replies, and a weight is lifted from her shoulders, and her heart
“I don’t know if Saul was right, or if what I’ve done is right. I need you to show me that answer”
“I intend to” Robin states confidently
Aokiji smiles as he stands up straight “Then live your life with courage, and show that Ohara lives on in you, and that kid of yours” he says before walking off, not seeing a structure on the wall that looked like a wilted flower, until it twitches, the ivory fingers part to reveal an eye staring at him as he heads to his bicycle, having no other reason to stay in Water 7. It’s gaze switches to Robin as she runs around to where he had been a moment ago, but only ice remained as proof he was even there at all, before being called back by Luffy’s boisterous yelling, a content smile crossing her face, she really had found a home hadn’t she?
That evening
“Well, Vivi and Alvida have finally met Grandpa Garp” Kaos muses, slipping behind Robin as she prepares for bed “As have you and Artemis. Also Luffy passed out like an idiot from overeating and Alvida from too much booze, so no 2nd honeymoon for those 3 quite yet”
“Poor Vivi” Robin chuckles “We also all learnt who Luffy’s father was, seems being a force of nature is a Monkey family trait” she teases “As well as your mother being a Kuja, and a former Vice Admiral, did you manage to get anything out of Garp about your father?” she asks, getting a sad laugh
“You kidding? I asked and he yelled why would he tell me about some no good pirate, it’d just make me want to be just like him, then started to walk off, probably didn’t think I’d hear him say I’d already starting picking up strays just like him” Kaos answers, Robin seeing his arm turn silver in the mirror before beginning to bubble, a sign he was pulling something from the reflection hammerspace thing she wasn’t sure he’d even named himself at this point “How did the talk with Aokiji go?” he asks, her eyes widen with shock
“How did you… right, Devil fruit detector” she chuckles “It was fine, he helped me to realise I’m finally at peace with myself, this is where I belong. What are you doing over there by the way, unlike the others I’m not going to be requiring any of your wares” she chuckles
“Seeing as it seems to be a day of surprise and revelations, as well as you receiving whatever you decided to get me…” he smirks “I thought it was the best time to give you my gift” he slips the chain around her neck and she gasps, the pendent was a beautiful spiral of malachite and blue topaz, and had a worn, old feel to it that reminded her of some of the ruins she’d hunted for poneglyphs in “Crap, the chain was too long” he sighs, pale cheeks turning slightly pink as Robin’s new piece of jewelry is swallowed up by her cleavage, leaving just the thin silver chain visible
Robin chuckles before turning and kissing his cheek “It’s beautiful and thoughtful, I love it. Though I think there’s more than just a welcome back to this gift” she muses, watching the pink darken
“Just because Luffy’s already married, doesn’t mean I’m going to propose right on the spot. I don’t think I’m ready for that, or that you’re looking for that kind of commitment, though maybe I’m wrong, it does happen surprisingly often” he chuckles “Still, I saw something that made me think of you, and you returning the the crew was a good excuse to spoil you” he gives a toothy grin
“So are you saying I shouldn’t have gotten you a ring?” Robin asks with a half smile, the researcher confused before a bloomed hand passes a ring box to her “You are right about me not feeling ready for that, I barely understand how you and Artemis could forgive me so easily and I’ve literally just now started to consider the idea of living my life, not just running from place to place with the government at my heels. But, given my daughter has claimed you as her dad, you know we’re just taking our time to get the words out. Though maybe it’s the thought of marrying a woman 10 years your senior that worries you”
“Not at all. I’m just not like Luffy, saying we could die any day so just do it, instead trying to make sure we live long enough to do things at the right pace. Luffy and Vivi are married at 17 and I think it’ll work for them, but I think we’re moving at the pace we’re meant to”
Robin smiles “I agree, let's not rush into marriage, though I do hope that’s in the cards for us Serpens-kun” she coos, and snaps open the case, the purple haired researcher’s eyes widen at what’s inside: a silver ring shaped like a coiled serpent, a marble sized orb of purple iolite clenched in it’s open maw, held in place by onyx fangs, it’s eyes made from the same material. She takes his right hand and slips it on him “It seems I was right about your bony hands, I just asked them to size it for mine plus 3” she thinks aloud
“It’s very beautiful” Kaos says before kissing her “and for the record, that’s where I hope we end up, it’s just a little too fast for either of us it would seem”
“At least we’re on the same page, but I believe you promised me something rough and messy” Robin coos, watching Kaos’ eyes widen as her blooms grab and caress him.
“I should have known someone like you would be into role play” he teases, nibbling lightly on her neck
“I’ve always been good at playing a part, being someone else, why would the bedroom be any different?” she purrs and winks, before switching to a Southern drawl “Maybe later All Sunday can see if you’re the right kind of man she would want to restart Baroque Works with hon”
A little later (Not my best work, but Robin twisted my arm with 5 of hers, so here you go)
“No matter what torture you put me through I will never tell you anything” Robin spits, before being shoved against the wall
“Oh you silly girl, we at CP9 never had any need for your voice in the first place” he purrs, cupping her chin “but I’m sure I know what to use that mouth for” he pushes her jaw then slips his thumb between her lips, depressing her tongue “I presume someone as smart as you, knows the only way you’re making it to morning” he chuckles as a long, thin tongue caresses her cheek, Robin’s response is garbled, but the grip is weak enough for her to nod, seeing that the agent smirks and steps back, allowing Robin to slide to her knees “any teeth and I break your jaw, as well as both arms and both legs, do we understand each other?”
“Crystal” Robin drawls, her blooms having already made short work of his belt and slacks, meaning the only warning was a wink before she threw herself at him, her tongue running up and down the shaft before leading it to it’s warm home, his hands running through her hair and massaging her scalp while long bony appendages rub and squeeze her plump ass and tit*.
This was definitely not what a doctor would recommend, but she had something better, a home, a family and a lover, one who was willing to go along with all her crazy, thank Oda for that.
TBC
LW: Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and had a good Halloween, even with all the stupid lockdowns. Post Enise Lobby will be a short arc, hopefully done by the end of the year, so here’s to that.
Chapter 85: More Bounties and a new ship
Chapter Text
LW: Here we go, more easy going stuff for this mini arc
Rubber King and Mirror Master - More Bounties and a New Ship
Robin twitches as sunlight enters through the window, morning had arrived much too early. She was content and safe, her head resting against something pleasantly cool, and while she was sure there were bruises on her ass, they were so worth it. Maybe she could stay like this for…
Knock
Knock
Knock
“You 2 done boning? Sanji wants Robin to eat a well prepared meal as those CP9 f*cks clearly didn’t feed her” Valentina bellows, much too happily for the hour Robin believes it to be.
f*ck! There goes lying in, as her eyes snap open Robin notices ripples of silver streak across Kaos’ ivory chest, seems like his fruit behaved much like his namesake when he was relaxed/unfocused.
“My eyes are up here you know” Robin blinks, then looks to see Kaos was actually awake, then again Val was probably the cause of that too
“Yes, and yet the mosaic of silver and ivory is down here” she teases
“I feel so violated, is this how Nami would feel like if she knew what shame is?”
“Probably” Robin nods before sitting up “You don’t happen to remember where my bra went do you?”
“You threw it in the vague direction of the window, so I’d say start there” he hums, grinning widely at Robin’s bare chest
“Thank you, but we really do need to get up, apparently people are worried I wasn’t fed in the less than a day I spent on Enies Lobby”
“And by people you mean Sanji” Kaos guesses, getting a nod from Robin as she starts to get dressed. With a groan the researcher gets up and follows suit, following Robin down to the main room the Straw Hats had been given
When the 2 came into said room, rather than eating Luffy was sitting confused and Alvida awkwardly, while opposite from them Vivi was drumming her fingers against the table, her expression close to an ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed’, one Kaos knew Luffy was familiar with due to Makino.
“Vivi, some people think I can’t read my own mind, but I do know I can’t read yours, so whatever your mad about, please just tell me” the captain finally asks
“What happened last night?” Vivi asked
“We had a party” Luffy responds, still unsure
“And did we get back to our room?” the bluenette asks
“Well we woke up in it so clearly we did” Alvida answers
“Actually that was me and Kaos who hauled your asses to the room” Victor corrects “You 2 dumbasses were out cold when princess called us over” Kaos nods in agreement
“Exactly. One last question Luffy, Alvida, what were we about to do before Garp fisted his way through the wall?” Alvida’s eyes widen and she frowns, head bowed
“Oh that’s easy I was about to drag you two to the bedroom to have a couple hours of intense… oh”
“Yes Luffy oh. We were meant to have a second honeymoon, I was looking forward to not being able to walk straight this morning but all I have is a burning ache between my legs!”
“Chopper might have some medication for that” Valentina whispers
“Either that or Miss Navigator might have some toys to soothe that ache” Robin suggests “She has enough ropes and chains”
“I understand we all got caught up in the moment but I have needs too, do your duty as my husband and keep your damn promises!” Vivi groans as she flops her head on her crossed arms “I sound like such a selfish c*nt right now don’t I?”
“Given you’re an actual princess, some of us are surprised you don’t actually act like this more often” Artemis thinks aloud
“Not really, I’d have introduced my knee to Kaos’ balls if in your situation, but Luffy’s immune to blunt force and Alvida is a living slip and slide, so complaining about it later is probably your best option” Robin argues, privately amused her lover and daughter both shuffle their chairs slightly away from her
Seeing the opportunity Kaos activates his reflect armour, and punches Luffy’s head into the table “OW! That hurt you dick” he groans, then sighs “Sorry Vivi, you’re the brains of this triad, or at least the consistent one”
Alvida nods “I’m not going to claim the 2 of are complete idiots… but we are much more flighty and easily distracted. The flirting and touching at the time, Luffy and I made a lot of promises we didn’t keep” she turns to Luffy “Think our princess deserves some pampering tonight dear husband?” she purrs, getting a wide grin and laugh from Luffy. It was at this point Nami walked in
“Well, I can feel the awkwardness from here so here’s a distraction! The paper arrived, and while Enise Lobby is in it, there’s no mention of the Franky Family or the Galley La workers being on the island, only us” Nami explains
“You think Luffy’s Grandfather pulled some strings?” Sanji asked, putting breakfast down in front of all the girls who were present (Robin, Artemis, Valentina, Vivi, Alvida and Nami)
“Unlikely, it seems too complicated for Gramps” Luffy denies
“More likely they don’t want to admit to actual defiance by civilians to Government rule, as that is what Galley La and the Family are, even if Franky himself has a metric ton of cyborg ordinance built into him. Better to blame everything on pirates than admit you have a problem, or even an 8 year old girl as we saw with Robin” Kaos counters
“Well, when it rains in the Grand Line it pours, because these guys have a lot to say about us” Zoro comments, picking up the paper from the table “Declaration of War, destroying the Judicial island, if these things don’t send bounties skyrocketing nothing will” the swordsman chuckles
“Does this mean I’ll get a bounty?” Chopper asks, eyes sparkling more than a question like that should cause
“Probably, you were the one to beat Kumadori after all” Vivi agrees, privately wondering if they’ll give her one as well
“You and Kaya helped. Also in that case should we warn Franky, he did help the V’s take out the owl guy?” Chopper hums
“If nothing else it would be polite, give him a heads up and all that for helping us, as well as thanks for building us a ship” Robin agrees.
“Well, if the ship is basically free, we should go look for nice things to put in it. Who’s up for shopping?” Luffy shouts
“If you think you’re getting even a peek at the 100 mill we have left you’re dreaming, my money is not being wasted on meat” Nami screams
“Ok. Kaos can I borrow some money, Nami’s being misery again”
“It’s miserly, and yes, but I get the feeling that means you’re coming with Me, Artemis and Chopper”
“Mind taking a stroll with me Vic, might find some forging tools while we’re out” Valentina suggests, the bomberman chuckles and nods
“For you, or me Val?”
“For the ship, just because we’ll be the ones to use it most doesn’t mean the other can’t or won’t, Zoro needs a 3rd sword for example”
“I suppose that means you and Robin could come with us” Alvida suggests “I have a few ideas on how to make up or last night, and may need some, outside opinions, and someone to help carry things if Vivi faints”
“Why is nobody asking or suggesting anything for the cook and me? I’m sure not spending my day with him!”
“Like I’d want to spend any more time with you than needed moss head”
“Because Zoro would get lost and I presumed Sanji would get our food supplies, especially with how much we used because of the party” Luffy explains, getting nods and chuckles from a handful of his crewmates
Somewhere in The New World
“Pops, the Red Force is signaling us, it seems Red Haired Shanks is requesting a meeting” called the lookout
“Fine, let him come” Whitebeard grunts, having a bad feeling about this “That punk better have booze this time, we’re running out”
“Maybe if you didn’t drink so much it would last longer” one of his nurses point out
“Don’t tell me how to run my ship. Where’s that brat?”
“Almost here pops”
“Good, it’s been a while since someone strong has crossed my path” he chuckles, so few people were like him and Shanks, but really being a Conqueror was too rare to be wasted on punks
“Red Hair is now boarding!”
“All newcomers might want to step back, or risk being knocked out” a pineapple haired man calls out, a little too late as from the moment Shanks stepped foot on the ship, people began to drop like flies
“Marco, what do we do?”
“Nothing, they’re just unconscious, they’ll be fine later” Marco answers, at this point used to the Yonko’s need for theatrics.
“They’re too weak willed, to stand before a man like him” Jozu adds, getting a subtle nod from Marco as Shanks passes them, dragging a large jug behind him “His haki, is clearly as strong as they say”
“I apologise for the mess, it’s hard to stay calm, while on an enemy ship” Shanks says, though despite his words, his voice was rather light and calm
“Your presence makes my scars ache, so hurry up”
“Would this ‘medicinal water’ help?” Shanks asks jovially “I came to talk, not fight Newgate”
“You knock out half my boys with your haki then think some booze will make up for it? Balls of steel, just like your captain said you did”
“And by this point you have more kids than Linlin, none of which bare your blood”
“Gurararara, family doesn’t end with blood, only starts yah stupid kid, as for the unasked question, the right time passed, nothing more” he sighs, Shanks notice his eyes drift to a tattoo on his right pec, a stylized M ending with a curl and an arrow for a tip.
“You want us to stick around Pops?” Jozu asks
“Nah it’s good, just cause I’m old doesn’t mean Red hair is anywhere close to strong enough to take me, but he is smart enough to already know that. Leave us, I doubt this meeting will be a long one”
Once it was just the 2 of them, Shanks filled a huge sake cup for himself, before lobbing the container to Whitebeard who grimaces “Really Shanks, still drinking this cheap West Blue crap? I thought you’d have found something better after becoming a Yonko”
Shanks chuckles “Knock it all you like, but even after sailing throughout the world, this stuff still holds a special place in my heart, a taste of home so to speak. Go on Newgate, give it a shot”
Whitebeard takes a swig and shrugs “Not bad, but I’ve had better” he then sighs deeply “Roger, Apophis, Apep, Grima, Garp, Medusa, Shaula, Sengoku, Tsuru, those of us who remember how the sea used to be are getting thin on the ground”
“Yeah, 22 years will do that to people, none of us are getting any younger” Shanks comments
“Speaking of which, you’ve done quite well for yourself in that time, I remember back when you were just some punk of an apprentice pirate on Roger’s ship, you and that other kid, not too bright but watching him screw up was amusing”
Shanks smiles “You mean Buggy? Oh man that takes me back, I miss that guy. We went our separate ways in Loguetown after the Captain was executed, haven’t seen him since” he sighs “I’ve heard a couple rumors floating around that he’s still alive and a pirate, but nothing concrete”
“Nobody has time for stories these days, a shame as if they’d seen that battle between you and Dracule like I did, boy they still wouldn’t have stopped yapping about it. So I’m sure you understand why you coming back from the East missing an arm, caused a lot of ripples, and started a good few rumours. Nothing confirmed of course, Zelena never talked and, while they’re no longer pirates, the ‘Demon Eye’ still protect their own so nobody’s tried to force the truth out of her. So you’re the only person who I can ask: Who did you give your left arm for?” Whitebeard asks, eyes focused on the hidden stump under Shanks’ cloak
Shanks smiles nostalgically, running his hand down his arm “This old thing? Let’s just say, I made a bet on a new era”
Whitebeard groans “Last time I saw that expression, Apophis nearly carved Roger’s eye out, and I don’t even know what their bet was over. I miss those 2 idiots, they were a lot easier to deal with than these new boys playing pretend out here. Still if you have no regrets, then it’s fine, you still have one good arm and the stump isn’t exactly stopping woman from coming to you” he chuckles
Shanks nods lightly “You know Newgate, I’ve been in countless battles, and got numerous scars in my time as a pirate, and the only one who aches right now, is this one” he points to the scar across his left eye, 3 slashes like a claw of a beast “I didn’t get this on a fun adventure, or in my fight with Hawkeye, no, this one I got from a former member of your crew, Marshall Teach, or as he’s known these days as, Blackbeard. And this wasn’t because I got co*cky, or careless, and you know it, don’t even try to deny” Shank raises his voice, a hint of anger bubbling to the surface “He laid low and hid in the background. He never tried to become a Squad Leader, never tried to make a name for himself, simply bided his time, using your shadow as cover until he was strong enough to reveal himself. Men like him, they’re not satisfied until they’ve clawed their way to the top, and that means he will set his sights on you as well, sooner than you think in fact”
“Is there a point to this lecture or are you just trying to point out what a screw up you think I am for keeping Teach on my crew?” Whitebeard growls “What do you want, Shanks?”
“I want you, to stop Ace” the answer surprised the elder Yonko “He’s young and from what I’ve heard more than capable of being the head of the 2nd division, he’s strong enough in his own right but this is a bad idea, now is not a good time for those 2 to clash. I want you to keep your distance from Blackbeard at least for now. That is what I came here to say”
Whitebeard was silent for a moment, before he began to laugh “Gurarararararara, do you have any idea what you’re asking me boy? Teech murdered one of my boys, one of his and Ace’s crewmates, the bastard broke the one rule you don’t break on any pirate ship, and you want me to sit here and DO NOTHING? Teech needs to learn to have a code of conduct, and if he can’t figure it out on his own, I might just have to take a leaf out of Garp’s parenting book, and beat it into his thick skull myself!” He drains the sake jug “You’re 100 years too young to even try to order me around kid, do I make myself clear?” he bellows, tossing the jug but missing Shanks who doesn’t move.
Shanks drains his cup and stands, beginning to draw his sword “Then this era will spiral into chaos, and there’s not a thing that we can do to stop it”
“Are you threatening me boy?” Newgate growls, pulling himself to his feet and pulling out his Naginata “I AM WHITEBEARD!” he shouts, blades clashing, the force cleaving the very sky above them.
Back in Water 7
“Why do I get the feeling something bad is about to happen?”
“Because we’re following Luffy instead of Robin around Water 7?” Chopper suggests, the researcher noticing he was picking up a little bit of snark from Robin and Artemis
“Hey straw hat!” the 4 stop and turn around to see a little brown haired girl run up to them “Please, can you help me find my lost yagura?” she asks, holding up a photo of her family and the animal “I don’t have much but I can pay you”
“Keep the money...also don’t tell Nami we did this for free” Luffy says, getting the zipped lips gesture from his current companions
“Really. Oh, sorry I’m Obi” the girls says, blushing in embarrassment
“Luffy, this is my brother Kaos, his kid Artemis, and our Dr. Chopper”
“Hey”
“Hello”
“Hi”
“Ah a tanooki! And it talks!”
“I’m not a tanooki I’m a reindeer damn it”
Kaos sighs “Anyway, where are we going?”
“To find my Yagura Bluefin” Obi explains
“K, to the transport” Luffy declares, the now 5 of them getting onto the Yagura, which speeds off with a jab from the captain, not stopping until it somehow ended up in the fountain structure at the top of Water 7
“What are we doing up here?” Obi squeaks
“Best view on the island, we’re sure to see him from up here” Luffy answers, grinning
“Have we told Luffy he’s an idiot today?” Chopper asks in a mild panic
“No, just that he left Aunt Vivi unsatisfied” Artemis replies, not really bothered by the heights
“Speaking of, did Robin…”
“Tell me about the birds and the bees and therefore know you 2 have been having sex? Yes, and it’s why it took Valantina to wake you 2, as I’d sometimes sneak into Mom’s room to cuddle, and these last few days, to make sure she was still there” the artist answers and admits, getting pulled into a hug by the researcher
“Hm, this isn’t working, oh look Zoro’s lost again. Hey Zoro, look up here!” Luffy shouts, rocking the boat, until he’s punched in the head
“3 Devil fruit users in this boat, calm the f*ck down Lu”
“I have literally no idea what he just said, besides calm down, but I still agree with the tall guy” Obi agrees “Now get us down!”
“Fine, fine, jeez”
A little later
“I’m not quite sure it will cover your breasts at that size”
“That’s entirely the point”
“Hey look Robin and the girls, maybe she can help us!” Luffy says before springboarding off the yagura
“She probably can, Robin is rather good at information gathering” Kaos agrees, setting the yagura to a gentle stop before the 4 disembark and Obi shows Robin her picture
“A yagura with a blue fin, sounds exotic” Robin smiles
“So can you locate it?” Luffy asks
“I can try” Robin replies with a shrug before crossing her arms
Ohas Fleur
At this point many people around Water 7 were mildly traumatized, most notably Obi herself as arms/hands with eyes all over them sprouted from walls and roofs, Robin essentially scanning the entire city with the help of her Devil fruit. The group already knew the answer before Robin spoke, her frown said it all “I’m sorry Luffy, little one, there’s no sign of a blue fin on the surface” she apologies
“It’s ok, just thought you could help speed up the process is all. Have a nice day Robin”
“Bye Mom, don’t let Aunt Alvida kill aunt Vivi or Nami” Artemis teases
“Find anything you like yourself?” Kaos asks before they head off
“A rather nice bookshelf, though whether it would actually work in the new ship will need to be determined when we actually see it. Given you’re the 1st mate you’ll probably have the 2nd largest, after Luffy of course”
“As captain and a married man of a tirad” the researcher finishes smirking, then gets tugged by his coat, by Luffy
“Come on, no flirting until later” Luffy whines “We have a bluefin tuna to find”
“Yagura”
“That’s what I said, Sea horse!”
“You know what, never mind” Chopper sighs, not seeing the point in arguing, instead asking Obi about the Tsui Village he heard some of the people muttering about when she came to ask for their help, meanwhile Kaos directed their Yagura to Kokoro, Iceburg and the Dock 1 workers, and even the Franky Family asking about BlueFin.
“According to legend it’s a place Yagura go when they get old or are too injured to go on, it’s like the afterlife or something”
“Oh, so people think he’s gone there because he’s old?” Chopper asks, as an animal himself understanding the concept, even if it wasn’t a reindeer behaviour
“Yeah, but I know it’s just a myth to explain away missing Yaguras” Obi states confidently, the straw hats on the other hand being oddly enough, less skeptical.
Some time later it was a good thing Chopper was part of the group as they found a Yagura who heard ‘old man bluefin’ the night he went missing, that he was calling to someone, saying he was going to save them.
“Now that we’re narrowed down the locations, we can focus on this area” Luffy declares, getting cheers from the others, especially Opi, until she sees a little girl practically swinging out of her yagura as he scuttles through the canal.
“Bluefin was very important to you” she turns to Kaos, looking down at her sympathetically “He wasn’t just a yagura he’s family” he guesses, getting a nod and a sniff from the girl “Then we definitely need to find him”
“Hey guys, I found something weird” Luffy calls, Obi’s eyes widen sharply
“That’s bluefin’s! Where did you get this?” she asks frantically
“It came from over there” Luffy points to a broken gate/fenced off canal
“That leads to the underground water passage, add this gate to the list of things Aqua Lagoona broke this year” she sighs, then once everyone was back on the yagura paddles over to it “There’s more” she shouts, pulling another fragment of cloth from the bars
“We have a destination. Onward!” Luffy commands, the yagura slips into the passage while Obi and the pirates all call for Bluefin, this was fine… until the drop. Good news for 3 of the 5 explorers, the water was between shallow and non-existent in the current area, so abandoning the yagura they pressed on, Luffy in the lead as would be expected.
“So, Water 7, has a lower Water 7, strange” Kaos hums as they basically have a stroll through the deserted town
“Yeah, the new town is built on top of the old one due to the rising sea level, or at least that’s what my dad told me” Obi explains
“Hey, what’s that?” Luffy asks, pointing a strange green pillar of light in the nearby deeper area of water “Any ideas?”
“Nope”
“Not right now”
“Ghosts?”
“So it’s a mystery light” Luffy decides, causing his companions to faceplant “What do you… Obi!” the straw hat shouts as the girl runs towards the light, only to fall into the water
“Crap, maybe we should have brought someone who could swim on this mission” Kaos sighs, then his eyes widen as the water bubbles and spits her out, just as the light fades “Well, this day just got weirder”
“Obi! Chopper come check her up” Luffy orders, bouncing over and making sure the girl was still breathing at least before Chopper got to her, Artemis and Kaos following slowly
“She’s going to be fine” Chopper assures them, just as the girl wakes up, looking around with a strange expression on her face
“You ok?” Artemis asks
“Bluefin is here” Obi states “This is where I saw him, in my dreams”
“You’re saying we found Tsui Village?” Chopper asks in panic
“Of course not, that’s just a dumb myth. Bluefin can’t be dead, the village is nothing more than a Yagura fairy tale!” Obi screams, just as the green light reappears, then the bleating of a yagura causing her to turn “See I told you he was fine. Come on Bluefin, we can go home together” Obi chirps, but the yagura whinnies sadly
“Chopper, translation please” Kaos asks
“I’m sorry Obi…”
“Why would you be sorry, you didn’t mean to get washed down here that was Aqua Lagoona” the girl interrupts, inching closer to the water and Bluefin
“I can’t go with you, here I am at peace” Chopper continues, the pirates then noticing something worrying: his scarf was completely intact.
“No don’t go!” Obi cries running towards him, Luffy trying to help by shooting his arm out to pull him in as if the yagura was simply stuck… only for it to pass through like mist, which stopped the girl in her tracks “No”
“He’s a ghost” Artemis whispers, and at that moment they noticed he was beginning to fade away “Guess he wanted to say goodbye properly” she adds, as Luffy catches Obi just before she collapses.
The moment of quiet, besides Obi’s understandable wails, were interrupted by a more animalistic source of distress. Pulling free of Luffy Obi ran towards it, the pirates follow until they came across what looked to be a baby yagura, wrapped up in Bluefin’s scarf.
“Poor thing, his breathing sounds a little weak, but with a little rest, and getting out of this dank abandoned crypt, I think he’ll be fine” Chopper diagnoses, sure he had better training with humans, but he was pretty good with animals too, especially reindeer ;) “Bluefin must have found him and wrapped him up in the scarf to keep him warm”
Obi’s eyes widen and she gasps “He came down here, to save this baby. That’s why the gate was busted and had bits of the scarf caught in it, he forced his way in to rescue this poor thing” she gives the little one a sad smile “Always a protector, always there for little ones” she whispers, a little surprised when Chopper passes it to her, but holding it close and lovingly, Bluefin gave his life for this baby, even visited her in her dreams to get them to this point, she wouldn’t let anything happen to it
A long trek upwards later
“I want you to have this” Obi states, holding the baby yagura in one arm and extending the other holding her yagura-bank out to them
“Didn’t I already tell you I wasn’t accepting it? Besides, I failed to bring Bluefin back to you” Luffy retorts frowning
Obi shakes her head “You let me see Bluefin one more time which I can never thank you enough for, plus we fulfilled his final wish and rescued this adorable little cutie” she coos, playfully nuzzling the still scarf-wrapped yagura and giggles as it licks her cheek
Luffy sighs, accepting the bank...only to slip it into the scarf with the yagura “Spend it on the kid, and take good care of him, consider whatever is in it paid for by the Straw Hats k?” he chuckles
“Ok. Thank you Mr. Luffy, and friends” Obi smiles to all of them then runs home, waving to them until she turns a corner
“Well, this was an eventful day” Artemis sighs deeply
“Hey Kaos, do you think that was the Tsui village?” Chopper asks
“Maybe, I mean that clearly WAS Bluefin, the kid confirmed it. This world is full of questions, the Grand Line even more so than others” Kaos answers, before leading the way back to Iceberg’s, Artemis was right, this had been a long day.
Next day
“Important announcement everyone, the log pose has reset and is pointing to our next destination” Nami cheers, showing the stabilised pose to the crew at breakfast
“It’s, um… pointing a little lower than usual Nami, is that because of where we are, or something else?” Kaos asks, checking one of the spares and finding the same issue
“We have time to figure that out, as now all we’re waiting for is Franky and the others to actually finish building our new ship” Vivi muses, sounding rather, blaze this morning and didn’t look like she had any intention of moving from her seat nestled between Luffy and Alvida.
Robin chuckles “Sounds like someone’s in a better mood, you didn’t ride those 2 too hard for leaving you high and dry princess?”
“They probably enjoyed it, if battle stamina translates to bedroom longevity” Valentina smirks, then laughs when she sees a hint of pink spread across Vivi’s rather pale cheeks.
“Lucky bastards getting to screw hot babes every night” Sanji grumbles, trying to keep his emotions out of his cooking as there were still girls to feed, the guys are welcome to his anger tainted feed.
It was this atmosphere Kokoro entered, bouncing around as usual “Oh, I see your log found the next island, and it’s a doozie. Though I bet you already know that” she cackles
“Actually no, like pretty much every other island we come across, besides Alabasta, we don’t know anything about our next destination” Nami admits
“Well you're in for a treat and a shock then, that pose is pointing to a very special island. Specifically Fishman island located at the bottom of the ocean” Kokoro explains, every Devil fruit user on the crew having a syncronized thought, that being ‘Well, f*ck!’
“That, is going to be difficult” Nami sighs
“Is it because of Arlong and what he did to your village?” Luffy asks, just because it wasn’t important to him at the time, doesn’t mean he didn’t care about a crewmate’s past trauma
“They were pirates who happened to be fishmen, I doubt they’re all terrible people like him” Zoro suggests, leaning back to avoid getting kicked in the face by a pirouetting Sanji
“See, even Zoro thinks this is good news and he’s a moron. Fishman island is the most famous place on the GrandLine even more than Laughtale, probably because it can actually be located. That and the stories of how it’s full of beautiful mermaids” the cook swoons, until Kokoro coughs, reminding him mermaids are affected by age the same as humans, and sending him into a depressed spiral.
“Ignoring that tangent, Zoro is right, you can’t judge an entire species on the actions of a single pirate crew. Much like regular humans, the other races have a mix of good and bad people within their population” Vivi agrees, ever the diplomat
“So, I’m not allowed to think Birkans are assholes just because Enaru put a hole through papa’s head?” Artemis asks with a rather childish pout
“No, you can think he is, but not his people” the princess explains
Kokoro chuckles, these young ones were a riot “Anywho, just because the place is nice once you get there much like your cook friends says, doesn’t mean it’s easy to get there”
“Given it’s at the bottom of the ocean, the difficulty is both implied… and apparent” Victor agrees
Luffy shrugs “Eh, we’ll figure it out on the way there”
“Getting there will also be a problem, I get the feeling none of you saw today’s paper”
“No, it’s kind of become Nami’s thing to show up with the paper and those who care read it after her” Kaos admits with a nonchalant shrug
“Wait, 14 ships have vanished, in a single patch of sea! What the actual f*ck?” Nami gasps
“Yep, folks call that place the ‘Florian Triangle’ and you’ll need to pass through that to get to Fishman island. Every year about a hundred ships go missing in that area, and nobody knows why. The creepy part is when the ships eventually turn out without a soul aboard, or the rare ones which apparently have a skeletal crew still intact” Kokoro explains, sending shivers down most of their spines
“Zombies!” Chopper screams in panic
“Oh, hanging out with actual skeletons sounds kind of cool, when do we leave?” Luffy cheers
“When the ship’s finished, also I doubt any of the skeletons are… animate” Kaos clicks his tongue looking for the right word
“No way, we’re not stopping for any spooky ghost ships we’re sailing full speed through these waters!” Nami shouts in panic
“While the common term may be ‘ghost ships’ abandoned vessels of this kind have another name: Treasure ships. We’re more likely to run into a ship full of gold and gems than an army of the undead” Robin states, partly to calm their navigator down
“Yeah! Let’s find us some treasure ships!” Nami cheers, Luffy joining in, feeding on her gree… enthusiasm “I mean zombies are just fiction after all” she laughs
“Edo Tensei” Valentina states, popping that bubble “It’s a… spell or curse within the pages of history back home, where you can reanimate the dead, however the process is… complicated and dangerous only the brave and or stupid would even try” she explains
“Do we even want to know how you know this Valantina?” Zoro asks, though unlike Nami and Chopper he was merely curious, same as Kaos and Robin
The kilo girl shrugs “My big brother, the concept fascinated him, as well as how it might be modified with his Devil fruit to create a failsafe on death. He was a mad genius, emphasis on mad” she chuckles, seeing from the expression of the aptly named ‘Demonic Duo’ they might be interested in meeting him in the future, as well as learning about which Devil fruit she meant.
“Hey Pirate people!”
“Straw Hat!”
Everyone turns as the doors are swung open, Chimney, Kiwi and Mozu run through, in a panicked rush.
“Yes?” Vivi greets
“Franky wants to talk to you all”
“It may have taken all night, but they finished his Ship Of Dreams”
“And it looks super cool” Chimney pipes in grinning widely
“The ships’ finished already?” Alvida gasps
“Looks like it” Luffy nods “Let’s go see the ship!” he shouts
“STRAW HAT!”
“What now?” Sanji grunts as Zambei leads the charge of a good number of the Franky Family to Iceberg’s place, the straw hats coming out to see what all the commotion was about.
“Sorry about this but we only just found out ourselves. Did you see the Wanted posters?”
“Wanted posters?” Luffy repeats, looking confused
“You’ve got a huge bounty on your head, in fact most of you do at this point. Oh they’re going to hunt you down and put your head on a pike for this” the man says in a panic
Sanji scoffs “Took their time” while Nami panics and both Vivi and Chopper silently cheer
“It’ll be quicker to just show you so here” Zambei says dropping a stack at their feet “Wanted Posters for all of you”
“Guess you have a lot to update from your binder” Robin teases, a minute before said binder comes out of Kaos’ coat
Straw Hat Luffy: 330 million
Mirror Master Kaos: 250 million
Pirate Hunter Zoro: 120 million
Smooth Criminal Alvida: 50 million
Courier Valentina: 30 million
Bomberman Victor: 42 million
Artist of Death Nico D. Artemis 60 million
Devil’s Child Nico Robin: 85 million
Cat Burglar Nami: 16 million
Honey shot Kaya: 20 million
Sogeking: 30 million
Black Leg Sanji: 77 million
Cotton Candy Chopper: 50 beri
Desert Princess Vivi: 10 million (alive)
“Finally updated your picture it seems” Kaos muses, partly to distract from the 6 million rise, as it was the smallest of all of them besides Chopper, but he was apparently classed as a pet… making him wonder if Carue was also worth 50 beri.
“They used my name… is it Ok they gave me a D. Papa?”Artemis asks, grinning when both her ‘parents’ nod and Kaos even ruffles her hair, telling her it makes it official.
Meanwhile Nami was moping about her 16 million bounty, Sanji similarly but more so the abomination of an artist’s impression on his poster (Artemis offered to paint him and send it to the Navy, but she was ignored), while Vivi rolled her eyes at the ‘Alive’ clause, having half expected it if she was being honest.
“Cool, even Kaya and Sogeking have bounties, and you got a new Epithet Alvida” Luffy cheers, the smooth woman nods, testing the new name in her head and finding it suits her, especially now a days
“Now, I know this is Big News for you all, and you probably have important pirate things to worry about, but there is something I need to ask you a favour for” Zambei says, pulling one more bounty from his shirt
Cyborg Franky: 44 million
“Makes sense, he was technically already wanted by the government due to the Pluton plans, and then helped the others break out of Enies Lobby” Robin notes
“Yeah, at first we were glad not to end up with bounties, but then Big Bro showed up in the stack. He can’t stay in Water 7, they’ll find him and take him in for sure and I don’t think we can stage another rescue that has any chance of success. That’s why I’m here Straw Hat, because no matter how hard he fights, please take him out to sea with you. It means he’ll be able to go out to the end of the Grand Line with his baby, and still be safer than staying here. You gotta do this, his parents were pirates too it’s in his blood”
If that were true Luffy and I would be marines right now not pirates” Kaos mutters, given Luffy’s grandfather and as he recently learnt his mother were both Vice Admirals.
Luffy stares at them for a moment before grinning “For the record, the last time someone told me to take someone out to see with me, I told them no” the family freeze and begin to panic “However, given the person being thrown at me was Sanji, I think you know where this is going. You didn’t need to beg, I was going to get Franky to be my Shipwright anyway, after all who better to keep the new ship sailing” he laughs
“You mean it? Thank you so much! The rest of you are ok with Franky joining too?” Zambei asks
Given a handful were too traumatized/out of it to respond, the others were an even mix of ‘Captain’s decision’ and ‘Franky’s cool, he should fit in well’
“Good to hear, I’ll leave you to whatever you were doing previously, the boys and I have… something important to do now you’ve agreed” the man says ominously, even Mozu and Kiwi shivered, before the Family ran off.
A little later
“So… they’ve been at this a while now, should we do something?” Vivi asks, referring to the aura or depression and melancholy being produced by Nami, Sanji and Chopper
“Nah, they’ll snap out of it when they see the ship” Luffy responds with a shrug
“Speaking of, we all in agreement about Ussop and Kaya?” Zoro asks, the mentally present members nod and finish rechecking their bags before following Luffy out the door, being lead by Kiwi, Mozu and being accompanied by Kokoro and Chimney to where their new ship has been built.
When they got there, there was a distinct lack of Franky, just the overworked Dock One formen and Iceberg, all pretty much passed out and dead to the world… well they were until Luffy started yelling for Franky.
“Oh hey Icepops, good to see yah, where’s Franky?” the captain asks
Iceberg chuckles “I’m afraid Franky is currently unavailable, but the ship is fully completed if you would like to see it” he offers, getting enthusiastic cheers from most of the crew, which made sure the rest of Galley La were awake to see this.
“Franky left a message for you Straw Hat” Iceberg says as he pulls the tarp away “If you’re really going to become the King of the Pirates, then your ship should be no less than the King of Beasts” he declares, the Strawhats instantly understanding when they see instead of the Merry’s sheep head, this new ship had a Lion for it’s figurehead.
“So cool! It looks ready to break stuff”
“Hopefully the ship isn’t what you break first”
“The new ship is at least twice as big as Merry”
“And you said there wouldn’t be space for forging equipment”
“I said there MIGHT not be Val”
“It’s so pretty, and colourful”
“Let me see the kitchen, a vessel this impressive should have one to match”
“Royal indeed, give the metalhead credit he built a fine ship”
“Wonderful, what kind of flower is the figurehead?” Robin asks, smiling
Iceberg coughs/chokes before clearing his throat “I’m pretty sure it was meant to be a lion, but given the way the mane turned out… I have no idea” he admits just as Luffy jumps onto the ship, and learns it has a lawn/grass, shortly followed by most of the others
“So, I hear you’re the crew's navigator, meaning you’re the best person to mention this to, Franky’s ship is a brig sloop type Carrack, something which really requires a skilled navigator to use to its full potential” Iceberg says to Nami, being one of the few to not hop onto the ship
“You’re right, thanks, and I’ll pass on the information to Valentina, she’s our current helmsman” the red head explains getting an nod of understanding from Iceberg before the woman joins the others, now even more eager to see how the new ship would handle for her.
“Hey Icepops, the ship’s awesome by the way, but where’s Franky, we got to thank him” Luffy calls from over the side of the ship
“I’m afraid Franky doesn’t want to see any of you” he replies, asking “You were going to ask him to join you, correct?” when he saw Luffy’s look of blank confusion
“Well of course, he’s a good shipwright and fighter plus it’s HIS ship, it only seems right he come along too”
“And there’s the issue”
Luffy blinks “Are you saying he doesn’t want to come? He could have just said that to our faces” he grumbles
“Quite the opposite in fact” Iceberg states, causing Luffy to perk up again “If you asked he wouldn’t be able to refuse such an offer, hence why he’s hiding somewhere on Water 7 right now” he explains “What I’m saying is, he wants to join your crew, the amount of work he put into making your ship is proof of that, it’s a labour of love to your crew and his former Master. He does want to go so it’s nothing on your part, but he feels he has to stay here in Water 7, bound to his word”
“Oh”
“Personally I think he’s being a stubborn git and getting worked up over nothing, but he’s always been like that so I kind of expected him to. Still, that’s how he feels, so trying to reason with him would be a waste of time”
“So are we kidnapping Mr. Roboto or not?” Luffy nearly jumps at Kaos’ question and sudden appearance
“Pretty much. The only way you’ll be able to get Franky on your crew is by force, because if he’s unwilling to break his chains, you’ll have to do it for him” Iceberg states
“By force? Seems kind of bad to use on such a nice guy like Franky, but I guess I’ll try everything once” Luffy hums mostly to himself, then returns to checking out the ship for a bit, meanwhile Iceberg looks back at Water 7, and more importantly the random explosions going off
‘What are those idiots doing? Whatever it is, I really hope it works’
What they were doing was trying to convince Franky to go with the Strawhats in a way that only one of the Family would think to do… stealing his pants and making a break for the Straw hat’s new ship. Playing keepaway with an angry, halfnaked cyborg was a bad idea but worked for a good while, especially when they had some last minute assistance just before all seemed lost.
“My legs, so tired, I’m done for” One of the Family pant as he falls to his knees
“Hey pass it to me!” shouts a voice from the rooftops, the man shocked to see a widely grinning Luffy
“Straw hat. Here, catch!” the man calls back, throwing the underwear which is caught by Luffy before running off
“Get back here with my undies you little brat!” Franky bellows, continuing his just shy of streaking across the island as he chases the rubber boy from below, traumatizing people as he goes “So, how’d you like the ship?” he asks, seeing as this was probably the best/only time he’d get to ask
“It’s awesome, probably the coolest ship I’ve ever seen, thanks for giving it to us” Luffy calls back, grinning as he hops to the next building
“Of course it’s awesome, I designed the blueprints and put a little extra Super into the building process. Plus Iceberg helped I guess. I included all your requests and even installed my one of a kind soldier dock system, give the girl a spin yet?”
“Not yet”
“Well be prepared for it to blow you away. Hey what did you think of the fish tanks?”
“Love ‘em, Chopper most of all”
“Catch some on your travels and drop them in the top, then you can watch em swim around to their heart’s content, that room’s an aquarium and dining room all in one”
“Will certainly save on date night… Nami says they’re really important and neither of the girls have argued about it” Luffy chuckles, making another leap
“It’s just like a promised, the best damn ship a man can build, a true ship of dreams there. Now give me back my briefs… before I blow you to smithereens” Franky demands, opening up Weapons Left as he says so then firing
“Chopper!” Luffy shouts before being hit, throwing to the reindeer who catches it and runs off
Meanwhile on ground level Zoro and Sanji were with some of the Family… and a huge cannon “Remember the plan?” the guy manning the cannon asks, get the answer when Franky comes around the corner and the 2 somehow co-operate long enough to shove him in it “Aim for Scrap Island!” he bellows
“Ugh guys, isn’t this a little excessive?” Franky asks, wanting to be fired out of a cannon about as much as a normal person
Franky Family special weapon: Fire Everything Cannon
“Wait, weren’t his undies supposed to go first?” Chopper asks in confusion, then squeaks when Luffy grabs him
“Ready Chopper?” Luffy asking, ignoring the quiet ‘No’
Gum Gum Rocket
Back on the ship
“And there they are” Kaos chuckles just before a Flying Franky lands just in front of the ship and Luffy lands with Chopper beside him, then grimaces.
“Franky’s naked, Franky’s naked” Chimney shouts like a record stuck on repeat, Kokoro laughing just behind her
“Well, this isn’t how I expected my morning to turn out” Iceberg muses, though is clearly trying to not join his mother figure in laughing his ass off at Franky’s misfortune
Franky pulls himself from the wreckage he’d landed in with a grunt then turns when he hears his name, seeing Luffy standing on the deck of his ship, waving his underwear above his head
“Franky! Thanks for the ship, it’s a great as you said it is and we’ll be sure to take good care of it!” Luffy shouts
“Yeah, it’s been real, have a safe trip”
“Just one thing I forgot to mention” Luffy says with a smirk “If you want these back, you’re going to need to join my crew” the statement causing wheezing laughter from a few of those in earshot, mostly Iceberg and Kaos, as Kokoro was cackling like a witch.
TBC
LW: Yeah, I rarely get things to line up for cliffhangers so I’m taking full advantage of this one, tune in again in 2 weeks to see if Franky will actually take the offer, or just climb aboard and kick Luffy’s ass to steal back his pants.
Post Enies Lobby is a short arc, so it’s only going to be 3 chapters long, meaning we’ll be starting the next arc in December.
Anyone else find it funny that apparently this wasn’t the first time Franky went on a pantless rampage? I get the feeling it was an anime only addition, but someone still had the reaction of ‘Again?’ when they heard Franky was running around half naked destroying things
Bounty updates
Luffy: 330 million
Kaos: 250 million
Zoro: 120 million
Alvida: 50 million
Valentina: 30 million
Victor: 42 million
Artemis: 60 million
Robin: 85 million
Nami: 16 million
Sanji: 77 million
Vivi: 10 million
Chopper: 50 beri
Sogeking: 30 million
Kaya: 20 million
Franky: 44 million
Ussop 0 beri.
For a Grand Total of: 1,070,000,050 beri, or 8,640,202.25 euro (using yen=>euro exchange rate on the 14th November 2020)
The Straw hats are worth over a billion beri, cool :D
Chapter 86: Leaving Water 7, adventure awaits
Chapter Text
LW: So, anyone who has been here a while will notice this chapter was… late. I’m not apologising, as due to my new job starting early on Sundays that it works better for me to upload in the evenings. Tada, this is the new set up. And now onto the story! :D
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Leaving Water 7, Adventure awaits!
There was silence amongst the people actually worth caring about, meaning the civilians were complaining about Franky’s dangly bits being on display, until the cyborg sighs and once more demands his pants back
“Sure, join my crew and I’ll happily return them” Luffy states
“You stupid punk I’m not going to become a pirate just cause you’re holding my brief’s hostage” Franky yells “In fact, keep ‘em” he says, getting into his SUPER pose with only his shirt on, open and fluttering in the wind “You wouldn’t ask a lion to put on underwear, so why a man?” he declares, exposing himself for all to see
“Wow, that’s so awesomely manly!” Luffy cheers, until his head collides with the deck due to Nami’s punch
“Go Franky, show the Water 7 girls what you’re packing!” Alvida shouts and wolf whistles, laughing while Vivi tries to hide behind Carue, muttering about ‘perverts and idiots’, to the amusem*nt of a few of the others.
“It might get a little rough, but I could lend a hand, with your permission Captain” Robin offers, the smile she was sporting all the clues Kaos needed to turn on his heels, Artemis following as neither wanted to see what came next.
“Sure, go for it, Icepops did say Franky would most likely only respond to force” Luffy says, giving her the go ahead “What are you planning by the way?”
Robin’s smile extends “Nothing much”
Deux Fleur: Grab
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Franky screams as Robin literally has him by the balls, and squeezes.
“Big baby” Luffy mutters, until Alvida reminds him his ‘tangerines’ as Franky called them were made of rubber like everything else, while Franky’s weren’t , at which point the sympathetic wince all males feel caught up to his rubber brain and he grimaces “Robin, was that really necessary?”
“You said use force. Have you reconsidered our offer yet or do I need to remind you there are children present and I highly doubt Water 7 is a nudist colony” Robin calls out to the now crying cyborg, her blooms still keeping a ‘firm grip’ on his delicates
“I already told you, I can’t leave even if I wanted to, I appreciate the offer, but it’s not in the cards for me” Franky whimpers “Sailing the seas would be great and all, but I still have a lot of things that need doing here in Water 7”
“Can we just kidnap him?” Kaos asks, wanting to get this over with, preferably without worrying he was going to lose his manhood the next time Robin got mad
“I don’t think Mom is going to let go anytime soon, she might even be enjoying it” Artemis notes, partly to annoy the researcher, before a metallic looking claw shoves her hat over her eyes, 2 more of Robin’s blooms keeping it there “Hey!”
“You are much too young to be seeing a man’s genitals Artemis, I hope to make your teen years better than mine” Robin states, giving Franky another squeeze
Victor coughs awkwardly “Damn, bagged yourself a sad*st there Shimmer” he jokes, getting an eye roll and half smile from the lanky teen
“I stopped being a shipwright a long time ago, this was the last thing I was ever going to build, now I’ve finally built my Dream Ship” Franky continues during the on-ship conversations
“That’s a lie and you know it Franky” Iceberg says walking towards him “You said it wasn’t enough to draw the plans, or even just build the ship, it needed to get to the end of the world… and you HAD to be there to see it. The Strawhats are offering you the chance to fulfil your dream on a silver platter, live for yourself and take it you thick headed dumbass!”
“I grew up Icicle, just like you wanted. I have new dreams, more realistic ones” Franky scoffs
“No, you’re still the kid I remember, under all that scrap metal. And so I can see you're not here because of duty, or some unfinished jobs, you're here because you're punishing yourself, because of your guilt over what happened to Tom!” Iceberg shouts in Franky’s face “But you clearly don’t get it, Tom forgave you, even before he left this island, because just like his ships, he loved us like his own, and he knew you never wanted anyone to be hurt by your creations. Since the incident you’ve taken punks off the street, no offence”
“Some taken”
“Taught them to be dismantlers, taken on Bounty Hunting jobs and protected this island from the scum of the sea, all to atone for something you’ve already been forgiven for, and to protect the city Tom helped bring back to life. Not that many people saw it that way”
Franky grunts “That’s cause it wasn’t what I was doi… ow, come on lady quit it, those aren’t stress balls down there”
“You loved shipbuilding and you gave it up, suppressed your desires and dream for years. Are you going to do that for the rest of your life, even when everyone has already forgiven you, even I have, Cutty” Iceberg states, not seeing Franky’s eyes widen as he’d believed Iceberg when he’d told him he’d never forgive him for what happened to Tom “This has gone on long enough, it’s time for the last person who matters to forgive you… yourself Franky” he continues, this time seeing the tears drip onto the ground “Live Franky, embrace your dream, and be greater than our master”
BOOM
Both shipbuilders were knocked back by an explosion/impact, which turned out to have been a bright yellow luggage bag
“It’s supplies for your trip Big Bro!” Came the voice of Zambei, as the Franky Family pushed their way to the front of the crowd “We apologize for trying to trick you Big Bro, it wasn’t the right way to do it, but we couldn’t see any other way for this to turn out for you”
“We’re sorry”
Franky scowls “You better be, where do you get off, thinking you know what’s best for me, that I’d want the kind of life my underlings chose for me without even consultation? If you’d thought as hard as you seem to claim you did you’ have realised how stupid this plan was”
“We know we f*cked up, but is it really wrong to want you to be happy, you’re our big bro, you’ve done so much for us, made our lives better, why can’t we want the same for you Big Bro Franky?”
“Whaaaa!” Franky shouts, before collapsing backwards
“I think you broke him” Valentina stage whispers, then smirks when she sees Robin wasn’t doing anything
“Damn you guys” Franky cries, this time due to emotional pain… as well as physical pain “I can’t stop crying” he whimpers, before finally sitting up and seeing the whole Family were in a similar state “You guy, are you really going to be ok without me?” he asks, genuinely concerned for his guys
“You made sure we could work well and work together, we’ll make do and also ensure that Water 7 NEVER forgets the name FRANKY!” Zambei answers/assures him, leading several of them in imitating his ‘SUPER’ pose “No matter how far you go, you’ll always be our boss, and always be our Big Bro!”
“You guys, I’m going to miss you” Franky sniffles, the tender moment… interrupted by Zoro and Sanji
“We gotta go Captain!” Sanji shouts, jumping on/over members of the Franky Family to get closer to the ship
“Your Grampa is back with a whole platoon of marines on the other side of the island, we need to get out of here double speed” Zoro adds
Luffy’s head tilts in confusion “What, but he said he was leaving?”
“Not the time we need to leave now” Sanji grunts, then his eye widens when he sees Franky “Jeez man but your underwear back on!”
“Ok then” Luffy hums, then throws Franky his pants “Here catch. Now put ‘em on and get on the ship, Captain’s orders” he says with a smirk which Franky mirrors
“Your ship already huh? An amature like you would sink her in less than a week” he chuckles, flicking back down his shades
“Nu uh, that’s what Nami’s for” Luffy argues getting a more playful than usual headslap from said navigator
“I mean you got a beautiful vessel like this and no shipwright, for shame! For her. You know you’re not leaving me much choice, I’m gonna have to join your crew to keep you from destroying my masterpiece after all. Let’s set sail, I’m joining the crew” he declares, to cheers from several of the straw hats
“Welcome to the crew Uncle Franky” Artemis cheers, mostly to watch the cyborg faceplant, now Robin was letting her see things again
‘Tom, I know I wasn’t the best to deal with, but you did your best and made that punk into a man. Iceberg, you carry on his legacy, better than I ever could. Those Dock One guys will keep you safe, and hopefully get you out of the office once in a while. Granny, thanks for always being there for me, a rock in my ocean, even if it was an alcoholic rock. Bros, little sis’s, Sodem and Gamora, take care of yourselves, because I’m doing this!’ FRanky thinks as he climbs up onto the Straw Hat’s ship.
“That’s nice, but can you please but your pants on” Vivi squeaks, still hiding behind Carue who’s similarly hiding her head under her wing
“Yeah, kind of too much man junk on display for my liking” Sanji grunts
“Good point. Franky, put your undies back on, Nami, Valentina let’s set sail!” Luffy commands, getting a nod from the blond and a mock salute from Franky before finally recovering some minor level of decency.
“So, we’re really doing this Luffy?” Nami asks, watching as Luffy sits in one of the deck chairs on the ship’s lawn
“Yeah, feels like we’re missing a few people” Franky agrees
“At least let Kaya-Chan back on the ship you heartless bastard!” Sanji shouts, but is ignored by everyone else
“Nope, we waited as long as we could and they didn’t show up, we all agreed on this back in Galley La” Luffy explains with a shrug
“It’s not like we’re asking for something unreasonable, like 100 million beri to come back” Kaos hums, leaning against the side of the ship, keeping his senses alert for Kaya’s fruit as that would also mean Usoop “All we want, is an apology”
“I still think you and Zoro are being assholes for little to no reason… but we did agree to this, even Vivi” Nami sighs, then moves to help Valantina get them moving.
“There are much worse terms that could have been drawn, given Ussop did abandon the crew, and while his actions in Enise Lobby should give him some leniency, he does still need to prove he won’t do this again, that he is a part of the crew to the end” the princess elaborates, ever the diplomat
Boom Boom
“Whelp, guess we’re out of time. Marines on our tail” Victor yells as Garp’s Dog headed battleship comes into view
“Damn it, it really is Grandpa. He lied” Luffy whines
“More likely Sengoku made him actually do his job. Gramps did describe him as the me to his you, trying to limit the amount of stupid you do on a weekly basis” Kaos sighs, adjusting his own hat.
“Hey Luffy, this is your grandfather speaking. Don’t even think about trying to ignore me” Garp’s voice boomed out the megaphone he was holding
“I hear you, but you said you were letting us go!”
“Yeah well I say a lot of things, some of them complete bullsh*t. All that matters is NOW I’m saying that I’m going to give you a watery grave”
“Well, it was nice knowing you guys” Valentina groans, head resting against the steering wheel
“I know it’s not much of a consolation, but I’m going to fight you by myself” Garp adds, before picking up a cannon ball and lobbing it like a baseball
Meteor Fist
“He threw a cannon ball at us!” Chopper shrieks
“And it was faster than if it had been shot out of a cannon” Victor notes with a hint of fear
“f*ck this, we’re getting out of here!” Nami screams, why did Luffy’s grandfather have to be an insanely strong marine?
“And it looks like the battleship he’s on is full stocked” Franky grimaces as they see the marines pull a conveyer of cannonballs over to where Garp was standing
“Full speed ahead, everyone who can, protect the ship from those cannonballs” Luffy orders, leading the charge to the ship’s rear for defence
Ding
“Don’t throw these things!” Alvida shouts as a knife barely misses her “Also why is there a bell by the forge?”
“For a joke” Kaos smirks “You ring the bell to place an order for whatever you want made or altered. Also they’re almost here” he adds, pointing back to land, basically just out of reach.
“He has pretty bad timing, we’re about to be blown to bits” Zoro grumbles as he prepares his stance
“Agreed, but that 2nd thing is more important right now. We can worry about Usopp and Kaya later” Luffy says as his eyes lock onto Garp, the old man grinning like a mad man (Eh, he probably is)
Meteor Fist Shower
Gum Gum Balloon
Bark BOOM
Weapons Left
Breeze Breath Bomb
Fūton: Reppūshō
Prism
“It never ends” Sanji grunts as he kicks another cannonball away from the ship
“Luffy, Ussop and Kaya have arrived, he’s calling out to us” Chopper pops in to yell
“I don’t hear anything besides explosions, and I’m kind of busy right now so can’t exactly go check” the captain grunts before sending back another 3 cannonballs
“Kaos?”
“Did he apologise?” the researcher asks, catching a cannonball in the chest before firing it out his palm
“Well no…”
“Then I have no idea what you’re talking about”
“You jerk, he’s right there, both of them are” the reindeer whimpers
“It’s not going to work Chopper” the doc turns to Artemis, who unlike the others was watching the shore due to her abilities being unsuited for ship to ship combat “Usopp knows what we want, he just has to do it” she says flatly
On the shore
“This isn’t funny anymore!” Usopp belows, then droops, hands on his knees supporting himself, before a familiar, but now permanently sweet scented prescience pressed against his back
“Maybe it’s time Usopp, to stop pretending” Kaya suggests, sighing as she rests her head on his shoulder, the young logia knowing how much leaving the crew hurt her love, even if he tried to hide it behind his lies and bravado, like all his other weaknesses and faults.
The sniper sniffles “I know Kaya, I just… it’s hard” the blond nods “I shouldn’t have done what I did and now they’ve abandoned us, you didn’t even do anything” his eyes were watering
Kaya chuckles “We were always a package deal Usopp, though I’m not sure if Kaos simply meant it as a joke when he was recruiting me” she hums “Where you go, I go, hence why I’m still here and not on the ship because they know the invitation would be rejected”
Usopp nods “If they’re really going to leave us here, then I can’t let the last thing I say to them be my resignation” pulling himself to his feet, though with tears no streaming down his face her yells as loud as he could “I’M SORRY EVERYONE! I’m too stubborn, always have been, but I STILL TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I SAID THAT DAY!” the strength left him and he dropped to his hands and knees, “I don’t deserve it, but please, can you find it in your hearts to forgive me, to let us back on the crew?” he continues, now balling his eyes out… until he hears Kaya’s surprised gasp. Wiping his eyes, they widened almost comically when he sees it: Luffy’s arm stretched out right in front of his face
“That all, I needed to hear. Welcome aboard, both of you” Luffy manages to yell, before his own waterworks started up “Come on, grab on already”
“Loop your syrupy ass around your boytoy and get back here Kaya, Chopper’s gonna get lonely in the med bay!” Alvida shouts, pushing her hat over her face to hide her own watery eyes
“Everyone, reunited at last” Vivi sniffles
“Robin, make sure Luffy doesn’t drop them, please” Kaos requests, his smile much more relaxed than before
“Of course, did you even need to ask?” she teases, forming blooms to link Ussop, Kaya and Luffy together, until the 2 were on the deck of the new ship
“The gang’s all back together” Nami chirps, giving the East Blue crew a watery smile
“Sure is, now we just have to get away from these marines and then we can set off into the New World!” Luffy declares, jumping for joy
Bang Bang
“Oh yeah, Gramps is still trying to kill us… what else is f*cking new?” Kaos sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose “Back to work Cap?”
“Of course. Everyone keep those cannonballs away from the ship!” Luffy orders
“Hey New Boss, I think I know how we can lose the Fuzz” Franky says, pulling the rubber boy over to him, the others watching his eyes widen then shine
“Furl the sails, right now!”
“I’m not going to like this am I?” Vivi asks, Nami nodding with a similar grimace on her face
“And to think, I almost missed this insanity” Kaya sighs deeply
“Oh, one more thing, before we leave we need to name the ship” Franky points out… getting several facepalms from the usual suspects
“Really?”
“Of course, it’s her maiden voyage, now better time”
“Fine” Sanji grunts around his cigarette “It has to have lion in it right? I mean why else make it the figurehead”
“The last ship didn’t have sheep in it” Valentina points out in mild confusion
“But it was the Going Merry, and Merry’s hair always did remind me of a sheep” Kaya partially explains “Also we didn’t name her, Merry did”
“I got one, The ‘Black Bear, Polar Bear, Lion, Tiger’ :D” Luffy shouts, getting a slap from Usopp “The Tiger!! Wolf!! Lion, or the Squid!! Octopus!! Chimpanzee. Dandelion Lion Dandy Unbearable Bear?”
“Me thinks the Captain hit his head” Victor chuckles
“Those are at least fun sounding, but I think it’s only fair I give you guys Iceberg’s suggestion given he’s not here to do it himself. He recommended the Thousand Sunny”
“It definitely suits this ship” Kaos hums “Better than King Infinity, to my shame” he chuckles
“I wanted to suggest Big Boss Lionel, but Sunny does sound nice” Zoro nods
“I was partial to Little Darkness but Sunny fits the more playful and cheerful nature of the ship” Robin adds
“I still prefer Monsieur Sunflower, but this is a team decision in the end” Sanji sighs
“I have no chance in convincing anyone to name it Susanoo am I?” Valentina asks with a slight pout
“All in favour of Thousand Sunny?” Vivi asks, finding the name oddly cute considering it’s a pirate ship
“Agreed!”
“Wow, that was a lot easier than I thought, I honestly expected more fighting” Nami muses
“Well, if you have a cool name like Sunny the others just aren’t as good” Alvida explains
“Oy Franky, stop pouting over there and get on with whatever you had us roll up the sails for” Sanji yells at the cyborg who stands up back to normal
“You’re gonna love this, it’s SUPER. Take one last look at Water 7 because it’ll be gone before you know it”
Luffy nods “K. Give me a sec” he then jumps onto the railing and starts yelling “Hey Grandpa! Also Koby, Icedick and um… Buttchin?”
“What is that idiot doing now?” Garp mutters, Aokiji standing up to see what the commotion was given Robin or Kaos must have told Luffy he was there
“I don’t know what’s about to happen, but we will get away from you in a moment. It was nice seeing you, good luck and hope we meet again in the future” Luffy declares, grinning madly as he bounces back onto the deck
“He’s brought out the ball and chain!” came a panicked shout from the marine vessel
“I have a Granny?” Luffy asks in confusion before his eyes nearly shoot out of their sockets “Oh sh*t they were being literal. Franky, whatever you’re doing… do it now!”
“I’ll pound some respect into you brats if it’s the last thing I do!” Garp bellows as he heaves and throws the giant metal ball
Coup de Burst
Only for it to miss as the Sunny shoots forward as if it was launched out of a cannon, flying off into the horizon
‘Holy sh*t, Nico Robin sure picked some strange bedfellows’ Aokiji thinks as the ship vanishes
“Nice work kids” Garp says with a grin “Guess there’s always next time”
“It takes 3 barrels of cola, but the range is about a Kilometre so it’s worth the fuel cost” Franky explains “No offence to her predecessor, but Sunny is better than Merry in every way” he brags, grinning widely “But even if it’s all a new ship, I hope the spirit of the Merry will find a home in this new ship. Plus with me around, any problems the ship has I’ll fix em right up”
Elsewhere
“Commodore Smoker, did you see the Straw Hats wanted posters, they all have them now” Tashigi calls as she passes the bonties
“Not Smoker” came an angry growl, Tashigi lowing her glasses to look into the angry, claw branded eyes of Lucina, but before she could strange her fellow bluenette the papers were taken by Smoker as he passes by, good thing only the tip of his weapon was seastone or strapping it to himself while shirtless would be really dangerous… and stupid.
“Wear your glasses Tashigi, unless you’re trying to tell me I have tit*” Smoker grunts around his cigars, before sitting to examine the bounties “Well, sh*t” he sighs “Tashigi, after this incident, pirates are going to be inspired by Straw hat’s actions and be even more of a pest due to him giving the World Government a bloody nose like this. We need to get stronger and increase our ranks, because I swear, on my pride I will capture that brat in the New World!”
Baratie
“Whoever drew this bounty picture should be beaten within an inch of their lives, then fired” Zeff sighs as he see’s the new bounties “But at least nobody has a chance at finding my boy if they don’t know what he actually looks like” he chuckles, the other chefs chuckling for another reason… Sanji’s ‘photo’ looked really stupid.
Fusha Village
“Why does nobody listen to me anymore?” Mayor Woodslap groans, sinking into the chair as everyone else cheers for Luffy and Kaos (and the other StrawHats, but those 2 they actually KNEW)
“Because it’s not like anyone here is going to rat out the boys, and even you have to admit the speed of their ascension is impressive” Makino explains, glad to see all her ‘little brothers’ were doing well “Luffy seems to be making so many friends along the way, and Kaos is really coming out of his shell” she smiles
“Friends? Those people there are thugs and criminals!”
“And a reindeer and a duck. Also look at this kid and tell me she’s a criminal” Makino says, holding up a smiling Artemis’ bounty poster
“She’s called the Artist of Death, also she’s clearly this ‘Devil Child’s daughter, or sister given their shared last name”
Makino rolls her eyes “Fine, be a grump, but at least say you’re impressed, you don’t have to like it to acknowledge that much”
Woodslap sighs “Ok, those boys, are doing well at being pirates, even if declaring war or the World Government is the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard, and Luffy grew up here so we’ve all heard and seen a lot of those”
Cocoyashi
“Genzo, I brought you some tangerine…. You look upset” Nojiko hums as she enters the man’s house
“You would be too if you’ve spent the last 3 hours trying to file a complaint with the marines only to be ignored, repeatedly” he grunts, nearly throwing the Den Den… but the poor snail didn’t deserve his anger
“Hm, why? I’m sure Nami deserved whatever earned her her bounty”
“For how damn explicit and sultry it is! She’ll have more people hunting her for her body than her bounty!”
Nojiko chuckles “You really are such a Dad Genzo” she says, causing the scarred man to blush “Plus you clearly like it given you blew the picture up to put on the wall” she teases, the blush deepening
“She’s still the biggest thing to come out of this village even if she’s a pirate. All those years going it alone it felt right to show support now even if it’s long overdue. Plus, I see Belle-Mere in those eyes, she raised you both well”
“Plus she’s got that smile, it’s been years since I’ve seen one so real on her face. She might have when Arlong was defeated, but all those tears make it hard to be sure” Nojiko hums
Dru…..Sakura kingdom
“Hahahaha” Kureha laughs as she sees Chopper’s wanted poster from the stack Dalton gave her
“I’m sure the bounty number is a mistake” the man says, having fought the reindeer himself he knew the little guy was more than just a ‘pet’ as the marines suggest
“Oh I’m sure it is, but right now I don’t particularly care. My boy, smiling, that’s all that matters. Letting him go with that straw hat punk was a good idea after all” she grins “Looks like calling me down here was worth it after all my liege” she teases
“Just Dalton is fine, I’m only the king because I was chosen, I didn’t ask for the position”
“Which is why you got the job. That and you were basically already acting like one when Wapol ran off with his tail between his legs” Kureha says with a cackle
“Quite” Dalton agrees with a tired sigh, this woman was just as tiring as always.
Alabasta
“This is just as I feared, sweet princess Vivi has been corrupted by that ruffian in the straw hat, and he even somehow managed to recruit All Sunday to his crew” Igaram cries, while the other advisors were just shocked
Cobra chuckles as he examines his daughter’s wanted poster “At least they remembered Carue, and she’s listed as Alive Only. Besides, Luffy can’t take all the blame, Vivi chose to marry Miss Alvida too, and it’s nice to see her photo was finally updated, the last one looked like the cameraman tried to force it down her throat while taking it” he muses “Also Vivi did mention All Sunday was part of the crew, apparently she thought joining was the best way to pay back their researcher for saving her life, and to stay with her surrogate daughter”
“Ah yes, the child that had been with Princess Vivi during the incident” Pell notes, remembering seeing her before “Seems she’s more than just a mother figure to her though, given the name change to the bounty poster” he chuckles
“True. Plus it might help my daughter with her already rather impressive diplomatic skills, learning to work alongside someone who had been a part of what caused her so much hardship in the past. She works fine with the other former Baroque Work agents, so Nico Robin should be no problem” Cobra thinks aloud, remembering a half joked comment made to him about Vivi being their diplomatic advisor/ negotiator.
Somewhere in the North Blue
“Bambi, Bambi, Bambi! Look Victor’s a pirate now!” shouted a girl with long, hip length black hair with the exception of 2 strands that sprang up like antenne “Isn’t Big Bro Awesome?”
“Giselle, what did I tell you about outbursts? And tearing things off the wall” came a voice clearly used to and tired of dealing with the girl’s quirks. Giselle turns, still hugging the wanted poster to her slender frame as the brunette looks at her from under her white cap
“Not to?” she asks, hoping it was the right answer
“Exactly” Bambiette sighs, grabbing her partner by her antenna “We’re on a stealth mission for the boss, so don’t f*ck it up at the first bar” she growls “Unless you’re prefer to be re-educated by Liltotto” she threatens, knowing the girl had ‘issues’ with the shark mermaid, or at least her training methods. Bambi never got a straight answer as to where she learnt those methods other than ‘Cousin Kisame’ and honestly she didn’t really care besides Giselle complaining about it.
Candice also complained but she complained about everything so she’d learnt to tune her out years ago. Meninas actually didn’t seem to have a problem with the training methods, or the shark attacks, but the girl had monster level strength so probably didn’t think it was a problem.
“No! I’ll be good Bambi, I promise” the taller girl squeaks
“Good, now I think I know how to make you feel better. Who’s up for a little grave digging?” she purrs, amused by the other girl holding in a joyful squeeeee
ANNNNNND Back to the Straw Hats
“Everybody ready?” Luffy shouts, already knowing the answer as the entire crew was on the main deck
“Yeah!” they cheered regardless
“Then let's raise a glass. To a new ship, new crewmate and the complete reunion of all the old ones. To the Straw Hats!”
“To the Straw Hats!”
“Next Stop: Fishman Island!” Luffy declares as the whole crew drink and be Merry ;)
TBC
LW: And that’s the end of this arc, Thriller Bark will be starting next month, hope you enjoyed this week’s chapter and come back for the next one
A friend of mine and I were talking about the idea of a One Piece MHA crossover, mostly for fun and it got me wondering about a couple things, and to my surprise a lot of the characters in both series share voice actors [The English Dub at least]. Just looking at the Straw Hats...
Luffy: Momo Yaoyarozu
Zoro: Toshinori Yagi … aka All Might
Nami: Uraraka
Usopp: Present Mic
Sanji: Tomura Shigaraki
Artemis/Goldenweek: Pixie Bob
Valentina/Ms Valentine's Day: Mt Lady (also Rias from DXD)
Chopper: Mineta
Vivi: Mina Ashido
Robin: Nana Shimura
Franky: Endeavour
And a couple others, because yes I did check ALL the straw hats and got curious about a couple others:
Shanks: Gunhead
Crocodile: AllForOne
Sabo: 9
Boa Hanco*ck: Slice
Doflamingo: Stain
And last but not least, with the end of an arc and more crewmates, we have a new total bounty:
Luffy: 330 million
Kaos: 250 million
Zoro: 120 million
Alvida: 50 million
Valentina: 30 million
Victor: 42 million
Artemis: 60 million
Robin: 85 million
Nami: 16 million
Sanji: 77 million
Vivi: 10 million
Chopper: 50 beri
Sogeking/Usopp: 30 million
Kaya: 20 million
Franky: 44 million
For a Grand Total of: 1,164,000,050 beri/yen, or 9354091.92 euro
Chapter 87: Abandon hope, all who enter here
Chapter Text
LW: New arc just before the new year, and it’s Thriller Bark! Kind of wish I’d been able to start this during Halloween but oh well I’m just following the schedule.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Abandon hope, all who enter here
“I think I’m beginning to forget which one is the child here” Kaos hums, attention drifting between Artemis’ painting of the crew upon Sunny's deck, and the combination of Luffy, Usopp and Chopper using the swing to catapult themselves into the wall “So, is forging like riding a bike?” he asks, seeing the slowly growing pile of arrows the Bomb man was making
“Yes, the first few were pathetic but once muscle memory kicked in things got better fast” Victor chuckles, then turns when he hears rapid thuds against the target set up just past them.
“Better, but I was more accurate as an academy graduate” the blond mumbles, Kaos having located some throwing knives for her to substitute until she could get her preferred short blades (or acquired the materials to make them), said kunai currently strapped to the small of her back, the kanji 蛇 (Hebi) carved into the handle.
“You alright over there? You’re mumbling again” Artemis asks, brow furrowed in concentration, which both Carue and Funkfreed seemed to notice.
Valentina sighs “I’m fine kiddo, just annoyed to see how far I’m let my skills slip” any further explanation was cut off by Zoro yelling about seeing something off the side of the ship, quickly getting Luffy and the other’s attention
“I see something about treasure on the flag” Usopp says, Luffy nodding as he sees it too “Well? Don’t just stand there, go get it”
“Fine” the rubber boy sighs, before swinging his hand out and grabbing the barrel, lifting it onto the main deck.
“I won’t celebrate too soon it’s probably just some preserved food and old booze” Nami says, having come out at the sound of potential treasure
“What, that’s lame! How do you know Nami, you can’t see inside….can you?”
“Because it says treasure to the Sea God” Robin explains
“Exactly. This is just an old superstition, giving offerings to local spirits as payment for safe passage, that old junk”
“You had me at booze, can we still open it up?” Zoro asks
“Zoro no, that’s bad karma!” Usopp scolds, mostly because he didn’t want to anger any ocean gods.
“I don’t believe in any gods on land sea or cloud, besides the last ‘God’ we face Luffy killed, so I think we’re either fine of screwed already”
Nami nods “Plus, I hear ocean stirred alcohol has a stronger flavour. Might be a good time to test that theory” she chuckles
“Also, as long as you replace what you take with something else when you set it adrift again you should be fine” Robin assures the sniper, then blooms hands to remove Alvida’s mace from her own, as smashing the thing would most likely destroy the entire contents
“Hey God… we’re stealing your booze” Luffy ‘prayed’ (getting a weary sigh from Vivi) the opened the barrel, only for a blood red flare to shoot out into the sky
“Can somebody spell trap?” Kaos groans, pinching the bridge of his nose “Because nobody just randomly shoves a signal flare into a barrel, labels it godly offers and yeets it off their ship. Especially…”
“...this close to the Florian triangle, the timing is rather, suspect” Robin agrees “Hopefully it’s just a prank, but if it isn’t, I’m sure this crew could handle most threats that are coming our way”
“Yeah, we kicked the asses of the Government’s best assassins, whoever tricked us with this barrel doesn’t stand a chance!” Alvida cheers, raising spirits until Nami panics “What now?”
“We need to get a move on, due South. There’s a huge storm heading this way” she shouts, running to the controls with Valentina on her heels, the news spurring everyone into action and not a moment too soon as the sky begins to rapidly darken.
“It’s almost scary how good you are at this Nami” Kaya hums as she helps the others keep the Sunny steady
“Not good enough, we’re still being blown into the storm, this isn’t going to be pleasant” she grimaces
“Have you forgotten one of Sunny’s special features so soon?” Franky asks, in a way that would be offended if it wasn’t blatantly teasing
Nami blinks “Right. Raise the sails, we’re going into paddle mode” she orders, getting quick responses from the others, then turns to Franky “Do it”
Soldier Dock System: Channel 0.
“Cola Engine. Paddle Boat: SUNNY!”
With that activated 2 paddleboat … paddles popped out of the sides of the Sunny, making it possible for the ship to move through the storm under its own power, rather than being tossed around in the wind and waves
A little later
“Ok, the Sunny is officially cooler than the Merry” Alvida sighs in relief, having managed to get through the storm unscaved
“Yeah, but now we’re lost” Zoro notes, a familiar feeling for the swordsman I’m sure “Plus this fog seems strange and it shouldn’t be night already”
Nami gasps “This is it. When we tried get out of the storm we must have entered the sea Kokoro was talking about”
“Welcome, to the Florian Triangle” Kaos announces, arms spread and grinning like a loon, or a showman.
“You’re doing it wrong” Franky yells, then gives a creepy grin “You do know the other name for this part of the sea right kiddos? The Devils’ triangle. A haunted sea where ships are swallowed without a trace”
“I give it a 5” Artemis says flatly, getting a giggle from Robin
“Oh come on”
“Not important, we’re in ghost country, let’s see what we run into” Luffy declares
“Please don’t let it be zombies” Usopp whimpers, Kaya trying to comfort him
“Hey dumbass, there a reason you’ve zoned out on us?” Valentina asks, seeing the researcher staring off into space with an unreadable expression on his face
“Yo ho ho” was heard eerily… from somewhere in the mist
“It’s a ghost!” Chopper screams, jumping into Robin’s arms, just as a derelict ship enters their field of view
“Ghost ship!” Vivi and Nami shriek, one hiding behind Luffy, the other frozen in terror
“Well, we’re all about to die” Victor say flatly but his hands were shaking at his hips
“Yo ho ho”
“Papa, I’m scared” Artemis squeaks, snapping Kaos out of his… whatever to assure her things were going to be ok “How do you know?”
“Because there’s something alive on that ship” he whispers, getting a confused look out of the child ‘as well as something flickering within the shadows’
“Yo ho ho”
“Unrelated question to the 2 geniuses not frozen in terror: Can you cut ghosts?” Zoro asks, trying not to sound worried
“There is a chance you could, but that would require the entity to be corporial enough to be touched… and if that happens it is also physical enough to touch and do damage to you” Robin replies, getting a nod of agreement from Kaos “Though it’s possible if they can steer a ship they can be touched and cut” she adds, more as a guess than anything else
“You don’t think it’s some spooky ghost powers?” Franky asks
“Not really no”
“I smell Devil fruit shenanigans, and this ship is part of it”
“There, on the ship” Sanji points, the others all pivoting to see a distinctly human shape, which as the mist thinned a little… was revealed to be a skeleton, with what might be an afro, or an elaborate collar.
“Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew” the skeleton ‘sang’, then sipped from the teacup on the edge of the railing beside him
“Well, f*ck” Alvida hisses as the ship stops beside them
Luffy blinks, then grins “Did you guys see that? There’s a singing skelton on that ship, and it knows Bink’s Sake!” he shouts with a massive grin on his face
“Skeletons don’t sing, they're dead idiot!” Usopp screams “You’re hallucinating”
“Then we’re all hallucinating, because a very talented skeleton just sang a song I’ve not heard in years” Robin retorts
“Well, time to go exploring” Luffy cheers, about to jump over but was stopped
“Hold it, we can’t just let you go alone”
“Everyone draw straws to see who stays and who goes” Zoro declares getting arguments from Nami, Chopper and Usopp, until Kaos pointed out all the strongest fighters clearly wanted to go, meaning they would be left on their own if the people who ‘wanted to go’ left instead of using the lottery method
“Only 3 go over, and Luffy has taken one of those spots already” the researcher says with a half smile, both him and Robin hoping to get the short straws and go over.
“Is this really the best method?” Usopp asks
“It’s at the very least the most fair” Vivi argues, getting a grumble from the sniper before he takes his straw
In the end Nami and Sanji were chosen, to the navigator’s horror and despair, and the researcher’s disappointment as the only devil fruit user he could detect was on the damn ship.
“Begone demon, let the poor boy rest in peace” Usopp whimpers as the skeleton appears again just before the 3 reach the deck of the ship
“Shut up, I’m trying to eavesdrop!” Valentina growls, punching the sniper face first into the floor, Chopper and Kaya rushing to check on him
“Well, I did not see this coming” Luffy hums as the skeleton tips his top hat to the trio and cheerfully greets them
“Why good afternoon yohohohoho, it’s wonderful to see fresh faces. You must excuse my rudeness at not greeting your properly earlier, it’s been so long I couldn’t believe my eyes, if I still had any yohohoho, actual humans after all these years in this inky blackness, it gave me quite a shock. But please come inside and pull up a chair, I’m sure you have many tales to tell”
“Wow, he’s so cool, and he talks all fancy and stuff” Luffy chuckles “I can’t believe I found a singing, talking, afro skeleton. Best trip ever”
“Well damn, the idiot was right” Sanji says in shock
“Oh my” the skeleton squeaks, his sights trained on Nami “What a beautiful young woman, I haven’t seen someone as lovely as you as my dear Toriel, so many years ago. I’m all eyes for sexy ladies like yourself my dear, or I would if skeletons had eyes, Yohoho, skull joke” he laughs, Luffy snigg*ring too just before the skeleton tried to fix himself up, then walks up to Nami and asks “Would you please, show me your panties?”
“f*ck off pervert!” Nami bellows as she kicks him in the head, anger overriding fear for a moment there
“Feisty, I’ve always loved women with passion. That kick sent pain all the way to my bones...because I’m a skeleton Yoho…”
“We get it” Nami shouts angrily, while Luffy just laughs harder
“Hey, do skeletons poop?” Luffy asks, ignoring the other 2’s arguments about time and appropriate conversations
“Yes, I poop” the skeleton answers, after casually rising from his fall and walking over to retrieve his cane
“Oh, thanks for answering” Luffy says with a grin “You’re a funny guy skeleton man, join my crew”
“Of course, it would be my pleasure” afro skeleton replies, to the shock (and horror for a few) of the crew that could hear him [Well, that was easy]
It didn’t take much to convince the skeleton to follow them back to the Sunny “Yohohoho, it’s such a pleasure to meet you all, hello and good day to my new crewmates. Once dead and all bones my name is Comic Brook but I hope we’ll be able to be close enough friends you’ll just call me Brook before long” he greets with more life than would be expected of, well a skeleton.
“Luffy are you out of your mind? What the hell is this thing?” was the general consensus from the crew
“What did you eat?” was the surprise question from Kaos, Sanji and Nami seeing it on par with Luffy’s ‘do you poop?’ question
“Wow, tough crowd” afro skelly sigh, pulling at his collar, then see’s Robin staring blanky at him “oh my, this crew is full of earthly delights, my dear would you be so kind as to show me your panties?” he asks before getting another kick from Nami
“That’s sexual harassment you damn pervert!”
“Does it still count if he doesn’t have a dick anymore?” Valentina asks jokingly, getting a shrug from Victor
“Oh my” Chopper gasps, seeing Usopp had reappeared after fle...tactically retreating into the main ship “That’s a full set of anti-ghost armour” he squeals
“Mine works fine thank you very much” Kaos huffs, twirling the cord of a medallion around his finger
“This just has 性交オフ[f*ck off] [1] written on it” Vivi notes
“True, the guy with the weird accent said it would work though and while he can’t tie a tie to save his life he was apparently a Master of the Dark Arts, which was good enough for me. Also I haven’t been attacked by ghosts, so it’s clearly worked so far” he grins widely
“Back foul spirit, return to the nether realms” Usop demands, waving his cross around like an idiot
“Oh my, where is this horrid creature?” the skeleton asks in panic
“It’s you, stupid!”
“Well that’s just rude” he mumbles, wilting slightly
Zoro groans “Ok, can someone tell me what the f*ck is going on here?”
“That’s our new crew member” Luffy explains with a grin
“WHAT! No, we’re not having that thing join the crew. Damn it, you two were supposed to prevent this kind of crap happening, it’s why I was glad neither of the Demon twins got picked as they’d have let this happen for sh*ts and giggles” he grunts, pointing to a now smiling Robin and still grinning Kaos
“Sounds accurate”
“Yeah, I’d have asked him myself if Luffy hadn’t”
“See!”
“Yohohoho, now now let’s not fight, how about we all go inside, discus things over dinner perhaps” afro Skelly suggests
“You don’t get to decide!” was shouted at him, but in the end his idea was still the one they went with
“This is a wondrous ship, so spacious and homey, it’s a pleasure to even be here yohohoho”
“Of course it is, i designed it that way” Franky boasts, grinning widely
“Franky, don’t make friends with the skeleton” Sanji scolds as he continues with dinner
“Speaking of, I can’t wait to taste some of that delicious cooking good sir. It’s been so long since I’ve had a proper meal I actually felt my stomach shrivel and shrink until you couldn’t tell the front of my stomach from the inside of my back” he groans, laying face first on the table, then sits back up and opens his coat “Which is impressive when you remember I don’t have a stomach or back Yohohohoho! It’s a Skull Joke!” he cackles
“Skull joke!” Luffy parrots, giggles
“Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a common occurrence if he does somehow stay?” Nami whines
“Because he’s had a long time to come up with his material?” Alvida guesses
“Doesn’t mean they’re good, in fact it almost assures they’ll be bad as he had nobody to bounce the ideas and jokes off of” Victor argues
“I like you skelly, we’re all going to be great friends”
“Actually young man my name is Comic Brook, but if we’re going to be friends then Brook is fine. Also, it was rather rude of me but I never thought to ask your name either”
“That’s fine. I’m Luffy. So, what can you do?”
Before any more questions could be asked or answered food was ready and the entire crew dug in
“You have a fishtank with octopus on your ship!” Brook gasps, more or less understanding Luffy’s food muffled words “Truely this is a remarkable vessel
“It would be cooler if Usopp didn’t nearly die to do it” Kaya says with a tired sigh
“He was the only non Devil fruit user on deck, did you expect me to get in the tank?” Nami asks, getting a mild glare from the medic before both went back to eating
“The Yomi Yomi no mi” Kaos repeats, smiling as he now had a name to put to a feeling
“You were right shimmer, Devil fruit shenanigans indeed” Valentina hums
“Yes, as I may have already mentioned, I have died before already, but that’s getting ahead of myself. The Yomi Yomi no mi allows it’s eater to live a second life, which even amongst Devil fruits is quite a strange ability. Not much use 1st time around but clearly it’s served me well on the 2nd one Yohohoho”
“Revive man, sounds cool”
“So, not immortal then. More like the fruit gave you an extra life, and now you’re using it” Franky summarises
“Correct, more or less, like I said it’s complicated, but in my first life I was a pirate, same as you all”
“Explains the ship” Luffy says with a smile and a nod
“Quite, though as I was a member, not the captain it wasn’t really MY ship until… much more recently” he says with a hint of melancholy, the fact it became his when the rest of the crew died didn’t need to be said “A long time ago I was sailing through these cursed waters with the rest of my crew, and for the record I was a normal human back then, couldn’t swim because well Devil fruit but that was the only caveat. Unfortunately we had the misfortune to run afoul of a powerful enemy, in the ensuing battle the entire crew lost their lives, myself included. When I was alive the Yomi Yomi did, basically nothing, but on that day it finally activated, drawing my spirit back from the netherworld and reuniting it with my physical body. Now if it had worked as intended I would have most likely been instantly restored to my body, but as you can see the fog around these parts are quite thick and difficult to navigate, so things got… complicated. By the time my body and soul managed to reunite, I was this, a walking talking skeleton”
“Damn Devil fruit powers are weird” Franky grunts, getting murmurs of agreement, oddly enough from the other Devil Fruit users of the crew
“Still seems like a crappy deal, even if you’re a skeleton now you still can’t swim and you don’t seem to have any special abilities… besides the obvious one” Sanji critiques
“Yeah, wouldn’t be my first pick for Devil fruits that’s for sure” Kaos agrees with a click of this tongue “If you can do something with that wandering soul of yours, then it might be interesting” he smirks “Something for later I guess”
“Hey I have a question, how do you have hair if you’re a skeleton? Are you wearing a wig?” Artemis asks
“No this is my natural hair, my roots just run deep” Brook explains, the others just going along with it
“So that means you’re not a ghost, your just a normal … well even for this crew normal might be asking a lot. But you’re a human like the rest of us?” Usopp asks, hopeful.
“Of course I’m a human, plus I’m terrified of ghosts” Brooke replies, getting sighs of relief from the sniper and doctor
“Don’t beli… have you seen yourself in the mirror lately?” Nami asks pulling out a hand mirror and pointing it at him
“No, no mirrors” Brook yelps, then him, Usopp and Chopper gasp… Brook had no reflection
“WHAAAAA!”
“So, he’s a vampire skelton? That’s so cool!” Luffy cheers, one of the few not to panic at this new information.
“He’s also missing a shadow… which shouldn’t be physically possible” Kaos notices
“There are a lot of things that shouldn’t be physically possible, including 80% of the crap you and Luffy pull” Sanji argues
“On that note, maybe you can let me continue my tale, the no shadow thing will be explained later” Brook offers, getting reluctant nods from the Straw Hats “Thank you. Everything I told you up to this point is true, but I’ve also been a victim of another tragedy, much more recently. A number of years ago my shadow was stolen from me”
“Stolen? Someone can do that?” Vivi asks
“Gonna call Devil Fruit shenanigans again Shimmer?” Zoro asks, getting a chuckle and a ‘Too easy’ from the researcher “Yeah, kind of saw that coming”
“Anyway, as well as the loss of my reflection, losing my shadow means I can no longer enter the world of Light, only in this foggy hellhole can I continue to live, otherwise my true death will come for me”
“What would happen, if you were to leave the fog and step into the sun?” Valentina asks
“If even a single ray touched my body, the affected area would crumble to dust, much like the vampires of legend you spoke of previously. A single step, and my entire existence would be snuffed out” as the straw hats sit shocked he continues “I previously saw someone with my same condition go out that way, it’s not a pleasant thing to witness, never mind experience. There is also the fact that my body will neither cast a shadow, appear in a mirror or be captured in a photograph. I am a spectre to all but the human eye”
“Well, your life sucks in almost unfathomable ways” Victor sighs, grimacing
“True but I’m still so happy to still have it, my afro, cheery disposition and I finally met people after all this time. Yohohohoho. Yohohohohoho! Yohohoho!”
“I think he’s snapped” Robin stage whispers
“Depending on how long ago he died, and how long he’s been alone, it would be understandable” Kaos agrees
“You’ve given me such a wonderful moment of companionship and it warms my heart to be offered a position in your crew Young Luffy, but I’m afraid I must decline the offer” Brook finally says solemnly
“WHAT! But why?” Luffy grumbles
“Were you paying attention to anything he said these past few minutes?” Nami grumbles
“As I already said, my shadow has been stolen, and as such I can’t leave the fog without dying” Brook sumerises
“Then we’ll just have to get it back” Luffy declares “Kaos, got a bead on the shadow stealer?”
Kaos sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose “No, just ripples or echoes within the shadows themselves” he admits, not quite but almost angrily
“You seem like a wonderful, genuine person Young Luffy, so I can’t ask you to do this for me” Brook says sadly
“Don’t care, tell me who stole your shadow!” Luffy demands
“I won’t. Besides even if I told you there is no way for you or I to find him, so I am content to wait until our paths cross again, and fight him to the death if need be in order to be reunited with my shadow” Brook then stood up “enough melancholy, why don’t I play us a song?” he then pulls out a violin “I am skilled in a good many instruments, I was the musician back on my old crew” he states proudly, the others noticing Luffy’s grin widen. Until Brook drops to the ground and skitters back to the wall
“What’s wrong?” Kaya asks in concern
“G-g-g-g-ghost!” Brook screams, pointing behind them and to their shock there was a spectral creature, half phased through the wall
“What the?”
“I don’t think this is the kind of spirit you can cut swordsman”
The ghost gave them a blank/dopey look, then fades away, just before what felt like an earthquake rattled the ship
“What’s happening?” Franky shouts, getting shoved aside by a panicked Brook
“No, he must have been watching, it’s the only explanation” he mumbles, having come out on deck to see what had arrived “Everyone come to the front of the ship, the noise from earlier was this gate slamming shut, trapping us inside” he explains
“Inside what?” Alvida questions, having picked up her mace in anticipation for the usual fight this crew got into at every location
“Come to the back of the ship!” Brook orders, sprinting ahead and the others followed, shocked by what they saw “Um, did any of you come across a barrel in the water recently?” he asks with an edge of worry
“Um yeah, it was supposed to be an offering to the sea gods, but instead…”
“It was a flare. So it was a trap after all” Valentina curses
“You are all in grave danger, your ship and crew have been targeted for a while now” Brook responds
“Well, sh*t” Artemis whispers, then whines as Robin lightly slaps her head “Sorry Mama”
“So… anyone going to ask before me? No, ok then… Where the f*ck did the island come from?” Kaos shouts
“This is the ghost island that wanders the Florian Triangle, known as Thriller Bark” Brook answers
“Thriller Bark huh” Luffy repeats, then turns to Kaos
“3, maybe 4. The shadow thing is kind of overpowering everything else but the ghost… well isn’t, it’s Devil fruit related that I can tell you”
“Hey guys, the Log Pose isn’t reacting to this Thriller Bark place” Nami says, looking perplexed
“And why should it, given the island’s point of origin was the West Blue” Brook states, surprising them all
“The West… what? Hey, where are you going?”
“This has been a fortuitous day, not only have I met such lovely people, but my wish has been granted. Don’t follow me, focus on getting through the gate to freedom, I hope to see you all again some day, on the high seas” Brook cheers before jumping off the ship
“Isn’t he a Devil fruit user?” Zoro asks in panic
“He’ll sink like a stone!” Kaya squeaks
“Yohohohohohohohohohohohohohoho!” was heard as to the Straw Hat’s surprise Brook was able to run across the surface off the water, quite easily or at least he made it look easy.
“So… who’s going to ignore the skeleton and go kick some ass on the island in front of us?” Luffy asks, grinning like a loon, which gets him punched by Nami and Ussop
“Well, it’s not like the mechanism to get the gate open will be all the way out here, it would be inconvenient at best and stupid at worst” Robin says, clearly siding with Luffy
“Not too sure we could blast our way through that thing, even with the improved firepower of the Sunny” Victor agrees, though isn’t exactly thrilled about the idea himself
“Kyahaha, it’ll take more than a creepy old castle to scare me away” Valentina laughs
“Papa, what’s out there?” Artemis asks, curious
“Shadows, ghosts, a… thing” he clicks his tongue, unable to find the right word “and blood, far as I can sense”
“All very good reasons for us to stay here. Also I contracted ‘I can’t go onto that island sickness’ from Usopp” Nami whines, dropping down beside Chopper
“You know that’s a STD right?” Robin chuckles, mostly because it gets Kaya mad and for once Nami is the one being chased by an angry woman. After calming the syrup girl down discussions resumed
“So, besides Kaos, Robin and me, who else wants to go?” Luffy asks, having got his ghost catching gear (a butterfly net and a sack) while Nami was being chased by Kaya
“Wait, you’re going too Robin?” Vivi turns in surprise, seeing the older woman smiling softly
“But of course, it sounds like a wonderful adventure” she purrs
“I’m up for a Super adventure on the scary island, and I have just the surprise to get us there. Ready to see another feature of the Soilder Dock system?” Franky asks with a laugh
“What did you do?” Alvida sighs
Soldier Dock System: Channel 2.
“Our supply/shopping vessel. I call her the Mini Merry” Franky reveals, some of the crew cooing at the cute little tugboat sized ship clearly done in the style or as homage to the original Going Merry. And given Nami, Chopper and Usopp practically jumped into the little ship, clearly some things were able to override fear through sheer awesomeness.
“Nami really can pilot anything can’t she?” Valentina says with a chuckle, which actually turns into full laughter when Luffy starts yelling at her to come back so he can ride in it. Then came the scream
“We can’t take you people anywhere can we?” Kaos sighs “Well, looks like we have a reason to go to Thriller Bark now” he chuckles, then turns in confusion when the anchor drops
“That shouldn’t have happened, she’s brand new so everything should be in proper working order” Franky states, confused more than anything else.
Then a hatch opens up “Ok, maybe that ghost is still here” Kaya squeaks
“It’s possible, nobody actually knows what the physical capabilities of a spectral entity are” Robin agrees, not really helping matters, especially when one of Zoro’s swords flies out of its sheath (it had to be Kitetsu, didn’t it?) and nearly impales Luffy
“The hell man, why’d you nearly kill the captain?” Franky shouts at Zoro who denies it
“We’re not alone on this ship anymore” Sanji grunts, lighting a cigarette
“Any ideas?” Alvida throws to the crew “Because I don’t think any of us have a chance of hitting something we can’t see”
“And AOE attacks like my bombs or Franky’s weapons’s Left would just do unnecessary damage to the ship” Victor adds in agreement, jaw clenching in annoyance
“So, is it a ghost, or more Devil fruit shenanigans?” Franky asks, turning to the crew’s DF expert
“There’s something, it’s faint or muted, but it’s definitely a Devil Fruit” Kaos answers, Robin looking concerned at the rather pained look on the purplette’s face as he tried to focus on the intruder
“Whoever it is, we know they’re close and if they’re solid enough to touch me or Zoro’s swords they’re solid enough one of us can kick their ass” Luffy declares
“Anyone else hear something like an animal growling?” Vivi asks, fidgeting with her gloves as Carue hides behind her for protection
“No, but it’s probably connected to our unseen intruder” Robin theories
“It’d say he could be part of the fog, but that’s the marine guy’s fruit” Sanji guesses then dismisses himself
“Smoke and fog are different things, so whoever they are could have eaten a Fog Fog fruit,… if they weren’t essentially giving off the exact opposite feeling to a logia” Kaos sighs, eyes closed… but the muscle above his left eye still twitches “By that I mean logia’s feel like they’re everywhere, while this feels, almost like it’s nowhere. Which is a sh*t description, sorry”
“Regardless, I’m going to save Nami, you keep the ship safe” Sanji declares, and given he was one of the few people on the ship who still COULD swim, nobody argued with him… except the ghost who grabbed him mid jump and threw him back onto the ship
“You made the Hollow Man mad” Artemis hums, the jumps when Robin actually screamed
“Something… just squeezed my breasts, and licked me” she shudders in disgust
“You invisible bastard!” Sanji yells only to get tripped as he runs over to defend Robin
“Speedy f*cker ain’t he” Zoro thinks aloud, given it went from harassing Robin to tripping Sanji in moments
“Any chance we can use that weird growling to track it?” Kaya asks, syrup tendrils wrapped tightly around her revolvers as the animalistic sounds get louder
“At the speed it’s moving, probably not, but it’s better than nothing” Franky replies, but they had bigger things to worry about as the boat lurches, the enclosed waterway somehow becoming as choppy as a mid tier storm
“We’re being pushed away from the island” Alvida notices
“And from Nami!” Sanji shouts in panic, ‘Usopp and Chopper too’ was added by a facepalming Vivi
“Valentina, steer the ship, Franky, activate the paddles” Luffy orders
“All right, let’s take back control” Franky cheers
“I’ll raise the anchor” Zoro volunteers “Don’t want any more complications in this mess” he grunts
Meanwhile at the island itself
“Well, we’re all lucky to be alive” Nami thinks aloud, Usopp recovering on top of Chopper
“What happened, where are we?” the reindeer groans as he sits up
“The ghost island, I think Brook called it Thriller bark” Nami responds
“GHOST!”
“Idiots. Anyway, we were making our way to the island when we landed in this moat thing, which I admit was 100% my fault, but my cuteness will protect me from criticism, right?”
“I’m taken and angry!” Usopp yells
“I’m a reindeer, humans are icky” Chopper grimaces
Nami sighs “Yeah, kind of saw that coming. Anywho, I have to say, as traps go we were pretty lucky, this moat could have been filled with spears or pointy rocks, you know stuff that could have crippled or killed us”
“True, good thing all these skeletons broke our fall then” Chopper smiles, until his words were processed and the 2 guys panicked!
“We don’t have time for this!” Nami screams “We need to find a way out of this moat in order to get the other’s attention, hiding in this hole will literally get us nowhere”
“Good point, but which way should we go, both look equally blan…” he stops when he sees 5 glowing eyes in the darkness, which get closer until the entire animal is revealed
“It can’t be” Nami gasped
“A C-c-c-c-cerberus?” Chopper squeaks, before the Coward trio make a strategic… they ran for their lives! Well they were until something about the 3 headed dog caught Chopper’s attention
“One of the ‘dog’s is actually a fox head” he says, the creature stopping to mope under a little depression cloud
“I think it’s sensative about it’s fox head” Nami whispers, then screams as it leaps at them in anger “Yep, definitely shouldn’t have mentioned the fox head!”
“I’m sorry, it was just bugging me and I had to say something” Chopper whimpers
“Not the time, we gotta get up those stairs, hopefully it’s contained within the moat and won’t follow us” Usopp guesses, pointing directly in front of them. The plan failed, as the beast continued to hound them even as they entered Thriller Bark proper “Well that didn’t work, Plan B!”
Smoke Star
That on the other hand did work, the cerberus getting lost and most of all confused in the thick smokescreen, giving the 3 straw hats time to get to cover, or more specifically higher ground within the treeline
“Ok, we’re safe for now, good thing that dog has such a poor sense of smell” Usopp sighs
“There goes the wait for the others plan, that dog thing will find us before the others will” Nami groans
“Quite the predicament you 3 find yourselves in” came an unfamiliar voice, turning around the straw hats panic seeing what looked to be a vampire hanging upsidedown behind them “Relax and I apologize for my rudeness the name is Hildon. Speaking of which, I’ve been spying on your for the last oh 20 minutes, that dog gave you all quite the scare” he says in amusem*nt “The night has just begun, but already the shadows lurking in the forest are deep, soon this place shall become a world of terror, straight out of your deepest, darkest nightmares. Might I suggest you accompany me in my carriage, I can take you to the mansion in you desire”
“Mansion?” Nami parrots, surprised to hear this place had one
“But of course, only the best would suit Dr. Hogback’s resident, same with master Moria” Hildon answers
“Dr. Hogback!” Chopper gasps, confusing the others
‘I have a bad feeling about this’ the 2 thought simultaneously
TBC
LW: Well, hope this goes well, and that you enjoy this chapter. See you in 2 weeks.
Chapter 88: It all goes downhill from here
Chapter Text
LW: Hey everyone, hope you had a good Christmas, this is the last chapter of the year so I guess this is also the right time to wish you all a happy new year too. Enjoy
Rubber King and Mirror Master - It all goes downhill from here
Thriller Bark
While they were unable to get an answer from their doctor Nami agreed for the 3 of them and they were allowed join Hildon in his carriage as it was driven to Dr. Hogback’s mansion
“Hey it might have been the dark, but those horses seemed a little strange” Nami notes, understatement of the century given one of the horses… would more accurately be considered a centaur.
“It’s just the dark, don’t worry about it child” Hildon assures her then offers refreshments “It’s dangerous to be on foot in the forest at night all sorts of things roam in the shadows”
“I always thought Cerberus was just a legend, but there it was, about to eat us and everything” Chopper says with a shiver
“Yeah, something about that beast was just wrong like it wasn’t meant to exist, know what I mean?” Usopp asks
“Not really, but I can tell you the safest place from that and other creatures while you wait for your friends to arrive would be the mansion, we’ve never had one of the spooks break in so far” Hildon assures them, smiling widely
“Plus we get to meet Dr. Hogback, right?” Chopper asks, bouncing in his seat
“So Chopper, what makes this Hogback so special?” Nami asks
“He’s the greatest surgeon in the world, every doctor in the world knows his name, he’s up there with Dr. Kurotsuchi, and both the Madaraki’s. They say he’s saved more people than there are stars in the sky” Chopper gushes “He has fame, fortune, everything a man could want, the entire medical community looks up to him as a true hero” the reindeer then frowns “But then, he disappeared. Some people thought he died, others that he’d been kidnapped, but eventually people just stopped looking for him and he faded away and became essentially a legend. We are talking about the same Dr. Hogback, right?” Chopper asks
“Yes indeed, that is an accurate summary of the good Doctor young one. He came to this island to do research beyond the scope of mankind” Hildon explains
“Do you think he’ll be willing to give me an autograph?” Chopper squeaks
“I’m sure he’d love to, especially for such a big fan, it has probably been rather lonely being out here with so few others around to converse with, only Master Moria, Miss Perona, and Sir Absolom.”
Everything was peaceful until Nami screamed, yelling that she saw a lion with a man’s face
“So manticores are real too?” Usopp asks fearfully
“I think those are tigers not lions, but yeah” Chopper nods then panics
“Ah, so it seems you’ve experienced the effects of the mist this island is enveloped by, terrible hallucinations” Hildon purrs
“Hallucinations my ass, you’re turning this carriage around and dropping us off by the shore, we’ll wait for our friends there” Nami declares, then stops when she hears crying
“But I wanted to meet Dr. Hogback, he was an idol to mine growing up” Chopper whimpers, tears streaming down his face
“Listen Chopper, sometimes we do things we don’t want to because it’s the right option, do you want to be safe, or dead?”
Chopper yelps “I don’t wanna die” the pouts “Fine, I’ll go back to the shore”
Hildon sighs, then bangs the side of the carriage to tell the drivers to stop “If you’re so insistent on going I’ll tell the driver to turn around, won’t be a moment” he the slips out and moves to the front of the carriage
10 minutes later
“My danger senses are tingling” Usopp says ominously
“You mean they haven’t been since we landed on this island?” Nami snarks but sighs deeply “How long does this asshole expect us to wait for anyway?” she grumbles
“I don’t know, but clearly it’s scary out there, I’m not going to look” Chopper squeaks
Usopp groans “Fine” then sticks his head out “G-g-g-g-guys, he’s gone, and so are the horses! Even worse, they abandoned us in the middle of a creepy graveyard!”
“WHAT!” Nami and Chopper shout “Please tell me you’re joking”
“Would I joke about something like this?” Usopp retorts, sounding a little offended
“What do we do?” Chopper asks in a whimper
“I don’t know, give me a minute to think” Nami groans, rubbing her temples, then see’s Usopp shiver “What now?”
“It can’t be” the sniper whispers as he sees the earth shift a little, then a bandaged hand shoots out of the dirt “Please tell me I’m dreaming!” he screams, getting the attention of the others
“ZZZZZZZZOMBIES!” the trio scream as more of the undead rise from the earth
“All in favour of running for our lives, probably in the direction of the mansion, raise your hands” Nami shouts, raising both as Chopper and Usopp mirror her “Great, then let's go!”
“I’ll give us some cover, my exploding star should work, everyone knows zombie’s hate fire” Usopp declares
Exploding Star: Fireball special
“Holy sh*t man get back”
“Fire burns”
“Didn’t your mother teach you not to play around with fire”
“Were those zombies talking?” Chopper asks
“I’m chalking it up to an illusion, everyone run!” Nami screams, the other 2 hot on her heels, with the zombie hoard not far behind.
“I don’t think they’re following us anymore” Usopp pants a few minutes later “Hey, do you think that Dr. guy is beyond that gate?” he asks, pointing to the one just a head
“Can’t hurt to try” Nami agrees as Chopper pushes it open, eager to meet such an esteemed surgeon “just don’t get your hopes up on his bedside manner or sanity, given he lives here” she says partly to herself
“Hello, anyone home? Is this the residence of Dr, Hogback? I'm a huge fan!” Chopper calls out “It seems like it’s abandoned” he frowns
“Better here than the cemetery,” Usopp argues, just as a light clicks on and the well it illuminates begins to draw up whatever was on the other end of it’s rope. In this case it was a much more intact, female zombie with an irritated expression and purple eyes, she was also holding a large stack of plates
“Welcome” she purrs, then starts flinging plates at the straw hats, more specifically Usopp while ignoring Chopper and Nami
“Hey, why are you only attacking me?” the sniper whimpers
“Those 2 are allowed into the mansion, you are not. Simple as” the zombie explains bluntly
“I’m confused” Nami and Chopper state together, meanwhile Usopp just moans in pain
“Stop it, that’s enough” came a slightly muffled voice from behind the solid door just behind her, which swings open with a loud creek “We can make an exception just this once Shindrey. Apologies my dears, she’s a bit off. She was once engaged to a wealthy man and shattered 10 plates to test his love, sadly for her he called the whole thing off not long after”
“If she shattered them by throwing them at his head I’d understand” Usopp groans
“Shunned from her home she’s come to this island and remained as my personal assistant, with a grudge for most men, and plates”
“I really didn’t care, so long as you made her stop” the sniper admits, standing up once more
“I suppose you have a point. Anyway as you’ve probably guessed, I’m Dr. Hogback…”
“10” Shindrey drones, firing the last plate at Usoop’s nose
“We’ve been over this, he’s allowed in. When you don’t listen to me it makes ME look like a fool in front of our guests” Hogback scolds, then shivers when pinned under her cold, dead stare
“I wish all plates would be eradicated from this plane of existence”
“I know, I already told them about that” the Dr. says with a deep sigh
“This is the guy you were gushing over?” Usopp asks
“Yep, I can’t believe I get to meet THE Dr. Hogback” Chopper swoons
“Doesn’t look like a genius to me, Psycho and Robin seem smarter, more mentally stable too, which is saying something” Nami mutters
“Nobody asked you” Chopper shouts, just before the Zombie with the boob job lets them enter the mansion proper.
A little later
“Fosfosfosfosfos, I don’t get many guests but you’re definitely the messiest I’ve seen in years, was the trip to Thriller Bark stressful?” Hogback asks, the 4 now seated in the dining room
“Actually yes, we…” Nami stops unsure
“Keep going Nami he asked how the trip was, I can talk about Doctor stuff later” Chopper assures her, still chipper
Nami sighs “We were attacked by zombies and chased here” she finishes
“Zombies huh?” Hogback almost coos
“We also saw creatures straight out of a horror movie, like a cerberus and a manticore” Usopp adds “What’s up with this messed up island? You live here you have to know something”
“So these creatures, they chased you here did they? Quite impressive, and to answer your question I know very little about them, which is why I’m here in the first place” he explains
“Wow, you’re here studying Zombies!” Chopper cheers
“Exactly my boy. Most people see zombies are fearful, essentially braindead beasts, but what if you look at things another way, as someone come back from the dead, a great miracle, something sought after by Doctors everywhere! Everyone in this world has a loved one they wish would come back, that they hold in their arms once more, it’s human nature. And if the medical community condemn it as madness or lunacy, then f*ck them. That’s why I squirreled myself away here away from society, so I could continue my research without interruption or an ethics community breathing down my neck”
“That’s amazing, just think if your research is proven true you could bring so much joy to the people of the world. As a doctor myself you have my approval” Chopper grins widely
“How open minded, so rare these days, you humble me so much Doctor Chopper” Hogback replies, making Chopper squee in happiness
“Can I have your autograph?” Chopper asks, arms shaking
“But of course my dear lad” Hogback grins, signing the page given to him just before Shindrey arrived with the food… by dropping the flan on the table in front of each of them “God damn it Shindrey, can’t you put the flan on a plate first?”
“I wish all plates would suffer spontaneous decay”
The Dr sighs “Well, this is a more common occurrence than I care to admit, so I have the tablecloth kept extra clean”
“Good enough for me” Usopp says, as he and Chopper dig in, basically shoving their faces into the food, despite nami annoyed yelling
“By the way I prepared you a bath, as you’re all filthy” Shindrey states with what they assume to be her usual tone of disinterest
“Oh, it nearly slipped my mind in the chaos, but there was someone else we saw coming towards the island earlier. Did you happen to see a walking skeleton today Dr. Hogback?”
The man pauses “A skeleton?”
“Yeah, huge afro and surprisingly chipper given the whole… being dead thing”
“Never seen him” Hogback states, even as shivers run up and down his spine, memories flash of those eyeless sockets glaring down at him.
Later
“You’re a big girl Nami, you don’t need 2 escorts for something this mundane” Ussop grumbles as they follow her to where the zombie woman had prepared her bath
“Yeah, I could be picking Dr. Hogback’s brain right now, instead of following you around” Chopper hums, clearly not interesting in Nami’s usual antics today
“Yeah, yeah just shut up and do as I ask, I’ll stand guard for your baths” Nami lies, hoping they’ll stop complaining
‘For a spooky mansion this place has rather good plumbing, and a very fancy bathroom’ Nami thinks as she strips off and begins to clean herself of all the dirt and sweat from her trek across the island
“I know I shouldn’t, but I want to have a peek” Chopper says, seemingly out of nowhere
“What! Chopper how dare you, I thought Robin and Kaos were your role model’s not Sanji” Usopp gasps before wagging his finger at the little reindeer
“I’m not talking about Nami’s hairless butt you stupid human” Chopper says with an eyeroll “I’m talking about Dr. Hogback’s Lab, what wonders are hidden inside” he swoons, or would have if he wasn’t already sitting down
“If you say so, though at least that sounds more like something you and the Demon Twins would do rather than perving on our easily angered and prone to violence navigator” Usopp says with a sigh of relief “Hey Nami if you were so afraid to take a shower without guards… maybe you should have just skipped it” he suggests, shouting through the door
“Please, like I want to smell like a zombie more than absolutely necessary. Feel free to stink up the place as long as you like though”
“That’s rude, I smell just fine!” Usopp argues, getting a bucket to the face for his troubles
“Besides, once nightfalls we’re leaving” Nami says as she slips into the bath
“You can’t be serious Nami, this is the only safe place we’ve seen on the island, and you want to leave!”
“Ussop’s right, the moment we leave the hoard will be upon us” Chopper squeaks “This is our only safe haven”
“You idiots didn’t notice anything about the mansion did you?” Nami sighs in annoyance
“No?”
“This place is an 11.9 on the creepometer, and if my hunch is right we’re smack bang in the middle of all the weird and messed up sh*t on this island. Meaning getting out of here and meeting up with the others is our number 1 priority” Nami explains “This place probably has more zombies crawling around it than outside” [Good point, except none of them noticed… THE MAID IS A f*ckING ZOMBIE!!] she pauses while the other 2 panic and rolls her eyes “The biggest problem is Dr. Hogback and what he’s hiding from us. He’s clearly lying about not knowing anything because why else would those zombies outside leave him alone?” she asks “And that’s why the minute I’m done in here we’re leaving and making a break for the coast” she says just as she hears low growling coming from somewhere in the room ‘Oh crap, where are the Monster Trio or Demon Twins when you need them?’
“You, are a very observant woman” came a voice from… well nowhere
“Chopper, Usopp, did you just say something?” Nami calls, getting denials from the 2 and then something grabbing her arm. The redhead struggles with the unseen force, which catches her other arm when she tries to take a swing at it. She’s then dragged from the bath and thrown up against the wall “The hell is going on with this place?” she thinks aloud “There’s nobody here but me, right?” the growl was a pretty strong denial of that statement ‘sh*t’
“You’re even cuter than the girl from the ship, less curvy though but I bet you’ll scream real good unlike that dead eyed bitch” the voice purrs, making Nami whimper and try to scream only to get her mouth covered and muffled enough the others didn’t notice
“Hush, my bride, we’re going to have a little fun together” the hot breath on her neck sent a shiver down her spine.
Luckily the moment was interrupted by the guys checking on her “Did you just call for us?” Usopp asks, him and Chopper averting their gaze from where they presumed she would be… and in turn getting a shot of Nami’s full frontal ‘Thank you GOda’ Usopp thinks, bowing lowly
“Damn, co*ckblocked by brats” the voice growled, a human form flickered like the predator in the steam
“Don’t just stand there help me you idiots!” Nami screamed now her assailant was distracted, as well as using the one move she knew would do something to a man like this creep: One swift kick to the balls later the grip on her arms was gone, causing her to slip and fall from the change “Do something, there’s someone else in here!”
Chopper shifts into his full animal form and sniffs after seeing one of the puddles ripple “She’s right, there’s someone here I can smell it” he says, just as the window opens
“There, he’s trying to escape!”
“Great, how do you expect me to hit something invisible” usopp sighs but still fires
Special Attack: Gunpowder Star
BOOM
The explosion shook the mansion, enough that even in the dining room Dr. Hogback knew the pirates had encountered his ‘associate’ and former patient ‘That fool, is he doing it again?’ the man wonders, before sighing in annoyance
“Should I keep shooting?” Usopp asks, literally firing blind right now
“No we’re good I can’t smell him anymore” Chopper replies, then turns to check on Nami
“Whoever they were, they heard it all. They were here the entire time, listening in unnoticed. I took a bath with the invisible man” she mutters, her brain still processing everything now the adrenaline was leaving her
“You also hit him right in the balls if I’m right about where your kick was aimed” Ussop mutters
Meanwhile on the Sunny
“Soooo, anyone want to explain the giant spider web?” Alvida asks
“Spider fruit” Luffy suggests, getting a shake of the head from Kaos “It’s a Trap!” he then yells
“Close enough as that is technically true, the web did trap the ship after all” Robin agrees “Though on the subject of Devil fruits, our intruder, Mini or Suke?”
“Probably the latter, the prescience wasn’t smaller, it was practically non existent” Kaos argues then smirks “Add it to the list though, if at all possible we’re getting it”
“Good luck with that then, pervert” Alvida chuckles, Kaos not seeing the point in reminding her he already has a fruit, nor the need to reveal he could simply see through the mirror in the bathroom using his own fruit.
“Back to the more relevant topics, thanks to this massive spider web the Sunny is dead in the water, she’s not going anywhere” Franky grouses
“Kinda suspicious though, especially given the Mini Merry is also here” Valentina states, pointing over the side to where the smaller vessel was also trapped
“Yeah, if the spider web wasn’t a big enough clue we’re walking into a trap, we’re clearly being funneled into this place through the front door” Zoro agrees
“Eh no big, we were going to crash the party anyway, might as well use the front door as any other route” Luffy argues, then chuckles when he sees Vivi and Alvida riding Carue, the duck deciding it was safer with her friends, than alone on the ship.
“He’s unfortunately right, so quit your bitching and come down here Zoro” Kaos groans, then goes back to helping Artemis attach Funkfreed to her person, going to the ‘over the shoulder’ rather than ‘left hip’ arrangement
Zoro sighs again “Yeah sure whatever, saves me the trouble of finding you all later when you need rescuing I guess” he says before jumping down, noting Vivi was already wearing her wire gloves, Valentina was wearing her flame dial gloves and an assortment of small blades and Victor had his bow in his coat with a quiver over his shoulder “So we’re really doing this sh*t?”
“Yep, now let's go rescue Nami!” Sanji shouts
“And the others” Robin adds, knowing the cook wasn’t going to
“Add the random staircase leading downward for no reason to the list of suspicious actions within this island” Kaya says, happy to be more of less in the middle of the group, especially when they meet the first abomination
Woof
Woof
Aroo
“Yum” Luffy cheers
“Huh Cerberus is real, this idiot has literally brought us to the gates of hell” Sanji grumbles
“It’s kind of cute actually” Robin chuckles
“Maybe at one point, poor thing has clearly seen better days” Kaos argues, referring to the wounds, stitching and scent of decay coming off the animal
“Is it a threat or not, because I have a policy of not attacking animals unprovoked?” Alvida asks, gripping the handle of her mace as a precaution
“I wonder what it tastes like” Luffy thinks aloud “Sanji, you know what goes well with Cellebrimbore?” he asks, scaring the animal for a moment before it gets back in character
“Hm, that almost worked, also how did you screw up Cerberus so badly you said a name twice as complicated?” Zoro asks in confusion
“Maybe one of the heads remembered they’re supposed to be this scary guard dog type animal, not a scared little chicken?” Victor suggests half jokingly
“Can we just kill it and get it over with?” Sanji asks
“No, I wanna tame it!” Luffy declares
Kaos facepalms “Get the flame dials ready, just in case” he stage whispers to Valentina who nods
“Now, shake” Luffy orders, cerberus instead clamping down on his head, left arm and right leg.
“Whoever saw this coming say I” Vivi says while pinching the bridge of her nose, as expected everyone I’d as that was almost painfully obvious.
Luffy rubs the muzzle of the main head and continue speaking as if it wasn’t about to rip him apart “Bad dog, let go of uncle Luffy” surprisingly it did “Good, now SIT!” he shouts, kicking it into the wall “Good boy, play dead”
“So much power in a child, it’s disheartening if nothing else” Franky groans
“It’s also amusing to see how someone like Luffy deals with strange problems such as a literal beast of legend” Robin replies with a grin.
After that the crew continued onward, Luffy riding the cerberus like a prized steed, even inviting Artemis to ride up top with him as his girls already had their own transport animal. Besides making no progress on locating their crewmates, everything was quiet until
“A tree with some geezer’s face on it is getting drunk with a beat up unicorn” Luffy gasped, the others in similar states of shock
“Kill it with fire?”
“I like this plan”
Katon: Endan
Mirāburēdo: Wyvern Blade "Empyrean"
Back in the mansion
“Usoop I say this a lot but today I really mean this… you’re a f*cking idiot” Nami says in responce to the sniper deciding everything that has happened on the island was a hallucination or them going insane “I was nearly sexually assaulted by an invisible man you dolt how is that imaginary?”
“You clearly imagined it all because this place is f*cking creepy, the window was a draft not a person, the ghosts were weird birds and the zombies… I’m working on that one”
“You’re serious?”
“Sure there was the fiddle playing skeleton with an afro but that wa Devil Fruit shenanigans and everyone knows that no 2 devils fruits have the same effect, if his brought him back to life then no other fruit can do that” Usopp declares, not understanding the tier system of Devil fruits “Back me up Chopper” he says, the reindeer looked conflicted
“On the one hand, medically and scientifically speaking those things shouldn’t exist, however the entire point of Dr. Hogback being on this island was to study the zombies, so if they’re real then who’s to say other unnatural phenomenon aren’t also real”
“I wouldn’t exactly put Hogback up on a pedestal there Chopper, the guy is clearly in the thick of this crazy mess” Nami says, getting angry yelling from the doctor demanding proof “I don’t need proof when it’s as clear as the nose on Usopp’s face your idol is in cahoots with the damn zombies!” she argues [And given he has a zombie maid she has a good point]
“Ugh guys, maybe we can calm down, agree to disagree and all that?” Usopp suggests, looking worried at the 2.
“Fine, let’s ask Dr. Hogback, he’ll straighten you out” Chopper says before walking ahead in a huff, the other 2 sigh before following
“I hope the others hurry up and save us already” Usopp whimpers
A few minutes later
“Hey guys, unless we got turned around somewhere upstairs, doesn’t this staircase take us back to the dining area we just ate in?” Nami asks
“It should, but why is it pitch black then?” Usopp hums, equally confused
“Dr. Hogback!” Chopper calls
“Shindrey, you hear? Please show yourself in any way besides hitting me with another plate” Usopp calls
“We’re done with the bath, where are you guys?” nami adds, the darkness unnerving her
Whoosh
Suddenly the chandelier relights startling the 3
“I’m afraid the Dr. and Miss Shindrey have already called it a day and retreated to their quarters” a familiar voice informs them
“Hildon! You have some nerve showing your face again after abandoning us in a graveyard” Usopp shouts angrily
“I’m sorry, I had planned to turn the carriage around, but then a I suddenly had to go to the bathroom”
“You’re full of it batboy, especially as that doesn’t even begin to explain where the horse and driver went. Just admit it, you’re in cahoots with the zombies”
“How dare you, accusing dear sweet Holdon of such things” the bat thing gasps, then flutters over to the top of the stairs “But enough of this unpleasantness, if you’ll kindly follow me to the guest rooms…”
“Like we’d trust you as far as I can throw your fat carcass” Nami scoffs
“Yeah, this zombie chow: Take 2?” Usopp asks
“Looks like you’re really f*cked this one up Hildon” a new voice says with, amusem*nt while the bat thing begins to panic
“Please, just let me bring them to their rooms, everything will be…”
“No, these 3 know far too much” the straw hats freeze when they see it’s ONE OF THE PAINTINGS TALKING “They can’t be allowed to share our secrets” the woman then turns and leans out of her painting to grab Chopper
“Chopper!” Nami screams, reaching for her clima tact.
Meanwhile Usopp is attacked by a mounted pig head, the sword it threw barely missed him but hit the bear skin rug on the floor, waking it up “Nami, we have a problem, this whole place is made of zombies!” he screams
“I can see that you idiot” Nami yells, before smacking the zombie woman with a Thunder Charge: Swing arm, freeing Chopper while Usopp was busy lighting the other zombies in the room on fire.
With the zombies now occupied the three make a break for the door only to find it was locked.
“You’re kidding right?”
“DOES THIS SEEM LIKE THE KIND OF THING I’D JOKE ABOUT?” Nami screams in response
“How dare you set me on fire you little punk, I’ll kill you for that” the bear rug bellows, swiping with its arms and just barely missing, starting a moment of the trio being chased around the room, kept away from any potential exits until they were cornered in the fireplace.
“This is the end, we’re going to die!” Usopp shrieks, then yelps as their backward scuttling leads to discovering a secret passageway in/behind the fireplace, spitting them out somewhere else within the mansion. This new corridor was no less filled with surprise painting zombies, but their frantic screaming and running from them did lead to one zombie free room, that of Hogback’s shrine room.
“Hey isn’t that Shindrey, the girl who hates plates?” Nami asks curiously
“Yeah, Dr. Hogback sure has a lot of photos of her” Chopper hums
“She also looks happy… wasn’t actually sure her face could do that” Usopp admits with a chuckle “She actually looks kind of pretty when she’s not giving dead eyed glares”
“True but she also doesn’t look like what you’d expect from a servant in any of these photos” Nami muses
“Think this is her room?”
“No, nobody is this narcissistic, and if they were there’s no way they would lower themselves to that of a servant for anyone even someone as apparently famous as Dr. Hogback” Nami responds
“Plus none of these photos have the scars on her face or chest, so they’re either recent, or the photos are old” Chopper notes and on 2nd glance the 2 agree none of the Shindrey they’d mets scars/stitches and tattoos were in any of the photos even ones where they should have been.
“My money’s on these being older photos and she had an accident since, because besides the stitches she’s practically the same person, physically at least” Usopp agrees, meanwhile Nami checks the desk in front of one of the larger photo
“Victoria Shindrey” she reads “Looks like she used to be a pretty big name actress back in the day, all the articles in this book are about her” she says, waving it in the guys direction
“She was, but what about the story about the plates, or her being a servant?” Usopp asks in confusion “Other than sounding like she’s dead inside why is she here, she still looks pretty nice so she should still be out there being a successful actress” he wonders aloud then turns when Nami squeaks and whimpers
“These articles, are old, the most recent one being 10 years ago, when she fell from the stage and died in an accident” Nami manages to squeak out, before panic set in
“But we saw her a couple hours ago, sure she’s kind of creepy but she’s definitely…”
“A Zombie” Nami finishes/interrupts “You were going to say alive, but if the things outside and the paintings in the halls are anything to go on, dead doesn’t mean much around here”
“f*ck it, I’ve had it with this crazy island, can we just run for our lives and forget this even happened, please” Usopp snaps, then trips over something in his retreat
“What now?” Nami asks, then her eyes widen “Oh my god is that a treasure chest?” she squeals in joy
“Of course that would snap you out of this Gold-On” Chopper mutters with a deep sigh as their navigator leaps towards the chest, only to get mimicked when it pops open to reveal a Jack-In-the-box zombie, prompting them to leave the room in under 10 seconds.
A little after their departure the sound of geta sandals on stone echoed through the corridor
“It’s the bodyguard” One of the painting mutter
“Who woke him up?” another asks
“It seems some lost lambs have wandered into the mansion” ‘the bodyguard’ says with a hint of amusem*nt “But never fear, I shall herd them up. Yhohho, Yohohohoho!” the samurai zombie laughs
Back outside
“Kaos, Valentina that was mean I wanted them to join my crew” Luffy whines as the 2 zombies turned to ash under the fireball and flaming sword combo attack
“No Luffy, the skeleton was bad enough we didn’t need a tree and a half dead unicorn thing” Sanji grumbles then hears a low growl from the still blue flame blade wielding Kaos “What?”
“Not you, but the shadows, they looked like people for a moment” he says with a frown “Only good news is it narrows the problem down to 1 possible, 1 unknown, and the Kage Kage no mi”
“Think the shadow fruit or one of the other 2 would explain the frankly horrid condition of the creatures we’ve seen, as well as the numbers on their body’s?” Vivi asks
“Numbers, like an experiment or project?” Artemis asks, a flash of anger flicking in Robin’s eyes
“Potentially. Is there a number on the cerberus Luffy?” Robin asks
“I don’t see any”
“There’s an 82 on the right flank” Zoro answers, confirming the theory and letting things sink into silence for a few minutes, until the ghosts start showing up… f*ck!
“Negative” they chant in a seemingly endless loop
“Wow, those ghosts are singing and dancing, I must have one!” Luffy declares
“Kind of annoying if that’s all they can say though” Sanji grunts
Luffy then proves brain power isn’t his strong suit as he tries to catch the ghosts with a butterfly net, and fails miserably
“Why do you even want to have a pet that just says negative all the time?” Victor asks
“Luffy stop this right now, we’re not keeping one of those creepy things as a pet” Vivi argues, leading to Luffy pouting before sitting back on Cerberus’ back
“Fine” he grumbles
Fresh Fire
“Hm, probably should have seen that coming, but still, I kind of hoped that would have worked” Franky sighs as the ghosts pop out of the flames completely undamaged, even deciding to phase through the cyborg “I suck, everything i’ve done all week has sucked like never before” he mopes “I just want to die, I don’t think I’m worth being made into anything better than a ceiling fan” he blubbers, falling to his hands and knees
“Big baby” Sanji scoff
Luffy taking one last shot at catching a ghost, also drops to the ground in the legally required ‘I just lost a children’s card game’ position “I want to die, maybe get reincarnated as a clam, I’m not fit to be a human” he whimpers
“Well, that’s concerning” Alvida says grimacing before moving to comfort Luffy “These things can affect us but we can’t hurt them”
Kaos groans before coating his hand in his reflect armour “I think I have an idea, but be prepared for it to backfire horribly” he states then backhands the nearest ghost with a rather tired ‘Not today bitch!’
“Ow my face, my actual face Horororororo. How did you do that, horohoro?” the ‘ghost’ screams
“To be honest… I didn’t actually think that would work” he admits, then frowns, sticking his fingers in his mouth “Not me, so the taste is something else” he mutters
“On the bright side, I think that proves these ghosts are Devil Fruit related bullsh*t, which we probably should have guessed given that’s becoming standard procedure since joining Luffy’s crew” Valentina notes
“Before actually, Alabasta’s issues would also fall under as you called it ‘Devil fruit related bullsh*t’ as Crocodile’s fruit is the reason we were in such a severe drought” Vivi adds, trying to coax Luffy to at least stand up again, even Carue was nudging him with her beak
“I think you scared them off” Robin notes with a slight chuckle “Maybe we should have you pimp slap things more often if it solved our problems this easily” she teases
“True, but the main point is they’re gone” Kaos nods with a half smile
“Screw you ghosts next time I see you I’m gonna kick all your asses!” Luffy shouts at full volume
“I think the ghosts wore off Uncle Luffy” Artemis calls from Cerberus’ back
“Count me in too, that was so UN-Super of those ghost things to turn my insides to ice like that” Franky shouts, looking ready to kill
“Well, those 2 are sufficiently motivated, shame we don’t have anything besides throwing Shimmer at them as a counter to those depressive little sh*ts” Zoro says as the group enter the graveyard portion of the island
“Hey cool a graveyard, perfect place to eat” Luffy declares, snapping out of his rage due to hunger
“No you idiot the atmosphere will ruin the taste!” Sanji angrily bellows
“Food is food, yours never tastes bad” Luffy argues, and before the cook could go off on explaining how wrong he was, the ground in front of one of the many grave shifted, and something began to crawl out
“Is that…” Kaya begins but stops when Luffy casually walks over and pushes the ‘most likely a zombie’ back in his hole. It worked for a few seconds before it jumps out and starts scolding Luffy for doing so
“Oh my god, it’s an old man with serious injuries”
“It’s a zombie you braindead idiot… which means you’re probably the only person who’s safe in this scenario” Valentina grumbles
“I was thinking the same, but more that zombies might not have sharp enough jaws to pierce Luffy’s rubber skin” Robin nods in partial agreement, just as the other zombies make their appearance
“Zombies aren’t usually this energetic in media” Franky notes, given the undead were literally in some cases leaping from their graves
‘So zombies are real, but their not Edo Tensei given their patchwork and decrepit as f*ck, so Devil fruit shenaigans once again is the best guess’
“Now to show you how scary zombies really can be” the old man zombie yells as the hoard charge them
Luffy smirks “And in return, we’ll show you how scary pirates can be!”
Gum Gum Gatling
Fancy Cannon
Syrup bullet barrage
Strong Right
Wire Cage Hell
Frictionless takedown
Katon: Gōka Senpū
Clutch
Traptrix:Game Over
Meanwhile, back in the mansion
Finally away from the zombies the trio continued searching for a way out until they heard a familiar ‘Fosfosfosfosfos’
“That’s Dr. Hogback’s laugh I know it” Chopper says with a wide grin, the other 2 not so blinded by hero worship knew the Doc was bad news and clearly in the middle of all this zombie BS. Still, it couldn't hurt to see just what the mad scientist was doing, so they pulled open the door just enough for them to see.
“So, is this his top secret lab he was talking about?” Nami asks quietly
“I sure hope so” Chopper squees
“Fosfosfosfosfos finally, my sweet marionette is almost complete fosfosfosfosfos” Hogback laughs, putting the finishing touches to his creation “Behold Shindry, a true work of art, the work of a genius”
“I hope the stupid thing blows up and either takes us with it, or burns your face off” Shindry says bluntly
“Damn it woman, this work is hard enough without you’re comments”
“I prepared supper, would you like it now?” she asks
“Yes please what is it?”
“Spaghetti soup” she states flatly, before emptying a sack on the table
“What the f*ck! Seriously woman if plates are that big a deal try using a bowl, or better yet, come up with a menu that doesn’t require plates, roast beef, baked potato, hell even a sandwich will do” he scolds
“Shindry’s there too” Nami mumbles “She really is a zombie, isn’t she?”
Usopp on the other hand was focused on Hogback’s ‘Project’ “What is that thing?” he wonders quietly
“It looks human, but given the injuries he’s most likely already dead” Chopper answers/analises “He’s numbered, just like the zombies from the graveyard, and the paintings”
“And Hogback says he was almost finished, meaning we’re about to see the, for lack of a better word, birth of a new zombie, Zombie 741 to be precise” Nami adds “Your friend in there has been busy”
“But, even if he’s a genius there’s no way Dr. Hogback could have done all this by himself” Chopper squeaks
“Well, so long as he doesn’t catch us, we’re about to find out. It can’t really be as easy to bring the dead back to life as they make it look in stories”
“Remember what Valentina said, even the ones in the stories don’t just come back to life, you pay a heavy price for new life” Nami whispers
Clip clop, clip clop
“Yohohohoho, good evening” a voice calls behind them, turning around they nearly jump as they see a samurai zombie “What’s the matter, if you’re going to stand in the doorway like that, you might as well go inside” he says smoothly
“That’s not Brook” Chopper squeaks
“No, but I think I know where his shadow went” Nami whimpers
“Yohohohoho!” the zombie laughs, as he slowly approaches the trio.
TBC
LW: Damn, ending 2020 on a cliffhanger, I’m kind of an asshole aren’t I? Ah well at least you have something to look forward to in 2021, like chapter 1000 of the manga :D, or 89 of this story :) :P
Anyway, this is Lonly Wanderer wishing you all a pleasant 2021, thanking you for coming to read my stories in 2020, and hoping to see you all again in a fortnight, stay safe and don’t do anything crazy!
Chapter 89: 'The midnight hour is close at hand...'
Chapter Text
LW: Happy New Year everyone!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - ‘The midnight hour is close at hand...’
“So, what are you guys doing out here?” Luffy asks the zombies who managed to not be burnt to ash by Franky, Kaos and Valentina (he should probably do something about those 3… eh maybe later)
“You know, zombie stuff, being buried, rotting”
“Sounds boring” Franky sighs
“It really is”
“You guys wouldn’t be lying to me are you?” Luffy asks, his voice lowers slightly into ‘serious captain mode’
“Nope, just rotting and hanging out, regular zombie stuff”
Luffy nods “Ok, then I guess my next question is: Did a guy with a long nose, girl with red hair and a racoon dog/ reindeer creature pass through here recently?” he asks
“Well you see…” one of the zombies begins
“We’re not supposed to talk about that”
“Yeah, sorry to tell you but we’re under specific instructions not to share that kind of information with anyone” the old man zombie finishes
“If we torch a few more, think they’ll answer us then?” Kaos asks lazilly, still annoyed by the taste of blood.
The zombies panic “Yeah we saw ‘em” they answer quickly
“Wow, these guys are pushovers, even Usopp would have lasted longer than these wimps” Sanji grunts, Kaya nodding in agreement as Usopp would have at least put on a brave face and tried to stand up to the enemy.
“Those 3, are part of my crew. You didn’t do anything to them, did you?” Luffy asks
“What?”
“They were on your crew!”
“We didn’t do anything”
“Nothing!”
“Other than chase them a bit but we never even caught up to them, honest”
“Where did you chase them to?” Artemis asks, wanting to join in Luffy’s ‘interrogation’
“The mansion, over there” one zombie points
“Thank you, and goodbye” Valentina says with a wide grin, which sends shivers down the exposed spines of the zombies
Katon: Gōenka
“Little warning next time” Vivi screams as the Straw hats run out of the graveyard to avoid the fireballs raining down upon them
“Sorry, 1st time using dials for that move, less finesse than I would like” the blond admits with a grimace, patting down her burnt sleeve
“Eh, don’t worry about it, those weak zombies weren’t even worth beating the crap out of, your firestorm should stop them from bothering us later” Alvida assures her, but also lightly headslaps her for her stupid manouvre.
“Mom, who’s that weirdo following us?” Artemis asks, which causes everyone to turn around rather sharply
“Old man with serious injuries” Luffy gasps
“He’s a zombie dumbass”
“No, pretty sure this one’s still alive, no weird coldness clinging to him” Kaos hums
“Straw hat boy and the tall, lanky lad are right, I’m still alive” the man wheezes
“So, why are you following us?” Victor asks
“I saw you deal with those zombies, even before deciding to Scorched Earth the graveyard” he lightly chuckles, missing Valentina facepalm and mutter about ‘Scorch release’ in the process “So, I’m pretty sure you youngins are strong enough to deal with the great evil that makes this island his home”
“Given we can’t leave, we might as well do that” Kaos hums, looking at Luffy who was always happy to fight someone
“Please help me get my shadow back, I’d be eternally grateful” the man gasps, now on his knees
“Wait, you also got your shadow stolen?” Robin asks, wondering how this man was connected to Brook
“Do you know who did this, are they still on the island?” Zoro asks, looking forward to cutting this f*cker up
“Moria, his name is Moria” the old man wheezes, several eyes widen
“Moria, as in Gecko Moria of the Shikaibuchi?” Robin asks in shock
“Another one, sh*t” Alvida groans, Crocodile was bad enough
“There’s also the fact his former bounty was 320 million, so he’s not going to be a pushover by any means” Kaos adds with a grimace “Plus, I get the feeling he’s the one who ate the Kage Kage no mi, would explain the shadow stealing if nothing else”
“But what’s a big shot Warlord like Moria doing in a place like this?” Victor wonders aloud
“I’m not sure, all I do know is that he’s left behind many victims, who now wander this place aimlessly, and without purpose”
“Can you be a little more specific, how many is many?” Zoro asks, mildly annoyed
“Who knows, the fact you were invited to this hell island, is proof he wants to add you to his collection, and steal your shadow as he did us” the old man warns “All we can do is hide in this dark forest, afraid of zombies and the creatures hidden within. We can’t leave or risk being exposed to the sunlight and crumbling to ash” he then begins to cry “After years of this suffering and pain, I just want to feel the warmth of the sun one last time before I die” he whimpers, then agrilly lashes out at the lanturn he’d been carrying, the spinning light revealing and warping everyone else’s shadows as well as showing they all still had theirs, until Luffy stops it and crouches in front of him
“Well, it’s your lucky day old man, we happen to be looking for a shadow stealing bastard, and if he’s looking for us too it actually makes our jobs easier, because then we have to meet eventually so can kick his ass” he grins widely “We’ll have your shadow back in no time, and Brook’s, probably everyone else’s if we can too”
Elsewhere - Dr. Hogback’s secret evil laboratory
Swish
The door is sliced in 2 and the 3 straw hats tumble in, Nami bouncing against the table containing zombie 741, while the Usopp and Chopper stop rolling just before hitting it.
“You 3, what are you doing here?” Hogback shouts as his brain kicks back into gear
“That sounded an awful lot like Brook”
“But he wasn’t a skeleton, he had skin, but it was all dry and leathery like a mummy”
“He also had wooden clogs, and he was dressed, well kind of like a samurai out of a storybook”
“HEY! Look at me when I’m talking to you!” Hogback shouts, finally getting their attention “Now, what did I tell you about not going into my lab?”
“We didn’t see anything!”
“Nothing, honest”
“Couldn’t tell you anything about this room if I wanted to”
“Really?” the Dr asks leaning over them
“Yep, we definitely didn’t see the zombie you were working on” Usopp squeaks, both Nami and Chopper hitting him for being an idiot
Hogback sighs deeply “This was inevitable. Luckily you’re far too late to do anything about it, because in a few short minutes, the Night Hunt will begin!” he announces gleefully
“The Night Hunt?” Nami repeats, the words filling her with dread
“Whoa unto those foolish enough to wander this island after dark, because none survive: The Night Hunt!”
Elsewhere
“What the f*ck happened to my Zombie army?” Absolom screams seeing most though thankfully not all his minions were either partially or close to entirely incinerated
In the castle
“Welcome back Mistress Perona” a zombie that looked like a stuffed bear, named Kumashi greets the woman that now lay where all the ghosts had just converged, then his eyes widened in panic when he saw the bruise on her cheek
“I told you to shut up, your voice is too deep” she whines, standing up and snatching her umbrella from him “I’ve had a bad day and you’re distinct lack of cuteness will just make it worse” she grumbles, the bear hearing mutters about ‘creepy weirdos’ ‘boot up his ass’ busty bitch’ ‘cheaters’.
Also in the castle
“Master Moria, time to get up!” 3 smaller zombie shout, as an oddly shaped creature rolls over to look at them
“What now? I was in the middle of something” he grumbles, that something being sleeping but not the point
“We got you some new meat Master, and I’m sure you’ll like them, they’re the guys who took out Enise Lobby a couple weeks ago: the Straw Hat Pirates. Just imagine what you could do with people that strong” one of the zombies chirp
“Kishishishishi, you’ve done a good job boys, I am most impressed” Moria says with a wide grin, the shadows in the room ripple under the force of his power.
Outside
“Welp, add sudden downpours to the reasons I hate this island” Alvida grumbles “Are we going to head for the mansion and seek out the others, or just stand around?”
“Give me a minute, there’s something in the sky” Luffy hums, pointing above them
“Seems the rain is useful for something, clearing the fog” Kaos chuckles, then his eyes widen in shock
“Is that a pirate flag?” Sanji asks
“No, it’s, a sail” Franky corrects
“The big guy is right” the crew turn to see the old man still following them “Thriller Bark isn’t the island it appears to be, it’s actually the world’s largest pirate ship. The back of the mansion contains the main mast of the ship, as well as being the residence of Gecko Moria” he explains, just as the clock strikes midnight, and the bells toll
“This ship is a haven for ghosts, zombies, monsters…. And Vampires” Kaos whispers, once more tasting blood in his mouth “Things are about to get very, messy” he hums, as Luffy pushes open the gate
Hogback’s lab
“As this night hunt is clearly not yours or our problem I think this is the best time to ask. What the hell was up with that bullsh*t you were telling us about coming here to ‘study the zombies’ when it’s clear as day that you’re the one making them?” Nami asks angrily, slamming her fist into the floor
“Fosfosfosfosfos Regardless of the accuracy of your accusations, they’re meaningless here little girl. But as a scientist I’m curious as to what proof you have of my deeds”
She points to the blond behind him “Your assistant’s obituary, Victoria Shindry died 10 years ago, and she was an actress, not some meager plate braker”
“You brats, how did you know that, I’m not even sure most of you were alive at the height of her fame” Hogback grumbles “Or at least not old enough to appreciate the fine art she made” he adds with a soft sigh as the 3 stare back at him “Not going to answer me? Fine, it’s clear you’ve been poking around more of the castle than I thought to find THAT room, guess it’s time to finish this. Shindrey, summon Ryuma and have them deal with these cretins”
“Done with your tour of the lab then?” Came the voice of Not-Brook, the samurai zombie from earlier “Do you need me to show you out? I’d be happy to Yohohohoho” he laughs as he enters the room. There was subtle tilt of the head before he next spoke “Oh, upon further inspection, you’re quite the charmer my dear, absolutely beautiful” he purrs
“Um, thanks I think” Nami mumbles
“I only have eyes for girls like you, or I would if I still had eyes Yohohoho! Anyway may I see your panties?”
“Go f*ck yourself!” Nami screams “Why is every man on this island a f*cking pervert?”
“I’m not a…”
“Oh please I can see the boobjob from here” the navigator growls
“Actually, that was done back when she was still alive, and not by me” Hogback defends
“Yeah yeah… wait, I know that line. That’s what Brook said to me when we first met on the ship, no eyes, that laugh, asking for panties, the whole deal. This is too weird to be just a coincidence” she mutters, the trio having gotten up and were just staring at Ryuma at this point
“Fosfosfosfosfos, it seems you have a clever clogs on your team there to figure things out so quickly. Not that it matters, this zombie is made of much stronger stuff than the fodder soldier zombies outside, this Zombie General is made from the legendary Samurai Ryuma from the Country of Wano, deep in the New World. This one supposedly slayed a flying dragon, which seems like good stock in my eyes when making someone into a high ranked zombie rather than an ordinary or wild zombie.
Ryuma leaps at them with his sword drawn, the 3 tense, and nothing happens. “Shindry, if you’d be so kind as to open that door for me, also a sandwich would be nice if you have the time” the zombie says casually, with a friendly tone
“I thought he was going to cut us to ribbons”
“That was so scary”
“Screw this, let’s run for it while we have the chance” Nami screams, just as Ryuma sheaths Shusui.
Hanauta Sancho: Yahazu Giri
At that point the 3 fall to the ground as the damage inflicted upon them by his attack takes effect
“Incredible isn’t it Shindrey. They say when a master cuts you down he can walk 10 paces before you even know you’ve been cut. Fosfosfosfosfos”
Downstairs/At the front door
“Hello. Ok nobody’s there I’m going in” Luffy cheers, about ready to tear the door down
“Luffy calm down, the mansion is huge, and you didn’t even knock” Kaya pleads with her captain who frowns
“Hm, it’s locked, hey Vic
Bang
“Never mind the door’s open” Luffy cheers
“Yeah, cause Bomberman opened it for you” Sanji hums
“Hey, where did Kaos go, he was here a few minutes ago?” Zoro wonders aloud
“Oh, Pops went to follow the blood, whatever that means” Artemis answers, pointing more or less to the left of the mansion
“Gecko Moria, are you in here, I’m here to kick your ass!” Luffy shouts, clearly lacking in self preservation, as usual
“No fear this one” Valentina muses with a chuckle “No brains either”
“Luffy I don’t think this is the best idea” Vivi says as they enter the dining room
“Damn, looks like we missed a good fight” Alvida muses
“Those bastards better not have hurt Nami” Sanji scowls around his cigarette
“Oh, you’re quite a ballsy one kid, most who know of Master Moria, also know to fear him” laughs the pig on the wall
“Guys, why is there a pig mounted on a wall?”
“It’s probably just the head, given that’s all you’d usually mount of an animal”
The pig chuckles “Oh we have many surprises in store for you. Show em what we’ve got in here gentlemen” he orders, the surprise Zombies popping out of their frames, as well as the bear rug getting back up
“If these zombies are paintings, that means they should be even more easily destroyed than the ones outside” Robin muses, smirking to herself before nodding to Franky, Victor and Valentina
Fresh Fire
Nose Fancy
Katon: Endan
“What the f*ck!”
“Using fire’s a dirty trick, just like that long nose”
“They’re playing for keeps damn it”
“Long nose, Luffy, the rug saw Usopp and the others” Kaya shouts
“Then we’ll ask the pig in charge when we’re done with the rest” Luffy responds, before slamming the zombie rug into the wall with a point blank Gum Gum Bazooka to the face.
“No, not Bear Rug” the pig gasps
“And then there was one” Luffy sighs, reaching up and taking down the mounted pig “Talk, or we make bacon”
“Oh those 3 were your friends, well we fed them, ran them a bath and put them to bed for the night, are we all good friends now?” the pig asks in a panic
“My bullsh*t detector is going off again” Victor hums
“Well don’t sneeze on anything again, we might need to question these dumbasses and that’s easier when they’re still in one piece” Valentina argues
“Says the woman who incinerated like 3 of these paintings” Alvida chuckles
“Hey guys, where’s Sanji?” Vivi asks, the gang look around to notice that much like Enies Lobby, the blond had ditched them, or so they thought, until the muffled/badly hidden chuckles from the zombies gave them the answer
“Sanji’s been kidnapped, probably by whoever attacked us on the ship. Rest in peace you damn pervert” Zoro sighs
“He’s not dead Zoro, plus he’s Sanji, he’ll be fine” Luffy says with a shrug
“As long as there aren’t any boobs, then he’s 7 kinds of screwed, none of which are the fun kind” Robin adds with a chuckle
“You’re already losing, you didn’t even make a dent in our numbers and yet we’ve managed to take one of your prized fighters” the pig boasts
“Damn, Val managed to incinerate like 30 of them and that’s not even a dent, f*ck” Zoro says, partly in jest as he had a feeling the dining hall zombies didn’t know about the graveyard zombies, and was proven right when they paled and the pig stuttered out “Incccinerated”
Valentina grins “Yeah, wanna see?” she asks, aiming her flame dials skyward
Katon:...
CHOP
“OW” the blond whines at the head chop from Vivi “Why?”
“Don’t use that move indoors, it nearly roasted us back in the graveyard” she scolds,
“Fine, but what do we do with the loudmouth piggie?” Val asks
“We could torture him for information, but I’m not actually sure how much these things can feel pain, and how much he’d lie when faking a break” Robin says, then shoots down
“Then we just carry him around and have him play tour guide” Zoro suggests
“You can’t seriously be thinking of fighting Master Mori-AH, even we’re afraid of him, you’ll be killed or worse before the day is out” on of the surviving zombies taunt
“Yeah no, we’re still doing this, but if you have a way to contact your master, pass on a message for me. If he’s done anything to my crew I’ll kick his ass so hard this whole island ship thing will be torn apart” Luffy declares, sending the surprise zombies into catatonic shock. After that Franky picks up the pig, and follows Luffy and the others up the stairs in search of Moria.
The forest
“Well, now you’re just making this too easy” Kaos hums as he steps through a puddle, which looking down he notices to be blood. A little further on he comes across a handful of zombies attacking a tall blond man with blood red eyes and an odd scythe like weapon, the main body of the blade an almost amorphous red material while the edge was a metallic color and clearly razor sharp. Just as one of the zombies managed to sneak up behind him though, it was eviscerated by a storm of razor wire, the pieces the size of a closed fist at most
“Don’t know if shadow zombies work like normal ones, but with the head now a meat puree, I think this zombie will at least be a pretty useless one” Kaos hums, Hebi held horizontally flat in it’s Traptrix form
“Kufufu, just like Zelena said, quite the smart arse aren’t you?” the man finally says turning to face him and letting his scythe bubble and recede into his arm “At least your skills with that blade seems commendable, and from what I’ve heard it suit your fruit rather well, a mimic sword with a reflection Devil fruit” he chuckles, running his fingers through his hair, 2 horn like bangs bouncing back into place once his hand leaves his head
“And why am I not surprised the ‘Vampire’ would have… I’m not actually sure, I’ve heard it called the Blood Blood fruit”
“Close enough, it’s the Qi Qi no mi. Now, how did you happen to find me, I had hoped to seek you out myself but obviously you beat me to it”
“I sense Devil fruits, yours makes me feel like there’s blood in my mouth, an annoying but easy to notice side effect, I followed that until I found actual blood, meaning someone who wasn’t a zombie running around” Kaos explains
Henry looks impressed, long fangs visible through an excited grin “A sensor and everything, your Kenbunshoku will be quite impressive when you get to training it” he chuckles, then digging his long nails into his palm creates his scythe and swings it at the researcher, missing the first time and nicking his arm the 2nd, though his blood blade on reflect armour sounded like grinding metal ‘Hm, impressive defence too, wonder if haki will compliment or integrate with it’ he thinks as he releases the hold on the blood and then with a flourish retrieves a locked chest from his open coat
Kaos grimaces as he examines the long, though thankful shallow cut in his forearm “Was there a point to that?” he asks, then his eyes narrow when he senses something familiar.
“I wanted to see if you were strong enough. You managed to beat my girl Sui, damn near killed her. It actually impressed me, as well as the fact you can use Hebi rather well, never mind the fact she hasn’t killed you yet. Plus, I thought you’d like to finally test a theory that someone like you should have considered by now” he grins widely, revealing, to Kaos amusem*nt at the irony, a deep blue pomegranate, with purple marks that resembled eyes rather than the expected swirls “After Apophis was executed, we ‘ahem’ retrieved his personal effects from the marines. Zelena took his blade for safe keeping, and I took this. Care to take the plunge, if you’re here to fight Gecko Moria, maybe you’ll need an actual monster on your side”
Kaos sighs as he picks up the fruit, feeling drawn to it, something he hadn’t felt in many years “f*ck it, what do I have to lose?” he mutters
“Kufufu, you know the answer more than I do” Henry chuckles, grinning as he hopes to see a return of something he actually missed, rather than a messy smear on the trees: Yig and through that, an echo of his captain.
CRUNCH
Back in the castle
“If that painting was right, then Gecko Moria has been watching us since we landed on the island” Franky hums as they walk down a corridor “I mean we’re down 5 members and we’ve only been here a few hours”
“Technically Kaos leaving wasn’t Moria related, but that still isn’t exactly good odds for the rest of us” Robin agrees
“It was just Sanji, the idiot probably sensed a woman on the other side of the mansion and wanted to hit on her, the guy has a girl radar better than Shimmer’s Devil fruit detector” Zoro dismisses gruffly
“So, what do we do if any of us get our shadows stolen by Mr. Gecko?” Kaya asks
“Kick his ass until he gives it back, so the current plan” Alvida answers with a grin
Luffy hums “I know I told that old guy I’d return his shadow, but my crew comes first. We save Nami, Usopp and Chopper, then Brook’s shadow, and if we have time the other shadows too” he declares
“This place is really giving me the creeps, and I’ve seen the experiments for awakening the Manda fruit” Valentina shivers
“Do we want to know what those were?” Kaya asks, a little curious, but also sure she’d be fine not knowing
“Just remember that one of the signs of a mad scientist is self-experimentation” the blond replies, catching something out of the corner of her eye.
Outside the mansion, neat Perona’s domain
2 squirrel zombies were transporting the coffin containing the 3 wayward straw hats when, being squirrels they f*cked up, falling over and sending the coffin flying, crashing into the ground and breaking, as well as waking the occupants. Deciding to deal with them quickly to cover their screw up they attacked, only to be knocked aside rather easily by Chopper’s Heavy Point.
“Guys wake up, we’re outside somewhere” Chopper yells and shakes the other 2, happy when they came to.
“Ow, how are we still alive? That zombie guy cut us right?” Nami groans
“He, must have used the back of his sword” Usopp guesses “He’d have probably split us in 2 otherwise”
“Oh crap they’re awake!”
“Let’s book it!”
“Those squirrels just talked didn’t they?” Nami asks with a sigh “Zombies?”
The boys nod “Zombies”
“Figures. Anyway, we’ve been taken quite far since we were knocked out, given we’re somewhere out in the back of the mansion, while Hogback’s lab was on one of the upper floors” the navigator hums, mostly to herself
“Plus there’s another building on the other side of this clearing” Chopper points out
“I wonder who it belongs to, Hildon did mention there were others on the island besides Hogback so maybe it belongs to one of them” Usopp guesses, though their thoughts were interrupted by 3 awkwardly waddling zombie penguins
“That 3rd one, has a dog’s face. And here I thought Hogback’s perversions stopped at human mutilation and zombie creation” Usopp grimaces
“You shouldn’t have, someone had to have made the Cerberus and the other mutant creatures we saw on the way to the mansion” Nami reminds him
“Like the rest of the crew” one of the penguins chirp, causing them to turn and see a whole hoard of animal zombies “These are the Wild Zombies”
“We welcome you to Mistress Perona’s Wonder garden” they greet as one. The response to this was understandable… blind panic and the 3 running in random directions, Chopper getting separated 1st by a hippo man, koala headed guy and gorilla-thing, then Usopp and Nami, the sniper getting repeatedly beaten by a zebra-kangaroo zombie, before sniper and navigator reunite and lead their zombies up and down the Escherlike staircase attached to the garden. Unfortunately that exact lack of sense in the architecture lead to them all meeting up and being surrounded by the zombie animals, Usopp and Chopper being knocked around painfully, but just before Nami was sliced by the hippo man… he was kicked through one of the structures by the dog-penguin.
“What the hell man, I get you’re new but that girl’s a pirate… so kick her ass!” one of the zombies shout
“I don’t care who or what this lady is, or if it means disobeying Master’s orders, even if I die because of it I’ll never kick a woman!” the penguin-dog declares, shocking the pirates “You got a problem with that then bring it on, piece of crap zombies” he scoffs, stubby arms folded as best he could.
‘It couldn’t be’ Nami thinks ‘But the samurai zombie acted like Brook, does this mean something happened to Sanji too if this zombie is acting like him?’
Mansion
“This ‘guide’ isn’t very good at his job” Artemis notes as Luffy and Franky beat up the zombie pig
“No, but that does look therapeutic” Alvida sighs then looks around “Guys, Zoro’s lost again”
“Took him long enough was kind of expecting him to disappear before we even reached the mansion to be honest” Robin says with a chuckle “He’ll be fine though, even with only 2 swords the man is lethal”
“True, but it’s still a bad omen that we’ve once more lost a crewmate without anyone noticing” Vivi says with look of tired resignation.
TBC
LW: Well, the players are setting up, and the straw hats now know what they're supposed to be doing. Good luck lads ;)
Chapter 90: Spiders, hippos and mouse zombies, WTF?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
LW: More zombie shenanigans, and a special guest returns. Also Nami’s biggest secret revealed! Ohhh
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Spiders, hippos and mouse zombies, WTF?
“It’s actually a little comforting that even the fact our crewmates keep disappearing doesn’t stop Luffy from being a dumbass” Valentina chuckles as Luffy is scolded by his girls for disappearing to put on one of the suits of armour without even telling them
“I guess, would be better if we could find the others first, then outfit everyone in armour” Kaya suggests
“Hey Robin, any idea when Kaos will be rejoining us?” Victor asks curiously
“Well, provided he hasn’t been torn apart by rabid zombies he’ll find us whenever he’s finished his side quest, so hopefully soon”
“Don’t say sh*t like that, it’ll worry the others!” Franky shouts, not quite used to Robin’s black comedy
“Oh I’d worry more about yourselves than your friend, at least he’s not walking towards his death, unless he’s following you of course” the pig laughs
“Really hope talking pig makes good bacon” Luffy grumbles as they keep walking
“Oh my” Vivi gasps finding the next room opening up into an arena style layout
“It’s an indoor arena, but we’re still no closer to Moria” Franky hums, not noticing something sneaking above him
“It’s more complicated than just an arena, but you’ll see soon enough, Now you’ve conveniently walked right into our trap!” the pig shouts as an armoured being leaps from the wall and attacks Franky, the cyborg managing to block the stab with his shield arm
“So cool, a haunted suit of armour!” Luffy cheers
“More likely it’s another zombie, this one having been given armour instead of rags to wear” Robin argues with a slight sigh
“That’ll make them harder to damage, and less exposed flesh means fire is also less effective” Victor scowls, but readies for a fight
The zombie knight lunges at Franky who blocks and punches back but misses, the 2 failing to deal any actual damage until midblock Franky grabs the sword so the zombie couldn’t leap back to evade so he could get a solid Strong Right punch to it’s torso, sending it flying but it manages to stay on its feet. Franky then was forced to dodge as it’s sent 2 wind slashes from it’s sword in a cross formation, annoying the cyborg who opens up his left arm and primes his cannon, setting off a full powered Weapons Left the second the zombie is in range of his weapon
“Stay down you sh*t” he curses, just as the zombie once more lunges, even faster this time and appears to cut him down
“Franky!” Luffy shouts, the others getting ready to fight now the duel was about to become a melee. The zombie took 2 steps before being grabbed by it’s tassel and thrown back into the arena “It’ll take more than a nick from a dead guy to take me out” Franky growls almost offended by the very idea, then grimaces as the zombie once more gets up “Damn, this guy is a lot stronger than the goons from outside, and I don’t just mean because of the armour”
“Zombies don’t feel pain and usually don’t feel fatigue, it’s why they’re the cannon fodder of fictional villains the world over, a theoretically unstoppable army or warrior” Valentina adds, her hands twitching then an idea came to mind “Robin, these things are animated by shadows right?”
“That’s the current theory” Robin nods curious
“And the fact the people outside are still alive, means even stolen they are technically still connected to their hosts. Any chance that connection would allow a shadow to be used as the material for a ‘sacrifice’ and most likely take the original owner and zombie along with them?” she asks, getting a very confused look from the archaeologist who also noticed her hands were twitching in ways that looked familiar to her but unsure where from, making her frown
“So you finally get it” the pig announces cackling “The true power of zombies, they don’t feel pain or exhaustion, and the General Zombies are even stronger, because they were powerful even in life. We have a knight, a criminal, a samurai, a pirate and a gunslinger, how could you hope to defeat any of them? Just give up and admit defeat, the end will be swift if you do” he then trots away “Wall Zombie now!” he shouts, a block of stone with an angry face on it seals them off
“Crap, we’re trapped in here now” Luffy grunts
“No way back, only forward, which is a problem given we now have even more company” Alvida groans as more General Zombies appear in front of them
“As the only person here who’s fought a zombie general, I can definitely say we’re kind of up sh*t creek in a leaky dinghy” Franky states with a sigh
“Probably best we try to flank them and try to get to the courtyard outside” Victor suggests, noticing his companion muttering to herself and still twitching “You ok Val?”
“I think I have an idea, but it’ll be potentially painful… for me” she admits
“No!” Vivi screams, Kaya nodding rapidly beside her
“It’s either that or we all die” she deadpans to the princess
“Let her do it, hopefully it’ll work” Luffy orders
“Thank’s Cap. Now Franky, launch me at… that one!” she says pointing to one of the leaner zombies
“WHAT?!”
Elsewhere
“Lola! Lola!” Absolom bellows as he runs along the corridors of the mansion “Damn it, how do I lose a fat, rotten hippo so easily” he growls, then nearly gets knocked over when he turns into a different zombie, tall and hooded, with long clawed, scaly hands, it was clearly something Perona had the Doc make, even down to the oddly mirror like inner lining of the hood, the pink bitch had the oddest idea of what ‘cute’ meant “Get out of my way you stupid beast, I need to find my bride to be before that damn Lola ruins everything. I get you’re one of Perona’s playthings, but as a zombie you still answer to me! Master Absolom! Now move” the man yells, the being side steps to allow him to pass
“Of course Master Absolom” the being hisses (Insert Steve Blum here for voice) ignored by the cat faced man as he walks off, not seeing him reach down to pick up the dark glasses previous used to hide his new eyes “Robin molesting Iviso-perv” he spits, turning his sights for any of the others as he stands to full height, taloned feet clicking as he walked. Though he did stop and watch in amusem*nt when the aforementioned Lola crashed through several walls to try sexually assault Absolom, then rip up Nami’s wanted poster swearing she would never allow her love to marry that hussy (Kaos felt an odd feeling, like phantom offence on her behalf, but ignored it because anything that annoyed and made life difficult for his enemies was good news for him) then rushes off to try murder her, something he was less ok with.
Speaking of Nami
“If any of you even touch this lady you’ll regret it” the penguin dog shouts, before proceeding to kick the sh*t out of most of the nearby zombies
“What’s going on, I’m so confused” Chopper whines, getting a headache
“That penguin is a zombie, why is it fighting on our side?” Usopp thinks aloud
“Did neither of you notice his fighting style, or his mannerisms?” Nami asks, just as the the penguin finishes his ‘come at me bro’ speech to the ‘crappy zombies’ “There’s no other explanation” she mutters to herself
Back with the main crew
“You’re completely insane, you know that right?” Franky asks getting a laugh from the blond
“Probably, also anything that could hold them still for a moment would be greatly appreciated” she adds
“Oh, me next, me next!” Artemis saying hopping up and down with a wide grin
Color Trap: Immobilising Indigo
Color Trap: Bullfight Red
Well, that should at least distract some of the other zombies, while your target is unable to defend themself, but what are you actually planning?” Vivi asks as the generals all mill about in the oversized Red glyph Artemis made on the ground.
“Like I said already, Franky throws me at the zombie and I deal with some of the threat, simple really” she chirps, having retrieved her umbrella, the cyborg sigh but does as asked and yeets the woman across the room
1kilo
Strong Right: Allie cannon
Floating above the zombies, Valentina locks onto her target, and with the correct manoeuvres in mind resets her weight and lets go of the umbrella, dropping to earth on a collision course with the general
Tora, Mi, Inu, Tatsu,
Edo Tensei: Gōyoku
As her palms slam into the ribs of the zombie there’s a moment of silence, where nobody knows what happened, other than Valentina’s shaking legs. Then the zombie’s shadow erupts from the floor and consumes it
Moria
The warlord was just enjoying adding another of the straw hat’s shadows to his collection when his eyes widen severely, losing another zombie was of no concern to him, though it was mildly annoying how many the straw hats had culled, the shadows puppeteering them were still completely under his control and would be moved to new bodies, no what gave him pause was something he hadn’t felt since moving Thriller Bark into the endless night of the Florian Triangle: He’d lost a shadow
The arena
The end result of the zombie looked nothing like it’s former self: It now looked more human with healthy, though black as tar, stitchless skin, short black hair, purple eyes with cat-like slits and long clawed fingers. It was also now wearing what looked to be a fur collared leather jacket, leather pants and pointed shoes, and grinned with a hint of madness present in his body language
“So you do remember your roots mistress, how long it has been” he purrs, his claws glint in the low light as he clenches and unclenches his fists
“Greed, you have zombies to kill” Valentina orders, nearly falling back only for Victor to catch her “Go!”
“At once” he laughs then leaps at the nearest zombie, slicing it’s head off with it’s nails
“So, we have a zombie on our side, how does that help? They still don’t feel pain or fatigue and they could gang up on our one guy” Alvida asks as enough damage had been done to the Red trap that the generals were free again
“Well he has all the regular zombie traits, unbreakable claws, and while he can take damage there is one thing that Edo’s are well known for in the legends” she grins as Greed loses an arm from the massive knight’s sword slice, only for the lost appendage to crumble to ash and new one to pop out of the socket “They can regenerate Kyahaha!” she laughs as he cleaves the zombie in 2 right down the middle
“Holy sh*t, it cut through thay armour like butter, what are those claws made of, diamond?” Franky gasps, getting a laugh from the blond
“Kyahaha, like my brother would have used something so pedestrian as diamonds, The bones in his hands were infused with, and the claws made completely from, Seastone” Valentina announces, shocking the crew as that was the one thing they could think of that was considered stronger than diamond
Vivi sighs “I just realised where we’re going wrong here” she notes “We’re fighting these things like they’re people, aiming to knock them out. But they’re zombies, so they can’t and they’re already dead so…”
“Is the diplomatic princess really saying ‘Aim to maim’?” Alvida asks with a chuckle
“Yes, especially because we’ve been told they don’t feel pain. Even if we can’t stop them from chasing us, an armless, legless or a combination of the 2 and other injuries should at least slow them down and give us a better chance of getting away”
“Ok, let’s do this. Tear those zombies apart like crappy toys, then head for the outside!” Luffy orders, leaping forward and batting aside a ton of zombies with a Gum Gum Gatling attack
“1 tord tile 36 calbre Phenex!” came a voice from the dust cloud, followed by a familiar energy wave
“Zoro!” cheered a few of the group “Please tell me you missed and almost hit Luffy by accident” Vivi pleads, then squeaks when instead of their swordsman, a zombie steps forward.
“Scars on the back are the shame of a swordsman, but, I have scars all over my body” the zombie frowns
“Oh f*ck!”
“Aren’t we glad you didn’t pick that one to sacrifice?” Robin chuckles as she see’s Valentina’s face turn the color of porridge “Also, does anyone know where Luffy went, he was here a second ago?”
“Not the time!” Victor shouts, blowing a zombie to pieces by tackling it and exploding when he hit it “Focus on getting out of here, and we’ll all meet up later, that was the plan”
Robin nods “Right, let’s go!”
Curtain of Death
“Getting better with those wires love” Alvida laughs, picking up the bluenette and sliding through the opening she’d made, the others following shortly behind with Greed covering their escape
“Ok, that’s everyone… except Luffy damn it! Plus the idiot is wearing armour just like the zombies so I can’t even pick him out of the crowd” Franky groans, when everyone’s focus goes straight up
“This sucks, let me go you bastards!” Came Luffy’s muffled yells as the chains above them carry a heavily taped up and shaking coffin across the gap between fortresses
“Luffy’s in there?” Alvida gasps, then growls
“Damn, I can’t blast him off the chain, he’ll probably just land in the water” Victor grimaces
“Same with cutting the chain” Valentina agrees, Greed nodding alongside her
“Which leaves the only option to follow it into the next building and hope it’s easier to access inside” Kaya suggests, a couple seconds pass and then everyone once more starts running, this time after the coffin, well until something big and ugly blocked their path
“Is that a zombie mangled to look like a literal spider monkey?” Kaya asks, equal parts scared and confused
“Correct little miss, as a prize I’ll tell you this for free, you’re not going to last long on this island, either those zombies behind you get to you, or my minions do and send you packing to Master Moria for extraction” the spidermonkey laughs
And… back to Perona’s Garden
“Look, I don’t know how this works, really wish Robin or Kaos were here to explain this sh*t, but I’m pretty sure the zombie is Sanji, or somehow connected to him” Nami tries to explain, the penguin’s statement of being powered by love making Usopp and Chopper more willing to believe her.
Luckily dumber sh*t was coming their way to hopefully distract them from Sanji being a penguin-dog, that being a pink warthog in a wedding dress doing as much damage to the surrounding area as an entire herd of elephants charging in their direction, only to turn around and tackle a blond man with a partial cat face and a turban
“Do we even want to know?” the navigator asks, especially when the warthog starts trying to aggressively kiss him, or possibly just impale him on her lips given the indents in the ground she was making.
“Are they friends, or enemies, it’s kind of hard to tell” Usopp hums
“Maybe she’s just crazy, he seemed to think she would listen to him, only for it to completely backfire” Chopper adds his 2 berris.
“You stupid cow, now you’ve made me mad!” Absolom shouts, throwing Lola off him, unfortunately it was where she was trying to go originally… right in front of Nami
“There you are, Cat Burglar” Lola grunts “You’re going to pay for stealing the most precious thing of Master Absalom”
Nami squeaks and begins to make rapid back steps “What? I mean I know I’m a pirate but I haven’t stolen anything today” she tries to defend herself, eyes widening in fear as the warthog pulls out a large axe
“You stole his heart you dam hussie” Lola screams and swings the axe, only for the Pendog to kick it in 2
“You won’t lay a hand on the lady” he growls, only to be slapped aside by Lola
“Holy crap, how strong is the warthog?” Chopper yelps
“But why didn’t he fight back, he mopped the floor with all the other zombies?” Usopp thinks aloud as the zombie pulls himself out of the wall he’d been thrown into
“I already told you, even if it kills me, I’ll never kick a woman!” he shouts
Nami groans, pinching the bridge of her nose “Yep, that’s Sanji all right, making this Kalifa all over again. Punch her in the face then you daft mutt!” she screams that last part while Lola was distracted by being angry at Usopp for calling into question her status as a ‘woman’ (as he would class her as animal, or undead monster personally) she then yelps as she’s picked up and thrown over a now invisible Absolom’s shoulder like a sexy bag of spuds, as he runs off with his ‘bride’ “Help, I’m being abducted by the pervert from the shower!”
“He really is invisible, also, damn it I thought I nailed him” Usopp whines, then the 2 pirates give chase, more running after Nami than anything else as at least she was still visible
“I was sizing you up last time, and I’ve decided you’ll be perfect as my bride” the ivisi-perv growls as he reveals himself properly “The name is Absolom, get used to the sound of your future husband’s name on your tongue my dear” he chuckles
Nami scowls “I don’t keep myself looking this good for pervs to drool over or think they can claim me, I do it for myself. I’m also not the defenceless damsel this time around” she states as she pulls out her Climatact from her belt “Have a taste of this your filthy animal!”
Thunder Charge!
The shockwave and minor explosion sends Nami flying away from her abductor, but luckily she was barely affected unlike him, who was twitching and in pain, though miraculously for him was still standing.
“Great job taking him out Nami but now’s not the time for a nap” Usopp yells as he and Chopper catch up to them “Keep running we’re not safe in the open!”
Not that their location meant much with an angry warthog charing after them, thought given the yelling and cursing she was doing it was clear exactly what her target was
“Hey, anyone know why the zombie is only after Nami?” Chopper asks
“Nope, and it can’t be because of that pervert given she’s trying to kill me rather than capture” she answers, fear making her faster, useful when the enemies has swords
“Hey Nami” the red head turns her head “Chopper and I were discussing this while going to rescue you from pervert, but maybe we should split up again” he suggests
Bonk!
“You’re selling me out you heartless bastard!” Nami shouts after punching the sniper in the head
“Oh please like you wouldn’t do the exact same thing in my position!”
“But I’m supposed to get away with it because of cuteness” Nami whines
“I think that might actually be the root cause of your current situation” Chopper mutters, then screams when he sees Nami sprint ahead of them
“This is exactly my point, you’re using us as a shield from this crazy zombie!” Usopp groans, then him and Chopper speed up themselves to avoid being chopped to bits. This strategy worked… until they tripped on a root, at which point the universe reminded them Lola was after Nami when
“Get back here!” the zombie shouts, running right past them “I’ll fertilize you!”
“That, sounds less threatening than it probably should” Chopper notes
“Probably because she’s a woman and therefore… um, never mind, the point is we’re safe” Usopp trails off, unsure if he wants to find out if Chopper understood the concept of rape, partly becasue while 15, he still felt like a small child to the rest of the crew, even Artemis acted like he was her little brother when he wasn’t being all ‘SuperDoc’, probably because Robin seemed to have stealthily adopted the little reindeer boy.
“You’re right, we’re safe, she only wants to kill… NAMI!” the reindeer shouts, prompting the 2 boys to chase after the zombie they’d just been chased by, in order to protect their crewmate, Usopp riding on Walk Point Chopper to ensure they could actually catch up.
“Give me back my husband!” Lola bellows swinging her swords at Nami’s head
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about” Nami grunts as she blocks the strike with her climatact, luckily Chopper and Usopp managed to catch up with her by this point and try hold back Lola… only to discover zombie warthogs are stronger than a Reindeer-Yeti and a physically average teen, so much so that it was unclear if them hanging off her tusks even slowed her down in her pursuit of Nami.
On the bridge once more
“Ok, so we’re boxed in between a zombie hoard and a giant f*cktard of a spider-monkey, without any of our usual big hitters, did I miss anything?” Kaya asks, her hands twitching and her revolvers shaking
“No, that’s chapter synopsis at the moment” Robin nods “We do still have Franky and one zombie on our side though and the spidermonkey won’t be fighting at full power” she adds
“What makes you so sure?” Alvida asks, wondering where she pulled that fact from
“His legs, they’re stitched quickly and haphazardly back together, meaning it most likely happened within the last day or so otherwise whoever makes all these zombies would have done something to repair him properly” Robin explains, and the straw hats then notice she was right, some of the legs were stitched together, while others were held together with thick webbing, also though not mentioned was the large slash through the eyepiece and left eye of the zombie, but given the injuries on the zombies it was less concrete as proof.
‘How did she, trying to stop that blood bastard shouldn’t have been that easy to detect. Maybe I should have just let him… no Master Moria would have done much worse if I hadn’t tried to stop him leaving’
“So, who wants to bet what we just witnessed happen to Luffy happened to Zoro, Sanji and Kaos too?” Victor asks, getting ready to blow away anything that comes near them
“I’ll take it for Sanji and Zoro, but I think Kaos did just walk off after something else. If he’s been caught, he’s not gotten to this end of the conveyor at least” Vivi argues, not mentioning the reflect human would have probably put up as much of a fight as their captain if he had been captured already
“Mon-Kae Mon-kae ahahah, another correct assumption. 3 of you have been taken, 2 have joined the ranks and soon the rest will follow. I’d give up now if I were you ahahah”
“This guy’s really starting to piss me off, but at least we now know where that web that caught the sunny came from” Franky grunts
“Yep, out of this huge, Spider-butt” Artemis frowns, then contemplates an attack
“Technically correct, but it could have been worded better Artemis” Robin lightly scolds
“If Luffy were here he’d have said something similar, and Kaos would probably have threatened to rip out his silk glands, or more likely let Luffy kick him so hard those glands come out his mouth” Alvida says with a chuckles, her mace resting on her shoulder and her body tense
“You pirates never stood a chance, Mistress Perona’s Ghost Network see’s all hears all and knows all that happens in Thriller Bark, we’ve had you right where we wanted you from the moment the gates locked you in ahahah”
“By ghost network you mean those sheet ghosts Kaos bitch slapped into next week?” Valentina asks “Because I don’t think Perona was in a mood to do anything after he did that” she chuckles, noticing the comment annoyed the monkey
“So, backs to the wall, both sides of a bridge blocked off, any ideas from the builders, or wreckers of the crew?” Robin asks, a half smile directed at 2 in particular
Franky laughs “Hey Vic get over here, let’s show the girls how you make a SUPER exit” he says, hooking up his connector rod to his arms
“We’re actually in an almost perfect place to do this, talk about convenience” the bomb man chuckles, blowing into his gun and clenching his left fist
“What? What are you doing?” Tararan shouts in confusion
“Getting away!” Franky smirks, his arms puffing up with compressed air
Coup de Vent
Breeze Bomb- Hand Grenade
As you might expect, the piercing force of Franky’s air cannons, alongside a double whammy of Victor’s Bomb Bomb fruit activating, dig a ton of damage to the bridge, causing it to fall apart, taking everyone on a trip straight down
“You can’t break the bridge man, that’s cheating!” Tararan shouts, clinging to the sides as best he could
“So’s the unending horde of zombies Spiderclod” Vivi shouts as the Straw hats fall
“So, was my plan Super enough for you Robin?” Franky asks with a wink
“Well it was certainly as destructive as I expected” she deadpans
“It was awesome!” Artemis cheers with star eyes, possibly because Chopper and Luffy weren’t here to gush over the combo move
“Hate to be ‘that guy’ but we’re all kind of still falling!” Valentina shouts
“Don’t worry, that’s part 2” Robin winks, just as Artemis latches onto her and Vivi had pulled Alvida to her and Carue
Cien Fleur - Wings
Syrup Rescue
“Holy crap Robin can fly!” Alvida squeaks, holding tight to Vivi while Karue tries to hold herself up, well until getting tangled in Kaya’s syrup tendrils
“Yes I can, for 5 seconds” Robin states, catching Franky while Victor, Valentina and Greed were caught by Kaya
“Lame. Only kidding that’s one Super move, now for me to not waste that time. Our medic got the correct side of the bridge, we’re all going after the captain” Franky declares, shooting his arm out to grab the edge and pull them over, just in time as Robin’s ‘Wing’ crumbled into petals part way across.
Strong Right
Recall
“Alright, everyone accounted for?” Vivi asks, Greed and Victor pulling Franky up after Robin took initiative and jumped over, using the cyborg’s metal skull for balance/stability
“It seems so. Nice to have a little breathing room from those zombies, no offence”
“None taken, these things are crude and inefficient puppets of the Kage Kage no mi, completely different to myself”
“Did Ni-san put his ego in you when he built you too?” Valentina teases
“Given they’re zombies that probably won’t hold them off for long, but it should give us time to catch our breath and regroup with the others” Robin states, then grimaces as Tararan recovers quicker than expected
“You stupid pirates, you remember I’m a spider right, I’ll be up there in just a moment, then I’ll wrap you in webs so Master Moria can deal with you at his leisure, ahahahah” he boasts
“Can anyone else hear that?” Kaya hums, looking up her eyes widen significantly
“Looks like something’s falling” Victor guesses
“Not something, someONE” Franky corrects, as Brook falls right past them into the courtyard below
“What do you call a flying skeleton? Air Bones!” he shouts just before hitting the ground with a thud
Back with the coward trio
“I don’t know, or care why you’re doing this, but I’m not going to just stand around and let you hurt my friend” Usopp shouts as he swings out of Lola’s tusk
“Keep running Nami, we’re doing all we can to slow her down” Chopper calls, continuing to punch at her in Heavy Point
“Your time is up Cat Burglar, only I am good enough for Absolom to marry. Now Get Off Me!” Lola screams, flinging the 2 into the trees behind her, just before Nami trips over a root in her panic “Now die quickly you bitch!”
“Wait you’ve got this all wrong” Nami screams as the blades swing in her direction “The truth is I’m a man!” she cries, the swords stopping an inch from impaling her
“What!” Lola squeaks
“What!” Chopper screams ‘In hindsight, that explains a lot, like why s...he fights with Kaos so much. He’s the Sanji to Pop’s Zoro’
“Seriously?” Usopp facepalms, now a little worried about Nami’s health if Chopper didn’t know she was a woman, meaning he may not have done a full health check on their navigator.
“Yeah, 100% a dude, crossdressing, it just feels right. I’m an okama in all but name” Nami chuckles nervously “Mostly because it’s kind of a swear word in the East Blue”
“Well at least that’s accurate” Usopp mutters catching Choppers attention “Calling a man an okama back home would pretty much be directly calling his manhood into question”
“Also, you and that Ab guy should totally hook up. You'd make a cute couple and I bet you’d have one hell of a wedding night, at least one broken pelvis, am I right?” Nami attempts to tease, though if someone was observant they’d see her hand was trembling
“You mean it?”
“Of course, is this the face of a liar? You two are made for each other”
Lola blinks, then drops to her knees, tears pouring out of them “Thank you, you don’t know how much your words mean to me. I was beginning to lose hope, that me and Ab would ever be together, officially”
Nami stands, her confidence returning now she wasn’t in immediate danger “Raise your head, I require no such thanks for speaking something anyone with eyes should be able to see. My name is Nami-zo, but you can call me Nami, as all my friends do” she smiles offering a hand
“Friends!” Lola squeals, now eyes flowing with tears of joy
“I’m now afraid of the female species” Chopper whimpers while listening in on Nami and Lola’s conversation on how to help her bag her man. Nami may be completely bullsh*tting it as always, but Lola was eating it all up, believing her nearly breaking his ribs with hugs and trying to pancake his skull with her kiss attacks were her being too passive and she needs to be more assertive and aggressive
“I mean, is knocking him out and making him sign while in that state ethically right, as a human being I mean?” Lola asks, for a moment, unsure of the plan
“Lola babe, you’re a zombie and part warthog, you can do it” Nami purrs, patting her shoulder “Loopholes”
“Of course! Now Absolom will be mine!”
“Hey Nami, weren’t we about to leave, like 5 minutes ago” Usopp calls, still standing a safe distance away from the zombie
“Right. Hey Lola, I left some things in the Treasure room the last time I was there and wanted to get them back, but I’ve forgotten where that is. Can you give me directions?” she asks, batting her eyes
“Of course you silly goose, it’s right by Mistress Perona’s quarters, like 2 doors down, can’t miss it…” Lola continues to give more detailed directions, in between complaining about Perona while Usopp sighs, trust Nami to use any chance she could to get more loot. All was going well until he saw the top of Absalom's hat over the low wall
“Nami, he’s here!” he stage whispers, pointing behind him
“This is it Lola, go over there and get your man. I’ll never see him again and that’s fine with me, I don’t even like dudes anyway, tit* for me all the way. Send me a wedding photo if you can, bye!” Nami says as she stands up and begins to follow the directions, while Lola charges directly towards her beloved, to his mounting horror
“That, was almost too easy, that God for retarded zombies” Ussop mumbles as her follows Nami away
“A non violent solution for a change, or at least one where we’re not the ones inflicting the violence” Chopper chuckles, bringing up the rear
Checking in on the captain
“Wow, you’re one fat bastard” Luffy says upon finally meeting Moria, his brain to mouth filter having died years ago. The zombies that brought him hear panic but the aforementioned fat f*ck seemed almost amused
“So, you’re the famous Straw Hat Luffy I’ve heard so much about. You’re energetic if nothing else Kishishishi” he laughs as he sits in the dark opposite Luffy
“And you must be Moria, I hear you’re a real jerk and a shadow thief” Luffy states, the mini zombies only getting more worried as things progress
“Kishishishi, oh you’re exactly what I expected from a boy with a 320 million beri bounty, and will make the perfect underling. That energy is just what I need to continue my plans”
“Underling! f*ck that you dumbass I’m nobody’s underling. Who do you think you are making a claim like that?”
“Who do I think I am, was that question asked ironically? Kishishishi, it’s obvious. I am the man who will be king of the pirates!” Moria announces, to a silent room.
Perona’s domain
“Ok, we lost him… sh*t he’s back, Lola barely slowed him down” Nami whines seeing him coming closer from over the edge of Perona’s balcony
“Nami get over her” Usopp whisper shouts, pointing to a strange object with an opening they could climb into
“Are you sure, what even is this?”
“Who cares, as long as it keeps us hidden it’s fine” the sniper hisses back.
Unfortunately what they were hiding in was Kumase, Perona’s stuffed bear zombie. Not that they could go anywhere else with Absolom coming up the stairs at that very moment
“Hey, Kumase!” he bellows as he enters the area
“Pervsa… I mean Master Absolom, this is bad. It seems intruders have...” Kumase splutters around his facemask
“Hold on” Absolom interrupts “ This is more important, did you see 3 pirates run through here?” he asks
“Actually, that’s the thing…” Kumase continues only to be once more interrupted
“Absolom!” Perona shouts, clearly annoyed by his prescience “What do you want, I’ve told you before I don’t like you being in my room or near any of my things. Going to need to rewash all my underwear… again” she mutters the last part
“Perona” Absolom growls, though that might just be because of the whole ‘cat’ thing
“Welcome back Mistress Perona, is there anything...”
“Yes, kindly shut the f*ck up, how many times do I need to tell you that?”
“Of course but just this once…”
“Zip it before I ask Hogback to do it for you. Nobody cares what you have to say, especially with a voice like that!”
“Don’t you think that’s a little harsh, and by little I mean really too harsh on Kumase, he’s there to help you after all”
“Yes, and given he’s my underling, what does it matter to you how I treat MY subordinates”
“Speaking of your subordinates, can you do something about Lola?”
Perona shrugs and twirls her umbrella “Afraid not, she’s just expressing the personality of her shadow’s previous owner. Anyway did you hear yet, Master is calling for us, sounds like he thinks 900 is going to be operational soon” she almost chirps
“Master Absolom!” Hildon shouts as he flies to Perona’s chambers “Glad I found you, oh hello Mistress Perona. I come with more news. In addition to the Straw hats we have another arrival: The Humming Swordsman!”
Absalom's eyes widen “He’s back?”
The courtyard
“Was that what I think it was?” Franky asks in confusion
“If you mean the skelton from earlier falling from the sky, then yes” Vivi says with a nod
“Given the crater, it can’t be anyone else” Robin chuckles, as there was even an indentation on the ground for his afro to fit in.
“We should probably go help the poor bugger, that fall had to hurt even if he’s as easy to kill as a zombie these days” Valentina hums.
Unfortunately Brook’s arrival was enough of a distraction for the spidermonkey to start spinning silk, forming a gooey web to get him back up to the straw hat crew “I’m back Ahahah, you think you were done with me just because you broke one sh*tty bridge? Don’t make me laugh”
“Great, the biggest problem is back. Hey Robin, think you and a few of the um, less tanky of our crewmates can keep him distracted for a couple minutes, I have an idea on how to make a spider smasher”
“I can’t really say no now can I?” she says with an eye roll, ignoring the irritable zombie cimera as Franky, Victor, Greed, Valentina and Alvida run off
“Don’t ignore me, I’ll web you up so well you’ll be joining the hoard by dawn” he bellows and swings his arms forwards, revealing Hogback had put the spider spinnerets in his palms rather than it’s thorax
“Well that’s convenient. You played yourself like a kazu” Robin says with a smirk, blooming hands around Tararan’s still functional right eye
Sticky Web barrage
Seis Fleur: Slap
“Ah you bitch, you slapped my eye… sh*t now I’m blind you cheating whor*!” Tararan screams, clutching his face due to the slap, only to realise he’d just webbed up his eyes and a good portion of his face in the process
“We’re pirates dumbass, of course we ‘cheated’ as you call it. You could also call it tactics, and using your opponent’s abilities against them” Robin counters
“Very nice there Robin, now for our turn” Franky grins as they arrive back
“Oh you’re done already, what did you do?” Kaya asks curiously
“I put my steel nunchucks into one of the stone pillars lining some of these hallways. Adds weight and reach to the weapon don’t cha know?” he asks with a chuckle “Now, I think you deserve the honour, show us how strong one of these Ultra zombies are” he passes the nunchuck to Greed who smirks
“Hey, maybe we can talk this out”
“No, because when a monster is this big, the only option, is to SMASH it extra hard!”
Heavy Nunchaku
“It’s an effective weapon, but personally I prefer my claws” Greed hums, throwing the nunchucks back to Franky who proceeds to wail on the spider thing, Alvida joining in when it was clear he didn’t have any tricks left to pull. Or so they thought
“Enough already!” he screams, using his webs to shoot away and restrain the nunchucks “Ahahah, no more smashing me in the face for you chuckles f*cks. Too bad for yo… wait what are you doing?” Tararan asks as Franky sighs and opens up his left arm, then proceeds to fire into his face at point blank range
Weapons Left
“Is it down ye...ah sticky goo!” Artemis squeaks, causing the others to look up in time for a hoard of Spider Mice to drop down and ensnare them
“Damn it, these must be what got Zoro, Luffy and Sanji” Alvida growls, her and Franky turning to deal with the pests, only to get webbed up by a still functional Tararan
“Ahahah, seems you let your guard down. These are my minions and collections squad, the Spidermice. There are over 500 hundred of them throughout Thriller Bark and they’re never...” he winces “once” another wince “twice” another “Stop eating my mice!” he shouts at the sky, confusing the pirates
“Seems someone is fighting back, intriguing” Greed purrs “Don’t get much resistance round here do you?”
“Of course not” one of the spider mice answer “Dr. Hogback made our silk unbreakable, and with our stealth skills we can catch you unaware and ensnare you before you can fight back”
“Doesn’t matter how strong you are and what abilities you have, once you’re in our webs it’s game over!” another boasts
“Meaning your problem pirate, hasn’t been caught in your webs yet” Robin smirks, getting her mouth sealed with webbing by an annoyed spidermouse
Yohohoho, Yohoho, Yohohoho Yohoho
Tararan frowns, looking around in confusion “What the f*ck is that?” he asks, referring to the haunting singing coming from… somewhere
Yohohoho, Yohoho, Yohohoho Yohoho
“Looks like the cavalry has arrived” Victor smirks, meeting eyes with Val and Robin who have similar expressions
“Gather up all of the Crew, it’s time to ship out Bink’s Brew” the song goes on, thoroughly unnerving the Spidermonkey “The wind it blows, to where who knows? The waves will be our guide! O'er across the ocean's tide, rays of sunshine far and wide! The birds, they sing, of cheerful things in circles passing by!”
“Stop it, stop this god damn singing” Tararan orders uselessly as Brook ignores him
“Yohohoho. My goodness, it seems you all came to this island after all. It is a pleasure to be reunited by the way” Brook says with a slight bow
“Wait, how did you get from the courtyard to all the way up here?” Kaya asks looking confused
“I jumped of course, I’m quite light with all the dead weight gone” he replies with a slight chuckle “Since you’re all already here there’s no sense in holding back. Now should be the best time to tell you about this island”
“Who are you, what are you? You’re not a zombie, does that mean you’re actually with these pirates?” Tararan demands answers, and as a future Straw Hat Brook gives him the metaphorical middle finger and continues talking
“One moment please, I just have a small problem to deal with promptly” Brook hums, then sheaths his cane sword, his bony face a visage of horror
Three-Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash
Blood erupts from Tararan’s head and his most severely damaged limbs sever, dropping uselessly onto the web, while the Straw hat’s watch in stunned silence.
TBC
LW: So… anyone who knew what Edo Tensei was could guess what I was going to the moment Valentina mentioned it back in Water 7, and in doing so used an ironic lack of subtlety to show where I’m leading Val to, and add FMA to the list of universe I’m pulling characters from to create counterparts of thanks to Greed there. Maybe I should add that to the tags, all the alt. Universe versions of characters in the series, or at least the universes I pull from if not the specific characters.
Question: Does anyone else think of Count von Count from Sesame Street when that spidermonkey laughs? Because I sure do “One Ahahah, Two Ahahah” my brain does the oddest things.
Notes:
Alternate title if the chapter was shorter
Edo Tensei: a friendly zombie ally
Chapter 91: Hyping up Mr. Oars
Chapter Text
LW: So, where were we? Oh yeah Brook just showed up to save everyone, meanwhile Luffy has been captured and most likely about to get shadowsnatched. We should probably get back to them huh. Enjoy
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Hyping up Mr. Oars
Three Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash
As Brook sheaths his canesword Tararan slumps forwards, grunting and twitching in pain
“Don’t stop now Brook, he’s a zombie he’s not going to go down unless he’s in little bits!” Alvida shouts, trying to squirm out of the webbing
“You little shi… wait, I know you from somewhere” Tararan gasps
“Yohohoho. Never fear my friends, I’ve got this whole thing under control. I know exactly what I’m doing, after all, even the dead can be killed if you know how” he says cryptically, many confused but one blond nodded in agreement.
As if to prove his point Tararan began writhing and flailing, before the shadow animating it was forced out of his mouth ‘ killing ’ the Kage Kage zombie in the process
“What the hell was that thing?” Franky asks loudly
“That was the zombie’s soul, the stolen shadow that was used to give it life and movement. Without it, well it’s just a stitched up hunk of flesh” Brook answers, turning to watch the spidermice flee in terror “Oh, by the way, I know that webbing feels strong as steel, but you can melt right through it with a little fire”
“Like Mr. 3’s Waxworks all over again” Vivi sighs and lightly chuckles, getting a look from Valentina “No, that technique would kill us all. Use the dial as it was intended only” she orders, getting a huff from the kilo girl before following orders, using the flame dial like a blowtorch to free the others in combination with Franky in no time.
“So, somewhere between 3 and 7 of our crewmates have been captured by those mice and the zombies, meaning now would be a great time to explain what the hell is going on in this place” Alvida demands, the others nodding except Robin who was a little busy getting the webbing removed from her mouth by the flame dial.
“Very true, however, and I’m not sure how best to spring this on you, if your friends have already been captured it may already be too late to save them” Brook admits
“WHAT!” Franky bellows “Explain yourself you bony f*ckface!” he shouts, opening Weapons left
“Franky, he’s already dead, that will probably just make this whole thing take longer” Robin says with a sigh, not that she didn’t want to snap his neck herself right now
“Jeez you’re all so hostile. But I guess it’s to be expected, anywho, I tried to explain this earlier but there was a period of time when I was adrift in the triangle, lost and alone. When I thought I had finally come to find an escape my rudder broke and I was further cast into this watery hellscape. Then much like with you I stumbled across this island, Thriller Bark, about 5 years ago as best I can tell. I was desperate to escape the Triangle so I ventured onto the island, searching for parts to fix my vessel, but all I found was a hoard of monsters and zombies. It wasn’t long before they managed to capture me and take me to the very building behind you, where I was witness to the horror of seeing the beast within tear up another captured traveller’s shadow, and amputate it”
“That’s what the Kage Kage no mi can do?” Vivi yelps, a shiver running through her body, the idea unsettling and wrong all on it’s own.
“Correct, the dance fighter went lifeless once the shadow was separated, but the shadow itself still moves, squirming and struggling until it was forced into the marionette, and I watched in horror as a dancing zombie was born from the union”
“That is the least intimidating variant I’ve heard of so far, but the idea itself is still horrifying” Robin hums, getting an eyeroll from the V’s and a chuckle from Greed.
“But how does that even work?” Kaya asks
“It’s the shadow, no matter the vessel they retain an echo of their original owner and it’s imprinted on the zombie itself” Brook explains “Shadows in some cultures are seen as your darker half, joined and mimicking you from birth until death, only one person has the power to break this rule of the universe and twist shadows to his will: Gecko Moria of the Shichibukai”
“He’s the one who stole your shadow then, and at the very least Zoro’s too given the 3 sword zombie from earlier” Victor notes/summarises
“Indeed. All you need to make a zombie is a corpse and the living shadow of an unfortunate individual, though the zombies all around us are more than that, they’re often a stitched together mash up of human and animal parts made whole by Moria’s accomplice, Dr. Hogback” Brook continues
“The only way to make a Kage zombie at least, how did you make your Edo Tensei Val, you were kind of vague?” Alvida asks curiously, peering over at the still grinning Greed
“Focus, technique, and a sacrifice” Valentina admits “I don’t know how my brother made this one” she points to the man beside her “but the process works for revivals too, the only additional ingredient is blood, flesh or hair of the person you want to bring back as a perfect zombie”
“So you must take life to give life, poetic” Robin says with a half smile “Would you need to kill someone every time you summon him?” she asks
“No, just the revival, plus there are ways to dismiss an Edo that won’t simply ‘kill’ him” Val answers
“As enlightening as the conversation is, can we get back to explaining what the hell is going on, on this island?” Vivi asks
Brook coughs “Quite right young miss. Where was I, oh yes Dr. Hogback, the man who builds the zombies, scouring the globe looking for strong warrior bodies to steal and repurpose, he’s amassed quite a collection of bodies in his lab, all just waiting for a shadow to awaken them”
“All that talent and he’s making monsters for a pirate like Moria, such a waste” Kaya huffs “Chopper isn’t going to like that”
“So the zombies aren’t really returned from the dead, they’re just meat suits being piloted by the shadows of still living people” Franky repeats, running things through in his head
“Exactly, the skills and fighting styles come from the shadow, while the strength comes from the corpse, and when both are strong the end result is something truly monstrous. It’s why Moria is so eager to get his grubby little hands on people with high bounties, so their mental and spiritual strength will translate over to immensely powerful zombies for him to command”
“So that’s why they’re gunning for us, our bounties over wrecking Enise Lobby must have had the bastard cream himself” Alvida sneers “And given he’s got 3 of our best fighters, things are not looking good right now”
“And given the shadows are in control of the zombies and his fruit gives him control over the shadows, that makes quite the powerful hoard at his disposal, unquestioningly loyal to the Great Onion” Artemis pipes in, starting to worry about her missing family members
“Exactly right little one, and thanks to those facts he can have powerful fighters without having to deal with the mess of actually having to work with the people they were previously attached to, so the stronger the person he steals the shadow from, the sooner he sends them out into the void” Brook states solemnly
Vivi gasps “But you said if the sun hits you…”
“I’d turn to ash, correct. And so will they if they’re send out to sea by Moria”
“Then we need to get a move on, right now!” Franky shouts
“There is still time to save them, especially as we don’t know if he’s removed Straw Hat’s shadow just yet. However you’ll need to put your complete trust in me, as my experience will have to serve as your guide” Brook announces
“How about no? We’re not all Zoro, we can go up a flight of stairs without getting lost” Valentina argues
“Can we just get this over with and locate our companions? Either give orders, or shut up and let us get on our way” Robin says with a cold breeze cutting through everyone in the area
Despite being only bones Brook swallows thickly “Of course, right this way please”
In the building
“Your guests have arrived Master Moria” the trio chorus, causing the onion man to smirk
“Excellent. Show them in” he commands, grin widening as his 3 associates enter the room, equally excited “Nice to see you all got here so fast Kishishishi. Now, make me king of the pirates!”
“Of course master” the mysterious 3 nod only to be interrupted by Luffy
“Hey fat*ss, you’re never going to be King of the Pirates, because I AM!” he bellows “Untie these ropes and I’ll show you why it’s gonna be me not you who stands at the top. Also, Zoro, Sanji, Kaos, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, give me back my friends you jerks!” Luffy demands, wriggling around in his cage
“He’s certainly… energetic” Hogback muses, unsure what else to call him
“Is this really the guy who took on the world government, and beat both Crocodile and Lucci? He looks like he can’t walk and breath at the same time” Perona mocks, fiddling with her umbrella in boredom
“What I want to know is why he’s wearing a zombie general’s armour” Absolom growls
“What, like none of you ever dreamed of being a knight growing up?” Luffy huffs
“Did that dream also involve getting captured?”
“No, but I’d probably have gotten captured even if I hadn’t put on the armour, so that’s a stupid quiestion” Luffy shrugs, making the Iviso-perv angrier
“Well kid” Moria says, interrupting Absolom before he could retort “You gave me quite the list, but I’m afraid only 2 of them have been captured by my forces, 3 if you include yourself. Pirate Hunter Zoro, and someone we presume is Black Leg Sanji, the picture is unhelpful at best” he admits with a tired grunt
“Yeah, Artemis offered to send a better artist’s impression, but he was too busy moping to hear her” Luffy shrugs, Sanji’s vanity wasn’t his problem.
Meanwhile inside Kumase Ussop was panicking “Oh no, not only did they catch Luffy, but Zoro and Sanji too” he swallows thickly
“No offence to… well everyone else, but that’s ¾ of our strongest guys, how were they the first to be captured?” Nami asks
“By that logic we should have been captured the second we stepped foot on the island. Honestly, Zoro I can believe he got lost and fell into a trap, Luffy and Sanji… well it’s just bad news” the sniper replies with a deep grimace
“Speaking of, where are the 3 I sent over to you Perona, the Risky brothers should have gotten them to you by now” Hogback asks, the ghost girl shrugs
“They were supposed to deliver them to Kumase, hopefully those 2 idiots didn’t lose them, can’t have more of them running amok on the island” she sighs, this wasn’t her night
“I think they’re talking about us” Ussop whispers then hisses as Kumase moves closer to the trio “Don’t you dare sell use out you undead bastard!”
“Um Mistr…”
“Didn’t I tell you to shut the f*ck up!” Perona explodes, slapping him with her umbrella
“Must you be so strict on the poor thing, you snap over the most minor of things. Besides we should be focusing on locating my bride to be, she did cause a minor uprising in your garden” Absolom says, then the gears click in his head “HOGBACK! You better not have put a single disgusting finger on my bride you hear me!” he shouts the Doc grimacing and tries to placate the unstable man, meanwhile Shindrey decides to do the opposite
“Your bride, she doesn’t want you” she says bluntly
“Shindrey you’re not helping the situation, also stop standing in front of me” Hogback orders, causing the zombie woman to turn and stare coldly at him
“She doesn’t want you either”
“Geez woman, I wasn’t even doing anything” the Doc whines
“I’m pretty sure the Doc’s asexual” Perona hums, unoticed in the commotion.
“I don’t care what you say, I already decided she will be the one I spend the rest of my life with” Absolom says, huffing like a child
“She doesn’t want you, maybe get with the hippo neither of your seem to care about the happiness of your partners after all” Shindrey says flatly
“Shut up!” Moria commands “Your bickering is giving me a headache. If those pirates escape I’ll have to make examples out of all 3 of you” he threatens, sending shivers down their spines “I gathered you here not so I could watch you argue, but because it seemed appropriate we were all together for the unveiling of number 900 now I’ve finally found a shadow strong enough to revive him” the Warlord explains, just as one of his minizombies scream, having been overpowered by Luffy who wriggles like a worm in his restraints towards the door
“Master the pirate ate through the bars of the cage!” a zombie squeaks
“He did what?!” Moria screams
“Whatever messed up things you have planned for me, I’m not gonna make it easy for you” Luffy calls back as he makes his, not that impressive looking but still effective escape.
“I’m gonna back you regret existence brat” Aboslom shouts, before being shoved aside by Perona
“No need to wreck the place idiot, I’ll handle this”
Negative Hollow
“Those ghost things, they’re yours?” Luffy says in surprise then chuckles when he notices the bruise “Quite a shiner, good thing he didn’t use his pimp-slapping hand or there might’ve been permanent damage” karma comes for him as all 3 of the hollows pass through him, causing him to curl up in a depressive slump
“Fosfosfos. Those hollows truly are frightfully effective Perona” Hogback laughs
A little later, due to prepwork
“Let me go you stupid onion, fight me like a man!” Luffy shouts as he’s once more secured, this time by a web to the ceiling
“I think not. Why don’t we illuminate the dim lad as to how this is going to go” Moria laughs then with a wave of his hand Hogback activates the massive light they had set up. The Shadow man then reaches down and grabs the end of Luffy’s shadow, peeling it off the floor like a sticker and dragging it’s owner with it until the boy was dangling upside down by his feet/shadow, right in front of Moria.
“What the, this shouldn’t be possible!” Luffy gasps
“Oh but it is, and now for the main event” Moria grins as he pulls out what for anyone else would probably be a comically oversized pair of scissors, and severs the connection between the 2, Luffy passing out as a result
“Kishishishi! The power of a shadow taken from a man with a 330 million beri bounty. With it I shall create the most powerful special zombie the world has ever seen!” Moria announces, Luffy’s shadow squirming within his clenched fist “Kishishishi!! Now Straw Hat Luffy’s power is under my control, and zombie 900 can finally be revived”
“He, cut off his shadow” Nami whimpers “How, that shouldn’t be possible”
“A shadow is just where your body blocks light, you shouldn’t be able to interact with it, never mind pick it up and remove it from its owner” Chopper adds “But we have seen this before” he hums
Usopp blinks “Oh yeah, that skeleton guy, he had his shadow stolen, it must have been this guy” he gasps
“And implanted into the samurai” Nami guesses “That’s what the shadow man was saying, he was going to use Luffy’s shadow to revive something, so maybe all the zombies were made that way”
“Good point, explains why the penguin dog acted like Sanji, given he did say they’re already captured him and Zoro” Usopp nods, then the 3 drop back into Kumase to hide as Perona starts verbally abusing him again (Poor thing)
“This little shadow is the next step on my journey to becoming King of the Pirates, right Dr?” Moria asks, grinning widely
“Fosfosfos, over the last 10 years I’ve put all my skills and energy into making no.900 the perfect marionette. With that particular shadow he will be the ultimate zombie, nothing will stand in your way!”
“Yeees, no matter who the person is, how strong they are or how strong willed the are, once their shadow is taken and placed within another they are nothing but a slave to your will” Moria croons “If I’d have soldiers like this I’d never have been beaten by that dragon bastard Kaido in the New World all those years ago. Boys, open the special refrigerator, it’s time for the main event” he commands of his zombie servants
“Yes master” they squeak before running off, just as 2 spidermice drop down behind Absolom
“Ah, there you are, take Straw Hat’s body and toss him back on his ship, remove the webs though, it’d be a problem if he dies before the operation is complete”
“Yes sir” one salutes
“Also an urgent message was sent. Just moments ago, the Spidermonkey Captain Tararan was defeated”
“Defeated?” Absolom repeats, that shouldn’t be possible, zombies never tire, never lose, they keep going until they overwhelm the enemy “Well it doesn’t matter as long as his shadow wasn’t removed”
“But that’s the problem, it was removed!” the spidermouse screams
“What!?” Absolom growls, while an eavesdropping Hogback squeaks “You’re certain it was removed”
“Yes master absolom”
“It’s him Absolom, he’s the only one who could have done it” Hogback whimpers
“Damn that humming swordsman” the ivisoperv scowls
“He’s cutting down and removing every zombie’s shadow that crosses his path, the casualties are immense, getting close to the incident 5 years ago”
Outside
“Wait, why are we going back to the ship?” Alvida asks
“Well, given the shadows have most likely already been removed from your comrades,their bodies will most likely be taken back to the boat. The good news is that they’re not dead, they’ll just be like me… the no reflection or shadow part” he quickly adds as a few of them were about to point out the whole ‘skeleton’ thing not exactly proof of survival
“So shadow removal isn’t fatal, good to know” Vivi sighs in relief
“Yep, thought the ordeal does make you very weak and pass out, usually for 2 days or so” Brook continues “If the body is strong enough they’ll send the bodies adrift in the sea, can anyone guess why?”
“So you can’t get your shadow back by doing whatever you did to kill the spidermonkey and release the shadow” Victor guesses
“Why not just kill them during that 2 day period, seems pretty stupid” Franky thinks aloud
“They can’t, even though they are physically separated they are still linked, the death of the body will kill the shadow and in turn the zombie it is piloting” Brook explains
“Makes sense, it’s how I summoned Greed, using the shadow in the zombie as a connection point to the actual sacrifice” Valentina mutters, getting a smirk from the Edo Tensei
“My point is, that you all must avoid losing your own shadows, or you’ll be forced to wander aimlessly within this eerie blackness forever, or else be consumed by sunlight” Brook warns “once you return to the ship you must find a way to reawaken your companions, the formulate a plan to retrieve their shadows”
“And yours” Artemis adds
“That’s sweet little one, but your crewmates are the priority” Brooks hums, but smiles at the young artist “Oh and before I forget, take this” he says, passing to small bags to Alvida and Vivi “It’s the zombie’s one weakness, that I’m aware of. You’ve seen it’s effectiveness against that spidermonkey” he chuckles
“What is it? And do you have any more?” Franky asks
“It’s ordinary salt” Brook answers
“WHAT!”
“Yes. It’s actually rather interesting. You see it’s probably already rather obvious but these zombies have all been reanimated with a Devil fruit. Now a fruit eater is weakened by sea water, and the salt contained within is enough to weaken the bonds between the shadow and it’s host” the skeleton elaborates
“Interesting, except it’s not sea water, it’s any standing water that weakens a Devil Fruit user” Robin corrects
“Salt still kills the zombies though, which is the main point of my explanation” Brook says with a nod “To defeat them just throw salt in their mouths, or just get the stuff inside them somehow, and it should do the rest all by itself”
“By the way, how do you know so much about this island and the zombies, including their weaknesses?” Robin adds, Brook turning somber
“That’s, due to an incident that occurred 5 years ago, when I lost my shadow and was cast adrift. Luckily I was able to retrace my steps and return. Once I did, I stepped ashore and began my battle, I fought against the very zombie which was revived by my shadow, the samurai Ryuma. Unfortunately the outcome was a crushing defeat on my part, his more solid form able to attack with stronger versions of my own attacks, coupled with his own original swordstyles, I never stood a chance. Because I made a vow to survive at all costs, I ran, even if it was shameful I had to keep living. I had an obligation, as the only survivor of my crew, to keep the Rumbar pirates alive, through me. One day, I will escape this cursed sea and make good on my promise, so I refuse to die a 2nd time. Sadly, living longer has not made my promise any easier to keep, as I’m still trapped in this foggy void. But this is different, I refuse to back down, I won’t run away, I won’t leave this island until I have my shadow returned to me” There were, unsettling noises that followed, worrying the straw hats, then they just stop “I’ll be seeing you sometime soon, best get moving” he hums
“Hold it” Vivi shouts, the skeleton turning to look at them
Back with the mysterious 4
“That damn humming swordsman” Hogback scowls “Undoing all my glorious work. He’s the only enemy we have who knows the zombies weakness” he moans
“So, what does this swordsman look like?” Perona asks curiously, surprising Absolom
“Perona you don’t mean, you’ve never seen him? That must have been how he slipped through your ghost network
The ghost girl shrugs “Must have been”
Absolom sighs “Master Moria, that humming pain in the ass from 5 years ago is back”
“Do I look like I care, don’t bother me with that trivial sh*te again” he grunts “You deal with it” he calls back before thumping his way to storage facility 900.
“Damn, this is going to be annoying. Boys, get straw hat on the boat, and keep me posted on any more developments, understand?”
“Yes sir” the spidermice chorus, scuttling away with Luffy’s body, to the horror of the three straw hats in the room
Somewhere in the building
Brook hums Bink’s Brew as he casually walks down a hallway, unimpressed by the Surprise Zombies that leaned out to try attack him, his cane sword making short work of them, and the salt releasing all their shadows so they wouldn’t be warning anyone else of his whereabouts. As the last zombie drops, he sprints to the stairway in a panic
“That was scary, but I have to keep going, I won’t back down, I won’t run away again” Brook thinks aloud as he begins to climb the stairs, psyching himself up in the process “This time, I’m taking back my shadow”
Storage freezer
“Kishishishi” Moria laughs as he plods his way towards his destination, Luffy’s shadow still squirming in his grasp
“It is quite fascinating, when I uncovered this specimen in the land of Ice I couldn’t stop shaking, just imagining what it would have been like to see this monster alive and roaming around only 500 years ago” Hogback blathers on enthusiastically, his companions much less interested, partly due to the cold “The countries that fell at his hands, literally taken by force, how lucky we are to have found the ‘Continent Puller’ himself. This will be my greatest achievement yet!”
“Yes my good Doctor, another legend is about to have new life breathe into it Kishishi” Moria agrees as the final doors open, grinning madly “It’s been quite a while hasn’t it 900” he says as Nami, Usopp and Chopper peek out of Kumase, terror on their faces as they see the massive demon of a giant’s corpse “Look upon the only person powerful and destructive enough to be given the name Devil. This. Is. OARS!” he bellows/announces
With his announcement made, Moria uses the chains binding Oars to the chamber as a bridge, slowly approaching the body that will soon be his Magnum Opis, thanks to Luffy’s shadow “Just as energetic as your former master little shadow” he chuckles as the thing continues to squirm, bringing it up to eye level “But I am your new master, so forget about that old life as I now control your future. But I’m a fair ruler, I’m about to give you both voice and form as I remake you as my undead minion, my perfect zombie. Have we an understanding?” he grins as the shadow relaxes “Contract complete” he laughs
“See Shindrey, you’re supposed to lose all remnants of your former life when you enter the corpse you’re placed into. So with that in mind we should be able to eat off plates true?” Hogback asks, trying to nudge her along
“Say that again and the next plates I break are the ones in your knees” despite the flat monotone the ice could still be felt piercing his heart
Absolom sighs “Shindrey is way too harsh on Dr. Hogback. Dr. Harshback”
“Now, your 500 year slumber ends tonight, awaken!” Moria commands, slamming down his hand containing Luffy’s shadow against Oar’s chest, watching with giddy amusem*nt as the flesh ripples like water as the shadow is absorbed, Moria walking back the way he came as the shadow settled within his newest minion.
“It went in, that’s already better than the previous attempts” Absolom thinks aloud, getting a ‘hm’ of agreement from Perona.
Then the entire facility began to rumble and shake, the ice cracking and flaking off the giant zombie’s body as he began to twitch and return to life, then his eye opens with a snap
“It’s awake” the trio scream, falling out of Kumase in shock and hitting the cold ground with a thump, getting everyone’s attention
“What the, how did you get here?” Moria hisses
“Kumase, did you help these pirates? Answer me!” Perona screams at the frightened teddy bear
“There you are my bride, but why are you in here?” Absolom wonders aloud, the 3 shuffle back only to be stopped by the 3 smaller zombies.
Of course all of this was put on the backburner when the chains snapped like glass and Oars stood up, the zombie now fully active despite it’s multiple centuries of slumber.
“It is just as wonderful as I expected” Hogback boasts, not understanding Shindrey’s sidestep until a piece of ice lands on him, pinning him to the ground, though she’s once more back in place a moment later “Truly a masterpiece isn’t he Master Moria?”
Oars stares blankly for a moment, then bellows “MEAT!!!!!!!” at a level which gave Moria chills, inverted Perona’s umbrella and sent the mini zombies flying, though the shockwaves did spread throughout the castle “I’M HUNGRY!!” the wind pressure increases, Perona now only remaining grounded by Kumase, while the 3 straw hats were basically praying they didn’t fly off like those goons. Shindry was probably the one person who was safe, already against the wall, with a block of ice and Dr. Hogback separating her from said wall. Whether it was lucky, or not, they couldn’t remain grounded forever and the 3 were thrown away, though the moment they stopped tumbling the trio were already on their feet and running like the massive zombie was chasing them instead of just demanding to be fed.
“Hang on a minute, where’s my bride?” Absolom asks, as his brain only has one setting: Horny, and as such was mostly uninterested in the giant zombie
“She ran away, all the pirates did” one of the zombies shout “They ran really fast, can’t catch them”
Absolom growls before giving chase, the red head would be HIS, whether she wants to or not.
“SANJI GIVE ME FOOD!” Oars bellows “WAIT, WHO’S SANJI? That’s weird” the giant zombie wonders aloud
Down the hall
“Anyone want to explain what we just saw?” Usopp asks as the 3 run
“Luffy’s shadow entered that thing and then it woke up” Chopper summarises
“Proving what I guessed earlier, that all the zombies were made using shadows, like Brooks in the samurai and Sanji’s in the penguin dog” Nami says with a hint of pride under all that fear
“They did it, they actually brought the dead back to life” Chopper squeaks and squirms
“Not exactly, it’s not the same person, more a weird fusion of the original body and the shadow’s owner” Usopp corrects and grimaces when he sees something crack and break in the little guy
“They’re not trying to help people, those bastards in there are just playing God, using anyone they get their grubby hands on as playthings. It’s sick and wrong and we can’t let it continue!” Chopper shouts in anger
“While I agree this island is f*cked in ways I can’t even describe, we need to worry about ourselves and the rest of the crew first. If it helps, remember we will need to take back Luffy, Sanji and Brook’s shadows eventually, we can tear this whole island apart on the way” Nami says, trying to sooth an anger which would get them nowhere fast. Not extinguishing, but trying to put it on pause until a suitable target was in sight, as well as give the Doc’s brain a well needed reboot to ensure it was running at full power.
“We can start by taking back Luffy’s body, they said they were taking him back to the ship so that has to be the Sunny right?” Usopp brainstorms
“And if Zoro and Sanji also got shadownapped they might be on the ship too” Chopper contributes, back to normal for the moment.
This moment of calm was broken as both Chopper and Usopp were caught in large fireballs, taking them out of commission for the moment. Nami freezes as she watches them fall, collapsing in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, not needing to look behind her to know Inviso-perv was right there, and was the one to hurt her friends, though the arm around her neck was a confirmation
“Well boys, say goodbye to this sexy little thing, because tonight she goes off the menu because I’m about to marry her” Absolom says as he licks his lips hungrily, Nami squirming and flailing uselessly
“Damn it, if I can’t save one person” Usopp wheezes as he pulls himself to his feet using his Kabuto “Then I can’t call myself a man!” he shouts, pulling back the slingshot before firing..
6 chamber Pit Viper star
Absolom chuckles as the projectiles are fired, then both him and Nami fade away, the attack just barely missing where they’d previously been standing
“Crap, he can make Nami invisible too” Usopp curses, mostly at himself for not taking Absolom out before he’d captured her
“I can smell them, but it’s not strong enough for me to locate them” Chopper says sadly
“Bwhahaha, attack my zombie minions, bring their shadows to Master Moria!” Absolom commands, unleashing the hoard upon the remaining 2 straw hats. Chopper and Usopp tried, but they were completely outmatched, outgunned, and severely weakened from Absolom’s attack just a few minutes prior
“This is the end Chopper” the sniper cries
“But I don’t wanna lose my shadow, or become a zombie” Chopper whimpers
Thump
“Hm?” the zombies turn to the sound as several zombies hit the ground, some with arrows sticking out of their skulls, others their throat slit, all with their shadows escaping their mouths like demonic tadpoles “They’re, being purified” One gasps, before his mouth is forced open with a bloomed hand and a cube of salt shoved down his throat, the his shadow being puked out a moment later
“Hey guys, did we miss much?” Franky asks, manhandling another zombie so he could purify it
“Did you know zombies are deathly allergic to salt?” Artemis jokes, at least Valentina found it funny given she was giggling as she drops down, a salt covered kunai stabbing through the zombie’s skull before releasing its shadow.
“I’d like you to get your hands off our sniper and doctor now” Vivi commands in a cold tone “Otherwise…” a syrup bullet hits a zombie in the chest, then opens like a flower releasing the salt within and purifying the zombie “...well, I think you can guess what’s about to happen”
“They know our secret! Who are these people?” one zombie shouts in panic
“2, damn it seems we lost Nami” Franky frowns, they were really not doing a good job with sticking together or rescues these days
“Don’t worry, we should have no trouble rescuing her” Robin assures him with a smile “Right you 2?”
TBC
LW: And now they can fight back! Salt for everyone. Still down a couple crewmates but at least the gang is mostly back together, right?
By the way, I presume Moria meant the only pirate with the epithet of ‘Devil’ as Robin’s been known as ‘Devil’s Child’ her entire time in the series, because she was part of the ‘Devils of Ohara’ as an archaeologist studying the poneglyphs.
Speaking of, happy belated birthday to Nico Robin, who’s birthday was the 6th of February, as in, Saturday just past.
See you all in 2 weeks, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Bye
Chapter 92: The last of the Rumbar, Brook's friend Laboon
Chapter Text
LW: Bit of a shorter one than usual this time, I blame all the flashbacks/recall scenes in this block. Eh, stuff will probably be happening next time, so hold on till then and enjoy
Rubber King and Mirror Master - The last of the Rumbar, Brook’s friend Laboon
“Yohohhohoho, you just don’t know when to quit do you?” the zombie samurai chuckles as Brook enters the room
“I won’t, not as long as you have what belongs to me I’ll never give up, never stop trying to get it back” Brook declares
Ryuma slams his sword sharply against the ground “Don’t you remember who I am, as well as what happened last time we did this dance? I am Ryuma of Wano, people feared my very name”
“You are nothing more than my shadow in a puppet” Brook argues back “And once I’ve put that body to rest we will once more be whole again
Ryuma chuckles “Come and get me you bag of bones, but remember, this body, is stronger than yours” then he lunges
Elsewhere
“Damn it, I can’t believe someone other than that humming swordsman knows our weakness” one zombie complains, seeing the heaps of purified brethren as the straw hats run off.
“So these stairs should lead to where they offload deshadowed pirates” Robin explains to the reunited duo as they pick up the pace “Hopefully that means our friends will all be there when we arrive”
“This is the same direction those spider mice dragged Luffy, so I’m going to guess that’s right” Usopp nods “We were already heading this way up until Nami got kidnapped”
“I hope she’s ok, it doesn’t feel right abandoning her like this” Chopper groans
“She’ll be fine, there’s no point in kidnaping her the way they did, if they were simply going to maim or kill her” Vivi assures him, as a royal she was familiar with ransoms and kidnapings even if just in theory
“The invisible f*ckstick said she was his bride correct?” Valentina asks “So that there is proof she’ll remain in good health and condition… at least for the moment”
“I doubt someone like that would be willing to wait until the wedding night to satisfy himself” Greed hums, getting a jab to the ribs from the blond “Apologies, thinking out loud”
“I know we’re all worried about Nami, but the best thing we can do is regroup at the Sunny, wake the others and then rescue her while seeking out and retrieving the stolen shadows” Franky declares, getting the crew back in focus.
“By the way, how did you manage to fight those zombies back there, by their very nature you shouldn’t be able to take them down” Usopp asks
“Turns out the skeleton man knew their secret weakness: Salt” Kaya explains “Get it inside them and it causes the shadow to be ejected. No shadow, no zombie simple as”
“Oh, and seeing as it came from the same direction as you guys, do you know what that roar was earlier, nearly brought some of use to our knees from the shaking the building was doing” Avlida asks
Usopp grimaces “That roar, was Luffy. Or I guess you could say his shadow” at the looks he was getting from the others he sighs “I’ll explain later, but you guys aren’t going to like it”
“What’s another set back in all this bullsh*t?” Robin asks with a half smile, but it looked more forced than usual
“Well to put things bluntly… Luffy’s shadow was put into some kind of giant horned demon zombie and it woke him up” Usopp blurts out
“WHAT!!!!!”
BOOM
Elsewhere
“This room is tiny and stupid, I’m going for a walk” Oars growls before punching the wall, causing it to explode outwards with and throw the other zombies back
“Holy, how is he that powerful?” they all scream
“Weird, I thought my arm was gonna stretch for a minute there, oh well” Oars shrugs his overdeveloped shoulders and jumps out of the hole he just made and lands in the forest with a thump “I’m going to be KING OF THE PIRATES!!!!!” he roars the sound echoing through the island/ship/thing
‘Well sh*t’ Kaos thinks, pinching the bridge of his nose and adjusting his shades ‘As if this wasn’t enough of a hassle with the shadow thief, now we have an Uberzombie. Guess I should just be glad it’s not a Gravemind or Brother Moon’ he groans but continues moving through the facility, stopping in confusion when he senses the others leave the castle “Hm, wonder what that’s all about”
Back with Brook and Ryuma
“I already know how this will go” Ryuma scoffs as he begins slowly pacing “You talk big, but I’ll have you begging for mercy in minutes, screaming ‘not the afro, anything but the afro’ it’s pathetic”
“You’re wrong!” Brook shouts, swinging his cane at the samuri “This time it’s different, I either leave with my shadow, or I die here and we both pass on” he unsheathes his blade and rushes at the zombie who parried and counters, knowing every move Brook was capable of but with a more sturdy body he had no trouble avoiding the strikes, but being a skeleton made Brook a little faster, and both begin to attack with blinding speed though minimal damage “During these past 5 years I’ve thought of nothing else but this moment, my second chance. And I’ve trained to be stronger” he shouts as he locks blades with Ryuma
With the others
“So, that crash must have been the giant you mentioned” Victor presumes, the crew having sped up since the revelation, a sense of urgency increasing within them
“Yeah, same with the yell. Sounds like Luffy’s shadow got bored and wanted to explore Thriller Bark Kyahaha” Valentina laughs, finding the statement to oddly enough fit with their captain, even his shadow was crazy strong.
“Doesn’t do us much good though, I get the feeling a giant zombie will need more than a fist full of salt to take down” Vivi says with a grimace, Alvida nodding beside her
“We’ll worry about that later, reuniting with the others and rescuing Nami are the primary objectives, then we can deal with collecting the shadows” Robin argues
“Hey look, I can see the Sunny from here, we’ve almost made it!” Kaya cheers, looking forward to a moment of respite after all this, even if they were going to have to go zombie hunting again in the very near future
A few minutes later
“We’ve been f*cking robbed. Damn it we should have seen that coming” Alvida shouts, hand clenching and unclenching on the handle of her mace
“Well they are still pirates, and they want you to drift to your demise so the less resources you have in that situation the better” Robin explains
“Well, add get all our sh*t back to the list, Nami will make it the number 1 priority once we do rescue her” Valentina hums
“Sad but true” Artemis chuckles
Quack
“Carue!” Vivi screams running over to the duck and hugging it “Where did you run off to girl?”
Quack
“She says she got scared of all the zombies and decided to hide on the ship… then the zombies came to the ship” Chopper translates sadly, then perks up “But she says she knows where the others are”
“Lead the way duckie!” Franky commands, grinning widely as she leads them to the dining room where the 3 had been propped up and adjusted by the zombies (mostly for their own amusem*nt) in 3 chairs
“Should we, you know?” Victor waves his hands in their direction
“Fix them? Probably, though it would be funny to see how they react to their new looks” Valentina chuckles alongside Greed
“So, anyone know how to wake them up?” Kaya asks
Slam!
“Well, that didn’t work” Alvida huffs, having decided to hit the trio with a baseball swing, which besides embedding Luffy in the wall did nothing
“Whelp I’m out of ideas, well besides the bazooka” Franky thinks aloud, only for Vivi’s wires, Robin’s blooms and Kaya’s syrup to restrain his arms and keep them pointed down “Hey”
“We’re not shooting high explosives at our crewmates” Vivi shouts
“Especially not while in the ship” Robin adds on a more practical level, believing at least Luffy would have walked away from it unharmed
“I may have a pacifist solution to our problem” Usopp says stepping in front of Franky “Time to use my secret technique”
“Run away?” Artemis asks rhetorically
“There’s a beautiful swordswoman with a plate full of meat on deck right this minute!!!” he bellows, the crew watch in silence as the 3 shudder and twitch before rising to their knees robotically
“Lady?”
“With Meat?”
“And swords?”
‘That actually worked?’ everything thought, shocked that it had been that easy in the end, they really need to stop underestimating Usopp when it came to unorthodox solutions.
Absolom’s domain
“Damn it I didn’t think he’d notice me, but damn a 95/55/85, talk about a stunner” the ivisoperv swoons, then notices the zombie priest standing outside the doorway he’d just vacated “What are you doing standing around, go get the zombie generals here for the ceremony”
“Yes master” the elderly looking zombie croaks and runs off, slamming into a reptilian looking creature and falling over before getting back up and running off again
‘There she is, of course you’d be the one to get kidnapped Nami. Don’t know if I should rescue you, or wait for our pervert to save you from this pervert. Eh I’ll wait and see, by the sound of things you’re not technically in danger right now so I have time to plan, and see if stealth is even an option’ A tongue flicks past pointed teeth, which turn to a smirk as it turned out he was right
Back on the Sunny
Luffy blinks awake then leaps to attack, only to be knocked back down by Alvida and Franky “Calm down Luffy, we’re on the Sunny, we’ll get all your shadows back soon you just need to hold on” the smooth woman assures him
“Ok. Wait a minute who wrecked the place?” Luffy wonders aloud
“Yeah, seems the zombies looted the ship while we were gone, pain in the ass really” Valentina answers with a sigh
“Did they get the food?”
“Probably, there are 4 living humans on the island as well as who knows how many zombies” Kaya agrees
“I let my guard down, and I f*cked up big time” Zoro mutters, now sitting in a depressive spiral even without the help of Perona’s Hollows.
“Wait a minute, where’s Nami? Is she out on the deck or something?” Sanji asks, causing Usopp and Chopper to panic, setting off red flags and getting Sanji right in the sniper’s face… until Greed grabs him and pulls him back “Hey, let me go you tar coated freak” the cook yells and flails, the Edo Tensei rolls his eyes and turns to Val who shrugs
“Nami got kidnapped by a guy who can turn invisible, he vanished with her just before we got swarmed by zombies!” Usopp shouts to defend himself
“You didn’t try hard enough, you 2 bozo’s were meant to protect her with your lives while I wasn’t there” Sanji retorts, until getting a slap across the face
“Sanji… calm the f*ck down!” Kaya shouts in his face, syrup tendrils wrapping around his throat “Nami’s missing, she was even before we ran into Usopp and Chopper. By the sound of things Ivisoperv wants to marry and then f*ck her, meaning she’s still alive and most likely undamaged. We have time to save her, YOU have time to save her” the medic says flatly, waiting for the gears to turn in Sanji’s head and him to relax, even just slightly.
“So, want to fill us in on what’s happened since we got shadowsnatched, besides Nami being kidnapped I mean?” Zoro asked, returning to the conversation and reality after a little moping
When the recap was done Luffy started to complain about his shadow getting to do all the fun stuff now it was inside a giant monster, while Chopper and Usopp cried and huddled together, now aware they were facing another Warlord. Zoro was curious as to which zombies his and Sanji’s shadows had been put in, as they already knew where Luffy’s was, and a few of the others were now wondering how to reattach the shadows to their owners once they had purified their crewmate’s zombie counterparts.
“Wait, if these shadows act just like their original owners, then we saw Zoro’s shadow already, back before I got captured” Luffy realises
“Really? What did he look like?”
“A bit like you, but with wooden clogs and a toothbrush moustache” Luffy describes unhelpfully, getting a shrug from the swordsman
“So, Mr clogs, a dog penguin and the giant are the vessels for our crewmate’s shadows” Robin summarizes
“And the samurai, he has Brook’s shadow” Chopper adds
“So we just need to get salt in these f*ckers and we’re home free, kyahahaha” Valentina laughs
“It’s really cool you guys figured out how to beat the zombies… how did you find out by the way?” Luffy asks
“It was actually the skeleton who told us, and demonstrated by using it to kill that massive spidermonkey zombie” Victor answers
“Oh, so you guys ran into Brook again, that’s cool”
“Yeah, but I feel like an asshole because of a rather, personal question I asked him” Franky says with a sigh “That guy kept going for over 50 years, just to keep a promise to return to a damn whale” he sniffles, gears turning in the rubber boy’s head
“Brook, is the last member of the crew that left Laboon at the base of Reverse Mountain with Crocus, promising to return to him soon enough, only they didn’t, because they all died” he says as it all clicks together
“Correct” Kaya nods, having been one of the few to have been there both for the meeting with the whale when they entered the Grand Line, and hearing the story from Brook’s side
“Well I’ll be damned” Sanji sighs, puffing on his cigarette
“This can’t be just a coincidence, can it?” Usopp wonders aloud
“I’m really confused, what’s going on?” Chopper asks, about half the crew similarly lost
“When we entered the Grand Line, there was a massive Island Whale hammering the Red Line. His name was Laboon and he’s been waiting for his companions to return for 50 years” Luffy chuckles bitterly “We made a similar promise when we left him, meaning we have another reason to bring Brook along with us on this adventure: So we can ALL reunite with Laboon!”
Vivi stayed silent, shame filling her for trying to kill the whale, even if it was to try keep the island she’d been stationed on fed. Sensing the negative aura Luffy pulled her into his arms, letting her whimper against his chest.
“Sorry to ask, but are you sure this is the same Laboon?” Robin asks curiously
“It has to, that old fart Crocus said he’d been left their by a pirate crew that promised they’d come back, made Luffy and Kaos pretty mad that he kept trying to convince the poor thing that his friends had abandoned him, not even that they’d died while on the Grand Line but straight up decided to never come back at all” Alvida confirms “Besides, how many West Blue Island whales do you think there are out there named Laboon, sitting around for 50+ years for a reunion with a bunch of pirates? The answer, is one”
“Fair point” the archaeologist says with a shrug and a light chuckle
“Even now I can’t believe those two headcases managed to get him to stop trying to tear down the Red Line with his head like some kind of suicidal idiot” Sanji mutters to himself “But, he’s still out there, waiting, just like Brook hoped he was”
“Waiting for his friends at the Cape for over 50 years, that’s dedication, and heart” Usopp agrees while he works on something, Kaya nodding alongside him
“And to think, we ran into the last of Laboon’s crew, by sheer coincidence and dumb f*cking luck” Zoro says with a scoff and a low chuckle, the universe does love f*cking with people “Wonder what that bag of bones is up to right now, maybe he’s already found his shadow” he muses
Speaking of Brook...
“I’ll admit you have gotten stronger since we last fought 5 years ago” Ryuma notes as he clashes with Brook “But so have I” he shouts, swinging and knocking Brook’s hat off, then going for a stab “And I know every move you’re going to make” he declares as Brook bounces off the wall in pain “Yhohohhohoho, seems even after all these years you're still the same idiot, protecting that afro more than the skull beneath it, even though it’s the biggest target on the bony body of yours” he laughs/scolds
“Shut up!” Brook screams before leaping forward swinging as he did and the clashes began again
‘Laboon my old friend, I wonder if you still remember me, after all this time. Would you recognizeme even if I somehow managed to return to you? When I think about how alone you must have been, stuck waiting for us for so long, my heart shatters like glass in my chest’ he thinks, then squeaks as Ryuma’s sword slips in what should have been a fatal stab to the chest ‘Though… I suppose I don’t really have a heart anymore’ “Yohohohoho!” escapes his skull like a battle cry as he keeps fighting, knowing this time he wouldn’t let Moria keep his shadow any longer ‘The Grand Line is so fearsome, believe me I tried everything I could to bring them back to you, but all our friends have passed away. It’s just us now’ he thinks as Ryuma’s sword slices through what should have been his right eye and cheek, leaving a deep crack though that portion of his facial bone as well as removing a tooth, Brook leaping back but slides to his knees, panting deeply ‘I’ve lost my friends, my face, my body, my shadow, everything I was back then fallen through my hands like sand’ he dodges a leap from Ryuma and the two lock blades, the shadow causing them to both share the same laugh as they fought to overpower the other ‘I have nothing left but the hair still clinging to my head, this Afro: Black, round and funny, just like you Laboon. I must protect the last reminder of the man you knew, the friend, the brother. I hope you’re still there, because I will find a way to return to you old friend, somehow.’ Unfortunately things were not to be, as Ryuma cuts him down
TBC
LW: Poor Brook, poor Laboon, but at least now the crew have a long term goal to work towards, reunite the last 2 members of the Rumbar Pirates.
Chapter 93: Straw Hats Vs Mysterious 4: Setting the stage
Chapter Text
LW: Alright, no more hiding, time to bring the battle to the bastards!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs Mysterious 4, Setting the stage
“So, now we have our musician, let’s go save him and Nami, then kick the onion man’s ass to get back our shadows” Luffy declares in captain mode “Counter attack go! Oh and if anyone sees Kaos tell him the plan ok?” he adds, realizing he hadn’t seen his brother since before entering the mansion
“Get on with it, we’re kind of on a timer aren’t we?” Zoro asks, already having jumped off the ship
“I need to rescue Nami before she gets married or loses her virginity!” Sanji declares as he jumps off in a miniature fireball
“How do we know she didn’t already?” Valentina mutters lowly, getting a chuckle from those who could hear her
“This isn’t going to be as plain sailing as we’d like, after all with all the zombies around what are the odds we run into the ones containing Sanji, Zoro or Brook’s shadows?” Alvida asks
“Not to mention Luffy’s is in a giant monster, he’s like 6 times larger than any giant I’ve ever seen and even more deadly” Chopper whines
“Plus he has all Luffy’s fighting abilities” Usopp adds
“Who cares” Oddly enough both Zoro and Luffy said this, though for different reasons, the swordsman because this was something they HAD to do, so there was no point complaining about it, and Luffy, well because he knew a lot of his actual moves required his devil fruit to actually be effective, so his zombie was actually less combat effective than if he’d been given say Sanji’s shadow.
“Plus we don’t need to fight and beat those zombies, we just have to take down Gecko Moria. Once we beat the shadowman all his zombie puppets will fall to the ground with their strings cut” Luffy states bluntly, the others finding the plan to have merit as he had a point, most devil fruits with effects that went beyond the user tended to cut off if their wielder was rendered unconscious, why wouldn’t Moria’s?
“That’s actually a well thought out plan, besides the fact he’s a Warlord, and therefore no pushover” Victor notes
“True, but he’s just sitting up there on his fat ass, practically screaming for me to kick it. And without a shadow of my own, he can’t do anything to me. Now finding the zombies and dealing with Moria and his underlings are a big deal, so… Sanji you’re on Nami duty” he commands, the cook jumping for joy yelling something about the power of love
“Is now a bad time to tell him the Invisible man also peeked on and potentially molested her in the bath?” Usopp asks Vivi, but not far enough to avoid being overheard by Sanji, who promptly burst into flames
“sh*t, blondie’s going to go Super Saiyan if we add any more fuel to the fire” Valentina laughs nervously
“I’ll tag along with Sanji, it’s partly my fault he got the jump on us and took Nami, plus I’d rather fight him than Moria” Usopp admits, volunteering
“I believe that would be the best place for us to go as well” Robin offers, getting a nod from Artemis as she takes Chopper’s place beside her
“Personally, I want to check up on our skelebro, see if I can help retrieve his shadow. Sure if Luffy beats Moria beforehand it won’t matter, but just in case I want to provide backup for our newest member” Franky states
“Same here, plus I want to see just how good Moria’s samurai is, is he even worth the title” Zoro says with a chuckle
“I’m game, any reason to break something from Wano” Valentina grins, Greed joining in
“I really don’t like this, don’t you remember Moria is one of the Shikabucki?” Chopper asks
Luffy shrugs “Yeah, so what? So was Crocodile and I kicked his ass”
“Yeah and nearly died multiple times in the process!” Chopper screams
“Well this time I won’t die, he needs me alive so his giant zombie has a shadow, therefore I already enter the battle with a slight advantage” Luffy explains “So, everyone else sticking with me then?” he asks, getting nods from everyone, even the 2 medics
“Hey, before you go, take these” Usopp says, tossing them small sacks “They’re zombie death salt balls, or at least that’s the name I’m going to use for them”
“Hm, so this is what you were working on while we were talking” Robin muses
“And one last thing, we need to be careful, sure Thriller bark is heavily forested in parts, but we can’t guarantee we’ll be safe from the sunlight at all times, only reason some of us are still alive is because it’s nighttime. So to put it simply, sunrise is our literal deadline for completing the mission, everyone understand?”
“Yep, kick Moria’s ass and leave by dawn. Now give me back our food!” Luffy shouts like a battle cry, leading the charge to the amusem*nt of several of his crewmates, and eyerolls from the others
With the Moria/Nami teams
“I’m starting to think we aren’t actually needed here” Kaya hums as Luffy and Sanji punch and kick their way through the hoard, the others walking behind them at a reasonable pace
“Yeah, seems they don’t even need the salt, the anger is serving them just fine” Usopp agrees
“Might be a good idea to keep the salt on hand regardless, these seem to be basic cannon fodder zombies, not a heavy hitter like I presume our crewmates or Brook’s shadows would be held within” Robin notes “Those won’t simply go down this easily, we’ll definitely need to purify them in order to deal with them, as well as the fact it’s probably the only way we’re going to get back those shadows”
“True, but it seems at the moment at least that Moria is going for quantity over qual...sh*t” Vivi hisses, the ‘ghosts’ from before returning and passing through Luffy and Sanji, dropping the 2 to their knees in the middle of zombie territory
“What just happened?” Chopper screams
“One of Moria’s minions, they produce these ghosts which as far as we can tell, induce depression or something close to it, amplifying negative emotions to uncontainable levels” Robin explains
“Where’s Kaos to bitchslap someone when you need him?” Alvida sighs, confusing Usopp and Chopper even more than they already were
“Complain later, rescue now” Victor grunts, firing nose fancy at the zombies holding Luffy and Sanji, then with help from Chopper hoist the 2 broken men and lead the charge before the ghosts could turn their attention to them all.
“Guys, those ghosts are getting closer” Vivi shouts as the negative hollows were flying faster than the zombies could run, closing in on the straw hats. Luckily the universe was on their side, sort of, as Oars crashed through the staircase they were running up, destroying it and getting rid of the zombies and hollows, but also splitting up the crew, Robin, Chopper, Artemis and Vivi with Luffy, while Usopp, Alvida, Kaya and Victor were with Sanji.
“Please be ok” Chopper wishes aloud, then gets bumped by a once more awake Luffy who’s really confused as to what the hell happened while he was spiralling
“Something crashed through the staircase, sent all the zombies, ghosts and the rest of the team down to join Zoro’s group on the ground floor” Artemis explains
On the ground floor
“They’re still twitching, I’m sure they’re fine” Zoro says with a shrug, referring to Usopp and Sanji, who the others had landed on and broke their fall “Besides we have bigger problems, this big pink wall for one thing”
“Yeah, it’s really weird, we should probably demo our way through it pronto” Franky agrees
“Hm, not made of stone” the swordsman notes, stabbing it and the blade sliding through pretty easily
“And the explosions didn’t even make a dent” Victor scowls “Got anything stronger in their Franky?”
“What are you guys doing!!!?” Usopp bellows, having finally come to
“Trying to get through this pink fleshy wall” Zoro explains casually
“You idiot that’s not a wall, that’s the giant zombie Luffy’s shadow is controlling!” the pirates look up and yep that’s a giant demon zombie
“Huh, think we’d have noticed the thing had a mug that ugly Kyahahaha” Valentina laughs, then sighs “So, any bright ideas?”
Upstairs
“Are you sure we should just leave them down there, it doesn’t seem right?” Chopper asks as the group run, especially now Luffy was back in action and leading the charge
“They’ll be fine, Kaya’s with them and they basically landed in the same place as Zoro’s group so they should be able to patch them up and at least make sure they’re ok” the captain explains with a glance back at the reindeer “Plus, we’re on a timer, and the sooner we find and beat up Moria the sooner we can all leave”
“Oh, that’s a good point” the doctor hums “If we keep going this way we should run into the Dance Hall place where you lost your shadow, then past that is a massive refrigerator where they were storing the giant zombie, and was the last place any of us saw Moria”
“Then we have a starting point” Vivi says with a tight smile, fidgeting with her wire gloves as they turn a corner and, while not who they were looking for did find someone responsible for their current predicament, that benign Dr. Hogback and Shindry
“Wha, I thought Perona was taking care of you pirate brats” the man gasps, his maid looking unimpressed as always
“Dr. Hogback” Chopper growls, sounding angrier than most of the crew had heard him before
“A reindeer, but why is it talking?” he wonders aloud, before it hits him
“The infamous Dr. Hogback, 3rd best doctor in the world or so I’ve heard” Robin guesses, her lip curls into a smirk when she sees the comment get under his skin
“Hey wait a minute I know this guy, he was with Moria, the cat faced weirdo and the ghost girl. I vote we kick his ass then make him tell us where Moria is!” Luffy declares, panicking the man
“Let’s not be hasty their my boy” Hogback squeaks
“No, don’t fight him Luffy. I’ve got a bone to pick with this bastard, let me fight him while you guys head through that door over there…” he points with his head to the open vault style door “...and see if Moria is still down there”
“If you’re sure, let’s go guys. Chopper has some aggression to let out” Luffy cheers then begins walking over to the door
“You brats, you can’t just ignore me and waltz into Moria. Shindry attack!” he bellows, the zombie pulling out a stack of plates from somewhere and starts throwing them at Luffy “Fosfosfosfos, how do you like that?” he cackles, until…
Seis Fleur: Clutch
Shindry’s arms are forced behind her back, the plates falling to the ground
“What?”
Robin smirks “Artemis, stay there with Vivi, Mommy has to help Chopper deal with some asshole and a zombie” she orders, the artist giving her a mock salute and a grin
“Thanks Robin, you guys stay safe ok?” Luffy calls as he rushs towards the door
“Stop running away and ignoring me!” Hogback screams, about to run after him
“Hey Hogback!” Chopper shouts, once more in his Brain Point form “You have no right to call yourself a Doctor after everything you’ve done, I’ve lost all respect I had for you” he spits
“Oh, fosfosfos, my apologies I didn’t recognise you for a moment there Doctor Chopper. Zoan type Devil fruit ay?. Well it’s not that important, nor is the how when it comes to escaping Perona’s garden as regardless of that you’ve still ended up right back here, where your shadow will soon be mine”
Chopper grits his teeth in anger “Actually, I have a better idea, I’ll make you into a marionette, maybe put one of your crewmates shadows in you later, and I’ll use our current strawhats to do it!” he grins and steps to the side as the dog penguin and zombie swordsman appear from another door
“Wait a minute, that guy looks nothing like Zoro!” Chopper complains, Robin chuckling lightly
“Now my zombies, destroy them!” Hogback orders
“So, which one do we fight first?” zombie Zoro asks
“The crappy reindeer” Zombie Sanji replies
With Luffy
“Damn it, why is this hallway so long?” Luffy complains aloud as he runs through the corridor leading to the main freezer, until finally he reaches another open door, leading to a wide open area. Stopping to take a breath he see’s it to his right, Moria, sitting on his ass looking bored, just like he said he would.
“You again” he grunts, looking as interested as Shindrey right now.
Outside
“f*ck, what are we going to do with this monster?” Franky curses, pretty much repeating his crewmates question as he thinks outloud, then along with the others jump back when it begins to move “This is way out of our league guys!”
“We’re all going to die!” Ussop screams, Kaya shaking like jello beside him, especially when the giant reaches past them to grab a massive piece of rubble, formerly the staircase above them. Despite the situation, they were reminded the shadow was Luffy’s, when he slammed the stone onto his head, as some sort of substitute for the original’s straw hat, which had Alvida chuckling.
“GREAT, NOW I LOOK LIKE THE REAL THING!” Oars bellows, turning to walk away “CAN’T BE KING OF THE PIRATES WITHOUT A COOL HAT. THAT WAS KIND OF SCARY HOW THAT BUILDING JUST FELL” he murmurs to himself as he leave, the straw hats, really confused
“Well, that was definitely Luffy’s shadow” Zoro says with a shrug before sheathing his swords
“Ok, so that was a non issue, but we still have an actual problem, how do we cross the chasm Zombie Luffy caused when he landed?” Alvida asks, walking over to a stony faced Franky
“Give me a couple minutes. Hey Vic, help a brother out will yah?” he calls, the bomber man chuckles and comes over while the rest of them strategize/mope
“And done!” the cyborg announces a few minutes later, then frowns “That railing doesn’t look quite right” he sighs
“Hey relax it’s a rush job, can’t all be perfect” Victor assures him, while the others pick their jaws off the ground seeing the 2 had made a perfectly serviceable bridge in literally a few minutes
“How?”
“There was a bunch of wood and scraps all around us, I couldn’t call myself much of a builder if I couldn’t make a halfway decent bridge out of it now could I?” he laughs
“You put a lot of detail on such a quick project” Valentina notes, running her hand along the stone railings
“Were you expecting us to half ass it Val?” Victor asks only half seriously “Builders and architects, we have a certain level of pride, if we make something we want it to be worth the effort of building, to do less spits on that pride”
“I sure ain’t complaining, it’s the same with me and food, especially for a lady, only the best comes out of my kitchen” Sanji agrees with a laugh “Anyway, let’s get across and find Nami, and our shadows!” the cook declares, the others agreeing and charging forward.
“Ok, so Moria is basically on the top floor of this place right?” Valentina asks as they push open the doors and walk in
“Pretty much, it’s why Luffy was 1st up those stairs, also it was close to where Nami was taken by the invisible guy, so seemed the best place to start looking” Usopp explains
“Hey guys, why did the haunted mansion suddenly turn into a princess’ bedroom?” Franky asks
“Well, I say we ask Vivi later if this is how a princess actually designed their room” Alvida jokes, equally confused and curious
“Miss Valentine, there are more of those spectres above us” Greed notes, the blond turning to see the ghosts lazily floating around in the air
“Well, sh*t”
“Horohorohorohoro. I was going to have the zombies capture you on the bridge but that plan clearly didn’t pan out, damn Oars has literally just woken up and he’s already giving me a headache” Perona sighs deeply, watching the straw hats from the sofa she was sitting on “So as you can probably tell, my patience is about to run dry” she finishes with a glare
“So this, is the one who’s controlling those ghost things?” Zoro asks aloud
“Given none of us have fought her yet and she still looks like she got punched in the face...I’m going to go with yes” Kaya deadpans, causing Perona to grit her teeth in anger
“I’m lost”
“Kaos’ bullsh*t fruit let him slap one of the ghosts who screamed about him somehow hitting the real her as well as not be affected by the negativity it produced” Franky explains, trying to subtly ready his weapons
“Well, he did say his fruit causes a Devil fruit’s power to rebound back on itself” Kaya pipes in “Guess that includes things that he shouldn’t even be able to interact with physically
“So, guess we’re finally going to find out what those things are now” Victor wonders aloud as Perona jumps to her feet
“Horohorohorohoro, I see you pirates are very brave, but also foolish, even those who’ve already experienced the power of my Negative Hollows” she cackles before producing smoky white bubbles from her hands, which pop and form ghosts “The Horo Horo no mi allows me to create these and other spectres, think of them as an extension of myself, that fact making them the perfect spies and sentinels, and that’s not even including that they can empty your heart an crush your spirit with a simple touch” she grins, as the straw hats scowl
“Why does such a cutie have to be the source of those creepy ghost f*ckers?” Sanji whines, getting a smack to the back of the head from Alvida
“Not important right now, bigger issue is that we can’t fight those things and I highly doubt she’s going to leave herself open to a counter attack while any of us can fight back” she argues with a grimace
“If we can’t fight them, then the only option is to retreat and find another way through the mansion to locate Brook, Nami and Moria” Victor summarizes
“I’d like to retain what little I have after the last time we ran into these guys, let’s book it!” Franky shouts, sounding the retreat, all but Zoro turning on their heels and running full speed, the swordsman standing tall in the hope he can buy them a little more time
“And now the fun begins” Perona says with a smirk
Negative Hollows
Every ghost in the room shoots forward, spearing each and everyone of the pirates before they even get further than the doorframe, the Hollow woman grinning as she watched the negativity erupt from the pirates
“Now I understand why no woman wants me while the captain and psycho have big breasted babes on their arms, I’m a worthless piece of crap”
“The stairs should have killed me, not Kuina”
“I’m just a pile of scrap, I should have stayed on that island and rusted away”
“One of these days, the explosion will finally kill me, it’s what I deserve”
“I’m nothing but a failure, I didn’t even have the courage to complete Nii-san’s ritual, so it’s no wonder I’m such a weakling”
“I’m a walking lie, the only reason they married me was because I ate a fruit that cut my weight down to a third”
“Who was I kidding leaving the village, I should have let Kuro kill me like he killed my parents”
The only people who didn’t say anything were Usopp and Greed, though the latter did fall to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, so clearly something still happened.
“That was easy” Perona chuckles, then gestures to her zombies “Capture them” the beasts compile, charging towards the prone straw hats “All that remain are the ones above us, and him” she scowls as she turns around, annoyed she hadn’t had time to hide the bruise under her makeup, not that it would have helped as it hurt even letting the pad touch her cheek.
Gattling Salt Star
‘What?’ he brain stalls as the attack was yelled, turning her head as small salt pellets fly through the air and land in her zombies mouths, anger and panic mixing as she watches the shadow tadpoles escape her minions “Who did that?” she screams, then gasps when she sees one of the pirates was standing
“That’s my crew you’re trying to manhandle, and I won’t let anyone hurt them, especially when they’re in no condition to even try fight back” Usopp says with as strong a glare as he could muster
“But how? I saw you take a Hollow to the chest just like the others, you should be crying your eyes out on the ground, not standing defiant and taking out my zombies!” Perona grits her teeth “I must have missed, hitting 9 targets isn’t exactly an easy feat, a part of me is surprised and impressed I managed to hit 8 of you. Don’t worry though, with only you as my target I CAN’T miss”
Negative Hollow
This one she KNEW got Usopp right in the gut, passing right through him and sending him reeling as it’s effects activated, only for him to stop and stand his ground “WHAT?”
“My name” he states clearly “Is Captain Usopp”
“ARH, why aren’t my attacks doing anything? Nobody should have the mental fortitude to withstand my Negative Hollows, it’s just not possible” Perona mutters, pulling at her pigtails
“Mental fortitude? It’s nothing that complicated” the sniper chuckles “I just have A NATURALLY NEGATIVE PERSONALITY!” he bellows, shocking the hollow girl
“WHAT?” Perona screams, losing her balance and falling backwards onto her butt ‘Nobody should be immune to the hollows, they empty your heart so all that’s left is the negative thoughts you usually ignore, now applified to deafening levels with nothing inside to counter them’ she thinks ‘As long as humans are alive, they always look forward, striving to get better, but this one…’ he eyes water and she sniffles “Don’t give up” she whispers, surprising Usopp, even more so when the zombies join in chanting “Don’t Give Up! Do Your Best!”
“I don’t need your pity, also isn’t this the exact opposite of what you’re supposed to be doing?” Usopp asks
“Well yeah, but someone so negative even my hollows do nothing, it’s kind of scary, I just want to make sure you haven't given up on life or something” Perona admits, looking a little awkward
“Wha, I’m not suicidal. I just know I’m the weak link of the crew, practically useless compared to everyone else. Jeez woman” Usopp huffs then turns to his downed crewmates “Come on, snap out of it, we still need to rescue Nami and the shadows, you can’t just lie there like it’s already over” he shouts, managing to end the spell of the hollows early “You all need to complete our tasks, so get moving. Against her you stand no chance, so I’ll face her as only I have the counter to her spectres” he declares loudly
“I don’t believe it” Alvida gasps
“I know, Usopp actually looks cool for once” Sanji nods, then gets a syrup fist to the back of the head
“Usopp has always been cool” Kaya huffs, slidin up to the sniper “Kick her ass for us ok Usopp” she coos, kissing his cheek and making his face turn bright red “Thanks” she grins, her cheeks a pale yellow before following the others who had already run off
“Hey wait a minute, you were supposed to beat the zombies first, get back here” Usopp whines, but gives a wave to Kaya regardless until a cough is heard right behind him, leading to him eye to eye with Perona ‘Crap’
“If my hollows won’t deal with you, I’ll just have to beat you to death, little old fashioned but it still works” she chuckles behind her hard, grinning sad*stically
Elsewhere
“Do you Absolom, take Nami as your lawfully wedded bride, to have and hold, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health?” the zombie priest asks, the ceremony fully underway
“Damn straight” Absolom replies, getting cheers from the zombie generals around him
“And do you Nami, take Absolom as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and hold, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health?” he asks
“I sure do, he’s so dreamy” one of the zombies puppeting Nami’s unconscious body replies “i mean he had his 2 incher replaced with a real horse….”
“Not the time” Absolom growls, shutting up the zombie
“Then you may now kiss the bride” the priest announces, Absolom nearly exploding with glee and arousal as he turns and steps closer to Nami, hands on her shoulders and leaning in…
“Kishishishi, what did I tell you Absolom? You can do whatever you want with the women, but only AFTER I take theri shadows”
That snaps him out of it “Master Moria!” he squeals, looking around for the onion human, confused when he only sees a few toppled generals but no Shadow Man, only a man with shades like that flamingo guy… he didn’t care who Master Moria’s co-workers were besides Boa Hanco*ck, on a scale of 1-10 that bitch is an 11. Still there was a non-zombie interrupting his wedding, he had to pay
Back with Ussop
“Nobody alive can stand up to the negative hollows, that last one must have been a dud” Perona mutters to herself, before producing several new hollows “You think you’re so tough long nose, well time for a taste of my ultimate attack
Negative Hollow: Quadruple overlay
“Holy crap, this guy took all 4 ghosts at once, and he’s still standing!” one of the zombies cheer, technically his Kabuto/slingshot was helping him to remain standing, but that was because even if they weren’t causing a mental spiral they were still oddly solid blows to the core and draining on the stamina.
Of course Usopp wasn’t the only one reeling from the Quadruple overlay… the hollows were curled up in their own depressive spirals, and Perona…
“I’m sorry I was so mean to you Kumase” she whimpers, now on her hands and knees like so many of her former victims, the bear too shocked to hear her not berate him for speaking or even breathing to respond
“Even Mistress Perona is feeling the effects, but this guy just shrugs it off, what, was he blessed by some kind of God of Negativity or Pessimism?”
“Now listen here and listen good, nobody on this great wide earth, can beat me in Negativity!” Usopp bellows, somehow making that feat sound like a pride worthy achievement, which in this exact circ*mstance it probably was as he was basically immune to Perona’s best attack.
While he would have liked to use this lul in the battle to retreat, some of the zombies noticed, causing them to charge straight at him, and in doing so were purified with his ‘Salt Star’ attack. The ‘dying’ zombies did snap Perona out of her stupor though, yelling that Usopp shouldn’t be killing her cute animal zombies, which the sniper responds by readying more salt stars “Crap it’s salt, cover your mouths!” she orders, managing to save her remaining zombies from the attack, who were no mad and ready to cave his skull in
“Damn it, why did I have to announce my attacks?” Usopp cries as he runs full speed away from the zombie hoard. (It’s cause you’re in an anime boi. Sorry)
Elsewhere
“Who knew we’d one day see Usopp’s negativity give him an advantage in a fight” Zoro says with a slight chuckle, following the group lead by Franky towards either their shadows, Gecko Moria, Brook, or Nami.
“Yeah, if he hadn’t been their we’d have all been toast, that Perona’s one scary chick” Franky agrees, then turns his head “Hey, how come the ghosts affected you?” he asks Greed
“Miss Perona’s negative hollows empty the heart, and while not a living thing my heart still functions as a sort of power source for my body, so when the hollow pierced me it caused my to shut down. Mistress Valentina was able to give me a jolt back to life before we continued on once she snapped out of her depression” he explains, Franky more or less understanding, he was technically just another form of zombie so it made sense Val could just bring him back to life after the Hollows ‘killed’ him.
“Hey, if nobody has any complaints I’m going to run ahead and rescue Nami myself” Sanji states
“You sure about this?” Kaya asks, ever the medic
“Of course I do, I have the power of love on my side!” Sanji declares
“In that case, go knock yourself out” Alvida chuckles waving her hand in front of her
“I will. I’m coming to save you Nami-Swan!!!!” He screams as he rushes forward in a burst of flame, throwing himself over the railing and into what looked like the fog below
“Um, how high are we right now?” Victor asks
“Enough that he’s not going to just walk away from that” Valentina responds with a sigh and an eyeroll
“Don’t worry about it, the fall won’t kill him and with how pumped he is right now he won’t feel any injuries the fall causes for a couple hours at least, by then Chopper or Kaya will already be patching him up” the cyborg explains to the rest of the group “Anyway, we have a mansion to climb to find some very important shadows”
Upstairs, with Brook
The fight was long and mostly even, but Ryuma was just stronger than Brook and was able to once more throw the skeleton to the ground with a strike, among which had done enough damage to crack his skull to the point his right eye socket, nasal cavity and mouth were all joined by cracked, broken bone
“So this is how it ends” Ryuma hums as he looks at his downed opponent, on his pant and panting rapidly “Try to die with at least a sliver of dignity okay kid Yohhhohoh” he chuckles, raising his sword. His face may be unable to make most expressions, but he was able to show an approximation of surprise when Brook heaved himself to at least a seated position for now “Hn, you rise like a phoenix, or, given where you’re currently fighting, a zombie. But despite your mental determination, I doubt you’ll be able to stand much longer. I’ll make sure when you die you’ll stay dead this time, an not cause any more pitiful repeats of tonight. So, since you’re about to meet your end I’ll let you be the judge: What part of your weak and broken body will I remove with an Arrow Notch Slash?”
“Shut up!” Brook pants and wheezes “You don’t know the first thing about that technique, you’re not worthy to speak it’s name never mind use it, you can only use it because you have MY shadow” he growls, now on his knees “Back in my former homeland, the quickdraw attack I became best known for was called ‘Requiem la Banderole’, but it was renamed by my comrades when it became part of my arsenal and meshed well with my other techniques, at which point it became known as ‘3 Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash’. You don’t get to use a name with so much emotion and history tied to it, as you are nothing more than a copy, an imitation of me, puppeting a dried up husk of a samurai”
“Yohohohho, well, if you feel so strongly about that, why don’t you get up and do something about it?” Ryuma taunts “Come on, you get one last chance to strike me down and retrieve your shadow from this, I believe you called me a husk”
Shakily rising to his feet Brook, panting and in pain, walks slowly towards Ryuma, the zombie doing the same until they both pass the other…
Sword Technique: 3 Verse Humming
But only one managed to land the blow
Arrow Notch Slash
Brook gasps and chokes as Ryuma’s attack cuts deep, his cane sword falling to the ground, before it’s owner collapses onto his back
“I’m waiting” Ryuma hums as he walks back over to Brook “Where do you want me to start cutting? Yohohoho” he chuckles, raising his black blade while grabbing Brook’s afro with his free hand “Well, while you’re making your mind up, I’m going to start by removing this ridiculous afro” and he was about to if the island/vessel didn’t essentially get hit with an earthquake, causing him to lose his grip on Brook who tumbled across the room and hit the wall “What is the meaning of this?” he thinks aloud, just as reinforcements arrived
“Hey look I found skelebro, and man is he in a bad way!” Franky shouts as he runs over to the downed Brook “You look like crap but, are you still alive bro, you think you can make it? Answer me!”
“Why are you here?” Brook asks, genuinely confused as to why and how he ended up meeting any straw hats again
“Now this won’t do” Ryuma almost purrs, interrupting Franky’s answer “I can’t let you interfer in our battle!” he shouts, lunging forward to cut down the cyborg, only for his attack to be blocked by another sword
“Hey, you the legendary swordsman of Wano, Dragonslayer Ryuma?” Zoro asks, grinning as his blade locked with the zombie’s “I had hoped when they said Moria had a samurai in his collection, that it would be you
Daitoppa
Ryuma is blown back, giving the 2 swordsmen space to ready themselves but also get the zombie away from Brook and Franky. Zoro tilts his head to see a coughing and wheezing Valentina at the door, but she winks and gives him a thumbs up, giving a smirk in return before drawing his second sword
“He, he blocked Ryuma’s attack, I didn’t know he was so strong” Brook gasped
“He’s our swordsman, 2 sword Zoro, of course he’s strong” Alvida scoffs
“I believe he intends to retrieve your shadow, if you don’t mind Sir Comic” Greed purrs
“Brook is fine, and if he thinks he can beat Ryuma, he’s welcome to try”
“That’s quite an interesting katana you got there” Zoro hums, adjusting his stance
“Yohohoho, you have quite the eye for blades, this is quite a sword. Shusui, one of the 21 O Wazamono grade swords in the world. Feel honoured to see it and even more so, when it cuts you down”
“O Wazamono, pretty good, as expected of a samurai of your calibre. That settles it, I’m going to beat you, and then I’m going to take your sword and Brook’s shadow” Zoro declares with a double swing of his own blades
With Luffy
“What the hell, the whole place is shaking?” Luffy grunts as he steadies himself, then looks at Moria, most likely expecting an explanation
“Eh, the ship probably got caught in some strange ocean current, pretty common in the Grand Line, even the Paradice side, or not, either way I’m going to blame you people for it, as it happened after you arrived Kishishishi. Speaking of which, I doubt you’ve come all this way for a friendly chat ay boy?” he asks, not having moved anything other than his head to look over at Luffy
“Yeah, I’m hear because you made me mad after that crap you pulled with my shadow and that lamp. So I’m here to take back my shadow, as well as Sanji’s Zoro’s and Brooks, got it?”
“My my, you’re a greedy and probably a co*cky one too, and how do you intend on getting them, I don’t plan on just handing over such powerful shadows after all”
Luffy adjusts his straw hat “By kicking your fat ass of course” he replies bluntly
“Oh? Kishishishi, Kishishishi!” Moria cackles, clearly not taking the kid’s threat seriously
With Nami, the perv and the mirror demon
Before Absolom could properly show this intruder his annoyance, the doors to the chapel were flung open “Master Absolom!” the zombie shouts
“What? Can’t you see I’m busy!” he growls “And what’s with all that shaking outside?”
“That’s what I’m here to inform you about, Thriller Bark has been caught in some strange currents, we’re being thrown around with no control” the zombie explains quickly and in a panic “It’s shaking the entire island they’re so strong”
“How the hell did that happen?” Aboslom asks, his focus solely on the zombie messenger
“Well, I’m going to hazard a guess and say it has something to do with the Special Zombie moving the rudder without permission” the messenger relays, causing the invisible man to panic
“WHAT DID YOU SAY!!!!” Absolom bellows, the slightly composes himself “Zombie generals, find Oars and stop him right this minute!” he commands, not that it did much more than distract Oars who pummeled them like the Zombie Generals were new recruits in an East Blue marine base.
“Sesese, oh that is an impressive creation, shame we’re going to have to break it to get Luffy’s shadow back” Kaos chuckles, joints popping as he prepares for the inevitable, then grins seeing a familiar blond zip past him, and beginning pursuit.
“What do you mean they were annihilated?”
“Precisely that, all of them practically squashed flat by Oar’s fists” the new zombie messenger relayed
“But how, they were the Zombie Generals, the strongest group on the island?” Absolom asks desperately
“Yes they were, and Oars wasn’t even mildly inconvenienced by them”
“f*ck! How, why, Oars is supposed to be on our side! Zombies are meant to serve, it’s in their nature, how could this one rebel so strongly?” he wonders aloud
[It’s almost like putting the shadow of a holder of the Will of D., a shaDow pardon the pun, into a zombie, was a bad idea if you wanted compliance]
“We need to do something quickly, if he isn’t stopped soon he'll sink the whole damn island” Abosolm growls, then notices something in the doorway “Hm, another gatecrasher?”
Sanji was serious, for about 3 seconds before devolving into lovestruck idiot “NAMI I’m here to rescue you!” he declares loudly “My love!”
‘Is this lunatic, one of the straw hat Pirates?” Absolom wonders, Kaos sighing deeply but happy Sanji took all the attention off him for a change.
TBC
LW: Well, sh*t’s about to go down, and Oars is tearing apart the island about as much as a Giant sized Luffy would, so we probably should have seen that coming.
Chapter 94: Straw Hats vs Mysterious 4: Gate Crashing
Chapter Text
LW: Ok, things are ramping up nicely, let’s start breaking things.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs Mysterious 4: Gate Crashing
With Luffy and Moria
“Kishishishi! You think you’re going to be able to kick my ass?” Moria asks with a laugh
“Yep, and with how big it is I can’t miss” Luffy replies bluntly.
“Confident, just one small problem boy, doing that won’t get you your shadows back. Beat me, or even kill me it won’t do any good, my power over the shadows is absolute. The only way to get your shadow is for their commander, aka ME, to return them to you. See the problem, Kishishishi”
“Or, we kill you, and give the fruit it reforms in to someone else on the island, and have THEM put all our shadows back” Luffy counters, not liking the idea of killing people, buuuuuut he always valued the lives of his nakama over those of his enemies
‘This brat’s cold blooded’ Moria thinks as he tries to bluff his way out of his “One problem there, my fruit has taken years to master, especially to separate shadows from the hoard, some newbie wouldn’t stand a chance, not to mention that only your own shadow will protect you from the sun, Kishishishi”
Luffy frowns “Then, I guess I’ll have to beat you into compliance” he sighs, then jumps into the air so he had a better chance of hitting the shadow man in the face
Gum Gum Pistol
The plan was flawless… except the part where it failed, his punch blocked by the shadow arm that sprouted from Moria’s own, making Luffy think of a black/purple fusion of Robin and Kaos’ powers as it recedes.
“Kishishi, if you want to fight me kid you’ll have to go through him first. I call him my doppleman, and is what happens when I use my powers on my own shadow” Moria grins and a twisted replica of the onion demon pulled itself out of the warlord’s shadow “I used to be like you, overconfident in my abilities and full of unrealistic ambition, but since then I’ve found the correct way to do things in this world. That’s to have and use underlings, the stronger the better” he grins widely
“Should have known you could do more than make zombies, get out of the way shadow man my fight is with the real you” Luffy shouts, the doppelganger just staring blankly at him with a dopey grin
“I’ll never have to do anything alone or for myself again, without lifting a finger my zombie minions will MAKE me the king of the pirates! Kishishishi!” Moria boasts and laughs, while Luffy dodges a swing from the doppelman.
“A lazy ass like you won’t be the king, cause that’s gonna be me!” Luffy shouts angrily
“Oh, I remember your zombie saying something similar” Moria purrs in amusem*nt
“Well if he’s part of me then of course he did” Luffy says, actually rolling his eyes as that was obvious even to him
“When there’s a wide enough gap between the personalities of the host and the doner the shadow’s original owner’s personality tends to linger, but that’s a temporary issue at most. Soon you’ll fade from Oars and all that will remain is an obedient servant , my strongest to even exist” Moria laughs, his plans getting closer to completion by the minute.
“It won’t matter, if I get it back first” Luffy declares, kicking Doppelman enough he had a clear shot of Moria
Gum Gum Gattling
Brick Bat
Unfortunately Moria had his doppel split into small shadow balls which formed a barrier between himself and Luffy’s barrage, allowing the shadow man to remain unscratched. The balls then partially shift, now resembling shadow bats, about the size of a Woobat from pokemon and begin to swarm Luffy, biting anywhere they could reach and understandably causing Luffy to run away as fast a possible, including along the wall… until he ended up where Oars had already destroyed it, taking him out of the freezer. Luckily he managed to stretch out and grap the railing of the area Moria was still sitting at, and snap back relatively unharmed.
“My, what an energetic one you are, no wonder you’re shadow was able to awaken Oars” Moria chuckles
Meanwhile with Ussop
‘sh*t, I can’t deal with all these zombies’ Usopp whines internally as he keeps running to keep out of the hoard’s grasp ‘And I can’t stop the ghost girl with all her minions around, there has to be some way for me to deal with these guys...hm’ he thinks, coming up with an idea, starting with letting himself be hit and rolling away from the zombies “Ow, you got me”
“Yeah, let’s rip him apart!” one of the zombies bellow, only to be scolded about opening his mouth so far by another
“He’s a sneaky one, this could be some kind of trick” another guesses
“Pretty close to the money there” Usopp whispers, pulling back his Kabuto
Salt pepper Stars
“You idi...a choo!” one zombie tries to gloat, before he and the other wild zombies begin sneezing once the pepper starts to affect them
“And now you’re distracted…” Usopp grins, launching the real Salt Stars and taking out another handful of zombies
“That’s not fair, you liar, cheater” Perona sneers, stomping her foot
“Your zombies are just gullible, also the depression ghosts are so fair” Usopp deadpans, then steps back as the remaining zombies get angry
Firebird Star
The attack misses the zombies, lowering their guard as they laugh about how weak Usopp is how he just got lucky that last time. Pity for them they didn’t look up, otherwise they’d have seen he hit the chandelier, which as it began to catch fire and spread to the ceiling, weakened the connection enough it fell… right on top of the remaining zombies, who panicked upon being set alight
“He, took them all out, on his own” Perona mutters, knees knocking in fear, yelping when she sees his next target is her. Only Kumase stepping in to block his attack, well mostly aim, gave her the opening to run!!
“Why is he still fighting me, this isn’t fun anymore, why won’t he go away?” Perona whines like a child, Usopp basically on her heels, with Kumase not too far behind him
“You’re not going to get away from me, I’m really good at running too, usually away from things but the principle’s the same” Usopp shouts as he gives chase
“I’ve had enough of you, take care of him Kumase” Perona orders, the bear complying as he tries to run Usopp down.
“I won’t let you touch Mistress Perona!” the bear bellows, for once Perona not telling him to shut up, as she had more important things to worry about
What comes next was a mix of a Scooby Doo chase scene, and the Juggernaut from Xmen 3, lots of running back and forth in a room that shouldn’t make sense (I blame Thriller Bark) mixed with Kumase getting annoyed with Usopp’s refusal to give up or die and just headbutting his way through any obstacles (aka support pillars) that got between him and the sniper. How the building is still standing is anyone’s guess. Only good news for Usopp is he managed to once more find Perona again, having lost her for a moment in all the mayhem, and continue his pursuit.
Sanji, Absolom and Kaos
“Well, how about we thin the herd so only the pervert is a problem?” Kaos hums with a smirk, though given that was his default expression Sanji was mildly annoyed the shades meant he was unsure of his crewmates’s actual mood “Oh, also you might want to move now” the blond blinks as the purplette crouches slightly
Mirāu~ōku
In a moment the researcher was down the aisle, having batted aside one zombie and slamming the other 2 into the wall, the cook noticing a strange, purple scale like pattern on his ivory coloured forearms, before his brain kicked into gear, though his body was already running, managing to catch Nami right before she hit the ground.
“You idiot you could have hurt Nami!” the blond shouts
“Unlikely, with the drugs Pervsalom gave her nothing short of actually punching her in the face will be felt for a good while” Kaos argues with a low chuckle, his smile wider and toothy.
“You better be telling the truth, now lets… huh, a princess? Oh wait it’s Nami, damn she’s hot in this dress, like a gift from the gods” Sanji swoons, Absolom looks confused while Kaos considers just knocking the cook out THEN dealing with Inviso-perv “Oh before I forget, the mission is rescue Nami, retrieve mine, Zoro and Luffy’s shadows and take down Moria, in that order” the cook remembers
“In your opinion” Kaos mutters “But at least one of those missions is 80% complete already”
“Hey assholes, who gave you permission to lay a hand on my wife?” Absolom shouts, raising his hand and firing at the 2, missing as they dodge out of the blast radius
“Hm, so he can make more than himself invisible, interesting” Kaos chuckles
“Shut up, that bastard nearly hit Nami with that attack, he can shoot at you till a ricochet kills him for all I care, but putting an angel like Nami in the crossfire, that’s unforgivable” Sanji growls, setting the navigator down in one of the pews, during which Absolom notices his ‘condition’
“Ah, so you’re one of the pirates who’s shadow we managed to ‘acquire’. Makes sense, one of Perona’s dogs was oddly attached to my bride. Pitiful really, they didn’t even put your shadow in a zombie general like the other one, which tells me that just like your shadow, you’re weak” Absolom needles, laughing to himself “I am Absolom of the Mysterious 3, commander of the Zombie Generals, what makes you think you even stand a chance against…” he stops, seeing Sanji mumbling to himself again
“Were you still talking, Eros got distracted by the sight of Nami in a dress without a bra again” Kaos hums, having pulled a file from one of the zombies from earlier and was cleaning his nails
“Hey, you bastards don’t get to ignore and disrespect me like this, especially when you’re already ruining my special day, so look over here, and let me kick your ass so I can kiss my wife damn it!” Absolom screams, finally getting Sanji’s attention, who lights another cigarette while the man continues monologuing “In fact, if you get your worthless asses out of the chapel right now I’ll consider letting you live, though the tall one will be getting a visit from either Hogback or Moria soon enough” he chuckles to himself then sighs “Now usually I’m a pretty chill guy, but your stupid captain’s stupid shadow zombie is tearing up the place and just totaled a lot of my best men, so I want to kiss my f*cking bride before I deal with this sh*t, do you understand me?”
Rather than respond verbally, Sanji just kicks the man in the face, throwing him into the wall “And they say I talk too much, you must love the sound of your own voice even more than you love women, what did they call you, Pervsalom?” Sanji smirks, taking a drag. “This the big, bad, invisible man Usopp and Chopper were talking about huh? Not that impressed really” he adds with a shrug
‘That kick, he’s not an ordinary human, Hogback f*cked up when he put the shadow in a Wild instead of a General’ Absolom thinks before fading away with his devil fruit. He was sure there wasn’t any chance of these pirates detecting him, until he took a punch to the snout that threw him through one of the pews, as well as breaking his nose
“Sesese, you really are an invisible man then, removing yourself from the entire visible spectrum, too bad for you there are other ways to detect you. Like your scent and heat signature, both of which remain exactly the same as they would be without your devil fruit” Kaos muses and clicks his tongue, wiping his bloody knuckles on one of the zombie’s coats.
“He really has it then? Damn it, now I have even more reasons to hate him” Sanji growls, biting through his cigarette “First Nami, then this, it’s like this man was designed to piss me off” Kaos turns his head, a curious side tilt as he waits for more information, Absolom also wondering what he’s done to piss this guy off as well, as he pulls himself out of the wall “First he’s a thief, that much is clear when he took Nami, but he’s also, stole my dream” the cook states seriously
“I don’t even know who you are, how the hell did I steal your dream?” Absolom growls as he pulls himself to his feet
Drip drip
“This dumbass found the All Blue? But shouldn’t you be happy that it exists, even if you didn’t find it yourself?” Kaos asks in confusion
“Not that dream, a more closely guarded one”
“This is getting us nowhere, so just stand still and I’ll end you both quickly with my ‘Hands Of The Dead’ ” Absolom says, holding up his arms to an annoyed, but unimpressed Sanji
“Take ‘em off” the blond says flatly “Take the guns you have strapped to your arms off, right now”
“Oh good someone else noticed”
“I’m not going to repeat myself, if you use those bazookas in here, Nami could be caught in the crossfire, and if that were to happen, I’ll make you twice as dead as those zombies you pal around with” Sanji growls, flames flickering around him.
‘Impossible, he has to be bluffing there’s no way he could know about my guns’ Absolom thinks in mild panic, then fires, both straw hats dodging, with Sanji leaping forward to kick the invisoperv in the face, as well as breaking the straps of one of his guns with the other leg, while Kaos moves Nami somewhere a bit safer for the unconscious navigator.
Drip drip
“I thought as much, a guy with your powers only has so many tricks up his sleeves” Sanji sighs “I know you can turn yourself, and anything you touch invisible, but that is literally the only thing you can do with that fruit. Against me, your tactics are as transparent as your powers allow you to be, because I know everything about the Suke Suke no mi”
“Oh Sanji, Devil fruits are my area of expertise, much like cooking is yours. So why exactly do you seem to have such a high level of knowledge about this one in particular?” Kaos hums, though he had a bad feeling the reason… was perverted.
“I read the Devil fruit encyclopedia cover to cover as a child, many I didn’t believe to be true and most it didn’t feel like the power they offered was worth the curse it reaped, save for one. There was one fruit that spoke to my very soul, and I made a vow that if I ever came across the fruit I would embrace the curse and swallow it, regardless of the cost. But alas, there’s only one of each Devil Fruit in the entire world, so I knew that if I ever ran into a person with that ability my dream would be destroyed. As you can probably guess, that fruit was the Suke Suke no mi, the one you selfishly ate and crushed my dreams”
‘Yeah, probably should have seen that coming’ Kaos sighs
“That’s why you’re mad?” Absolom shouts
“You don’t get it, I could see my dream so clearly, I could use it to do so much good it, protect NUDE GIRLS, no I mean I could help all mankin NUDE GIRLS, no I had this beautiful vision of the future and NUDE GIRLS!” Sanji explains, every time he tries to justify his desires the truth keeps getting blurted out, to the mild amusem*nt of his crewmate
“Yeah, that sounds like you Eros, you’d have been just as big an Invisoperv as this dumbass” the researcher chuckles “Though if you want the fruit that badly, we can just kill him and you can eat the next fruit the power reincarnates in” he mutters, not making a serious offer given the man was in his own little world right now.
“So now, not only did you kidnap my love and endanger her life, but you stole my dream from me, and I’m going to make sure you remember this beating, prepare to suffer my wrath” he shouts, boy starting to smoke and crackle
“You’re pissed I ate the Suke suke no mi before you, that all? That’s so f*cking petty, you’re nothing but a jelous little pervert” Absolom scoffs, getting a boot to the face for his troubles
‘He has a point’ Kaos thinks, though given Sanji’s current mood had no intention of actually saying so. Those thoughts were silenced when Absolom pulled himself out of the wreckage Sanji had kicked him into and ripped off his coat, revealing a patchwork of muscles along his upper body
“I’ve had enough of your foolishness. You’re taking out your anger on the wrong guy, so now I’m gonna give it back with interest” he growls “As you can see I don’t just have the jaw of a lion, but also elephant skin, and 600 pounds of muscle from bears and gorillas. Dr. Hogback built my body out of the most savage beasts imaginable, it’s a patchwork quilt of ferocity, the perfect weapon, the Suke Suke you crave so much is merely a bonus”
Drip drip
“Patchwork is right, don’t most surgeons try hide or minimize how obvious the joins are, so everyone doesn’t walk around like Frankenstein?” Sanji mutters
“Eh, if Hogback made the zombies he obviously doesn’t care too much for aesthetics. Also 100 beri says Zoro could beat him in an arm wrestling contest” Kaos muses, causing the cook to scoff
“I may not get along with Marimo, but that’s a suckers bet and you know it”
“Are you dumbasses done ignoring me yet?” Absolom scowls, getting 2 kicks to the pectorals from the pirates in response ‘What the f*ck are these guys, an ordinary human’s bones should have shattered against my body, but they keep punching and kicking me like I’m the weakling. Something’s not adding up’ he thinks as he fades away “So, you covet my Devil fruit and my bride, but too bad for you, their both mine” he laughs, seeing the confusion on the blond’s face
Drip drip
“I’ll take your fruit but you can keep the red head” Kaos deadpans, eyes flicking around under his shades
Drip drip
“Wait, you're still after Nami, there’s no way I’ll let you take her” Sanji shouts, then notices something “Where is she?”
Drip drip
“I moved her while you were monologuing, seemed like the best time” Kaos replies with a shrug, then flashes a toothy grin.
Mystery Man handler
Mystery Man kicker
“So Sanji, how does it feel to get felt up by the invisible man?” Kaos chuckles, the blond coughs as another impact hits him, while watching the other pirate avoid and evade, his movements reminding him of the captains, fluid, almost boneless at times, but more refined if that makes sense.
Heat Ssssseeker
It would have probably been considered a palm strike, had her not dug his nails into the target as he made contact, chuckling as the Clear man flickered into view at the shock of being so easily found
“What, how?”
“My secretss are my own, but for one thing, I f*cked up your nose and I doubt you have the time to fix it” he laughs, only then did both blonds notice the slight blood trail Absolom had been leaving
“Damn it, guess I’ll just have to speed things up” Absolom grunts fading again, this time slashing at both with a hidden blade
“Oh now it’s a party asshole” Kaos hums, then frowns when he sees Sanji took the worst of it “He clearly doesn’t like you Eros”
“No sh*t sherlock” Sanji wheezes “You know, I’m starting to think it was best I never found that damn fruit” he thinks aloud, making the other user raise his eyebrows in surprise “I can peep just fine on my own” and they drop again as that sounded exactly what he’d expect from their ‘chivalrous pervert’ of a chef.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better Sanji, also do you think ivisioperv has heat sensing pits on his muzzle like a snake’s?” the reflect human muses
“Unlikely, seems too complicated to just slap on someone, no matter how good this Dr. Hogback person is” Sanji hums then notices something “Think you can do a combo with me? This guy is pissing me off and I’d like to make sure he stays down”
Kaos grins “I thought you’d never ask” he replies, knowing Sanji noticed the small blood pool forming under Absolom’s feet
Extra Hachis
Sen'ei Jashu
The multiple impacts to his body caused Absolom’s body to flicker in and out of normal vision, before being shot at full speed into the wall, leaving a pervert shaped indent as he hit it.
Back with Luffy
Moria’s shadow bats were really doing a number on him, which given they couldn’t be killed and just relentlessly swarmed the captain was completely understandable. And even when he managed to knock them away they would just reform into Doppleman and then split apart into bats again at Moria’s command, making a painful and frankly just irritating cycle. I guess it’s a good thing Luffy has a habit of not doing things the straightforward way.
“Ok now you’ve pissed me off” a lightly bleeding Luffy growls “Gum Gum…” he calls, as he leaps over the railing
“What is that little idiot doing, is he trying to escape?” Moria wonders, standing up and peering over the edge, not the best plan even for the lazy bastard
...Stamp
His position under the platform meant his kick bypassed the doppleman, as well as technically kicking Moria’s ass just like he promised
“You little brat, what a cheap shot!” Moria screams
“Pirate” Luffy responds slowly, seriously why did he think underhanded tactics were off the table, especially against other pirates “Also I keep my promises, given I just kicked your ass shishishi” he laughs
Usopp again
“Stop running!” Kumasee booms as he nips at Usopp’s heels, or would if not for the facemask
“Stop chasing me, also stop running you damn ghost girl!” Usopp whines/shouts
“Stop chasing me!” Perona screams “Get rid of him already Kumase” she orders, clearly this was getting them nowhere, until Kumase got mad again and started trying to kill Usopp with a flying tackle, though the sniper was faster so it just lead to him repeatedly slamming into the ground directly behind him instead.
“Damn this violent teddy bear… oh wait that might work” Usopp brainstorms, before turning on his heels, to Kumase’s confusion
Special Attack: Flame Star
“Yes, he’s just as weak to fire as the other zombies, that I can use” the sniper grins before laying out a trap with oil, then lighting it, creating a flaming barrier between himself and the demons zombie bear known as Kumase “Ha ha, now there’s nothing stoping me from dealing with your mistress, showing her the error of her ways through battle! A hopefully really short battle but one none the less!” he declares, running… for about 10 seconds before realising he lost her again
“Horohorohorohoro, looking for me?” Perona calls, clearly meant to taunt him
“Hm, that came from outside, but that can’t be right, given we’ve been steadily going up this entire chase she’d have to…” Usopp stops as his jaws drops, seeing Perona and a couple of her ghosts floating just outside the window “GWaaaaah! But, how? Your power is to make those ghost things, what the Hell are your powers?”
Perona chuckles, then sticks out her tongue “That’s my little secret, a girl is allowed a few of those after all. Also, I’ve figured out how to beat you, and once I have, your friends will be next, even the ones who beat Absolom” she declares
“Just when things were looking up” Usopp whimpers, then what she said registers ‘Beat Absolom? If he’s the invisible guy then Sanji’s already rescued Nami, now we just need to find those shadows and we can leave’ a flicker of hope fills his heart
While his heart returns to a normal rate, let’s see how Luffy’s doing
Luffy had done the seeming impossible, Moria was standing up and getting exercise, mostly walking over to the hole Luffy had kicked in the platform when he kicked him into the ceiling but close enough
“That hurt you little sh*t, but not as much as you will be by the time I’m done with you” he bellows down at Luffy who grinned from his position on the chains
“I hear you onion man, but I’m still kicking your ass till you give those shadows back” he retorts, swinging his leg up for another Stamp only for it to be knocked aside by Doppleman, shorty followed by the nearly formless shadowbeat to slink down and wrap itself around Luffy like a snake “Hey let go of me!”
“Kishishishi, as you wish” Moria laughs
Brick Bat
‘Not this again’ Luffy sighs, reaching up and getting himself back onto the platform ahead of the shadow bats, throwing his arms out…
Gum Gum Finger Net
… and catching the bats, then slamming them down into the platform’s floor, where they melted into shadows and reformed into Doppleman, none the worse for wear “Damn it, this whole fight is pointless” he grumbles, panting lightly
Have things calmed down over here? Good, ok back to Usopp and Perona
“What’s with the sudden borderline personality shift here, I had you running scared a second ago, and now you’re more confident than the Captain?” Usopp asks/demands
“Horohorohorohoro, I just got a little shock back there, I didn’t think I’d ever meet someone so naturally negative and pessimistic they could be immune to my Negative Hollows, and now I’ve met you, I have to say… Cheer up, life is good!” She grins, giving a thumbs up alongside her hollows
“Shut up with the condescending bullsh*t!” Usopp growls, pulling out his Kabuto “Flying around won’t save you Spectra. Against some of the others this would be a problem, but not me,you’re dealing with a sniper after all. And thanks to the Dial upgrades I made to my slingshot, there’s no chance… wait, where’d she go?” he blanks, realising she’d disappeared again, this time right in front of his nose
“Horohorohoro, what big talk, care to back it up” Perona coos, Usopp swallowing thickly before turning his head a screaming! While not as big as Dorry or Broggy her hunkered form did take up a good portion of the corridor “Well, gonna hit me with your wittle slingshot, I made it easy for you” she says with a purr in her tone
Butterfly meteor
Rather than take the hit Perona compressed into a normal size, then began flying around cackling as she does, unnerving and disorientating the Straw Hat sniper. The continued misses from the subsequent barrage didn’t help matters, reaching a peak when she appeared in front of him and thrust both hands through his chest.
“What, you just stabbed me with your fists, I’m gonna bleed to death, well, that’s if I don’t suffocate first” Usopp whimpers in panic
“Idiot, look closer” Perona giggles “My hands are inside you, but your skin’s not even pierced, you don’t feel anything because there’s no damage. Horohorohorohoro, I see in your eyes, the realisation of what you’re facing has finally sunk in” she smirks as his expression turns to horror “Don’t think you’re getting off lightly, I’m sure you can feel it, if not physically then in your soul, my hands are mere inches from your heart, if I wanted I could grab it and squeeze, give you quite the sheer heart attack Horohorohorohoro”
“Please don’t do it, I don’t wanna die!” Usopp screams, while Perona gets closer and closes her hand around his heart…
“Yeah, I can’t actually do any of that” she admits, floating a few inches away with a content smile on her face
“You were bluffing!” Usopp shouts
“Yep, come on dumbo, if I could actually do that, you’d have died the moment I stuck my hand in your chest. I’m not exactly medically gifted, but I’m pretty sure my right hand would have pierced your heart the moment I thrust it in, but that didn’t happen because I’m unable to interact with the physical realm in this form” Perona explains, almost as a form of apology
“Even so, the stress can’t be good for my heart”
“Big baby” Perona huffs, with only above her nose peeking out of the stone floor, causing Usopp to squirm backwards as she rises to his level “While my body looks as solid as yours, my fruit allows me to phase through all matter, pretty cool trick right?”
Special Attack: Viper Star 6
A small part of him was relieved to know he hadn’t been missing as he watched the attack pass through Perona’s chest and explode harmlessly behind her, but it was overrun with panic as she leaped at him, legs passing through his torso and arm through his head
“You got a brain in that head of yours, I said I can pass through anything, what made you think your attacks were an exception? You can’t possibly hurt me, not with your weak ass attacks” she taunts, floating away with a laugh
Usopp scowls “Only one problem ghosty, if you couldn’t crush my heart like you claim, and given what I’ve just witnessed I’m inclined to believe it, then we’re in a stalemate, I can’t hurt you and you can’t hurt me” he laughs, filling with confidence, until he replayed her words in his head ‘In this form? Oh f*ck’ “Not that it matters, given this isn’t even the real you!” he shouts, pointing angrily at her, Perona’s eyes bulge in surprise
‘He figured it out, damn it why couldn’t I get a meathead as an opponent’ she whines internally, but on the outside still smiles as she summons a different ghost
Mini Hollow
She then sends it over and has it latch onto the wall near Usopp, the sniper confused as it smiled dimly at him, until Perona snaps her fingers
Ghost Rap
And blows a sizeable hole in the wall, causing Usopp to panic as he sees how one sided this fight has just become, especially when another one drops down and latched onto his shoulder.
Ghost Rap /Snap/
“Horohorohorohoro, ready to give up yet?” she laughs
“Not on your life!” Usopp shouts, sending a Firebird Star her way, but given she was intangible used the explosion as a distraction to start making his escape.
Well try to, as Perona was able to quickly follow and blind him, then once he made a wrong move and crashed, bury him in mini hollows which she promptly detonated, leaving a beaten, bleeding and burnt Usopp slumped against a pillar. To add insult to injury, Kumase had finally found a way around his fire trap, and proceeded to beat the ever loving sh*t out of the already downed sniper
‘Why did I even think I stood a chance against this one, never mind wave off the others assistance? I couldn’t stop the bear and with her Devil fruit nothing I have can even touch her, nobody on the crew can touch her. Then there are those negative Hollows and the explosive ones, this girl is on another level, I’m not even sure why she works for Moria. Not that it matters, I was an idiot to think I could save everyone for a change, especially given I’m now the one who needs saving. Somebody, please help me’
Kumase raises his arm for a final strike…
‘Save me Sogeking!”
...only for a masked man to leap forward, pulling back the facemask and shove a fist full of salt in the bear’s mouth, Perona watching in shock and horror as her last zombie’s shadow wriggled out of his mouth and escaped into the darkness.
“KUMASE!!” she screams as the zombie drops to the ground, Sogeking leaping away dramatically “How dare you hurt my precious snugglebear, and what’s with that ridiculous mask you’re wearing!”
“Salutations mistress of the dark, I am the legendary Sogeking, or in other words: Your doom” the sniper declares with a hearty laugh
“You’re the same asshole from before, just now you’re wearing a dumb mask!” Perona shouts angrily, clearly not in the mood for this bullsh*t
Sogeking stares for a few seconds before… “Gotta go!” he says turning and sprinting off in the other direction
“Seriously? You’re just going to run away? Coward!”
“Of course I’m running, what’s the point in fighting someone I can’t even touch or harm never mind beat?” Usopp thinks aloud, panting heavily as he runs “I’ve survived my life on tricks, bluffs and negativity, so there’s nothing I can do when those techniques have no effect on my enemies”
‘So you’re just going to abandon them all, not very brave there bucko. Calm down, you need to press on and fight her Ussop’
‘Shut up, I did everything I could and she literally walked through them, there’s nothing I can do against her’ Usopp cries
‘Maybe not as you see her now, but don’t you think there’s something off about her, not in her abilities, but her actions?’ Sogeking asks (1)
‘Hm, now you mention it, she seemed to genuinely be afraid of me earlier, which wouldn’t make any sense if she could simply phase through my attacks’ Usopp considers, as more Mini Hollows swarm him ‘If she’d always been able to pass through solid matter like a ghost… that’s it!’
Ghost Rap /Snap/
Usopp hits the ground with a thud, scraping his face against the ground as his momentum brings him another few feet, but his brain was still working overtime, piecing together Perona’s little secret.
“Well, this one’s nearly dead, hope you’re still breathing when I get you to master Moria, I’m sure as f*ck not performinf CPR” Giganto Perona giggles to herself as she grins over a smoking Usopp
“I’m onto your tricks” was barely a whisper as Usopp’s hand clasps around his Kabuto
“Horohorohoro, are those meant to be your final words?” Perona laughs, before it clicks, especially when he pulls back to fire “Wait, what do you think you’re doing?” she shouts, her confidence switching off like a light
“You” Usopp says with a hidden inner strength
Special Attack: Atlas Comet
His attack was right on target, tearing down the wall to reveal, as he’d expected the real/physical Perona, heart beating but the hamster off it’s wheel sitting on a bed.
“That there is why I couldn’t touch you, because the one I’ve been fighting was just another hollow, just this one looks like it’s owner instead of a sheet ghost” Usopp declares, happy to finally figure out and deal with his problem. Or at least now he’d returned the playing field to a more even level.
TBC
LW: One down and one actually in process, that leaves Moria and Hogback to deal with, as well as Ryuma of course, but hey, they have all night.
Mirāu~ōku, basically an improvement on Shimmer using what he’d learnt from watching puss*foot and Soru, name means Mirror Walk, and still a work in progress, but so was Shimmer if he was being honest.
Wanted to make the joke, but it wouldn’t have fit, so instead I’m putting the quote here “You’re kidding me right? This basic bitch has you believing she’s a giant” Alucard, Helsing Ultimate abridged episode 6
Chapter 95: Straw Hats Vs Mysterious 4: Exorcisms galore
Chapter Text
LW: He we are, more fights between the straw hats and the crazies of Thriller Bark, let’s see how they’re doing, shall we?
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs Mysterious 4: Exorcisms galore
“With everything that’s happened in this fight, able to fly, phase through all my attacks as well as both the floors, walls and even my body, and the random but controlled size changing, it made me wonder why you were running away from me earlier, but then it hit me… you couldn’t do those things before, because you have a physical body, that one over there. And once I lost sight of you fighting the zombie bear you snuck away and released your spectral doppelganger, and with its borderline invincibility, suddenly you were filled with confidence!” Usopp explains/shouts, Perona twitching in fear but hoping she could still pull through this one.
“Well whoop de f*cking do, seems your smarter than I gave you credit for, you’re just a pessimist rather than a pessimistic idiot then. But you got one thing wrong though: I’m not just a hollow in the shape of Perona, the Horo horo no mi allows me to split my spirit from my physical body, allowing my consciousness and soul to wander free, while my body is nothing more than a hollow shell”
“Thanks for filling in the blanks, though now I’m curious, what do you think would happen, if you didn’t have that body to go back to? Would you become stuck in ghost form, or fade away as the fruit leaves you and passes on to the next vessel?” Usopp smirks, aiming his Kabuto at the unconscious Perona
“Don’t you f*cking dare you stupid brat!”
“Let’s see you recover from this!”
Big Bang Star
Poof. Wha wha whaaaaaaaaa
‘That, was waaaaay to close’ Perona thinks fearfully “Looks like you missed, not that it matters with a dud like that, were you compensating for something with a name like that?” Perona taunts
Usopp grits his teeth and pull back again “The next one won’t”
“Like I’d let you have another free shot”
Special Hollow
“Please tell me this one doens’t blow up too” Usopp whimpers as a much larger hollow is formed, bobbing between himself and Perona’s projection
“That’d be telling” Perona says with a wink, just before the hollow lunges forward and clamps it’s jaws around Usopp’s middle hoisting him into the air where he flails helplessly “Good luck fighting that, you’re stuck inside a ghost! Horohorohorohoro'' she laughs as she floats back into her body… which smirks and opens its eyes
Lub dub, lub dub
Meanwhile, with some of the others
“Damn, this zombie’s even stronger than Zoro, his shadow must have given him one hell of a buff” Robin grimaces as the backlash from the zombie breaking her hold throws her back
“Well, zombies don’t feel pain, so it was probably just a matter of time” Vivi comments with a sigh, then both turn sharply when they hear a surprising yell
“YEET!”
“That was really dangerous Artemis” a mildly bruised and beaten Chopper scolds, also the moment would have been more impressive if the penguin dog’s impact didn’t sound like a squeak toy hitting the wall.
“Not really, if he’s Sanji’s shadow he can’t hurt me, I’m a girl and from what Papa told me he had chivalry beaten into him as a child” the artist explains with shrug, before getting knocked back and slammed into the wall
“Why the f*ck should I care if you’re a girl or not you stupid brat?” the zombie sneers
“Artemis!” Robin screams, arms crossing as she prepared to rip the zombie penguin apart, which left her open to…
“You die now pretty lady!” Zoro’s zombie shouts, planning to slice her open with a cross slash. Thing is, while the blade in his right hand cut deeply across her chest, the left didn’t “And stay down...wait where’d my arm go?” the zombie was confused, he had 2 arms a moment ago
“Robin wasn’t the only person to take her eyes off the enemy” Vivi smirks, her wires having shredded the zombie’s arm “Also I’m not sure if there’s any way to prove zombies don’t feel pain than one not noticing his arm was ripped off and torn to shreds”
“Wait a go… Vivi look out!” Chopper shouts, the bluenette turning her head just in time to get a kick to the face, knocking her to the ground with a painful thump
“You’re all f*cking reatarded you know that” Penguin-dog grunts “Now give up or your friends all die” he threatens Chopper, who complies
“Fosfosfos, well that was rather entertaining wasn’t it Shindry, shame about 750’s arm” Hogback sighs
“I wish it had been your arm” the zombie deadpans, causing the Dr. to faceplant
Well, f*ck. Let’s see how Usopp is doing
“Horohorohorohoro, this is the end Longnose, one snap of my fingers and you’ll be nothing but a puddle of blood and guts” Perona threatens, fingers poised, not that he could see her
“No don’t do that, I’d make a terrible puddle” Usopp pleads from inside the Special Hollow “Actually most people would, I haven’t met a nice puddle that wasn’t named Kaya” he shouts, mentally going off on a tangent.
“Too bad, but don’t worry, I’m sure Dr. Hogback will find a use for you later, maybe even make a longnose zombie if the pieces are big enough” she smirk
Kamikaze rap ‘Snap’
The mega sized hollow lit up, then faded away, to the confusion of it’s master
“That was way too close, good thing I carry an impact dial in case of emergencies” Usopp states, grinning now he was out of danger for the moment
“Wha? But how?” Perona asks, thinking out loud, then notices something as she tries to move off the bed, she was stuck. A sticky, gum or resin like substance was keeping her arm secured to the wall and her legs to the bed, removing the use of basically the entire left side of her body “What is this?”
“It’s a bluff, or I suppose you could just call it a lie, easier that way” Perona turns to the now more confident Usopp “I didn’t miss, nor was my projectile a dud. No, my Sticky Star bullet landed exactly where I aimed it for, ensuring you couldn’t go anywhere once you returned to your real body” he grins, happy to see his plan working perfectly… well for the moment
“So, you’re the one who took out captain Kumase” Came the voice it seems the one zombie he missed taking out earlier, directly behind him
“Took your sweet time, take him out Gentleman hippo” Perona commands only for the hippo zombie to be taken out with a single palm strike to the face by Usopp ‘WHAT! How, is he really that strong?’ she panics, things were looking really bad right now
‘So much pain!’ Usopp screams internally as the recoil of his Impact dial gives him a taste of what it feels like to be named Izuku Midoriya ‘I mean the hollow was probably stronger energy wise than Luffy, but I’m pretty sure it was all my other injuries that hid the pain of using it the last time’ he theorises, as the dial hadn’t been this painful back on Water 7. Landing on his feet he hides his pain under a confident smirk then readies his next attack
Shining Black Star
The cannonball sized projectile, bounces off Perona’s forehead, making the ghost girl think it was another dud, right until it popped open, showering her with a pile of wiggling squirming co*ckroaches, her scream at the realization, as well as the bugs crawling all over her, was heard by everyone on the island, even if only one person knew why it happened.
“Get these things off me, help me please I can’t get away!” Perona’s cries, clearly distressed as she writhes and flails uselessly “Please, they’re getting in my clothes, somebody do something. Kumase, snuggle bear save me!” Unfortunately for Perona, there was something much worse to take her mind off her acute fear of co*ckroaches, as she saw when she let her eyes focus on a now evilly chuckling Usopp
“I had a feeling co*ckroaches would freak you out, but what you should really be afraid of, is me!” he declares, not exactly wrong given he’d pulled out an almost… actually no it was comically oversized, 10 tonne hammer, from where? Who knows “You shouldn’t have dismissed me so easily princess. I was known up and down the East Blue as Usopp: The strongest man alive”
“T-t-t-t-t-ten tonnes? How can you even pack that much strength into a scrawny body like yours?” Perona asks aloud, scolding herself for the stutter “Please, I can’t even hope to fight you, I can’t even move to escape or counter” she pleads fearfully, getting more despirate when with painful sounding heaves and grunts Usopp lifts the hammer up and onto his shoulder “I’ll die if you hit me with that, also get these roaches off me. Not the hammer, but the bugs, come on show some decency!” she cries, tears streaming down her face
“It’s too late for that, you shouldn’t have messed with the Straw Hats, especially not, it’s undisputed best” Usopp scoffs, preparing to drop the hammer
“Please Mr. Usopp, spare my life I’ll do anything. I’ll join your crew, be your slave, suck your… no, I still have some dignity left… ignore that last one”
Usopp Hammer: Ultimate Pound!!
Pop
The balloon popped as it slammed into the point of Perona’s crown, but the girl had already passed out from fear and shock a moment prior, so it kind of didn’t matter if the ‘attack’ itself didn’t actually hurt her.
“Poor princess, after all that big talk she gets taken down by some toy roaches and a balloon” Usopp sighs then shrugs “But oh well I still won. Nobody can beat me in the art of negativity, lying or trickery! Now stay put until Sunrise, I have important things to deal with and they don’t involve you” he explains to the unconscious pink haired girl, then turns on his heels and walks away, occasionally bouncing in happiness at having actually won his fight.
Checking in on our resident swordsman
“So, you really think a punk like you can take Shusui from me?” Ryuma asks with a chuckle
“Oh I don’t think, I know. I’m gonna carve you up, and wretch it from your cold, dead fingers” Zoro retorts, hands clenching around his own blade hilts.
“co*cky brat aren't you” Ryuma muses “Plus, you already have 3 swords”
Zoro nods “True, but ones broken and I’ve gotten used to carrying and using 3, so it feels weird to be only using 2 again. I normally use Santoryu, 3 sword style” he explains
“3 swords, sounds like a circus act to be honest Yohohohoho” Ryuma laughs
“It’s not, I’d show you but I’m a bit short, so I’ll have to make do with taking you down with 2”
Ryuma chuckles, rather enjoying the banter “I can tell already you’re quite the skilled swordsman, and I would have probably enjoyed fighting you back when I was alive, in fact, the nearly forgotten feeling in my chest might just be that. Like I’m facing a wild beast or a demon, the rush in my very core that makes me feel like I’m dancing on air. Don’t disappoint me child, not after giving me a taste of this sweet mana” rather than get a response Ryuma has to quickly block a slash from Zoro, the swordsman grins as the energy builds, producing a shockwave as they separate
“Fall back” Franky shouts, the others following his lead and getting out of the room. Good plan, given the next attack put a large hole through the wall right above where they’d been standing
Aubade Coup Droit
“What the hell was that?”
“A thrusting attack, he’s using my techniques due to being animated by my shadow, but they’re so much stronger than when I use them” Brook says in a panicked tone
“A suppose it’s a tie then” Ryuma purrs, confusing the straw hats until…
“It would seem so” Zoro agrees, just as a large gash appears in the wall behind the zombie
“Wait, Zoro can do that too?” Alvida asks
“72 Calibre Phoenix” Kaya answers “I saw him use it on Skypiea, it’s a ranged attack that from what I can tell is basically a Rankyaku fired from a sword” the syrup girl explains
Franky hums “When you put it that way, it does make sense. The problem with melee weapons is range after all” the cyborg agrees “So having an attack like that would negate that disadvantage to a certain extent”
“Regardless, the level of power these two command, it’s quite impressive, but it also means the fight won’t be a long one”
“First one to make a mistake will most likely find it to be a fatal one” Greed nods in agreement, a gesture from his mistress telling him he was plan B, should Zoro fall.
Prelude: Au Fer
‘He’s trying to break my swords, I need find a way around this attack’ Zoro thinks with a grimace
2 sword style: Flash
Demon Bear
The initial maneuver breaks the lock Ryuma was trying to get him in via a spin, then his leaping strike caused the zombie to skid, until it was pinned against the wall, even if only for a moment before he lunged again, Zoro leaping back in order to avoid being skewered, then sheathing his swords in preparation for a draw attack
Gavotte Bond en Avant
Nitoryu: Draw, Rashom*on
For a moment, it looked like nothing happened, or that Ryuma had missed and merely bounced past Zoro, until the opposite walls blew out and the tower began to fall apart, the others glad they’d moved when they did because this was getting messy fast. Not that the swordsmen noticed, running around the crumbling structure like it was an open field
72 Calibre Phoenix
Polka Remise
Both were able to almost casually either dodge or block/parry their opponent’s air bullet attacks, further proving the 2 were on a pretty even level, or at least they were for the moment. All those attacks flying around weren’t exactly helping matters in terms of the tower falling apart around them, but it hadn’t adversely affected them either, much like during his fight with Kaku Zoro didn’t exactly care what happened to the surrounding area during his fight as long as it didn’t make fighting Ryuma more difficult than it already was.
Weapons Left
Breeze breath bomb
Katon: Endan
Blowing another hole in the wall, Franky and the others slipped away to a safer section of the tower, in this case the battlements, mostly by virtue of not having a roof about to come down on their heads, it did though give them a good view for watching Zoro and Ryuma clash on the literal peak of the roof, neither giving an inch in this fight.
Well not intentionally, as both did slide a good distance once they weren’t applying pressure to each other’s swords in their lock. Not that either of them were going to let something like that stop them, now running across the slanted roof and continuing for fight, though it was noted Ryuma was steadier on his feet, even as he at one point was basically chasing Zoro further up the roof, not that the swordsman was running away, just trying to reposition himself, though was capable of fighting just as hard with his limited balance and footholds as he was on flat ground. Finally the 2 parted, both panting heavily but neither had any plans of giving up
‘If this fight goes on much longer my swords are going to shatter. This guy doesn’t just have the legendary samurai’s strength, but his wits and skills, if he was just a meat head like the ones in the graveyard this would be easy, but he’s not. This is the closest I’ll ever get to fighting someone of his calibre, at least anytime soon’ Zoro thinks, knowing this fight NEEDs to end soon, but unexpectedly, he sheathes one of his swords. Just as he does Ryuma takes another swing, slicing off the tip of the roof but missing his opponent, who uses the structure as a way to give himself some height before using his (hopeful) finishing move, with Ryuma leaping up to meet his slash
Hiryu: Kaen
3 Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash
Both attacks landed, but Zoro had a little something extra, as seen when Ryuma began to be engulfed in a blue flame originating from the site of his wound. Meanwhile Mr. 3 Swords took a slash to the side and luckily landed on the protruding hanger of a window, rather than the ground far below, meaning while injured he was still alive, for now.
“My, defeat” Ryuma says quietly, seemingly unbothered by the fact he was on fire, so he almost strolls over to the edge and looks down to Zoro “The legendary owner of this blade may have fallen long ago, but this is not the end of it’s story. With you as it’s master Shusui will be satisfied, and it’s legend will be entwined with yours”
“This is just getting weird, looks like the samurai said something but he’s too far away for me to know what it was. Really wish I knew what was going on though” Franky grumbles
“The fight is over, I’ve seen enough fights in my life to know that much. The samurai, he completely outclasses me, he was holding back so much when we battled” Brook gasped, horrified by what could have happened if he’d fought this version of Ryuma “He barely even used a fraction of his strength back then”
“It kind of makes sense to be honest, the guy would have been fighting with a handicap after all” Valentina agrees, then sees the confused look on the skeleton’s face so continues “He’s not just a zombie, he’s a general, they’re Moria’s best fighters, and that’s because the body itself belongs to person who had been incredibly powerful in life. So he would have been powerful no matter who’s shadow he had inside of him… but he had yours. Because of that he couldn’t go all out and risk killing you, otherwise he’d have just ended up killing himself too, as I don’t think the shadows last very long after the death of their owners”
“Nor the owners after the death of their shadows” Victor chuckles, getting an eyeroll from the blond and an amused smirk from Greed
“Nobody going to mention the fact he’s on fire, and seems perfectly fine?” Alvida asks, feeling pretty useless right now
“He’s a zombie, I don’t think they can feel pain” Kaya replies with an unsure shrug, then alongside the others is shocked when they see Ryuma sheath his sword, and drop it over the edge, Zoro catching it with one hand as he at least managed to pull himself to a seated position
“This body, of a legendary samurai, how shameful of me, to let it taste defeat” Ryuma wheezes, beginning to sway unsteadily on his feet
“You’re a true swordsman, body and soul, I wish I could have met you back then, seen you in your prime” Zoro says, accepting the sword and giving the samurai the respect he deserved. Ryuma gives a smile, or as much as he could in his current form, before a black blob shoots out of his mouth and falls in front of the other straw hats
“Is that?”
“Yes, it’s really back! After 5 years my shadow has returned to it’s proper place, connected to me. Yohohohoho!” Brook laughs, leaping to his feet and bouncing around in joy.
“I’ll take this sword like I said I would, but let’s pretend this fight never happened, Dragon Slayer Ryuma” Zoro smiles with a hint of pride, feeling whole again much like Brook now he had 3 swords again, nodding to the zombie as he crumbles to nothing, completely consumed by the flames.
Back with Luffy
“Getting tired Straw Hat? Maybe you should take a break” Moria taunts, as his doppleman once more reforms after Luffy punched him apart
“Shut up you lazy bastard you’re not even doing the fighting, you have no reason to be so co*cky” Luffy retorts angrily
“You really weren't listening earlier, I’m going to become King of the Pirates without lifting a finger, my Special Zombies will quite literally make me the king of the pirates! Kishishishi!”
“Stupid onion, I’m gonna kick your ass until you spit out every shadow you ever stole!” Luffy shouts, to which Moria merely rolls his eyes
“This again, we’ve gone over this already, you don’t stand a chance against me so just give up already” he commands, smirking as his shadow bellyflops onto the boy, only for it to be confused when he didn’t go splat under him. Instead he’d forced himself through the floor, making yet another hole before launching himself with a Gum Gum Rocket, which probably would have gotten another shot on Moria’s face had his shadow not managed to catch Luffy’s ankles before he got too close “I probably shouldn’t care, but you’re really not looking too hot kid, maybe it’s time to give up, especially as I don’t think you want to be here when my backup arrives” he chuckles
Not that far away
“Fosfosfosfos, so little pirates, how does it feel to be taken down by your own friends?” Hogback taunts, the 4 sitting together being guarded/held prisoner by the now one armed swordsman zombie and the penguin dog, Robin leaning against Artemis for support, while Vivi looked unfocused, though she was trying to keep the mad scientist in the centre of her vision, sitting practically on Chopper’s lap
“I can’t believe Sanji’s so far gone he hit both Artemis and Vivi. You’re not our friend you’re just a zombie!” Chopper shouts angrily, the dog clearly not giving a sh*t
“You are correct, while at the start some remnant of the original personality remains intact, soon enough the shadow and body synchronize leaving nothing but unquestioningly loyal zombies who follow my every command…”
“Moria’s every command” Artemis and Shindry correct, getting a smirk from Robin and a slurred laugh from Vivi, Chopper should probably check she isn’t more than just a little concussed after he’s done beating this Rocky Horror reject to death.
“...To a zombie obedience is the pinnacle of existence, why shouldn’t they listen and obey” he continues, ignoring the child and his assistant’s backsass.
Chopper grits his teeth “Well now you’ve convinced me, you’re nothing but an evil man, not a shred of decency even in the depths of your soul” he states, getting Hogback’s attention, though he seemed to be more curious than annoyed by the comment “In the past you were responsible for saving so many lives, I really looked up to you, as both a doctor and a humanitarian. I didn’t even mind the zombie research, the chance to get even just one last chance to say goodbye, anyone would see that as a miracle. Even if the process itself would have you labelled a heretic, madman or even a monster, it would be worth it, to truly heal someone’s heart and soul” Chopper explains, starting to get more passionate, and bringing light smiles to his companion’s faces “That’s why, when you admitted to spending years here working on resurrecting the dead, I believed you had the best of intentions”
Hogback, well it was hard to tell with the dark glasses, but he blinks “Fosfosfos, you naive little twit, what kind of idiot would go to that much trouble just to help others?” he asks laughing in the poor reindeer’s face “You stupid kid, this is how it’s always been, I am a genius who deserves the best! Money was the main motivation behind using my skills, but as I got better and more well known, there were so many whiney little sh*ts: Save my father, save my child, help my sweetheart, Nag nag nag it never ends” He explains, oblivious to the not angrily twitching Dr “I was expected to carry the burden of all the incompotent morons they went to before me, are you beginning to understand the pain of being a brilliant as I? If you want to idolize me for my work then go right ahead, but that doesn’t give you the right to be disappointed in me, or tell me my motives for working aren’t good enough for you. If they’re not good enough for a naive little twit like you, then you can kiss my ass you little beastie, how dare you think something like you can come in here and lecture me on how to be a doctor!”
“That’s not what I’m doing you stupid bastard, I’m saying I don’t even accept you as a doctor any more!” Chopper shouts, surprising everyone “I don’t accept these zombie either, they’re already dead and yet you still drag them out and parade them around for your amusem*nt, when they should be allowed to rest in peace! You made a mockery or human life, and that is why you’re nothing but a monster, a madman who will be forgotten soon enough”
“Fosfosfos, why what a narrow minded viewpoint, I gave my marionette's new life and they you say they should just be rotting in the ground, who’s the real monster here?” he asks with a cackle
“Yes that’s exactly what I’m saying, and the monster is still you” Chopper snaps
Hogback sighs deeply “How can someone like you not see the scientific breakthrough, I’ve granted them life after death. How can you simply overlook the value of that life?” he asks, walking over to Shindry who was still watching the Straw hats with a dead eyed, stare “Observe” he shouts, before kicking her in the face and knocking her to the ground “Now while you’re down there, lick the floor” he commands, and she complies without question or hesitation, the others both horrified, and finally understanding why Shindry was such a bitch to Hogback, he deserved every word and then some.
“You saw the room didn’t you, it was my room, my little shrine to the stage actress Victoria Shindry. I was infatuated by her as long as I could remember, her beauty and allure captured not only my heart, but the hearts of many all over the country. She was popular without conceit, kind and loving to her family, skilled without arrogance, she was a wonderful woman, but unfortunately… she was also spoken for. When I made my mark on the world as the greatest Doctor, I proposed, but given she was already engaged, she refused!” Hogback growls, the others thinking ‘Yeah, that’s kind of how that works, dumbass’ but he wasn’t done “Soon after, I heard of the terrible news of what happened, of my beloved’s passing from this world. I was at a loss for words, unmoored by grief I quit my job and that was when… HE appeared. Quite literally out of nowhere was Master Moria with an offer I simply couldn’t refuse. I did make one condition though: in exchange for my services, he would bring my Shindry back to life, and he accepted” he chuckles, shivers running down the other living beings spines “So I stole her corpse, in order to finally have Shindry to myself, obeying only me. Her personality… changed dramatically, and not for the better, but she was still hot as Hell, which is probably where I’m going when I die, and she obeys, which are franky all that matter to me. I’m happy, and I’m sure she is as well. I’ve given her a 2nd chance, and another life in this world to be a functional human being, Fosfosfos”
Chopper’s pupils shrunk and his entire body tenses “You call THAT a functional human being? Tell her to stop that, at once!” he orders, Hogback turning his head and noticing Shindry was still licking the floor “A human who’s heart and body is not a human at all, it’s not a life it’s puppetry, it’s a mockery of the human spirit. Every one of these abominations is proof of the pain and suffering you’re inflicted upon someone in this world, and I won’t allow you to go unpunished any longer!” Chopper bellows, impressive given he was still in his smaller Brain Point form.
Apparently he’d finally managed to irritate Hogback “And what would a naive reindeer pirate Doctor of such limited skills possibly know about life huh? Shindry, stand up… and kill them all!” he orders, only a lack of gears grinding or pistons firing separated the zombie from a robot as she stopped and stood, gazing at the straw hats with cold dead eyes, a large pile of plates appearing from… somewhere and settled in her left hand. “It’s time to end this now, but don’t worry, you’ll be the next on my operating table, especially you Dr. Chopper, I’ve been on the lookout for a new assistant and I think you’ll do nicely”
As the zombie begins throwing plates at the pirates Chopper leaps forward and rushes her, transforming into his Heavy point as he does, the large, yeti like beast able to initially restrain her, until she slammed her leg into his gut at full force, freeing her left arm so she could smash all the plates on Chopper’s head.
“Fosfosfos, I forgot to mention that Shindry was heavilly modified by moi, she may look delicate and petit, but I made her into the perfect killing machine” Hogback boasts, laughing maniacally
“Chopper, you need to break the zombie, tear her apart!” Robin shouts
“I can’t it feels wrong” Chopper winces as he starts to tank repeated kicks to the ribs from the now emoting, angry zombie
“Everything about her is wrong!” Vivi pipes in “Ending her suffering as quickly as possible is more important than your feelings right now. Yes you’re about to desecrate a corpse, but I’m sure Shindry’s spirit will forgive you, as long as it means she can finally be free from this torture he calls a 2nd life”
“You’re all unwilling to see what’s right in front of you, this is what man has dreamed about for all of time, resurrection of the dead” Hogback claims
“That’s not what this is. Just because you can make your puppet dance doesn’t mean she’s alive, living is about choice, freedom. Anything that ‘lives’ the way she is can’t be considered alive, this isn’t living!” the Zoan screams, surprisingly having an effect on the zombies as Shindry stops kicking and goes slack “Robin, a little help over here, get the salt in her!” he calls, Robin winces but nods, blooming arms to get a salt ball from his pouch.
“This isn’t how it’s supposed to go, Jigoro, Inuppe protect Shindry, kill the others!” Hogback orders, snapping the other 2 zombies out of their stupor, the penguin dog zipping forward and kicking Chopper far away from Shindry
“3 sword… oh yeah. 2 Sword style, 72 calbra Penx” Jigoro slurs swinging in the direction of the reindeer, nearly shredding Inuppe as well but both manage to dodge
Dieciséis Fleur
The zombie struggles for a moment but soon manges to break the hold Robin has on him with her blooms, turning to try finish the job he’d started earlier, he was instead blindsided by the other male zombie in the room, slamming straight into him.
“Hm, seems even without their memories Sanji and Zoro are destined to fight” Vivi muses with a giggle, watching the 2 fight each other rather than her crew mates, and make a mess of the room in the process
“What are you idiots doing?” Hogback screams in exasperation “Stop arguing, we need to fight together” he shouts
“Robin!” Chopper calls, zipping his lips, getting a nod from the archaeologist who does the same for Hogback, shutting him up for the moment
“Those 2 aren’t going to stop any time soon, especially if their ‘master’ can’t tell them to stop” Artemis says with a smirk, Hogback swallowing thickly at the look in her eyes
“True, I think they were busy fighting and missed your last order so they still have the previous one locked in. Now if only I knew what that was” Robin says, rubbing her chin with another bloomed arm
“Save Shindry, Kill the Others” Vivi supplies, Chopper helping her to stand “Now the problem is, that’s a really vague statement, but ‘The Others’ COULD be interpreted as ‘everyone in the room except Shindry’, it would explain why they’re trying to kill each other for one thing, but the bigger problem is… well you” the smirk was back
Robin chuckles as she releases Hogback “This is quite a high tower isn’t it?” she asks seemingly out of nowhere “It sure is a shame none of us are under your control, not only would we not be feuding like Skypeians and Shandorians, but you could just tell us to leap off the tower and that would be the end” she shrugs and turns, flashing Chopper an almost feral grin
“You think a bitch like you can talk to me like that?” Hogback shrieks “I’ll have you torn apart and put back together as my zombie soon enough, and then just for fun I’ll order you to jump off this tower and put an end to your attitude!” he bellows/commands, not realising what he did until he saw Jigoro and Inuppe staring at him ‘Oh, sh*t’ he thinks
“Yes Master!” the 2 zombies state before running for the window, even now fighting over who will jump first and who will hit the ground first and follow Hogback’s order better
“But, given we’re all still alive, we’re going to give that a pass for now” Robin turns back, smirk nearly splitting her face as Hogback realises he’s basically on his own against 4 of the straw hats, including one who he’s clearly pissed off
“I know it’s Luffy’s line, but he’s busy dealing with Moria so all the other zombies will be purified, meaning I can take my time kicking your ass for the perversion of science, medicine and human decency you’ve created” Chopper growls, cracking his knuckles as he approaches the man
“Shindry, buy me time while I escape” he orders/stage whispers, then turns his head when the maid doesn’t immediate leap to his aid and pummel the reindeer “Shindry, listen to me, it doens’t matter if they purify you I’ll just find another shadow” he states flippantly, while the pirate’s eyes widen when they see the state she’s in.
Shindry was crying, a steady flow of tears running down her grey cheeks “My body, it won’t move” the monotone contrasted with the emotion on display, but that honesty was to be expected at this point. The fact a zombie could cry was news to all of them though.
TBC
LW: Well, Hogback’s basically f*cked, it really is just Moria left at this point, good luck you lazy assed onion bastard.
Wow, 95 chapters, I should probably do something special for 100 ay?
Chapter 96: Straw Hats Vs Oars: 1st try
Chapter Text
LW: The big guy’s about to show up, hope the crew is ready O_O
Rubber King & Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs Oars: 1st try
“Kishishishi, here he comes” Moria laughs, Luffy turning as by now even he could feel the steady thumps, signalling the return “There he is, my wondrous, Oars!” he shouts as the giant zombie peers into the freezer, Luffy’s jaw dropping as he finally sees it, the behemoth that supposedly held his shadow
‘f*ck, this is going to be a lot harder than I thought’
A few rooms away
Drip drop drip drop
“Shindry, don’t just stand there, say something! You’re starting to scare me Shindry, stop ignoring me and do something!” Hogback pleads/shouts as the zombie just stands there crying, her eyes staring aimlessly into space.
“My body, won’t move…” she finally responds “...and these tears, won’t stop”
“What kind of bullsh*t is that? You will move when and where I tell you to move, and stop with the waterworks, it won’t break me. If not for the shadow inside you you’d be dead, you’re current life is thanks to me. Zombies only purpose is to serve, I made you and can unmake you just as easily you stupid bitch, so follow my orders!”
“Fufufu, it appears, that the original owner of the body is somehow fighting back against the shadow’s control” Robin hums “Unexpected to say the least”
“But the body’s been dead for a decade, could there still be some of the original owner’s will in that dead flesh?” Chopper asks
“Unknown, this is something you can’t exactly check, nor would there be any research done on the subject. You could scowar the world and still not find all the answers” Robin replies, just as the shadow finally wins out, Shindry shuffling heavily towards them
“Puppet indeed, that doesn’t look natural in the slightest” Artemis notes, grimacing
“I will, kill them all” Shindry says, her voice once more a flat monotone
“Great, there’s the woman I love, now try buy me as much time as possible k?” Hogback orders
Robin sighs “Shame, I thought we were about to experience a miracle” she mumbles, crossing her arms, while Vivi steadies herself and extends her wires
Dose Fleur
Cat’s Cradle
With Shindry ‘occupied’ it meant Chopper was able to run down Dr. Hogback before he even had a chance to really try getting away, tackling the man to the ground
“You stupid brat, how could you side with a corpse instead of a genius?” he shouts, squirming uselessly “What do you even care you’re not even a human in the first place you monster?”
“Our captain, he’s just fine with Monsters, Demons, perverts, psychopaths, and even cyborgs and we all get along just fine”
“Plus Uncle Luffy doesn’t need to make us into zombie slaves to get us to listen to him” Artemis adds, having followed Chopper hoping to get a chance to kick the bastard in the face.
“Robin, now!” Chopper shouts, getting a nod from the archaeologist
Pierna Fleur
“Why do I feel like the floor’s gone… oh sh*t!” Hogback screams as he sees what happened, Robin had bloomed several sets of legs under Chopper’s feet, forming a kind of Hana stilts which the 2 were now swinging on from the top “Please, be reasonable Dr. Chopper, if you spatter my genius brains on the floor below just think about the disservice you’ll do to the medical community” he pleads
“Don’t care, besides it’s that rotten brain of yours that got you into this mess” Chopper growls, squeezing tighter
“I thought you were a man of reason, can’t we work something out?”
“It’s too late for that”
Robi-Cho Suplex
Aaanndd Back to Luffy
“This guy, he’s even bigger than those giants from Little Garden, how is THAT being run by my shadow?” Luffy wonders aloud
“Kishishishi, you sure kept me waiting around Oars, but I’m happy to see your shadow and body have worked out the kinks and synchronized quickly enough. I take it you’ll be obedient and not randomly destroy your fellow zombies in the future?” he asks “How about a little test, who is your master?”
“Gecko Moria, you are my master” Oars boomed, sending a shiver down Luffy’s spine
“No way… hold on. You’re supposed to be my shadow, you don’t have to listen to this fat*ss, the King can’t have a Captain, he is the one above all!” Luffy shouts agrilly
Oars turns his head slightly “Huh, who are you, and what’s with that dumb hat?” he asks
“Kishishi, everything is in order, meaning it’s time for your first mission. I’ve placed several wanted posters on your arm, ruffians who have been causing your master a great deal of trouble. They’re called the Straw Hat Pirates. I want you to find them, ruin them and then put them on their ship. If you kill a few it’s no big deal, plus with a crew worth over a billion collectively, (1 billion, 164 million, and 50 beris to be exact) so they won’t simply die from a single blow, even from you Oars. So don’t hold back, I want to see your full potential, understand?”
“K. You got it master” Oars nods, then notices one of the targets was right in front of him “Oh, found one, that was easy. It’s Straw Hat”
‘Crap’ Luffy thinks with a grimace then sees something he didn’t expect… Moria running “Hey, get back here coward!” he shouts, but he had bigger things to worry about, literally
“Gum Gum...” Oars growls
“Hey, that’s my thing!” Luffy shouts back, then tries to pedal back as the giant zombie headbutts the railing her was standing on
“...Bell!”
THUMP
And the reunion begins….now!
“That’s, one hell of a monstrous zombie” Vivi gasps
“That’s Luffy’s zombie” Chopper corrects, still dropping with Hogback as the room begins to crumble
“Chopper, the floor won’t last much longer, get over here!” Robin calls, the reindeer shifting to Walk Point and using Hogback as a spring board bounces over to the relative safety of the opposite end of the room to Oars. The Doc wasn’t so lucky, as part of the falling walls, ceiling and floor fell on him, pinning him to the ground.
“That was a close one, but it looks like Hogback and Shindry fell to the next floor down” Chopper notes as the 4 rebalance themselves
“We should probably run now, shouldn’t we?” Artemis asks, looking worryingly at the oni like giant zombie, plodding aimlessly through the building.
The other problem was Oar’s path seemed to cross right through where Hogback and Shindry were “I’m conflicted, on the one hand, I want the bastard to suffer for all he’s done, but on the other, I don’t want to watch him get smushed by a giant” Vivi hums, biting her lip
“Something’s going on down there, we just can’t hear it from here” Robin muses, considering blooming some ears but deciding it wasn’t worth it.
The big surprise though was when Shindry turned her head to where the Straw hats were… and smiled. They gasped, not knowing she was actually able to do that, but it hit Chopper that she looked exactly like she did in the photos, for that one moment she might as well have been the real thing, shame both her and Hogback got stepped on a few moments later.
Elsewhere
“Damn this place is going down fast” Kaos chuckles, then turns to Sanji with concern “I know you’re being a chivalrous pervert or whatever, but you look like you’re carrying a knife between your balls, maybe let us wake Nami up rather than carry her around?” he suggests
“Not a chance, I will protect the angel with my life” Sanji retorts, just as the ceiling caves in, a big red foot stomping through it “Crap, is that Luffy’s zombie?”
“Well, it’s sure not yours. Got any ideas, besides running at full speed that way?” Kaos asks, pointing behind him, then sighs “Also Pervsalom is back” he says just as Sanji looks down and sees Nami was missing
“You bastard, get your ugly mug back here so I can kick it!”
“Hahaha, seems that troublesome zombie is finally playing for our team, which means you're about to lose your life. I think now is the best time for me to leave, take my delicious bride elsewhere to savour her delicate flower” Absolom gloats
“Show yourself you coward!” Sanji bellows
“No thanks, not going to happen, but if you’re in that desperate a need for company, go play with Oars” the ivisoperv laughs as Oars stomps towards the 2, who leap out of the way
Tower
“So, how does it feel to be whole again?” Alvida asks half jokingly, Zoro staring at his new blade the entire time Kaya was checking him over
“Never mind that, how does it feel to beat the most famous samurai in all of Wano’s history?” Valentina asks with a wide grin, until they hear more thuds and when they looked down a wall was punched through, Oars walking though it into the open courtyard “Well, sh*t”
“Looks like there’s still one more zombie we definitely need to deal with” Zoro says as he stands, attaching Shusui to his hip like his other 2, ready to fight.
“Hey, down there in the rubble, more zombies?” Franky asks
“Nope, that’s our chef, and if I’m not mistaken we’ve finally found Kaos” Victor chuckles as he sees the 2 seemed mostly ok, though the fact the purplette’s facial expression had dropped into a grimace couldn’t be seen from up there so wasn’t mentioned or noticed.
Checking up on Luffy
“MORIA!!!!!!” Luffy screams as he chases the onion human through the corridors “Get back here you lazy bastard!”
“Are you running FROM your shadow, or CHASING me?” Morias asks between pants, the fat bastard clearly out of shape and not used to running for any length of time
“Chasing you, sure my shadow will be a pain to deal with, but you’re the bigger problem over all, as well as the root of all this mess” Luffy argues
In a calmer part of the island
“Oh, that’s not good” Usopp whimpers, peering at Oars through his binoculars
“Usopp” Chopper yells as he spots the long nose
“Chopper. Robin. Artemis, Vivi. Man am I glad to see you all ok. We’ve got a big problem though” Usopp points behind him towards Oars “The zombie has our wanted posters on his arm, he knows what we all look like!” he screams, then as if to prove the point, Oars begins bellowing
“COME OUT COWARDS! YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM ME FOREVER STRAW HATS!!”
“You know, I might actually enjoy this” Kaos chuckles, a forked tongue slipped past pointed teeth, similar expressions found on Zoro and Alvida, itching for a real fight after all these lame zombies (Plus Zoro wanted a chance to try out his new sword) “Don’t kill Moria too quickly Luffy, I want to have some fun” he mutters, Hebi reforming into a burning blue polearm as he removes her from his hip.
“So, anyone got any bright ideas on how to fight this zombie?” Greed asks curiously
“Not at the...wait a minute. Usopp!!” Valentina shouts, getting the others, and more importantly the sniper’s attention
“Hey, did anyone else hear my name a moment ago?” Usopp asks, looking left to right
“Up here dumbass!” the group with him look up when they hear Zoro shout
“Huh, that’s where everyone else is” Vivi muses
“Except Luffy, Sanji, Nami and Kaos” Chopper adds, looking worried
“Hey, what are you guys doing up there?” Usopp asks/shouts
“Killed a zombie samurai, got Brooks shadow back” Zoro replies pretty casually
“LUFFY? I THINK I’M SUPPOSED TO CRUSH THAT GUY, MY NAME’S OARS. HELLO” Oars shouts, mostly because he doesn’t seem to have a lower tone.
“Is the pervert striking a conversation with the damn zombie?” Alvida grunts as she facepalms
“Well, it doesn’t have tit*, so… I’m really confused” Valentina admits with a shrug
“Damn cook, has he even rescued Nami yet after all that posturing?” Zoro asks with a scowl
“Probably not, but I think going anywhere near that thing makes his own situation a lot worse than hers” Brook comments
“Odd that they decided to switch to violence mid way through a mission, given they needed us alive to extract and maintain our shadows” Robin muses
“Guess after getting Luffy’s shadow and it actually syncing up to that beast, the rest of us are pretty much expendable” Usopp sighs, the only sign of his fear right now his quivering fists
“Either that, or with all the shadows we’ve purified and set free Moria decided we’re more trouble than we’re worth” Vivi suggests, getting a nod of agreement from Artemis
“Either way we should probably do something to save his ass” Robin says as she crosses her arms
“Hold on a second, you might want to hold off on that at least for the moment”
“And why’s that, you said he has all our wanted posters on his arm?” Robin asks, her fingers twitching
“He does, but you’ve seen Sanji’s wanted poster, it looks nothing like him” Usopp actually gives a slight chuckle at that, partly in relief as he sees Robin relax even if only slightly
“But wait, doesn’t your wanted poster look nothing like you either, because you’re wearing a full face mask?” Artemis asks, confusing Chopper and causing Usopp to freeze up in panic
“HM, YOU LOOK EXACTLY LIKE YOU DO IN THE WANTED POSTER” Oars booms, shooting that plan out of the water
“The f*ck just happened?” Victor asks, partly in shock but mostly confusion
“Oars is just as stupid as Luffy, and that fact just bit us in the ass, or at least Sanji’s” Zoro sighs, taking the slap to the head from Alvida without complaint, he did just insult her husband, even if they all knew their captain wasn’t even close to being the smartest pirate on the Sunny.
“What, that poster looks nothing like me!” Sanji shouts angrily
“BUT IT’S SO GOOD, REALLY CAPTURE LOOK OF STUPIDITY ON FACE” Oars retorts
“Did your eyes rot out of your skull moron?”
“NEVER MIND, YOU STILL ADMIT TO BEING PART OF THE STRAW HAT CREW”
“He’s got you there Sanji” Kaos chuckles, now spinning his weapon as he waits to see where this goes.
Sanji grunts “Yeah, so what?”
“SO NOW YOU DIE”
“And now we brawl. Want any help Eros?” Kaos asks, his grin returning
“I’d have expected you to have run off again if you weren’t going to do so anyway” the cook says with an eye roll
Checking up on the captain
“Moria, get back here and fight me!” Luffy shouts, his punches being repeatedly blocked by Doppleman “Stupid shadow, stop hiding like a bitch and fight!”
“Kishishi, catch me if you can Straw Hat, ah damn it, what idiot put this dead end here” Moria laughs, then stops when he realises he’s run out of corridor
“Finally, now it’s time for me to kick your ass”
“Really? Did it ever occur to you I was leading you on this wild goose chase to distract you from Oars tearing your crew to shreds?”
“Yeah, but it didn’t matter, my crew doesn’t need me to fight their battles for them, they’ve probably already dealt with those other assholes who were there when you stole my shadow” Luffy retorts
“Really, then I guess we can keep playing a little longer” Moria coos
Brick Bat attack
“Come find me when you’re done” Moria taunts running around Luffy as he flails around trying to deal with the shadow bats, splattering them against the wall with a Gattling, before resuming his chase after the onion man.
So not much then, back to the action
“STAY STILL AND LET ME SQUASH YOU!”
“How about, no?” Kaos hums though frowns as his weapon wasn’t really doing much against a creature of Oar’s size, not that Sanji was doing much better but at least something that big gave telegraphed attacks like there was no tomorrow, meaning they could at least dodge most if not all of his punches
“TAKE THIS YOU DAMN TWERPS. GUM GUM…”
“sh*t, did he get Luffy’s Devil fruit along with his shadow?” Usopp shouts in panic
“Unlikely, otherwise Moria would have focused solely on Devil fruit users as targets to steal the shadows of” Robin theorizes, something niggling at the back of her mind
“...SICKLE” Oars booms, then slams him arm down where the 2 were standing a moment ago
“Ok, good news, he doesn’t have Luffy’s fruit, bad news, at his size he might as well already have it” Franky summarises
“He’s also faster than you would expect for a brute of his size” Alvida says with a scowl
Robin’s eyes widen “I remember now, why the name Oars set off alarm bells. That zombie was once the legendary Demon, once known as the Continent Puller”
Collier Shot
Descending Thrust
“Damn, I knew it was tanky but usually those attacks would do something” Sanji growls around his cigarette
“Well we did aim for the head, in hindsight that wasn’t our best plan” Kaos sighs, then his eyes widen as Oars is in front of them in seconds ‘sh*t’ he thinks before they get backhanded into the nearby building
“Strength and speed on a body like that, this zombie’s way too OP” Valentina grimaces
“OK PIRATES, SQUISHING TIME… WAIT WHERE OTHER ONE GO?” Oars grunts, as he picks up Sanji “OH WELL, TIME TO DIE”
Firebird Star
Whoosh
“HOT” Oars grunts, more an acknowledgement of the fact he was on fire, than any pain or discomfort as he turns towards where Ussop had been standing when he fired the attack. Tossing Sanji to the ground before lumbering over “TALL WOMAN WITH BLACK HAIR, FUZZY THING, BLUE CHICK WITH CUTE FACE, CHILD WITH CHEEK BLUSHES. THOSE SOME STRAW HATS”
“Oh crap now he’s focused on us!” Chopper and Usopp shout
“Well, time to make our way to the ground floor” Zoro says as he unsheathes all 3 swords, being a logia was the only reason Kaya had already jumped a moment before him, her syrup body absorbing the impact easily.
“How about we draw his fire first” Franky suggests, activating the guns in his arm and firing, only for Oars to turn and kick at the tower they were on, sending them all falling “Well, that could have gone better” he groans, having managed to grab Brook and Victor as they fell, Alvida practically bounced from stone to stone as she headed to the others while Zoro, Greed and Valentina ran across his leg to begin the offence
One Gorilla, Two Gorilla
Nigori-Zake
Zoro’s attack hit the zombie dead on, cutting off one of his lower fangs as well as knocking him back, while the other 2 slashed across his head and neck as they blitzed past, before using the wall to reunite with the others. Unfortunately for Zoro, Oars was still kicking
Gum Gum Volcano
As he shot the swordsman into the sky
“This is bad, he won’t survive a fall from this height” Kaya gasps
“Hey asshole, open wide!” Franky shouts, before unloading with a Weapons Left, only for his jaw to drop when Oars managed to dodge his attack “He, what the hell is with this guy?”
“Um, Franky, we may have a bigger problem” Brook notes, pointing to where Oars currently was, ripping up a tower with a bear hug, then tackling their current position with it.
“He’s shredding through all of us!” Usopp shouts
“Zoro’s on the way down, we need to do something!” Chopper screams, as Robin crosses her arms
Cien Fleur: Spider net
“Ah, that was a close one. If we survive this I owe you one Robin” Zoro groans, then eyes widen in panic as Oars is upon them
“Hail Mary time, Hey ugly!” Usopp shouts, Oars turns to look straight at him “You may be a walking tank… but you’re still a zombie”
Special Attack: Salt Stars
The salt enters Oar’s open mouth and he swallows, but instead of a shadow tadpole forcing itself free, he just stood there, staring at the straw hats with his one functional eye
“It, it didn’t work” Usopp whimpers
“At his size, it seems nothing short of guzzling sea water would purify him” Vivi grimaces
“And the required effort to get him in the water would most likely cause a tidal wave that would kill all those currently alive on this island” Robin adds unhelpfully
Getting annoyed Chopper shifts into Heavy Point and charges at the Zombie
Heavy Gong
Only for him to slam the remains of the tower he was holding where the group was currently located, destroying the bridge, sending them to the ground and knocking them all out (Well, not Greed, but the Edo Tensai was damaged enough he needed time to repair before being able to do anything)
“Well, that went about as well as expected” Kaos mutters with a wheeze as he sees the entire crew get decimated by a single opponent, just before losing the battle to remain conscious himself
Damn these guys got f*cked. Let’s see how someone else is doing, and if the drugs have worn off yet
“You may now kiss the bride”
Of the many things Nami wanted to be woken up to, a stack of gold, jewels and beri high on that list, weird messed up catman lips trying to kiss her was nowhere to be seen on it, but unfortunately that was what she got
“What the f*ck is going on, let me go! Stay away from me you perverted freak!” Nami screams, trying to break the hold the zombie had on her body
“Shut up woman, I’ve already stood through the boring part and the asskicking blondy and snaky gave me, so justy hold still and let me kiss you!”
“No f*cking way, those aren’t even human lips you twisted bastard!” Nami yells as she squirms, moving her head out of the way of the perverts repent kiss attacks “Plus I’m a pirate I want money and adventure not marriage with some stitched up weirdo”
“I am your king, you’ll be my graveyard queen, doesn’t that sound wonderful?” Absolom boasts between attempted smooches
“Those words don’t even make sense!”
CRASH
“Lola!” Absolom shouts as the warthog zombie drops out of the ceiling, the impact knocking everyone back
“Nami-zo, you bastard, how could you do this to me?” Lola growls “You told me Ab and I made a wonderful couple yet here you are marrying him, I thought you were my friend!” she bellows
“I’ve literally just woken up from the mother of all hangovers, I’m currently busy praying all this ceremony meant he wasn’t going to ‘sample the goods’ before the wedding night” Nami shouts back, failing to suppress a shudder
“Damn it Lola, got get married to a carcass and get out of my way!” Absolom orders, doing precisely nothing as usual
“Then marry me!”
“I’d rather off myself”
Lola huffs “Poor little Ab, unaware of the truth. This ‘woman’ behind me, her real name, is Nami-zo and she… is a HE” she announces, Nami’s eyebrows shooting up to her hairline as Absolom’s jaw drops
“NOOOOOOOOO! That can’t be true” the invisoperv declares frantically
“Yeah it’s all true, he told me himself. So Ab is that why you don’t want me, you secretly into guys instead?” Lola asks/taunts
‘Damn, if she hadn’t broken in I’d have actually married a guy, I nearly kissed him right on the lips…. Wait a minute” Absolom thinks, then something clicks in his brain “I saw you in the bath, you’re all woman from those tit* to the kitty between your legs!”
“Really, the guy who looks like he’s an entire zoo stitched together doesn’t know sex change surgery exists?” Nami bluffs “Plus for all you know I was changed by the Horu Horu no mi’s power” she adds, remembering Kaos muttering about it as he ripped out some of his notes.
“Meaning you’re still a girl on the outside, and a man stealing hussy to boot!” Lola shouts, swinging wildy and causing Nami to keep backing away from the crazy zombie “Get out of here!”
‘She keeps missing, I mean it’s close enough I’d probably get cut if I just stood there, but she should be able to hit me with how skilled she seems to be with those weapons’ Nami thinks, confused by what she’s seeing
“Nami-zo” Lola whispers “You need to get out of here fast. I came to rescue you, my friend. I’ll hold me off as long as I can, don’t know how long that will be but it’s the best I got” she then turns on her heels and rushes for Absolom allowing Nami to start the retreat in the comotion “Master Ab, I’m gonna make you forget the big strong man in your nightmares, by replacing him with my sexy lady kisses. Prepare for my forceful smooches!”
“Damn it Lola my bride is getting away” Absolom growls
“Your bride is right here, now pucker up!”
“Not a chance” Absolom shouts, using his wrist mounted bazookas to blow Lola away “You won’t convince me that easy my beloved is a man” he sneers
“Lola!” Nami screams as the warthog is blasted through the wall, meanwhile Absolom pants heavily, the recoil from his guns much worse given his poor condition after his earlier beatdown
“You’re nothing but a lowly zombie, how dare you make me waste so much effort and ammo disposing of you” he scowls, arm still extended, just in case he miscalculated and she lept at him again. He turns his head when he catches movement, but lowers his guard when he see’s it to be Nami “That’s a good girl” he purrs “Finally come to your senses and stoped running from me my sweet?” he asks, seemingly not noticing, that she had her Climatact out and ready “You can’t hide and you can’t escape, because wherever you go I’ll hurt you down and I assures you, you won’t even see me coming”
Thunder Charge
“You won’t get away with this” Nami growls, the tip of her weapon glowing and starting to spark “A straw hat never lets their friends pain go unpunished” the top section decouples as Nami lets it spin “This is for Lola!” she shouts as she charges straight for the dumbass
“That’s it my sweet, come running into your husband’s arms” the cat-perv coos, leaving himself wide open to…
Swing Arm
...what basically amounts to a high speed impact from a club, combined with being hit by lightning, both striking him right in the face simultaneously.
“Unfortunately, I doubt this will be enough to beat you, but I’m still going to try Oda damn it!” Nami says, gritting her teeth and the climatact continues to discharge into the pervert. Of course she didn’t know both Sanji and Kaos had beaten him black and blue not that long ago, so her attack actually was enough to finally K.O. the bastard, leaving the Inviso-perv twitching and smoking on the ground in front of her. “Huh, didn’t see that coming, but oh well, I won a fight! Maybe I hit his weak spot or something, kind of expected that to be his balls but I guess Dr. Hogback f*cked up somewhere in putting him back together, or something” Nami shrugs, mostly just happy this was all over, besides she had more important things to worry about as she hears Lola stir and cough, rushing over to check on her “Please tell me you’re ok Lola. You have no idea how thankful I am you showed up to save me”
Lola chuckles “Don’t mention it, that’s what friends are for right?”
Nami frowns, feeling bad inside “I, owe you an apology for earlier Lola. When we first met, you scared me a lot and I lied to you, I’m not really a man but I thought if I said I was you’d leave me alone or at least stop trying to kill me”
“Yeah I didn’t think you were, no man has a chest like that Nami dear” the zombie teases, getting a tired laugh from the navigator… then something clicks in her rotten skull “Wait a minute, Absolom is completely helpless right now. I’m gonna make you mine baby, now and forever!” she shouts, leaping up and diving for the unconscious pervert, Nami chuckling as she is happy her friend finally got what she wanted
Aw, this is nice.... Now back to the other stuff
“Well, that was actually kind of humiliating, I don’t think we even made more than superficial scratches on this huge f*cker”
“Master will be displeased I was beaten by an inferior undead
“Leave Nii-san to me, you can redeem yourself helping us kick his undead ass in the meantime”
“Speaking of, what was his name again?”
“I think it said its name was Roach”
“Not even close”
“Pretty sure there was an ‘S’ in it”
“Roast?”
“No the end, the S was at the end”
“Fours?”
Robin sighs, her crew were idiots sometimes, probably Luffy rubbing off on them “It’s Oars”
“Right, Oars, that sounds right”
“Um, sorry to mention but my injuries are quite terrible…” Brook says
“That’s fine, you can still move right, because if you can’t fight, at least get out of the splash zone”
“Oh, Ok”
“Hey Oars!” Sanji shouts, getting the giant zombie’s attention “We’ve been told you have Luffy’s shadow inside you, so really it’s your own fault for forgetting that you shouldn’t underestimate the strength of your own crew” he says as he lights a cigarette, the entire group in lock step with weapons out and ready for action
“Let’s see if the big man can actually fight the crew all at once, rather than pick us off one by one” Kaos says with a feral smirk, Hebi already spinning in his hand
TBC
LW: Well, I think the crew have been sufficiently warmed up, and the final member of Moria’s non zombie forces have been beaten properly, so it really is just Onion and Oars.
Chapter 97: Straw Hats Vs Oars: Take 2
Chapter Text
LW: Ok, who wants to see some giant zombie fighting? Great, that’s what’s happening in this chapter. Enjoy :D
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs Oars: Take 2
“HA HA, YOU TINY ANTS ARE TOUGHER THAN I THOUGHT” Oars bellows, before leaping down to get to their level
“I’m tired of getting knocked around like some kid’s ball, I say it’s high time we knock him around” Zoro chuckles
“Wha, you do remember who we’re fighting right Zoro?” Usopp squeaks
“I’m down for that, he’s had his fun, now it’s our turn” Sanji for once agrees with the swordsman
“We destroy his favorite meatsuit, and Moria will be easy to beat after, provided Luffy hasn’t already done so while we’re here with this lumux” Kaos adds, grinning wickedly
“Is nobody thinking clearly here, he’s a giant how could we possibly do any of those things”
“We’re not blind Usopp, plus he has Luffy’s shadow, and with it his speed and fighting skills, like Ryuma did with Brook’s” Victor argues but also agrees
“Oars would make a terrible pirate king” Robin thinks aloud
“Glad we all agree on that, let’s kick his ass!” Franky cheers “I got tonnes of ideas, something has to work”
“Everything has a weak point” Chopper mutters
“We just have to find and exploit it” Kaya finishes, lemon yellow spikes forming on her arms, shoulders and back
‘Ok, maybe with all of us working together it’s not completely hopeless… but I’m still scared’
“TIME TO CRUSH” Oars growls, before jumping into the air
GUM GUM GIANT BUTT STOMP
“Clearly Oars didn’t get to keep Luffy’s creativity” Kaos chuckles as everyone leaps or dives away to avoid being sat on by the giant zombie “Didn’t even try think of a weapon”
“In his defence all the appropriate names are taken, I mean doesn’t Luffy already have a Gum Gum Mallet technique?” Alvida half jokes
“I think it’s Hammer, but close enough I guess” he shrugs
GUM GUM HAMMER ARM
“Franky look out” Vivi shouts, the cyborg just about dodging in time
“Damn, you still think you can pick us off one by one, then how about we mix things up and come at you all at once” Franky says, running towards the group “Ready guys, I have a plan. We’re taking this rotting beast down with Tactic 15!” he announces a few straw hats shiver at the very idea
“Tactic 15, but it’s still untested!” Chopper screams in panic
“No time like the present, besides it’ll never BE a tested tactic if we all die out here” Franky argues, getting a sigh and nod from the doctor and sniper as the 3 run towards Zoro and Sanji “Swordsman, Eyebrows get ready for battle”
“What?”
“Just be prepared to grab my legs dumbasses!”
“Why do I feel like this day is about to get even weirder?” Sanji asks, getting a chuckle and shrug from Zoro.
Straw Hat Docking 6: Big Emperor
What this entails was Franky ‘docking’ onto Zoro and Sanji by landing on their shoulders and them holding his leg secure, Usopp on his right arm, doing a claw like formation, and Chopper on his head, forming the head o their living mecha. Only problem being that’s only 5, as Chopper notices
“Come on Robin, you’re supposed to dock on my left arm!” Franky whines
“Just do what I do it’ll be fine” Usopp adds
“No” she states flattly “I’m not embarrassing myself like that, even if the only people around are you guys” she continues
“Come on, someone has to be the left arm K…” Chopper turns to the researcher but the offer dies in his throat as he lowers his shades to glare at the reindeer, and like a predator bearing down on a prey Chopper wants to run and hide in the nearest and deepest hole he could find right about now
“Come on Vic, you might enjoy it, plus that combo attack needs all the firepower he can get” Valentina teases, the bomberman sighs before agreeing
Equipment change: BoomFist
“OK, THAT’S COOL, NOW DIE ROBOT MAN!” Oars shouts, slapping the upper half off Zoro and Sanji’s shoulders, sending the 4 of them into a wall
“Well, glad that’s over with” Sanji sighs
“Yeah, never been happy to get hit before” Zoro hums “Hey Franky I’m borrowing this” he calls, stabbing one of his swords into the cyborg’s Heavy Nunchucks
“Fine, just try not break it” Franky sighs
“No promises. Hey Robin, while we focus on his left arm, think you can get ready to put him in a submission hold?” he asks as Sanji kicks a large chunk of rubble at Oar’s head
Robin shrugs “I’ll see what I can do, never had to restrain something this big before”
“Come and get me you crappy Luffy cosplayer” Sanji taunts as he runs around Oars
“JUST SQUISH ALREADY! GUM GUM…”
“Usopp now!”
Special Oil Star
The oil, aimed at Oar’s right hand unbalances the giant, leaving him wide open
“Hey swirly brow, give us a boost why don’t cha?”
The blond’s eyebrow rises “With that heavy thing, are you nuts?”
Zoro rolls his eyes “Well, if you’re not man enough I understand, women dig weaklings after all”
“What you call me you bastard, get over here!” Sanji shouts, using his leg to spring board the leaping swordsman, Greed simply using his shoulders in a similar manner, sending both of them flying straight for Oars
Power shoot
Greatshot slash
Underworld Severance
“I believe it’s my turn now” Robin smiles as both attacks land
Cien Fleur: Big Tree
Clutch
The mass of bloomed arms wrap around Oar’s left arm, then pull it back sharply until it’s pressed against his back
“I CAN’T HOLD LIKE THIS, I’M GONNA FALL”
“Keep those planks coming little bro” Franky orders rapidly building a staircase in mid air thanks to Chopper “This will get us to the top, but it won’t hold for long so we need to make it count, you ready?”
“Ready” Chopper nods as both leap off the staircase just before it collapses, aiming to punch Oars square in the face
Super Fropper Gong
“Medically speaking, size doesn’t matter, one crack to the jaw with enough force and the brian goes spinning” Chopper thinks aloud as him and Franky drop to the ground, Oars teetering as they do.
“Not doing to good there big guy, only thing keeping you steady is that one leg” Sanji hums as he takes a drag of his cigarette “let’s deal with that” then says as he rushes forward, almost a blur to the giant zombie
Bad Manners Kick Course
Sanji strikes Oars in the ankle, and while it took it’s sweet time the joint failed and the giant began to fall, hitting the ground head first with a thud that could be felt all over the island.
“We, we did it!” Usopp cheers, leaping up and down with Kaya’s arms around his neck “Nothing can beat the combined power of the straw hats!”
“OW OW OW, THIS REALLY HURTS” Oars whines and coughs
“Hm, didn’t know these zombies feel pain” Alvida says with a raised eyebrow
“Proof of an inferior design” Greed scoffs, causing Valentina to chuckle
“Hey guys, we could use a hand over here!” Artemis and Robin shout, drawing attention from Oars (Which the giant seemed more annoyed by than the beatdown) and onto a more pressing matter
Meanwhile
“Stupid deadheads, can’t tell one chest from another, no way I’m setting off to sea with just the bra and panties I’m wearing” Perona mutters to herself as she runs through the mansion, her aforementioned unmentionables in the small chest she was currently holding close to her own petit bosom, though if she was being honest she was fine with her zombies not putting them on the ship, for one her minions were Wild Zombies, so only wore the outfits she chose for them meaning they didn’t really understand nor were able to tell the difference between different articles of clothing, and the other being that the zombification process was a crapshoot at best, and at least in her eyes better they didn’t know they were there, than have one of her zombies rooting through her things like another Pervsalom.
‘Hm, is that? Yes it is, like those ghosts from before but more concentrated, solid even’ Kao chuckles to himself as he turns, the others have Oars for the moment, they won’t miss him. Zipping away he stops Perona in her tracks, the ghost girl squeaks and backpedals to avoid the stone shattering kick from the grinning demon.
“Watch i… hey wait a minute you’re the bastard that hit me through my hollows!” Perona screams, fear replaced by anger in seconds
“And you must be the Horo Horo user, sorry I didn’t catch your name before” Kaos smirks
“It’s Perona asshole, but don’t worry you’ll practically be licking my boots in a second. After that long nosed f*ck I’m not taking any chances” she growls, rapidly forming Negative Hollows from her body
Negative Hollow: Quadruple Overlay
Perona grins, nothing but Usopp had managed to stand up to a single hollow, but she decided overkill was the correct thing to do with this lanky f*cker. As the grin left his face one formed on hers, once he drops to his knees she can kill him and get a new bodyguard zombie, hopefully one with a better voice than Kumase. Her smile drops though when she hears it, a low growl, completely different to Absolom’s kitty purr as she called it (mostly to annoy said pervert), then a much more disturbing sound: creaking bone and tearing flesh & sinew.
Grrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Perona shrieks as she dives back to avoid the spear strike, confused as she thought straw hat was the one with rubber powers. He was, but as he pulled back the slightly swaying, barely standing purplette’s right arm was longer than before, his long bony talons level with his knees. Not to be outdone the left limb was clicking and contorting as it stretched and extended, same with most of his body now her mind was overclocking due to adrenaline, he even looked to be getting bigger with each wheezing breath.
HISSSSSSSSS SNAH!!! (1)
The chest she’d been carrying was what saved her as a fang filled mouth shot forward, clamping down on it rather than her
Ghost Rap (Click)
The explosive hollows did little to deter him, though it did loosen his grip on the chest enough to drop it, not that she wanted to see what was behind it. Besides a milky pale neck about ⅓ the length of his body, his mouth more closely resembled that of a Viperfish fishman than a human at this point, long fang like teeth that barely fit in his mouth, the impact of his face hitting the chest also knocked his shades from his face, and while she’d like to pretend it was also why his nose looked flatter, it didn’t explain his extended neck or skull bones.
“What the f*ck are you?” Perona screams as Kaos rips off his cloak, there was a flash of something and Perona winces as her cheek is cut, then her eyes nearly fall out of her head when she sees what just missed her, the groove carved into the stone about the width of the Sunny.
“§Kill§” something a kin to steam began to leak from his alabaster skin, as it crouches and then leaps straight for her, Perona scrambling away as she counters with mini hollows, some of whom detonate against him, while 2 were caught and dissipated by the snakes that formed from the myst. Given the noise her repeated explosions made, as well as him smashing through the stone, it was a miracle nobody noticed before now, though that was most likely because Oars was making even more noise than they were.
“I don’t wanna die!” Perona screams as the being in front of her lunges
Clang
“What the hell has gotten into you Shimmer?” Zoro grunts, having caught both hands with the back of his swords, Perona shivering just behind him, though swallowed thickly as he tilts his head to speak to her “I presume this is your doing, he’s not usually a dead eyed berserker”
“Sort of, I don’t know what’s happened though, he should be crying on the ground not trying to kill me” Perona cries “I had nothing to do with the changes to his body though, that’s all him”
“Messy and uneven, really doesn’t fit Kaos if I’m being honest”
“Well Hebi is biting his hand, maybe that’s one of the reasons” Vivi notes, the swordsman’s eyes flick over to see the snake was indeed coiled around his wrist, biting down just behind his pinky, translucent black veins spreading across his hand from the bite to his currently knife length nails. He also noticed Hebi’s blade appeared to be almost cupping his elbow, which was nestled in the blunt inner curve of the Khopesh’s default form.
“Honestly, it kind of reminds me of my Rumble ball experiments” Chopper admits “the fruit does it automatically, and pretty much seamlessly, but when it’s messed with things change in ways they’re not meant to, which even if it isn’t sure looks painful and uncomfortable”
“Yeah, but you’re a Zoan, he’s a Paramecia, this shouldn’t work like that” Victor argues
“Special Paramecia, much like mythical Zoans have looser rules, which in turns makes quantifying and classifying what they can and can’t do messier, at least based on Kaos’ notes” Robin attempts to explain, mostly due to their Devil Fruit expert being indisposed/feral at the moment.
“Can we talk about this later, and focus on dealing with this first” Zoro grunts, the large reptid pushing him back inch by inch, then his head shoots forward intending to sink its teeth into his head…
Deux fleur: Silence
Only for 2 hands to clamp it shut, then more form around his body and bend it backwards
Seis Fleur: Clutch
“I know I’ve not been here long, but isn’t there usually a crunch, when you do that?” Franky asks, getting a worrying nod from Robin
“Correct, it usually tells me where to stop, the fact I’ve just bent him backwards entirely without complaint or even a noise is… worrying” she admits, Kaos now bent at his hips with his head brushing against the stone floor, his jaw opening when it managed to overpower the 2 blooms on his cheeks “Anyone have any ideas, I’m open to…” she stops with a wince and a gasp as a tooth cuts across the side of one of her fingers, then his tongue slips out, weaving between and wrapping around her digits before tightening.
“Robin, tilt his head over here” Usopp shouts, loading his Kabuto “Also try get his mouth as open as you can while you’re at it”
“What are you doing?”
“Saving our butts, haven’t gotten to test this quite yet, so wish me luck” he says as he fires
Special Attack: Sleep star
The projectile releases a milky white mist when it hits it’s target in this case the inside of Kaos’ mouth. The Hollow crazied researcher shakes and writhes, then stills, tongue sticking out and passed the f*ck out, lightly snoring as he lies there
“Well, I think it’s over” Alvida smiles as Robin releases her hold on the purplette, Kaya zipping over to check her hand and grimacing at the bruising throughout her hand as well as the gash on her ring finger.
“Yeah, and all it took was one of our heavy hitters being taken out of the fight, and the ghost girl getting away in the commotion” Valentina chuckles “Good thing things are calming down…”
“I’M GONNA KILL YOU BUGS”
“Oh yeah, we kind of forgot about Oars for a second there”
“How did we even do that?”
“ONCE I GET UP I’M GONNA STOMP YOU PIPSQUEAKS INTO THE GROUND. WHEN I’M DONE WITH YOU THERE WON’T EVEN BE BONES LEFT TO BURY!!!”
“DAMN IT, I’M STUCK. STUPID ARMS IN THE GROUND, STUPID UPSIDEDOWN SKY.” Oars complains after a moment of silence and wriggling
“You’re stuck huh, well this might actually be fun”
“Shame Papa’s taking a nap, that demon thing might have been a big help” Artemis thinks aloud as she follows Robin as they approach the prone zombie and proceed to try to beat the ever loving sh*t out of him. While it most likely did some damage, it also wrecked the surrounding area enough for the giant to free himself
“CUT IT OUT!!” Oars bellows as he stands up
“Tactical retreat!” Usopp calls, leading the charge away from Oars.
“Well, that didn’t put him down” Sanji frowns
“Too bad, it was a brilliantly executed plan for a change” Alvida hums
“Anyone got a plan B?” Kaya asks
“I say we reinitiate Tactic 15” Franky shouts, getting cheers from Usopp and Chopper, but you have to actually do your part and dock Robin” he orders, colour draining from the archaeologist's face
“Hey, Robin doesn’t have to participate in such a childish endevo...actually, the idea of Robin docking does have it’s mer..AK” Sanji groans as he receives a(n unconsciously haki enhanced) punch to the balls from Artemis
“No perving on Mom!” the artist growls “Or I’ll tell Pops when he wakes up” she threatens, nobody within range sure if the squeak that left Sanji’s throat was due to the nutshot or pure fear of what the researcher could do, ESPECIALLY given the ‘recent development’.
“Docking complete” Franky announces, deciding to simply forgo the left arm and work this as a trio
“Presenting Tactic 15, the not so giant Pirate Emperor” Chopper cheers from Franky’s head as the cyborg charges
“Hey eyebrows, give me a hand, or in this case a leg” Franky shouts, winking behind his shades
“I think I like this plan better than the last one” the blond chuckles as he stands and kicks forward, catching Franky’s feet as he jumps and sending them flying at Oars, landing on the top of his head.
“You know, I’m kind of glad I wasn’t included in this one” Victor sighs as Franky stomps on Oars head impotently
“That really the best they can do?”
“Docking 3 sucks!” Sanji shouts, angry he got roped into helping this
“THAT WASN’T COOL LIKE THE LAST ONE” even Oars was complaining
“That’s because we haven’t unleashed the secret weapon” Franky laughs, then allows Usopp to talk.
“Moron, you think you’ve got what it takes to be king of the pirates? You’re all size and brute force, nothing but the world’s biggest joke” the sniper taunts, Franky and Chopper chiming in with repeated chants of ‘Moron!’
“WHAT YOU CALL ME?” Oars growls
“A handful of pirates knocked you flat, and you really think you have what it takes to rule them all? Shows that big head isn’t exactly crammed full of brains now is it? Give up, you’re nothing but an embarrassment”
“GRR I’LL EMBARRASSMENT YOU! I’LL SQUISH YOU PIPSQUEAK PIRATES FLAT!!” Oars bellows, rearing back to punch the trio
“And jump!” Franky shouts as they manage to dodge the attack, resulting in Oars hitting himself in the face with his own fist “Yeah we did it!” they cheer
“Ok, that was actually impressive”
“Proves Oars is even dumber than Luffy though, I think even the captain would know not to punch himself in the face”
“I don’t know, he might slap himself if a bug landed on his nose”
“2nd time down, really making this too easy for us there big guy!” Franky laughs
“I’M FALLING” Oars yells “OH, NEVER MIND” he hums as he manages to remain his balance “NOW BACK TO SQUISHING!”
“Tactical retreat” Usopp commands, again, taking the lead with Chopper and Franky on his heels.
“Damn it, this guy’s as stubborn as he is massive, why couldn’t he just fall” Alvida complains
“Guess it’s back to wailing on it till he gives up” Sanji hums
“Wait guys I have another idea” Usopp pipes in
“We don’t have time for any more stupid games”
“Shut up I know what I’m talking about!” the sniper shouts, surprising the others but succeeding in getting their attention “Listen, based on what I’ve seen, even if Oars is a big red zombie, he still has traces of Luffy’s personality bleeding over through his shadow”
“But he doesn’t recognize us, and calls Moria his master” Chopper argues, mostly the 2nd part
“He called Vivi Blue chick with cute face, does that count?” Robin half jokes
“Possibly, sure the shadow or at least the zombie is under Moria’s control, but there are moments when the right circ*mstances will allow the original owner’s traits to shine through, and you know what that means? This big lug’s weaknesses are the same as Luffy’s”
“My chest isn’t big enough to distract a guy that size” Alvida deadpans, to which Vivi facepalms so hard she nearly knocks herself on her ass
“That wasn’t even plan G” Usopp replies in the same tone “Are we ready?”
“Right” the straw hats nod as they split off
“Hey look it’s a huge hunk of meat, you can smell it from here” Usopp shouts
“HUNK OF MEAT? WHERE? I WANT SOME”
“Yeah it sure looks yummy” Valentina agrees, licking her lips “Think Sanji will go get us some?”
“The girls maybe, the rest of us will have to go get some ourselves”
“SHOW ME WHERE IT IS! I LOVE MEAT”
Knee Crunch
“Does half way down count as 3?” Zoro asks his and Franky’s simultaneous attack on the back of Oar’s knees brings him to his knees
“Even if there were rules I doubt this guy would follow them” the cyborg chuckles
“We did it, taken out by simple blows to the kneecaps” Usopp laughs
“WELL, THIS WAS EMBARRASSING” Oars groans
“Keep it up everyone, all we need to do is stall the big guy until Luffy deals with Moria. Get those shadows back Straw Hat!” Franky shouts
“Honestly, it makes more sense to just take him out now” Zoro grumbles “Save time and just put this zombie down for good”
“WHAAAA! You can’t be serious Zoro, we can’t actually beat this guy, just keep him busy so he doesn’t get in Luffy’s way”
“THERE WASN’T ANY MEAT, YOU TRICKED ME, AND BROKE MY KNEECAPS”
“Pretty much” Robin nods
“A fight isn’t over until you’ve won” the swordsman states, readying a strike
“Idiot, he’s not just a giant he’s a zombie, those things are built to take damage and keep moving” Sanji scolds
“Yeah he needs to be purified or else he’ll keep getting up” Usopp adds
“Then why don’t we make it harder for him to get back up?” Victor chuckles, “Who wants to keep Oars busy by blowing him to bits?” he asks, getting enthusiastic grins from Greed, Alvida and Valentina, and an almost reluctant nod from Sanji, who knew the spooner Oars was down the sooner he could go back to looking for Nami.
Robin chuckles “Seems there’s no stopping this crew, but was there ever any doubt they wouldn’t fight a giant zombie if given the chance?”
Vivi sighs, wishing for this night to be over “No, you’re right about that. Even with Kaos unconscious and Luffy MIA, there are enough of us here that a fight was inevitable”
“Coming to this island, fighting Ryuma I finally got my hands on a legendary Black Blade, and now is the perfect chance to test its mettle” Zoro grins around Wado, finally able to slip into his Santoryu fighting stance again.
Meanwhile
“Gotta run, gotta run gotta run” Perona chants as she bolts out of there, screw everything else she was leaving this deathtrap of an island asap, Moria can kiss her ass she’s not staying another minute and risk that thing getting loose and killing her, only that swordsman getting between them stopped her painful death, though given the burning of the wound in her side she wasn’t quite out of the woods yet. She managed to get back to the Sunny when more stupid sh*t started happening
“What the hell do you think you’re doing with all the treasure I was going to steal? And more importantly what are you doing on the Sunny?” Nami angrily shouts from the entrance of Thriller Bark
“Horohorohoro, for a second there I was worried, but it’s only you. Tell me, how was your wedding with Absolom, the night already over?” she teases, a low threat like Nami helping to ease her frayed nerves
“Yeah right, like anyone would want to be married or even stand in the same room as Invisoperv” Nami says with a grimace
“So you escaped, Absolom can’t do anything right can he?” she sighs, preparing a hollow in her left hand “So, what are you going to do now? As you can probably guess I’m currently stealing your ship in order to make my getaway from this hellhole of an island, particularly before the demon king wakes up and tries to kill me again. If you choose to fight I will respond and it won’t be pretty. You’re clearly weak as f*ck so my Mini Hollow Ghost Army should be more than enough, especially given on the long nose guy and HIM…” her knees knock as Perona forces herself to calm down “... put up any kind of resistance against me”
Nami’s eyes widened, but for a different reason than expected “Who, is that?” she asks, referring to the large man now directly behind the ghost girl
“Hm, who the….” she stops as her head turns, fear once more coursing through her veins as she looks into the man’s practically dead, expressionless face “f*ck my life, please tell you you’re not the Shikaibucki Bartholamow ‘The Tyrant’ Kuma?” she whimpers, Nami feeling a similar flow of panic at running into not one but TWO Warlords in one night
“Do you work for Moria?” Kuma asks with a calm, flat tone
“Master Moria? I was but not any more, I’ve had it with this hellhole, I just want to get away as quick as possible, I want no part in this” Perona spits
Kuma is silent for a minute before asking “If you could go for a vacation, where would you go?” confusing everyone in earshot
“This isn’t the time or the place” Perona shouts angrily, before letting herself consider his question “But if I was able to get some time off for a vacation… somewhere dark and damp, somewhere with an old, creepy castle, I’d spend every day and night singing songs of curses” she sighs wistfully, then caught herself “Crap I’m not usually this distracted, come on Perona focus. I’ll admit seeing you face to face gave me chills but with my Devil fruit there’s nobody I can’t beat” she boasts, only to see Kuma was flicking through his book absently “Are you even listening to me?” she growls “I bet you’ve got a pretty strong shadow Kuma, so I’ll take it and leave it as a parting gift for my former master Moria!”
Negative Ghost
Special Hollow
Before the attacks could connect, Kuma had removed his glove, Perona and her hollows vanishing in nothing but a sound similar to a popping bubble. Understandably this caused every zombie in the area to freak the f*ck out.
“Before you interrupted with all that yelling, I was simply going to ask you where Moria is” Kuma sighs “I suppose it’s a good thing Walachia is nice this time of year, or so I’ve heard” he then turns his head up to look at Nami “You’re the Cat burglar correct, of the Straw Hat pirates?” he asks her directly “I’ve heard Monkey D. Luffy has an older brother, is that true? A real one, not Medusa’s offspring” he clarifies suddenly appearing beside her
“Yeah, sort of. They said Ace was their big brother but besides that I don’t know” Nami admits, most of her body shaking with nerves
“Interesting, so the rumors are true then” Kuma hums, then disappears again
Nami shivers “That guy is bad news. What’s his deal with Luffy, and ‘Medusa’s offspring’, I presume he means Kaos? I better find the others and tell them about Kuma” she decides… but first she needs to get out of this wedding dress.
And back to the others
“Didn’t notice before, but Shusui’s heftier than Yubishiri, then again I’ve never used a Black Blade before so I should have expected it to feel different to a normal one” Zoro mutters to himself, dodging debris after leaping into the fight alone, managing to use his blades to slightly alter the path of Oar’s punch so it missed him, it was just barely but as long as it doesn’t hit him the swordsman calls it a win. “Now let’s see how much stronger you make this technique ey Shusui?”
108 Calibre Phoenix
And stronger it was, the shockwave from Shusui was large enough it consumed/absorbed the other 2 blades attacks to form an even larger combo attack but the charge also threw off the aim enough Oars was able to just barely dodge the attack
“Damn, talk about an upgrade there Zoro” Franky laughs then sighs “Shame it missed though that could have done some damage”
“Shusui turned my 3 attacks into one, and possibly even upped the power even more than the 3 combined should, but this new move’s too slow for my liking. Least I know what I’ll need to work on after we’re done here” Zoro mutters to himself, impressed by the damage output of his new blade.
“YOU LITTLE GUYS ARE FAST. YOU COULD HAVE PUT OUT MY EYE WITH THAT” Oars states
“And yet somehow I doubt him being blind would make this fight any easier” Kaya sighs
“I’M GONNA GRIND YOU INTO GOO! I’M GONNA CRUSH YOU, LITTLE BASTARD!” Oars yells rapid fire stomping the ground causing the Straw Hats to make a break for it to avoid the attacks, even if they were technically ‘aimed’ at Zoro the wild flailing could get any of them killed if they weren’t careful.
“DID I GET HIM? I CAN’T SEE NOTHING WITH ALL THE DUST” Oars grumbles, scratching his head
108 Calibre Phoenix
“THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE, NEARLY CUT MY HORN OFF”
“Damn it, dodged me again” Zoro groases
“You had your fun now stop it” Usopp shouts “There’s no point to killing this guy, the best we’d get is Luffy’s shadow alone, we don’t even know where yours and Sanji’s are. All we need to do is keep him busy, you should have more faith in Luffy Zoro” he scolds
“I have complete faith in the Captain, but I acknowledge his biggest weakness” this confused a few of the crew members “Trickery, Luffy’s a simple straightforward guy, but he’s also remarkably easy to fool, and given they have an invisible man, a ghost girl and a shadow manipulator, I’d say their MO is almost entirely tricks and misdirection, none of them have any intention of fighting him fairly or head-on the way Luffy normally handles things”
“He has a point” Robin grimaces
“Yeah Invisoperv is the definition of trickster” Sanji scowls
“Plus there’s the fact they don’t have to beat him, just stall him until sunrise, then we’re f*cked, Luffy, Sanji and I most of all” Zoro continues “I may not survive this island, but I’m going to make sure Luffy gets his shadow back so he can lay waste to this island ship without anything holding him back”
“You’re right about one thing, given sunrise is about 30 or so minutes away, they’re really running down the clock” Franky agrees “Only good news is with fog this thick the sun will have a hard time getting down here to disintegrate you two”
“That close to dawn, we’ve really been fighting zombies all night” Vivi sighs, finally understanding why she was feeling so tired
“So right now all we have to keep us alive is that fog up there, really not something I want to take my chances with”
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE
“What’s going on? Is it an earthquake?” Usopp screams
“Idiot, the island is a ship remember? It must have been swept up in a strong current” Valentina shouts back
Let’s head elsewhere for a little while shall we
“So Tyrant Kuma, what can I do for the only Shikibuchi to follow the World Governments commands like a dog?” Moria asks mockingly “The government considers you a valuable asset in their goon squads, but I don’t trust you one bit, I know when you reveal whatever you’re plotting it will be something I really won’t like”
“If you were to take a vacation where would you want to go?” Kuma asks, ignoring Moria’s previous comment
“I’m not falling for that, I know better than to even tempt faith when it comes to your powers Panda. So once more, why are you here, is it to fight me?”
“I’m here to give a report. As you’re aware Sir Crocodile was stripped of his Warlord status when the details of his actions in Alabasta were made public, it has been decided who shall replace him”
“Kishishi, oh and who would that be, I’m sure there are scores of pirates chomping at the bit to get that position” Moria cackles
“I doubt you’ve even heard of him, his name is Marshel D. Teech, more widely known by his epithet of ‘Blackbeard’ ”
“Blackbeard huh? You’re right I don’t know of him, anything worth noting”
“He’s a former Whitebeard pirate, 2nd Division” Kuma supplies “He’s only recently shown the capabilities that lead to his appointment. I suppose news of his power hasn’t yet reached this foggy little island, but he’s causing a stir outside this bubble”
“Interesting, and what was Mr. Blackbeard’s original bounty?”
“0”
“Impressive, a complete unknown. I’m surprised the government approved of such a wild card like that, but I suppose they must be desperate to fill the vacuum left by Crocodile, can’t let the pirates think they’re actually stronger now can they? Kishishi, I presume this is them trying to restore the so called balance of power correct?”
“Perhaps, but if I were a betting man I’d wager it does the exact opposite” Kuma replies ominously “Never mind that though, there is another issue we must discuss, something that has gotten the World Government very anxious. After Enies Lobby they’re more concerned than ever about the movements and actions of the Straw Hat pirates, if they’re following the Log Pose from Water 7 to Fishman Island, there is a high probability they will cross paths with this island. You can see why the Government is concerned, yes?” Moria looks confused “It’s the balance of power you mentioned earlier, they don’t want the Straw Hats to take out another Warlord, that would be most unfortunate” The moment he finishes his sentence Moria is in his face, hand gripping his chest
“Are you kidding me, they think I’m not up to the job! That I can’t deal with some no good punks! I’ve never been more insulted in my life, they sent you here to protect me from a bunch of newbie pirates!”
“If you believe my assistance would be of use I’d be happy to lend a hand” Kuma states flatly, unperturbed by the current situation
“Are you kidding me, do you have any idea who I am!?” Moria screams “I’ve seen those brats, they’re a bunch of worthless nobodies led by a rubber doll, hardly even worth my time, and yet the Government thinks THEY can defeat ME?”
“Nothing is 100% in life” Kuma hums “Just look at the battle in Enies Lobby, nobody expected Rob Lucci to be defeated, Lucci least of all, and yet CP9 was decimated by those, what did you call them? Ah yes, a bunch of worthless nobodies''
Moria scowls as he lets Kuma go “Let me get this straight, the World Government is so scared of the Straw hats they want 2 warlords to team up and take them out?”
“They only sent me here to warn you, I wasn’t given any specific orders to assist you, or even offer it” Kuma corrects
“Then I’ll tell you this bub, stay out of my way. Also if you need to send back a report tell them this: That straw hat kid everyone’s pissing themselves over, I’ve already dealt with him, stolen his shadow and made it a part of my zombie army Kishishshi” he boasts
Back down with the Straw hats
“The fog, it’s clearing up” Kaya squeaks, panic for her shadowless crewmates rising up inside her
“Yeah, the weather picked the absolute worst time to get better, I’m really not looking forward to the sun melting me” Sanji grimaces, his teeth clenching around his cigarette.
“Ok change of plans, we need to take out Oa…..Moria!!!!” Usopp screams
“What?”
“Where?”
“That onion bastard is gonna get diced before sunrise”
“Oh what a beautiful morning, but are you sure you lot should be outside so close to dawn? Kishishishi?” Moria laughs, as what turns out to be a curtain like object opens in Oars’ stomach revealing the warlord in all his fat bastard, oniony glory
“What, the actual f*ck?”
Chopper growls “That twisted bastard Hogback, this has his grubby fingerprints all over it”
“Why even build a seating area inside your battle zombie?” Robin asks in confusion
“Does this mean they actually did manage to trick Straw hat, or that he’s gone?” Franky asks, the response beginning with a mace to the balls
“Don’t ever even imply our Luffy is dead, understand me?” Alvida threatens
“Plus, Moria needs him alive to keep the shadow inside Oars viable” Vivi adds, using what little logic she understands about this situation to assure herself that he’s ok
“THIS IS SO COOL, DID I ALWAYS HAVE A co*ckPIT IN THERE? EH NEVER MIND I’M STILL LIKE SOME KIND A ROBOT NOW! BEEP BOOP, I AM OARSBOMBER, DESTROYER OF WORLDS!”
“OarsBomber? That actually sounds kind of cool” Chopper mutters, hoping nobody was listening
“Alright you pathetic little punks you wanted the chance to fight me you’ve got it” Moria taunts, bit talk for a man inside a zombie gundam “Don’t hold back and if you win I’ll release all the shadows I stole. Come at me all at once, but you’ll have to defeat Oars too, it’s the only way you’ll get me out of this co*ckpit, and the only chance you have at victory, Kishishi!”
“That’s not fair at all, fighting us while inside a giant zombie” Usopp complains
“The only way to beat Oars is to beat Moria, but how do we get at him in there?” Chopper wonders
“Well it’s not like there’s a window or barrier between us and him, Oars put his fingers in there pretty easily” Robin points out
“True, and it means we have a smaller target area, focusing fire on Moria himself and ignore the rest of Oars, so to speak” Victor agrees
“Hey Usopp” Zoro says, getting the sniper’s attention “The amount you used earlier was too small for someone of Oar’s size, you’ll need a mountain of salt to purify this guy which is honestly the best plan we have. We’ll keep him busy while you get more salt and bring it here”
“I like this plan already!” Franky and Alvida cheer
Vivi chuckles “You would”
Moria rolls his eyes “Figures Plan A would be to locate some salt, stupid kids. Hey Oars, Long nose is trying to escape to the kitchens, deal with him, and if need be take out the entrance to the mansion while you’re at it”
“OK MASTER HERE I COME!” Oars bellows launching a punch at Usopp as he reaches the doorway
“Usopp!” Kaya screams, her syrup speeding her up to keep pace with Chopper as they go look for their crewmate once Oars had pulled back his arm
“Damn it, with Moria in the backseat Oars is actually able to strategize” Valentina groans “This just got a lot more complicated”
“Fear not good straw hats, your friend is ok!” came a cheerful voice from the sky, that of Brook as he drops down, a large sack on one shoulder and a passed out Usopp on the other “I had a feeling you might need some more salt, so I went to retrieve it, seems long nose here had the same idea.
“Brook!” The straw hats shout/cheer
“Were you expecting someone else to rescue you?” he asks
“No, but the captain showing up to help kick this bastard’s fat ass would have been nice” Zoro admits as they all prepare for the upcoming battle, the race against time drawing to a close.
TBC
LW: So, stuff happened, big stuff, and Oars has a command centre in his stomach, didn’t see that coming. On the bright side: Zombie MegaZord!
(1) If anyone is curious, that is meant to be the noise of the Dromiosaur in episode 6 of Walking with Dinosaurs. I used to be able to make that noise, before my voice broke many years ago, no I just sound like an idiot.
Chapter 98: The true power of shadows
Chapter Text
LW: So, now everyone but Luffy is in one place, how will they fare against Oars and Moria in combination? Let’s find out
Rubber King & Mirror Master - The true power of shadows
“Yohohoho, guess who’s back everyone?”
“You’re back, is that wise you looked pretty banged up earlier?” Franky asked
“True, but he does look better than before” Chopper hums
“He saved Usopp I’m sure not complaining” Kaya chirps
Brook chuckles “It’s true that I was badly hurt when I left for the kitchen to obtain some salt. However my luck finally paid off as I discovered some delicious milk which I promptly consumed, healing myself in the process” he announces
“I want to yell that’s not how milk or the body works… but the guy’s a walking pile of bones so I don’t even know how he works… f*ck it I guess” Valentina sighs and shrugs
“Anyway, we now have the salt we need, well hopefully this will be enough to deal with that giant, even if it’ll be a close one. Especially given his attack DID block us off from the kitchen, so we can’t get more salt if this doesn’t work. Everyone understand?” Sanji explains/asks.
“We’re on a timer and we have 2 objectives: Feed Oars the salt and kick Moria’s ass before sunrise” Zoro summarises
“So, any ideas on just HOW we’re going to get this into his mouth, he’s literally a giant” Franky asks
“Kishishishi. You wanted a chance to get your shadows back well here it is. Fair warning though I’m not just a passenger as you’ll soon see. When I’m done with you, you’ll wish I let you melt away in the sun. Prepare yourself to witness what real nightmares are made of!”
“Hey Franky, want to have another try at the combo from before?” Valentina asks “Maybe see if anyone else wants to help”
“I got just the thing, just get ready with the fire guys” Usopp agrees
Oil Star
Fresh Fire
Fūton: Daitoppa
Combo: Super Firebird Star... Ignis!
Unlike his previous attempt this attack lit the entire zombie aflame, causing it to bounce around in pain as it tried to put the fire out
“Direct hit!” Usopp cheers
“Good job, now for the next step” Victor hums, as Zoro leaps into the air, assisted by Chopper, slicing through the building in front of him as he did, Sanji rushing forward to knock the sections flying just as he landed.
Great Buddha Chop
Jenja Cannon
Unfortunately after the first hit Oars was able to counter, sending the pieces flying straight at the other Straw Hats
“sh*t, everyone move!” Franky shouts, then fires his arm cannon, shame he missed one.
“Artemis!”
“Vivi!”
Sen'ei Jashu
MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA
Eyes widen as they hear the voice as well as a click as he moves closer
“I’ve never been happier a star was ineffective” Usopp sighs
“Papa!” Artemis cheers as Kaos steps forward
“Well, Oars is still here, Luffy isn’t, Brook is back and I feel like I’ve gargled sand. I can ask what I missed later, what’s the plan?” the researcher asks, clicking his tongue as he does
“We need to get this salt into Oar’s mouth” Brook summarises
“Hey guys, sorry about that, didn’t think he’d recover that quickly” Sanji calls over “Also glad to see Sleeping Beauty woke up already”
“Love you too Eros” Kaos sighs while flipping the blond off
“Hey, can I get a hand over here?” the sniper calls, currently pulling back an improvised, oversized slingshot, aimed straight at Oars
“Sure” Kaos shrugs, flickering over to adding his weight behind the sling
“Super! Just remember to aim it at his stomach and this will all be over” Franky explains, getting into position… as the ammo
Special Attack: Iron Man Comet
“Now this is some SUPER speed Usopp. Now as for you Moria, the heavy duty mortar cannon I got in my arm was designed to deal with Sea King attacks, and taking out smug pricks like yourself” Franky declares as he prepares to fire his mortars with his Strong Left. Only for Oars to dodge with unexpected speed.
“Damn it, I forgot he was that fast, it’s unnatural for something that huge” Alvida scowls
“Blame it on Luffy’s shadow, it’s what’s got him able to move like that and all the other crap we’ve seen him do” Zoro reminds her, just as Oars uses the shock and distraction to punch the cyborg into the wall, knocking him out
“sh*t, if even the metal head can’t handle it, we’re probably f*cked” Victor grimaces
“Please don’t be dead Franky” Kaya pleads quietly, heart jumping when he twitches and coughs, though panic returns when she sees the blood dripping down his cheek.
“Don’t stop now Oars he’s still alive. Maybe you should stomp on him next?” Moria suggests
“OK” Oars responds flatly, walking over and preparing to step on the imobile Franky, with the distance between them and the shipwright it would take a miracle…
Thunderbolt Tempo!
...Or a lightning bolt supplied by the finally returned Nami
“Nice shot, now where did it come from” Zoro wonders
“Lightning, it can’t be anyone else” Chopper chuckles
“Sesese, seems you don’t have to go rescue her after all Eros, Nami rescued herself” Kaos laughs, quickly finding the navigator and gives her a smile and a nod, which she returns
“NAMI SWAN!!!! HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO SEE YOU AGAIN, SAFE AND SOUND!” Sanji cheers, going completely insane to the annoyance of the entire crew
“Shut up! Now you’ve given my position away dumbass!” Nami screams
Sanji tears up “She yelled at me” he whimpers “Nami yelled at me, everything’s back to normal. Yell at me more beloved”
“S.I.M.P.” Valentina mutters, getting a chuckle from Greed and Victor “Either that or just a masoch*st. Honestly wouldn’t be surprised with that guy”
Oars groans as he stands, then his eye locks onto Nami “IT’S THE GIRL”
“See, I told you!” Nami whines
“You straw hats are just coming out of every crevice aren’t you?” Moria hums, chuckling to himself “Now Oars, smash her like you smashed the last one!” he commands
“OK. GUM GUM…” Oars growls, co*cking his arm back
“He, he can’t stretch, right?” Nami asks in a panic
“Nothing he’s done up to this point suggests he could, in fact he could be considered evidence that he can’t” Robin replies
“Usopp, we need to get Franky out of the way while Oar’s attention is off him, he’s not going to last otherwise” Zoro shouts
“...PISTOL!!” Oars bellows, surprising everyone when his arm actually does stretch to reach where Nami had been standing and destroy it.
“What!”
“The!”
“f*ck!!!”
“He can stretch now?!” Chopper screams, pretty much summarising the entire crew’s thoughts in one sentence.
“HEY IT WORKED! THAT’S NEW BUT IT DIDN’T FEEL NEW” Oars comments as his arm snaps back
“Kishishishi”
“You’ve got to be kidding me, everything else and now he even has access to Luffy’s Devil Fruit? Come on!”
“Nami!” Sanji shouts, running to try catch her, only to be stopped when it was pointed out to him that Robin already had this covered, Nami was currently doing her throat no favours from all the screaming, but was otherwise fine as she was lowered to the ground with the rest of them.
“That was an unexpected surprise, you’re not hurt Nami?” Robin asks the girl hyperventilating at her feet
“No, just shaken and maybe a littler traumatised, but nothing’s physically wrong” she replies, shakily rising to her feet once more “Good to see everyone else is ok as well”
“Kaos only just recently rejoined the ok group, he went feral about 15 minutes ago” Alvida snarks “Ghost girl did something stupid, nearly bit her in the ass far as I can tell”
“This doesn’t make any sense, the shadow means Luffy’s still alive, and even if he died there’s no way to put a fruit’s power into a zombie… I think” Vivi thinks aloud
“Plus it’s physically impossible for 2 people to have the same Devil Fruit active at the same time, just because Oars has Luffy’s shadow doesn’t mean he has his fruit too” Sanji continues
“The power links to the soul, so this shouldn’t be possible… under normal circ*mstances” Kaos adds with gritted teeth
“It’s Moria’s doing that much is clear. Another one of his cheap tricks” Zoro growls around his sword
“I’m gonna kill him” Sanji states without any room for argument
“Sounds like fun, I’ll help” Kaos gives him a feral smirk and cracks his knuckles
“NOW GUM GUM WHIP!!”
“Yeah, now he really is just a giant monster Luffy”
Elsewhere
“We humbly introduce you to the captain of the roaming pirates, Lola the proposer. Current proposal count 4,443” one of the shadowless weaklings (Luffy didn’t care, but he’s pretty sure he’s the guy who tripped him and will be punched in the face when all is over) on the island states, referring to the roundish, pink haired woman, clothes clearing having seen better days and missing a tooth
“My aren’t you handsome, marry me!” Lola demands
“Already married, twice, so f*ck off” Luffy responds, clearly not in the mood for games
“REjected! That’s 4,444 better luck next time” the pirates announce “Anywho, Moria took all the Roaming pirate’s shadows, forcing us to hide in this forest until someone can beat him”
“I know, he took my shadow too, kind of why I’m trying to get back there as soon as possible” Luffy sighs
“I won’t take no for an answer, you’re a hero Straw hat, nobody in the history of thriller bark has managed to cause so much destruction” Lola announces, leading to cheers and whoops from the masses while the rubber boy twitches, until…
“Everyone SHUT THE f*ck UP!” Luffy shouts, a force dropping everyone but Lola to their knees “I’m on a very tight schedule right now, if I don’t kick Moria’s ass by sunrise I die, so get to the f*cking point and stop getting in my way!”
Lola sighs “I’ll cut to the chase then. Moria is piloting Oars like a ship meaning the only way to get to him is by taking down that giant, Because of this we’re going to feed you shadows until you’re on the verge of passing out, each one adding to your already rather impressive power”
Luffy blinks “You can do that?”
“Once the shadows are released by purification you can grab them with your bare hands, then it’s just a matter of forcing it into a vessel like Moria does when he reanimates his zombies. So, you up for the challenge Straw Hat?”
Luffy nods “If this is what it takes to save my crew and get my shadow back, I’ll eat a million shadows!”
Lola chuckles at his enthusiasm “Good to hear, from previous experiments we here can only handle 2 or 3 shadows without passing out, you on the other hand, might be able to handle 20-30. Also once we reach your limit run straight to where Moria is, this power will only be contained within you for 10 minutes, then the shadows leak out and seek out their original owners, understand?”
“Got it, bring on the shadows”
“One more thing, I forgot to mention, the process hurts like a bitch” Lola says, just before a shadow is forced into a now screaming Luffy
A little later
“Holy… he’s containing the entire 100 we collected!”
“I’ve never seen someone with such strong will, especially not on this side of the Grand Line. Just proves Straw Hat will be the one to beat Moria and save us all” Lola says in awe
“You’re still you though, even with all those shadows inside you right? You’re straw hat Luffy”
Luffy chuckles darkly “Oh I remember, and I see what you mean, with these shadows I’m just getting stronger by the second” he states, as the Roamings present him what should be an oversized katana, but given one of the side effects of being filled with 100 shadows it fit him perfectly “The shadows, they want to fight, they want REVENGE!!!!”
Lola grins “Mamamamama, then let them loose Nightmare Luffy, time to show Moria what terror really is. Let loose the hounds of hell!”
“RARG!” Nightmare bellows, then charges straight for the mansion, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake
Back with the Oars/Moria fight
GUM GUM BELL
“THIS WHOLE STRETCHING THING MAKES FIGHTING FUN” Oars laughs as his head snaps back into place, the straw hats scrambling to safety anywhere they could
GUM GUM SPEAR
“Ok, anyone going to tell me what’s going on, besides us once more getting our asses kicked?” Alvida asks angrily
“Moria, or more specifically Kage Kage no mi related bullsh*t” Kaos guesses, a theory confirmed by Moria opening his big mouth
“Now you have experienced a taste of the nightmare known as Shadow Revolution”
“Revolution?” Brook repeats, everyone having a bad feeling about this
“As you know, shadows are helpless prisoners to the body, only able to move as it does, mimicking it like a reflection. The body and shadow are fused and conform to the same shapes and movements, something which is one of the most basic rules of nature. Thanks to the Kage Kage no mi I’ve cut the strings forcing the shadow to dance to the whims of the body, and by controlling it with my own it in fact does the opposite, contorting the body in whatever way the shadow moves. This is the power known as Shadow Revolution, because it does exactly that, puts the shadows in control of the body rather than the way it normally is”
“So Oars doesn’t have Luffy’s powers but Moria’s control over his shadow means he might as well be with how he can stretch and bend” Chopper summarises
“Meaning Luffy’s shadow being in Oars was a coincidence, he could have done that to any zombie with any shadow inside him” Kaya adds
“Still a pain in the ass though, Oars was hard enough before, but now he has Moria giving orders and he has discount Gomu Gomu no mi powers”
“That’s not all he can do, thanks to Revolution Oars can do so much more than Straw Hat. For example, if I mould his shadow into a ball, his body will follow, creating…”
Oars Ball
“Well, Moria is officially just f*cking with us” Kaos states before sighing deeply
“Dodge this. Oars roll!” Moria commands, the zombie heaving before becoming something that wouldn’t look out of place in an Indiana Jones movie. Well for about 2 spins then it abruptly stopped to the confusion of everyone.
“MASTER, THIS IS MY FIGHT I SHOULD GET TO DRIVE” Oars whines, a little bit of Luffy shining through his conditioning
“Kishishishi, apologies Oars I was getting a little carried away. I’ll just lend support from here on out, dispose of them however you see fit”
“This is probably a stupid question, but where’s Luffy?” Nami asks
“He went after Moria earlier and must have gotten tricked and given the slip. I mean even Kaos met up with us and he disappeared even before we entered the mansion” Victor explains, causing Nami to sigh
“Why am I not surprised. That idiot better get here soon” she grumbles, deciding Kuma was something she’ll tell them about when they’re not all about to die “Also, just to check, we have to beat Moria and Luffy’s zombie in order to get the shadows back?”
“Yes, but only because Moria is INSIDE Oars, otherwise Luffy’s plan of just beating the ever loving sh*t out of Moria would be the only plan” Vivi admits
“This is really stupid, the sun’s almost up and everything!”
“We don’t exactly have any other options, we’ve almost literally got our backs to the wall right now, so all we can do is fight the giant and onion man” Usopp shouts back angrily.
“Um, I think I have an idea” Brook pipes in “If you give me a chance”
Those closest shrug, what more do they have to lose? Which explained why Ussop and Kaos were setting up the Megashot again, this time loaded with Brook and Robin was making a bloom rope of arms to secure him while Nami adjusted her climatact bars
“Are you sure about this?”
“I believe it will work” Brooks assures them
Nami rolls her eyes “Ok, but if this blows up in your face, I’ll remind you it was your idea” she says as she summons a small storm cloud
Dark Cloud Tempo
“Perfect, now may your aim be true. There is one thing I fear more than death: being unable to repay my debt to you straw hats. In order to do so I’ll fight to the last bone. Now Fire!”
Slalom Vine
With a flick of the now dissolved blooms Robin sent Brook into a spin, which combined with the lighting storm he was just fired through, turned Brook into a whirling storm of eclectic death…
“Here I come, like an arrow forged with lighting!”
Gavotte: Bond en Avant
His attack piercing right through the zombie, as was the original intention
“He’s been hit, follow up attack!” Usopp screams
Tower climb
“GRR YOU’RE NEXT, BUT FIRST THE SKELETON FOR HURTING ME!”
“Damn it, he’s going after Brook”
“Probably should have seen that coming, but still, f*ck”
GUM GUM BATTLEAXE
“Brook!”
Atlas Comet
The attack explodes impotently against Oar’s arm, the giant simply turning his attention to the sniper rather than to Zoro
“GUM GUM BAZOOKA! WAIT, WHY DIDN’T THAT WORK?” Oars grumbles, swinging his arms forward but nothing happened, even trying to ‘pump’ his arms like a shotgun to see if that would help, which it didn’t
Ochenta Fleur, Quatro Manos
“Where did all these arms come from, that’s cheating!” Moria whines as he struggles to move under Robin’s blooms
“I feel like I say this at least once an island, but we’re pirates! Cheating is perfectly fine, just ask Nami” Kaos says with a deep sigh
“Give up Moria, or I’ll snap your neck. Your Shadow Revolution has been crushed” Robin orders “Tighten hold”
“No fair, this hurts” Moria wheezes, then smirks “You want to play dirty girl, well 2 can play at that game”
Brick Bat
“Shadow bats, everyone keep them away from Robin, it’s clear she’s their primary target”
“No problem” Victor smirks
Nose Fancy Cannon
Grapple bullet shower
Arachne’s web
“There maybe a lot of them, but at least these things are about as durable as a balloon” Sanji says as he splats around handful with a flurry of kicks
“The problem is where they’re coming from, Oar’s or more likely Moria’s shadow, unless he can simply break down other people’s shadows into those bats” Kaos growls as Shinso takes out the next wave of shadow bats.
And that was definitely a problem, as the Brick bats that were splatted wriggled their way across all surfaces to right behind Robin, where they collected and reformed, into a Doppleman
“Well, since your rather impressive hold is stopping me from doing anything myself, I have to break out the long range weapons instead Kishishishi” Moria chuckles, as Robin decides this needs to end, now
Clutch
“Um, you’re kind of 0 for 2 here Robin, no neck breaking crunch this time either, losing your touch?” Valentina half jokes, until she turns and her jaw drops ‘Oh f*ck’
“Kishishishi” Moria cackles as the doppleman behind Robin morphed into its original owner, the Warlord now free of her hold and outside of Oars once more
“What! But, how?” Vivi gasps
“Like my Kage Bushin? [“f*ck you!” ‘Not the time Val’] With it, I can switch places with my shadow double at any time, how did you think I managed to get inside Oars in the first place? Now I’ll admit you came rather close to beating me, but not quite” he cackles, before pulling out his scissors then proceeding to peel off and snip Robin’s shadow off her feet, causing her to pass out.
“Mama!”
“Wait, he can just rip the shadows out whenever he likes?”
“Quite surprising given the song and dance he’s been doing before now” Brook agrees
Other people weren’t as impressed, in fact they were pissed off
Diable Jambe: Extra Hache
Kamishini no Yari: Butō: Renjin
Unfortunately Moria simply switched out with his doppleman and avoided both attacks as it collapsed into more Brick Bats, returning to the co*ckpit now he was free of Robin’s blooms
“Kishishishi, and now we’re back to square one, well I have the upper hand and 5 shadows but that’s beside the point” Moria cackles
“STUPID MASTER, I TOLD YOU TO STOP INTERFERING IN MY FIGHT!” Oars growls at the onion man.
“My apologies Oars, I just couldn’t help but join in on the fun” Moria insincere apologies but Oars is already focused on something else: the unconscious Robin
“DON’T CARE I’M RUNNING THIS SHOW NOW. MY FIRST MOVE, IS SQUISH THE LADY” Oars decides/bellows
“Not a chance you ugly cyclops”
GUM GUM BAZOOKA
Mugen mirātorappu
“Papa!” Artemis screams as the researcher, once more wrapped in his clock, reaches Robin just moments before Oar’s fists do, in fact his arms end up embedded in the ground due to the force. Seeing something shimmer out the corner of her eye she runs over while the others focus on trying to take advantage of the zombie’s current issue. “Pop’s cloak” she thinks aloud, confused and then freaked out when something shoots out… and pats her head.
“Well, that worked out alright then” Came the tinny echo as a fully Reflect Armoured Kaos pulls himself from the reflective inner layer, sending a shiver down the artist’s spine only because it reminded her of Moria’s Doppleman forming behind Robin a few minutes prior “Don’t worry kiddo, Robin’s safe for the moment in the Infinity mirror space, though I’m not too sure how long that will remain, for someone who isn’t me so, maybe we should deal with the onion demon sooner rather than later” he hums, returning to normal, even with his cloak draped over his shoulders, Artemis nods, a look of determination and sheer unquenchable Will blazing in her eyes.
“Hey guys!” Chopper shouts from upon Oar’s shoulder, prompting the obvious questions of how and why was the reindeer up there “I was looking for Oar’s cause of death. What I have found is useful too though, focus fire on his right arm, Hogback repaired it rather well but it’s still clear and severe damage via frostbite on his right arm. This is only a guess, but I believe he died of exposure to the cold, and if I’m not mistaken, he was naked when this happened”
“We refuse to lose to the corpse of someone that stupid!” Sanji and Zoro shout, Franky would have probably joined in if he were conscious and while Kaos was thinking it, Robin was similarly indisposed so couldn’t also be annoyed at getting her ass kicked by a giant dumb enough to walk into a snowstorm in the nude. On an unrelated note Kaya and Nami were now curious as to whether or not that meant Hogback or Perona had to sew the loincloth the zombie was currently wearing or if it was found alongside whatever supplies Oars died with.
“Zombies may not feel pain but they can still take damage” Chopper states, ignoring Greed’s cough of ‘most’ “All our attacks have weakened the original wounds, if we focus on his right arm we can cut his attack power in half, which will make finishing him off a hell of a lot easier”
“HEY STOP SQUEAKING IN MY EAR. AND WHO SAID YOU COULD STAND ON ME!” Oars grunts then moves to flatten Chopper
“Thanks for landing the first shot, your shoulder was already weak before but now it’s on the way to ruin” Chopper chuckles
“MY HAND IS TALKING” Oars states in confusion, before Chopper peeks out from his fist
“I’m kind of a small guy, meaning I’m not that easy for someone as big as you to aim for and hit” Chopper taunts, then eats a Rumble Bal
Jumping Point
Arm Point
“Hey Chopper” the reindeer looks down to see Sanji running up Oar’s arm “Nice work there, want some help”
“You bet, give me a boost!” Chopper shouts as Sanji leaps up to meet him in the air, then adds his own force to Chopper’s attack
Cloven Shot
“WHY YOU KEEP HITTING THE SAME SPOT, IF IT DIDN’T WORK THE FIRST TIME IT’LL NEVER WORK?” Oars asks/taunts, clearly not seeing the large, hoof shaped indent Chopper just made in the bandaded section of his upper arm
“Oh it’s gonna work, pain is a warning sign that something is wrong with the body, not being able to feel it doesn’t make you stronger, it just leaves you open to cumulative damage attacks like this” the Doctor explains, before jumping down alongside Sanji
“GRR, NOW I’M REALLY MAD!” Oars roars before leaping into the air and raining destruction from the sky
GUM GUM GATTLING
“Holy crap are those 2 still alive?” Alvida gasps as the 2 hit the ground with a painful thump
“He’s taking us out, one by one, we can’t do more than cut him a little and he one shots up all” Vivi whimpers, falling to her knees
“Kishishishi, I told you the nightmare was just beginning, by sunrise you’ll all either be dead, or wish you were” Moria cackles from Oar’s belly “Now stomp them to bits Oars”
“f*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck, we’ve thrown everything we’ve got at this thing and still nothing” Nami shrieks, shaking in her boots
“Hey Usopp, we’ll give you an opening, then use it” Zoro orders, rushing forward alongside Kaos and Greed, aiming straight for Oars
“An opening… Oh, you got it guys” Usopp shouts then runs off
“Where’s he going?” Valentina hums, then sighs and switches gloves
GUM GUM PISTOL
GUM GUM BELL
The trio managed to dodge the fist but were nearly caught off guard by the headbutt, had Greed not knocked the other 2 aside and taking the full hit himself, the Edo tensai twitching weakly as his body attempted to put itself back together
“That, could have put us down for the count, remind me to thank him if we survive this” Zoro hums as the 2 leap and dodge his next few attacks, seems when not using imitation Gomu Gomu techniques his size made his moves pretty telegraphed and dodgeable.
“We don’t have all night, nor do we have the stamina to last that long, think Usopp’s ready yet?” Kaos asks, eyes flicking over to see the sniper once more with a little help from Alvida, loading his mega sling “Almost there”
“Then move” the swordsman orders, confusing the researcher as he then shouts to Oars “Hey ugly! If it were up to me, I’d fight you until I couldn’t feel my arms, or move any other part of my body, but we’re kind of on a timer. So how about we end this in one shot?”
“Kishishi, you want to die that badly, let him have it Oars!” Moria commands with a sharp cackle
“I KNOW THAT MASTER, TIME TO DIE!” Oars yells as he leaps into the air “NOW GUM GUM…”
1 Gorilla
2 Gorilla
Nigori-Zake
Jaws dropped as not only did Zoro manage to blow the attack, he was able to redirect Oar’s strike so he ended up embedding his fist in the nearby wall, pinning him for the moment.
Yasha Garasu
With his right arm imobile Zoro struck, leaving a trail of crow foot slashes all the way up the giant’s arm.
“RIGHT ARM AGAIN, HOW STUPID CAN YOU PIRATES BE?” Oars growls, trying to punch Zoro but missing, until he tried to attack himself, then Oars was able to use the speed he gained from Luffy’s shadow to blindside him and knee him into the building knocking him out
“Hey Oars, this way dumbass!” Oars blinks and turns his head, just as Usopp and Alvida finally release the payload, the massive salt bag flying straight into his mouth and being automatically swallowed
“Is it over?” Kaya whispers, hearing a sad sigh beside her she sees Artemis looking defeated
“Not even close” she mutters, wringing her hands
“You didn’t, you little, long nosed bastard” Moria sneers
“Um, what did you just do?” Nami asks
“You don’t… right you got kidnapped before we learnt that. You can force the shadow out of a zombie using salt” Vivi explains “So Usopp and Alvida just launched a whole sack down Oar’s throat” she cheers, until a shadow does pop out of Oars mouth… and it’s Moria’s Doppleman holding the bag “Of for f*ck sake!”
“Kishishi you thought you had me for a moment there didn’t you? Fools, you really think I don’t know the weakness of my own fruit? I had you pegged the moment you pulled it out, scrambling over it all for nothing
Shinso
If it had been done a second earlier it might have worked, but Moria’s shadow had already started to throw the bag, so when it was torn open it made a small salt cloud about 10 ft in front of Moria, rather than in Oar’s mouth
‘Damn it, should have speared the bag the moment it popped out of Oar’s mouth’ Kaos hisses, pupils contracted to slits behind his glasses, though the most badly affected was most obviously Usopp, the sniper now running around trying to gather as much of the salt as he could to try again, which wasn’t going to be helped by the fact Oars was still running around
GUM GUM STAMP
What should have led to an extra flat liar pancake, didn’t, as something zipped across the ground and managed to grab Usopp before Oars was able to stomp on him. Not that the people on the ground knew that at the time.
“Usopp!” KAya screams, launching a barrage of syrup spikes at Oars in a blind rage
“Take out the girls next Oars, they’re beginning to become annoying” Moria grunts and wave his hands in the direction of the angry Kaya and Alvida, the giant nods and leaps at them, then stomps his way through the surrounding area
“Why didn’t you grab them you bastard?” Nami shouts as she squirms, herself and Artemis each under one of Kao’s arms with Vivi holding on tightly with her arms around his neck
“My hands were full, plus I didn’t need to” he replies unhelpfully
“And what the f*ck does that mean?” Nami screams, only to get the answer, just not from him
“Hey, big guy” came a calm, subdued voice above them all “Might want to stop that, what do you think you’re stomping anyway?” Oars turns his head to see someone standing in a hole in the wall about level with his eye “looking for these 3, cause I have to say you’re miles off” he says, referring to Kaya and Alvida in his hands, and Usopp at his feet.
“Hm, what happened?” Usopp groans, then screams as he’s attacked by syrup, Kaya escaping her rescuer’s fist in order to hug and check on her lover
“Usopp you’re alive!” she cheers, nuzzling his cheek “I thought you were a bloody smear a second ago” she sniffles, holding him tighter
“That was a close call back there, and given the speed of that rescue I’m glad I left my hat back on the ship” Alvida quips, turning her head so she could properly thank her rescuer only for her eyes to widen to saucers, and her jaw to drop
“WHO ARE YOU? STAY OUT OF MY WAY PIPSQUEAK” Oars growls
“You don’t recognise me?” Nightmare asks “The name’s Monkey D. Luffy”
“Luffy!” almost all of them shout, understandable given the guy claiming to be their captain was about 20ft tall with worryingly blue skin and bulging muscles
“So, Oars already took out most of the heavy hitters” Nightmare states as he lets Alvida slip from his hand “And stole your shadow” he adds, seeing Kaos arrive with Vivi, Nami and Artemis
“Yeah, don’t actually know when that happened” the researcher admits
“Probably after you went crazy and Usopp tranqed you in the face” Artemis guesses, a small part of Luffy’s mind storing that away for questioning later
“Anyway, the biggest problem if we’re being perfectly honest, is that with Moria in the driver’s seat he can manipulate Oar’s shadow so he basically has your powers as well as your skills with it” Kaos explains, Oars having the perfect sense of timing to charge up and launch...
GUM GUM RIFLE
… only for Luffy to stop it dead like he was playing with a child
“Oh f*ck I just came”
“Didn’t need to know that”
“We can all at least admit that might be one of the most badass things Luffy’s ever done, right?”
“Of course!”
“There’s only room in this world for one Luffy and that’s me, you got a problem with that?” Nightmare asks, before punching Oars straight in the jaw, sending him back pretty far even for something of his size
“Never mind, One Punch takedown of a giant, that’s peak badass for Luffy”
“Oh this is going to be quite the show Sesese” Kaos laughs, shimmering over to a roof with Artemis, safe from the destruction but still able to give them a good view
“Go Uncle Luffy, kick his ass!”
And that was exactly what Luffy did, starting by leaping down and charging at the recovering giant, he grabbed Oars by the horn and once more slammed him headfirst into the ground.
“Hey guys, get over here, there are people here to help our crewmates” Vivi calls, the 2 looking down to see the Roaming pirates and Moria’s other victims appear out of the rubble and start picking up and transporting the unconscious straw hats
“We should at least pass them Mom, you did say the mirror world might not be safe” Artemis says, getting a nod from the older pirate before he picks her up and jumps down.
Gum Gum Stamp
Luffy kicks Oars in the face with a rather satisfying crunch, even if the zombie couldn’t feel his skull breaking everyone else knew. Getting thrown around by such a small creature by his hair though… if Oars was still alive he’d be really embarrassed by how easily he was getting his ass kicked, and Moria was too busy being thrown around inside him to actually do anything to counter it
Back with the crew
“So in summary, you shoved 100 shadows into our husband and that’s what made him into a beast even a Yonko would think twice about trying to slap around?” Vivi asks, Alvida nodding along with her
“Pretty much” Lola nods
“Got any more?” Kaos asks, frowning slightly when the pirates shook their heads
“Sorry, Nightmare Luffy took all the shadows we had to make” one of the Risky brothers explain “He’s also only got at most 2 or 3 minutes of power left, then all the shadows will escape his body and return to their owners”
“We’re sorry for springing this on him, but we just want this nightmare to end and be human again”
“Quiet. Dawn is fast approaching, the fate of everyone in Thriller Bark is about to be decided” Lola declares
“Should we move?” Alvida asks, about a minute before Luffy hammer throws Oars back through the building in front of them back into the courtyard “On second thought, a few steps back won’t make an ounce of difference”
Oars pulls himself to his feet, extremely pissed off “I’LL SQUISH YOU LIKE A BUG!” he bellows
GUM GUM BULLET
His attack misses, Luffy’s counter slash didn’t, cutting a deep gash across the giant’s entire torso
“This is bad, I need to get out of here before that brute targets me” Moria whimpers in a panic, a moment too late
Gum Gum Pistol
Luffy’s punch struck Oars in the gut, more specifically it struck Moria in the face and the force continued through him and sent the entire zombie megazord flying backwards. Then sucking in air and using it to shoot himself forward, he was able to more or less slap away a GUM GUM AXE from Oars and lay into Moria with a mid air gatling, or as it’s now called
Gum Gum Star
The force of the attack seemed to finally take out Oars, sending him crashing into the tower, destroying one side of it as he hits the ground and this time doesn’t get back up
“Wow, guess we didn’t need salt after all, just a shadow beast” Usopp chuckles
“Speaking of, where is Luffy?” Alvida asks just before said captain falls to the ground
“Found him, oh dear” Kaya squeaks as the shadows burst free of Nightmare Luffy “That looks exceedingly painful” she says with a grimace
“It probably is” Kaos agrees, zipping over to catch Luffy in case he fell after the final shadow left him “Timed that perfectly Lu, a second longer and you’d have run out of juice before you KO’d the big guy” he teases, getting a tired smile in response from Luffy
“Straw hat did it, Oars has been vanquished, Moria beaten, Thriller Bark Has Fallen!!” the Roaming pirates shout for all to hear
TBC
LW: And, that’s the perfect place to end the chapter, hope you had fun, and I’ll see you again in 2 weeks
Chapter 99: Final Boss: Ultimate Shadow Demon
Chapter Text
LW: It’s getting closer, the end of this arc, and the big 1-0-0. Enjoy
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Final Boss: Ultimate shadow demon
“Kaya! Luffy just passed out, can you check he’s ok?” Vivi shouts, the syrup girl speeding over and giving her captain the once over, the rest of the crew not far behind her
“Even Luffy’s not invincible, he took the power of 100 shadows, it makes sense he’d end up like this when it was over” Lola sighs
“True, but he’s still breathing and just looks exhausted, anything else though?” Kaos asks, Luffy still leaning against his side
“No, that seems to be the jist of it, he’s pushed himself too far again, this time knocking himself out once all the adrenaline left him when the shadows burst out of him
“Well there goes plan A” one of the nobodies grumble
“Hmm?” Usopp and Nami turn to look at the strangers
“As you know, Moria put the shadows he stole into zombies, as the wielder of the Kage Kage no mi, the lord of shadows, only he can command the shadows to return to their original owners…”
“Not exactly” Valentina interrupts, standing between Victor and a regenerated Greed “Now that they’re free of the zombies it’s probably true, BUT as we saw with Brook’s shadow and Ryuma, complete destruction of the body via fire seemed to do the trick. Meaning we have 100 shadows to sift through, but all the other zombies can have their shadows sent to their original owners fairly painlessly, for them”
“Even so, like you said, 100 shadows that need Moria’s command to return to their owners, and now we don’t have Luffy conscious enough to even threaten the bastard”
“We could just kill him” Kaos suggests, setting Luffy down where Kaya directs “Then have anyone else in this gathering eat it and free the shadows himself”
“Let’s leave that for a plan B, as we don’t know what would happen to a free shadow if Moria was to die” Lola argues cautiously, then stops and turns a sickly grey
“What now?” Victor groans, turning around “Ah sh*t, Oars is up and at ‘em again. And I presume we don’t have any more shadows?”
“No, the ones in Luffy scattered once they were released from his body”
“f*cking great”
“STUPID BUGS, THAT DIDN’T HURT AT ALL!”
“We can’t beat him like this, half the Straw Hats are down for the count, we used all our shadows the first time, and he doesn’t even look hurt, we gotta retreat!” One of the shadowless shout, starting a movement to flee back into the forest… only to be stopped by none other than Zoro
“I don’t know about Luffy, but Oars clearly took a beating from that last fight” the swordsman states, blades already out and ready to fight
“Sesese, glad to see you’re still alive Zoro, but are you sure you want to do this, that last fight looked like it took a lot out of you?”
“I’m gonna die in a few minutes either way, might as well make it count”
“I’m, not dead yet, Moria needs one more punch to the face, the dickless coward” Luffy wheezes, as he pulls himself to a seated position
“Damn it Luffy, just sit still” Vivi frets “You’re going to do more damage if you don’t stop that”
“Robin!” Luffy shouts “I can’t move as well as I should, think you can give me a hand?” he asks
“But of course, I’ll provide any assistance you require” Robin says with a smirk, though is nearly knocked over when Artemis tackle hugs her, happy to see she’s already awake
“I am ready and able, if you’ll allow me to assist of course” Brook states, though he was currently using his sword as the cane it technically also was
Luffy nods “Good, I already have a plan”
“Nice to hear, makes a change there Cap’n” Nami chuckles, herself and Kaya already getting into more long range positions
“Now the fun begins. Also, might be a good idea for you guys to get out of the way” Kaos says offhandedly, causing the shadowless to run for their lives
Pierna Fleur
“And here we go Yohohohoho!” Brook cackles, carrying Luffy as he jumps to each of the holds made by Robin’s blooms, scaling the mansion in now time
“HEY WHERE YOU GO? WHAT, SMOKE? CLOUDS?” Oars hums as dark clouds begin to almost wrap around him
Cool Ball
“The forecast, is rain” Nami states, catching Oars in a downpour with her Rain Tempo
Coup De Vent
Oars turns as the wall explodes, revealing the mechanism Franky, Victor and Usopp had disappeared to work on: A massive wind cannon
“Time to end this fight cold, we at full power yet boys?” Franky shouts, holding the nozzle down/steady with his body
“Just a second more” Usopp grunts, the machine pinged before a blast of cold air erupts from it.
“I CAN’T MOVE” Oars bellows as the cannon freezes his lower body in place, making the next part possible, as Sanji kicks the large chain hanging from the main structure of the building so it loops across Oar’s chest, adding another structure to immobilise the giant.
“Direct hit, good job!” Chopper cheers from safe above, meanwhile even higher, a the top of the mast Luffy and Brook look down at the struggling zombie
“You know what to do. So toss me!” Luffy orders
“You sure Luffy, this is your last chance” Brook asks, a little worried about the plan now they were actually doing it
“Yes, now go!”
Brook sighs “Ok, and go” he shouts as he throws Luffy off the edge
Gear 3rd: Bone Balloon
“Zoro now, aim for the stomach” Chopper relays
The swordsman smirks, now was the chance to finally use his best move
Santoryu: 3,000 worlds
The slash hits the imoblie zombie right in the gut, surprisingly drawing blood from the dead flesh, as well as causing Oars to cough some out.
“My turn, let’s see what happens after a Gear 3rd attack, when your spine’s straight as a ruler” Kaos smirks, pulling the lever to retract the chain, which pulled tight across Oar’s chest, and forcing his body straight.
“Just die already you bastard!” Alvida shouts “Don’t hold back give it everything you’ve got Luffy!”
“Let’s see you stand up after this special bazooka” Luffy declares, still falling with his arms inflated from Gear 3rd
“BIG DEAL, I CAN JUST SLAP YOU BACK WITH MY OWN SPECIAL BAZOOKA!” Oars grunts, then begins to panic “HEY WHAT’S GOING ON, WHY CAN’T I STRETCH OR EVEN STRAIGHTEN MY ARMS?”
“Seems all that damage he wasn’t feeling, finally caught up to him” Kaya says, grinning widely
Gear 3rd: Gum Gum Giant Bazooka
Luffy’s attack struck Oars square in the face, and the assembled crowd watched in awe and joy, as the attack caused the zombie to crumple like an accordion as not only his spine but the majority of his bones were cracked or even shattered in the aftermath of that attack.
“HE DID IT!!!” she shadowless cheer as Oars falls to the ground motionless, hopefully this time out for the count. Luffy meanwhile had shrunken to chibi form after using gear 3rd, and after being caught by Vivi was being held tightly by the crying princess, Alvida quickly joining in the cuddle session (Luckily Sanji wasn’t anywhere near them, as he would be crying tears of blood given most of Luffy’s body was buried in boobage at the moment)
“IT DOESN’T HURT, BUT I CAN’T MOVE” Oars moans in confusion
“He’s still consious, even after all that damage” Chopper sighs “Thes zombies really are a mockery of life. They should have never been created” he spits
“Hey dumbasses, what are you cheering about? You still have to get your shadows back or the sun will burn you all to ashes!” Usopp shouts, being the voice of reason for once
Lola blinks “You’re right, let’s wake Moria up with a beating and make him give us back our shadows!”
“No need” a voice wheezes “I’m already awake”
“Moria!” the shadowless scream
“Well, this just saves us the trouble of waking you ourselves. Now unless you want another beating from the straw hats you’ll return the shadows you stole right this minute!” Lola demands
“Kishishishi, this isn’t some schoolyard brawl child, a real pirate wouldn’t cave to such weak demands even if his very life depended on it” he then looks at Luffy with a sneer “So, you teamed up with the weaklings from the forest, and used my own shadows against me, my you must have been desperate”
“Honestly it did make tactical sense”
“Straw hat, you’ll pay for ever setting foot on Thriller Bark, how dare you ravage my wonderful ship!”
“You’re the one who’ll pay, this was for messing with my crew. Now give back the shadows before the sun comes up!” Luffy demands, having freed himself from his girls to yell at the Onion Man.
Moria smirks “Kishishishi, I don’t think so, in fact at this point all I have to do is sit here and wait for you all to die. You’ve got some fine underlings kid, but you’re not cut out for the New World, not even close. And do you know why?” he asked, though his expression could now be best described as… traumatised.
“Now isn’t the time for a friendly chat, the sun’s almost here” one of the shadowless shout
Moria continues uninterrupted “Because unlike me, you fail to realise the weakness of your crew” at this several of the straw hats growl or sneer “I once trusted my underlings as much as you do, but despite their talents do you know why I still ended up losing them? Because they were mortal!” Moria says as his shadow extends from his body like a tentacled mass, reaching out to unknown places “That’s what makes this different this time, if they’d been zombies from the start I would have had nothing to lose. Zombie are fearless, eternal, relentless warriors who can be replaced even if they fall. Now with my undead hoard there is nothing in this world that can stop me from becoming King of the Pirates! You and your crew should be grateful for the chance to serve as my undying slaves” at that exact moment the shadow tendrils latched onto all the zombies in Thriller Bark, and pulled
‘He’s a bastard, but he has a point’ Valentina and Greed think, then like the others worry when Moria’s eyes begin to glow an eerie red
‘All the shadows of Thriller Bark, come to me and become my power’
Shadows ASGARD
“All these shadows… oh f*ck” Nami gasps
“He’s doing Nightmare Luffy, but with all the shadows he’s got as a booster” Kaos hisses, coating his entire body in reflect armour.
“Tell me Luffy, I’d wager you managed to absorb about 100 shadows in order to get as strong as you did. Well then I’ll just have to absorb 100...200...300...400...500...600...700...800...900… Kishishishi, 1,000!!”
“1,000 shadows all inside him”
“Should have known he wouldn’t have a limit like normal people given his Devil fruit”
“That punk, come to pick us off after we’ve used up everything we had taking out Oars”
“I suppose it’s too much to hope he has a similar time limit in this amped form to Luffy” Kaos sighs, nervously spinning Hebi in his right hand.
Lola grunts “Probably, not that it matters, the sun’s up and we’re out of time, we don’t even have those 10 minutes to hope to survive before being destroyed by the light”
On the bright side, and it shows how bad things are getting that this is considered one, having 1000 shadows inside him, while it amped up his size and strength, seemed to have severely screwed with his brain, given he was unable to speak anymore besides laughter and shrieks, oh and he was starting to wreck his own island/ship worse that Oars did. Which was the cue for 99% of the shadowless to make a break for it, basically everyone who wasn’t a Straw Hat… or Lola.
“Captain what are you doing, the sun’s coming up. You’ll be burned to ash just like the rest of us”
She nods “I know, but I feel I have to do my part, take some responsibility for getting us into this mess in the first place” she responds, still not moving from his spot “Besides, look over there, tell me what you see”
“The straw hats… they’re not budging, not even an inch” they gasp
“They’re completely fearless” Lola states, mostly because she can’t see Usopp and Nami’s looks of terror on their faces
“Come on, they don’t think they can actually win this can they?”
“Yeah they lost their shadows same as us, and Moria is basically indestructible now, he makes Oars look like a wild zombie”
“They clearly think there’s more to it than that. If these kids think they should stand and fight, why shouldn’t I?” Lola says, her body tense and determined “I knew there was a chance our battle would end up like this, and I don’t regret betting on the Straw Hats, they did a lot better than we have all these years. You can run if you want, but I’m staying, as is my duty as your Cap..ah..” Lola groans as the sunrises enough to catch her, her body starting to burn in the light
“Captain Lola, get in the shadows, hurry!”
“No, I’m right where I’m supposed to be. This is what it means to put your faith behind someone, I’m not going to skulk around in the dark anymore!” Lola shouts back, gritting her teeth and digging her heels in ‘I’m a Charlotte damn it, we don’t back down for anything or anyone’
“So, think we’ve finally found the big boss, because I don’t think they can get bigger without bringing the entire ship to life” Zoro asks, mostly rhetorically
“He let his pride get in the way of his reason, there’s no way he can control that many shadows for long” Robin states “He’s a timebomb, all we need to do is hope he goes off, before we do”
“We’re going all out one last time, think you can handle it?” Luffy asks his crew who nod or shout their agreement
“What are you doing, you can’t beat a monster like him?”
“Unless you have something constructive to say, shut your damn mouths!” Vivi shouts, things reaching a peak for her “This was clearly a last ditch manovre from Moria, or else he’d have used it already and just stomped us before this point. The real enemy is the sun, or at least for 5 of the people here fighting. We have until the sun’s rays catch them to beat Moria and release those shadows, and my husband seems to think he stands a chance at this” she turns to Luffy, a determined grin on his face “Ready when you are, my captain”
Gear 2nd
Reflect armour: Hosomi No Otoko
“This can only end one of 2 ways, the sun burns us to ash, or those 2 beat the shadows out of Moria” Zoro states confidently “And I know where I’m putting my money”
It became clear Moria didn’t have the speed, or the mental fortitude to follow the brothers, each zipping around at high speed avoiding his clumsy lunges and gropes, Kaos slashing at him with talon like claws, while Luffy grabs the now giant by his somehow still intact belt and unleashed…
Gum Gum Jet Rocket
“Those 2, they know Soru and Gepo, how?” Lola gasps “Where did they learn those techniques?”
“The way Kaos seems to learn most things, mimicry” Robin chuckles as she answers the other woman’s question “The last island we were on, we ran into CP9, and most of the crew had to fight Rokushiki users, Luffy and Kaos just happen to be the fastest to use what they’ve seen to improve their own techniques”
“You know you could have just asked them later” Nami retorts “The fact Luffy’s literally beating the shadows out of Moria is a much bigger deal… or is it just me?”
Jet Bazooka
Jet Bazooka
“She’s right, they’re practically pouring out of that thing” One of the shadowless shout in joy “We might actually survive this after all”
“But how, doesn’t Moria’s fruit give him complete control over shadows, or at least the ones he rips off people?”
“Yeah, but that’s when he has them, for lack of a better word ‘tethered’ to a zombie, right now they’re loose and swarming inside him, even he can’t control that many shadows in that form, especially when those 2 doubleteaming him is putting him on the brink of unconsciousness” Usopp explains/guesses
Gum Gum…
Brick Bat: Kurohitsugi
Well, sh*t. Turns out Moria’s brain was still working, as he uses his shadow to form the shadow bats from earlier, swarming Luffy and forming a black box around him to stop the steaming rubber band from hitting him any more. He then proceeds to punch the section of wall he formed the box on, crushing it as well as the entire wall, leaving a crumbled black thing to hit the ground
“Now you die brat, consider this your punishment for thinking you can enter my part of the sea and strut around like you own the place” Moria bellows, then attempt to stomp out the Straw Hat captain
Kiba Sutoraiki
Moria shrieks as he hops back, 5 spike like holes in his heel as Kaos stands over the now shaking and thumping box, the fingers on his right hand longer and curved like snake fangs. He stares up at the beast with an expression best described as murderous, before the Black coffin finally is forced open, Luffy stepping out, panting heavily but still steaming
“Arsehole forgot I’m rubber and therefore blunt force doesn’t do sh*t?” he asks jokingly “Let’s show this overblown onion man, why we don’t back down, to cowards like him! Rubber bounces back, and you dish out everything that gets thrown at you, so let’s end this once and for all”
Gear 3rd: Bone Balloon
Anord Nathair: Anaconda
“He’s kicking it up to 3rd, on top of 2nd, sh*t this is going to get messy” Franky shouts
“Hey Robin, any idea what Shimmer just did?” Valentina asks
“Not a clue, but it seems whatever he went looking for earlier, gave him some new tricks” Robin smirks
“Kind of looks like the feral form he was in earlier, only he’s actually in control of himself now… I hope” Zoro grimaces, that ‘thing’ was a pain to deal with, he really didn’t want to try again under the current circ*mstances
“They’re both idiots, their bodies can’t handle the strain of what they’re trying to do” Chopper panics
Gum Gum Jet Shell
Sen'ei Jashu
MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA
Luffy’s Inflated rubber form slams right into Moria’s guts, while Kaos zips around him in a circle, each strike leaving 5 small holes in a circle at the point of impact, as well as a momentary depression caused by the force of each attack, only stopping when Luffy was forced back out of Moria’s stomach, catching him before he hit the ground. At this point is seemed like shadows were actively fleeing Moria’s bloated body, so much so he had to consciously force them to remain, and even then it was a losing battle
‘Listen here shadows, I am your master and you WILL obey me’
“I know you’re there, come back to me shadow!” Lola shouts, the flames growing the longer she stood outside “I’ve spent 3 long years searching for the zombie you were put inside, and now you’re right here in front of me I can’t just leave!” she screams, side stepping her crew who tried to get her to retreat, or at least duck out of the light
“Please Captain Lola stop this, we can’t watch you die”
“You idiots, can’t you feel it, our shadows, everyone’s shadows, are right there, inside Moria, mere feet away from us” Lola hisses, trying to get the others to see sense
“Now you mention it, I, I feel something”
“That’s the connection, forged from birth between a shadow and it’s owner. Moria can cut the physical connection, but he can never truly sever the bond”
“She’s right”
“This is the closest we’ve ever come to being reunited with our shadows”
“But we still can’t fight a Warlord”
“We might not have to, if his hold on them is as shaky as it looks, we could draw them back into ourselves simply by being this close to them”
“We have nothing left to lose, we might as well try this”
And with that, cries for the shadows to return to them echoed through the edge of the mansion, all Moria’s victims trying to fight against the Warlord’s hold on their shadow, as well as maybe even help knock a few more loose on the way.
Luffy smirks, his body ready for a final strike “I’ve got some words for my shadow too. You want to be the Pirate King’s shadow? Then you better shape up and come back to me right now!”
Gum Gum Jet Shell
This strike knocked Moria into the mansion once more, if nothing else finally destroying it completely, even dropping one of the masts on top of him, though it also sent Luffy flying around like a balloon with all the air let out of it.
It was this attack which finally ended things though, as Moria’s hold was lost, the shadows erupting from his mouth like a geyser of pitch black ink, visible for all on Thriller Bark to see.
Unfortunately, the destruction of the mansion also removed most of the shade in the courtyard they’d been fighting in, flooding the area with the light on the early morning sun, not a good thing when the shadows haven’t returned to their owners yet. Robin, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji’s bodies were engulfed in white flames, while Kaos’s armoured form began to crack and splinter, licks of fire flickering in and out of the growing cracks and crumbling silver armour.
“Oh god no!”
“Someone block the sun from them!”
“This is bad I don’t want them all to die!”
“Come on shadows, we freed you, now do your job and save our friends from the sun!”
The good news if you can call it that, is it seems you die only when ALL of you burns in the sun. If the shadow (which took it’s sweet time) returns while you’re still burning no matter how much of you was destroyed it will be restored, good as new. This fact had the rest of the straw hats staring in shock but also joy, as their crew was once more whole again, and not dead.
“Guess it’s not time for us to die just yet” Zoro chuckles, patting himself down to make sure nothing was off or damaged, the rest doing similar things to themselves or each other, namely Robin and Kaos, to the amusem*nt of a few of Moria’s former victims.
“How can you all be so blase about this, half your bodies were gone!” Usopp shouts
“Half his brain was missing back on Skypeia, pretty sure Shimmer’s Devil fruit means he literally doesn’t care” Victor chuckles
“You people are insane, you nearly gave me a heart attack… only I don’t have a heart, being a skeleton and all, so lucky me” Brook chuckles then turns so he could stand in the sunlight once more after all these years
“Everyone seems to have recovered their shadows” Chopper notes smiling as he and Kaya check up on Luffy
“Yes, we were cutting it pretty close, luckily the return of our shadows caused our bodies to return to their natural state” Robin hums
“Like when Moria contorted Oars to mimic Luffy’s fruit, or turn him into a zombie ball, the shadow and the owner are linked, reattaching it stopped the burning and gave the order to put everything back to where it was supposed to” Kaos adds, now they weren’t about to die a few of the crew noticed their researcher was taller and somehow even more thin and sinewy than when they arrived on the island in the first place.
“I don’t really care how it worked, just glad it did, plus now we’ve dealt with Moria I doubt we’ll need to worry about our shadows being stolen again” Zoro hums, sitting down and taking a break for the first time since waking up from his shadow being stolen. He then turns to look at their captain “Luffy got small again a few minutes ago”
“Yeah, he says it’s a side effect of Gear 3rd, supposedly relative to how long he uses it he ends up being in mini mode to recover”
“These new moves, can his body even handle them?” Usopp wonders aloud
“He’s the only one who can” Kaos answers “If he was anyone else his Gears would kill him just trying to replicate the effects”
“Speaking of, what the absolute f*ck was that rage mode thing you turned into earlier?” Sanji shouts, the researcher guessing it was because he attacked a woman (even if it was Perona, an enemy) with it.
“What do you know about fight or flight?” he asks, seeing the blank expression on the blond’s face “When faced with a threat an animal has two options: Attempt to flee or stand your ground and attack. Perona’s hollows clearly caused a similar reaction within me”
“But why, Perona’s hollows make people depressed, why were you any different?” Nami asks
“Her hollows work by muting all positive feelings, leaving only negatives, hence the name Negative Hollow. Pain, anger, self doubt and loathing, but most importantly… Fear. That’s what triggered it, she muffled everything but fear, unknowingly activating the Fight or Flight response and causing me to lash out”
“That didn’t answer anything we actually asked, such as why it affected you like that and nobody else” Alvida growls
Kaos clicks his tongue “Oh, well it’s probably because I’m a Zoan, it tapped into the animal part of my brain rather than the rational human part which did shut down like everyone else’s, hence… I believe someone called it feral mode” you could have heard a pin drop at the reveal worthy of Garp with how ‘Well there it is’ that statement was
“What! You’re not a Zoan, you stated clearly, back in the East Blue that you were a special paramecia, eater of the Suru Suru no mi if I’m not mistaken” Usopp shouts
Kaos nods “Correct, I’ve had that fruit since I was a kid, but recently, and by that I mean last night, I now have another, specifically the power of the Hebi Hebi no mi” he grins widely, long fangs flashing in the sunrise
Sanji scoffs “Yeah right nobody can eat 2 Devil fruits you’d f*cking explod…” the cook fails to finish his sentence as for one there’s a tail wrapped rather painfully around his legs and torso but also he’s staring into the clearly reptilian face of the Straw Hat researcher, shades dropped from his face due to the lack of outer ears in what they assume to be his Hybrid form, given it more closely resembles a naga or lamia than an actual snake at this point
“Believe me now Erossssssss” Kaos almost purrs, disarticulating his jaw just to snap it shut an inch from his face. The cook swallows loudly, then nods, at which point he lets go of the blond and transforms back to normal
“Well, at least you keep your pants, that would have been awkward otherwise” Greed chuckles, getting a snort or suppressed laugh from Victor and Valentina respectively
“So, eating 2 Devil fruits is possible, though I presume the requirements are rarer than we could possibly imagine?” Vivi asks, getting a nod from Kaos
“Well, at least we have another Zoan on the crew, and it’s the Hebi Hebi no mi, Model Anaconda (1)” Chopper chirps happily, the others nod and grin, besides Robin, who’s brow furrows in thought.
Because that’s NOT what he said.
“Those 2 are leaving us in the dust with all these power ups, we really should start pulling our weight around here” Valentina says half jokingly, getting annoyed sighs of agreement from Alvida and surprisingly Usopp.
“Thank you for all you’ve done” came a wheezing dry voice, getting the straw hat’s attention
“AH! It’s a zombie!” Usoop screams, then primes his Kabuto “Moria missed one”
“No, I’m just an old man with serious injuries”
“Oh, well now I feel like an asshole”
“No worries, I get that a lot. Anyway, I’m here to thank you, most of us never thought we’d see the day we could walk in the light ever again” he wheezes, giving a pained smile as Lola and the others rush over
“He’s right you know, we owe you our lives for finally beating Moria and returning our shadows to us” Lola declares then kneels “Let it be known the Thriller Bark Victim's club recognise that we owe the Straw hats our lives”
“We may not have much, but what we do have is yours for the taking”
“And, I grant the honour of one of you to marry me” Lola says with a wink
“Hell no!” It said a lot and yet nothing that every straw hat regardless of age, gender or even species shouted that, besides the unconscious Luffy.
“Damn, rejected by the entire crew, a full set so to speak”
“458 rejections, I think”
“There’s no need to thank us, like Luffy said when we ran into the old man we were fighting to save our own crew, anything else is just a bonus” Zoro explains, not that he thought it would do much, the slap across the face from Nami he didn’t see coming though
“Shut up! People are finally showing us the respect and gratitude we deserve, can you just accept the praise given we took down a freaking Warlord!” Nami screams, then freezes in panic
“Um, Nami? I think they’re going to lead us to Moria’s treasure room” Vivi calls, hoping to snap the woman out of her funk
“sh*t, guys I just remembered something really bad. Moria isn’t the only warlord on Thriller Bark, Bartholomew Kuma arrived about an hour or 2 ago”
“I see” everyone turns and looks up when they hear the voice projected from a Den Den Mushi “So my greatest fears have become a reality”
“So it would seem” Kuma says flatly, sending shivers down their spines
“That’s him, the other warlord?” Kaya asks, getting a nod from Nami
“But, he didn’t join the fight, why is he even here?” Chopper asks in confusion
“Great, and just when we finally found a replacement for Crocodile. Losing another Warlord in quick succession sets a bad example, especially by the hands of the same pirates… Can you confirm he’s still breathing at least?”
“No” Kuma replies, not having moved so they were unsure if it was simply indifference or just that he’d already checked and so doing so again was unnecessary.
“Very well, if he is still alive we’ll wait for him to recover and see if he can still maintain his position, we shall follow up after such time comes. The Shikabuchi’s reputation and dignity would be tarnished if we continued to lose them so easily. It’s critical that this information doesn’t spread to anyone else, these damn Straw Hats are such a nuisance. My orders are clear, we can’t allow anyone else to learn of Moria’s defeat. This is a direct order form the World Government: Obliterate the Straw Hat crew, and silence anyone else on the island, leave no one alive”
“Simple enough” Kuma hums
“Wait, did he just say, he’s gonna obliterate us?” one of the former victims ask
“It’s a Buster Call without the battleships” Kaos sighs “Well, the island’s already f*cked so it’s not like you could tell the difference afterwards, sesese”
At this point Kuma stands and turns to face the assembled group, revealing just how much of a behemoth of a man he truly was.
“Just like Crocodile, another f*cking cover up” Valentina sneers
“No witnesses”
“It took everything we had and then some just to beat Moria, we can’t fight another one in our condition” Alvida sighs
Zoro simply shrugs and unsheathes Shusui “I’ll handle this” he says, stepping in front of everyone
“I’d beleive you, if you didn’t look like death warmed over” Kaos says, now standing practically in lockstep with the swordsman
“Be careful, he’s got some kind of strange ability, I saw him make someone vanish with a touch of his hand” Nami warns “And he can teleport in the blink of an eye”
Kaos just grins “So that’s what you ate, this might actually be fun. Also, Moria’s still alive, the fruit hasn’t left his body yet and his prescience can still be mildly felt in all the dark places in the immediate area”
Kuma doesn’t react to the researcher’s statement, only removes his gloves, which has Nami twitching given he also removed his glove before vanishing Perona. He then vanished in a noise similar to a popping bubble but louder and appeared in the middle of the crowd
“We’re f*cked” Nami whimpers
“Damn, the big guy really can teleport, that just makes things harder” Franky groans then his jaw drops when with a single palm strike he took out a row of people, throwing them all into the ruins behind them. He then teleports backwards, now directly behind Kaos and Zoro, mostly because they had turned to face him when he popped to the middle of the group
“Mirror Master Kaos, Pirate Hunter Zoro, shall I begin the culling with you and work down?” he asks just as flatly as he said everything else.
TBC
LW: Wow, that is probably a good place to end this chapter, partly so we have something big to start chapter 100 with.
Speaking of, I have something special planned, but I think I’ll wait until next chapter to announce it, give you 2 things to look forward to.
Also, yeah I didn’t give much fanfare to Kaos getting a 2nd Devil fruit, call it Monkey Bluntness but he has no reason to hide he got new powers from his crewmates, East Blue was mostly because he had no reason to announce his abilities until they were fighting Arlong but here he might as well tell them once they have some spare time, in this case when Moria’s passed out on the ground.
(1) I know one of the Boa Sisters ate the Anaconda Snake Snake fruit, but the Straw hats don’t.
Chapter 100: A Panda and a Party, talk about whiplash
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
LW: And here we are, it’s taken nearly 4 years, but I’ve finally reached 100 chapters, and I hope there are still a few of you who were here from the start… if there weren’t then at least I found some new people along the way who liked this story. Anyway, please enjoy, and good night.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - A Panda and a Party, talk about whiplash
“I think everyone else should take a couple steps back, or begin running, this isn’t going to be pleasant” Kaos says with a grimace, Hebi already latched onto his arm.
“He’s right, stay back Kuma’s called us out it’s only right we face him ourselves” Zoro agrees, getting into position
“You know, your crew has become quite popular… amongst scum that is” Kuma says flatly
“Given you talk like a robot, I wasn’t expecting you to be a dick too, seemed like something your masters wouldn’t have bothered programming” Kaos mutters with a half smile
“But it’s clear some of the rumors about your crew are true, Straw Hat Luffy does appear to have staffed his crew with rather strong and loyal subordinates” the warlord continues, the crew slightly flattered or else embarrassed by the praise, even if it was coming from someone sent to kill them “You leave a trail of trouble in your wake everywhere you go”
“We dealt with Alabasta’s Civil War, and the Buster Call wasn’t our fault, Spazdick just couldn’t help pushing the big red button” the researcher grumbles, but was ignored
“Though the infamy isn’t solely reserved for your captain, you’ve all earned your place in that legend”
Zoro smirks, hands on the hilt of his blades ready to draw and strike, while Hebi was beginning to spin, reflect armour spread from Kaos’ eyes like tear tracks.
“This is insane you guys, that fight with Oars and Moria should have crippled both of you, Zoro, your bones should be powder, and Kaos, I don’t even think you know the side effects of double dipping with Devil fruits” Usopp shouts, getting concerned agreement from the 2 medical Strawhats
“You don’t get to just opt out of a fight like this, you have to face it head on” Zoro argues, a smirk growing on his face “If I die here, then this was as far as I was always meant to go, no point fighting it”
“Plus, when does Zoro not enter a fight injured? The universe keeps trying to f*ck you over and you still kick your opponent’s asses” Kaos chuckles “Besides, I’ve not even started to abuse my body to win this fight, Kufufufu”
Nitoryu: Rashom*on
The attack tore through stone but didn’t seem to faze Kuma who merely struck down, missing Zoro but leaving a distinctly paw shaped indent in the ground. He then fires what looked to be a paw shaped bubble, glancing off the swordsman before cutting through several walls.
“There it is. ‘Tyrant’ Kuma, eater of the Nikyu Nikyu no mi. Now to answer an interesting question…” Kaos grins widely, the smile spreading to the edge of his jaw
Mirāu~ōku
Hansha yari
Puni
Kaos disappears for a second only to reappear inches from Kuma, his left arm coated and fingers extends, only to be blocked and stopped dead when the attack struck Kuma’s pads
“sh*t, impenetrable defence indeed” he chuckles morosely, before he was sent flying back into the wall by a whispered Pad Ho, while blocking or more accurately redirecting a 36 Calibre phoenix attack towards some of Moria’s former victims.
“He, he deflected their attacks with his bare hands” Chopper gasps
“I may be a little late to the party, but I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out what your fruit does. In my defence, our first mate is also our Devil Fruit expert, so if I’d figured it out before him, well I’d have to assume he’s taken too many blows to the head last night” the swordsman jokes, but ready for almost anything
Kuma nods “Your friend is correct, I did eat the Nikyu Nikyu no mi, or the Paw Paw fruit as it’s known in some parts of the world. In doing so I became a ‘Paw-palmed human’ ” he explains, showing his pawwed palms to the pirates
“A, what now?”
“How can he say that with a straight face, that’s the dumbest sounding Devil fruit I’ve ever heard of” Usopp mutters
“I don’t know, I heard there’s a Jacket Jacket fruit, does exactly what you think it does” Valentina retorts, but is also chuckling to herself
“I may not know much about these Warlords, but if this one’s Devil fruit is kitten hands I don’t see what the big deal i…” Franky’s comment is interrupted by a paw bubble striking him and sending him flying back
“You disappoint me Cyborg Franky, to be so loud yet so weak, is a disgrace”
“Holy, he knocked Franky out without even touching him” Nami shouts
Franky coughs and wheezes as he sits up, with some assistance from Kaya and Chopper
“We’re completely f*cked aren’t we?” Alvida sighs
“Anyone going to explain what he just did? Anyone?” Brook asks in confusion
Robin volunteers “From what little I’ve seen it looks like he rejects or repels the air itself at high speed, creating a pressure wave that can then hit his enemies from a fair distance”
“Essentially correct. I call it the Pad Ho, and I essentially blast air pressure at my enemies at close to light speed, which in turn creates a shockwave that can pierce through anything”
“So you’re the unbreakable shield and the unblockable lance at the same time. If not for your limitation I’d say your fruit is broken, even now I’d at least call it f*cking overpowered and a good reason why they invited you”
“Limitation?” Artemis asks, looking confused
“It’s not much, but the pads have to be unobstructed when they are used, hence why it had to take off his gloves in order to fight us, as well as why he had to do something I’ve been trying to do for a while in order to block our attacks, put his pads literally in the path of the attacks. What I mean is that his fruit’s power is localized to the palms of his hands, otherwise he’d probably dress like Franky in order to have enough skin showing to fire from almost anywhere on his body”
Kuma doesn’t comment, instead stomping his way into a Sumo stance, directly in line with his 2 opponents “I don’t believe in mercy” he whispers
“This is going to hurt, a lot”
Tsuppari Pad Ho
Streaming Wolf Swords
Sunēku Dansu
Zoro’s attack enabled him to bob and weave around the path of the barrage of paw bubbles, while Kaos used the almost boneless flexibility of her new Devil Fruit to essentially bob and weave his way through the bubbles as he walked towards the Warlord (he was a little busy trying no to die so missed Artemis asking if Papa can teach her to dance like that). Things went downhill though when Zoro went to actually land his attack, Kuma blocking them with his pads, the blades not even managing to nick them before being shot back. Kaos did slightly better as he slashed at Kuma’s side before being pretty much bitchslapped back to where the others were standing.
“He can block blades too”
“His pads deflect everything, of course they do blades too Chopper”
“This guy's attacks hit like a sea train” Zoro grimaces, spitting a little blood
“And his defence probably matches, I barely cut the tin man… ah sh*t” Kaos groans as Kuma pops over to them, his immense size leaving him no choice but to peer down, towering over them both.
“Don’t even think about it!” Sanji shouts, leaping into the air and kicking Kuma in the face before he could blast the other 2 into the dirt, and most likely into little bits. An action he immediately regrets given he was moments later on the ground in pain clutching his leg
“Black leg Sanji, I presume” Kuma notes, seemingly uninterested by the fact he had literally just been kicked in the face, though it was clear Sanji took more damage from the attack then he did “I expected more from you”
“He didn’t even flinch” Vivi whispers, Sanji was one of their strongest fighters, NOBODY could just shrug off an attack from him, from what she’d heard even Bluno had winced under his Tekkai from a full strength kick from the blond chef ‘Just what kind of monster is this man?’
“Damn it, what’s his face made of, steel? That kick should have busted his skull or at the very least broken his jaw” Sanji grouses, shocking the crowd
Firebird star
“Sogeking, king of snipers, a title you clearly gave yourself” Kuma notes as he deflects the attack back at Usopp, slightly amusing that the bird is literally turned around by his fruit’s redirection ability.
“He’s not even phased by our attacks, never mind harmed by them” Valentina growls, fists clenched in frustration.
“I knew from the start that killing a crew of injured weaklings would bring me no joy” Kuma states clinically, and given the beating they took taking out Oars and Moria, none of the straw hats could find the energy to be offended by the comment “Besides it’s not even a fair fight, but orders are orders, even if I don’t fully agree with them”
‘Hm, so this is what a government dog looks like, no wonder Master gets so angry whenever someone implies he is one’ Greed muses to himself ‘Also explains why Shimura is so determined to make one’
A loud siren-like noise soon filled the air as a massive paw bubble formed between Kuma’s spread arms, which with each ripple and hum got a little smaller, everyone who could see it unsure what was going on, but could clearly see that was not a good sign. It looked like a finishing move, that much was certain
“Wait a minute, I know what he’s doing” Nami shouts “He’s using his power to deflect a massive air mass, but also compress it into what will soon be a tiny ball” she theorizes, just as the bubble was around the size of Kuma’s torso
“If you’re right, as I believe you are, the real attack will be when he releases all that stored pressure. Given the size of the initial bubble, it will be like a bomb went off, leveling a large portion of the island”
“Did you say bomb?”
“He’s going to blow us all up?”
“Hey Vic, what are the chances you can more or less tank this attack?”
The bomb man scowls “Unlikely, it’s not an actual explosion, Robin’s just using it for comparison, it’s a pressure wave, which by the look of things will be just as bad if not worse than if he had just pulled a massive bomb out of his jacket and flipped us off as he pulled the trigger” he says, just as the bubble was compressed small enough to fit in Kuma’s still rather large hands
‘This is going to suck, so much worse than the sunburn 10 minutes ago’
Kuma turns to the group, his face passive as usual “I’ve thought it over and made a decision. I shall spare your lives” he says, raising the mood, for a moment “But on one condition: In exchange for this act of magnemanity , you give me the head of Straw Hat Luffy. If I return with him, that should be enough to satisfy the World Government, and all your meaningless lives will be allowed to continue unimpeded”
“Go. f*ck. Yourself.” Kaos wheezes as he stands, Zoro following with a slight bit of help from the researcher
Kuma ignores the researcher, after all one beaten and broken pirate doesn’t speak for the group “Give him to me now, before I change my mind”
“NEVER!!”
Everyone basically telling him ‘No, now piss off’ on the other hand, he does have to accept as consensus.
“Remember, this was your decision” Kuma says, before releasing the bubble, the nearly blinding bright paw bubble floated a fair distance from Kuma before it began to once more emit the loud siren “Suffer, the Ursus Shock”
The explosion’s range engulfed the entire island/ship, destroying every building, crumbling the ruins, breaking the sails, and even uprooting a good portion of the forest, not to mention easily taking out everyone still on Thriller Bark at the moment of detonation. By the end, only Kuma remained standing, revealing himself to be basically a one man Buster Call, with an attack like that. With not even a glance at the destruction he caused Kuma thumps along, wading through the scarms of people he’s knocked the f*ck out with his attack until he was standing before Straw Hat, the only one who looked to be at peace, merely sleeping rather than passed out via Paw Paw induced shockwaves. Using his fruit to remove a piece of rubble holding the boy down, he reaches to grab his target…
Lion Song
Sauzandmirashado
The beast of a man stops as a mix of Zoro’s slash and a small cloud of mirror shards strike him, cutting across his chest in an X formation.
“Well sh*t” Kaos wheezes, blood leaking from the armour crack that was serving as a mouth right now “That’s some serious hardware you got there Big guy, no wonder we didn’t stand a chance” his body shakes as he coughs, some of the cloud returning to help with fixing the multitude of cracks up and down his body
“So, he’s a cyborg like Franky, or I guess a better one given the damage he can do” Zoro surmises, Kuma not responding verbally, instead proving the swordsman correct by charging a LASER BEAM from his mouth
Yata no Kagami
The beam was deflected skyward, though the shards fell apart a little more than a second later, showing just how strong the Warlord’s beam attack was
“You didn’t need to do that” Zoro pants as he moves closer to the brothers “I’d have been able to dodge it”
“Didn’t see the point in risking it, plus I wanted to know if I actually could stop a laser with my fruit, just in case we managed to survive this” Kaos doesn’t shrug but it was implied, in fact right now he wasn’t moving anything that was necessary, due to a mix of pain and fatigue.
“A cyborg, I suppose that is an accurate description” Kuma says, feeling chatty after nearly blowing them up again “But the metal parts are the only similarity I share with your friend Franky. I am a creation, known as a Pasifista, an in development Human Weapon’s Project of the World Government. I was created by the government’s most renowned scientists: Dr. Vegapunk, one of the greatest geniuses this world has or will ever know. To put it into perspective, his theories and discoveries are so mind blowing it’s believed it would take the rest of the world at least 500 years to catch up”
‘He’s monologuing and spilling government secrets, we must really be f*cked’
“Technology that advanced, and a bullsh*t level Devil Fruit, I’m starting to think even 2 on 1, this isn’t a fair fight” Zoro chuckles weakly, though pants heavily between laughs “I feel it, my body shutting down, it’s not responding to me any more, and I doubt you’re much better ay Shimmer?” there was a slight shake of the head “Didn’t think so” he tilts his head to look up at Kuma “You said, if we give you Luffy’s head, you’ll leave the rest of us alive?”
“That is the only compromise I’ll allow” Kuma responds
“If you want a head so badly you can have one, but I can’t let you have my captain’s, take mine instead. It’s the only counter offer I’m going to give you” Zoro shouts, kneeling before the towering cyborg, somehow surprising him “I know my bounty isn’t as large as Luffy’s, but I’m destined to become the world’s greatest swordsman, surely that has to count for something!”
“Zoro, don’t be a fool, you’re not supposed to be the one who lays down his life for the captain” Kaos coughs as he limps over to the teen “That’s the point of a first mate, to make decisions in the Captain’s absence”
“It has to be me, especially given you’re about 70% of Luffy’s impulse control and on a bad day 90% of his brain power” the swordsman barks, getting a hollow laugh from the taller boy.
“You have this much ambition flowing within you, yet you’re willing to give it all up, for him?” Kuma asks, pointing in Luffy’s direction with his fist
“Right now, it’s the only way I see to save the rest of the crew. Besides, what use is ambition, if I’m not strong enough to keep the people I care about safe?” Zoro scowls, then declares “Luffy is the man who’ll be King of the Pirates! That dream, is worth my sacrifice to see come to pass”
A dismissive scoff turns attention behind Kuma “Damn moron, stop trying to show me up. You talk big, but you can’t actually accomplish anything if you’re dead” Sanji sneers as he lumbers over, the 2 surprised he was actually conscious, never mind walking around “Listen here you big lug, don’t bother with Mosshead and Psycho over here, if you’re taking a head it’ll be mine. Sure I don’t have the big bounties the other 3 have, but you’ll see just what I can do when I want to make trouble, you’ll regret it soon enough that you didn’t deal with Black Leg Sanji when you had the chance”
The speech was impressive, shame it was followed by the cook being grabbed by the neck and thrown across the crater “You were just about standing Eros, don’t play the big man when you should be focusing on not bleeding out” Kaos voice was a deathrattle through the armour, belatedly hoping his tail hadn’t f*cked the blond up too much extra, or Chopper would never let him hear the end of it.
“Like you’re doing any better, that why you haven’t volunteered?” Zoro half jokes
“No, it’s because I don’t trust the murderbot to keep his word. He kills me, then you, then follows his programming and takes Luffy to Marineford” Kaos hisses
Kuma frowns, something that any other time would amuse the researcher as he got an emotion from a robot “I vow on my former life as a revolutionary, that I will keep my word and not take Straw Hat’s head after our deal is concluded. However, in order for either for even both of you to take his place, you must experience a living Hell” he then picks up Luffy and pressing his hand to the boy’s chest pushes out a red bubble even larger than he was “I’ve just repelled all physical injury from Straw hat, his exhaustion, his pain”
“Oh f*ck you that fruit’s God tier” Kaos sighs, a bloody tear leaking from the hole on the right side of his armoured face
“What stands before you is the sum total of all the anguish he endured over the course of last night. If you truly wish to take his place, you must willingly inflict that agony upon yourself”
“Given the hell Garp called training, I might actually survive this” the researcher chuckles morbidly
“If you were at 100% you mean” Zoro argues, feeling rather than seeing the older boy’s scowl
“With how close to death you both are, not only will this process kill you, but your last moments will be blinding pain to which death will not come soon enough and be blissfully embraced” Kuma continues, ignoring the pirates infighting “Why don’t you see, if you really want to do this” he hums, slapping the bubble so 2 smaller ones break off and float into Zoro and Kaos’ chests.
There was a moment of silence before Kuma was proven right, indescribable pain courses through the bodies of the remaining straw hats, their convulsions opening earlier wounds in the process.
“Do you still want to do this, to have nothing but pain as you die unacknowledged by anyone or anything else?” Kuma asks once the ‘sample’ had run its course
“Yeah, we’ll buy the farm. You said we could both take the pain right?”
“Correct”
“Give dumbass 10%, then follow me with the rest of it, if I’m dying, alone actually sounds kind of nice” Zoro says before Kaos could make another comment
“Zoro” he growls
“Serpens” he snaps “You’re literally falling apart right now. I know you want to split this, but… Luffy needs you more than me, you know that, deep down. Let me take one for the team, maybe try convince him to name one of the kids after me” he gives a half smile, weak as it was
“I’ll have him name one of the girls after you, also if you do die from this, I’m going to bring you back just to kick your ass all over again, got it?”
“Yeah, yeah, big talk from a porcelain doll” Zoro scoffs, waiting until Kuma had removed a reasonable portion of the bubble, and Kaos was shrieking and spasming on the ground before walking off, the Warlord following him with the rest of the bubble.
‘Here we go’ Zoro thinks, staring at the physical manifestation of everything Luffy went through since they arrived on Thriller Bark ‘Time to see who’s will is stronger’ he grits his teeth and shoves his hands into the bubble, his jaw locks as he tries force down the screams
“To inspire such loyalty, he couldn’t be anyone’s son but yours, Dragon” Kuma muses as he stands on the edge of Thriller Bark, preparing to depart as promised “As for the other, did you really need to have a child with such a stubborn pirate, Medusa?”.
Later
“Yeah, Luffy’s stamina is insane, that REALLY should have killed the rubber brained moron” Kaos mutters to himself as with a pained grunt of effort he pulls his lanky frame to his feet, wiping the dried blood from the sides of his lips and neck “Now, where did you run off to Zoro, you better not have died on me” he hisses, his steps, more like rocking his body from side to side as he lurches forward, taking him out of the more or less crater and closer to the forest, though privately was amused to hear Kuma was correct, removing all that pain and damage meant Luffy was now loudly proclaiming how awesome he was feeling, while bouncing around like an idiot.
“Hey Psycho” he stops, tilting his head when he sees Sanji was conscious once more “What happened after you knocked me out? There’s no way that guy just let us go without some kind of price, answer me!”
“Nothing happened” the voice was quiet, weak, but Kaos still nearly snapped his own neck (and later wondered if that was even still physically possible at this point) as he turned to check out it’s source. Zoro, torn up and bleeding heavily, but he was still alive his face looking actually a little bored “Nothing worth talking about at least”
“Yeah that’s bull, but more importantly, you really shouldn’t be walking around” Kaos hisses, leaning down so he could take some of the swordsman’s weight “Never mind Kuma, Chopper and Kaya will have our heads when they see you like this”
“At least you still have that sh*tty sense of humour, Pawman couldn’t knock that out of you it seems” Zoro says with a slight slur of his words
“Nope, permanently embedded in my brain, now come on.”
One Day Later
“I’m still surprised EVERYONE slept in the courtyard for an entire day”
“Well, we did spend the entire night fighting Moria and Oars, plus that sh*t with Kuma, I’m pretty sure everyone just slept where their bodies fell, I sure did” Valentina chuckles, helping load up transport so Sanji could make a celebratory “We didn’t f*cking die!” meal over in said courtyard
“I hope you don’t mind, after 5 years without the sun they want to soak up as much as they can” Lola apologies
“Are we sure Kaos is the only one with the snake fruit?” Alvida chuckles
“Also, are you sure you have enough food for everyone, as well as for yourselves to at least make it to the next port?” the pink haired woman continues
“Yeah, we got everything that had been stolen from us, food included, plus someone stocked up the kitchen with Moria’s food, which is weird, but also nice”
“Hm, guess there are some good samaritans on this island after all” Lola muses “Also they delivered you all this loot, you didn’t even need to hunt for treasure it just delivers itself” she chuckles, noticing Ussop sifting through to see what their haul actually was, while Nami just cuddled several bags of gold.
“Oh, score a cool armband. Captain privilege!” Luffy cheers, attaching the piece of jewelry to his arm
“Hey Luffy, maybe you shouldn’t be just taking random things, don’t want to make Nami mad”
“Eh it’s fine, that’s just costume jewelry, no value besides looking kind of nice, and it does actually suit him” the navigator smiles, peeking out of the treasure to check how the new gear looked on Luffy “But you, don’t even think of taking a single berri, got it?”
“I wouldn’t even think of stealing from our saviors Nami-zo” Lola assures her, causing the red head to freeze
“What did you just say?”
“I’m sorry, it just slipped out, don’t even know where it came from but it seemed to be the first thing to come to mind when I saw you”
“Wait a minute, you aren’t Lola are you?”
“Yes, why?” the woman asks, then nearly jumps when Nami leaps from her hoard and hugs her
“I’m so glad to finally meet you for real Lola” Nami cheers, grinning widely
“Lola? Wait a minute… you don’t mean that crazy warthog zombie do you?” Usopp screams in panic
Nami chuckles “This doesn’t make any sense, but I promise I’ll explain later. For now, take this, I would never leave a friend out in the cold” she says, taking an armful of treasure and passing it to the older woman
“Everybody panic! Nami is giving away treasure! Willingly!” Luffy and Ussop scream over the side of the Sunny
20 minutes later
“Hey everyone, we’re back!” Luffy shouts, carrying a large sack over his head, Franky and Greed doing similar, while the others carry smaller bags “Zoro awake yet?”
“No he’s still sleeping, he’s in the mansion with the other guy and your medical team” one of the Risky brothers explain
“Thanks. Chopper, Kaya we’re back!” Luffy bellows as he enters the mansion “We brought those supplies you asked for, how’s Zoro and Kaos?”
“Better than when you left but still poor. This is the worst I’ve ever seen Zoro, he was teetering on the brink of death when he was brought over. Something must have happened when we were all knocked out, as he was injured before then, we all were, but nothing like this”
“Kaos on the other hand is mostly in good condition, though there was what we believe to have been some minor internal bleeding and several of the wounds received during the fights with Oars and Moria reopened during what we assume was the shockwave. He does have a lower heart rate than most would consider safe, currently steady at 50 bpm, but given the new developments, he seems to think that is the cause as he isn’t feeling and we’re not seeing any of the signs such a condition would lead to in him” Kaya explains, the researcher more or less passed out in the chair he’d been sitting in against the wall, Artemis curled up on his lap.
“Oh, well as long as he’s ok then don’t worry about it. Maybe just keep an eye on him to be sure though” Luffy suggests, as that was all he really could do in the situation
“Honestly, while weird I think the fact Kuma just kind of up and left after blowing us away is a bigger issue, anyone else?” Vivi asks, getting a nod from Robin
“Yes, a man like him wouldn’t get the epitaph of ‘Tyrant’ for nothing. On a more positive note, Luffy suddenly being full of energy must be a wonderful boon princess” she teases, enjoying the pink cheeks the bluenette was currently sporting
“Nothing has happened, we’ve been too busy and the night threw us all for a loop.” she assures the archaeologist who chuckles
“If you say so”
“You wanna know what happened? Then look no fur..AH!” the Risky Brothers try to announce, only to leap back as a blade nearly pierced their leg
“Papa, back to sleep” Artemis whines, sitting up as the pirates look over at the now glaring researcher, the patchy shimmer in his arm showing where the knife had come from.
He sighs deeply, then pulls her close, muttering something into her hair as he calms down once more, during which Sanji leads the 2 idiots away to interrogate.
“That was a pretty stupid move, but it’s also clear he just wanted to intimidate you into silence rather than you know… actually silence you” Sanji muses as he takes a drag of his cigerette “That or all that damage really f*cked up his aim. So, tell me what I missed after the bastard tail whipped me into unconsciousness” he demands
“Well for one, Kuma’s Devil fruit is even stronger and weirder than any of us thought. He somehow bubbled Luffy’s fatigue and pain and removed it from him. He then offered it to the 2 of them, though Zoro demanded Kaos only get 10% so he’d have a better chance of surviving what Kuma called an agonising death. Given the first drop so to speak had them both screaming bloody murder, I beleive him that it should have killed both of them several times over, especially given how badly they were doing before they took the pain bubbles. They did it anyway though, badass”
Sanji sighs “Explains why Luffy’s right as rain, Zoro’s in a coma and Kaos looks like he took another bomb to the face, don’t ask” he tacks on seeing the look of confusion on the 2 idiots faces
“Well, now you know, you see why we need to spread the word of how brave your friends are, facing near certain death to save everyone”
“Hold it” Sanji shouts before they could get far “You’re not going to say anything, the near impalement should have been your first clue. Neither Zoro or Kaos took that pain bubble as you called it for accolades or praise, they did it to protect the crew. Plus did you even consider what it would do to Luffy, to know his brother and swordsman are both in pain because of him?” the brothers still look conflicted “You try squeal I’ll kill you both myself, probably be a mercy given how pissed off Psycho looked when you tried spill the beans'' he says gruffly
“Fine, we’ll keep quiet, please don’t kill us”
“Good, now let’s go eat” Sanji says, turning on his heels and heading back into the mansion ruins
“Wow. These straw hat guys just keep getting cooler and cooler”
Robin chuckles as she dismisses her bloom “Amateurs” she hums, ruffling Zoro's hair affectionately before walking over to Kaos and Artemis, kissing her lover’s cheek “Thank you, for what you both did” she whispers in his ear, as expected his eyes snap open in shock “Don’t worry, I won’t tell another soul, cross my heart” he smiles, and gives another kiss “Just try not die on me any time soon, ok?”
A little later
“There’s plenty for everyone, so dig in” Sanji announces, Valentina and Greed grinning beside him as they admire their contribution
“SO MUCH FOOD”
“It’s been so long since I’ve had actual good food, this is heaven”
‘Oh God that boy’s cooking is divine. Mama has to know about him, oh he’d make one of my sisters so happy’ Lola thinks as she stuffs more food into her face, nearly proposing to him again after the first bite
“Yohohoho, this feast is so good, my tastebuds are leaping, dancing for joy… if I still had any, Skulljoke!” Brook cackles as he enjoys another Straw Hat meal
“Shut up and eat yah damn bag o bones” Franky grumbles around his own meal
“He’s so weird, a skeleton who can talk”
“And how can he move without any muscles?”
“Who cares, he’s a nice and funny dude, plus he’s with those straw hats so he must be ok”
“It’s this bad while everyone’s sober, are we sure we should even bring out the alcohol?” Chopper wonders aloud, taking some fruit from his plate as he sits with the still unconscious Zoro “It’s as loud as a battlefield and he’s just sleeping right through it”
Nami chuckles “Yeah that’s Zoro for you, he slept through that snowstorm and accompanying typhon we got caught in when we first entered the Grand Line, dumbass” she sighs, rolling her eyes at the swordsman
“Special delivery, Zoro’s portion of the booze for tonight” Luffy cheers, bouncing over with a barrel, fully intending to force it down Zoro’s throat if he has to
“Idiot, he’s in no condition to be drinking!” Nami shouts, punching him in the head
“Nami’s right, Zoro needs rest and medicine, not booze” Kaya says, hoping to placate both of them
“What about meat, that’s like medicine?”
“Not really, I’m sorry Luffy but your concern is all you can give him, leave the rest to me and Kaya ok?” Chopper asks, then stops when he hears music
“He says son can you play me a memory, I’m not really sure how it goes” Kaos sings mostly to himself, a soft smile as his long fingers float across the piano keys “But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete, when I wore a younger man's clothes”
“You play, remarkably well” he stops, seeing Brook had made his way over to the piano “I can play pretty much anything, and I can say you’re very talented”
“Thank you, it’s only the piano though, so don’t worry you’re still the ship’s musician, if you still want to join” he chuckles lightly “Makino had one in her bar, it entranced me. It was well maintained but rarely used, until I started trying to learn, and clearly she was a good teacher. Kufufu, it’s probably weirdly quiet in that place, unless Makino found someone else to play it I mean, or she found the time to play it herself”
“Quite” Brook nods then sits beside him “I know you saw your cook deal with some witnesses to what you and Zoro did, well I thought it fair to admit I was one too. I saw the whole thing from where I lay on the precipass between life and death. It was a very brave and noble thing, putting your lives on the line like that”
“Thank you, but please don’t mention it, everyone survived, even Zoro somehow and that’s all that matters” he then notices Brook hadn’t moved to stand “Did you want to play something?”
“Only if you don’t mind. Want anything in particular, I do requests?”
“Bink’s Sake, or whatever it’s called in the West Blue” the researcher says as he stands, letting the skeleton work his magic
“Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho
Gather up all of the crew!
It's time to ship out Binks' Brew!
The wind it blows, to where who knows?
The waves will be our guide!
O'er across the ocean's tide, rays of sunshine far and wide!
The birds, they sing, of cheerful things in circles passing by!
Bid farewell to weaver's town!
Say so long to port renowned!
Sing a song, it won't be long before we're casting off!
Cross the gold and silver waves, Changin' into water sprays!
Sailing out on our journey to the ends of the sea!”
“Bink’s Brew, now this is something I’ve not heard in years” Robin smiles contently, sitting with Vivi and Valentina in what they’d dubbed the ‘quiet corner’ something that was needed with all the roughhousing everywhere else
“It makes me feel warm inside, especially this version, it’s always more happy and bouncy when played on a piano” the blond notes, remembering how the song felt much more somber when accompanied by her brother’s violin being played.
“Nice choice guys, Shanks and his crew loved to sing this song” Luffy grins from his place on the lid of the piano “Honestly, they’re the only reason we know it” he chuckles
“As you should, it’s a classic, every pirate crew used to know this song. It was sung in times of sorrow, joy, everything Yohohoho!”
Luffy nods, still grinning widely “Yeah it’s a good one. So, gonna join the crew, we need a musician, a real one. Come on Brook you got your shadow back, so you can come with us if you really want to, day or night” he pitches, hoping to entice the skeleton in.
“I wish I could do that Straw Hat, but I can’t I must keep my word, fulfil the promise I made to what may be the last person alive who would remember me, my oldest friend”
“You mean Laboon? Yeah Franky and the others told me about it after we woke up from our shadows being snatched” Luffy explains
If Brook were human he’d have blinked, instead he just looks at the rubber boy “Oh, really. Laboon. I don’t know how much they’ve told you but he’s a whale, you see there’s a Cape…”
“That’s what I’m trying to say, we’ve been to the Twin Cape, we’ve met Laboon. Big strong West Blue Island Whale” Brook stops playing in shock, then when he tries to restart the tempo is much slower “And you know what, he’s been there for 50 years, still waiting for you guys. We made a similar promise when we passed by, that we’d come back to see him, when we finished our adventure. So you’ll understand how surprised we all were to find out you were one of the friends he was out there waiting for, but it feels like a sign, that you should join us and we’ll all reunite with Laboon together one day”
“Give me a minute here, you’re telling me you actually met Laboon?”
“Met him, had a scuffle, and Luffy showed he shouldn’t steal Artemis’ job as ship’s artist when he painted the flag on his nose to symbolise his promise to return” Kaos answers “He hasn’t forgotten you Brook, he also isn’t mad at you that you took your sweet time” he teases, winking at the skeleton “He’s grown a lot in 50 years though, we thought he was a mountain when he first saw him in the fog”
“Really, when we left him he was the size of a small boat, and very cute for a whale, probably how he managed to get us to allow him to follow us that far in the first place” Brook chuckles and sniffles “After all this time, he’s still there, he’s waiting for us and he’s ok?” the skeleton begins to cry heavily and the music stops abruptly “You have no idea how happy this news is to me, thank you, so much” he whimpers as he bawls
TBC
LW: Well, thanks for getting this far everyone, it’s been a good 3 ½ years and I hope you stick around for more. It’s been fun for me and I hope it was fun for all of you too.
And, to celebrate 100 chapters, I’ve decided to test run the idea of narrating the series and putting it to Youtube, starting today. Due to link issues, I’ll just say type ‘Rubber King and Mirror Master’ into Youtube and you should find it. Hope you like it, I’m not a great voice actor but it should hopefully be a passable 1st attempt. If you do like it, comment here and there, spread the word :)
For the record, yes Kaos was singing/playing Piano Man by Billy Joel, it just fit the moment. Plus I always wanted to play the piano, but never had the time, so I have Kaos and his various other world versions be able to do it instead.
Notes:
Link to chapter narration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7tzZEZK_FU
Chapter 101: Finally free, the sun on my skin
Chapter Text
LW: Ok, so there isn’t anything I can do to fiddle with Brook’s backstory and repeating the entire thing here would just feel cheap, so… if you want to see it, watch episodes 379 and 380 of the anime. Also, I really need to keep better track of where I am in the series, could have finished Thriller Bark last chapter if I knew this arc only had 3 episodes left and 1 ½ were flashbacks. Oh well.
Rubber King and Mirror Master: Finally free, the sun on my skin.
After calming himself Brook went back to playing the piano again, a light bouncy tune which had more than a few of the assembled pirates dancing around to it… until he stopped.
“Hey, why’d you stop that SUPER tune?” Franky complains
“Yeah keep going” Chopper agrees
Brook chuckles “Of course, just a moment please” he says, opening up his skull (shocking almost everyone who saw as they didn’t know he could do that) and setting a seashell down on the piano in front of him “This is a Tone Dial, I purchased it from a merchant many years ago, back when I still had skin Yohohoho. I hear there are many different kinds of dials out there, but this one can record and play back any sound played near it” the skeleton explains
“Yeah, we saw a whole load of them when we went to Skypeia a couple months back” Luffy says with a grin
“Usopp has quite a few of them in his toolbelt if you wanted to see what other dials can do” Kaos adds, getting a nod from the sniper
“So you know how it works, excellent” Brook smiles, more or less “You see, when I reunite with Laboon, this is something I want to play for him, so I always keep it close to my heart… though given the circ*mstances you’d say it’s more in my head” he chuckles
“So what’s on it that’s so special?” Usopp asks curiously
“The last song performed by my former crew, the Rumbar Pirates. We wanted to send a message to Laboon to let him know that we were merry right until the end. May I play it?”
Luffy grins “Of course, if you guys made it for Laboon it must be good”
Brook clicks the dial and soft piano tunes started to play, catching the attention of several of the group
“If that’s the song you guys played we could all sing along, if you’ll let us”
“By all means, the more the merrier” Brook chuckles, happy to hear pirates singing again
“Yo hohoho, yo hohoho Yo hohoho, yo hohoho
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho Yo hohoho, yo hohoho
Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.
Sea wind blows, to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide.
O'er across the ocean's tide. Rays of sunshine far and wide.
Birds they sing, of cheerful things, in circles passing by.
Bid farewell to weaver's town, say so long to port renowned.
Sing a song, it won't be long, before we're casting off.
Cross the gold and silver seas, a salty spray puts us at ease,
Day and night, to our delight, the voyage never ends.
Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.
Pirates, we eternally are challenging the sea.
With the waves to rest our heads, ship beneath us as our beds,
hoisted high upon the mast, our jolly roger flies.
Somewhere in the endless sky, stormy winds are blowing by,
waves are dancing, evening comes, it's time to sound the drums.
But steady men, and never fear, tomorrow's skies are always clear.
So pound your feet and clap your hands 'til sunny days return.
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho Yo hohoho, yo hohoho
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho Yo hohoho, yo hohoho
Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.
Wave goodbye, but don't you cry, our memories remain.
Our days are but a passing dream, everlasting though they seem.
Beneath the moon we'll meet again, the wind's our lullaby.
Gather up all of the crew, it’s time to ship out Binks’ brew.
Sing a song, and play along for all the oceans wide.
After all is said and done, you'll end up a skeleton,
so spread your tale from dawn 'til dusk upon these foamy seas.
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…”
‘Thank you for waiting all this time Laboon’ Brook thinks as he continues to play, even after the tone ends ‘I know 50 years is a long time, but please, just a few more and we’ll finally be reunited. I still have my pride as a pirate, I promised you I’d return after sailing the globe and I intend to keep it’ he then picks up the dial and slips it back inside his skull for safe keeping “Thank you for informing me of Laboon’s current condition, it fills my insides with warmth. So is the offer to join your crew still open?” he asks, surprising more than a few of the observers
“Yep, I’ve been wanting to have a proper musician on the crew for ages” Luffy cheers, laughing as the rest of the crew welcome Brook to the family, the skeleton unsure how to handle all this positive interaction after so long alone.
“Oh, almost forgot” Brook pulls himself free of the straw hats to pull a Wanted poster from his head
“Oooh, newbie came pre-wanted” Valentina teases
“I’m sorry I failed to properly introduce myself before, I am Comic Brook, known as the Humming Swordsman, I have a bounty of 33 million, at least at the time of my original death. I was originally part of the Rumbar pirates as a swordsman and musician, later becoming captain after the passing of the former, Captain Yorki and remained as such until it’s final demise. But now, I pledge my life and loyalty to Straw Hat Luffy” the skeleton declares, bowing to the rubber boy on bent knee
With their newest crewmember acquired, the party got all the more intense as they had another thing to celebrate, going long into the night, not that anyone had a problem with that.
2 days later
“Oh my, this is wonderful, you’re too kind” Brook gushes after being led to a memorial stone for the Rumbar Pirates “I, I don’t know what to say”
“Thanks is all we really need, it was nice to work on making something for a change” Victor says half jokingly
“It was no biggie I could make something like this any day of the week” Franky boasts, grinning at Brook
“It’s fitting really, you might not know this, but Thriller Bark, much like my old crew, was also from the West Blue. As I can’t possibly bring all those bones along with me on Mr. Lion, it seems appropriate that they be laid to rest in the soil of our homeland” Brook says, holding back tears
“It’s Thousand Sunny, but true” the cyborg nods in agreement “Want us to leave you alone to say goodbye?”
“No, I’m fine anything private I’ve already told them decades ago” Brook chuckles to himself
“Still think you should be allowed some time to say goodbye before you go though, it’s been 50 years” Victor hums as he turns to go
“We’ll be on the Sunny if you’re looking for us”
“Bye Brook”
“Goodbye my friends” Brook calls back, then sits down and begins to play for his old crew one more time. He only stops when Zoro comes up behind him, pushes a sheathed sword deep into the earth and sat before it “Oh my you scared me for a second there, you were out for quite a while people were getting worried”
“I just overslept a bit, no big deal” Zoro shrugs
“Fair enough, what are you doing here?”
“This is a dead sword, Yubishiri. I thought laying it to rest here would be the best thing to do” he says, closing his eyes as his hands joined in prayer
Brook stared for a moment, questions flowing through his mind but quickly silenced, instead merely deciding to get the swordsman up to date “You may not have been told yet, but I officially joined the crew while you were unconscious” he explains, getting a low chuckle from Zoro
“Really, sucks to be you then” he laughs and if Brook were human still he’d have blinked in confusion “Don’t worry about it, I just mean this crew, they can be a real handful sometimes, but you won’t find a better collection of snarky bastards, dumbasses and crazy people” he smiles, offering his hand “Welcome aboard, skeleton Brook”
“Close enough” Brook shrugs, shaking the man’s hand
A little later
“Zoro’s awake, it's time to get moving! Everyone, it's time to hoist the anchor and set sail!” Luffy shouts, jumping for joy as everyone is once more set up on the Sunny
“Hey Lola, whenever you guys are ready to go I patched up Brook’s ship so you can just take it given he’s coming with us” Franky explains, waving his arm in the direction of the much larger ship, an angry Chopper running under him as he chases Zoro trying to rebandage the swordsman.
“Thanks for all you’ve done, if it takes me the rest of my life I’ll do everything I can to pay you back. In order words, marry me” Lola purrs
Franky chuckles “Sorry, you’re sweet and all but this cyborg’s too Super to settle down just yet”
“Fishman island, gonna see some fishdudes, maybe start a fight” Luffy hums to himself, grinning like a loon
“Screw the guys I wanna see all the mermaids, I’m gonna flirt with all of them” Sanji swoons, heart eye visible for all to see
Brook stands on deck contemplating deeply “I wonder, if any of those mermaids would be willing to show me their panties?” he thinks aloud, only to get head slapped by one of Lola’s crew
“You idiot, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Everyone knows mermaids don’t wear panties” he sighs, blood spurting out Sanji and Brook’s noses
“Makes sense, given the whole tail with no legs thing” Kaos hums as he adjusts the sails “Also Eros. Kokoro” he smirks as Sanji goes from lovestruck to nauseous in about 3 seconds “Sesesese!”
“I’m not sure why there’s so much appeal, mermaids are fish from the waist down” Robin sighs “At least the empress has toned legs and a fine ass to go with those huge tit*” she adds, overhearing one of Lola’s crew mention how some mermaids rival Boa Hanco*ck in terms of beauty
“Hey, how do you guys know so much about Fishman island?” Nami asks curiously
“Oh, a few years back, before we got trapped here we took a trip through, you guys are going to love it there”
“Really, my I didn’t know you all made it to the New World already, were you heading home when you got caught here?” Vivi asks
“Oh you silly girl, we didn’t go there, we came from there. You were born in Paradise right?” Vivi nods “Well I was born in the New World, my mom’s a pirate just like you and I, she’s a pretty big deal over there. Oh, speaking of…” Lola pulls out what looked to be a piece of paper and rips it in half, passing it to Nami who passes it to Vivi when they’re told what it was “here, it’s my Mom’s Vivre card”
“Um, what’s a Vivre card?” Alvida asks, the name sounding familiar
Lola blinks “You don’t know?”
“Cut them a little slack Captain, they only make Vivre Cards in the New World after all and most of the crew are from the East Blue, never mind the Grand Line”
Lola blushes in embarrassment “Right, sorry everyone. Anyway, this is no ordinary paper, you can wet it, or even burn it and it won’t be damaged. If you take some fingernail clippings to the shop that makes these, they’ll make personal pages for you exactly like this one. Because of their uses, they’re also referred to as LifePaper in certain circles” she explains “The idea behind it is to tear off a piece and give it to your friends or family when you go off on a journey. The page want to return to it’s linked owner, so if left alone it will try move in the direction of that person, in this case my Moma” Lola continues, setting down her piece and the Straw Hats watch it essentially begin to crawl across the ground
“Wow, so it’s like a tracker” Nami gasps
“Exactly, it won’t give accurate directions, but it will tell you the correct direction to go that leads straight to them”
“Wow, so cool. I bet the New World is full of weird and wacky things like that!” Chopper gushes, finally finished rebandaging Zoro
“I’ll sign it with Mama’s name and if you ever need help she should be able to give it. If you ever do run into her, tell her I’m fine ok?” Lola says, signing the page and passing it back to Vivi, who while curious who Linlin was, would probably just ask Kaos later.
“Hey, don’t I already have one of those?” Luffy asks, rubbing his chin
Nami blinks “Oh yeah, didn’t Ace give you one when we met him in Alabasta?”
Luffy clicks his tongue and removes his hat “Yep, keep it safe in my ha...hey I thought you said these things don’t burn!” the captain shouts, Lola pales as he hands it to her to examine
“Yes, this is definitely a Vivre card, but I hadn’t gotten to a rather important quality of them. The life force of the person it’s linked to is reflected on the paper, it’s why they’re called LifePaper as well as Vivre cards. Does this, belong to someone important to you?” she asks
“Ace, our big brother” Kaos answers, frowning at the slowly crumbling scrap of paper
“I’m sorry to say this, but based on this card, you’re brother’s life is in terrible danger right now” she informs them
‘f*ck!’
Later on that day
With a little work from Moria’s former victim’s the mouth of Thriller Bark was opened, allowing the Straw Hats to finally leave this hellhole and head for Fishman island, and while they were sad to leave their new friends, their desire to continue their adventure was stronger so they just waved as the island/ship faded into the distance
“Well, guess it’s time to get going proper… hey Val, how come your zombie friend isn’t here with us, did he die when Moria stole all the shadows?” Luffy asks, noting the lack of Kaos grinning claw men following his current helmsman around
“Not exactly, I just didn’t think it fair to keep the original owner tethered like that for longer than they needed. The sacrifice, it’s technically still there, rooted to this plane as long as the Edo is active, so Greed was put back to sleep once we were done, in fact while everyone was partying I said my goodbyes” she explains
Flashback
“So, you’ll give the report to my brother, as well as my love?” the blond asks, moving to a quieter part of the island for this
“Of course, Master will most likely be curious as to my disappearance, as well as wanting to perform more modifications” Greed chuckles, giving her a wide grin “Goodbye Mistress, don’t forget your roots” he hums
“I won’t, it’ll just take time to retrain myself to use it correctly” she sighs
Ne, Ushi, Saru, Tora, Tatsu, I
Kai
“Goodbye, genin. Kufufufu!” Greed laughs as it crumbles to black ash, Valentina pants heavily, back bent and hands supported on her bent knees, her iris gold and pupils contracted to slits.
End flashback
“Aw man, but having a skeleton and a zombie would have been so cool” Luffy whines “But you’re the expert, so whatever”
“Hey Luffy” he turns to Nami “Are you sure about Ace?”
“You mean his paper? Yeah, he’ll be fine, besides it’s not like the thing can give us directions, what should I say, Nami go that way until we hit land or the Red Line? Don’t be silly” he chuckles
“Why not, that’s how the Log Pose work too, keep going till we hit land?” Valentina shrugs
“Luffy” Vivi sighs, sitting beside him “We can take a detour if this really means as much to you as I think it does”
“She’s right, I’m sure in no rush to go anywhere and technically I’m the only one on this ship with a solid destination” Brook chuckles
Luffy laughs but shakes his head “It’s fine, besides, even if Ace was in danger the last thing he’d want is either of his little brothers showing to save his ass”
“Because he knows we’d never let him forget it” Kaos smirks, sitting at the outside table filling more pages of his journal “There’s also the fact Ace has been at this for a few years now, and the Vivre Card is proof he’s been to the New World and faced threats we can’t even hope to comprehend as we are now. We’d just be in the way, or make him take dumb risks as his older borther instincts kick in and he tries to save us, despite us only going there to save him”
“Yeah, Ace is funny like that. He’s also got enough pride he’d be mad if we even showed up to check he was ok, acting like he needs to be able to do it alone, which is kind of dumb but not the point. Besides, we’re technically rivals, or me and his boss are, besides our little reunion in Alabasta his adventures and mine are separate and our own business no matter the outcome, you know what I’m saying?”
“Well, keep an eye on the card Cap’n, Lola and her buddies said the card doesn’t just shrink when they’re in danger but repairs itself and grows back if things improve” Sanji points out, having popped out mid conversation with drinks for everyone
“Yeah, maybe I’ll try look for him when it’s fully restored, but until then it’s nothing to worry about. Oh” Luffy turns and lightly kicks Zoro’s shoulder “You were asleep when we made the announcement, but nobody said we can’t do it again. Raise you mugs in celebration of our newest crewmate, The musician Brook!”
“Oh you’re all much too kind” Brook gushes, he’d be blushing if he were still human
“Ok, now let’s get out of here, Franky, fire up the Co De Burst!”
Coup de Burst
TBC
LW: And like that the Thriller Bark Arc officially ends, sorry it’s a shorter chapter than usual, but I didn’t want to start a new arc in the middle of a chapter.
Don’t worry, Sabaody Arc starts next month, see you then everybody!
Oh one last thing, end of arc bounty tally. Technically there shouldn’t be any change, BUT we did get a new member so he needs to be added to the running total if nothing else.
Luffy: 330 million
Kaos: 250 million
Zoro: 120 million
Alvida: 50 million
Valentina: 30 million
Victor: 42 million
Artemis: 60 million
Robin: 85 million
Nami: 16 million
Sanji: 77 million
Vivi: 10 million
Chopper: 50 beri
Sogeking/Usopp: 30 million
Kaya: 20 million
Franky: 44 million
Brook: 33 million
Leading to a total ship bounty of: 1,197,000,050 beri/yen, or 9,051,312.19 euro, oddly enough this is less than last time I did this, at the end of Water 7 but that’s just because of exchange rates.
Chapter 102: The midpoint of the world (The series... not so much ;P)
Chapter Text
LW: Here we go, the beginning of the Sabaody arc... technically. We aren't actually at the archipelago just yet, but we should be there as soon as possible. Anyway enjoy the 1st chapter of a new arc
Rubber King and Mirror Master - The midpoint of the world (the series….not so much)
“I’m starting to think that you don’t actually know how to fish” Brook hums, watching alongside Chopper as Luffy and Usopp sit on the side of the Sunny, lines as empty now as the morning when they started this exercise
“This is weird, an annoying” Usopp sighs “Where are the fish, it’s not like we’re near an island or something there should be loads of fish out here in open ocean” he complains, Luffy just growling in the direction of the ocean
“Seem’s everyone’s in a bit of a mood right now” Alvida chuckles, kicking Kaos’s knee lightly “Even you given I can read your writing for once”
The researcher blinks and looks down, seeing that yes he had been writing the frustrations of his recent failure in english “It has been a long day hasn’t it?” he groans, sipping the tea Sanji had left out for most of them.
“Argh! Screw this I don’t want to catch food I wanna eat it! Sanji make food!” Luffy orders
“Hold on a second there, we might just have found the motherload” Usopp calls, using his goggles to spot a shoal just ahead of them an in the Sunny’s current path. There was a click as Luffy bounces back into position, sandals clapping together in anticipation
“We better get our nets ready Brook” Chopper says with a grin “How many fish do you think they’ll catch?”
The answer, was none, the school swimming past without even a single fish noticing the lures, to the 4 pirates annoyance.
“Well that was pointless” Nami sighs, then stops as she looks up into the clouds “You’re kidding me” she gasps, alerting the other bad things were about to happen
“Panic stations?” Kaya asks, just as everything goes horribly wrong meteorologically, black storm clouds, several whirlpools, it was like the world went from easy mode to insanity in 5 seconds
“It’s a sea snake current!”
“Ok that’s bad… but what does that mean?” Victor asks, getting instead of an answer just the order to ‘Brace yourselves’ from Nami, followed by a forest of sea twisters
“I thought we left the knockback stream back in Jaya” Zoro grunts as the ocean writhes like the sea snakes it was named for
“Val, get us out of here!” Nami shouts
“I got this… I don’t got this, the current’s too strong I can’t move the wheel” Valentina swears as the ship wheel locks, the timing couldn’t be worse as 4 of the spouts began to tilt and fall, directly onto the Sunny.
“108 Calibre Phoenix” Zoro shouts, exploding one of the spouts and causing it to fall back into the ocean prematurely, only a small wave’s worth landing on the Sunny
“Weapon’s Left” Franky doing the same on his side
“Gum Gum Pistol” Luffy shouts stopping the one right in front of them cold
Breeze breath bombs
Solid Syrup round
3 Verse Humming: Arrow notch slash
Traptrix: Curtain of Death
“There’s no end to these things, please tell me you see something Nami” Vivi frets though also another wave away from helping Alvida load the cannons… until Lasoo decided to sit in her lap.
“Hey, we could try just fly out of here on a coup de burst” Franky suggests between shoot water spouts
“Oh yeah, I’ll go start the power up, where it’s safe” Usopp shouts, only to stop when he sees Nami’s expression
“That won’t work, I, I can’t see the end of this current. Meaning whether on the sea or in the sky, there’s no way out for us”
“So, we’re f*cked. You could have just said that” Valentina complains, still trying to force the wheel in, well any direction at this point.
“Shall I play us something?” Brook offers, until the ship begins to lurch, and rise?
“We, oh please tell me we didn’t…”
“Get picked up by one of those sea spouts, yep” Artemis chirps looking over the edge, before the spout writhes and flings them forwards
“The Sunny’s falling!” Chopper screams
“Given this is about the height we’ve gotten from Franky’s booster, the ship should be fine” Kaos attempts to keep things calm, helped by the Sunny skipping like a stone for a few feet but otherwise being fine when she landed, Chopper nearly flying off in the process, only to be quickly caught by Kaya’s syrup tendrils, one already wrapped preemptively/protectively around Usopp.
“I, really hate the Grand Line’s weather” Victor grouses
“And this is Paradice, what the f*ck is the New World’s weather and ocean like Kya ha ha?” Valentina laughs nervously, hands practically fused to the steering wheel.
“Don’t worry, I see it an end to this current” Nami announces, smiling as she puts down her binoculars
“Not exactly, but I’m pretty sure the Red Line means we’re nearly there, right?” Kaos asks
“Yep, we’ve sailed halfway around the world” Luffy grins
“Also explains the weather, remember when we entered the Grand Line, how bad things got just before and at the base of Reverse Mountain?” Sanji asks, getting nods from all the OG crew/ East Blue natives
“Hello Red Line, I’m sorry I’m a little late, though I guess 50 years isn’t as long for something like you as it is for a human like myself” Brook hums
“We’re almost there” Luffy cheers, just as another spout forms directly in front of them
‘Here we go again’
“I don’t suppose we could paddle the rest of the way, could we?” Franky asks, getting an eye roll from Robin
“You may be a machine on the inside, but even you’re not that super with these currents” she scoffs, Franky sitting in the corner sadly
“Relax, just ride the wave and we’ll be fine” Nami shouts, surprising everyone
“What?”
“It’s just like when we went to Skypeia, fighting did nothing we had to just let the current get us there”
“Oh yeah, that was fun” Alvida laughs getting a nod from Luffy and a tired sigh from Vivi
“No it wasn’t we nearly died!” Chopper screams
“But we didn’t and that was a lot worse” Usopp rationalises
“Plus at that point the MErry was barely holding herself together, Sunny’s brand new and made of sterner stuff” Kaos adds, dragging Franky out of his funk
“You’re right, Sunny’s too SUPER to fall to dumb waves like these YEAH!” he cheers just as the Sunny is thrown up onto the rolling water “Now we’ve got a clear shot a Coup De Burst should get us there in a flash”
“You heard the man, roll up the sails and start the mechanism”
“Ready?”
Coup De Burst
Like a cannon shot the Sunny flies through the air, leaving the stormy black clouds for clear blue sky in no time at all, before more or less gently landing in calmer waters, or as gently as a ship moving at that speed could.
“We made it, we’re alive!” Chopper cheers
“We’re here! We made it to the end of Paradise, back to the Red Line, between us and the New World!” Luffy shouts
“Is it weird I’m feeling nostalgic for a big red wall of rock? Because it’s making me choke up a little” Nami mutters to herself
“Don’t worry, you’re not the only one, while not exactly, this is technically where I first met you all, and joined the ship even if only as a passenger” Vivi hums, hugging her partners and kissing their cheeks
“It hasn’t even really been all that long since we saw it, crossing Reverse Mountain, but we’ve sure crammed a lot of adventure between visits haven’t we” Zoro smirks
“This is it, the midpoint of our journey, geographically speaking” Luffy says “The Red line forms a solid ring around the world, meaning the piece in front of us, and where we met Laboon at the Cape is all the same thing”
“I came through the Red Line as a baby from the South Blue, but this hunk of rock means a whole lot more to me this time I see it” Franky laughs
“I came here from the West 5 years ago, but it feels like an eternity now” Robin sighs contently
Victor chuckles to himself “It doesn’t feel like it, but it’s been nearly 8 years since I came here from the South”
“Only 4 since I left the West, what a dumb punk I was back then” Valentina chuckles
“We keep this up, we'll see it again once more, and by then, I’ll have become King of the Pirates!” Luffy declares
Nami then decides to give the sobering news, hoping to calm at least some of the more energetic of her crew mates “We need to be careful though, we’re practically right below the Holy City of Marie Jois, as well as the home of Navy Headquarters and the World Government’s true seat of power” she informs them
“Speaking of, I was working on something that might make our lives just a little easier, especially in case we all get separated again like in Thriller Bark” Kaos says, catching enough attention it even drew Chopper and Usopp out of the Sunny’s swimming pool and Zoro from his weight room.
Kaos and Usopp’s workshop (Well they are the ones who use this room the most)
“Take one each I’ve already performed the first step” Kaos announces, spreading his arm over the table beside him
“They’re mirrors, but necklaces” Nami deadpans
“And the Ami Ami no mi is a tangerine that tastes like mouldy honey, your point is?” the researcher sighs deeply “I’m sure at least some of you know how I can use my blood to open gates between reflective surfaces, yes?”
“You did something to the ocean back on Baratiae” Sanji nods “Zeff was sure you killed yourself jumping into the sea like that. I think you called it a Mirror Gate”
The navigator’s eyes widen “The Merry’s girl’s quarters” she gasps, causing the now snake man to grin
“Correct, but I’d done that to every mirror on the Merry so don’t get too upset Nami, one bloody handprint and some focus and it’s primed but inert” he explains
“Ok, what does that have to do with this?” Alvida asks, yelping when a knife is thrown and buried an inch into the table in front of her
“I’ve been tinkering with my technique and took some inspiration from the Den Den Mushi system. If you would kindly donate a little of your own blood and smear it on the mirror of your choice, it’ll lock to you, as well as help me to identify who’s who so to speak”
“Unless your full snake form is a lot smaller than your original form you’re not going to fit through any of these” Zoro scoffs, but picks one up anyway “They’re about the size of a hand mirror”
“That’s because I scavenged some of them from Thriller Bark, that one actually was a hand mirror Zoro. And for the record, that’s because it’s not meant to be a Door, but a Window”
Robin’s eyes widen then she grins “You said you were studying the Den Den Mushi, you made personalized communication mirrors?”
“Awesome!” Luffy cheers “How do they work?”
“Well they need 2 that are actually active so…” before he could finish Luffy pricks his thumb and smears it on his choice of mirror. Kaos grins and with his reflect armour active, presses his fingertips to the mirror, the entire thing ungulates and writhes like waves, gaining a slight red tinge before returning to reflective silver “Very good Captain, had a feeling you’re be the first to try. And now for mine” he picks up one of the blanks, and they see this one as well as the Straw Hat Roger that was on the back of all of them, a dark purple ouroboros was looped around the design.
Setting it down for all to see he take Hebi off his hip and slashes across his hand, closing and clenching his fist to let the blood drip, shocking them as it turns from red to silver on the way down, before striking the surface and causing it to ripple like a puddle in the rain. He gives it 10 drops then takes his hand away letting the mirror settle before picking it up “To prove my point, anyone want to try it, just call for Luffy” he explains
“Can I do it Papa?” Artemis asks, giving the eyes even though everyone knew it was unnecessary
“Sure, give it a spin”
“Luffy” Artemis calls with a grin, then looks away when said pirate yelps in surprise
“Ow, this thing gets hot” Luffy complains
“Yes, how else will you know you’re meant to answer it?” he looks at his brother like the question was obvious “Just press 3 fingers to it Lu, it’s a simple process, mostly because I really don’t want to over complicate things and risk it not working” he admits
Luffy shrugs “ok” then does as asked, grinning as he sees Artemis’ smiling face as she waves out of the mirror
“Hi Uncle Luffy, I think it worked”
“It sure did Shishishi”
“Impressive, any restrictions we should know off the bat?” Robin asks
“It’s a one to one connection, in this case trying to connect to Luffy would be like trying to connect to an in use snail, nothing happens” Kaos explains “It’s also sensitive to touch so rapping your fingers against the surface severs the connection” he adds, tapping his fingers on Luffy’s causing it to once more reflect himself like a normal mirror “Besides that, they’re basically 2 way visual Den Dens, but personally linked to you”
“Not exactly, you just showed anyone can use these things” Sanji points out
“True, but if you keep your one on you then the whole point of them, to get in touch with specific straw hats still works. Yes you can call from anyone’s mirror, but you can only call a specific person’s mirror. Yes anyone can use my mirror or anyone else's mirror to in this case call Luffy, but that’s the point, call Luffy” Kaos sighs, not understanding what was so complicated.
“Um important question, I can’t give blood, I’m a skeleton, as you may already know, what do I do?” Brook asks
Kaos shrugs “I’m thinking a strand of hair, though whether burnt or intact would work better I’m not sure. Honestly the blood wasn’t the important part, having something uniquely yours to function as an identifier was”
“Oh, ok” Brook nods, picking up a mirror and pluck a hair from his afro, before passing them over to Kaos “Here you go my good man”
With 3 set up and functional in front of them the rest were much more willing to follow suit, and while most of them didn’t wear them as necklaces (Chopper and Artemis put them in their hats and Brook put his in his skull alongside the Tone Dial) he hadn’t expected them to, it was just a helpful suggestion after all. Regardless, the straw hats were now essentially linked up, so hopefully they won’t have any repeats of Thriller Bark (and technically Skypeia) anytime soon.
20 minutes later
“I have a question… why did you stuff 3 Devil fruit users into the submarine, you know the thing surrounded by water?” Kaos groans, really wishing he’d not gone for a pee break from babysitting when Franky proposed this idea, he’d have at least demanded the cyborg (or the currently screaming Nami) went down instead of either Luffy or Robin, like Brook said he was already dead he’ll be fine
“Because the shark sub is perfectly safe, it can handle up to 5,000m downward pressure” Franky assures the researcher
“Relax you buzzkill, this is fun” Luffy grins, deciding to use the sub to test the mirror’s range while exploring, while also using the Den Den inside in case anything went wrong.
“Wait, I’m not sure the sub is supposed to be making that odd creaking noise” Brook hums
“That’s because we already passed 5,000m a while ago” Robin states flatly
“Oh” Luffy and Brook nod, then their brains kick in ‘f*ck’
“WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Hey look, it’s that monster from earlier, I think he likes us” Luffy cheers, distracted by the SeaKing
“My, what big teeth he has” Robin coos, seeing as the seaking closely resembled a rabbit
“We’re all gonna die!”
“It’s trying to eat us, rude but also kind of cool”
“Is Mom going to be ok?” Artemis asks, frowning at the Den Den, the mirror shut off when it bounced during the sub’s evasion of the SeaKing
“Probably, after all she’s the one driving. I’d already be mourning her if Luffy were in charge” Kaos admits “So, we’re still f*cked aren’t we?” he asks, turning to Nami who nods, looking at the Log Pose which was currently stuck pointing straight down
“It’s like Skypeia all over again, even if we know where we’re going we don’t know how to get there” she groans, even a new dish by Sanji only helped raise her spirits a little.
Boop
“We’re back!” Luffy announces as Shark Submerge 3 surfaces
“My, what an incredible adventure, the trip of a lifetime” Brook hums as he jumps back onto the ship, Robin sitting on the roof of the sub with Luffy for the moment
“Nice to see you’re all back in one piece” Vivi smiles
“For all the good it did us, we couldn’t see a damn thing down there. Hey Nami, you sure this is where Fishman Island is?” Luffy asks/whines
Nami sighs, just as frustrated by the pose as the others “Yes Luffy that’s where we’re being directed. Damn it, we should have asked Lola how this works, she had to do it herself all those years ago anyway” she groans, this day couldn’t get any worse
“The monster! It followed us!” We stand corrected, as a vaguely Rabbit like SeaKing rises out of the water and looks ready to attack the Sunny “You can’t beat me out of the water, you big brute” Luffy taunts, leaping onto the Sunny’s head
Gum Gum Rifle
“Huh, that was easy” Alvida chuckles
“Well, we did just beat Oars, everything we face for the next while should feel like a cakewalk” Chopper states with a grin, then notices something shoot out of the beast’s mouth as it was thrown back “Hm, what’s that?”
“Is that a fish?”
“Is that a girl?”
“You don’t think?” Brook hums
“Probably” Robin shrugs
“Come to me my lo…” Sanji begins to swoon, until he’s knocked on his back by a head on collision… with a mermaid. Also some starfish guy drops from the sky as well.
“Thanks for saving us, that was a lot of fun” the mermaid says with a grin, annoying her pet/travel companion
“Oh yeah, that was so much fun I might just jump in it’s mouth all over again”
“Nobody’s stopping you”
“And another thing… why didn’t you run away when you saw that thing, it’s not like it was huge or anything” the starfish continues to complain
“Um I kind of didn’t” she admits
“Of course you didn’t” he sighs, a tone familiar to anyone who watches Nami interact with Luffy “Hey, you kind of have a little, something something under your tail there”
“Hm?” the mermaid blinks, then looks down “Oh no I crushed a human!” she screams then starts shaking him “Are you ok?”
“He died the way he would have wanted” Kaos chuckles “skull crushed by a mermaid’s tit*, Sesese”
“I’m fine, never better, how you doing?” Sanji asks with a slight slur in his voice, which should probably worry them… but didn’t
“That’s a tail” Nami notes
“With fins” Usopp adds
“Which means… she’s a mermaid” Vivi summarises, blinking owlishly “Our first mermaid”
“2nd, but who wants to remember Kokoro?” Valentina jokes, having come over to check out what all the commission was, during which point the mermaid turns and starts screaming again
“Ahh, there’s a bunch of humans!”
“Yeah, it’s kind of our ship” Kaos deadpans, pinching the bridge of his nose
“Everyone stop screaming, this is getting us nowhere” Chopper says, attempting to calm everyone down
“Right sorry, I was just surprised to see so many humans in one place. Thanks for rescuing me by the way I seem to keep getting eaten by seakings, this will be the 20th one by my count” the mermaid chirps
“Nope” Vivi turns on her heels and moves to leave, not in the mood for this sh*t today, only for Alvida to stop her… partly because she was the only diplomat on the crew.
“I must find a way to repay you, how about Octopus fritters?” she offers, Luffy instantly starts drooling
“Sounds great you have some on you?” he asks
“Yep, 500 beris each, how many can I put you down for?” the mermaid grins
“Moron appears to be trying to charge us for receiving our gift for rescuing her” Victor scoffs
“Yeah, doesn’t understand the concept of ‘repay’ does she?” Nami sighs, this girl might somehow be dumber than Luffy.
Slap
“You’re not selling them!” the starfish screams, causing Camie to also yell
“I finally met a real mermaid and she’s a lovely as the legends say she is, you said your name was Camie, what a beautiful name for a beautiful girl” Sanji swoons
“2nd mermaid, you might be trying to repress it, but Kokoro is still an… icefish mermaid?” Kaos clicks his tongue, trying to remember what the crazy drunk was, while Sanji has a crisis
Luffy tilts his head in confusion “What do you mean Granny Kokoro was a mermaid, she could walk and stuff?” he asks the rest of the crew
“Oh yeah, you missed that during your fight with the cat guy. She saved everyone from the tunnels and leapt onto the ship” Franky explains “I think she said when they get to like 30 or something the tail splits and can be used as legs” the cyborg scratches his chin, deep in thought
“I’ll take your word for it, but imagining Granny as a mermaid is weird” Luffy groans, getting head slapped by Nami in the old drunk’s defence
“Can you guys not be perverts for like 5 minutes jeez!” the red head scolds
“But she is kinda cute, shame the lights are on but nobody's home” Robin chuckles
“This is my first encounter with a mermaid as well. If you’d be so kind, could you lend me some money?” Brook asks, surprising everyone enough Sanji was the first to react, kicking him across the deck
“AHH A SKELTON!”
“See, you’re scaring her”
“I can open my head too, isn’t that cool?” Brook asks, not really listening to the chef
“Yeah, that is cool” Camie claps, giggling cutely
“She’s fine, flip side to being that stupid I guess” Usopp mutters, getting a chuckle from Kaya who came to see what all the screaming was about
“Hey Camie, how do you poop?” Luffy asks, setting Sanji’s anger onto him now instead of Brook
“Poop huh, oh that’s easy…”
“SHE DOESN’T POOP!” Sanji screams, attacking Luffy who bounces away
“Oh Camie, didn’t you forget someone in your story, a special friend, the most important person in your life?” the Starfish moans/pumps himself up, until he opens his eyes and sees Artemis giving him a dead eyed stare
“Uncle Pervert, are Starfish edible?” she shouts over
“Technically yes, they just don’t taste all the good” the blond replies, stopping his attempted pummeling to consider the option.
“Please don’t eat my pet Pappagu. Partly because he’s also my teacher” Camie explains/begs
“Teacher? I’d demand a refund at this point” Valentina laughs
“Grandline bullsh*t strikes again” Kaos chuckles, overhearing Nami ask if starfish are supposed to talk, the crew ignoring him jump up and start singing, mostly because he wasn’t very good
“My shirt is made by ‘Crimnal’, they’re a really big deal down in Fishman Island, and Pappagu’s their lead designer” Camie explains “I want to be a designer too, so that’s why he’s my teacher”
“Fishman island, so you know how to…”Nami begins to ask only to get interrupted by Luffy
“Octopus fritters first, directions after!” he huffs
Camie blinks “Oh yeah, I did promise, and I’ll remember not to charge you this time. Just let me call Hatchan” she then roots around in the bag until she pulls out a Den Den
“Who’s Hatchan?” Kaya asks
Pura pura pura, click.
“Hey Hatchan it’s me Camie, sorry I got kind of lost. So where are you now?” Camie asks, worried for a moment when they’re silence, before remembering someone had to have answered the call in order for it to connect, then the voice came
“Oh, so it’s Camie is it? Hehehe” the snail laughs
“Hatchan?”
“You don’t even know who you’re talking to do you, this ain’t your buddy Hatchan”
“WHAT???!”
“Nope, this is Macro, of the Big Dumb Macro Gang. Wait, I shouldn’t have said that myself”
“Great, more dumbasses” Nami groans, sitting down with her head in her hands
“What are you doing with Hatchan’s Den Den?” Camie asks/demands
“We beat the sh*t out of him and stole it, how else would we have it?” the snail asks
“I don’t believe you, dummies like you couldn’t beat Hatchan” Camie scoffs
“Ordinarily you’d be right, but today we teamed up with the Flying Fish Riders, and he didn’t stand a chance” Macro laughs
“The Flying Fish Riders, oh this is bad” Pappagu shudders
“Camie, you’re all right” an annoyingly familiar voice escapes the snail
“Hatchan, so are you” Camie smiles sweetly, then frowns “Please tell me they didn’t actually beat you”
“Sorry Camie, I let my guard down, and they trounced me” the snail frowns “Anyway, no matter what they tell you, don’t come and save me, I’d hate to see you get hurt because of me” Hatchan says, trying to be brave “I’ll bust out of here somehow and meet up with you later, K?”
“Not likely, you know Camie, we’re planning on selling the big lug soon enough, after all Octopus Fishmen fetch a high price for the right buyer. Better get here quickly girl Hahaha!” Macro laughs “Oh, and before I go, we’re at the Sabaody Archipelago, 5km south of Grove 44” he informs them, then signs off
“Well, that’s both a trap and an invitation for a rescue mission if ever I heard them” Kaos chuckles, getting nods from Robin and Franky
“That voice, and he’s an octopus, eh it must be my imagination” Nami mutters then shrugs
“So, no fritters? Sigh, guess we’ll have to have them after we go save this Hatchan guy from the fryingfishsticks” Luffy decides/announces
“That’s not even close” Usopp sighs, used to Luffy’s seeming inability to retain names of things at this point
“Wait, you’ll actually help me?” Camie asks in shock
“Yes… provided you show us how to get to fishman island afterwards, as payment, seems fair right?” Vivi asks, hoping the girl will agree
“Sure” Camie chirps, then pulls out a map “Here’s where we’re going” she says, pointing out Sabaody on a map
“Grove 44 is a tiny island on the Eastern side of the archipelago, 5km east of that would be about here, meanwhile we’re more or less here, so if we go due west towards Sabaody we should hit it on the way there” Pappagu explains
“Makes sense, except how do we know what West is, the Grand Line f*cks with all compasses and our Log Pose is pointing straight down?” Victor asks
“We’ll asks some fish for directions” the starfish answers, which makes as much sense as anything else that’s happened today.
“Right let’s get to it” Camie says, packing up her map and bouncing over to the side of the deck “HEY! WE NEED DIRECTIONS FROM YOU!” she shrieks, the sound somehow attracting fish from a fair distance away.
“I don’t speak fish, are they able to help us?” Alvida asks
“Yep, they’re afraid of the Flying Fish Riders, so they won’t get too close, but they’re happy to direct us to where they’re hiding” Camie explains with a wide grin
“Wow, I didn’t know mermaids could talk to regular fish, guess you guys are more magical than I thought” Nami muses “Only problem, how exactly are we going to follow fish?”
“That’s easy, look” Camie points down to where the fish had made an arrow with their bubbles and splashing
“Huh, that was easy, let’s move it then!” Valentina cheers, hoping into position and turning the ship so they could start this rescue mission.
A little later Zoro notices the Sunny was moving again and lept down from his training room in the Crow’s nest to see what he’d missed “So, did we find a way to Fishman Island yet?” he asks
“Not yet, but look, we found a mermaid” Luffy grins, pointing to the girl beside him “Her name’s Camie and she’s really sweet”
“Are you allowed to say those words about another woman these days?” Zoro asks jokingly “Hm, so you’re a mermaid, cool, never seen one of you before, just old stories”
“Anyway, we’re going on a slight detour, Camie’s friend who makes really good octopus fritters got kidnapped, so we’re going to save him, go eat, then either Camie or this Hatchan guy will explain to us how to get to Fishman Island” Luffy explains, the swordsman nods in understanding
“Sounds simple enough, I might not even need to do anything” Zoro muses with a shrug
“I wouldn’t bet on it, these guys aren’t the only problem around these parts, the archipelago is full of crews just like em, cause human trafficking is big business here, especially rare species like mermaids”
“Huh, didn’t think you could run the slave trade so close to Navy headquarters” Kaos chuckles to himself
“Sick bastards” Sanji sneers around his cigarette
“Sure are, this one crew called the Macro Gang have been targeting Camie for years because of how much you can make for a mermaid in good health. We were in that Sea King so long Hatchan must have thought those goons had finally succeeded in capturing you” Pappagu theorises
“You said Hatchan right?” Zoro asks “Name sounds familiar, pretty close to that dumbass Octopus that ran with Arlong back in the East”
Sanji exhales a cloud of smoke “If he is that guy, no way I’m helping him, but what are the chances, names aren’t as unique as we like to think they are after all”
“Normally Hatchan could take those losers no problem, but the flying fish riders make this a lot more complicated and messy”
“Ok, but besides a weird name, what are these guys?” Franky asks
“They’re another band of kidnappers, big deal, practically run the place these days. Word is, once they target you, you’re as good as done for” Pappagu explains “Their boss Duval is a big scary guy with an iron mask, nobody even knows what he really looks like. Anyway, they seem to be looking for someone, rumour has it they’ve been stopping every ship that passes them, and check their crews, member by member”
“Yeah, that basically means they’re looking for a particular person… they just don’t have the 1st idea where this person is” Kaos sighs
Luffy shrugs “Don’t care we’ll still kick their ass and get those fritters back”
“Fritter salesman” Pappagu corrects, but Luffy didn’t care
At that moment the arrow dispersed, the fish too frightened to go any further, though they sent Camie and apology as they fled.
“So, are we here, or have they come to us?” Robin wonders aloud, only for a panicking Pappagu to answer the question for her
“They’re here! The Flying Fish riders!”
“I don’t see anything” Luffy shouts from the Sunny’s head
“That’s cause they’re in the sky not the sea” Camie calls up, pointing above them as the fish fly past the ship
“They really do fly, that’s so cool” Luffy whines
“Swoon later, for now they’re a problem” Kaos scolds him “Especially because they’re coming back for another fly by”
“They’re dropping bombs this time too” Zoro grimaces, drawing his blades
108 Calibre Phoenix
Crescent Wave
BOOM
“These guys are a pain but we can probably take ‘em” Victor says, loading his guns just in case
“Let’s hope so, once they take off Flying Fish can remain airborne for up to 5 minutes” Camie explains
“Guess they took the long way here, given they seem to be retreating” Robin muses, pointing out that yes, the guys were in fact abandoning their attack
“They’re leaving?” Chopper wonders aloud
“And they’re the assholes who started the attack, it’s not like we fired on them and they retreated” Franky grumbles
“Huh, that’s boring. Well, at least we know which way to go. Valentina, follow those fish!”
“You got it Captain!” she calls, turning the wheel to set the Sunny on it’s path
Not long after
“Hey guys I see something!” Luffy shouts
“Floating structure, most likely well defended, yeah that’s probably what we’re looking for” Kaos hums, then notices Nami lost in thought “You ok there Nami?”
“Yeah just, something about Hatchan is making me uneasy, which is weird given I’ve never even met the guy” she admits with a shrug of her shoulders
“Not that weird, me and the guys are also feeling something familiar about this octopus guy, we just don’t quite know why” the researcher admits, attempting to soothe her nerves
Meanwhile Sanji was flirting as always “I’ll go right in there and rescue him for you all by myself sweet Camie” he says with a swoon and a spin, making the mermaid giggle
“Really, thanks Sanji” she coos, then leans over and starts yelling down to the rest of the crew “Be careful guys, the Macro Gang are big trouble they’ve managed to capture me over 30 times”
“Ussop, chain Mokuba to the deck so nobody can kidnap her, then we can go kick these fishmen’s asses” Kaos orders, mostly in agreement to the sniper’s statement that Camie gets captured WAY too often to be normal.
“Hey guys, is an enemy base supposed to be this quiet?” Chopper asks as the Sunny metaphorically strolls in the Flying Fish Rider’s front door
“Probably not, something smells fishy, besides the mermaid’s lower half” Alvida hums, tensely squeezing the handle of her mace
“True, they’re literally just letting us come in… this has to be a trap” Victor grimaces
“Pretty much, but sometimes traps are better dealt with when we spring them intentionally, so we have time to react and counter” Zoro argues
“HEY! HATCHAN! ARE YOU OK?” Camie screams at the top of her lungs, proving if the riders didn’t know they were here before… they sure as hell do now.
“Hey Macro you big lug, show yourself and give Hachi back!” Pappagu shouts, joining in
“I’d like a 2nd opinion, am I seeing things, or is there some black thing in that cage over there?” Robin asks, pointing to the hanging cage just off the edge of the structure’s docks
“Yeah, weird black thing, I see it too” Franky nods
“Hatchan!” Camie cheers, as she peers over the edge, then frowns “I mean, I think it’s Hatchan”
“Yeah it’s him, and lucky for us there’s nobody around, must be snack time, or the guards went for a piss break” Pappagu grins alongside Camie
“You people can’t be this stupid, it shouldn’t be physically possible, how do you both remember to breathe?” Usopp groans, resisting the urge to hit one of both of them
“You both clearly weren’t listening to anything we’ve said in the last few minutes. This is obviously a trap, the gang are all hiding in those buildings waiting to attack us the moment we go try to save your friend” Franky explains to the dimwitt and the starfish.
“That’s a brilliant plan”
“I’d never have thought of that”
“And that’s why you’ve been caught 30 times and eaten over 20” Kaya sighs, wanting to slam her head into the mast of the Sunny, but resisting, for now.
“Hi Camie, as you can see I’m perfectly fine, you can leave now” came a voice from the cage
“Mr. Popo?”
“Hatchan” Camie cheers, then screams “Ahh, you’re all black!”
“Yeah, that wasn’t these guys that was my own fault. Not important I’ll tell you later, what is important is that this is a trap, you need to get out of here fast” Hatchan orders “I’ll be fine, worry about yourself for once and get going!”
“So, who else sees through that paper thin disguise?” Kaos asks, getting raised hands from Zoro, Nami, Ussop and Kaya, Luffy looks at him confused while Sanji would rather just ask him and get this over with
“Hey you, how’s Arlong doing?” Sanji yells
“Not good actually, on account of being dead and all. Chew, Kuroobi and the rest of the crew all got caught by the marines a few months back, I was the only one who escaped. Now I’ve given up my life of crime to become a simple octopus fritter salesman” Hatchan answers with little prodding
“Why is it always the dumbest person in the room who survives?” Kaos groans, pinching the bridge of his nose
“Wouldn’t that technically be cannibalism, what with him being an octopus himself?” Usopp wonders aloud “I suppose he’s an octopus fishman so things aren’t exactly the same but still”
‘Arlong?...’
Meanwhile most of the crew looked on in confusion while the gears turned in Luffy’s head, until finally…
“IT’S YOU, THAT DUMB SQUID WITH THE SWORDS!!!!” he shouts angrily
“Oh no! They tricked me!” Hatchan moans “This is bad”
“Admit it, you were the octopus that worked for Arlong aren’t you? And now you’re the octopus fritter guy. What kind of a joke is this?”
“Arlong?” Robin asks, everyone who joined in or after Loguetown looking confused and curious
“Nami’s home village, and a load of other islands were all under the control of a nasty group of fishmen, the Arlong Pirates” Kaya begins to explains
“Nami had it even worse than just living under their rule, she had to work with those bastards, even though Arlong killed her mother right in front of her as a child” Usopp continues, having been told Nami’s whole story by Nojiko “And by the look of things, this Hachtan, he was one of Arlong’s top henchmen”
“I kicked his ass when we went to go free Nami from needle nose’s chains” Zoro adds his part to the conversation
“So this Hatchan guy is an old enemy?” Victor summarises, getting a nod from Usopp
“After Luffy beat up and Kaos ended up killing Arlong, I was sure they’d all get taken away by the marines, but it seems one escaped” Usopp sighs deeply
“In hindsight I’m surprised only he managed to escape, we did take out the corrupt marine captain working with Arlong on the way out, so it may have taken a few days, maybe even a week for another ship to come get them” Kaya muses
“Listen here Jerkface, now we know it’s you there’s no way I’m helping you so you better get used to that cage!” Luffy shouts, Hatchan drooping in sadness, even if he did see it coming
“Wait, you guys know Hatchan too, he must be an old friend of yours” Camie hops over giddily
“He’s not our friend, he almost killed some of us and helped make one of our crewmate’s lives a living hell!” Zoro bellows, scaring the mermaid so she leaped back smacking into the banister
“Val, turn this ship around, I don’t know how hard that is, but eh if we wreck the place on the way out nobody will care”
“What! You can’t be serious. Nami-chin, please tell me he’s joking, you promised!”
Nami sighs, eyebrows twitching at Camie’s attempt at a puppydog pout “I know that, but we didn’t know your friend was this bastard”
“Oh come on you can’t just leave after coming all this way!” Camie whine and pouts
Kaos nods “She’s right. Best make sure we don’t run into him a 3rd time. Franky load the cannon we’re serving Calamari tonight!”
“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!” Camie screams
“I don’t think fishman is actually edible, but I suppose I can try” Sanji shrugs “You guys are the guinea pigs though”
“You jerks, if you won’t save him I will!” Camie declares jumping into the water
“Didn’t think you people would be such heartless morons but here we are” Pappagu taunts, until he’s kicked rather than jumps off the ship, by Artemis
“And Stay out! Did I do it right?” she asks
“Eh, close enough”
“Do you think they’re going to be ok?” Chopper asks in concern
“Oh I’m sure they’ll be fine, there’s no way they jumped in without a plan” Usopp assures him, mouthing to the others ‘They’re both f*cking dead’
“Help I’ve been captured, again!” Camie screams, to the surprise of no one.
“Oh come on, even Luffy wouldn’t have been captured that fast and he literally sinks like a stone in the water” Robin groans, facepalming hard enough Artemis and Kaos worry she’ll end up with a bruise
“Hey let her go, Camie didn’t do anything!” Sanji shouts, moving to leap in until he’s stopped by Nami “What gives?”
“Hold on a minute” the red head says, watching Hatchan pound against the bars of the cage trying to get to and rescue Camie, her mouth set in a frown, until she closes her eyes and sighs deeply “Ok, we might as well save him after all. He wasn’t anywhere near the worst back there and if I’m being honest he’d basically harmless. Like Camie said we are already here, we might as well try to save him” she decides
“You sure about this Nami? we can’t exactly un-rescue him if you change your mind” Zoro asks
“I’m sure, give the go ahead Captain”
“Ok Nami, this situation was always in your hands” Luffy admits, revealing that while he was annoyed with the fishman, he didn’t honestly care if they rescued Hatchan or not, it was all down to how this reunion was effecting Nami.
Gum Gum Pistol
Unlike when he normally uses it, which is to punch someone, Luffy this time uses the attack to wrap his arm around Camie’s waist and let himself be pulled towards her, then grabbing Pappagu on the way as he springboards off one of Macro’s idiots as well as Hachi’s cage before coming to a stop on the platform.
“Luffy, you saved us” Camie and Pappagu gasp
“Thank you Straw Hat, you have my undying gratitude” HAchi shouts, nearly tearing up
“Cut him loose Zoro!” Luffy orders
“You got it boss, should be a piece of cake”
“Watch out Straw Hat, the trap is still set. The flying fish riders have you surrounded, be careful!” Hachi yells/warns
“Thanks for sav…” Camie begins only for Luffy to wave her off
“I don’t care if they come from the water or the air, we’re still going to kick their asses, rescue you and get out of here” Luffy declares “Guys. Time! To! Fight!”
“Yeah!”
“Guys, they’re coming out of the water!” Usopp shouts, seeing the shadows just before a dozen or so flying fish ridden by biker dudes shoot out of the water and beging circling the Sunny like buzzards.
‘Now, now it gets fun’
TBC
LW: So that’s the end, or the beginning I guess, hope you enjoyed.
God Camie doesn’t have the brain power Eneru gave a potato does she?
Chapter 103: Zoro’s worst nightmare, 2 Sanjis!
Chapter Text
LW: Almost there, just a little further and we’ll get to the main plot of this arc, hang in a little longer. Also, enjoy :)
Rubber King & Mirror Master - Zoro’s worst nightmare, 2 Sanjis!
“Get them!” one of the riders bellow, the flying fish diving towards the straw hats, not that their captain cared
‘Fish Delivery. Now, which one to pick’ Luffy thinks, scanning the group before swinging his arms back, then shooting them forward to latch onto one of the fish riders
Gum Gum Rocket
“My turn” Luffy cheers, shoving the man off his seat and taking control of the fish, flying around causing chaos and actually doing a better job than expected.
“Huh, I was sure he’d have crashed by now” Valentina chuckles
“Oh no, what if he falls in the water!” Chopper panics
“Relax, we’ll just throw someone overboard to go get him” Robin assures him, a little blunter than she probably should but it did its job
“I’d be more worried about us. Those guys are dropping bombs on our heads, they’re trying to sink the ship!” Usopp screams as the bombs start falling from the sky, only for Sanji to leap into the air and kick them away before they could explode, the few that missed him taken out with Valentina’s wind gloves
“Yeah these goons need to get dealt with soon” Nami grimaces
“Nami-swan, did you see what I did there? Pretty cool right, heroic too?” Sanji swoons
“Damn those straw hats have counters, everyone return to base, Dive Dive Dive!” one of the riders order, the fish all diving back into the sea in formation, unfortunately that included Luffy’s one.
“No, Luffy!” Chopper and Brook yell, leaping in after him before anyone could stop them.
“That just adds to the number of people we need to save” Franky grumbles, jumping in to save them, but only AFTER Sanji had been pushed
“Dumbasses, the lot of you!” the cyborg scolds after the 3 are pulled back up to the ship “Stop screwing around, you all have Devil fruit powers, what did you expect was going to happen?”
“Sorry, thought I had control of the fish”
“I just wanted to help”
“Got caught up in the moment”
“Well next time, can refrain from trying to drown ourselves during a fight?” Nami asks, then punches all 3 of them on the head
“Sorry Nami” they whine
“Hey look Camie’s exposed, let’s grab her while the Straw hats are distracted!” came a smart idea from the 3 dumbasses who swim towards Camie and her pet
“Help straw hats!”
“Stop drowning and do something useful!”
“Camie, Papagu, I’m coming to save you!” Hachi yells, continuing to pound against the cage…
Shing
Splash
“Thanks for that Roronoa. I know we were enemies before but you’re a pretty cool dude” Hachi says, grinning now he was free from the cage
“Whatever, I’m just following orders” Zoro shrugs, standing on the roof of the cage.
“I hope you had fun using me as a punching bag while I was tied up, because now it’s payback time” the octopus growls, not even waiting for the trio to make some attempt at witty banter or even a dumb responce
Takoyaki Punch
...instead just punching them so hard they blasted off like an even less competent version of Team Rocket
“Camie, Papagu!” Hachi cheers, leaping onto the platform and pulling the 2 into a hug “I can’t beleive I got captured by those idiots, but at least you’re both still safe”
“I wouldn’t count on it just yet” the 3 look up to see a Flying Fish Rider coming straight for them with a harpoon “You didn’t forget about us already, did you? Well too bad you’re still on our turf so we’re gonna take you all out!”
Mirāu~ōku
The fish, now sans rider flops into the sea, Kaos landing softly on the platform with Zoro not far behind
“You let your guard down too soon Octopus” Zoro grunts “Stay back and protect Camie, we’ll handle these goons”
“Got it, you straw hats really are good at saving my takoyaki, I really do owe you a few when this is over” Hachi chuckles, holding his friends close
BOOM
“Guess the others remembered we have cannons on board” Kaos chuckles, seeing several of the fish and riders splash back into the water rather painfully “This might actually be finished before lunch”
“Guys, incoming Kamikaze fish!” Valentina shouts, seeing a man swinging a club while the fish barrels stright for the Sunny
“Well, sh*t. Luffy, stop that fish I’ll handle the idiot on top” Sanji orders
“Got it!” Luffy nods, jumping onto the railing
“Try all you want, I’m still gonna crash into your ship no matter what you do” the man boasts, right until Sanji’s boot collides with his face, meanwhile Luffy uses Gum Gum Balloon to slow the fish, then grabs it by the head and basically suplexed it from the air onto the grassy deck of their ship
“We’re eating good tonight” Luffy laughs, while the others move forward to examine his ‘catch’
“It’s huge” Chopper gasps, Carue nods fearfully
“This would have done a lot of damage ay Franky?” Robin asks
“Yeah, it would have been quite the job to fix it. It’s not outside my skill set it would have just been annoying to have to rebuild so much so soon after she’s been first made” Franky sighs
“This, is unacceptable” the straw hats turn to a kneeling Brook “My first outing as a Straw Hat, and all I’ve done is drown. I can’t call myself a pirate or a man, until I right this wrong. Time to see just how many I can cut down” he declares, leaping up the mast and then towards the flying fish, his cane sword resting against the strings of his violin
“What’s with the skelton mask?”
“Don’t know but I’m gonna skewer him anyway”
Lulaby
To the surprise of everyone, Brook managed to put the nearest riders and their fish to sleep, causing them to dive and hit the water with a heavy splash, Brook himself following them but due to his light weight was able to still run across the water.
“Anyone know what just happened?” Vivi asks
“Devil fruit bu...no that’s not it” Artemis frowns “Magic?” she suggests
“It’s the power, of music” Brook declares with a laugh as he dodged fish trying to divebomb him
“I still wanna ride one of these fish. One moment please” Luffy smirks latching onto another fish before anyone could stop him “WHAAAA! He’s asleep! Damn it, you need to wake up or we’re gonna crash” Luffy yells, but luckily for him he managed to crash the fish on the platform rather than in the ocean.
“Well f*ck. Anyone know what Luffy just wrecked?” Zoro groans
“I think the goons above said that was the head’s room, so I guess the boss lives there or something” Kaos shrugs “Luffy skipped the process and decided to just kick the big bad’s ass right away I guess”
In said building
“You saw didn’t you?” Duval asks as he puts his mask/helmet back on “A familiar face I recon” he hums, readying his multi harpoon gun as Luffy stares in confusion at what he just witnessed
Outside
“Not looking to hot there Zoro” Kaos frowns, sniping a flying fish out of the air with Shinso, then side steps Brook as he crashes onto dry land. Zoro meanwhile grunts, he’d argue back but was indeed having some trouble breathing at the moment.
“I’m done, I think I have muscle cramps, not that I still have any muscles to cramp anymore” the skeleton sighs tiredly, then notices Zoro “Oh my, it appears your injuries from Thriller Bark haven’t yet healed fully, maybe you should head back” he suggests
Zoro chuckles, though it was more of a wheeze “Not a chance, whether I’m injured or not there’s no way I’m losing to a bunch of fish”
“Don’t let your guard down StrawHats” Hachi shouts, haivng retrieved his swords before leaping at the Flying fish gunning for them
Tentacle Sword Overload
He cuts the rider down, landing directly in the middle of the 3 straw hats
Zoro blinks “Was that you paying me back for earlier?”
Hachi chuckles “Nah, but you guys better watch your backs, I can’t save your butts all day”
“That was so cool Hachi!” Camie cheers
“You did? Aw you shouldn’t have” Hachi blushes missing a rider pop out of the water
“Die fishman!” he yells throwing a harpoon which was blocked by Brook’s cane sword and then cut down by Kaos
“You were saying?”
Over by the ship
“They’re coming back for another attack!” Franky calls as the riders get into formation
“You who, oh boys” Nami coos from the top of the mast
“She is cute, which is a shame because the Boss said to kill them all” a rider grumbles, then swings his mace at Nami
“I’d like to see you try” she smirks before the weapon passes through her harmlessly
“Mirage Tempo, also might want to watch out for those storm clouds” Nami warns from the deck, then grins widely
“We really did sail into a nest of idiots didn’t we?” Alivda laughs at Vivi’s description
“That just makes things easier for us to deal with, so they’re annoying at worst” Valentina shrugs then points her purple glove skyward
Raiton: Raikiri
Deux Manos: Clutch
Strong Hammer
Cloven Diamond
“Looks like there’s enough for everyone” Kaya half jokes, unloading normal and syrup bullets and the shoal above them
“Wow, these guys are tough, like super tough” Camie cheers, grinning widely
“Yeah they’re pretty strong, but I thought we’d just grab Hachi and run, not fight to the last man” Papagu hums
“Then you’ve not met us before, we tend to end up beating everyone in the vicinity on the way out, it’s become a habit at this point” Kaos muses, kicking one of the lower flying fish through a different building, then stops in confusion “Is that a bison?”
“Hi guys, huge cow on my ass, might wanna run!” Luffy yells crashing through a wall and reuniting with his crewmates on the shore
“Did he say…” Brook begins, just as Duvaal and his mount crash through the same wall, making an even bigger hole
“Look at you all, getting swatted down left and right” Duval sneers, though it was hidden under his mask “You’re not mosquitos men, you’re Flying Fish Riders!”
“Oh crap we woke up the big boss!” Usopp screams
“Um, did he just detroy his own house, just for a badass entrance?” Vivi asks in confusion
“Well was it badass?”
“A little”
“Then it was probably worth it in his eyes” Victor answers
“With the straw hats out of the way I won’t need this base, so men, don’t hold back!”
“Yes Sir!”
“I don’t care about mermaids, fishmen or talking gloves, so get the hell out of my way or be crushed” Duval growls, the 3 skittering away sharply “I didn’t get into the Slave Trade market cause I wanted to, you know that, don’t you?”
“Of course head, good luck!”
“This is the greatest day of my life, finally the source of my pain is within reach, and I can finally kill him! I may have suffered to get here, but it was worth it. Miracles really do happen” he laughs “I never did a thing to that bastard and he made my life Hell! He ruined me!”
“So, does anyone know which of the boys pissed in the big guy’s morning coffee?” Alvida asks
“Probably Luffy” Nami sighs as she answers almost automatically
“I’ve got nothing to lose anymore, I’m ending this. Even if I have to die to do it I’m ending you. Do you hear me Black Leg Sanji?” said cook blinks in surprise and confusion “I’ve been wai’in for this day a looong time”
“Oh no, his accent’s back, that means the Boss is pissed”
“Me? What did I do to make you this upset?” Sanji asks
“Maybe something back on Batatie?” Nami suggests
“Or back in the North?” Valentina suggests, remembering the other blond wasn’t actually born in the East Blue
“Nothing that far back Val, but even just going back to Baratie, damn I did a lot of things to piss people off, I don’t think I could even count the number of people mad at me for things I did back then” Sanji groans
“Whelp, guess you’re about to die” Robin shrugs, not the most helpful she’s been but she didn’t see anything else she could have said
“Don’t mess with me Black Leg, it wasn’t that long ago!” Duval shouts irately, swinging his harpoon gun around then firing on the straw hats still aboard the Sunny
“Everybody down” Victor shouts, just before the harpoons land, barely missing some of them
“If it was recent I’m even more confused” Sanji sighs deeply
“Um guys, there’s something off about these harpoons” Kaya notes, due to the purplish vapor they were giving off
“They smell like death” Artemis agrees
“My scorpion harpoons are coated in poison, you get even a scratch you won’t last 3 minutes” Duval shouts as he reloads another stack “I’m gonna kill you and all your friends!”
“What is it with poisoners and scorpion venom?” Robin mutters as she ducks behind the main mast, remembering Crocodile’s hook was also scorpion venom.
“I don’t know who you are, just tell me already” Sanji begs, kicking away some harpoons that nearly skewer Nami
“You reap what you sew Black Leg!” Duval bellows, continuing to fire at the Sunny
“Hey guys, I saw what was under that mask” Luffy whispers
“Oh, does that help us figure out what’s wrong?” Kaos asks curiously
“Yeah, and it’s not what you think” Luffy replies “Though you’ve already seen his face” he calls back as he runs straight for the distracted Duval
“We have?” Brook and Zoro think aloud, just as Luffy leaps and kicks the helmet off Duval’s head ‘Well, he’s gone and done it now’
“That punk!” the riders shout “He knocked off Master Duval’s mask”
“Go on, look upon this cursed face of mine” Duval says flatly, no longer hiding himself
“Holy sh*t!”
“What!”
“That’s not possible”
“Putan de Merde”
“Oh my. Also Artemis no swearing”
“Yes Mom”
“You’ve got to be kidding me”
“Well I’ll be”
“I been wai’in for this day. I knew I couldn’ let you live, so I set out to sea to put an end to this” he holds up a wanted poster… Sanji’s Wanted Poster “But I knew I had my work cut out for me, cause your poster looked nothing like yo, even if the navy or some bounty hunters saw you, they wouldn’t know it was you. But they found someone else, who they hounded day in and day out, and when they found him you know what they’d say? ‘You can’t hide from us, Black leg Sanji’. And do you know what I told them? I never even met the guy, and not only that, I ain’t even a pirate!” Duval cries, the straw hats struck dumb by how much he resembled Sanji’s sh*tty wanted poster image
Well, until Sanji explodes in rage “You. Shut your damn mouth!”
‘Wow, I thought Sanji’s Wanted Poster was just a poor artist’s interpretation but someone actually has to live with that, that’s rough’ Chopper thinks
“Black Leg Sanji, you ruined me! This is all your fault!” Duval shouts, tears streaming down his face, at which point said cook jumps off the Sunny and starts to swim over, to the confusion of everyone still on board
“Can you imagine how scared I was, being hunted like an animal? Navy headquarters hounding me at every turn, famous bounty hunters knocking at my door? I never wanted to hurt nobody I just wanted a life of peace and quiet, and you destroyed it!” he finishes just as the blond reached the platform
“Um, you got a reason to rush over like that?” Luffy asks, Sanji silently walking towards Duval
“Just cause you became a pirate and got that bounty poster that doesn’t even look like you, I have to go into hiding, wear disguises so nobody takes mi head and hands it over to the government. What did I ever do to you? Give me back my life, Black Leg Sanji!” Duval bellows, as Sanji moves from a slow walk to a dead sprint, before finally…
“WHO CARES?!!!!” Sanji screams as he kicks Duval square in the face
“Mom, when did Sanji get a twin?” Artemis asks, trying to look as innocent as possible… and not even Funkfreed was convinced
“The day he was born, that’s how twins work silly” Valentina laughs, enjoying the joke at their cook’s expense, while he was out of earshot
“Oh yeah, good point”
“You know, at this point I’m not sure who hates that poster more, Sanji or Duval?” Chopper wonders as the fight had devolved to the 2 yelling about how bad the poster was and how much of a victim they were for its existence.
“Personally, I feel worse for Duval, sounds like he was just an ordinary dude before all this mess” Victor sighs, getting a nod of agreement from Vivi and Nami
“Whether a miracle or a tragedy… it’s certainly filling my entertainment quota for the week” Robin chuckles, the archaeologist noting Zoro and Kaos both being similarly amused by their cook’s embarrassment and suffering.
“They really do look the same don’t they?” Hachi wonders aloud, clearly having sight as good as Oars to notice that
“2 peas in a pod” Zoro nods
“Only difference is Duval’s a much bigger guy, though that might be the hog underneath him helping that comparison” Kaos adds with a wide grin
Brook wasn’t helping with the conversation, mostly because he was on his hands and knees in a fit of laughter.
“Good luck there Sanji, we’ll just sit this one out” Luffy says, somehow managing to hold in his own grin
“Don’t act like this is my fault!” Sanji shouts, then continues to shout as he turns to Duval “If you didn’t want to look like the damn wanted poster then cut your hair or grow a beard, you don’t need to kill me!”
Duval stares at Sanji for a few minutes, making noises like he was stuck on the toilet, then “Oh yeah, I didn’t think of that”
“If you’re that stupid you’ve only yourself to blame!”
“Shut up and listen to me!” Duval shouts, Sanji deciding to do so, for the moment “You know Black Leg, me and the boys, we just wanted the simple life. Nothing fancy like, we weren’t so bad. We were just running a humble little criminal enterprize, just to make ends meet and keep the bills paid. We didn’t do anything wrong per say, we just extorted some money from some people, it was a simple but a happy life. But one day it all came crashing down, my innocent little dream turned into a nightmare. I didn’t think much of it at first, assuming the villagers had finally realised it was pointless to resist me on account of how tough I was, but that was just wishful thinking on my part. Understand Black Leg, it’s not my fault, I never meant to cause any trouble, and then I’m suddenly a 77 million berri criminal because you don’t know how to behave, nor stand still long enough to get your picture taken. A small town guy like me can’t stand up to all those marines. They hunted me down, and now I have to hide under that Iron Mask so nobody can see my face” Duval explains, not seeing Sanji twitch at ‘iron mask’ but someone else did “My whole life was ruined because you decided to become a damn pirate!I’ll chase you to the end of Hell if that’s what it takes, and if you’ve got a problem with that then get over her and kill me already”
Sanji blitz forward knocking Duval back and pinning him by the throat “You mean to tell me, you put Nami, Kaya, Alvida, Vivi, Valentina, Robin and Artemis’ lives in danger, just because someone’s crappy picture of me looks like you?” he asks with a low growl
“They’re part of your crew, if I’m having my revenge I might as well take them all out while I’m at it” Duval wheezes, pushing himself back into a seated position “None of you are making it out alive!” he shouts, pulling another harpoon machine gun out from behind his back, Sanji leaping backwards to avoid the spray “Convert to Trap mode” he orders, several flying fish pop out and lunge at Sanji
“The boss says you die then that’s what happ…” his taunt was interrupted by Sanji kicking him in the face, knocking him off his fish
“Just couldn’t resist could you” Duval chuckles as 2 more appear while he was in the air, catching him in a metallic net
“They’re going to drown him!” Usopp shouts in panic “You gotta escape Sanji!”
“It’s no use, this things made of iron it’s not gonna budge” Sanji says through gritted teeth
“Time for your watery grace Black Leg” Duval taunts as the fish and Sanji hit the water
“Zoro, we need your special skills… of not instantly becoming dead weight in the water to go save Sanji” Kaos orders, holding Luffy like a child to stop him rushing in to try rescue Sanji himself
“You humans are too slow underwater, I’ll save him” Hachi volunteers running towards the water’s edge
“You may be right there, but even you know Flying Fish are the fastest things under the water. Plus my men have oxygen tanks, meaning they can take their sweet time making sure your friend never breathes again” Duval laughs “See, I’ve thought of everything!”
“Say the word and this bastard gets a new face hole, probably between the eyes” Kaos hisses, partly to distract Luffy, which fails.
“I wish I could have crushed the life out of that bastard with my own 2 hands, but at least this way I know he’s going to die in agony and suffering every last second”
“Don’t worry guys, I got this” came the most unexpected voice as Camie bounces off the deck into the water
“Hey bumkin, I think, you forgot something” Papagu smirks “Sure Flying Fish are faster than fishmen, and they’re in the top class of seacreatures, but there is ONE thing faster than that: Mermaids. I all the seas great or small, there’s nothing out there that can outswim a mermaid”
“Huh, so that idiot is useful after all” Alvida chuckles, while Kaos asks (and is ignored) why she keeps getting caught so much if that’s the case?
“She’s really that awesome?” Luffy asks
“Yep and if she wasn’t always spacing out so much nothing would ever be able to catch her” (Never mind, thanks!) Papagu explains “It is what it is”
“Oh” Luffy hums then shouts “Camie! We’re counting on you, good luck!”
Somethign rushes towards the surface, giving the straw hats hope… until it’s revealed to be a hoard of flying fish lifting a giant anchor out of the water
“That, can’t be a good sign” Chopper squeaks
“Aim for the centre of the ship” the leader of the pack orders “Once we drop this it’ll sink like a rock” he laughs “Some even have devil fruit powers, meaning this will take out half the crew with almost no effort on our part”
“Please tell me we have some kind of escape plan” Vivi says, turning to Franky
“There’s no time. But there might be one more option. Usopp get to the baou of the ship and stand by” Franky orders running up to the wheel where Valentina was already nervously pacing “We’re about to bust out the Super Secret weapon”
“Ok now you have my attention” Robin’s lips curl into a smirk, eyes having already left the anchor
“What Super Secret weapon?” Usopp asks, voicing the thoughts of pretty much the rest of the crew at that moment
Drop the anchor men. Straw hats, now you die!” Duval commands
“Sunny won’t die, not just yet”
Emergency Evacuation: Chicken Boyage!
The Sunny’s mane spun fast enough to form a mini propeller, shoving the ship back just enough they were out of danger… for the moment at least
“While cool ,that’s not a weapon Uncle Franky” Artemis complains
“Oh I know that kiddo, I just needed some room for the main event” Franky assures her patting her hat then orders “Usopp, get inside the prow!”
“Get inside… it opens!” Usopp shouts, surprised the stairs were removable and even more so by what lay inside “Oh my. Franky really outdid himself with this”
“Like I said, we’re not just running away, we’re getting into position to show off just what Sunny can do” Franky grins as the Sunny’s Lion figurehead’s mouth opens, revealing a cannon
“AWESOME!” Luffy and Chopper squeal
“Cola energy charging” Franky announces as noise begins to fill the air
“What the Hell is that thing? Oh dear” Duval swallows thickly
“Ok, she’s charged, now what?” Usopp asks from inside the head
“Get as many of them as you can in the circle” Franky orders
“The circle? Oh I see” Usopp nods as he fiddles with the console and aperture, the cannon shifting as he does “Got it, what next?”
“Lock on with the button below you, then pull the lever and watch the fireworks!” the cyborg laughs
“Locking on” Usopp mutters, the green screen turning bright red “And, here we go!”
Goan Cannon: Fire
BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
The beam knocks every flying fish out of the sky and basically level’s the Rider’s base, when it finally ended those still conscious were dumbstruck, except Franky who was grinning smugly as he admired his handiwork.
“That was awesome!” Screamed Luffy, Ussop, Chopper and Artemis, the captain practically vibrating with glee
“The cola cost may mean we can’t use Chicken Boyage whenever we want, but it’s always gonna be there if we need it for emergencies just like this one” Franky adds, as while not as cool as Sunny’s Plus Ultra Cannon blast the escape method had impressed the crew and made them curious.
It was a much clearer sky Camie finally surfaced to, getting the pirate’s attention
“Camie, is Sanji ok?” Nami shouts over
“I thought he was but he’s losing a lot of blood” Camie screams in panic
“What happened?” Kaya asks
“Well we surfaced and it seemed fine, then all this blood started pouring out of his nose” the mermaid explains, prompting the others to actually look at how she was holding their cook… with his face pressed against her reasonably sized breasts.
“Why am I not surprised?”
“I’m pretty sure he’d have no problem dying like that”
“Damn pervert”
“Hang in their Sanji-chin!”
“Damn bastard, if you weren’t friends with a mermaid you’d be dead right now”
“Actually if we hadn’t run into Camie we wouldn’t even be here in the first place, so he’d still be alive” Kaos sighs, Zoro nods as he was the closest to the researcher and far as he could tell the only one who heard him
“Looks like you lost a lot of men out there” Luffy says with a shrug, pissing off Duval even more (if that’s even possible)
“Shut Up! I don’t need the flying fish riders as long as I have Motobolo. You think I ride this guy because he looks cool?” Duval asks, actually pausing in surprise when Luffy and Kaos both answer ‘Yes’
“Idiots, countless have fallen prey to his horns, as long as I have him no one can touch me. He punches holes in the village dam back home and smashes his way out of any cage he’s put in. The marines may hound me day in and day out, but I always come out on top because this guy here’s alway ready for a fight. They don’t call his horns ‘The Heartripper’ for nothing” Duval boasts
“Ok, let’s see how tough he really is” Luffy hums, cracking his knuckles
“Go Motobolo, kill him!” Duval bellows, the cow charges but is stopped dead by Luffy
“Well, that was underwhelming” Robin pouts
“His horns are too small” Artemis notes “They can’t do anything up there” she adds with a frown
“There’s no point in fighting you big cow, so Stop IT” Luffy commands, Motobolo twitches and sweats, staring deep into Luffy’s eyes, before it backs away and starts to panic, buck and snort a bit before cantering away from Luffy
“Motobolo, what are you doing?” Duval asks in worry
“Cow’s acting weird all of a sudden” Zoro wonders
“I didn’t do it” Kaos defends, though was unsure if people knew Zoan fruits sometimes had an effect on normal animals too, usually Predator Zoans (like Lucci and Jabra) so was mostly just covering his ass “This was all Luffy”
‘Could it be the same?’ Vivi wonders, eyes flicking between Luffy, and Artemis. She wasn’t anywhere near close enough to be sure, to feel the crushing pressure again, but even from here she could tell there was a weight to that look, something more than simply intimidating the animal, like he bent it to his will, especially when it seemed to randomly pass out a moment later.
‘Ok, now I understand why Ni-san is so impressed and fascinated by these kinds of people. f*ck I had to pick a captain who’s a Conqueror didn’t I?’ Valentina pinches the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache already forming
“What the hell did you morons do over there?” Nami shrieks
“I didn’t DO anything” Luffy shouts back, though it was more of a whine than anything else
“It wasn’t a attack, not really it was more like he won the beast over, or made it his bitch when he faced it head on” Robin muses aloud
“He can take down wild beasts without even throwing a punch, and people thought we only married Luffy for his looks” Alvida teases, hugging Vivi and snapping her out of her inner thoughts “Our hubby’s the baddest pirate in the East Blue!”
“Straw Hat, I’m gonna murder you!” Duval growls, standing up after checking on his mount
Luffy doesn’t respond verbally, just gets into a boxing stance, his face set in a silent ‘come on then’ until he’s told off
“Hey, hold on Luffy” Sanji says as he gets back onto the platform and slowly walks towards the 2
“Nice to see you’re back to the land of the living Spiral Brow” Zoro chuckles
“Oh good you’re ok” Luffy smiles
“Stand back I’ll deal with this whiner, only just met the guy and it’s already been a pain in my ass for too long” Sanji scowls as he passes his captain
“Your ass? I’m the victim here, because of you an innocent man like myself can’t get any peace, you’re the criminal, why do I have to be the one to pay for your crimes?”
“That’s enough! Do you have any idea how it feels for me, seeing that crappy, it’s not even a caricature it’s an abomination come to life before my eyes. Something this ugly, should not exist in this world”
“You don’t wanna see it, then die!” Duval shouts, firing another vollet which Sanji dodges, then leaps and lands a flying kick to the taller blond’s face. The kicks just keep coming from the chef until he send the other man flying, partially burying him under one of the destroyed buildings
“Soooooo, given all the bad guys are unconscious and Hatchan is free, can we leave now?” Kaos asks
“You bet, Octopus fritters for everyone!” Luffy shouts/cheers, Franky brining the Sunny over to it was close enough for everyone to get on before leaving as quickly as they could
A little later
“This is so good!” Luffy groans as he stuffs his face with fritters, the others also eating but only Alvida seemed to be anywhere near as quickly munching her way through the pile of food Hatchan was making for his rescuers/former enemies
“Sure is, Hachi makes the best fritters this side of the Red Line” Camie chirps
“These are actually really good, nice work big guy” Valentina grins
“Gotta agree, I’ve not had food this good given to me in quite a while, you’re doing well Hatchan” Sanji agrees
“It was a brilliant idea to turn your ship into a food cart, makes you a mobile food stand so more people can enjoy your food” Usopp compliments, himself and Kaya sharing a plate
“I’ve not had such culinary delights in years, my stomach is fit to burst… or it would if I still had one, Yohohoho” Brook laughs
“Eat all you want, it’s on the house” Hachi laughs as he continues to work
“You sure, filling up those 2 will be a chore and a half” Kaos teases, Vivi nodding and gives Hachi what the fishman guesses to be a look of sympathy
“Don’t worry about it, feeding you is the least I can do for saving me and my friends” he then goes quiet for a moment, looking across the boat “Hey Nami, what do you think, are they any good?” he asks nervously and everything grinds to a halt, most notably from the East Blue crewmates, who as subtly as possible turn their attention to their silent navigator
“Just so you know, something silly like this isn’t going to make me forgive you” she states, sending Hatchan into a flailing panic
“What? That’s not what I meant at all, I just wanted to know if you were enjoying the food, honest. I wasn’t trying to bribe you or get you to forgive me, I know I don’t deserve it” the Octopus slumps
“On saying that” Nami continues, acting like he hadn’t said anything after eating another fritter “They are really nice, you make a good cook Hatchan, maybe stick to that in the future” she says almost jokingly
“You like it, you really like it! Oh that’s wonderful news, and don’t worry Nami I’ve found my calling and I don’t plan on going back to being a pirate anytime in the future”
With the tension broken the Straw hats were able to enjoy their little ocean view picnic or whatever this would be called, right until they had another interruption
“Hey, you guys, hold on a minute”
“Just what we need, more weirdos” Artemis hums sitting between Kaos and Robin with a tray of her own
“I thought we’d reached our quota for the day” Robin sighs
“Guess not”
“Please don’t go, at least not without letting me thank you!” the man bellows as he gets closer
“Who the hell’s this clown I have important eating to do” Luffy growls, cheeks still stuffed like a squirrel’s
“Handsome? Well obviously, it’s me Duval” the man winks and … yeah none of the people nearby could argue the man was rather good looking now.
“What did you do?” Kaya asks, knowing something like this shouldn’t be possible
“I rearranged his bone structure, no the bastard has nothing to bitch and moan about” Sanji explains, causing the 2 medics of the crew to faint.
“Master Black Leg, thank you for the stunning work you’ve done, sure at the time I was angry you were kicking me in the face so much, but after seeing the results, a little pain was worth the godly visage, the ladies are gonna be crawling all over me. Now all I want is to return home to the countryside, but I couldn’t do so without at least thanking you, as I’d die inside with guilt at the very idea” Duval monologues “It’s your first time in this part of the sea, so if you need help with anything do NOT hesitate to call us for help k?” he says, giving them his Den Den number “Call anytime you need, ta ta for now” he says, twisting his face almost painfully as he tries to wink before leaving as swiftly as he arrived
“Yeah, he probably shouldn’t do that until his face settles, or any other odd expressions” Sanji sighs, noticing Chopper and Kaya had regained consciousness
Once everyone was satisfied Sanji invited the 3 semi aquatic visitors onto the ship for tea and explanations, mostly on how to get to Fishman Island.
“You’re on the right track, the Sabaody Archepelago is just over there” Camie points, point on the map and out to sea
“I understand, but why do we need to go there in the first place?” Usopp asks
“You see, getting from the surface to Fishman island is easy for merfolk and fishmen like Camie and myself, but for you humans, the pressure at those depths would crush you like an egg”
“Yeah, we saw that with the Shark Sub, it wasn’t going to get deep enough to reach our destination, so how the hell do we get down there?” Franky asks curiously
Papgu starts talking… but nobody cares so we’ll ignore him
“This ship should be fine, and even if it wasn’t you’d still need to worry about the rough terrain and sea kings that might eat your vessel as you take the Sea Floor route to Fishman island” Camie explains
“The ships get eaten?” Nami squeaks
“Nah you’re talking crazy, this ship isn’t equipped for underwater travel, and I already told you the sub can’t go deep enough, nor hold all of us” the cyborg argues
“It isn’t, but it will be, when you get to Sabaody” Camie chuckles “You see, the red line may be the biggest wall in the whole world, but it’s not completely solid, near the bottom there’s a little whole, well little in the grand scheme of things, but really big in real life, and through that hole is Fishman island and after passing through there, the New World!”
“She’s right, the hole is, ironically more or less directly beneath Mariejois, you just have to dive about 10,000m and the hole is right there” Hatchan confirms
“Seriously?” Nami groans “Well, I guess we did send Merry 30,000ft into the sky, this shouldn’t be as hard”
“Yeah, only problem is, I don’t know how to augment the Sunny so it can actually pull this one off” Franky hums, scratching his chin
“Oh, we’re going to get the ship coated when we reach the islands” Camie explains, by not explaining
“Coated?” Victor asks
The mermaid giggles “I don’t want to spoil the surprise”
“Should have seen that coming”
Later on
“We have, arrived!” Papagu announces to shock and smiles of the Straw Hats
“So cool”
“It’s definitely been a while, lovely as ever”
Pretty”
“It’s like something out of a dream”
“Bubbles, bubbles everywhere”
“Correct, welcome to the Sabaody Archipelago”
“Hey Camie, where are all these bubbles coming from, it’s like an endless stream of them?” Usopp asks
“Yeah and who’s blowing them?” Luffy adds
“Nobody, the island makes them” the mermaid asks, further confusing matters
“You might need to talk more after a statement like that”
“Well you see…”
“One second please, sorry to interrupt, but where does the log point to at this moment?” Robin asks
“Still Fishman island, just as long as this place doesn’t rewrite the log on us” Nami answers, Kaos confirming with one of the spares
“Don’t worry about it, this island cluster is just a bunch of trees, no magnetic resonance to speak of” Hatchi assures them “You guys familiar with mangrove trees?”
“The ones that usually grow in tidal regions, their roots showing or being hidden like normal trees depending on the tide?” Kaos asks
“Yep, except the tide never rises or falls here, so the mangroves are like this all the time. You’re looking at the largest mangrove trees in the world, and they’re Hustle Bustle mangroves” Hatchi continues “There’s a total of 79 trees here, all of which are basically their own little island with a town, and facilities built upon them. The mangrove cluster is known colloquially as the Sabaody Archipelago”
“They’re all numbered” Chopper notes, seeing the massive marks on each of the tree trunks
“Yep, it’s for identification and navigation, we need to go a little deeper to get anything done though” Hachi adds
“Delightful, hey is that a man made bridge?” Brook asks, seeing one between the trees
“Yep, easiest way to get from one grove to the other”
“I see”
Well, here we are, get ready to disembark. Welcome to Grove 41” Hachi announces, the straw hats once more excited to explore, especially Luffy who leaps off the ship the moment they stop “Remember what number you’ve docked at, all the groves are connected by those bridges so as long as you remember where you docked you shouldn’t get lost” Hachi adds, as everyone disembarks
“We’ll probably still lose Zoro, anyone want to buddy up with him?” Valentina says half jokingly, but gets no response
“Wow. Hey guys, the bubbles are coming out of the ground, how weird is that?” Luffy shouts with a huge grin on his face, calling back to the others
“So cool!”
“Mom, can I bounce on the bubbles like Uncle Luffy?” Artemis asks, pouting cutely
“Nowhere near as high as the rubber brain, but maybe in a minute” Robin assures her, then turns to the fishman “How exactly do these bubbles form?”
“Oh, the mangroves secrete a sticky resin, it’s all over the place” Hachi explains “As the trees breath, the sap traps the air and forms the bubbles, the resin also makes the bubbles much stronger than ordinary soap bubbles”
“Sticky sap, explains why walking is a little harder than normal, thought I was just more tired than I thought” Kaos hums, then chuckles as Robin wipes the mangrove sap off her hand and on Ussop’s shorts
“Hey guys!”
“God damn it Luffy, get down here before you hurt yourself!” Vivi shouts, acting more like a parent than she’d care to admit
“I can see an amusem*nt park over there, we should go check it out, it even has a Ferris Wheel” he shouts down
“That does sound like fun, doesn’t it, princess?” Alvida coos
“It does” Vivi sighs “We’ll go if you come down safely”
“You talking about Sabaody Park? I’m so jealous, I always wanted to ride that Ferris Wheel” Camie swoons
“Why haven’t you?” Valentina asks
“Don’t even think about it Cam-Ayyyyyyy!” Papagu scolds until he’d explosion kicked across the grove
“What an annoying little starfish” Victor sighs, though apparently he’d acted too late as Camie’d shuffled off sadly by this point
CRASH
“Damn it Luffy” Kaos sighs, before walking over to help him up “What did you do this time?”
“I didn’t do nothing all the bubbles just popped” Luffy huffs
“Hey Hachi, you said we needed to see someone on these islands to get the ship coated, right?” Nami asks, ignoring Luffy as she knew he was fine
“Yep, we’ll pop into one of the island’s coaters and they’ll slap a hearty coat of this resin on your ship, then it’ll be perfectly ready for underwater travel” Hachi explains
“Really, it’s that easy?” Franky asks, unconvinced
“Yep, the process works wonders, and is the ONLY way I know of for humans to get to Fishman island. But you don’t wanna let some amateur do it, or coat the ship yourself, if it’s not done right the coating will fail and the ship will be crushed, along with everyone on board. I know one specialist I trust nearby, so you’ll be in good hands” Hachi assures them “Though if we do this, I need you to promise me something”
“K” Luffy nods instantly “What?”
“When we get into town, we might run into some Tenryuubito” Hachi says, missing the bluenette’s fists clench
“Tenrio?” Luffy looks confused
“The more well known name for the Celestial Dragons or simply the World nobles, the people who live within the Holy land Mariejois”
“Most of them do, only 2 families have ever left that place, a branch family of the Donquixote’s and the Nefertari clan in its entirety” Vivi corrects
Luffy hums for a moment then shrugs “Cool, so what’s the big deal?”
Hachi swallows thickly “Well, you see…”
“They’re a bunch of stuck up arseholes” Vivi interrupts, the swearing at this point a clear indicator of her annoyance “Even as a child I knew that, they acted younger than I was even when they’re older than Franky, running to a marine when they don’t get their way. It’s sickening, It’s Wapol times 1000. The only consolation is they’re also dumb as f*ck because of all the inbreeding, 20, well actually 19 familes don’t exactly hold enough divercity for 1000 years do they?” she sighs
“Eh sort of maybe I’m sorry Ma’am” Hachi stutters and fidgets, clearly nervous about who he just realised he was speaking too “And that little revelation, might make this even harder for me to ask you, but, no matter what happens, don't do ANYTHING to defy the world nobles”
“What?”
“No matter what happens?”
“Just ignore it?”
“Yep, even if they kill someone in front of you, just walk away and pretend you didn’t see anything” Hachi continues “I repeat, no matter what happens, you didn’t see anything, got it?”
‘I give us 3 hours’
TBC
LW: Well, we’re finally here and things are not going to end well.
Also before someone says anything I know Vivi and her family aren’t Celestial Dragons in canon, but here they are, Alabasta is their divine right and unlike the ‘branch family’ I mentioned were allowed keep their status in this universe because they left back to their original kingdom, while the whole Marijois thing was being set up and the clans were more reasonable, rather than leaving the ivory towers and pissing off the families a couple centuries later.
Chapter 104: Supernovas
Chapter Text
LW: So we’ve reached the Archipelago, now for the worst part of One Piece to make an appearance (I don’t need to tell you, you’ll know it when they show up)
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Supernovas
“I repeat, no matter what happens, you didn’t see anything, got it?”
‘I give us 3 hours’
A little later
“Those nobles I mentioned earlier, they’re so above it all they wear masks so they don’t even have to breath the same air as us common folk” Hachi explains, now wearing a jacket that hide his more fishman features, mostly the extra arms “Now remember your promise, no matter what they do just keep walking and stay out of their way, understood?” he asks, Luffy casually waving him off
“Anyone know where we can get these bubble masks?” Kaos muses to himself, an idea forming but mostly nothing
“And another thing, this is the last port of call before the New World, so like yourself there are a lot of big name pirates milling around these islands, and because of that a heavy presence of marines and bounty hunters. Also, the law won’t protect a pirate from being bought or sold as a slave, so keep your eyes out for kidnappers as they frequent this area” Hachi continues to explain the ‘wonders’ of Sabaody “So lay low and don’t draw attention to yourself, if anyone realises how valuable you are we’ll have the entire island chain on our asses and we’ll never get the Sunny coated. Plus the marines here are no pushovers, we’re within spitting distance of Navy Headquarters so you never know what kind of Powerhouse is nearby, and the bounty hunters are a lot tougher here than anyone you’ve met in Paradise or the East Blue that’s for sure. And one more thing, while we’re here I’m not a fishman and Camie’s not a mermaid, got it?”
“But why?” Luffy asks, clearly not seeing the point of all these rules and bullsh*t
“Luffy, sometimes tact is required, as well as respecting local customs” Robin suggests
“Like not punching God in the face?” Luffy counters, the archaeologist unable to respond to that as he kind of had a point
“I think that was medical advice, not a cultural practice” Kaos argues “Don’t punch God in the face, it tends to kill people. That sort of thing”
Vivi sighs “Either way, probably best to try and follow Hachi’s advice, for as long as we can, ok?”
Luckily Luffy had something to distract himself with soon enough, a pedal powered bubble bike
“So cool!” Luffy shouts as he zips around, Chopper chasing him wanting a turn in the bubble
“These bubblebikes are the most effective way to get around the Sabaody Archipelago” the store owner explains “Affordable too, 500 beri each to rent, or you could buy them for 10,000 each”
“We’re fine, just renting” Hachi replies, until Luffy comes back from making Chopper chase him
“I’ve got the money I wanna buy one” he cheers
“Luffy, I’m pretty sure the bike is designed only to be useable within the archipelago, and given we’re not staying long buying one is stupid” Kaos argues, getting an annoyed huff from boy and reindeer
“Thanks for that, I was worried he’d get loud and stubborn” Hachi whispers
“That does sound like Luffy, but he does bend to logic, when packaged the right way, usually by this lanky bastard as he’s learnt he mostly knows what he’s talking about” Alvida teases as the shopkeeper sets up another configuration of bubble bike for Nami to ride on, rather than in like Luffy was.
“This is so cool” Nami laughs, keeping pace with the larger one Hachi was pedalling with most of the group riding, Chopper looking to have almost fallen asleep in the little front basket
“And so much variety, they really have one for every occasion” Robin chuckles
“Hey Luffy-chin, if you’re feeling down about not getting a bubble bike, you can ride them again down in Fishman island, we have a similar climate and super strong bubbles down there too” Camie says, trying to cheer up the grumpy pirate
“What you really ought to see when you’re down there is the mermaid princess, so graceful, so beautiful, it takes great willpower not to just stare at her all day long” Papagu swoons in the bubble under Nami
“Keep Sanji away from the princess” Kaos writes in his notebook “Any more advice?” he asks, then see’s Luffy was getting distracted again “Food?” he asks
“Food” Vivi nods, seeing Luffy, Alvida, Chopper and Brook eating all the free samples from the steamed buns salesman
“Grove 35 sure has a lot of hotels built on it, must have been a chore to set up” Valentina muses
“Not really, these hotels, as well as all the round buildings on the archipelago are made by coating large bubbles in a metal alloy to serve as foundation” Papagu explains
“Saves on construction, especially because round things are a pain in the ass to get right” Victor chuckles, admiring the ingenuity of this place, then frowns as he turns his head “Hey, we just lost like half the crew, where they go?”
“Nami invited Robin to come with her to the shopping district on Grove 30, she brought Artemis along with her and I think Kaos is coming along for heavy lifting” Camie answers
“Probably should have told them about bubble packing, could have saved him the trip” Hachi mutters to himself then shrugs “Eh probably the best protection those girls could have is the lanky bastard”
“Hey Hachi, where are we going next?” Chopper asks, the 4 returning with snacks
“Grove 31 for the coating, it’s a long trek even by bike so we should get going as soon as possible”
With Nami and Robin
“I wonder why Camie didn’t come with us, you seemed rather polite when you invited her” Robin muses aloud, Artemis shrugs from inside the bubble and Kaos walked beside amused by such a strange place
“No idea, but she has seemed a bit off maybe, since we got here. Also what do you mean I seemed rather polite?”
“Nami, you’re kind of an asshole, most of the time” Robin reponds bluntly “We’re used to it, as you are to our quirks, but it doesn’t make it any less true” the red head grits her teeth, then sighs “As for Camie, maybe it’s the island itself, she might have bad memories with this place, so would prefer to spend as little time here as possible” she suggests
“She wanted to ride the ferris wheel, until the starfish started yelling at her” Artemis complains
“Hm, sounds like the only way to learn, is to ask her, but it’s probably a sensitive subject” Robin frowns
Back with the others
“This was a bad idea” Valentina says, though was still laughing as Hachi and Luffy raced against each other to see who could get to Grove 31 faster
“When did this become a race?” Chopper cries, clinging to the edge of Luffy’s bubble while the others were holding onto or hiding inside Hachi’s hovercraft styled bubble.
“When Hachi said we should get there as quick as we could, Luffy took it as a challenge” Vivi guesses, pushing her hair out of her face to watch the mangroves fly past them
“Hey, what’s all that yelling about?” Luffy wonders aloud as they get closer to the grove and start to slow down in response
“Something we’re not supposed to get involved in” Alvida guesses, seeing Hachi tense right in front of her
“I don’t wanna go to the New World anymore, I just want out of this thing and to be with my wife and kid again” as they get closer the yelling starts to be understandable “I left when he was just a baby, he doesn't even know who I am or what I look like”
“This seems weird” Luffy hums, poking out of the bubble
“Please, I don’t care about anything else, I just want to get out of here!”
“Let’s stay out of this” Hachi reminds them “He’s probably just some pirate who was caught by kidnappers and sold into slavery”
“The fact you can say that so casually, is frankly disturbing all on it’s own” Vivi shudders
“Especially as a former slave yourself” Valentina’s lips curls as she see’s Hachi twitch “Kisame told me about the Sun” she adds, thinking he at least deserved to know how she knew
Tick tick tick tick
“Well, sh*t” Victor hisses, knowing what they sound meant, even if it took the others a moment for the pieces to click together “Explains why it’s on the neck though, an arm or a leg would probably be worth losing in an escape attempt”
“This collar! If I could just get it off my neck!” the man shouts, shaking it desperately
BOOM
“help me” he wheezes, falling to his knees
“Huh I was wrong he did survive. Still messed up though” Victor scowls
“Every slave has one of those collars fitted to them, and if you try remove them or run from your master it explodes” Hachi explains clinically
“just let me go home to my family, I don’t want to be a pirate in the new world any more” the man says, now mostly to himself before finally passing out
“It’s a slave who tried to escape”
“Quick you saw nothing!”
“Right. Ignore, ignore, ignore”
“We have to do something to help that man” Brook shrieks
“Idiot you promi….” Papagu starts to scold, only to be reminded Brook wasn’t Camie when he was forcefully thrown out of the bubble by an angry Valentina
“The Celestial Dragons are going to be here any minute” Camie whimpers “What are we going to do Hachin?”
“Everything will be fine. Straw hat, get out of that bubble bike and stay quiet” Hachi orders, Luffy frowns but complies
“This place, is sick” Vivi says through gritted teeth “Not an ounce of decency or compassion on this whole archipelago” she mutters as she sits behind Hachi while the others kneel
“Has that mutt got a bubble stuck on it’s head?” Alvida asks quietly as a long legged pug walks over to the slave… and pisses on him
“Saru, don’t be so vulgar” a new voice scolds as a group enter the street
“Those the dragons you were going on about?” Luffy whispers, getting a nod from Hachi
“Vivi’s better” Alvida stage whispers seeing the female of the group “Also is their hair naturally that stupid looking?”
“It’s a fashion choice” Vivi explains “It changes periodically, last Reverie it was neon mohawks, I’m not sure how I was able to hold in the laughter until the boat ride home” the bluenette says with a twitch of a smile
“Oh look Father, another one of our slaves has broken down” the girl says in a haughty tone
“Did you give it it’s daily sedative like you were supposed to?” the man asks the chain he was holding rattles as the large beast of a man behind him follows a few steps behind him
“Of course I did, but it seems to have had no effect on the poor fool” the girl says, most likely lying but at least the reason for the bows in the man’s hair was understood, he’d been HER pet “I don’t even want him any more, can you buy me a new one?” she ask
“Honestly I don’t know why I do, you’re terrible at taking care of them” the man sighs deeply “You’re desolating my precious ship’s captain collection one pirate at a time”
“He was useless from the beginning anyway” she sneers “Family, children. Stop crying you worthless lump, and get this into your head. You’re nothing but a human slave” she shouts, kicking him in the ribs with every word
“Luffy” Vivi growls through gritted teeth “we’ve faced God, and you decided punching him in the face was a good idea. Please tell me we can do something”
The air seems to drain out of the clearing as the dragon girl draws a gun “You make me want to vomit” she says flatly before unloading the weapon into his head, then turning on her heel and complaining about what her next slave will be to her father.
“Don’t even think about it, it won’t end well” Hachi hisses, hands full restraining Luffy, luckily the others were either in shock or shaking enough they couldn’t actually move so straw hat was the only problem child “We need to get moving, and fast” he says as the marines finally show up to dispose of the body
A little later, a safe distance away
“Would you care for some tea, it will help with the nerves and shakes” Brook offers Camie, who seemed the most effected
“No, but thanks Mr Skeleton”
“What happened back there, was f*cked” Victor scowls
“Probably the closest to a good thing about it, was it’s over for him” Alvida groans, fists clenched into her pant legs
“I don’t understand why everyone was so afraid, an old man and some bratty girl are no match for that guy” Chopper says voicing his confusion
“If anyone harms a Celestial Dragon, Navy Headquarters send an Admiral and an entire fleet of battleships to deal with the problem” Papagu explains, getting dead silence besides Brook’s spit take
“An Admiral? You mean Alkiji?” Luffy gasps
“Him, Akainu, Kizaru, who knows. Point is if something happens to one of those pampered princesses, they come running”
“No wonder they walk around like they’re bulletproof, they practically are” Vivi sighs
“Until someone with nothing to lose shows up, then they’ll see what a punch to the face feels like” Valentina laughs bitterly
“What makes those Dragons think they’re so important?” Chopper asks, now getting annoyed
“They’re the descendents of the 20 royal families who created the World Government 800 years ago” Vivi replies, causing the reindeer’s jaw to drop
“Wait a minute, you’re one of those Tenrio, Dragon thingies, why are you nice and they’re a bunch of c*nts?” Alvida asks bluntly
“Because my family decided to remain in Alabasta, where we’ve always ruled, and still interact with the people. The Celestial Dragons meanwhile stay sequestered in Mariejois, and with all that unearned power, push further across the line of what’s acceptable with each passing generation. They’re literally all power, no responsibilities, you saw that with that girl earlier, treating that man like he was that mutt or some kind of toy she was bored by, then when she was done started whining for a new shiny” there is a scream of frustration, before the princess faceplants into her wife’s cleavage “She sickens me, partly because she could have been me if my ancestor had been like the other families and moved to the Holy City” she sighs, Alvida hugging her and running her fingers through her hair, Luffy’s arms snaking around them both as Vivi’s anger drains from her body
Elsewhere
‘Ah, so that’s the local colour, I think I can work with that’ The researcher smirks widely, deciding to have a little fun while he’s here
“Papa, you look, really dumb in that diving suit” Artemis hums with a frown “Are you going swimming, it seems kind of dangerous”
“Sesese. No, but I do think I know how to keep at least a few of us safe until such time as Luffy doesn’t do something dumb enough to affect the entire crew” Kaos says with grin, then with a glance over his shades, decides to rope Robin into these shenanigans.
“Hey Robin don’t you think this looks… where’d she go?” Nami asks, annoyed the others would just ditch her like that
“Incredible, but also impossible, how did you even come up with the idea of a combat scarf?” the navigator turns towards the source of the gasp, seeing Robin’s butt just slip out of view past a stall, which Nami runs over to
“You do know Hebi talks to me, right? This is one of her’s so to speak and quite useful if I do say so myself” Kaos asks, dressed in the weirdest thing Nami had ever seen: a bleached white space suit, with a bubble or bowl on his head, hair long and matted covering one eye, or given his shades the left lens, and just as Robin stated what looked to be a metallic grey scarf wrapped around her waist. Following the device with her eyes it appeared to wrap around the researcher’s forearm several times then slip under the suit, only to come out the other side and wrap loosely around Artemis’ waist as well
“She talks funny, lots of S sounds” Artemis giggles nodding alongside Kaos “But do I also need to be wrapped Papa, you haven’t really explained the plan very much” she adds
“And he says he’s not related to Luffy, only he’d have a scheme as dumb as whatever you’re pulling” Nami mutters to herself, then reminds herself that Kaos isn’t stupid, he’s insane, meanign whatever he was about to do, had at least it’s own internal logic even if she couldn’t make sense of it. Seeing as she had nothing else planned the former thief decided to shadow the mini family, her curiosity winning over her caution.
Back with Luffy
Gum Gum Pistol
Breeze Breath Bomb
Fūton: Daitoppa
Raiton: Raikiri
Frictionless Takedown
Gavotte Bond en Avant
“Seems we didn’t have to do anything to get the bounty hunters on our asses ey Hachi?” Victor says between reloading and firing his air gun
“Just shut up and deal with these goons” Hachi groans, knocking aside another bounty hunter, then ducking as Luffy punches one clear off his feet
“Damn, I heard they were strong, but this brat and his crew are way out of my league” the apparent leader of this group mutters “I need a hostage” he thinks aloud, spying Camie and Papagu looking defenceless by the bubble bikes ‘Bingo’
AHHHHH
Hachi turns his head as he hears Camie scream, seeing one of the larger thugs corner her against a mangrove “Camie! Papagu!”
“You’re coming with m….AH” the man screams like a speared boar as with a flick of something out the corner of his eye his left fingers are cleanly sliced off “What was that?”
“You picked the wrong day to cross me, I’ve severely pissed off” Vivi growls, her wires practically floating in the air around her “So leave...in pieces” she snarls, swinging her arm and with a flash of the wires tears his sword arm to meaty chunks, leaving him wide open for Luffy to slam into a mangrove with a Gum Gum Bazooka
“That’s the last of them, everyone ok?” he calls out
“We’re good Luffy-chin. Thanks Miss Vivi” Camie smiles sweetly at the 2 as the others rejoin them at the bubbles
An hour later
“That’s the third group of bounty hunters we’ve faced since getting here, it feels like you’re leading us to them. Doesn’t help we’re clearly passing through the bad part of town” Valentina comments, referring ot how run down and poorly maintained their current surroundings were
“Why would someone like your coater live all the way out here?” Chopper wonders
“You seem to forget just how large the archipelago is, the marines can’t be everywhere after all, some places fall through the cracks so to speak” Hachi explains, passing a map to Brook “reality isn’t as clear cut as that map but the clusters are mostly accurate. We docked your ship over there at Grove 40 in the region that caters to the tourism and visitors to the region, the 30’s are referred to as the Amusem*nt district due to that being where Sabaody Park is”
“The marine base is over here in the 60’s I take it to the be official entrance to the area as well” Brook notes, seeing it basically on the other side of the region to them
“Yeah, basically the front door, and the one place on the island we should avoid like Amber Lead” Hachi agrees
“So, where are we now?” Chopper asks
“Grove 16, part of cluster 20. 1 to 29 are basically seen as the lawless region of the archipelago, it’s why the place is crawling with bounty hunters”
“And you forgot to tell us this because”
“It wasn’t that big a deal, you can all handle yourselves, plus Grove 13 is our final destination, so we’re almost there anyway” Hachi shrugs, not seeing the problem
A little longer
“We have arrived, well I hope we have, it's been over a decade since I was last here” Hachi says, another thing he forgot to tell them “It’s just up there on that big root, onward!”
“It’s a bar, are we sure we came to the right place? Or is ship coating just a side business?” Alvida asks
“This place is called Shakky’s Rip Off Bar? Hachi I get the distinct impression these people are going to rip us off” Papagu stage whispers
“They’re not going to beat us up and steal our money are they?” Chopper asks nervously
“Nah, Franky already did that 2 islands ago, the universe doesn’t repeat itself that quickly” Victor jokes, hoping to relax the reindeer
“Huh, they’re still open, that’s nice” Hachi laughs as he pushes open the door, to see the owner having just finished beating the sh*t out of one of her patrons
“Hey come on in, what can I get you?” the woman greets casually, then her eyes widen “Is that really you Hachan?”
Hachi chuckles, scratching the back of his head “Yeah it’s me Shakky, sorry it’s been so long”
“10 years by my count. And I see you brought friends too. Welcome to my bar. I’ll serve you in a minute, I just need to collect some money these boys don’t owe me”
“Does that mean they owe someone else and she’s the collector, or she’s just stealing their money?” Vivi asks nervously as the group finds a table and Shakky finishes beat the sh*t out the men in front of her, then sits down with Hachi to see how he’s been
“So, finally quit the pirate life and gone straight huh? Good job Hatchan, I’ve never been happier since I left the Rox crew” Shakky chuckles, lighting another smoke “And you Miss Camie, don’t see many mermaids above water these days, especially not as young as you. You Hachan’s girlfriend or something?”
“AHHHHH! No, I mean no offence Hachi’s great and all, but I’m way too young to get married” Camie screams and blusters
“That’s not what girlfriend means” Papagu sighs
“I’m married at 16” Vivi points out
“Camie’s an employee, at least for now, at my octopus fritter stand/ship” Hachi explains, sparing Camie the embarrassment
“That’s no fun. Speaking of… oh you already started”
“Luffy stop raiding the fridge she’s gonna rip you off!” Chopper screams, but stops when Shakky laughs
“It’s fine, take what you like, I might even have something you like too little guy” she smiles and hands him a stick of cotton candy, Chopper’s eyes shine and he dives in “Happy you like it, that’ll be 100,000 beris”
“sh*t she’s a 50 year old Nami” Valentina swears under her breath, glad only Luffy and Brook lacked the self restraint to start raiding the woman’s fridge
“I’m kidding little man, I’d never charge friends of Hatchan, and I’d certainly never rid them off” Shakky assures the now shaking reindeer boy
“How did you know that was Chopper’s favourite food lady?” Luffy asks, mouth full of meat
“I know a lot of things Monkey D. Luffy” Shakky smirks as she steps behind her counter “I may not be a pirate any more, but I keep myself pretty up to date on current events”
“So does Kaos, has a bounty binder in his coat” Luffy nods
“So I’m aware of well most of your crew, didn’t know about the skeleton though, that surprised me”
“Oh, my apologies, my name is Comic Brook, but most people know me as the skeleton yes”
Shakky blinks “Comic, like Sans and Century?”
“I’m familiar with one of those names, and given it’s been over 50 years, it’s highly possible” Brook nods
“We met Century at that race thing, right? Where Kaya got her Devil fruit?” Luffy recalls
“Probably, he’s part of the Smile pirates. I believe they’re currently on the archipelago themselves too at the moment” Shakky hums
“You are quite a lovely and well connected woman. By the way, what colour are your panties?”
“Inappropriate!” Papagu shouts
“What makes you think I’m wearing any?” Shakky winks, causing Brook to somehow get a nosebleed and Camie to faint “By the way, I read an article about you guys recently, the Enies Lobby incident. How much of it is true, did you really pick a fight with the World Government?”
“Technically yes” Vivi answers, more or less talking over Luffy complaining about the topic being boring “They had one of our crew and the only way to get her back was to fight them”
“Interesting, I’d hoped you guys weren’t just bored and stupid” Shakky chuckles (ignoring Victor’s joke about that solely being Kaos and Luffy respectively) “By the way Luffy, you wouldn’t happen to be related to the Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, would you?”
“Yep, he’s my grandad, why?” Luffy asks in confusion
“Small world, he used to chase he all over the sea back in the day” Shakky says with a lazy grin
“Hm?”
“Shakky used to be a big shot pirate, don’t you listen Straw Hat” Hachi sighs
“Really, that’s awesome!” Luffy cheers
“Yeah but I gave up that life 40 years ago, these days I just cheer on rookies like you guys Straw Hat” she says with a wink
“40 years, how old are you lady?” Luffy asks before both of his girls head slap him into the table
“Old enough” she replies unhelpfully
“Yeah, speaking of rookies…” Hachi begins
“You don’t need to tell me I already know. You and Camie got up on the land and led these lovely newbies here, so Straw Hat could get his ship coated, that sound about right?”
“Pretty much. Kaos and Robin would like you, you’re really smart. Sigh, why did they have to go shopping with Nami?” Luffy groans
“Long story short, you have a coat job for Releigh, right Hachan?” Shakky asks
“Yeah, so is he available?” Hachi asks
“I’d love to send you to him, but he’s not here at the moment, though I can at least assure you he’s still on the archipelago. You’re welcome to go look for him if you want, I’d check the local bars and gambling houses” Shakky suggests
“Sounds boring and tedious, wouldn’t it be easier to just wait for him here?” Luffy asks
“Well you could, but given he’s been gone about half a year you might be waiting a while” Shakky argues, ducking under Brook’s spit take.
“Half a year!”
“Yeah he’s probably drunk with some hussy, can’t say I blame him, there's some good tail here and it’s common for people like him. Old Ex pirates get wander lust when they stay in one place for too long you get me?” Shakky hums
“Wait, this Reighleh guy’s a former pirate too?” Luffy repeats
“Yeah used to be a big shot too, but then he got old” Shakky answers, a smile more at home on Robin’s face present as she takes a drag of her cigarette
“That’s, unfortunate. If we’re to locate this man, might you be able to narrow our search area?” Brook asks
“Yeah, he tends to hang around anywhere between groves 1 and 29”
“Hm, that sounds familiar” Chopper mutters, then freezes
“So he could be out back and we wouldn’t know?” Valentina asks, only mildly sarcastically
“Maybe, except he’s not, I checked this morning”
“You want us to search the lawless area for some old guy!” Chopper shouts in a panic
“Eh if he’s as much a bigshot as Shakky claims he probably does so, so he can get into fights, and win most of the time” Alvida guesses, making the older pirate chuckle
“Partially true, the other is that he’s quite notorious, even after 20 years of relative silence, he can’t relax if there’s a chance he’ll run into the marines so tends to stay where they’re unlikely to cross paths. On the other hand, if 1-29 doesn’t work, check the Park he likes it there, enough to stomach the relatively heavy marine prescience”
“The Amusem*nt Park, that’s where we were going to go later anyway, might as well start there” Luffy grins
“Quite, though I recommend at least some level of discretion. According to my contacts, there are a lot of heavy hitters currently in the region, and with your arrival that makes 12 pirates with a bounty of higher than 100,000,000 berri on the archipelago”
“Oh my”
“12 people with bounties that high” Chopper squeaks
“Yep, taking away Straw Hat, Mirror Master and Roronoa, that leaves 9, more if the Smiles really ARE still on the groves and haven’t moved on, but they’re New World pirates so the whole crew are on that level” she chuckles “You started your journey across the Grand Line with a Log pose heading and followed one of the 7 paths to your current destination correct?” Luffy nods, the statement being more or less accurate “Well, these pirates took the other 6 paths, and went through adventures just as perilous as yours were, to reach the convergence point of Paradise, the Red Line once more, and everyone lands on in Sabaody in the hopes of getting past that huge wall. It’s incredible that the best rookies all managed to show up at more or less the same time though, fate is funny like that.”
“So notorious a lot you are this year too, at the top there’s you, Kaos, Kid, Hawkins, Drake and Law (Basically all the ones with 200 or more). I’m sure you’ve seen those names in the newspapers alongside your own?”
“Nope, Nami, Kaos and Robin might have but they’re not here at the moment” Luffy admits
“Delegation is good, but information like this should be known to the entire crew, you should all at least know the names and faces of your greatest rivals” Shakky smirks “And those are just the biggest of the bunch, with Luffy here being no. 2”
“Wait, someone’s on this island with a higher bounty than Luffy? How? We got the World Government to level Enise Lobby to get those bounties!” Alvida asks, her brain glitching at the idea for a moment
“Capone ‘Gang’ Bege, current Bounty 138 million
Jewelry Bonney, epitat ‘The Glutton’ Bounty 140 million
Basil Hawkins ‘The Magician’ Bounty 249 million
‘The SeaRoar’ Scratchman Apoo, Bounty 198 million
Eustass ‘Captain’ Kid, Bounty 345 million
‘Red Flag’ X Drake, Bounty 222 million
‘Mad Monk’ Urouge Bounty 180 million
The ‘Massacre Soldier’ Killer, Kid’s 2nd in command, Bounty 162 million
‘Surgeon of Death’ Trafalgar Law, Bounty 200 million” Shakky lists off, watching in amusem*nt as the colour drains from some of the straw hats faces “As you know, countless pirate crews set off for and enter the Grand Line, but only a handful make it even this far. The Grand Line is a gauntlet tournament, you could even say just getting this far shows how skilled you and your crew really are, I’d even wager one of the rookies here today will be the face of the new generation. Either way, with so many strong rookies crossing through at the same time, things are going to get messy, if not here then certainly in the New World. Oh, and as your friend already asked, there’s a reason Kid is higher than you, bounty wise, it’s because he has no qualms attacking innocent civilians, raising his danger level and threat in the eyes of the navy, not a charming fellow as you can tell. I much prefer you kids, you have my support from here on out, I’ll be cheering for you all to succeed”
“Thanks Shakky, but I’ll be honest with you, I’m just trying to have fun” Luffy admits, flashing a D grin which sends a shiver down her spine “But, you are making me worry about the old coating mechanic guy, this town sounds pretty rough, now so more than ever”
Shakky chuckles “Oh I wouldn’t worry about Raleigh, believe me he’s 100 times stronger than you or any of those punks out there”
“Did she say 100 times stronger than Luffy?” Chopper whimpers
A little later
“Just a heads up, I’m pretty sure the Navy’s figured out by now that all you heavy hitters have arrived in the Archipelago, so keep an eye out for trouble ok?” Shakky says as the group get back on their bubbles
“That sounds bad, you’re saying they could come from anywhere and capture us?” Brook asks
“Probably not until we leave the lawless area though” Valentina argues
“Pretty much, but due to the sheer number of other big names along with the usual riff raff of the area Headquarters probably has its hands full, so just don’t give them a reason to focus on and capture you, then you should be fine” she assures them
“K. We’ll see you when we’ve found the coating guy” Luffy says as he turns his bike, waving back at her and pedalling down the hill, Hachi following close behind
“If you find him” Shakky says ominously, though the crew were too far away to actually hear her
Grove 30
“You there!” the marine jumps hearing someone yell, cursing under his breath as he sees the familar space suits of a Celestial Dragon, though oddly enough this one was without a security detail “You will deal with this incident at once. My daughter tripped walking down one of your streets and shattered her helmet, you WILL replace it, as well as sterilize her immediately!” the man orders
“Papa this man looks mean, just kill him already” Artemis whiles in what any of Luffy’s group would call a passable imitation of Shalria “Also I don’t wanna bubble, they’re stupid and the air smells the same as it does back home” she huffs
“Most poisons are colourless and or oderless child, I pray you don’t ever need to know that” the man, long purple hair covering half the ashen white skin of his face says coldly
“I, I hope you’re not accusing anyone in Sabaody of trying to kill you” the marine asks nervously, getting a handwave
“Of course not, merely using a metaphor to prove my point. Dear Saint Artemis is just going through her rebellious stage, I hope she won’t cause you too much trouble” he says to the person behind him, the marine noting a metallic cord or material going from her waist to the man’s wrist
“I doubt it, but I will work around her tantrums if necessary” Robin replies with a bowed head
“Good. Now about the protective headgear…”
“Of course Sir, um, does your companion require one aswell?” he asks, unable to make out much of her features with the position behind the man and her head bowed
The dragon seemed to ponder the idea “Probably for the best, wouldn’t want one of my travel companions to get the wrong idea and try to claim her for myself. My daughter required a tutor and when the ‘work office’ told me this one had been brought it I decided I must collect her personally, the good ones are always f*cked stupid by the time the auction starts in my experience” he chuckles along with the 2 beside him, the marine freezing when he see’s Robin’s face
“That’s…”
“My daughter’s new tutor, I’ve already gone over this”
“I don’t want a stuffy teacher, you promised me a MAMA!” Artemis screams, stomping her feet and waving her arms like she’s trying to fly, the marine steps back while Kaos and Robin watch her act out, trying to hide their amusem*nt behind parental disapproval
Kaos sighs “Are you good with children my dear?” he asks, Robin blinks as this was going off script
“I’ve never had a problem with children, they seem to like me well enough. I think I must have a gentle aura or something” she giggles
“Great, Artemis darling miss Robin is your new nanny for the forseeable future, and we’ll where things go from there”
Artemis huffs, crossing her arms “That’ll do I suppose. Let’s get this stupid bubble on my head already” she sniffs, nose turned up to the air
“Um, I suppose you’ll also be requiring a colla…” even through the shades the lieutenant freezes from the steely glare he was sent
“Nothing of the sort. For one the capture weapon, developed by Dr. VegaPunk himself is a much more effective method of restraint, any attempts to free themselves is felt the moment they try and ensures compliance much easier than something so barbaric as a bomb collar” he flicks his wrist and the scarf pulls Robin closer, his long fingers gripping her hair near her scalp “We wouldn’t want to risk damaging that lovely brain of your my dear” he purrs, Robin shivers, though only the marine thinks it’s fear as she catches a glimpse of a forked tongue flick past his teeth “But I suppose a choker of some sort would be a reasonable substitute, maybe with the clan crest on it or something, so she can point to it if someone gets any bright ideas” the marine hurries away to get the required materials, the family giggling to themselves once he’s out of sight, Nami facepalming a safe distance away
‘It’s like they HAVE a deathwish or something’
Sabaody Park, With Luffy and Company
“We’re here, and it looks so cool!” Luffy cheers as the amusem*nt centre comes into view
“Remember why we’re hear Straw Hat” Papagu nags, the others tuning him out as continues to complain
“Yeah, Shakky said the coating guy would be here so we should look for him here” Luffy more or less repeats
“Only if he wasn’t in the lawless area” Papagu argues
“Then you can check there, while we check here” Alvida huffs
“Oh my God it’s the Ferrel Wheel! I’ve never seen it this close before” Camie swoons
“Don’t even think about it, I forbid you…” Papagu starts scolding Camie until Brook gets bored and walks away with him
“The sign says no pets, and you even introduced yourself as Camie’s pet, plus as your owner she’s the one in charge, remember that” the skeleton reminds him then follows the others into the Park, ignoring whatever was being yelled at him as he walked away.
He promptly regretted following them in, as he kept getting tricked by the others (mostly Luffy and Valentina) into getting on rides that seemed gentle and sedate, only for them to immediately hit the nitro with no warning whatsoever, such as the roller coaster and the Drop. Conversely Camie was loving all the high energy rides, and even Papagu had loosened up once he managed to catch up with the pirates. While her tastes in rides leaned more to Brook’s quieter/ smoother rides than her adrenaline junkie partners, Vivi was more than happy to use them as an excuse to latch onto Luffy like a cute blue limpet and laugh/scream along with the rest of them.
Their eagerness and need for speed did cause them to break a few of the spinning teacups, but honestly for a Straw Hat visit collateral damage was oddly low.
The ferris wheel was everything Camie dreamed it would be, though she did worry the others when she started to cry, luckily she was able to very quickly assure them that they were ‘happy tears’ caused by being somewhere she’d wanted to be her entire life.
Of course things didn’t all go the Straw Hat’s way, as seen by some creeper in a bear costume making his way towards Camie, silently staring at the mermaid with cold dead eyes.
Grove 24
“High Priest Uroge, look over there” a large man with what looks like a pillar hefted over his shoulder turns in the direction his subordinate pointed
“Hm? My my, what a sight. A Celestial Dragon in these parts, pretty ballsy, or just plain stupid to come to the lawless area without even an escort, never mind some kind of security” the Mad Monk notes, referring to a dumpy, dimwitted looking man riding an emaciated man like a horse, 2 women in harem-esque clothing following attached to chains, while a man in a suit and 3 men in armour follow at the snails pace his ‘mount’ was going “i don’t like it, but our only option is to kneel and let him pass, we don’t need the kind of heat pissing one of them off would bring”
“Hn, Father and Shalria let me, and in this sh*thole of a grove” the man snorts “Where did they wander off to this time?” he wonders aloud
“Well we may not know where they are, but we know where they’re going to end up, so don’t worry, we’ll simply meet up with them there” the suited man assures his charge
Charlos sneers and lashes out, kicking his ‘mount’ repeatedly in the back of the head “This is all your fault, you’re slow as a turtle you can’t even crawl right, imbecile!” he shouts, then sees something and jumps off the man’s back, panting from the exercise “You there, why are you moving, you should be still and bowing?” he asks/demands of the 3 people now in front of him
“I’m sorry good sir please overlook this accident. This man is critically injured and we need to get him into the hospital for immediate treatment. It’s right there to your right
“I see, this is very bad. In that case you must be swift… and put him out of his misery!” Charlos yells as he kicks the man out of the stretcher
“Please have mercy” the nurse begs
“Well, I knew the nobles were selfish assholes, but he must be trying to win an award or something” Urouge chuckles to himself
“Tell me, what’s more important, showing me respect or the life of some commoner” Charlos asks in a nasally tone, snorting loudly
“Every commoner owes their existence to the Celestial Dragons” suit man states, ever the bootlicker
“I want this one, she’s my new wife now” Charlos decides, finding he liked the look of the nurse, especially on her knees
“Very good sir, I’ll arrange the paperwork to have her sent to Mariejois as your 13th wife” asskisser bows in agreement
“Also Wives 1-5 bore me now, have them sent back down” Charlos adds
“Of course Sir”
“You can’t do this”
“Keep your hands off her she’s my fianc…” a man starts to argue, only for Charlos to shoot him
“Who said you could speak to me, commoners like you are only good on your knees”
“Oh God, you shot him, you murderer! Someone please help us, he’s going to die, please someone!” the woman cries, twitching when Charlos’s fat head enters her personal space
“What’s this, you’d have these insects stand against me?” he asks mockingly, as one lost idiot strolls down the street “Take he to the harbour for me, I’ve other business to deal with” he orders, not seeing Zoro until he turns and sees the swordsman not bowing as if the sun shone out of his ass
“Something wrong, you need directions or something?” Zoro asks, the irony lost on him and nobody who knew him was around to hear the question
Charlos’s brain couldn't comprehend what he was seeing, so shot first, Zoro dodging both strikes, but just before he could cut the bastard down where he stood… he was flying tackled by a little girl with pink hair.
“Big Brother, why’d you have to die” Bonnie cries ‘weeping’ over Zoro’s ‘corpse’ “The anchor to the head couldn’t have messed your brain up this bad, why’d you have to do something that stupid? Now I’m alone in the world!” she bawls, clutching at his shirt as Charlos stares blankly at the scene “Just stay still and act dead tough guy” she whispers when Zoro opens an eye to see what the hell was going on, complying only because he had a feeling this kid had some sort of plan (and if not he still had all 3 swords to cut the dumbass apart like he’d originally planned)
“Huh, I guess I did shoot him, was sure he dodged at the last second but oh well, this common air must be making me hallucinate” Charlos shrugs and gets back on his ride like nothing happened
“Ok he’s gone, want to explain to me what the f*ck that was all about now?” Zoro asks, wiping the tomato sauce off his face
“You idiot I just saved your life, as well as the rest of ours. What were you thinking attacking a Celestial Dragon like that, it would have led to an Admiral being dropped on our heads!” Bonnie shouts, then notices Zoro had stopped caring “Hello?”
“Do you know where the nearest hospital is?” he asks, hefting the man from before onto his shoulder
“Hospital? But you’re not injured”
“But this guy is, that fat*ss just shot him, are you blind as well as retarded or something?” Zoro asks, starting to get annoyed himself
“Forget him he’s a total stranger” Bonnie scoffs, then blinks as Zoro shoves past her looking for the hospital “You’ve got to be kidding me” she groans “A pirate helping some random guy, never seen that before”
“Those Straw hats are quite the surprise aren’t they?” the turns and sees a girl with pink curls under a lighter pink beret and a scepter on her back “I didn’t get to meet them last time my crew crossed paths but they’re as wild as as the Captain says” he laughs, hand covering her mouth, her high heels clicking against each other as he steps back “I better tell the others, they wanna meet the D’s” then runs off with surprising grace considering the high heels they were wearing at the time
“Was that, Forrest of the Smile pirates?” Bonnie gasps “What are they doing here?”
TBC
LW: Not quite the calm before the storm, but nothing too big happened this time, we just saw how bad things can be on this island chain :(
For the record, I don’t know where the idea of Kaos, Artemis and Robin (technically) posing as World Nobles came from, but I did it anyway for fun, and because the little Demon Family were bored and would have done something stupid regardless.
Also yes I did bump Kid’s bounty up a little, but Luffy’s was higher in this universe, so to restore balance he got the same 30 thousand boost Luffy did.
Chapter 105: The auction and the PUNCH!
Chapter Text
LW: You all know why you’re here, don’t even try to lie ;P
Rubber King and Mirror Master - The Auction, and the PUNCH
Thousand Sunny
“You’ll never guess what I saw when I went into town, these weird bubble bicycle things, seemed pretty cool if you asked me” Sanji recalls, sitting with Franky, Ussop and Kaya on the deck with tea.
“Yeah I saw a few of them too, we should buy a few while we’re here” Usopp suggests
“I bet something like that’s a real smooth ride” Franky guesses, sipping his tea
Pura pura pura, pura pura pura
“Hm, the snail? Give me a minute” Kaya stands and goes to the Den Den “Hello, Thousand Sunny, who is this?”
“Kaya! Chopper screams “We had a huge problem, and now we don’t know what to do, WHAA!”
“Ok, maybe calm down and tell me what happened” Kaya suggests, worried about the Doctor
“Something wrong Kaya?” Usopp asks, peeking in the door
“Camie’s been kidnapped!” Chopper shouts, getting the entire ship’s attention
“WHAT?!”
“The people here, there are a lot of kidnappers and slave traders, apparently Fishmen and merfolk fetch a lot. Camie’s about to be sold as a slave and it’s all our fault” Chopper weeps “There are loads of human shops on these islands, there’s no way to tell which one she’s at and when she’ll be sold. We don’t even know WHO kidnapped her, this place is gigantic and we only looked away for a couple minutes to get us all icecream. We need to split up…”
“Don’t move, tell we exactly where you are” Sanji orders, having taken the transmitter from Chopper
“What, but why?”
“Because we know some people who can help us, so there’s no need to run off in random directions. I’ll be right there, after I’m finished calling the flying fish riders” Sanji explains, surprising everyone within earshot.
Later
“You did give them the right number right?” Usopp asks as Sanji puts out and fishes for another cigarette from his pocket
“Of course I…”
“YOung Master! Handsome’s here, I mean Duval is here. How are you today Master Blackleg?” Duval asks upon arriving along with his entire gang
“Pissed off that you took so long!” Sanji shouts then sighs deeply “It’s our mermaid friend, she was just kidnapped in Sabaody Park before I rang you, we need help to find her” he explains
“Kidnappers, such scoundrels” Duval gasps
“You were a kidnapper this morning, it’s kind of how we met” Usopp grumbles
“They say the best way to catch a thief is with a thief, so can you help us?” Franky asks, currently the most level headed of the group
“Of course Sir, we shall do our very best to serve you” Duval promises, bowing shallowly, his men follow suit
“Can we trust them?” Usopp asks the others
“But of course you can, I’m indebted to you, plus it’s no trouble at all, we just need to find your mermaid friend before she gets sold correct?”
“That’s the plan, yes” Sanji nods “Since you’re basically a local we figured you’d be better at finding the place than we would, or even just at navigating the islands better than we can”
Duval laughs “But of course, Sabaody is practically our backyard, we know all it’s secrets, you won’t find a better tour guide than us”
“Hop on” One of the other riders orders, each straw hat finding a fish to stand on
“So, how do you plan to find her?” Sanji asks, getting on the back of Duval’s beast
“Like your friend said we’ve played the game before, I’m already running through my mental list of former associates for someone who’d deal with a high end product like a mermaid” Duval explains, setting off through the water “First though, we’ll pick up the rest of your crew along the way so everyone is available to help with the search, you said most of them were at Sabaody Park?”
“Yeah, but apparently Nami, Kaos, Robin and Artemis are off somewhere else shoping or exploring, and who the hell ever knows where Zoro is” Franky confirms, then sighs
Elsewhere
Pfff
“Oh god that tastes horrible” Artemis grimaces
“I’m sorry this is the same sanitising equipment as used when you come down” the poor officer fidgets
“Yeah, but they warn us before squirting me in the face, who just walks up to someone and does that?” the red head whines, spitting in his general direction and looking grumpy
“I could just kill him Sir, I have had some formal training from the Dark Brotherhood in my youth” Robin offers, crossing her arms across her chest
“I’m sure it was just nerves, he won’t do it again” Kaos assures her/threatens the man, who nods rapidly before continuing the process
“You seem to enjoy playing the bad guy, as much as Artemis is playing up the spoiled brat routine” Robin whispers as she watches the teen be fitted with a bubble helmet “Also I am curious, what is this crest, I’ve never seen it before?” she asks, referring to the 3 eyes engraved in the metal tag of her choker, 2 slit like serpents, with the 3rd sideways above the main 2.
[If I knew how to, I’d put a picture of the symbol right here. Sorry]
“It’s the Serpens clan crest, I only know it because I was left a ring with Mother’s personal effects, when Garp eventually gave them to me I mean. He said it was supposed to belong to the clan head, but she willed it to me so her sisters couldn’t have it” his tone was melancholy, and Robin frowns
“Apologies, though, you never mentioned having family besides Luffy, Ace and Garp” she notes
“Nothing much TO tell, I apparently have or had aunts at one point, multiple as Garp said them rather than her, but besides that, I don’t know a thing about them” he admits
“Look Papa, I’m a space alien!” Artemis giggles, now decked out and ready to go
“And yet, there are still no signs of intelligent life” Robin mutters, causing both of her companions to giggle as they leave for who knows where
Sabaody Park
“Damn it Luffy, why’d you have to rush off, though that is at least consistent for you” Chopper sighs, pacing just in front of the Den Den he’d used to call Sanji, during which Luffy and Hachi had rounded up the rest of the crew and run off, long before he could tell them to stay put. Unfortunately only Brook and Valentina were still here waiting with him, everyone else was off who knows where. Chopper had been stressing himself out until Brook pointed out that as they were going to be picked up by whoever Sanji sends over there wasn’t anything they could do about their current situation, so trying to remain calm as time passes would be best for all of them, so he managed after some effort to chill out.
Unfortunately Usopp wasn’t too happy to see them all calm and chill when they arrived in a rush to collect them, but they got on the fish and prepared for the next part of their journey, finding the others, as well as saving Camie.
Elsewhere
There were times Zoro was amused by Robin and Kaos’ Plan D: Kill everyone strategy, but listening to this supposed Doctor blather on about how they charge extra to treat slaves and how it was often just cheaper to let the old one die and buy a new one irritated him enough to consider upping it to Plan B. Slamming his sheathed Wado on the ground he snapped the doctor out of his speal “I don’t give a rats ass about any of this, this man is hurt can you help him or not?”
“Of course, right. Just this way sir, there should be a bed free in the room to your right” the Doctor mutters anxiously, Zoro nods and complies, setting the man down as gently as he could then getting out of the way so they could work.
“This whole place, is starting to piss me off, I’m heading back to the ship. Now to figure out which way is Grove 1 from here” the perpetually lost swordsman mutters, heading off aimlessly
A ‘human’ shop
SLAM
“I said don’t cause trouble” Hachi whines as the man’s head hits the desk, knocking him out “I just got Straw hat to settle down and you do this, are you trying to get us arrested?”
“He didn’t know anything, this way he can’t tattle to whoever does have her that we’re looking for her” Alvida responds with a shrug “Think the others are having any better luck?”
The next shop over
“I’m sorry lady but we don’t have any mermaids in stock”
“This is so unfair, Daddy said I could have one slave and while a Devil fruit user would be cool and all, you know mermaids are better, especially as it’s a proven fact they’re all super cute till at least they enter their 40’s” Vivi coos and winks, imitating the vapid cow she’d seen earlier in the day, Victor playing the roll of ‘bodyguard’ while she was in picking out a ‘birthday gift’, her 1st slave straight from market “Come on Walter, we’ll just have to go to a more prestigious work house, these low born dealers clearly have no eye for quality” she huffs, nose so high in the air the Bomber man was unsure if she could actually see where she was going (and was mentally preparing himself so as not to laugh if she crashed into something or someone while doing this), but she did manage to avoid walking into the wall so they were golden.
“Well, that was a failure” Victor sighs, flagging down the others who clearly had as much luck as they did
“Nothing?” Hachi asks
Vivi shakes her head “No mermaids at all, never mind the one we’re looking for. Hopefully it means Camie hasn’t been given to a dealer yet, as even a mermaid wouldn’t have been sold this quickly”
“I knew this was a bad idea, nothing good could come from undersea people being in this place” Papagu cries loudly
“Shut up, there’s nothing we can do about it now, all we can do is find and rescue Camie. That’s all that matters” Alvida growls, smacking the starfish with her mace
“You’re getting a lot of use out of that thing” Hachi mutters, partly to help keep his own spirits up, then sighs “Sorry about all this Straw Hat, I was trying to help but just made things more complicated and messy”
“Stop apologising, it doesn’t matter. You 3 are my friends now, and ask anyone on my crew, I would do anything to help a friend in need. So we’re not giving up on Camie, especially when there’s still a chance to save her!” Luffy declares
“Hey, straw hats!” everyone looks up, seeing a gang of the FishRiders heading this way
“Huh, guess they’re out backup for this job, well let’s get moving then” he laughs, wrapping his arms around his girls and spring jumping up to the riders, Hachi, Papagu and Victor jumping on when their remainders flew a little closer to the ground.
Somewhere else
“Nami, why are you on your own?” Franky asks, his rider having managed to find the navigator and her supplies, pedaling her bubble bike alone
She sighs deeply “Dumbass disguised himself as a World Noble and roped Robin and Artemis into his stupidity, he’s lucky she didn’t get a bomb collar put around her throat” Nami grits her teeth, wanting nothing more than to beat the mirror skinned bastard black and blue
“sh*t, guess we won’t be able to find them as they are, but not important right now. Camie’s been kidnapped, we’re regrouping and searching for her, so get on a fish, now!” th cyborg orders, deciding to worry about the Demon twins and Artemis later
Grove one - Human Auction House
“Why did you bring us here?” Robin asks, if the location didn’t disgust her she’d be amused Kaos had managed to create a male version of ‘Resting Bitch Face’ as they examined the area
“Because this is the worst place on the island, knowing the luck of our crew something bad is going to happen here and Luffy and the others will be right in the middle of it, we just got here early” he explains, thick blue rings puffing out of his pipe
“How can you smoke with a bubble on Papa?” Artemis asks
“How can you eat that ice cream with a bubble on kiddo?” he respond, the girl blinks, huffs and moves on, eyes widening as she sees someone changing the product list
“Mom, Dad, they’ve got a mermaid! Should we bid?” she asks, the message clear ‘Is this the big thing we’re here to screw up?’
“Maybe, let’s see if we can get a sneak peek at the merchandise” he smirks for a second, then they enter the building, this bow whenever a Dragon is nearby thing made getting around this place a lot easier that’s for sure
“Seems there are a lot of pirates in this place, I much prefer Luffy’s recruitment methods” Robin jokes, happy for the choker in a place like this, especially seeing some actual World Nobles entering the building a little behind them
“True, Kid I expected, he’s rough and tumble but practically a saint compared to this place, Trafalgar Law, and if I’m not mistaken ‘Deadshot’ Noire from the Dead End Race, those are more of a surprise” Kaos muses, chuckling to himself, Hebi no longer a capture scarf but a small dagger once more, lazily spinning between his fingers
“Anyone here we know besides Noire?” Artemis asks, curiously, not seeing anyone, but the polar bear mink did look kind of cool, he also looked to be here with Law rather than Kid so maybe he was friendly
“Afraid not, seems to just be run of the mill slave owners and scumbags, shame really, I’d hoped to get the fight over with sooner than later, the faster this place gets destroyed the less people leave this place in chains” Kaos hisses, Hebi’s dagger sparking off his reflective scales, then cut easily across his palm as his eyes widen “Oh, now that’s more interesting” he smirks “Want to have a look around my dear?” he asks, giving a secretive smile
“Am I going to like what I find?” Robin asks
“Was it that thing that felt like a full body shiver Papa?” Artemis asks
“Yes. Whatever that was, I doubt it was a member of staff, so keep an eye out for ‘interesting’ products”
Robin chuckles “Ok, now you’ve piqued my interest” her arms cross and Kaos watches as small hands with eyes bloom in succession, each extending Robin's field of vision and range of her fruit’s power by a reasonable amount, until he assumes one slips past a door. He was less a mused and more worried when Robin gasps and her eyes snap open “Camie’s here, she was taken by slavers and about to be sold” she states, fists clenched in her lap
“Well we’ll just have to keep our eyes peeled and either bullsh*t our way into buying her, or killing whoever does”
“Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived” a man proclaims from the stage “The monthly auction on Grove Number 1, and here comes everyone’s favourite MC: the walking Superbizzare himself: Mr Disco!”
“I don’t like this man, can you kill him Papa?” Artemis whines as an escaped mental patient walks on stage
“Artemis, you’re playing the world noble thing a little too well, behave yourself” Robin scolds “Also it would be safer for us if I kill him, your father is many things, but his subtlety is on par with the Captain at times”
“I mean you’re not wrong, but watching his fall to bits would be more fun” Kaos pouts then the trio quiet down as Disco finally starts talking
“Thank you everyone, as always we’ve collected the finest line up of slaves for all your wants and needs, I’d love it if everyone here gets to go home with their own slave, but there are so many of you I’ll have to make do with seeing those that do manage to win get to leave with the slave of their dreams. Now I believe that’s enough talk, let this month’s auction begin!”
“Anyone else have the urge to kill everyone in the room, or is that just me?” Robin asks, fists clenching in anger
“Not just you” the trio follow the voice to see a familiar snow haired archer in the seat in front of them “The disguises are nice, but you three are way too loud” Noire chuckles, winking at Robin, then turns back to the auction, just as the first human is sold.
“Hm, guess it’s a good thing all the non pirates in this building are retarded” Kaos laughs quietly
“Unfortunately accurate”
Elsewhere, location unknown (that bison is f*cking slow)
“Please tell me this isn’t what I think it is Duval?” Sanji asks, stress smoking 3 cigarettes as he peruses what looks to be a price list
“It is, that’s the basic bidding prices for most species throughout the world. Of course prices do fluctuate, a strong human would start higher and a sickly or frail giant less, but those are the averages”
“Humans start at 500,000, male Giants start at 50 million… holy crap female mermaids low ball at 75 million! f*ck!”
“You can see why those idiots from before were so intent on stealing Camie then” Duval shouts back “She’d fetch a pretty penny… for whatever slaver sold her and 3 fishmen at auction that day. Once they’re bought they tend to lose all freedom, moping around a cramped fish tank for however long they keep up the will to live. Shame really, if you’re going to invest that much money, even on essentially a pretty thing to impress your friends with or gawk at, at least give her a pool or something” the man mutters to himself
“Then shut up and step on the accelerator damn it!” Sanji shouts, hitting Duval with the price list as he does
With the others
“Grove 20’s shops are clean, no news about a mermaid for weeks”
“Same here, whoever took her isn’t looking for a quick buck it seems”
“The last shop just had humans, doesn’t even stock the ‘exotics’ as he called them, just reliable humans”
“Guys!” Ussop’s cry comes through the Den Dens “We found a lead on Camie!”
“You did, what did you hear?” Luffy asks
“We ran into a slaver who managed to catch a giant, seemed pretty pleased with himself, only for Peterman to show up with a mermaid and show him up. His words not mine. Camie’s at the Auction House on Grove 1” the sniper explains
“Why am I not surprised the biggest auction house is in the centre of the Lawless region?” Vivi laughs bitterly
“Because not all criminals are morons, putting the shady sh*t where the Marines never go is common sense. Honestly surprised they aren’t doing it in the light district though, this sh*t is legal in Sabaody, apparently” Alvida scoffs
“All units converge on Grove 1, and someone find us the auction schedule for this quarter!” Duval orders
“It started about 30 minutes ago, given she’s a last second entry she won’t be on the docket, but you know mermaids, she’ll be a big payoff so Disco will want her to be his end piece, mostly because anything that follows her would be a disappointment”
“Ok, but can we even make it there in time with this snail of a buffalo?” Sanji grunts
“But of course. Did you by any chance see me change direction since we heard where Camie was taken to, even a little?” Duval asks, seemingly at random
Sanji blinks “Actually, no, you’re still plodding along as if nothing happened. Why is that?”
“I’m the boss for a reason Mr. Blackleg, I’ve been steering Motoballa towards Grove 1 from the very beginning. Like I said Mermaids are a prize catch, so I wanted to be sure we had someone on the biggest game on the island. It feels so good to be right” he smirks just as the Auction House comes into view. He was almost first too, except Chopper’s ride got in just before them.
“We made it, now to rescue Camie!” Hatchan shouts once most of the group convenes and disembarked, Sanji running ahead as usually happens when women are involved, the others following a little behind
“What do you mean you can’t give her back? Listen punk I don’t care how things work around her you can’t just sell Camie!” the cook shouts
“You’re the one who’s in the wrong boy, everything here is above board and legal, now run along, any more harassment and we’ll have to sue you for Obstruction of Business” the goon threatens
“If that were true you’d set up your dog and pony show in one of the higher numbered groves, not the dead centre of the Lawless zone” Vivi argues
“She’s right, slavery is pretty much banned the world over, meaning lawless zone on not, you’re clearly pulling something with higher ups in order to keep the doors open” Nami scowls
“Such a rude girl, but she’s not entirely wrong” the man chuckles, even when Sanji grabs his shirt, clearly intending to beat the compliance into him “I mean whenever the Government or the Navy come around these parts they can’t seem to hear the words ‘human trafficking’ it’s almost like they don’t know we’re selling people at all” he laughs
“Just like the moron parade, everyone on this island has their head so far up their own ass they don’t see clear and blatant crap like this even when pointed out to them” Alvida sneers, about ready to turn this smug prick into a bloody pulp
“Even if they look away what you’re doing is still wrong”
‘Akatski should have torched this place years ago’
“That’s just the way things work around here, so accept it, and move along” the man states, looking even more arrogant and smug than he did a moment ago “Please don’t make me have to call secur…”
“I have an idea, let’s go around the bellhop and just rescue the damn mermaid already” Franky groans, then opens up Weapons Left and aims it at the wall, only for Hachi to get in his way
“You can’t do that, there are Celestial Dragons in there!” the octopus shouts
“Yeah, that stupid brat from earlier, that guy parked outside the front door is her dad’s right?” Alvida asks, pointing to the giant(?) glaring at them
“Not to mention if they’ve already started the auction they’ve definitely collared Camie by now”
“sh*t, we don’t know how to get those off without them blowing up” Valentina grimaces
“Even when they explode they still don’t come off” Victor corrects
“Guys, we do have one more option” Nami says, her tone flat and cold
“What’s that, besides beating this bastard black and blue?” Sanji asks, looking confused when the red head points to Vivi, who groans while Victor chuckles
“Putting that noble bloodline to good use Ms Dragon” Valentian teases
“Actually it’s Miss Monkey, Dragon is my father in law” the bluenette fires back, putting on a haughty tone “Yeah, really regretting waking up this morning” she groans “but we have to move it. Also you have permission to knock him out” Sanji looks like Christmas came early as he kicks the guy into the wall hard enough he’s out cold before he hits the ground “That’ll do I guess” she mutters as the Straw Hat’s enter the auction house.
“Hm, seems some of the others have arrived, minus Luffy of course, and a few others” Kaos muses, peering over Robin’s head to the group entering the building
“So the bad things are about to happen, well besides everything we’ve just sat through” Artemis asks
“Yes dear, the crew are about to cause another Incident” Robin agrees
“They’re really gonna do that to Camie?” Papagu whimpers, watching the humans being paraded out and sold
“We’re not going to let them, we’re doing this legally-ish, for once” Nami whispers
“How?”
“Simple. We’ve got a lot of treasure on the Sunny, probably about 200 million beris after Thriller Bark, think that could buy us a mermaid?”
“It’s enough to at least start the bid, who knows if it’ll be enough to actually buy her” Sanji grumbles, having been the only one of their group to see the price list
“Yeah, but there’s no way I can pay you back for all this” Hachi retorts in a panic
“Why would you, are you Camie’s legal guardian or something?” Hachi shakes his head “Then don’t worry about it. Camie’s our friend, and Vivi here is our ticket to getting this to look as above board as possible, though now we’re in here I can see I didn’t actually have to plan for that, there are actually several pirates here out in the open” Nami adds, rubbing the back of her head
“Eh, a noble buying a mermaid still looks less suspicious than pirates” Vivi shrugs “Plus, Camie’s a cutie, I’d at least want a kiss for freeing her if I wasn’t already taken”
“I’m sure she’d go all the way if you dropped 200 mill just for her” Alvida purrs in her ear, laughing as the princess shivers, then giggles “And the corruption from princess to pirate is complete”
The mood drops once more as another Celestial Dragon enters the building, just as rude and agressive as the others they’d seen today “Must be our luck, so many World Nobles all in one place” Nami mutters
“At least we know we’re probably in the right place! Valentina argues “These guys wouldn’t go just anywhere for slaves, only the best for their spoiled little brats”
“What I really want is a mermaid, I do hope they have one this time” the man grunts, picking his nose through his bubble (Seriously how do those things work?), and being side glared by the assembled Straw Hats
“Merfolk are notoriously difficult to capture, I feel you shall leave this place disappointed once more” Kissass states flatly, just as one of the staff rush over, dropping to his knees before he reaches them
“Saint Charlos, what a surprise” he yelps
“I suppose it is, now take me to my seat” Charlos demands, following the fearful clerk, oblivious to the disgust and hate aimed at him from the pirates, and probably reveling in the fear from the rest of the room
‘And to think, Morgie could have been one of those weak punks’
“Seems there was going to be an incident even without our involvement” Robin muses as the next item, a pirate ‘Captain’ decides ‘f*ck it’ and bites off his tongue in an attempt to end his life on stage, causing a commotion and leading Disco to have to draw the curtains while they cleared up the mess.
“True, but he’ll work through this little set back and keep going, he has a mermaid to sell after all” Kaos sneers, and he was right
“I’m sorry everyone, our last item, was so nervous to see you all, he collapsed from a nosebleed. The Doc will be checking him over, maybe give him something for his nerves and his auction will be postponed for the moment” Disco bullsh*ts once the curtains reopen#
“A nosebleed, these people can’t be that stupid, can they?” Chopper wonders aloud
“Seems they are” Victor hums, then freezes as the next item is dragged on stage… Camie in a large fishtank, chain tethering her neck to the opening at the top “f*ck!”
“Luckily I have a real show stopper for you next, a sought after item that I’m sure is on everyone’s wish list, bring her out!” Disco shouts, a tarp covered, something was wheeled out to a drum roll “But this is such a rare product we can’t just ruin the moment with a lame reveal, so let’s do it piece by piece. First a silhouette” he says as back lighting revealed a distinctly aquatic humanoid figure “Did that wet your apatites, well prepare, to feast your eyes on this!” Disco grabs the tarp and rips it off the tank, exposing Camie to the entire arena “All the way from Fishman Island, a real genuine mermaid, I present for your bidding pleasure: Camie!”
“We have to do something!” Hachi nearly shouts but this time Alvida covers his mouth
“We know, but 200 million, that should let us outbid most of these punks. Camie will be back in your care by the end of the day” the Smooth woman assures him, the octopus annoyed, but trusted the Straw Hats
“Now I can see you’re all impressed and intrigued, this is the first mermaid we’ve had in this place in a while, so let’s see where the bidding will begin” Disco announces, banging his gavel
‘Whatever they bid we’ll top it’ Nami assures herself, fist clenched around her number card
“85….”
“500 Million!” Charlos bellows as he stands up, shocking everyone “I bid 500 million for the mermaid!”
‘f*ck!’
“Yeah…. I can’t bullsh*t my way to a higher bid than that, 300 was probably going to be my highest otherwise Nami would hang me for spending all my and her money” Kaos sighs deeply, wishing it had been ANYONE besides the Celestial Dragon who won her
“Ah, everyone seems to be at a loss for words, but I’ll follow protocol and ask all the same. Do I have any counter offers to Saint Charlos’ 500 million? Going once, going twice…”
“This can’t be happening, I’ll have to rescue her by force” Hachi growls, all of his fists cracking as they tense up
“Hachi, I know it’s not my usual game, but stay calm, or at least don’t bum rush a dragon in such a crowded setting” Alvida hisses
“Sold to the benevolent World Noble, Saint Charlos”
BOOM
“Dad, I think Uncle Luffy owes the dead man a new door” Artemis deadpans, as a flying fish containing Luffy and Zoro crash into the building
“Sesese, very true, now might be the best time for a costume charge kiddo, go meet up with the others, I have something important that needs doing”
“Come back alive idiot” Robin whispers, as she and Artemis climb the seats in the commotion
“Who are those ruffians, and where did they come from” some noble looking guy asks
“Again with the ruffians, is it taped to our backs or something?” Nami mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose as Valentina chuckles
“Camie? Camie!” Luffy cheers “I’ve been looking for you everywhere” he shouts, rushing down the stairs, only to get tackled by Hachi “What’s the big idea?”
“Idiot, look before you act! Camie’s rigged with one of those Slave collars, she’d never survive if it went off” the octopus scolds, causing the pirate to slow but not yet stop “Plus the celestial dragons are here, so don’t do anything rash”
“Too late” Alvida face palms then mutters “Wasn’t he literally about to do the exact same thing Luffy is a minute ago?”
“Guess you’re a better negotiator than we thought” Vivi jokes, mostly to avoid panicking
“Don’t care, they can all kiss my ass. Camie! I’m here to rescue you!”
“Stop being an idiot Straw Hat” Hachi shouts, grabbing the boy with all his arms… before remembering why he was hiding them in the first place as everyone promptly freaks the f*ck out and starts screaming or yelling obscenities at him, during which Luffy was able to just keep running, knocking off any of the goon who tried to capture and stop him.
BANG
Until someone f*cked up big time. Hachi tumbles down the stairs as Charlos shoots him, Camie watches in horror as the Straw hats freeze in shock.
“Hachi, are you…?” Papagu begins to ask, bouncing down the steps as he tries to check on his friend
“Hahahaha, I did it! I shot him! I took down a Fishman!” Charlos boasts, as usual oblivious to the emotional state of the room as he prances around “Look father I caught a fishman, I shot it and captured it all by myself, that means I can have it for free! Free, free, an octopus for me, I caught a fishman by myself” he sings badly, unaware of pain in his immediate future as Luffy turns and begins to slowly walk up the stairs
“Wait, straw hat” Hachi wheezes, latching onto his arm and leg as the boy steps around him “Don’t do this. It’s my fault, I’m the one who screwed up here. Remember your promise to me, you can’t defy a Celestial Dragon even if they kill someone” his breath was heavy and clearly pained “Once, I was a pirate, a criminal who ruined so many people’s lives, even your friend Nami’s life. This is my penance, just let it be” he coughs a little blood, which only adds to the amount dripping from his shirt “I’m sorry about all this, I just wanted to do what I could to make amends with Nami. And even if it wasn’t much, to be helpful to you and your crew, but I screwed that up too I guess” his grip loosens and Luffy turns so he could lay Hachi’s hands on his chest “I’m so sorry about all this, I just wanted Nami, to see how sorry I am, and that I’ve tried my best to change, to be better”
‘Oh Hachi’ Nami thinks, tears already running down her cheeks
“All I’ve ever done is cause trouble, I’m sorry! Forgive me!” Hachi cries
“THAT’s ENOUGH! Stop this annoying babbling fish, or I’ll shut you up for good!” Charlos demands, aiming his gun at Hachi only for Luffy to move to block him “How dare you, don’t look at me like that! I AM YOUR BETTER!”
“Straw hat don’t!” Papagu shouts as Luffy begins to walk up the steps with the speed and determination of a slasher movie monster, eyes locked onto the bastard who shot Hachi “You’re gonna get in big trouble if you do this”
“f*ck the promise, I don’t care what people say about or do to me, but nobody gets away with hurting my friends” Luffy says, not caring whether or not the statement was heard, it was still the truth in his eyes
“What’s the man doing, is he insane?”
“So that’s straw hat Luffy” Law muses
“Auntie was right, D’s are interesting” Noire grins widely, revealing crosshair shaped marks in her eyes
“Nothing to lose, turns out you were right Hebi-nin” Kaos smirks, dealing with the auction staff while all the attention was on Luffy.
“Now you’re annoying me too, and Daddy says anything I don’t like, I can destroy!” Charlos states, shooting at Luffy, though whether Luffy dodged or the man simply was a lousy shot....I really can’t tell. All that matters is he missed twice, giving Luffy the chance to get within 2 steps of him and…
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
...Deliver what would probably be considered the mother of all “I AM A MAN!” punches to the arseholes face, showing that his grandfather’s Fist didn’t skip him one bit as he sends me man right into the nearest wall.
TBC
LW: So, I’m gonna end that there, because I can’t top that for this chapter. Goodnight everyone, hope you enjoyed it
Chapter 106: Silvers Rayleigh, Right hand of the Pirate King
Chapter Text
LW: I got nothing smart to say or comment, here’s the Straw Hat crew trying to escape the mess Luffy just put them in. Enjoy
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Silvers Rayleigh, Right hand of the Pirate King
PUNCH!!!!
CRASH
“That pirate, he punched Saint Charlos” one of the guards gasps, everyone else struck dumb
Luffy cracks his knuckles then sets his hat back on his head “Sorry about that everyone, now I hit that lardarse a navy admiral will be on his way” he says with a tired shrug
“You beat me to it Captain, I’d have cut him down already but some pink haired brat stopped me” Zoro grumbles, sheathing Wado
“Hachi, stay with me we’re gonna get you to safety” Nami whispers, taking one of his hands in hers
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in?” Hachi wheezes/asks
“Yeah, and we don’t care” Alvida huffs “You mess with our friends you gotta take your lumps”
“Well, guess we’ve no other option than fighting” Franky hums
“While we’re at it, we need to get that slave collar off Camie so we can leave, otherwise it could go off at any minute” Vivi adds, fingers twitching with nerves
“I’ll treat Hachi, you guys help Camie” Chopper orders
“You scum, how dare you lay a hand on my son!” Saint Rosward bellows, unloading his rifle in Luffy’s direction, but clearly being a bad shot was genetic as Luffy didn’t even need to turn and acknowledge him when his fruit sent the bullets back…. Because they didn’t.
“They’ve angered the dragons!” One noble screams, causing a mass exodus from the auction house
“Our bloodline is descended from the very creators of this world, you will suffer for your blasphemy!”
“Oh shut up already!” Vivi screams, her wires slicing through the barrel of Rosward’s cane gun before Sanji kicked the remains away and then proceeds to kick the man in the chest for good measure “All I hear is ‘my family hasn’t done anything noteworthy in nearly 1000 years’ it’s pathetic. At least if I boasted like that I could claim I come from a long line of noble kings who have always done what was right for their people, all the way to my father Cobra” she sneers, the Celestial Dragons pissing her off something fierce.
“Complain about spoilt children later, fight now” Valentina whines, seeing the Auction staff and security charging for the straw hats, doing everything they can to keep them from Camie
Gum Gum Whip
Tatsu-Maki
Weapons Left
Fūton: Daitoppa
Thunderbolt Tempo
Frictionless Takedown
Clutch
Colour Trap: Freezing Fuschia
Of course they were dealing with the straw hats, so it’s not like they were going to be much more than a mild inconvenience, good attempt though
“You disgusting peasants continue to defy us, why can’t you just accept your fate and kneel!” Roswald growls
“Maybe cause fate is bullsh*t” Kaos answers the rhetorical question, the body of the guard he’d just ‘dealt with’ landing dangerously close to the 2 nobles, almost getting blood on their space suits “Or maybe because none of us give a f*ck what you inbred assholes think or want?”
“You!” Rosward yells, grabbing asskisser “Summon the Admiral and the warships, now!” he orders
“Cry to mommy, real brave there Mr Dragon sir” the reflect human muses
“Duck!”
36 Calibre Phoenix
“Your aim sucks, actually never mind, fish tanks' open” Kaos chuckles, turning on his heel and bouncing onto the stage
“Camie!” the mermaid looks up, now finally able to hear and be heard “Those creeps didn’t hurt you did they?” Hachi asks
“I’m fine, what about you, you’re the one who got shot by that fat guy” Camie whimpers
Hachi laughs, then coughs violently “You know me better than that Camie, it’ll take more than some dumb human with a gun to take me down. And now we’re here we can rescue you!” he cheers
“So the rumors were true, straw hat is crazy” Kid chuckles, getting a shrug from Killer
“You kids have gotten so much stronger since the Race” Noire mutters with a slasher smile “It makes me wish I had time to spar with you
Crash
“Oh I think I fractured my spine” Brook whines as he drops off one of the fish that flew through the roof to drop him off then left (because the rider had self preservation instincts, unlike the straw hats)
“Drink this” Kaya sighs, passing his a bottle of milk which he downs in under a minute
“Thank you my dear, I’d almost forgotten milk can patch me right up given I’m all bones” he chuckles then lightly burps
THUD
“That, didn’t hurt as much as I expected” Usop wonders aloud, having fallen from the roof of the auction house
“You brute, you’ve crushed father!” Shalria whines, meanwhile the sniper looks down at the unconscious man, gets off him and apologises, not that he could hear him, nor would he have cared
“These guys took out 2 Celestial dragons” a guard gasps
“And only one of them was on purpose” Alvida laughs
“Luffy, where’s Camie, did we find her?” Usopp asks in panic
“We found her, but we need to get the collar off her before we can leave” Luffy explains
“Preferably before the Navy get here” Nami adds
“Then I regret to inform you, they’re already here” the straw hats stop fighting for a moment to follow the voice
“Who are you?” Luffy asks, the man just gives a lazy smile “And what’s with the bear?” he adds, pointing of shy looking polar bear mink
“The navy has been here since before the auction officially began, clearly they’re looking for someone, though I doubt it’s your friend down there. I don’t know who exactly they’re looking for, but I doubt any of them expected someone to kick a Celestial Dragon’s ass while they were here too, bad timing I guess”
“It was entertaining, shame I was the only person to show up” Noire sighs, wondering if Forest and the Captain got lost again
“Trafalgar Law, nice to finally meet, and Deadshot Noire, fancy meeting you again here of all places. Luffy, they’re pirates like us”
“Really? Even the bear?”
“We have a reindeer, why’s the bear so strange to you?” Franky asks rhetorically
“Oh and before he thinks I’m ignoring him, the redhead at the back is Eustace ‘Captain’ Kid, another pirate crew” Robin snarks, giving a half smile at the pirate who laughs
“Wait, that’s the guy with a higher bounty than Luffy?” Brook asks nervously
‘Impressive, we had to declare War on the World Government for Luffy to get where he is today, so to get higher, takes a LOT of work’ Kaos thinks, eyes trained on the 3 Devil Fruit users, curious as to what they can do
“If this worthless fish is the cause of all this commission, I’ll just have to kill it” Shalria says, having during the pirate meet and greet acquired a step ladder, set it down beside Camie’s tank and used it to get a better shot with her pistol
“She’s not worthless!” Disco pleads “Saint Shalria please reconsider! At the very least pay for her first, then you can do whatever you like, I don’t care as long as she’s not mine when you do it”
“I’d really prefer you don’t kill the mermaid, especially while surrounded by people who will merc you if Camie is even injured never mind killed” Kaos argues, standing on the other side of the tank
“What did you…. Wait I know you, from before” Shalria tilts her head in confusion “Yes, you came to the Auction with a child and a whor*. I’ll take that big titted slu*t in exchange for your life, breaking bimbos like her is always, deeply satisfying” the noble purrs
Kaos’ eyebrows raise “You like to watch bitches gettin broken?” she nods “Hey Robin, is voyeurism on the kink list?” he shouts, confusing Shalria
“Only if blooming eyes around the room to watch you f*ck me from difference angles counts. We never got around to exebitionism either, the Sunny was always too busy” she responds, getting yelled ‘I didn’t need to know that!’ by Nami and Sanji, and a more amused ‘I did!’ from Valentina and Alvida
“Sorry, I’m in a committed relationship, so I’m afraid I can’t break your bimbo ass anytime soon” Kaos apologises as insincerely as physically possible, it was actually impressive “Not that you have one, watching Artemis get into one of those suits proves that things’ 90% padding” he smirks, watching the tick marks pop up across her forehead
“You worthless scum, I’ll end your pitiful existence then put this fish in the ground!” she screams, aiming for right between the researcher’s eyes (and probably would have succeeded as she appeared to have a better aim than her brother or father) and was about to fire...
BWAAAAAAAAAAM
When something pulsed through the auction house, knocking Shalria out cold before she could pull the trigger, instead causing her to fall backwards off the step ladder onto the stage
The stage’s back wall was torn open by the giant, and an old man with an impressive looking beard stepped forward “What did I tell you, I know a ruckuss when I hear one” he says, sounding amused by the situation “Looks like the auctions’ over. I got the money I came for, now I might as well stroll back to the Gambling House and piss it away once again”
“There’s something not right in your head old man, you got locked up, in here, just to steal some money?” the giant asks
“Pretty much, if the plan had actually worked I’d have robbed whatever dumbass decided to buy me too, shame” the man shrugs, going to his hip flask, only to remember it was empty “More booze, gotta remember that too. In hindsight, that plan was really stupid, how retarded would someone have to be to buy an old fart like me as a slave? Ahahahaaha” he laughs, grinning like a mad man, then stops when he sees who was left “Oh my, I didn’t realise I had a captive audience, might have gone with better material if I’d been warned.
“Where did the old man and the giant come from?” one of the guards asks
“They were supposed to be slaves for today’s auction but that means they should be still locked up, how did they…. Wait a minute, how did they get their collars off!?” the auction staff member shouts, drawing everyone’s attention to the giant and old man’s bare necks
Hachi blinks “Wait… Rayleigh?” he mutters aloud, Chopper and Papagu hearing him
“Wait, the Rayleigh? That’s the guy we’re looking for?” Chopper asks “But which one?”
“Hachi, is that you? It is! Damn it’s been years” Rayleigh grins, then it drops into a frown “Did someone hurt you?” Hachi tries to move, or maybe hide his gunshots, but Reyleigh waves him off “Don’t speak, save your strength” he orders, then notices Camie staring at him out the corner of his eye as well as the destruction the Straw hats had caused, stroking his beard as the gears clicked in his head “I see now, plain as day. You were doing what you believed was right Hachi, and you people, were the good folks who stood by him. Alright” as he finishes the world, a pulse of something rushes from him and through the entire auction house, knocking the remaining staff and guards out cold, but leaving the pirates unaffected
“Papa, that old man’s the one with the mystery power from before!” Artemis cheers, happy to have at least part of the mystery solved
Noire’s grin nearly splits her face ‘Another Conqueror! And it’s Silvers f*cking Rayleigh, this is the best day ever!’ she croons, her own haki bubbling just under her skin
“That Straw hat suits a fearless man like yourself” Rayleigh states causally “I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, Monkey D. Luffy”
MarieJois
“Straw hat, that whole damn family’s insane, I can’t beleive I’m wishing Garp’s stupid plan had worked and he’d convinced that boy, Medusa’s kid and Portas to become marines” Sengoku mutters to himself, as an underling relays the report and a large man in a yellow suit sits a little off to the side, facial expression one of mild amusem*nt but mostly boredom/indifference
‘...the main perpetrator being Straw Hat Luffy who assaulted a Celestial Dragon. We’ve lost all contact with the guards in the Human Shop… I mean employment office” the man relays, the snort from the suited man telling Sengoku his thoughts on that matter “Given the reports of what’s happening in that area, they’ve most likely all been subdued. REgardless, the act of taking not 1 but 3 Celestial Dragons hostage is a vile transgression”
“Have they made any demands?” Sengoku asks angrily
“Nothing yet Sir, but they will, they’re ballsy enough to do this they can’t be too stupid not to know how big a deal what they did is” the marine replies
“Whatever the case may be, we need to take immediate action” the suited man pipes in “After all, the world nobles are the victims here, correct?” Sengoku makes a noise that technically counts as a yes “But don’t worry, I’ll handle this myself, I won’t be gone long Fleet Admiral” he says, standing up and walking out the door, almost through the other guy.
Back in Sabaody
“Now just relax, I’m going to remove your collar now” Rayleigh says to Camie, calmly and gently, the mermaid whimpers but nods in understanding
“What, you can’t do that it’ll explode!” Papagu screams
“Yeah we saw it happen before!” Chopper squeals in confirmation
“Bad idea Mr. Really bad!” Brook adds
“Luffy, do something” Usopp stage whispers, but his captain just watches “Franky’s looking for the key and, Kaos has f*cked off again…” he sighs “ Can’t we just wait for one of them to get the key instead of whatever this old quack is going to do to her?”
Rayleigh tunes out the young ones, focusing solely on Camie “Now the important thing is not to flinch, ok?”
“I don’t know what he did, but that’s no ordinary human” Zoro states, curious as to what the old man could do
“Yep, he’s got the mystery power” Artemis grins
“And that’s worth him risking Camie’s life, no way!” Sanji shouts “Where’s Franky with the key?”
“Just wait, don’t do anything rash” Papagu pleads
Tic tic tic tic
“HE SET IT OFF!”
Elsewhere
“Worry not everyone, Franky is on the way!” the cyborg cheers, nearly colliding with Kaos as he runs
“Oh good you found the key, well you found some keys” the researcher hums with a smirk
“Yep, one of these has got to...what happened to you?” the cyborg shouts, seeing the lanky 1st mate covered in blood
“Long story, not important”
BOOM
“f*ck, guess we didn’t have as much time as we thought” Kaos grimaces, following close behind a much more frantic Franky
“What I miss, did something explode?” The cyborg shouts as he runs on stage
“Camie! Look what happened, you didn’t leave well enough alone and now she’s dead!” Papagu blubbers
“Or not” Victor deadpans, causing the starfish to look up from his hands and see a confused but smiling Camie staring at Rayleigh with stars in her eyes
“Don’t scare me like that guys I thought she was a goner” Franky sighs, tossing the keys to the researcher “I went to all that trouble and you didn’t even need it”
“Better luck next time” Rayleigh smiles “Carry her” he orders, then turns to Camie who was being hugged by a crying Papagu “You’re safe now”
“How did you do that?” Camie asks with a far away look in her eyes
“Trade secret” he whispers and winks, causing the mermaid to giggle
“Anyone wanna explain what we just witnessed?” Kaya asks, really confused and her heart beating at double it’s normal rate, meanwhile seeing as he’d gone to the trouble of getting the keys Franky passed them to the slaves so they could free themselves
“I think it was Haki, I’ve heard it mentioned back home but I’ve never seen it used before” Hachi wheezes
“Luffy, how do you know this guy?” Usopp asks fearfully
“I don’t, but he clearly knows me” Luffy sighs “Stupid old geezer with mystery powers” he grumbles
“Hm” Rayleigh blinks, stopping his ascent up the steps of the auction house “Sorry, I didn’t realise there were more pirates still in the building, you must all be pretty strong to sit through what I just did” he says with a grin
“Well I’ll be, never thought I’d meet a big shot like you in a place like this” Kid laughs “The ‘Dark King’ Silvers Rayleigh himself, what’s a living legend like yourself doing in a place like this?” he asks
“On these islands I’m just Ray the coating mechanic, no need for titles and airs in a place like this” he waves off, “Besides I’m retired now, all I want is a peaceful and quiet life” he adds, before hunkering down to check out how Hachi was doing “You’ll live kiddo, what did I tell you about walking around the Archipelago Hachi?” Rayleigh scolds teasingly
“I know, I’m sorry”
“And you, I’m glad you stood by my friend here, and saved his life”
Luffy nods “You said you wanted to talk to me, what about?” he asks
Rayleigh chuckles lowly “That’s something for another time, first we need to get out of here”
“THIS IS THE MARINES, HAND OVER THE ROSWALD FAMILY IMMEDIATELY, AN ADMIRAL HAS ALREADY BEEN SENT FOR. I RECOMMEND YOU SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY, AND DON’T BLAME US FOR WHATEVER HAPPENS YOU ROOKIES!” Came the booming projected voice of the marines outside
“Well, sh*t”
“We were just innocent bystanders, it’s blatant profiling to think we were accomplices just because we were in the same building” Law half complains, chuckling to himself
“True, but it was worth it to see Straw Hat Luffy do something crazy, so I’m satisfied for this week” Kid smirks “Still, I’m not exactly in the mood to try fight an admiral, least of all given the rumors the current 3 are all Logia users, making them an extra chore to fight”
“It’s true, though I hope you’re not expecting me to help. I’ve used my power enough today, plus if the navy realise who I am, things will get even messier out there than it already is” Rayleigh argues, but the redhead didn’t seem to care
“I don’t need a fossil like you to protect me, besides the longer we stick around the worse things get outside. If you babies can’t handle a few marines, then watch and learn as I show you how a real man handles things” Kid taunts, about to walk out of the auction house
“Then I recommend you use the other door” Noire smirks
“What’s that supposed to me…” Kid asks, only for the door’s handle to not move even a cm “What did you do you crazy bitch?”
Noire laughs “Let’s just say I put the building on Lockdown after the civi’s ran out like headless chickens” she says, shoving past the punk rocker captain “So who wants to bust heads while the others run off? I’m happy to merc the lot of them if nobody else wants to, watching you Straw hats kick ass was a lot of fun” she licks her lips, then places her palm on the door.
Lock Lock: Release
“So that’s where the Rokku Rokku no mi ended up” Rayleigh mutters as everyone hears the click before she swings the door open and steps through, the 3 captains rushing forward to get a head of her
“Is every captain as stupid as these 3 or was it just bad luck times a million those 3 ran into each other?” Nami asks the open air, not really expecting an answer
“How about you complain less and instead we just use the distraction those 4 are making to escape?” Usopp suggests
“Sounds like a plan, in case we get separated how about we all meet up at Grove 13 ok?” Rayleigh suggests, hefting Hachi onto his back, showing surprising strength of his age
“Let’s get out of here, they can probably only hold the marines attention for so long” Franky reminds them, Camie and Papagu nodding from his back, while Artemis climbs onto Kaos like she was a shoulder loli.
Outside
“Mortars, fire!”
Gum Gum Balloon
Repel
Room: Shambles
“Watch out, all 3 of them have powers!”
“I know it’s not a flashy power but I HATE to be ignored” Noire sneers, looking the apparent head of the group dead in the eyes before pointing her bow straight up
Lock On: Kill shot
The arrow flew straight up, then tilted forward, dropping and piercing the man in the heart “You don’t screw with me boys, I got the name deadshot fair and square” she laughs, nocking another arrow, this time firing the inky black projectile at a mortar, causing it to explode
“Men, concentrate fire on the front of the building, we’ll evacuate the Celestial Dragons after the pirates are in pieces!” the next down bellows
“Now it gets fun” Noire grins, only for Kid to block their path by throw his arms out wide
“Nobody move, you’ll just get in my way”
“Don’t put your hand in my face again” Law threatens
“Compensating for something Kiddo?” Noire teases, flashing a slasher smile
Meanwhile Luffy didn’t care enough to talk, instead walking around Kid and then running straight for the marines
“Fire!”
Gum Gum FingerNet
“Hm, so that’s what he can do”
“Straw Hat can stretch?”
The archer laughs as Luffy catches all the mortar shells in his extended fingers and starts spinning around to stop them going off, only one managing to ‘slip the net’, causing the 3 pirates to dodge
“Top priority is straw hat, take that rubber bastard down immediately. Charge!” the marine orders, which a laughing Luffy responds by releasing the shells, raining explosive death down on the marines.
“This is getting ridiculous” Kid sighs, activating his Devil Fruit and drawing all the guns and swords he could see towards him, then shooting them back with a simple Repel “I thought marines just outside Navy Headquarters would actually know how to put up a fight”
“You guys have really weird powers” Luffy muses, having bounced back to the other 3
“Seriously, that rubber crap you do is much weirder than mine” Kid scoffs
“Hm, funny I say the same to Kaos with less swearing whenever he called my fruit weird” Straw hat says with a chuckle
“This is the rescue contingent, we’ve circled round and are about to enter the building through the back entrance” a marine relays through a Den Den
“Good” the current head nods “Once the hostages have been retrieved we’ll bury these criminals”
“If you’re not going to strike first mind if we do?” Noire asks as she as she pulls another arrow from her coat
“There are ways to make this at least entertaining” Law smirks, tossing the head he’d collected through Shambles at his fellow marines, watching them panic and toss him around to the man’s annoyance and worsening health
“Stop throwing me!” the head shouts
“How are you even talking?” the last one to catch him asks
“No idea, but you need to stay away from that guy, he makes these weird bubble looking things, that’s what did this to me”
Room
“Like this one?” the man asks as a large blue hemisphere forms around them
“Yes. f*ck!”
“Don’t worry, this won’t hurt a bit” Law says as he unsheaths his blade for a moment
Shambles
“See, now it’s a party” he grins, manipulating the parts in the air with his hands
“Hey! Don’t forget about me!” Luffy shouts
Gear 3rd: Bone Balloon [Brazo Izquierda de Gigante?]
“You better run, this is the arm of a giant” Luffy declares, hefting his expanded left arm and getting ready to punch through whatever comes his way
“Don’t even think about running men, just shoot him!” the captain orders
“We can’t sir, our weapons, they’re flying away!” one marine shouts, as indeed every gun, sword and even the mortars on their side rose into the air and flew towards the pirates, specifically Kid. And it wasn’t just outside, but every weapon inside the Auction House was also being pulled out the front door (Zoro just about keeping his swords on hand and Kaos shoved Hebi into the mirrored insides of his coat where Kid’s powers were unable to effect it. Kaya doing something similar with her guns, surrounding them in syrup, while Alvida slammed her mace into the ground and held it in place). The metal collected and attached to or around Kid’s right arm, then built outwards until there was a massive metal arm and hand
“How did he do that?” one marine asks/shouts
“Now isn’t the time for questions” Law states abruptly, standing in the middle of a storm of body parts, before putting them back together in chaotic and random ways, mostly for his own amusem*nt
Gum Gum Giant Pistol
Punk Gibson
Both giant fists plow through the marine barricade with minimal effort, clearing the area just as the rest of all 3 crews exit the building
“Looks like someone had fun” Kaos grins seeing the destruction the 3 had caused
“Yeah, if I knew these kids had AOE attacks I’d have stood back and watched. Least I got to take out the boss man before reinforcements were called” Noire pouts, having not gotten to do much “Later, gotta find the Captain before the Admiral arrives, I doubt the others want to get in the middle of that kind of fight” she grins and waves before running off in the confusion
“The Captain seems to have gone overboard again” one of Law’s crewmates note, as a head spidercrawling away on a hand crosses his path
“Luffy went overboard again” Vivi sighs and chuckles a little, seeing he was in his smaller form due to using Gear 3rd “Seems excessive for ordinary marines though”
“You say that like Luffy knows what restraint means” Nami argues
“The hostages have been rescued, everyone attack. Mortars, aim for the crew members without powers, everyone else, throw everything you’ve got at these criminals, they’re not leaving this place alive!” the marine head bellows
“Not even a whiff of tactical know how” Kid huffs, bored already “They’re just charging at us like wild animals” he then sees Luffy had grown back to his normal size “Hey Straw hat, I’m glad I got the chance to meet you, but don’t expect out next one to be quite so amicable”
Luffy hums “Fair enough, but I’m still gonna be the one to find the one piece” he grins, ignoring how his fellow captains twitch as he says that so casually. It actually froze them long enough Killer had to step in and cut down a marine before be could get close enough to attack Kid
“What’s got into you Boss?” the helmeted man asks
Kid grins and laughs “Killer, you know what? On the journey to get here, we’ve been laughed at and ridiculed everytime we even mention the One Piece, told we were on a fool’s errand searching for it, and remember what happens right after? We slaughtered them all, everyone who even snigg*red. What lies ahead is a sea of death for anyone who thinks the One Piece is something to laugh at” he turns his head to Luffy, his grin reaching his eyes “Let’s meet again straw hat, in the New World” Luffy gives a slight nod, which was good enough for him “Move Out MEN!”
“Yes Sir!” the Kid pirates shout, before decemating anyone who stands between them and freedom
“Trafalgar Law” the man’s eyes rise to the marine who who’d just lept at him “You’ll pay for treating us like toys!”
“Bepo” Law says casually, the polar bear mink leaping into action and kicking the offending marine into a tree
“Well, that’s enough for today I guess, let’s get out of here everybody” Luffy shouts, the enthusiasm high as ever in his voice
“You Who, young master!” the pirate’s heads turn to the yelling and see Duval calling out to them “we’re here to help in whatever way we can”
“Was hoping not to see those guys again, but what can you do help is help I guess” Sanji sighs, before following his hyperactive captain towards the fish riders
Lullaby Parry
“Let’s get a move on, who know how long we have until the admiral shows up” Brook calls, sending marines to sleep as he plays, as well as Luffy for a moment before he gets knocked awake
Multi-shot: Flame Star
Horn Point
Frictionless Takedown
“Franky, old guy, hurry up these goons are everywhere” Zoro grunts through Wado as he blocks another sword strike before his opponent is knocked out by a glaive strike to the back of the head from Kaos “Eventually there will be too many of them for us to escape from”
“Don’t worry Uncle Zoro” Artemis pipes up from behind the 1st mate “We’ll get out of this no trouble
Colour Trap, Bullfight Red
“That won’t hold them for long, just until they’ve dug a pit where the glyph is” Valentina hums, blasting people back with the flame and lightning gloves
“Take down the straw hats, they’re the real perpetrators of this incident!” one marine yells, then stops when it gets dark all of a sudden “What the? clouds?”
Thunderbolt Tempo
“Come on everyone, our ride’s here” Nami calls, jumping onto the back of one of the flying fish, quickly followed by the others, each fish now holding either 2 or 3 passengers as they took off, hopefully while the marines were dealing with other things, such as Law freeing Roswald’s slave and him more or less backhanding his way through the crowd.
“Well we lost them, but I feel like we lost more than that” Kaos frowns, Artemis sitting pretty with Robin on a different fish
“It’s not Zoro, is it?” Alvida asks
“I’m right here you know” said swordsman grumbles
“Probably that idiot Duval his bull moves at barely walking speed in the water” Sanji sighs
“Which means Rayleigh, Franky, Hachi, Camie and Papagu are also back there” Vivi lists off, after all the bull was the largest vessel so it made sense to put the injured on his back
Chuga chuga chuga chuga
“So cool!” Luffy cheers, looking down at the source of the noise, Franky having tricked out Motobola with essentially a boat engine/train attachments, putting him on par with the flying fish in terms of speed
“I’m impressed kid, to remodel this craft so quick and effectively, shows you’re quite skilled” Rayleigh compliments while laughing
“I’ll say, Motobolo has never been faster or happier sounding” Duval agrees
“No biggie, it was actually kind of fun to sup up your ride” Franky grins, then sits down to rest
Elsewhere
‘Well, f*ck’ Law thinks, as him and his crew once more run into Kid, the problem being the man blocking their path: Bartholomew Kuma of the 7 Warlords.
“Trafalger Law” Kuma says softly as his attention is drawn to the other captain
“You know my name, I’m honoured” the pirate chuckles, then his eyes widen as a laser is fired from the Warlord’s throat
“Captain!” Bepo shouts in panic
“This guy, he’s unreadable, damn scrappile” Kid mutters, then turns his head “Trafalger, stay out of this fight”
“You’d think by now you’d get that I’m not part of your crew, so you can’t order me around” Law retorts, looking none the worse for wear. He then turns to Kuma, the Opi Opi no mi’s power gathering at his fingertips before forming a disc of swirling blue energy “Now big guy we’ve had enough surprised for one day, I’d rather not have an admiral drop on my head. So I suggest you let us pass through, or we’ll force our way through”
TBC
LW: While writing this chapter I realised why Oda put Kid’s Devil fruit reveal in an SBS, it’s hard to find the right place to put something like that in, without feeling forced. Therefore…
Nylock Noire: Eater of the Rokku Rokku no mi (Lock Lock fruit)
Eustace Kid: Eater of the Jiki Jiki no mi (Magnet Magnet fruit)
Trafalgar D. Water Law: Eater of the Opi Opi no mi (Op Op fruit)
Also as a random note since the last chapter I finally got around to watching Dr. Strange, and now need to figure out how to incorporate the Mirror Dimension trippy bullsh*t into Kaos’ powerset. It will be Post Time skip at the absolute earliest, or even an Awakening if and when we get more information on how that works from Oda.
Anyway, see you soon, 4th anniversary coming up rather quickly everyone ;)
Chapter 107: Admiral Kizaru: the shining beacon of the marines
Summary:
4 years and you're still here? I'm impressed and flattered you actually like this story that much X)
Chapter Text
LW: 4 years! Well technically it was 4 years old the day AFTER I put up chapter 106, but I’m really bad at timing or remembering dates so… sorry. Anyway here’s your regularly scheduled One Piece chapter
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Admiral Kizaru, the shining beacon of the marines
Grove 13
“Well, that happened” Kaos hums, though happy Duval and his guys were able to return Camie’s backpack… after they beat the everloving sh*t out of Peterman for kidnapping her in the first place, before leaving for where ever they were going
“Just block it out, it’s what I’m doing” Sanji sighs, taking another drag from his cigarette
“Complain later, we need to get Hachi somewhere safe quickly!” Chopper shouts
“Shakky’s place is just up there, she’ll be more than happy to help us and Hachi” Rayleigh explains, leading the way and then knocking on the door “Hey Shaky you there? Open up”
“Oh it’s Ray” Shaky purrs as she opens the door “I wasn’t expecting to see you today, or I suppose I wasn’t expecting those pirates to find you in less than a day, congrats by the way for that one kids”
“Hachi was badly injured in the rescue, any chance you have a bed I can put him down on?” Rayleigh asks, gesturing behind him to the octopus over his shoulder
“Oh my, that looks serious, follow me right now” Shaky gasps, letting them in quickly
One they get in Luffy’s brain clicks and he turns to Rayleigh “Hey old guy” the white haired man looks over at him “You said you had something to tell me, what is it?”
Rayleigh smirks “Honestly I just wanted to see how the current holder of my old captain’s hat was handling himself, it was a pretty big deal when Roger passed it to Shanks after all, so hearing Red Hair had done the same…. Well it peaked my interest”
There was a moment of silence, at which point Luffy’s brain zeroed in on what was probably the big deal there
“YOU WERE ON ROGER’S CREW!?” he screams, while Brook closed up the shop for Shakky
Rayleigh continued to smirk as he poured himself a drink “Correct, not just that but I was his 1st mate. I think we’re long overdue an official introduction. My name is Silver’s Rayleigh.
“Gol D. Roger’s 1st mate!” the straw hats shout
“You didn’t tell them?” Shakky asks in amusem*nt
“Didn’t seem relevant, we only needed Rayleigh to coat the Sunny” Hachi replies with a mild shrug
Robin blinks “Wait, you guys genuinely didn’t know who he was? Are Kaos and I really the only people who keep track of these things?” she sighs deeply, wishing she wasn’t the ‘Ship Mom’ as Nami had joked a couple weeks back
“Not his face but everyone knows his name” Usopp cries, Kaya shivering as she also panic cries
“He’s in basically every book in recent history, the man’s a legend” Nami agrees
“Everyone’s heard of that name, especially the East given it’s Roger’s home region” Sanji nods
“Not just the East, the North and West too” Victor adds, Valentina confirming
“GolD Roger, the name sounds familiar, but besides some punk ass rookie I don’t think I know of him. Honestly if memory serves, the guy I’m remembering looked a lot like Luffy, especially his enthusiasm, Yohohoho!” Brook chuckles, then continues eating
“So how did a big shot like you and an octopus come to know each other?” Zoro asks curiously
“Hachi saved my life once, I’d been stranded at sea and he found and rescued me, about 20 years ago at this point. We’ve been friends ever since” Rayleigh explains in broad strokes
“Hachi was still just a kid when it happened, but he still saved Rayleigh that day” Shakky confirms/elaborates
“We were good friends and kept in touch, until he joined the Sun Pirates at least” Rayleigh sighs
“You mean Arlong?” Luffy asks, still stuffing his face
“Roger, he was executed 22 years ago, but how, as his 1st mate, did you manage to avoid following in his footsteps?” Sanji asks “The marines captured the entire crew didn’t they?”
Rayleigh went quiet, the tense, uncomfortable silence where something’s clearly wrong, until he smirks “I believe you’ve mixed us up with the Demon Eye Pirates, cause the marines didn’t catch Roger. You see the Captain, turned himself in.”
“WHAT!!!!”
“The government made it sound like they managed to overpower and defeat the Pirate King himself, which does sound better than an already dead man walking showing up on their doorstep, I’ll at least give them that” Rayleigh hums, draining his glass
“Why would the Pirate King just turn himself in?”
“What did you mean Dead Man Walking?”
Shakky refills Reyleigh’s glass “Roger, saw the inevitable end to our journey. You see about 4 years before his execution Roger began to fall ill, turns out, he’d developed an incurable and fatal disease” the pirates gasp “No matter how strong he was, nothing our doctor or any of our allies doctors tried could do more than hold it back for a little while, so Roger knew it was only a matter of time before he would fall to it’s poisonous touch. But there was one man who could do something to help, a skilled doctor, who lived out on the Twin Capes, named Croques” eyes widen, as they’d almost all met Croques when they entered the Grand Line, no matter how far back that was “We took him on as our ship’s Doctor for our final voyage, our most famous voyage. And 3 years later Roger had done it, he’d conquered the Grand Line, reached Laughtale and found the One Piece”
“Wait, so that old geezer sailed with the King of the Pirates? And here I thought he just lived in that lighthouse for 50 years” Usopp hums
“He did say he had been a ship’s doctor back in the day, but I never knew it was Gold Roger’s” Nami gasps
Rayleigh grins “Oh, so you’ve met him, glad to hear he’s still alive even after all this time. He may have only been part of the crew for those last 3 years, but we still saw him as one of our own by the end of it”
“So, after Laughtale, what happened?” Kaos asks, a small smile as his chin rests on his knuckles
“After that, the world changed, started calling Roger the King of the Pirates, he’d never been the ‘King’ of anything before then, nor did he want to be. Not that a title like that meant much to a man about to die, either by a blade of a disease, but he still found some amusem*nt out of it. Roger always was a man who liked to do things in bold and flashy ways, probably why Newgate and Apophis liked him so much, whether it was battle or even a party, he always did what he could to live life to the fullest. He even seemed to take pleasure in setting out plans for the future, even if he wouldn’t be around to see it” Rayleigh sighs deeply at that “Eventually the Roger’s crew were secretly disbanded, everyone quietly going their separate ways. As comrades we spent so many years together and it was a crazy adventure, but I haven't’ the slightest idea where any of them are or what they’re doing these days. Then a year after we disbanded, Roger just up and turned himself in, and was incarcerated. It was soon decided that he would be executed in Loguetown, the settlement in the East Blue where he’d been born. I’ve heard many of the young faces in the crowd that day went on to become pretty well known pirates in the years that followed. There was a silence that gripped the world the day Roger was executed. I wasn’t there for the event myself, but I heard his last words, went something like this”
“While they may execute me I won’t die”
“The World Government and the marines must have been shocked, as with a single sentence, the public execution that was meant to be the death blow to the Pirate Era, was the spark to set it off even bigger and brighter than before.
“If anyone wants my treasure, then it’s yours for the taking. Go find it, I left everything I gathered in one place”
“At that moment his flying embers became a raging hellfire that spread across the world, igniting the hearts of pirates in every sea. I haven’t laughed as much, nor cried as much, nor drank as much now I think about it, as I did that night” Rayleigh finally finishes “Roger was an incredible man, and sure lived one hell of a life”
“Wow, everyone knows that story, but hearing one of Roger’s old friends and shipmates tell it, it has a bit more, I don’t know, gravitas?” Vivi hums still partially in shock
“Wait a minute, you make it sound like Roger started the Great Pirate Era, on purpose” Usopp accuses/theorises
Rayleigh shrugs “That I can’t tell you, though I admit it does sound like something Roger would have done for fun and just to see if he could. Though if he had, he’d probably have wanted to be alive long enough to see the fireworks, so to speak” he chuckles “He’s long gone, only those still alive can truly shape the way this world will run, and I’m sure there were at least a few touched by Roger’s spirit of adventure and freedom, still out there in the world. Your old pal Shanks is probably one of them”
“You know Shanks?” Luffy gasps, then nearly chokes on the chipmunk load of food in his face
“You really only hear half of what everyone is saying don’t you Luffy” Kaos sighs “He said he knew Shanks when he was talking about the hat passing from Roger, to Shanks and then you”
“Seems someone here is keeping the boy’s head on his shoulders, I remember having to do that a good few times for Roger” Rayleigh smirks “But yeah, Shanks, and another East Blue pirate I’m sure at least the natives have heard of, Buggy” several of the ‘East Blue native’ Straw hats twitch violently “were both apprentice pirates on Roger’s ship”
“Wow, Shanks was an apprentice for the Pirate King!” Luffy gushes
“Indeed. We met up again by chance 10 years ago on this very archipelago, at which point I noticed he was missing his signature Straw hat, and his left arm” Luffy’s head drops in shame, Kaos’ expression equally mournful “When I asked him what happened, he about you Luffy, with a smile...”
“It was incredible Rayleigh, in the East Blue, there’s a kid who said exactly the same thing that Captain Roger did. I think, Roger’s spirit lives on in Luffy, that Anchor’s gonna make it big one day”
“...and ever since, I’ve always wanted to meet you Luffy and see this spirited boy for myself. Happy to say, you make quite the impression and didn’t disappoint an old pirate like myself one bit”
Luffy grins, blushing slightly “Aw Shanks” he chuckles, happy to hear the man seemed to have so much faith in him
“I bet he’s eagerly awaiting you in the New World. But enough sitting here reminiscing I still have work to do. You guys wanted your ship coated right?” Rayleigh asks, standing up “Then I better get back to my actual work now shouldn’t I?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, but how much is the coating gonna cost?” Hachi asks, feeling bad for not even checking something like that before bringing the Straw Hats to Rayleigh, but the former pirate waves him off
“Don’t worry about it, I couldn’t possibly charge friends of yours, or Shank’s”
“Oh wow, thanks Rayleigh” Hachi grins happy he hadn’t potentially bankrupted his friends after finally getting the straw hats to stop hating him
“Don’t know why but he’s doing it for free!”
“Free, my favourite price” Nami swoons, her eyes turning into Berri symbols
But someone wasn’t as the others, though it didn’t have anything to do with the coating price “Rayleigh” Robin calls out as she stands “What is the Will of D?” she asks, the question had been burning in her mind since the destruction of Ohara, but given her daughter and lover were also members of the D clan, she NEEDED to know all the more “On Sky Island, there’s a poneglyph, but written in the exact same style of script was a message from Roger himself. How did he know it, how could he use that language?”
“I made it here, and I shall guide this passage to the ends of the earth” Kaos mutters, quoting the message word for word
“Please tell me, did you uncover the truth, what happened in the Void Century 900 years ago” Robin demands/pleads
“Yes, we know” Rayleigh says casually, like he didn’t just drop a bomb at Robin’s feet “we learnt all of it, the entirety of the missing history” he continues, ignoring her heavy breathing and twitching fingers (Kaos and Artemis on the other hand, didn’t and exchanged worried looks) “But Miss, you mustang be so hasty, just keep moving forward and everything will be uncovered at it’s own pace, right before your eyes” he scolds her, almost like a child “This is your journey now, my crew and Ohara, we might have hurried things along too quickly and were burnt from it, unfortunately while metaphorically for me it was much more literal for your homeland. I’m sure it’s not what you wanted to hear, and I’m sorry” he says, and while her face was set in a frown, Robin at least could tell he was being sincere “Even if I told you everything you wanted to know about that history, here and now, you couldn’t do anything about it. Once you’ve had the time to really see the world, it might change your outlook, and even bring you to a different answer than what we arrived to. But, if you insist on hearing it anyway, I can tell you, if you want me to” Rayleigh offers, a glint in his eye
Robin looks almost pained, her body tense as a spring before she relaxes “No, I’m fine, I think I’ll just keep on the path I’m walking, with my family” she decides, then gets tackled back into the sofa by Artemis, wanting to make sure her mom was actually as ok as she was claiming to be
“Rayleigh smiles softly as the 2 cuddle “I’m sure you’ll understand one day, and for the record, I’m very sorry about what happened to Ohara, nobody deserves that, not even if they had been doing as vile acts as the World Government had claimed. But that doesn’t change the fact that Roger didn’t decipher that writing, (He’s right, Kozuki Oden did instead) we were all pirates remember, not geniuses or scholars, no match for Clover or any of the other great minds of Ohara. You see Roger, he just heard the Voice of the Universe, and that’s all that happened”
“You may be willing to waste an opportunity like this but I’m sure not” Ussop declares before leaping up “Hey old guy! Roger’s treasure, the legendary One Piece, tell me is it…”
“THAT’S ENOUGH!”
Traptrix: Devil Snare
Luffy slams his foot onto the bar as Kaos stabs Traptrix into the ground, barbed wires shooting out and ensuring nobody moved from their positions…. Well except Rayleigh and Shakky who both basically sidestepped the curtain of death that headed their way
“I don’t wanna know where the One Piece is hidden, I don’t even want to know if it exists. Everyone here set out to sea without knowing anything, I’d rather give up being a pirate right here and now than know. I refuse to go on a boring adventure, understand!” Luffy shouts, rare, true anger on his face “We need to sail out there and find out, for ourselves”
“If you really want to know that badly Usopp, you, me and Rayleigh can walk out that door, he can whisper it in your ear and you can die knowing the truth” Kaos offers, with a sickly sweet smile, the sniper idly noticing the barbed wires were wrapped around his own arm and much as it was encircling all of them.
“There’s no need to go to that extreme, it was a mistake, it just slipped out. I just remembered I have ‘I’ll die if I ever learn anything about the One Piece disease’ don’t you dare tell me anything old guy or I’ll die before Kaos can even shank me with his crazy stick” Usopp shrieks, then yelps in pain as the retreating wires cut across his back, apparently Hebi didn’t like being called a ‘crazy stick’.
Rayleigh chuckles, enjoying the insanity that was this crew “Speaking of, do you really think you can do it kid? The New World, it surpasses anything your mind can imagine or even comprehend, your foes immensely powerful. Knowing that, do you really think you can rule these mighty seas?”
Luffy looks not quite but almost confused “What are you talking about I don’t wanna rule anything. Being King of the Pirates means being the most free in the whole world” he declares with a full D grin, as Rayleigh sees a flash of his captain in the young lad
“Monkey D. Luffy, I like your style, here’s hoping you actually manage to succeed in such lofty goals” Shakky coos
“I better get to work, your ship is in Grove 1 right?” Rayleigh says walking to the door “One more thing, what exactly do you plan to do, an admiral should be dropping in at any moment looking for you”
“He’s right, they did say anything happens to a Dragon and an Admiral is called, and Luffy punched one in his fat face” Valentina nods, clicking her tongue
“Well we can’t stay here, so let’s go shopping!” Nami announces
“Are you insane, there’s an admiral gunning for us, as well as who knows how many marines, we should be laying low and hiding!” Usopp argues
“He’s right, but all of us grouped together would be an easy target for the marines, so we should probably split up into smaller groups before we get of this archipelago. Plus it will probably be easier for the old guy if we’re not here and instead lay low in town for a while” Franky adds, giving his 2 cents
“Right, so I say we split up, keep track of the work and meet back up here when it’s done” Zoro suggests
“Someone remember to stick close to Zoro, but besides that it sounds like a good plan” Kaos agrees
“Hey Shakky, we got any cards left?” Rayleigh asks
“Yeah, we’ve still got one” she nods
Outside, after Rayleigh had gotten his coating supplies
“Wow, this is a Vivre card” Nami gasps
“Oh good you already know what they are, saves me the trouble of explaining then. Given I’m kind of a notorious pirate myself I’m gonna take your ship somewhere a little more, secluded to work on it. This job should take me 3 days…”
“What! Why does it take so long?” Luffy asks/whines
“It needs time to seal properly, so I can’t rush the job” Rayleigh explains, the pirates nod, remembering Hachi’s warning about how bad things can get when coatings are done haphazardly “Let’s all meet up at sundown in 3 days, I don’t know where exactly I’ll be which is what the Vivre cards are for. Use them to locate me and make your way to whatever grove I’m holed up in, understand?” Nods “It’s probably a good idea to use at least some of that time to pick up supplies for your journey to Fishman Island”
“Sorry about everything Luffy, Camie and I will still be happy to guide you to and through fishman island so see you in 3 days” Hachi promises
“I’ll be there too, to see you off on the next stage of your adventure” Shakky promises
“K nice lady. Whelp, we’re going up against an admiral, let’s all try not get killed” Luffy chuckles while Usopp, Nami and Kaya panic
“Where to first Captain?” Alvida purrs, wrapping an arm around Luffy’s shoulder and grinning
A little later
“This place has been insane, but running into Roger’s 2nd in command, that I didn’t see coming” Alivda muses aloud
“Given how well known the Roger Pirates were, I’d always expected someone like Silver Rayleigh to be a big scary guy, but he seems like a really sweet old man” Kaya mutters with a slight blush
“He seems like a nice fellow, but you can tell even at his age he’s no pushover. Shows how strong the men of the Oro Jackson were if that’s him when he’s retired, I can’t imagine him or Roger in their prime” Franky adds, impressed and happy to meet a man who sailed on his father figure Tom’s most well known/infamous ship
Elsewhere
KABOOM
“This is Admiral Kizaru, I have arrived” spoke the man as he emerged from the smoke “Hello?” he repeated, talking into his wrist, the Black Den Den just blinking silently up at him “Hello? Heeellllloooo. Hm, well this is odd” the man sighs and continues talking to the snail, meanwhile marines were attacking and trying to capture any of the multitude of criminals all throughout grove
Bang
“Can anyone hear me? Sengoku, Garp, is nobody manning the Den Den?” Kizaru asks in confusion and if it were anyone else they’d asume annoyance
“But how, I shot him in the f*cking head” the pirate hiding in the alleyway gasps “How is he still standing and talking?”
“He obviously has some kind of freaky Devil fruit power, run for your life!” his companion screams, the 2 men run as fast as they could out of the alleyway, only to stop dead seeing Kizaru was already standing at the other end waiting for them
“Pardon me but I was wondering if you could help me out” he says with a surprisingly friendly tone of voice, a kind smile and everything “I’m here looking for a man named Sentomaru see, and I was hoping someone knew where to find him. He’s a subordinate of mine, do you know him?”
“§These children know nothing§” a voice purrs, only for him to make a shooing gesture with his hand
“Look what you’ve done, scared them away” Kizaru chuckles, then raises his leg as if to kick the retreating criminals but instead shooting a beam of light between them, striking Mangrove 23 and causing it to collapse in a fiery explosion “Oh wow, I forget my own strength sometimes, good thing I missed Sandira, or I’d have more paperwork to fill”
“§For once aiming like a drunkard is useful it seems§”
“You wound me so dearie” Kizaru groans pressing a fist over his heart “But alas work must continue” he walks through the streets until he comes across a group sitting by the fountain, unfortunately they were Hawkins and his crew “Hello there, I was hoping one of you fellas could help me out” he says in a rather drawn out way
“That’s Admiral Kizaru!” one of the pirates shout in panic, but Hawkins looks more bored than anything else
“We’ll keep him busy Captain”
“Please Sir, you need to get away”
“No need to panic, I won’t be dying today” Hawkins states confidently, pulling out his tarot cards
“Captain you need to go now”
“Combat: chance of survival 0%” Hawkins reads, holding the cards with tendrils of straw
“Excuse me, I was wondering if you could help me” Kizaru repeats
“Escape: chance of success 12%”
“I’m looking for a man named Sentomaru, do you know him” Kizaru continues, both seemingly ignoring the others non answers/responses and continuing their own conversations
“Defence: Chance of evasion 76%”
“Heelllloooo” the admiral calls, trying to get the pirate’s attention
“I know of no such man, go ask someone else” Hawkins answers dismissively, as if answering the man’s question wasn’t worth his time
“Well that’s a problem for both of us. If I can’t find him then I have some spare time you see, and if I have that spare time there’s no reason for me to just let a wanted criminal with a bounty as high as yours just walk away, is there ‘Magician Basil Hawkins?” Kizaru asks, his tone much more serious, as well as shocked Hawkin’s crew that he knew who they were the entire time. He smirks and his shades flash “Speed is weight, now observe. This is what it feels like to be kicked at the speed of light” he entones, his leg up to his knee shining a bright yellow, before slamming into the side of Hawkin’s head faster than anyone could blink, sending him through several walls in the process.
“sh*t, I knew he was an admiral but that strength’s insane” Apoo mutters from his rooftop view “Wait, what’s he doing now?”
The answer, was laser beams, specifically one from his fingertip which when fired engulfed the building Hawkins had been thrown into in a massive fireball
“Hm, strange” he mutters as he watches Hawkins step out of the building none the worse for wear
‘§Stop toying with the boy and kill him!§’
“You far surpassed my expectations” Hawkins noted as 2 straw totems push out of his arm and drop to the ground “To think you destroyed 2 so quickly, though against a man of your calibre I’d be nervous even if I had 10”
“Ahhhhh” THUD
Even Hawkins was surprised when Orouge dropped from the sky and landed between them, the man clearly having seen better days as he looked to have gotten the ever loving sh*t beat out of him. The source of said beating didn’t take long to divine as Kuma drops down not a moment later
“Your strong, I’ll give you that” the mad monk groans as he looks at the cyborg’s unresponsive face
“There’s another here even stronger than him” Hawkins points out, drawing Arouge’s attention as well as directing him to the Admiral
“Kizaru, damn. This really isn’t my day, to have an admiral in front and a warlord behind, I’m done for”
“Not necessarily, I don’t see the shadow of death upon you” Hawkins states flatly
Arouge laughs “Really? Thanks for the heads up Hawkins of the North Blue, enemies we may be” he smirks as he pulls himself to his feet, just as another shows up and knocks Kuma through a building
“Is that the extent of your power, Mad Monk?” Drake scoffs
“Rear Admiral Drake” Kizaru muses, chuckling to himself
“Ah crap I didn’t plan on running into Kizaru”
“AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“Oh, this looks exciting” the Light Admiral grins, something not quite right in his eyes as he watches the Brekan practically double in size in a surge of energy, his muscles swelling to incredible levels.
Now standing taller and wider than the cyborg he squares off against the now recovered Kuma “I’ve taken quite the beating, but let’s see if the magician’s prediction was right. Let’s take this from the top, nice and slow”
Back with the Straw hats
“You just want to screw around and have fun, do you remember why we’re hiding?” Usopp argues, trying to get Luffy to give up on his dumb idea that they should go to the amusem*nt park
“Well yeah, but we’re stuck here for the next 3 days, we might as well enjoy ourselves, jeez” Luffy huffs, just before a large thud distracts them, as well as the man who dropped into their path
“Not again!”
“Um, anyone know who this guy is?” Luffy asks, the straw hats all remembering he’d been passed out when Kuma made himself known back on Thriller Bark
“Get back Luffy he’s one of the 7 Warlords of the Sea” Nami warns
“So, we already kicked 2 of their asses, what’s one more?”
Kuma seems to have decided to skip conversation (not that he was much of a talker anyway) and simply remove his glove to attack, though a few people noted there was a port in the centre of his palm, rather than a pawpad.
“Luffy get out of the way, it's a shockwave attack!”
“Hm?” Luffy yelps as a beam is launched from Kuma’s hand…. And redirected straight up.
“That wasn’t a shockwave, idiots…. Wait a minute,I know who this guy is. He’s the guy you told me about on Thriller Bark but didn’t get to fight” Luffy whines
“Eh, close enough. Simple statements for the metal head. I don’t know who or what the f*ck you are, but we’re not sticking around to find out” Kaos hisses, clenching and unclenching his hands to try get the tingling pain from redirecting the laser to pass as quickly as possible
“Then let’s get a little pay back from the thorough asskicking we received on Thriller Bark” Franky suggests, arms already inflating
Coup De Burst
“Well, that was easier than expected” Valentina hums
“Don’t count on it, he’s down but far from out” Franky argues as Kuma drops out of the dent he made in the mangrove and rose back to his feet
Gear 2nd
“We know he’s strong and dangerous, so there’s no reason to hold back, hit him with everything we’ve got!” Luffy orders before leaping at him with the enhanced speed of Gear 2nd.
Diable Jambe
Reflect armour
Kuma returns fire with the more familiar (at least to Zoro and Kaos) mouth laser which the straw hats dodge, carving lines into the ground with the beams fired from his mouth and hands
Refraction
“This tech, it shouldn’t be possible” Franky grunts as he drops to the ground “Laser beams like this they’re nothing but fantasy”
“So are clones and automatons, and Kuma’s at least one of those so why not laser beam technology” Kaos retorts, his body fully coated in his reflect armour so he could send any of Kuma’s beam he was able to block away from the battlefield “Cause he’s not got his Devil fruit, that I can tell you that for nothing” he adds as he rushes in alongside Luffy, Zoro and Sanji
Gum Gum Jet Gatling
Diable Mutton
600 Calibre Phoenix
Sen'ei Jashu: Doku
Even going all out Kuma was able to tank their combined attack, right until the last second, which was when he was finally sent flying, destroying a nearby building
“They beat him” Nami gasps, grinning
Vivi grimaces “Unfortunately I doubt that, especially given how easily he took us down without even flinching back in Thriller Bark, this isn’t more than a mild inconvenience for him”
“Accurate” Robin nods sadly “And the boys know it too, given how tense they still are”
“What were you saying about his Devil fruit” Luffy pants slowly, while they wait for Kuma to get back up
“That he doesn’t have one, not one I don’t recognise but none whatsoever, which is a problem given I know he has one and what it feels like. If that were Kuma I’d feel the Nikyu Nikyu no mi’s power in his chest, instead I get nothing” Kaos explains, curious as to whether or not venom would even work on what the being pretending to be Kuma was
“Maybe he’s a twin or something” Luffy suggests
“I don’t want to consider that option as that means there are 2 or possibly even more ultra strong panda men working for the World Government” Sanji scowls
“Without that Devil fruit he has to fight differently, he can’t teleport or use those shockwaves, but it seems whoever gave him the lasers put them in his hands as well as the one in Kuma’s mouth to compensate” Zoro analysizes “Plus if he’s not Kuma, we don’t know where the real one is, or whether or not he’s also after us”
Elsewhere
“You may have given me quite the beating earlier, but I’m not just bigger I’m stronger in this form” Urouge boasts before proving it by landing blows the would have done nothing in his previous brawl with Kuma, until the Warlord is sent through a wall
Retribution
It looked as if the tides had turned, until a narrow beam lanced through the monk’s shoulder, the burning pain as well as the force of the impact knocking him to the ground
‘That was, Kizaru’s laser’ Drake’s eyes bulge as Kuma steps out of the smoke, the ports on his hands visible given he’s just used his laser attack ‘So, he was able to replicate Kizaru’s laser attack, and implant it into a body based on Bartholomew Kuma? Damn that Vegapunk I didn’t think the Pacifista’s were already this advanced’
“You are Rear… sorry Former Rear Admiral Drake yes? Not here for your old job back are you” Kizaru asks, a hint of disappointment in his voice “Or perhaps you’d like to test out the Pacifista’s capabilities. I’m afraid though, that your inside knowledge will only make the despair all the greater” his lips twitch into a smirk for a second, but it was enough for Hawkins to catch “Also I advise you little chickies exercise a level of caution, after all, it’s not like I’m out of this fight, I’ve just not done anything yet” his shoulders shake in a silent chuckle, the magician almost catching something in the shine of his shades
Attempting to end the twin attack quickly so they could focus on the real threat (namely the Admiral) Drake transformed using his Ancient Zoan and tried to rip Kuma’s head off, getting lasered for his troubles and forced back into his human form, as whatever he was made of, even a dinosaur had trouble crunching his way through.
He was able to injure it though “Imagine that, even for all your modifications, you bleed red just like the red of us” the Allosaur man chuckles, blood leaking down Kuma’s expressionless face
“A truly rare sight, stupendous” Arouge says in awe, surprised to see an ancient Zoan in Paradise
“As I was saying” Kizaru interrupts “You still have to contend with me” he says, before slamming a light speed kick to Arouge’s side, sending him through several buildings, then as he turns to Hawkins “Huh, you Supernovas sure are a strange bunch, all you guys seem to turn into scary monsters” he notes, referring to the fact Hawkins currently looked like a giant scarecrow looking motherf*cker
Demon Face
“Wait, where’d he go?” Hawkins asks aloud as once he swiped at Kizaru he vanished, only to appear right in front of him with his fingers pointed at his eyes before they lit up like strobe lights “Ah my eyes!” the scarecrow screams before grunting in pain as Kizaru repeatedly fires his finger laser into his torso
“I don’t have a clue what your power is, BUT I do know you have a physical body in there somewhere” Kizarua explains as he continues to blast him “This doesn’t look or feel like a logia type that’s for sure” he says as several straw dolls drop out of the man’s arms and legs, all with holes burnt into them
“Captain Hawkins!”
“He better retreat, he doesn’t have any more voodoo dolls to protect himself” One of his crewmates says with a grimace
“Looks like you’re the 1st to go” Kizaru smiles as he raises a glowing leg “You made it this far, and for that you have my compliments” just before landing a light speed kick to the chest, he’s distracted by the one man band/soundboard that is Scratchman Apoo, who’d been standing on a nearby roof just watching the mayhem “Hm? Well I offically don’t know what the f*ck’s going on” he hums, setting his foot down as the glow fades
“Yo! Yo yo yeah! Is this music reaching you? If you hear me then stay tuned, Navy Admiral Kizaru!”
‘§I have a bad feeling about this partner§’
“So, this is the sea roar” Drake muses, himself and a normal looking Hawkins stepping back hopefully out of his blast radius
“Yeah! Yo yo yo, Alright, here’s the dealio, fighting music kicking it live come on! Scratch!”
Kizaru’s eyebrows rise as his right arm is removed just shy of the elbow “Hm? What is this all about?” the man wonders, unconcerned about his damaged body
“Here we go” Apoo shouts, beating his chest like a drum and causing an explosion that rips the yellow suited man in half, though his face still looked bored and a little confused “Bomb check it out!” he grins, shooting the finger guns at the guys down below “Gotcha… though know you navy admirals you’ll be fine in a second” he sighs and was proven right in about 5 “Well I had my fun, guess I’d better scram, Peace out bitches!” he shouts down before leaping from rooftop to rooftop, most likely in the direction of his ship.
Being on ground level and in the same area Hawkins and Drake were able to witness what happened next
“Oh my, how terrible” Kizaru says in a tone that HAS to be sarcastic, especially as his lower half just casually gets up unassisted, then his upper body (including his severed hand) dissipate into light particles and shoot over to his torso where he reforms in a matter of moments, kind of like watching something get made with a 3D printer, only it’s a person. “Well that was quite the shock” he hums, seeing Apoo running across roofs hollering like an idiot “I’ll use the Yata Mirror” he thinks aloud, cupping his hands as a ball of light forms between them, then shoots out, bouncing of a few buildings before stopping right above a momentarily blinded Apoo, not that it mattered as less than a second later her took a downward kick to the head at near lightspeed, sending him through the building he’d been standing on and leveling it. He then zips down at equal speed back to where he’d been prior to kick Drake square in the jaw, sending him flying also, before finally shooting a light arrow at Hawkins, piercing the man through the gut and brining him to his knees. Just before he could execute the magician
Pura pura pura
He stops, confused as he checks his wrist “Hello?” he calls, but see’s the black snail still asleep and the sound was still coming from somewhere, he then began to check his pockets, chuckling to himself as he pulls a 2nd Den Den from his jacket “Hello, this is Borsalino” he greets casually
“What the f*ck, you do have a Baby Den Den!” the voice on the other side yells “Why didn’t you contact me?”
“Hm? Is that you Sentomaro?”
“Don’t give me that bullsh*t uncle, where the hell are you? What have you been doing?” Sentomaro growls into his Den Den
“ I did try to contact you earlier” Kizaru hums
“Tried to… please tell me you didn’t try talking into the Black Den Den”
“Maybe”
Sentomaru sighs “I told you this before, the black one on your wrist is for eavesdropping and wiretapping”
“Oh yeah, that’s right” Kizaru says with an unseen shrug
“Uh, forget about it. It’s time to get to work anyway. Seems the suspects have all split up, Straw Hat Luffy, Captain Eustace Kid and Trafalger Law, who should we target first?”
Kizaru hums “Split up ay? Then we’ll just have to…”
Back with the Straw Hats
108 Calibre Phoenix
“You’re at least screwing with his aim, not sure if our hits are actually hurting him or just stalling” Kaos hums, teeth bared in anger
Anord Nathair: Anaconda
“Tackling the damn this isn’t exactly going to do much better Shimmer” Sanji retorts as the Snake man springs at and bounces off Kuma’s barrel like chest “Or at least not without aiming first” he adds before landing a kick to the back of Kuma’s knee, unbalancing him and leaving him wide open, well if not for a mix of borderline PTSD and the fact Kuma still had a mouth laser
Mirāu~ōku
“You really shouldn’t be fighting this guy Zoro” Kaos half scolds “You’re still shaking from what the real one did to you”
“Shut up, I can still fight shiny scales” Zoro scoffs, then wheezes painfully
“If he wasn’t about to kill us, I’d argue with you, but we really can’t afford to just have you sit this one out can we?” Kaos smirks as the swordsman at least tries to return it “By the way, how much of him would you say is still technically human?”
“Enough to bleed, but not enough to be considered a man, a lot more machine than Franky that’s for sure” Zoro guesses
“That’s what I thought, shame, I was hoping to actually use this on something worthwhile, but I suppose the speed/strenght trade off will help us regardless”
“You’re muttering again” Zoro points out, pushing himself to his feet
“I suppose I am” she silver reptile grins before preparing his next move
Anord Nathair: Mamba
LW: Well, that’s it for this week, thanks for sticking by me for the last 4 years, and I’ll see how we are and where we are when I get to 5. Hope you stick around :)
Chapter 108: Straw Hats disbanded? Kuma’s terrifying power
Chapter Text
LW: Ok, this is kind of a big one. Also Sabaody Arc has officially finished this chapter, thanks for sticking around.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Straw Hats disbanded? Kuma’s terrifying power
“You spending too much time with Chopper, these sure don’t look like zoan transformations” Zoro jokes, giving a slightly wheezy laugh
“It’ss the principal of the thing” Kaos smirks clenching his fist which the swordsman notes had rather unsettling black veins running from his pointed tips across his hands and up to the muscles of his forearms, similar black colouring across his thin lips and the inside of his mouth, though that was something only noticed later on in the fight. His body did look more slim or maybe just compact than it had in his ‘Anaconda’ form which Zoro guessed was what the speed/strength comment was referring to, making this the Gear 2nd of his transformations “This bastard just won’t go down, even with everything we throw at him”
“We’re barely making a dent, all we know is he’s unfortunately NOT Bartholomew Kuma, but he is a cyborg of some sort similar to the paw man himself” Sanji summarises, before the battle continues once more, starting with Chopper jumping in, in Arm Point
Cloven Rosery
Landing several point blank hits to the robot’s chest but the Pacifista just grabs him out of the air and starts charging his laser… which is knocked of course by Franky punching his arm
Strong Right
“I suppose I should be glad we have other ways to avoid the lasers than me doing everything” Kaos hums
Franky Boxing
ORA ORA ORA ORA (Yeah I kept it, because it’s fun, though given his voice actor maybe I should have swapped it out with Muda muda muda muda?)
Much like Chopper he landed every hit, but the Pacifista just tanked the hits and punched Franky away, the blue haired cyborg saved by Robin’s Spider Net blooms breaking his fall.
“Good thing you’re standing in one place, that way I can’t miss with this!” Broom laughs as he runs up one of the mangroves and leaps striking down on the Pacifista’s shoulder “Ah ha… wait, now I’m stuck!”
“Idiot!”
The machine is unimpressed and just starts charging the laser
Special Attack: Atlas Comet
Luckily for the skeleton Ussop’s multi shell attack caused enough of a distraction and shockwave Brook was able to rip his sword out of the machine and get away. Even better it seemed to be the potential final blow as the Kuma facsimile dropped to his knees
“Is, is it over?” Nami pants, just before Kuma drops face first onto the ground
“I think he is. Damn those f*ckers are made to last” Kaos groans, his heart rate definitely high enough for a human now “Never mind I think he’s getting up again”
“Seriously, what are these f*ckers made of” Valentina groans before slipping behind cover when she sees the Pacifista charging his mouth laser
“Better gear than me that’s for sure” Franky groans “They’re modified humans, stuffed to the brim with weapons and armour, but they’re still ‘alive’ and they bleed like a normal person too”
Ochenta Fleur: Cuatro Manos
Shock
Robin smirks as her move was timed perfectly, slamming the robot’s mouth shut just before he could fire, causing it to detonate inside itself.
“Huh, why didn’t we think of that sooner?” Usopp asks rhetorically
“Probably because dodging and using Kaos’s mirrors to reflect the attacks elsewhere was quicker” Victor guesses with a shrug
“He picked a bad place to stall in, given the thunder warning for the area” Nami grins and holds out her climatact, the lighting connecting from the small cloud behind him to her weapon, hitting him dead on centre mass.
Thunderbolt Tempo
“So, is he dead this time?” Brook asks, getting the negative response when the robot once more begins unloading laser beams in practically every direction
“What’s he even aiming for, this looks like ‘spray and pray’ if ever I saw it?” Alvida asks peeking out from behind cover
“Me thinks Nami broke his brain, or at least his targeting system” Kaos muses, keeping himself essentially behind Kuma at all times as the machine flails chaotically
“Hopefully we won’t need to break too many more parts before he learns to stay down” Sanji growls
Diable Jambe: Flambe shot
Demon Aura: 9 sword style - Asura
Asura: Makyusen
Hebi kōshō
The 3 attacks not only bring the machine to his knees, but get him into the perfect position, lining him up for Luffy’s final strike
Gear 3rd: Gum Gum Giant Rifle
Finally, under a giant drill spinning fist, the Pacifista finally shuts down, to the joy of everyone involved. Even if Luffy wasn’t pleased with being minimode again, he was fine with being nestled between his wives while the straw hats all try catch their breath after that fight
“Well, that’s something I don’t want to have to do again, at least not in the next week” Franky groans
“Is it actually dead this time?” Kaya asks, given how many times it stood back up that wasn’t a stupid question
“It looks like it. Also, it seems his ripped shirt gives us some pointless information. Anyone know what PX-4 means?” Valentina asks
“No clue”
“Why did we fight instead of run?” Chopper asks while panting
“Because we’re being hunted, it’s better to take them out as they come rather than risk being cornered and outnumbered. You think one is bad, imagine we did run and a few hours from now run into 3 or even 10 of them” Robin argues, the others shiver but know she speaks from experience
“This thing, it’s not Kuma, it’s a cyborg of some kind, but why does it look like him?” Sanji asks
“Intimidation most likely” Kaos shrugs “From what I can tell Kuma doesn’t have to do much to make most people piss themselves, so a cyborg army of this walking tank of a man would definitely sound good”
“Yeah but the amount of work to do that, modifying a person to look essentially identical to Kuma on top of everything else these things can do? It’s mind blowing. All I can say is that it did have a human base before they began work, you can’t make something like this from scratch, the human body doesn’t work like that” Franky adds, groaning heavily
“We need to find somewhere to take a break and catch our breath” Luffy sighs, happy to once more be normal size, but leaning against his girls regardless “I was up for a fight but that guy, that was way too much”
“They say be careful what you wish for Luffy, this might be one of those times” Vivi hums, head resting on his shoulder “We need to find shelter if we plan to actually recover from that battle”
“Agreed, but can we stay here just a little more, like maybe 5 minutes?” Luffy asks/whines
“You brats got a lot of nerve, just look at what you’ve done!” some angry bastard yells at the straw hats, getting the attention, well more so when he drops out of the sky with a loud bang.
“Ah crap, just what we need, more trouble” Alvida groans as the crew get back to their feet.
“I’m disgusted, you’re an utter disgrace PX4” the man sneers, ignoring the pirates for the moment “The navy’s not made of money, building one of you Pacifista’s costs as much as an entire warship, and yet you were taken down by these punks! Seriously, do you know how embarrassing this will look in my report to that bastard Vegapunk”
There was a moment of calm as the smoke cleared revealing a chubby looking guy with a bad attitude and another Kuma…. Crap
“He’s got another Warlord!”
“Is it the real one this time”
“Nope” Kaos answers, talon like fingers clicking “Still no Devil fruit in his chest”
“Not that it matters, bastard still won’t go down easy whether he’s Kuma or a copycat” Sanji retorts
“So, big guy’s another Kuma copy, but what about Axe boy?” Franky wonders aloud
“I have an identity outside my axe you know”
“Then feel free to share, cause we’re probably going to call you ‘that dickhe*d with the axe’ until someone comes up with something better” Valentina snarks “Or at least I am”
“There’s no point asking questions of me as I have no reason to answer you. I am the most well guarded and tight lipped man alive, nobody can break down my impenetrable defences!” Sentomaru declares
‘Bullsh*t’
“Oh come on, even I don’t believe that!” Usopp shouts “At least give us your name. Jeez Val’s nickname is looking pretty accurate right now”
“Did you hear a single thing I just said? My lips are sealed, there’s not one person more secretive than me: Sentomaru!”
“Sentomaru, got it” Usopp nods
“I prefer ‘dickhe*d with the axe’ but at least we have a name now” Val huffs
Sentomaru blinks, looking oddly flustered for a moment “To be clear I wanted you to know that, which is why I told you, and not because you wanted to know it” he says, trying to cover his ass, and failing “PX1, let’s get started” he orders, the Pacifista glowed before seeming to self destruct, throwing everyone away due to the shockwave
“So much for costing a battleship” Kaos coughs as he gets back to his feet “If you can just casually kamikaze them like that...of course you’re not dead yet” he groans, seeing the cyborg still perfectly fine
“We can’t fight this guy, not another one so close to that last fight” Sanji pants
“Well what choice do we have?” Zoro growls, but his hands shake even has he tightens his grip on his swords
“The only other option” Luffy states, drawing their attention to him “We retreat, but not all together. The 4 of us will head the groups, we’re the strongest and so are the best chance and distraction if we’re the ones not Kuma decides to target”
“Sounds good to me!” Ussop, Chopper and Nami shout their agreement and lead the retreat
“Hey guys, meet back up on the Sunny in 3 days!” Luffy shouts as teams were made and the crew went their separate ways
Luffy: Vivi, Alvida, Valentina
Zoro: Ussop, Kaya, Brook
Sanji: Nami, Franky, Victor
Kaos: Robin, Artemis, Chopper
“They’re splitting up, after them PX1” Sentomaru orders, not quite understanding the concept of splitting up, as in a single target can’t go after everyone “Make sure they don’t leave Grove 12, we don’t need that headache”
Special Attack: Super Smoke Star
The massive smokescreen Usopp let off as they groups retreated did it’s job, well for a moment, PX1 dropping in on Sanji’s group, while Sentomaru first blocked Luffy’s escape with his axe then dropping in front of him like a sumo wrestler, knocking him aside like he’s nothing
“I think he brought too few people” Alvida hums “Shame we’re in the group he was able to hold off”
“Is that really the best you can do, straw hat? Then again what could someone like you do against my impenetrable defence, and I don’t even have Devil Fruit powers”
“Yeah kind of already knew that” Luffy groans as he sits up “Otherwise Kaos would have corrected Val’s ‘dickhe*d with an axe’ nickname to ‘dickhe*d with the insert fruit’s name here’ kind of like how Kuma’s ‘that weirdo with the Paw Paw fruit’ unlike the fake Kumas” he argues
BOOM
“Zoro no!” Kaya cries, the swordsman one shotted by the man in front of them
“He took a direct hit from one of those laser beams” Brook shouts
Sentomaru scoffs “Took you long enough, did you get lost of something Uncle Kizaru”
Robin stops, causing Artemis and Chopper to run into the back of her ‘f*ck’ “Guys watch out, Kizaru’s a navy admiral!” she shouts
“Are all the Admirals Logia users?” Kaos wonders aloud, turning on his heels and considering what to do next
“So this is Pirate Hunter Zoro, for someone with over 100 million on his head, I’m frankly disappointed. You’re supposed to be some great swordsman, but one hit and you’re on death’s door? You bore us child”
‘§One of these days Headquarters will be quit pissing their pants and label bounties correctly§’
“§Not today I guess§” Kizaru turns his head as the researcher steps closer, drawing eyes on him while the rest of his group check on Luffy and Zoro
“Hm, my you have grown, scrawny like your mother that’s for sure” the admiral chuckles “Good to see another survived, not quite to adulthood but close, guess Garp was good for something” he hums, firing a finger laser which is soon followed by a clang like cymbals crashing as it’s ricocheted into the air, to which the man grins “Interesting, both your parents could have tanked a hit like that too, but they’d have had to use haki, that Devil fruit of yours is pretty handy there kid” Kaos doesn’t reply, the laser having broken his shoulder even under his reflect armour “Seems you’re lucky to find a counter to my Pika Pika no mi so easily, given you can’t actually harm light”
'Pika… wait didn’t Kaos once say his fruit was it’s little brother or something?’ Nami thinks, wracking her brain to find the memory ‘Or maybe that was back when he was still f*cking with people, he didn’t actually tell us his Devil fruit until they took on Arlong’
“One moment, we’ll continue this later” Kizaru shifts purely into light and zips across the clearing, where Zoro had been rolled on his way to Robin and the others, only to stop him cold with a boot on his back, the other foot glowing with a charging laser beam “I’m not as blind as you pirates seem to think I am see? Now I think it’s time we start clearing the field ay Sentomaru?”
“You already wasted enough time, just kill the bastard already” Sentomaru sneers
“Geez fine, no sense of humour these days, is being Vegapunk’s bodyguard really that boring” Kizaru sighs, about to blow Zoro to kingdom come, Kaos tearing at his arms hoping there would be enough material to block the attack...
Sauzandmirashado
...not that it mattered as Reyleigh shows up to save their asses, kicking Kizaru’s leg sending the attack flying up and hitting one of the mangroves instead, causing a huge explosion everyone in grove 12 was sure would have left nothing but a steaming crater where their swordsman was.
“Hm, you sure picked a strange time to come out of hiding. Are you sure it’s really worth it, Dark King Rayleigh?” Kizaru asks, his tone more curious than anything else
Rayleigh smiles “Don’t go picking these buds before they sprout, their story has only just begun being written, why cut it off before it gets good?”
“I believe you have a different meaning of ‘good’ than the 2 of us Silvers: the Devil's child, Serpens’ heir and Dragon’s boy, that’s not something the Navy can just ignore” Kizaru argues
“Rayleigh just saved Zoro!” Valentina shouts, several of the crew sighing in relief
“That’s the Dark King” Sentomaru huffs “He doesn’t look like much, but he did just counter Kizaru”
“I’d heard rumours that you had set up shop on these islands, so to speak, but I thought they were just that, rumors and ghost stories, but here you are right in front of me, defending these rookies. Even after all this time, those instincts are hardwired ay Rayleigh?”
“I’d like nothing more than to retire and lead a quiet life, maybe drink and screw some of the pretty ladies of the island from time to time, but it’s kind of hard to do when you guys keep putting up wanted posters of me everywhere” Rayleigh shrugs
“You’re not dead so of course they do, you were one of the Roger’s pirates Rayleigh, that sh*t doesn’t just go away, you will pay for your crimes one day” Kizaru states “But if we were to make an honest attempt to capture you, that would require some serious preparation on our part, you’re not going to just walk into our arms like Roger and Apophis”
“Come on Borsalino, why don’t you just look the other way and let these kids run along, what’s the harm?”
Kizaru gives a cough that was clearly a poorly disguised laugh “Rayleigh, what reality are you living in (Clearly one where you’re sober), you know there’s no way I can just let the Straw Hat pirates of all people off the hook, least of all when we have to answer to the Celestial Dragons, Navy HQ has to keep those fat f*cks happy and letting their abusers run along with a slapped wrist won’t cut it. I’d greatly appreciate if you don’t interfere”
“Ussop, Kaya, Brook!” Luffy shouts “Grab Zoro and run!” he orders, the crew surprising Kizaru enough he didn’t even react as they literally yanked Zoro out from under him and ran like their asses were on fire “Everyone, run for your lives, every man for himself. We’re too weak to fight these guys, we need to run now!”
“Kid knows when he’s beat, that’s irritating” Kizaru sighs
“Also shows he was pretty sure he’d win all those other times he’s gone up against people who should have easily beaten him” Rayleigh chuckles, getting a reluctant nod of agreement from the Admiral
“One moment, I got one last thing to do before I go” Franky says as Nami, Victor and Sanji try get him to run
Co De Bomb
The air cannon strike hit PX1 right in the gut, pinballing him away to another section of the grove
“Take that you metal asshat. Ok now I’m ready to run!” Franky shouts, then follows the others
“Thanks for the save old man, we’ll pay you back one day!” Luffy yells as his group also make a run for it
“It was a pleasure, see you around kiddos!” Rayleigh chuckles
“This isn’t over” Kizaru states, his voice lifeless as he cups his hands to his chest
Yata Mirro…
Before he could ride the beam to cut off any of the retreating Straw hats, Rayleigh slashed across the beam, returning Kizaru to his original form and position
“You’re staying right here with me. Feels good to be wielding a sword again after all this time” Rayleigh chuckles
Ama no Murakumo
Kizaru forms a light blade from his palms then strikes down on Rayleigh, but the old pirate blocks it with minimal effort, in fact his grin might actually be wider now
“Well, this is disappointing, I was looking forward to a laid back, hassle free island excursion, and instead, I’m fighting the Dark King because he won’t let me arrest or kill some rookie brats”
“Well you know what they say Kizaru, Life’s just a series of surprises” Rayleigh says with a smirk before the 2 begin to properly clash and swordfight
“Seems he is the Dark King after all” Sentomaru admits “Nobody else could make Uncle work for a win, which is a pain as we almost closed the book on Roronoa before he showed up. PX1, kill the straw hats, starting Roronoa Zoro, he’s almost there himself already” he commands, the Pacifista standing up then running after Zoro the moment his sensors manage to locate him.
Sanji curses as he see’s where the cyborg was heading “Victor, Franky, keep Nami safe I’ll catch up to you” he calls, then runs towards the enemy
“Don’t get killed out there Eros” Victor shouts back
“What are you doing dumbass!?”
“I’ve got to go help Ussop and Zoro!” he answers as he rushes off
“Is it bad to say I’m happy he’s going to defend someone besides a woman for a change?” Franky asks, getting a shrug from his traveling companions
Zoro struggles to move as he’s held in place by Kaya’s syrup “Let me go. Just drop me here and save yourselves” he orders
“Are you crazy, you’re currently more useless than I am with those injuries, plus Luffy said to get everyone out and not die so we’re sticking to it” the sniper argues
“Plus as the crew’s medic I can’t in good conscious leave a friend to die like that” Kaya adds, getting a nod from Brook
“Cheer up my good man a little rest away from the danger and you’ll be right as rain” the skeleton assures him, the screams as he looks back “Step on it guys that robot is right behind us!”
Said robot knocked Brook away with a laser beam but before he could blow any of the others up Sanji had caught up with him
“Get away from my friends you tin can!” he shouts, Diable Jambe lighting up his leg before kicking the Pacifista in the back of the head causing it to fall, but also causing the cook to drop to one knee “f*ck that hurt, forgot those guys were solid steel for a second there” the blond curses
“Sanji watch out, he's about to fire his laser!” Usopp screams
“Idiot he can fire more than one” Sanji retorts before the 4 of them get blasted, the explosions catching the eye of practically everyone in the grove
“Hm, see Rayleigh even if you hold me off, Sentomaru and the Pacifista are more than enough to deal with these rookies, shame it won’t be nearly as quick and painless as if it were me though” Kizaru hums, which just gets an annoyed growl/grunt from Rayleigh
“sh*t, Kaya!” Ussop screams as syrup covers the immediate area, Zoro a few feet in front of him and Sanji trying to slow the Pacifista down as much as he could given his own injuries
“sh*t, they’re in big trouble” Luffy curses as he runs, eyes flicking over to the battle every few steps
“They’re not the only one” Sentomaru sneers, nipping at Luffy’s heels “But I’ll be nice and not use my battle axe on you this time”
“You didn’t the first time either!” Luffy shouts, before getting a palm strike to the back of the head and sent forward like being shot out of a cannon
Ashigara Dokkoi
“How can he even do that when Luffy’s made of Rubber?” Chopper asks as they run “He isn’t even touching the guy, even Kaos needs to hit him for the reflection thing to take effect” the reindeer mutters
“No idea and I really don’t want my insides rearranged by whatever’s strong enough to hurt Luffy so please keep running Chopper!” Robin lightly orders, cupping her stomach, then curses under her breath when she sees he’s stopped dead
“Sanji!” both turn when they hear Usopp scream, just in time to see the blond get laser blasted, then the cyborg unloads similar blasts to Zoro and Usopp, Kaya clearly not reformed enough to even be an option to it
“This is going downhill way to fast” Kaos scowls, Artemis frowning deeply from his shoulder “We need to lea…” he stops, his face falls seeing how badly beaten Luffy was by Sentomaru’s repeated strikes ‘That fat bastard’s gonna die’
“Get away from my friends you bastard!” Chopper bellows as he charges at Sentomaru before anyone could stop him, quickly shoving 3 Rumble balls into his mouth and crunching them
‘Well f*ck’
“That’s Chopper’s final attack!” Nami squeaks
“I prefer little Chopper to that” Franky says, now having another reason to run, putting distance between himself and Monster Point
“What am I even looking at?” Sentomaru asks aloud, dodging the massive hand that tried to crush him
It’s even worse than what the others told me, poor Chopper” Robin says biting her lip
“Damn, the Doc got an upgrade while I wasn’t looking” Kaos coos, impressed by how powerful the little reindeer could be when he lets loose, then takes off in Luffy’s direction hoping to grab him while Chopper was distracting Sentomaru
“That’s an interesting trick, shame you won’t live long enough to learn to use and control it properly” Sentomaru sneers as the Beast roars and smashes all around him
‘Oh Chopper, I wish it hadn’t come to this’ Kaya gurgles as she reforms beside Ussop who’d just pulling himself up to a seated position
“That thing, it seems confused, though I would be too if that randomly showed up out of nowhere. Still we should try to escape while it’s distracted” the sniper plans aloud, moving to shake Sanji awake while Kaya does the same for Brook. Unfortunately the damage was too great for the 2 to be moving anywhere fast in the near future, meaning PX1 had rebooted enough to ignore Chopper and focus on the pirates, charging a hand laser and preparing to send Ussop to kingdom come…
Thump
“Stand down PX1” came a familiar flat calm voice, the Pacifista complies, laser dying as it relaxes. The 2 straw hats turn their heads slowly, their fears confirmed when they see the REAL Kuma standing behind them “I see you survived, Roronoa” he states, alerting the 2 that Zoro was awake once more “As did Serpens, but he was more likely to do so given your intervention”
“Just barely, I guess that’s what you call mercy huh?” Zoro groans, slowly rising to his feet
Kuma is silent for a moment, slowly removing his gloves “Tell me” he says once his hand was uncovered “If you could take a vacation, where would it be?” he asks, then swings his hand at the swordsman
Pop
There was a collective stumble in the brains of the straw hats as Zoro just vanished before their eyes, unable to understand what was right in front of them, or I suppose wasn’t anymore.
‘No, that’s not possible’
“Zoro!” Luffy shouts, then gets pulled sideways when the issue of their missing swordsman meant he’d taken his eyes off the also real danger of Monster Point Chopper smashing everything in his general vicinity, whether that was an ally or the now axe wielding Sentomaru, it didn’t really matter
“Chopper you need to stop, you’ve lost control!”
“Zoro! Where are you?!”
‘That beast’s gone fully feral, but that’s a minor concern’ Sentomaru thinks as Chopper flails randomly, not even in his direction any more ‘What really worries me, is what HE’S doing here’
“Well isn’t that a surprise, Bartholowmew Kuma in the flesh. Can’t trust pirates, the Warlords are supposed to be at Navy HQ at this very moment” Kizaru muses, catching the cyborg out the corner of his eye, Rayleight also taking a side glace
“I wish I could help but there’s nothing I can do, especially with my hands full at the moment” the older pirate mutters to himself
“He was there a moment ago, and then, nothing. I’m guessing this is the real Kuma this time” Franky thinks aloud
“Yes. What he just did to Zoro, I’ve seen it before. He made that ghost girl on Thriller Bark vanish just the same” Nami answers, her voice tinged with panic
“We have to hope Zoro’s still alive, wherever he is” Victor tries to reassure her “It’s part of his devil fruit, probably the same ability that lets him practically teleport, just used on another person”
“Yeah, but given how fast they vanish, how do we know they aren’t still going that fast when they stop?” Nami asks, shutting the bomber man up.
“What they hell did that guy do to Zoro? Answer me! Where is he?!” Luffy bellows, shouting at Sentomaru seeing as he was no longer fighting Chopper
Sentomaru scoffs “You think I’m going to tell you, didn’t you listen before I’m the most guarded man in the world. But, someone might tell you he can send you flying for 3 days and nights with those paw pads. Can’t say if it’s true or not, but that’s what they say” he answers, watching those close enough to hear him’s expressions fall “Only Kuma knows where anyone goes when he uses that power. But there’s no chance you’ll find your friend on these islands or anywhere else for that matter. He’ll probably land on the other side of the world, at least if the 3 days part is true” Sentomaru makes a noise that sounds like an attempt at a chuckle
“WHAT!”
“You metal head bastard, tell us where you sent Zoro!” Usopp demands, anger overriding fear at the moment
“So, this one is the real one, finally?” Sanji pants as he fulls himself to his feet “The 1st 3 weren’t bad enough, we got the genuine article to deal with” he scowls
“It’s been a never ending stream of bad things since we got here, figures it would end with a whimper” Kaya mutters, having reformed enough to draw her guns from her syrup
“What kind of power is that?” Brook asks aloud, literally shaking his bones in fear
Kuma starts to thump his way closer to the group, Usopp pulling back his kabuto as Kaya pulls back the hammers of her revolvers, the threat was ineffective against Kuma, not that it would have mattered anyway as he flickered around them, drawing their attention to a more immediate problem, the Pacifista he’d told to stand down, mid way through charging its mouth laser
“Do not interfere” Kuma says, as close to a growl as the man’s monotonous voice could produce
Pop
‘And that now he’s gone too’
“He erased the PX1 just like Zoro, but why?” Sanji wonders aloud
“What’s your malfunction, dumbass, he was your ally!” Sentomaru shouts from across the field
“EVERYBODY RUN!” Luffy screams “WE CAN FIGURE OUT A PLAN WHEN WE’RE SAFE, FOR NOW JUST SAVE YOURSELVES AND RUN!!!”
“You heard the boss, we deal with this when we’re not all about to die, move it!” Victor says, giving Nami the shove she needed to get her self preservation instincts to reboot. They could figure out how to find Zoro later, that’s right, but it won’t matter if they’re dead.
“Come on Sanji, we gotta move it”
“I’m a logia, his beam didn’t actually hurt me so I’ll help you walk” Kaya offers, slipping Sanji’s left arm over her shoulder, while Usopp has his right, meanwhile Kuma begins to advance on them once more
“Get moving you 3, I’ll hold him off!” Brook declares, putting himself between Kuma and the group
“Are you crazy?” Usopp screams
“Probably, but that’s something to worry about when we’re safe. Now go!” Brook shoes them away “I’ll defend my friends, even if it kills me. Though technically I’m alrea….”
Pop
“Brook no!”
“That bastard did it again!” Sentomaru sneers ‘He’s not capturing those pirates he’s shooting them to who knows where, god damn it!’
“I can’t take it anymore, I won’t just stand here while that bastard erases my friends” Sanji shouts, shoving aside Usopp and Kaya “You guys need to run, like already be running 5 minutes ago urgent!”
“Sanji, now you’re the one being an idiot”
“Sanji just run, that was the Captain’s order” Kaya tries to reason with him, but the cook still charges at Kuma, the man blocking with his paw pad which sends the teen flying, but only a few feet.
With the cook out of the way it was child's play for the cyborg to get close enough to reach Usopp
Pop
And vanish him too
“Usopp no!”
“You bastard! This ends now, you don’t get to hurt anyone I care about any more!” Kaya screams, unloading her guns as her body partially transforms, creating hardened syrup tendrils to try to peirce Kuma’s armour. It failed
Pop
“Kaya!” Sanji shouts as the syrup girl vanishes without a trace ‘Damn it, we’re dropping like flies, and I’m can’t even slow him down’ he thinks before bullrushing the warlord
“Did that last hit give you brain damage, you can’t fight him Eros!” Kaos shouts, knowing exactly how this was going to end
Pop
Kuma barely gave him a sideways glance before sending the blond away, vanishing him mid kick
“He got Sanji, what do we do now?” Luffy mutters brokenly
“We run, that’s what you told us to do, we run!” Alvida hisses, trying to pull her captain to his feet
“We need to get away…. Artemis!” Robin screams, eyes scanning the area for the child
“She’s safe” Kaos assures her “Since Kuma’s shooting us all over the place I thought it best we didn’t get separated so I’ll keep a hold of her for the moment”
Robin nods “Probably for the best”
“YOU BASTARD!” Luffy shouts, charging towards Kuma who was now standing between Rayleigh and Kizaru, interrupting their fight amongst other things
‘Whelp, Luffy’s gone off half co*cked again. Understandable, but still not the best plan’
Gear 2nd
“sh*t, you girls run I’ll give him backup” Valentina shouts as she runs after their now super speeding Captain
Not that Kuma even acknowledged the attacks, zipping over to the retreating Franky, Nami and Victor and dropping himself directly into their path
“Get out of our way!” Franky shouts before firing his fist at the other cyborg’s head. It was a direct hit to the man’s face, and he didn’t even flinch
Gum Gum Jet Pistol
Kuma redirects the attack then blocks Luffy’s following punch, each with his paw pads, the 2nd block sending the rubber boy flying backways much like it had Sanji earlier in the battle
Luffy!”
Pop
Pop
“Franky! Nami!”
“That’s enough!” Valentina screams as she drops in front of the cyborg
Mi, Hitsuji, Saru, I, Uma, Tora
Katon: Gōkakyū
Pop
The fire didn’t bother the cyborg, slapping the blond away before she’d even finished spitting flames.
“Val! Damn it, why won’t you shut off you mechanical bastard!”
Breeze breath bomb
Boom fist
Full body detonation
“Are you quite done?” Kuma asks flatly, slapping away the bomber man as he pants after the repeated explosions
Pop
He then flickers away, avoiding a punch from Luffy who just ends up flopping to the ground, appearing in front of Monster Point Chopper just as he noticed there were still things to fight nearby, namely the girls and Kaos. Of course dropping himself right in front of the beast drew it’s attention and it prepared to smash Kuma into the ground, the open palm strike almost mirroring the panda man’s own style, not that it did him any good
“Chopper no!” Vivi screams just before it’s massive hand could reach Kuma
Pop
The largest threat gone, Kuma stomps towards Vivi and Alvida, being his now closest targets.
“Vivi run, I’ll keep him busy”
“You’re talking nonsense Alvida, you saw what he did to everyone else!” Vivi hisses, her hands clenched hard enough her own wires were digging into her hands causing them to bleed
“f*cker can try, he can’t boop what he can’t hit” she grins co*ckily and runs forward already swinging her mace as she does
Frictionless takedown
The attack should have at least connected, but Kuma wasn’t there when her mace crossed his path, a cold chill runs down her spine as she hears Vivi scream
“I apologise for this your highness, things are not how they should be” Kuma intones before striking
Pop
Luffy and Alvida stop dead, watching their wife and what the rest of the crew jokingly called the brains of their trouple, vanish before their eyes. The shock knocked them off their game enough Alvida didn’t notice Kuma has moved once again, until his pad was almost touching her face
Pop
And then there were 3: Robin, Kaos and Luffy, all reeling from the loss of everyone they held dear, with more damage to be done. Kuma turns to the Devil’s child, knowing it would be better to deal with her now as while he had no chance of success, Serpens’ heir would be… irritating to fight and he could lose her in the skuffle. Unfortunately it seemed the researcher had similar thoughts
Gokei
“Robin!”
“Kaos!” ‘Keep her safe. Don’t die’
The ring of mirror shards didn’t even slow Kuma down, using his Nikyu Nikyu to simply flicker past them, and putting himself into Robin’s personal space, but more importantly for him, melee range
Mirāu~ōku
Pop
If he were any other villain in this series Kuma would have laughed at the sight before him: Kaos now standing several feet to his right, staring down at his empty hands, tears dripping down his face and blood weeping from the self-inflicted wounds carved into his arms. But he wasn’t, he just saw he had 2 more targets to remove from this place.
‘They’re gone, all of them’ Luffy thinks, staring blankly at the space Alvida has been a moment ago, tears running down his cheeks ‘I failed as a captain, I wasn’t strong enough to protect them, I couldn’t save a single one of them. They’re gone and it’s all MY FAULT. Zoro, Usopp, Kaya, Sanji, Nami, Alvida, Vivi, Victor, Valentina, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook. My friends, my family, everyone I loved, is gone forever!’
“So, you're just gonna send those 2 blasting off as well?” Kizaru asks “Because what you just did here, there’s gonna need to be a very good reason for your actions”
“You and I will never meet again. Farewell Straw Hat” Kuma drones as he stands over Luffy, the rubber boy tenses as long, bony arms wrap around his neck and waist
Pop
‘You’ll never be alone Luffy, not at long as I draw breath’
TBC
LW: Damn it, this is Merry all over again. I know what happens but this part still makes me cry. Hopefully things will be better next chapter.
Chapter 109: Amazon Lily, anime’s Themyscira
Chapter Text
LW: New arc time! Amazon Lily and the innocent/naive snake ladies. Enjoy :)
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Amazon Lily, anime’s Themyscira
3 days after the previous chapter
“..cl.. Lu….”
“Un……….uf..”
Luffy twitches, the last thing he remembered… oh yeah Kuma got him too, after blasting everyone else to nothing. Is this the afterlife? It’s cold and, as he moves a little something digs into his back just below his shoulder blade, it hurts, shouldn’t you not feel bad in the afterlife? Something’s wrong with this picture.
“Uncle Luffy! Papa I don’t think he’s waking up. Oh, never mind”
Luffy cracks his eyes open to see Artemis sitting in front of him, her expression pretty close to blank, both sitting in what looked like a silver pool, though given he wasn’t feeling the usual feeling of physical exhaustion he got from water it was clearly something else.
“Papa bled a lot from that fight, now his coat’s all weird, it’s kind of gooey and stuff” the artist chirps, causing the boy to tilt his head, yep he was essentially sitting in Kaos’ lap, all three of them partially submerged within the mirrored lining of his cloak, which in turn was sitting in the middle of a suspiciously paw pad shaped crater in the dirt
“This is weird” Luffy mutters “Also I’m hungry, can I stand up now?” he asks, getting a nod as first Artemis then the rubber boy in question stand up and get out of the paddling pool the eldest’s cloak was currently the consistency of, grimacing as he sees the fading scars running along Kaos’ pale forearms
“Don’t worry about it, not your fault” Kaos gives a half smile as he unclips his cloak and lets it drop off his shoulders before standing, then stepping out of it and picking it up, giving the misbehaving fabric a flick then putting it back on “That Kuma bastard really did a number on us huh?” he frowns, readjusting his shades as he did, his hat somewhere in his cloak but he wasn’t exactly in the mood to go looking for it.
“So, it’s just us for now, isn’t it Papa?”
“Yeah, but given how we landed, if it’s anything like that for the others then they should all have made it relatively unharmed” he replies, a little worried about mostly Zoro as he’d been heavily injured before being Bubbled, so out of all of them, he probably had the worst odds of survival.
“We’ll all meet up again eventually, so first stop is getting back to Rayleigh” Luffy decides, pulling out the Vivre card Shaky had given him “Now which way is it?” he hums, holding his hand flat to let the little card shuffle across his palm “That way”
Grrrr
‘Ah crap,’ the trio thought, turning around to see a very angry and hungry boar about to attack them. The brothers run, Artemis clinging to Kaos like a shoulder loli, no real plan besides ‘Rayleigh is that way’ and ‘Don’t get eaten’
This thought process was halted when they reached an obstacle, that being a rock, or possibly a mountain it was hard to tell from here, point being there was solid rock between them and Rayleigh. Luffy being Luffy went with the simple option
Gum Gum Giant Pistol
Trying to smash his way through with Gear 3rd. Unfortunately all that did was put a crater in the wall and traumatize the giant boar that had been chasing them for the last 10 minutes
“Who am I kidding, that’s not going to work” Luffy groans, having already shrunk down to mini mode “So hungry, Sanji I need food!” he shouts “Ah who am I kidding he can’t hear me” Luffy sighs, his stomach growling like a caged beast.
“FOOD!”
One meal later
“Why were we running away from that again?” Kaos asks with a sigh, chin on his fist as Luffy finishes the last of the boar they’d just killed and eaten “Especially given that was almost pitifully easy”
“For you maybe” Artemis huffs “Papa and Uncle Luffy as stupid strong, but that boar was scary”
“Don’t worry about it kiddo, your dad and me are just used to it, Grandpa Garp used to throw us into the forest to fend for ourselves all the time, sometimes for weeks on end” Luffy explains with a chuckle, licking his fingers “Wait a minute… our childhoods sucked” he groans “Oh well, no point worrying about it now, besides, Gramps being a dick isn’t exactly news is it?” he asks rhetorically as he stands up again “Is it just me or is it awfully quiet for a jungle?”
“It’s just you Lu, the forest back home was just as quiet whenever you decided to shut up for 5 minutes” Kaos assures him “It’s just given how loud the ship usually is, even a little quiet is… strange” he admits, sighing deeply as he worries what new stupid is about to happen
“Kaos! I found laughing mushrooms!” Luffy announces, already having one in his mouth as he brings 2 over for his remaining companions
The researcher looks at him for a moment before facepalming “Luffy, laughing mushrooms are green and yellow” he says, pointing to the clearly black and red mushroom the boy had just bitten into
“Oh, f*ck” Luffy groans before collapsing, mushrooms already starting to pop up all over his body
“Papa what do we do?” Artemis cries
“Honestly, no clue. Want to try pulling them off and hoping for the best?”
“That sounds dangerous” the artist deadpans, then both freeze as they hear rustling in the undergrowth and 2 snakes peek over the grass
“§Boss, I found someone, a few someones§” the snake hisses
“Marguerite, Ruby found someone” a gruff voice calls
“On my way SweetPea” another shouts, based on location connected to the green snake as the red one had called the now named ‘Sweetpea’ boss.
“§This should be fun§” Kaos sighs, then turns when he hears Artemis giggle
“Your accent is funny” she grins just as the strangers make themselves known, 2 women in tribal style clothing, one a rather stocky brunette with her hair in pigtails and the other a leaner blond, both who were holding the snakes from before like weapons (Not that Kaos was going to judge them, his weapon was technically also a snake, Hebi was as far as he could tell at least technically alive)
“§Oh my, what happened to the poor girl?§” both pirates jump as another voice is heard behind them, turning around they panic as they have no idea how such a large woman could sneak up on them like that
“They don’t look like they’re from the village” the blond muses
“They dress funny too. No shame about your flatness hon, but that doesn’t mean you have to cover up your entire torso” the brunette teases, Kaos feeling his left eye twitch before sighing
“§ My sibling is… an idiot. They ate a mushroom thinking it was a laughing shroom, despite not even being close to the right colour, and now…. Well this happened§” he explains to the giantess (not by one piece standards, but normal people would probably call her one), mostly because she was the one who asked.
The girl squealed and picked up the researcher in a hug “§ I don’t care if you’re a stranger, that’s a Kuja tongue in your mouth sweetie§” she coos, mashing Kaos’ now pink face against her relatively normal but practically massive breasts. She finally lets go and drops Kaos who wheezes some air back into his lungs “And who are you cutie?” she asks, her voice much more childlike without the accent, or the hissing
“Nico D. Artemis” the artist announces proudly
“She’s my daughter” Kaos explains, sure it was adoption but he didn’t really care and he doubted these women cared either “Now, about the mushrooms and Luffy the idiot?”
The blond, ‘Marguerite’ blinks “Right sorry. Your sister appears to have eaten a parasitic mushroom, when you eat them a whole sea of them sprout out of your body, this must be dealt with quickly, or they will drain her of all her strength and kill her”
“That tracks with what's happening right now” Kaos and Artemis nod “Is there a cure?”
“Yes…. but I don’t actually know the process” the stocky one ‘Sweet Pea’ replies looking ashamed and awkward
“Aphelandra, carry her to the village, post haste” Margaret order
“Kay” the giantess nods and salutes, picking up Luffy and throwing him over her shoulder “To da village, away!” she cheers
“She’s energetic” Kaos hums, Artemis nodding, a little intimidated, as well as scared for Luffy’s sake
“She’s a kind and gentle girl, she’s just enthusiastic” Marguerite tries to explain “Come with us, our healer should be able to deal with them in no time” she assures them, both clearly worried about their ‘sister’ and ‘aunt’
“Papa, why are you letting them call you and Luffy girls?” Artemis asks quietly, as she could see there was clearly a reason her pops didn’t correct any of the women
“Because I think I know where we are. The snake speak and automatic assumption of any human’s gender as female, makes me think Kuma slingshot us to Amazon Lily” Kaos explains just as quietly, not wanting the locals to overhear them
“It explains why they think you’re a local though, didn’t Garp say Nana was a Kuja?”
“Yep, hell it’s why I can talk like that, given from what I’ve heard you can’t actually learn to speak Parsel, you either can or can’t” Kaos hums, using the East Blue term for snake speak, at least as far as he knew
“Then why can I understand you?” Artemis asks with a confused frown
“Snake necks can also speak and understand Parsel, given we don’t know who they used as the other half of your creation, it’s more likely they used snakeneck than Kuja, but we really have no way of knowing” the purplete shrugs
“True, shame too” Artemis sighs, then calls loud enough for the others to hear “Are we there yet?”
“The village is just another 5 minutes away” Sweet Pea calls back
“Thank you” both straw hats respond with smiles
A little later - Kuja Village
“Wait, so Plan A of just pulling them off would have worked?” Kaos asks
The Doctor 'Belladonna’ nods “Correct, you would just have had to be thorough, made sure you removed all of them so they wouldn’t just regrow and infest her again”
The pirates shrug then with the help of Marguerite and Sweet Pea remove all the bright red mushrooms from Luffy’s body, the boy’s twitching the only sign he was still alive.
“That’s the last of them, but some of the bases are still inside her” Marguerite notes with a frown
“Don’t worry I’ll deal with it momentarily” Belladonna says before lighting a match off her serpent companion’s head and dropping it on Luffy.
“Was setting hi...her on fire really necessary?” Artemis asks, mostly because Kaos had gone really quiet, most likely to stop himself punching the kuja bitch through a wall.
“Yes, it’s the only way to ensure they don’t grow back. Fire in a natural deterrent for most forms of life, especially plants and fungi given they can’t just move” she explains then kneels to check on Luffy after the fire puts itself out and he passes out, again “Oh my, it seems she was covered in quite serious injuries, before being covered in mushrooms. Why didn’t any of you say anything?”
“We didn’t expect you to set her on fire, and the mushrooms seemed the more pressing issue at the time” Kaos hisses “We were told Luffy would die if the mushrooms weren’t dealt with post haste so telling you about the fight we were in beforehand didn’t seem relevant”
“Regardless, we’ll need to treat her wounds, and hopefully you 2 will also allow us to examine and treat you for any injuries as well. First though Marguerite, take her to the river and clear her up” Belladonna orders, a small crowd following due to the strange woman none of them recognised, even now the mushrooms were removed. Kaos and Artemis jpoining them mostly because stupid tends to follow Luffy wherever he goes, he didn’t even need to be conscious for it to happen.
At the river
“Are they?” Artemis begins to ask only for Kaos to push her hat over her eyes and turn her around
“Yep. Let’s not tell Vivi and Alvida someone was playing with Luffy’s junk when we all get back together, agreed?” Kaos states, a part of him wanting to laugh but given Luffy’s unconscious it wasn’t even his fault
Sprong!!!!!
“Did his bits just twang like a rubber band?” Artemis asks, sounding mildly traumatized
“Yes. either the tug or the spring back should really have hurt him, and would have if it had been anyone but Luffy. Probably best the water is keeping his body on low energy mode” Kaos hums
“Oh my what’s all this commotion?” came the voice the old lady who shoves past Kaos
“Oh, hey Granny Nyon, we found this mushroom between this girl’s legs which won’t come off, it stretches though, should we all pull on it, or just burn it off?” Marguerite asks, the 2 pirates noticing even the kuja who suggested burning it’s snake was also holding a lit match with its tongue
“Goodness, but who is she?” Granny Nyon asks looking confused
“We don’t know, but her companions are over there if you want to speak to them” Sweet Pea adds while Nyon examines Luffy, the old lady then gasps and nearly falls backwards
“Granny Nyon are you ok?”
“I’m fine, but, that person, IS A MAN!” she screams
“Huh, took us long enough to find someone who knew what a man is” Kaos chuckles drawing Nyon’s eyes on him too “I’m not gonna wave my dick in your face too if that’s what you’re thinking, your own fault for feeling up someone while they’re unconscious
“You’re a man too? But your accent, you sound just like a born and raised Kuja” Aphelandra wails
“Yeah, my mom was a Kuja, at least that’s what I was told, she died when I was a kid, don’t know much else” he shrugs “Honestly today was the 1st time I got to have a conversation with another human in that tongue”
“You know the rules girls, lock these men up immediately!” Nyon commands
“What about me?” Artemis asks “I’m a girl, what happens to me?”
“For now, you will be locked up with the manfolk, then it will be the Will of the Empress as to what is done with you”
A few hours later
“Yawn. I had the weirdest dream” Luffy grumbles as he sits up
“Did it involve mushrooms or being jerked off by a cavewoman?” Kaos hums, Sitting cross legged against the wall while Artemis continued to sleep in his lap
“Oh, you saw Vivi’s leopard print bikini then” Luffy chuckles, oblivious as usual
“The man is awake!”
“Hey Kaos, why are we in a cage surrounded by tough looking women?” Luffy asks, finally noticing the locals ogling them like animals at a zoo
“Because we’re on Amazon Lily, we’re in here due to the crime of being born male, while Artemis is here on probation due to being the fruit of my non existent womb”
“That last part didn’t make any sense”
“Pops claimed me when some of the women found us, therefore I’m his problem/responsibility and I might get punished alongside you guys for being on the island, unless they decide to adopt me for being able to speak the language” Artemis explains as she sits up and gets off Kaos.
“Also the women stole your pants, not that they were all that salvageable after their quack of a doctor set you on fire”
“So I didn’t imagine that, that really hurt!” Luffy yells, jumping out of bed as he does, then looks down and what Kaos said registers, causing him to wrap the blanket around his waist
“No”
“Don’t cover up!”
“We want to see the mushroom!”
“These women are weird, it’s like they’ve never seen a guy before” Luffy mutters, ruffling his hair then panicking when he realises he’s missing his hat “There it is!” He shouts, stretching his arm and snatching it right off Sweet Pea’s head
“Men can stretch their body’s fascinating” one kuja notes down in a little pad
“They haven’t, especially not a naked one. This is the isle of women, located in the Calm Belt” Kaos answers, getting to his feet
“Hey, can I have some clothes please?” Luffy asks the audience “It’s kind of drafty in here”
“You know Luffy’s a special case right, not all men are as oblivious as him” Kaos chuckles having overheard the muttering of the one clearing taking notes on male physiology and behaviour “Same with the stretching”
“Did you seriously let these weirdos play with my family jewels?” Luffy groans
“Family jewels?”
“Jewels, not mushrooms?”
“Intriguing”
“Is there any point asking if they know what marriage is? Hey weirdos, stop trying to stare through the blanket at my junk they’re for Vivi and Alvida only. Annoy my brother he’s at least non committed, and Robin seems more… forgiving than most”
“I’m not exposing myself for your amusem*nt, and while there were… discussions we were both fine with our current level of commitment” Kaos hisses
“Really, not even for your own amusem*nt, that tends to be why you do most things. Also did eating that Devil fruit change it, do you have 2 now like some snakes?” Luffy asks, his brain going off to weird places
“Is now really the best time to ask if I have hemipenes?”
“If that means 2 dicks…. Then yes. These girls were playing with my penis while I was unconscious, I’m not going through this awkward, weirdness alone”
“Some men have multiple protrusions” the ‘researcher’ kuja notes
“So, can I have some clothes now, this cloth was clearly not meant to be rubbing against a sensitive area like this” Luffy asks again
Marguerite blinks “Oh right, your old clothes were damaged, partly by fire, I’m really sorry but we would have removed them beforehand had we known Belladonna was going to do that, so I made some new ones just like them, with some improvements if I do say so myself” she smiles and hands a small pile to Luffy
“Thanks, and I don’t even know your name. Oh well”
‘Oh f*ck, it’s so flowery and girly’ Luffy twitches and grimaces as he’s now fully dressed but also clearly uncomfortable for different reasons
“You probably should have seen that coming Lu, this is an island 100% inhabited by women, a certain level of frill and flail is expected” Kaos chuckles
“The vest says ‘I’m serious’ but the frills say ‘I’m cute’ it’s the perfect blend”
“His enemies will quake with fear in his prescience”
‘They’ll quake with something’ Artemis thinks
“What the hell, are you trying to make fun of me!” Luffy shouts, slamming his fists against the cage
Quick as a flash the kuja leap back, several of them notching arrows which were aimed squarely at the guys
“I think you pissed them off, also they change their tune pretty quickly” Kaos hums referring to how they went from star struck and almost childlike in innocence to hardened warriors, as well as now calling him a beast, savage, inelegant, among other things
“Got a plan, please say you do” Luffy stage whispers
“One, but it’s not really much of a plan at all”
“It’ll probably do” Luffy shrugs, then something clicks “Wait a minute, they said something about saving my life earlier”
“They did. You ate a parasitic mushroom and had you not been rushed here by there ladies you would have died by the end of the day” Belladonna states
“You’re the bitch who lit me on fire” Luffy claps, then turns to Marguerite, Sweet Pea and Aphelandra “Thanks for saving my life earlier, sorry about flipping out about the shirt I shouldn’t have gotten so mad about it just because it’s not my style” he smiles sweetly, melting a few of the Kuja’s hearts
“Your apologies are worthless, this is Amazon Lily, Female Empire. Men are forbidden and for centuries we have upheld this absolute rule! You shall die like every other man before you” the angry looking one shouts as them pulling her snake bow back a little, ready to skewer the ‘vile penis haver’ (I don’t actually remember where I just referenced)
“Do we really have to kill them, they seem rather nice, sure the small one raised his voice but I can point to like 10 of us who are even more violent when angry”
“Aphelandra!” grumpy bitch yells “The snake princess will soon return, how do you think she’ll feel? There is no chance she would allow such a transgression to occur under her reign, better to execute them now than bother her with something so mundane”
Mirāu~ōku
“§ENOUGH!§” Kaos growls, snapping the arrow with blade like claws as the snake she’d been using as a bow actually whimpered and slipped through her fingers as it was once more limp as an animal.
“Wait, you could escape the whole time?” Luffy gasps
“You really have no idea how Pop’s fruit works do you?” Artemis sighs
Luffy chuckles, rubbing the back of his head “Nah, Devil fruits have always been more Kaos’ line of expertise, sorry”
“Can we just escape now Uncle Luffy, pointy hair’s brain has just finished resetting” Artemis asks, the straw hat nods then picks her up and kicks a hole in the room to escape
“Was that really necessary?” Kaos groans, holding another arrow between his fingers
“If you’re still alive when the princess arrives, the women who led you to and allowed your entrance into the village will be executed alongside you. We won’t need to report your infiltration if the 3 of you are de…” a tail wraps around her throat before slamming her repeatedly into the ground, knocking the grumpy bitch out cold.
“Nobody touches my family” he growls, shades slipping down his receding nose as he just barely avoids slipping into his hybrid form “Now if you don’t mind…” he winks and flickers over to the roof where Luffy was running, Artemis jumping from his back to Kaos’
“Where do they get all these arrows?” Luffy shouts as the Kuja recover enough to start shooting at them
“They make them themselves and seem to be a mostly hunter gatherer civilization so need a lot of them, I’m more surprised by the speed, I’ve seen guns with slower reloads then these chicks” the researcher responds, moving to Luffy’s right side to try avoid most of the projectiles “Also you might want to dodge”
“What?” Luffy asks just before jumping of the roof… then bouncing right off Apalandra’s boobs and turning into a living bouncy ball, somehow managing to avoid getting skewered without even trying
“Uncle Luffy’s got the weirdest luck ay Papa” Artemis chuckles
“Pretty much, now let’s follow him” Kaos agrees, using Apalandra’s helmet so he could leap over the larger woman, then continue following his idiot from the rooftops
“Luffy! Stop stealing everyone’s food! It’s like you’re trying to give them a reason to kill you” he groans, smacking him upside the head as they final drop down beside their captain
“But I’m hungry, plus running around is tiring” Luffy whines
“Then run in the direction of the walls, so we can escape, rather than haphazardly around the village”
“Oh yeah. This is why you’re part of my crew, you’re the smart one. Hey, do you know where Rayleigh’s Vivre card is?”
The purplete stops for a moment “No, that was all you”
“Oh, maybe the blond one knows, she’s the one who took all my clothes” Luffy muses
“Um guys” Artemis pipes in “We’re surrounded”
“Congratulations Luffy, you pissed everyone off in less than an hour, a new record even for you”
“That’s… accurate” Luffy sighs, then spots Merguerte “Found her” he grins shoot his hand out and wrapping it around the Kuja, reeling her in like a fish “I need to ask you a question, but I can’t do that in this crowd, so I’m gonna take us somewhere quieter” he explains then starts bouncing up the wall of the village
“Took him long enough” Kaos facepalms, then follows with sickled toeclaws, Artemis held in his arms rather than on his back for her own safety. They reach the top just as Luffy leaps off the side and into the jungle “Still a f*cking idiot though” he sighs, then leaps after him.
Gum Gum Balloon
“Ok, now we’re safe, probably” Luffy smiles, then turns to Marguerite who’d been panicking the entire way down “You ok now? We’re on solid ground again”
The blond grits her teeth and draws her knife “How? How did you get fat and how did it let us survive that fall? And YOU!” she gestures at Kaos, switching the target of her weapon between the brothers every few seconds “What are you? Your body fell apart, like to ash or something, then you were in front of Kikyo, fully reformed. Plus there’s your eyes, like a snake’s and don’t bullsh*t me with the Kuja bloodline excuse, everyone knows Kuja only make girls”
“What’s the point in us answering, you’re not going to believe us anyway?” Kaos shrugs while Luffy just laughs
“This, I’ve heard the menfolk have the cootie virus, is that what gives you those strange abilities?”
“Huh, usually it’s boys who think girls have cooties, though in both cases it’s kind of bull. As for the powers, it’s complicated, like ‘Kaos is dedicating his life to understanding it’ level complicated” Luffy answers “So, now I’ve answered your questions, there was something in the pocket of my pants when you took them, do you still have it?”
Marguerite pauses, then reaches into her fur bikini and pulls out the folded vivre card “Is this what you were talking about?” she asks, then gets almost jumped by Luffy
“YES! Thank you so much I was freaking out thinking I’d lost it” he gushes, all the while Marguerite tries to pry his hands off her own. Finally she gives up and lets him release her on his own, as well as take the page off her
“It had a name on it so I kept it in case it was important. What is it if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Just look” Luffy offers, setting his hand flat so he could determine where next to go
“How strange, it appears to be moving, that’s not ordinary paper is it?”
“Nope, it’s something called a Vivre card. It’s supposed to tell you where someone is, vaguely, as well as their overall health. This one is for a friend of ours, we’re supposed to meet up with him and the others in a few days” Kaos explains
“But we all got blasted off to who knows where, so it’s up to us to all get back to him, which is a pain” Luffy sighs then perks up “Oh yeah, thanks for saving my life and everything earlier, anything you need just ask”
Her eyes sparkled “Can you pull out your family jewels and show them to me?”
“What no way lady, I wanna have kids someday!” Luffy shouts defensively
“Plus they already belong to 2 other ladies, who would beat him black and blue, then kill you slowly and painfully for even touching them” Kaos adds, a sad*stic purr in his tone
“Men are liars and cheapskates” Marguerite huffs then sits on a root same as the others “These friends of yours, what are they like?”
“Oh, we’re all pirates, you do know what pirates are, right?” Luffy asks, a reasonable question to ask someone who didn’t know what MEN are
“Of course I do (never mind), in fact the Empress of this country is a pirate herself” Marguerite replies
“Oh, cool. So you have an all girl pirate crew then. Are they strong, cause if I’m being honest physically speaking only Alvida is a strong woman on my crew, the others have important roles, but only she can hit things even as close to as hard as I can” Luffy asks then tangents, but it was more mumbling so the other strawhats weren’t sure if she even heard that part
Marguerite scowls “What a foolish question. Only the most elite warriors are allowed to sail as a member of the Empress’ crew, so of course they’re all strong. In this proud nation all the women of Amazon Lily look up to the Snake Princess, her beauty is unparalleled, she’s noble and strong, she is the Pirate Empress: Boa Hanco*ck”
“Didn’t Ace mention her when he was asking who Artemis’ mom was?” Luffy stage whispers, getting a nod from both of his crewmates
“She and her sisters, they’re the protectors of the island, and, if I’m being perfectly honest, they’re our heroes” Marguerite says with a slight blush
Bong Bong
“Oh sh*t, she’s back, and you’re all still alive” the blond starts to fret “I’m too young to die!”
Back in the village
Warriors, into the forest, we must find the men and end them!” Kikyo bellows the warriors salute and begin their search
“My my, someone’s having a bad monthly” A silky purr sends a shiver down the woman’s spine
“Who let you out?” she sneers
“Sesesese I can’t leave village dearie, but I can leave my home, so says the Empress” the woman grins widely, running her fingers across the scorpion bulb like tip of her ponytail “I hear we have manfolk in town, decided to bring the baby batter to the women instead of sending them out to get it?” she teases
“Serpens” Kikyo sneers, as the tail shoots forward, brushing against the younger warrior’s neck
“While nice to see you know who your betters are, my name is just that, not a curse or an insult. Now, one of these men, could he speak in our tongue?”
“Yes, why does it matter?”
“Because I’ve been waiting for that arrival. As strong as his mother that boy, to give you all so much trouble, but he takes more after me, given he’s a pirate” Shaula coos, her violet eyes widen and filled with amusem*nt
Kikyo grits her teeth “So he wasn’t lying, he IS a male Kuja, but how?”
Shaula laughs “That’s not for me to answer my dear, only to divine the Empress’ future, and get the Princess ready for the Father” with that the woman turns to leave, the tail slipping back under her skirt.
Back to the Jungle
“Um Miss, how exactly do we leave, Amazon Lily is in the East Blue Calm belt?” Artemis asks catching Luffy’s attention, as well as draining some of his enthusiasm
“We’re in a CALM BELT!”
“Men really don’t listen” Marguerite notes, getting a hissed chuckle from Kaos
“Some of them do, but Luffy does have a habit of forgetting information that’s not immediately useful to him. Now about the boat”
“Yeah… we don’t have those here” the blond answers flatly
“WHAT!!! But you said the princess or Empress or whatever is a pirate, how do you do that without a ship?” Luffy asks in confusion
“The Empress’ ship, the Perfume Yuda, is pulled by 2 giant, venomous Sea Snakes, to keep the Sea Kings away as well as move the ship through the currentless water. It’s the only ship, because it’s the only one we need” Marguerite explains
“No ship, no wind, what are the chances a raft could be paddled from here to Sabaody?” Luffy groans
“Slim to none” Kaos answers “Honestly our current best plan is steal the Yuda and have Shakky bring it back when we’re done”
“You can’t be serious!” Marguerite screams “Are all men this braindead and suicidal? You can’t just steal the ship of the Kuja pirates, you wouldn’t even get close enough to see the serpents pulling it!”
“But if we did, Kaos could talk to them convince them to help us… actually maybe we wouldn’t need to involve Shakky in our plans, you could just as them to bring the ship back when we get off” Luffy grins
“You people are idiots” she says through gritted teeth, then notches an arrow “If I stick around any longer I’ll grow attached to your stupidity, like boar piglets. So die!” she fires, missing Luffy by an inch but putting a dent in the rock behind him
“Jeez, why do you people want to kill me so much, also…” Luffy yanks the arrow out of the rock “...how can you do that, these arrows look perfectly normal yet they could… well do that” he points to the rock behind him
Marguerite rolls her eyes “Of course the arrows are strong enough to do that they’ve been imbued with our haki. Wait a minute, you men are mocking me aren’t you?” she fires again, this time aiming between Luffy’s eyes
Pris….”Ah, motherf*cker!” Kaos curses as the arrow pierces his hand despite his devil fruit being active
“Haki, it can ignore Devil fruit powers?” Luffy gulps
“There she is! Marguerite, are you safe?”
“Sounds like the mob is back” Artemis sighs while the researcher pulls the arrow out of his hand
“They’re here, eliminate them!”
“Well, guess we’re running again” Luffy leaps to his feet and leads the charge, Artemis once more clinging to Kaos’ front, her arms wrapped around his neck like a constrictor.
A little off the coast of Amazon Lily
“You’re quite bold to lay anchor in Sea King infested waters, well either that or just dim” a Kuja pirate notes, the entire crew giving the marines opposite them the stick eye
“Yes, we did notice the sea kings thanks you, a late warning is better than none I suppose” the boss Vice Admiral Momonga states calmly “The Seastone lining the hull of our vessel may mask our prescience for a while, but in the time we spent waiting for your arrival, they eventually became aware of our prescience. We would prefer to do this another way, but the agreement between the Kuja and the Government forbids us from getting any closer than 3km of Amazon Lily. So here we are, sitting in a monster’s nest while you ladies take your sweet time to answer our summons''
“Hey, did you hear the rumours about the Kuja’s Captain?”
“That’s she’s the most beautiful person alive? Yeah”
“but nobody who claims that has ever actually seen her, so it’s really just rumors”
“One rumor says she’s a monster who can turn people to stone just by looking at her”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard”
The kuja notices the Sea King floating dead behind the marine vessel “So, you killed that, I’m actually kind of impressed, especially one that size”
Momonga nods “Those of us who travel on the Grand Line are familiar with these, Beasts, but I’ll admit the ones in the Calm Belts are a special kind of difficult” he sneers, flicking blood off his sword “Let’s get down to business. I am Vice Admiral Momonga of Naval Headquarters. Warlord of the Sea and Pirate Empress, Boa Hanco*ck, I am here for you, reveal yourself!”
“The Snake princess won’t come when you call like some pet”
“There’s your answer so take a hike”
“We received a message from your Empress that she would reply to our summons, but it appears she was insincere” Momonga states, throwing a paper across to the pirates “This morning’s paper, the location and date of Portas D. Ace’s execution has been decided. It’s too late to turn back now, the World Government has issued strict orders that the 7 Warlords be present, refuse and our agreement will be voided, your Empress’ title as Warlord revoked and you will be hunted down like every other pirate, is that understood?” he shouts
There was silence, then the clicking of heels on hardwood, before the doors to the main structure are pushed open, and SHE stepped into the light, then making her way to one of the snake’s heads
“At long last, Boa Hanco*ck”
“§Turn, and bend level with the deck, I might as well grace these fools with my beauty§”
“§Yes Mistress§”
“Keep your guard up men” Momonga orders as one of the Yudas dip and turn to them, the Empress standing on the crest of it’s skull
“Who knows what kind of monster this Kuja Empress could be”
“I am here” Hanco*ck states in a bored tone as the grinning serpent holds steady, putting her eye to eye with Momonga and his subordinates
“Holy sh*t she’s hot!”
“She really is the most beautiful woman in the world”
“The rumors were true!”
Back on the island
‘Crap, crap, crap the women on this island are scary’ Luffy thinks as he continues to dodge arrow volleys
“Halt men!”
“How about no? Also remember to write down that, to the shock of most women, men DO in fact have self preservation instincts” Kaos shouts back, giving the kuja a tight smile
“Screw it, time to get away from these crazy bitches, everybody jump” Luffy calls to his brother
Gum Gum Rocket
Akuma Kagami: Gomu Gomu no Zenmai
(It’s going to be one of those days, let’s see if things are going better out at sea)
Nope, all the marines are still drooling except Momonga who’s glaring at Hanco*ck, now joined on the Yuda’s head by a large panther, a hawk and her personal snake weapon/ familiar Salome, shortly followed by her sisters, the green haired, large headed and fork tongued Sandersonia and the strong but stocky, red headed Marigold
“So, you’ve come for me at last” Hanco*ck practically purrs “Stubborn and meddlesome I see. I shall be franky right now, I have no intention of keeping that promise, even less so as it was never mine in the first place. To put it another way, I refuse to go to war for you. Still I’ve grown rather fond of my position as Warlord, so I think I’ll keep it” she says, her lips curl into a half smile, setting hearts racing “Also, you shall be giving me all the cargo on your ship without complaint” she orders, as it seems someone remembers what pirates normally do, steal sh*t!
“That’s enough!” Momonga bellows “I won’t stand here while you act like a spoiled child. Do you honestly think we’ll accept such unreasonable demands?”
“Yes” Hanco*ck states bluntly, the snake’s head rising so the Gorgon sisters were looking down on the marines, which to her sister’s amusem*nt they were actually following her commands, until Momonga had to be a spoilsport and snap them out of the near hypnosis Hanco*ck’s beauty caused in them.
“Portas D. Ace’s public execution will be one week from today, held in the town square of Marineford. In other words, we’re doing this right in the middle of Navy Headquarters itself. There is no doubt Whitebeard will attempt to rescue him in the next few days, likely with the strength of his entire crew and many allies behind him. Under the 3 Admirals and with the aid of the 7 Warlords, Navy Headquarters is determined to stop him at any cost...”
“So you found a replacement for Crocodile, good for you. Also I feel you should get your head examined if you think I’m going to stand between a Yonko and one of his crew, especially Whitebeard” Hanco*ck hums, though whether Momonga was meant to hear her or not was difficult to tell.
“...will you give up your title of Warlord, or accept your orders?” Momonga asks as he finishes his speech “Make your decision quickly, you’ve kept us waiting long enough”
Hanco*ck sits down and smirks “I’ve already told you, I like being a Warlord, however I also despise the World Government. I have no desire to follow their orders, surely I can find a better solution” she muses, then gives a sanguine smile “Oh, I know. The marines who were escorting me had a ‘mysterious accident’ when they were discovered they’d been petrified and prompt disposed of, you know how I hate ugly things after all”
“I’ve tolerated your childish temper tantrums long enough, you don’t get to make idle threats to a Vice Admiral
“Silly men, thinking Big Sis makes idle threats” Marigold scoffs
“She’s a stone cold bitch, but she always gets what she wants” Sandersonia laughs, as Hanco*ck slides down the snake’s snout and drops onto the deck of the marine’s ship
“Do you want to know why? Because whether I kick a kitten, tear off your ears or feed your loved ones to my partner Salome, you would forgive me. Why? Because I am beautiful” Hanco*ck states, oddly without the arrogance you’d expect from such a statement, more like she was talking about the weather
(Personally I prefer Robin, but Hanco*ck is up there)
Strangely enough the reactions from 99% of the people within earshot were the same, screams of agreement, though in the Kuja’s case it was also a mix of how strong and beautiful their snake princess was for such a fact to apply to her, while the marines were just going ‘Yeah I’d do that’.
“The guilty thoughts swimming in your hearts” Hanco*ck says, flicking her hair and tilting her head back, then making a heart shape with her hands “Shall turn your flesh to stone”
§Mero Mero Mellow§
In an instant, a heart shaper beam of pink energy washes over the deck of the vessel, turning all but one of the marines to stone.
“I can’t say I’m surprised a Vice Admiral would find a loophole” Hanco*ck smirks amused that Momonga had stabbed himself to avoid falling under her spell, especially as it had seemed like he simply didn’t find her attractive until this point, but even he, found her beautiful, as all men do “Clever strategy, forcing the wicked thoughts from your mind with pain, I applaud your conviction and willpower, your men on the other hand, not so much”
“They should be ashamed” Momonga whispered, a marine should be above the temptations of the flesh
“Now there’s just you and us Vice Admiral, so, what now?”
“One, is not Zero” the Vice Admiral sneers, ripping the knife from his hand and standing tall once more
30 minutes later
“We shall return to our peaceful home of Amazon Lily” Hanco*ck orders, the Perfume Yuda now heavier with cargo
“Ay ay Snake princess”
“Listen and listen good Boa Hanco*ck, I won’t turn away!” Momonga bellows from his ship “I refuse to return empty handed! Unless you return in 2 days, your position as Warlord will be revoked!”
Hanco*ck tilts her head just enough to see him out the corner off her eye before replying “Do as you wish”
TBC
LW: So, I think that went well, well except for all the things that didn’t ;P. But honestly I think we’re off to a good start with this new arc, and I hope to see you all back in 2 weeks for the next instalment of RK&MM.
I’ve used it several times in the series already, but ‘§’ signifies when something is being spoken in the Kuja snake tongue, or a snake is speaking when in earshot of someone who understands them.
Chapter 110: We who are about to die, salute you!
Chapter Text
LW:So, this one has a few reveals that hopefully won’t lose me viewers (fingers crossed). Anywho, enjoy my friends, and have a lovely night
Rubber King and Mirror Master - We who are about to die, salute you!
When the Perfume Yuda entered the port of Amazon Lily, something odd happened, well when compared to most pirate’s arrival to an island, there were crowds of screaming locals cheering and gushing over how awesome they were, treating them like Rock Stars, even rolling out the red carpet, and while Hanco*ck had the clearly decade perfected resting bitch face the others well less stoic and were laughing and shouting back how they’d returned with a good haul this time, even her familiar seemed to be enjoying herself, though was still sticking to her mistress like glue, easier said and done for the largest of the companion animals on the crew.
“They’re even more hyped than usual, something must have happened while we were gone” Sandersonia muses, tongue flicking around like its own separate entity
“Nonsense, they’re just happy our dear sister has returned, the journey did go on longer than planned” Marigold argues lightly
“Welcome back princess, we’ve prepared a monkey carriage for you” the Kuja at the end of the carpet greets, standing next to what looks like a palanquin, set between 2 large, kasa hat-wearing monkeys
“Is there anything to report?” Hanco*ck asks flatly, the empress noticing the slightest twitch before she is given a ‘no’ from the woman “Fine, I’ll take my leave then” she shrugs, entering the carriage
Later
“Are you making deals with the government again?” was the 1st words out of the snake princess’ mouth as she enters the palace
The woman she was speaking to gave a half-smile, her large blue-grey eyes looking to be half-closed in a bored expression “Someone has to keep this island safe my dear, your inability to compromise with outsiders, particularly men means it falls to me” her head tilts as she speaks, the web-like collar of her dress shimmering in the sunlight
Hanco*ck grits her teeth, not wanting to have an outburst here, mostly because it would prove her point “Serpens Arachne” she growls “Never go behind my back again, anything you agree to, you let me know about, immediately” she commands, getting a high pitched chuckle from the woman before she bows
“But of course my empress, I live to serve,” she says before leaving, her backless dress exposing the large spiderweb tattoo across the back of her ribs and spine, as well as providing easy access for integrating with her familiar without having to repair outfits like some bonded Kuja.
Dealing with ‘her’ put the Empress in a noticeable bad mood, it also explained why despite being the eldest of her family, Arachne wasn’t the one to have a child, the middle sister had, at least if Shaula was trustworthy enough when it came to her own family history. Of course, she couldn’t throw a screaming tantrum, that wouldn’t be proper for someone of her status and beauty, though she did still vent her frustrations at the rather sad-looking little emerald, which she threw NEAR one of her many admirers/subjects, if she’d wanted to hit the woman it would have pierced her skull and come out the other end, her haki would ensure the outcome, as well as a simple, but also creepy in the Eldest Boa’s mind clay statue of well herself made by some of the local children, honestly the outfit was cute but the face, god the face
“It’s me” she muses, giving a smile, cute smile, which sharply drops “But made out of mud”
‘Ah sh*t, why did the Spider whor* have to be here when Mistress arrived?’ Salome whines to herself
Crash
If the palm strike didn’t already break it the heavy impact with the floor ensured the statue was broken beyond repair “Don’t bring filth like that into the palace again, it’s unsightly and amateurish” she sneers, pausing to rub her fingers along Salome’s skullcap as the snake butts her head against the woman’s elbow, before continuing on, her attendant following at a brisk pace “Enishida, I couldn’t help but notice the City Defenders were absent during our arrival. Care to explain?”
The blond Kuja freezes, then quickly catches up “You see, a large and violent monkey smashed through the village and ran off into the forest while you were away. Its power and ferocity was simply astonishing, so everyone left for the jungle to hunt it, lest it threatens our people a 2nd time” she explains/bullsh*ts, praying the Empress never finds out the truth “Don’t worry too much your highness it’s nothing to concern yourself with, plus I’m sure they’re very sorry they were unable to deal with the beast before your arrival” she adds, as Hanco*ck sighs lightly, then settles herself in Salome’s coils, the large serpent a surprisingly functional chair for the Kuja Queen.
“You’re probably right” Hanco*ck hums “White sake, leave the bottle” she orders, lightly but tense
“Bring 2 cups dearie”
“Granny Nyon, just what I needed, another old crone interfering in my affairs” Hanco*ck sneers, her fists clenched against Salome’s coils
“How did she get past us?”
“Has she been here long?”
“How did we miss her?”
“Forget how, I’m here so just accept it” Nyon argues/ handwaves
“Get rid of her, immediately!” Hanco*ck orders, cold fury in her voice
“Hold it just a minute, listen here Snake Princess”
There was an awkward silence for a minute and a half before Hanco*ck asks “Do you have a point to make? Also, you forgot to say please”
Nyon huffs “Please listen, Snake Princess. I’ve received word a vessel from Central is anchored just offshore. They come with the express purpose to summon you, have they nyot?”
“Yes, because the other old hag can’t mind her own business” Hanco*ck mutters, but as expected Nyon wasn’t listening
“The World Government has called you into active duty”
“Correct, they want me to go to war, with a Yonko” Hanco*ck states, her facial expression blank
“Why are you here, you must go!” Nyon orders shrilly “You must uphold the agreement or they’ll revoke your title! I know you’ve just returned, but surely Princess, you have the strength to fight”
“I do… but I’m afraid to go, I don’t wanna die Granny Nyon” Hanco*ck admits, pouting cutely
“Aw, she looks like a puppy. Wait no I’m not falling for that again!” Nyon shouts then sighs “Listen here, Princess. The only things keeping this island safe are your title and Archanne’s dealings, especially after Medusa’s passing we’ve never been that secure from that point on. Our greatest deterrent and protection from outside forces is Amazon Lily’s location within the Sea King-infested waters of the Eastern Calm Belt. But as time marches on, so does technology, once only the Kuja yudas could cross these waters, but the Navy now have ships with the power to do so easily. We need new weapons now the sea is no longer a deterrent, and we no longer have a Vice Admiral in our corner, your title as Warlord and the protection it gives your home island is the only reason the Central dwellers leave our vessel alone. Think of your people, our island is home to many children and elderly, they can’t fight against the Central Forces, they would be senselessly killed by the savagery of man. Without your title, we would be just a nation of pirates, and we would soon be overrun and destroyed!”
The corner of Hanco*ck’s mouth quirks upward as she accepts her drink from Enishida “Now who sounds afraid? you old coot”
“I’m old, I could drop dead at any moment” Nyon retorts, a collective ‘please do’ passes through the Kuja in the room, as the woman always did a number of the Empress’ patience and restraint. “But if I can’t convince you, I shall use my mystic orb to show you the path to your future” she drones, pulling out a crystal ball and setting it within the coils of her snake
“Granny Nyom’s predictions are never wrong” Enishida squees, while Hanco*ck frowns, unimpressed
“I shall conjure an image of your fate. yom, yom yom” the old lady hums, circling the orb, and as subtly as a crazy OAP can, pulls out a brush before stepping away “BEHOLD!”
On the crystal ball, was the word “GO”
Hanco*ck’s eyebrows twitch “You’re not getting your old job back”
“That woman is a hack and an addict, she should have been executed when Medusa brought her back, not let run free because you are amused by her” Nyom sneers, ducking when Hanco*ck throws her sake glass at her
“Enough of his bullsh*t, I let you prattle on and you treat me like a child, get it through your thick skull Gloriosa, you’re not the Empress of Amazon Lily anymore, I AM. This time I mean it, throw this old hag out immediately!”
“Yes snake princess”
“Hold it just one minute”
“And why should I, listen to a disgraced former ruler who abandoned her people to explore the Outer Seas or a crone who makes deals with the people I despise more than any other behind my back? You may think Shaula is a hack but she was a pirate and a warrior, the same kind of person every Kuja either is or wishes to be” she hisses, her spine tilting back enough she was looking at the ceiling, her breasts the highest point of her body at the moment.
‘Oh my gosh it’s incredible, the Empress looks down on someone so hard it comes back around to the point she’s looking up!’ a few of the Kuja servents gush
Hanco*ck then straightens up and lifts Nyom by her hair “Never presume your advice is needed or even desired, the world, and this island most of all will be better off when you finally drop dead” she growls “Now, get out of my sight!” she yells, flinging the old bat out the nearest window
“A curse on your Snake Princess!”
“§Sesese, my I’ve not seen her this energetic since I was a girl, you really do have a talent for riling her up Princess§”
“Serpens Shaula, how long have you been standing there?”
“Since she started screaming, so not that long, glad to see your excursion was fruitful” she says with a friendly smile “Do you require anything of me?”
Hanco*ck sighs “No, though I feel unclean after touching that demented old hag. My bath had better be prepared”
“Yes, snake princess!”
“And Shaula, any advice?” she asks, the purple-eyed woman noting a hint of she was tempted to say ‘vulnerability’ in her voice
“Everything is proceeding as planned, just go about your day and all will be well”
Hanco*ck frowns “For once, your platitudes do nothing for my feelings, but, I shall allow it today. Just… find him” she orders, then turns to leave
“Kyukyukyu” she laughs, sounding like clicking pincers “Of course my dear empress” she nods, following the procession of people leaving the palace so the Empress could bathe in peace, only her sisters were allowed to remain behind. The woman watches the palace in anticipation, though amuses herself listening in on one of the warriors explaining how the Boa sisters killed a Gorgon and were cursed with its demonic eyes upon their backs turning all who saw them to stone. Her familiar asks wasn’t it wrong to lie to children, and she chuckles, squeezing the bulb to add its venom to her tea.
“§Attention everyone, the Empress shall commence bathing. For the next several hours, nobody is allowed to enter the palace under any circ*mstances!!§”
“You’re in charge of keeping watch today,” Hanco*ck says as she enters the bathing chamber
“Of course dear sister” Marigold nods
“Take your time, you need to relax at some point today” Sandersonia muses, flashing a cheeky grin, then pouts when both her sisters ignore her, Hanco*ck silently stripping her cloak and dress before slowly padding her way into the cool, knee-high water.
Elsewhere
“Ow, f*ck! Damn snakes! Hey, how come they’re only biting me?” Luffy whines as the trio run, stopping oddly enough back where they started, on the walls of the Kuja village
“They’re afraid of Papa, and I asked them not to” Artemis chirps, which the Captain nods in understanding to, given he ate a snake fruit they probably see him as a big, scary UBER SNAKE or something. You don’t screw around with one of those.
“§LEAVE§” Kaos growls the snakes immediately let go and flee in terror
“Thanks” Luffy grins, then frowns “Hey, does snake talk always sound so gravely and throaty?”
“Yeah, seems to just be the way everything is spoken. Honestly surprised I haven’t torn my throat yet” Kaos chuckles, clicking his tongue against his pointed teeth
“It sounds weird sometimes, but before Papa, I’d only heard snakes talk, so I guess it does” Artemis shrugs
“K. Now onto the plan. We ask the locals to borrow their ship, hopefully, they can drop us off somewhere near Sabaody” Luffy explains
“This might be the dumbest plan you’ve ever had” Kaos deadpans
“Whirlpool, barrel” Luffy refutes, and the researcher nods sadly “Anyway, someone with access to the one ship on the island would need to be someone pretty high up, so they must live in a tall building,” Luffy thinks aloud, Artemis about to argue with his claim but Kaos stops him, mostly because he wanted to see where this was going “Now where would that be… screw it we’ll just try the first tall building we see. Like that one” he grins, then pushes Kaos off the wall, jumping after him, with Artemis following suit in worry (as well as little annoyance her uncle thought it was best to volunteer her Pops to take the dive first)
CRASH
“Something just fell through the castle roof!”
“Oh no, that’s where the Empress is taking her bath”
Shaula grins, they finally arrived, not a moment too soon, now to wait for the new Kuja.
“§Monkey D. Luffy. I hate you, from the bottom of my cold blackened heart§” Kaos hisses, pushing his wet hair out of his face as he stands up after falling into the bath, Luffy arriving a moment later, though catching Artemis did get him some points back in his first mate’s book
“Huh, this is a huge bath” Luffy muses, setting Artemis down, then freezes “Crap, I think we interrupted something”
Kaos turns, his eyes widen and his pupils dilate to the point they look almost human again, as Luffy was right they had interrupted someone’s bathtime, given the naked woman standing opposite them, looking at them over her shoulder in shock “Men?” she says with a confused tone, but it was different than the ones outside, she knew what a man was, she just didn’t know why 2 of them were in her bathhouse.
“Hey that thing on your back” Luffy hums “It looks kind of familiar” and given until he mentioned it they were essentially behind her… Kaos knew he was right, they knew exactly what that mark was.
Of course, once he did a switch was flipped in the woman’s mind, confusion giving way for anger (seems to be the Kuja way) as her innocent expression quickly morphed into a hateful sneer “You saw it?”
“Hard not to, it takes up quite a bit of the middle of your back” Kaos mutters just as the door behind Hanco*ck swings open with a loud bang
“Everything ok, I heard a crash” Marigold calls as the 2 sisters force their way in, then stop and stare in shock
“Men, on Amazon Lily” Sandersonia gasps, her tongue dipping into her cleavage as her jaw drops, meanwhile Hanco*ck steps out of the bath backwards, hiding her shame, though not her modesty, until a robe is laid on her shoulders
“Cover yourself from their leering gaze”
‘2 Zoans, no 2 Hebi Hebi no mi zoans and a Paramecia. Interesting’
“That seems rude, Uncle Luffy’s committed, and … actually you do kind of look like Mama, maybe Uncle Ace was right” Artemis hums, tilting her head cutely, drawing attention to herself
“Aw, she’s adorable” Sandersonia gushes “Can we keep her?”
“That’s not how that works sister” Marigold scolds her older, but oddly more childish sibling
“Yes, it is, ever heard of a pirate adoption? Find a child either without family or in a sh*tty home situation, bring to ship, and leave. Simples” the verdette cheers
“My secret, it’s out” Hanco*ck whimpers, clearly not paying attention to the conversations going on around her “They saw my back”
“Oh, explains why you were fine with flashing the men your tit*, what’s on your back’s a MUCH bigger deal” the middle child nods in agreement
“Then we can’t let them leave the castle alive” Marigold hisses, clutching her weapon
“Jeez, what’s with you chicks and being so murder-happy on this island? All I saw was your back, no big deal” Luffy groans “Though that mark, it did look kinda familiar” he hums
‘Let’s see if the hamster’s still alive in there’ Kaos thinks, wondering how long it would take for Luffy to figure it out, or if he’d have to tell him
“What you saw is a secret we’re willing to die for, or I suppose more accurately kill for” Hanco*ck states flatly
“Seriously, what’s your problem lady?”
“Enough talk, drown in your perversions”
Mero Mero Mellow
Akuma kagami
“Papa!”
“Don’t worry child, everything will be ok”
“I’m so confused” ‘Why isn’t anything happening, it’s not Splithead’s power cause Kaos still has his fruit, but it is a bright pink beam so… I dunno’
“Sister stop the beam!”
“Not until they’re de…. Release!” Hanco*ck practically screams, her eyes white as she looks down at her left arm, petrified as if struck by her own Perfume Femur attack ‘How, what are these men?’
“Out of curiosity, how do you reverse these effects?” Kaos asks, with a wide grin that exposed long narrow canines
“Mezameyo” Hanco*ck spits, getting madder when her arm remained in its statuesque form even when she used the release command
“§Mezameyo§, good to know” Kaos smiles sweetly, watching as the stone flakes off Hanco*ck’s arm to the Boa sibling’s shock
“He has the snake tongue!”
“But, he’s a human male!”
“More importantly, why did neither of them turn to stone! I understand the child, I doubt she’s old enough to understand true beauty, but they saw my body in its pure nude form, they can’t have not felt even a hint of lust for me, my beauty is without peer!” Hanco*ck shrieks, until something, clicks in her mind ‘Hang on’ she notes that after repeating her release phrase the taller male pushed back his cloak with a shoulder shrug. Sure it may have been accidental or coincidental, but if he’d been wearing them even half as long as she had, you learn how to get them to move and sit how you want them to, so he must have been hiding something ‘The child said her ‘uncle’ was in a committed relationship, so he probably could overcome my power with the pure thoughts of his beloved, but the other one, he must have been partially petrified like myself, hiding it so we’d think they were both immune to my powers. As for his ability to speak our tongue… I don’t know, you can’t fake something like that’
“K. I mean you’re probably as big up top as Robin, and Alvida would definitely want to touch your butt, but I ain’t getting within 10 feet of that conversation alone. So bye!” Luffy shouts, looping his arms around Kaos and Artemis, then leaping out the window, to what for anyone else would be certain death.
“They’re getting away sister!”
“Not for long”
Pistol Kiss
While it also failed to petrify the rubber boy, it did distract him so he landed on his back rather than his feet, Artemis and Kaos being thrown a few feet in either direction
“We have intruders, 2 men, and a child. Capture them immediately!” Hanco*ck orders from the window
“Men, but how did they even get on the island?” one Kuja pirate wonders
“Who gives a sh*t, I hope they’re strong, or hot, maybe both. We better catch the bastards before someone else does, Kuja don’t exactly get male company often you know” her crewmate cheers
“Well, that sucked, weird bullets the crazy lady had, didn’t bounce off me like a normal one” Luffy thinks aloud as he sits up, only to once more get an arrow pointed at his face “This is starting to become a habit” he deadpans
“I’m starting to think you’re plan was destined to fail” Kaos sighs, a few Kuja also aiming their weapons at him
“These are the all-women pirate crew we were told about earlier, right?” Luffy asks
“Most likely” Artemis nods
“Cool. Where’s your boss I want to talk to her” Luffy asks with a grin
“Why do you want to know that and why should we tell you?” the lead pirate asks
“Cause I wanted to ask her if we could hitch a ride on her ship to get back to my friends, if it wasn’t too much trouble I mean” Luffy replies
“As to why, it gets us out of your hair without bloodshed” Kaos adds, though was unsure if it would actually mean anything
“That’s ridiculous, all men are forbidden on Amazon Lily, therefore you 2 are trespassers, the kid is mostly just collateral. There’s no way she’ll let any of you leave this island alive”
“Men are so dumb” one Kuja chuckles
“§Kuja aren’t much brighter§” Kaos hisses, Artemis chuckling as he scoops her up “We’re leaving right”
“Yep, guess we’re doing this the long and complicated way… I really hate it when this happens” Luffy sighs
“Stop them!”
Gum Gum Rocket
Dazzle
Mirāu~ōku
“sh*t, they’re getting away. After them, you heard the Snake Princess, they can’t leave the island!”
“Well, they’re chasing us again, what’s the next plan?”
“Find the ship and steer it ourselves”
Kaos sighs deeply “Yeah, I kind of guessed that. Ah crap” he stops grabbing Luffy as the hunters appear in front of them “Guess they’re back from the forest”
“Great, more crazy people trying to stick up full of arrows!” Luffy groans as the 3 leap and run across the rooftops… well until Luffy stops for a snack
“This isn’t really the time” Kaos facepalms as the old bat looks from her paper to Luffy and back
‘There’s nyo way, but it is’ “You, man stand still and let me look at you!”
“Not into old ladies, thanks!” Luffy shouts back, then gets pinballed when Nyom Gran Torino kicks the 2 into each other and in doing so the wall “Great, even the old ladies are crazy strong”
“You do realize Garp isn’t much older than her right?” Kaos groans
“There were easier ways to get them to stop you stupid hag” Shaula coos, leaping over a railing as the Kuja pirates surround the pirates “But I guess if you can’t kill me, these men will have to do,” she says with a tone of mock hurt
The Arena
“And once again I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO’S TIED UP!” Luffy shouts, as the snakes currently wrapped around his body straight up refused to go anywhere near Kaos, to the amusem*nt of the woman standing with Artemis by her side, the bulb of her ponytail swaying hypnotically
“I feel like a lawyer, where’s Nami when you need her?” Kaos hums, clicking his tongue as the Boa sisters take their place on the top platform
“I’m waiting you know, for my explanation, on how you got to this island and what you intended to do” Hanco*ck orders, her tone firm but noble
“I don’t know, one second I was fighting Panda Man, then we were flying through the sky, I think I slept through most of that, and then we landed here”
“An unlikely story to the point it’s farcical, I should inform you that lying to me will only make your death more painful in the long run”
“Bartholomew Kuma. He sent us and the rest of our crew flying to the 4 corners of the world, we only all ended up here together because Artemis was already clinging to me when I grabbed Luffy just before he was paw cannoned to, well this place” Kaos clarifies, shrugging futilely when he sees the princess still wasn’t convinced
“How really doesn’t matter if I’m being honest, why is though, and you want something” Hanco*ck says, changing the subject, or maybe just stopping it from tangenting
“A ship, or at least a lift off the island since I heard you only have the one,” Luffy asks “Just to the nearest island, we can make our own way from there I promise” he smiles, but apparently it’s like staring a chimp in the eye or something for Kuja as they start to lose their sh*t
‘Huh, people less reasonable than Gramps, know knew that was even possible’ Kaos chuckles to himself, turning his attention to the woman supervising Artemis, confused when it looked like something moved in her hair, and more worryingly, something several somethings pierced the flesh around her hairline, digging in deep.
“§Something wrong kiddo?§” She coos softly, tilting her head curiously, wide purple eyes poking at a part of his brain that should be able to identify her… Oh, they were his eyes, before eating the fruit, different colour but same shape.
“§Our clan is made of stupid§”
“Kyukyukyu, you’re not entirely wrong, but given there have never been men on the island in recorded history you understand their panic and anger” Shaula chuckles, smiling impishly, then her eyes flash and her grin widens “Now that’s interesting” she coos
“Snake Princess please he’s not lying!” Marguerite shouts before leaping from the stands to the main platform the boys were standing/sitting on
‘Guess she got attached, he didn’t even incriminate her or anything so she’s really doing this because she cares. Good job not being a c*nt blondie’ Kaos thinks, smiling at the young Kuja warrior
“I know it sounds strange, but I don’t think this man is the kind of person who can tell a lie” she states in Luffy’s defense
“I mean she’s not wrong, most people think Luffy’s too stupid to lie, but really he just doesn’t see the point in doing so most of the time” Kaos mumbles, but nods in agreement with Marguerite
“Please believe me Snake Princess, this man appears to be unable to express anything without a child-like level of sincerity. I honestly think he would never try to inflict damage or bring danger to our land”
Luffy grins “Really? Thanks Margie, I knew you didn’t actually want to kill me” he almost chirps
“You’re one of our warriors correct?” Hanco*ck asks
“Yes, my name is Marguerite Princess” the blond nods
“Given men are forbidden on this land under penalty of death, I believe both their fates were sealed the moment they stepped foot on this island, so why defend them?”
“Then put up signs, or teach Kuma to aim better, if he wanted to kill us do it himself” Kaos huffs, Luffy frowns but nods, damn Paw Pad f*ck!
Marguerite bites her lip “Because the burden of guilt is not his alone. I was the one who brought the men into the village” she declares, getting gasps from the obvious and a facepalm by angry bitch (Yeah, forgot her name again, sorry not sorry)
“Snake princess steel your fury” Sweet Pea begs, dropping to her knees beside Marguerite
“She’s right but it was an accident we found the short one in the forest, covered in mushrooms, we thought they were one of us so brought them back to the village for treatment. Add that the other could speak our tongue and the third one actually is a female though not one from the island and we had no way of knowing we were bringing a man into the city” Apholondra adds “We’re just as guilty as Marguiete but under all those mushrooms we just couldn’t tell. Not all of us have heavenly bosoms like you Princess, some of us are almost as flat as the menfolk it appears” the mini giantess argues, ignoring her friend’s attempt to get her to shut up, or for both her and SweetPea to let her take the blame alone
“Aw, you 3 aren’t so bad, sure you were trying to kill us earlier but it turns out you’re all pretty nice” Luffy smiles, a flutter passes through the 3 warrior’s hearts at the genuine and kind look in his eyes
Pistol Kiss
Finally, Hanco*ck had had enough of this ‘trial’ (Enise Lobby called from Hell, they want their gimmick back) and strutted down the steps to the main platform stopping in front of a now prostrate Marguerite “It’s alright” she says, surprising all but one, who frowns “Lift your head Honest little Marguerite” she coos, pushing her head up with a finger so the blond looks her in the eye “I have a soft spot of hopelessly sincere people. Now my dear child, do you wish for my forgiveness?” she purrs, the warrior’s cheeks flush at being the sole target of the Empress’ attention
“I, I do” she nods sharply
“Then, you may rise to your feet” Hanco*ck says, giving a half-smile and a hair flick, now all 3 warriors were flustered and blushing
‘Crap, this is going to suck’ Shaula grimaces, then looks down and her jaw drops ‘f*ck’
‘Let’s see if Sister’s powers didn’t get broken from the men seeing her shame Kufufu’
Mero Mero Mellow
Luffy’s jaw drops and Kaos’ eyes bulge as with barely a flick of her wrist she turned the 3 warriors to stone, then turns on her heels and begins to casually walk away “That’s all 4 our your conspirators dealt with, all that’s left is to decide your method of execution”
While not the brightest tool in the shed, and reeling from the casual killing of her own people… Luffy could count “Um, that’s just 3”
Shaula sighs “No, it’s not,” she says stepping to the side revealing a petrified Artemis, and the temperature in the arena sinks like a stone
“Hey. Hey you. Turn them back”
“§Snake whor*, turn on that fat ass and look us in the eye when trying to kill us, or at least don’t be a petty little bitch about it when someone tells you that you’re wrong§” Luffy had no way of knowing what his brother just said but given his tone and the reaction from everyone else, well he was suddenly glad he didn’t understand
Shaula facepalms “She f*cked up big time, you stupid child. You had to get petty”
Hanco*ck’s jaw clenches to the point her sisters hear her teeth grinding “Release Bacura!” she bellows, a massive panther leaps onto the platform
“Bacura is the current generation’s official execution method of the Kuja. Be thankful she’s not been fed in a few days, she’ll kill you quickly” Marigold explains as it was clear Hanco*ck was in no mood to speak, just watch the bastards be torn apart if the bloodlust billowing off her was anything to go on
“Kufufu, blink and you’ll miss it girls, normally she’d torture and torment them for hours, but now, they’ll be dead in moments” Sandersonia laughs as the snakes uncoil from Luffy’s body
“I don’t care about your stupid kitty, turn them back now!” Luffy shouts while Kaos silently glares, then turns...
Sen'ei Jashu
...and kills the panther with a single strike, his fingers piercing its skull like a sword through a melon “You’re right, that was over quick, who wants to try next?” his shades had already slipped from his face and the expression was bone-chilling “there are a lot of people between you and us Princess, but you have until we get to you to change them back”
“We’re done playing around,” Luffy says coldly, eyes covered by his hat “You’re all cowards for letting that bitch turn your own people, comrades to stone, and then just sit there and laugh!”
“Sesese, she is a Queen though, but we’ve not had the best history with royals, we tend to, break them” Kaos purrs, forked tongue slipping past a maniacal grin
Hanco*ck grits her teeth and sighs deeply “What you men don’t understand around here, is that I will always be forgiven because I am beautiful” Hanco*ck explains, causing an eruption of heart-eyed idiots not seen since they visited Loguetown “I’m sure even you savages can see that” she brags
“Robin’s better” Kaos and Luffy state a moment later, the captain just stating a fact, his archeologist is basically a better, less c*nty version of Boa Hanco*ck.
Hanco*ck stares at them for a moment before falling back into Salome’s coils as if she’d fainted
“Be strong sister”
“This can’t be happening, there is no man alive who care resist my allure, they’ve even both seen me naked and it still wasn’t enough”
“I mean you’re hot and all, buuuuuut you have the personality of a sewer rat” Kaos shrugs
“Oh now he’s done it, let’s kill them… or maybe just the small one” Sandersonia suggests, though her confidence fails her as she stares into those slit eyes. Still the 2 jump down to the platform ready for battle
“Kififi”
“sh*t” Shaula hisses as heels click behind the men
“You can have the child to toy with Gorgon Sisters, I’ll deal with the bastard” Arachnee purrs “Prepare to meet your end, a fate 18 years late” she declares, drawing a rapier while the sister’s transform
“Hebi Hebi no mi?” Luffy asks offhand, getting a nod from his brother “Normal or mythical?”
“Normal. I’d ask if you want to swap but swords were never your thing either”
“She got powers?”
“She probably has that haki bullsh*t, but no Devil fruit, unlike her sister… or me”
Luffy frowns at the tone, then grimaces “Family reunions always seem to suck for us”
“Goes without saying I’m afraid. Good luck Lu”
“Thanks, Kaos. We’ll fix her, we’ll fix all of them” he says with the confidence of a fact, but as casually as describing the weather “Also, could you give me a hand for a minute, after what just happened I don’t think these bitches would care if they broke the girls that got petrified. Just grab the tall one I’ll handle the other 2” he asks, getting a nod as Kaos gives a sign for TimeOut and walks over, lifting Apholandra and moving her to the platform Shaula and Artemis had been standing on, then jumping back. Luffy on the other hand just moved SweetPea and Marguiete to a lower level of the arena, as he was pretty sure they would only be fighting in the main area, mostly because the Boa Sisters hybrid forms looked like they were too girthy for the narrow sections.
“That was a kind gesture, but you sssshould be more worried about your own livesss than our former comradesss” Sandersonia lisps
“Not really, I’m still gonna kick your asses, I just didn’t want anyone else to get hurt while I did it” Luffy shouts back
“Honestly, surprised you let me do that” Kaos chuckles, then has to duck as a spear-like appendage shot at him “That’s not right” he muses, given it looked like an insect leg, and she didn’t have Devil fruit powers “That’s not Haki is it?” he asks
“Kififi, nope, it’s the Kuja’s greatest hidden technique: Familiar bonding. If my name didn’t give it away....”
“You kind of forgot to give it” Kaos argues, then groans as more legs come out of the woman’s back
“Serpens Arachne, and like the name implies my familiar is a spider, and thanks to a lifetime of training she and I can work as one flawlessly. You won’t leave this arena in any way but pieces, now die!” she cries aiming for his heart with her rapier only for Hebi to block it with a Greatsword form “Strong blade, maybe I will need haki to kill you after all” she muses, as the spider legs gain an oily sheen and her sword turn black as night
“I’ll give you this, you at least know a rapier, like a spear is a thrusting weapon, meant for stabbing things” Kaos smirks, then flickers out of the range of her attacks, at least the ones he expected her to know
Marigold chuckles “co*cky little sh*t, aren’t you. One word of advice man, don’t fall into the pit between the arena and the stands unless you can somehow survive being impaled on razor-sharp blades k?”
“Um, thanks I guess. Are those blades secured to the ground, cause otherwise, someone determined or desperate enough could probably rip one out and use it as a weapon?” Luffy asks but was ignored as the Cobra woman lunges at him with her naginata, though after managing to dodge enough of her strikes she switches to spitting poison at him
“Ok, so you’re one of those snakes” Luffy sweatdrops, dodging the purple lugie
“Now there’s an idea, why didn’t I think of that?” Kaos hums, grunting as he’s pushed back after another blocked strike from Arachnee’s spider limbs “Eh, life or death is probably the best time to try new sh*t out” he muses, Arachnee confused when his throat bulges for a moment, as he expells a fine lightly purple mist from his pursed lips, followed by a quick snap from reflect armored fingers
- Yūdokuna hinotama§
“You really think a little fire will be enough to put me down, freak?” Arachne sneers as she dodged, then pins her blade through his hand, only ripping it back when he kicks her right in the gut
“No, but I’m improvising here” Kaos hisses, his fruits mixing power to make jagged looking claws on his left hand, the right still spinning Hebi
“Poison, that doesn’t narrow it down at all, lots of snakes have poison” Luffy mutters to himself, dodging toxic spitballs as he rushed headfirst for the larger Lamia
Gum Gum Stamp
The kick hits her hand but bounces right off, the moment of shock long enough for Marigold to jab him with the butt of her weapon, throwing him across the arena
“sh*t forgot that haki stuff cancels out Devil fruit powers” Luffy groans, not used to someone even having a chance to kick his ass the conventional way. So focused on the yellow one… he forgot about the green one until her tail had already wrapped around his waist
“Not fair sister, hogging all the fun with the man, guess I’ll have to steal him for myself if I want any playtime at all” Sandersonia whines, then winks and giggles “They say you’re made of rubber, but how tightly can I squeeze you before you pop like a balloon Kufufu?” she laughs and begins to constrict
“Yeah haki’s a bitch” Luffy wheezes, his Devil fruit completely ignored as she begins to squeeze, then brings him to her face which was stretched into a smile
“You have powers just like we do, my sisters and I, the Soothsayer and him. Paramecia if I’m not mistaken” Sandersonia hums, low enough they wouldn’t be heard in the stands
“Ha, so you do know you have Devil fruit powers, not some Gorgon bullsh*t. You and the other one are snake Zoans, but the princess, well I guess she’s like me, a Paramecia type”
“More obssservant than your idiot persssona leads most to believe it seems” Sandersonia muses curiously
“I just don’t like overcomplicating things, besides, my brother’s the Devil fruit expert, he knew you were Hebi’s the second he saw you I bet he even knows what model too, I just picked up a few things from listening to him talk to himself and more recently Robin” Luffy tries to shrug but can’t
“Shame then. I presume neither of you can use haki then, given there have been no sssigns of it so far I mean? It’s rare in the outside world from what I’ve seen, which is why you’re all weak. Also, that left kick won’t work” she laughs, dodging the attack with minimal effort
Luffy’s eyes widen ‘f*ck’ “Kaos, Mantra is Haki!” he shouts as Sandersonia swings him with her tail before plowing him facefirst into the main arena
§Snake Slam§
Despite the dust cloud, Luffy happily bounces his way through a few cartwheels before coming to a stop “That didn’t hurt a bit, guess haki affects their bodies and weapons, but I still have my powers so blunt damage from everything else is useless” he smirks
“Well, that does explain why I can’t hit you, Auntie” Kaos frowns, getting a cut across the chest for the statement/taunt
“Medusa should have ended you when she learned you were a boy, you’re a disgrace to the Kuja bloodline” she sneers “I may never be able to kill Borsalino, but at least the taint of the main branch will be removed tonight” her left arms blocking Hebi as she aims once more for a heart strike with her rapier
Piercing Stab
“Motherf*cker” Kaos hisses, the blade grinding against his armored hand enough to tear up the palm flesh while retaining enough power to enter his chest, though luckily was blocked by a rib
“I can do this all day you little sh*t, whether I get my kill shot, or just fill you so full of holes you bleed out on the floor, you die tonight” she declares as she pulls it out once more, the teen leaping away to give himself a moment while the woman watches with sad*stic glee
Gum Gum Gattling
Snake Dance
The 2 soon separate, Luffy panting while Sandersonia is oddly enough whining like a kicked puppy
“Sister what’s wrong, your haki should have been more than enough to dodge all of his attacks” Marigold asks in confusion
“If you think it’s so easy then you can try, I on the other hand could feel his fists even through my scales, the little sh*t just used my tit* as punching bags for the last 3 minutes!” the elder lamia shouts, wincing and massaging her scaly titt*es in pain
‘How?’ The other 2 sisters thought ‘He doesn’t have haki, that much is clear, but he was able to strike Sandersonia, the one with the highest Observation of the 3 of us’
“Was I not supposed to be able to do that? Sorry, but my brother’s kind of a speed type when it comes to attacks, so I needed to get faster so we could still fight. He says I’m stronger but I think he’s just humoring me as captain” he chuckles
Snake stick
His moment of levity was taken advantage of with a sucker punch to the gut by a haki reinforced tail courtesy of Marigold, causing him to shoot off the platform and right over the spikes, luckily managing to grab the railing just before getting skewered
“I’m starting to think the hate you feel for me is reciprocal” Kaos hisses, swinging Hebi as a hand scythe, but the older Kuja just dodges or blocks with haki reinforced spider legs “How about you?”
“Your existence is a blight on the female nation of Amazon Lily, whatever you feel for me isn’t even a blip” she sneers
‘§Find me, come to the pit, and let us be one§’
‘Great, take too many blows to the head and the voices tell you to kill yourself. Charming’ Kaos thinks irritably
‘§A Kuja indeed, even with a sssnake between your legs. Stubborn bitches the lot of you§’ the voice continues, scolding the teen ‘§You want answers, you thinkers always do. Offer yourself to the pit, and you’ll get those answers§’
Kaos groans, then sighs ‘I’ve been listening to the voices in my head this long, why not this new one?’ he considers, wondering when would be the best time to implement this stupid idea
Boing
“Huh, been a while since I did that” Luffy hums as he bounces back onto the main platform “Oy… damn it I forgot the word. What did Dadan call women who dressed like her? Oh yeah. Oy slag, you suck!” Luffy shouts up at the Kuja Queen to the shock of everyone
Hanco*ck recoils in a faint “The torment never ends. Sisters, remove him from this word, I’ll never know peace until he’s been vanquished”
“On it Sister” Marigold coos
“But first, let’s break him in another way” Sandersonia grins, her long tail reaching over the railing, and pulling up a statue
“Hey, put her back, she has nothing to do with this” Luffy shouts, growling as the Anaconda woman bounces her around with her tail like a toy “Stop that, you’ll break her!”
“That’s the point hon, we’re gonna break all your little friends, Arachnee’s gonna kill the other man, and then we’re going to end you” Marigold laughs
“Don’t you dare!” Luffy yells, running straight for them
“§Leap, then fall§” Sandersonia narrates/predicts as Luffy dodges Marigold’s spear before being slammed down by the Cobra’s tail and lifted to their eye level
“You appear to be under the impression we’re playing fair, why should we let you make the rules when we’re here to execute you?” Marigold asks with a laugh while Sandersonia bounces Marigold on her tail tip like a ball, though given her Haki she would probably only actually drop her if she chose to.
“Compared to what you’ve done to our sister, this is nothing” the verdette purrs
“You bitch, do you have any idea how she felt? Marguerite loved this country and the princess, and you don’t even care!”
“Of course she does, everyone on Amazon Lily loves Big Sis. And I don’t see anyone but you telling us to stop Kufufu. Now let’s get this over with”
“3”
“Put her down this is all because of me!”
“2”
“Are you even listening to me you stupid snake?”
“1”
“Zero” Sandersonia coos, before swinging her tail down
“THAT’S ENOUGH!!”
A pressure wave rushed through the arena with Luffy at the epicenter, of the less than half not knocked out cold by the wave, only 2 people weren’t pushed back by the force, one of which grinning madly at the revelation, especially when both Luffy and Margueritte were gently set down on the arena ground.
‘Just like Rayleigh at the Auction House, oh this has to be a sign ay Luffy’
‘§A Conqueror, of course, the only men to show up on this island are Conquerors, f*cking perfect§’ the voice grouses, to which Kaos clicks his tongue and leaps, catching the lowest platform with his clawed fingers
“Given this is the dumbest thing I’ve done since taunting God, what now?”
“§Jump you stupid male!§” Was hissed just as blood-red eyes and ruby red fangs flash in the corner of his eye “§Leap up or we both die§”
“f*ck it, I literally have nothing else to lose” he groans, reaching out and sliding his fingers across the back of her skull, the snake coils around his arm as he kicks up and off, landing on the main platform… just as 6-inch fangs enter the left side of his neck
“Kififi, Kififi, you really are destined for death, did you think being Kuja would save you from the venom, if what I see is true, no living being can survive for longer than a minute with neurotoxins that strong running through their veins” Arachne laughs, while Shaula sighs, climbing the platform to reach Hanco*ck, she wanted to see these boys finally kick ass, she’d waited this long.
“The eldest Serpens laugher was interrupted by a younger, which had her eyes widen in shock “Sesese, who said anything about dying. As a fellow bonded, you think you’d know that already” a dual-toned voice purrs, and a grinning Kaos tilts his head, the left side’s scales mostly black with a golden yellow ‘eyemask’ ruby red ‘lips’ and a sabertooth-esque upper fang the same shade of red, while the rest of the snake had merged with his arm like a tattoo, except its blade-like tail, sticking out of his palm like an assassin’s hidden blade. “So, now we’re on an even playing field, still think you can take me down §Obasan§?” he purrs, a memory shooting to the surface of her brain as he puts his hands to the edges of his lips
“You don’t really think you’re my equal Oneesan?” Medusa coos with a sad*stic grin across her features, the haki infused kick having ripped another of her familiar’s legs off, then gripping a joint between her toes, rips another clean off, the woman’s own Vemonion Shadow Viper coiled around her shoulders and right arm, partially merged like a raised tattoo “Your power is a flicker compared to mine, even if I’m merely the 2nd born. You play the big fish while I’ve gone into the world, I’m a Marine Captain and a Conqueror, you never stood a chance, but what’s new there Sesese!” she laughs, forked tongue flicking past her teeth
(Technically I could end it here, but this is only a 2 episode fight, so I’ll just keep writing to the end guys)
“He really is one of us, but that’s not possible, especially not one of them. Nobodies’ been able to bond with…” she thinks aloud, then feeling a prescience casts her gaze rightward “Something to say about my failure, or just give me judgemental looks?” she asks heatedly, not turning her head, knowing she’d see disappointment in the eyes of the closest thing she had to a maternal figure
“Oh I’m here to watch the fireworks, we don’t get many of them out in the sea or Amazon Lily for that matter”
“Conquerors, or male Kuja?”
“Yes. But seriously, besides you the last Conqueror I knew was my old captain, alcoholic dickhe*d” she mutters “Oh and you’re wrong, there has been a Venominon bonding in living memory, well a variant but it counts. My sister, Serpens Medusa, she bonded with a Phantom Viper” she smirks
“She was, the Vice-Admiral yes?” Hanco*ck asks
“Correct, says something about the kid doesn’t it, both of them given he’s NOT the captain, the straw hat boy is” Shaula muses, then laughs as Luffy pulls out his special move
“Can all men do that?” Hanco*ck gasps
“I don’t think all the previous holders of the Gomu Gomu no mi could do that. This kid is good” she grins, which quickly turns to a grimace when she hears her sister’s screaming ‘f*ck my life’
“Ok, you’re pretty strong, should have known that given you’re both Zoans and you have that haki bullsh*t. Guess I should kick it up a gear then” Luffy says grinning widely, then pauses “Damn it, one second” before either sister could argue he’d already bounced away and put Marguerite back, then bounced back more or less to where he’d been standing a moment ago “There we go, just the 3 of us. Time to go all out then”
“I like this one he has such confidence, any idea where he stores it I want to rip it out with my own 2 hands” Sandersonia hisses, grinning maniacally
“I don’t think that’s how that works sister, but I’ll enjoy checking” Marigold agrees, spitting more poison at the boy
“You’re aim sucks just so you….crap it’s making smoke too” Luffy wheezes
“Correct, took you a minute but men are slow-minded so what else should I expect. My poison can take many forms, all of them deadly”
“Shouldn’t that be a problem for your allies?” Luffy asks between coughs
“Big Sis and Arachne have resistances to poisons, Sandersonia due to being a snake, like myself, and Arachne being a spider, only the men have anything to fear from my toxic mist” Marigold laughs
‘Laying it on a little thick there little sis’ Sandersonia grimaces, sure she did have SOME resistances, but as Anacondas are non-venomous if the battle goes on long enough she’ll start to feel the effects of her poison cloud just as much as the boys. Seeing as she was now on the clock too, the verdette started hammering the rubber boy with her haki infused tail, hoping he dies or even just passes out quickly
“You boys may have had speed on your side before, but my poison dulls the senses, then eats away at your insides Kukuku” Marigold laughs as she smacks Luffy around like a cat with a mouse, the pirate staying on his feet with swaying dangerously from side to side
‘sh*t this stuff is strong, I really wish I’d asked what the hell those girls were earlier. Time to pull out the big guns’ Luffy thinks as he tries to find an opening to get into position, not an easy task given he was fighting 2 large and angry opponents. Oddly enough it took getting knocked off the platform (and into the clear air of the pit) for his brain to clear enough for him to come up with a simple plan, blow the smog away. Swinging high into the air, Luffy swelled up with Balloon, then released the entire load straight down, clearing the arena of poison “There we go, all the smoke was getting on my nerves, now back to your properly scheduled ass-kicking. Commence the gear change” he says getting into position
“Given how badly we’ve been beating you this confidence of yours is bordering on insssanity Kufufu!” Sandersonia cackles
Gear Second
‘Oh sh*t’ Both sisters think before getting a high-speed punch to the face courtesy of a steaming rubber boy
“f*ck, his speed is higher than our haki’s perception” Marigold winces
“Yours maybe, he’sss still within my view it’s just my reaction time is longer than the gap between Observation and reality” Sandersonia corrects through gritted teeth
“Still means we need to use our finishers doesn’t it big sis?”
“Of courssssssssse”
“Are you mocking me boy? Your snake won’t save you from me!” Arachne shouts, all 8 legs striking out in an attempt to skewer him
Eight Precepts of Death
Sunēku Dansu
Arachne stops, her eyes wide as saucers “You, you dodged every strike, how?”
“I’m very good at not being somewhere, Thriller Bark has made that easier” he teases, then dismisses both his current weapons, letting his familiar sink deeper into his body and compressing Hebi from a great sword to a small one-handed sword with a green feathered/furred hilt “Haki, it screws with Devil fruit powers on contact, meaning my Suru-Suru no mi is worthless in this fight yes?” he asks as Marigold starts spitting poison around the arena
Arachne smirks ‘Checkmate you little sh*t’ “Of course it does, there was no need to name drop your damn fruit boy! You’re essentially powerless here, familiar or not” she coos, glee showing in her features
Kaos laughs “Yeah almost, except for one thing. Do you know how many Devil fruit users are in this arena? 4. I Paramecia, 1 special Paramecia and 3 Hebi Hebi no mi Zoans”
“That’s 5 you dimwit” Arachne hisses
“5 Devil fruits yes, 4 users. Oh, I’ve wanted to do this correctly since Thriller Bark” He grins madly as his body expands, removing his cloak with a click and tossing it aside, letting it drape across one of the railings, then flicking his arms back like Luffy preparing Bazooka her lets the waistcoat drop, revealing where his familiar had ‘run off’ to. The Venominon had coiled herself into an Oroboros, though with the way she gripped her tail the bladed tip tilted into the circle, forming a slitted pupil like some parody of the Gorgon’s eye (Which had Salome whimpering with how hard Hanco*ck was digging her nails into her scales when she noticed), or as Shaula noted a ‘Demon Eye’ like some old allies to her former Captain.
Hebi Hebi no mi: Hybrid form
“That’s not possible, nobody can eat 2 Devil fruits and survive!” Arachne screams
“Oh they can, it’s just the odds, f*ck are they tiny” Kaos laughs, his coils collecting in such a way he was sitting on them much like Hanco*ck was “Oh and the poison you were hoping would kill me, both of them?” he purrs, just as Luffy blows it all away “Huh, never mind. But regardless, they wouldn’t have done sh*t. My Devil fruit makes me immune to snake venom, call it a royal privilege” the way he says it, and the sh*t-eating grin, meant he knew exactly what he was saying, as well as that she’d understand… and that pissed her off even more
“You’re as much the Father of Serpents as I am! Now die in agonizing fire!” Arachne bellows in rage, the tips of her spider legs turning white-hot like Diable Jambe
Arachnophobia: Hellfire Barrage
X Scissor
They didn’t see him move, only the end result: an X-shaped gash across her stomach, starting just below her breasts and ending at her hips, and her familiar now limbless, all 8 legs still smoking on the ground around her. And due to an unfortunate side effect of the bond, all that pain was shared between the 2 as she drops to her knees, then her face in agony, a muttered/gurgled “Edward” passes her lips before she passes out
“All you’ve done boy, is awaken our wrath” Sandersonia taunts as much like Kumadori back on Enise Lobby her hair takes on a mind of its own, only this time forming snakes, at least keeping to the theme of this fight
Medusa Hair: Yamato No Orochi
One hair snake lunges for Luffy, missing the steaming rubber boy but chomping through the railing like it was made of paper. This repeated for about a half-circle around the lamia, Gear 2nd just a little faster than her body and haki could follow, culminating in Luffy managing to get in close enough as he jumped past her, wrapping his arm around her long neck and slamming the back of her head into the ground with a thump.
“Sonia! Are you ok?”
“f*ck, you” the anaconda slurs, seeing stars “Man hits like a warship”
One down, one to go as they say, and Luffy was thinkng as he prepares himself behind Marigold, though she notices and turns
Gum Gum...
“We’ve done this before boy, you bounced right off me. As long as I can match your speed my defense is impenetrable!”
“I met a bullheaded bastard who thought the same, this took him down too” Luffy smirks and fires
… Jet Bazooka
The force of the attack, not only shatters Marigold’s weapon but sends the cobra reeling, her upper half basically thrown from the arena itself by the shockwave.
With both naga injured but conscious, they pulled themselves back to the main arena, just as Hanco*ck spoke
“Sonia, Mary, I thought you 2 were supposed to kill the rubber man, not play games with him. Now get on with it and end him!”
‘Damn it, Big sis is mad. Why did Arachne have to be unconscious, we could have diverted blame to her. Give us time to, inspect the new arrival’ Sandersonia giggles, hoping the nose bleed could be blamed on how hard Luffy punched her in the face earlier, but given Marigold’s unimpressed side glare it wasn’t fooling her at least.
Medusa Hair: Yamato No Orochi
Medusa Hair: Salamander
(For anyone confused by the weird sh*t Oda has done to dinosaurs and prehistoric spiders in the Wano Arc… he made King Cobra’s flame retardant in the Amazon Lily Arc)
“There’s nowhere left to run man, this finishing move is designed to have no weak pointssss or openings, it’s a literal cage of death Kufufu!” Sandersonia cackles, as her metal and Marigold’s flaming snake hair lunge for her pirate in the middle, who looks unperturbed, instead readying his own finisher
Gum Gum Jet Gattling!!
Not only did his attack shatter the snakes back into normal hair, a split kick as he dropped knocked both Boa sisters into one another, setting Sandersonia on fire, which, unlike her little sister, she was very susceptible to
“Big sis I’m sorry I didn’t mean to, quick get away” Marigold shouts in a panic shoving the larger snake away, almost knocking her into the pit but she was luckily long enough to grab the edge of the stands rather than being skewered to death but the blades down below.
Unfortunately for both of them, Sandersonia’s clothes (aka bikini top) weren’t as fireproof as Marigold’s, a thought that came to the verdette as her bosom swayed freely over the pit and the flames started to run out of fuel
A cold shiver passes through Hanco*ck’s body, and she feels her own mark throb and burn ‘Sonia, your back is exposed, the people, they can’t see our marks’ she thinks in panic, trying to come up with some way to save her sister and their secret
Luffy leaps for the lamia, just in time to wrap his arms and legs around her torso, pinning the heavy black cloak around the Anaconda Zoan “This, actually turned out better than I planned shishishi” Luffy chuckles, both him and Sandersonia panting heavily after the fight they’d just been through
“Well, at least you’re not both on fire I guess” Kaos sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose
“Marigold, what are you standing around for?” Sandersonia screams
“The men, they’re protecting you. Your, your clothes burned off from when we smacked into each other, if not for them…” Marigold left if hanging, the Kuja vocalized the lie, that if they hadn’t done something everyone in the arena would have turned to stone, while they knew the truth, that Sandersonia’s mark, their family’s shame, would have been bare for all the Kuja to see.
“You’d rather die than let people see this thing on your back, that’s what you said before. Well despite everything that’s happened we don’t want to kill you… well Kaos wants to kick your ass for petrifying her daughter, but nothing lethal” Luffy half-jokes, Kaos rolls his eyes but nods in agreement
Hanco*ck sighs, this day just keeps getting messier, then raises her hand “This match is now over! Everyone leave the arena at once, do not gaze upon the Gorgon’s eye!” she commands, the reminder of what Luffy was covering getting them to leave at breakneck speed, which at any other time would amuse the guys, but they just weren’t in the mood right now.
“Why are you protecting me, I was trying to kill the stretchy one a minute ago?” Sandersonia asks, not understanding their angle
“Because we can fight any time, this mark is another matter entirely, it has nothing to do with me or Kaos” Luffy replies “This is something you want hidden, and I don’t have a problem letting it remain so”
“Normally we’d take the piss about a weakness this easily exploited, but that’s amongst alliesssss” Kaos muses, as Sanji did tend to get a lot of flack whenever he got his ass kicked by a woman due to his refusal to fight them “This is much too ssserious for that”
“The men saved your sister’s secret, and yours in turn” Shaula states with little emotion “The people will be fooled as long as you can keep up the facade, but you’ll have to confront that secret one day Hanco*ck, you all will”
“Who are they?” Hanco*ck asks, eyes misty with tears “These men who would protect someone, even when they were still trying to kill them?”
“Kyukyukyu, all I can give you are the facts, the rest is up to you. Down there are Straw Hat captain Monkey D. Luffy, eater of the Gomu Gomu no mi, and his 1st mate Serpens D. Kaos…” she stops as she could practically hear the princess’s neck crack turning at the casual revelation “... eater of the Mythical Zoan Hebi Hebi no mi Model: Yig”
TBC
LW: Finally it has been revealed, honestly it was either going to be here or somewhere in Marineford and this felt like it made more sense, at least in my head.
For the record, Yig is a creature of Lovecraft, the ‘Father of Serpents’ or the ‘Snake God’ and interestingly according to pathfinder wiki is one of the least Evil of the Great Old Ones, as well as Chaotic Neutral being, which suits the One Piece version of my chaotic neutral snake demon perfectly.
Familiars are something I kind of just wanted the Kuja to have, it fit in my head with the style and the fact their snakes don’t behave like animals (plus it explains why Marguiete’s snake also turned to stone when she did because it wasn’t just an animal it was part of her)
Kaos’ familiar is based on a Seviper and voiced by Grey Delise/Griffin, best known for Princess Azula, Daphne from Scooby-Doo, and Kahlee Sanders from Mass Effect
The Serpens Kuja, are based on the OTHER Gorgon sisters of anime, the ones in the Soul Eater series: Arachne, Medusa, and Shaula, the spider, snake, and scorpion witches respectively.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter everyone, I’ll see you in 2 weeks, and until then, Happy Halloween!
Chapter 111: Farewell Amazon Lily, time to rescue Ace
Chapter Text
LW: So, glad to see everyone was more or less fine with the previous chapter, so I’ll just let you go to the next one
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Farewell Amazon Lily, time to rescue Ace!
A few minutes since the end of the last chapter
“Please forgive us big sis” Sansonia pleads, still wrapped in Kaos’ cloak due to the whole lack of a bra/shirt thing
“We were defeated and had to be saved by the very enemy we were fighting” Marigold adds, both sisters once more in their human forms and bowing to the Empress, meanwhile Luffy and Kaos were hefting the 3 frozen Kuja back onto the main platform, the researcher amused that by his shaking Luffy had loads of questions about his new Devil fruit he hadn’t gotten to talk about since Thriller Bark.
“So” Luffy hums, setting down Marguerite “Are we done or do I have to fight you too, cause the incident with the bath showed that you can’t use your Devil fruit on us, but I guess haki is still on the table” he shrugs
Hanco*ck looks like she wants to smack Luffy upside the head, for all the good it would do, before taking a deep breath and sighing tiredly “We’re, done here. I’m not in the mood to fight”
“If the old crone were here she’d say that’s what got you into this mess in the first place” Shaula chuckles but was ignored
“Ok” Luffy says in an unsure tone “So you’re going to change them back now, right?” he asks, surprising the kuja sisters, not by the implied command, but because he wanted her to help someone other than himself. “I mean, we know your Devil fruit has a reverse switch, otherwise you’d still have a marble arm and Kaos would be walking with a limp. So come on, they didn’t actually do anything wrong besides telling the truth”
“Artemis didn’t even do that, she got petrified because she was following us around” Kaos hisses, looking at the artist’s blank, expressionless face, understandable given Hanco*ck essentially shot her in the head with a silent Pistol Kiss, the girl only have a moment of confusion if she felt anything before it took effect.
Hanco*ck frowns then stands, keeping eye contact with the Captain “You’re right, I can restore them with simply a word and my will, however I remember you mentioning looking for a ship…” she hums
“Um yeah, we were looking to catch a ride to Sabaody, or even just the nearest island and we’d figure out the rest of the way ourselves” Luffy replies
“Interesting. Well then I’m afraid I must disappoint you, I can grant you a single boon for surviving the arena, a ship through the Calm Belt, or your friends returned from stone” the snake Princess announces, Shaula facepalming as the girl continues to be a petty bitch
Luffy blinks for a moment, then grins “Thanks that’s a great deal” he says as he drops to his knees and bows “Feel free to turn them back whenever you’re ready” he laughs, causing the 3 of them to freeze while both Serpens grin, Kaos moving to collect Artemis and add her to the group
‘That heart is too pure for a pirate Kyukyukyu’
“You, you didn’t even consider it? You went to all this trouble for a ship and you’re just going to discard it without a thought?!” Hanco*ck shouts, angry mostly at her own confusion
“Well yeah, it’s my fault they’re like this so I can’t just leave ‘em like that, plus Artemis is my niece, I’d never abandon my family” Luffy answers, his grin hidden by his face being just shy of pressing against the stone
“Big Sis?”
Hanco*ck slowly makes her way to the platform, eyes flickering coldly from one frozen female to the next, settling on the child they soften ever so slightly as she commands
- Mezameyo§
Marguerite blinks as her consciousness returns, right before being pulled into a brief but tight hug from Luffy (Sweet Pea and Afolondra were conflicted between being confused by that scene or amused by Artemis trying to get away from a surprisingly cuddly Kaos) “Boy am I glad you’re ok I was worried you guys were gonna die for a minute there” Luffy says while grinning then turns around, revealing a slowly retreating Hanco*ck “Thanks for that Lady” he chirps, sending the 3 once more into bowing and praying for mercy
“§Thank you, Boa Hanco*ck, Empress of the Kuja. I apologize for what I said earlier, I wasn't in a good place emotionally§” Kaos states with a bowed head, Artemis looking confused by the statement, as well as why the green-haired lady was wearing her Papa’s cloak.
Hanco*ck seems to acknowledge the apology with a head nod, then peers over her shoulder at the warrior 3 “Continue to dedicate yourselves to the protection of our nation” she orders, then continues walking away. It was a dismissal, that much was obvious, but given they were expecting a death sentence it was the best thing any of them could have heard
“Get moving pirates, we have much to discuss” Shaula purrs, clapping her hands giddily as Sandersonia and Marigold rise and follow their sister out of the arena
“She means us right, I mean those 3 are pirates after all?” Luffy stage whispers
“Yes, otherwise she wouldn’t have spoken so loud, or in a language you understood” Kaos nods then stops in front of Sweet Pea “Hey, sorry to ask you to do me a favour after all of this, but when you leave could you take Arachne with you?”
Kuja Castle a little later
“This place looks really nice” Luffy muses as their trio follow the sisters
“Things usually are when you enter via the front door, rather than the roof” Kaos deadpans, Luffy grimaces for a second, clearly his brother was still annoyed about the dropping through the roof of the bath incident, or maybe it was the snake he now had coiled around his neck and shoulders like a living scarf giving him death glares
“So, why are you taking us here, is it for an after-battle meal or something? Oh, I hope there’s meat! What is good eating on this island?” Luffy asks, as they settle down in a half-circle, Luffy between Marigold and Sandersonia, Kaos between Sandersonia and Shaula, and Artemis sitting on his lap, unwilling on her part as he didn’t seem like he wanted to let her go after what just happened.
“We’ll feed you later, also just so you know, I’m very grateful for both of your efforts to help conceal my mark” Sansersonia says with a cute smile, passing the cloak back to it’s owner now she’d at least managed to bind her chest to the point of decency
“She’s right, if anyone had seen that mark, we’d have been made outcasts and banished from the settlement” Marigold adds with a shiver
“You may enter” Hanco*ck states from behind the curtain she’d slipped through when they entered the room
“Where?” Luffy asks, getting facepalms from both Serpens and the one Nico in the room
“Behind the curtain §Idiot Boy§” Hanco*ck sighs, both guys getting up and stepping forward, Artemis now on Shaula’s lap to the girl’s amusem*nt
“Is the meat back there, seems kind of weird to just put a curtain in the middle of a roo… why are you naked?” Luffy asks, then stops and stares, making sure to stare into her eyes rather than other, larger things.
“Astute and charming aren’t you Straw Hat” Hanco*ck says with a hint of sarcasm “Care to add to the comment section?”
“Besides my initial thoughts that I’d seen bigger being wrong… well do snake titt*es count?”
“Yes!”
“Sister you’re embarrassing us”
“Don’t care, he liked my boobies!”
“Kuja are weird” Artemis deadpans while Kaos tries not to laugh and Hanco*ck pinches the bridge of her nose, muttering about ‘horny idiots’
“ANYWAY!” Hanco*ck says loudly, hoping to change the subject quickly “Look here” she adds as Salome turns her, hands twitching as she tries to move her hair out of the way “The mark on our backs, you said you’d seen it before?” she asks with a slight shudder “I need to know, so take a closer look” she asks, pushing her hair away and revealing the brand on her back “Look at it closely, do you know what this mark means?”
Luffy frowns and clicks his tongue “I know it has something to do with those spacesuit wearing dickhe*ds we ran into in Sabaody” the boy mutters “But I don’t know what”
Kaos sighs deeply, they were going to be here all day with this one “Luffy, the snake princess, and her sisters were branded by a Celestial Dragon. Can you figure out the rest or should I explain so the girls don’t have to”
“Branding, by bubblehead, oh sh*t! This is what we saved Camie from!” the rubber boy shouts
Hanco*ck looks over her shoulder at the boys “Explain, who is Camie and how are she and I related?”
“Well Camie got kidnapped by some asshole while we were in Sabaody, cause mermaids are expensive or something, and we tracks her down to the auction house, I punched some snot-nosed pencil dick in the face, and we rescued her. Also, Old Man Rayleigh got the bomb collar off her so we didn’t need to worry about that” Luffy explains cheerfully… the dots lining up in all 4 Kuja’s brains, and they promptly self-destructed
“§You punched a Celestial Dragon, what the f*ck is wrong with your brain!§”
“Um, Kaos, translation please, I don’t speak snake remember?” Luffy asks, turning away from the twitching Hanco*ck to his now rather amused brother
“She asked what’s wrong with your head that made you think punching out Charlos was a good idea?”
Luffy blinks “Oh, well he shot Hachan, so I punched him” Luffy states, showing he was definitely Garp’s grandson
Hanco*ck blinks “Marguerite was right, your face seems built so it can’t tell a lie, which means you’re serious, you actually struck a Celestial Dragon and survived” she whimpers
“Incredible” Sandersonia gasps, then turns to the other pirates “And what about you 2?”
Artemis decides to answer “Papa wanted to do things the stealthy way, so he put a fishbowl on my head and Mom had to wear a collar, cause everyone knows her face too well” the girl stuck her tongue out “We didn’t get to hurt any of the other bubbleheads, but Papa did turn the guy in charge of the people auction into a red mist” she giggles at that, sure she’d been joking at the time, but Kaos did follow her command and kill Disco when he had the chance
“Hey are you crying?” Luffy asks, just as the tears start to cascade down Hanco*ck’s cheeks “sh*t, Kaos show her yous hemi peins!” he shouts, getting punched into the brickwork by said purplette, a growl of ‘Don’t ruin the moment’ was barely heard through his clenched teeth
“Such brave and wonderful fools, I never thought any more existed” Hanco*ck mutters to herself, “I thought he was the last, or at least the last I’d ever meet”
“He who?” Luffy asks in confusion once he was standing up again
Hanco*ck sits up, her eyes not meeting anyone’s gaze “I can tell you, the whole story, the mark, the man, and why your friend Hachan had a Sun, somewhere on his body”
“On his forehead” Luffy clarifies, getting a half nod from the princess
“Go right ahead, this seems rather important for you so explain everything at your own pace” Kaos assures her with a soft smile
“The mark on my back is ‘The Claw of the Celestial Dragon’ the emblem of the World Nobles” she declares, Luffy frowns while Kaos’ eyes narrow realizing where else he’d seen the mark, in the right eye of the marine who nearly killed him, white on blue like some kind of odd birthmark “It’s branded upon any the Nobles take as slaves, reminding them that their existence is now nothing but squirming under the Dragon’s hoof”
“And you were branded, all 3 of you” Luffy states coldly
“Correct. We, that is to say, my sisters and I, were once slaves to the World Nobles” Hanco*ck forces herself to admit, the thought and memories painful for all 3 Boa siblings
Luffy’s eyes bulge “You guys, were their slaves? But, how? And how did you escape?”
“I will get to that. We were children when we were stolen away, off a Kuja pirate ship no less to our shame. I was 12 at the time. We were quickly sold off and… those years as his slaves were a Hell I don’t want to dwell on longer than absolutely necessary. The 1st men we ever met were worse than beasts, nothing dwelled in their hearts but cruelty and greed”
“If it hurts this badly just skip to the escape, it’s clearly uncomfortable for all of you” Kaos states, grimacing as Sonia looks on the verge of a panic attack
“Yes please move on, I don’t need to know this that badly that you should be suffering on my part” Luffy pleads, causing Hanco*ck’s mouth to twitch upward for just a moment
“Thank you, but I must continue. I can at least tell you we received our Devil fruits while under their heel, sick bastards thought it would be funny to watch us eat a Devil fruit, or I suppose more accurately choke one down. As for skipping to the light at the end of the tunnel, that happened after 4 years of captivity. It was an unspoken rule of the world, that the World Government would never be challenged, and until that moment it wasn’t. However, that night things changed, as a man scaled the Red Line with his bare hands and snuck into the Holy City of Mariejois. This man was an adventurer and the future Captain of the Fishman Pirates: Fisher Tiger. He entered the city with the sole purpose of releasing all the fishmen taken as slaves by the World Nobles. Despite his clear hatred of humanity, he still set us free, he set every slave free not just the fishmen and merfolk. And so at that moment, we fled, more than willing to risk death if it meant never having to see those bastards again” Hanco*ck sighs, readjusting her seating as well as her coat as Salome had put it back on her shoulders “Tiger unleashed an army’s worth of fishmen, though they like the rest of us were cursed to wear the Noble’s mark. For this act of defiance, he was hunted all throughout the seas, so he decided to bring the fugitives together and form the Pirates of the Sun, and to rid themselves of the Brand, burnt it out with the symbol of the Sun.
Luffy and Artemis gasp, realizing that meant Hachi, had been one of those slaves
“And now you understand, you sit before 3 s…”
“Survivors” Kaos interrupted “Because the thing is, yes the mark means you were once a slave, but look at you now. You managed to get home, then rise through the ranks to become their Empress, all without letting anyone discover your secret. Especially given you could probably have had someone burn over it with the Kuja Pirate Logo, the skull and snakes would have been big enough” he lets the idle thought slip, having seen the Pirate flag on the way through the palace.
Luffy nods “He’s right, you were taken as kids, and 4 years, that still makes you younger than I am when you escaped, and you still made your way from basically nothing to this” he waves his arms around the whole room “It will never be worth it, but you have to at least admit you have a good life now” he smiles trying to avoid either being flippant about their past or pitying them as he’d seen how Hanco*ck reacted to attacks on her pride
“Kyukyukyu, the men are right my dear, about the rebranding and your current status. Slave to Empress in what 12, 13 years? That is a rise worth being proud of” Shaula coos, her expression almost maternal
The sisters sniffle, trying to collect themselves “Thank you for trying straw hat, and as for your comment on putting the Kuja brand on our backs, there was never a person we trusted enough with the skills to do so, so we never tried” she admits
“Shame Val isn’t here, she and Victor are basically the crew’s blacksmiths, mostly for Vic’s arrowheads and her kunai, though maybe it’s for the best as even they admit to being a bit rusty after not doing it for a good few years” Luffy chuckles to himself
“While I hate every moment of my time as a slave, the Devil fruits they forced us to consume have been of benefit, even just to enable us to hide our past, and stop people from snooping. If you hadn’t covered Sonia’s back in the arena though, it would have all been for naught”
“But why?” Artemis asks, confused
“They would never listen to a slave” Hanco*ck sneers “No one can ever know, we can’t let anyone close enough to risk it, that someone would find out and use it against us, I, I won’t let my sisters and I be controlled by anyone ever again!” she screams, tears once more flow until small arms wrap around her stomach
“Please don’t cry, it’s not your fault your people are assholes” Artemis states with a level of bluntness not usually seen outside the Monkey family, but it got her to stop… because she laughed
“Kufufufu, a young lady like yourself shouldn’t speak like that child” Hanco*ck coos, wiping her eyes “But thank you for trying. Also release me, I don’t do hugs” she shivers
“So glad Granny never showed up, she’d love to poke the wound that is sister’s heart right now” Marigold mutters
“Probably cause I’m here, the old hag never did like me, probably because I went off on my own… but she liked Big sis so that’s probably not the whole story” Shaula sighs “f*ck if I know. Sigh, the Beast Pirates were so much simpler, no politics or other bullsh*t”
“Don’t worry Mama Sha, we think you’re better company anyway” Sonia giggles
Hanco*ck ignored her sisters, settling defensively into her familiar’s coils “At least, now you know my past you have a reason to find me so disgusting” she whimpers
“Huh? What are you talking about? I didn’t like you before because you were being a spiteful bitch, what does being a slave have to do with that?” Luffy asks in confusion, Kaos chuckling because he was used to Luffy’s bluntness… and because he agreed with the statement, Hanco*ck was still beautiful, it was just that she was an ice queen and more importantly a stone-cold bitch that made him dislike her.
Hanco*ck stares at the boys for a moment, as if her brain was trying to make sense of them, and then she giggled “I’ve decided I like you men, you said you needed transport, and food correct?”
Luffy grins “Yep! To Sabaody if possible, I suppose the Paradise side of the Grand Line is good enough for me” he responds “Also food sounds great right about now”
Hanco*ck smirks “Then, I propose a banquet, to send off our new friends with a bang, then we shall leave for Sabaody on our ship in the morning”
Grrrrgll
“Um, can we eat now too? Sorry” Luffy asks
“Of course, a small lunch and we can have evening banquet, the occasion is better that way” Hanco*ck decides
“Plus it gives her staff time to cook said banquet” Marigold whispers, Sandersonia giggling behind them
“I can hear both of you, you do know that right?” Hanco*ck asks with a scowl
“Sorry sister”
“Good, now have someone send us in food”
“Of course!”
15 minutes later
“With everything I’d heard, I expected him to eat a lot faster” Hanco*ck muses, Luffy instead eating at a steady pace, which was a snail’s pace compared to his normal one
“The boy’s head must be in other places, his crew was scattered to the 4 corners of the earth after all” Shaula muses, sipping her wine
“Hey, Sonia said you were a soothsayer or something right?” Luffy asks
“That’s correct, my familiar and the venom my Devil fruit allows me to produce give me the ability to divine the future”
“Then tell me, are my crewmates ok?”
Shaula gives a grin he was used to, Kaos had the same expression when something ‘interesting’ happened in front of him “Are they, present tense. Not will we reunite, how long will it take, will we make it to Sabaody in time? Just are they alive and well, right this minute. Funny thing that” she purrs
“I don’t like psychics, fate is bullsh*t” Luffy states “You’re giving us the answers to questions we haven’t even thought of yet if it’s true”
Shaula grins wider “Ah, self-determination then, or free will as they say. What if I told you those 2 things can co-exist?”
“That you’re full of it”
“As I expected. Child, foresight doesn’t mean the world is written out to the second like a play, after all you don’t need any special power or advanced haki to know a ball will hit the ground if you throw it up. Fate isn’t a cheat sheet, it’s the consequences of what’s come before, we’re reading the same book, I’m just on the next page”
“But that’s the problem, you skip ahead to the end result, so they don’t do things as they’re meant to, instead because you told them to” Luffy growls
“Except it isn’t” Shaula coos, giving a wide grin “Would you like to know why I’m vague and cryptic when giving predictions? So by the time they understand the answer, they’ve already made the decision for themselves”
“I don’t understand”
“I told a guard my purpose was to get the princess ready for the Father. Hanco*ck is too smart not to figure out what that means, however if she never hears it, she’ll get there on her own. Another is one that describes your brother, care to hear it as he never will?”
“I don’t see the point in making a prediction nobody will hear” Luffy sighs
“It’s not that they won’t hear it, it’s that the subject won’t, but you will and you’ll see it play out just as I will. Young Love can be quite consssstricting, but they say the best things come in pairssss, Kyukyukyu” she whispers then sits back watching Luffy look at her in confusion “Maybe the boy misses his lost love” she says loudly, drawing the rest of the table into their conversation, or maybe the other way around
Marigold gasps “Of course, the little miss said you were committed, so when you landed here you were separated from your wife…”
“Wives” Artemis corrected “They’re a throuple, I think that’s the right word. Luffy, Miss Alivda and …”
“Vivi” Luffy says softly, twisting the ring around his finger “Princess of Alabasta, and wife to 2 pirates. We didn’t even get to say goodbye, the last thing I heard was her scream as Kuma bubbled her”
‘Luffy’
“Alvida and I, we froze up, losing what most of the crew call the damage control of our group, or self-control more like. Sigh, I miss her”
‘Luffy-kun’
“I just wish I could see her again, somehow”
“Luffy you idiot, don't tell me you someone called me by ACCIDENT I was worried sick about all of you!” this time everyone heard the princess’ cry
Artemis’s eyes widen “The mirrors!” she shouts
“Luffy take off your hat” Kaos facepalms
“K. VIVI!” he cheers seeing his 1st wife’s smiling but tired face as he removes the mirror from inside his hat
“Hello my love, I’m so glad to see you survived. Wherever there, is”
“Amazon Lily, there are a lot of snakes here. Met 2 of Kaos’ Aunts, one’s a bitch the other is kind of like an older him but with tit*”
“Amazo… only you Luffy” Vivi sighs fondly, though pinches her nose due to stress
“Yep. What about you, where did you get bubbled to?” Luffy asks, the other 2 straw hats eager to hear
“I doubt you’ve heard of it, according to the guy who found me I’m in the Black Forest of Mysthaven, they were here to kill some bears or something when they found me” Vivi explains, looking confused by Luffy’s wide-eyed expression, while the others note Kaos looked the same “What?”
“You went home” he mutters
“Miss Vivi, Mysthaven, is in the East Blue. We’ve never been but I believe it’s about 2 weeks South of where we grew up, on Dawn Island” Kaos explains
“Wow, I had no idea” Vivi gasps
“So you’re a Grand Line girl, and here we thought you were just navigationally illiterate the way you looked at our compasses” An older voice with a refined accent muses
“That would be my husband, aka the reason Nami is part of the crew” the bluenette teases, getting a chuckle from the boy before he moves away from the group to speak to her privately
“That’s quite a neat trick, one of yours I presssume” Sandersonia purrs
“Yes. Due to incidents of getting lost or split up over the course of our travels, I gave every member of the crew a mirror, infused with a little of mine and their blood to form a link. I suppose it makes sense nobody has reached out yet, it was a new piece of gear, plus they don’t know if I’m alive to use it, they might not want to get their hopes up talking to a mirror” he chuckles
“Mama!” Artemis calls into her mirror, frowning when it just sits there inert “Nico Robin! Papa the mirror’s broken” she says, a hint of worry in her tone
Kaos sighs “Can’t expect people to get things right away, plus you need to at least wait for her to try and answer before complaining she’s not there” he muses, removing his own from his coat then placing his fingertips against the mirror, which rippled like water where he touched it, then letting his senses flick across all mirrors imbued with his blood, searching, searching…. f*ck.
“Papa?” Artemis asks as the tallest straw hat goes silent, his eyes closed and muscles tense, before she yelps as the mirror goes flying across the room and shattering against a pillar, the Suru Hebi user leaving in the commotion with a swish of his cloak and click of talons on stone.
Finding an empty room was surprisingly easy, as was coming with a list of ways he screwed up or was just wrong in his current assumption, but he still noticed someone approach him, probably because they had a Devil fruit “You, I did not expect to be the one to follow me out” he says with a tired drawl not even looking behind him as Marigold stood in the doorway
“Believe me I’m not the only one who was worried, though both of my sisters are conflicted but also didn’t want to make you feel like they were trying to take advantage of your compromised mental state” the redhead explains “Sonia is currently trying to comfort Artemis, the girl was always good with kids, probably because she still is one at heart after all these years, while Big Sis Hanco*ck, she’s pacing, muttering about how to deal with this, and how they might be blowing everything out of proportion. Hopefully, Luffy or Shaula will get her to stop or she’ll just make things worse” the youngest Boa sighs “The mirror, what happened?”
“Hopefully I screwed up somewhere along the line when I made hers because if not then Robin is dead. There's no connection to her mirror, the one linked with her lifeblood. No life, no connection, no mirror” he lays out clinically, or at least it looked that way until she noticed the blood dripping from the deep punctures in his hands and the way his eyes glisten, like tears were welling up but refuse to fall
“That can’t be the only explanation” Marigold argues “The mirror itself, was it special before you messed with it?”
“No, it was one I stole from Thriller Bark a week prior, there were a lot of them just lying around that old place, so I took them” Kaos answers with a shrug
“Then, wouldn’t it be more likely the mirror broke, rather than Robin did. Your own one shattered when you left, and I bet it was more sturdy and modified than hers” the Cobra woman smirks, she had the man pegged as a tinkerer, so of course his own gear would be more heavily modified than what he gave his crewmates, or at least he’d be in the middle of trying out new ways to work the thing before adding them to the other mirrors
“I’ve been, tinkering with it” he admits slowly
“Yeah and it still shattered when it bounced off the wall, who knows what happened out there, but a broken mirror doesn’t mean a dead Robin”
Kaos sighs “You’re not entirely wrong”
“Growing up with Hanco*ck, that’s high praise” she chuckles “Though I was curious, how did you know it was me?”
“It’s the way you walk” at her confusion he continues “You’re strong, solid and stable, like Franky or Heavy Point Chopper, Sandersonia is like me, carries the weight of someone our height with a kind of flow, partially because beside’s the height we’re both rather slender and maybe both being Hebi users we just move differently, Hanco*ck, she walks like Robin and Nami, but with more… strut?” he clicks his tongue, wondering if it was the right word
Marigold laughs “Sounds like her, ever since she became Empress Big Sis does tend to strut when she walks. Now, let’s get moving before Big Sis starts a war on your behalf”
“Like I’m worth the effort” he chuckles but nods, following the Cobra woman back to the main hall.
Hanco*ck was no longer pacing, which is a good thing and Artemis was sitting in Sandersonia’s lap, as the woman runs her fingers through the girl’s hair, though she notices his return almost as fast as he would have, Devil fruit detector be damned
“Is, is she gone?” the girl whimpers heavy teartracks staining her cheeks, her eyes red and puffy
“...and when the petrification reaches his heart… Oh you’re back, thank you Mari” Hanco*ck smiles, nodding to her sister
“You can calm down sister, all is well, more of less”
“I severely doubt that” Sonia mutters as Artemis is scooped up
“I can’t connect to your mother’s mirror, but that doesn’t have to mean what you think it does”
“What WE think it does, I can see it in your eyes Pops” Artemis deadpans, not even cracking a smile when Kaos mutters about how she’s too much like her mother right now
“Little one I feel I should remind you that Devil fruit created artefacts, while stronger in some ways that their normal counterparts, still behave like them” Hanco*ck explains, Artemis nodding as she worked with Mr. 3’s waxworks, strong as steel, but they melted like normal wax
“Actually sister, the mirrors they use are ordinary, just modified by his Devil fruit” Marigold corrects
“Even better! Artemis my dear, I’m sure even you are aware of how fragile a mirror is, and how much of a survivor your mother is? Which sounds more likely, something killed your mother, or her mirror broke, which bear in mind, is just an ordinary mirror?”
“The mirror broke” Artemis replies, still looking sad
“Exactly. Keep that in mind, you 2 will be reunited one day, I make a royal promise on that” she says, winking at the child
“Hey, what happened?” Luffy asks coming over from his corner
“Nico Robin is uncontactable at present” Shaula answers “These 2 immediately jumped to the worst scenario, we’re trying to calm them down”
Luffy’s eyes widen then he walks over and pulls both of them into a hug “Artemis, you’re Mom’s ok if we could survive all this Robin can too. Honestly, the only person we need to worry about is Zoro, he was pretty banged up even before Kuma bubbled us all, Robin was basically in perfect health Shishishi”
Kaos smiles “Thanks Luffy, I think we needed that”
“Sometimes the simple answer really is the best” Artemis giggles, leaning into the hug
“So, how are your wives?” Kaos asks, hoping to change the subject to something lighter
“I spoke to Alvida, apparently she got her ass kicked by a leprechaun and then healed by an Angel. Then they fed her and were really shocked when she liked it cause the leprechaun is a worse cook than me” he laughs
“Did they say where she ended up?”
“Um, South Blue I think, where’s Liones?”
“No clue, you can check the next time you call”
“K”
“They got over it pretty quickly”
“They didn’t, they just aren’t letting it be the only thing they’re thinking about”
“Plus the entire crew appears to be a single family unit, hearing that one of their own is ok, does at least help soothe the ache a little”
That Evening
“Banquet time, bring on the food!” Luffy yells, arms snaking around the table pulling plates towards him
“It seems speaking to his women has relit the boy’s internal fires” Sonia chuckles
“And his apatite, at this rate we might run out of food before everyone’s too drunk to care” Marigold hums
Kaos laughs “Yeah that’s Luffy for you, word of advice, guard any plate containing something you actually want to eat” he explains, grabbing the hand a moment before it tried to slink away with his own plate
“Men’s bodies are so strange, did you see the way he can stretch all over?”
“Yeah, I saw it in the arena. But maybe it’s not all men, the other one didn’t stretch, but he did transform like the Boa sisters”
“Oh, maybe he killed a Gorgon too, they say there are men out in the Central seas as strong a the Kuja pirates”
“Do you think Luffy would mind if I pulled on his face, see if all of him is stretchy or just his limbs, know what I mean? ;P”
“Did you say Luffy?”
“That’s his name, right? I think I heard the other man and Lady Shaula call him that”
“Maybe… Hey Luffy!”
Slam
“Watch your mouth, it’s unbecoming to address a man in such a way. Would you cast aside the law of the land so easily” Bitchy Kuja shouts, drawing attention to herself
“Jeez. In that case Kikyo, why are the men at our banquet?” one of the whispering Kuja ask directly
“It is a good point, they were supposed to be executed, and now they’re here eating our food during the Celebration of the Kuja Pirate’s good fortune. It’s weird to think the Princess forgave them so easily” muses Daisy
“Unless she didn’t” Ran theorizes “This could be a trap, luring them into a false sense of security, then taking them out when they least expect it”
“§Or maybe you’re all just soft in the head§” the pirates freeze, turning to look the Venominaga dead in the eye “§My partner and his family have caught the Empress’ eye, who are you to question her?§” she hisses angrily, but before they could respond Luffy blows up
“You guys are all pissing me off!” Luffy shouts, Kaos sighing as he knew what was about to happen, while the Kuja worried, except the Boa siblings, who like Artemis merely looked confused “You’re not celebrating right, why is nobody singing?”
“You’re an idiot” his elder brother sighs
“Seriously is this a party or a funeral, everyone’s so freaking depressed, here I’ll start and you can join in if you know it”
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho Yo hohoho, yo hohoho. Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.
Sea wind blows, to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide.
“It sounds better when Brook or papa are playing, and when an actual instrument is being used” Artemis giggles, mostly because she was close enough to hear Kaos humming along while the Kuja all started to get into the party mood properly, if Luffy hadn’t become a pirate he could probably have made a fine entertainer if the near-constant laughter coming from the Kuja as the night went on were anything to go on. Though the line of people wanting to touch him was kind of creepy, Artemis wasn’t sure if it was the death glares from Nagini or the fact his Zoan fruit was the same as the sisters, but they seemed to avoid Kaos and congregate around Luffy, pulling on his face and arms to watch it stretch and spring back completely painlessly, though it did annoy the rubber boy simply because people were crowding as well as poking and prodding him rather than any actual pain
Eventually, it got to the point Luffy decided ‘f*ck it’ and literally bounced, losing his admirers in the dark of night. This, and Artemis’ eyes dropping were the purplette’s own cue to leave, following Luffy’s prescience in his mind to wherever the idiot had run off to now.
Speaking of…
“This was all the food I could sneak out of there” Luffy whines, not that Marguerite would call the massive slab of meat on his back ‘small’
“So, you must be happy to see all your friends again tomorrow, bet you can’t wait” she asks as the 2 lept from rooftop to rooftop, trying to do so as stealthily as possible to avoid the rubber boy being mobbed again
“You betcha, I mean I spoke to my girls through Kaos’ mirror earlier, but seeing everyone in person is just better you know. Oh, and I’m sorry about all the trouble I caused while we were here. Also, it scared the crap out of me when you got turned to stone” he admits
Marguerite nods “Yeah, and then you protected us, the others told me what happened in the arena. You saved us all, you’re my hero” she coos, smiling cutely
Kuja castle
“You know you didn’t need to lie to your sisters’ dearie or send them away” Shaula hums, frowning at Hanco*ck’s melancholic mood
“They deserved to go to the banquet, rather than sit here with me as I mope” Hanco*ck sighs, looking out into the night “And I didn’t lie, I’m not feeling well” she whines like a child, then to the older woman’s horror flops bonelessly backward, luckily she’d been sitting on her bed at the time
“f*ck, this shouldn’t have happened this quickly. Skaro get help!” she screams, her familiar, a New World Emperor Scorpion (Resembles a Deathskull Radscorpion) removed himself from her head and ponytail, before scuttling away as quick as he could “You’ll be ok princess, believe me just once more” she sighs, wringing her hands as she watches the panting Kuja helplessly
Elsewhere
“Granny Nyon” Marguerite greets cheerfully
“What do you want?” the old woman asks gruffly, not even looking up from her paper
“Well, the villagers wouldn’t stop touching Luffy, so we came here where nobody would look for us to get away” she explains with a hint of awkwardness, basically implying nobody would want to be anywhere near the old bat so they were safe from his admirers.
“Hi old lady, wait a minute you’re the crazy old hag who got us captured!” Luffy shouts, then sits down and starts eating his meat like he didn’t care
“I’m not an old hag, but I suppose that yes I did contribute to your capture. He seems to have brought enough food, please make him some tea Marguerite”
“You got it Granny” the blond nods and slips out of the room
“So Granny, you like to read the paper, haven’t seen anyone else with one around here” Luffy notes between stuffing his face
“That’s because they don’t deliver to the Calm Belt islands, but there are some perks to having your ruler being one of the 7 Warlords. Even if we’re an isolationist country, I still like to keep as up to date as I can on what’s going on outside in the wider world”
“Sounds like you’re a sh*tty isolationist then shishishi” Luffy chuckles then stops “Wait, who’s a Warlord?”
“The princess you ape” Nyon sighs
“SHE’S A WHAT!” Luffy screams “Wait a minute, does that mean she’s like super strong or something, and if so why didn’t she just beat the absolute crap out of me in the arena? Sure I beat Crocodile and Moria, but still” Luffy thinks aloud
“Yes she is, and are you really telling me you don’t know who the 7 Warlords are, even though you’re a pirate who’s made it halfway through the GrandLine?”
“Yes” Luffy answers without a hint of shame “Kaos and Robin probably do know all of them though… which means he knew Hanco*ck was a Warlord and didn’t say anything, that’s so like him” the rubber boy groans
“Given your reaction just now, it was probably so it wouldn’t color your opinion of the Empress” Marguerite guesses, setting Luffy’s tea down beside him
“That also sounds like him”
“The princess was made a warlord 11 years ago as well as the current captain of the Kuja Pirates. She was young and inexperienced, but still, they appeared to recognize her potential damage given she earned an 80 million bounty after a single expedition” Nyon explains “The Kuja were nyotorious even before she was made captain, her power just added to it, and ensured the World Government would invite her to become a Warlord. However, that title will soon be lost as she’s neglecting her duty. Since you don’t read the papers I’m sure you’ve not heard”
“Heard what?” Luffy asks in confusion, a sense of dread shooting up his spine
“The government has called for the Warlords to convene at Marineford for an upcoming battle with Whitebeard. You would think this to be stupid and ill-advised, but they’ve laid out their bait, something they nyow he wouldn’t be able to let stand. Announcing the Public Execution of Portgas D. Ace, 2nd Division Commander of the White Beard Pirates is poking the bear in the eye so hard you hit bone”
“THEY’RE GONNA KILL ACE!” Luffy shouts, surprising the 2 Kuja
“You know him?” Marguerite asks
“He’s our brother” the blond jumps as she hears Kaos’ voice just behind her “Not by blood but we never gave a sh*t before why should it matter now?”
“Why are they trying to kill Uncle Ace?” Artemis asks, now fully awake
“The paper says a pirate named Blackbeard captured him and gave him up to the World Government. In return, he was invited into the Warlords, to fill Crocodile’s old position” Nyon continues
“Ace was hunting a man named Blackbeard when we met up with him in Alabasta” Luffy scowls “Bastard killed one of his crewmates and fled with the Devil fruit he’d discovered, so Ace was sent out to deal with him. What are his chances of escape, or survival?” he asks
“The only chance he has is if Whitebeard takes the bait, and wins” Nyon replies
“Where?” Kaos asks hands clenched into fists
“The Central Square of Marineford, where Navy Headquarters is located. The execution is in one week, that’s 6 days from now”
“A week, f*ck! How long would it take to get to Sabaody?” Luffy asks in a panic
Nyon frowns “Even at top speed, I’m afraid it would take more than a week”
“Meaning the 2 of us are on our own for this one Lu” Kaos summarises
“Sounds like it. How long would it take to get to wherever they’re keeping him?”
“Probably a week by pirate ship, 4 days via a marine vessel” Nyons answers, getting confused looks from the pirates
“Why does the ship matter that much?”
“It doesn’t, the vessel doesn’t matter so much as the mechanisms accessible by the marines, namely the Gates of Justice linking Enies Lobby, Impel Down, and Marineford together via an express waterway. Quite a convenient thing for the navy to have for things like this”
Luffy scowls, then reaches into the ribbon of his hat, retrieving a burnt scrap of paper
“Well sh*t”
“That’s your brother’s Vivre card?” Nyon gasps
“Is that the moving paper you showed me before?” Marguerite asks
“No, that was a different piece, it was Rayleighs’. This one, Ace gave me back when we met up at Alabasta, though back then it was probably 10 times bigger. He’s been having his own adventures since then, and now… he’s in trouble for sure. Ace wouldn’t be happy if his little brothers saved his life, but I can live with him being mad at me, if it meant he was alive to do so”
“Mad at us Luffy, besides there’s no way you’d survive if you go to Marineford alone” Kaos smirks, ruffling Luffy’s hair with his tail
Marguerite tilts her head in confusion “Marineford, but I thought you were going to Impel Down?”
“Yes and that’s a stupid plan that is destined to fail. The prison is inescapable and even if it wasn’t, it makes more sense to simply head to where he’s going to be, and rescue him from Marineford. It’s where Whitebeard and all his allies will be if I’m not mistaken”
“You two can’t possibly be this stupid, you’re walking into a guaranteed War! You’d be swept about like flotsam in a storm, mere ants amongst the giants that would be at this battle! You’re both completely insane!”
“Yeah, tell me something I don’t know” Luffy huffs
“I’d say you have a one in a million chance... if I didn’t have a few secrets to keep. You will make it to the greatest prison the world has ever seen, just as the Empress will do her duty as a Warlord at Marineford!”
“Ssssspoilers. §Also sh*tty move there you old crone, Luffy’s destined for failure in that case. If Hanco*ck is in Marineford, it means Ace doesn’t get rescued, you manipulative bitch§” Kaos sneers
Nyon continues as if she didn’t understand him “The moment Ace reaches Marinefore he’ll be guarded by the 3 Admirals and the 7 Warlords, but due to his status while he’s in Impel Down security around him will most likely be on high alert, after all, he is a Division Commander to a Yonko. It may be impossible to enter, never mind leave with your quarry”
“I don’t care I’ll worry about that when we get there” Luffy shouts
“When you get there, if you’re really going to do what will go down in history as your biggest blunder ever” Kaos sighs deeply, causing Luffy to turn to him in confusion “I’m not going on a suicide mission into Impel Down, it’s not only insane it’s idiotic. Feel free to try, I’ll be waiting for your arrival at Marineford”
“What, are you serious?” Luffy shouts, though remembering his fight with Usopp holds his tongue before saying something else. Kaos was jokingly referred to as his impulse control because he had a lot of it himself, those who were around during Arlong Park saw it first hand, and if possible his control had tightened since eating his 2nd Devil fruit, making him almost cold-blooded as a snake. But he wasn’t, Luffy knew that and he also knew this was him picking the option most likely to actually work, it wasn’t like he loved Ace any more than Luffy did, he was their big brother and nothing would change that. Plus, after the incident earlier he wasn’t going to bring up the idea that if Robin was in Ace’s position the researcher would have gone by himself, killing everyone he met between the entrance and Robin, he liked living after all and he couldn’t rescue Ace if he was dead due to quite possibly getting his head literally bitten off by an angry Naga.
“You’re learning” Kaos hisses, almost like he could read Luffy’s thoughts “Vivi and I might not have to hold your hand for much longer Captain. So, let’s go piss off the woman who just stopped wanting to kill us and make that old lady feel smug about herself for getting something right for a change” he says with a half-smile “Probably ask auntie how to do that without getting killed I suppose”
“Nyot so fast, the path you walk has only fire and death in your future” the crone yells but freezes when Kaos glares at her over his shades, nearly 20 years and those eyes, HER eyes, it still feels like a Titanaboa (1) coiling around her soul
“I have yet to meet someone who would care if you dropped dead, so don’t piss me off you old hag, nobody asked for your palm readings, Hanco*ck already has a fortune teller and I never needed one in the first place” Kaos growls, reminding Luffy he dodged a bullet by keeping his mouth shut. The staredown was interrupted by loud scuttling and then a massive scorpion breaking down the door
“Ah! Beast!” Marguerite shouts as Nagini leaps from Kaos’ arm and coils around the animal, then tilts her head as the animal clicks rapidly at her
“Skaro slow down already!” the 4 look up to see a panting Sandersonia and Marigold chasing after him
“I presume this is Shaula’s familiar?” Kaos asks, getting nods from the sisters
“§Something has happened to the Snake princess§” Nagini translates “§She collapsed and was quite feverish§”
“sh*t!”
“Um, what’s going on?” Luffy asks Artemis who looked worried
“Hanco*ck is sick. We may need to rethink the plan” the artist answers
“The princess is sick, what do we do?” Luffy asks
“That’s why he was running to Gloriosa, she must know what’s going on, or how to treat her” Sonia guesses, causing the old woman to sigh
“I will check on her, but only because Amazon Lily needs their Empress” she grumbles
“Speaking of, how does she and… Skaro?” Kaos asks getting nods from the sisters and Nagini “right, how do they communicate?”
“Familiar bond, telepathically when merged, and she ate the Scorpion fruit when she was with that Pirate Crew she used to run with so she understands because she’s technically part scorpion. Helps that she found him while on those same travels” Marigold replies as Nagini releases him and slips back under Kaos’ skin “Come quickly we have no time to waste!”
Kuja Palace, a little later
“I used to find it amusing only the Empress could come down with this condition” Shaula sighs, looking at the panting and flushed Hanco*ck “Not anymore”
“Mama, am I going to die?” Hanco*ck wheezes, her eyes unfocused
“Nyot if we have anything to say about it”
“Oh joy you ran over an old lady Skaro, next time pay attention” Shaula groans
“Show some respect you stupid brat, you summoned me here so you must kyow how serious this is. Men, get out now!”
Jeez fine, not like I carried you here or anything, cripple granny” Luffy grumbles, Kaos and Artemis following him
“Was that really necessary Granny Nyon?” Sonia asks
“In her mind probably” Shaula mutters, then nods to Belladonna
“She’s weak, feverish and keeps clutching her chest, so I believe she’s having trouble with her heart, however, I’ve never seen something like this in all my life so I don’t actually know how to treat her. I apologise princess” the Kuja doctor bows
“Tomorrow morning” Hanco*ck seizes and flails as Nyon speaks “It’s as I feared”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“This is terrible timing for her to contract the virus right nyow”
The Boa sisters gasp “A Virus? Will she be ok?”
“It hurts, am I going to die like this?” Hanco*ck asks, her voice a whimper
“Yes”
“If you don’t cut the theatrics Gloriosa I will shove my tail so far up your ass you’ll be a puppet” Shaula growls through clenched teeth
“But it could very well kill her, this is what killed her predecessor after all” Granny Nyon defends herself “And the empress before that. I contracted the virus but left the country before it could fully infect me” she explains “Boa Hanco*ck, the men are here to see you”
“Is that really important right now Granny, you just sent them away and then dropped the news Big Sis is dying?” Sonia asks bitterly
“They have an important request to make, will you hear them?” she continues, ignoring the snake girl
‘I may know where this is going, but I still don’t like it’
Quick as a flash Hanco*ck was standing strong under her own power “Send them in” she commands, the group dumbfounded to the point they just followed the orders without question
“What now, we literally got as far as the bathrooms before you started yelling for us?” Luffy whines, his mood sour after hearing about Ace
“Hello Luffy, Kaos. I heard you have a request for me” Hanco*ck coos
“Are you sure about this, everyone said you were sick or something?” Luffy hums
“Skaro and your sisters seemed very distressed” Kaos agrees, to which Hanco*ck giggles
“No illness will conquer me. What do you need from me?”
“Um, ok. I need your help to save our brother Ace” Luffy requests, causing the muscles in Hanco*ck’s neck to tighten, any other time Shaula would be amused and impressed by how quickly she’d figured out what they were here to ask of her
“Fire fist is your brother?” she thinks aloud “And you want me to comply with the government’s orders don’t you?”
“NOT A CHANCE!” Sandersonia and Marigold scream
“Well, Luffy wants you to get him to Impel Down, I’d be content with Marineford” Kaos adds “Also would you be ok with us leaving Artemis here, we are technically about to enter an active Warzone after all?” he asks ignoring the pout/scowl the girl was sending him
There was a tense silence and then “If that’s what you need of me, then of course” Hanco*ck says with a cute smile, shocking her siblings
“WHAT!”
“Really, thanks Hanco*ck!” Luffy cheers, Kaos’ hand on his shoulder stopping him from springing forward to hug her
“She wouldn’t listen to reason or duty, but she would listen to the men” Nyon groans
“What’s wrong with her Granny Nyon?”
“Much like the previous empresses, she has been struck down by the burning flames known outside this land, as love!” Nyon states frantically, scaring the young snake ladies
“Love is a hurricane indeed” Shaula muses, seeing Hanco*ck so smitten filled her with warmth “Wait a minute, that means you fell in love too Gloriosa? Did you have a boy and that’s why you’re a childless granny?” she asks/taunts, getting a sneer from the old lady
Hanco*ck blushes at the smile, well more of a smirk as the 2 boys and his child leave the room ‘Oh my, my heart is aflutter. I feel like I would do anything, to fulfill his every desire’ she thought though what she said was “I acquiesced without a second thought, are we sure his Devil fruit isn’t some kind of hypnotism, I remember reading some snakes hunt that way” she muses then sighs “Who am I kidding, I folded like Sonia playing poker… and don’t regret it one bit” she squees
“You truly are in love princess” Nyon states
“Love?” Hanco*ck repeats ‘This is love?’
“But of course. And once it takes ahold it will squeeze your heart until you drop dead if you can’t be with the man you love”
Hanco*ck’s eyes widened “Sonia! Mari! Get all the chains you can find and a seastone collar, I will not let that man get away from me!” she commands, fist raised eyes blazing with determination
“...”
“...”
“Kyukyukyu, aw Hanco*ck’s first fetish” Shaula coos between laughers “Should have seen bondage coming, but my money was just on dominatrix” she giggles, further confusing the sisters
Nyon sighs tuning out Shaula like she normally does “The previous empresses died of sadness because they couldn’t be with the men they desired, however, by agreeing to his request, you have unknowingly saved your own life”
Hanco*ck blinks “I did?”
“Yes, if they had not come in and requested your aid at that moment, you would have lost your title as Warlord and lead this country to ruin”
“Also you’d have died, but apparently that’s not important anymore” Shaula facepalms “Pretty convenient how this works out for you Granny, you get the Empress to listen to you for a change and are the only love expert in the room, which surprises me given you’re a frigid bitch”
“Hold your tongue on matters that you know nothing about!”
“Yeah, no”
“Enough already, everyone get out… and maybe send me up some food” Hanco*ck orders, though the last part is said a bit more shyly, the princess tapping her index fingers together
“Of course sister”
“Should I send up a Den Den too my dear, might as well get this over with so to speak?”
“Yes, thank you Shaula” Hanco*ck nods
Later, Kuja docks
“Luffy, stop making promises you can’t keep” Kaos sighs as Luffy is telling Marguerite, Sweet Pea, and Apholondra he’ll bring the whole crew next time he sees them
“But why can’t they come to meet our new friends?”
“Because men are still forbidden, unless Hanco*ck is going to change the law, if she even can, I’m pretty sure we’re the exception”
“Fine, spoilsport” he huffs, bouncing off the snake and onto the ship’s deck “Also I think Brook would like this place, they don’t appear to have a problem with showing someone their panties” he hums, ignoring the facepalm Kaos did the moment he heard, though at least it distracted both of them from Hanco*ck’s arrival, signaled by random animal abuse.
“Oh good, you’re both ready to leave already. Well no time like the present”
“Thanks for this, by the way, we know it’s difficult for you” Kaos bows lightly “Also thanks for letting Artemis stay with your sisters until this mission is complete” he adds
“Yeah, especially cause you sounded pretty sick earlier, glad you’re feeling better though” Luffy grins, which widens when he notices she was blushing
“Think nothing of it, you have enough to worry about without bringing a child onto a battlefield” Hanco*ck waves off, avoiding his eyes as best she could
A Little Later
“You’ve certainly kept us waiting Empress, I’d almost started to believe you actually wanted us to revoke your status and hunt you down” Momonga huffs as the Perfume Yuda pulls up beside his vessel, Hanco*ck standing on one of the snakeheads stone-faced as usual
“Will you honor the promise you made earlier?” she asks
“As long as we’re quick about it, my superiors have no problem with us taking a short detour to Impel Down” the man nods, getting one in return from the snake princess as the Yuda lowers its head, and 3 Kuja step aboard “Excuse me?”
“While I am a Warlord, the residents of Amazon Lily know me as Snake Princess, is a royal not entitled to retainers, they won’t step off the ship when we dock at Impel Down if that’s what you’re worried about” Hanco*ck replies
Momonga gives both hooded figures a sneer, the taller one sprouting metallic grey horns from just beyond her hairline was odd but he didn’t care what those Kuja freaks f*cked, but the smaller one made him uneasy “These were not part of your original crew yesterday” he notes
“Correct, Gloriossa thought serving as my escorts would see if they could handle a battle scenario adequately though, rather than freeze like some navy petty officer. And I’d keep my eyes off Miss Marguerite Vice Admiral, she’s spoken for”
“You’re a Vice Admiral?” squeaked the smaller girl
“Yes, hard-earned that” Momonga preens
“Lame, you’d not last a single punch from Garp the Hero” she huffs, causing the man to choke
“How do you know that name?”
“Granny Nyon collects newspapers and I like to read. The man who took down the King of the Pirates & could win a fistfight with Whitebeard… that’s the man who should be escorting the Empress not some no-name who probably begged daddy for the position”
“I too earned my position, I even partook in the Buster Call of Enies Lobby, so hold your tongue you little brat”
Marguerite gasps “It’s true then, sociopaths are chosen for Buster Call duty. No wonder Misstress Hanco*ck couldn’t freeze you like the others”
“Actually he stabbed himself, overriding his lust with pain. It was actually quite impressive” Hanco*ck corrects her subordinate lightly
“Damn it, other theory ruined” she huffs
“§Are you going to do this the entire trip?§” Hanco*ck asks, hoping they couldn’t hear Luffy’s muffled laughter
“§Just try to f*cking stop me§” Marguierte grins, while Shaula titters behind her
“By the way, before we go unless you intend to steer my ship yourself…”
Hanco*ck laughs “Of course not, I have people for that. She then turns to her ‘retainers’ “Either of you know how to steer a ship?”
“No Mistress” Marguerite replies, sending a shiver down the Empress’ spine
“Neither do I, an oversight I will correct before taking an official position my Empress” Shaula kneels
“Sorry, no.”
“Then I suggest you restore my crew so we can leave”
Hanco*ck sighs deeply “Fine”
- Awaken§
“Wow, men really are simple beasts” Marguerite muses
“First time off the island then?” Momonga asks
“Um, yes, only the Kuja pirates ever leave so everything’s new to me” the blond chuckles
“Then I apologize on my crew’s behalf for being such poor representatives of Man’s world as some of you call it”
“Eh, I kind of saw it coming to be honest” she shrugged “Everyone’s like that around the Princess”
“Quite. MEN!” Momonga bellows “Get us moving, we’re making a quick stop at Impel Down before reaching our final destination of Marineford”
“Sir Yes Sir!”
Amazon Lily - Kuja Palace
“I’m worried about Papa” Artemis sighs, laying on the coils of Sandersonia’s hybrid form similar to Hanco*ck with her familiar
“Of courssse you are, but he’sss fine, He hasss Big Sisss and Mama Shaula with him for one” the anaconda replies, petting the sleepy little girl on the head
“Speaking of, I’m a little worried about Shaula myself” Marigold hums
“You saw it too?”
“Saw what?” Sweet pea asks, the trio here to help watch over Artemis for Luffy and Kaos while they were gone
“Shaula exiting her home just on the edge of town, with a case muttering about doing right by her captain and her sister”
“So she’s finally going to off herself, took her sweet time” Nyon huffs
“Don’t be sssso rude and crass, especially around Shaula’s grand niece” Sonia scolds
“You do know she’s not his real daughter, correct?” the old crone asks
“Luffy and Ace aren’t Pop’s real brothers either, what’s your point?” Artemis sighs as she sits up
“Because I wanted to confirm my suspicions. I’ve seen those eyes before, Child of Apophis!” Nyon yells jabbing her finger in Artemis’s direction
The girl hums and tilts her head “Huh, so that’s where I got the snake tongue from. Good to know. Now to discover how Papa can read Poneglyphs” she thinks aloud, then looks over as the old woman faceplants “Um, are you ok?”
“The boy can do what!”
“Wait, I think I’ve heard of them, they’re some kind of ancient glyph or something, but nobody can decipher them” Marguerite muses
“Almost, some people can, it’s recessive in certain families on Amazon Lily, none that I know of in the current generation can read them”
“That does explain the message on Shaula’s knife” Artemis nods
“Wait, you saw it, also what does it say?” Marigold asks, always curious about the symbols on the blade
“For my family. But it looked like the end rather than the beginning of a sentence if that makes sense” she answers, looking annoyed and confused
“Sounds like a ritual blade to me, least we’ll never see her again” Nyon chuckles
“I wouldn’t bet on that, my sister’s no coward” (2)
“Lady Arachne!” Aphelandra squeaks
“Shaula will go out in a blaze of glory, dying in battle, but if she’s gone out with Medusa’ blade, then she has no intention of dying in this war” the spider lady sighs “She’ll be back soon enough. And child, keep an eye out for the papers, if they catch that sword in battle you’ll get the full message written across the blade” she grins cruelly before continuing on
“That was strange” Sweet Pea muses
“Probably the pain meds Belladonna has her on” Marguerite guesses “Also, you really should be sleeping little one, what would your Mom think?”
“That Papa forgot to sing to me. Do any of you know, §Trust in Me§?” the artist asks with a yawn, sending the sister’s eyebrows into their hairlines
‘Damn it, why couldn’t Mama Sha have stayed to watch her?’
TBC
LW: Ok, so this is technically the end of the Amazon Lily Arc, with an interlude to check up on everyone next week and then 4 weeks from now we start the Impel Down arc. Hope you stick around for that, it should be fun.
Not entirely sure where Luffy and Shaula’s little debate on fortune telling, fate and prophecy came from, but it was interesting so I kept it
- Yeah, saying this now, Medusa’s Devil fruit was the Ancient Zoan Hebi Hebi no mi Model Titanoboa.
- All that sentence was supposed to mean, was a warrior culture like the Kuja wouldn’t like Seppuku in my opinion or most suicide in general, they’d see it as giving up rather than trying to regain your honor through deed/action. If you’re going to kill yourself at least die in battle like a warrior!
Chapter 112: Interlude: Checking in
Chapter Text
LW: Ok so this is the end of Amazon Lily and the beginning of the Impel Down arc, but, because it’s one chapter rather than several episodes of anime, we’re going to have all the Luffy & Kaos stuff at the start of the chapter, then we’ll go check on everyone else, cool? Well, I’m doing it anyway, so hope you enjoy it.
Oh yeah, due to crossover elements/references I need to pull this out.
Disclaimer: Lonly Wanderer doesn’t own BLEACH, Naruto, Nanatsu no Taizai/The Seven Deadly Sins, Metal Gear, Soul Eater, Fire Emblem (mostly because I forgot to say so before), or Helsing.
Rubber King & Mirror Master - Interlude: Checking in
Marine Vessel
“Ahh!” Luffy screams as he snaps awake
“Nightmares?” Kaos asks before Hanco*ck or Shaula have time to do more than turn
“Yeah, I lost everyone, again, but it was worse, I lost you and Artemis… I was all alone” he slumps
“Luffy” Hanco*ck whispers, squeezing his shoulder “I truly believe your friends will be ok, but you need to trust they can handle themselves at least for the upcoming week, as you’ll be no good to Ace if you’re distracted worrying about the others when he’s the one you can actually do something to help”
Luffy sighs deeply “I know, and you’re right I do trust them to be able to handle themselves, especially after talking to my girls, but it doesn’t mean I don’t worry” he sighs again, then lies back down to try to get at least a little shut-eye
“That’s all we ask Luffy. By the way, will you be pretending to be Marguerite the entire trip? Can you remain as her for that long?” Hanco*ck asks curiously, turning to Kaos
“It’s fine, besides the initial transformation it’s pretty low maintenance, helps that I picked someone who’s pretty normal in terms of size for a human, if I’d gone for a girl Chopper or Kuma’s size, that would be a trippy experience but like this, it’s honestly kind of relaxing to be normal for a change” she shrugs her shoulders, then looks down to Nagini currently sleeping on her lap “Besides, Marine’s aren’t exactly going to politely knock on the door and give me time to transform so it’s safer just to remain as I am”
“True, Luffy is risking a lot just sitting there out in the open, speaking of which, we don’t exactly have a plan to hide him if Kaos is right and that Vice Admiral barges in besides sitting on him and hoping he doesn’t notice”
“I’m ok with that as long as I can still breathe so not my face. I’ve had heavier things than all of you land on me before so I’ll be fine” Luffy shrugs
“Hm, that was easy” Hanco*ck chuckles “Complaining really does get problems solved” she then notices despite his calm demeanor Kaos was just as stressed about losing the crew and Ace’s upcoming execution, partially due to how roughly her nails were digging into her familiar’s scales. She reaches out to comfort him, but stops, her mind drifting off as she blushes and giggles with her head in her hands
Luffy’s eyebrow raises as he looks over at Hanco*ck, familiar with that laugh from Alvida, usually right before trying to convince himself or Vivi to do something ‘different’ in the bedroom. Deciding he didn’t want to touch the snake princess’ kinky side with a 10ft pole he rolls over onto his side and tries to sleep, maybe the giggling will make him dream of his wives in a more pleasant vision than getting bubbled by Kuma.
Later
“I’m really glad they think all this food is for our familiars, better than thinking I’m some sort of glutton” Hanco*ck sighs after the marines leave having set up about 100kg of food on the groaning table
“I mean HE is” Shaula chuckles, pointing to the meat Luffy was shoving down his gullet “Are you sure we got enough for us to also eat given we’re feeding this bottomless stomach?”
“If you both eat with us you should be fine, he hasn’t tried to kill the others yet” Kaos grins, his fangs poking out of his thin lips before he rips another chunk of sea king ham for himself, in his normal form so that, much like Nagini and Shalom he could take advantage of a disarticulating jaw to eat before Luffy could devour it all alone.
“Come on princess, we don’t want you to starve after shattering their belief that you subsist on grapes and air. Also, what are you going to do about the perverts?” Shaula asks, following her nephew’s lead and ripping a piece for herself
“Grapes and air?” Hanco*ck repeats, then stands up “One moment please” opening the door 2 marines had been trying to peek through the window, only to be petrified by an annoyed Snake Princess, who slammed the door and sat back down, this time beside Kaos “You were saying?”
“Well grapes cause you’re so high class and elitist, while the air… well how else are you supposed to have a chest that big without a diet with the correct levels of fats and proteins” Shaula teases
“These are 100% natural!” Hanco*ck squeaks “Care to check?” she purrs, before turning beat red and hiding behind a now cackling Shaula, though as she peeks over the woman’s shoulder, the reflect human’s amused smirk made it all worth it in her mind
“By the way, how come you have horns Scorpion lady, you didn’t have them before?” Luffy finally asks, pretty much everyone in the group wondering how long it was going to take for him to notice
Shaula chuckles “They’re ornamental like a headband. They’re part of my outfit from back when I was a pirate, seemed appropriate to get them out of storage for such an occasion”
“Oh yeah, I remember hearing you were a pirate, who was your captain? Was he cool?”
“He was a duck'' Shaula replies, though her smile said there was some kind of inside joke to her answer “Every time we raided a ship someone would shout ‘DUCK!’ just because it irritated him. Jinrumi almost got gutted when she laughed during an ill-timed ‘ducking’ incident, lucky Ludo was faster on the draw”
“A him, so not the Kuja, interesting” Kaos hums, while the woman nods
“Correct, I stowed away on the Kuja ship and left home around the same age as Luffy did, a few months after my 17th birthday. I was found by my future crewmates after some idiots tried and failed to mug me, Captain thought I had heart, and after a drinking contest… that I sadly lost, I was invited to travel with them. I went by Scorpion, ironic, or maybe prophetic given I hadn’t acquired either my Devil fruit or my familiar at the time, but the Bossman said it suited me, and he was right” she muses, then takes a bite of the seaking ham "Oh and kiddo?"
"Hm?"
"For the best results in life you'll want to embrace both sides of Poseidon: HIS Wraith and HER Love" the Kuja coos feeding Skaro some of the meat by hand.
[And now we shall check on the rest of the Straw Hats]
Zoro
“Still mad, still so very pissed off” Perona mutters, staring out into the gloomy dusk of Walakia “I know what I said, that if I was to travel I’d go somewhere dark and gloomy with a big creepy castle… BUT I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!” she screams into the empty air “Plus I’m all alone and there’s nothing cute for miles, Kuma you bastard you did this to f*ck with me I just know it!” she growls, then starts to cry “I miss it, I miss people, I miss Kumase, I miss Moria I even… actually f*ck Pervsalom he can stay away forever”
THUMP
“The f*ck was that?” Perona squeals as something impacts the nearby forest. Mustering up her courage the ghost girl astral projects herself and flies in the direction of the bang, hoping it’s not something scary, like that demon creature that nearly gutted her in Thriller Bark ‘Someone else has been exiled to this place, oh I hope they’re cute. I mean it’s probably a big ask, but at this point, I’ll take anyone who isn’t a pervert. Soul-crushing loneliness is a bitch’ she thinks as she heads straight for the dust cloud Kuma’s bubble produced when it hit the ground. When she got there she gasped “It’s him! It’s the straw hat with the green hair, the… one who saved me” she mutters “Shame he looks kind of dead though” she pouts, then leaps back when his head tilts and he coughs like he was about to hack up his internal organs “No way, all those injuries and he’s still breathing, what’s he made of?” she hums, before deciding no matter what she did next, she’d better return to her body now.
What she decided to do, was drag the unconscious swordsman to the castle (taking twice as long as it should have as she kept getting lost, but eventually she got there) and attempt to nurse him back to health. She wasn’t exactly a trained medic, but she knew enough, and to her joy, it did seem to be working, even if the man barely moved and remained unconscious for the better part of 2 days.
“I’m alive” Zoro wheezes after finally opening his eyes “But, where am I?” he wonders aloud, then his brain reminded him of the last thing it was able to process: Kuma, and being bubbled, causing him to scream
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“Bwaaaaahhhhhhhh!”
Crash
The sound of something happening nearby snapped him out of his panic attack at least long enough for him to turn his head and investigate, seeing the pink-haired ghost girl from Thriller Bark on the ground having fallen out of her chair confused him, especially as given they’d been enemies last he checked, why she hadn’t gutted him while he was sleeping
“Where am I, and what are you doing here?” he asks hostile
“I could ask you the same thing!” Perona fires back, pissed at how ungrateful the brat was at her hard work
Zoro pulls himself into a seated position “What, did you do, with my swords?” he growls, Perona backflipping as she puts some distance between herself and Zoro
“Oh, you won’t be getting them back anytime soon. And to make sure of it…” she smirks as activates her Devil fruit, just as Zoro throws himself off the bed, dropping to his knees already
Negative Hollow
With all his other injuries, the attack was enough to knock him out, causing the ghost girl to give a sigh of relief
“Ow, what the f*ck is wrong with you, you crazy bitch!” Zoro bellows as he comes to
“Jeez, are you always this much of a dick when someone tries to nurse you back to health?” Perona asks with a glare, causing Zoro to pause
“You, what?”
“Duh, nobody else lives in this f*cking place, of course I’m the one who put you back together, metaphorically speaking. Think of it as payment for not letting that feral thing eat my heart back on Thriller Bark kay?”
‘Feral… oh right She Negative Hollowed Kaos and his Zoan fruit kicked in. Wow after Kuma that doesn’t seem as big a deal as it probably should have been’ Zoro thinks to himself, a little out of it so he half-missed her next comment “Sorry what?”
Perona blushes “You heard that?”
“A little”
“Fine, I… I said I also did it because I’m lonely and, you’re kind of cute” she pulls her pigtails over her eyes in embarrassment, missing the swordsman’s own slight blush, there was a light warmth in his chest, one he hadn’t felt since Kuina, or the tiny flicker when he mistook Tashigi for her.
“I, I don’t know how to respond to that, other than I need to be elsewhere. I can’t just abandon my crew like this” the swordsman sighs “Can I have my swords, Perona?” he asks, partly to ask if that was her name as much as if he could have his swords returned to him
“Not until you’re completely recovered, I won’t dismiss the option of restraining you if you’re an uncooperative patient… actually that might be fun” she giggles, her face shifting into what was best described as ‘Ara ara’, as Zoro feels a shiver run down his spine, just before another Hollow shoots through his chest
Brook
Brook honestly either had the best or the worst luck, as Kuma’s bubble dropped him right smack bang in the middle of a group of praying satanists, of course, given he dropped out of sky into the middle of their ritual circle, their reaction is understandable
“Praise Satan please help us oh dark lord”
Yep, they think skeleton man’s the devil, I mean he doesn’t exactly look human anymore, so there’s that, but, yeah.
‘How far have I been sent, away from all my friends?’ Brook wonders as he slowly pulls himself to his feet “And more importantly, what has become of them? I must go to them at once” he declares, though he was more just thinking out loud at that point
“Oh no, please don’t return to Hell yet!”
“Quick we need to offer him more!”
“But we don’t have anything else”
“What about a sacrifice?”
“If it stops those long arm bastards I’ll pay any price”
“What do I want?” Brook croons, his voice cold as the grave, his head turns until it stops on a young woman, if he still had eyes they’d be locked on her right now “Pardon me” he says to her directly, though now in his usual polite tones “Can I see your panties?”
“Lord Satan demands we show him our underwear!”
“Um actually, just the women, I have no interest in man panties. Oh my, the curtains match the drapes, also very artistic but not what I asked for”
Usopp
“The one-man crew of the Usopp pirates will bravely… RUNAWAY!” Usopp screams, being chased around an up to now deserted jungle island by a massive Stag Beetle-like beast.
During one leap a wooden spear shoots by him, coming close enough when he bends to dodge the friction sets the tip of his nose on fire, then impales the beetle behind him, both falling to the ground with a thud
‘Oh god the pain, this is almost as bad as when Mr.4 slammed a bat into my nose’ Usopp thinks as finally another human drops from the treetops to join him on the ground
“Gonna eat that?” he asks pointing at the now dead beetle. Not the best greeting, but he most likely has very little human contact on this island.
“Are you kidding? But you just saved my life so you can eat whatever you want that isn’t me, thanks by the way”
“My name is Heraclesun” the armored man states
“Wow, cool name. I’m Usopp nice to meet you”
A little later Usopp is examining a fruit that had dropped off a nearby tree “Are you sure these things are edible?” he asks suspiciously
“Of course Ussopun, they’re delicious and nutritious” Heracles responds
“Um, ok. Maybe I’ll just lick it first, not going to just stick some weird plant in my mouth” he chuckles lightly licking the fruit… just as a larger plant licks him
“Ussopun!” Heracles shouts, leaping forward and slicing the plant in 2
“Did that plant just try and eat me?” Usopp screams
“Why yes, they are man-eating plants after all” the knight nods, just as more pods drop, these ones having toothy, snapping jaws, (Ussop later learns they're called Zetsu Zetsus) including one which dropped onto Usopp’s head, causing the screaming sniper to run away, narrowly avoiding getting chomped on by another plant, then tangled in the vines of a plant that resembled a toothy snake, and crawling vines
“What the hell is this place?!”
“This, is the swindling forest of Greenstone, in the Boig Archipelago”
Kaya
"The facility must be destroyed for the liberation to be successful, and as much as I'd love to just bomb the place and end whatever horror show lies within, the World Government has taken plenty of the locals for the experiments…"
KABOOM
"Shalashaska, was it the government, have we been compromised?" A young recruit shouts
The person in charge, an older gentleman with sandy blond hair and a respectable mustache looks out into the distance, seeing the dust cloud from the impact "No, it's something else. Not subtle enough to be Cipher Pol, and a Buster Call would have been a lot more than just one shot. Get me Roach, I'll head out and see what failed to hit us" he orders, Roach being his mount he hopped on it’s back and rode the horse into the distance.
One good thing about being a logia, was Kaya was able to revert into her syrup form just before impact, sure she exploded, but she was physically unharmed, the yellow gloop pulling itself back together and reforming her with minimal effort, which was what the Revolutionary saw when he reached the crater, honey-yellow sludge forming into a young woman
“Who are you, are you with the World Government?” he questions, pulling a revolver from his belt.
Kaya tilts her head as she processes what had been happening “Kaya” she responds, her own guns being spat out of her arms into her hands
Shalashaska scoffs “Logias, you’re all the same” he mutters, as the polished metal of his gun turns an oily black “Now answer the damn question”
The blond grimaces, able to tell something was off about the weapon, and not trusting herself to simply ‘not be there’ when he fired, so is straight with the man “I’m a pirate, and given what they tried to do our friend I’d say I hate the World Government as much as you do” she replies with a half-smile, taking her fingers away from her gun triggers “Kaya of the straw hats, and you are?”
“The boys call me Shalashaska, of the Revolutionary Army. You picked a bad time to show up kid, we’re currently working on taking down one of the World Government’s off the book secret labs” the man answers, the name of the pirate crew ringing a bell “All I can really do is offer you a hand out of this hole, and maybe a call on the Den Den to work out a way off this island” he adds, holstering his gun
Kaya nods “A friend and crewmate was found in one of those facilities, if transport isn’t for a while I’d be happy to help” the girl offers as she takes the man’s hand “As I doubt you get ships heading for the Grand Line passing through here often” she chuckles
“Only every couple months I’m afraid” he nods, helping her onto the horse before getting on himself and riding it back to base
“Captain, Apep is calling” one of the newer recruits shouts as the 2 arrive
“I’ll be right there. Miss Kaya follow me, we might as well let you have the snail once I’m done with it” he hums as he moves to the comms station “You don’t call much these days Apep, I was sure you’d forgotten about little ol’ me” he greets
“Correct” the snail relays, causing Kaya to sweatdrop and Shalashaska to sigh
“Was there a reason for this call or just…”
“Patience Adamska, I had a reason” the woman purrs, while Adamska grits his teeth, that name wasn’t meant to just be thrown around so casually, even by her “Your assault, can you be ready to roll out in 6 days?”
“I presume so, 5 if we really hurry, why?”
“The marines have kicked not just a hornet’s but a Cazador nest, and so will be a little busy trying to not die from Whitebeard’s assault on Marineford in 6 days. They’ll be pulling any strong fighters from all over the globe, meaning anyone still in the facility will be those not deemed worth throwing at a Yonko, so that’s your best chance”
“That’s just the kind of intel we needed, thank you”
“There is one more thing. I will be unable to assist you for this endevour, Captain Grima has decided we finally pay out debts, and is throwing our dice on Whitebeard’s deck” the snail looked tired, Kaya guessing it mirrored it’s speaker
“In that case, I wish you the best and hope you survive” the man nods to the snail
“I’m a sniper Adam, I’m the safest person on the team” she chuckles, then the snail falls asleep
Shalashaska sighs then turn to Kaya “You want me to ask if any ships are passing by in the next week?”
She shakes her head “It would take me longer than that to get to the others… I think. Where are we?”
“Mohave, more specifically just outside Muspelheim. North Blue. You really want to stay and help us kid?”
“Yes, I can’t let someone like Artemis suffer at these bastard’s hands” Kaya declares
Sanji
Ah Sanji, the universe does love f*cking with the blond pervert. At first glance Peachy island looked like a Grand Line version of Amazon Lily, a paradise of beautiful women, unfortunately when you look a little harder it turns into a sausage fest.
This Sanji learned the hard way, though it didn’t start out so bad, Kuma’s bubble dropping him onto a beach, where he regained consciousness long enough to hear a woman approaching and calling out to him in concern, then passing out again.
As he begins to come to, he feels the gentle caress of fingers running through his hair ‘This feeling, and that scent, I must be in the lap of a beautiful woman, but who? Nami perhaps, or maybe Ro… nope, I don’t have a death wish, no matter what Mosshead thinks, I’ll just pray it’s Nami-swan, or some kind and beautiful stranger’ he thinks as he reaches out to touch his angel, unfortunately doing so startled her, causing her to run away.
“Hey, come back!” Sanji shouts, pulling himself into a seated position “What, damn it. You forgot your handkerchief” he adds, standing up then running after her as best he could, noting as he did that the name on the handkerchief was ‘Elizabeth’ so at least he knew what to shout next time he saw that splendid vision.
His mind was focused on reuniting with Elizabeth, so much so he missed that the entire island seemed to look and feel like Valentine’s Day projectile vomited on the environment and all the wildlife he could.
“It’s the same design as the one on the handkerchief, plus it’s the 1st building I’ve seen on this whole damn island so far… so it must be Elizabeth’s place” Sanji mutters to himself as he marches up to the door, unaware of the many eyes watching his every move “Hello? Lady Elizabeth?” he calls, knocking on the door “My name is Sanji, I’m the man you were looking after not too long ago. I came to return your handkerchief which you must have dropped when you took off so suddenly” he explains, grinning as he hears footsteps approach the door… only to open it long enough to snatch away the handkerchief and slam it shut again.
“Hey what gives, at least let me say thank you!” the cook grunts to himself, then sighs deeply “Calm down man, she must just be a painfully shy and innocent little girl, explains why she ran” he justifies to himself, then continues speaking to Elizabeth through the door “Apologies my dear, here I go being too forward again, beautiful women always seem to make me jump the gun like that. Your touch was so warm and gentle, your hand so lovely I couldn’t help myself, I just had to thank its beautiful owner face to face. Please allow me to apologize properly, perhaps by cooking you a lovely meal, it may surprise you but I am a world-class chef”
Elizabeth gasps behind the door, then tentatively asks “So you really like to cook?”
“Oh yes, I love cooking!” Sanji declares an honest statement, though with more enthusiasm than usual.
“Then, do you like clothes too?”
“Clothes, you mean like fashion? Of course, unlike a certain swordsman, and cape-wearing weirdo I happen to care a great deal about how I look” Sanji replies, puffing up his chest
“Really, you’re not just saying that?” Elizabeth asks with a hint of suspicion
“Oh no” Sanji denies
“Then, what about… dresses?”
“Dresses?” the blond repeats in confusion, until his lower brain takes over ‘Of course, she must be asking all these questions to find out what I’m into!’ “Like them oh I love them, you have no idea how much!”
“And flower prints?”
“Hell yeah! Nothing in life beats a well-done flower print, oh they’re so adorable” Sanji gushes, unable to see her smirk through the door, though he does hear a giggle
“All right then” she coos, letting the door swing open revealing a lovely room, flowers everywhere, and even a little carpeted area that make it look like a bridge over a river, Elizabeth sitting at a table, a drink in front of her and her back still turned to Sanji
“Oh my, it’s such a marvelous vision, you have exquisite tastes, my dear. Don’t be shy, you’ve opened the door to your home, now all that’s left is the door to your heart” Sanji flirts, grinning as he does, then starts to approach his fellow blond
“Oh Sanji” she giggles, standing up
“Don’t hold anything back my love, just leap into my arms!” Sanji calls, eyes aflutter with love hearts
“I think this dress… would look amazing on you!” she declares, bowling him over with the white dress she threw at him
“Ow, didn’t expect tha… wait a minute” he mutters, looking up… and wishing he hadn’t ‘Oh god, please can I be dreaming, because I really want to get out of this nightmare NOW’ he mentally screams, as he learns Elizabeth, was actually a man.
Kicking the door apart Sanji tumbles out and lands right in front of more men in dresses and heavy make-up. His heart shrivels and panic sets in
“You like the same things, that makes you one of us”
“You don’t have to pretend to be something you’re not anymore”
“Yes, it’s a free country where you can be yourself”
“Now, put on this dress, and open the door to your heart” Elizabeth shouts, using his own words against him.
“I’m not gonna open anything!” Sanji screams, running like the hounds of hell were after him, or his version of it… really ugly crossdressers
Welcome to the 2nd Maiden island, where those who are female at heart can live in peace with one another, without being judged or ridiculed. The Kamabaka Kingdom!
Franky
Considering how he’s normally dressed (Hawaiian shirt and a speedo) the universe/Kuma really wanted to f*ck with the cyborg by dropkicking him onto a Winter island. Being attacked by a dog that shot missiles out of his mouth was just icing. Luckily they were low payload and all hit him from the front, so it was only mildly uncomfortable
“Ah, it’s a person, I’m very sorry Sir, my dog, he thought you were something we’re hunting” the young boy accompanying the animal apologizes frantically
“It’s fine, no biggie” Franky shrugs as he gets back up “What’s more important is the cold! Jeez do you guys not get the sun around here?” he asks while shivering
“He’s running around in just a shirt and underwear!” the boy gasps
“Did bandits steal your pants ma boy?” the old man asks “Why don’t you put on this fur pelt until we can get you to town?”
“Fur pelt, no way man I’m trying to maintain a style here” Franky scoffs “I got a reputation to keep: As A Freak!” he yells, then starts to dance, mostly confusing the Eskimos, but his enthusiasm did get the 2 to join him in his dancing (God that scene had so many crotch shots of Franky O_O) while the cyborg doggo just watched in amusem*nt.
“YEAH SUPER!!”
“Still so cold, where the hell even am I?”
“You don’t know where you are?” the boy asks in confusion
“Of course I don’t, why else would I ask?”
“You’re just outside the Future Land of Baldimore on Karakuri island. It’s known as the birthplace of The Genius”
“The who?” Franky asks, his body starting to freeze over
“The Genius Dr. Ve,,,,” the old man repeats as if Franky only misheard rather than didn’t understand. Not that it mattered given Franky was now frozen solid
“Oh no, Mister are you ok?” the boy shouts
“Oh dear, we better get the poor lad to the hospital Kitton”
“Yes grandpa”
So the man, boy, and mechanical dog dragged Franky through the icy tundra, getting him to the engineers and doctors as quickly as possible
“He’s definitely a cyborg”
“Incredible to see one that runs entirely on cola”
“About that, how can we refuel him, we don’t have any sodas to power him”
“We’ll just have to make do, begin the operation”
The procedure was a success and Franky was able to make a full recovery, though like on Enies Lobby the substitution of another drink for Cola did cause changes to his personality and clothing. In this case, his hair looked like Sir Nighteye or maybe Best Jeanist’s and he was wearing an off-white suit jacket and bowtie, still no pants though, but this is still Franky after all
“Hello, you must be the young lad from before correct?” he greets Kitton “I do hope I haven’t kept you waiting too long”
“You’re talking funny, did they do something to you?” Kitton asks
“Indeed, my body runs on cola but it’s jolly difficult to acquire any around these parts so they had to make do with brewing a spot of hot tea as a substitute” Franky explains, opening his stomach and pulling out a teapot and cup “I believe they said this pot was Dargeli to be precise”
“Huh, hot tea?” Kitton repeats in confusion as Franky pours himself a fresh cup
“Hm, the aroma and flavor are both truly super” he muses as he takes a sip “Lovely, there really is nothing quite so relaxing. Oh wait, where are my manners, here’s a cup for you and another for the little one. Careful it’s hot”
There was a moment of quiet before Kitton snaps pointing out that relaxed, tea-drinking British Franky was really boring compared to regular cola drinking SUPER Franky. So, with no idea how he was going to accomplish it, the boy declares that they WOULD find him some cola!
Nami
Considering her last memory was screaming as a huge guy with paw pads bubble slapped her into oblivion, the last thing Nami expected was to wake up in a surprisingly comfortable bed, and yet here she is. In fact, as she opens her eyes she sees she’s in a rather cozy and quaint-looking house, vastly different from her usual residence of a pirate ship
“Ah, so you’re finally awake” an old bearded man says, entering her field of vision, scaring the sh*t out of her, prompting them both to start screaming until the navigator jumps straight to violence and beats him with her clima-tact “Ow” the poor man groans
“What’s going on? Who the f*ck are you? And where am I?” Nami asks while panting frantically, eyes scanning the room for escape options
“Ow, jeez. You’re in my house lady, recovering from when I dragged you out of the crater you made when you arrived here” he explains
“I what!” Nami shouts, pushing herself off the bed, before almost immediately collapsing to the floor
“Yeah, might not be the best to over-exert yourself just yet, you’re body’s still healing. Like I said, fished you out of a crater”
“I don’t care how badly my body is aching right now, my, my family needs me” Nami scowls as she shimmies herself over to the wall, swinging her clima-tact whenever the weird old man came near her until he got the message and stayed away, giving her time to think. Setting down her clima-tact, she pulls her knees up to her chest and sniffles ‘f*ck’
“Hey, little lady who fell from the sky, and hits like a wind turbine? Are you ok, or at least a little calmer and less prone to violence?” the old man asks about 10 minutes later
“Yeah, I’m good for now, I think”
“Good to hear. Please, let me feed you and then you can ask any questions you feel need answering” he says softly, not wanting to startle her and get hit again
“Wow, this is amazing” Nami gushes, sure it wasn’t a Sanji cooked meal, but it was cozy like this house, reminding her of something Nojiko or Genzo would make when she was in the village between money hunts
The old man chuckles “It probably isn’t, you slept for 2 days after that crash you did, after that long without food anything would taste nice”
“Wait, 2 days?”
“Yep, you must have gone through quite the ordeal even before crash landing outside my house if you needed that long to recover even this much” he muses, then notices his houseguest had become the melancholy kind of quiet, so quickly pulls something from another room “Look here,” he says, drawing her attention to a piece of knotted rope being waved in her face “This may look like ordinary rope, but they’re actually tightly bound wind-knots. You release one and a gentle breeze is formed, undo a second and it grows into a strong gust, and a third, and it’s a gale!” he laughs, as everything gets blown around the room
THUMP
“The f*ck was that about!” Nami shouts, having once more beaten the man with her climatact
“I’m sorry you looked lost in your own head so I was trying to distract you and cheer you up a little that’s all”
“Well, you certainly did something as I’m pissed off now. f*ck this I’m leaving!” she shouts before storming out, even as the wind gets stronger outside
“Are you insane, get back here young lady you’ll get yourself killed!”
Nami was pretty sure she could handle a little wind, it was in her job description as the Straw Hat’s navigator… until she saw the storm heading their way. Once her brain stopped screaming she turned on her heel and went back into the house
“Good, you’re back, but now you’re filthy. Why don’t you take a shower and freshen up, I’ll take care of your clothes as quick as I can” the man half scolds her, but there was clear concern in his tone
“Listen old man, that’s no ordinary rainstorm, it’s a massive cyclone that will barrel right through this area” she explains in panic
“Hmm?” the man grunts, not looking too concerned
“You idiot I’m trying to tell you we’re in the path of a massive storm!” Nami shouts
“Oh, I know that, it should be arriving rather soon. Hopefully with more pleasant company” he mutters the last part but Nami was close enough to hear him, his nonchalance over what she considered a huge problem pissing her off even more. Deciding she wasn’t going to be getting through to the old coot she went to avail of his offered shower facilities, though she was confused and surprised to see little clouds floating around the bathroom area
“Turn the wheel for hot water” he calls from the other room, Nami follows his orders but was shocked when instead of water another cloud bubbled out of the nozzle, then started to rain warm water on her head “Is the water temperature hot enough for you? The wheel also blows hot air if you push it, no point standing around air drying when you can wind dry” he shouts, putting Nami’s clothes through a machine to wash, clean and dry them swiftly.
“I made tea while you bathed, drink up” he says laying out 2 cups for them which the navigator accepts
“Thanks” she nods as she takes a sip “This is actually very nic…. Wait a minute, why are you so calm I just told you we’re about to be hit by a huge storm!”
“Please don’t hit me again, it’s not like I can move the house!”
Nami sighs as the two finish their tea “We’re really screwed, aren’t we? There’s nothing you can do?”
“Oh yes it’s time” the old man hums as he sets the cup down and gets out of his chair, walking out the door like it was a regular day “I’ll be back before you know it, stay in side and stay safe” he calls back before running off
“Hey wait!” Nami shouts ‘How is he able to just walk through this wind, it’s not possible’
With it clear she was getting no help from the old geezer Nami does what any thief would do, route through his things. Finding nothing of value, she did manage to find something that might be able to save her ass: the wind knots.
Forcing herself through the gale outside Nami pushes to a high enough point in the visible scenery “Ok, I’ve got one shot at this” she mutters, having separated the heat bar from her climatact and at least tentatively secured the now 2 halves with the wind knot “Here goes” she announces, swinging the cool end above her head while activating the heated end directly below it
Cool Ball
Heat Ball
Cyclone Burst
Swinging the device as well as giving the rope a swift tug to open all the knots Nami unleashes the attack into the heart of the storm, all was silent for a moment before the cloud completely dissipates in a sonic boom, knocking Nami onto her back, though given she wasn’t about to die she was ok with that. “Well damn” she muses surprised by how much stronger the move was when enhanced by the wind knots
“Hey young lady, you did quite a thing with the storm just a minute ago”
“Thanks, also hope you don’t mind I borrow this” she smiles, waving the wind knots in his general direction
“It’s fine, I’m really impressed little Miss, using them with such skill after only being shown them the once, you’re really something aren’t you” he chuckles
“It’s nothing really, but now the storm’s cleared I really should be go… what the, where are we?” she gasps seeing the landscape now she could actually see more than 10ft in front of her face
“This is a small Sky Island called Weatheria, we conduct all manner of studies on the weather here” the old man explains
“This is a sky island!”
“That cyclone looked to have had the potential to be quite the intriguing specimen, but it up and disappeared on us, I wonder how that could have happened” he muses, rubbing his beard while Nami frets
Valentina
The blond coughs and wheezes as she lays in the paw-shaped impact crater ‘It’ll sting a little, sting my ass! I’m going kill that smug prick the next time I see him’ she thinks, meaning it took her a few minutes to notice a familiar grey haired man looking down at her, his trenchcoat closed revealing a red cloud over his heart
“Well if it ain’t Valentine, I’d say you look like sh*t, but that ain’t f*cking news” he laughs, to which Valentina responds with a smile of gritted teeth
“Hidan, sh*t. Miss me that much dickless, sacrifice anything else to Jashin since I left?” she asks, internally wincing as her voice sounded like she’d been chewing sandpaper
Hidan growls “You’re the one who cut it off, besides you know as well as I do it would grow back as large and proud as ever” he smirks, puffing up his chest
Valentina rolls her eyes “Really because you said to sacrifice something I wouldn’t miss, and I still almost missed at point-blank range” she smirks, watching as the man above her reaches for his scythe.
“You” he stops and laughs “And Kisame doesn’t understand why I actually like you bitch. You’re still a little spitfire and a pain in the ass but that’s what makes it fun. So what the f*ck are you doing here in this hole?”
“Clouding watching” she deadpans “Help me out of this hole you idiot” she shouts! “Also, is Nii-san’s lab still in the commercial district?”
Hidan pulls her up with a grunt then lets her pat herself down “Not since, oh about 6 months, one of his assistants blew the place up, for once they couldn’t blame Deidara as the f*cker was out on a mission at the time. Speaking of now he’s got an apprentice of his own, crazy pink-haired broad with an even bigger explosion fetish than blondie ever did” he cackles “Anyway, the new place was built just on the edge of the city limits, I’ll make sure you don’t get lost or pass out and die on the way there” he huffs, but Valentina sees the smile and lets him lead her.
Elsewhere
“You do know what you’re attempting is considered physically impossible, only Zoans have been transplanted before and even then into inanimate objects, not vessels like these” a pink-haired woman in a white leotard hums, her partner’s newest experiment bubbling away
“Kukuku, but that’s the point of experimenting Mel my love, for the thrill of facing the impossible only to do it anyway” the man beside her laughs, golden reptilian eyes full of amusem*nt. His eyebrows then flick and her turns just before the door is kicked in
“Guess who’s back bitches!” Hidan cackles, Valentina following behind him with a sigh being just barely held back
“Sorry for borrowing Greed a month ago, long story short I needed a zombie and he was the most tolerable one you’d made before I left” she sighs “So, do anything fun since I left Orochimaru? I hear your apprentice got you kicked out of the village, physically I mean given where this place is” Valentina chuckles
“Yes, Anko did get a little, overeager and mixed the wrong components, but she’s gotten better, I no longer have to keep my eyes on her or Kabuto these days”
KABOOM
It interested the 3 that Valentina’s only reaction to the explosion going off above her head somewhere was to catch and return to the desk a flask of unknown liquid (it was snake venom, the who or where doesn’t matter, but it is) that had been almost knocked to the floor, so they asked
“My partner ate the Bomb bomb fruit, took some getting used to but after a month I barely reacted to any explosions unless they actually hit me. That Deidara’s new fling?” she asks, getting a laugh from the other woman
“I wish, no he seems to treat her more like a daughter than a lover, like Orochi-kun does Anko and Kabuto” she coos, while Valentina looks at her with narrowed eyes
“Well damn, never thought I’d see ‘Melascula of the Miasma’ in the flesh” she hums, grinning at the pinkette’s shocked expression “Oh please, I was essentially a freelance bounty hunter for 3 years, of course I know who you are” she huffs as another man enters the lab
“They’re at it again,” he says flatly “This is why you told me to work outside despite the roof having as much light isn’t it?” he asks
“Huh, I was sure Deidara or Sasori would have killed you by now Zetsu” Valentina chuckles, sidestepping a vine that shoots out from the zoan’s cloak, a look of irritation on his yin-yang face
“Valentina, we didn’t expect you to ever return”
“Yeah not by choice, go plant yourself” she sighs as she shoves past him, wishing she could kill him and take the Devil fruit to Kaos, sure he’d find the Flora Flora no mi Model: Zetsu interesting to play with.
Late afternoon
“So, you are back” Valentina sighs as she peers over her shoulder
“Late as always. Where did you hear?”
“Some people chatting about seeing you hopping across rooftops, also Hidan was too happy so I asked” the silver-haired man replies “Why are you here?”
“Not by choice, some asshole pandaman bubble blasted me and I landed outside the village” she replies, catching a fist pump out the corner of her eye “Did you dumbasses make a bet? Oh Obito is definitely getting my foot up his ass this time!” she scowls “What did you even bet Kakashi?”
“Why you were here, and whether or not it was planned. Obito and Kurehai were sure you were pregnant, myself and Gai not so much. He did think you showed up back here of your own free will, me not so much” he answers then gives her a look “You can’t hide from him forever you know?”
“Who says I’m hiding, Sensei’s a busy guy” she shrugs
“They don’t hate you”
“They should, I was picked as godmother and I left, I’ve not even tried to contact them in 4 years!”
“The twins are 10, they won’t care, they’ll just think you were on some super cool mission or something” Kakashi shrugs
“How would you..”
“Auntie Val!”
“Auntie Val!”
“sh*t” Valentina hisses just before she gets knocked onto her back by a blond and a redhead “You f*cker, did you leave signs or something to lead them to me?” she scowls
“Noooo” Kakashi replies, making a mental note to take down those neon signs on his way home, and bribe Anko with dango not to snitch on him
Victor
Given his Devil fruit, Victor was probably the only person who could try and use his explosion to pop the bubble… shame Kuma’s paw bubbles contained and redirected the energy back on its target, which if he was anyone else would have been fatal, but here just meant he was already unconscious when he reached his destination
Groaning as he comes to, Victor sees his current location was a paw-shaped crater at the foot of a mountain range “Well sh*t, where the hell did that panda bastard send me to?” he mutters as he pulls himself out of the hole, hoping to run into some hikers or something to at least give him directions to the nearest town. What he didn’t expect was about 2 hours later…
“Big Brother!” a dark-haired missile slams into Victor’s gut, the man just about managing to remain standing as the missile reveals herself to be a girl with large eyes and 2 hair antennas brushing against his chin, a girl he knew rather well actually
“GG?” he gasps
“Victor, it is you!” she cheers, hugging him tightly as the rest of her gang catch up to her
“Oy f*ckstick, hands off the weirdo!” shouted a woman with lime green hair and peeking out of her skirt a stylized ‘T’ on her upper left thigh
“Do you have any setting besides bitch Candice?” Sighed a … cookiecutter shark mermaid? “Sorry she’s new”
“Has it been 3 years already, sh*t” grumbles a woman with dark brown hair, most of which was covered with a black peaked white cap and brown eyes “Well damn, didn’t think we’d just run into you out here Victor, last I heard you were on the Grand Line” she laughs
“Probably was, where am I, and what are you doing here?” he asks, as Giselle unlatches herself from him
“East Blue, assassination mission, chasing a defector who thought it would be funny to leave after the Boss gave him power” Bambi explains, causing Victor to whistle, it takes balls to even consider doing something like that to his old boss, you don’t get to just walk away from Ywach unless he allows it.
“Who’s the target?”
“Hey just wait a minute, you can’t just barge in and act like you’re one of us asswipe!” Candice screams
“Why should we allow you to help us?” Bambi asks, both watch Giselle leap and cheer out the corner of their eyes
Victor shrugs “There’s no way I can get back to my crew in time from the East Blue, and since I’m here, might as well lend a hand with some old colleagues. So again, who’s the target?”
Liltotto sighs “Some punk who thinks he’s a big shot now he’s got power. With Arlong out of the picture, as well as most of the bigger names in the East, he decided to set up shop here. His Wanted Poster lists him as ‘The Blaze’ Bazz B. 90 million berri”
Chopper
Given he was in Monster point when he was sent away, he awoke in pain with no clue where he was and what happened to everyone, himself included. He did worry that the others might be dead, initially, but practically slapped the notion out of his head, his crew wouldn’t die that easily from a sumo, a robot, and some stoner, Admiral or not! They were fine, and now he had to find a way back to them as soon as possible, if only he knew where ‘here’ was.
Bad news, ‘here’ wasn’t even a here, he was dreaming, where he actually was, was a nest for 2 very irritable looking giant birds. It was a very rude awakening that was for sure, but getting prodded by giant beaks are annoyingly effective at waking people from even the deepest of sleep, though it did usually result in a LOT of screaming. It was probably a good thing Brain Point Chopper was too small to be worth eating in their tiny minds as the birds ended up helping the scared, and painfully stiff reindeer escape the confines of the nest, via slapping him around with their beaks, until he fell off the edge.
Honestly, while not at the time it was probably a good thing Chopper seemed to hit every branch on the way down, as the alternative would have been a reindeer pancake at the bottom of the stupidly tall tree the birds had perched themselves on top of.
After regaining consciousness Chopper begins to search the island, hoping to find someone, anyone to help him get away and somewhere in the direction of his friends, he even technically knew where that was given he had one of Rayleigh’s Vivre cards, so all he needed was a way to get there. With that goal in mind Chopper psyched himself up, knowing he needed to get stronger so when he reunited with his friends he wouldn’t have to be protected, but would instead be the protector.
This plan was derailed rather quickly by a club to the back of the head while he was trying to hunt a lizard (Did you know reindeer are selectively carnivorous? Because I didn’t until I checked while writing this)
“Ow my head, who hit me?” Chopper groans as he comes too a little later “And why is it so hot… oh crap” he squeaks, looking down to see he was suspended over a large bubbling pot of most likely soup or broth.
“It rare get raccoon on island. Racoon hotpot!” one of the tribesmen cheer, probably the one who knocked him out
“Racoon nice but me rather have chicken and make chicken hotpot” his friend argues and the author agrees, chicken is better than raccoon
“That sound good, but no chicken just raccoon” the first one correctly points out, they have to make do with what they can find and catch
“SHUT UP! I’M A REINDEER!” Chopper shouts, pissed off he was once again mistaken for a raccoon or a tanooki, getting the attention of the entire gathered tribe
“Oh, guess we have reindeer hotpot tonight” the 1st one corrects himself, then stops “Wait, did reindeer just say something?”
“Me not know reindeers could speak” his friend hums
“Great you figured that out, now let me down right this minute!” Chopper continues to shout, then another commotion distracts them
“Help! We sneak up to birds nest… but bird spot us and chase us back down!” a tribesman bellows as he runs towards them at top speed, those huge birds from earlier pretty much right on his heel
“What we do?”
“Birds could eat us”
“I say we run”
“Good plan”
“Wait, don’t leave me, don’t leave your reindeer hotpot for the birds to eat!” Chopper screams as he’s left dangling due to everyone leaving to save themselves
Vivi
“Master, there’s a girl in the crater!” came a loud voice which drew Vivi to consciousness
“Is she dead?”
“I don’t know, probably”
“Hit her with a rock of something, if she flinches or makes a noise she’s still alive”
“Or you can just ask” she groans, rolling onto her back, seeing a girl in a military uniform, large breasts and ash blond hair peering down at her
“She’s awake!” the girl shouts
“I’m pretty sure only the dead can sleep through your yelling” came an older man’s tired sigh, before he too appears in her field of view “Hello dear, my name is Walter, who are you?”
“Vivi” she replies tiredly
“Well Miss Vivi, welcome to the Black Forest of Mysthaven. You look like you could use some help”
“Seen any bears, the locals think they’re stealing their sheep and their kids in the night. f*cking weirdoes” came the voice of the man referred to as Master, who Vivi see’s when she’s pulled out of the hole was wearing a nice, blood-red suit, wide-brimmed hat, and thick shades, grinning at her with a look of feral bloodlust
“Um, no” Vivi replies unsure of herself, but the man just laughs
“See told you it was an Asghoul, but no we had to play it safe and hunt for bears”
“We won’t know if it is or isn’t bears until we find one of the kids. Miss Vivi, can you fight? If not we’ll make a detour to the village and then continue your hunt” Walter asks, to which Vivi slips her hand into her pocket, revealing her wire gloves
“I can handle myself, though my precision needs work” she mutters, surprised to see a smile on the older man’s face
“I never thought I’d see the day someone else take up those weapons. If you’d be willing I could help you learn to use them correctly” at her confused look he explains “My apologies, I am Dornez Walter, master of wired combat, monofilament in particular”
Vivi blinks, then grins “I’d love to, honeslty until now I’ve just been swinging the thing hoping it does enough damage to my enemies to deal with them. An actual combat style would be great” she chirps.
“Then we shall begin your training, when we make camp in 3 hours”
Alvida
Alvida sighs as she looks up into the sky, angry at herself as much as that Kuma bastard, she took her eyes off him and she lost Vivi, then he got her and she lost Luffy (she was mad Kuma bubbled the others, she was just too far away to do anything about them so wasn’t angry with herself for them). Sighing deeply she looks at her right arm, glad for the strap Vivi suggested to keep her mace attached to her arm, even more so when she was using it as a makeshift walking stick. f*cking forest, why couldn’t she have been sent somewhere closer to town.
“There is someone nearby, just a few metres in front of us” came a feminine voice to her left, then a short blond boy? Popped out of the bushes
“Well, the local villages have been complaining about bandit raids these past few months, and we happen to run into a suspsuous woman, so you must be one of them”
“Captain that’s not how that works” a brunette with wings argues but the blond wasn’t listening, and neither was his target
“You wanna fight me you little sh*t?” Alvida smirks, adrenaline one hell of a painkiller
“Sure do” he laughs, pulling a dagger from his back “Think fast” he grins, leaping at her, then swiftly dodging her swings, luckily her devil fruit gave her at least some improved evasion, but it wasn’t enough to hold up against the blond, slicing across her arms and legs with almost childish ease
“This is boring, you got anything better than swinging it around like a drunk at a bar?”
“Captain”
Alvida scowls “Oh I got something better” she sneers, making the blond grin wider, his blade turning black as he readies himself
Frictionless Takedown
Full Counter
One swing and her mace shatters like glass and a shallow cut is drawn from just below her throat to her navel, and down along her spine, the smooth woman dropping to the ground with a thud, exhaustion causing her to pass out in a matter of minutes
Later
Alvida gasps as she wakes up in a bed, confused and annoyed, but mostly confused as she pushes herself to a seated position
“Please relax, I’m not done healing you yet” came a soft voice, which as she turns was revealed to come from a white-haired woman with large angel-like wings, most likely something similar to a Shandorian if the smooth woman had to guess
“Who, are you?” she asks
“Elizabeth, wife of Captain Meliodas, the man you fought this morning. He was impressed with your attack by the way, given the amount of damage the redirect did to you. Also sorry about your mace, was it special?”
“It was a mace, I’ll need to get a new one but I had no important connection to it besides being the only weapon I know how to use” Alvida shrugs
“Ok. Well, if you think you’re up to move around you can come downstairs to the bar and we can feed you” Elizabeth offers, which Alvida agrees to. Exiting the bedroom Alvida notes she appears to be in some kind of tavern, a rather nice one if she was being honest and as she reached the main floor saw the blond from earlier behind the counter, alongside a man with steely grey hair and a mischievous grin like a fox on his face, as well as the winged boy from earlier though he was seated in the corner sleeping
“Ah good you’re awake, I made you an apology pie, for nearly killing you earlier when I thought you were a bandit” the blond, Meliodas says, passing her a plate and cutlery.
Alvida shrugs but sits down and takes a bite “I’ve had better, but can’t complain it’s actually rather nice” she says, getting a surprised look from all 3 men, as well as black wings popping out of the blond’s back
“You ate dad’s cooking, and you’re not dead!” a young voice gasps, looking behind her she saw a little boy with mismatching eyes and wings, clearly his parent’s colors but swapped around, the green eye on the left with the white wing, while the blue eye was on the right with the black wing
“Tristan, you can’t just yell at people, and your Dad isn’t that bad of a cook” Elizabeth sighs, ruffling his short white hair
“Yes he is” argues a silver haired girl sitting at another table “Nobody can eat anything he makes without throwing up”
“Jeri, behave, it’s not nice to bring up your uncles flaws so bluntly” the red eyed man scolds, still smirking
“Ug I’m not a child anymore Dad, I’ve outgrown such a childish nickname, it’s Jericho” the teen huffs, making Alvida giggle
“My you are an interesting one, Smooth Criminal Alvida” a voice purrs, sending a shiver down her spine as a woman walks down the stairs and sits opposite her, vibrant gold eyes, pure white horns sticking out of ebony black hair, large breasts barely contained by essentially a waistcoat, panties only noticeable from the front otherwise they vanish between her ass cheeks and thigh-high boots
“Should I know you?”
“Unlikely, even my title, Mountain God killer Merlin isn’t that well known” Merlin shrugs
“Mountain God” Alvida chokes
“There’s a boar in Wano people believed it to be unkillable, basically a God. Apparently even Oden couldn’t kill it, but I did” she explains, her smile similar to Kaos after killing something, feral amusem*nt and satisfaction “Father had never been prouder of me than that day, even Yama cheered her big sis was awesome sauce” she chuckles, a more gentle smile now gracing her beautiful face “But this isn’t about me, it’s about you, and your captain”
Robin
Lub dub, lub dub, lub dub, lub dub.
Robin gasps to life, then hisses in pain from the burning in her chest. Her mind tries to piece itself back together, the attack by Kuma, her fingertips just grazing Kaos’, an impact followed by a crunch...and blood, a lot of blood!!!!!!!!!
“Calm down Miss, we just managed to get you stable as is, it’s not like we’re a legit hospital or anything, just what we could scramble together” an older woman scolds as she holds Robin’s shaking hands in her own “My dear, do you know what happened, Little Sorin brought you in from the snow, bleeding quite badly”
“Your supersized boobies saved you!” a girl maybe Artemis’ age shouts behind her, causing the old woman to sigh
“While crude, she is also correct. I had to pull some large pieces of what looked to be mirror shards out of your chest, the fatty tissue seems to have absorbed enough of the momentum they were in little to no danger of reaching your heart or lungs, but they were rather severe bleeds” she explains (I’m medically bullsh*ting here, besides the fact that Robin would be better off than say Ussop in a head-on attack, as a knife or in this case piece or broken mirror would have to stab through her apparently I-cup breasts just to reach her ribs, never mind her internal organs, while Ussop, or really any of the guys beside Brook or Franky, has skin, a little muscle and then ribs, WAY different)
Robin’s eyes quickly scan the room, finding the pieces and knowing exactly what they were from, she’d slipped the communication mirror into her shirt before they decided to play Dragon and servant in Sabaody, having assumed it would be safest there...apparently not. Her hand is slapped away before she can do more than raise her arm
“Don’t touch, you’ve already hurt yourself enough and it’s beyond repair anyway” the woman huffs, causing Robin to droop, she was sure the others all survived, Luffy and Kaos most of all, but with her mirror broken… she was truly alone.
“Where am I?” she asks quietly
“Tequila Wolf, East Blue” the little girl replies, causing Robin’s eyes to widen
‘East Blue, the starting place of the Straw hats. I wonder how close to the Grand Line this island is, or how close to Dawn Island’ she thinks to herself but it’s interrupted by the shrill ringing of bells
“Well, breaks over, time to work, get moving kid!” the woman shouts, the little girl waves and runs off, leaving Robin in confusion as she sighs and looks at her bandaged chest, she really had f*cked herself up pretty bad when she landed huh? She was so, tired….
Her eyes snapped open as she feels someone else in the room with her “I’m sorry, did I wake you?” the little girl, Sorin asks with a look of concern
“I’m fine thank you. Oh my, you’re covered in dirt, what are you doing out there?” Robin asks
“Oh this, it’s nothing. And what we’re doing, is building a bridge” Sorin explains bluntly “That’s all this country is, one giant bridge” Robin didn’t know how to respond to that, it was insane, even in the Grandline nobody was that stupid “It’s supposed to link a bunch of islands together, though it was commissioned centuries ago” Sorin continues
“Why not just use a ship, this seems like an excessive amount of labor for an endeavor such as this?” Robin muses to herself
“At least, that’s what the officers tell us. By the way, is there any chance you call tell me about your home?” she asks
“My home?” Robin repeats “I was born on Ohara, that place was destroyed decades ago, I had no home for the longest time until I met this energetic young man in a straw hat, and a lanky bastard with a grin that makes you go weak at the knees” she sighs deeply “So my home has become the ship my family sails, we’ll go all over the world someday. They were both from the East Blue just like you by the way” she laughs at the girl’s shocked expression, then confused when she runs off only to reappear with some wooden boards
“These are the islands of my imagination, mostly because I’ve never been outside this bridge. When I draw them I like to imagine I’m actually there, it just feels so real and freeing to go wherever you please” she sighs dreamily, Robin smiles impressed by the talent, though also saddened as it reminds her of her daughter, then her eyes widen
“Sky islands” she gasps
“You mean they’re real, not just in my imagination!” Sorin chirps
“They’re real, not just that but my friends and I, we visited one, called Skypeia” Robin replies, smiling as she begins to tell the girl about her travels, both before and after joining the Straw Hats.
“You’re giving me a weird look Miss” Sorin says after explaining her dream once the bridge was complete, was to travel the world and draw all the islands she visits so everyone could see them
“I’m sorry little one, it’s just. You remind me of my daughter Artemis, she’s an artist too, though she prefers painting to sketching” she chuckles
“I’m sorry, where is she?” Sorin asks
“If there is a God out there, safe, with her father” Robin sighs “When you found me, I’d just been separated from the rest of my crewmates, I hope they’re ok, and that we find each other again someday” she smiles softly, then hears a commotion down below “What was that?”
“Oh no” Sorin squeaks “someone must have blabbed, the officers, they’re looking for you! You need to escape”
While far from her best Robin was still limber enough to slip out the window and make her way to the roof, in theory, she could simply sneak around until the next shipment of guards or supplies came in and escape on that vessel, but that plan went out the window when her bloomed eyes saw the sick pleasure the guard captain got out of emotionally abusing sweet Sorin. Something bubbled deep in her belly, something hot and angry and she knew exactly what needed to be done. Finding the head of the bridge’s guards was simple, he was much better dressed and had a distinctive mustache, and unlike most people, she could be as far away as she liked when she dealt with him and the bastard from earlier. She only needed line of sight after all...
Deux fleurs : Exécution
[And now for something completely different]
Impel Down, Level 6
“Old man?” the voice was barely a whisper, but Garp heard it clear as day in the silent chamber
“How are you still alive with all those wounds boy?” he sighs, looking at the end result of the beating Ace received at the hands of Blackbeard and his crew “Ah Ace, because of you, Navy Headquarters, no, the entire World Government is a mess” he states, then laughs
“Kill me” the statement stops Garp’s laughter “Do it you old fossil, kill me here and now!” Ace orders, raising his voice as much as he could
“So you wanna die now? You stupid boy, nothing can be stopped now everything is already in motion. Even if you keeled over and died right this second that wouldn’t stop Whitebeard from fighting, we took one of his kids and shouted it from the heavens, he’s not going to just let us walk away from that. The Navy has managed to make the King of the Sea, mad as Hell”
‘Father’ Ace thinks, tears dripping down his dirty cheeks ‘I’m sorry, all this is my fault’
TBC
LW: Well that’s everyone and everything worth worrying about right now, also the last we’ll see of most of them for a while.
Speaking of, I’ve decided to have a poll, well it’s a poll on FF, AO3 doesn’t have those so feel free to comment your opinion between now and the end of the Marineford Arc.
Should the Sunny have an extra passenger, when the crew reunites Post Time Skip/training arc? Or to put it another way, are one of the Straw Hat girls pregnant?
Fun Fact: There is actually a card game called Scorpion Solitaire, I don’t know how to play it, but it’s real. What an irrelevant fact ;)
Chapter 113: The Inescapable Prison: Impel Down
Chapter Text
LW: New Arc to end the Year out, last chapter we checked in on the other Straw Hats, and now we move on to Luffy’s assault on Impel Down. Enjoy!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - The inescapable prison: Impel Down.
Level 6 Impel Down
Garp sighs deeply as he gazes upon Ace’s emaciated, silently weeping body “I’d hoped that you Luffy and Kaos would become marines when you grew up like your granddad, but no, you all decided to go be criminals and hoodlums, and not forgettable, minor pirates like Buggy the Clown, but the infamous kind. I suppose you’ve heard what your brothers got up to since they entered the Grand Line. Now, I don’t expect us to get along, but spitting in the Government’s eye by destroying Enise Lobby, that’s crossing a line so far you can’t even see the line anymore” His shoulder slump as he slaps his closed fist against his palm “I met up with them at Water 7 not that long after, tried to knock some sense into them, didn’t work, pretty sure the lanky f*cker was flipping me off while they were leaving, even after I told him about what a great marine his mother was. Also, that little rubber bastard went and got married and everything didn’t even call or ask his grand dad’s permission, the nerve” he pauses when he hears Ace wheeze and cough, though whether it was due to shock, or it was just the closest the boy would get to a laugh he wasn’t sure, probably a bit of both “Then the 2 idiots got to Sabaody and caused and even bigger incident, but if there’s one thing I’ve always loved about you boy’s it’s that you don’t take sh*t from anyone” he laughs, his face softening slightly at the almost-smile Ace wore, mostly obscured by shadow “Oh, by the way, I told Luffy about his father, and I kind of already mentioned telling Kaos about his mom, kept my lips sealed on his Pops though, really don’t want to be the one who opens that can of worms” he laughs again “They were shocked, that’s for sure, but given the circ*mstances, anyone would”
“Our fathers can rot in hell” Ace hisses, causing Garp to frown “And f*ck you for thinking any of us would have become marines. We have the blood of criminals in our veins, nothing was ever going to change that” he sneers “My name is Portgas because of my mother because I owe her so much, but I don’t owe my father a damn breath. I don’t even remember him, nor do I want to”
Garp groans heavily “I know I know we’ve been over this since I told you who your father was all those years ago. Jeez, the man tried…”
“I don’t care. Listen to me Garp, my only father is Whitebeard, anyone who says differently is lying.
‘Well, this is going to be fun’ Garp thinks sarcastically, trying to hold back the grimace his face was trying to pull itself into.
Marine Vessel
“Hm, damn what’s Buggy doing on the Grand Line?” Kaos muses, standing outside as Marguerite, Nagini sleeping within her back
“I don’t know who that is” Shaula shrugs, then her eyebrow rises “Are you sure you’re ok using that Imperfect Reflection for this long, your right eye is getting kind of bloodshot” she asks in concern
Rather than worry, Kaos laughs “That, is not exactly due to my Devil fruit, more a side effect of fighting a man calling himself God” she smirks as the section of her face around the eye shimmers in a scale-like pattern (a side effect he noticed from essentially fusing the reflect and snake fruits within himself) before reverting to normal, revealing his eye with it’s cracked, lighting pattern through his pupil as well as the spiraling burn/scar around the eye itself “§If I was anyone else I’d be dead, he put a spear through my head, only the fact my Reflect armor on full power makes me just shy of a logia, meant I was able to survive long enough to heal, same with the scars on my elbow and shoulder§” she grimaces as the mirrored scales transform back into the blond kuja “§It’s fine, just pain from time to time, but Chopper is sure it’s nothing serious or that needs worrying about§” she adds, Shaula giving him a ‘Don’t f*cking belevie that’ look
“Are you 2 done chatting out here?” Hanco*ck asks stepping onto the deck “We’re almost at Impel Down, I can see the Gate from here, so at least try to act the part”
“Oh, does that mean I can continue to annoy Momonga?”
“Please don’t, the bastard looks this close to having a brain aneurysm” Hanco*ck sighs, while Luffy chuckles under her cloak.
Passing through the Gates of Justice was a strange feeling for the 2 straw hats, both realizing how close Robin came to following this exact path back on Enise Lobby, how hard they all fought to stop it… and now they’re doing it willingly themselves. Also, the fact the prison was surrounded by more battleships than the Buster Call used did send a shiver of panic through both boys, they’d barely managed to avoid them then, this, would be almost impossible.
A little later
“Welcome To Impel Down Vice Amiral Momonga!” was the shouted greeting, then as to be expected at this point, cheering, wolf whistles and panting as Hanco*ck followed the man alongside her familiar to enter the prison herself, luckily as a guest rather than a new arrival
“These, men, are an affront to my ears, may I please turn them to stone Vice Admiral?” Hanco*ck asks, trying to stay in his good books until she’d dropped off Luffy, so asked instead of turning on her heel and turning 2 battleships into a rock garden.
Momonga grimaces as he remembers what she did to his men the first time they met before sighing deeply “Please don’t, I hate to say this, but you’ve embarrassed the marines enough for one lifetime” he then turns his head to her “Your conditions for coming with us to Marineford was meeting Portgas, but I must remind you that Warlord or not, you’re still a pirate and as such, will be subject to a full-body search and required to wear seastone cuffs while on the premises. Wouldn’t want you to get any funny ideas about trying to rescue the boy after all”
Hanco*ck tenses, if they do a body search they’ll find Luffy no trouble, his fruit makes him rubber, not tiny or invisible after all “We’ll figure something out” Luffy whispers to her, feeling her reaction through his arms
Nodding both as a reaction and her answer Momonga gestures to the guards who open the gates, then step into the greatest prison ever built, of her own volition.
“I don’t like this” Kaos scowls “Nobody’s escaped this prison, that’s why everyone knows about it”
“Well Shiki did, but there were, interesting circ*mstances, so to speak” Shaula chuckles “Don’t worry, the kid won’t go through anything nearly as severe as that getting through this”
Impel Down
“Welcome To My Prison! Impel Down! Oops, jumped the gun there again, I’m actually just the Vice Warden for the moment, Hannyabal by the way. A pleasure to meet you Vice Admiral” A tall, potbellied man with horn brows greets
“Likewise” Momonga grunts, but shakes the man’s hand to be polite
“We’ve been expecting you. Oh and this must be her, the Pirate Empress, MY pirate Empress, opps, sorry jumped the gun there, apologies. Anywho, Warden dumbass… I mean Chief Warden Magellan is waiting for you in his office on Level 4. Miss Domino here will be more than capable of guiding you there by herself” he explains “She’ll also be doing the body search of you Empress, mostly because Sadie is elsewhere at the moment, my apologies”
“If you would follow me we can get this unpleasantness over with swiftly” the blond now identified as Domino says with a nod of her head, Hanco*ck and Salome follow her to wherever this search would be carried out.
“If you were here as an actual prisoner we’d have simply brought you over to that cell over there, had you stripped of all your clothes and dunk you in a pot of boiling water. We call it Hells’ Hottub” she explains as they walk, then chuckles at her own joke “It’s a baptism and sanitation in one extremely painful step, quite efficient and economical if you were to ask me. Also, this prison currently houses many famous faces from around the world, not only the recently captured Fire Fist Ace, but former Warlord of the Sea Jimbe, Son of the Sea. Former Warlord Crocodile has been a resident of these walls for quite some time though with Cipher having been here even longer. For the record, both of your former comrades were model prisoners who didn’t bat an eye at the baptism, and while he was before my time, I heard Cipher laughed while he was being dunked” reaching the door she pushes it open with a quiet grunt “Don’t worry empress, our guests are searched in a private room, no perverts waiting to see your naked breasts jiggle in the open air. After you” she bows her head slightly as Kuja and familiar slink past her.
“Before we begin I’ll ask you to remove your cloak, it would be so easy it’s not even funny to hide something under that thing so it must be removed before you can be allowed to proceed further. Don’t mistake this order as aggression, merely thoroughness, we do have a reputation to uphold after all. Also, we have Visual Den Den set up all over the prison, monitored at all times”
“Meaning the lack of perverts was a lie” Hanco*ck mutters, back still turned to Domino
“I suppose” Domino hums then shakes the seastone cuffs in the warlord’s direction “Also you’ll be needing these, after all, it’s well known you have a Devil Fruit and we can’t have you using it while in Impel Down” the blond explains
Hanco*ck grits her teeth “You call me a guest, and yet you expect me to wear those? You want me helpless in this place, how cruel”
“But necessary Ma’am” Domino states, stepping closer, while the guards watch eagerly from the Visual Den Den on the wall.
Hanco*ck stares the blond dead in the eye, before with a flutter of eyelashes and a head tilt coos “Be gentle, I’m delicate” causing Domino to splutter and blush, dropping her guard long enough for a point-blank Love Love Beam, Hanco*ck managing to hit the Den Den in the process killing the feed “Ok Luffy, it’s safe to come out” she whispers, the rubber boy dropping out of her cloak and dusting himself off
“That was a close one, I was sure I’d need to somehow develop stealth skills in the next 3 seconds. Your power is really handy in a pinch, thanks for all this by the way” he says with a grin
Hanco*ck chuckles “No problem Luffy, but I’m afraid this is as far as I can accompany or transport you, you’re on your own from this point onward. They’re pretty insistent on removing my cloak and putting those seastone cuffs on me, meaning there would be nowhere for you to hide, and no way for me to assist you, I’m sorry”
Luffy chuckles “Don’t worry about it, you got me this far, I’ll do the rest myself. Just, make sure Kaos doesn’t do something stupid while I’m gone k? He’s more responsible and crap than I am, but he’s still a straw hat and more importantly, my brother, meaning stupid ideas show up more often than they should. Try to stop him if you can, or have Scorpion lady do it, she might be more helpful unless that ring is legit” Luffy hums
“Serpens-kun has a ring? Hanco*ck squeaks ‘For me, perhaps? So forward, Mama likes’ she flushes, then coughs “I will not let him bring harm or death upon himself before you are reunited” she states, nose in the air and her familiar coiling around her legs
“Cool, though you might want to relax, or else he’ll think you stole that seastone pillar from Momonga” Luffy hums, before jumping to a ledge out of sight of the Den Den “Ok, you can unfreeze the lady and the snail, I’ll be fine from here” he calls, snapping Hanco*ck out of her trance
Outside
“What’s taking so long?” Momonga grunts
“This is unprecedented, though Domino is a professional, she’s probably just being extremely thorough, a full, body, search, of Miss Hanco*ck….” Hanyabal blusters, this nose dripping at the mental image
‘Idiot, he’d have turned to stone the moment he looke away if he’d been on my ship’
Pura pura pura
“What?” the Vice Warden shouts
“Um, Sir. We’ve lost the feed on the examination room, something weird happing in there?” the guard on the other end asks
“I better go check. It’s my duty as Vice Warden to make sure things are running smoothly, just business. Even if that business involves 2 hot chicks touching and potentially fondling each other….”
Before he gets any further the door swings open, Hanco*ck steps out, missing her cloak and properly restrained in seastone cuffs “I see your guests are treated as poorly as your prisoners, are these really necessary”
Hanyabal coughs “Afraid so Miss Hanco*ck. Everything ok Domino”
“Yes, all standard and expected, why, did the examination take too long?” she asks with a hint of concern
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it we’re done anyway that’s all that matters” Hanyabal waves off, missing Luffy sneaking out the still open door and clinging to the ceiling as he makes his escape.
“Before we visit Ace we’ll be taking this elevator to the Burning Hell Level and from there Warden Magellan’s office. As you might expect, the Burning Hell Level is, well really freaking hot, so be careful”
“It’s fine, Amazon Lily is a tropical island and snakes are cold-blooded, we might actually prefer it there to outside for at least a while” Hanco*ck jokes as they all step into the elevator.
Hanco*ck barely twitches as they passed through Level 1, her time as a slave desensitizing her to screams of pain as the guards beat and whipped these low-level prisoners
“This is the 1st level of Impel Down, called the Crimson floor” Hayabal explains, acting almost like a tour guide rather than a Warden
“Why’s it called that?” she asks curiously
“It’s a secret, join the wardens to find out” he whispers with a wink “Then we have Level 2, the Floor of deadly beasts from Hell. Pretty self-explanatory I presume?” Hanco*ck nods “Then we get to Level 3, the Starvation Hell, then finally Level 4 the Burning Hell floor, our current destination. While you can’t tell from above this structure is quite expansive, it’ll take a while for us to get down to Level 4 so you have plenty of time to take in the screams of anguish and pain from all the ways prisoners are tortured down here” Hanyabal explains with a light chuckle
Hanco*ck purses her lips “And is Fire Fist Ace on the 4th Floor then?”
“No, and that’s not even the bottom floor anyway. As I was saying we have a wide selection of ways to interrogate and torture….” Hanyabal kept talking but Hanco*ck tuned him out, seeing just how much work Luffy would need to do to even get to Ace, never mind get him back up to the top floor. This is why Impel Down is inescapable, and why Kaos refused to go through with this prison break.
Meanwhile with Luffy
“Ace’s Vivre card keeps telling me to go down, really wish it gave a bit more information” Luffy sighs as he runs through Level 1, hoping to find either Ace, or more stairs that will, in turn, lead him to Ace. His frantic searching took a slight detour when the universe (actually Buggy, but it was an accident) decided to f*ck with him, dropping THOMP sized spiked weights, nearly crushing him multiple times over, then the spikes shooting from both sides of the wall nearly impaling him, luckily he managed to dodge and bend between them as it was probably safer than simply trying to outrun the trap.
“That was unpleasant and weird” Luffy mutters to himself as he walks past more cells that didn’t contain Ace, the guys inside mostly unhelpful though one did point out that if Ace was in Impel Down, they’d have him holed up down on Level 5. Before any more information could be shared screams filled the hall as a blue-haired man came running towards them chased by big blue furry things that hooted like gorillas, which just confused Luffy until one swung at the prisoner with his axe, and split him right down the middle, prompting Luffy’s brain to kick into gear and send him running in the same direction as the other guy, who was somehow not dead.
“Right Side”
“Left Side”
Unite
“Haha, take that you big ugly brutes, you can’t hurt me I ate the Bara Bara no mi!” the bluenette cackles as he runs for his life, until he notices who was running alongside him “STRAW HAT!!!! What the hell are you doing here?” Buggy asks
Luffy needed a second to remember who the clown yelling at him was, and didn’t look too pleased when he did “Oh, it’s you, Buggy”
“Yes it is and thanks for reminding me why I hate you so much! Speaking of looks like that King of the Pirates stik ain’t working out too well for you if you’re in here with me!” Buggy cackles
“Nope, I came here all by myself, only dumbasses like you actually get caught and put in prison” Luffy scoffs, nearly causing the clown pirate to stop in confusion, luckily fear kept him moving at his current pace
“WHAT? You threw yourself in prison, the biggest and most dangerous one, and yet I’m the moron?”
“Yes, now shut up I promised Kaos and Hanco*ck I’d keep safe and because of you I’ve got all these axemonkeys on my ass!” Luffy shouts “So get out of my way!”
“Oh really, think everything’s all about you huh?” Buggy growls, grabbing the rubber boy by the face, who retaliates by grabbing Buggy’s face as the 2 keep running, the Blugori not slowing down, but also failing to catch up with them. One trying to slice them in 2 did on the other hand get them to stop fighting and reengage their brains, so they did have some use I guess.
“They’re surrounding us. Wait, how come we can’t just fight them?”
“Easy for you to say you haven’t been tortured yet, these beasts are merciless and the human guards aren’t much better” Buggy whimpers
“Well it wasn’t like I was planning to lose dumbass, my cover’s been blown already thanks to you so I need to complete my mission as quickly as possible, so punching through these goons might be the best option I have” Luffy argues
Buggy sighs “Just like that Red Head bastard, always annoyingly optimistic at the worst times. Fine I’ll go along with this plan, it would fall apart in seconds without my brilliance anyway”
Both stop and turn, staring right at the advancing Blugori, then launch their attacks
Bara Bara Cannon
Gum Gum Pistol
Both punches were direct hits sending the beasts flying and giving both pirates a confidence boost that this plan might actually work, mostly Buggy.
Gum-Gum Whip
Bara Bara Eject
Big Top Tailspin
“That should deal with… ah bollocks” Buggy shouts as the Bluegori gets up after he tossed him around, resuming chasing the clown until finally, basically running straight into Luffy’s fist, knocking the fuzzy beast out “Jeez, you sure got a lot stronger since Loguetown ay kid” he mutters as Luffy dusts himself off
“What are these things?” Luffy wonders aloud
“Sea Monkey called blue gorillas or Bluegori in here. Now stay on your toes there should be another 4… oh you beat them already”
“Yeah they’re kind of tough but nothing I haven’t beaten before” Luffy shrugs
“You came to bust us out? Right?”
“We’ll be your best friend, honest”
“Shut up nobody cares about you weaklings. Anyway, why the hell are you here?” Buggy asks/demands
“To rescue my brother Ace, he’s down in Level 5 apparently” Luffy answers
“WHAAAAAA! YOU BROKE IN HERE TO RESCUE ACE!” Buggy screams then whisper “You should probably stay quiet about that”
“You’re not exactly setting the best example” Luffy chuckles then stops “Wait, do you know Ace too?”
“We ran into each other while I was on the Grand Line hunting you actually, he kind of showed up. We ate a bit, drank a lot and while we talked I like to think we became good friends so yeah I know him. It’s a real shame to hear he ended up in this Hellhole” Buggy grimaces “Kind of a bonehead move on the navy’s part though, they HAVE to know Whitebeard won’t just sit on his ass and let them do what they like with one of his boys”
“So, any chance you can show me how to get ot Level 5?” Luffy asks
“Not on your life! You think we’re friends now just cause we both know Ace? In fact, run along and die in here, it’s not my problem after all. If you’re not interested in escaping then I’ll just leave without you” Buggy huffs, walking past him
“Ok, but you do know there are at least 10 battleships out there, hope you have some kind of plan to get past them” Luffy calls out, causing the clown to freeze
“That’s not good. They must be expecting Whitebeard to break Ace out too, damn I picked a bad time to try and break out. Maybe I should lay low….” Buggy stops when he sees something out the corner of his eye “No, it can’t be… but this is straw hat we’re talking about so maybe” he hums, then seeing Luffy start to walk off leaps at the rubber boy “Wait!”
Bang, Bang
“I see them, they’re on the upper level” a guard shouts, while the other keeps shooting
“Crap they found us”
“That’s cause you keep yelling!” Luffy argues, Buggy’s upper half latched onto his arm while her lower half ran behind them
“That’s a pretty nice armlet you got there Straw hat, any chance you could give it to me?” Buggy asks desperately
“No way it was a gift from Nami, do you know how rare those are?” Luffy shouts
“Please, I’ll help you get to Ace” Buggy offers, causing Luffy to stop for a second
“You mean it?”
“But of course! My help, for the armlet, seems fair to me. But first, we lose the goons. Quick, grab my feet, and don’t get too far away!” Buggy orders, reattaching his body then separating from his feet and flying away, Luffy frowning as he picks up the remaining parts and runs after the flying clown “We’ll be at Level 2 in no time Straw hat” he chuckles
“Level 2, you idiot I said Level 5!”
“Don’t you know how numbers work, you have to go through 2 to get to 5! Seriously. Look this is how things work around here. The prison is built like an upsidedown tower, we’re currently on Level 1, where the random riffraff are, but as you head down you get to Level 2 and so on, each housing more infamous and high bountied criminals as you go down. I’ve been sent down to Level 4 to be tortured a couple of times, but that’s as far as I’ve gone personally, everything else is hearsay and rumors, though given how strong your brother is, Level 5’s a fair bet. Though I have heard there’s more even further than Level 5, where criminals so dangerous they’re wiped from the annals of history are kept, but nobody knows for sure” Buggy explains “On 2nd thought THAT might be where they’re keeping Ace, so at least you know where to go if it turns out he’s NOT on Level 5. I can only get you as far as 4 though, you’ll have to make the last leg of the journey yourself”
Luffy grins “Thanks Buggy, I thought you were kind of a dick before but I guess I was wrong”
“A deal’s a deal, Meanwhile, if that armlet leads me to Captain John’s treasure I’ll have made quite the bargain out of this arrangement” Buggy chuckles until he realized he said it out loud, then sighed in relief when Luffy was still running as if he didn’t hear him ‘What a stroke of luck, this is truly a perfect day’ he thinks
“Wait, this is a treasure map, cool” Luffy laughs tilting his head to look at the armlet “Bet that adventure would be pretty fun” he muses
‘Crap in a bucket, I didn’t plan for this’ Buggy screams in his head, then reaches back to grab the axe he’d stolen from one of the bluegori Luffy knocked out “You can’t live knowing that secret!” he yells as he raises the axe over his head and turns, only to see Luffy still following him, holding the armlet out to him
“Here you go, better take it now in case anything happens to me or I forget about it later, don’t want you to have played tour guide to the underworld for nothing” Luffy says with a grin
“You’re serious?”
“Course I am, I promised that I’d give it to you” Luffy replies with a shrug “Stupid clown” he mutters “Besides Ace is more important to me than any treasure”
“But what’s to stop me from taking the armlet and leaving you down here to die?” Buggy asks/shouts
“Well, I’ve got your feet, but also you promised and your word is good enough for me” Luffy replies with a sunshine smile
‘That smile and those trusting eyes! I’m a scoundrel Straw Hat, you can do so much better than me’ Buggy thinks as he tears up, snatching the armlet from Luffy ‘After all this time, I finally have the key to Captain John’s secret treasure and I owe it all to you, Luffy. Thanks buddy, you’re a real champ. Now, how the f*ck do I ditch you and get the hell out of here?’ unfortunately due to his daydreaming Buggy wasn’t looking where he was going and plowed straight into a wall
“Oh I get it, we can make a shortcut if we plow through this wall. Awesome!” Luffy smirks then throws a punch, sending Buggy straight through the wall and into the Security hub for Level 1.
Meanwhile in the elevator
‘God this is boring, maybe I should have demanded Shaula and Kaos come along, at least watching him piss off Momonga would be amusing. Or maybe he could fight that fat weirdo who thinks he stands a chance at earning my hand. Oh and then he takes me here on this elevator, claiming me before we break his brother out together’ Hanco*ck thinks, with a faraway grin, away in her fantasies as the elevator slowly trundles down into the abyss
Back on Level 1
Not exactly one known for restraint, or the word STOP, Luffy plowed through the wall, running through the guard room, and then out the other side, at which point he and Buggy fall into a strange, crimson forest
“This place is weird, how is there even a forest indoors and underground” Luffy groans as he and Buggy fall from the sky “And why is everything red?”
“You moron that forest is a torture chamber. Every leaf is as sharp as a razor, that’s why they’re called blade trees, and the grass is made of spikes that prick you like needles, it’s called Spike-needle grass, not very imaginative but it does that it says on the box. The jailers release poisonous spiders, then chase the prisoners up and down the forest all day long. Spikes below, pitchforks behind, and razor blades everywhere else, they run until they’re drenched in their own blood, suffering agonies they never thought possible. Welcome to Level 1 kid, also known as Crimson Hell”
“Wow this place really is Hell, are they doing this stuff to Ace too?” Luffy panics
“Don’t think about it Straw Hat, now just worry about falling”
“That’s stupid we’ll get cut” Luffy points out, but Buggy laughs
“Not so fast. Throw my feet down directly below us, then my plan will be revealed”
“K” Luffy shrugs, doing as he asks and throwing the feet, which hit the ground, and while sliced continue to move as if nothing happened “Um, what just happened?” Luffy asks from Buggy’s back
“You forgot how my Devil fruit works Straw Hat? The Bara Bara no mi means I can’t be harmed by a blade, when those razors and spike cut me, my body splits and comes back together a moment later completely unharmed. This Level is a sinch for me hahaha, now we’re aiming for the way into the Next Level. Lucky for us it’s nothing too complicated just a hole in the ground, meaning no gates, no guards, and no checkpoints. Most people wouldn’t dream of taking this path, but if you really want to rescue Ace, we’ll just have to take the Dive to Level 2” Buggy explains as they fly through the Crimson Hell, finally stopping at a massive hole in the ground “Tada, we’re here”
“Wow, I can’t even see the bottom” Luffy gasps
“Very true, now I bet you’re wondering why nobody uses this hole to get out of the Crimson Hell? It’s not because it’s dark and scary, but because this hole is a one-way ticket to Level 2, an even worse torture than Level 1. Sure about this boy?”
“Yup, I’m going to save my brother!” Luffy declares, then leaps off Buggy’s back to the shock and exasperation of the clown pirate “Wow, this is a deep hole, wonder what’s at the bottom?” Luffy thinks aloud as he falls, Buggy getting knocked in by a Bluegori axe a few minutes later
Level 2- Wild Beast Hell
“I don’t even care anymore, I’m going to end up their dinner eventually it might as well be today I suppose, go out when I will it, not when my body is too broken to run away” Sighed the former Mr.3, ‘Loan Shark’ Galdino
TBC
LW: And that’s it, the start of the Impel Down Arc, also the 2nd last chapter of the year. Sorry, it’s the way the weeks lined up, but on the bright side, that technically makes chapter 114 my Christmas/Stephen’s Day present to you.
See you soon, and have a great Christmas everyone!
Chapter 114: Into the Abyss
Chapter Text
LW: Merry Christmas everyone! Well, Stephen’s Day but close enough. Hope you all had a great day and got what you wanted this year.
Well anyway, onto the chapter.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Into the Abyss
Level 2
“Hm, kind of boring around here, and they must not feed the prisoners that much on this floor with the stomach rumbles that loud” Luffy muses, then with a shrug grabs Buggy’s severed head and proceeds in a random direction, hoping the clown would start giving directions soon, otherwise they were both lost. Which ended up happening a few times, Luffy and Buggy’s headless body running up and down corridors, running into dead ends only to start again elsewhere “So this is Level 2 huh” he mutters at one such dead-end, at which point Buggy pulls his head from Luffy’s grasp and it slots back onto his body
“Correct, this is the Wild Beast Hell, a much worse place than the Crimson Hell above us. This floor is apparently crawling with huge monsters that would swallow you up in one bite” Buggy explains, really wishing he was anywhere else.
“Ok. Is that one?” Luffy asks, pointing behind them into the darkness, the noises getting louder as one of them panics
‘Already, this place really is full of ‘em’ Buggy panics, until a little hippo pops out of the gloom
“That’s not scary, it’s actually kind of cute” Luffy chuckles, the clown agrees… until the hippo’s jaw opens wider than something his size should be able to and chomps down on Buggy’s torso, at which point mild panic sets in and both pirates run for their lives, the demon hippo right on their heels
“Pretty fast for such a little guy” Luffy thinks aloud
“Ponder later, turn left!” Buggy shouts, both make a sharp turn while the hippo plows right through the wall instead “Ha! He’s fast, but his turning leaves a lot to be desired” the clown laughs, right until the hippo pops out of the wall in front of them, nearly chomping down on them again, but instead getting the ground
“Hey Buggy, is it safe for him to eat your body like that?” Luffy asks in concern
“I’ll be fine, besides, it’s time you saw the true power of the Chop Chop man” Buggy scoffs, before using his separated hand to grab and squeeze the hippo’s ugula, causing it to cough, gag, and stumble, rolling into a nearby wall and knocking it out. Once the animal stops, Buggy’s parts come out of its mouth and reattach
“Wow, how’d you do that?”
“Even if my body is chopped into little bits, I can still move them around as easily as if they were still attached to me. Take that you stupid hippo! Hahaha!” Buggy cackles then leads the way on the hunt for a way out of this floor. Lucky he was, as the next beast was a huge mantis with scythe blades on its forearms, chopping him into bits, which simply reattached once the beast was out of the way.
“For a big bug he chops like a pro” Luffy smirks
“Don’t admire the enemy, least of all while it’s attacking us. Idiot boy!” Buggy shouts as the mantis strikes him once more, doing a similar lack of actual damage. It then bit off a little more than it could chew, doing an impressive display of sparking blades and slicing through the stone, only to trap itself when its blades dug into the ground and got stuck.
“That’s kind of sad” Luffy frowns “What should we do?”
“Eh, just leave him here” Buggy shrugs
“You sure these are the Beasts From Hell? Cause they’re kind of lame to be honest” Luffy sighs
“True, Level 1 was much worse than these things, maybe the name was meant to intimidate people so they wouldn’t come down here” Buggy theorizes, only for that idea to get blown out of the water as a strong gust blows through the pirates, sending the mantis flying and revealing one of the REAL Beasts.
“The f*ck is this thing?” Luffy shouts as the beast starts chasing the 2 guys
“Well given it looks like an idiot tried to merge a snake with a chicken, I’m going to take a wild guess and say this is what the legendary monster known as a basilisk really looks like” Buggy guesses “Shame it looks much less cool as it does in the mythology book” the clown sighs
“True, Kaos is gonna be pissed, he liked the idea of a demon snake thing like the basilisk existing” Luffy nods, not slowing down for a second “f*ck I don’t have time for this mix and match chicken snek!” he growls as he skids to a stop
“What are you doing Straw Hat? You’re supposed to run!”
“I’m dealing with this thing before it wears us down. We can’t look for the exit with this thing chasing us” Luffy explains, before biting down on his thumb
Gear Third: Giant Pistol
Given he sent the basilisk flying through the guard quarters of Level 2, I’ll say he did his job pretty well.
Elsewhere
“It’s starting to get hot in here” Hanco*ck thinks aloud as the elevator grinds to a halt
“As the Vice Warden said at the beginning, Warden Magellan’s office is located in Level 4’s Burning Hell. Besides the office itself, the entire floor is a boiling inferno” Domino explains before the guards on this floor open the doors for them
“Where is this Warden, he didn’t even try to greet us like Hanyabal did at the entranceway” Momonga grunts, following Domino and Hanyabal
“The Vice Warden has terrible digestive issues which cause him to spend up to 10 hours a day, 7 days a week in the bathroom” Domino explains “Of course when you consider he sleeps 8 hours a day and factoring in meals and breaks, he only works about 4 hours a day”
“Given everything that goes on in here, is 4 hours really enough time to do his job?” Hanco*ck asks
“When he’s needed Magellan is the best man for the job” Domino side steps just as the sound of a toilet flushing is heard “Oh, it seems we’re in luck he’s coming out. One more thing I forgot to mention, Magellan ate the Doku Doku no mi, so he’s a Poison Man”
“Poison” Hanco*ck repeats, a shiver running down her spine as the door opens and the Warden finally reveals himself
“Gods it’s good going in but it’s Hell coming out. Hello I’m Warden Magellan, I presume you’re our guests” he groans, one hand clutching his stomach almost in pain “Ugh, this room is too bright, for the record, I prefer rooms cold, dark, and closed off, just like my heart” he groans, shielding his eyes with his other hand
“Stop messing around Warden, now Vice Admiral Momonga and Warlord Hanco*ck are here on important business” Hamyabal explains while scolding the larger man
“And we’re already behind schedule Warden Magellan” Mononga grunts
“I’m sorry, I had a bad case of the runs, been in there for 3 hours, nearly ran out of toilet paper too, might have to bring one of Hanyabal’s reports in next time to be safe. That Poison Soup I had for breakfast didn’t quite agree with me” he sighs
“Well, it is poison” Hanyabal deadpans
“You idiot, I’m a Poison Man, that weak sh*t can’t kill me. Besides it’s like the old saying goes, ‘Poison Kills Poison’ I believe” he hums, scratching his chin (I think that’s the idea behind antivenom, but don’t quote me)
“Which explains your venomous diarrhea” the Vice warden sighs tiredly
“Yes, and you have quite the venomous tongue Hanyabal”
“Hurry up and retire you moron so I can have the job…. I mean hurry along and show our guests to Fire Fist Waren Magellan Sir” Hanyabal slips up again
“It breaks my heart to see how little my subordinates think of me” Magellan sighs, exhaling a thick purple smog as he does so
“You may want to put these on” Domino says as she turns, handing Momonga and Hanco*ck gas masks
“Warden, be careful when you exhale, your breath is poisonous gas remember” Hanyabal chokes, while Magellan laughs until Hanco*ck knocks him onto his back and start berating him
“Foolish beast of a man, how dare you breathe your toxic smog in my prescience!” Hanco*ck states, in her usual nose in the air, spine bent so the highest point of her body is her breasts style, only with her hell digging into the Warden’s gut
“She’s stepping on me… and I think I like it” Magellan wheezes
“Lucky punk”
“I’ll be sure to tell Sadie, on the other side of never” Domino says, though her pink cheeks show she was probably imagining herself in Magellan’s position “Also, Hanyabal, you do know you’re sitting in the Warden’s chair, right?”
“It’ll be mine soon enough, just trying it out is all” the man says with an unrepentant shrug.
“We don’t have time for this nonsense” Momonga says through a facepalm
Pura Pura Pura
“Warden’s desk, what do you want?”
“Hey, don’t answer my phone” Magellan growls, exhaling another gas cloud to knock Hanyabal out, then picks up the coms “Are you serious? Someone broke INTO the Prison?”
“That’s absurd, this is Impel Down the impenetrable fortress. How could someone possibly break in?” Domino asks/boasts, Hanco*ck worrying her lip as it’s clear Luffy’s been detected
“This wouldn’t have happened on my watch” Hanyabal slurs as he’s given an antidote
“Transfer the video feed to my office immediately!” Magellan bellows
“Um, Warden” he turns to see a pouting and innocent-looking Hanco*ck looking over at him shyly “May we go see the prisoner now?”
“Of course!” Magellan shouts, heart eyes practically shooting out of his head
“Warden, we need you to work over here!”
Up on Level 2
‘His attack was huge, and he knocked out that beast with a single punch’ Buggy thinks in a panic, then looks to his right “Hang on, why are you so tiny?” he asks
“Cause I used Gear 3rd, I’ll be back to normal in a couple of minutes so no biggie” mini Luffy explains, then shoots up “Never mind, off we go!” he cheers
“Holy crap he beat the Basilisk!”
“He wrecked the Jailer’s office too”
“Hey guys, toss us those keys would ya?”
“Come on we’re going” Luffy says, then looks confused when he sees the calculating look on Buggy’s face ‘Crap that’s Nami’s money face’ he thinks with a grimace
“Looking for these are you?” Buggy asks, holding up the set of keys for all the prisoners to see “Now was all that screaming and shouting really the best way to ask for help?”
“Were sorry, please forgive us”
“I can’t hear you”
“Yes you can, you’re just being a dick” Luffy sighs
“Forgive us for our rudeness, please save us from this Hell”
“That’s it, now let’s free you goons from these cramped cages” Buggy hums detaching his hand and sending it flying around to each door and opening it “And now you have these keys for yourself, but remember who saved you all, me, Captain Buggy!” he cheers and laughs as the prisoners uncuffed themselves in a fenzy, then yelps as Luffy grabs him by the back of his prison garb and runs off “What’s the big idea?”
“You’ve had your fun now help me get to Ace, where’s the hole for Level 3?”
“How the hell should I know it’s a maze down here!” Buggy argues, Luffy was about to respond when they hear loud growling as well as blood-curdling screams, shortly followed by everyone running back and cramming into their cells “What. The f*ck! I just freed you idiots!” Buggy screams
“Yeah, we just remembered why we didn’t try to do that before, none of us want to die and be eaten by all the wild beasts on this floor”
Buggy whimpers “Well time to get off this floor Straw Hat”
“But you just said you didn’t know how to do that Big Nose!” Luffy shouts
“My nose is perfectly fine!” Buggy screams back
“Excuse me” both turn “I couldn’t help but overhear that you need a little help navigating this place” Mr. 3 says, stepping out of the shadows
“Who the hell are you?” Buggy grumbles
3 smirks “It’s been a while hasn’t it Straw Hat? Your arrival was most fortuitous for me, and I’m a man who always pays his debts”
Luffy blinks, his brain running at full power as he tries to remember why this weirdo seemed familiar to him “Wait a minute, aren’t you that candle guy who used to work with Artemis?” he asks
“Arte…. Ah so Goldenweek revealed her name to you, makes sense I suppose but it is strange to hear her called that after we worked together under alias for so many jobs” he chuckles “But yes that’s me, Mr.3 formerly of Baroque Works, but you know all about that recruiting Mr. 5 and Miss Wednesday, Valentines Day, Goldenweek and All Sunday”
“If you mean Victor, Vivi, Valentina, Artemis, and Robin, then yes they all joined my crew” Luffy replies with a nod
Eternal Hell
“Strike me! I have no regrets!” a Fishman shouts as he’s pulled down to his knees by his chains, the beasts of Level 6 clubbing him repeatedly before shuffling away
“Chahahaha, what a strange man you are Jimbe, I never expected a Warlord to end up down here” a voice purrs, Jimbe looks up to see an amber eye peering at him from the opposite cell, a triangle-shaped burn across the blond’s damaged left eye “Then again, if the resemblance is anything to go on, I didn’t expect you down here either Gol…”
“Finish that sentence and I’ll feed you your own intestines” Ace growls tiredly then sighs “I’m sorry you’re down here with me Captain Jimbe”
“It’s fine, I only did what was right. I, I couldn’t betray him, especially not to kill someone like you, Ace. My body is fine, my heart, it craves Justice, true justice. It craves War! The marines want to piss off Whitebeard, they’ve gone and done it”
“So Newgate’s still kicking ay, good to know. Shame I’m all the way down here, fighting alongside the old man might have been fun one last time” the blond sighs deeply before laughing “Maybe I should do more than just sit here and screw with new arrivals, but I guess I’ll just have to wait and see” he muses, grinning psychopathically ‘What would you have done Sans? Apophis? Besides not get caught like an idiot I mean’ he thinks to himself, resting his head against the wall of his cell.
Level 2
“This was the least subtle way to go about this ever!” Buggy complains, as practically every beast on the floor chased him, Luffy and Mr.3 around the Level
“Yeah, but nothing we’ve done so far was subtle anyway. We just need to find the way down from this floor” Luffy argues, while Mr.3 just pants and wheezes, much weaker and more tired than his fellow escapees.
They managed to confuse and trick the beasts by sending Buggy’s disembodied feet somewhere else… for about 2 minutes before they started chasing them again.
“Hey I heard the boss of this floor looks like some kind of lion, are all the non-scorpion things Bosses?” Buggy asks
“Those aren’t bosses you idiot those are manticores!” Galdino shouts
“Huh, manticores are real? I’ll have to tell Ussop and Chopper when we meet up again” Luffy thinks aloud, chuckling to himself then turns to Galdino “Hey you said you were going to help us right?”
“Yes, I suggested we join forces and get out of this place, are you interested?”
“Not really, I don’t need to get out I need to go lower” Luffy argues
“I think you misunderstand the problem, things just get worse the lower you go, why would you even think it was a good idea?”
Buggy sighs “Listen, long story short straw hat broke into Impel Down to rescue his brother Ace, he has no intention of leaving this place until that objective is reached” he explains
“Fire Fist Ace is your brother? I never would have guessed” Galdino muses “And you seriously broke IN to rescue him?”
“Yes, and I’m running out of time, he’s being executed tomorrow” Luffy growls
‘Fire Fist, they’d put someone like him all the way down in Level 5’ the candle man thinks “Nope, no way, if you want to die be my guest but count me out!” he yells as he tried to run away, only for Luffy to grab his collar and pull him back
“You don’t have to come with us, just tell me how to get to Level 3” Luffy states
‘The stairs you idiots! Wait a minute. Levels 1 to 3 are all connected, so I could use Straw Hat as bait while I run up the stairs, and if he somehow survives, he can walk down the stairs to Level 3. It’s genius!’ he thinks as he stops flailing and trying to run, a good sign for Luffy and Buggy “Ok I’ll stay, let’s go together” he smirks, getting a grin from Luffy in return as the party of 3 head for the stairs
All was going well until they reached the guardian boss of Level 2: A massive sphinx that mostly shouted about noodles, though based on what the manticores shouted it didn’t know what it was saying and was just repeating what it had overheard the prisoners or guards saying previously.
“Damn it, this thing is huge, strong and making me hungry” Luffy whines angrily
“You know, I really don’t want to go any deeper into this hellhole, I’m only on Level 2 due to an accident involving the Bluegori” Buggy whispers to Galdino “How about we bust out of here and leave the idiot to deal with this beast himself?”
The candle man grins “Oh how wonderful, glad to see I have a real escapee to work with. Deal”
“Excellent, now to serve straw hat for dinner, and get out of this place”
“You read my mind”
“Are you idiots done over there?” Luffy asks shocking the 2 of them who then yell out before the sphinx can smash him, the rubber boy bouncing around until he was above the beast’s head then…
Gum Gum Bazooka
Slammed its face into the ground, unfortunately, unlike the rest of the thing he’s fought in here the sphinx wasn’t a simple one-shot, so it shook its head, Luffy barely holding onto its mane, and simply sat up again.
“What the hell, how is pissing it off going to help us?” Galdino shouts, then screams when Buggy zips away and all but his feet float up to higher ground “Hey, I’d like to get out of smashing range” he calls out, just before the sphinx stomps on him
‘Did he just die?’ Luffy and Buggy wonder as the sphinx’s paw rises, revealing clumps of wax
“Haha, you brainless oaf, what you destroyed was simply a wax statue of me. Though I will admit it requires Artemis’ coloring in order to fool actual humans or animals with near-human intelligence” the candle man chuckles as he uses his devil fruit to make a whole army of wax doubles to hide in while the sphinx tries and fails to smash him, replacing/ reforming them as he goes.
“Noodle”
“Nope”
“Noodle”
“Missed again”
“Noodle”
You’re really bad at this”
Luffy chuckles “This is fun, hey don’t forget the ones behind you” he says, watching as some get smashed by the sphinx’s tail and more when it flops onto its back and backhands some more wax statues
“He’s playing with it” Buggy gasps in clear disbelief “Damn, I mean I know you’re a risk-taker kid, but this is up there with entering Impel Down in the first place”
All was fun and games for Luffy and the Sphinx… until the floor just couldn’t take the constant smashing and began to crack and crumble. Though it did do exactly what Luffy wanted, get himself, Buggy and Galdino down to Level 3… it was just with the most noise and least subtlety known to man.
Level 6
“You know the Government knows me as the pirate who hates other pirates. It’s not an inaccurate label, for once, excluding your people” Jinbe huffs, which has Ace give a weak chuckle
“Really, you hate pirates?”
“That must be a shock coming from me. I used to visit Whitebeard’s ship fairly regularly, but due to my status as Warlord, I traveled underwater to get there. Still, he and his crew were good friends to me, I was probably almost one of his many sons” the Fishman chuckles at the last part, the Yonko pretty well known for ‘adopting’ his crew as his kids
“Really, I happen to remember you trying to kill me once or twice” Ace says with a half-smile
Jinbe nods “I suppose so and you tried just as hard. Still, I owe Whitebeard a debt. Fishman Island is a peaceful haven once more thanks to your old man. As you know, Fishman island is how pirates cross between Paradice and the New World, so at the beginning of the Great Pirate Era the island was in trouble, due to the massive influx of pirates and the marines chasing them, it was sheer chaos down there, countless mermaids and fishmen were captured and sold as slaves, and just as despair began to take root in our hearts… Whitebeard arrived! He claimed Fishman island as his own, and in doing so, ensured nobody would ever threaten it again unless they wished to do battle with the Strongest Man Alive. His power is so great, as long as I live I shall never forget that day. And it’s not just my homeland, he protects other islands in much the same way.”
A high-pitched whistle echoes through the cellblock “Damn, I hate practically everyone in this f*cked up world, but Newgate’s always been cool. Nice to see even in his old age he’s a man of honor, and a total Dad” Cipher laughs, though his smile was actually normal “I know for a fact Grima will be up there with him, paying back the debt we owe him”
Jinbe nods “The government targets him because he’s a pirate, but they refuse to see the truth, see what he’s doing to keep order in the New World. That is why I objected, getting me thrown in here, if he were to die who knows what would happen to those islands, all the people who depend on him. Who would bring about the mayhem that would follow, who would usher in this new age of madness?” Jinbe throws back his head, slamming it into the wall “I want to stop this war, even if it meant giving up my life. I wanted to rescue you Ace, but I failed, and, I’m sorry for that”
Ace sighs lightly “Jinbe, that’s enough. This is painful”
“Even so, I haven’t given up hope just yet” the Fishman states, getting a smirk from the older pirate and a raised eyebrow from Ace “I believe, that a miracle and our chance will come, sooner than we think”
“Hahaha, it seems there’s a lot fun going on in the world” a new voice adds to the conversation, that of Crocodile (somehow allowed to keep his hook. Best prison in the world my ass!) “This is a now or never opportunity to defeat Whitebeard. Even down here the thought of it gets me a little excited
“How dare you!” Jinbe bellows, while Ace oddly enough smirks
“Oh really, you think you can take the old man? If I recall correctly, my little brother kicked your ass, how could you possibly be able to beat Pops knowing that”
Crocodile scoffs “Not just me” he chuckles, which seems to open the floodgates of the other prisoners locked down here in the dead zone to yell about Whitebeard’s end and how they want to kill the man themselves
“Fools! Silence!” Jinbe shouts, but the noise was drowned out by the screaming and banging
Voluntary cardiac muscles
The noise finally does die down as one of the prisoners dies of cardiac arrest, his conscious mind unable to keep his heart beating at a consistent rhythm
“I think you all forget something, you’re all here for a reason, you’re NOT GOOD ENOUGH!” Cipher shouts, the shimmer of madness in his eye turning the Level silent as the grave, anyone who’d been on the outside back when he was, remembering why even most marines had a ‘Run for your f*cking lives’ order when facing him “So everyone shut the f*ck up because you’re never leaving this place, even if that means I have to kill every last one of you”
Navy headquarters
“You think this is funny Garp?!” Sengoku shouts, the fact the man was currently breaking his sh*te laughing serving as an obvious YES “We’re at a crossroads that could change the very future of the Sea, and that damn grandson of yours seems intent on stopping us at every turn, though I suppose at least it’s only one of them this time unlike at Enies Lobby! Then the Celestial Dragons!” he continues, Garp just laughs and continues to munch on crackers “Let this sink in Garp, we haven’t had a break-in or out of Impel Down in 20 years, Shiki was the last, nobody else has challenged those walls from within or outside. Impel Down is more than a prison, it’s a symbol of the unflinching and impenetrable force of Justice, with an impeccable reputation which that brat is attempting to tarnish. And to make matters worse he’s the Grandson of a marine! You! Garp the Hero, Garp the Fist, your grandsons seem intent on breaking every rule they can find that others accept as a part of the world, but it ends here” he finishes with a hard slam of his fist against the desk
Garp laughs, making Sengoku grind his teeth “That’s my boy, I miss the little idiot”
“Damn that Kuma, he said he took care of the Straw hats when he went to the Sabaody Archipelago, and yet Straw Hat is right as rain and messing things up”
Garp shrugs “The guys’ one of the 7 Warlords, what did you expect? The real question is how did Luffy get past Impel Down’s defenses to even get to Level 1 of the prison proper without being captured and brought in. Think he flew in?” he asks with a chuckle, only for Sengoku to grab the man by his collar and pull him up so the 2 were face to face
“That’s enough! If you weren’t known as a hero all across the blues as well as up and down both sides of the Grand Line I’d make you take responsibility for your family’s actions. You failed to make either of them marines, she would have done a much better…”
“Well she’s not here, all they had was me!” Garp snaps, getting uncharacteristically angry as he pulls himself away from Sengoku “Now, do whatever you want to me Sengoku, lock me up, execute me alongside my grandkids, it won’t change a thing, those boys are exactly who they were always going to me” he says with a tired sigh
Impel Down - Level 3
If somehow randomly teleported to Level 3, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were somewhere like Alabasta during a heatwave, as despite being both indoors and underwater, it still felt like the sun was baking down upon you, as well as the sandy floor below feeling like it was trying to cook you alive. This was why the first thing Buggy and Luffy did upon waking up after their fall was to bounce around like idiots screaming about how hot it was where they were standing, meanwhile, Galdino just watched the 2 idiots run around with a blank expression.
“Damn it’s hot, are we in a desert or something?” Luffy asks, panting as we wipes his brow “Also, why is it so quiet?”
“Level 3, oh I never wanted to end up down here” Buggy wheezes then growls “Straw Hat! If I have to go to a worse place like this because of you I’m gonna lose my mind!”
“That didn’t answer my question” Luffy responds flatly, then jumps onto the passed out Sphinx and tries to scout the area
“This place is especially bad for someone like me, given I’m a wax man” Galdino whines, forming a crude model of him which quickly melts to goo.
“Hm, big place, so where are the stairs down?” Luffy asks from the sphinx’s head
“Not a clue” Galdino slurs
“Hey straw hat, we better get moving before your friend here starts to actually melt” Buggy calls up, prompting action from Luffy
“Then off we go I suppose” he declares, unfortunately, given his lack of navigational skills, and no actual reference points/landmarks, this was never going to end well.
“On 2nd thought, maybe we should have just lay down and died” Buggy groans after an unknown amount of time wandering aimlessly
“Don’t waste your breath complaining I sure won’t carry you if you collapse” Galdino sighs, looking very droopy and almost melted, much like Buggy had said earlier
The group stopped when a bird dropped dead and crash-landed right in front of them, flash-fried in the heat
“Oh, it’s grilled chicken time!” Luffy cheers
“That’s not natural” the 2 adults say together
“A Hummingbird, it flew from over there and was cooked in the open air” Galdino states, pointing ahead of them
“How hot is this damn place?”
“You guys are missing out” Luffy chuckles, never one to miss a chance to eat, especially when it was meat “Shame I didn’t think of that with the lion thing, I bet the heat would have barbecued it up good”
“That think talked like a human, are you sure you’d be ok eating that?” Buggy asks
“At this rate, he might just eat us” Galdino sighs
“Hey! You guys see that, up there in front of us!” Buggy shouts
“The jail cells? Yeah, but who cares?” Luffy asks, mouth full of hummingbird meat
“Idiot, the cells could grant us some shelter from the heat, or maybe even prisoners who might know where the stairs are!”
“Oh yeah, I didn’t think of that. You’re pretty smart Buggy” Luffy laughs
“And don’t you forget it” Buggy preens, the 2 running ahead to check out the cells, only to find silent skeletal prisoners
“Don’t bother. It may surprise you to hear this, but everyone down here was once a hardened criminal with a bounty of over 50 million. The problem is, that the floor below us, Level 4 is the Burning Hell, and heat rises cooking the next floor up, coupled with the people up here being given almost no food or water leaving them in a half-dead state. This is Level 3: The Starvation Hell” Galdino explains as he catches up to them “I’m sure you’ll figure out in a minute why we’re standing in what appears to be sand” he hums, Luffy and Buggy scanning the cells, some actually did contain skeletons, while others, well ‘sand’ was blown out of them by the slight breeze within this level “That’s right, we’re most likely walking through what remains of prisoners who dried up to the point their bodies crumbled to powder”
Cue Buggy freaking the f*ck out!
“If we stay here too long, chances are we’ll also end up as sand beneath someone’s feet soon enough” the wax man adds “In other words, let’s move while we have the sweat to spare!”
‘Crocodile would have liked this place, dry and sandy, even turns dead people into sand, like he does’ Luffy muses silently “Then that settles it, we need to get moving to Level 4”
‘Is this kid serious?’ Buggy and Galdino think, before sighing and following him down the current path
“I’ve spotted them” Says a guard into a Denden, hidden in a shaded section of Level 3 “The targets are proceeding to the back”
“Understood, maintain watch, we don’t want them slipping the net again” the voice on the other end orders
“Yes sir”
A little later
“We’re back where we started!!!!” Buggy shouts at the top of his lungs
“Yeah, we must have gone in a circle or something” Luffy hums, shrugging his shoulders
“Quit being so relaxed you idiot we’re going to die in here!”
“I sure hope we find the way down to Level 4 soon” Luffy sighs
“Find it yourself, we’re getting out of here!” Buggy and Galdino scream
“What, but you said you’d help me save Ace, you were supposed to lead me down there, you promised”
“I never said that, neither of us did” Galdino whines
“They’re in place Sir” the spying guard relays
“Good, now let’s reel them in”
As he says that the 3 pirates hear rumbling, but too quick for them to deal with the trap was sprung, and both them and the sphinx were all strung up in a huge net suspended high above the ground
“What is this?”
“A trap that’s what”
“I think this cage is made of iron” Luffy notes, trying to chew his way through it with no visible success
“And infused with trace amounts of seastone, given I can’t use my Bari Bari powers” Buggy agrees
“After everything we’ve done these brutes will torture us to death!” Galdino screams in panic as the guards and Bluegori surround them, lead by a tiny man with horns and a pitchfork
“Who’s this guy?” Luffy asks, taking a break from chewing on the rope
“This guy, is named Saldeath” the midget answer with an air of smugness
“Salt-breath, you should change your diet then” the rubber boy responds
“No, that’s not what I said, pay attention prisoner! It’s Saldeath, got it?”
“Right, Sardine Head” Luffy nods as best he could
“NO! Get it right, what’s wrong with you?” Saldeath asks angrily, then sighs “Anyway, there’s no point in you resisting us, you’re in a highly secured underwater prison, so to put it simply, there’s nowhere for you to run, doubly so given all 3 of you have Devil Fruit powers. You know, you’re fortunate I was the one to capture you, there are 4 other guards prowling the floors beyond this one, and they’re Demons”
“Big deal so’s my brother” Luffy mutters, the rope making his words difficult to understand.
“He’s right, this pipsqueak’s downright cute compared to those beasts” Buggy squeaks
“Oh if only we’d gone right instead of left” Galdino whines
Saldeath shrugs “Actually, both paths circled back to this spot, AND we were watching you the entire time, so even if you’d avoided this trap we’d have gotten you with another one”
‘Well, sh*t’ was all the pirates could think at the time, this little guy had really thought of everything….. Well almost everything
“Rizoli!”
“He’s moved onto pasta now” Galdino says almost comically, as the one thing Saldeath hadn’t planned for, the sphinx waking up, happened, the massive beast rocking the net as it flails and attempts to escape itself, the guards panicking as while the 3 pirates couldn’t break through it, he just might. And he did, with a cry of ‘Deep Fried Noodles!’ all 4 were free
“Did he say that one already?”
“I’m long past the point of caring”
“Yay I’m free, now to get to Level 4!”
The guards scatter as the sphinx drops down in the middle of them, then Luffy rushes past most of the normal guards
“After him!” Saldeath commands, the Blugori charge after the rubber boy with reckless abandon
Gum Gum Gattling
Unfortunately as seen on Level 1, they were no match for Luffy, though the intense heat was definitely not helping him either. Meanwhile Buggy and Galdino decided to use the fact Saldeath and the others were hyperfocused on Luffy to make a break for it, leaving the boy to his fate. Fate though seemed to think Luffy being outnumbered was no fun, so the sphinx joined in the mayhem with a cry of ‘Cold Soba’, giving him an opening to leap away
“He’s on the run, get him” Saldeath commands to whoever was still conscious
“Damn it, where are the stairs to go down?” Luffy thinks aloud as he bounces from place to place
Elevator, again
“We’ll be arriving at Fire Fist’s Cellblock shortly” Magellan states as the elevator trundles along
“Finally, it feels like we’ve been descending for hours” Hanco*ck complains
“Makes sense Empress. The area we’re going to must be isolated, given it houses the most dangerous criminals in the entire world, not just pirates. With inmates like these, we can’t afford to take any chances. We wouldn’t be going to all this trouble if you weren’t a Warlord you know?”
Hanco*ck shrugs “Then it’s fortunate that I am, so you’re more than happy to help me then?” she asks with a flutter of eyelashes, getting heart eyes from the Warden
“But of course” he cheers, before snapping out of it with a cough “Incidentally there’s a prisoner down here who was a Warlord just like you”
“I’d ask if he was a recent addition or before my time… but I don’t really care, I’m only here for see Fire Fist Ace” Hanco*ck states bluntly “Don’t worry Warden I’ll behave”
“I intend to make sure of it” the man hums gruffly
Level 3
“Looks like the coast is clear, they’re too focused on Straw Hat to put anyone on locating us” Buggy says with a grin
“But they’ve sealed the staircase up, so we’re stuck here, and I can’t handle much more of this” Galdino groans as he droops pitifully
‘Un, Deux, Trois’
“Is that singing, or something?” Buggy asks curiously, mostly because something was finally breaking the deathly silence of this hellscape.
‘Oh God, please not him’ Galdino thinks as he curls up against himself, because he knows that voice:
It’s Bentham, also known as Mr 2. Bon Kurei.
TBC
LW: And this is where 2021’s edition of Rubber King and Mirror Master ends folks, tune in for 2022 for the conclusion of the Impel Down arc, and then move on to Marineford.
Stick around everyone, and have a wonderful new year. See you then :D
Chapter 115: Reunion of the Swan
Chapter Text
LW: Hi everyone, welcome to 2022! Let’s begin
Rubber King & Mirror Master - Reunion of the Swan
“Oh, come my way, oh come my way, yeah yeah yeah, come my way” the singing continues, Galdinos’ panic attack only getting stronger
‘I can barely stand, but this guy’s singing and probably frolicking like it’s a day at the beach. He must be real tough’ Buggy thinks “Hey partner, I’m going to go check out that noise” he calls out before jumping down, snapping Galdino out of his spiral long enough for him to follow him
“Listen Buggy I don’t think this is a good idea” the candle man tries to explain, but is ignored as they hear weights drop just before reaching the cell
“Come on lazy bones up and at em, if you think this is hot, just wait until you see me angry!” Bentham laughs, then see’s that he has an audience “Mr. 3 how are you ahaha?” he laughs, then leaps at the bars of the cage “MR 3! What are you doing in Impel Down?” he asks frantically “You must have been caught to be locked up in here… only I’m the one locked up aren’t I?” he chuckles
“What is this strange creature?” Buggy asks in a whisper
“Hard to say, let’s leave it here” Galdino suggests
“Aw, don’t be such a meanie, I thought we were friends Mr. 3. Besides, I’ve got way too much energy to stay cooped up in this cell all by myself” he whines
A couple minutes later
“He went downstairs, you’re sure about that?” Bentham asks as he rubs his wrists, now free of their shackles “You’re not just screwing with me?”
“Nope, it’s the honest truth”
“Very well, thanks for the escape Mr. 3, and friend, I’ll pay you back someday ;)” he winks and blows a kiss, then starts piroetting in the direction Luffy went
“What a weirdo” Buggy grunts
“Indeed, but he’s also, unfortunately, one of the best Baroque Works agents there was” Galdino sighs
Up top
“Come on men, we need to capture Straw Hat before he gets to Ace, it’s a matter of marine pride!” A Vice Admiral bellows as he and his men disembark
CREEEEAK
“Uuh, hold on a moment” a voice moans from the darkness before stepping into the light of the open door. The person was a woman based on their voice with wild billowing ginger hair which covered her eyes, as well as what seemed like a headdress with pink hornlike spikes a pitchfork, and a long white cloak that covered her entire body with the exception of bright pink studded heels “I’m Mistress Sadie Impel Down’s Torture Expert. We’ve already been compromised hm, so accepting future help from the navy hm, would just lead to further disgrace and humiliation”
“Is she being cute or something?” one marine mutters, getting a whip to the face
“I’m f*cking adorable” she growls, then moans as he cried out in pain ‘Those tortured screams, so delectable’
Before his men could do anything else stupid the Vice-admiral asks “So you’re saying, you don’t need the navy’s help?”
“Correct. This entire prison is a labyrinthian hellhole, if you don’t know your way around you’ll just get lost and be of no use to us” Sadie explains “Though while you’re here asking, if you truly wish to serve us, you can continue to guard the outside. This drawbridge is the only exit, we lock down, raise the drawbridge, and hm, seal up Impel Down so nothing can escape. We’ll do our job, and as long as you do yours, ah, nobody is leaving this prison alive”
“Understood we’ll stay put out here”
“Good boy, Mistress loves you” Sadie purrs, then walks back in to allow the drawbridge to rise.
Level 5
Finally, after what feels like a month they arrive at their final destination, the cellblock of Fire Fist Ace.
“Hanyabal?”
“And Magellan too”
‘Oh, this is interesting’ Cipher smirks ‘and there’s a cutie’ he muses as Hanco*ck steps closer to the Whitebeard Divison Commander
“Look alive Ace you’ve got a special visitor. You’ll never guess who it is. Jinbe, you know her well, though I’m not sure if you two have ever actually met. Think I should give Ace a hint? She’s strong, beautiful, commands the all female tribe known as a Kuja, and is the only female Warlord on record. It’s Boa Hanco*ck!” Hanyabal announces, stepping to the side to reveal her, eyebrows rise on Ace, Jinbe and even Crocodile.
Then the heckling starts, Hanco*ck’s eye begins to twitch, until the leering and demands she flash them is replaced by screams of pain as some prisoner is cooked alive from the inside out
“And they wonder why they’re down here. Also, did you know water boils at 30 degrees if you try hard enough?” Cipher laughs, shuffling to the front, everyone giving him a wide berth “You shouldn’t be down here Princess, that much is clear” he grins widely, amber eye flashing with madness
“What do you want?” Ace grunts as Hanco*ck steps up to the bars
“Nothing really. I wanted to see the reason for which I’m being dragged into a pointless war, as well as my beloved’s big brother. Can’t say I’m that impressed, but a sh*thole like this will do that to a man” Ace chokes hearing the snake princess swear, getting the first laugh in a while out of him
“Until now you were the empress who stood her ground and disobeyed every summons, but now you’re going to take part in this war? I hope your title is worth your dignity” Jinbe chuckles
“A pleasure to meet you too Son of the Sea. Now hold your tongue before I tear it out, the humans are speaking” Hanco*ck sneers, hoping to piss him off enough he’d take offense and ignore her
“So, am I finally meeting the mother of my sweet little niece Artemis before I die?” he chuckles lowly while Hanco*ck flushes, the idea of Artemis calling her Mama Hanco*ck causing her heart to flutter
“Not yet, but maybe in the future. Artemis’ mother is Nico Robin, whereabouts unknown” the Kuja replies “Why?”
Ace shrugs as best he could “Curiosity really, I met them in Alabasta and asked if it was you when she said her mom was the most beautiful woman on the Grand Line, she gave a non-answer that Amazon Lily is in the Calm Belt”
“Understandable, I have that kind of reputation” she chuckles, then looking behind her to see Magellen arguing with Hanyabal again scoots closer “Ace, Luffy’s coming to bust you out of here, I don’t know where he is right now but he’s on the way. Also Kaos will be waiting at Marineford in case Luffy fails, which he’s 90% sure he will”
Ace’s eyes bulge “Luffy’s here, in Impel Down? What the f*ck why didn’t you stop him?”
“Do you think I can stop your brother? He’s more stubborn than me and even Kaos decided ‘f*ck it’ and let him try” Hanco*ck responds “By the way, they know you’ll be pissed off that they’re trying to rescue you.. But they decided you being alive to be mad at them, was worth angering you” she winks, then turns on her heels “I’m finished” she calls loudly, snapping the 2 idiots out of their arguing
“Done already? Well, guess it’s back to the elevator then” Magellan shrugs “You all stay quiet if you want to live got it?” he growls before leading the others out
“So, do you think she’s telling the truth?” Jinbe asks
“Yes, my brother is that stupid to try to break into this place” Ace sighs ‘I’m not worth it Luffy, you stupid boy’
Back on Level 3
“Wait a minute when did I start going upstairs, I wanted to go downstairs” Luffy whines then sighs “hopefully this staircase will go back down eventually” he mutters before continuing his journey, meeting what normally would be not even worth thinking about for Luffy… idiots with guns. Unfortunately, these were net guns laced with seastone meaning Luffy was screwed if they managed to snare him, luckily being rubber meant he had the flexibility to dodge and weave as the guards fired, until the sphinx returned the pinned him under his claw
“Hey! Get away from him!” shouted…
“Zoro!?” Luffy screams in confusion, and it was true, just ahead of him, dressed in a prison uniform was Zoro himself, sans swords of course. And decked out in the widest grin Luffy had ever seen on the teen, which was setting off alarms in his brain
“Need a hand, pal?” Zoro calls down, looking ready to leap into action at a moment’s notice
“Zoro! Luffy cheers, grinning widely, while the sphinx looks up in confusion
Zoro laughs “Fooled yah!” he shouts before leaping out and kicking the sphinx in the face, sending it flying
Swan Arabesque
‘Wait a minute, Zoro doesn’t kick things’ Luffy thinks as he picks himself up and dusts off, meanwhile, his savior was spinning in the air, calling out ‘Swan’ repeatedly “But he does sound familiar”
“Been a while hasn’t it Straw hat my boy?” Bon Kurei says as his face is finally visible to Luffy
“It’s Bon! I mean I’d have preferred Zoro cause then I’d know he was still alive, but it’s great to see you again!” Luffy laughs, always happy to see friends
“Quick while he’s distracted, capture Straw Hat!” one of the guards order
“Not so fast!” Bon Kurei screams, pirouetting over and launching a volley of kicks to take out the assembled guards “Nobody gets to hurt my friends in my prescience”
With the human guards dealt with all was good for 5 seconds, until the sphinx stood up again
“Good boy Sphinx now deal with…” Saldeath began only for it to get the ever-loving sh*t beat out of it by the combined efforts of Bon Kurei and Luffy in about 10 seconds ‘Holy sh*t’
“Ok, after a beating like that we should be good for a while, from him at least” Luffy muses
“True, sometimes with a wild beast, you need to teach it the Law of the Jungle” Bon announces then hugs Luffy, the rubber boy hugging back just as tightly
“You really saved our asses back in Alabasta but I was sure you were dead man. Glad you’re ok though”
“Silly boy, you know Swans never die… unless that’s a lie. Oh well” he laughs
“Another escapee, with each new floor Straw Hat just keeps finding help and his allies grow” Saldeath growls, then turns his pitchfork to the side, revealing its secondary purpose as a command flute for the Bluegori “Bluegori, I don’t care what it takes Straw Hat dies today!” he orders, the sea monkeys leap and surround Luffy and Bon
“So, I hear you’re on the way all the way down to Level 5?” Bon asks
“That’s right, but I’ll need some help to get down there. Know anyone like that?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s someone on Level 5 I’m dying to meet myself” Bon admits “Now, let’s clear a path, to our dreams” he says, getting into his fighting stance
A little later
Due to the Bluegori being weak as tissue paper compared to Luffy and Bentham, they made short work of the mob and went about their business
“So Bon, how do we get to Level 4, also thanks for sacrificing your life back at Alabasta even though you’re still alive” Luffy says with a laugh
“It’s just a hop skip and a jump this way straw boy, and it was no trouble at all, besides our destinies are intertwined, we were meant to reunite” Bentham replies as he bounces his way through the level.
Up Top
“Thank you for being so understanding about everything, protocol and all that” Domino explains as she unshackles Hanco*ck “Also, before you leave, your cloak” she adds, passing it over to the now freed Warlord
“Thank you” Hanco*ck purrs, enjoying the flustered expression on the clearly meant to be stoic guard, but then stops “One last thing, I believe I heard while we were in the Warden’s office that there was an intruder, is that correct?” she asks, worried about Luffy’s status and whereabouts
“Yes so it appears, but Impel Down has ironclad defenses, there is NO escape” Domino assures her “Now Warden Magellan is on the case the matter will be dealt with shortly”
“Of course” Hanco*ck nods as she follows Momonga out “If they were foolish enough to enter Hell itself, it makes sense they would become permanent residents” ‘Please Luffy, he’s too strong you need to run. If you see Magellan, you need to run!’
Magellan’s office
Sadie arrives just as Magellan looked about ready to beat the sh*t out of Hanyabal (so business as usual), the large man seeing her arrive and halting his toxic tirade “Ah Mistress Sadie, on time as always”
“Indeed. Shame I missed all your guests arriving, we could have had a lot of fun” she purrs, fists tightening under her cloak “My team is ready for a hunt, all we need is a direction and target”
“Good, is there someone currently stationed on Level 4?” Magellan asks
“But ahhh-f course. Minotarus is patrolling as we hm, speak” Sadie pants
“That’s a start, but there are too many places to hide on Level 3, we’ll need more men. We’ll let Saldeath handle the rioters on Level 2 and handle this ourselves” the Warden announces, reaching for his Den Den “With the exception of Saldeath, all Forces converge on Level 4, immediately!” he bellows
“Yes sir, on the way now”
“Understood” he nods, clicking off the snail “If Minotarus fails, and they do make it to Level 4, I will bury this boy myself” he growls sending shivers down everyone in the room’s spine “All who make a mockery of his institution shall suffer the consequences”
Level 3
“I think we’re in trouble now” Bon swallows as a hulking brute lumbers up the stairs, then shoots forward to try smash Luffy, only to miss as the rubber boy leaps away
“Wow, he’s fast, a lot more so than his build would suggest” Luffy hums “What is this thing?”
“Minotarus, one of the Jailer Beasts, a nasty creature capable of throwing us around like yesterday’s garbage. Be careful Straw Boy, those are the cold dead eyes, of a killer” Bentham shouts as the smoke clears and Minotaurus’ dopey face is revealed.
“He’s huge, did he eat a Devil fruit or something? Man, of all the times for Kaos to peace out” Luffy grumbles
“How the Hell should I know?” Bon screams, before getting smashed in the face by Minotarus’ club, slamming into the nearest cage and groaning on the ground. The minotaur then disappeared before smacking Luffy around, the rubber boy bouncing across the area while being chased, and dodging as much as he could, though as he was almost pinned against the bars Bon regained his bearings enough to block with a kick. Unfortunately, this just made him the next target as he was grabbed by his face and slammed into the ground, Minotaurus’ thick digits cutting off his airways
Gear Second
“Get away from him!”
Gum-Gum Jet Bazooka
Luffy’s attack sent the minotaur flying, smashing a support bridge on the way, meanwhile, the boy cools off (easier said than done in this sweatbox) and relaxes, shutting down Gear 2nd
“You ok Bon, you took quite a beating there?” Luffy asks in concern
“I almost died, I think I saw a glimpse of the heavenly garden of the Okama Way” Bon replies though coughs and wheezes as he gets his breathing back under control then sits up “You’re certainly strong Straw Boy, I’m certainly glad not to be your enemy these days” he chuckles then realizes Minotaurus ruined his make up and starts complaining, as well as giving a list of demands/requests, only food and drink Luffy actually agreed with
“I don’t care about most of that crap, but I’m going to drop if food doesn’t show up soon” he grumbles, snapping Bon out of his tirade
“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little head, it’s tutu easy to get to Level 4 from here”
“Really, awesome!” Luffy cheers “How do we do that?”
“Just climb up there, but don’t go charging in like a wild boar ok?” Bentham warns, which Luffy ignores until he stretched his arm out to pull himself up, only to immediately recoil in pain as he burnt himself
“Ow! That was like putting my hand on a hot skillet! What’s wrong with this place?”
“A skillet huh, ironic. Anyway, on 3 we jump. Ok? 3!”
Both leap into the opening, though Luffy is bouncing from one foot to the other due to the heat, while Bon seems not to notice “Come over here Straw Hat, take a look at this” he says beckoning Luffy to the edge, where Level 4 is revealed, well almost as it’s obscured by thick smoke
“So much smoke, don’t tell me we need to go into that it’s bad enough over here” Luffy groans
“Alas this is Level 4, the burning heat Hell you seem so intent on visiting. Unsurprisingly the description is accurate”
“Well, sh*t. What’s down there?” Luffy asks
“The hot skillet comment earlier, is more accurate than you’d expect, though it’s more an iron pot. Once we enter level 4 you’ll see a boiling pool of blood and a raging sea of fire!”
“I hope they’re cooking something besides prisoners down there, be a waste of all that heat otherwise” Luffy sighs, as Bon once more leads the way
“Now we could jump down from here, but landing in the wrong spot will flash fry us in an instant. You’ll be risking your life with each step you take from now on” the dancer warns
“Like I wasn’t doing that already. Also, you mentioned earlier that there was someone down on Level 5 you wanted to meet too, who are they? Why are they that big a deal you’d risk your life just to meet them?” Luffy asks
Bentham grins before speaking “I’ve heard he’s known as ‘The Miracle Worker’ he’s a true hero who deserves to be free. AND HIS FRIENDS CALL HIM IVA! He’s the Queen of Kamabaka Kingdom [Hi Sanji. Bye Sanji], the pink paradise of the Grand Line. He’s the leader of the queer folk, the Queen of all Queens!”
Luffy blinks then smiles “The queen of all queens? Wow, sounds like a pretty important guy”
“Of course. I want to set eyes on him for even a moment, but maybe we can set him free!”
Luffy nods “Sure we can try, just as long as it doesn’t interfere with setting Ace free I’m down for it”
The pleasant moment was interrupted by thunderous hoofsteps and screaming, as Galdino and Buggy run screaming towards them, Minotaurus hot on their heels
“Oh for f*ck sake! We just got rid of that thing and it’s already up and chasing us again!” Bon screams, then starts running alongside Luffy, joining up with the other 2 escapees
“You again!” Buggy screams
“I knew you wouldn’t abandon me” Luffy grins
“Oh f*ck off we were hiding perfectly safe until this bruizer landed on top of us, and now we can’t shake him”
“Oh, so that’s where he landed” Luffy chuckles
“See, it’s your fault we’re in this mess, I hope he eats you!” Buggy shouts as they keep running away from the Beast “Wait a minute, Luffy, you remember the Buggy ball, which I used to destory half a town in one fial swoop back when we first met?”
“Nope” Luffy replies with a blank expression, causing a depressive spiral from Buggy, until he catches himself and starts running again
“By that you mean you were traumatized and blocked out the memory of the destruction and incredible KAboom, and it’s all coming back to you?”
“Sorry, not ringing a bell” Luffy shrugs
“Oh, I see” Buggy says with the life drained from him “Well you see, the Buggy ball is this huge cannonball, some might call it my signature weapons in fact, you know, because it’s named after me”
“Nobody cares, but clearly you think quite highly of it to put your name on it so get on with the explanation!” Galdino shouts breaking through the depression
“Right! Well, I’ve got miniaturised versions of them that pack just as big a punch, I call them the Muggy Balls!”
‘Who the Hell is Muggy?’
“Take this you overgrown sow!” Buggy shouts, shooting a muggy ball from his shoe, which explodes like it was a shed load of TNT, honestly any normal person should be dead at this point… which explains why it stood up and started plodding towards them
“Oh come on!”
“Our turn Straw Boy” Bon cheers, leaping at the beast
Okama Kempo: Memoirs of the Summer’s Day
“Hey 3, can you use your wax fruit in here?” Luffy asks
“In this heat, it would last at most 3 seconds before melting into sludge” Galdino sighs
“3 Seconds will do” Luffy replies, surprising him
“You’re serious?” nod “Ok then”
Candle Lock
Gum Gum Mallet Rifle
The combination of blows, as well as the head-on impact with the wall as he was thrown across the area, finally did it for Minotarus, the beast passing out once it was fully on the ground.
“WE did it! We beat the demented cow thing from Level 3!” the squad cheer, hatred for one another forgotten for a moment as they jump around and hug each other.
Uptop
Due to the lockdown, Hanco*ck and Momonga were led back to their ship on a little tugboat, slowly trundling through the water
“So, how long until Ace’s execution now?” Hanco*ck asks, trying to fill the dead air
“29 hours, this will all be over by 3pm tomorrow” he explains bluntly “Well that’s the plan at least, not that plans ever go the way they’re supposed to”
‘Tell me about it’ Hanco*ck thinks, remembering how much of a mess Luffy had ended up causing in his little prison break
“Portgas D. Ace is secure, we’ll be transferring him in the morning” the guard steering the vessel assures them
‘Luffy, please be safe. It would break your brother’s heart to lose your both so close together’
And back to Level 3
Buggy pinches his nose “I’ll ask you this one more time Straw hat. After everything that’s happened, do you still want to go down to Level 4?”
Luffy nods “Yep! I’m glad you understood and are on board again”
“You idiot! What part of Burning Heat Hell don’t you understand? It’s too damn hot here, never mind in there with the cauldrons of boiling blood and lakes of fire, ring any bells there?”
“It’s too hot, I’m practically melting I need to go up”
“See, he gets it, up, as in escape you dumbass!”
Luffy shrugs in disinterest while Bon sighs “Ignore them, straw boy, they clearly don’t have the balls to go a step further” he smirks
“You take that back, I’ll have you know even my nose is a damn ball!” Buggy squeals
“Really, that’s weird. Oh my we’re getting off-topic, back to how to safely get down to Level 4 I believe”
“That and why the ceiling is rising” Luffy notes
“Huh, you’re right, plus that rumbling noise is quite dis…oh crap it’s not rising we’re falling!” Galdino screams as all the thumping around earlier weakened the floor, causing it to crack and give way, sending them plummeting into Level 4.
On the main deck
“Your request has been granted, and now…”
“I’m aware of what I said, and I promise to keep it. I’ll play your silly wargames, even if it means squaring up against the Yonko” Hanco*ck interrupts her tone tired and flat
“Welcome back Sir”
“It’s good to be back, escort Miss Boa to her quarters, we’re heading straight for Marineford immediately”
As the 2 separate a man rushes over “Vice Admiral we’ve just received word about an incident in the New World involving Red Hair”
Momonga raises an eyebrow “Shanks? That doesn’t sound right, not now. Who was he fighting, can’t have been one of us” he hums
“No sir, Kaido of the Beast Pirates, the Yonko” Momonga stops dead, and nearby, ears prick up
“Did you say Kaido?”
“Yes sir. Apparently, Kaido was after Whitebeard, I heard it was just a skirmish but Shanks intercepted. I can’t say to what end though”
“This is not good, The Emporers fighting one another should be good for us, but with Whitebeard safe from Kaido by Shanks, and Linlin unlikely to interfere until there’s something worth taking, he’s now free to focus on us. Not good, not good at all” Momonga grimaces “I’m afraid it will be all-out war”
The messenger gulps “Do you really think his response will be that extreme Sir?”
“Yes. Whitebeard’s fleet is comprised of the strongest pirates alive, even though striking will put him against the full strength of the marines including the 3 Admirals and the 7 Warlords. No matter who wins, this upcoming conflict, will shape this Age for years to come” Momonga explains, then turns and shouts “Set Sail for Marineford!”
Impel Down Level 4
“What’s going on out there?”
“Nothing good, did you see all the upper brass showed up down here at once?”
“Magellan, Hanyabal, and the Demon guards? This is a very bad sign”
“Well, I’m bored” Sadie sighs, her shoulder’s bounce and cause her cloak to ruffler and swish “If I knew there would be so much waiting I’d have just gone hunting these morsels myself” she purrs, licking her lips hungrilly
“Patience Mistress Sadie, you’ll get your fun soon enough” Magellan scolds from his throne, which was also a toilet due to his near-constant bowel problems and diarrhea.
“Oh I can edge myself plenty, my boys, on the other hand, they don’t know the meaning of the word patience, the poor things” she coos, grinning over at Minokoala, Minorhinoceros, and Minozebra, who had gotten bored and started fighting amongst themselves
“Sir we have an update!” shouted a guard as he rushes over “Straw hat and company are located in the Well Tower on Level 3… unfortunately that means we can no longer monitor him”
“They’ve made it that far already?” Sadie gasps
“If they get any further, all I need to do is pin the blame on the Warden and promotion is..OW” Hanyabal whines as Magellan hits him
‘It would make our lives so much easier if the boy just falls to his death from there, the boiling blood would be quick and ensure no chance of survival, especially given all 4 of them have Devil fruits’ Magellan thinks as another guard runs up to them
“Warden, another update! I regret to inform you that Straw Hat Luffy is already on this level”
“What! But we didn’t see him pass us, how did this happen?”
“He um, apparently feel down here through the well, Sir”
“But those lead directly into the pools of blood, how did they survive?”
“Apparently, they used the falling floor from Level 3 as a shield and jumped to safety as it hit the blood-pool” the guard relayed, while Magellan growls
‘Those f*ckers have luck on their side, but it’s about to run out, I swear it’
“One more thing Warden. The Demon Guard Minotarus also fell down with them… and he’s not moving”
“WHAT! They defeated him?” Sadie gasps in shock
“It appears so Miss Sadie” the guard says with a bowed head
“My poor baby. I’ll rip their heads from their shoulders!”
“Calm yourself Sadie” Magellan growls as he gets off his throne “Now, there are only 2 ways off this floor that don’t involve dying. Hanyabal, you’ll be staying here with a troop of guards and block the stairway back to Level 3, meanwhile, Sadie will take the Demon Guards and stand guard at the stairway to Level 5.”
“But standing around is so boring, I want to punish those lettle boys, make them pay for harming sweet Minotarus” Sadie whines
‘Maybe I’ll just let them slip past me and blame the warden for his incompetence’ Hanyabal thinks, only to get poison gassed by Magellan “I didn’t even say anything!” he gasps
“You don’t need to, I know you’re almost always plotting against me. If it’s any consolation, once you do capture them, you can do whatever you like to the prisoners”
“Yes, score! Free reign” Sadie cheers, her demon guards grunt and hum
“And as for the rest of you, I want you to pursue them at all costs, capture them or else funnel them towards Hanyabal or Sadie, understand? I want them brought to me, dead or alive”
“Almost dead works too right?” Sadie pants, her unseen thighs rubbing against each other vigorously
“This ends, here and now, that little brat isn’t getting any further. The burning heat hell will be their last stop, the reputation of Impel Down rests on our shoulders. But first…” he rushes back onto his throne, taking another dump before leaving, which amongst other things, killed the mood he was going for.
Elsewhere on Level 4
“Hot, hot, hot! What the hell I thought it was bad on the previous floor!” Buggy screams as he hops from foot to foot in pain
“My lungs feel like they’re on fire!” Galdino complains
“The faster we move the faster we get out of here, now which way do we go?” Luffy asks, also bouncing, meanwhile Bon finally reaches his limit for ignoring heat-based pain as he’s yelling and screaming just as loud as the rest of them. Luffy then stops, frowning before sniffing the air “Wait, I know where to go, follow me!” he cheers, rushing off, leaving the others in the dust
“Hm, now where could straw boy be leading us?” Bon wonders, then remembering how Luffy often thinks with his stomach snaps his fingers “Of course, the kitchen! Some food sounds great right about now, especially after Level 3”
“He’s right, food and maybe a little booze would be great right now” Buggy agrees but is slowed down by Galdino “Hey, what’s the big idea?”
“Just wait a minute Buggy”
“Hot, hot hot, so much food, hot, hot, hot, I’m so hungry” Luffy moans as he runs only to meet up with a large contingent of guards who charge at him, only for Luffy to jump over them and begin to spin rapidly right above them
Gum Gum….
‘Oh crap’
…Fireworks
“Sir, Team A has engaged with Straw Hat Luffy”
“Sir, Team B has joined up with Team A, they’re not even slowing him down though”
“Should we send reinforcements Sir?”
Gum Gum Whip
Okama Kempo: Memoirs of the Summer’s Day
“A and B teams have been taken out”
“C, D, and E report major losses”
“Extra Backup from upstairs won’t cut it”
“They’re too strong, we can’t hold the line Sir!”
“Oh whoa is me, if only I were Warden I could fix this” Hanyabal complains, just before Warden Magellan finally gets off the sh*tter, his aura striking terror into everyone around him
Elsewhere
“Ok, what was the big idea pulling me away like that?” Buggy growls
“Open your eyes Buggy, look around! There’s an ocean of guards down here, and despite this level being devoted to the agony of it’s residents, not a single one is manning the torture devices”
Buggy’s eyes widen “Meaning they’re all here, to capture Straw Hat!”
“Exactly. I guarantee they’ll be guarding the staircases, and have boxed us in with all these goons so we’re trapped in this boiling Hellscape”
“But it’s clear they’re just after the kid, we didn’t even want to come down here”
“True, but we were still trying to break out, and the guards already know our names and faces” Galdino points out, popping that bubble “Still, there’s something even more troubling”
“Great, what now?”
“If they’re sending this many guards after us, it’s entirely possible they also sent Impel Down’s Allstars as well. And I don’t just mean the other 3 Demon Guards, I mean Warden Magellan might make an appearance down here, and if that happens… we’ll we’re dead my friend, no 2 ways about it.
Elsewhere, because we can’t have nice things
CRASH
“It’s time to put an end to this buffoonery boy” Magellan growls, purple, jelly-like toxic goo dripping from his body like sweat as he steps out of the slight crater his drop caused, towering over Luffy and Bon Kuri
“Who the Hell are you?” Luffy asks
“It’s Magellan!” Bon screams in fear, causing Luffy to swallow thickly as this was very bad news
“I’ve got you now, criminal scum, time to meet your maker!” Magellan bellows
TBC
LW: So here we are, 1st chapter of the new year and it ends with Luffy and Bon meeting Magellan in Level 4. A big thing to worry about… in 2 weeks time.
Chapter 116: Magellan’s toxic touch, start the death clock
Chapter Text
LW: Ah yes, now the sh*t has hit the fan
Rubber King Mirror Master - Magellan’s toxic touch, start the death clock
“It’s truly quite hot down here” Magellan says, now much more casually, as purple goo drips from his body like sweat, though given the speed at which all the guards were running away from him, it was clearly much worse
“You suck Mr. Big, I was almost to all that awesome smelling food and now you’re in my way, so get out of the way!” Luffy shouts
Magellan raises an eyebrow “Food is your concern, well don’t worry, soon you won’t have to worry about eating ever again”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Luffy asks in confusion
“Straw Boy, run away don’t fight him! That’s Warden Magellan, he ate the Doku Doku no mi, he’s a poison man. You really don’t want to fight him” Bentham screams from across the bridge
“I expected better than this Straw Hat, even though you’re a rookie, you still have a 300 million beri bounty and have been causing the government no end of headaches” Magellan growls “Speaking of trouble, I don’t know how you got past security, but here we are, Level 4 where nobody’s getting out of this mess alive. I’m going to make you pay for ruining my reputation like this, and we know exactly why you broke in: to rescue your brother Fire Fist Ace, 2nd Division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. A ballsy, but otherwise foolish endeavor. Struggle against fate all you want, both yours and his were sealed the moment you entered these walls. And one last thing, I WILL discover how you managed to break into my prison, you’ll give me every last juicy detail before I grant you the mercy of death” he sneers
Luffy swallows thickly, thinking of how much trouble Hanco*ck would be in if Magellan was right and he did manage to break him and get all his secrets “I’ll die before you get even a peep out of me” he declared boldly
Megellan smirks “That’s what they all say, but once I start applying the real pressure, they break and start singing like canaries. You won’t be any different boy”
“Luffy please listen!” Betham continues to yell “Magellan’s body is a terrible co*cktail of poisons, just one touch and you’ll be finished. You of call people can’t fight a man like that and win!”
“I will” Luffy fires back almost as soon as Mr.2 finishes his sentence, to the dancer’s annoyance
“Luffy, forget the food and run the other way, back to the pool of blood, so we can hightail it to Level 5!”
“That would be a mistake” Magellan states “The stairs down is guarded by the remaining 3 Demon Guards, and their commander Mistress Sadie. Meanwhile, the stairs up is guarded by my Vice Warden and a few dozen guards. Every exit is accounted for, you won’t escape me again child. This is your grave!”
Doku Doku: Hydra
“What the hell is that? Some kind of toxic demon, snake, thing?” Luffy gasps as Magellan’s ultimate attack is unleashed, encircling the area like a big purple Shenron, before circling back and lunging straight at Luffy
Gum Gum Pistol
Well, Luffy tried to do his usual, punching the problem til it went away, except Bon got in the way, literally stopping the attack with his body
“Stop, you can’t fight him that way” he wheezes then leaps at Luffy, rolling them out of the way of the poison dragon
“Don’t get in my way!” Luffy shouts angrily
“Listen here straw boy, you can’t touch him, otherwise the poison in his skin will kill you stone dead, see”
“That’s bullsh*t, how do I fight someone I can’t touch?” Luffy groans (Be Ussop, or Zoro, or any straw hat besides yourself, Sanji, Chopper, and Franky?)
“You don’t, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you” Bon sighs
“Damn it! Can’t you give me some kind of backup plan or something?” Luffy shouts, shaking the dancer as he does, until both have to move to avoid another lunge by the hydra
‘Magellan is only aiming for Straw Hat’ Bentham thinks, then an idea comes to mind and he smirks, as he presses his hand to his face
Gum Gum
“There he is” Magellan snarls, spotting Straw Hat through the dust caused by his last attack
Gum Gum… lovely pistol
Okama Gattling
Ballerina Giant Scythe
“My my, how will you ever be able to tell us apart?” Luffy asks as he stops spinning and pouts
“Um Bon, you forgot the clothes” Luffy deadpans, getting his double about an inch from his face
“I’ll distract the Hydra Straw Boy, now get moving dear friend!”
Magellan sighs “You idiots, I said there’s no escape” he says as 2 more heads erupt from his hydra
“sh*t, there goes that plan” Bon curses, switching back to his normal form “Back to plan A. Run away!” he screams, this time Luffy actually listening to him.
“Warden stop, we’re still evacuating!” a guard pleads as Luffy and Bon rush past, only to be caught up and enveloped in the hydra’s toxic sludge
“He’s poisoning his own guys” Luffy screams
“The Hydra’s poison is a paralyzing neurotoxin. Agonizing pain as you slowly suffer and die” Bon explains without missing a step
Magellan casually walks after the 2 pirates, his hydra doing most of the work, as well as killing anyone who got in his way, accidentally or otherwise
“Damn poison beastie, I just wanted to eat!”
“I admire your determination Straw Boy, but we’re about to die so focus for a minute!” Bon shouts behind him
‘Damn hydra we need a plan’ Luffy thinks, then smirks as he leaps sideways, grabbing onto a hanging structure (mentally screaming in pain due to the hot metal against his skin) and swinging over it, one of the hydra’s heads trying to follow, only to be melted by the fires of Level 4 “That’s right, one head down” he cheers
“Hm, I had you pegged as an idiot, but you have some of your brother’s intelligence after all Straw Hat” Magellan muses “Still, this is where it all ends” he states, chewing on something before spitting out a blue bubble-like thing, which floats over towards Luffy before exploding
Chloroform Ball
“Missed me, achoo, oh crap my eyes are wa-achoo. Fuch, I can’t see, this gas is something else” Luffy whines and sneezes, unable to see one of the remaining Hydra heads gunning for him until it stops “Huh?”
Down the Venom Road
Magellan shoots out of the hydra’s mouth, then removes his horns, revealing them to be ornamental, but also secondary weapons as he attempts to impale Luffy with them, the half-blind boy just barely dodging his strikes, as well as the poison dripping and being flung off of them.
“One touch and you’re dead” Luffy mutters as a small splash had hit his hand during his last dodge when Magellan had ended up shoving his arm into the stonewall… and was no melting it with his corrosive poison
“1st the wall, then you” he growls, pulling himself free “Even you should know by now, your death is imminent. Just like Ace”
Elsewhere on Level 4
“Jeez, a fruit that destructive and no regard for allies” Buggy grimaces as they see the number of men on the verge of death due to being rammed into by Magellan’s hydra.
“A terrible combination indeed. Still, there is one good thing to this information” Galdino muses
“What?”
“With the Warden focused on Straw Hat, that means the biggest threat is elsewhere rather than guarding the stairs to Level 3. Meaning the best time for us to escape…is right now” the wax man grins
Back to Luffy, or at least nearby
‘Oh, Straw Boy is in such danger due to the poisonous monster, and yet here I am, unable to do anything to help my friend’ Bentham mopes while hiding behind a pillar, the scene of destruction mostly visible from his hiding place. The dancer tries psyching himself up to go over there and assist Luffy but keeps freezing up as he’s reminded of just how dangerous Magellan is, especially when spray from their fight is flung in his direction causing him to drop to the ground.
‘Look at him, he’s fighting so hard and you can’t help him, you can’t even stand beside him you’re too much of a coward. Can’t you do something? Calm down Bentham, think this through’ Bon scolds himself, then lets his breathing level out and his brain focus on something besides fear, which didn’t work as every plan he came up with ended with him dying painfully due to Magellan’s poison
“For f*ck sake” the swan groans, dropping to a seated position as he begins to give up, more spatter burning the ground around him “Straw boy, my dear friend, I can’t help you” he cries ‘Magellan is a monster of a man who guards the worst the world has to offer, ruler over hell itself, you can’t beat him the only option is to run. Forgive me Straw Hat, but I must flee, to live a little longer’
Back to Luffy for real this time
His vision improving by the minute (but still kind of crappy right now) Luffy manages to avoid one of Magellan’s lunges, then with a kick drives it into the ground right in front of him. Now the fact that section crumbled beneath him should have been curtains, especially given the firepit below, but it was all part of the plan, for once
Gum Gum Stamp
Luffy slams his foot into the wall, springboarding himself onto the nearby bridge, where he has a moment to catch his breath.
The stairs to Level 3
Hanyabal sighs “Should I actually fight Straw hat, or just use his escapades to f*ck over the Warden? This is a hard decision”
Meanwhile, a different argument was occurring right above him
“Look at all those guards, we can’t go now” Buggy hisses
“We have to. Think about it Buggy, they assigned the more dangerous Demon Guards to the stairs to Level 5, Magellan's fighting Luffy, leaving the worst guards in the group to guard this door. They care more about stopping Straw Hat going down, meaning we should take the chance to go up” Galdino explains to the clown “But we only have a limited opening, as Straw Hat can’t hold off the Warden forever, and once he’s dealt with they’ll tighten their grip on this doorway, cutting off our escape”
Buggy frowns but nods “You have a point. Plus I’ve never heard anyone say anything about the Vice Warden, especially not him having a Devil fruit of any kind, so if I take out the goons with a Muggy Ball, he should be easy for the 2 of us to tag-team and overpower. Let’s do this” the clown agrees
“Brilliant, now let’s hurry up, this heat is really starting to get unbearable” he says as both of them leap down
“Sir it’s Buggy the Clown and Mr. 3, they’re trying to escape up to Level 3” one guard shouts as the rest ready their pitchforks
Muggy…
Candle…
“Hold on a minute” Hanyabal says, causing everyone to freeze “Guards, stand down” he orders, surprising everyone
“But Vice Warden…”
“Yes that’s me the vice warden, I’m in charge here. Yes, here’s my chance, it seems fortune has finally favored me over that diarrhea-spewing imbecile. On top of Straw Hat’s escapades, I’m sure these 2 escaping would force the higher-ups to deal with this level of incompetence. And since he’s the Warden, it will all be blamed on Magellan, finally political bullsh*t works for me rather than against ha”
“Vice Warden, are you sure you don’t want us to capture them?”
“Give us an order sir!”
“Rigth! Everyone stand aside” Hanyabal yells, then turns to Buggy and Galdino “We’ve been expecting you” he grins, confusing the 2 prisoners “You heard me men, move aside, don’t be rude to the guests, sorry about that lads, you can’t get the help you need these days”
“This trap couldn’t be more obvious!”
“At least try to hide it better next time!”
Freak Muggy ball
Candle Lock
KABOOM
“What the hell is wrong with you 2 idiots, I just told you to leave!” Hanyabal bellows, completely unaffected by the double attack, unlike the lower guards
‘Oh crap’ the 2 pirates think, as the Vice Warden lunges and proceeds to rather easily beat the ever-loving sh*t out of them. If they weren’t going to listen to him, at least he can try and save face by capturing the escapees.
Back to Luffy
“It would be best for you now, to submit” Magellan drones as he slowly approaches the downed and panting Luffy
“No. I’m going to rescue my brother, and we’re going to escape this hellhole, together” Luffy declares as he wheezes, pulling himself into a familiar stance “I won’t die, without even seeing him. And I’m especially not going to let you execute him, you hear me?” he yells as he starts to steam “I’ll push through any barrier, pay any price, to accomplish this task”
Gear 2nd
Gum Gum Jet Bazooka
The blow brought Magellan to his knees, but with enough poison on and in him to cover his hands past the wrist, it was unsure whether or not it was worth it, it also meant the vapors were getting close to as much from the evaporating poison as the Gear 2nd steam. The fact Gear 2nd involved him overclocking his heart to increase the oxygen flow in his body, was also f*cking him over in that it was helping the poison spread faster through his body, as the agonizing screams he was trying and failing to fully suppress showed.
“It seems you’ve actually done something worth acknowledging, you managed to bring me to my knees boy” Magellan states, even as he pulls himself to his feet once more “Even a cornered rabbit will fight with teeth and claws, but now, with your hands and arms covered in my toxic sludge the poison will quickly spread throughout your entire body, your death is assured. You’re feeling the pain of my poison, I know you are even though you’re putting on a brave face, it hurts. So, much. So give up already!”
In response to that, Luffy gives a defiant bellow and pulls himself to his feet, attempting to glare holes through the Warden’s head.
Gum Gum Twin Jet Pistol
Given anyone else would be on the ground begging for death, it was understandable that Magellan was caught off guard when Luffy actually launched another attack, once more going for the gut punch, which Magellan responds to by essentially mimicking Marigold by hacking poison spitballs at him
Venom Blowfish
Even with his body protesting his movements due to the pain of the poison Luffy was able to dodge the rapid-fire spitballs, he’d done it before after all, though unfortunately just as he lined up a shot to Magellan’s head, he decided ‘Enough of this sh*t’
Gum Gum Jet Pistol
Doku Hydra
The jet pistol dispersed the poison hydra, but the splashback still got Luffy, who had to bounce back to put some distance between himself and the Warden. Of course, that didn’t exactly matter, when his opponent could spew toxic gas as easily as he could breathe.
“Fog? No wait… sh*t” Luffy hisses, his brain catching up to itself, just as he realized just how f*cked he was right now.
Venom Cloud
The jellyfish-looking smoke cloud quickly engulfs Luffy, who despite the futility, still tried to, as usual, punch his way out of trouble.
“It’s no use kid, that poison is a part of me, it lives and breathes, just as it steals yours away” Magellan taunts, which causes a now coughing, spluttering and wheezing Luffy to begin shuffling in his direction, thinking if he could just get one good hit in on Magellan the fog would disperse. Unfortunately at this point, his brain was on the verge of shutting down on him, his body just barely able to respond to commands. He was a dead man walking, and he finally dropped to the ground unconscious.
Marine Vessel
“What’s he doing?” Hanco*ck stage whispers to Shaula, Kaos (still in Magerutete’s form) staring blankly into his mirror, which rippled like water, but more structured, rhythmic, like a pulse.
Shaula smirks “Bet you didn’t know your boytoy was a little voyeur princess? Or at least a hoverer, I doubt he told the others he could use the mirrors to monitor them, probably Luffy’s or maybe Artemis in this case, as I get the feeling this thing has a shorter range than the communication feature” she laughs then the ripples speed up and get more erratic, then still. At which point all hell breaks loose.
Kaos’s eyes bulge and pressure builds in the room, Marguerite’s form falling off him like ash. Hanco*ck’s knees buckle as if feels like both her sisters were on her shoulders while Shaula is pressed against her seat. The mirror shatters and the pieces hover, vibrating as the reflect human scowls. The energy flowing off him was technically purple but was a dark enough shade you’d be forgiven for thinking it was black. Blood dripped from his hands as his nails dug into his palms and his reflect armor bubbled in the places on his body that it had formed.
‘What do we do? If he does this any longer people will start to notice, same if I try to use my Conqueror’s on him, not that it would even be guaranteed to work, he just smirked when Luffy unleashed his’ Hanco*ck thinks, trying to come up with some sort of plan
‘Oh f*ck you Medusa, dying and leaving this mess for me to deal with, how can he be this strong this young? sh*t!’ Shaula grimaces before it all fades, Kaos’s eyes bloodshot and irritated, but more dead than anything else
“I shouldn’t do this again” he mutters, letting the shards coalesce back into a mirror “Especially not with Artemis on another island in the Calm belt at the time” he sighs, now all three of them were watching the repaired mirror with interest
Lub dub
“Oh thank f*ck” Shaula hisses, while Hanco*ck moves to sit beside Kaos, pressing herself against him to try and give comfort, and blushing as a bony hand slides across her hip, pulling her close and letting her rest her face in the crook of his neck.
“Luffy will be fine my love, believe in him” she whispers as the energy drains from the young man and his chin drops onto the crown of her head
Impel Down - Stairway to Level 5
“Are you sure about this Sir?” the guard asks
“Yup, prisoner transfer, these worthless lumps were ordered to be frozen to death down here in Level 5” Hanyabal explains, a chained up Buggy and Galdino on his tail
“This is a bad idea, we should have run when we had the chance” Buggy grumbles
“Well thanks to Magellan Level 3 is on high alert, so it’s not like we have a choice anymore” Galdino sneers, then both shiver as the door opens and the 3 are allowed in, down the stairs they went
‘This list of prisoners is giving me more questions than answers, like how Emperio Ivankov, the real name of my dear Hero Queen Iva, is crossed off the list in red ink. That can’t be the system for release or execution, can it? Not somewhere like Impel Down’ a disguised Bon Curie thinks, then turns to one of the guards assisting with the transfer “This guy here, did we release him or did he get killed by another prisoner or something?” Hanyabal asks, holding the records for the other man to see
“Hm, Ivankov, you know what happened to him, a few years ago” the man replies with an almost amused tone, but continues when Hanyabal continues to look at him blankly “Vice Warden, did you forget or something?”
“Um… that ballerina karate guy must have hit me harder than I thought, my brain is a little spacy in places” Hanyabal says with an embarrassed chuckle “Please remind me then”
“But sir there are prisoners present” another guard protests
“Don’t care, tell me right now or shut up”
“Well, every now and then, prisoners just vanish from Impel Down, we know they don’t escape, and there’s no reason to hide if they’re executed, they just… poof, gone. We come to call it demoning away, as that’s the only possible explanation for how prisoners, some who could barely even move, are suddenly gone from their cells, those missing prisoners have been dragged through the gates of Hell, and all the guards fear these unnatural events” the guard explains
‘We’re f*cked’ Buggy and Galdino think, while Bon just frowns, as this means getting to Iva may be impossible after all.
“Well, we’ve arrived at the main gateway to Level 5, I’ll take them as usual Sir” the guard says, standing beside the heavy, frost-covered door
“Take what?” Hanyabal asks in confusion
“Why you’re coat and weapons of course” the man explains “Honestly we don’t know how you do it, every time you come down here you march into Level 5 and to show the strength of the Vice Warden you go in without weapons, or even a coat, just your sheer iron will. We all admire you so much for that” the other 2 guards nod in agreement
“What!” Hanyabal bellows, while Buggy and Galdino chuckle
“Also, given it would be inappropriate otherwise, we’ll be taking the prisoners coats too” the guard adds, to the fear of the 2 idiots
“Happy trails, also Den Den’s don’t work here, because of the cold” he explains as he closes the door behind the 2 shivering pirates and Vice Warden
“Sssso Cooold”
“How ddoooes this idiot just tank this?”
“Cccccan we get the handcuffs off now?” Galdino stutters as his teeth chatter
“Yyeah, one second. Damn, I cccan barely keep my hands frrom shakking” Hanyabal shudders, but manages to unshackle Galdino and Buggy after a few attempts
“That’s a little better, oh crap” the candle man hisses as shapes appear out of the blizzard
“Wait, those aren’t Army Wolves are they?” Buggy gasps “But, shouldn’t they be on Level 2 with the other Wild Beasts from Hell?”
“They would, except they’d eat all the other beasts, including the baasilisk and the sphinx. It’s for THEIR protection” Galdino guesses/explains as the wolves get closer
“Seriously, these mangy mutts are that dangerous!” Hanyabal shouts, the wolves barrel towards them, focusing on the biggest threat, that being Hanyabal/Bentham, giving Buggy and Galdino the chance to make a break for it, not helped by the fact that the tundra of level 5 made his usual dance fighting difficult to use, meaning he was mostly dodging the wolves “Huh, I can see why they don’t need the Demon Guards down here with you beasts guarding the place, but I’ve got a Straw Boy to locate and save!”
Seeing as there was no point hiding it anymore he reverts back to his normal body “Now you beasts, it’s time to witness a power which transcends gender”
Okama Kempo…..
Yeah, given he’s still half-naked in sub-zero temperatures, that was never going to end well
“Well, that ended a lot faster than I thought it would” Galdino sighs, seeing Bentham get taken down so easily
“Yeah, and if we don’t do something quick we’ll be next. Or worse we’ll freeze to death in this place. f*ck I can’t believe I already miss the burning Hell of level 4!” Buggy shrieks
“The wind just makes it even worse, I can feel the ice forming on my skin” Galdino complains “Wait, for once a cell is a good thing, we can hide in there as shelter from the wind” the candle man declares, running, slipping and then skidding his way over, Buggy close behind.
“Well the wind isn’t blowing in here… but it’s still just as cold” Buggy whines
“Yeah, let’s try something else” Galdino sighs, then freezes as once they step out of the cell there are more wolves after them ‘sh*t’
“Crap there’s even more than before” Buggy screams as the wolves attack them “No, don’t eat me the other guy’s much tastier” he yells as he splits and dodges the hungry-looking animals
“Are you kidding? I’m a wax man I’d taste terrible, just ask the Bananagators” Galdino defends as he ducks under another wolf
“The tasty one is him!”
Elsewhere on Level 5
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“This is messed up” one prisoner grumbles “We’re just going to sit here and watch the boy die? Especially this way, via Magellan’s poisons? f*ck!”
Still, even with his body on a timer, Luffy forces himself to stand, though it didn’t do him much good as his vision constantly faded in and out of focus. Using his blunt force protection, and sheer stubbornness, Luffy proceeds to attempt to headbutt his way out of his cell, though it was probably not the best of plans as even on a good day this would be difficult, and one foot in the grave definitely wasn’t ‘a good day’. Still he slammed his body against the bars right until he slumps against it in exhaustion
“Stop, please. You can’t keep moving around like that after taking that much of Magellan’s poison” One of the prisoners state in what sounded like concern “i’m pretty sure you can’t see by this point, but can you at least hear me? Just accept your death with dignity”
“I WON’T NO!!!” Luffy screams “I’M NOT GONNA DIE till I rescue Ace!”
“How do you plan to do that kid, you’re gonna be dead in a day at most, less after all that messing around you just did” another prisoner sneers
“You can’t even save yourself never mind this other guy punk”
“You’re in prison dumbass here it’s every man for himself”
“In Level 4 you trample each other to stay out of the fire, in Level 2 you throw people to the Wild Beasts to buy yourself time to escape. Nobody does anything for anyone down here so shut the f*ck up about rescuing anyone, you make me sick boy!”
Shuffle shuffle shuffle
“Hey look, someone’s coming” a prisoner whispers
“He doesn’t look like one of the jailers, think he’s new or something?” another asks
“Wait, is that guy naked? What the hell is wrong with him?”
“Straw boy! I’ve come to rescue you! In the name of our everlasting friendship!” Bentham wheezes out, keys to the cells clenched in his shaking fist.
TBC
LW: Bon kuri to the rescue! :D Now if only he has an antidote as well as the keys, oh well.
Chapter 117: Miracle Worker Iva
Chapter Text
LW: Here he comes, the myth, the legend, the Queen… Eh you can read the chapter title :P
Rubber King & Mirror Master - Miracle Worker Iva
“The last time we saw each other, I ran, like a coward, but now I’m here” Bentham declares
“Hey kid, how do you know that guy?” one of the prisoners whisper to the face down and panting Luffy
“He’s my friend” Bentham sighs, then shouts “Straw boy, I’m not letting you die! Come on, time to go” he says as he unlocks the cell, drops the keys (he didn’t need them anymore), and moves Luffy onto a makeshift gurney, hoping to find Iva before time ran out for the boy.
“Iva? I don’t know what happened to that Twink, who would even care?” one of the guys Bantham asks replies with a sneer, prompting the man to keep moving
“Emperio Ivankov? Yeah I heard of him, the bastard’s probably dead”
“He’s been missing for ages, nobody has seen him. What do you even want with the guy? And how did you get out of your cell, get me out too!”
Again and again, nothing, hopes was running dry, until
“Yeah I know of him” one finally answers “Head into the forest, there’s an abandoned jail cell, way beyond the treeline. I saw a strange guy dancing around out there, maybe a couple months back could be him”
“Really?” Bentham hums
“Yeah, could have been him, it’s worth a shot, isn’t it? After all, you seem pretty determined, and desperate”
“True” the swan sighs then starts to lug his cargo into the woods
“But, isn’t that where the wolves live?” One prisoner asks
“Opps” the bearded man says sarcastically
And so, spurred on by Luffy’s pained moans and whimpers Bentham trudges through the snow into the forest, his only thoughts were about finding Iva and getting him to save Straw Hat.
Running into the wolves was just not his day, when they targeted him the Okama Kempo user was able to keep them away, but once they noticed the easier target of Luffy, defending him left openings for the beasts to exploit, jaws clamping down on limbs, making subsequent attacks easier to land and inflict. Well, until something strange happened
CHOMP
Chomp Hiss
Bentham looks on in confusion as a half-conscious Luffy was standing in front of him, the wolf clamped in his jaws before being thrown against the nearest tree, meanwhile, something was in his hat, striking wolves that came too close to either guy.
“What do you think you’re doing, to my friend Bon?” Luffy wheezes, his body swaying side to side “Leave. Him. ALONE!!”
Despite being on death’s door physically the pressure he unleashed may have even been stronger than the one he let out on Amazon Lilly, dropping the wolves like flies and sending shivers up and down Bentham’s spine. For a moment, they were the only living things conscious in the forest, and then both passed out, Bentham due to his injuries from the wolves (both times) and Luffy for the obvious reason of still being dosed on Magellan’s poison.
Marine ship
If Shaula thought there was anything wrong with Kaos’ mirror vibrating she didn’t comment, most likely assuming her nephew would say or do something if it was
‘That boy, really hope that’s good news for a change’ she thinks, eyes flicking over to Hanco*ck kissing and licking her way up and down the snake zoan’s neck while keeping his free hand firmly pressed to one of her breasts, sighing she shuts her eyes, deciding to take a nap like all 3 of their familiar’s
Impel Down- several hours later
“Ow my head” Bentham groans as he comes to, then notices to his confusion that he’s no longer on the verge of freezing to death “Where am I? And who treated my injuries? Not important right now, I need to find Straw Boy, his condition is more important than mine” he grimaces as he rises from the table he was lying on “I think I hear people talking, maybe they can tell me where Straw Boy is being kept” he mutters, following the sound as he walks unsteadily through the tunnel. What he didn’t expect when he reached the end and opened the door, was Okama heaven, a group of his people, all happy, eating and drinking without a care in the world
“Look who decided to join us” One says, noticing Bentham in the doorway
“You were out for ages, sit and have a drink” Another offers
“Cheers to the new boy!”
“We’ve been watching you guys, on the monitors,” a mustached, rough-looking chap with a friendly voice says “Bravo, quite the show”
“What in the world?” Bentham mumbles, his brain stalling, barely noticing the woman take his hand
“I’ll seat you, what floor did you come from again?” she asks politely
“Wait a minute,” he says snapping out of his confusion for a moment “Where the Hell am I, and where is Straw Boy?” he asks
One of the women chuckle “Oh sweetie, you don’t think you were magicked away or something do you? You’re still in Impel Down hon”
“I don’t believe that! Nobodies’ wearing prison clothes, plus they’re drinking and having a good time, do you expect me to believe there’s a slice of paradise inside the Hell that is Impel Down? Wait a minute” he stops, remembering what just happened until he passed out “I, don’t know, maybe I died and this is heaven”
“Oh you’re still alive” a woman laughs, Bentham turns and see’s she’s dressed in a split colored suit (matching her white/orange split hair and blue/red shades) and swirling a glass of wine in her left hand “You’ve just been unconscious for about 10 hours or so at this point” she hums
“10 hours! Are you kidding me? And who the hell are you?” Bentham yells
“My name is Inazuma, and given I’m the one who saved both of your asses, I’d be more polite, it’s a miracle you didn’t both die of exposure out there”
“Oh thanks for tha… you said both of us, meaning Straw Boy is here too! Where is he? Tell me!” Bentham demands
Inazuma sighs, draining her glass “Calm down, just relax and let HIM explain” she muses, turning on her heels and directing Bentham to do the same
“Him? Who him?” he asks just as the lights dim
“You might want to get a front row seat for this” Inazuma says with an audible smirk, Bentham following her to the front as the curtains rise to reveal a purple haired man in skimpy clothing and a crown on the very top of his fluffy head
“Did you sleep well little Candy Boi?” the man purrs as more lights focus on him “Or should I say, little Bon Boy?”
Bentham freezes “How, do you know who I am?”
“Hm, thank you for coming, I hear you’ve been, looking for me,” he says as music begins to play “to get here, you have to pass through the sewers of Impel Down, following paths that shouldn’t exist, to a place beyond imagination. It’s a prisoner’s par-a-dice, we’ve every pleasure you could beg for right here, drink, weapons, games, but most of all… we have freedom! Looks like the jailers are losing their tops again, prisoners are missing, must have been pulled down into Hell. Those silly little fools couldn’t be more wrong, we’re here and we’re queer! Hm, I wouldn’t exactly call this Hell, now would you? Well who knows maybe it is, but at least it’s a gay one. The secret underground where dreams come true, I bid you welcome, to Level 5.5 bitches! NewKamaland! Hehaw!” the man shouts, as he turns, revealing…
“They’re all queer like me, have I, found my place?’ Bentham thinks, then he finally notices what everyone is chanting “Wait, THAT’S Iva? The Queen of Kamabaka, the legendary Miracle worker?” he gasps “Emporio Ivankov?”
“It seems you’ve heard of me candy boy, and come looking, but whatever for?” Ivankov purrs “Such a..” before he could continue he’s interupted by someone breaking the door down
“Emperio Ivankov!” the man bellows, heftinf his cannon “I’ve been looking for you. You were the king of Kamabaka, weren’t you?” he asks, everyone looking rather panicked at the intrusion “My father, the king of my homeland, visited that island, and when he returned, he was a Queen!”
‘Hm?’
“You you have any idea of the shame that brought? His family and country were ruined by your actions, so now, I’m gonna make you pay right here, right now” he shouts, co*cking his gun
“Oh my, don’y point that at me, I’m fragile, if you shoot me I’ll die” Iva whimpers and sways, then laughs and continues bouncing around and shaking his ass like nothing had happened
“That’s our Queen”
“What a card”
“We love you Iva”
‘Well, he’s completely insane, but that’s not a deal breaker’ Bentham thinks, now curious as to what his idol will do to combat this threat, especially as he fires while Iva…
Death Wink
…somehow sends it right back at him, blasting him into the wall, then while he recovers Iva leaps across the room until he’s standing over the pirate, his fingertips transforming into claws, or needles before spiking them into the man’s chest
Emporio Estrogen
“What did you, oh God, what’s happen…” Bellett panics as Ivankov’s power runs through them, his beard receding and body compressing, losing mass, or maybe more redistributing it
“You’re throwing a fit because your Daddy wanted to be a woman” Iva laughs “What’s wrong with that? 2 mothers and one son, 2 fathers and one daughter it makes no difference you’re all still family right?” he asks almost mockingly as the transformation concludes, a cute and petit woman now whimpering at his feet
“WHAT! He, how?” Bentham’s brain needed a moment, while the residents of Level 5.5 were used to Iva’s powers so just cheered him on, another job well done for the Hormone Queen
“You can become a woman, or become a man heehaw. Or even be both, no need to stick to one lane right? Heehaw!” Ivonkov husks winking at his subjects “What you call gender’s just a label, one I and all those down here have no use for heehaw. Everyone here has crossed that silly border and made more because of it. You’re looking at the new human race: NEWKAMA!!!! This is the garden of Freedom! Newkama Land! Heehaw”
“He turned that guy into a woman! The stories are true, he really IS the miracle worker” Bentham gasps, his brain finally rebooting, before rushing to the man and dropping to his knees
“Hm, well this is interesting, something to say Bon boy?” Iva says with a grin
“It’s an honor to meet you Iva, I never stopped believing you were still alive! I’m so glad I found you, you have no idea. If you’d allow me, I have a favor to ask you”
“A favor?” Ivonkov hums, curious
“My friend was poisoned by Magellan, no antidote will work on him, you’re his only hope! Please there’s nothing I can do to help my friend, I’ll do anything even give you my life just please help him!” Bentham begs, his bowed head missing his idol’s eyes widen at the offer
“I presume you’re talking about Straw Boy then” Ivonkov asks, shocking Bentham “Come with me, maybe you can stop his hat trying to bite my subordinate,” he says, turning to leave the room, Bentham following, confused by hopeful “Tell me Bon boy, do you know why we took you out of the cold of Level 5 and treated your injuries?”
“No, I’m grateful, but I guess I’ve had other things on my mind” the swan admits
“We are still prisoners down here, we don’t have the means or resources to just take in and treat anyone we find out they're injured and or dying. We’re also not nearly so kind. I took you in and healed you, because your friend begged me to do so”
Bentham’s eyes widen “Straw hat did what?! But he was in a much worse state than I, why would he be worried about me at a time like this?”
“Maybe he was sure he had no chance, all I know is what he told me, that you are his friend, and he didn’t want you to die because of him” Ivonkov shrugs “Of course, if I left such a pure soul to die I’d be no better than a demon in human form… so I also began his treatment 10 hours ago just like yours, but it’s gonna be Hell for him, he might wish he’d died before it’s over. Now if only I could get that damn hat to calm down” he grumbles the last part
Bentham blinks “His hat? What’s wrong with it!”
“It’s alive, somehow, Inazuma has the fang marks to prove it”
“Alive?” he repeats, then remembers something “Something did come out of it while we were on Level 5, though I thought it was my imagination or just delirium from blood loss, but something was attacking those wolves and it came from his hat” Bentham agrees
“Indeed. There’s nothing we can do to help Straw Boy at the moment, all we can do is listen to him scream, so maybe we can deal with this while we wait” Ivonkov sighs, leading Bon away from the door, and to the room containing the straw hat, at which point the answer to the question was clear
“Is there supposed to be a snake in his hat?” Bon asks
“Probably, otherwise I sure don’t know where it came from”
“Hm” Bentham looks at the silvery shimmering creature, open hood like a cobra as it hissed and growls, at those eyes filled with anger, and concern? “Oh my. You’re Straw Boy’s brother aren’t you, not the one he’s trying to save but the one on his crew? I’m deeply sorry, he was poisoned by Magellan Iva is trying to cure him otherwise he’ll be dead in less than a day” the okama explains, the snake tilts its head, then melts into the mirror, as mismatched eyes snap open.
Shaula is awoken when Hanco*ck yelps as she drops to the ground, Kaos having stood up causing her to fall off his lap as his tail picked up his mirror. Moving everything off the tray the marines had left them tea on, he taps the mirror with his reflect armored fingertip, causing it to melt and flow onto the surface of the metallic tray “Repeat that, and then explain everything” he growls, both women looking over his shoulders to see Bon Kuri and Ivonkov staring back at them
Bentham swallows thickly, a little unnerved by the harsh glare he was receiving, partly due to Kaos not wearing his shades since leaving Amazon Lily, but also he’d not seen the elder straw hat since Alabasta before Enaru gave him the scar around his eye
“Straw Boy picked a fight with Magellan, he has the Doku Doku no mi and so he was poisoned. I did everything I could but there’s no antidote for the dose he was given, he would have died within a day” Bentham explains, Shaula and Hanco*ck getting concerned when cracks begin forming along the edges of the reflection “So I went looking for Iva the miracle worker to heal him. It’s… a work in process”
“I gave him a full dose of my Healing Hormone treatment, it was the only thing that has even a chance of saving the lad. But even then, if Straw Boy’s will isn’t strong enough Mirror Boy, he’ll die no matter what I do to him” Iva adds/explains, weathering the emotional storm as a Revolutionary should, but was as surprised as everyone when Kaos stopped, his hands even unclenched, and his shoulders started to shake “Is he ok?”
“I believe so” Hanco*ck begins to reply only to be interrupted by maniacal laughter, Emporio shivers seeing the madness twinkle in the young man’s eyes, even after all these years since he’d had to work with Cipher and Asura it was still ingrained in his memory
“Sesese, well then I’ll tell you this Horu, Luffy’s will is kerioseki, it’s unbreakable so that poison doesn’t stand a chance. Also, the boy doesn’t enter a fight he doesn’t believe he can win, probably why the crew was shocked the one time he told us to just run” Kaos smirks, though there was no humor in his eyes “How long?”
“He’s been under its effects for the last 10 hours, and will be for another 2 days”
“Then he failed. Ace will be on the execution platform long before then, and while I’ll do my best from here, it will break his heart to know he did all this, for nothing” Kaos sighs “Also, word of warning, when he’s done with this treatment, he’s going to eat you out of house and home” he gives a half-smile “Good luck, I’ll keep watching” he says before severing the connection, the Mirror Viper will keep him up to date in case he needs it.
“So, what next?” Hanco*ck asks, trying to not think about what none of them drew attention to… the blood-curdling screams in the background
“Nothing has changed on our end, Marineford here we come” he groans, pinching the bridge of his nose then leaning back against the chair, you’d almost think he was tranquil, if not for the humming, oh God both Kuja hope it’s not what they think it is
‘...You will bring joy to the Nowhere King. When he sees the light leaving your eyessss’
Level 5.5
“Mirror boy was correct I ate the Horu Horu no mi, allowing me to alter the hormones of anyone I see” Ivonkov explains to Bentham, leading the swan back to the main room as there was nothing they could actually do for Luffy besides listening to his screaming, meaning the best option was to just leave him be until he was done “I can change their sex, body temp, skin color even their emotions, with this I can remodel people from the inside out, like an engineer for the human body, quite the fabulous power don’t you think. The Candies have all made use of my fruit to really kick gender in its flat ass don’t you think? Some men became women, some women became men, but all those hang-ups are a thing of the past!” he cheers, downing his booze “in short, those are the kind of miracles we deal with around here, I just provide the hormones to make them work, everyone else provides the dream!”
“Oh yes, that was what you did to that man earlier, you gender-swapped him, ugh her?” Bentham nods then groans “I still can’t believe this place is hidden inside a prison it must be a dream” then grunts in pain due to one of Ivonkov’s Hell Winks
“It’s not a dream, it’s a dreamland!” Iva shouts “All these candies were once lost prisoners who stumbled their way into these tunnels all on their own. You see, there are hidden entrances to Newkama land on every floor of Impel Down, you just need to know where to look. There’s one at the bloody mountain of needles, one in the Den of wild beasts, one in the burning Hellfire, there’s even one in the mortuary, and of course one in the ice forest of Level 5, where we brought you 2 in. We use these handy dandy passages to go wherever we want in the prison in order to get whatever we need” Ivonkov explains “A paradise existing in the bowels of Hell itself, why the jailers wouldn’t believe such a thing exists Hahahaha! And despite living in our little hidey-hole we still keep up to date on the goings-on in the prison, we have a line to the Visual Den Dens’ the same one’s the jailers use, that way we’re in the know on all that’s happening inside the prison, like Straw boy’s little excursion, thought until I saw Hanco*ck was working with him, how he got in first and foremost remained a mystery to me. We also steal newspapers from the garbage to keep up with the rest of the world”
“But this place is massive, I’m not even sure where the Hell we are” Bentham groans
“Oh, this place wasn’t always here I assure you. Someone with a tunneling Devil fruit started it years back, then let others in on the secret and they started building this place up from scratch together. If you could see what this place from the outside it would look like an ant farm tunneled into the rock. As for our exact location, it’s smack bang between Levels 5 and 6, hence the name”
“Wait a minute! Level 6, is real?” Bentham gasps, which has Ivonkov grinning
“Oh it’s real alright, it’s where the prisoners the World isn’t meant to know about go, the perpetrators of crimes they’ve covered up for one, as well as people who do things that make the Government look bad, like your friend Straw Boy both for Enise Lobby and this break-in, and the attack that got you put here in the first place, one of the Government’s own Warlords attacking the home of a World Noble, for shame! Everyone down there is on a life sentence without parole, it’s why Level 6’s moniker is the ‘Eternal Hell. Though, speaking of your little excursion, if Straw Boy had arrived a little sooner, things might not have been so easy for him”
“Easy, the boy is currently on the brink of death, how could it be worse?” Bentham screams
“Because the worst guard ever stationed here, is currently locked up in Level 6 with the rest of the scum of society as they say. The now-former Jail Manager of Impel Down, Shiriyu of the Rain, and for the record he was about as strong as Warden Magellan, though the Warden probably inches ahead thanks to his Devil fruit of course” Iva chuckles then continues “Then again, given Magellan spends most of the day on the sh*tter in terms of how much trouble Shiryu was for the prisoners he was twice as bad as the Warden”
‘That’s impossible, Magellan is inhuman how can there be another just as strong?’
“I mean security is pretty good nowadays, but back then it was practically airtight, definitely watertight. But the bastard was a sad*st with a murder boner larger than the demon guards, he killed prisoners left right and center for the smallest offense, so Magellan had to lock him up, in the darkest corner of, as I mentioned previously Level 6”
“Incredible, I mean I know all this happened before I got here, but still I’ve heard nothing…” Bentham muses aloud, only to be interrupted by Ivonkov
“He’s in good company too though, Catarina Davon, the most dangerous woman, Sanjuan Wolf, the Great Battleship, Heavy Drinker Vasco Shot, and even Cipher, the grand manipulator. All these names send shivers down the spines of those who hear them, hence why they’re in the one place they can never leave” Iva explains “Half the sh*t they’ve done, was so bad the newspapers didn’t dare cover it, as well as a few things they did, like your former Boss for one”
“Crocodile’s on Level 6?” Bentham squeaks then pauses “That, honestly makes a lot of sense, where else would you put someone like that?”
“True. Speaking of, back in Alabasta you were on the other side of Straw Hat’s fists, and look at you now” Iva chuckles as he eats
“Technically straw hat and I never fought, it was the cook and a nut shot from his brother pretending to be All Sunday. But anyway, it doesn’t matter I’m straw boy’s friend so I’m not going anywhere”
“Straw Hat really is a card turning enemies into allies so easily. Oh, and there’s another Warlord down there too at the moment, Son of the Sea Jimbe”
“Huh? Seriously?”
“Yup, and that other boy, the one Straw Hat is here to save… 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates: Portgas D. Ace, the Fire Fist. It was mentioned over the radio, they’re brothers correct?”
“That’s what I’d heard too, saving his brother is Straw Boy’s one goal”
“It’s ballsy to think he could break in and a miracle that he managed to, but unfortunately it doesn’t really matter right now. The lad has to save himself first, and we don’t even know if he can do that. And even if he can, Ace is set to be executed at 3pm this afternoon, like Mirror boy said, he’s out of time” Iva sighs and takes another drink “They’ll be transferring him sometime this morning, it’s already past midnight so at most he has 8 hours. Straw Boy needs another 2 days of treatment and probably I’d guess 3 more to regain his strength, looks like the trip was a waste after all”
“Are you insane he can’t take 2 more days of that did you see how bad he looked after only 10 hours!”
“I already told you, there’s nothing we can do and the boy’s chances are extremely low anyway so all we can do is let things run their course. Anyway, Straw Boy’s not the only one who needs rest, you had quite an ordeal yourself and are also in recovery, eat something nutritious and go back to bed Candy boy” Iva half orders as Bentham starts to walk off, then stops
“Screw that I’m staying with Straw Hat!” he shouts
“Relax buddy, no need to get aggressive”
“There’s little hope anyway, Straw Hat’s not going to last the night”
“It won’t do any good” the Candies argue
Bentham scoffs, then turns and storms out, all the while Iva watches with a smirk, Inazuma just out of sight
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH” by now the screams were truely inhuman, and almost endless
‘Please Straw Boy, you need to hold on, for yourself, and for Ace’ Bentham thinks, as he gets into a stable position and shouts as loud as he can “HANG IN THERE! YOU CAN DO THIS! FIGHT WITH ALL YOUR HEART STRAW BOY! HANG IN THERE, YOU CAN WIN THIS!” he chants, putting all his energy into cheering on his friend, hoping it will give the rubber boy the extra push he needs
This continued for about 3 hours, during which Luffy screamed in pain and Bentham cheered his little heart out, until the man finally collapsed, his body too weak to stand, but he continued to wheeze out his support, at which point some of the Candies had come to check on him, though before they could help him up they were stopped by Ivonkov
“Leave him be! The poor lad, Bon boy can’t help his friend so the only thing he can do is cheer from the sidelines. Straw Hat’s odds are pretty low if a cheer can help even a little then let him cheer, and if it doesn’t, well, at least he won’t die alone, he’ll have a friend with him for his final moments” he explains as Bentham pulls himself to his feet, stumbling a little but ultimately succeeding “They’re already passed the limits of human endurance, of pain. But that’s what it takes to create a Miracle!”
“For over 10 hours now” Bentham pants “Straw boy has been fighting against destiny, fighting for his life. And if he’s not giving up yet, then Neither Shall I!” he declares, even though he’s holding himself up by holding the chains on the door in a death grip “I’ll keep cheering till the bitter end!”
“So please hang in there! Hang in there! You have to live Straw Boy!” he cheers, the others beginning to follow suit
“Hang in there Straw Hat!”
“You can do it kid!”
“We believe in you!”
Warden’s office
“Warden Magellan sir I bring terrible news from the staff on Level 5. Straw Hat Luffy, has disappeared” a guard relays, Magellan for once not on the toilet but actually at his desk
“HE WHAT?!”
Level 5.5 - 4 hours later
“Hang in there Straw Boy!”
“Keep fighting little man”
“You can do it!”
“Hang in there!”
Level 6
“Ace, I don’t know much about that woman, but I advise you to at least consider, that she was lying to you” Jimbe says, seeing how much the thought of Luffy being here was upsetting the boy
“You really think anyone would go to this much trouble, just to bullsh*t me like that?” Ace scoffs “No, she knew too much, about my brothers and my niece to simply be lying to me, meaning Luffy’s here somewhere, and Kaos is at Marineford, the lanky dumbass” he sighs
Jimbe hums “I suppose it boils down to who are you more willing to believe, the Pirate Empress Boa Hanco*ck…”
“Who by her own words has gotten her heart stolen by my little brother and his adopted daughter” Ace adds
“... or the guards of Impel Down?” the whale shark finishes
Ace groans “When you put it like that it’s obvious. My crazy, idiot brother’s in Impel Down, and my slightly less idiotic but even more insane little brother is at Marineford because he knows our idiot will fail at busting me out”
5.5
“The screams, they’ve stopped”
“Look, is that blood?”
Ivonkov grimaces as yes blood did appear to have leaked out from under the door “With how excruciating the treatment is… I fear silence, is a grim message” he bites his lip, as the message was caught by Bon and the Candies who started to cry and mourn ‘Pity, he lasted 20 hours of that torment. Poor kid’
BANG. BANG.
Pounding on the door after the person is supposed to be dead, that really sent some of the Candies into shock
“He’s alive!” Bentham cheers, tears streaming down his face
“MEEEEAAAATTTTT!” Luffy bellows, shaking some of the crowd to their bones, but also starting them cheering once they realized what his demand meant… Luffy was cured!
A little later
“Well, you were right, Straw Boy’s eating up all the meat we can find for him, the rest of us are going to have to learn to live on fruit and veg at least until the next supply run” Ivonkov sighs as he talks to Kaos through the snake, which nods in agreement
“Of course I was, Luffy would never lose in a battle of wills. But I was also wrong because you miscalculated. By your estimations, Luffy should have taken 2 and a half days, more or less to be purged of the toxins, but he did it in less than one”
“I know but I can’t explain it! The boy should be dead, or still screaming but he’s fine, hungry but fine. Speaking of, how were you wrong?”
“Luffy hasn’t failed yet, he can still rescue Ace, or if not, follow him to Marineford and meet up with Hanco*ck, Shaula, and I to help Whitebeard get back our big brother. Though, there may be one more thing I can do to help you out, as thanks for saving Luffy and all. I don’t suppose one of you or your Candies’? Has a large mirror by any chance?”
Iva grins, Inazuma hums “Oh I think we have a few lying around. This should be a fun ride don’t you think my dear?” he asks as the snake melts back into the mirror once more
TBC
LW: So, Luffy’s ok, meat really is the best medicine and he’s running low on time but Ace is still in the building, he can still win this, maybe?
For those wondering: Mirror Viper is for lack of a better term a prototype as well as Kaos stretching the limit of what he can do with his fruits at the current time. It’s basically a Den Den in a mirror, but it’s a snake, therefore he has several of his characteristics as well. For an image, look up Evox from Power Rangers, but silver&purple scales, and Kaos’ eyes.
Also fun fact, which I’d have mentioned sooner if I’d checked it out sooner, but RKMM is more than half the length of the HP book series, at least based on word count.
Chapter 118: Breakout time, Chasing Ace
Chapter Text
LW: So, now Luffy’s recovered, we can make the final leg of the journey, to Level 6, before the even more important part of this mission… getting back OUT of Impel Down
Rubber King & Mirror Master: Break out time, Chasing Ace!
“Glad to see you’re doing well Lu, heard you looked like death warmed over last I checked in” Kaos chuckles, once again hidden as Margeurite as she peers from the other side of the mirror “Though I’m also glad you didn’t call 3 hours ago, or else only Shaula would have been around to pick up”
Luffy blinks “Why? Were you sleeping or something?” he asks curiously, having a bad feeling when Kaos smiles, his grin too wide for the blond Kuja’s face
“No, just Hanco*ck was establishing her alibi of failing successfully, also she screams like she’s being murdered while getting assf*cked, in my defense, she jumped me, not my fault it went in the wrong hole”
“I’m really confused, what does Hanco*ck finally getting to play with your dick got to do with her alibi?” Luffy asks confused, to which Kaos sighs
“Even you noticed, meaning probably everyone did. Boa’s alibi for helping us out, was she tried to seduce me and failed, she was in turn seduced and convinced to help us rescue Ace. As I said, failed successfully, given she still got f*cked. Also for a naive virgin, the girl now has a laundry list of kinks” Kaos grins proudly
“Does it count as beasti*al*ty if they’re part human?” Luffy asks with a wink
“Do you mean minks or zoans? Either way, f*ck if I know. Good luck Luffy, if this doesn’t turn out, get to Marineford pronto, understand?”
Luffy rolls his eyes “Yeah yeah no need to repeat yourself mom I remember”
“Good, now go kick ass, I’ll see you this afternoon” Kaos winks as the mirror ripples and changes back to normal
“Quite a strange lad Mirror boy. If it wasn’t for the Empress and Shaula I’d have thought him the Candyman the first time we met” Iva chuckles ‘Though given his father’s reputation and stoicism, it’s no wonder Straw boy doesn’t even notice the aura of death and insanity Mirror boy gives off’
“Makes sense, he can be kind of intimidating to outsiders, especially given you probably called to tell him I was on the brink of death” Luffy shrugs “So, how do we save Ace? And is Bon ok?”
“The lad is doing as best he can, given he was screaming for nearly 10 hours while deeply in need of healing himself” Inazuma grunts, annoyed the boy didn’t listen to him and just get some rest “But he’ll recover”
“We’re heading down to Level 6 now Straw Boy, and then best case scenario we sneak Ace out into the tunnel system, move him to Level 1 and then all make a break for it that way” Iva explains as the 2 start walking
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“We try head them off at the top floor, given that’s the only way OUT of Impel Down, good thing the elevator runs at a snails pace ay” Ivonkov muses then calls out “All citizens of NewKama, we’re rescuing Ace and breaking out of the hellhole, TODAY! Everyone get moving we don’t have much time to prepare, Straw Boy and I should be back with Ace boy shortly, let’s go!”
“Yes boss!”
“We best get moving Str…ah crap” he hisses seeing Luffy collapse behind him “He really shouldn’t be moving around so soon after his treatment, but given he’s too stubborn to actually sit down…” Ivankov sighs before activating his fruit to inject Luffy once more
Emporio Energy Synthesis
“That should be enough adrenaline to keep you going for about a day, we’ll need you fighting at the best you can give today Straw boy. As a warning you’ll feel the side effects in a couple days, though hopefully it won’t matter by then” Iva says as Luffy gets a handle on his now surging energy levels
Elevator
“You’re Late. Sir”
“And you’re annoying when you’re strict with me Domino” Magellan grumbles as they descend to Level 6
“Then please evacuate your bowels with more haste next time, Ace’s execution can’t be postponed and we can’t be the reason he’s late also. He must be at the front gate by 9 am or Impel Down’s reputation will suffer”
The Warden grunts “Fine, fine. Stop nagging me woman”
Level 5
“I DON’T KNOW WHY, BUT I’VE GOT A CRAP TON OF ENERGY!” Luffy shouts as he runs through the snowy hellscape like a roadrunner on acid, clearly having either ignored, or just not heard Ivonkov’s explanation
“Good, you’re going to need it, we can’t waste even a moment if you want this hairbrained scheme of yours to actually work” Inazuma grunts, his wine glass held level even while running
“This level has no human security, so keep that pace going Straw boy and we might actually make it!” Ivankov agrees, all 3 gunning for the exit to Level 5 and the next part of the gauntlet.
The army wolves tried, but they were no match for a hyped up Luffy, Inazuma kicking one like it was a disobedient pup and what few didn’t get the message were sent flying with a single ‘Death Wink’ from Iva, so there really was nothing stopping those 3 from getting out of there.
“Open the Door!” Iva orders, his 2nd nods and gets them into the stairwell
“They’ll be monitoring us from here on out, be careful Straw Hat” he says flatly
“DON’T CARE LET THEM SEE, THEY ALREADY KNOW I’M HERE FOR ACE!” Luffy bellows as he practically jumps down the stairs, the other 2 close behind
Up at the monitoring station the guards were freaking out, where the f*ck had Emporio Ivankov come from, they’d given up looking for the bastard after he disappeared, and Luffy should be dead after his poison bath from Magellan! While not as big a deal, panic over South Blue native and Revolutionary (as well as another Demoning incident prisoner) Inazuma was still understandable. Once Hanyabal was informed he scrambled all the guards available, hoping to buy time for Sadie and the Demon Guards to get down there, honestly, it would have worked… except Luffy was too strong and too hyped up on Adrenaline to do more than quite literally barrel through the ordinary human guards, the 2 revolutionaries didn’t have to do anything more than run down and look impressed if there had been any doubt this boy was Dragon’s kid… it was long gone by now.
Level 6
“ACE!!!!” Luffy screams as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, then stops, unsure what more he was to do.
“We made it, Level 6, home of the worst of the worst” Inazuma notes as he and Ivonkov stop just behind him
“Hence it’s name, Eternal Hell. Honestly surprised they put Ace boy down here when they were going to Execute him, people that get sent down here… don’t ever come out” Iva muses
Luffy pauses for a moment, then resumes screaming “ACE! Where are you? It’s your brother! I’m here to save you! Can you hear me? ACE!”
Iva sighs “The direct approach doesn’t seem to be working sweetie, that’s why I brought this” he says, waving around one of the few guards him and Luffy didn’t knock unconscious on the way down “Where’s Ace boy little Candy?”
“I ain’t telling you freaks anything” the guard shouts, though he was clearly shaking in Ivaonkov’s grasp, until he dropped him
“Pity. Guess we need to be more open with each other, and ourselves” he grins as the guard scrambles back
“What are you…”
Emporio Estrogen
“Wow, he turned him into a girl” Luffy gasps, having missed the explanation of Iva’s Devil fruit due to trying to not die of poisoning earlier
“It’s the you, you always wished you could be” Iva purrs, pulling a compact from his outfit and opening it so she could see
“Is that me? I’m… beautiful” the now female jailer gushes
“You’ve been reborn little Candy, you’re no longer a jailer, you’re a Newkama!” Ivonkov declares, both him and the new woman cheer
“This is wonder, I don’t know what I’ve been doing all my life. Oh how can I possibly repay you Iva?” she asks
“Oh think nothing of…”
“Where’s Ace?” Luffy interrupts, having more important things to worry about
“Oh, just down that way, should take less than 5 minutes walking, so you’ll see him in like a minute if you run” he girl responds almost automatically, smiling as Luffy rushed past her
“Thanks Candy!”
‘ZZZ’ Jimbe snores, until he’s woken up by yelling
“ACE! Where is he? He should be here” Luffy mutters as he stops outside the fishman’s cell
“This is where you told us, are you sure this was where they kept Ace?” Iva asks
“Yes, he was here an hour ago when I started my shift” the jailer cries
“It seems, we’re a little late. Shame” Inazuma sighs
Jimbe’s eyes widen ‘It’s him, she was telling the truth. Straw hat, you did the impossible, not only broke in, but made it to Level 6’ “You there boy, you’re Straw Hat, correct?”
Luffy blinks “Um, yes. Why?”
“You’re a minute late, they’re moving him to the elevator, you can still catch him if you hurry!” Jimbe yells
“Thanks… but who are you?”
“Do my eyes deceive me, it’s you!” Iva gasps
“Eh, we’ll worry about it later. Thanks whoever you are, now let’s get Ace back!” Luffy declares, running for the elevator
“So that’s Straw Hat Luffy. I like him” Cipher hums, grinning widely
Jimbe huffs “Of course you would, this plan of his was so crazy it shouldn’t have worked, yet here he is, Level 6 of Impel Down”
“There’s the elevator shaft, Ace is just above us” Inazuma states
“The controls are jammed, we’re not getting it to come back down that’s for sure” Iva groans after heaving agains the gears and getting nothing
“Then we’ll just have to climb up” Luffy decides after a moment
CRASH
Only for a spike trap to descend, taking the chains and ropes with it into the black abyss
Iva sighs “Of course, nothing’s ever easy in this place is it? Well, plan B it is then, back to the stairs!” he orders, the 3 turning on their heels and running once more, until a cage drops down blocking them off from the staircase
“Hey no fair!” Luffy whines
“They’re trying to trap us down here, and it’s working… so far” Iva scowls “Guess we’ll have to break through”
“Let’s go… what now?” Luffy groans as gas starts to be pumped down from above
“Is it poison, or flamable?” Inazuma wonders aloud
“Don’t know, don’t care, just try and stop me…..” Luffy rushes forward and passes out, lightly snoring
“He didn’t even give it a 2nd thought, jeez kid at least try to stay alive I like my organs where they are! Inside me!” Iva screams
“Sleeping gas, trying to take us out without a fight, spineless cowards” Inazuma spits
Top floor
“Well, what do you know, Straw Hat actually managed to make it to Level 6, almost immediately after we left. Bad luck and poor timing for you” Magellan taunts, having just received a report from the relay station
Ace’s eyes widen, he had hoped Hanco*ck was lying, even though a part of him knew she wasn’t ‘Luffy’
“It’s all over, the emergency Sleeping Gas as been released, Straw hat won’t be able to escape it for long” Magellan continues “Apparently the Freezing Hell wasn’t enough for him, luckily the cell you were just in now has a vacancy”
Ace turns, looking back at the elevator “Luffy” he whispers, his heart clenching
“Hey, nobody told you to stop, get moving prisoner!” a guard orders.
For a moment it looked like Ace was going to comply… then he thought ‘f*ck that’ and kicked the guy in the face, then started a brawl with the assembled regular guards, even managing to steal one of their pitchforks. All because the concentration of seastone in his cuffs neutralized his powers, without draining him (probably so they could make him walk to his execution, rather than carry his ‘one foot in the grave’ ass to the platform and prop him up before killing him), meaning he was still capable of fighting these weaklings. Magellan on the other hand, he was able to snap the pitchfork and then pin Ace to the ground rather easily “I’d advise against that, resistance is pointless at this point” he drones as the gates close on the elevator shaft “Your brother is a pirate, he was doomed the second he entered this place”
‘Though, it is worrying, he shouldn’t have been able to survive the amount of poison I used on him, and especially not recovered this quickly. What are you Straw Hat? How are you still ALIVE!?’
Level 6
“What the hell is that 2toned f*cker doing?”
“He’s cutting stone like it’s made of paper!”
“Now he’s tossing them up like a ribbon”
“I don’t know what just happened but it worked”
‘Guess I didn’t need clean air after all’
Iva chuckles as Inazuma halts the flow of gas coming down to Level 6 “My dear friend ate the Choki Choki no mi, so now they’re a Scissor Human. They can manipulate anything they cut like it’s made of paper”
“Sounds neat, Kaos will want to chat after all this is over” Luffy muses then yawns “So, now what if the elevator and the stairs are cut off?”
“Now, we admit Magellan and his demon guards have us beat. We gave it a good try Straw Boy, but they’ve no doubt reached the top floor and handed him off by now. Even if we could leave Level 6 that still puts all of Impel Down’s Allstars between us and Ace boy”
“Maybe considering the backup plan as the new plan now would be tactically sound” Inazuma suggests “Sure we still can’t get out, but getting out of here with intent to get to Marineford is much more aceiveable than getting out of here and saving Ace before he steps onto one of the battleships outside”
“Plus, check the Vivre card, it’s not pointing straight up anymore is it?” Iva asks, Luffy doing so and scowls, he was right “That means he’s left the prison, and is either being passed over, or already on board a ship bound for HQ.”
Luffy stares at the tiny scrap that remained of Ace’s Vivre card then clenches his fist “We’re going to Marineford, I don’t care what it takes I’m saving him!”
“Good to see you’ve made a decision, but we still need a way off of this floor” Inazuma points out
“Hahaha, if you want out that badly, then set me free” the 3 turn, seeing Crocodile standing in the cell beside them “I’ll make a hole in the ceiling for you to escape from”
Luffy’s eyes bulge ‘Crocodile! sh*t, why did it have to be him?’
“Oh yeah, Blofeld sure seems trustworthy ay Iva?” the Revolutionary freezes, swallowing thickly as standing behind them, was Cipher “Enjoying the hospitality of Level 6? it’s so good you never want to leave Kifififi”
“How did you get out?”
“Always could, had nowhere to go” the former Demon eye shrugged, the pointed behind him to the bars of his cell, now missing a triangle of material which was now pooling on the floor as molten slag “So we letting out the one person who’s even more of a safety hazard than me kid?” he grins, referring to the fact despite everything, Crocodile was allowed to keep his oversized hook on him.
[Also while writing this realized that unless those restraints are seastone, Crocodile should be able to slip out of them by turning his arms into sand and then reforming when they hit the ground]
The logia laughs “You know until Ace showed up I didn’t have the motivation to even consider escaping, but hearing about how Whitebeard and the Navy are going to war with each other, sounds like the perfect time for me to kill the old bastard. You want out straw hat, and I have the tools to do so. All you have to do is let me out. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours, simple as”
“If it helps, just because he tries, doesn’t mean he has any chance of even injuring never mind killing Newgate” Cipher whispers to Luffy, who while suspicious of the new guy, did at least agree with his statement, not that it mattered….
“Go f*ck yourself with that damn hook, you nearly killed me multiple times and wrecked my wife’s homeland to the point of near collapse. Level 6 might actually be too good for you” Luffy growls
“Alabasta is long behind me that place means nothing anymore” Crocodile shrugs
“Whatever your personal feelings are Straw Boy, we can’t exactly turn away help. If Nim can help us I say let him” Iva says with a wink, Crocodile twitches as Luffy shouts his disapproval “Relax kid, as long as we keep an eye on him we should be fine, if he does try to double cross us, i’ll handle it. Croc’s a scoundral, but he’s one with secrets only I know, and one’s I have no reason to share, unless he gives me a reason to…”
“Shut your mouth Ivankov!” Crocodile shouts
“Oh, this is getting fun” Cipher laughs
“What about him?” Luffy asks, fairly neutral to the blond
“Well he earned his pass to Level 6, but like I said we can’t exactly turn away someone who wants to help, even if he’s an unrepentant psychopath” Iva sighs
“Relax kid I’ll be on my best behavior, my old crew were allied with Newgate, him going to war seems like the perfect time to reunite don’t ya think?”
Luffy hums “As long as you help me rescue Ace you can come”
“Thank you Straw boy” he grins widely, making a gesture like tipping a hat to him then frowns “Never mind”
“Straw hat, please have mercy” the group turn to Ace’s old cell “I beg you, please release me and allow me to leave with you. I’ve known your brother since he joined the whitebeard pirates, he’s a good friend, and I would do anything to assist Whitebeard in ending this conflict”
“He’s telling the truth kid, him and Ace were pretty chatty while they were down here, they seemed like old friends, and he is the only person down here besides me who doesn’t want to die by Whitebeard’s hand, aka dumb enough to try to kill the big guy” Cipher argues in Jimbe’s defense
Luffy stares down the fishman for a couple minutes before nodding “Let him out”
Inazuma blinks “Are you sure, you never even met this guy before and all you know is that if he’s down here he’s clearly dangerous”
“Don’t care, if he’s Ace’s friend he should be a good help. Besies it’ll be fine, just let the guy out already”
“You have my gratitude,” Jimbe says gruffly, but that was just his voice
Inazuma turns to Iva who nods, giving him the ok to snip snip the Fishman and both former warlords free of their bonds, while Cipher dealt with a few rowdy prisoners who didn’t understand they weren’t getting out of here
“2 Warlords, well former Warlords added to the team, as well as the Grand Manipulator himself. Quite the recruitment drive ay Straw hat?” the scissor man muses
“Wait fishguy is a Warlord like Crocodile and Hanco*ck?”
“I was until I refused to take part in this war, which is what got me thrown in here in the first place. You won’t regret freeing me Straw hat, I will do everything in my power to rescue Ace, even lay down my life for his” Jimbe states with fierce determination and conviction
“Eh whatever, if you think you can stop the war be my guest, as long as I get a shot at the old bastard whitebeard I don’t give a f*ck what you do after we get out of here” Crocodile shrugs
“If you think I’d let you lay a hand on White…”
“Oh Jinbe, as if Newgate needs a minnow like you to save him from someone like Crocodile” Cipher interrupts, laughing maniacally
“Well, with that settled, let’s get out of here. With a team this formidable not even Impel down can hold us. Yeehaw!” Iva cheers
“Bye assholes, see you Bullet don’t kill everyone while I’m gone” Cipher waves, getting a disinterested grunt from the mountain of a man in the farthest cell while Crocodile and Inazuma get the escape route open
Level 5.5 a little later
“I don’t know how you got such good cigars in this sh*thole Iva, but thanks” Crocodile hums as he was being fitted for a new outfit, Cipher meanwhile gushing over his new top hat, the black suit with a slight tail, the inner panel a golden yellow and the lovely new bowtie made him feel like his old self again, and as long as he wasn’t killing his Candies Ivonkov was fine with keeping the fruitloop happy. Besides his energy and enthusiasm were doing wonders for morale :D
Iva nods then turns to his current ‘patient’ “Are you sure about this Bon Boy, my energy hormone only works for a day, there will be severe side effects when you crash” he explains, wanting Bentham to be as informed as he could before being injected
“I understand, but it's my only option. Especially given I can’t actually move from this spot without it” Bentham replies
“Good point, the only other option is I carry you, which I won’t,” Iva comments as he activates his Devil fruit
Emporio Energy Synthesis
“Oh, right in the ging gang goolies, Iva you bastard!” Cipher laughs as Bon screams in pain, then leaps up in a surge of energy
Level 5
“Everyone ready? Good. Now I need to remind you that even if we make it to the top floor we’ll still have one Hell of a fight on our hands” Ivankov explains to the shivering masses “We’re in the Calm belt, meaning the only way we’ll be going anywhere is if we steal a navy ship along the way. Plus that’s the only way they’d let any ship near their headquarters given they’re about to go to war so security will be extra tight. We’ll also need more men, because as we are, all of us surviving to Level 1 is a fantasy, so as we ascend we let loose as many prisoners as we can, whether we like them or not they’re our ticket out of here, as well as easy cannon fodder. So on every floor step one is letting those boys out to cause as much mayhem for the jailers as we can, then moving up to do it all over again. Newkama’s gonna wreck Impel Down so hard they’ll feel it down on Level 6! Heehaw!” Iva shouts, the crowd cheering alongside him “You ready Straw boy?” he asks, then turns to see now Luffy whatsoever
“Oh the kid’s already gone, doesn’t seem the kind for speeches, either giving or listening to them” Cipher cackles “Should we just follow him and tell him the plan when we reunite?”
“Probably for the best, that kid is one hell of a free agent” Iva chuckles, then starting running after the trail of footprints Luffy left in the snow, the Candies not far behind him
Staircase to Level 4
“It’s nearly 10 in the morning, Ace’s execution is scheduled for 3pm today. With how much Whitebeard would be determined to save the boy he’ll arrive as soon as possible” Jimbe explains to Luffy as they climb the stairs, Crocodile keeping pace using his sand to fly while Cipher just runs, having caught up with the little speed demon
“But Ace’s is safe until 3 O’clock right? They won’t execute him early just to spit in Whitebeard’s face?” Luffy asks worryingly
“Nah, if there’s one good thing about the Navy, it’s that they’re punctual. 3pm, means 3pm on the dot. Ace’s execution can only be delayed not sped up, we have until at least 3 to get from here to Marineford” the blond explains just as they reach the top, where Crocodile scoffs
“They think this can stop any of us, with a single touch of my hand I can crumble this door to dust” he chuckles, then uses his Devil fruit to dry out the wooden door, the metal fittings falling to the ground with a clang as the main body disintegrates “Child’s play” he grunts, as the 4 of them end up face to face with the Level 4 guards
“They’re here!”
“This is Level 4, the escaped Warlord Jimbe from Level 6, the intruder Monkey D. Luffy, Former Warlord ‘Sir’ Crocodile, and …. Oh God ‘Grand Manipulator’ Cipher!”
“Level 4, the Burning Heat Hell, just great” Jinbe grumbles, the Fishman feeling rather uncomfortable in this place
“Let’s get this over with, these small fry should barely slow us down” Crocodile hums, not even reacting to the multiple bullets passing through his body, the sand reforming moments later
“He has a point, we are on the clock”
Crescent Cutlass
Gum Gum Rain
Fishman Karate: Arabesque Brick Fist
Negative pressure
It was easy to tell who beat who in this fight, Crocodile’s victim’s were desiccated to the point of being actual skeletons, Luffy’s had the ever-loving sh*t beat out of them, Jimbe’s were sent flying due to the pressure wave and Cipher’s, well even without the golden pyramid they were enclosed in at the time, his were fairly obvious as nobody else’s exploded due to the water in their blood turning to steam in about 2 seconds.
“Are you all sure you want to fight us? I don’t mind killing the lot of you, but Straw Hat here is on a bit of a time crunch” Cipher asks, having deactivated his Devil fruit so they could continue forward, grinning widely as some of the guards were this close [] to either pissing themselves or just running away screaming like little girls
10 minutes later
“I’m thinking about breaking out of this sh*thole, but I could use a little help. Think you’d be interested in the job Mr. 1?” Crocodile asks, tossing the cell keys in as he does
“Now you mention it, it has gotten kind of boring down here, I could use a reason to get up and stretch my legs if nothing else” ‘Murderer’ Daz Bones, The Blade man replies as he stands up “Happy to work with you again, old friend”
LW: And with that, the break out of Impel Down begins. This should be fun.
Chapter 119: Escape from Impel Down (Part 1): Hanyabal’s blockage
Chapter Text
LW: Ok, it’s crunch time now, let’s get moving!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Escape from Impel Down (Part 1): Hanyabal’s blockage
Level 4
“We have arrived! Did I miss much?” Ivankov asks as him and the Newkamas manage to catch up with the 4 heavy hitters
“Nah, just some cannon fodder” Cipher replies with a tired sigh
Iva grimaces “You and Nim sure like to make a mess, but if it helps us escape I don’t much care!”
“Less talking more escaping Iva!” Crocodile growls, flitting past a still spinning Bon Kuri
“Hey, when did you get here Mr. 1?” he asks as the blade man joins the team
“You know this guy Bon?” Luffy asks curiously
“Of course I do and so do you, your swordsman kicked his ass back at Alabasta” he laughs, while Daz Bonz scowls
“Kid had help” he grunts “a marine swordswoman”
Emporio Face Growth Synthesis [Iva knows the Big Head Jutsu… neat]
Hell Wink!! ;D
Arabesque Brick Fist
Memoirs of a Winter Sky
Gum Gum Gattling
Sables
Sparkling Daisy
Explosive Iron
“These weaklings seems Impel Down got boring while I was away” Cipher chuckles as they clear the area of resistance “But maybe a little breathing space will be nice
Climate control: Temperate
“Cool!” Luffy gushes as a golden pyramid forms around the escapes “But why didn’t you use this from the start Mr?”
Cipher chuckles “Moving something this size wouldn’t be worth the energy expended, honestly, that applies to any of these more than half my size, more cost-effective to just dispel and create a new one somewhere else than move the original to the new location”
Luffy nods “Makes sense, though it may be faulty as my head still feels warm…. Of crap the mirror!” he shouts, taking his hat off his head and activating the coms “Hey Kaos, what’s wrong?”
“Blackbeard’s not here” everyone freezes
“What!!!” Iva shouts
“I can’t sense him anywhere in Marineford, which leads to the 2nd part, we’ve met him before it’s why I even have a chance of sensing him” Kaos continues
“We’ve met him before, who is he?”
“Remember Jaya?” Luffy nods “That fat guy you got in an argument with, that’s Marshall D. Teach, aka Blackbeard, newest Warlord, the man who betrayed Ace, twice at this point… and most likely a logia given what I remember of his Devil fruit’s energy, a thick veil of darkness” Kaos shudders
“Why are you telling us this?” Jinbe asks, not seeing a reason for this update
“Because I overheard a report that not long after Blackbeard disappeared, a navy vessel went missing, and appeared at Impel Down without any authorization. See where I’m going Fishman?”
“You think he’s here” Crocodile grunts “Or at least in the upper levels at the moment”
“Right in one Captain Hook. There has to be some reason Blackbeard came to Impel Down of all places, and now, when everything is balanced on a razor’s edge. If you can avoid it Luffy, don’t fight the bastard, just get here. Rescuing Ace is more important than beating up the traitor”
“I know, we’ll be there by 3, don’t worry about us” Luffy states, Kaos flashes a toothy grin and nods, before the mirror ripples back to normal reflecting Luffy’s determined face
“You heard the boy Candies, We’ve got Blackbeard and his crew added to the list of threats and obstacles between us and freedom, but are we gonna let some coward stand in our way?”
“No!”
“Then let’s keep moving onward and upwards, HeeHaw! Which way to the stairs Inazuma?”
“To the left, let’s move it everyone!” the scissor man orders, then curses as reinforcements have finally arrived
“Bluegori, attack, run wild!” Saldeath orders, blowing on his pitchfork flute
“Take out the freak with the bloated head, he’s their leader!”
Hell Wink!
“How rude, my head’s not bloated, it’s Face Growth Synthesis, I made it myself” Iva chuckles, blasting the bluegori away with one hit “Straw boy, get moving, you need to keep going up and get to that boat pronto. We’ll deal with these small fry and let the prisoners loose, then catch up with you shortly” he orders getting a nod from Luffy
CRUNCH
“It’s the Demon guards, 3 of them!” a candy screams as MinoZebra sends a group of prisoners flying with a mace swing
“Finally backup’s arrived, and it’s Mistress Sadie!”
“We’re here and things are about to get messy. So get on your knees, kiss my feet and take your punishment like a man” Sadie moans, unseen heels clicking under the long white cloak she wore. The other noises she was making made one thing clear, she ‘enjoyed’ her work a lot more than was probably healthy, especially when it involved inflicting pain upon others (should have just become a dentist). The demon guards were smashing through the candies and prisoners, even Iva was starting to get worried… until their own heavy hitters took the stand
Gear Third: Giant Pistol
Fishman Karate: 5,000 brick fist
Sables
Null Void
The guards were rendered speechless as the Demon Guards were one-shotted like they were simple cannon fodder like everyone else, and with the Null field shutting down their Devil fruits, the enhanced recovered of Awakened Zoans… amounted to nothing
Level 2
While Luffy and company were steamrolling through Level 4, Buggy and Galdino were taking advantage of everyone rushing down below to contain/capture Straw hat, by setting all the prisoners loose and starting a riot.
Unfortunetly for everyone involved, due to having just dropped off Ace to the transport ship, the only person still close enough to deal with the riots… was Magellan, who crushed the prisoners like rice crackers. He then sealed the passage between Level’s 1 and 2 with a thick noxious sludge, not just to block off anyone he missed, but also ensure Straw Hat wouldn’t be able to just slip past him to escape, and began to make his way down to deal with Straw Hat, though not before ordering Shiryu’s release from Level 6 to deal with the newest f*cking problem: Blackbeard on his doorstep
Buggy grimaces as he observes the poison wall in front of him, a single touch would take a grown man out, and even standing too close had caused dizziness and lightheadedness amongst some unfortunate escapess
“This is bad guys, we can’t escape, all we have is pain and death in front of us, we need to go back”
“Shut up you stupid fool, that’s exactly what Magellan wants us to do, so f*ck him. We can work through this mess!” Buggy declares
“I admire your confidence, but does it come with a plan by any chance?” Galdino asks curiously, causing Buggy to seize up for a moment
“It, It’s simple, use your wax! It’s helped us several times already” Buggy declares
“While it’s helped us evade Den Den mushi and manticores this is something else entirely… unless…”
Candle Coating
“Of course, if I cover the poison in wax it can’t affect us!” Galdino laughs as the poison wall is dealt with
‘Holy sh*t that actually worked. I thought I was scraping the bottom of the idea barrel with that one’ Buggy thinks, before composing himself “Perfect, just how I planned, you have to get up pretty early in the morning to outsmart me! Captain Buggy!” he laughs as the remaining prisoners' cheer
“Wait, one problem… we still have this massive wall of wax and poison sealing us off from Level 1” Galdino hums
“He’s right, we can’t celebrate just yet”
“Don’t worry, I bet 20 beris Captian’s already got a plan to deal with this too”
“Yeah, what’s the next move Boss?”
“Stop, get off me! I can’t handle this!!” Buggy screams as the prisoners crowd him asking what they should do next
“Candle Fist?” Galdino mishears “Oh, that’s brilliant! Buggy, that’s a perfect idea”
“It is?” Buggy asks with a blink
“Of course, remember how Straw Hat took out MinoTaurus? We’ll just do that and it will take down the candle wall along with the wall of poison” Galdino explains “Plus, as much as it pains me to admit, Straw Hat proved my wax can be broken by more wax back on Little garden”
“So… I have to do what Straw Hat did?” Buggy squeaks ‘sh*t, my powers don’t come with enhanced strength like that Rubber idiot, this may not go as well as we hope’
“Pretty much yes. Now let’s do this!” Galdino nods, beginning to produce more wax as Buggy readies his arm
Bara bara cannon
Wax release
Candle Mallet
The attack hit dead center… but the poison wall held, in fact it even began to attempt to consume/devore Buggy’s hand, luckily he was able to retrieve it before it was lost, though he did get a severe poison burn on his ass after it had burnt through his prison uniform
“Well, guess that won’t work without Straw Hat. Shame, it was all we had plan wise” Gladino sighs, disappointed, while Buggy in his anger, decided to vent at the wall of poison verbally, by screaming every obscenity he could think of at it
Level 1
“So, you’re the man who thinks he’s bad enough to just walk into Impel Down huh?”
“Jail Manager Shiriyu, when did they let you out?” a guard gasps
“Just now, more or less. Now, let’s see how this goes” Shiryu smirks around his cigar as he stares down all 5 of the Blackbeard Pirates, then start walking towards them
“Who’s this putz, some bigshot looking for trouble?” Blackbeard chuckles “Warden Magellan I presume?”
“Incorrect. But you’re Marshall D. Teach, epithet Blackbeard correct?”
“That’s me alright Zehahaha! Now if you’re not Magellan, then who the hell are you?”
Shiriyu just chuckles and begins to draw his katana
Back on Level 4
“sh*t, we can't beat them without the Demon Guards” a guard whines as they’re once more being overrun by Candies and other prisoners
“And their numbers seem to be increasing too”
“It’s Cheif Guard Sadie!” a Candie shouts
“Who cares, shove through her!” Another yells
“It’s Mistress Sadie!”
Manifesto of Excitement: Red Viper whip
“How Dare You! Beat up, my sweet little minions!” Sadie growls as her whip strikes make short work of the group in front of her, as well as the ground below them
“Damn it, crazy lady” Luffy growls, then yelps as he’s lifted by the back of his shirt by Ivonkov
“Didn’t I tell you already Straw Hat, get moving!” he orders, yeeting Luffy across the gap, flying past Sadie and through the wall “Your fight is with me now, naughty girl” Iva coos and winks
“N-naughty girl” Sadie twitches “you will address me by my title of Mistress Sadie, understood!”
Emporio Estrogen
Sadie’s jaw drops as when Ivonkov finished his flying somersault across the gap, he, was now a she.
“You know, sometimes I prefer a girl fight” Iva teases, giving the ginger a kick to the face and a normal wink
“Stupid anarchist, so now you’re a woman, pick a lane already” she sneers, not yet noticing Iva’s heel had ripped her cloak
“Oh sweetie” Iva grins, then shifts her weight from foot to foot, letting her ‘new’ assets bounce “Jealousy doesn’t suit a girl like you”
Sadie twitches, then grins perversely “I’ve never heard the screams of a Queen before, hmm, should be fun” she purrs, then starts flicking her whip
“A woman’s weapons, aren’t just for show” Iva laughs as she leaps as Sadie, easily dodging her attacks “These lithe and delicate movements are weapons too. Though maybe you don’t see that when you’re too busy cracking that whip around hon. Sensitivity is a virtue to embrace from time to time. But back to the fighting: There are times when a woman’s gifts can make her more powerful than any man!” Iva declares as she charges at Sadie, once more twirling and leaping to avoid her whip cracks
Red Viper Whip
“Too little too late bitch” Sadie grins as her whip managed to coil around Iva’s throat “I could rip your pretty little head off with a hard enough pull, but where would be the fun in killing you so quickly, I’ve not even heard you beg or scream yet. Amuse me and we can do this nice and slow, a low whimper which builds into a scream” Sadie coos, the horny practically billowing out of her as she pulls back on the whip “Stubborn Queen, give me a scream, just one please” she whines, sounding a strange combination or horny teen and whiny brat “... cause this will be your last!” she shouts, swinging her whip and slamming Iva into the ground with a loud crash
“My bones, you shattered all my bones” Iva whimpers
“Oh sweet agony, like mana from heaven” Sadie purrs, biting her lip and squeezing her breasts
“Or not!” Iva shouts and laughs as she explodes out of the rubble, seemingly unharmed
“What? How!” Sadie screams, then yelps as Iva pulls on her whip
“Using my Emporio Estrogen my body became lithe and soft, allowing me to absorb any kind of shocks, be it your whip or even impact with the ground”
“You dare to defy me?”
“Jeez, did you really have to throw so hard?” Luffy whines as he pulls himself out of the wall
“Straw boy, get going, I’ve got this one handled. Onwards and upwards!” Iva orders
“We’re almost to the stairs, I’ll open the door once we arrive” Inazuma says as he runs past
“Neat, I’m on the way” Luffy nods and bounces out of the hole he’d just made, but stops alongside Inazuma when the doors are already opening. Some of the Candies cheer and rush forward, only to get smacked back painfully, by the arrival of Hanybal
“This is the Great Fortress of Hell, none shall pass. Now begone!” the Vice Warden declares
“Guys, who’s this weirdo?” Luffy asks “And why did he open the door for us?”
“He’s the Vice Warden, Hanyabal” Inazuma answers as prisoners rush to meet them
Bang!
Only to get captured in nets which the pirate and revolutionary dodge
Hanyabal grunts then smirks as he spreads his arms “Take a look here Straw Hat: 1,000 guards, armed with 1000 cage shot bazookas between here and Level 3. End of the line boy, this is as far as you go!” he declares confidently, while Luffy scowls then begins to step forward, at which point the Vice Warden gets into a battle stance
“In order to protect the innocent people of the world, you Straw Hat must be eradicated. I hereby sentence you to death… on behalf of the Warden”
“Move” Luffy growls
“Just try and make me!” Hanyabal fires back
“Should we join in?” Cipher stage whispers
“No, I want to see how much the kid’s improved since we fought” Crocodile chuckles
“I’m in a hurry” Luffy shouts, rushing forward only to leap back to avoid a swing of Hanyabal’s Double-ended Halbard ‘Kessui’ “Bastard”
“You shouldn’t underestimate me, kid, I’m the Vice Warden for a reason” Hanyabal scoffs
“He’s actually doing it”
“And here I thought he was only good at complaining”
“Hanya! Hanya! Hanya!”
Hannya Hustle Dance: Inferno Hell Wheel
‘Well, sh*t’ Luffy thinks as he tries to avoid getting sliced up by the now flaming naginata as Hanyabal flails it around in an almost dancing motion “Damn it, if you won’t get out of my way I’ll have to make you! Nobody is stopping me from saving ACE!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! What kind of Vice Warden would I be if I just let you pass because you asked me to?”
‘f*ck this’
Gear 2nd: Jet Gattling
Gomu Gomu Gomu Gomu Gomu Gomu Gomu
Luffy rains steaming blows upon Hanyabal’s face and upper torso… but mostly his face, until the man finally flops onto his back
“No Vice Warden!”
‘He took me down like I was just some newbie, I don’t deserve to be Vice Warden after this’ Hanyabal thinks, once more falling into pity party mode, remembering how much of a screw up he was when he first started out when Magellan was his supervisor. [The power of anime logic is the only way I can explain where that mallet came from in his flashback] This did help in one way though, giving him the mental kick in the ass to reach out and grab Luffy’s leg as he walked past, using his blade as a crutch even as the rubber boy kicks away his hand “I’m not through with you yet!” he shouts as he manages to pull himself back to his feet and swinging Kessui at Luffy who jumps back “YOU WON’T PASS!!” he bellows, his determination motivating the other prison guards to keep fighting, meaning the Candies at least had to work for their victories (except the named characters, they’re still beating their way through the cannon fodder fairly easily)
“I won’t let you keep me from saving my brother!” Luffy scowls as he once more lands a clean hit to Hanyabal’s face, sending the man flying across the room, but he just gets back up and charges at him, swinging his flaming naginata as Gear 2nd Luffy zips around, this time landing a kick to the head
“I’d worry about saving your own life instead!”
“Get out of my way!”
“You’re not getting past me!”
Gum Gum Jet Stamp
His opponent downed once more Luffy moves to leave, only to get grabbed again, and jump back “Seriously? I don’t have time for this, just stay down next time!”
Hanyabal, bleeding badly and panting tightens his grip and stands defiant “You won’t get past me!”
Level 2
Turns out while physical force can’t break Magellan’s wall of poison… a Devil fruit that is essentially smoke that behaves like a black hole can… as Blackbeard basically walks through the now cleared doorway with barely any effort exerted
This was good news for Buggy Galdino and the Level 2 prisoners, as it meant after their piss break they came back to see their one and only real obstacle gone, with no explanation
“How did this, there’s not a shred of the poison left” Galdino wonders aloud
“Haha, seems my insults finally broke Magellan, slight delay but I guess even he has to break some time” Buggy boasts
“Wow, Captain Buggy really was battling Magellan’s venom with his own venomous tongue”
“He’s such a badass!”
“3 cheers for Captain Buggy”
‘These people are morons’ Galdino sighs, how any of these people can buy Buggy’s bullsh*t he’ll never know… but if it helps them escape he honestly doesn’t care. With that in mind, he charged alongside everyone else once Buggy was done patting himself on the back, freedom was another floor closer
And Back down to Level 4
“Stay down you potbellied weirdo, I’m getting tired of beating you into the ground!” Luffy yells as he kicks Hanyabal so hard he makes a small crater in the stone, meanwhile everyone was just watching the 2 brawl, a few of the stronger fighters getting bored “Ok, now I save Ace” he sighs, then groans as the Vice Warden pulls himself up again
“You keep saying you’re going to save Fire Fist like that’s some kind of noble cause, but I know better. You pirates are all scum, the world will be better off without him, and without you. All the pirates and rebels here, you don’t give a damn about anyone but yourselves” he wheezes, a couple (like Crocodile and Cipher) silently agree, because f*ck these guys, but the rest look annoyed and mildly offended “As long as scum like you exist, decent people can’t even sleep at night without fear of you coming to their island and razing it to the ground! This jail, was built to protect them, locking up evil people like all of you, so decent people can go about their lives unimpeded. This fortress is the floodgate of Hell, and I won’t let the world drown in terror by letting even one of you monsters go free. You hear me straw hat, the only way you’re getting out is through me, be the monster I know you are!”
“The only thing that matters to me, is getting to Marineford to save my brother, so move!” Luffy shouts, as usual, not caring what the asshole in front of him is blathering on about
“You’re too dumb to understand…” Hanyabal sneers then freezes when he hears the screams coming from behind him
“Vice Warden! Help us!” a guard screams before being consumed by the darkness
“What the hell is going on back there?” Hanyabal shouts in fear and panic
“Put a cork in it already you worthless toady” Blackbeard scoffs as he appears from the blackness right in front of Hanyabal “All this blathering about what’s right and what’s wrong in the world. If you looked at the world from outside your little prison, it wouldn’t seem so black and white” he says as he plants his boot on Hanyabal’s head, pinning the man almost effortlessly “So cut the Crap!” he shouts as the darkness spews the now unconscious guards that had been in the stairwell as few minutes ago
‘sh*t, it’s Blackbeard’ Luffy winces, he said he wouldn’t, but he didn’t think the guy was going to just let him walk past him
“Oh wow, wowwie wow. Well ain’t this a trip down memory lane, so many familiar faces. Looks like we caught you boys right in the middle of something Zehahaha!”
“Hello Teach, mind explaining why you’re here? We’re waiting” Jimbe growls “Or perhaps you’ve abandoned that name and only go by Blackbeard these days”
“Jimbe, been a while. Hey, what’s with all the hostility man, loosen up those fists of yours if you just want a chat” Blackbeard hums, then slaps his forehead “Oh yeah, forgot that you and Ace were best buds, so probably a little pissed I brought him in huh? But hey it’s not like it matters anymore, kid’s a dead man walking Zehahaha!” he laughs maniacally
“So, you’re the one to took out Ace” Luffy mutters, muscles tensing as he starts to walk closer, causing the older pirate to pause
“So we meet again Straw Hat Luffy, been a while since Jaya ay? One Hell of a shock for me when I learnt you were my old commander’s baby brother, but that’s how life is. By the way, what you doing all the way down here, the real show’s over in Marineford” he chuckles “don’t you wanna be there when Ace bites it kid?” he smirks, then turns his attention elsewhere “And there’s the sorry excuse for a former Warlord I’m replacing, Crocodile. I knew you’d gotten your ass kicked before gettign thrown in here, I just didn’t know it was Straw Hat at the time. Funny story, I was aiming for your position so considered killing Straw Hat to prove my worth, I mean I had to be strong if I took down the one who defeated my predecessor after all. And yet here you are, Fate decided to save you instead. Ace had been chasing me as revenge for my so called crimes on Whitebeard’s ship, and I’ve been chasing you. Of course, I couldn’t team up with him to kill you, you’re family, and all that crap, but in the end, we both got the fight we wanted. Zehahaha! Handy ain’t it if he’d let me go, not only would he be disgracing Whitebeard’s name, but he’d be turning his back on his little brother, leaving him to die”
“There is no coincidence when it comes to fate, everything happens for a reason” Van Auger states flatly
“Yeah, and you got lucky kid, you weren’t fated to die just yet” Doc Q wheezes
“Captain Blackbeard became a Warlord thanks to your brother, we really should thank him when we pass on to the next life” Lafayette chuckles
“Wehe, the kid put up a good fight but it just wasn’t good enough!” Jesus Burgess laughs
“Remember to pick out some nice flowers for his grave Straw Boy, because he took your place in the book of souls. If he’d just stayed out of the way, you’d be dead, and he’d still be out and free” Blackbeard taunts, knowing this punk couldn’t do sh*t to him
‘Sorry Kaos’
Gum Gum Jet Pistol
Given the supersonic punch to the face he just received… I think he was very wrong in that regard
TBC
LW: Luffy didn’t listen, but in his defense, Blackbeard was asking to get punched in the face.
See you all in 2 weeks for 120.
Chapter 120: Escape from Impel Down (Part 2): Magellan's backup plan
Chapter Text
LW: Let’s just keep going, it’s prison-break time!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Escape from Impel Down (part 2) Magellan’s backup plan
Blackbeard bellows in pain as he slams headfirst into the wall behind him, leaving a crater expected of his large frame, then writhing in pain before pulling himself to his feet shakily
“I’m not going to let my brother die!” Luffy declares, his body steaming with Gear 2nd
Gum Gum…
Black Vortex
As Blackbeard's hand became coated in the inky void, Luffy was pulled towards the hand, then once he had a grip around the boy’s torso, slammed him into the ground, causing Luffy to cough up blood
“Blood? But, Straw boy’s made of rubber, that shouldn’t have hurt him!” Bon gasps
“If it was that easy to hurt him I’d have killed the idiot first time” Crocodile grumbles, something wasn’t right here
“What the hell was that?” Luffy wheezes as he leaps back ‘That was like Kaos’ reflect ability, does that mean Blackbeard has a negate as well?’ he thinks as he reengages Gear 2nd
“Zehaha, the look on your faces, you don’t have a clue what I just did, do you? That’s fine, neither did Ace, and that’s how I beat him” Blackbeard laughs “Now thanks to me your Devil fruit powers are as useless as money to a dead man”
“So you’ve got a negate big whoop, so does my brother” Luffy scoffs “Besides, seems you lost the biggest advantage of a logia to get that negate… I could punch you in the face without any fancy tricks, I needed to at least get my hands wet to do the same to Crocodile” he smirks, and Blackbeard scowls
“You know what needs to be done kid, Ace is more important than Blackbeard” Jimbe grumbles, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder “Even Kaos knew that, remember your promise” Luffy grits his teeth, but releases his gears
“I have to give you one thing kid, you got more haki than when we last met” Blackbeard chuckles as he wipes the blood from his jaw, trying to save face as best he could
“Your name is Blackbeard correct?” Crocodile asks “then you’re the faceless pirate I’ve been hearing so much about. A nobody or as close as a Whitebeard pirate can get to being one until he defected and took my place as Warlord. But if that’s the case, why are you here, they must have summoned you to Navy Headquarters for the execution, it’s why Hanco*ck was here earlier, and why Jimbe is here for refusing to go there. If the position was so important to you, why come here and throw it all away?”
“Zehaha, it’s all, part of the plan” Blackbeard chuckles “If you’re that interested I could lay it all out for you, is that what you want Mr. Crocodile?”
“Not really, I don’t actually give enough of a sh*t to care” he shrugs
“Cold-hearted bastard ain’t ya, fits the name I suppose” Blackbeard mutters
KABOOM
“WHAT NOW?” Bon shrieks
“It’s Magellan, he’s here!” one of the candies scream
Iva sighs “Well, there goes the neighborhood. Straw Boy get out of here now, we can’t risk Magellan poisoning you again, you barely survived last time there won’t be another chance”
“Magellan, zehaha, so I finally get to meet the monster” Blackbeard chuckles, not even trying to stop the prisoners from rushing past him
As Iva moves to follow she stops, catching the whip before it could strike her “Ivankov! You’re not getting away from me. I didn’t get that scream, and I hate to be kept waiting” Sadie purrs and moans
“No don’t, please princess I beg you anything but this! Please don’t strike me with your whip I can’t bare it” Iva pleads
“Oh, did I miss something while I was away, oh who cares, I like you better this way, I know I’ll get a scream out of you this time”
“Ok Ok ok, I give up I’ll come quietly over to you” Iva says, then smirks and spins “Not a bad performance was it?” she asks, pulling Sadie’s whip from her hand then kicking out, the redhead only barely managing to dodge the attack
“Hey, no fair, give me back my whip!” Sadie whines, stomping her feet
“How about no? Actually better plan, how about a little role reversal?” Iva grins cracking the whip “You love to scream so much I bet yours is lovely my dear. Now, you may be a princess, but time to show you why I’m the QUEEN!” Iva shouts before beginning to unload a barrage of whip strikes, tearing up the ground as Sadie dodges frantically
“We have to thank you for dealing with the guards on the staircase, you at least deserve that much” Jimbe huffs as more Candies rush by them
“Same to you would have been much harder if you hadn’t been causing so much panic on practically every floor” Blackbeard chuckles
“Guy’s the staircase is clear, we got a straight shot to level 3!”
“Freedom!”
And it was… right until they ran into MinoTarus, having recovered from the beating Luffy and company had given him the day before.
“Seems you missed one Teach” Cipher chuckles as he hears the screams
“Wait, I thought we already dealt with Minotarus yesterday!” Bon yells
“Wouldn’t matter if you did, all 4 of the Demon Guards are Awakened Zoan types, so they’re practically unbeatable, or they have a recovery rate so inhuman they might as well be. Only the Null field Cipher broadcast stopped the other 3 from entering their recovery phase and giving us who knows how long before they got back on their feet” Crocodile explains with a tired sigh “And before you piss yourself, don’t waste it on them, at least do it because the Warden of Hell is hot on our tails, so move out!”
“You heard him Straw hat, ignore the small fry and get going!” Cipher shouts, seemingly immune to Blackbeard’s angry glare at being so simply dismissed
“I’m saving Ace, now matter what anyone says” Luffy states plainly
“Zehaha, you do you kid, I ain’t gonna stop you. People can do whatever they put their minds to, but I already told you that last time we met” Blackbeard chuckles, sidestepping to allow Luffy to walk past unimpeded “Remember Sky Islands? And just like those legends, the One Piece is just as real and out there, somewhere. Zehaha, zehaha, I can’t wait for you to see what I’ve got planned kid” he laughs as he walks away, in the opposite direction to the fleeing crowd
“Ignore him Luffy, the man’s always been full of hot air, there’s no point giving him the time of day” Jimbe tries to assure him as they enter the stairway
“He’s a dreamer, I’ll give him that much” Cipher muses “And the Yami Yami no mi… I didn’t know it was back in circulation, but I suppose I have been gone a while”
Hehaw! Look lively boys, we don’t have much time before Magellan catches up” Iva shouts as she rejoins the group, just as Minotarus reached the bottom of the staircase
“Anyone wants to volunteer to deal with this guy? Oh, never mind” Cipher chuckles as Luffy just keeps walking after everyone stops
“Good luck to him”
“Hold on a second Straw boy I’ll be right there” Bon shouts as he pushes through the backlog
“Leave it” Jimbe grunts
“Why should I, we’re partners, he needs my help”
“No he doesn’t, that’s a man on a mission, he won’t let some bull stand in his way” Iva argues ‘Just like his father’
“You’re in my way” Luffy growls “So move”
MinoTarus meanwhile didn’t move, instead lashing out as he remembered Luffy as the one who beat him the other day, swinging his mace down on the boy’s head… only for him to tank it like it was made of foam
Gear 2nd: Gum Gum, Jet Pistol
Luffy’s response, was to one-shot the Demon Guard right into the wall of the stairwell, taking it out for at least the next few hours if not longer.
“Well f*ck”
“This guy’s crazy strong”
“What are we even here for?”
“Are you bozo’s going to just stand there and gawk, or are you going to run?” Bon shouts “Blackbeard and Straw Boy cleared the path, now we just have to run it!” he shouts, kicking everyone into gear and leading the charge right behind Jimbe and Luffy up the stairs.
Level 3 a little later
AHHHHH!
“Everyone just keep running, trust me when I say you don’t want to look back!” Bon shouts as he keeps pace with the other heavy hitters, meanwhile, Maggelan’s Hydra starts picking off the stragglers
“I’m not sure we have the time to set loose the prisoners on this floor, not with Magellan quite clearly nipping at our heels” Cipher grimaces
“True, not much of a distraction when he’s right behind us” Crocodile agrees
“Shame but true. Everyone keep moving the stairs are right here!” Iva shouts as she and Inazuma direct the flow of escapees
“Hurry Magellan’s right on our ass!”
“I can see that Barry”
“Not now Steve”
“Nobody asked you, Cathryn!”
“Quiet already, just keep moving!” Jimbe bellows, quieting the Candies
“I really hope you have a plan here boss” Inazuma says as they were the only able-bodied members of the group still on Level 3, everyone else was now on the stairway to Level 2 or taken out by Magellan, the man who currently looked like a sentient pile of purple sludge and was walking towards the 2 at Slasher movie villain speeds.
“I do, now get on it” Iva shouts
Great Scissors
“Any reason you decided to cut up the staircase walls 2tone?” Cipher asked curiously
“It’s all part of the plan, don’t worry about it” the man huffs, then grimaces as he makes one final cut ‘I will follow your orders Iva’ he thinks as the entire staircase collapses due to the effect of his Devil fruit upon all the cut up walls and now floor. The problem was while it trapped Magellan, Iva was still down there.
“This is suicide, what are you hoping to accomplish?” Magellan asks, staring down a fairly uncaring Iva, the woman still smirking despite being backed into a corner
“Curious are we? If you haven’t figured it out yet then you’re terribly slow” Iva taunts, as she stabs herself in the side with her devil fruit’s needles
Emporio Testosterone
“I’m sorry, what I meant to say, was that your STUPID!” Ivonkov shouts as he returns to his masculine form, grinning like a madman
Death Wink
The hydra blocks the attack, being momentarily disappated before reforming, Magellan releasing the other 2 heads in response to Iva’s attack
“So, how many heads you wanna show me big boy” Iva coos, winking non-combatively as he does
“It doesn’t matter if you buy those fools a little time, Straw Hat still can’t leave this facility, there’s no way” Magellan growls
“Buy some time, quite the co*cky bastard aren’t you, already sure of his victory” Ivankov huffs
Kamabaka Style: Newkama Kempo
“Come and fight me drippy boy!” Iva cackles, ready and able to fight the Warden
Level 2
“Anyone else feel like this floor is too easy?” Crocodile muses as they basically speed run the wild beast floor
“Now that you mention it, there aren’t any guards or prisoners, and the cells are all wide open” Jimbe agrees
“Maybe Blackbeard really did do us a favor, dealt with all the idiots on the upper levels between the top floor and Level 4. Only thing I can think of” Cipher hums as he follows the crowd
“We still need to worry about leaving Impel Down, luckily, or as close to that as is possible in our situation, the prison is surrounded by Navy ships, if we can steal one, then we’ll have all the credentials we need to get out of here, as well as get through the Gates of Justice to streamline the track to Marineford” Jimbe explains
Luffy nods “Got it, steal a ship, save Ace. Sounds simple, meaning it isn’t”
“Compared to everything else you’ve done today it is, don’t lose hope just yet Straw Boy” Bon Clay assures him
Level 3
“Ah, heeehaww” Ivankov moans as the poison touches his skin “Oh my, I can feel my face melting away, the pain is just too much for one man to handle! The agony, my beautiful face ruined, you truly are a monster Magellan, I’m melting, melting oh what a world, what a world… Or not!” Iva shouts with a grin, peeling off the poison-covered material “My make-up protected me, what do you think, too much?” he winks, then leaps away as the hydra starts attacking him, meanwhile, Magellan prepares something, chewing away in the background
Death Wink
Wink
Wink
Wink
Wink
Venom Blowfish
The winks slowed down, but that was the extent of the damage, on the other hand, the toxic spitball probably would have done a lot of damage, had Iva not ducked just beforehand “Oh no, my laces, what terrible timing for my laces to come undone during a fight… OR NOT! Because these sexy booties are laceless Hehaw!” he laughs then sighs “Humourless f*ck aren’t yah Magellan”
“This is foolish” Magellan states, in a tone Batman would be proud of “There’s no point in stalling for time, you gain nothing but a slower, more painful demise”
“Nothing to gain, but I’m having so much fun, even more, if you ever decided to join in” Iva huffs “Fine then spoilsport, have it your way. You want to end this fight here and now, ok big boy, then let’s go”
Newkama Kempo 44: Aesthetic technique - Hair removal Fist!
Level 2 a little later
Inazuma twitches nervously as he guards the now ruined partition between Levels 2 and 3 until he starts to hear banging and explosions, even with all the debris and distance between them all ‘That must mean he’s still alive’ he thinks hopefully, until
Venom Road
Magellan bursts through his defenses, dropping down right in front of the scissor man
‘Balls’
KEEP OUT
“You’re trying to stall me too it seems” Magellan mutters to himself as Inazuma sends the precut slabs directly at the Warden’s head
Level 1
“Crap in a bucket, I didn’t plan for this!” Buggy screams as the Demon Guards arrive on Level 1, and proceed to decimate anyone they come across “Everyone back to your cells, we can’t beat these monsters!” he cries, before running into someone not fleeing for their lives “Hey what’s the big ide-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-a” he whimpers when he realizes just who he ran into
“CROCODILE!”
“BOSS!”
“Hm?” the sandman grunts, then looks down “Oh, Mr. 3. Been a while I guess. Still a whimpering moron, so nothing much has changed. Honestly didn’t think you’d be important enough to end up in here but that shows what I know about this sh*thole” he muses
“Didn’t we put these idiots down already? Guess Miss Sadie is a better motivator than I expected” Cipher groans, then smirks “I’ve wanted to use this for a while now, let’s see if it’ll work as intended
Inversion Cannon
“Y-y-y-y-yy-you took out 2 of the Demon guards, with one move” Galdino squeaks, as Taurus and Koala hit the ceiling at Mach 1, leaving the other Rhino and Zebra to be taken out by Luffy and JImbe, with one punch each
“Pretty sure that should have killed anyone who wasn’t an awakened Zoan on this side of the Grand Line, and anyone without incredibly high Armament on the other side” Crocodile guesses, based simply on the speed, as well as the crunch the Zoans made when they hit both the ceiling and the ground afterward
“Eh, still a work in progress” the one-eyed man waves off with a shrug
“Holy crap that’s Straw hat!” Buggy whisper shouts
“And that’s the Warlord Jimbe” Galdino adds
“Captain Buggy sir, there’s a mob of prisoners and perverts on the way up from Level 2 following these 4” one of the Level 1 prisoners relays
“Perverts?”
“Who are you calling a pervert?” Bon shouts as he arrives then proceeds to spin kick all over the 2 idiots “That’s for abandoning your allies, and just being terrible friends”
“Buggy, wax guy, glad you’re still alive” Luffy grins, daggers piercing both pirates hearts at his sincerity
Hydra
Well, crap. Seems Inazuma didn’t managed to hold Magellan off for too long if he’s already behind the again, though the blood on his face showed the scissor man at least got a few hits in before being overwhelmed by the poison.
“Magellan’s here too!” Buggy screams “What’s going on in this place?”
“Magellan… then something bad must have happened to Iva and the Scissor guy” Luffy mutters, muscles twitching as his own fight with the Poison man flashed through his brain
“I’ve dealt with that fat headed pervert and his worthless flunky too, now, to finish you off properly this time Straw Hat” Magellan growls as he stares hatefully in Luffy’s direction
“Luffy, don’t even think about it” Jinbe states, before the rubber boy could rush at the Warden “We need to move it, the guards are up to something, and we’ve been to busy running from and focusing on Magellan to notice until now”
Hydra
BONG!!!!
‘What!’ Magellan thinks, his eyes widen as something manages to do the unthinkable, stop his poison dead in its tracks
“That’s…” Bon gasps
“A wall of wax” Luffy finishes
“Candle Wall” Galdino pants, bricking it but also glad he was quick enough to block the attack
“Hm, seems you’re not so useless after all” Crocodile muses, actually impressed by Mr.3’s reflexes
“What are you all doing standing around for, get your asses in gear and get moving!” Galdino shouts as he raises another wall to block the hydra’s side attack
“He’s right, follow me men, the path to freedom awaits!” Buggy calls, raising morale in the room to the heights it was before the Demon guards crashed the party
“I know I sound like a broken record, but we really need to move Luffy” Jinbe insists
“One second. Didn’t you way we needed a navy ship in order to get off this rock?”
“That’s correct”
“Then you go with the others, I want one last chance to deal with this bastard. I’ll be right behind you, in a few minutes, so don’t worry about having to wait around for me” Luffy states, surprising the warlord “Don’t worry, I got a plan this time”
Immunization
“Well, I’m impressed that actually worked, Gods that would have been tragic had I been wrong” Cipher laughs as Magellan’s poison evaporates off him while standing in his bubble
“Of course you’d be here trying to escape, should have let Shiriyu kill you when I had the chance” Magellan growls, seeing the infamous Level 6er in front of him
“You know the only way he’d have stood a chance was if you put the cuffs back on me, and you couldn’t guarantee he’d managed to kill me before I beat him to death with them like I did all the others Toxic Terror” Cipher grins, the pyramid decaying to nothing as it was no longer needed
“You sticking around too Triangle guy?” Luffy asks, getting a nod from the blond “See, I’ll be fine, even have pretty strong backup in case my plan isn’t so hot” he chuckles, causing Jinbe to sigh but nod
“You better survive this kid, I ain’t saving Ace just to tell him his brother died on the way there” the fishman groans, then follows the others
“I’ll be fine. Hey 3, I need a favour”
“Fine, but we’re even after this, got it?” the candle man huffs
“No problem. You know your Candle Champion thing from Little Garden? Well I just need something like that for my hands and feet, so I can hit Magellan without poisoning myself. Just that, if it was a full suit it’d get in the way of my Devil fruit, can you do it?”
Galdino hums “In theory, it’s possible. It’ll just be wax though, no buffs because Artemis isn’t here to paint the wax, understand?”
Luffy nods “All I need is the wax, besides Kaos would rip the rubber right out of me if I’d brought my niece along with me :P” he chuckles “Now, I’m counting on you to make this plan work”
“No pressure then” Galdino mutters sarcastically, before completing the request
Candle Armour
Oversized boxing gloves and foot protectors, made of solid Doku doku wax, just what the brawler ordered ;)
“So cool!” Luffy cheers, tearing up at how awesome and badass Galdino’s gear made him look, whether the wax man thought it was the time for it or not
“I hate to admit it straw hat, but I almost admire your tenacity, and the sheer balls it takes to willingly step forward to fight me, especially after what I did to you the first time” Magellan says, giving the boy a half-smile “Not that it matters, I’ll make sure you’re dead this time”
“What the hell did you do to Iva?” Luffy asks, back in serious mode
“I presume you mean Ivankov, if so then… I executed him. Much like I’m about to do to all of you, so at least he won’t be lonely for long”
Hydra
Candle Wall
Champion Rifle
“It worked, I can touch him” Luffy grins as while Magellan did manage to block his punch, the wax did it’s job and stopped Luffy getting poisoned, which was the main goal of that first strike
“Cannons ready to fire Brother 3”
“Thanks for the candle shield by the way”
“Debris and assorted crap for Mr. Cipher, for whatever he needs them for”
“Thank you my good fellows,” the cyclopean pirate says with a smile and a dip of his hat
“Ready? Fire!” Galdino orders, unleashing the barrage
Inversion cannon
KABOOM
“Direct hit, we got the bastard that time”
“We might actually survive this”
“Go Straw hat, show him real Hell!”
Things were looking up, until Magellan just walked out of the fiery explosion they’d just hit him with, looking none the worse for wear
‘Bollocks’
Top Floor
“We beat all their goons, we can finally relax for a minute!” Bon clay cheers as they reach the top of the stairs
“I wouldn’t get complacent yet” Daz Bons retorts, continuing when he sees his former co-worker looking both annoyed and confused “By my count, there are 10 Navy ships out there, each crewed by about 800 marines. Even if we manage to take 1 ship, that’s still more than enough firepower to wipe us off the map. So tell me, what part of that sounds relaxing to you?”
“sh*t, you make a good point there” Bon sighs and nods
“And that’s not the only problem. The Gates of Justice are our biggest hurdle, we need them to be open, and stay open long enough for us to pass through otherwise we don’t stand a chance of making it to Marineford on time” Jinbe states “Or going anywhere for that matter”
Bons nods “You have a point, this is much harder than it looks”
“But we can’t give up, not when we’ve made it this far. We’ll find a way” Jinbe declares
Yeah, there might be a problem with this plan… as Buggy and the others discover when they open the main gate… and see there’s nothing there, not a single ship as far as the eye can see.
“FUUUUUUUUUCK!” Buggy screams
“It seems we miscalculated. Did we even plan for there not being any ships to escape on?” Crocodile wonders aloud “Have to give these guys credit, they clearly rubbed their brain cells together and realized the easiest way to stop our escape, is to leave us all here, the Sea King infested Calm Belt ensures even those of us without Devil fruits aren’t going to even consider going into the water”
“Enough moping, yes the marines have left, but only because Magellan told them too, and even then they’ve not left entirely, after all, Impel Down being defenseless from outside attack is too stupid even for the Navy. They’re just out of sight, if you squint you can see the shadows of their sails in the fog” Jinbe states, trying to raise the currently floundering morale.
“Yeah but that’s still too far away to get to any of them”
“We should just give up”
“Or jump in the sea, the Sea Kings might be quicker than Magellan”
“Time to accept it’s just too late for us”
“It’s never too late!” Jinbe bellows “I’m here, and I’m not giving up. So stand back and let me deal with this!” he then slowly walks away from the crowd, before ripping one of the main doors of Impel Down off its hinges (gotta love that Fishman strength) and carries it to the edge of the pier/platform “I can’t carry many, but if you hop on I can carry you over to one of those ships” he explains as he jumps into the water, door still held above his head.
“You’re insane, you really think we can sail out there on a door?” one prisoner asks, only for 2 surprising volunteers to hop on “Crocodile?”
“Let’s get moving Jinbe, the sooner we get a ship the sooner we can all leave” the sandman sighs while Mr1 nods silently
“Just 2, well I suppose that makes my job easier” Jimbe hums
“Just wait one moment, aren’t you forgetting someone?” Buggy asks “It’s clear you need me for this mission to succeed, so I’ll joinn this little boarding party” he declares, then steps onto the door, after being handed a baby Den Den to report back to the group when they’re done
“Ok, now let’s get us a ship” Jinbe declares, before shooting forward at high speed through the water, those left behind cheering as hope is rekindled in their hearts.
Things were going pretty well for the boarding party, until the marines started firing cannon balls at them, then Jinbe had to start bobbing and weaving in order to dodge their fire
“A whole fleet of ships, just as we expected” Jinbe says mostly to himself, as he dodges another barrage “We’re close, I’m going to throw you now, so you best hold on tight”
Buggy’s eyes bulge “You’re kidding right? Right?” he squeaks, only to start screaming when true to his word Jinbe launches the door and it’s passengers right at one of the battleships
Fishman Jujutsu: Mizugokoro
Ocean Current Shoulder Throw
“They’re here to hijack the ship men, give them everything you’ve got!”
“They’ve all got Devil fruit powers, throw them overboard and they’re done for!”
‘Idiots’ Crocodile thinks, biting down on the tip of his cigar as he and Mr. 1 leap at the marines on deck, with the strength of the men in sight, this was barely worth the effort of coming for someone like him
Level 1
“Didn’t you learn the first time boy, it’s a lesson you only get once!” Magellan shouts, spitting poison balls at a charging Luffy who leaps over them fairly easily
“I’ve got nothing to learn from you, now taste wax”
Gum Gum Champion Bazooka
Magellan blocks the attack aimed for his face with his arm, but the force behind the strike still pushed him back, while Luffy bounced back to put some distance between them once more
“Fine then, if you choose to continue to defy me, then there’s nowhere else for you to go, than DEATH!” the Warden bellows, unleashing the hydra on the rubber boy
TBC
LW: Ok, so things are getting intense, and messy, and the marines decided to use their brains for once, weird that :P. Shame it won’t do them much good.
‘My darkness can absorb, your Devil fruit power’ [Blackbeard episode 447, about 7:30] It can’t be that simple, can it? That can’t be how Blackbeard can use the Yami and Gura! It better f*cking not!
Chapter 121: Escape from Impel Down (Part 3): Open the Gate!
Chapter Text
LW: Here we are guys, the final push. Let’s go!
Rubber King & Mirror Master - Escape from Impel Down (Part 3) Open the Gate!
Marine vessel
“So….” Crocodile sighs around his cigar “What were you saying about tossing us overboard?” he asks tiredly, already bored as he and Mr 1 are surrounded, and then nothing.
“I think they need to learn their limitations, especially given even just touching one of us, is hazardous to your health” Mr. 1 notes, a ghost of a smirk flickering across his face
“Stand firm! Throw them overboard!” the ship’s captain bellows, as bazookas are aimed at the 2 pirates
“I think we both have different definitions of throw overboard. Also, I don’t think this ship is going to survive our, acquisition” Crocodile mutters, as the marines start to get more confident and start brandishing weapons
Fishman Karate: Spear Wave
Only for Jinbe to make them all collectively sh*t themselves as it lashes out at the vessel with a water spear. Well the ones who weren’t caught in the explosion sh*t themselves, the others either died painfully, or hit the water with an at least painful, at worst fatal slap
“Watch your aim, we’re still on this ship” Crocodile scolds, thought doesn’t seem to put much effort into it
“Oh yeah, we were trying to capture this ship. Sorry, when I go into the water, my strength runs wild” Jinbe apologies as his brain clicks back into play and he remembers their original plan.
Level 1
Hydra
Gum Gum Champion Gattling
Finally Luffy seems to be in a much more even match against Magellan, the wax armor countering his poison so Luffy could simply overpower the construct, even managing to once more land a solid gut punch to the Warden, and this time it wasn’t even a crippling blow for the rubber boy, as Magellan skids across the prison floor.
“Very good work with the wax constructs Mr 3 was it?” Cipher grins, content to watch Luffy wail on Magellan for the moment at least
“They’re holding up, but it’s all down to Straw Hat that they’re managing to actually touch Magellan” Galdion argues, knowing he wouldn’t have been able to come close to what Luffy’s doing if the roles had been reversed.
“How’s that?” Luffy asks/taunts as Magellan drops to one knee, the poison coating on his body fades as his breathing gets heavy, though the anger in his face just got stronger
“Allrigth guys, one more push!” a prisoner shouts, before the cannons fire another barrage
BOOM
“Is he dead?”
“There’s no use stalling for time” Magellan monotones, answering the question simply by speaking “I’ve already ordered all navy vessels to distance themselves from the prison. Even if you made it outside, there’s no ship for you to escape on”
“Well sh*t, had to use his brain eventually” Cipher groans
“Who cares, that Fishman will deal with it, nothing’s going to stop us from getting out of this place!” Luffy declares confidently
“You are correct, Jinbe is a worthy adversary in the water, which just means I should deal with you quicker” he sneers before standing, revealing himself to be practically fine, then his eyes glowed red and he was once more covered in poison, but this time it was different, more a blood-red, chunky slop, rather than the more slimy purple gloop he was producing earlier. The biggest sign things were different though, was that wehn Luffy kicked this new poison, it infected the wax and started to spread, only Galdino’s quick Release, saved him from Magellan’s poison this time, which was spreading across the floor like lava, and just as destructive to the surrounding area “Now Perish” he growls
Venom Demon
The toxin stops spreading, and instead pulls back, completely enveloping Magellan before reforming into a massive beast of venom and death, a venom demon indeed.
“So, this is your ultimate move Doku? Interesting” Cipher hums, then clenches his fists
Immunity
“Well, that’s upsetting” he groans, as Magellan steams, but the Venom Demon doesn’t dissipate “Sorry guys, it seems he produces this more potent venom too quickly for me to decay, though the steam might at least obscure his vision slightly” Cipher says, pinching the bridge of his nose “Guess we just run then”
“All in favor of that plan, don’t say anything just run for your life!”
With the pyramid dissipated (as there was no point wasting energy on a move that did nothing) Magellan and his Venom puppet were free to follow the retreating prisoners, it may not be the fastest construct, but it had great reach and followed Magellan’s movements like an extension of his body
Hell’s Judgement: Death
And then what might be the worst part of this new variant of his poison came into play, spreading like a virus to anything its sufferer’s touch, as seen when it got one prisoner, and in trying to get help, it spread through his touch to the clothes and then the skin of another, dooming them both
“It’s not just my wax, it seems the red toxins spread to anything they touch. We’re in deep trouble now Straw Hat!”
“I can see that, really hope Jinbe and the others are doing better than we are” Luffy replies with a grimace
The ships
‘These people really have no idea who they’re f*cking with’ Crocodile thinks as a rather large marine with a cannon blows his head off, grinning to himself before the sand man’s hand wraps around his throat, draining his fluids and turning him into a desiccated corpse in a matter of seconds
“Hey, that guy’s arm just became a knife”
“What the hell is he?”
“It should be obvious, you already know I ate a Devil fruit, mine was the Supa Supa no mi” Daz Bonz responds, then starts cutting people down with ease
“Oh no, that’s Daz Bonz!”
“Crap I know that name, he’s an assassin from the West Blue”
Sables
Yeah, those 2 were singlehandedly wrecking their current ship's crew, and they weren’t even having fun doing so, what a shame.
“They’ll have that ship taken in only a few more minutes at this rate. I refuse to allow such indignity” The captain on a different ship growls “Men! Sink that ship! Open Fire!” he orders, but it seemed someone had a plan for that 2 as a tidal wave hit the washed over the deck of the ship, soaking all gunpowder in the area “Damn you Jinbe. Men, lock him down, focus fire on that fishman!” she shouts, changing targets once again
Top floor
“You guys there, we’re coming!”
“You hear that?” Bon asks hopefully “it’s straw boy!” he cheers, followed by many of the other prisoners.
The joy didn’t last long as Luffy and his group rush out a corridor, only to reveal they were being chased by a large mass of angry red sludge, Magellan somewhere deep inside.
“We’re f*cked!”
“I don’t know what that is, but it’s angry!”
“That’s Magellan, we’re all gonna die!”
“Did you get a ship?” Luffy calls
“Not yet, we don’t know what’s going on due to the fog” Bon admits, his expression drooping
“WHAT!!!!!” Luffy screams
“sh*t, guess we have to keep distracting the big bad, poison man” Cipher grimaces “I suppose it’s too late to ask for a miracle is it?”
A kind of miracle did come knocking though, in the most unexpected way. The floor cracked and buckled, before exploding outwards, a massive headed Iva (Inazuma held close to his side) shot out from below and landed right in front of the assembled prison breakers
“You couldn’t have asked for that sooner!” Galdino shouts
“Iva! Scissor guy!” Luffy cheers, though even he could tell both were in bad shape right now
“Oh good, I made it. Nappy time” Iva mutters, before passing out
“NO NOT NAPPY TIME YOU HAVE A HEAD INJURY!” they shout in anger, and concern
“Oh thank goodness you’re alive, I couldn’t lose you” Bon cries, tears of pain and relief seeing Iva had actually survived Magellan’s poison attack, as well as Inazuma, though it was clear he was in a worse condition that the Hormone user, less than Luffy had been but that’s not exactly difficult.
“Still breathing are you?” Magellan grunts, seeing Iva was now on the top floor with the rest of them
“Straw Hat!” a prisoner shouts “Call from Jinbe” he says before throwing a baby den den to the young pirate
“Luffy, you’re reached the exit?” Jinbe asks
“Yep, buuuuuut, we have a slight problem with Magellan still chasing us… also running out of prison to get chased through” the rubber boy admits
“I see. We’ll be over as soon as possible but you’re going to need to trust me. You need to just keep running, right off the edge of the prison dock” Jinbe orders
“Um, Jinbe… some of us are Devil fruit users, Hell I’m a Devil fruit user, jumping in the water isn’t a good idea you know” Luffy argues
“I know that and I’m sorry, but I really don’t have time to explain the plan right now. See you soon” Jinbe finishes, the snail falling back to sleep a moment later
Luffy sighs then skids to a stop “3, I need another wax thingie” he orders, the wax user understandably panics
“This is nuts, either we drown or Magellan’s poison takes us out there’s no winning in this scenario. Plus, why do you even trust that fishman? He’s a warlord, he’s probably tryin to curry favour with the government by taking you out to make up for whatever got him thrown in here in the first place” Galdino argues fearfully
“Ace’s friends are my friends, anyone who wants to help save my brother is ok with me. He won’t let us down” Luffy declares with full confidence.
“Into the water, go right ahead, save me the trouble of cleaning up later if the sea kings kill you instead of me” Magellan scoffs
“Be careful everyone, one drop of that poison will kill you! We’re following Jinbe’s order, everyone into the water!” Galdino shouts, relaying the fishman’s command to all surviving escapees
Hell’s Judgement
Gear Third….
Candle Wall
“I can’t hold this for very long Straw hat, especially a construct this huge against Magellan’s enhanced venom” Galdino pants
Immunity
“Think that can lessen the load? Even just a little” Cipher asks as he forms a pyramid around himself, Galdino, and the section of wall closest to them
“It’ll increase the wall’s longevity, but it’s still a massive candle construct and it’s been a long day” the wax man admits tiredly “Any time now Straw Hat!” he hisses
“This is getting tiresome” Magellan growls, readying another slam
…Gum Gum Giant Stamp
Only for a massive foot to slam right into the wax wall, then push said wall right into the venom demon, slamming both right into the nearest wall of the prison
“Holy crap he hit him!” they gasp, as Luffy fizzles out like a balloon before landing in Iva’s hair, and everyone cheered… until the red poison started to seep out o the pile of stone and wax once more
“Not dead… that’s a shame” Cipher grimaces,
“Oy Iva I need you to move that fat head of yours and fight, I’m aqll tiny now and you’re one of the strongest people here, so do something!” Luffy screams his voice high pitched and kind of uncomfortable
“Hm? What’s that? Baby straw boy?” Iva slurs, his head really not working the best right now “Oh wait, I know what to do!”
“Please don’t!”
“You’re not in your right mind!”
“That can’t be their plan, it’s completely insane” Magellan sneers
“If we weren’t, then it would probably never work” Cipher cackles, grinning widely before leaping onto Iva’s head beside Straw Hat
“Everyone grab onto Iva’s face, we have a plan!” Luffy declares, the others confused, but given the other options were Magellan and seakings, they complied very quickly
“Don’t even think about it! Actually, I’ve changed my mind, I want the satisfaction of killing you myself” Magellan declares, his Venom Demon getting dangerously close to the Okama Queen
“Hold onto your butts” Iva shouts
HELL WINK!!!!
The attack may not have stopped, or even shoved Magellan all that hard, but that wasn’t the point of it… the goal of Iva’s supersized ‘Hell Wink’ was to send them flying in the other direction, his massive head smashing through the outer wall of the prison like it was made of paper mache, taking everyone out of Magellan and his Venom Demon’s reach.
“We’re falling!”
“Iva, we need another wink!”
“He can’t, I think he passed out again”
“sh*t”
All was looking grim, until they got the strangest help, just as Iva lands, hitting something much more solid, and springy than seawater
“What the?” Luffy wonders aloud, having been bounced off of Iva and landed on the ‘ground’ in the process
“I’m very sorry everyone, for such an odd request” Jinbe apologizes, now everyone was close enough to the ship to hear him
‘What The FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!’ Was the only thing Magellan’s brain was able to produce, what was in front of him was just too insane
Whale sharks, a school of them, as far as the eye could see.
“This is so cool” Luffy cheers as the whale sharks follow Jinbe’s command and carry the escapees over to their new ship, and by carry I mean bounce the rubber boy and now conscious giant-headed man around like beach balls, until they reached their final destination
“We made it!”
“Take that you poison bastard!”
“No more impel down torture!”
“Suck it Dierioha man!”
“Time for a new age of mayhem, what fun XD”
“It’s not time to celebrate just yet everyone” Jinbe says manning the helm but also killing the vibe “ we still have a struggle ahead” he says, but doesn’t really explain
Iva sighs as Impel Down fades into the fog “Well, now’s the best time to start Inazuma’s treatment. You there, bring me everything useful from the medical rooms, stat!” he orders, the man leaps up and runs like Magellan is still chasing him
Magellan growls, before pulling out his Den Den “Bring me a ship, I’m going after them” he orders, getting confirmation, before it shuts off again with a click ‘Laugh it up while you can, you’re only moved from one prison cell, to another, you just don’t know it yet’
“ALL SHIPS OPEN FIRE!”
“Balls, it seems they were able to repair their cannons faster than anticipated”
“Well they were sitting around with their thumbs up their asses while we took this ship, they had little else to do” Crocodile argues
“Their aim sucks, I don’t think Jinbe’s even trying all that hard”
“Maybe it’s the current, like how the Buster Call couldn’t hit the Merry in Enise Lobby” Luffy wonders aloud, then shrugs as that kind of thinking was Nami or even Kaos’s job, he’s just happy these people keep failing to hit them.
“We’re outnumbered, but the good news is these are the dregs and reserves, all the best marines are already over in Marineford awaiting Ace’s execution, or more accurately Whitebeard’s attack and rescue attempt” Jinbe explains, raising spirits
“Why do you bother?”
“Pirate Scum”
“The Gates of Justice will never open for you!”
“Oh yeah, sh*t” Luffy curses, forgetting about the other thing this place had in common with Enise Lobby: The Gates of Justice Fast Track and locking mechanism.
“Please tell me someone has a plan” Buggy whimpers, realizing just how hopeless the situation was at this moment
“Keep sailing” Jinbe states flatly, as if the answer was obvious
“Did anyone besides me remember we’re also on a Navy ship? Fireback you imbeciles!” Crocodile shouts
“He’s right men, load the cannons!” Buggy shouts, entering his amped state
Sables
Gum Gum Balloon
Gravity Cannon
“Fire”
BOOM BOOM BOOM
“There are too many, we’re outmanned and outgunned” some escapees cry as some of the cannons make it through and it the ship
“Idiots, they’re still running straight for the Gates, what, do they think it’ll just open for them like magic?” a marine chuckles
“Exactly, for the gates to open Magellan himself would need to authorize and open them”
“Guess they didn’t get the memo” the Vice Admirals laugh amongst themselves, then stop
“It’s opening”
“WHAT THE f*ck!!!!!?”
“This doesn’t make sense, get Impel Down on the Line!”
“It’s opening!” the pirates cheer, as freedom is finally on the horizon.
“Huh, I guess you did have a plan after all” Buggy scoffs, while Jinbe smirks
“We might actually make it, we’re almost there Straw Boy!” Bon cheers, hugging his friend “We’re on the way to save Ace!”
“Yeah!”
Impel Down
“What! Who authorized the gates opening?” Magellan bellows, turning on his heels and re-entering the prison at a sprint ‘When I find out who did this, I’ll ring their f*cking necks’
Gate control
“Are you sure we should open the gates right now of all times, Warden Magellan?” the technician asks nervously
“Of course I am, we need the space to overwhelm the pirates, this is the best option to ensure marine victory” the man growls “So get those gates open, now!”
“Yes sir!” the man squeaks and begins activating the mechanisms
SLAM
“Damn it control room, what are you doing?” Magellan shouts as he barges into the room “Who told you to open the Gates of Justice?”
“sh*t, it’s that copy-faced guy Bon Kuri!” the already there Magellan shouts, wagging his finger at the new one “But how, when did you manage to touch me?” he asks aloud
“You morons, clearly he’s the fake, why else would he be helping the pirates?” Magellan growls, poison already starting to drip from his collar
‘Oh, front row seat to Doku Doku, maybe this was a good idea after all’ Magellan smirks then begins to laugh “Sesesese, Oh I do love this little game Mr. Warden, shame it has to end so soon” he grins, then pulls a Den Den from his sleeve
Pura Pura Pura Click
“Hello Luffy”
“It’s Magellan!” Buggy screams, while Luffy blinks, then frowns as the pieces fell into place
“You said you weren’t coming, that this was a stupid idea” he states
“That I did, and since you have no Ace and would be dead if not for Iva, Jinbe, Crocodile, Bon, and Mr. 3, I’d say I’m still right. But I would never leave you out in the cold Lu, that’s not what family does”
“Kaos, you big idiot”
“Coming from you, that’s almost a compliment”
Hydra
Imperfect reflection: Release
Reflect Armour
“Well, I’m glad that worked” Kaos’ voice, echoes and reverbs as the fully coated being twitches and stands, moving like a puppet being used by a beginner, purple sludge pouring out of the hole in his head “Fully sealed up, so your poison can’t take me out like you were hoping, you’ll need to put a dent in the armor first, then see if you can even poison me Doku” the researcher explains with a laugh
Now, Magellan was having one HELL of a day, with the stress of keeping Ace’s execution running on time, Luffy breaking in and then breaking out with all the other inmates he’s collected, Blackbeard showing up out of the blue, and now this dumbass making him look like a chump. Luckily for the Warden, he had a simple solution, it was overkill, but f*ck it he was too pissed off to care at this point, as the purple poison coating his body turned blood red “Think you’re so tough punk, well this should eat through your armor, or better yet, poison you like it’s not even there” he sneers “DIE IN AGONY!”
Venom Demon: Vaal Hazak
Much like how his original Venom Demon looked like a sludge skeleton version of himself, this one was a bloody skeletal dragon that had just barely formed itself before it leapt at the reflect human
“And, that’s my cue to leave, peace out!” Kaos grins, pressing the backs of his open hands to his eyes before activating his own ability
Flashbang
Mirror Gate
Due to his rage, Magellan didn’t exactly think his plan through, meaning when his attack missed Kaos, it ended up infecting everyone else in the room and damaging the gate controls (as you’d expect when a massive dragon at full sprint runs straight into it), causing them to slowly start closing again. It was later, when sifting through the wreckage of the control room, that a vanity mirror with a spiral-shaped crack going from the centre to the edge would be found on the floor, just beside the gate controls
“Is, he ok Straw boy?” Bon asks, Luffy staring blankly at the now sleeping snail
Jinbe was about to offer condolences, when it looked like a lock of Luffy’s hair turned a stark white the tip then expanded and bubbled… and blinked at him. Only when it moves and rose up did the fishman realize it was a snake, though that didn’t explain what he just saw
“The gate controls are f*cked, they’ll be stuck here for quite a while unable to chase you, provided you’re still running towards the gates Jinbe” the snake says, staring the whale shark in the eye
“You didn’t need to do this” Luffy states
“I could have gotten the gates open” Bon offers, but steps back when Luffy and the Reflect Viper glare at him
“No. That’s exactly why I did it. Unlike you I could escape that place, you would have gotten left behind and died from a pissed-off Magellan unleashing his strongest poisons on you as stress relief. It set off a Venom Demon just before I left, you’d definitely be dead right now” the snake relays, everyone who saw Magellan use that form shivers, they never wanted to see that again as long as they lived
“Plus, you’ve already sacrificed yourself to pull my ass out of the fire before, I’d be a crappy friend if I let you run off and do it all again” Luffy huffs, then smiles so the dancer didn’t get too saddened by their outbursts “As you said, we have to go save Ace, all of us!”
“Good luck everyone, I’ll see you all at Marineford, don’t f*ck this up Luffy, I can’t exactly help between now, and then” Kaos chuckles, before the snake slips back under his hat and melts into the mirror stored within
“Let’s focus on getting out of here first, the gates are already closing so we need to move quickly” Galdino hisses frantically
“I know, I know, I’m moving as fast as this damn ship can take us, besides we’re almost out, those ships behind us won’t stand a chance of catching us, they’ll run right into the Gate if they keep their current heading” Jinbe chuckles
“So, we’ve officially left Impel Down waters, good work kid, over 200 escapees in one day, you don’t do things by half do you?” Cipher asks with a grin
A little later
“And so, now we’re a fair distance away, a toast to our superb escape. To us!” Buggy cheers, raising a glass alongside a large portion of the escapees
“To us!” they shout, drinking and munching their way through all the food and booze on the ship (why there was booze on an active duty navy vessel? Don’t ask me!)
“I’m afraid we’ll have to make do without Inazuma for a while” Ivonkov announces to the surviving Candies
“You don’t mean?”
“Yes, even with my hormones and Cipher’s Immunity bubble decaying the poison, the poor candy is much too weak after fighting Magellan and being under the influence of the toxins to do more than sleep and maybe eat at the moment” he sighs sadly “But it’s probably for the best, the hormones I used on myself to heal from Magellan’s poison took years off my life and have severe side effects, I only used a low dose to be safe after Cipher dealt with the excess, Inazuma is too valuable to the cause to risk his life, not when bed rest and conventional healing will do the job just as good, just slower”
“You got it Iva” a handful of Candies nod, then sit themselves in the room Inazuma was set up in, a vigil for their friend, as well as a way to ensure his health was being constantly monitored
“I must say, I’m impressed how you wrangled those fish back there, didn’t know fishmen could do that, the rumors only said mermaids could talk to fish” Crocodile muses, sitting on the cannons beside Jinbe
“Does it surprise you that much, that a fishman is friends with fish?” Jinbe asks in response
“It shouldn’t but it does go against the expectations. Not that you’re unfamiliar with defying expectations, a gentlemen within a savage people”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, as backhanded as it sounded because you’re right, fishmen do have a violent nature” Jinbe says with a sigh, then stops when he hears Luffy bounce onto their section of the ship “Luffy, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you, so I thank you for freeing me, and allowing me to assist you in saving Ace, I owe you a great debt”
“No you don’t, we’re even by now” Luffy says with a shrug as he adjusts his hat “Besides, you’re really strong, I’m just happy to have someone like you on the team, it was just me when I went in after all” he chuckles
‘I wish I could both thank him, and apologize for the part I played in an unfortunate incident in him and his crew’s past, but now isn’t the time, we have bigger things to worry about’ Jinbe thinks, Arlong’s laughter echoing in him mind “I only hope, my strength will be enough” he responds gruffly “I may be one of the 7 Warlords, but I’ll have lost my title after this, so we best make haste and ensure Navy Headquarters regret laying even a hand on Ace!” he declares “We’ll do right by the fallen, their sacrifices will not be in vain! We Will Rescue ACE!!”
“Wait, you’re a Warlord!” Luffy shouts, almost drawing out Buggy coming up to see when they’re stopping the ship, or more importantly his “Navy Headquarters!”
“Seems you’re drawn a crowd, did you forget to tell these people why you were breaking out?” Cipher chuckles, his eye flashing with a mix of malice, and amusem*nt
“Yeah, I probably should have told you sooner” Jinbe sighs
“Don’t worry about it, everyone else already knew, from what we can tell Straw Hat just, kind of misses details” One of the okama defend him
Luffy sighs and nods “Yeah, something like that would normally have been told to me by Kaos or Robin if the whole crew were here, though even then he doesn’t always tell me, he kept Hanco*ck’s status a secret in case I said something stupid cause of past experiences with Warlords, namely Crocodile, Moria, and Kuma” Luffy states in agreement
“Wait just a minute, what’s this talk about Navy headquarters?” Buggy shouts, now the other escapees had arrived “Don’t tell me we escaped Hell, just to go straight back into the jaws of the beast?”
“Pretty much Clown frown. Luffy’s been saying it since he arrived, he only entered Impel Down to rescue his brother, and given where his execution is taking place, that’s where he’s going” Bon states in defence of his friend
“Besides, given where we are, it’s not our fault your too stupid to know what our destination is” Crocodile sighs, mostly because of the blank looks he was getting “We’ve just passed through the Gates of Justice, meaning we’re in the Tub Current, essentially a massive whirlpool that only has 2 other exits: Enise Lobby, and Navy Headquarters” he explains to the assembled crew
“Seems I was right, we DID forget to tell them we were letting them out to conscript them to fight the marines on a rescue mission for Fire Fist Ace. Opps” Cipher grins widely, sipping from a wine glass while almost everyone around him freak the f*ck out
Pura pura pura,
Pura pura pura,
“Um, guys, the snail is ringing” One of the Newkama, not freaking out due to having been forewarned by Iva before the Great Escape shout
“Who would be calling at a time like this?” Galdino asks “And should we even answer?”
“It can’t hurt to try” Bon says as he jumps down, Luffy right behind him
Click
“Hello, Luffy here” he says, not seeing any point in saying anything otherwise
“That’s nice. Listen, we know this ship’s been hijacked by Impel Down Escappes, we’ve just received the report saying as much, so let’s be honest here. Before contact was lost, we had insider information being fed to us, and because of this we have a pretty good idea of who the ringleaders of this little break out are” the marine relays
“That’s nice, who do you think they were?” Luffy asks, curious as to what the marine’s take on his simple plan going tit* up was.
“You, Straw Hat Luffy, and another notorious East Blue pirate, Buggy the Clown”
‘FUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKK!’ said clown screamed internally
“We’ve got 2 warlords and a Level 6, and they think Buggy’s one of the ringleaders?” someone asks, though whether the question was disbelief or amusem*nt, was actually hard to tell, probably a little of both
“Pass me the documents. Thank you. At first we assumed the Clown was just a regular worthless criminal, but to be frank we were wrong. We learnt he was a crewmate on Gol D. Roger’s ship”
“sh*t, they found me out!” Buggy screams, confirming the news to everyone on board
‘Huh, why didn’t I think of that, Shanks was on Roger’s crew, and Buggy had been crewmates with Shanks… so yeah that makes sense’ Luffy thinks, his face remaining blank on the outside though
“...oh and one more thing, he’s an allie of one of the 4 Emporers, Red Haired Shanks” the snail finishes “So, if you can hear us Buggy, we don’t know how someone with a background like that has eluded us for so long, but you won’t be getting away from us next time, or ever again. We haven’t yet found a connection between you and Fire Fist, but we assume you share the same goal as Straw Hat Luffy, rescuing him from his execution this afternoon. We know you’re accompanied by Jinbe, Crocodile, Ivonkov, not to mention approximately 200 run of the mill criminal scumbags. Now time to lay things out for you, your fate is in our hands. Unless we open the Gates of Justice on our end you can’t enter Marineford, you’ll simply follow the Tub current from now until you expire. Get used to your surroundings, they’re all you’ll be seeing for the rest of your life. That is all”
“Hey, Navy” Luffy calls, causing them to pause “I’M GONNA SAVE ACE NO MATTER WHAT! So you better keep your potatoes peeled”
Click
“It’s eyes peeled you little idiot”
“Great, now I want potatoes”
“The kid just decided to pick a fight with navy headquarters, Priorities dude!”
“Hey, Captain Buggy?” the clown turns his head “Were you really a member of Gold Roger’s crew?” the man asks nervously
“And sworn brother to Red Haired Shanks?”
“That’s our captain, one hell of a pirate!”
“Why didn't you say anything sooner?”
“Not the background I was expecting from him” Jinbe muses
“And yet, he’s so weak” Mr 1 grunts
“To be fair, given his age he was probably a cabin boy or something equally low level, it’s not like he was someone of Reyleigh’s level while on Roger’s crew” Cipher argues “it’s impressive, BUT it wouldn’t automatically equal amazing strength or mental fortitude”
“Accurate” Crocodile sighs deeply
“Every ship has one, a blemish on their record” Iva huffs, getting nods from the escapees, pissing Buggy off
“Now that you mention it, Rayleigh did mention you” Luffy muses, snapping him out of his anger
“You actually spoke to Rayleigh? God I missed him, where’d you see him, how’s the old geezer doing?” Buggy gushes, eager for news about the Vice Captain of his former crewmates
“They’re actually talking about the Dark King Rayleigh!”
“I know man, this is so surreal”
“You know what this means? It’s all true, Captain Buggy is really the greatest ever!”
“Buggy Buggy Buggy!”
‘Oh Buggy Balls, this is never going to die down is it?’ Buggy groans, as the escapees cheer and chant his name ‘But then again, maybe I can find a use for all this hype, get some strong minions under me, I might even have a shot at a Yonko position, or better yet, KING OF THE PIRATES’
“Captain Buggy, we’ll follow you till the day we die!”
“Just give us an order boss man”
“We could even steal this ship from the people who stole em first”
“Sorry Straw Hat, but we ain’t dying today”
“You better get away from the controls, we got Captain Buggy on our side”
‘I wonder if Radium bones would be enough of a deterrent? No that might kill some of my allies… weird to even think that word after so long’ Cipher grimaces
“Mutiny, guess we’ll be thinning the ranks sooner than expected” Crocodile sighs, preparing a Sables in his palm, while Mr. 1 shifts his forearms into blades in preparation for an attack
‘Excellent’ Buggy grins then makes his way to the top of the ship “Enough, let’s not behave too flashily. You men are all high on power and acting reckless and impulsively, not a good plan for longevity I can tell you. No matter what this ship’s not stopping, we’re heading straight for the heart of the War, and you’re already on board aren’t you? Think about it for a moment will you, in a matter of hours we’ll be face to face with the man with his boots on top of the world, chances like this don’t come around very often now do they?” Buggy declares “So listen close, I want everyone here to live out a dream with me, as today, i’ll conquer Whitebeard, and thus, Rule The World!” he shouts, grinning madly
“Yeah! Captain Buggy” the clown’s new crew bellow, before falling to their knees and pledging their allegiance to him
“Not too bright these new recruits”
“f*cking idiots the lot of them”
“Alright then, let’s win this war men, to Navy HQ!” Buggy shouts
“So, is the Mutiny over?” Luffy wonders aloud
“It would appear so” Bon Kuri nods “Seems what he lacks in actual strength, Buggy makes up for in charisma”
“It’s a shock to all of us” Jinbe notes
“Hey, if it means we have all these canon fodder, let Buggy think he can topple Newgate, it’ll be funnier when he fails that way” Cipher cackles
Elsewhere - marine viewing station
“The marine vessel carrying Portgas D. Ace will arrive shortly”
“Perfect” the man working the monitoring equipment nods, turning his eyes to the evacuating civilians, it would look bad if they let them stay in Marineford when they KNEW a Yonko and his allies were going to be dropping in at any time now.
They needed to be ready, because Fire Fist and Whitebeard, die by day’s end
LW: And so we conclude Impel Down, just a check-up chapter next time to see how everyone not named Luffy or Kaos is doing, and then we finally begin Marineford… in May. May 1st if I’m not mistaken. So please hang on until then.
Fun Fact: While he was being a dick, Buggy was technically right, Bon Kuri wouldn’t have wanted the canon escapees to sit around and mope, it’s why he didn’t tell anyone but Jinbe about his plan, he wanted them to escape, and not worry about him. He still deserved the punch to the nose, but he was right, to a certain extent.
And now for something completely different, spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t read chapter 1044 and 1045:
Still here? Great
So, Luffy’s Devil fruit isn’t the Gomu Gomu no mi, it’s not even a paramecia. It’s a Mythical Zoan, the Hito Hito no mi Model: Nika, the Sun God.
Holy sh*t!
Also, he awakened so Gear 5th is now canon.
And he’s a living cartoon character, who can probably cause the rubberizing effect of his own body to spread to everything around him, be it his environment like a normal paramecia, or even other people, spreading his ‘Toon Force’ as some are calling it to people in the immediate area.
And he went full giant and used Kaido as a jump rope… because Oda is entirely insane XD. But that’s why we love him and this series, because it’s completely nuts, but also a lot of fun.
Oh and before anyone asks about how they don’t know this in RKMM, when Kaos is a living Devil fruit detector? Luffy ate his fruit before Kaos developed the skill, his brain doesn’t see the Gomu Gomu no mi, it sees Luffy when he senses that energy. Also, the only fruits they were exposed to was each other until Buggy, so it wasn’t until he ran into Smoker and other Devil fruits of different types that information like ‘Logia’s feel like the prescience is spread out over a wide area’ or ‘Zoans are a bit more lively than the other fruits’ were made known to the researcher, he was learning as he went, getting better at it as time went on.
Chapter 122: Check up on the Eve of War
Chapter Text
LW: Hey guys, back again to check in on the other straw hats, 10 chapter later… meaning my estimate that Impel Down would be 9 chapters long was correct, cool!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Check-up on the eve of War
“Do I even want to know what you’re thinking about kiddo?” Cipher asks as he approaches Luffy, Jinbe being busy keeping the boat in the right alignment for the moment to do anything else “It’s Ace isn’t it?”
“Ace… and my crew” Luffy sighs “We got separated just before all this went down, so I worry they’ll get hurt or worse, and I’ll never see them again”
The blond sighs, then reaches forward and ruffles Luffy’s hair “Kid, there’s nothing you can do to help them right now, so don’t overtax your brain thinking about them. You have a war to win, focus on that. Focus on how we get through the Gates outside Marineford”
“So what you’re saying, is that it’s even harder to break into Navy Headquarters than Impel Down” Luffy guesses
“Normally, no it would be laughably easy in comparison, but they’re on high alert as they’ll rightly assume Whitebeard will be coming for them to rescue Ace much like you are” Cipher explains
“They’re gearing up to Wartime power, filling Marineford up with the most powerful people under their control” Jinbe adds as he comes to check on Luffy, sending an appreciative nod to the older pirate “None of us WANT to be in the middle of a full scale war, but it’s too late to wish for peace after all the navy’s done to deliberately provoke Whitebeard”
A little later
“Should we, you know at least try to get the kid to rest? He’s probably been running on full power the entire way up and now he’s staring into the horizon like it’s holds the answers to the universe” Galdino asks, a little concerned for Straw Hat
“There’s no point, he’s too anxious and overstressed for sleep to do anything, even trying would just mess him up more. He’s sitting quietly, not like he’s trying to train himself to exhaustion or something stupid during the trip, let him sit and breath” Cipher argues, his eye closed but the bulging veins around his eyepatch told the candle man he was doing something strange, but hopefully it was related to checking on Luffy
“Plus, there’s my hormones to consider” Ivonkov chimes in “He should be resting right now after the healing session he needed to survive Magellan’s poison, but he got the energy hormones too so he could save his brother. He’ll crash when this battle is over, but until then his body is too pumped to even try to sleep”
“He’s right” Bentham nods “I got the same treatment, and while the swelling has gone down and the pain mostly goen with it, I still feel like I’m on a caffeine buzz, I sure as hell won’t be sleeping anytime soon”
Later still
“Hey Jinbe can you make this thing go any faster? At thius rate there won’t be any carnage left to be had by the time we reach Navy Headquarters” Crocodile complains “Those bastards better not kill Whitebeard, that’s my job”
Jinbe scowls “You truely think that perverse fantasy is attainable?”
“Of course I do, I can kjill you too if the sight would offend you so much” Crocodile sneers
“Calm your tit* boys, you can kill each other all you want when we get there, for now just bite your tongue and and relax” Cipher says calmmly, though theyre’s a hint of a threat in that golden eye, enough both men sigh, unclench and turn away from each other “Much better”
Zoro
“Where did that simpleton go now? It’s always the cute ones” Perona sighs, floating through the forests via astral projection “Given it took him 2 days to find his swords when I gave him directions, which took most of the fun out of it, now he’s run off into the woods there’s no telling how lost he’ll get. Hell his sense of direction is so poor I got lost lugging his sorry ass back to the castle the first time” she continues to whine as she looks for her newest idiot.
“I gotta get back to Sabaody, I’m already late and we were all in pretty bad shape when I got sent away by that panda bastard. I just hope everyone made it out alright” Zoro mutters to himself as he runs in a random direction “I can’t just hang around here and do nothing, they could be hurt or worse, I need to get back to them!”
After 37 near misses, Perona finally found Zoro, looking down from a hill at the castle they’d started at… with the urge to beat the crap out of him were she in her physical body right now.
“Ok, let’s try this again, I’ll lead you to the sea, and in doing so, we both get off this gloomy little slice of Hell” Perona sighs, playing tourguide wasn’t on her agenda for the week, but this idiot was that determined to leave she wasn’t exactly going to stop him, especially given his own sense of direction was built in sabotage so strong he didn’t need any of her help
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Zoro asks, everything in this forest looked the same to him
“Don’t you dare. Just stay quiet, follow me, and we’ll have no issues” she orders, which worked for 6 minutes, before despite having his eyes open and walking straight, Zoro began to tilt to the left “Oh for f*ck sake, do I really have to hold your hand to stop you wandering off like a child?” Perona groans, pinching the bridge of her nose
Through the power of dumb luck and/or fate, given Zoro’s poor direction was probably playing a part on Perona even in her spirit form, the 2 ended up not at the ocean… but the ruins of a city.
“Well, this is unexpected”
“I mean, I should have known there was more to this island than one huge castle… but to see a place this devastated, it really messes with your head” Perona says, biting her lip nervously “Think that crash we heard earlier was the damned souls of this battlefield, their tormented souls reaching out to pull on the waking world? Horohorohorohoro”
“Great, another Robin, just what I needed. I have a different theory. The tree over there, it didn’t fall, it was cut down. Someone, possibly multiple someones, are out here” Zoro responds, the 2 then began exploring, for the most part finding ruins, decay and thick fog, until they reach something odd, and massive
“What is that?”
“Honestly, I think it’s a grave marker” Perona notes, floating up to the massive cross directly in front of them
“Whatever it is, it’s creator was quite skilled, it’s carved straight out of the tree” Zoro says, pointing down to the fact the cross was rooted to the ground still
“Hm, I can’t tell if this is good creepy, or bad creepy, which is actually rather annoying” Perona pouts while Zoor tenses, catching something in his peripheral vision
‘There it goes, come on your sneaky bastard, come closer’ he thinks, begining to draw Wado, his senses on high alert. Didn’t help much with how fast the first strike was, cutting his cheek then forcing him back with the strenght of the sword swing, before getting batted around by a flurry of attacks, seems he was right about there being multiple someones on this island, though the numbers were hard to determine when they blurred around so much.
‘They’re fast’ Zoro thinks, countering another attack which pushes his main foe back, though only a few feet ‘Strong too, damn it’
“Zoro! There are more of them!” Perona screams, fear momentarily causing her to forget that she couldn’t be harmed in her current form. In her defence a mob of shadowy figures all wielding various bladed weapons would do that to a person
“What the Hell are you?” Zoro mutters, reaching for his swords as the creatures roar at the intruding pirates
Brook
“This village is in such an awful state, no wonder those people were so desperate for me to stay” Brook mutters to himself as he steps out of the building he crashed into the previous evening, and surveyed the area “Same with the macabre trinkets adorning the walls and etchings on the ground, I do wonder what they were planning before I arrived”
“Oh good you’re awake, we brought you breakfast” the leader of the cultists says as a small group of them arrive
“You are such kind strangers, I don’t know what to say” Brook gushes
“Don’t mention it. Also I apologize my lord, but my name is Pekkori, the leader of this humble country” the man finally introduces himself
“Pekkori, thank you. I shall relish this gift of yours” Brook bows slightly, before walking up to the lady holding the food basket “Now my dear, would you be so kind as to… show me your panties?” he asks, causign the girl to gain a luminous blush and squeak rather cutely
Unfortunetly for Brook, the response to his question from the rest of the group was to hitch up their robes and reveal their underwear to him, and as the blond girl in front of him was the only female in the group at the moment… he really wasn’t too pleased with the sights.
After eating
“Lord Satan, you said you wanted to make a request of us” a worshiper asks, trying to ignore his empty stomach
“Oh, right I require a vessel so that I may leave here right away. Do you have a ship of somekind?” Brook asks, hopefully
“Oh Dark One, have we displeased you? Quick show him out underwear!” Pekkori shouts, everyone in the room lifting their robes
“Damn it enough with the underwear!” Brook yells, a little surprised by his own declaration
“Is it no longer good enough for you master?”
“No it’s fine you’re underwear is lovely. The problem, is that I was separated from my friends, and I greatly wish to reunite with them. No matter the cost I must do this”
“Return to them?”
“Indeed”
“At any cost?”
“Nothing is too big” Brook nods “I must go, I’m truely sorry”
“Then we’re finished, and our country will soon be ruined beyond repair” Pekkori cries “Teh suffering will not only contiue, but get worse, until there’s nothing left to take. We should take our lives no, join our lord in the underworld as his demonic brethren”
“Wait, hold on a second! No need to do that” Brook leaps up and flails around in panic, he really didn’t want all these nice to people to die or commit suicide because of him “I’m sure we can come to some kind of arrangement”
“Such as?” the group ask him together
“Well, I’d like to know what the problem is that you’re suffering from. I can’t help if I don’t know what I’m facing after all” Brook asks, a few of the cultists nod as the skeleton makes sense “Also, why do you keep calling me Satan and what was this about the Long Arm tribe last night?”
Pekkori tenses up nervously, before speaking “Or country has for many years been overrun and attacked by the viscious and merciless Long Arm tribe. Not only to they take our money and resources, but they often either kill or enslave our countrymen and women. It’s left us devastated, and desperate, we just barely have the clothes on our backs”
Brook freezes “But that means the food you gave me…”
“Was basically all we had, yes. We felt we needed to give some sort of offering to you oh Dark One. We were on out last legs, so we prayed to all we could think of, even those thought lost to time such as Nika, Yig and Kaguya, until we finally got a response through begging to Satan himself. Please oh Lord of Darkness, show our enemies your powerful wrath and smite them with your dark magic, save us from their pillaging!”
“You, really think I can?” Brook asks in shock, all this time being weak and useless in Thriller Bark, it does a number of your self confidence if nothing else.
“Of course! While the best option would be to curse them to death, with how bad our situation is, anything would do right now” the man pleads, though before Brook could respond, there was a commotion outside… the Long Arm tribe were attacking again, this time they kidnapped the nice lady from before.
“Well, sh*t. This is not a good day to be on this island” Brook groans then looks to the villagers, who were staring up at him in adoration ‘Eh, I got nothing else to do right now’ “Ok, I will save you all, especially that fair maiden, because you were kind enough to give me food, and show me panties!”
“Thank you oh Dark Lord!”
‘I’m sorry my friends, Currently I’m kind of busy being Satan in a sea of underwear, but I will reunite with you one day. Hopefully this whole mess can be dealt with soon and I’ll be on my way to Sabaody shortly, fingers crossed’
Usopp
“Ahhhhhhh! Man eating Sunflower!” Ussop screams as he runs away from the aforementioned carnivorous plant, which unlike normal ones was actually chasing him, in fact behaving more like an animal than a plant despite it’s appearance
“Indeed it is, and my name is Heracle-sun” the armoured knight proclaims
“Ahhh!!”
“Heracles-un!”
“Not the time, help me please, at least do something rather than shout out your stupid name”
“Hnn :(”
“Ah crap now he’s depressed”
“ZZZZZZZZ”
“And he’s asleep… f*ck me” Ussop whines, then remembers where he is and continues running “I’m sorry Heracles you’re name’s not stupid, it’s perfect for a Hero of the Forest such as yourself” he shouts/declares
“Hm? Hero of the forest-un?” the knight repeats
“Why of course, what else would you call someone has cool and strong as you are?” Usopp stage whispers, grinning when the knight stands and poses, strength and confidence restored
“Indeed I’m the hero of the forest-un. Heracles-un!” he shouts performing several poses
“Nice, you’re even cooler than I thought” Usopp cheers, giving him a thumbs up while continuing to avoid the sunflower monster
“Never fear Ussop-un, a hero is coming!” Heracles calls out as he charges at the 2.
Unfortunately for Ussop, Heracles’s plan: was to punch him in the face. The force of that punch continued on through him, essentially punching the sunflower using Ussop as the projectile, and sending both flying. This was only bad for Heracles when the other end of the very long plant monster followed the head, slamming into him from below and taking the knight with both his victims, flying through the air and hitting the ground with soft plops.
“I’m still alive!” Ussop shouts as he pulls himself free form the dirt “Why does everything want to eat me?” he complains
“It’s survival of the fittest here Ussop-un, in order to survive you need to be strong and have tonnes of stamina, and I’m afraid that you’re the weakest thinng on this island”
“That’s just rude, I may have been the weakest on my crew, but I’m totally stronger than a bunch of ants and wor…. Oh crap” the sniper squeaks as he now understands, this island had maneating plants AND giant insects, as noted when one such ant scuttled past them without even reacting/aknowledging them.
Well until Heracles attacked it and killed it swiftly “Hungry?”
“Not for that!”
“You need to eat Ussop-un, it’s the only way to build up your strength and stamina”
Usopp sighs “i know, but there’s nothing here i’m really, comfortable eating, really wish there was” he complains, his stomach starting to rumble loudly
“I think I have an idea” Heracles mused
40 minutes later
“Are we there yet?” Usopp groans
“Almost. I’m bringing you where there will be food in abundance” Heracles explains
“Ok, but why would it be….” he stops talking as he pushes past the undergrowth and saw actual food as far as the eye could see “What the Hell!”
“Ramen Falls, Spaghetti patches, Ham fruits, all perfectly safe to eat. Fill up my dear Ussop-un, for you’ll need it to improve your strength. With this bounty, the man eating plants will not dare trifle with you!” Heracles declares, as Ussop digs in, scarfing down anything he could get his hands on
“This is so good, I feel like I could eat for days” he sighs contently, then continues eating, it had been a while and he was starving after all
“That’s just step one, you also need to exercise!” Heracles reminds him
“Yeah yeah, but I’m still on step one. Need to bulk up so I can be a cool forest hero like you after all”
Heracles pauses “You, want to be a hero like me?” he repeats, sounding almost timid, especially compared to his usual boisterous personality. Of course it didn’t last as it immediately went to his ehad and he began cheering about them becoming a heroic team… which is probably how he ended up losing the sniper during his day dream, not good when his comment turned out to be correct, no matter how much he ate, Ussop didn’t want to stop, so he didn’t.
Heracles eventually managed to find him, but by then Ussop had probably put on enough weight he could match Alvida’s pre Devil fruit form
“You idiot! You need to burn some calories soon, or you’re be in grave danger!” Heracles shouts
“What are you talking about, the maneating plants don’t come up here, otherwise all this food wouldn’t be here” Ussop comments in confusion, until he hears and feels rumbling “What’s that an earthquake?”
“No, it’s much, much worse” Heracles says, his voice void of emotion, sending a shiver through all that fat to Ussop’s spine… as the island begins to move.
The ground shifts beneath them, causign other chunky animals to roll and later on just fall straight down, to a gaping maw with gnashing teeth, consuming all who were unable to escape and find a safe spot, almost including Usopp as he was too heavy for Heracles to support, only the Ramen waterfall falling close enough for him to latch onto and slurp his way to safety, stopped him being a meal himself, though the end result once everything leveled out, was an even fatter Ussop.
Things were not looking well for the Straw Hat sniper, that’s for sure when even the island itself wants to eat him ontop of all the plantlife
Kaya
Simple mission they said, everyone dangerous would be in Marineford they said… well they were half right, as most of the staff of the facility were the scientists, and just the sight of the rebel’s guns were enough to keep them quiet, the neck chop just made sure there was no funny business. The problems came, when they reached the cages
“Help, me. Help, me” a voice calls weakly from a branching corridor
“We’ve got a live one” Kaya shouts, happy to see someone survived this place, as it had just been dead bodies and desecrated corpses. Finding the door was easy, as was picking the lock thanks to a few tips and sort of lessons from Nami. Afterwards though…
SPLAT
“Miss Kaya! sh*t, men open fire!” Adamska bellows as a thing erupts from the doorway, smashing the young woman’s head in with a massive red fist. The creature was about 14ft tall, had 4 arms and had the musutiture of a weight lifter though it was a deep red, the only exception being the emaciated human torso sticking out of it’s chest just below where the heart would be. That had been the source of the whimpers and cries, as the upper head just roars and snaps at the group like a wild beast, though it mostly smacked at them with it’s fists, breaking a lot of bones in the process.
“It’s not doing anything Sir!”
“Aim for the human part, it seems to be protecting it!” he shouts back, as there was always one set of arms crossed over the torso as it attacked, most likely due to what seems to be a layer of subdermal armour under it’s forearms, only haki infused rounds doing more than simply imbedding themselves in the thick muscle
"Please help me, make it stop" the man continues to wheeze and moan,until his head was engulfed in a thick, viscous sludge and he began to flail as he suffocated.
'Hm, that's actually rather brilliant, the beast lacks the dexterity to remove the goo without damaging or outright killing the host, meaning it can't actually stop her attacking it's weakspot' Adamska thinks as the monster throws hands with everything around it as well as shakes it's large frame, most likely attempting to dislodge it's attacker, but it was all for not, the human and then the demon both expiring within moments of each other.
"Sir, they’re attacking each other, should we take it out?" A new recruit asks, raising his rifle
"No need, she’s a friendly" he says with a laugh, before slowly approaching the yellow gloop, which as he did rose and rippled, then details began to be filled in, until Kaya was standing in front of him
"It was the only way" she says in a flat, dead tone
"Yeah, it was. You should be dead Miss Kaya, you would be if you weren't a logia"
Kaya nods "Do we know what he was? Who he was?" She asks
Adamska calls up to the guys sifting through the experiment logs and they relay it back to him "His name was Dale, a marine captain chosen for Project New Generation, implanted with a parasitic squid like creature which is shown to enhance physical characteristics. He was a failure though, unable to hold back the squids control and the mutagentic side effects"
Kaya pales "they do this, to their own people?"
"Yeah, the World Government are sick f*cks, never forget that" Adamska grimaces, just before explosions and gunfire are heard deeper inside
"Sir, we need to go! G entered human trials, nothing down here is safe for release!" A soilder shouts as he runs towards them, meaty thumps alongside the sound of something extremely heavy dragging across stone is heard
"sh*t. You heard him men, this isn’t rescue or infiltration, if Golgotha is active down here, its full purge mode. Kill everything that isn't us or an already captured researcher. Let's go go go!" He orders the men snapping to attention, and Kaya reloads her revolvers
Sanji
“Damn this whole f*cking island” Sanji groans as he sits to catch his breath for the first time in what feels like forever, being chased up and down this damn island almost since he arrived. Didn’t help that despite the weirdos chasing him in dresses, that didn’t detract from their strength, a part of Sanji remembering a certain dancer back in Alabasta, he’d probably think this was heaven, rather than Hell. But he wasn’t Sanji was, on a island of hairy dudes who think they’re ladies… f*ck!
‘Nami, Robin, Valentina, Kaya, Vivi, Alvida, Artemis. I will leave this place one day, fear not my fair maidens, your gentleman in shining armour will be there soon enough’
The next day
“Can’t you freaks find another hobby besides chasing me?” Sanji shouts as he’s once more pursued by a mob of Candies, the days really beginning to wear on him “Why won’t you just leave me alone?”
“You’ll see” they chant, clearly up to something besides trying to catch the blond chef… such as leading him blindly into the castle on the island’s peek.
And blindly he did, rushing in through the doors without even being consciously aware he was even indoors to begin with. From there it was a locked door, a trap door, and a painful 2-minute long staircase tumble before he finally reached his destination.
“Ow, crap where am I now?” Sanji groans, turning his head back and forth blindly
“I’ve been waiting for you!” a new voice announces, and Sanji finds himself looking up at the most feminine of the Candies so far, besides a still rather masculine jawline this one could probably pass for a woman, though the deep voice would make some people suspicious/curious.
“Great another one, who’s this bastard now?” Sanji grunts
“Show some respect, this is Lady Caroline!” Elizabeth scolds, having entered the room with his other pursuers while he was getting his bearings
“Ok… she the damn queen of this place or something?” he asks, getting laughs from all those around
“Am I the Queen? In a manner of speaking. I’m the Queen……. Substitute, Caroline!” she declares, revealing her crown and belt both said ‘Sub’ on them
“Well, I’m officially confused as all hell. You’re just the stand in?”
“Correct candie boy. Kamabaka has only 1 true Queen. Queen Emporio Ivankov of course. It would be presumptuous, not to mention rude to call myself Queen just because she was away. I’d take the throne if she were dead… but not simply off the island doing her great work” Caroline explains, tearing up a little.
“Do I look like I care about anything you just said? You’re still the one in charge of this nuthouse, so listen here and now. This place is Hell, so get me off this damn rock!” Sanji demands angrilly
Caroline chuckles then starts walking towards him “Very well, I hear you, however, if you wish to leave this island there’s one condition, battle our strongest warrior and win. Then you may leave”
“Seriously? Also for an island of dudes dressed as chicks, ritual combat was not what i expected”
“You’d be surprised cutie, the Kuja settle most disputes by armed combat, their idea of beauty includes a woman’s strength as much as her actual physical appearance. So, do we have a deal”
“If it gets me off this island, I’ll agree to almost anything, let’s do this!” Sanji agrees, not seeing everyone in the room grin widely
“Excellent” Caroline purrs “Then let’s get you fitted in one of our traditional Kamabaka combat outfits” she declares, a cold shiver running down Sanji’s spine
Little later
“Moss Head and Psycho better never learn of this, of I’m burning this entire place to the ground” Sanji growls as he stands in the arena wearing his costume: a poofy white dress, and high heels, with his nails painted, lipstick and eyeshadow at the very least applied to his visible right eye “Can we get this damn fight over with already?” with a leap and a spin his opponent enters the fray “You’re kidding right? You’re the strongest on the island?” he asks as Caroline had changed into a new outfit and was bouncing giddily across from him
“You bet Candie, it’s why I was Iva’s 2nd. I’m the strongest fighter in the Kamabaka arts, Kamabaka Kenpo Master… Substitute” she finishes with a wink, pissing off Sanji even more than he already was
“Just shut up and fight!” he bellows leaping at Caroline with what he expected to be a decisive blow… only to miss by a mile “What?”
“Over here Candie boy” Caroline coos, appearing in front of him and unbalancing him with a flick under the chin, then bobs and weaves as Sanji launches kick after kick at the ‘queen’
‘He’s dodging all my attacks like they’re nothing, and why is he looking down’ Sanji thinks, then pauses and turns beat red. Having never fought in a dress before he forgot something important… high kicks expose his underwear to the audience, as well as his opponent “Quit looking you pervert”
“Oh don’t be such a prude Candy boy, though that maidenly innocence shines through your embarrassment” Caroline teases as they leap to a separate part of the battle arena
“Bullsh*t, why would i care if you see my underwear I’m a dude” Sanji growls, jumping over and continuing his barrage
“Are you sure, the fact your kicks are much lower beg to differ” she argues, pulling out a protractor from… who knows
“What the? Are you measuring my deadly kicks?”
“Why yes. But I’m only trying to show you there’s doubt in your heart”
“Shut up, you don’t know a damn thing about me!” Sanji screams, leaping into the air to try kick the smug Okama’s face in, only for her to catch his kick with surprising ease
“Oh don’t I?” she hums, letting Sanji pull free and scutter away “As I expected, you’re wearing your masculinity as a shield, but there’s nothing more freeing, than being who you were meant to be”
“What?”
“Are you quite done boy? Because that blank expression makes be believe you’re allowing me to attack you now” Caroline asks as Sanji stands dumbfounded
New Kama Kempo Technique: Awakening of the Inner Maiden
‘It’s just stupid underwear, why am I being so weird about it, why does it make me freeze up knowing these weirdos can see it?’
“Yeep!”
‘Did I just scream like a girl? What’s wrong with me? I… don’t feel like myself’
‘It’s true isn’t it, I’m not who I pretend to me, I’m… home’
Conversion…complete
“Dear my lovely lady friends of the Straw Hat crew, mostly Nami, how are yall, I hope this message reaches you somehow. I do so look forward to seeing you all again very soon, we might even be much better friends afterward” Sanji narrates as he skips across the beach in his frumpy dress and make-up crudely applied to his face, sounding mildly delirious if I’m being honest, heavily accented too.
Franky
When we last saw Franky he was acting like a proper English gentleman, though one who refuses to wear pants. Unfortunately, this hasn’t changed, to the disappointment of Kitton
“Come on grandpa, there has to be something to fix him, he’s so boring now and if he wasn’t so mind screwy he’d want us to put him back to what his normal would be” the boy complains
“I know kiddo, and I’ve ordered some cola for him, but until it gets here, there’s nothing more we can do that let him stay with us” the old man shrugs his shoulders “i’m sure once he gets a bottle into him he’ll be back to his old self, given how quickly the tea changed him at least. After all, it’s not like we can MAKE him go wild, if tea makes him calm and refined, that’s all there is”
Kitton hums ‘Can’t make him you say…’
Later
While we don’t know how, or how he remained sleeping through it, Franky’s bed was moved from the home to the middle of a forest, the snow blanketing it just like everything else on the island
“Brrrrr it’s cold. How did I end up out in the elements?” Franky muses as he awakens and gets out of bed, before walking into something long and red “A scarf, how lovely” he smiles wrapping it around his neck until he found the other end… it was a snake, a cyborg snake, and it was angry, at least based on the mouth laser it was charging up
BOOM!
“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear” Franky mutters as he runs away “My goodness, what a strange and dangerous beastie” he says to himself as he catches his breath, then notices something half-buried in the snow off to his left. It was a sign that he read and his worry heightens.
Keep Out: This is a forest of Mechanical Animals
“Oh…. that’s not good” he says aloud, his panic almost causing him to swear, only to catch himself, it was then he notices red lights in the forest, the eyes/sensor lights of the many cyborg beasts locked away within the forest
“Now now, settle down chaps, you all seen agitated and perturbed, did you all remember to eat your breakfast this morning? It is the most important meal of the day don’t you know” Franky asks, his accent getting stronger, while a hidden observing Kitton sighs in disappointment. The animals weren’t amused by the human’s lack of fear and growled loudly, meanwhile, Franky had a revelation “Oh my, that means it’s breakfast time for me too, oh I’m such a silly goose chaps” he facepalms, then retrieves the teapot from his stomach and sipped it calmly “There, that does the trick. Anyone care for a cup?” he offers, at which point the animals patience had run thin and the lot of them jumped him… only for him to somehow avoid the entire confrontation
“Well, that plan didn’t work at all” Kitton sighs, while his dog whines in similar disappointment. Things couldn’t get any worse, until they did. The mecha gorilla spotted them and began to attack, causign the boy and his dog to flee their hiding space just before it was destroyed, now putting them out in the open with all the viscous cyborg animals right in front of them “Ah! Someone help us!” he screams, only for Franky to casually step between the boy and the ape
“Hello my friend, good day” he greets with a smile and a nod, almost seeming oblivious to his surroundings
“Franky!” Kitton cheers
“That’s a bit improper my good lad, perhaps Mr. Frank in the future” Mr. Frank offers, at which point the ape finally draws his attention when it leaps at and tries to pummel him, only for his hit to be blocked by Mr. Franks’s crossed arms “Naughty naughty, don’t you know violence is never the answe….” his scolding is cut off by a punch to the jaw that sends him flying
Franky laughs nervously as he smoothes down his hair into the proper due “I know you’re at that age when you want to act ou…” PUNCH “But liste” PUNCH “We can” PUNCH “Sory this ou” PUNCH “Like gentlemen” SLAM. He continues to try the peaceful option, but the gorilla isn’t having any of that crap, wailing on the other cyborg
“Nothing”
PUNCH
“Good”
PUNCH
“Ever comes”
PUNCH
“From Violence”
PUNCH
“Come on Franky, fight back already. Gorillas don’t respond to words, they respond to actions” Kitton starts to panic for real now as he shouts at Franky
“Rela-kkkk”
PUNCH
“Listen to”
PUNCH
“Lis..”
PUNCH
“If you just let me spea…”
PUNCH
“I have wisdom to impart”
PUNCH
Given most of Franky’s body was made of metal at this point, this beating wasn’t actually doing more than superficial damage, and if he was able to right now would just make Franky a little annoyed at worst, but there was something all this repression and hippie antics were doing around was doing…The tea was bubbling up
PUNCH
And that was the tipping point. Steam billowed from every orifice of Franky’s face and his sleeve were torn to shreds, the noise drawing the attention of all the cyborg animals who turned as Franky stood his perfectly quaffed hair, disheveled, and twisting into a very familiar shape, a pompadour.
“Oooooooooooooooooohhhh yeah SUPER!!” Franky shouts, going into his signature stance, then, as the Gorilla attempts to continue its assault, is grabbed by his arm and used as a flail to beat every other animal in range of the now very angry metal man “What do you punks think I am, chopped liver?” he laughs, standing upon the knocked out bodies of the fallen animals “You can’t step to FRANKY! Without getting these guns to your face!”
“He’s back!” Kitton cheered, somehow his crazy plan worked, laughing as Franky summersaults down to the 2, then stumbles “Ah, are you ok?”
“I’m fine kid, just ran out of steam, literally” Franky sighs, opening his stomach to show his fuel tank running low
“Steam? Oh! I know where to do” the kid smiles, then takes Franky by the arm and starts pulling him away
“Where are we going kid?” Franky asks
“To the house of Dr, Vegapunk, it’s not far and I bet we could find a device to make cola there” Kitton chirps happily
“Say what now?” Franky gasps in shock
“Balgimore is famous for a whole load of technological stuff, and he made a bunch of them, he’s known as The Genius all over” Kitton explains “Like all the mechanical animals you just fought, they were made by Vegapunk ages ago. I mean they say he was an odd duck and he did leave the island kind of overrun by dangerous cyborgs, but that doesn’t make him any less of a genius” he concludes just as Vegapunk’s lab enters line of sight
“My grandpa says it’s probably full of dangerous experiments, but it’s an emergency, and I have you to protect me.. So we should be fine” Kitton smiles as they ignore the keep out signs and boarded up doorway
“Let’s see” Franky hums as he removes the boards and enters the lab, not getting more than a step before alarms start blaring and security systems activate ‘Well, sh*t’
Nami
“Hey, you said you’d take me to the Sabaody Archipelago, yes?” Nami asks, glaring at the old man from the other sie of the cloud candy she was eating
“Of course my violent friend, I said I’d grant you anything I could, and that was your choice” he chuckles nervously
“Well, do you know when I’ll get there, because right now it feels like we’ve barely moved”
“Um…no, no I don’t. Weatheria travels by the wind, so it’s speed varies greatly day to day, yesterday we moved maybe about 600ft”
“sh*t” Nami groans after punchign the geezer “Also sorry, reflex”
“I’ve noticed” he mutters, rubbing the bump on his head
“But seriously, if you’re turning a sky island into a mobile research platform… shouldn’t you have some way to I don’t know steer? Jeez, if this was anything but in the sky, I’d have bailed an tried find my own way there”
“And that would be stupid, we’re much too far from your target for you to make any headway, at least on Weatheria you’ll get there eventually”
Nami’s brows pinch, annoyed that the old man was right “I’m aware, but getting to Sabaody, is very important to me, my friends are all there, or they’re supposed to be, and I’m never going to get back to them with this thing trundling along like it is”
“Well, we could go down below, I’ve been needing to stock up on supplies for a couple days now” the old man hums “As well as try acquire more funds for my research”
Nami blinks “Down below?”
“On the ground” he smiles
“You, can do that? Seriously?”
As it turns out, yes they could as Nami boards an elevator with the wizard and take a sharp drop to the ‘ground floor’ of Weatheria
“As you might expect, my weather research is quite costly, luckily it also can be used to make quite a profit for the land dwellers, or I’d have been sunk years ago” he explains with a chuckle and a shrug, then leads the confused navigator to a boat parked just on the edge of the central bubble “You lady, please enter the vessel so we can depart”
“Ok” Nami hums as she slips inside, the boat lurking almost immediately after parking her rear on the seat “Wha… It flies?”
“But of course, how else could be get BACK to Weatheria after going on a supply run, silly girl” he laughs, as the boat slips through the bubble unharmed and begins to float down to the land below “Ah there it is, just the island I was looking for” he grins
“sh*t, and I thought Alabasta was bad” Nami mutters as she wipes her brow, the land as far as she could see was dry and desolate, the few people peering out of the homes in this village, looked desperate, as did the group that came out to investigate their arrival
“You mean it, you can save our island?” a man Nami assumes was the mayor or equivalent village leader asks the wizard
“Why not, your problem is straight forward enough far as I can tell” he says with a slight shrug and a smile “Just a little rain and you’ll be able to get back on your feet in not too long. Luckily I’m something of an expert on this kind of thing, I’ll gladly summon a shower or 2”
“You jest!” the man shouts in shock and disbelief
“Not at all, all completely true. Now…. does 100,000,000 beris sound appropriate?” he asks with a misery smirk
‘Damn, I thought I was a gold digge…. Damn it Kaos! But seriously that’s a lot for a little rain, at least I asked for a billion for ending a Civil War’ Nami thinks while the locals argue amongst themselves and consider his offer
The leader sighs deeply “I’m sorry, but even for the rain, it’s too much”
The wizard hums, and tilts his head, then turns to Nami “Did I highball it a little too much?” he asks, and seemed genuine in his tone
“You idiot! Do these people look rich to you? At least I tried to fleece a princess” she mutters the last part, but he got the gist, WAY too much
“You may have a point… how about 1,000?”
“Wow, so cheap!”
“You’re a really sh*tty businessman, no wonder you have to scrounge for funding” Nami groans “Though, I have to ask, can you really make it rain, because I know a place that could have really used your help the last couple years?”
“Just watch and be amazed little girl, these is actually just as easy as I said it was” the wizard laughs, before pushing a button on the boat’s control panel and after some rather worrying machinery noises a small army of bubbles pop out, all containing a little black cloud
“Soap bubbles, how will that help?” Nami asks confused
“They’re not soap bubbles child, and could you be a dear and make us some wind please?” he asks, tossing the wind knots down to her, and things click into place in Nami’s mind
“Ah. So full power I presume?”
“Correct, let it rip!”
SNAP
WHOOSH
The wind generated shot the little bubbles high into the air, where they popped and released their payload: Storm clouds, which clumped together forming a very large raincloud directly over the village
“Rainclouds, he actually did it” the mayor gasps
“It’s Raining!”
“Childen come outside, feel the rain on your skin!”
“Party!”
Nami chuckles, once more getting Alabasta flashbacks, the sheer joy on these peoples faces for something as simple to her as rain, it warms her cold black heart [Nami: Damn it Kaos!]. She wasn’t too out of it though not to notice when a bubble umbrella was put over her head
“What did I tell you Heyheyhey!” he laughs, which set Nami off too, seems crazy followed her even when away from the rest of the straw hats “I guess this is goodbye then” Nami tilts her head in confusion “I’ve already spoken with the mayor, he knows about your journey and would be happy to help…”
“I’m not leaving”
“Wha, you’re not! But why?”
“I thought it would be obvious, I want to learn this weather science of yours, it’s pretty impressive if I say so myself” she winks, grinning “Since it’ll take a while to get to Sabaody, maybe you could teach me along the way”
“Really? Oh I’d love this, my first real apprentice! You won’t be disappointed Miss Nami, I’ll make a true Weather Scientist out of you in no time”
Valentina
Ushi Saru Oo Ne E Tori Ushi Uma Tori Ne Tora Inu Tora Mee Ushi Hitsuji Me E Hitsuji Ne Genne Saru Tori Tatzu Tori Ushi Uma Hitsuji Tora Me Ne Saru Ooh E Tatzu…
"That's enough" a gruff voice shouts as he grabs her hands, Valentina looks up to see the tired visage of Kisame the bullshark fishman, who in turn grimaces as he notices the girl is soaked to the bone, hopefully it's >70% due to water jutsus rather than sweat, but it was cause for concern either way "You push too hard, too fast you'll get yourself killed. Now come on, Sasori and Zetsu say the puppet is ready and broadcasting, you seemed pretty determined to see Fire Fists execution" he hums as Valentina towels off
"He's my captain's brother, need to show my respect somehow. Might as well be a witness if nothing else" she explains blandly, her mind on other things, such as why she was nearly killing herself trying to get back to her former skill level… and surpass it
Earlier in the week
"I don't know why you're kneeling there Val, I'm not mad at you" Minato chuckles as he stands from his chair, meanwhile Valentina knelt before his desk, short blond hair nearly combed and her hiate tied to her left forearm
"You should be Sensei, I abandoned the village and my duties as godmother, and if it wasn’t for Kuma I wouldn’t even be here right now. I'm a failure" her head bows until she feels him squeeze her shoulder.
"It wasn't your fault…"
"Of course it f*cking was! I got captured, Kakashi, and Obito nearly died!"
"Because I gave you a mission you should never have gone on" Minato says, his voice raising only slightly, but it cuts through her shame "The mission I gave you shouldn't have been undertaken by a lone chunin, it was something that would have required a team of at least chunin, maybe even Jonin, but we were spread too thin, and an A rank ended up in your hands. That traumatised you, made you leave the corps, and I understand completely. I even know you’ve found a new calling”
Val blushes “Yeah, never thought I’d be a pirate, it works though, and I made a little family out there on the waves. Really need to get back to them eventually” she sighs “It’s also why I need to get stronger, or even just back to before, I let myself go when I left the village, I need to get better if we are going to the New World”
Minato nods “Very true. I know you left your chunin jacket alongside your hiate on your bed when you left, and while you once more wear your protector, the vest is in your closet” Val nods, not seeing where this was going “Good, wouldn’t want to have to punish you for impersonating a superious officer. You think you’ve gone soft, then earn back your rank, I know you’ll do this, and even reach the others soon enough”
Valentina scoffs “I still don’t know how those idiots made Jonin”
“Obito’s an Anbu”
“Motherf*cker”
“Anyway, believe me when I say I know you’ll suceed, and I’ll always see you as a daughter to me, no matter what you do outside these walls”
Val sniffles “You can’t say sh*t like that Sensei, you have a kid now, a son and daughter”
Minato sighs, pulling her first to her feet and then into a hug “Hiruzin adopted the entire Sanin, as I’m sure your brother told you, so there’s nothing wrong with me adopting my best squad. You’re part of this family, and you’re not getting away from me. Go out there and be the best damn pirate ninhja ther ever was, understand?”
“Ay Ay Minato Sensei! Pops”
Present
That, was going to take some getting uysed to, but at least she was able to make things up to Naruto and Kurama with little difficulty, now all that remains was the viewing
“You sure they can cut the feed?” Dedara asks curiously
“Only if they find the crow” Sasori remarks, admiting to useing a recon puppet for this operation.
“Enough! This is the end of FireFist, and potentially the start of a great War between the marines and Whitebeard, I intend to watch and enjoy” Hidan grins as the screen focuses
Victor
Burner Finger 3
“Incoming!” Giselle screams as the ground in front of their opponent turns into straight up lava and starts flowing towards them
“Really, he gave this dumbass fire powers” Victor groans as he reloads his revolver
“Yep, Boss Man gave him the ‘Heat’ which made sense at the time” Bambiette sighs “Liltotto now!”
MUNCH
MUNCH
MUNCH
“Oh f*ck that was bad!” the mermaid groans, while Victor just stares as the girl’s mouth had extended and then consumed all the lava Bazz-b had produced. The mohawked man was also distracted…
POWER
So hopefully he didn’t need those ribs, as Meninas slams her enhanced fist into his side at high speed, sending him flying into the nearby wall
“Is he done?” Giselle asks
Burner Finger 1
“I’ll take that as a no” Victor sighs firing back at the source of the fireblasts
Breezebreath bomb
“This isn’t working, Candice, put those thunder thighs to good use!”
“It’s bring the thunder your stupid fish!” Candice screams, before doing as asked, and lighting the fire bender up with a volley of lightning “And that’s how you win” she boasts
Burner Finger 4
“Mother f*cker!” Bambi curses as Bazz-B forms flaming katanas before leaping towards the sternritters, only to be met with an obstacle
KABOOM
“I think you found something you can’t just burn through” Victor chuckles “Time to drop the bomb!” he says, slamming his fist into Bazz’s gut
Boom Fist
“And that team, is a take down” Bambi grins befor etying up the knocked out flame manipulator “Now we need to hawl his ass to the big man for an Auswählen. Want to come, see some old friends, and we can get you where you need to go afterwards” the captain offers
“I think I’d like that” Victor nods
Chopper
Since our last peek Chopper had managed to free himself from his restraints and avoided being made into reindeer hotpot, and was surviving the island as best he could, mostly gathering food and avoiding the waring tribesmen and massive birds who seemed to be almost constantly at war with one another. He’d also made a friend, of sorts
Ree Ree!
“Calm down, I got you some nice dindins” Chopper half scolds as he approaches the huge baby bird yelling for food, as he sets down the food to prepare and share it out, the bird rises, revealing bandaged feet, or as best he could do on this island “How do you legs feel today? Did they get any better?” he asks as he undoes the ‘bandages’ “Oh my, they’re all healed up, that’s great news” the chick’s cries seemed to agree “I know I know, calm down food is coming” he chuckles before setting it down in front od the bird who starts gobbling it all up “You were really lucky, who knows what could have happened if I’d been out gathering herbs or food when you fell out of your nest, I might not have had a chance to save you” Chopper hums then shivers
“Gods, you’re going to have me run ragged if you keep eating this much food, but if it gets you healthy and strong enough to fly that’s ok… for now at least” he sighs, pulling out Rayleigh’s Vivre card for a moment before putting it back “One thing though, when you’re big enough to fly, i need you to help get me to the Sabaody Archipelago, seem fair?” he asks, imagining how Luffy and the others would freak seeing one of the giant birds from this island, and giggling to himself
The reindeer and giant baby bird cuddled together that night for warmth, the downy feathers perfect sleepign material in Chopper’s eyes. The problem came the next morning, when Chopper awoke alone.
“Hm, she’s not here, well her legs are all healed up so maybe she went for a walk or something” Chopper mutters to himself, until his brian wakes up properly and decides that’s not right… so goes looking for her.
Luckily giant chicks leave giant footprints so she was almost comically easy to track.
“I hungry”
“We all hungry dummy, that why we keep looking for escaped racoon, and why we out this far from village”
“That reindeer, you the dummy”
“Shut up”
“Who cares what is, it meat and we make it into Hotpot”
‘Crap, those humans are out here, looking for me. If they find the bird she’s a gonner’ Chopper panics from his hidding place behind a tree after hearing the hunters pass through the clearing in front of him. This spurred him on to find the chick as soon as possible, and he was overjoyed when he did and she was completely unharmed, it seemed she had just gone for a walk like his sleep idled brain had assumed “You’re OK!” he cheers, hugging her as best he could
“I don’t think he’s here Bill”
“So we check another part of jungle right Ted?”
“Sounds good”
“Ok, so if they’re leaving we should be safe, just stay quiet a little longer” Chopper whispers “They might find us if you make too much noise”
Unfortunately the chick’s reaction to being told to stay quiet is to panic and start shrieking and chirping loudly, alerting the hunters and causign Chopper to haul ass in Heavy Point while more or less carrying the overstuffed birdo on his back
“I see reindeer!”
“I see bird too”
“Multi meat hotpot, the best kind!”
“sh*t sh*t sh*t!” Chopper mutters in panic as explosions go off left right and centre, right until they reach a cliff “Oh no, we’re cornered and done for!” he yelps
“Nowhere left to go” One of the hunters state, the group getting closer and closer to the 2 animals
“Give up dinner!”
SHRIEEKKK
“Big Birds coming to save cheeper”
“We shoo away!”
“They’re here” Chopper smiles, setting down the cheeper and reverting to brain point “You really showed up to save us?” he asks, one bird drops down right in front of them “She took a bit of a tumble but I patched her up good as new, not that I need thanks from a big lug like you” Chopper hums and wiggles, until he notices the tense silence. Looking up he see’s the big bird stare at him, then smack him aside with it’s beak and pick up the cheeper, sending the poor reindeer rolling off the cliff, only saved by a timely application of Guard Point.
“Ungrateful bastard” Chopper grumbles, then looks back where he as more explosions rock the landscape “And they’re back to fighting again… figures”
Cheep, cheep cheep
“Oh, that must have been her mom, well at least she’s been saved” Chopper smiles, then calls out “Remember your promise, when you grow up and learn to fly, you’re taking me to Sabaody to meet up with my friends! Thank you” he grins… for a second “Wait, how long would that take? How long will I be stuck on this stupid island?!” he screams in desperation
Vivi
“I have to say, this wasn’t the best way to learn about this kind of thing” Walter sighs, rubbing Vivi’s back as she has a panic attack/breakdown
“Hey, at least it wasn't an Asghoul, or a Manataur” Seras argues, though not that hard
“I highly doubt a manotaur would be worse than a Lich Miss Victoria” Walter deadpans
“You don’t know, yer just a Ewe-man, I got the vampire senses and those beast men stink for normal people, I couldn’t smell anything for a month and nearly passed out just being 100ft from them!” the young vampire argues
“Very true, but it wasn’t either of those things, it was a Lich, a f*cked up one using kids as spare vessels. At least we saved a few kids, had to put the rest of them down though” Alucard notes, not really too bothered about killing humans any more than monsters, but knowing humans feel awkward when it’s kids
“True, we did interrupt the ritual so we saved that little girl, Wendy wasn’t it?” Seras nods, always happy when they actually manage to save someone, rather than simply cleaning up the mess they leave behind
“Magic is real. Demons are real” Vivi whimpers, as she begins to sit up “What else is real?”
“Well just off the top of my head, Vampires, Demons, Lich, zombies, ghouls and asghouls, God, he’s kind of a dick, Fairies, Lunarians, Dragons, and Cthulhu” Alucard lists with a shrug
“Knew about zombies, turns out you can make them with the Kage Kage no mi, the others… f*ck!” Vivi groans, her face in her hands “And, this is what you do?”
“Indeed, the Helsing Organisation was founded in the West Blue as a monster hunting group after the capture of the High Vampire Dracula 500 years ago” Walter explains “It also became our duty to deal with these things that go bump in the night as close to discreetly as possible, so as to avoid mass panic and co*cky brats going looking for trouble”
“They’re actually 17% of out cases, or at least the cause of them” Seras mutters
“That sounds accurate if I’m being honest” Vivi chuckles “Hey Walter, how did you know which of the kids were, well saveable? I was able to target the ones who looked to be rotting and had glowing eyes, but most of them looked pretty normal, so how could you tell?”
Walter smiles slightly, then removes his glasses and passes them to her “Simple Miss Vivi, a little runic magic” he says as Vivi examines the glasses, seeing a ring of what at first glance looked like tiny scratch marks, but on 2nd look were symbols or glyphs of some sort, similar to though most likely not the ones on the Ponyglyphs Robin, Kaos and Artemis could read “They let me see the magical energy leaking from the control and transference runes the Lich uses so he can use them as back up vessels if his main body was to be killed. Had I not killed them all…”
“He’d have just slipped away in a new body and done this all over again” Vivi sighs, knowing the older gentleman was right “So, who did we kill exactly?”
“Someone the organisation has been searching for, for the last couple centuries: Lich King Pan” Alucard answers, growling angrily
“Pan is dead, because of us, and no more kids will be used to extend his life or be corrupted by his darkness. I can live with that, but I think I need more information”
“On what?” Seras asks
“All of it!”
Alucard smirks, peering at Walter over his shades “Then I think it’s time you speak to the Boss. Hellsing Integra!”
Alvida
"3 servings of Vania ale, as ordered"
"Thanks dear"
"I didn't know Meliodas was hiring, you must be something special" the pink haired man notes, looking Alvida up and down
"What’s that supposed to mean?" Alvida growls, only working because the midget offered her transport to Sabaody when they move on in 2 weeks
"Gil doesn't mean anything by it, just that rumors tend to cling to most of the people on the owners crew. The barkeep Ban has apparently been cursed with immortality, the bouncer Diane is a giant made small through dark magic, Gowthers something inhuman though nobody can determine what, Miss Merlin is believed to be the lost child of a Yonko.."
The third man, a tall and stocky/muscular lad chuckles "My money's on Kaido if that rumor turns out to be true, explains the horns and the aura of don’t f*ck we me she has just from existing. I heard another rumor that their accountant is an exiled noble from an island under full government control, but the strangest one… is that Meliodas, is a Lunarian"
"Bullsh*t, I think you're drinking something stronger than ale if you beleive that Griamore, the Lunarians died out 800 years ago, no way the captain is one of them" Gilthunder argues“Besides, the weirsest thing is that Meliodas and Ban have kids now, Tristan and Jerico”
Howzer laughs “That’s how you know Sir Ban’s a local, naming his kid after one of our warriors of legend, classic!”
"Seems you're making interesting friends Smooth Criminal" a voice purrs, though there was a scratchy/glitchy undertone to it.
Alvida turns, and blinks, unsure how to react to an anthropometric deer in a blood red 3 piece suit "What do you want?"
"To see and old friend, see if he's interested in an adventure with some pals" the deer coos
"No thanks" Meliodas answers, surprising people who didn't notice him come down "actually that's the response for Grima and/or Henry, for you Alistair it’s Go f*ck Yourself!"
"Must you be so rude my boy?"
"You knew before you arrived, I'm not getting involved in another war, I just want to run my tavern and enjoy retirement" the blond midget sighs
The deer mink tilts his head "Oh, but is it really retirement, I mean your kind live for millennia…"
"And I'm barely kicking 2-10. I know. Answers still go f*ck yourself. No off you go Wendigo" Meliodas says with a wink
Alistair frowns but nods "I told her this wouldn't work. Ban, a whisky shot for the road, Helios was setting up the rebreather so I'm going to need something to tune out the hacking and wheezing"
Meliodas grimaces “Makes sense I guess, that stuff doesn’t just come from this air, she has to produce it. Nasty though”
“Indeed”
Later
“So” Alvida sighs as she spars with Diane, learning from the pigtailed woman how to use a warhammer “i heard some interesting rumors while working the tables”
“They’re all true” Diane laughs, batting her attack aside with Gideon “Well probably true if it’s the big ones. I’m a giant, Merlin’s magic made it so I can be human size for my beloved. Ban, he was made immortal by a former lover, the legendary knight Jerico. Merlin, she doesn’t talk about it, but it’s obvious who her family is, King and Elaine are Fae, Elizabeth is a Shandorian, and Meliodas…” she stops
“He is a Lunarian, isn’t he?”
“He was known as Amateratsu. Because even as a Lunarian he was special, wielding dark and powerful black flames. He’d be hunted if anyone knew, luckily he looks nothing like most Lunarians, with olive skin and silvery white hair, so he can stop rumors really spreading far” Diane explains
“And the Deer in a suit?” Alvida asks
“Alistair of the Demon Eye Mercenary company, formerly the Demon Eye Pirates heralded by Apophis, now Grima” both turn to see Merlin had joined them “He’s a Deer Mink, and wanted to ask for help from some old allies. Us”
“So you were all…”
“Pirates? Correct, well not Elizabeth but the rest of us were. The 7 Sinners. Now we travel the world selling booze and sorting out local issues, it’s fun in a relaxing sort of way”
Alvida nods “It actually kind of does. Would trade it all away to reunite with my crew, my wife and my husband” she admits
“Of course you would, the Straw Hats, they are quite a surprising little bunch, but they certainly seem like a family unit” she nods “I’ll leave you be, you’re improving quickly, but try not to stress your injuries” she warns re-entering the Boar Hat
Robin
“I really hope this isn’t a sign of the rest of East Blue, because this is kind of a sh*thole” Agent Koala grimazes, missions like this were always a pain. Luckily infiltration wasn’t the goal today, more clean up based on the information sent by their agents within the structure.
“Seems we didn’t have to do much nya” the cat mink behind her chuckles, and he was right, most of the guards had been ‘dealt’ with by an outside force, snapped necks, limbs torn from their sockets and bent unnaturally, some even looked similar to when Fishman karate was used for pure offence, as if something inside them had just popped. All were guards, except one, she was prisoner 1242, and it was bad, broken spine, limbs bent to the point they were practically pretzels, untold internal damage, and the worst part…
‘Holy sh*t she’s still alive’ Koala’s eyes widen as the body heeves and coughs
“She only did that, because we were betrayed, by her” the revolutionary turns to the source of the voice, a little girl, so out of place in a hellhole like this, or more so when everyone else around her is grown adults to old foggies. Koala had a feeling she knew who the ‘she’ was, the one who took out all the guards, killed the Captain, and didn’t stop them coming in and boarding Tequilla Wolf, even let them be contacted in the first place
“Hello little one, do you know where she is?” Koala asks politely
“Yes, she’s probably in the Warden’s old office, or near that area” Sorin explains, offering her hand to the orange haired woman but not entering the building, allowing Koala privacy she guesses
Glurk
Of all the situations she’d expected, finding Nico Robin puking her guts out in the former Warden’s bathroom wasn’t high on the list, it also made things really awkward for the woman, as she’s not entirely sure how to introduce herself while the other person has their head in the toilet, lucky for her, she had already been noticed
“Not the most glamorous of first impressions I’m afraid” Robin chuckles, sitting up and turning her head, giving the younger woman a side view “Hello… I don’t think I heard a name” she hums
“Koala, of the Revolutionary Army. Nico Robin, I presume? Are you ill or is the food here this bad?” she states, and half jokes
“I believe it’s morning sickness actually, though even the Wardens food was overall poor quality, and yes, I am Nico Robin” Robin replies, now just sitting on the floor
“You seem oddly casual for someone who knows armed people are storming the facility, not that we needed to be armed, thanks for the guards, and you’re just sitting here in the bathroom. From what we’ve heard about you, you seemed the cautious, even some would ay paranoid type, also possibly insane but that’s more recent after hearing you joined up with the Straw Hats”
She laughs “Oh those are both accurate statements, the thing is I was never in any danger, from you. My Devil fruit means I see all, and if you were a threat, to me or mine, you would suffer, be it pain, or even a Sheer Heartattack” the tone was subtle, but the threat was there, not helped by Robin’s smile, tting, into a much less human smirk, sending a shiver down Koala’s spine
“Is that what happened to the woman outside?”
The smile falls, her eyes cold “I presume you met a little girl outside, only one in the entire facility, Sorin? I ended up here due to an incident, the only people who knew were that girl and the people in the same compound as her and the woman who treated my wounds. Of course, someone alerted the guards and they investigated, Sorin alerted me so I could get free, but I didn’t go far. I doubt your reports say this, but I have a child of my own, Artemis, same age as Sorin best I can tell, and while I know the little girl out there, isn’t mine, I still wanted to wring the bastard’s neck when he started hurting her, emotionally and physically. Very few of the guards died, but the ones who did, were party to the abuse, or connected to the Warden” Robin states flatly
Koala swallows thickly, really hoping things would calm down soon “What would you say, if I told you we could get you off this island by the end of the day?”
“Thank you, what do I need to do to redeem this offer?” Robin replies with a more gentle smile, which Koala returns.
Mission success? I think?
Kaos
“I really hate this place” Hanco*ck grimaces as she steps off the ship “Meetings are bad enough but a war, it’s disgusting. Thoughts?” she hums, turning to her companions but freezes when she see’s Kaos/Margeuite’s condition, near catatonica with her eyes flitting with no recognizable pattern
“Beloved, please wake up” she hisses, trying not to be drawn into the kaleidoscope that was his eyes rippling and contortign without his conscious thought
“Seem’s the bitch is defective, not much of a bodyguard is she” Doflamingo laughs as he spots the other warlord’s arrival
“String string man, plans within plans. What a fragile web of lies you weave” Kaos says with an airy tone that sends shiver’s down the spines of those within earshot, Hanco*ck even thinking she saw Doflamingo tense in either anger, or possibly fear, though it ight have been the tone more so than the content and she understood none of it. Shauls might have, it would explain the grin
“Wake up little one, we can’t dillydally” she coos, then lightly slaps the kuja’s head
“Right sorry. Don’t worry Empress I won’t be like this again. I’ll employ the Momonga method to keep sane” she says with a rather dark smile
“What does that mean?” Hanco*ck asks
“It means don’t worry, the knife in my ribs, is my own” she grins, winking as the 2 look at her confused, until Hanco*ck looks down and her eyes bulge as it was a literal statement: the hilt of a dagger was embedded between the girl’s floating ribs, and given it wasn’t attacked to her via the hilt, it wasn’t Hebi (it was actually one of Val’s spare kunai, but Kaos wanted to borrow a few to practice knife throwing, which she was happy to help him work on)
“Take it out” she orders
“I will, once the world stops spinning” Marguerite replies “So many powerful people, this will be quite the adventure my love”
Unknown location
"In a few short hours the legacy of Gol will be permanently erased" a man wearing a tribal mask laughs
"Don't get overconfident Ma'at, that's what lost us that damn fruit the last time" the man beside him, facemask on the desk and his bowler hat twirling in his hand retorts "What do you think Tsukuyomi?" he asks turning to the lone female in the room, her expression unreadable behind the dragon mask
"I, believe things are about to get much more complicated than the Fleet Admiral expects it to" she says with a click of her tongue, the Visual Den Den Mushi activated as she spoke, displaying Marineford, for all of CP0 to witness.
TBC
LW: And with that the Impel Down arc ends, bring on Marineford!
Also, to everyone reading it on the day… Happy Easter!
See you all in May
Chapter 123: War Games, the players all gather
Chapter Text
LW: And now we begin the War, in the Marineford Arc. And a few revelations in store, so this should be fun
Rubber King and Mirror Master - War Games, the players all gather
Marine Headquarters
As the 3 sat awaiting Ace’s execution the sliding door opened, revealing a clearly high ranked marine, Kaos noting her to have laugh lines and stress greys in her otherwise dark brown hair and a triangular tattoo on her neck “Pirate Empress, they require you to come down to the docks, your associates may accompany you providing they are willing to work against pirates and alongside the marines much like yourself” she states with a half-smile
Hanco*ck nods “Of course, come along” Shaula sighs but stands, while Margeuite moves almost into Hanco*ck’s shadow, we’ll follow you, Miss…?”
“Pines, Rear Admiral Pines Miss Boa” the woman answers and leads the way, Hanco*ck didn’t react and Shaula was busy adjusting her choker (Where did she get that?) but Kaos’s eyes widen and her eyebrows knit, could that actually be her? The Indominable? The woman who captured ‘Grand Manipulator’ Cipher? She actually could respect the metaphorical balls on her though, most marines with pirate lovers would stab them in the back when asked to take them in, Mabel at least stabbed him in the eye after a proper fight, at least from what Garp said about her and what he could dig up.
‘3 hours Luffy, get your arse here quickly or there won’t be anyone to save’
Elsewhere
“A noon meeting, can’t even let us have lunch first. Guess it’s going to be one of those days” Kizaru sighs as he follows the regular marine to the meeting room
‘§You probably would have slept through it otherwise§’
“§I suppose§” the Light man agrees, ignoring the shiver going down the lower-ranked young man’s spine “Still a pain in the ass though” he mutters “but if Whitebeard is on the way, there are more important things than eating”
Down below
‘This is really happening now’ Ace thinks as the chains are adjusted and he’s lead… well lead is the wrong word given the guards are behind him but oh well… up the steps to what he presumes to be the execution platform ‘All this spectacle, all this pomp, and circ*mstance… just to kill me’
Fleet Admiral’s office
“I don’t like this, we shouldn’t have to go that far, it ain’t right” Garp growls, having already slammed his fist through the front of Sengoku’s desk
“I expected you of all people to have reservations, but if you keep your personal feelings out of the equation, you’ll see that this is the best chance we have to proceed. This isn’t just any execution, revealing that fact is necessary to the future of our way of life” Garp turns on his heels and begins to walk away “I know it hurts, but this is something you’re involved in and so the responsibility rests on your shoulders, and you better not forget it Garp” Sengoku says to his friend’s back, the Vice-Admiral though keep moving, not even acknowledging the statement besides coming as close to slamming the door as you could with the kind used in Navy Headquarters
The Docks/Execution main stage
“Steady yourself men, as bad as it may get, it will only last 3 hours then it shall be over!” a giant marine bellows, clearly underestimating just who they were f*cking with as he and the other thousands of marines ready themselves for the coming war
“§Full evacuation, Den Dens set up to broadcast everything, all their best fighters, about 50 or so warships, these people really are bricking it thinking Whitebeard is going to show up ay?§” Kaos muses as the 4 reach the area the Warlords would be preparing themselves from, the very frontline of the battlefield
“§They’re all idiots, Newgate won’t even break a sweat, plus this isn’t just some pirate it’s a f*cking Yonko, he’s not coming alone§” Shaula argues, while Hanco*ck tries to tune both of them out, as well as ignore the shapes moving under Margeuette’s skin, a side effect they discovered when Nagini moves as Imperfect Reflection is just a shell Kaos hid within.
As the rank and file gather and scurry, the 3 Admirals Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru take their places in the provided chairs at the base of the execution platform, and Ace still hadn’t arrived yet.
Marine Vessel - Tub Current
“There it is, I can see the Gates of Justice!” Luffy shouts grinning widely as he does
“I can see that, but we still have a slight problem… getting it open, or somehow getting around the dam thing” Cipher muses, clicking his tongue
“He’s right I’m afraid, if we don’t get it open, not only are we not rescuing Ace, we’re not getting out of this current” Jinbe adds with a frown
“So, anyone got any bright ideas on how we accomplish that?” Crocodile asks with a sigh
“I’ve got half a dozen bad ideas, none of which would actually help us right now… so no” Cipher replies with a tired shrug
“Fan-f*cking-tastic”
Marineford
Finally, with the creak of the large wooden doors, and the clanging of chains, Ace finally stepped out into the sunlight again, walking to his demise. From his vantage point, Ace could see every piece of ‘protection’ laid out to ensure he met his end at 3 O’clock, from the cannons on the piers, to the 100,000 marines, to the entire Giant Marine Division flanking the platform (all he couldn’t see was the Admirals, due to them being in front of the platform, and he was being led from behind it).
At Marineford and Sabaody, everyone held their breath as Fire Fist was led to the platform, their fate in his hands, whether any of them liked it or not. The world was balanced on a knife-edge, and Ace’s execution would hopefully set it down on the side of the marines, but they had to actually kill him for that to occur.
Resigned to his fate Ace was silent as he knelt and his chains secured to the main platform, as well as the blades that would see take his life were crossed before him, one last attempt to elicit a reaction from him perhaps? Either way, he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of even a flinch, he would die here, with as little dignity as he could retain.
“Don’t worry Garp, I’ll do the talking” Sengoku assures him as the 2 walk towards the platform
“Good for you, I’m staying out of the way down here” the man grunts, catching the equally uninterested eyes of the Light Man, both knowing they’re prefer to be anywhere but here today.
“Step aside for a minute” Sengoku requests as he walks up behind Ace, the 2 guards quickly moving as returning their blades to a ready position “Pass me a snail” he adds, getting a Den Den handed to him in under a minute “Thank you” he nods then stands parallel Ace and begins broadcasting
“I have some information you all need to hear. This man is Portgas D. Ace, known by the moniker of Fire Fist, but the significance of his demise today is more significant than most would realise” he begins, and while he couldn’t see Garp’s pained grimace, Kaos knew his own face matched as he had a bad feeling he knew what the bastard was grandstanding over “Ace, I want you to tell them the name of your father”
If it wasn’t for the seastone cuffs, Ace would be inflamed by now and probably using it on the Fleet Admrinal, unfortunately all he could do was scowl and glare, before stating flatly and honestly “The name of my father is Whitebeard”
“Not true”
“YES IT IS! Whitebeard is the only father I’ve ever had or will have” Ace declares passionately
“We launched a painstaking and exhaustive search for you at the time of your birth. When rumors surfaced that your father had had a child, we took them VERY seriously. Thanks to Cipher Pol, a small amount of reliable information was presented to us, we checked all new born and preborn children, interviewed many mothers and yet we couldn’t find you. Not surprising given the lengths your mother went to hide you, performing a miracle only possible through a mother’s love, because of this, she misled the navy, no the World. You came from an island in the South Blue called Baterilla, your mother’s name being Portgas D. Rouge. She did something that should have been impossible, extending her pregnancy to 20 months, to ensure there wasn’t a sliver of a chance that we’d suspect you of being his. Of course, the price for that miracle was that she passed away shortly after giving birth. And so, a year and 3 months after his death, a child was born with the greatest villain to sail these sea’s in his veins. That child was you, surely you know the truth, a child should know his heritage after all”
Garp bows his head in shame, while blood drips from Kaos’s hands, claws piercing right through his palms and the reflection flickering in anger
“Your father is THE Gol D. Roger. King of the Pirates!” Sengoku finally announces, to stunned silence from all, but 3 the ones who’d already known.
Whole Cake island
“Well, that was unexpected” Perospero hums, then winces as the screaming starts
“FUUUUUUUCCCKKKK!”
“Mama?” Compote asks, when the screaming stops, and the broken glass stops falling
“I was this close to getting Roger’s bloodline joined with mine, and now the last chance is burning to ash”
“I mean, there’s no chance Whitebeard will just let him die. We could always send him an offer…”
“Hmm” Linlin rubs one of her chins “That might just work, Mamamamamama!”
Muffin Mountain… I mean Onigashima
“Yama, why aren’t you surprised about Fire Fist being Roger’s kid?” Ulti asks, a little ticked off the older girl was watching unblinking while everyone else was freaking out
“Oh, Ace told me when he was here in Wano, we bonded over… less than ideal parents” she mutters the last part, though the dinogirl was close enough to hear and eye roll, Kaido and his daughter’s ‘family drama’ was well known amongst the Beast pirates, so it made sense that of all things they could bond over, sh*tty fathers was the end result
‘Roger’s boy, and smitten with my youngest. Shame Red Hair got in the way, or this crap would have been dealt with already’ Kaido thinks with a tired groan draining his sake cup and letting his mind wander, one such idea was just crazy enough Yamato might agree to go with it. Turning to Jin Rumi and Ludo, his chief strategist and doctor respectively, the grins on their faces, told him they’d come to the same conclusion, but for now they’ll just have to see if Whitebeard could actually save his boy.
Marineford
“If that’s true then it really is a miracle the brat survived” Moria chuckles “Everyone knows the stories, how thye executed anyone even loosely connected to Roger”
“But, I thought Ace’s dad was Dragon” Koby whispers “I mean him and Luffy were brothers right?”
“They’d have to have been half at best given Ace’s Mom died in this story, but it seems it’s not even that. Very strange” Helmeppo agrees
‘Look after my child. Keep him safe for me, please Garp’
‘Well, I screwed that one up 6 ways from Sunday ay Roger?’ Garp thinks morosly, knowing there was nothing he could do at this point, but be there to see the man who had become like a true Grandson to him… die for the sin of being born.
“2 years ago” Sengoku continued, clearly not done monologuing “You took your mother’s maiden name as your own, and with exquisite speed and skill you quickly gained notoriety throughout the world as the Captain of the Spade Pirates. It was then, that all the pieces came together, and it was clear to us, that Roger’s blood had been passed on. But, Whitebeard clearly came to the same realization and got to you before we did. In order to secure your mantle as the next King, he warmly took in the son of his old rival as a member of his crew”
“That’s all bullsh*t, I joined my father’s crew because I wanted to help HIM to be king, I never wanted Roger’s name or title, I just wanted to be me!” Ace screams, Garp and Kaos flinch knowing the truth of that statement
“Nobody believes that drivel, except for you boy” Sengoku scoffs “Why do you think it took this long to catch you? You were under Whitebeard’s protection. So we know if you were allowed to live, you’d leave this place and become the next KING. The only choice we have to deal with this is to execute you, here and now. Even if it means we risk going to War with Whitebeard!”
‘You’re a suicidal bastard Hito?’ Kaos sneers cracks forming along Margeutitte’s body
“Fleet Admiral! We have a situation!” a random marine calls up to Sengoku “The Gate of Justice, it’s opening without orders, and we can’t get in touch with Gate Control”
Sengoku’s eyes bulge “What did you say?!”
Elsewhere
“I bet I can get it open with a good punch” Luffy muses as he begins swinging his arms around
“Yes maybe they’ll open if we knock” Galdino mutters sarcastically “Are you insane, a punch won’t open it!” he screams… just as the Gates begin to open unprompted
“Huh, didn’t even need to punch it, but thanks for the offer kid” Cipher grins widely
“So, chances of this being a trap?” Bon asks as the gates creek open
“Surprisingly minimal. They wouldn’t have told us it was closed then leave it open to trap us, as it makes them look even more incompotent than leaving it open unannounced would, as it would seem they can’t do one simple thing” Crocodile argues, getting nods of agreement from some of the smarter and level headed of the escapees.
“Who cares why it’s open, the important thing is that it is! Onwards Jinbe to rescuing Ace!” Luffy cheers as the current truns choppy and they enter the Gate
“You know, with how close things are getting, we should probably worry that your dear old dad is going to show up” Iva muses while the seas were clear “I mean there’s little chance Dragon would let those government goons kill his boy, especaially now after announcing it to the world”
Luffy stares for a moment before chuckling “I think you got your wires crossed. Neither Ace, Kaos, Sabo or I shared any biological parents, though Dadan was our mom no matter what they say. Dragon may be my dad, but Ace’s dad was GolD. Roger, and I don’t know who Kaos’ parents were, just that his mom was a Kuja, which I guess is kind of cool” he says with a shrug
“WHAT?”
“Crap, I wasn’t supposed to talk about that”
“Kifififfi, I love this kid he’s a riot! Are we sure he’s Dragon’s kid, he sure as hell acts like Apophis’ kid should?” Cipher laughs from his position on the floor
Marineford
“It’s so quiet” Hanco*ck whispers, the hype dying down to nervous twitching since the Gates were revealed to have been opened, now everyone was waiting for Whitebeard to come storming in like an Angry Sea King.
“It’s the Calm before the Storm princess” Shaula chuckles “And Seagull up there just called in a Trunade”
“THEY’RE HERE!!!” was yelled from the lookout towers, just before shapes began to appear from the fog, dozens of ships heading straight for them
“It’s an entire fleet of pirate ships!”
“Keep an eye out for Whitebeard, he HAS to be somewhere in there”
“The Wars about to begin” Hanco*ck sighs, then looks in confusion to see Marguerite wasn’t looking out, but had turned and was looking in “What’s wrong”
“§Nothing’s wrong, things are about to get…. Very interesting§” she says, giving a full D grin as she does
“§Newgate’s smart, he knows a full-frontal is suicide, so something else must be going on§” Shaula muses while also impressed he managed to get THIS many of his allies to show up with less than a week’s notice.
“It’s worse than we expected, there are over 40 ships, all manned by the strongest Pirate crews the New world has to offer that are allied with Whitebeard and still no sign of Whitebeard himself or his Division Commanders”
“If he’s not at the front, then where is he?” Sengoku thinks aloud, grimaceing as he does
“They, actually came for me?” Ace gasps, not expecting himself to be worth enough to risk the others
“Do we open fire?”
“No, not until we confirm Whitebeard is there with them”
POP
Right in the centre of the harbour, a large bubble rose from the depths, and popped when it reached the surface, shortly followed by several more
“He’s here” Sengoku states
“Sneak attack, Whitebeard’s no fool, even if subtlty isn’t really the strong suit of any of the Yonko” Garp muses
“Oh shut up, don’t act like you’re so smart” Tsuru scolds
“There’s a shadow in the middle of the bay, what is that?”
“It’s just as I feared, why didn’t we plan for this? They coated the ships to bypass our defenses and ambush us from underwater” the fleet admiral curses as the Moby Dick shoots out of the water, then comes to rest in the centre of Marineford’s bay, bold as brass. And it wasn’t alone, alongside 2 more similarly designed whale ships, there was another, equally recognizable Pirate Ship sitting just behind it
‘No, no, no, no!’
“It’s the Jörmungandr, the ship of the Demon Eye pirates!”
“Well sh*t, never thought I’d see that flag flying again. Of all the reasons to come out of retirement, guess Whitebeard really is calling in every favour owed to him for this” Kizaru hums, before every Den Den in Marineford awakened, eyes blood red and grinning widely
“HELLO MARINEFORD!!! Did you miss me?”
Sabaody
“Oh God, that’s Mind Hax Alistair!” a reporter shouts as the Den Dens relay the message, while the visual ones turn their attention to the deer mink in a red suit, standing on the deck of the Jörmungandr, grin identical to all the snails
Marineford
“Now, I know it’s a shock seeing us here giving old Newgate a hand but really this would be distasteful for most people with common sense. Killing a boy for the circ*mstances of his birth, you could have at least tried hiding it behind his position as a Divison Commander for a Yonko… but no. you went all out bold as brass, and you f*cked up. And it’s not just me saying that, allow me to show you just who you’re dealing with. Of course, we have all the current Division Commanders gathered in one place, Ace is one of there’s after all as well as a Whitebeard Pirate: Marco, Jozu, Vista, Blamenco, Rakuyo, Neymor, Blenheim, Curiel, Kingdew, Haruta, Atmos, Speed Jiro, Fossa and last but not least, Izo. We also have, returning Whitebeard pirates, now heads of their own crews ready to help Pops save the little firecracker: Epodia, Whitey Bay, Andrea, Kinga, and Islewan. Lastly, allies of the Yonko such as the Decalvan brothers, Spauda, McGuy, Elmy, Ramba, Karma, Bizarre, big fan, by the way, love the teeth, Little Oars Jr, quite the feat that, Hangan, Blondie…”
Whitebeard chuckles as he moves across the deck of his ship towards the bow, he’d missed the Demon Eye’s flair for the dramatic, especially Alstair and Cipher, only stopped when he heard strong wingbeats and the sound of something human sized drop behind him
“He’s going to be at this for a while, you really pulled out all the stops for this Newgate” the woman, white hair to her shoulderblades and ruby red eyes, says with a smirk
“For one of my boys, I’d give anything, you know that better than most Grima” he hums, getting a nod from his fellow captain
“As a father, and a captain, of course you would. Want a hand?”
Whitebeard scoffs “I can still walk by myself woman, besides I can’t look weak just before I try to fight the entire navy, though feel free to hang back on the ship for now if you wish” he shrugs before stepping forward, Murakumogiri functioning almost like a fusion of a walking stick and a flag bearer, while Grima kept pace 3 steps behind him.
“...and finally, coming out of retirement for one night only! The Demon Eye’s elites, ‘Dragon’ Grima, ‘Vampire’ Henry, ‘Deathdealer’ Helios, ‘Sniper’ Apep, ‘Lightning dancer’ Azulong, ‘Whirlwind’ Zelena, and last but not least, ME ‘Mind Hax’ Alistair! Now I’ve hogged the mic for long enough, how about we let the big guy talk, don’t cha think?” the mink finishes, twirling his cane sword before pointing it in the direction of the Moby Dick, just as Whitebeard steps onto the front.
“Oh I’ve missed seeing entrances like this Gurarara. Been quite some time since we last crossed paths Sengoku” Whitebeard announces, his voice carrying even without a Den Den
“Whitebeard” Sengoku sneers ‘Bollocks, can’t believe we let them get this close’
“We have plenty of things to discuss today, chief among being you not killing my son” he then looks directly up to the execution platform and smiles “Hold tight Ace, we’ll be right up” which managed to break every attempt at stoic acceptance of his death, as Ace begins to cry
“FATHER!” he screams as Whitebeard stabbed his naginata into the ship and flexes… well that would be all he did if not for his Devil fruit, as he swings his arms out with a grunt of effort, reality itself seems to crack and splinter from the impact of his fists. This was shortly followed by the shockwaves causing a sea quake with Marineford’s bay right in the epicentre, causing massive upsurges on either side of the island
“He’s turned the oceans against us!” Sengoku shouts
“This is why I’d said no before, I really didn’t want to go up against this monster” Hanco*ck squeaks
“Oh there you are Newgate, still as strong as ever” Shaula grins widely, enjoying the freedom and the chance to see real action once more
‘So, this is Ace’s Captain, he was right about Luffy having competition for the crown. Given the navy felt they needed this much, we wouldn’t have even lasted a minute against him’ Kaos thinks, impressed by the power exerted by Whitebeard, even when the man acts like he’s not even trying all that hard, as well as the fact every one of his allies, just watches contently, not even a hint of doubt on their faces or in their body language
“Um, is the quake over?”
“Is that Whitebeard’s power?”
“Pops, and everyone else, they’re all here. I ignored you and took off on my own, why didn’t you just leave me to die? Everything that’s happened is my own damn fault” Ace shouts, unable to process what he’s seeing
Whitebeard sighs deeply “No, it was I who drove you to this, my son.”
Ace freezes, then starts flailing and tugging at his restraints “That’s a lie and you know it, I went after Blackebeard despite you ordering me not to”
“I’m you captain and I told you to go. Ace was following my orders, isn’t that right Marco?” Whitebeard says, tilting his head to look over at the pineapple haired man
“Yep, that’s what I heard. Then you left, sorry about all the trouble there, Teach broke the rules and you had to seek justice, as his commander that fell on you.” the blond states “Everyone in the world knows what happens when you mess with one of us, you better be prepared to pay the price”
“That means if anyone even lays a finger on you Ace, they have to deal with us”
“Don’t worry bro, we’ll have you out of here in no time”
“Whitebeard Family never leaves a man behind!”
“Get ready for your new home in Hell, navy bastards!”
“Yeah, we did kind of walk headfirst into this one” Akiji thinks aloud
“That better not be regret in your voice” Akainu snarls
“It was bound to happen eventually, even if he’s only regretting that we made a public spectacle out of it” Kizaru chuckles
“Guys we have a problem ,the water’s receding from the bay!”
“What, by where’s it going?”
‘Ah, so that’s Whitebeard’s opening move, better get plan B secured somewhere safe, smooth sailing’s not going to be a thing for much longer’ Alistair thinks, then relays with Henry who nods and slips below deck
Luffy & Co
“What the hell just happened? First everything was nice and plain sailing, then the ship gets pushed back like we were trapped in a huricane… and then i all just dies down!” Galdino shouts
“I will atmit, even for the Grandline that was strange” Iva nods while everyone gains their bearings
“We were thrown back a fair distance, what are the odds we get there in time?” Bentham worries aloud
“Jinbe, can you make this thing go faster, we need to get there quickly” Luffy whines, internally fretting as every minute they’re not at Marineford tics closer to Ace’s execution
“Don’t worry Luffy” the Fishman assures him “Ace, is safe for now”
“How can you tell? You’re hiding something from us Jinbe so out with it!” Buggy shrieks as he climbs onto the main deck
“He knows the old man’s Devil fruit, as well as the signs of its use” Cipher answers with a grin “if we can feel it even out here… then Whitebeard’s already there and throwing hands” he then turns his head, the shadow hiding the bulging veins “Also, you might all want to hold onto something”
“Huh?” was the general consensus, right until they were caught with their pants down when the water came rushing back, lifting the ship as a tsunami rushes straight for Marineford
Speaking of Marineford…
All was quiet, you could cut the tension with a knife… until the tremors started up again
“And there it is, that little sea quake he threatened us with, flexing on the marines, it was the inciting incident to the massive tsunami heading straight for us!” Garp announces as the wave appears on the horizon “Edward Newgate is the Tremor man, because he ate the Gura Gura no mi”
“Even with all our numbers and power, victory can’t be assured, not against Whitebeard and his crew. Not when they’re headed by a man with the power to destroy the world in his veins!”
‘§Clearly he doesn’t know we’ve resssssurfaced, child. Let’s see how long he’ll remain ignorant, we know the Demon Eye know we’re here, but anyone else, let’s jusssssst see§’
Akjiji sighs deeply just before the waves reach Marineford “Well, guess I actually have to do something today, was hoping for an early nap” he mutters before jumping out of his seat
ICE AGE
Grima huffs “Should have know the Admirals would do more than just scream when they see an island swallowing tsunami. I presume there’s more to this plan”
“Either it would have washed them away, or given us a battleground, either way we’re still in the game” Whitebeard replies, eyes not leaving Sengoku’s
Ice Block: Partisan
“One moment please” he shrugs before shattering both the spears and a now frozen Kuzan with a shockwave
‘Ah crap’ Akiji thinks before he falls, luckily retaining enough control over his body, he could freeze the sea just before he hits it, reforming on top of the now frozen bay
“Case in point”
“The Moby Dick is pinned!”
“Open fire with the cannons men!”
And they did, all the artillery in the bay began to focus fire on the imoblile pirate ships… and they didn’t care one bit
“Whelp, time for phase 2”
“Yeah we got ground to fight on now”
“Let’s show them what happens when you mess with the Whitebeard pirates, ay gentlemen?” 5th Division Commander Vista shouts with a laugh, leaping from the ship followed the several others, before all 3 ships begin to empty of combatants.
“Think Mr. Hei Hei will be getting a fruit basket if he survives?” Alistair’s voice purrs through the Den Dens “I mean he did make this a ground war after all, much easier than naval combat, or at least it is, for men like myself” he laughs, though gets no verbal responses even as his allies disembark the ship
“They want ground combat, we’ll give it to them. Counter offense begin!” Smoker shouts, leading the charge for the marines
“Now it’s a war” Shaula laughs then turns and tilts her head in confusion “I know that look, you’re about to do something stupid aren’t you?”
“It’s too difficult to get to Ace from up here, going around is pointless when I can just move as the crow flies, thanks to Icicle dick” Kaos says with a tongue click, silvery veins spreading over her limbs
Hanco*ck turns “You’re not seriously thinking about…”
Before she could finish Margeurette had already lept, Kaos’s cloak erupting out of the dissolving reflection shell as he rolled and took off across the ice features hidden, but the grin could be felt by those who were familiar with him.
“And he did. Are we sure Luffy’s the dumb one?” Hanco*ck sighs internally praying her beloved hadn’t gone overboard now the goal was in sight. Of course, they all had bigger things to worry about when Mihawk seemed to get bored of standing around and decided to see if he could end the war the easy way and just one shot Whitebeard. With his target in sight he removed Yoru from his back, and swung with all his might
CLANG
“Oh, I like that power Mr. Jozu, Sesese” Kaos cackles as the slash was deflected by 3rd Divison Commander ‘Diamond’ Jozu, his Kira Kira no mi turning him into diamond and allowing him to send the attack skyward. The lul in battle ended the young pirate continues his assault, slashing any marines who got in his way, while maneuvering around any Whitebeard pirates
Of course a turncoat maneuver like his didn’t go unnoticed, especially given the Warlords were front and centre on the battlefield ‘Well, well. Seems he actually did show up, thought Garp said he was the smart one’ Sengoku thinks, breaking the staredown with Whitebeard to focus on the cloaked figure cutting through his men “Guess I’ll be ending more than just Roger’s bloodline tonight” he mutters, Ace being the only one close enough to hear him shivers as the man once more raises the Den Den to his head
“It seems the Mirror Master has come to us. You’re still alive because I’d hoped you would turn out like your mother, a respectable individual, sharp as a blade and one day join our ranks in the marines, but alas, you’re tainted by your Father’s blood, overpowering hers and wreaking destruction wherever you pass”
Being addressed directly Kaos pauses, confused but also curious, Sengoku clearly had a point to make, otherwise there was no reason to call him out right here and now. Plus, the seagull hat-wearing weirdo knew his father, mayeb he’ll get the answer Garp refused to give him. Meanwhile, several marines also took notice deciding Sengoku’s statement meant ‘Kill the brat!’
Meanwhile several things clicked into place in Hanco*ck’s mind and she really didn’t like the picture it was painting, the colour drained from her face and she gagged, even the thought making her feel violently ill, and she was getting no sympathy from her ‘retainer’
“Noticed the fashion statements huh? Don’t go withdrawing consent now princess, you were the one who begged for it” she laughs, eyes on the Fleet Admiral, wondering if he had the balls to go through with it.
“You were born in the New World, a small island known as Éire, in secret. After all, given your mother was Vice-Admiral Medusa it couldn’t be known she was with child to a pirate. I’d offer you the chance to reveal it, but I get the feeling much like this one here, you would only lie, Edward D. Kaos. Son of Whitebeard!” Sengoku announces and the smile drops from Kaos’ face, only Hebi’s cord stopping it from dropping from his limp fingers due to the shock
“WHAT! Not content with trying to execute one of my boys you kept my flesh and blood hidden from me?” Whitebeard bellows, at which point Sengoku has a tiny thought that he may have messed up somewhere along the line, so lashed out at the only other person involved in this mess
“GARP! You said he knew, that Medusa told him about the child!”
“Oh yeah… never actually thought to check Haha” Garp chuckles scratching the back of his head awkwardly “Not like I could just ring the guy up and go ‘Hey Whitebeard, you know you got a kid right? Well we’re keeping him in the East Blue, bye’ or some sh*t like that,” he says, the best defense he could come up with… and is kind of right.
Meanwhile - Wano
“Huh, didn’t think Newgate had it in him, always assumed he adopted all those brats cause he was sterile or something” Kaido hums “But damn he’s got quite the crazy kid there, Warowarowarowaro!”
Konaha
“Did you know?”
“About his mom? Yeah. His dad? Not a peep. Explains his strength though” Valentina hums
“I wanna fight him, he will be a mightly sacrifice for Jashin!”
Valentina slaps him “Hold your horses, I’m this close to converting him. The Goddess would prefer another priest than a sacrifice”
Hidan sighs “You are correct. He will carry out Jashin’s will perfectly!”
Back in Marineford
“Die Bastard! Whitebeard’s bloodline ends with you!” a captain shouts as he performs a leaping slash at the imoblile teen
Shing
Click click
“The tainted blood of a pirate, draining into the ice” he chuckles, as like a tree Kaos tilts back and falls…most of the way “Huh?”
‘That looks…’ Hanco*ck thinks, then bites her lip to hold in a laugh
‘Looking down so hard they look up’ Shaula grins
“I liked those shades” came a tired groan, Kaos long arms almost trying to swim through the air as he pulls himself back to a standing position, something made more difficult when he neck went on, and on, and on, culminating with a pissed off purple-haired man with mouth full of jagged fangs. With a sickening crack his neck compressed back into his body, but his gaze never left the idiot “I’ve had a long and difficult week, lots of sh*t to process, this…” he points to the shallow cut across his face, from right lip to the inside of his left eyebrow “... won you the prize for the final straw”
The was no sound, but those with high enough Observation haki could see a flicker of purple pulse from Kaos, but those within a 10ft radius of him FELT it. Marines, dropped to the round unconscious, while any pirates within the radius felt a cold shiver run down their spines. All except one man frozen in fear, staring into deep violet eyes with silver vertical slitted pupils. Most would keep their eyes on his hands, especially given he doesn’t exactly make him being the wielder of the Hebi no Oni no mi a secret, but in this instance it wouldn’t have mattered, one step, and the man was choking on his own blood, throat torn out before he even knew what hit him. Not that it would have mattered if he had, as a moment later his head was slammed into the ice as Kaos stomped down on his head, crushing it like a ripe melon, then walked through the corpse, his eyes glaring up at Sengoku. The near-silence following the pulse meant everyone finally noticed the light click with every step, drawing attention to the raptor claw-like digits his inner toes had become. This also, while not important at the time, lead to a strange thought in hindsight: Kaos basically strolled through the icy Marineford barefoot without a care in the world.
‘Medusa, you really created a monster. A Conqueror and active at his age, not to mention those eyes, if we didn’t know he was Newgate’s, those snake eyes would lead any sane person to think he was Apophis’ son’ Sengoku thinks with a grimace, wondering if he’d just made things even worse for the marines than they already were
TBC
LW: And that’s it for part one, hope I managed to get Marineford off to a good enough start for everyone!
Happy May everyone, see you in 2 weeks
Chapter 124: Tensions rise, send in the giants!
Chapter Text
LW: I… don’t have a comment. War arc part 2, Action!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Tensions rise, send in the giants!
“And that folks is what you call a Plot Twist, or who’s your daddy! And it seems it was a shock for both sides of the family, though at least Newgate can be a proud papa later, that boy of his is quite the showstopper. Conqueror’s haki at his age, impressive” Alistair continues to narrate, grinning madly from the nose of the ship, while the rank and file pirates continue to carve their way through the marine defences
“Idiots, trying to take us head on” Sengoku mutters to himself, before raising the Den Den “Artillery, focus fire on the approaching vessels, and the front of the approaching ground forces!”
“Well, seem’s Whitebeard has good taste in direct subordinates, or maybe he’s a better trainer than we give him credit for” Kizaru muses “It’s all very interesting”
“Are you going to kiss ass, or actually do something?” Akainu growls
“Fine fine” the Light man waves off, frowning as he doesn’t like to fight family, however rarely it comes up, dispersing into light and trying his hand at doing what Mihawk failed to, end the fight by killing Whitebeard.
Yasakani Sacred Jewels
Turns out that’s a bust too, as his barrage of light beams were blocked by none other, than Phoenix Marco, his fires of regeneration allowing him to simply tank the hits and shield his Captain
“Pop’s is off limits, especially to thugs like you. You want an audience with the king, you gotta go through me” the blond zoan declares, his flaming wings keeping him aloft
“Oh. Seems you whitebeard pirates know how to play, I’m so scared” Kizaru grins widely “§Good thing we know how to play too§”
“He’s on fire”
“He just took the Admiral’s attack, and he’s floating there”
“Ah yes, Mythical Zoans, such interesting Devil fruits, as well as the rarest of them all” Kizaru muses, impressed as he watches Marco’s body heal and regenerate, the flames on everywhere but his wings going out as his body is restored
“His wounds are healed”
“He took the attack and it didn’t even hurt him!”
“Oh it did, I still felt the attack, I just heal fast”
Kizaru scoffs “Don’t lie to protect my pride”
Marco doesn’t respond, instead simply transforming form his partial to full Zoan form, revealing a flaming blue phoenix, with the Whitebeard insignia on it’s chest and animagus marks, aka discoloration around his eyes similar to a pair of glasses
“Fun, and quite the pretty birdie. Let’s kill it!” Kizaru cackles, firing out laser blasts as the flaming bird flies straight at him, then shifts back into human form to slam a kick down on the Admiral “Oh, what a strong kick you got there Bird Boy”
“Now who’s lying Flashlight?” Marco snorts, before pushing back harder, sending Kizaru flying back as a light beam and exploding once he hit Marineford
“Kizaru! Is he ok?”
Him appearing a moment later in a flash of light, completely unharmed said it all “My mistake, should have known it wouldn’t be THAT easy to kill a Yonko, or you wouldn’t all be here” he smirks giving a respectful nod to Marco before turning around “Hey Giant Unit, keep an eye on the skies from now on, they’ve got air support, even if it’s just him it’s a pain in the ass” he orders, the Giant Marines tense up, preparing for battle
“Crap here come the giants”
“Get them off balance, aim for their feet!”
“Get out of my way!” Jozu bellows, before leaping into the air, and slamming his diamond fist into the ground, cracks radiating out through the ice from where he struck, somehow looping back around into a circle, the massive, broken hemisphere which he then proceeded to lift out of the ground, though even he was straining from the mass of the iceberg he held before him “Try blocking this one!” he declares, before throwing it backwards towards the marines and the execution platform, as expected panic ensues from the lower rank marines
Akainu on the other hand, was not impressed and a little pissed off by the asteroid sized chunk of ice flying toward him “Hrrrr, co*cky hotheads, abandoning their post like that. What if I’d done the same? There would be nobody here… to do their jobs for them!” he growls, standing up and moving to the edge of the platform, before in a burst of heat launches an enormous magma fist right at the iceberg,
Great Eruption
There was an initial moment of struggle on both sides, before the Magma fist just pushes through, burning through the ice so fast it actually turned it straight to steam. At which point the ‘Eruption’ part of the attack became clear, as the mass explodes, raining molten rock from the sky on the advancing pirates
‘Jeez man talk about overkill, how do you even have ice ON FIRE?’ Kaos grimaces, for the moment dodging as he wonders if there’s any point breaking ‘that’ out “Eh f*ck it, might as well try” he sighs as Hebi bubbled and expands, if not for already standing on an ice sheet he’d feel the sharp temperature drop as ice crystals formed over the jagged scales of the greatsword
Winged Seraphyd - Charged Slash
“Son of a bitch!” Kaos hisses as the blade blocks a magma ball, the ice blade flash freezing it back into rock… but the force still throwing him back several feet and leaving grooves in the ice “Yeah, really need to work on these things, also dodging would have probably been better” he sighs
“§You do have a habit of overdoing it with my power, especially elemental, it’s going to bite you in the ass. Except Lightning, you seem to grasp that better than the others§” Hebi scolds
“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind” he muses as Hebi compresses back into something more manageable, in this case a hand scythe, as the thing seems to have an aversion to standard swords, which given her default, a variant of the Khopesh, is technically an axe even if it’s called a sword, he’s not going to fault her for, or really care, partly because he had more important sh*t to worry about
“That’s Admiral Akainu for you, that Magu Magu no mi of his is a real showstopper, not that we're going to let him do that” Alistair cackles into his mic, ignoring the one ship that was decimated by the barrage, and focusing on the Moby Dick, for one simple reason…
“These kids sure like to be flashy, don’t they?” Whitebeard chuckles, as he spears one of the magma balls on the end of his naginata, then casually blows on it, solidifying the mass into inert rock “Think I’ll have you light the candles for my next birthday, save Marco 5 minutes Gurararara!” he laughs
“I’d rather provide the lighting for your funeral” Akainu chuckles, proving that while a dick, the man does technically have a sense of humour “How about it old man?”
“1 Flagship down but we still have 3 and the Demon Eye’s, don’t let up artillery squad!” a marine bellows “Fire!”
Unfortunately for the marines, they were facing a man who could crack the air, a diamond man, a phoenix, haki hardened steel tipped whips, a cane sword/mic stand, sniper bullets, blood lashes, and dragon fire… nothing made it to the Moby Dick or any of the remaining vessels.
“Don’t just stand there like a bunch o pansies, get to the platform!”
“Take out the commanders at all costs, their subordinates will fall without them to back them up!”
“Focusing only on heavy hitters, means real threats often slip through the cracks” Henry smirks, as crimson talons spear a marine in the shoulder, before draining him dry as a bone
Saiketsu [Blood drain]
“It’s been a long time since we got to cut loose, you’re in a bad place to witness it” Helios muses with an unseen smile, due to the heavy respirator on her narrow, sickly face, her twin Krull Glaives cutting through anyone who gets too close as she bobs and weaves through the masses
‘These are pirates…my enemy. This is the real deal, this is war’ Koby thinks, but his body just can’t hold up to the pressure “I can’t, I’m barely standing, I can’t fight this”
“It’s pointless” Helmeppo sighs behind him “These guys would slaughter us without a second glance. I mean you have to realise that, right? Whitebeard’s a f*cking Yonko, and they don’t just let anyone into their crew or be considered his allies, these guys all have to be half as powerful and monstrous as him. There’s nothing amateurs like us can do against men like them, we need to run, you got me?”
“But…”
“There is no but, all we’d be doing is adding more blood to the battlefield, or given I just saw a Commodore get drained like a smoothie said blood would just be amping our enemies something fierce. Just hear me out for a minute please. You want to become an admiral right? I’m not saying this to be cruel, just trying to make you see there’s no reason for us to die here, you got your whole life ahead of you Koby, big dreams, and ending up on the end of a pirate’s sword isn’t one of them!” Helmeppo yells, luckily not overheard in all the noise of the ongoing warzone
THUMP
THUMP
THUMP
“Ah crap, what now?”
‘Hmm?’ Kaos pauses, the sound twinging familiar fear responses, but given the smirks he sees on a few of the Whitebeard crew… the giant lumbering this way, was on their side
“He’s finally arrived”
“Take out their artillery, cut a path for the other ships to get in on the action Oars!”
The giant groans, then swung it’s sword, cleaving straight through the cannons like it was made of paper mache
“BROTHER ACE!!!!!!” He bellows, sending shivers down the marine’s spines, while the pirates almost felt invigorated, they had a Demon Giant on their side
“That’s the spirit!”
“Show those guys we mean business Little Oars Jr.!”
“He must be related to the Continent Puller” Tsuru theorises
“Whatever he is, he’s bad news, at least twice the size of a normal giant” one of the men alongside her grimace
“Kishishi! Such a beast, I never even knew Oars had a living descendant. Dibs on the corpse after the battle!” Moriah shouts gleefully
“You disgust me” Hanco*ck sneers, while Shaula debats gutting the onion man to start her hellturn, or just leaping in.
“Don’t you see, if I can get my hands on his corpse, the destruction of Oars caused by those Straw Hat bastards will be wiped away, by a much fresher and more intact zombie for me to command!” the Kage user grins
‘Kaos and Luffy, fought that?’ Hanco*ck’s eyes widen
‘Damn, kids don’t do things by halves’ Shaula grins, removing a vial from her skirt and stabbing it into her neck
“Little Oars!” Ace gasps, Pops really did call in everyone
“ACE IS A NICE GUY, HE’S MY FRIEND. I WON’T LET YOU HURT HIM” Little Oars declares, the statement punctured by another sword swing, cleaving through the blockade ships “HE WON’T DIE!”
“Giant unit, deploy!”
Even as a squad, the marine giants were much less of a presence than Oars Jr. though that might have been the fact most of them either swatted aside pirates directly in theri path, or simply stepped over everyone in pursuit of their objective, Oars, and Whitebeard
“Time to live up to our duty” One giant marine declares
“He can’t defeat us all!” another shouts
‘He doesn’t have to’ Grima muses, stepping up to stand alongside Newgate
“I’ll admit, we didn’t plan on having to face such a powerful beast” Sengoku says to Ace, who not wanting to see his family hurt any more than they already were, was screaming for him to turn away or at least TRY to defend himself rather than just going headfirst into danger for his sake.
Meanwhile Oars was living up to his reputation, by lifting a marine battleship out of the ice, and slamming it into the approaching giants, using both it and them as a battering ram to breach Marineford’s main wall
“Oars has opened a path into the base! Everyone charge!”
“Fall back, tighten defences! Don’t let them get to the plaza!” One marine orders
“I want to run… but I don’t know where to go!” Helmeppo cries, just as a pirate leaps from the smoke, about to cut down him and Koby when he’s killed by…
“Rear Admiral Yukimura” Koby gasps ‘Slayer of 1000 men’
“We’re at war kid, we need actual soldiers, not whiny brats” the Rear Admiral sneers
“How about you try kill me then” a voice purrs from the smoke, Yukimura lashing out with his katana, Koby watching in confusion as Henry’s arm explodes like a red balloon from the strike “All bravado, interesting” he chuckles, unperturbed by the loss of a limb, making Helmeppo wonder, just what the Hell devil fruit did this blond psycho eat?
“What’s that supposed to…”
Bang
The marine stumbles, clutching his now bleeding gut from what Koby guesses to be a shot from the Crows nest of one of the ships “Damn pirates!” he shouts making another swing only for it to be parried by Henry’s scythe, Koby watching until he has to dodge the steel tip of Azulong’s whips
“Don’t leave him in suspense Vice Captain, tell him why he’s already dead!” she cackles, recalling the whip and coiling it around her shoulders
“Apep is such a wonderful support agent, don't you think? Observation to the MAX even if her armament needs work. Still she can harden projectiles for added force, even things that shouldn’t be solid, like blood” he grins at the look of confusion on 2 of their faces, and the realisation of his opponent “My title is Vampire for a reason, the Chi Chi no mi allows me to turn my body into blood, it’s own type by the way as I no longer have my original one. I can do a lot of other things with it, but the most important one, is recall my blood to me when it’s within a certain distance, along with any blood it’s contaminated, hence Apep’s Blood Bullets, my blood bullets. Goodbye, Rear Admiral who gives a f*ck” the blond gives a fanged grin and raises his bloodly stump
Recall
Blood erupts from every orifice, then moves as if a living entity towards the Demon Eye pirate, regenerating the arm and then adding to his muscle mass as well as a slight red tint to his skin, the desiccated corpse dropping to the ice and crumbling to dust. He then turns his crimson gaze to Helmeppo and Koby “Run!” he hisses as the 2 charge forward, leaving the 2 marines with what was left of their superior
“See what I mean, monsters, all of them” Helmeppo cries
Elsewhere
“I’ve never had to crane my neck to look at anyone before”
“Me neither, feels weird”
“OUT OF MY WAY, ACE IS MY FRIEND AND HE NEEDS MY HELP” Oars Jr orders as he continues to thud his way through the iceflow “DON’T TRY TO STOP ME!”
“I don’t take orders from you!” one giant shouts, honestly kind of childishly before charging head first into the fight, their swords clash until Oars shatters the smaller giant’s blade, his expression a mix of boredom and mild annoyance, cutting him down in a single blow once he no longer had a sword with block with.
“No! Vice Admiral Lecroy!”
“WEAK, PUNY MARINES! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!”
Whitebeard sighs tiredly “That Oars, stubborn as he always was. Getting yourself killed, doesn’t make you brave!” he shouts at the big yellow idiot
“YOU CAN’T STOP ME POPS, I’M NOT GOING TO STOP UNTIL I’M DONE, NOT UNTIL ACE IS SAFE WITH US AGAIN!” Oars shouts back “I WANNA SAVE MY BRO, I WANNA DO IT NOW, SO HE DOESN’T HURT NO MORE”
“I know the feeling” Whitebeard mutters to himself, then bellows “Everyone listen up, help the big guy, let’s get to that Platform! Cover Oars!”
“You got it Pops!”
“We’ll help Big Bro Oars!”
“Let’s get Ace out of here!”
Not that he needed much help at the moment, he was almost casually tossing aside the giant marines, and not even thinking about the regular ones who scrambled underfoot like ants to him.
“Oars is one hell of a distraction. Charge!” one pirate shouts, firing up at the Warlords, meaning unfortunately Hanco*ck had to respond
Slave Arrow
“Jeez girl, when did you become OP, that’s like 20 guys with one attack!” Shaula laughs, the formula coursing through her blackened veins
“sh*t, they’ve turned to stone. Guess that makes her the pirate Empress” one survivor thinks aloud, Hanco*ck doesn’t acknowledge the statement, instead turning him to stone using a kick, which cracked and crumbled
Perfume Femur
She then bounced from person to person turning body parts to crumbling stone regardless of who they were
“You psycho, why are attacking the marines?”
“Simple really” Hanco*ck grins after leaping onto Shaulon’s head “I agreed to assist in this pointless endeavour to fight Whitebeard, I never said anything about no collateral damage. Allies or enemies, all men, but one, are equally worthless in my eyes!”
“Oh, now it’s a party!” Shaula grins, her right arm clicks and cracks as it morphs into a pincer, while she retrieves the dagger from her cloak ‘Skaro, Tlincalli formation’ she commands, her familiar cackles mentally as she leaps from the platform, and a scorpion centaur like creature lands, clicking mouth parts and pincers sprouting from the hips of it’s human half “Who wants to die tonight! Shashasha!”
“Can it be? Yes I think it is, Scorpion Shaula herself, oh I never thought the day would come, former Division head of the Beast Pirates let me be the first to welcome you back!” Alistair laughs from his platform, loving the twists and turns already unfolding in this battle
Meanwhile with Oars Jr, the fact he was quite literally walking through all opposition was starting to piss off the giants, as they really didn’t like being the ones that were effortlessly tossed aside, they were supposed to be the ones doing that damn it!
“Kishishi, yes, that’s it, come to Daddy” Moriah coos, before being shoved aside by Kuma “Hey what’s the big idea?”
The cyborg remained silent, before lifting his arms and a sound comparable to an air raid siren started to be heard across marineford
‘Oh sh*t’ Moriah grimaces, moving away from the oncoming shockwaves, Doflamingo, Mihawk and Hanco*ck look on curiously, Shaula scuttling away much like the shadow man, only impaling any marine that gets in her way in the process. Eventually the Bubble becomes visible, much larger than the one he’d unleashed on Thriller Bark, which would make any Straw Hats who saw that, visibly ill (Such as Kaos losing that little colour remained in his face) before once more compressing it down to something that would fit in his large hands
Prepare yourself for, the Ursas Shock
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
‘f*ck, we got off lightly on Thriller Bark, given I’m not sure Kuma can miss with that fruit’ Kaos thinks fearfully, after watching the larger shock go off INSIDE OARS, meaning the Demon Giant was right in the epicentre of the explosion, shortly followed by the force throwing everyone in a reasonable distance from him going upwards and outwards
“Stop!” Ace screams once the pressure dies down “Oars, you need to stop, they won’t let you reach me!”
Oars pants, dropping to his hands and knees, the most damage anyone had seen him take in a long time, and he seemed to be considering Ace’s demand, until his eyes caught the Kasa hat Ace had made him after a trip to Wano, just because he was concerned the giant was too hot being out in the sun all day, because Ace was trying to help his brother, even when said brother was a lot older and a 60m tall giant. His fists clench and he pulls his battered body off the ice, determined that even if he can’t save Ace, he was going to make it easier for the others to get to him, by getting as close as he possibly can
“Artillery, focus fire on Oars”
BANG
BANG
BANG
“Oars, you need to fall back!”
“You’re in no condition to fight, you’re just too big a target as you are now!”
‘I can't reach him’ Oars thinks sadly, knowing he was on the way out, he wasn’t surviving this war ‘But… I can at least make it easier on the others, but killing one of the Warlords' Determination and adrenaline fills him as he moves forward, slamming his fist down on Doflamingo… or at least that was in intent as the flamingo managed to dodge and fly away…somehow
“Why’d you stop, Ace is right over there” the feather boa wearing blond taunts, using his Devil fruit to slice off Oar’s leg, sending the giant falling like a felled tree “Now THAT was fun” he laughs
‘Bad luck Oars’ Shaula grimaces ‘You probably could have killed Moria with that attack if you’d aimed for the fat bastard’
But he wasn’t out just yet, if he could no longer walk, then Oars would crawl if he had to, smashing through the barricade he was the 1st Whitebeard allie to enter the Plaza, his only thoughts now being ‘Just a little further, just a little more, Ace is right there…’
“That flamingo bastard, he knew I’d claimed the body, you don’t get to mutilate another man’s marionette!” Moria pitches a fit, before deciding to ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING! That something, be impale Oars through the chest with a shadow blade
Doppleman: Spiky Shadow Lizard
“OARS!!!!”
“I MADE IT ACE, I’M HERE TO RESCUE YOU” Those being his last words, his hand the equivalent of inches for the giant away from his goal, was truly heartbreaking
“Kishishi, that’s how you do it, that’s some damn good murder” Moriah laughs, proud he’d got his new zombie, now he just needed a shadow to puppet it with.
“OARS NO!” His crew shout in despair, while Ace continues to cry, he wasn’t worth all this death, Oars could have survived if he’d just stayed away. The only good thing to come from the assault, was a corpse that huge made a lot of collateral damage when it hit the ground.
“Kishishishi I’ll have to reattach that foot of his, but that’s a small price to pay for another giant zombie Kishishsi!” Moriah continues to cackle, clearly not able to read the room
“Nothing could have stopped him, pity he came so close only to fall at the last hurdle, and to Morah of all f*cking people” Grima scowls
‘Oh Oars’ Newgate thinks, his face a thunderous scowl
“Don’t drop your guard Whitebeard!” a helmeted giant with an axe bellows as he leaps at the Yonko swinging his weapon with intent to cleave him in half… only for Whitebeard to swing his arm and stop it dead with a quake strike, the entire weapon shattering with a clench of his fist
“I didn’t” he growls before grabbing the giant by the head and slamming it onto the deck before unleashing his power, a quake bubble enveloping his head, shattering the helmet and at the very least knocking out, but more likely killing the giant marine, then tossing his limp body off his ship like a massive sack of garbage
“For Justice!” the lone marine giantess shouts as she drops her sword down on her target… only for it to be stopped bareharded
“That really what you want your last words to be?” Grima scoffs, keeping the giant sword locked in place with her left hand “Fine by me, it’s quite literally your funeral” she says with a click of her tongue as she reached for her own blade, drawing it from it’s sheath with her right hand and unleashing the almost miasma of a dark aura in the process
“No way, she has the Yato, but Vice Admiral…” Tashigi gasps, only to be interrupted by Lucina
“She does, but like Falchion the Yato are twin blades, Mother wields the Alpha, Grima the Omega, though it seems the corruption caused by her use of it for evil deeds has caused it to become the Grim Yato instead. Luckily that means she can’t access it’s full power, such as the divine flames of Retribution” the older bluenette explains, then all eyes widen as the blade erupts in black/purple flames
Felblaze slash
With a single swing, the giant was split vertically, the halves consumed by the cursed flames in minutes, leaving nothing but ash
“sh*t, the legends were true” Smoker grunts
“About Grima’s Devil fruit?” Lucina asks getting nods from both marines “Yes, she, ironically ate the Drago Drago no mi: Model Grima, also known as the Fell Dragon, a dark beast capable of destroying entire islands according to the mythology. She was one of the Demon Eye’s Big 3, alongside Apophis himself and Cipher”
“sh*t and she’s still alive?”
“She’s about as easy to kill as Kaido, but feel free to try Tashigi” Smoker sighs “Focus fire on the lower rank pirates, leave monster class threats like Grima and Whitebeard to the Admirals!”
“Yes sir!”
‘My son’ Whitebeard scowls, his mood darkening the longer he looks at Oar’s corpse, these bastards killed his boy, and plan to kill another by day’s end, something he won’t allow to happen “Oars has given his life for this mission, don’t let his death be in vain. Climb his body, and charge!” he bellows, the pirates all feeling the rush from his words as the leaps forward, Oars will be avenged just as much as Ace will be saved
“This, is beautiful” Doflamingo chuckles to himself as he watched the carnage unfold around him
“Doflamingo!” the man turns his gaze to whoever was dumb enough to call him out “You’re going to pay for what you did to Oars, and I’m going to collect that debt!” the man shouts but pauses when Doffy continues to chuckle “What are you laughing at you freak?”
“The bigger question is why aren’t you laughing? We’re standing on the fulcrum of history. The future and past will be written here!” Doffy declares, playfully dodging the pirates attacks, before with a simple gesture causing him to lock up rather painfully “Everything ok ‘Water Buffalo’ Atlas, you seem to have gone a little stiff?” Doffy taunts, the blade only inches from his face
“What did you do, I can’t control my body” Atlas chokes “Stay away!” he shouts to his men but they charge forward, and are cut down by their captain himself “He’s got control of my body, you all need to stay back! Doflamingo you bastard”
The flamingo just laughs “Pirates are Evil. The Navy is Just. But that’s only true because history tells him so, children who have never known peace, have different values to children who’ve never known war. The one who wins is the one who gets to rewrite the meaning of words like Right and Wrong, THEY will decide the future, and how the past will be written. Will ‘Justice’ prevail? Well of course it will, what justice is, will be decided by the victor!”
“We need more openings for the men, someone put some more holes in that wall!”
“I got this” the tone came with a smirk, as the captain ordered her ship to charge headfirst into the wall, though with said ship being an Ice Cutter, it broke through without a scratch “I’ve cut through glaciers tougher than that wall” Whitey Bay scoffs “Lets go, everyone charge the scaffolding!”
“They’re broken into the bay Sir, from 2 different sections” a marine relays to Sengoku “There’s nothing stopping Whitebeard’s allies flooding the bay with their forces. What should we do sir?”
“Don’t worry about it” Sengoku responds, surprising the man “We’re ready, time to put the plan into action” he says, as he once again raises his Den Den
“About damn time” Tsuru sighs on the other end “Put out a call to all ships and soldiers!”
Whitebeard looks from Sengoku’s passive expression, to Alistair's clenched jaw and twitching ears ‘Hm, so you do have a plan, you always were resourceful Buddha Sengoku’
Unable to keep away any longer, Garp makes the slow climb up the steps of the scafolding, finally stopping to the direct right of his eldest grandson, blood or not Ace was his boy, f*ck what anyone else has to say about it
“Old man?” Ace gasps, shocked that Garp would actually be here
“Why are you here Garp, not having second thoughts are we?” Sengoku asks, his face a mask of calm
“No, they chose to be pirates, they brought all this on themselves” the Vice admiral states flatly
“In that case…”
“Shut up!” Garp snaps, interupting the Fleet Admiral “I don’t want to talk, I just want to sit here” he sighs and drops to the ground, sitting beside Ace and looking just as old as he was for the 1st time in a long while, just sitting there letting him mind wander to back when Ace, Luffy and Kaos were just dumb kids he could make into marines
‘I’m not old man, I'm Grandpa, do I have to beat my love into you with another punch?’
‘You never know when a battle will happen, so eat while you can, and eat a lot, ever navy soldier should live by these rules’
‘Grandpa, what do you know about Devil Fruits?’
‘I’m gonna be a pirate just like Ace!’
‘Don’t hit Luffy, he’s just an idiot like you, yea old coot!’
‘Even if Luffy joins the navy, he won’t take orders and he’ll eat every ship he’s on out of rations in under a week’
‘Probably be less of a nuisance as a pirate then Gahahaha?’
‘Honestly Gramps, it’s probably safer for me to work out on the open ocean and keep Luffy alive, than work in some Government lab, least you’ll hear if I get killed sooner Sesese!’
‘Smartass, you’re all gonna be brilliant marines, paragons of Justice!’
‘Pirates for all!”
“I have no sympathy in me for criminals, but family… that’s something else entirely” Garp finally speaks, and even though he didn’t look, he could tell he had Ace’s attention “Now, what am I supposed to do? Ace you stupid brat, why couldn’t you have done what I asked just once?” the man starts to cry “Can’t you see, I just wanted you to live, all of my grandsons?” he sniffles, while Ace is nearly biting through his lip with the emotions stirring inside
“Old man” he whispers, feeling sympathy for the position he and his brothers had put him in
“If you’re feeling doubt over what must be done, I’m afraid I can’t even take pity on you Garp” Sengoku sneers
“If I had doubts, I’d have done something already” Garp responds flatly, and both of the men beside him knew that was true, Garp wasn’t a subtle man, he would have just punched his way through the blockade to free Ace with as much ferocity as the Whitebeard pirates if he was truly against this act.
“Um guys’ something’s falling from the sky”
“It’s really one thing after another today”
“Do the whitebeard’s have air support?”
“No, it’s definitely falling, not flying”
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
‘You sure know how to an entrance Lu’ Kaos smirks, feeling the familiar Devil fruit energy plummeting towards them, though his eyebrows rise when he feels a few other memorable signatures “You’ve really been busy Sesese”
“You just had to overdo it didn’t you?”
“This is because of that damn Death Wink!”
“Oh so this is my fault?”
“Oh I’ve missed this, Impel Down wasn’t nearly this fun, though Jormungander is still best XD!”
“Who cares who’s fault it is, it’s all frozen down there, we’re all gonna die!.......... Oh wait, I’m rubber I’ll be fine :D!!”
“LUFFY!” Garp and Ace shout in shock, while most people are just silently processing what was coming towards them
“ACE! I’ve come to save you!” Luffy screams as his group gets closer and closer to the ground.
Reinforcements, have arrived
“Stay tuned”
TBC
LW: And so we end this chapter, with the arrival of Luffy and his temporary crew, the gang’s all here! Now things get serious.
Chapter 125: All the pieces on the board
Chapter Text
LW: And Luffy has finally arrived, with reinforcements, but let’s see how much help they really are
Rubber King & Mirror Master - All the pieces on the board
The battleship hits it with an almighty crash, throwing clouds of debris and ice as it settles, obscuring the view for most… but also giving those watching from afar one hell of a show.
“Holy crap, how are we still alive?”
“We hit water… but how?”
“Hey guys, that ship landed right where Jozu ripped that massive slab of ice out of the ground earlier, weird that”
“Think it’s a surprise attack?” A Whitebeard pirate asks
“Nah, these men don’t look like marines, nor do they even look like this was planned” the previous speaker argues
“Can’t tell you how happy I am you pulled through for us like that, either hitting the ice, or landing in the water would have been killer for all of us” Iva chuckles from his spot on the deck
“Negate Impact, is honestly one of the more fun things I’ve done with my fruit that is also non-destructive” Cipher chuckles, watching the others recover from the fall
“It was weird, like my body was ready to spring back up… only for there to be no first shock” Luffy hums… then clicks back into focus “Right gotta save Ace, worry about new mystery powers later!” he shouts, running to the edge of the deck “sh*t, should have realised how crowded an actual war zone would be. ACE! KAOS! Where are you?”
“Straw Boy, locating Ace is actually the easy part. He’s over there on the platform. They’d want him in plain few for all to see as the WG end Roger’s bloodline after all” Iva states, causing Luffy to turn on his heel, barrel through some of the marines who had attempted to board the broken battleship, and scramble to the other side of the ship “As for Mirror Boy, haven’t the foggiest, in a battle of titans like this he doesn’t exactly stand out” the Newkama queen sighs
“You looking for Whitebeard’s boy?” Alistair asks through the Den Den, shocking those within earshot
“Whitebeard’s got a kid, like a real kid?”
“That lanky bastard’s Whitebeard’s son?”
“Well, sh*t, Goldenweek just became a Yonko’s Granddaughter”
“Kifififi. Oh, it seems you didn’t get the memo, Sengoku confirmed it not long after revealing Ace is Roger’s only child too. What a day it’s been. Newgate’s pissed they kept his son from him, luckily Grima’s keeping him from just rampaging through everything like a drunken dragon-duck”
“Grima has always been the one holding a God tier being still long enough to engage their brain, nice to see Apophis dying didn’t change that”
The snail froze, then shut down, causing everyone to turn to Cipher who shrugs
Moby Dick
“Grima, Newgate, you’ll never guess who Straw Hat brought to the battlefield!” Alistair relays through a Baby Den Den
“If it’s Ivankov we know, the man’s purple afro and massive head are quite distinct and noticeable” Whitebeard hums
“I think I saw a blue smudge, that could have been Jinbe, is that it?” Grima asks with a shrug
“No, well yes he brought those 2… but also he brought Cipher”
“Well sh*t, now it’s a party! Kufufufufu!” Grima laughs, glad to hear one of their original crewmates was out and about again
“Also, it turns out Newgate has a Granddaughter through Kaos, which is pretty cool. Impressive too”
“WHAT!!!!”
Back on the marine ship
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCEE! I’M HERE!”
‘Oh God no, Kaos was bad enough, but Luffy. Damn it you rubber-brained idiot’ “LUFFY!”
Luffy grins widely “Finally found you, now to get to the rescuing part,” he thinks aloud as more of his companions gather around him
“sh*t, is that Crocodile?” A marine asks as the hook-handed man sneers from behind Luffy
“Not just him, all those guys up there, including Straw Hat, are big names and big trouble” another gasps
“It’s a regular who’s who on both sides” Iva laughs as he scans the battlefield
“Hey Ace, sit tight, cause we’re gonna get you out of here!” Luffy declares, getting cheers of agreement or simply enthusiasm from the escapees of Impel Down as they prepare to disembark and fight like Hell.
“GARP! Your family’s messing things up again!” Sengoku bellows ‘3 for 3, this really is going to be a long day’
“LUFFY NO!!!” Garp cries, for once agreeing with Ace that his grandson should be basically anywhere but here right now
“Straw Hat Luffy’s arrived and he’s brought along some pretty fierce company”
“Former Warlord’s Crocodile and Jinbe, the Revolutionary Ivankov”
“Grand Manipulator Cipher!”
“And a whole host of big-name thugs and pirates, he must have emptied the cells of Impel Down for his army”
“Straw hat’s causing a ruckus again? I should probably have expected this” Mihawk muses, remembering the stories Shanks had told him about ‘Anchor’ as well as a passing knowledge of what the boy and his crew have been getting up to since leaving Baratie.
“STRAW HAT!” Moriah bellows “You don’t get to ruin my plans again, you hear me?”
“Took your time little one, the battle’s already underway, but better late than never” Shaula chuckles, scuttling across the ice in her fusion form Skaro’s claws pinning down marines as she carves them up with Medusa’s dagger
“Holy crap, Helmeppo get over here!” Koby shouts
“Oh please tell me it’s not another big surpri….STRAW HAT! How did he get here?”
“No idea, but that means, he managed to break out of Impel Down. How strong is this guy, it just defies all logic and reason?”
“Idiot siblings, can’t do anything about them can you?” Kaos winks as he sidesteps Lucina’s sword swing, the crunch from his kick a moment earlier meaning she was force to use her weaker arm to fight him
“I will eviscerate you, then deal with Straw Hat” Lucina scowls, nicking the reflect serpent just below his left ribs, but given Falchion’s seastone edge she might as well have been using a branding iron with how it felt on Kaos’ end, then having to block his return strike with his double blades glaive batting it away and leaping back as the 2nd blade swung around
“Of all things, you had the Gall to ally yourself with Straw Hat Luffy” Sengoku sneers then shouts to Jinbe “After all we’ve done for you, this is how you repay us?”
“Yes it is. Consider this my resignation, I am here as an ally of Whitebeard and Straw Hat in their joint efforts to rescue Fire Fist Ace” Jinbe declares
“Quite strange, all these groups joining up against us…” Garp hums, getting Sengoku and Ace’s attention “Prisoners, a Revolutionary commander, 2 former Warlords, a Demon Eye Commander, those…. Gaudy-looking fellows over there. I highly doubt they’re all here for the same reason, they’re just too different for that to make any sense”
Almost as if to prove Garp correct, the moment he caught sight of Whitebeard… Crocodile was off the ship aiming to sink his hook into the old man’s skull
“Long time no see, old man”
“Still the same hotshot rookie, Nim” Whitebeard grunts, though before he or Grima could do anything, Crocodile’s hook is redirected by a kick from an already in Gear 2nd Luffy.
Crocodile scowls as he leaps back, noticing a moment later that Luffy was dripping wet ‘Hm, seems the boy’s not as dumb as he often appears, he remembered our last encounters. That complicates things’ “You know there’s only one reason I agreed to come here, kid. You want to save your brother so badly then stay out of my way! I’m killing Whitebeard and there’s not a thing you can do to stop me”
“So the old guy’s Whitebeard, thanks for confirming the suspicion. Now, stay away from him! He’s Ace’s Captain so I’m not going to let you hurt him!”
“Seems it does run in the family” Marco chuckles, having been close enough to hear Luffy’s statements
“Don’t let him get close to Pops” several Whitebeard pirates shout as they block the sandman from the Yonko, who turns to actually look at the no longer steaming rubber boy
“Hey kid, that straw hat… it looks just like the one Red-Haired Shanks used to wear”
Luffy blinks “How do you know Shanks? But, yeah this is his hat, he left it to me when we last met” he replies
“You came here to rescue your big brother”
“Yup”
“Do you even have the slightest idea who our forces are up against?”
“Nope… but Kaos might. I’ll ask him if I run into him between now and saving Ace”
“Oh I like this one already Newgate, can we keep him?” Grima laughs, Straw Hat was definitely going to keep things exciting for decades to come… provided he survives this battle of course
“There’s that too, you’re my boy’s Captain correct?”
Luffy pauses “Wait… you’re Kaos’ Dad?”
“I’m still processing the news, but yes”
“Awesome! See that gives me more reason to help, I don’t just ignore my family, you’re the dad to 2 of my brothers, so I HAVE to help now Shishishi” Luffy grins widely until Whitebeard gets annoyed and slams Murakumogiri onto the deck
“You stupid punk, a squirt like you will be simply annihilated out there” the Tremor man states bluntly, letting it hang for a moment, Luffy’s head droops almost like he’s just realized how deep he’s gotten himself in…
“Shut up!” Or not “You don’t know, you don’t even know me!” Luffy shouts right back angrily, jaws dropping as they watch this rookie pirate backtalk to the strongest man alive “I know what you’re up to. You want to be the King huh? Well first you gotta go through me, got it?” he declares in an echoing shout, shocking everyone within earshot
“Luffy” Kaos groans, facepalming as even those with more Luffy experience (Smoker, Tashigi, Lucina) jolted to a halt as they heard the boy’s declaration
After a couple of minutes of silence and death glaring at each other, as well as a couple of rotations of his weapon to see if he could get the boy to back down or at least flinch, Whitebeard slams it down again, and laughs “Cheeky little punk Gurararara! Don’t come crying to me if you get some booboos kid”
“Yeah right, at least I’m not old and creaking like you. I’m gonna be the one to rescue Ace!” Luffy shouts, getting into his Gear 2nd stance
“He’s competing…”
“With Whitebeard…”
“Gorororroro Oh I love it! Such revelry of damnation!”
“Better keep on your toes Newgate, of the next generation, will pit you to the post” Grima laughs, mostly because she could see the glint in his eyes, he wanted to see how strong Ace and Kaos’ little brother was firsthand, not just hear stories or read about him in the papers.
“This kid’s really got a few screws loose, who the hell breaks out of the most secure prison, then runs straight to Navy Headquarters?” Helmeppo thinks aloud “It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen someone do, how is that boy still alive?”
“It’s just how Luffy is, you may think it’s dumb but it’s not” Koby defends “He’s here for his brother, nothing else matters”
Luffy pauses and turns to Whitebeard “Hey old man, I heard something on the Navy ship that might concern you. They’re moving Ace’s execution up, probably because you guys actually showed up and managed to get this close”
Whitebeard nods “Seems reasonable, throwing out the schedule and moving up Ace’s execution time is the logical move”
“Hey Alistair, how come we didn’t already know this?” she asks into the baby Den Den, her voice a sickly sweet
“f*cking White Snails, I can’t wiretap with them blocking the signal and I need to get my hand on a navy snail to bypass it” the Deer Mink answers with an irritated groan, White Den Den Mushi were honestly the bane of his existence, even if their abilities did help him from time to time.
“The only thing is they’re setting something up first, probably something big to delay or even just distract you giving them time to kill Ace” Luffy adds “They weren’t specific, meaning it was probably already known to who was being told, and this was just the order to ‘Go to Plan f*cked!’ or something like that” Luffy adds, “I think you want to rescue Ace as bad as I do, otherwise I’d have just gone off without telling you”
Whitebeard sighs “Then, I guess it’s lucky I ran into you, thanks for the intel kid”
“No problem” Luffy nods, both now standing stoically, looking over the battlefield to where Ace still knelt, before leaping off the deck of the Moby Dick into the battlefield
“That dumbass, well at least we know it’s still Straw Hat after all that weird sh*t a minute ago” Buggy sighs, then gets shoved aside by Bentham leaping into the fray after his friend, though he was just the 1st as the mass exodus occurs, Straw Hat’s little army was unleashed upon Marineford
Gum Gum Bazooka
“GET OUT OF MY WAY!!”
“Kid’s got some balls, and he’s clearly Ace’s brother” Jozu laughs “3rd Division, follow Straw Hat, support and push forward, now!”
“13th Division, advance on the barrier, Oars made headway, so capitalise on it!”
KABOOM!!
‘sh*t, why’d it have to be that one’
“Did you really think it would be that easy?” Kizaru chuckles, his shades hiding a kaleidoscope of energy shimmering in his eyes “Pretty confident for a bunch of nobodies”
“Hey, you’re that bastard from Sabaody!” Luffy shouts, not breaking stride as he charges headfirst for the yellow admiral
“Yes, and you’re the punk the Celestial Dragons wanted taken care of, even if it bends one of their own rules…but when has that stopped them” Kizaru muses, raising his leg and charging a beam, which probably would have taken out Luffy, had the boy not been shot out of the blast radius by one of Iva’s Death Wink’s.
“You still alive Straw Boy?”
“Yeah, thanks Iva. See ya!” Luffy grins and continues running
“SEE YA? Don’t you realize I’m only here to save you’re stupid rubber keyster?” Iva rants, only to get blindsided by Kuma firing mouth lasers at him “Ah crap, seriously Kuma, after all these years as friends, now you fire lasers at me, where did you even get those?”
Luffy continues his charge until he has to dodge 2 flying chakram blades, as well as some pink-haired guy trying to punch him… clearly not getting the memo that rubber is immune to blunt force damage, but oh well.
“You thought things were plain sailing Straw Hat” Pinkie chuckles
“Shame you ran into us, we’re cutting this reunion short,” Jango says, catching his returning chakram like boomerangs
Luffy pauses, blinks, and tilts his head “Um… do I know you weirdos?”
“Are you kidding me? I’m Fullbody, I’ve been waiting since all the way back in Baratie to get my revenge on you little sh*t!” Fullbody scowls and clenches his fist
“Oh… you’re that marine who Sanji kicked the crap out of” Luffy says clicking his fingers, causing Fullbody to tense up in anger
“Please tell me you remember this Chakram Straw Boy”
“Yup, you’re the hypnotist guy who tried to help sh*tty Butler attack Ussop and Kaya’s village” Luffy nods “What are you doing all the way out here?”
Jango smirks “I joined the marines, to hone my skills and I’ve finally mastered the art of hypnotism (meaning he remembers to close his eyes now?). It’s twice as effective wielding 2 chakrams” he states, swinging 2 of the blades rings like clock pendulums
“Yeah, that seems kind of obvious in hindsight” Luffy mutters, worried about what the Hypno guy was going to do now
“When I say One, Two, Jango you’ll fall into a deep sleep” Jango states more than anything else as he swings the chakrams, just as an explosion distracts the Straw Boy
One Two, Jango!
ZZZZZZZZZZ
It worked!! Just not on Luffy, but on Jango and Fulbody, to the embarrassment, and annoyance of Captain Hina
“f*cking idiots, but they’re loyal and at least they tried rather than just sh*t themselves with all these high-rank enemies around us. But either way it all ends here for you Straw Hat” Hina sighs as she takes a drag of her cigarette
“Wait, I know you, you’re the cage lady from Alabasta who took out Bon. Jeez, I don’t have time for these Callbacks, I need to rescue Ace!” Luffy groans
“Well too bad, nothing escapes my Kimono Sleeve Cage” Hina shouts, shoulder-high cage bars shooting out of her sleeves and encircling Luffy “Anywho try get through me will be ensnared by the bars of my Black Cage”
“Yeah…. I really don’t have time for this” Luffy groans as he bends the knee, meanwhile, Hina starts to close the gap
Gear 2nd
Only for her to miss and Luffy shoots over her head faster than she could blink, meaning all she caught were her own subordinates “Too fast, couldn’t follow. Hina failed” she sighs dejectedly, giving Luffy time to put a fair bit of distance between them
“You know, I’m getting real tired of you standing in my way, as well as that damn seastone” Kaos groans, swinging his arm back and deciding to try something different as Lucina wasn’t budging from normal attacks. Hebi swells and expands forming a kanabō befitting Kaos’ height, then swings erratically, assisted by the almost bonelessness Hebi eaters gain from their Devil fruit transformations, landing several body blows and pushing the marine back a fair distance
Hebi Bagua
Waiting Room
“Seems Sengoku’s announcement paid off, with a move like that, people might start to wonder if he has another one loose in the sea” Maha muses
“One child of the Beast free-roaming is enough, though him being Whitebeard’s son doesn’t isn’t much better” Ma’at scowls under his mask
“It matters not” Fred says shutting the 2 up “The boy is strong, but won’t live long enough to reach the potential of his parents”
“He may surprise you” Tsutoyomi chuckles “Snakes are known to be tricky to pin down, and this one has plenty of reasons to keep living”
Marineford
“Hm, either your tit* protected you, or my aim is just sh*t” he muses with a click of his tongue as Lucina while pissed just rushes straight for him
“No more games!”
Sol-Luna-Aether
The marine unleashes a flurry of slashes, the wounds steaming as Kao’s reflect armour attempts to knit itself and him back together
“It seems the anger we feel has become mutual, though I’m unsure why” the bluenette wonders aloud “I’ve done nothing to make you hate me any more than you already should, what’s changed?”
Kaos wheezes and coughs a little blood “It’s nothing personal princess, I just feel overwhelming disgust when I look you in the eye like I want to tear it out” he scowls, Hebi already reverting into its khopesh form
Icicle Crash
Both leap back as javelin-sized chunks of ice rain down, forming a dividing wall between them. Turning their heads in the direction it came from, they found none other than Whitey Bay floating down to their level “Get moving sweetie, I’ll handle this one you focus on Ace” the Captain orders, clapping her hands together and with a blue flash forms a weapon made of glacial blue ice, specifically a….
Frost Naginata
“Care to dance girl?” Whitey taunts, swinging the polearm with the speed and grace that shows an in-depth knowledge of the weapon and combat style
“I’ll deal with Mirror Master later then” Lucina sneers, while the young pirate sighs and takes the opening, though not before a little ‘parting gift’
Rankyaku: Wangetsu [Crescent]
‘Gotta get to Ace, or Luffy, then Ace. Either way need to move faster’ Kaos thinks as he runs, then with a yelp and a near stumble spins and avoids a wind blade across the chest
“TRAITOR!”
“Oh for f*ck sake, is there a sign on my back or something?” Kaos groans blocking Mabel’s sword with Hebi, the Rear Admiral clearly pissed off “I do appreciate you coming from the front, not the back though, much more respectful” he taunts, knowing her story, at least a little, but wanting to drive a knife in any way, he can’t beat her at her best so anything he can do to put her off her game is a bonus
“You don’t deserve a true battle” Mabel hisses, leaping back and with a few horizontal swings that looked vaguely familiar to the researcher, her hand turned an oily black and energy flowed up her blade, sparks flying from the tip before she rushes forward
Trigram Hellblaze
Gogyō Fūin
Both fighters were stunned when Cipher drops in, catching the blade and disrupting the haki in it, rendering it inert
“You guys keep interrupting my fights I’m going to get concerned. Thanks though” Kaos says with a half-smile
“We’re allowed to have secondary goals, you being alive by the end of this is one of them according to Alistair, straight from the Big Guy himself” Cipher replies with a smirk of his own “Now, Mabel darling, how about letting the kid leave and finish what we started 20 years ago. No tricks, no dagger in the eye, just a real, honest brawl. Iron Glass” he offers, ensign the statement by shattering her sword with his bare hands and throwing away his cane sword. “You may want to run away no kid, this is going to get messy” he winks before clapping his hands together and a golden pyramid eclipses both fighters
Cage of Demise
“I’m asking about that Devil fruit when this is over because even my brain is screaming” Kaos thinks aloud, before running again, stopped once more by a guy in a turban and his lower face hidden by a cloth “You seem familiar to me”
“As you do to me, seems you managed to survive Enise Lobby Mirror Master” Shu sneers, though it was only implied due to the cover
Kaos snaps his fingers “Right, that guy” he nods, and kicks him in the head “Yeah, not taking a chance with you Rusty, especially not with Hebi on the line. Cool fruit though, I’ll be sure to collect it if you die. But I have bigger things to worry about, so see yah!”
“For f*ck sake, you again!” Luffy shouts seeing Moriah right in front of him and pulling zombies out of the ground to capture him “Now’s a bad time onion bastard, so pack it in!” he leaps over a few zombies but gets smacked back by some of the stronger patchworks, though at least the ones who had guns were basically giving him ammo to send back at them, at least distracting them for a moment to try get around them
“Bring him to me alive, I need his shadow for my new Oars!” Moriah bellows, clearly only one thing on his mind, making a new GIANT ZOMBIE
‘Luffy, damn you idiot’ Ace tears up, before beginning to shout “Luffy stay back!” causing a momentary lull in the battle “What the Hell do you think you’re doing? You only became a pirate because I wanted you, you went out to sea because you were following me, but I’ve got my own damn life without you! I’ve already got enough of my own friends!”
‘Ace, you self-sacrificing idiot’
“You get it, I want you to stay the Hell away from me! You really think you can save me, a scrawny wimp of a crybaby like you huh? That’d be laughable if it wasn’t so pathetic. Go Home Luffy. I didn’t ask for you to come save me!” ‘Please Luffy, just go, I can’t let you die here with me, you’re worth so much more’
“ACE” Luffy finally responds “YOU’RE MY BROTHER! I CAN’T LOSE ANOTHER ONE, WE CAN’T LOSE YOU ACE!”
“Did he say they’re brothers?”
“So he’s also Roger’s son?”
“No both Ace’s parents were dead long before Straw hat was born”
“I don’t give a damn what you want, I’m here to save you, because that was MY decision”
“You stubborn bastard!”
“Now my zombies, capture the rubber idiot Kishishishi!” Moriah orders while Straw hat was distracted
Tic Tic Tic Tic Tic Tic Tic Tic
“Hm, what’s that?”
“A sign you should stand back, straw hat’s got the right idea running that way” Azulong laughs as she pulls a zombie out of the boy’s way with her whips “I think the filter’s clogged love, gonna change it or unload all that gunk?”
“Ha, ha” Helios wheezes, a pale, dainty hand rises to her covered face, and a scaled claw crushed the rebreather, revealing a shifting face more closely resembling a Viperfish than anything else
Respira
A thick cloud is expelled from the mouth, and given the screams, Luffy was very glad to be outside of its range
“What the Hell is that?” Moriah shrieks
“That is the miasma of the Drago Drago no mi: Val Hazak. It’s a virulent concoction that eats through flesh in minutes. Speaking of, gonna show the sellout what he’s won?” Azulong laughs
“I think he’s going to be mad, Hazazazaz. Zelena, assist!” Helios hisses, a redhead zipping over in a whirlwind sprint
“Oh I do find this a fun one”
Breath of Tartarus
“No, stop what are you doing, NOT MY ZOMBIE!!!” Moriah cries as the cloud was absorbed into a green-tinged twister, and sent straight at Oar’s corpse, the body begins to rot/decay right before their very eyes
“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes”
“Grr, zombies, gut the bitch!” Moriah screams, only for the nearest ones to be bowled over by a wave, the seawater causing them to eject their shadows and fall like broken puppets
“These zombies are made using Devil fruit powers, meaning they share their weakness for seawater” Jinbe explains, catching up to Luffy “I’ll handle zombie boy, you save Ace”
“Thanks Jinbe” Luffy grins and rushes forward, only for his path to be blocked by one of the remaining giant marines “Crap”
“Don’t dismiss the boy out of hand, he’s a true threat in the making. He was raised alongside Fire Fist and Mirror Master as step brothers, and if that’s not bad enough, he’s the biological son of the Revolutionary Dragon.” Sengoku announces, spilling the beans off all 3 of Garps’ boys today
“Well sh*t, but at least what happened in Loguetown finally makes sense” Smoker mutters
“Roger, Whitebeard, and Dragon’s kids all in one place, better kill them all now before they get even close to their father’s level infamy”
CP0
“See what I mean, things just keep piling up, and it’s not even 2. Kifififi” Tsukuyomi cackles, even as a tear runs down the inside of her mask
Marineford
Garp sighs tiredly “Doesn’t matter in the long run, especially not when he’s already a notorious pirate in his own right. You 3 are damn fools, you know that Ace, this could have all been prevented if you’d just listened to me and become marines”
Gear 3rd: Gum Gum Giant Rifle
“Hey, Ace! Say whatever asshole things you want, we’re still here to save you!” Luffy yells as he takes down the giant
“Because you being alive to hate us, is a price we’re fine paying, if it means you’re still alive” Kaos adds, having finally caught up to the rubber dumbass
“The kid speaks for all of us Ace!”
“We’re your family too, we’re not going to just let you die!”
“Gurarara. Marco, make sure the rubber boy doesn’t die, he’s a good kid with a bright future”
“You got it Pops” Marco nods “And I think you’re right, he’s already making waves in this sea”
“Kid toppled a giant with one punch”
“No wonder he thought he could talk to Whitebeard like that”
“And can take on the Entire marine contingent”
“That boy doesn’t do things by halves, Straw Hat is making this quite a fun event, for those of here and those still watching at hope ;P” Alistair relays with a laugh
“Well, I think you might have gotten their attention Luffy, you have a plan for this next part?” Kaos asks, seeing that they were all surrounded
“Go forward, rescue Ace” Luffy states, being as blunt and straightforward as usual
“Yeah… kind of saw that one coming”
“Do not let Straw Hat’sgroup advance, under any circ*mstances” Sengoku orders “Hold them off and put those rookies in the ground, you hear me?”
“You heard him men, make it hurt!” one marine yells, starting the charge
“Bazooka unit fire at Whitebeard. NOW!” another orders, but the Yonko smirks before sending a quake through his weapon, detonating their explosives early and sending the marines flying
“I can do this all day, but I’m on a schedule so move it!” Luffy growls as he rebounds another mace to the gut, then ducks as the advancing swordsmen were tangled up in razor wire, then shredded to mulch
Traptrix: Game Over
“These guys really have no idea who they’re messing with, shame really” Kaos sighs, tumbling to avoid a club wielding marine’s attack
Gum Gum Balloon
“And now the artillery's down, man this kid works fast”
‘Why do none of them see, I’m not worth this, that I should just be left here to die like I’m supposed to’ Ace weeps, before something snaps, and he sits up, face blank and lifeless, enough Garp had to turn rather than just use his haki to keep track of his grandsons
“What is it Ace?” he asks confused
“I’m ready. Ready to accept whatever I have coming to me. I’ll accept help from anyone, but also, any punishment given. Either one, whichever comes first, my life is now in fate’s hands, and I’ve finally stopped fighting it” Ace sighs tiredly, just wanting this day to end, even if it kills him
“Hey you, clown nose”
“What you call me you punk!!!” Buggy yells before his brain has time to register just who said it. Tilting his head up, his eyes met Whitebeard’s, staring down at him “I take it back!” he screams in panic
“I thought I recognized you. You worked for Roger back when you were just a brat” Whitebeard hums, honestly unimpressed by how Buggy turned out given where he came from “Been a while, but it doesn’t look like much has changed from where I’m standing”
Grima nods “I mean, Shanks was in the same place as Buggy here back in the day, and look at him now, a Yonko in his own right, sure he’s weaker than you Newgate, but these punks, he might as well be Kaido” she grins before returning focus to her Den Den “Continue providing support to Straw Boy, he’s our best chance at reaching Ace at the moment, whether physically or from a moral standpoint I don’t quite know yet”
“On it Boss” Apep responds, reloading her sniper rifle
“You’ve got an entire battalion of prisoners there with you, you better not be planning on challenging me right here and now, are you?” Whitebeard asks, ignoring Grima for the moment, not wanting to micromanage another captain’s men
“YES HE IS!” the prisoners announce “Opps, sorry for stealing your thunder their Cap”
‘Well, crap, guess I’m dying today’ “Yeah, I’m here to take you down!”
“Hm, I suppose a fight would be interesting, but what happens if you beat me kid? There sure are a lot of marines, more than you could handle alone, hell they’re more than I can handle alone nowadays” Whitebeard laments “Now, I’m not one to back down from a challenge, but it would make more sense to form an alliance now, and beat the sh*t out of each other at a later date, sound good?”
“Actually, that makes sense. Men we’re fighting alongside the Whitebeard pirates, take out those Navy bitches and bring me Fire Fist… alive!” Buggy orders
‘Yeah, the clown’s lost his mind’ Galdino facepalms, muttering “I’m surrounded by morons” under his breath
“Wow, that was easy” Marco chuckles
“Buggy’s simple-minded, always has been from what I can remember, but his little army could have been a distraction or worse an issue for later. Better to limit the number of sides we’re facing, it increases our chances of victory significantly” Whitebeard agrees “Now back to the war” he mutters as he pulls out a Den Den “Get me Squard, immediately”
“You got it Pops. Um… crap, Captain Squard was here a few moments ago, but he’s not right now. I’ll get him to you as quick as I can”
“He picked a bad time for a piss break” Marco sighs
“Never mind him then. Get me the Decalvin brothers on the line”
“Hey Pops, what you need from us?”
“I want you to follow my lead, take command of all pirate divisions around you”
“Understood Pops”
“We won’t disappoint you”
“Focus on sinking the approaching Navy ships, understood”
“What!”
“But why?”
“Trust me on this, there’s something not quite right going on, and those ships give me a bad feeling. Plus we still need to be able to leave once we complete our objective” Whitebeard explains
“Ok, you can count on us Pops”
“We’re spread word to the other Captains, we won’t let you down”
“I know” Whitebeard nods before putting down the snail
“Sir” a marine yells running up to Sengoku “The New World pirates have turned back and are firing on our ships”
Garp scoffs “Seems the old man called your bluff, must have sensed something off about the orders”
Sengoku shrugs “So I tried a cheap trick and he didn’t fall for it, in hindsight I may have been a little too obvious and heavy handed with that one. Never mind, just because he sees it coming, doesn’t mean he can actually stop it happening”
Death Wink
“Oh cool, you’re still alive. Hope these guys aren’t giving you too much trouble”
“I’m a little out of practice, but I’ll be fine Mirror Boy” Iva chuckles
“Iva, Kaos, Jinbe, we need to get these dumbasses out of the way and make a break for it straight to Ace” Luffy orders, getting nods from the other 3
Fishman Karate: 1000 brick fist
Death Wink
Gum Gum Bazooka
Sen'ei Jashu
Everything in a straight line of the 4 was just tossed aside or up into the air, giving the pirates a clear path to advance
“Kishishi, you don’t honestly think you can take me on Straw Hat?” Moriah cackles
“I don’t know we already kicked your ass less than a month ago” Kaos mutters
“Don’t worry about it Luffy, I’ll handle him. My Fishman karate can handle his zombies as well as the bastard himself, focus on getting to Ace” Jinbe volunteers, stepping between Luffy and Moriah “Don’t pay this villain another second”
“K, thanks, watch out for his scissors and his Dopple-guy!” Luffy shouts as they do just rush on by
Moriah sighs “I can’t believe I’m just letting that shadow run along, but I suppose with Oars a rotting mess there’s nowhere to put it. But enough of that, you can’t seriously be arrogant enough to think you can beat me on dry land Jinbe? This will be a cakewalk, and once you’re dealt with, my zombies won’t have anything to worry about” Moriah laughs, ignoring the corpse dragon looking merc tearing people apart and rotting them from the inside out about 100m away from him
Shadows Asgard
“I bet you didn’t know this Jinbe, but my powers grow exponentially with every shadow I absorb” the shadow man boasts as he drains all nearby marines of their shadows to bulk himself up, though it was nowhere near as much as when he was on Thriller Bark
“So you got bigger, big deal. It means little, fighting me with stolen power, it’s not strength, it’s a sign of just how weak you really are” the Fishman scoffs, preparing to battle the giant
“I’ll show you who’s weak, you won’t be saying that when I turn you into sushi!” Moriah screams, splitting his scissor blade into 2 separate weapons, a la Kill La Kill. He then starts swinging, but Jinbe just dodges each attack “You’re pretty fast for a hulking brute” Moriah notes
“You might want to look in a mirror, the only thing hulking around here is you” Jinbe scoffs, ducking under an angry swing then taking the opening when he saw it
Fishman Karate: Sharkskin palm thrust
Shark Brick Fist
The double impact as well as the internal damage Fishman karate is known for managed to get Moriah to eject the shadows, reverting to his normal size and power level
“You gave up those shadows pretty easily, maybe a little training would have done you good. Now, let’s end this farce and let me pass, I have more important things to deal with than playing around with you” Jinbe growls then walks away, leaving his opponent panting and wheezing on the ground
“Ah crap, it had to be you Smokie” Luffy groans as he gets up after taking a smack to the jaw from the logia’s jitte “And of course, you have a seastone-tipped weapon, on top of a logia Devil fruit, Hax I tell you. Hax!”
“I’ve finally found you Straw Hat” Smoker growls around his cigars “I’m not letting you get away from me this time”
“Yeah, not this time”
Gear 2nd
Gum Gum Jet Gatling
Unfortunately Luffy forgot something important… he still can’t hit smoke.
White Launcher
‘And now he can fly, fuuuuck’
“Straw Hat!” Tashigi yells as she charges straight for the steaming rubber boy…
Clang
…only to cross blades with the elder brother, while Luffy leaps into the air to try to catch the smoke man
“Hey, Tashigi, right? Zoro’snot here at the moment so I'll be your opponent for the next 3 minutes. Whitey interrupted my fight with Lucina, so you’ll have to do I guess” Kaos says with his at this point signature grin, though now much wider thanks to his snake fruit.
Unfortunately, air or land, Luffy still can’t actually do damage to Smoker, unlike the man himself who because of his weapon was able to strike Luffy out of the sky and pin him to the ice with a crash, the seastone pressed against his throat stopping him from retaliating
“You’ve gotten stronger than Alabasta, I’ll give you that kid, but unfortunately for you, that’s still not strong enough to beat him” Smoker announces, standing over the wriggling rubber boy “I finally understand what happened in Loguetown, why Dragon saved you. But Daddy’s not here to protect you now boy, nobody’s coming to save you…”
“Get your filthy mitts off the boy Smoker!”
Smoker has a moment to register the order before taking a kick to the face, though to the shock of everyone not from the new World… Hanco*ck managed to actually hit him
“What the f*ck! How did she do that, the Commodore ate a logia?”
“Better question, why did the Pirate empress just save Straw Hat?”
“She’s not like you, is she?” Tashigi asks, her and Kaos’s fight on pause due to Hanco*ck’s interruption
“A Kuja? Yes. Reflections? No. This is some new bullsh*t” Kaos admits “She seems to have things covered over there, care to continue?”
“I should be annoyed you’re treating this like a spar, but… it’s actually kind of cool to fight against a sword as high rank as yours and not be instantly one-shotted like if I challenged Mihawk” Tashigi admits, her inner sword otaku bleeding through
“Fair, Shigure, Vs the Kadachi Daito?”
“You’re on you scaly bastard!” the marine smirks as she lunges straight for the taller one’s heart, the electro blade blocking it, just barely, but he didn’t seem to mind, it was a momentary break from the stress of the war, besides Tashigi wasn’t half bad, definitely near Zoro’s levels far as single-bladed combat went, multi sword though… remained to be seen
Smoker scowls as he stands up “Hanco*ck, what the Hell do you think you’re doing? Don’t tell me you’re resigni…”
“Shut the f*ck up! The screaming fury in my heart has rendered me deaf to the words of lesser men like yourself. You’re don’t get to threaten my family and live, you have my word as an Empress” Hanco*ck snarls, as, by virtue of being her Beloved’s little brother, that makes Luffy her de facto little brother too (Technically, so was Ace, but only because she was older than Fire Fist) “My rage is incalculable, I’ll tear you to pieces and feed you to the Sea Kings!”
“Great, just what I need today, a crazy chick on my ass. And worse, a crazy Kuja broad who knows haki…bollocks” Smoker sighs deeply, this was going to be, unpleasant
Luffy coughs and wheezes as he gets the use of his throat muscles back “Ttthanks Hanco*ck, for the save there” he pants
Hanco*ck pauses, and turns her head “No problem sweetie” she says with a wink “Now… Big sis has some ass to kick”
Amazon Lilly
“Whoooooo get him, Big Sis!”
“Show that Marine you can’t pick on our friends!”
“Thank you for saving Uncle Luffy :D”
Marineford
“Kuma,this isn’t like you. How can you throw away our years of friendship like this?” Iva shouts as he dodges another mouth laser from the still silent Kuma
“Fufufufufu, oh isn’t this just tragic”
Iva turns “Doflamingo, what do you want?”
“Nothing really, just to watch you fall. It’s sad to see though, as it’s obvious you 2have some kind of history, but unfortunately, the man you see, isn’t the man you know”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It mean, the Tyrant Kuma, is dead, has been for several years now” Doffy chuckles, while Iva’s jaw drops
“No, that’s not possible, how can Kuma be dead?”
TBC
LW:And we’re done, things just keep ramping up don’t they?
Chapter 126: War arc chapter 4, March of the Metal Men
Chapter Text
LW: So, I think you can guess some of what happens in this chapter, but a lot of other stuff happens too, including one that happened a lot sooner than expected. Opps.
Rubber King & Mirror Master - War arc chapter 4, March of the metal men!
“Did she say brother?”
“She’s also Roger’s kid?”
“She’s at least older than Fire first so it’s possible that way”
“She could be Dragon’s though, and quite literally be Straw Hat’s Big Sis”
“All we know is she’s not Whitebeard’s thank f*ck, else she’d have defected a LOT sooner”
“GARP!!!”
“I don’t know anything” the vice-admiral whines and for the first time in days Ace suppresses a smile, it felt good to be in the know sometimes
“Oh, crap I almost forgot!” Hanco*ck facepalmed “Luffy, I got a present for you….. The key to Ace’s handcuffs” she grins, pulling the key from her cleavage and placing it in Luffy’s not clenched fist
“Thanks, Hanco*ck!” Luffy grins, pulling her into a bone creaking hug, then running away at full speed
‘Oh that silly boy, good luck’
“Straw Hat!”
Perfume Femur
“You didn’t think I’d just let you keep a weapon that could harm me did you?” Hanco*ck chuckles, the jitte breaking near the middle due to the section she’d kicked turning to stone, before arching her back to the point she was staring at the heavens “Fur coated fiend, you shall not pass on my watch!”
“Damn, the Empress is really looking down on him”
“She’s looking down so hard, she’s looking up. Amazing!”
“Out of my damn way woman, do you have any idea what happens to people who betray the navy?” Smoker growls
“I’ll ask Jinbe later, for now, I’m content on just kicking your smoky arse” Hanco*ck sneers before peering over her breasts at the Commander “Besides, I can do whatever I like, Why? Because I am beautiful!” she announces, getting lovestruck nods from the peanut gallery
“Damn, Hanco*ck is such a badass, Kaos really has his hands full with her” Luffy chuckles then yelps as a bayonet shoots past his cheek, embedding itself in the ice
“Missed, guess fortune favours you pirate”
“Hm, who are you?” Luffy asks as he turns to the voice, seeing an older-looking blond man with glasses, exposed shoulders but full sleeves, a gruff expression similar to Smoker, and like Kuma, a Bible, though this one was attached to him by a silver chain almost like a necklace or pendant. The reason for the exposed shoulders was made apparent when kaki colored vines erupted from his flesh and shot out, Luffy dodging but the vines simply retrieved the bayonets and retreated
“Will be such a shame when you lose your head, a stupid pirate who’ll soon be dead. You wore your sin like it was some kind of prize… too many lies, too many lies” the man says in an almost song-like melody “But enough of that you won’t be getting any closer to Fire Fist, and with your death, the legacy of the Devil known as Dragon dies too…”
Bang
Bang
Bang
“Hands off the rubber boy, he’s ours”
“Well, seems getting your ass saved by women is becoming a habit ay Straw Boy?” the marine laughs
“Actually, I’m a man marine asshole, Sorry, Vice Admiral Anderson, aka Father Arsehole” Izo scoffs, aiming his guns at the now chuckling man
“Oh, so you’re one of them ay? Not that I have any reason to care, like I always say, you pirates all die the same!” Anderson laughs, pulling two more bayonets from his coat, and runs at the Division commander, haki flowing through the blades enabling them to tank a few more bullets from Izo’s guns as he gets closer
Clang
Zap
Clang
Zap
Kaos smirks, seems Zoro’s rival was rather good, and so was the sword itself, as the fact she was still able to hold on despite their clashes meant the hilt was fairly well insulated, or her energy leaned to electricity like his did, but given she didn’t try to brace her sword with her bare hand as he did… it was probably the latter
“Never expected the Hebi no Oni no mi to be able to produce elemental attacks, well besides the pressure wave all good swords can produce” the marine muses as she swings and clips the edge of Kaos’ waistcoat “It’s full of surprises isn’t she?”
He grins wider “You have no idea, though really only electricity works with me, at least for now. Ice is definitely a no go based on earlier. Helpful tip, don’t try to stop a magma ball with an ice blade, even if you do have an affinity for it”
Tashigi rolls her eyes “I’ll try to avoid pissing off my superiors then” then sighs “So, think you can actually do it?”
“Save Ace? How Shigi hon, we’re gonna win, or die trying… or at least Luffy will, nothing anyone says will make him back down until it does in fact kill him. But really, when have the Straw Hats done anything that was sane? Or backed down from a challenge?” he winks and Tashigi couldn’t actually argue, the Straw Hat MO was basically ‘Do crazy sh*t, somehow succeed’. Also, if she wasn’t aware the teen’s default seemed to be a grinning psychopath, she’d think the casual conversation and swordplay… was him flirting with her, which would have gotten him a straight groin shot from Shiguri’s hilt. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere important to be, sorry in advance” he winks, then reveals a twist in this tail
‘Wait wha…’
Doku Doku: Plegia
With a gasp, Tashigi felt a solid strike to her spine just below her ribs, the pain ripple through her nerves and then nothing, but in the worst way… Shigure slipped from its wielder's limp fingers before the marine dropped like a puppet with her strings cut, only Kaos’ catching her stopped her face planting on the ice. The Reflect Hebi user then lays her on the ground and while probably not necessary turns her onto her back, and sheaths her sword, keeping his free hand on her stomach just in case he miscalculated
“Bastard, you were toying with me weren’t you?” Tashigi scowls “Is it because I’m a marine or a woman?”
“Neither, it’s because you’re a swordsman, unlike me and I wanted to be fair. But I don’t have time to give you the fight you truly desire, so I had to cut things short with a paralysis toxin strike. It’s new, in that I only just got it to work especially through my tail, so I don’t actually know how long you’ll be like this, opps” he sighs deeply “Can’t leave you here in the middle of a battlefield, and can’t take you with me…” he clicks his tongue, then spots something that he decides will work perfectly…
“HELMEPPO!!”
“Balls he saw us” the blond squeaks, hiding behind Koby, shaking like a leaf
“Get your ass over here right this minute! Then pick up Miss Tashigi and keep her safe until she can feel her extremities again. Again sorry, the poison blocks all nerve signals directed to voluntary muscles below the neck… which is honestly why you’re still breathing on your own” he chuckles awkwardly, while he puts Hebi away
“Work in progress indeed” Tashigi huffs “He here yet, all I can see are admittedly nice clouds”
“One moment. Buttchin! If I have to come over there, Koby will be having to drag both yours and Tahsigi’s asses across the battlefield today, though yours will be because I broke all 4 of your limbs''
Seems that’s what it took, fear of approaching the Straw Hat 1st mate, was overridden by fear of said 1st mate approaching him, as with Kaos’ help he got the spectacled swordswoman onto his back, the woman glaring at both of them at the indignity of her circ*mstances
“Well this was fun, hope we can do this again another time, preferably one where we’re not on the clock” Kaos winks, patting her back while slipping a roll of paper into her back pocket “Call if you ever want to chat, you seem like someone that would actually be able to follow some of my ideas. See ya buttchin, don’t drop her, she will kick your ass, once she can feel hers if you do”
Elsewhere
“Rear Admiral!”
“Grand Manipulator Cipher trapped her in one of his death traps!”
Mabel tenses as some of the marines inches closer to the pyramid “Get back!”
Banshō Ten'in
She grimaces but forces herself to keep her eyes on the blond’s own golden cat like eye, even as he pulls a marine to him, the man being incinerated the moment he touched the surface
“This is my Cage of Demise dearie, nothing in nothing out until I say so. Now are you done messing around? I killed prisoners with seastone cuffs on my wrists and ankles, what do you have that they don’t with your punches that aren’t even haki enhanced?” Cipher taunts
“A cape”
“Hmm?” the blond is confused before Mabel uses her marine jacket to blind him, then reaching for the dagger in her boot attempts to stab him… only for him to catch her wrist without even turning his head
“What? How? I know you’re Observation was always weak”
“It was, but that’s where I cheat, all thanks to you my love” he smirks under the coat, knowing his eyepatch was snapped on the buttons
Gravity inversion
Mabel feels her feet leave the ice, only Cipher’s grip on her wrists stopped her from joining her coat and knife as they rose to the top of the pyramid, and were incinerated. But what she did see, was his left eye. Milky white with bulging veins radiating from it, a glowing yellow triangle encircling the orb
“This was a technique I rarely used before going to Impel Down,as manipulating my organs is a very uncomfortable process. However, forming something where there was once nothing… childs play” Cipher cackles as the glow fades and he eye evaporates, leaving the black void once more
“Why do this, why just brawl when you’re a god inside these things? Or I suppose a Devil?” Mabel asks as her feet once more touch the ground
Cipher tilts his head and gives a softer smile, as her heart clenches, seeing so much of Mason in the man before her, before the demonic smile once more manifests itself “Because that’s what you want Mabel. You want to fight the monster, so you can justify the betrayal. Well I’m not going to give you that, you want forgiveness, repent like everyone else!” he cackles as haki coats his arms, landing a sucker-punch right to the diaphram
Back with the others
“You lie Doflamingo, Kuma can’t be dead! For one thing, if he is, then who the f*ck is the big lug wearing his face?” Ivonkov yells angrily
‘Got keep moving, gotta save Ace… oh crap’ Luffy thinks, freezing up just before running into Iva’s back “sh*t, Iva run it’s the bubble guy”
“Yep, that’s the real Kuma alright” Kaos scowls, having caught up to Luffy
“I know that Straw boy, and I get the feeling what Doffy’s talking about connects to that ‘real Kuma’ statement Mirror boy” Iva sighs, keeping his eyes on his former friend and allie
“Fufufufu, I bet this is a lovely trip down memory lane for you Ivonkov, but I’m afraid I must cut it short, the Kuma you knew is no longer with us, this is the new model!” he announces gleefully
“New model?” Luffy repeats
“I think he means those Pacifista things we fought on Sabaody” Kaos guesses “Or, the fact Kuma’s got more gears and tech inside him than Franky does”
“Little of column A, little of column B, Dr. Vegapunk finally finished his modifications to Kuma a few days ago. No he’s the ruthless weapon of death he should have been from the start”
“He turned him into Cipher? He didn’t do a good job then, still looks like Kuma to me” Luffy hums, tilting his head in confusion
“I have next to no idea what you’re talking about, other than the names Vegapunk and Cipher, so what the f*ck is going on here!?” Iva shouts, really lost, confused, and annoyed
“Kuma volunteered to be a guinea pig for a study to build the ultimate human weapon, run by the Government of course. [After Umbrella failed to provide them any :P ] First his hands, then his legs, though his mind remained intact they upgraded his body, piece by piece, until he began unrecognizable to the man he was before”
“That’s bullsh*t, Kuma hated the WG, he’d have never been party to this kind of experimentation and power plays. Hey Kuma, I know you’re in there buddy! Snap out of it, it’s me Iva!”
“Stop yelling” Doflamingo sighs, already bored, in fact he turned on his heel and began to walk away, not even trying to fight the pirates “It’s starting to get on my nerves. I don’t know what his deal with the government was, he was fine a few days ago. It’s kind of funny, there one minute and then they’re gone. In Kuma’s case, he doesn’t even remember he was ever human, so he might as well be dead. Now, he’s just the latest, greatest, most deadly of the Government’s bioweapons, PX0” he chuckles as Kuma charges a mouth laser then fires, all three duck as the attack shoots over their heads and strikes the ice, detonating
“Kuma you bastard, stop firing lasers at me!” Iva yells
“I remember, guess in a way he was right. If this isn’t Kuma… then we will never meet again” Luffy hums
“What’s gotten into you Kuma, surely you recognise me” Iva scowls, then yelps as the panda man vanishes “Oh my, that’s a spooky trick”
“Yeah, not what you expect when you’re told he has the paw paw fruit is it?” Kaos chuckles,turning his head to where Kuma had blinked to, the middle of a group of Candies, and was about to remove his glove
“sh*t. You guys, run for it, he’s gonna blast you!” Luffy bellows, but he was too late
Paw Cannon
The bubble shoots through the group, taking out everything directly in front of him.
“That’s enough, run along kids, the Queen needs to deal with an old friend” Iva sneers then charges “Hey Kuma, you’re forgotten me, but what about my…”
Face Spectrum
“This move ring a bell? How about this one?” the ring of faces speak in stereo
Galaxy Wink
The barrage manage to send the ultimate Pacifista flying, but whether or not it actually damaged him was still undetermined
“Hee Haw! How dare you harm my crew of candy boys, I don’t take unfashionable acts such as that lightly, even from former friends!” Iva shouts before charging straight from the once more standing Kuma
Vengeance Kick
“I’ve met a lot of people in my life, but nobody has forgotten my face (Proof, see the previous chapter, Whitebeard even points out Iva kind of stands out from the crowd). You can forget your damn life all you want, but if you have the gall to forget how dangerous Emporio Ivankov is, then I’m going to have to beat it into you until it sticks!!!!!!!!” Iva screams
‘The boss is pissed’ was the collective thought of all Candies
“Hey Luffy, is Buggy on our side? Because he’s kind of on our ass right about now” Kaos asks as he, Luffy and the Candies run towards the scaffolding, leaving Iva to his grudge match
“Big nose? Yeah, he’s with us until he tries to stab us in the back, which is hopefully AFTER we save Ace. Bon’s legit and probably so’s wax guy though, they’re on our side for this mission” the Straw Hat Captain explains
“So the Swan’s still kicking, good to hea…. Oh crap” the reflect human grimaces as a new enemy steps out of the smoke
Dracule ‘Hawkeye’ Mihawk
“Apologies Shanks” he mutters to himself “But I will not hold back against him” he continues, revealing Yoru was already off his back, and in his hand
“Wait, that’s Hawkeye from Baratie!” Luffy yelps
“I wonder, what is written for this boy, will my blade wipe him from the ledger, or will he be spared the pain of this black blade’s cut” the swordsman muses, preparing to swing
‘Balls, I don’t have time to fight someone that strong. I hope this works’
Gear 2nd
Death Wink
Galaxy Wink
It seems Kuma’s laser blasts were more sensitive than most would expect, as rather than simply solid objects, the pressure of Iva’s combat winks were making them go off like fireworks in mid-air, rendering them useless against the Okama Queen.
“Nothing but weaklings, did Straw Hat bring anyone besides worms to face me?” Mihawk sighs, scanning the battlefield for the steaming rubber boy, Gear 2nd’s speed boost granting him a slight advantage, but he wasn’t called Hawkeye for nothing
Chi o Hau Zangeki
The strike moved in a wave through the ice, managing to avoid hitting anyone or anything else, before reaching its target and smacking Luffy out of the air “You’re still in range” he mutters as Luffy skids and crashes straight into the stone wall of the partition
“Well, sh*t. You’re not playing around today Mihawk. Guess being the best in the world gets boring” Kaos says with a chuckle, though if Luffy was there he’d see from the twitch of his lips, that the researcher had twisted a grimace into a smirk
“Hm, only Ace’s brother could survive a hit like that, and not be torn in half” Jinbe notes, having dealt with the Shadow man and continued onward to join up with Luffy and company
“The turncoat, Jinbe” Mihawk says curiously, wondering what he will do next
“That was the last time you even touch Luffy, I swear it” the Fishman growls “Even if it costs me my life”
The swordsman gasps “Why are you doing this?”
“One, I’d like for Ace to not get murdered”
“Understandable”
“And I’d like a peaceful sea for a change”
“Unlikely but it’s nice to have dreams”
“It may be too late to avoid the war we find ourselves in now… but there’s still hope. Namely, in that daring kid over there”
Mihawk snorts “Hope you say, we’ll see what hand Fate has dealt him. Now step out of my way”
“Not on your life” Jibe scowls, as the artillery fires down upon him
Fishman Karate: Arabesque Brick Fist
Swing
BOOM
Sharkskin Palm thrust
Shark Brick Fist
In the end, Jinbe couldn’t stand up to the strongest sword and was send through the ice into the bay
“That guy’s a monster” Luffy grimaces as Kaos helps pull his limbs free of the wall “He took out Jinbe without even trying”
Kokuto Arahoshi
Flashbang
“Missed us by an inch” Luffy squeaks as the 2 dodge the sword drop
“Yeah, should have known he’d have techniques to keep those eyes of his safe, sacrificing a killing blow to reflect the light away certainly counts” Kaos sighs, watching the swordsman warily
Gum Gum Jet….
Luffy pauses, remembering a very important detail… he’s weak to sharp force, such as a super-strong sword slash
“Hm, seems you’re smarter than you look boy” Mihawk compliments “But it won’t save you forever”
CLANG
Mihawk’s eyebrow rises as Kaos and Hebi stand between Yoru and Straw Hat “You don’t expect to beat me boy, you’re no swordsman”
“True, but from everything that’s happened so far, Hebi doesn’t break” the purplette grins widely at the statement
“True, Apophis was very proud of his creation, shame you’re not strong enough to use all that power yourself. She may not break, but you won’t stand in my way” Hawkeye declares as he rears back another slash, clashing with Hebi, but the force behind the blow sends blade and wielder skipping across the ice
‘Crap…not my brightest moment, come on dumbass, get back up’ Kaos groans as he pulls himself to his knees, breathing deeply, then like most has a momentary panic attack when one of Mihawk’s attacks (which luckily missed Luffy) slices through the frozen tsunamis flanking Marineford, sending it all falling onto the battlefield, tearing through a good chunk of it
“Ok, a sword really shouldn't be able to do that” a statement agreed upon by both sides of the pirate/marine divide, probably one of the few things they could agree on
Nearer the front
“f*ck, probably should have known it wouldn’t that easy” Crocodile scowls, having been quite literally tossed off the Moby Dick, at least neither Whitebeard or Grima had followed through with the threat, content to allow the lower rank goons to fight him “But that doesn’t mean I’ll bend to the likes of you!”
Sables
“You really think you can hurt Pops, never mind kill him?” Jozu sneers, the diamond man powering through the sandstorm Crocodile was producing… before stopping dead mid lunge
“Well, it is nice to see you again isn’t it Sir Crocodile”
“Doflamingo” Crocodile sneers “What do you want?”
“Oh that’s quite simple, I wanted to propose an alliance, really stick it to the heads of both sides” Doflamingo smirks, from his vantage point on Jozu’s back
The sandman blinks “You, seriously want us to team up? What kind of sh*t are you smoking”
“What’s so crazy about that? The reign of fossil’s like Whitebeard is coming to an end, he’s the last of the Old Guard. We’re on the brink of a new era and it belongs to us” Doflamingo explains, trying to sell it to the former warlord “An era where all that matters is the power you wield. I’ve got your attention don’t I, sounds like a good time to be alive. Sure you’ve lost your title, but we’re still both pirates, and you’re a warlord at heart, just tried to bump off the wrong royals Fufufufu!”
Crocodile scowls “Stop looking at me like you’re my equal, you’re not. If anything you should be begging to work FOR me” he sighs deeply
“Hm, and here I thought prison would have humbled you, but that Ego’s still as big and bold as ever, Impel Down didn’t even dent it”
The sandman smirks “You’re goddamn right, now piss off Joker!”
Sables
The attack sent Jozu rocketing away, while Doflamingo just flipped and bounced in the air, floating calmly “And here I thought you could be reasoned with, but clearly you can’t
Back with Smoky and Hanco*ck
So… you gonna move, or do I have to shove you aside to get back to the battlefield?” the smoke man asks, getting annoyed
“You can try, but I’ll stop you laying even a finger on my little brother or my beloved” Hanco*ck states with a cold edge as she stops ‘looking down’ and moves to a more reasonable spinal position
“Beloved?”
“But of course, nobody else could possibly match him for my heart” the Kuja princess gushes, then goes off into another daydream
‘I’m not sure if this woman wants to fight me, or just irritate me to death’ Smoker thinks with a suppressed groan, then out the corner of his eye spots Luffy being chased across the battlefield by Mihawk, then getting yanked sideways by Kaos to avoid being bifurcated “There you are you bastards!”
“Were you even listening to a single word I said? The only way past me is in a coffin!” Hanco*ck shrieks
Perfume Femur
‘Fuuuuck, this just isn’t my day’
“Stop. Now” Mihawk orders as he continually swings Yoru at the brothers, carving deep trenches into the ice “You’re never make it to your brother in time”
“Not with you in our way we won’t” Kaos grumbles, pulling a handful of knives from his coat and firing them at the Warlord, who casually swings his sword and not only deflects them, but shatters the blades, leaving only the handles intact
“Valentina needs to improve faster”
“Why do you think I had them?”
“You stupid children, will die today!” Mihawk declares, grabbing the hilt of his sword with both hands, preparing a finishing slash
Just as this was happening, several fights converged, as Crocodile’s sand twister, containing Buggy and his minions, ran right into the path of Luffy, Kaos and Mihawk’s battle.
Gum Gum Jet Substitute
Luffy may not be considered the brightest of his generation, but he knew to put a man who can’t be harmed by blades, between himself and the greatest swordsman in the world.
“YOU ASSHOLE!!” Unfortunately, using someone immune to sharp force damage as a meat shield, means they’re still alive to complain about it afterward “What was the big idea?”
Luckily Luffy had a counterargument…
Gum Gum Human Shield
…throwing Buggy at Mihawk so eve after being sliced up like sashimi, Buggy reformed in less than 10 seconds, now really pissed off
“Stop doing that, your sword doesn’t work on me!” the clown yells, firing a Muggy Ball from his shoe… only for Mihawk to bat it back at him and it blow up in his face “Bollocks”
BOOM
“Thanks Buggy” Luffy shouts, as a distract was a distraction, he wasn’t going to complain “I’ll see you in the afterlife, whenever I get there”
“Watch out wax man, Hawkeye isn’t playing around” Kaos adds running after the rubber idiot
“You’re not finished dealing with me just yet” Mihawk scowls before swinging his sword at the brothers, carving furrows in the ice and sending the 2 flying. Luckily before he can do anything else, their asses were saved by an older, more experienced pirate
“We meet at last. Your reputation precedes you ‘Flower Sword’ Vista” Mihawk notes as the well-moustached man managed to block Yoru with his dual blades
Vista grins “It’s a pleasure to meet you Hawkeye Mihawk, it’s nice to hear you know of me, I’m rather touched” the 5th Division commander says, honestly quite eager to fight a man of Mihawk’s calibre
“You can drop the false modesty” Mihawk deadpans, cutting right through the bullsh*t, and starting the fight proper, both swordsmen slashing and dodging in what would be a killing field for anyone else
“Well, I’m glad the snake fruit did something to my spine, cause I think it would be broken by now” Kaos groans as he and Luffy pulls themselves back to their feet “Mihawks’ distracted, seems you really need to be a Yonko elite to face that man”
“Yeah. Thanks, Mustache guy!” Luffy shouts then rushes forward like Mihawk was still chasing him, the click of talons telling him that at least Kaos was still on his heels
‘Hm, so that’s what makes the boy so special. Not physical strength of a secret move, but the innate ability to rally those around him. He’s the symbol of this war, at least for Whitebeard’s side, risking everything to save his brother’ Mihawk thinks as he clashes with Vista, Straw Hat plaguing his thoughts, as well as the things Shanks had told him about the kid
A little to the left
“I can’t believe you did it Buggy, you blundered your way to a Visual Den Den Mushi after all” Bentham chuckles while Galdino facepalms, meanwhile Buggy croons as his minions set up for his master plan
Scaffolding
“Fleet Admiral, everything has been arranged”
“The Bay is prepared?” Sengoku confirms
“Yes sir, everyone’s ready”
“Good” he smirks as the execution blades are brought out, crossing in front of Ace, just as they did his father before him. “Cut the Feeds. Kill every video broadcasting out of this place! As Representatives of the Navy and the World Government, we’re fighting to preserve the righteous cause of Absolute Justice, and we MUST prevail, even if that means stepping over the line. But it’s too much for this naive world to understand, let alone see. There’s no reason to subject innocent civilians to the horrors about to unfold before us”
“sh*t they are tossing out the Schedule!”
“Pops must have scared them that badly, they think he can rescue Ace if given the full time same as we do”
“Damn it, why couldn’t we be wrong?” Luffy whines “ACE!!”
“All the people will need to hear after this war is that we were Victorious. The details will be irrelevant.
KABOOM
“They’re attacking our ships, we’re being flanked!”
“What’s that over by the bay head? Lights?”
Beep beep beep
BOOOOOOOM
“So, they finally arrived” Grima smirks “The WG’s big secret project… well one of many”
“Yes, their human weapons project. I was wondering when they’d unveil them. Chances of a total media blackout right after?” Whitebeard wonders aloud
“Negative 100%” Alistair laughs from Grima’s Baby Den Den “They can try, but I’m not letting them kill my show that easy Kififififi!”
“It’s the big bear guy, but a lot of them” Luffy grimaces
“Pacifista, like the ones we fought on Sabaody. Guess they’re ready for live combat trials” Kaos groans, one was bad enough back then, this is an entire army of those cyborg/murderbots.
“I’m so confused” Iva cries, gaze switching from Kuma to the Pacifista squadron every few seconds
“Can you even rot those metal heads?” Azulong pouts, while the dragon behind her growls angrily
“They all look like the warlord”
“That’s impossible, it must be some kind of trick or an illusion of some kind”
“Ok, today has officially gotten weird” One pirate mutters what everyone was thinking
Sabaody
“It’s like an army of Warlords”
“Wait, weren’t they here like a week ago dealing with those pirates?”
“Yeah, but there were only a handful of them far as I could tell, hard to know for sure when they never seemed to appear in bigger than groups of 2”
Marineford
“I heard Vegapunk’s been working on some hush hush human weapon program for the government, and letting the marines use the prototypes as backup for their forces”
“Makes sense, but why are they all Kuma?”
“Do you want to fight an army of Kumas?”
“Fair enough”
“Hey Uncle, what happened? The pirates are all over the place, weren’t they supposed to all be in the bay so we could blow them the f*ck up already!” dickhe*d with an axe… sorry Sentomaru complains into a Den Den
“So, this was Sengoku’s plan” Whitebeard hums “Get us all rushing into one place, box us in and turn the bay into a kill box. Impressive, but a little heavy-handed”
“Probably would have worked on Linlin or Kaido” Grima chuckles
“Indeed, though they’d have just charged headfirst for the platform already, steamrolling anyone who got in their way” Newgate agrees, and counters
“We can still attack from the front and the rear even if they’re not contained within the bay. Stick to the plan, and take down the allied forces first!” Sengoku’s voice echoes through their baby Den Den courtesy of Alistair
“Hm, so we’re the targets of these Human Weapons. This should be… interesting” one of the New World Captains chuckles
“Eliminate any pirate who’s straying from the enclosure to advance”
“And that’s your orders Sentomaru” Kizaru purrs lazily
“Ok, and if any of our ships get caught in the crossfire?”
“Try to keep it to a minimum… but otherwise f*ck ‘em” the Admiral shrugs
“Alright then. Let’s get to work!”
The first blow, actually came from the pirate side, during which they learnt just how hard fighting these metal heads was going to be, both because a Pacifista took a head on blow from a mace, but it shattered the mace and then proceeded to incinerate the owner with a mouth laser
‘Well…. f*ck’
“Pacifista Army… FIRE!!!!!!!” Sentomaru bellows from the depths of his sumo belly
The Pacifistas were the definition of Terminators/Murderbots, obliterating anyone and anything that stood in their path as they advanced towards the mouth of the bay, some even leaping onto ships to clear them out before continuing, none even getting so much as a scratch on them in the process
“Bastards are even willing to let their own men die in the process” Whitebeard sneers
“It is the way of the marine, acceptable losses to capture or kill the Yonko Whitebeard, and end the Bloodline of Roger” Apep responds as she reloads her rifle “We’re all here for a similar though lesser belief, in that we will accept dying by the enemies hands to rescue Ace, while they are ok dying by the hands of their allies if it means their side wins”
“Still several kinds of messed up” the old man sighs before giving his next order to his forces “Don’t lose faith, continue to advance. Charge the plaza with all your might!”
“All forces get off the ice and defend the frontline, Do whatever it takes to ensure those pirates don’t even step foot on the plaza!” Sengoku commands
“You heard the boss, fall back, strategic retreat!”
Clang
Clang
Shing
“I must say, it’s an honour and unexpected pleasure to cross blades with the World’s Strongest Swordsman, especially on a day like today” Vista grins as the 2 step back to survey their opponent “Ain’t I a lucky guy?”
“You’re skills are nothing to scoff at either, we were bound to cross paths eventually” Mihawk retorts “Now show me all you’ve got”
“I’d be more than happy to”
Rose Rondo
Showy or not Mihawk seemed a little worried, his eyes widening to the point of bulging before slashing through the attack with one of his own, which Vista managed to not only block but send spiralling into the air harmlessly
“What flowers would you like on your grave?” Vista taunts, as expected getting no actual response from Mihawk
Sabaody
“Those things can’t be human”
“Whatever they are, they’re clearly not made of flesh and bone”
Bzzzzz
“Hey!” one of the viewers complains “What happened to the screens?”
“Apologies everyone” came the Voice of Alistair directly from the Visual Den Den Mushi “We experienced temporary malfunctions on account of some knucklehead pushing the off button. I have since corrected that. Please enjoy wholesale slaughter once again” he laughs as the screens once more continued broadcasting the battle of Marineford, in as close to HD as you can get in this universe, especially when dirty tricks were about to be aired
Back to Marineford
“As soon as every video feed has been cut, activate the Encircling Walls” Sengoku orders in the gap between feed glitches “And once that’s set, we will immediately execute Fire Fist Ace, and round up all our remaining enemies!” the man bellows, while Ace’s heart dropped into his guts
Lower down
“They’re about to execute Ace, we need to get up there!” Luffy shouts running right until what for a second looked to be one of Kuma’s blasts stop in front of him, instead… it was Admiral Kizaru
“Sorry back to squ…” the light man begins to taunt while reforming from light
Return to Sender
Only to get tackled by Kaos in full reflect armour, the light man getting blasted back due to still being in logia form at the time
“Hey Uncle, got any new tricks?” the reflect human asks with a smirk as he returns to normal
“Not really, just a nuke worth of light beams at all times” Kizaru shrugs, not damaged by the attack, just quite literally knocked back
“Which we already know I can redirect, even if it hurts. So how about we skip ahead to something a little stronger. A trick I call Logias don’t dodge. Luffy run, I’ll handle this!” Kaos shouts, crossing his arms over his chest much like Robin when she uses her Devil fruit before it was coated in a mix of different materials, some silver like his normal reflect armour, some looked more like glass or crystal, all with cracks or veins glowing with an ominous purple LIGHT, making a patchwork to call it nothing better of materials
“You heard him Luffy, get a move on!” Jinbe shouts as the Whitebeard commanders manage to catch up to the 2 Straw hats, meaning at least they have backup if this doesn’t work
Akuma Kagami: Pika Kira
Celestial Artillery
“HOLY f*ckING sh*t!”
“Quick question, how the f*ck did the kid just nuke the board in front of us?” asks Fossa, having actually dropped his cigar in shock.
And what just happened? Channelling light through his reflect armour and refining it through the diamonds now jutting out at random intervals all over his arms… meant he fired off a laser barrage that would be comparable to the little brother of Kizaru’s Sacred Jewels attack he’d launched at Whitebeard near the start of the fight, just from ground level… and purple. The end result of it was that a large portion of the protective barrier wall was rubble, and everyone who was standing on or in front of it… no longer existed.
“Ok, recoils’ a bitch even with the arms cro…” Kaos grumbles before taking a kick to the side of the head and shooting about 50 ft sideways
“§Nice try kid, imitation is the more sincere form of flattery after all§” Kizaru hisses “Shame that attack can’t hurt me, not without haki at least”
Scuttle scuttle scuttle
“Then it would be a shame for someone with access to armament Haki to just randomly arrive” Shaula purrs, still in her fusion form, Skaro clicking away angrily from where her hip bones join to his body “Hey cuz, long time no see :P” the Kuja laughs, right arm/pincer clicking, while she spun her dagger in her left hand
“I’m afraid we’re going to need to cut this fight short” Mihawk sighs, it was actually starting to enjoy himself
“As much as I’d love to keep fighting, yeah. We kind of both have more important things to deal with. Maybe next time” Vista nods and both leap away, the battle counting as a draw to both men
“It seems even when trying to end you, fate saves you Straw Hat” Smoker scowls, but cuts his pursuit off and leaves the bay in a plume of smoke.
“Things are about to get a lot worse, aren’t they” Hanco*ck scowls, eyes trained on the bay head, and the Pacifista ‘Luffy, Kaos, I believe you can do this’
“Why hasn’t the feed been cut already!” Sengoku shouts
“We had, well except for one, and while that one is still being searched for… we’ve actually lost control of the cameras”
“WHAT!!!”
“We interrupt your scheduled War drama, to bring you a student art project. Just kidding, but they went to a lot of trouble to steal a Den Den, so I’ll allow it” Alistair’s voice came over the other videos, who all switched to display Buggy’s piece, until they cut to commercial when the clown got a nose bleed
“What the Hell is going on here? We can’t continue the plan with the world watching us!”
“Well you see… the prisoners managed to acquire one of the Visual Den Den Mushi, as for the others… I have no idea”
“Doesn’t matter, you know Alistair would have brought his own even if we cut the official feeds” Garp sighs, any other time he’s chuckle as the vein pulses in Sengoku’s neck
“Kill those idiots, and cut that feed now!” Sengoku bellows, the artillery firing down right where Buggy and his minions were filming, causing them to scatter and all screens to go black “Much better. Now, execute the plan!”
“Hey Pops”
Whitebeard snaps out of his contemplation “Squard, good to see you’re alive, was getting worried when it seemed like you’d dropped off the face of the planet” he sighs
“Just barely, sorry for disappearing on you boss”
“It’s fine, how are things going down by the bay head?”
“I’m sorry to say, your allies have been beaten pretty thoroughly. Those Pacifistas are real monsters. I only managed to get out alive due to sheer dumb luck” Squard explains
“Sengoku is one hell of a sly bastard, pulling out every dirty trick he can think of” Whitebeard notes, still looking out onto the battlefield
“Judging by your shift in tactics, you caught on to what the Navy had planned for us?” Squard asks
“I’ve known Sengoku and what he’s capable of, for a very long time, at this point nothing he does could ever truly surprise me”
“I see” Squard responds flatly
“Little does he know it works in our favour to attack us from the rear. I’ll be joining the fight, the only choice we have, is to keep pushing forward” Whitebeard says, slamming his Bisento against the ship’s head
“I couldn’t agree more” Squard nods, stepping into Whitebeard’s shadow, coming up to the man’s hip “You have 43 allied captains willing to die for you. We’re in your debt, for now and for always” he continues, unsheathing his sword, an almost comically long katana “We consider it a privilege to risk our lives for you, and your crew”
Whitebeard looks down at the strange man with the spider tattoo on his forehead and sighs deeply “And I’m grateful, for every one of them. But this fight is…”
“Yes I know” Squard interrupts “This fight is to save a member of your family, the Great Pirate Whitebeard is a man who’d do anything for his family” he continues with narrowed eyes “And your loyalty inspires loyalty, that’s why everyone followed you to this hell”
Whitebeard nods, and begins to step onto the battlefield
“I do wish things were different, but at the end of the day… I’m not a part of your family”
“Pops!”
Clang
Crack
“Don’t even think about it” Grima sneers, Squard’s blade on the verge of shattering when put against the might of the Omega Yato, not that he had much chance to push back, when the woman in front of him, Nylock ‘Dragon’ Grima herself had him pinned by blood-red eyes, the pupils extending into spiralling galaxies
“Grima” Whitebeard grunts “While I appreciate the assist, I don’t tell you how to run your crew, or manage your allies, so kindly, stay out of mine”
“I also don’t let them try to stab him in the chest, tends to invite mutiny and insubordination” the merc fires back “I won’t kill the bastard if that makes you FEEL better you old coot, but you’ll need to discipline this sh*thead yourself, otherwise you’d be setting bad example for your kids” she chuckles bitterly, his position facing away from Whitebeard and the battlefield meaning she didn’t see the origin of the laser that came within an inch of taking out Squard’s head
Bwarrr
KABOOM
But both Squard and Whitebeard did, and the old man’s heart fluttered, while the younger captain began to panic.
The laser had been fired by Serpens D. Kaos, fingers glowing from using the Pika’s laser beams, his familiar Nagini rippling out of his skin and wrapping herself around his shoulders like a living scarf. His eyes filled with anger and malice
‘Medusa’ the Yonko thinks ‘You made one Hell of a kid. Good thing he takes after you a lot more than me’
TBC
LW: Assassination averted! Now to avert the execution.
That one might be harder.
Chapter 127: Like fish in a barrel, trapped within the encircling wall
Chapter Text
LW: Ok, things are getting intense now, so let’s not sit around and get right into it
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Like fish in a barrel, trapped within the encircling wall
There was a moment of silence as nobody on either side actually knew how to respond to what just happened, mostly the pirates given Whitebeard was what you would call the most reasonable of the Yonko, so nobody ever actually has the gall to betray, never mind attempt to stab the man in the back like Squard did
Eventually, the old man shakes the cobwebs from his brain and sighs, he needs to get back to work or the navy will take some more cheap shots “So Squard, after your done sh*tting yourself, want to explain why you thought it was a good idea to try to kill me right here and now for all the world to see and with one of my oldest allies at my side?” he asks “Also, Grima, stand down, he won't make another attempt, my boy made sure of it”
The merc grunts but complies, sheathing the Yato and moving to his side once again “I still think you should just kill him, save us the trouble of watching our backs”
“Well then feel free to try, we’re all screwed anyway thanks to him” Squard sneers, getting a raised eyebrow from Grima and the now arrived Marco who’d started flying over the moment their swords clashed
“The f*ck are you talking about? I know you’ve lost your mind trying to kill Pops like that but come on!” the zoan yells getting in the man’s face only to be shoved aside
“This whole battle is a fake, just ask him yourself!” Squard shouts back mostly ignoring the looks of confusion from Grima, Marco, and anyone else in audible range “I know about your treacherous deal with the navy, you have their assuarance that Ace and none of your pirates will even get scratched…” he accuses, clearly missing the part where Oars f*cking died a little while ago…. Guess he didn’t count :P “... they’ll just go after your allies”
“Wait, is that true?”
“Are the navy just targeting us?”
‘Well sh*t, guess we need smarter allies, f*cking idiots’
“You really are a gullible fool Spider” Grima chuckles lowly
“Hey everyone! Listen up. Whitebeard’s been playing us all for fools! All this time you kept it a secret, that Fire Fist was the child of Roger” Squard states, panting lowly “When you first found me, I was alone in this world, a complete wreck. You knew why I was all alone that day, my precious crew who I’d fought countless battles with were just killed by GolD. Roger. You know this, and you know that I despise Roger, MORE THAN ANYTHING! Yet you still kept these secrets from me….”
“And what would you have done if I’d told you, killed him for the crime of existing? You’d be no better than the Marines” Whitebeard retorts, interrupting Squard’s tirade, mostly to see if he could get the man to think
“When your plan was to make him the next King, then that would have been the better option!” Squard bellows
“Screw the Whitebeards, every man for himself”
“Everyone down to the plaza!”
Divine Blaze
“Grima, we just talked about this” Whitebeard scowls, annoying Squard further by not paying attention to him
“Just reminding them there are only 2 positions in a war, allies or enemies. We stand with you always, old friend, if these so-called New World pirates want to turn and flee, they’re welcome to die by my hands, stops them backstabbing you after we win for a lighter sentence from the navy. Besides, I didn’t hit anyone… this time, but my next blast won’t miss, I won’t risk my crew for your pride Newgate, these fairweather friends are your allies, not mine. You know I don’t suffer fools, nor do I allow traitors and cowards the time to even regret f*cking with me”
“Are you even listening Newgate? You’ve been playing us for fools from the start. I didn’t have a damn clue, I bet you were laughing your ass off when I became friends with Ace…”
“I was amused that Apophis was right about not judging someone by their family, but besides that, I was happy everyone was getting along” Whitebeard shrugs, getting tired of Squard’s bitching, hoping he could get to the point already, especially given anyone who knew Ace, also knew he didn’t want his father’s title, he wanted his Captain to be the King, he was happy to just be 2nd Division Commander ‘Fire Fist’ Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates.
“...but then your favourite son got caught, and you showed your true colours. All the Whitebeard pirates are here in the bay, while us allied pirates are outside with those metal monsters. 43 Captains stood beside you, and you’ve just handed us all to the navy! Just to protect Roger’s son! We allied pirates will be obliterated, while Ace and your men will be completely safe, that was your underhanded plot with Sengoku, wasn’t it? Answer me your conniving bastard!!!”
“I suppose you have a credible source for your information Squard, some navy turncoat you’d been given information from for years or even a new convert? No…. you got it from someone who wanted this to happen. You’re a letter bomb Squard, sent by someone pretty high in the food chain, someone you were dumb enough to believe even though they just let your leave without even trying to capture or kill you, despite the so-called plan being to do exactly that to all Allied ships” Grima laughs, this man was f*cking dumb as a post, proving Whitebeard really did bring anyone and everyone he considered an ally for this mission
“Shut up, of course, you’d say that you’re in here with him! Look outside you stupid cow, the brunt of the navy’s bombardment is focused on us outside, while there’s barely token resistance in here with the main forces! Those things attack us from the sides, and the ice boxes us in, there’s no way for us to escape in any direction!”
“Probably because Sengoku wanted you all to come in here” Marco mutters but was ignored
The traitor finally ran out of steam, dropping his sword and standing before the Yonko “It’s frankly a miracle I got that far, even if ‘The Dragon’ stopped me. Now, finish me, and ensure your plan comes to fruition!” he shouts, goading the man, who steps forward
“Hey Grima, was I meant to cut the feed for this conversation?”
“Oh bollocks, everyone heard that?”
“And saw, your Mangekyō was obscured though. Small mercies and all that”
“Front row seats to Whitebeard’s betrayal and supposed Coo with the Navy. Don’t know why he let Squard blabber on this whole time about a load of bullsh*t fed to him by fire crotch” Grima groans, pinching the bridge of her nose
“He’s always been soft on his allies, now it finally bit him in the ass”
“I didn’t want to believe it, you always claimed we were all like sons and daughters to you, but I guess every family has a favourite child, and Fire Fist is your Golden Boy isn’t he?”
“You’re a f*cking idiot Squard, why trust some marine obviously feeding your false information rather than Pops?” Marco shouts, grabbing the Captain by his shirt
“Don’t play dumb Marco you’re in on the deal too, you’re 1st Division Commander, basically Whitebeard’s 2nd in command, of course something this huge would be discussed in front of you, maybe even asked his opinion on” Squard retorts/accuses, pissing off the Pheonix something ugly
“It ain’t Ace’s fault his old man killed Squard’s crew, punk wasn’t even a thought back then, though I will admit keeping his heritage a secret from you is completely my fault, I didn’t want to make the kid uncomfortable about a topic he clearly hated discussing, no love lost between that father/son relationship” Whitebeard sighs, waving away Grima and Marco to their shock “The Navy made a good play revealing it to the world. Doesn’t make you any less of a bastard Sengoku, even if you are as crafty and sly as ever” he mutters
Sengoku scoffs “It’s time to end this, Aokiji, finish this” he orders, the Admiral makes quick work of Buggy and his goons, freezing all of them including the snail, and shutting down the last active transmission out of Marineford…. Officially.
Konoha
“Oh, Marines are getting shady if they’re shutting off the cameras” Deidara laughs “I hope for more explosions, those Pacifistas are awesome! Hey Orochi, can you make us a Pacifista? Maybe you and Sasori can team up and make one, please?”
“If you capture one Deidara, I’m sure we can reverse engineer it” Nagato retorts, curious about the Human Weapons himself “As well as potentially reactive Project 6 Paths”
Zetsu sighs “We were lucky the Crow was out of the way of the ice and my plants were unaffected by Whitebeard’s tremors, or we’d have to rely on Mind Hax for info. Luckily, we have everything in real-time, and things are just getting more interesting with every minute”
Location Unknown
Fred interlocks his fingers, resting his chin on his knuckles “So, Sengoku is going all out with this war, he must if he’s pulling out something he doesn’t want the public to see”
“Him hiding the footage will look shady, very few things he could do would actually warrant a complaint from the public, given he’s facing down the Strongest Man in the world” Tsukuyomi argues
Ma’at nods “Indeed, let’s see just what he felt was big enough and more importantly bad enough to need to hide from the world, given he was still rolling when he pulled out the Pacifistas”
Marineford
“I have full control Boss, should I reawaken the snails?”
“No, we need to see what Sengoku’s trying to hide, only activate when it’s too late for him to stop or backtrack, we want him caught red-handed in his own trap” Grima orders, content to wait this out, for now, but would just pull a Kaido and carpet Bomb the plaza if Sengoku made her wait for nothing “Actually if any snail in the bay is pointed directly at Newgate, activate it but keep the feed from reaching the marines, people are going to want to know how this sh*tshow ends”
“Understood Boss”
“Now, Activate the Walls” Sengoku orders.
While this was going the Whitebeard drama continued to unfold
“Squard, I hope you understand the magnitude of what you just attempted. If not for Grima you’d have thrust a sword into your father’s chest, trying to murder him in cold blood” the man growls, fear finally overwhelming the rage as Squard finally realized…. Just how badly he’d just f*cked up, not helped by the fact Whitebeard looked like he was about to take a page out of Garp’s parenting book and fist the problem away “You’ve lost your way, my poor, stupid son” he swings forward and pulls the traitorous pirate into a one-armed hug
Wano
“Warowarowaro, still a soft-hearted fool. If you weren’t so strong I’d say you bring this crap upon yourself”
Whole Cake Chateau
“Always the perfect father Newgate, even when your brats misbehave you don’t punish them right, oh how different that would have been if we’d been in the opposite roles. Mamamama, Squard would be dead and the Queen Mama Shanta already blowing through that wall”
Marineford
“I still love you my boy, even if you are a damn fool” Whitebeard croaks, while Squard shakes, unable to process this reaction
“Cut the crap old man, you sold us out for that boy”
“Who took your loyal, steadfast heart from your father Squard, and delivered it into the hands of our enemies? Tell me his name!” The Yonko’s voice rises slightly at the end, his tone closer to parental disapproval than the burning rage it should though
“Akainu” Squard admits “He, he said if I killed you, he’d save your New World Allies”
“Then you should have figured out already, that you’ve been played for a fool. I’d almost have let it slide if it was Borsolino, man’s unpredictable at the best of times, but Sakasuke… he wouldn’t have let you go, except to do what you just attempted to, kill your father, destabilise the attack, and ensure Ace died tonight. He’s a mad dog, he would have killed everyone once your assassination attempt was completed, because all pirates are scum to him, as expected for a follower of Absolute Justice” Whitebeard sighs deeply “I know you hate Roger, I even understand it, but that doesn’t mean you get to simply transfer that hate to an innocent child. Did Ace himself ever do anything to warrant his death in your eyes, besides being born of your hated enemy? You’ve been through a lot together, some good, some bad, but you’ve weathered it all, you even admitted that you saw Ace as a friend and brother. I never felt the need to tell people who Ace’s father was, because I never cared who he or anyone else was related to, we all found each other on the sea by chance, what we were and where we came from before that moment means nothing anymore. So just treat him kindly, as he’s treated you, I don’t love Ace any more than any other of my sons, on that I promise on my soul, EVERY SINGLE ONE of you, is part of MY FAMILY!”
“I, I screwed up so badly Pops” the pirate whimpers, tears blurring his vision, and shame snuffing out the rage. How could he think Pops would do something like that to them, after all they’ve been through
“Yes you did, you stupid boy” Whitebeard sighs as he stands back to full height “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to remind these marines that f*cking with my family comes with a heavy price. Plus, to even insinuate I’d sell out my sons, is laughable if it wasn’t borderline blasphemy” he scowls, before sending another quake out to shatter the Ice walls, and give the allies a way out from the advancing Pacifistas
“They can leave now, he destroyed the Ice wall. He’s still as sharp as ever” Sengoku notes, wondering if Whitebeard will actually step in to play now he’d basically called a retreat for his allies
“A true Pirate chooses the path for themselves!” Whitebeard shouts, a rallying cry that sets the Allies straight, he was giving them an out, but they didn’t want to… they couldn’t let the navy win, not after slandering their Old Buddy so blatantly like that
“We should have known it was bullsh*t”
“We’ve fought, bled, and drank with the Whitebeard pirates”
“We’ve known Newgate for years, some of us Decades”
“Let’s make those navy bastards pay for making us look like fools!”
“Those of you who’ll still follow me, put your lives on the line…” he bellows as he leaps from the ship onto the ice “Let’s attack!!!!”
“Get ready men he’s coming! The Strongest Man in the World!” Sengoku shouts, mostly to remind his men just what they’re facing now Whitebeard moved from being a spectator to an active combatant
“Whitebeard has been summoned in ATK mode as if there’s any other state for men like him Kififi!”
“Oh, now it’s going to get fun” Grima purrs, wanting to see what happens when Whitebeard finally cuts loose and unloads his anger on the navy, a thought shared by his fellow Yonko, CP0, and the public at large
Akainu scowls “Robin, get your fat ass up and deal with your sister. She got in the way of Squard killing Whitebeard, we were so close to at least crippling the bastard”
“Yayayo, you don’t actually believe some nobody like Squard could actually topple a Yonko, do you Sakasuke? You’re going senile if you think that” Nylock Robin laughs adjusting her marine jacket and shirt, the cream ensemble only hiding her potbelly due to having already given up on containing her impressive bust “Grima really pissed you off that much huh. Guess I do have to teach her the older twin isn’t always the smarter one” she sighs, drawing the Alpha Yato in a golden shimmer
Whitebeard’s 1st move as a proper member of this war, was to remind them artillery wasn’t going to do much to him, as with a simple Quake punch he sent the cannonballs right back to their owners, destroying the entire cannon array in the process
‘This is it, the power of Whitebeard… of Pops’
“Yeah, even without knowing his bloodline, that’s a Kuja smile alright” Kizaru chuckles, getting Luffy and Kaos’ attention “It’s in the blood boy, the hunger for battle, for a good fight. You’re about to witness Whitebeard going all out, so stay out of his way and you might just live to see the sunset” the Lightman chuckles, his face then twisting into a demented smirk “Or you can just die no….” he shatters into light just before Shaula could stab him, having separated from her familiar to increase her flexibility and range of attack “You really want to go down now?”
“But of course, let the kids have their fun, it’s just you and me, Borsalino. Skaro, give the Whitebeards a hand, kill any marine that tries to touch those boys”
“Not yet cousin, maybe when I have time to play” he winks, before shimmering out of range
“Bastard!”
Rumble rumble rumble Crack
Lucina grits her teeth, what was up with this bitch? Every time she struck Parallel Falchion cut clearly through her ice glaives, but Whitey just smirks and they reform, somehow connected to the blue fist emanating from her fingertips. It wasn’t a Devil fruit, she’d managed to cut across her shoulder and there was no more pain or damage than if it were any other sword wound, but these powers…. She just can’t explain it
Icicle Crash
“You seem to be having trouble my dear, done playing with the big boys?” Whitey teases, forming frosted needles around her fingers before sending them straight at the marine, who as expected blocked with her sword, minus one which managed to stab her in the wrist
“I don’t need to beat you Ice Witch, just keep you from Fire Fist. Speaking of, I best be going, there’s no more need to stall you, I can hear the final pieces slot into place” she smirks as she launches a wind blade at the Pirate Captain, making a tactical retreat when the icy-blue-haired woman rolls to dodge
“Hey, Jinbe” Iva muses, having joined the charge during the Whitebeard Drama debacle “Isn’t it a little strange, how they all abandoned their posts and retreated to the plaza while we weren’t looking?”
“It does seem, odd, but given Pops has joined the battle it is wise for them to flee, especially when their dirty little tricks failed them” the Fishman retorts, confidence filling his body
“The Wall, it’s not rising. It was the lynchpin to our plan, and it’s failing” one marine grimaces as the pirates close in
“Then I’ll just have to keep them busy while we get it settled!” one of the still-living Giant Marines shouts as he leaps into the fray “that’s as far as any of you are gonna get, you’ll never reach the plaza” he declares, slashing downward at the pirates with his sword, carving through the ice as much as enemy combatants
“Everyone run, Vice Admiral John Giant is attacking!”
“Is that really his name?”
“Seems kind of redundant”
“I’d have gone with self-explaining, but that too”
The man with the silly name swings his blade uncaringly, less interested in actually dealing with the low ranks and more focused on getting through, reaching Whitebeard before with a 2 handed blow, swung straight down… only for Whitebeard to blow it with his Bisento, with barely a grunt or grimace
“You’re blocking my view, so move” Whitebeard scowls, pushing back and unbalancing the giant, then in the time it took for Mirukurogiri to hit the ground, he grabbed the air with his Devil Fruit, and yanked hard, straight down
“What the f*ck just happened?!”
“Everyone stay clear of Pops!”
“It’s like an earthquake times 1000!”
“No wonder he kept back, this could have splattered his allies if they were too close”
“Kaos, explain the new bullsh*t fruit!” Luffy shouts as he’s grabbed by Nagini to stop him from falling
“Not now Luffy, I’ll explain the Guro Guro… when I actually understand what the f*ck is going on myself” Kaos groans nails, and talons digging into the ice as all around them the world seems to be tearing itself apart and destabilizing, sections of ice, building and even ocean tilting this way and that.
Everyone was sh*tting themselves beside a few headcases, like Doffy who admires Whitebeard’s style, after all if you’re going to f*ck everything up, you might as well make it look cool and or trippy, and Cipher, who’s DF bubble was almost it’s own dimension, so was more or less an outside observer to the chaos unfolding
“Newgate’s pissed, he wouldn’t have done this with allies around otherwise” the blond hums, being surprisingly rational at the moment, even causing Mabel to pause
“Is it over, did your crazy old man stop trying to kill his own guys yet?” Luffy asks as the shaking dies down and Nagini releases her hold
“His crew were ready, they’re used to this stuff” Jinbe responds before Kaos, having managed to reunite with the brothers
“I can’t quite imagine getting used to this level of BS, but I’m a Straw hat so I’m probably already used to things I probably shouldn’t be and just no longer think of it as weird”
“Same principle, Pops does this enough times and you learn to recognize the signs and know where to stand to not get friendly fired” Jinbe nods “Plus, the amount of collateral damage he’s doing to Marineford, means if nothing else, they can’t really stop us climbing the rubble to get to Ace” he chuckles
Kaos whistles “Yeah, I don’t think I can do anything on this level, especially not with one attack” he hums, ignoring the coughed ‘§Bullsh*t§’ from Nagini, though he did nod when it was followed by ‘§Celestial Artillery§’
Meanwhile, John Giant was somehow still alive, winded but standing…. More or less.
“I’ve never seen that level of power before, but in the name of the Absolute Justice I swore to uphold…” he growls, grabbing his sword to make another pass “I’d rather die than let you pass through here!!!”
“That, can be arranged” Whitebeard sighs before leaping to about heart high of the giant, and not even trying to punch the guy, just the air, but the shockwaves of his Devil fruit still slammed into John, and without slowing down continued to tear up ice and battlefield from him to the nearest wall, through that and all the way to the scaffold.
Unfortunately, that was where it petered out for some reason, that reason being the 3 Admirals and most likely a combined wave of haki stopping the shockwave dead
“This wouldn’t be happening if the walls were ready”
“You ice is in the way, that makes it your fault”
“True, but you could have just melted the ice, even just along the edges where the walls come out, couldn’t you?”
“Well, at least this battle won’t be too easy, ay love” Azulong cackles as she fits a gas mask to her face, the safest option when dealing with Helios’ Zoan form, even if her haki-infused miasma prevented the worst effects from affecting her allies, or at least her crew
“What I wouldn’t give for an easy fight” Henry sighs, draining another marine to a desiccated corpse via his blood scythe “Still, we’re not exactly throwing everything at them just yet, so this will do I suppose”
“Come on men!” Jozu yells “While the Admirals are reeling from Pop’s attack, he’s given us an opening, let’s not waste it. Attack!!” he orders, all pirates around him following the command and running straight for the new hole in the walls
CREAK, CRACK, RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE
“Well, sh*t”
Cipher chuckles as he watches the walls rise around them “I believe this is where you make your leave my love. Try not to die” he winks (as that was all he could do, but it was clear it would have been one anyway) then clicks his fingers
What was heard nearby the pyramid was as if the Tower of Babel had been made of glass when it crumbled, the shape now a hazy ghost of its former self, less a deathtrap and more a marker of Cipher’s current domain “Why?” Mabel hisses, her hand clutching her broken nose, a retaliation for the bruised kidney she gave him a few minutes prior
“Because I’m not always a monster, I just hate most people on this planet. You are one of the lucky ones, who I actually managed to love” Cipher replies, deciding to go for one last stab before he let her go “Take care of that kid of ours, make him better than I was, if not better than you. Surprised? Detect Life” he kisses her cheek as she stares at him frozen in shock, then sends her flying…
Gravity Cannon
…out into the sea, but given there were several marine battleships out there still she had a pretty good chance of being rescued, rather than dying when she hit the land at whatever speed that attack just shot her out at.
“Ok, now that’s some bullsh*t right there!” a Whitebeard pirate groans, getting agreement from anyone near enough to hear him
Grima frowns as she drops from the Moby Dick “This can’t be it, why would Sengoku want to hide this? There has to be more than just a big wall” she mutters, it didn’t make sense, well, until the cannons in the portholes near the top of each wall poked out, and were aimed down at the pirates ‘It’s a kill box… those f*ckers!’
“Hm, maybe dissolving the giant wasn't our best plan, even if it did f*ck up Moria’s day” Alistair muses through the Den Den’s, Helios’ fisheyes meant she wasn’t physically capable of rolling them, but he had a feeling she would if she could. “No matter, reactivating all Den Den Mushi in Marineford as per orders!”
Meteor Volcano
“Oh you f*ckheads! This is why they cut the feeds!” Zelena calls as she reforms beside Grima “They don’t want the world to see them drop a volcano on our heads with no way to escape” she scowls as Akaiku shoots a barrage of magma fists into the sky like fireworks, now they had to wait for them to drop, with nowhere else to run
“There is one-way” Apep states “3rd from centre, it’s pockmarked like it was any other fortification, it’s taken a beating and might actually fall, unlike the others”
The Division commanders gasp, seeing she was right “Pops, have I told you I love that kid of yours already?” Vista laughs, realising what made that section different… it had been when Kao’s Celestial Artillery had been fired at, and being as Scattershot as Kizaru’s Sacred Jewel attack, which it appeared to have been based on… it hit under the ice as well, far enough to hit wherever the Encircling wall was stored
“They have nowhere to run, now we’ll melt that ice, and drown them all!” Sengoku declares as the magma fists began to rain from the sky on the trapped pirates
“Well f*ck me, this couldn’t actually get worse, if the magma fists don’t kill us the melting ice will at least kill all the Devil fruit users” Kaos grimaces, before picking up a borderline catatonic Luffy and following the lead of the higher-ups, running towards the damaged wall, while trying to not be killed my falling fists, made even harder as the cannons in the walls also began firing, trying to herd them back into the now boiling ocean water, along with the Pacifistas firing from the one unactivated section at the mouth of the bay, firing in on the trapped pirates.
“There’s got to be some way to take down these walls, something, anything!”
BOOOOOOOONG
“Newgate, you need to work on your aim, the damaged one is almost on the opposite side of the ring” Alistair complains
“That’s because I wasn’t aiming for that one, I wanted to know how much damage the wall could take from my punch when fully intact, to see if I even needed to focus on the broken one. It would fall, eventually, but it would just be easier to finish what the kid started” the Yonko grunts then starts walking toward the damaged section
“Grr, now to hit him where it hurts” Akainu sneers, focusing fire on the Moby Dick, the vessel catching ablaze after a few direct hits “Watch your legacy go up in flames old man!”
“The Moby Dick, it’s going down!”
“Those bastards, that was the only home we knew!”
“You can’t do that, the Moby Dick has carried the Whitebeard pirates for decades!”
‘I’m sorry, old friend’
‘I did what I could Boss, save Ace, for all of us’
Kaos and Luffy freeze as memories of the Merry flash before their eyes, though at least they’d set her ablaze to honour her and give her a proper goodbye, this was pure destruction and hate, no wonder Whitebeard had a thousand-yard stare as he watched his Flagship sink into the bay.
“I’d call it a tactical decision, but they left a f*ckload of battleships outside the bay we can steal to leave… so it’s just Sakasuke being a petty bitch” Grima sighs, then turns to the redhead behind her “I think I need to ride the winds if I want any chance of assisting through this crap, care to give me the boost?” she asks with a wink, activating her Devil fruit as she does
“Of course Boss” Zelena grins, summoning a small green tornado in her hand and sending it forward, wings that seemed to devour the light catching the breeze and lifting her captain into the air, then as her smile twists into a scowl her lower half transforms into the wind and she shoots straight up, deciding to play her part in dealing with the Magma rain
The Plaza
“The plan is working perfectly, so we’ll proceed. Phase 2 is the IMMEDIATE execution of Portgas D. Ace” Sengoku relays to the entirety of Marineford, sending terror up and down the spines of every pirate, and unexplainable dread shuddering through several marines, probably not helped by
“SENGOKU!!!”
“sh*t, why couldn’t she have just died in the magma rain” the Fleet admiral squirms as ahead of him, face twisted into a demonic scowl, with 6 void black wings and angry red tattoos/brands snaking up and down her limbs, hovered Grima in her hybrid form “Akainu, shoot that bitch down already!”
Divine Radiance
“I already have someone on it, her time is measured in minutes now” Akainu states smugly as a golden energy beam clips one of the merc’s wings, stopping her ascent, but angering her enough to start dispensing balls of cursed fire on the marines, as well as the wall
Hellblaze barrage
“I think all Fire crotch did was piss her off, but good news everyone, we have a target… and take down that wall!” Alistair cackles as the Whitebeard pirates charge
“This is a bad idea, with everyone focused on the one spot, even if by some miracle they do break through, the marines know exactly where to aim all the cannons on the wall” Iva panics, then panics even more so when he sees Luffy near the front of the charge, Kaos and Bon Clay not that far behind him
“Come on babe, I know you’re bigger and heavier in this form, but I thought dragons were swift” Azulong whines from Helio’s back, hands gripping, and boots locked against the protruding bones along her spine to keep from falling off the dragon demon
Sanguine slashers
“I’m starting to think Whitebeard should have just hit the thing, rather than show off and bust another wall, we might even be already through by now” Henry sighs, his blood blades digging into the wall through the holes already made, bypassing a good portion of the armour. The smart decision as opposed to…. Ramming it with a Necrotic Dragon
“I do love the enthusiasm, as well as the fact she’s now spewing enough acid to melt concrete, but maybe running headfirst into a wall wasn’t your best plan dearie? I’m starting to think we need a new navigator. I suppose we should at least be glad Zelena’s busy dealing with the flaming fists from the sky so she’s being spared the lecture about self-inflicted head trauma for another few hours”
“Newgate, mourn later, fight now!” Helios growls, her voice deep, low and similar to gravel crunching under boots while in her Zoan form, but it got the job done as a scowling, pissed-off Yonko turns his head in their direction.
“I shouldn’t be surprised that after the 7th attempt they didn’t get the hint that basically swatting at us with cannon fire is going to do very little” Kaos groans, this time catching Luffy when the cannon fire sends the boy flying “There’s not even a way out yet, we’re literally fish in a barrel, and they still can’t seem to land direct hits on us”
“Are you seriously complaining about us not dying already?” Bon screams, deciding there and then that Straw hat was the sane brother, or at least the LESS suicidal one (Nobody in their right mind breaks into Impel Down after all)
“No, just pointing out that the marines never learn, this being the most obvious example, besides not taking the advice most pirates are aware of: Don’t Piss Off The Yonko! They’re dancing all over that one today” Kaos hums as Hebi shifts into something resembling a fan
Crescent Blade, Crescent Wave
“Been a while since you brought that out”
“Ranged combat hasn’t been needed often before now”
BOOM
“Yeah, still can’t aim for sh*t”
BWAAAAAAAAMMM
And, there it is folks, the wall buckles, but in the end a quake-punch shockwave from the Strongest Man finally brings it down, giving the allies an actual exit strategy, and a way to reach Ace.
“Attention all Whitebeard pirates and allies, we have a way to the Plaza… so take it!” Azulong screams and cackles, uncoiling her whips as she rides her dragon into battle
“Focus fire on the broken wall, we’ve got those pirate scum in the bottleneck!” Akainu orders as the cannons are turned and ever marine aims their guns on the now totalled defensive barrier
“Let the execution, commence” Sengoku states, too casually for a normal person
“sh*t, we don’t have time for this”
“Well what do you suggest, there’s nothing much we can do besides taking the path through that hole Pops just made” Jinbe argues, as something clicks in Luffy’s mind
“The ice…. Jinbe, I need a favour” Luffy quickly turns to the Fishman, with a determined shine in his eyes
‘I don’t like the sound of this’ Kaos sighs tiredly, Hebi morphing into a dagger as he runs it along his forearm ‘But, whatever gets us closer to Ace’
Ocean Current Shoulder throw
A massive waterspout forms as the Fishman heaves the water of the bay, shooting over the wall and managing to finish right in front of the admirals in a rush of water. The end result of which was…
“Luffy!” Ace screams
Sengoku grits his teeth “Garp, those damn brats are getting in the way again!”
“Damn it, why couldn’t you stupid kid just have held back like people with self preservation instincts?” Garp groans
“Well I’ll be damned, you actually managed to get here” Aokiji chuckles
“Too stubborn for their own good” Kizaru smirks, eyes shimmering under his shades “But the fires of youth are strong in these brats”
“Just means they’ll die all the quicker” Akainu grunts “Though I’ll give you this, you did well to get this far, son of Dragon”
“Holy sh*t, Straw hat he shot himself over the wall!”
“Ace’s brothers are nuts. Think they’ll join up?”
“That’s it kid, show them the strength in your heart” Whitebeard chuckles
“Oh I love these kids, they know how to show off!” Cipher laughs as he runs towards the opening, reunions were such fun
“I admire the determination it took to get here, but that’s all you’re getting”
“It’s a miracle you even made it this far, you’re are too green to make even another step”
“You’re god damn suicidal to take on the Big 3 of the Marines on your own Straw Hat”
“Who said he’s alone?”
Luffy smirks widely as he removes his hat, letting it fall to the ground just before all hell breaks loose, on both sides of the Wall
Mirror Gate: Serpent Dive
Shouts of panic were heard on both sides, inside the Bay because a known Devil fruit user just jumped into the water…. And in the plaza because a Naga just erupted out of Luffy’s hat, coiling protectively around the panting rubber boy
“LAcK pirates reassembled. Sesese, welcome back Ace, we've come to re-recruit you :P" Kaos hisses, serpentine eyes meeting the Fleet Admiral unblinkingly, filled with anger, and more importantly, determination
“You’re not taking our brother from us, you hear me!” Luffy shouts, before setting his straw hat back on his head and preparing to fight
TBC
LW: And scene. Also oh f*ck!
One more thing, my birthday is on Tuesday, and as always I try to put up an extra something to celebrate. It’s not something One Piece… maybe next year, but for those of you that read other things by me it’s a heads up you’ll have something new to read in the next couple days. See you all either there, or back here next month.
Bu Bye!
Chapter 128: The War hits the Plaza
Chapter Text
LW: So…. the kids get the sh*t beat out of them. Other stuff happens, but mostly that.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - The War hits the Plaza!
Luffy stares down the Admirals, then does the smartest thing in the last 5 minutes
Gear 2nd
“Trying to skirt around us, typical of a pirate”
“Guess he has some brains in that soft head of his after all”
“The kid clearly didn’t learn from the last time” Kizaru chuckles, about to shift, when he was forced to block instead
Sen'ei Jashu
Ama no Murakumo
“Once again, using your Devil fruit to counteract your lack of haki, it’s impressive… if it wasn’t also just so predictable” Kizaru laughs as Kaos pulls back, his reflect armored talons having been countered by his haki-infused light sword, though his eyebrows rose when the pirate’s next move was to miss entirely…. So he could heave his massive naga body over his torso, shifting back to human in the process and landing a kick to the Admiral’s torso, pushing him a few inches, maybe a foot “That’s more like it kid, same with figuring out your fruit can copy Zoans too” he corrects as Kaos stands up
“You’re just playing around aren’t you?” he asks, as Hebi spins in his right hand
“I can move at the speed of light boy, of course I am. You’re not strong enough to bother fighting at even close to my best” Kizaru smirks, his eyes shimmering like a kaleidoscope
‘ Ok, just need to get to Ace and… ’ Luffy thinks before getting tail slapped into a nearby building
“You 3 really couldn’t keep 2 pirates away, seriously?” Robin sighs, currently standing at the base of the platform in her Hybrid form “If you wanted to switch that badly you could have just said so” she says before having to roll away from an explosion of black fire
“Damn it, so close” Luffy wheezes as he pulls himself from the wreckage
“It’s time to end this. Ready…. Now!” Sengoku commands the marines to raise their blades, then send them down right for Ace’s neck
“NO”
“YOU BASTARD!”
“ACE!”
Swish
“What!” Sengoku bellows as both of the men are taken out before they could complete the act “Seems I underestimated how long the Meteor Volcano would delay you Zelena, but YOU! I thought Straw Hat had given me a card to play, given your known hatred of Whitebeard… and yet you still decided to help him to rescue Ace, Crocodile!” he snarls as both were standing in the centre of the plaza, Zelena’s skin a deep green matching the tornado that was currently replacing her lower limbs, while Crocodile looks bored and disinterested like they hadn’t just killed 2 people with a wind and sand blade respectively
“I’m confused” Luffy whines
“I’m grateful but this is quite the surprise” Marco hums, having landed on the Wall to observe the action
“Just a while ago Crocodile was trying to kill Whitebeard… so why is he helping us?” Jinbe wonders aloud
“I can kill that old fool whenever the mood takes me, but this, I’m not letting you crooked bastards get a win. If I’m not killing Whitebeard today, I’m going to make sure I’m part of the reason you lost” Crocodile answers, sneering up at the Fleet Admiral
Shing
Clang
“Well, I got one of them I suppose” Doflamingo chuckles as he watches Crocodile’s head roll around behind him, while his 2nd string was currently held by a haki-coated fist, letting it snap before she tries to pull him to her “Or not” he hums as the head crumbles to sand and reforms with the same bored expression “You know you hurt my feelings Crocodile, 1st you reject my offer, then team up with Whitebeard, spitting in my face while I offer the hand of friendship”
“Shut up Flamingo, I’m not teaming up with anyone, I’ve already explained myself and you don’t have any bearing on the decision” Crocodile grunts, turning to catch Doflamingo’s kick with his hook, before both are blown into the assembly by Zelena
‘Ok, they’re all distracted by Crocodile and the Flamingo guy, now’s my chance ’ Luffy thinks as he pulls himself to his feet…
“You die now Straw Hat!” a marine screams, ruining any hope of the element of surprise as he charges at the rubber boy with a sword, which Luffy jumps over, kicking the man in the head as he launches himself towards Ace once more
“Not another step Straw Hat!” another marine shouts, though at least Luffy was running toward him so stealth was unneeded
“Out of my way!” Luffy shouts back, launching a punch which the man dodges, then bounces off the air and drops where Luffy was a second ago
Soru
Gepo
Tekkai
But he missed, as this was far from the 1st time Luffy had fought Rokushiki users, and he’d fought much better ones at that. Not seeing the point in drawing out the fight he decided to just punch him out
Gum Gum Pistol
Tekkai
It seemed to stop him… for half a second before the marine passed out. After fighting Bluno, never mind Lucci, this loser was nothing once the surprise that he could use those techniques wore off. What did slow him down though, was getting stabbed with an icicle spear, which Aokiji then roughly yanked free of his upper arm “I still owe your Grandfather a favor, but you’re really asking for it at this point Straw Hat. You risk your life, now you got to pay the price” he reals back to stab Luffy again, when he’s blindsided by a green twister, which besides pushing him away from Luffy, ensured he got a Supersonic Pheonix to the gut, just below the ribs
“Wow, thanks for the save” Luffy says, wincing as he pulls himself to his feet
“No problem. Keep running kid, we’ll keep the Iceman off your tail” Zelena winks before following Marco in keeping Aokiji occupied
“Fleet Admiral” One marine on the Wall calls up “The Whitebeard pirates appear to be swimming toward us”
“They don’t have a lot of options given we broke the ice and took out their ships. Quick men, fire upon them while we still have the chance!” Vice Admiral Strawberry orders, every cannon tilting to aim for the broken wall the pirates were swimming toward
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
But the Whitebeard pirates just keep swimming
“What! But they should have turned around or been killed by now” one marine exclaims, before being enveloped in toxic smog
“You said it yourself” Azulong purrs behind her gas mask, as Helios claws her way up the wall to the marines “They’re low on options, and most of us, have nothing to lose at this point so there’s no reason to turn back. Victory or Death, that is the game state you’ve put us in Gurororororo!” she cackles, the metal tips of her whips tearing into skulls like melons
Of course just as she says that panic sets up on the marine side and hope blooms within the pirates as something rumbles deep below the waves… and begins to ascend
“Sir, we’ve got another coated pirate ship in the Bay, and it’s coming straight toward us!”
“It must have been hidden under the bay this whole time”
‘Damn that bastard Whitebeard, of course he had a backup plan’ Sengoku sneers as the pirates were either caught in the wake of the ship’s ascension or are paddling toward it like their lives depend on it
“We caught them off guard, that’s good” Whitebeard smirks for a moment “I never said they’d sunk all of our ships”
“Sir! It’s a paddle boat of some kind and it’s heading for the gap as we speak!”
“No! Whitebeard!” Sengoku bellows
“Sink that thing, drop it like the Moby Dick!” a marine orders, forgetting one thing…
Bang
Bang
Bang
They missed one ship in the barrage, and both it and the new ship were capable of firing back on them
“The ship’s too fast, they won’t hit it” Garp sighs as the paddle boat impacts the land and grinds across the plaza, straight for them.
“We made it guys!”
“Ace is right there!”
“We’re almost done!”
“Can he sail or what, I don’t know if you can see this, but the gap in the walls is just a little bit larger than a battleship is wide, and Whitebeard’s backup ship just slip in like he was built to dock there, absolutely amazing!” Alistair relays while firing the canons as he didn’t need his hands to talk
“That’s enough!” Ace screams, tired of everyone dying because of him
“He just won’t quit” Sengoku sneers
“Seems the old fool’s turned the tides, those walls were meant to keep them in the bay, but it seems now it’s trapped us with them” Tsuru sighs, this was just one disaster after another
“Hold tight just a little longer Ace, we’re almost there” Whitebeard says, before stepping off the edge of the ship and landing right in the middle of the plaza
“Whitebeard has entered the Plaza!” marines scream as they aim their weapons at the man, like any of them could take him
“My sons, please stay back” Whitebeard orders, before swinging Mirokumogiri over his head, and channeling a quake bubble into the blade. He then swung with all his might, the force of the attack sending anyone in front of him below Vice Admiral in strength flying. Once the tremor had ceased his Divison Commanders all dropped alongside him, ready to brawl “Listen here Pirates! Bring Ace to Safety, and Destroy the Navy!” he bellows, the Whitebeard pirates once more advancing, nothing but men standing between them and Ace. “Clear a path!”
“sh*t he’s readying another attack”
“Are you so sure about that?” Aokiji sighs leaping into action
Ice Ball
“He did it, Whitebeard’s a popsicle!” a marine cheers
“No he’s not” Kizaru chuckles, just before the technique shatters
“He broke out, those vibrations of his can’t be frozen, damn it” Aokiji curses before leaping at the Yonko, guess he’ll have to do this the hard way
Ice…
Shing
“Admiral Kuzan!”
“He’s been skewered!”
“Is Aokiji dead?”
“No, doing fine actually, thank you very much” Aokiji replies, hands gripping the bisento while the blade was sticking out of a frost-covered hole in his chest, ice crawling down the weapon towards Whitebeard
Ice Block: Partisan
‘ This again ’ Whitebeard thinks with a sigh, not that it mattered as Aokiji was tackled and his ice form shattered by a diamond form Jozu ramming straight into him, though given he’s a logia Aokiji simply reformed like an angry snowman “Go Pops, I’ll fight!”
“Good luck son” Whitebeard nods and advances, knowing Jozu should be fine in the meantime
With all the heavy hitters in the plaza, it’s probably forgivable that they lost sight of our protagonists, at least for the moment, meaning they were free to rush towards the scaffolding… until a familiar Vice Admiral stood in Luffy’s way, swinging at and managing the cut the boy as well as send him rolling over himself
“Straw Hat Luffy, I Vice-Admiral Momonga will cut you down! It ends here” he announces definitively, turning to slay the boy
“Vice Admiral, that’s the same Rank as Gramps” Luffy mutters “sh*t”
Gepo
Soru
Momonga leaps into the air, using Soru to increase his height before performing a drop slash which Luffy was unable to block
2nd…
Shigin
This was not going Luffy’s way as another Vice Admiral joins the fray, the full-handed Shigin sending him flying a few feet backward
“Wreckless, the kid’s too green” Dalmatian sneers
“True” Momonga agrees “But, there’s one thing noted in every report on Straw Hat, the boy never gives up” he adds as Luffy struggles to his feet
Bwooooom
Clang
“I think the universe is trying to tell you something” Kaos chuckles, his voice echoed and tinny due to the full armored form
Kizaru sighs “Yes, that I should have just killed you already instead of playing around” he says noting the numerous cracks in the reflections, as well as the hole in his head “Taking a lot of battle damage kid, sure you want to keep going?”
“I survived God impaling me through the face, I think I can handle whatever you throw at me, even if it’ll hurt like Hell” he says with a grin
Soru
Gepo
“Damn kids need to stop rushing on ahead!” Shaula yells as she swings down with the dagger, managing to cut Kizaru’s sleeve before he scattered into light to dodge
“Round 2 I presume?” he smirks “You know I can make swords right, gonna need something bigger than a little knife to fight me”
Shaula surprisingly grins “Oh I already do” she says then grasps the hilt in both hands, haki bubbling off her and flowing into the weapon, tendrils of blackness erupting from the hilt and wrapping around the blade extending it as well as revealing symbols previously unseen.
“Medusa’s sword. Very impressive” Kizaru chuckles “Can you read it?”
“No” Shaula admits “But I do agree with what’s written on it! §And we both know, Medusa believed the same§”
Amazon Lily
“What does it say?” Sandersonia asks, the Throne room getting picture from Marineford due to Alistair activating the Den Dens
“It looks like Ponyglph, so that means only about 3 people can answer that” Marigold sighs
“One of which, is right here” Nyon reminds them, pointing to Artemis who was staring at the silver-edged, Black Blade
“ Be it Razing Heaven or Raising Hell, I would do it all, for my family ” Artemis recites “Sounds like a poem”
“Probably. Sounds like ‘I would do anything for my family’, but cooler. No wonder she agrees with it” Sonia chuckles “Also sounds like Straw Hat”
“It does, Uncle Luffy’s and Papa are out there to save their big brother Ace, and they see the whole crew as family” Artemis agrees “So they’ve already done crazy things to help them out”
“Like Enise Lobby?” Sonia chuckles, getting a nod from the artist “Here’s hoping it turns out like that, instead of Ohara”
Marineford
“You know, I think we should take this elsewhere, we’re kind of in Newgate’s way don’t you think?” Shaula hums as she spins the blade, seems Kaos’ nervous tic was inherited
“You know I can’t do that Shaula” Kizaru sighs, though his lips were curled in a half-smile
“§I could always chase you if you’d prefer?§” she teases, giving the man an out
Bwoooomomomomommom
“Not that way though” she grimaces as everyone nearby turns as they feel the shockwaves, seeing Vice Admiral Nylock Robin crossing blades with Captain Grima, both women in their hybrid forms: Robin resembling a stocky…. Deer-dragon, thing? While Grima still had her midnight black wings, dark scales along her hands and neck as well as glowing red tattoos running up and down her limbs. The big issue was their blades, Robin’s shimmering with a golden glow, while Grima’s had an almost haze to it as it drank in the light
“Alpha” the flying sister growls
“Omega” the younger twin hisses
Midnight…
Midday…
‘ Oh bollocks ’ for once Whitebeard and Sengoku had identical thoughts, having seen the respective fighter’s attack and knowing just how powerful it was…. Meaning 2 clashing against one another would not be pleasant to experience
…Devastator!
…Radiance!
There was a blinding flash before the shockwave hit, the Whitebeard pirates fairing slightly better than the average marine simply due to being used to the quakes that Pops would throw around when he was actually fighting, though there were some things you just have to buckle down and hope to tank (hence why the Whitebeard pirates learn fast to not be standing in front of Whitebeard during a fight)
“I think the dust cloud from that attack will give us plenty cover to move this fight don’t you think Cus?” Kizaru taunts “If you’re fast enough to make me mov….” he stops and tilts his head, avoiding a slash across his cheek
“Were you seriously not using it until now? Haki I mean?” Shaula scowls
“Only against Marco, and a little Armament against the kid just because I wasn’t sure what he could do, other than that nothing until you came knocking, wasn’t worth the effort” the Lightman admits
“Glad to hear I am” the Scorpion grins, then leaps at him, cutting through the first sword he creates before being blocked by one with what seemed to be a black core
“Should have known to add haki after that question, that sword is probably almost entirely composed of it” Kizaru scolds himself before pushing back
“Pretty much, I can only feed it Armament so it’s not AS good as when Medusa used it, but eh close enough” Shaula admits before engaging in a proper sword fight
“Well, that’s one crisis averted” Kaos mutters, lifting Luffy onto his back “You gonna wake up any time soon Lu?”
“Just need a minute” the rubber boy pants, stubbornly trying to force his eyes open after that last attack
“Yeah, yeah that’s what they all say”
“Out of the way son, I don’t want to hurt you or Straw Hat” Kaos turns to see Whitebeard stomping toward them, seemingly the only person unaffected by Grima and Robin’s clash
“You got it… Pops, we’ll advance when it’s clear” Kaos nods with an awkward, nervous smile, then spots Henry and grins, just what he needed… a distraction
“THERE HE IS! SEE JINBE I TOLD YOU STRAW BOY WOULD BE IN TROUBLE!”
And there’s another one…. Great :P
“Ah! A giant disembodied head!”
“How did it get like that?”
“It’s Iva, he just does that sometimes, don’t think I’ve seen it THAT big before”
“Luffy, there you are!” Jinbe shouts from beside Ivonkov and his ship-sized head
“I BELIEVE YOU HAVE SOMETHING I WAS RESPONCI…ba..ba..ahhhhh!” Iva screams as he falls off the wall on top of a fair few pirates and marines
“Get Off Us!”
“You’re wasting time!” Jinbe scolds
“Sorry :(!” Iva groans
“We… should probably go over there” Kaos chuckles, rolling his eyes as he relaxes his armor
“Jinbe, Iva” Luffy wheezes, then blinks and starts squirming as his brain reboots and he remembers where he was “Kaos we need to go the other way, we’re so close!”
“And you nearly killed yourself… again… getting there Straw Boy” a voice coos, causing him to pause
“Bon?”
“Helloooo!” the dancer laughs “Thought I was dead didn’t you?”
“Nope, I can sense that fruit from a mile away at this point” Kaos deadpans, making the man wilt
“Ruin the moment will ya? Anyway, you can’t help Ace if you’re too broken to move… let the Big Boys lead the charge for a little, then rush back to the frontlines AFTER treatment” Bon Kuri suggests, trying to make his friend see reason, or at least calm down enough for someone to try and patch him up
“You know he’s right Luffy”
“Kaos?”
“We’re outmatched, I don’t mind running up to Ace… but we can’t actually win straight fights with anyone still standing in this place” the researcher/1st mate lays out as best he could
“He’s a loudmouth kid who goes looking for trouble, dumb and clumsy, reckless too” Whitebeard grunts as the medics rush over to help Luffy and check up on Kaos while he was standing there “But… it seems we both have a soft spot for hot heads and fools like them kid” he smirks and readys his Bisento “If you’re ready to die, stand forth and prepare to meet your maker!” he shouts, before manifesting another quake bubble over the blade
“Not again!”
“Everybody run!”
CLANG
Only for it to be blocked by a Magma kick from Akainu
“You’re always going around causing destruction” the magma man sneers
“Says the man who dropped a Meteor shower on my boys” Whitebeard smirks before both launch punches infused with their Devil fruit powers… meaning Akainu threw a GIANT magma fist, while Whitebeard’s punch once more tried to break a hole in reality, the energy flowing off them in a tug of war, the shockwaves causing devastation all around them. Meanwhile as if to ensure nobody forgot about them, the New World Captains finally rejoined the fight, with Sentomaru and the Pacifista’s on their asses, ready to cause as much collateral damage as they could.
Slave Arrows
“Crap, we’ve got a warlord gunning for us!” Bentham screams before Hanco*ck drops down in front of them without caving his skull in “Huh?”
“Beloved you’re still alive!” Hanco*ck cheers before throwing herself at Kaos, the teen gives a half-smile as he catches the busty Kuja missile and holds her close
“I thought it took longer than that for Stockholm to set in, you only had the 1 screw” Luffy wheezes, causing Hanco*ck to turn bright red and Kaos to laugh
“Thanks, Lu, I needed that” he chuckles, sighing as the medics left him be to focus on the more injured rubber boy “You really shouldn’t be here” he sighs “Don’t risk your status for us”
“I’m not” Hanco*ck huffs, kissing his cheek “With the Whitebeard pirates so close to their endgame, all eyes are on big names like Marco and Whitbeard himself, meaning someone much less important on the marine’s hitlist, can move around in the chaos undetected… more or less. Please try to be safe, you may think differently, but we both no Ace would be crushed if you or Luffy died trying to save him”
“I know, but he’s right there”
“How do you know?” Luffy grumbles, looking at Hanco*ck with a barely open eye
“Simple, I’m a big sister, now YOUR big sister thanks to my mate here. We get very protective when our younger sibling are put in danger”
“Ah, makes sense” the rubber boy grunts before continuing to let the medics check him over
“Indeed, now if you’ll excuse me, I need to see a blood man abotu making a donation” Kaos mutters, flagging down a familiar blond with a wave and a smirk
‘ Don’t worry Ace, I’m almost there ’ Marco thinks as he flits through the battlefield, taking flight once he had a clean line of sight to Ace
“He’s flying!”
“Yes we can see that, he’s a bird Zoan… now SHOOT HIM DOWN!” Sengoku orders
But, it wasn’t going to be that simple, as Marco’s Pheonix form was basically made of the blue flames that healed him in his other forms, making him a borderline Logia at the moment.
“Yeah Marco, you can do it!”
“Grab Ace and run!”
“This will be, interesting” Kizaru hums
“Indeed, let’s see if Sengoku can still fight” Shaula frowns, having less faith in the 1st Division Commander than the other pirates “I mean he’s done f*ck all so far, might as well do something before we all leave again”
Key word in that last paragraph… borderline, as Garp punched the bird right out of the sky just before he reached the platform
“What’s the big idea, I didn’t give you the order to fight!” Sengoku shouts being an ungrateful bastard as if Garp didn’t just stop Marco from stealing his prisoner
“You want to get to the Scaffold… you’re going to have to go through me!” Garp declares, sitting in one of the chairs the Admirals had previously vacated
“§Backstabbing, heartless bastard! Did you ever care? If you’re going to help them kill Ace… why didn’t you just kill us when we were kids?§” Kaos shouts, tears welling up in his eyes, though only Hanco*ck and Nagini knew what he saying, but the emotion of the growls and hisses were palatable for everyone in the vicinity
“Kaos relax, we can still do this” she pleads “You need to think, you need to stay calm, Ace depends on that” she says, wiping the tears from his shimmering eyes “You can still save him, even with the so-called Hero in your path. You and Luffy, keep showing them the Straw Hats bend the knee to no one” she orders, getting a sanguine smile from the male Kuja
Meanwhile
“sh*t we have to fight him?”
“He may be getting on in years, but 20 years ago he was able to go toe to toe with Roger”
“Not just Roger he’s the one who took down Shiki the Golden Lion and locked him up in Impel Down”
“He’s probably the strongest marine they’ve ever trained”
Whitebeard growls, then shouts “We didn’t come this far just to be scared off by an old man! Legends ain’t nothing but words” he scoffs, actually getting a chuckle out of Garp
“I could say the same about you Whitebeard, your glory days are long since past!” Akainu shouts as he launches another attack at the Yonko
Hound Blaze
Only for Whitebeard to send it right back at the marines, the lava beast exploding against a nearby building
“Well sh*t, you gonna destroy this whole place?”
“If that’s what it takes to rescue Ace… then yes” Whitebeard smirks “Besides you can bill me if you can catch me after we’re done Gurarara!”
Scaffolding
“What’s taking so long, just hurry up and execute him already!” Sengoku bellows, nearing the end of his tether
“Right away sir, fetching the substitute” a marine squeaks fearfully as he runs off
Down below
“How’s Straw Boy?” Iva asks, trying to ignore the maelstrom of anger bubbling off to his left
“Not good, 1st aid isn’t going to cut it, it barely did for the other guy. He needs to be taken out of here right now” the Doctor explains
‘ The odds were stacked against him from the start, but this is beyond cruel, he’s so close, practically within arms reach after the marathon he’s gone through ’
‘Did I deserve to be born, or was it all just a mistake?’
‘That’s not for me to say, you just keep living and hope you find out’
‘ And what a fine mess that turned out to be ’ Garp thinks, wishing those brats had just listened to him when they were younger, then they wouldn’t be in this mess. They could have even spun it if it ever came out that the marines had cured Roger’s Boy of the stain of piracy.
“Grab hold of the lad, but try to be careful, we’re going to have to carry him to the ship” Iva orders the nearest candies ‘It’s not ideal, but if we want Straw Boy alive, we’ll have to rescue Ace boy without him’ the Okama Queen thinks, though there was one problem with this plan (technically 2… but we’ll get to the other one later)...
“Iva” Luffy pants as he grabs the Okama’s boot
“Calm down straw boy”
“I, need one last favor, from you” he wheezes, everyone in the immediate area seeing the look of panic and horror on the man’s face at that sentence, given his last ‘favor’ from Jinbe was essentially “Yeet we over the wall!”
“Nope, no last anything we’re getting out of here right this minute!” Ivonkov argues
“You know, what I’m going to ask you for” Luffy states, not having the energy to put much enthusiasm into his voice
At the top of the Scaffold
“Damn it, this is all wrong, how the Hell am I supposed to feel?” Ace mutters, curled in on himself, his eyes near blind with tears “Pops, Luffy, Kaos, my friends and brothers in arms, they’re all here because of me, to rescue me, but they’re pushing through a sea of their own blood and those to do it, it can’t actually be worth it, I can’t be worth this” he whimpers “I’m sick, these are tears of joy. Even after all I’ve done, all I’ve been through, I Want To Live” he cries
Back down below
“Iva, help me” Luffy wheezes
“You do realize what the repercussions of this will be right kiddo?
A little further away
“Out of my way magma punk!” Whitebeard shouts as he bats Akainu away with his bisento, before seizing up, and dropping to one knee, coughing and wheezing before spitting up a small puddle of blood “ Son of a… ”
“POPS ARE YOU OK?” everything Whitebeard pirates ask automatically
“Time humbles us all, even you aren’t immune to its power old man” Akainu taunts as he begins to approach the now downed Yonko, his right hand shifted and already dripping magma
‘ This was what I was afraid of ’ Marco grimaces, Whitebeard wasn’t anywhere near his best health, but he wasn’t going to wheel up to Marineford attacked to 20 different medical bags and play the frail old man, so eventually his declining health was going to come back to bite him. Throwing around Quakes and all the other crap he’s been dealing with today, it made sense they’d only accelerate the decline. Leaving his current fight to back up his Captain, Marco was double tapped in the back by Kizaru, though a sword slash across his chest stopped the admiral from finishing off the Commander
“You really don’t want me finishing the job do you cuz, like seeing people suffer huh?” he asks calmly
“No, just like getting in the way of marine execution plans” Shaula fires back, before launching her tail at the man only for it to be blocked by a kick
“Marco no!” Jozu yells, only to cry out in pain of his own as Aokiji grabs onto and freezes his left arm, followed by the rest of him as the ice quickly consumed the diamond man
“You gonna make the same mistake as bird boy? Guess your daddy didn’t teach you tactics” the ice man tuts
“Someone has to see you off, and it seems that someone, is going to be me” Akainu snarls, before rearing back to launch the magma punch right in Whitebeard’s gut, missing the much larger blood pool surrounding the old man
FSSZSSZZSSSSSS
“What?”
Pops!”
“You really need to mind your surroundings” The voice was mostly a gurgle, but as the magma was pushed back, it revealed there was someone or something standing between Akainu and Whitebeard, a large semi-amorphous, deep crimson entity, jet black scythe blades jutting out of what it had for arms, it’s liquid form bubbling and steaming as it pushed back against the Devil fruit produced magma “I’ve been wanting to fight you for a while Government Dog, but, I’m not going to steal a man’s kill, interrupt a fight to save a friend though… I’m fine with that” a crimson, skeletal face bubbles to the surface, forming a deathly grin as the haki infused blades clear the magma “You gonna be ok Newgate?”
“I just needed a minute boy, at least you stopped the navy getting in a cheap shot, as typical of them as it may be” Whitebeard grunts as he pulls himself back to his feet “Check on the boys” he orders, the Blood man nods and slithers away “Now…. where were we?”
With Luffy
“You’re insane you know that? Another Hormone Shot, it’ll kill you!” Iva screams hoping volume will get the info through Luffy’s rubber brain “You’re past your limit, it could be days before I could safely give you another dose. I’m sorry kid, but you’ve been burning the candle at both ends for way too long now, first the poison you burned through days sooner than should have been possible, and then getting you back on your feet. I said it back then and I’ll repeat myself, my hormones aren’t a magic cure-all you can take whenever things get hard, I want to save Ace just like you do, but if you keep abusing my powers you’ll just die…” he stops when Luffy stretches to grab his collar
“As long as I do everything in my power to save Ace, I don’t care if I die” Luffy states, putting as much of his energy into the statement
“I’d believe him, he’s been using Gear 2nd despite even his heart not being able to take extended periods of that much pressure, so saying your hormones MAY kill him isn’t exactly a deterrent” Kaos argues, though his eyes were on the scaffold, and his hands were tipped with spikes
“I’m begging you Iva, you have to let me fight!” Luffy demands/well begs, clutching to the Okama Queen with all his might, even pulling the man to one knee “If I don’t keep fighting, and they kill Ace because I wasn’t there for him… THEN I’D RATHER BE DEAD ANYWAY!!”
Fsssssss
“RIGHT NOW IS THE ONLY FIGHT THAT MATTERS, LIVE OR DIE!” Luffy continues, channeling as much of Dragon and even a little Garp in his declaration
“You dummy, what would I tell your dear Daddy Dragon if you died, like a dog, due to my Deadly Devil Fruit power. This stubbornness is really uncute” Iva scolds and then pouts
“You could tell him it was better to have someone who knew what they were doing dose him than an amateur” Kaos offers, Iva turns to ask what he meant then his eyes bulged when he saw the teen had stabbed himself in the chest with needled fingers “Would you prefer I do the procedure, or you?” he says, something decidedly off flickering in his eyes as his grin spreads to nearly reaching his ears
Ivonkov bites his lips, hemming and hawing before he sighs “You boys are drying my spare you know that, and using my own Devil fruit against me is just rude boy” he turns away from the grinning devil and back to Luffy “I’ve done all I can to keep you safe… but it’s your life. Give us a Good Show!” he shouts, before injecting his hormones into Luffy’s side, causing the rubber boy to get back on his feet in under a minute as energy floods his system
“ACE!!!!!!!”
TBC
LW: And… scene. Things are about to get messy aren’t they…. Again.
Only one way to find out :P
Also for the record, to best imagine Medusa's blade the sword looks like this, but with similar coloration to this.... as well as retaining a dagger's hilt and that's its base form
Chapter 129: A family's moral lines
Chapter Text
LW: So, the boys are hyped on Iva’s Energy Hormone, Kaos is self-medicating but I’m sure that’ll be fine… anyway now for the mad dash to the finish
Rubber King and Mirror Master - A Family's Moral Lines (Alternate title, Demi Dick Move)
“Remember straw boy, Energy Hormone may have you up and running now, but if you drop again… you won’t get up” Iva explains “The hormone only tricks your body into thinking you have energy when you don’t, it’s not actually healing your injuries at all. You’re going to be a mess when this is all over, and that’s if you survive to the end of the battle in the first place”
“So it’s an all-or-nothing last stand this time Lu? You ready?”
“Of course I am, think you can keep up?” Luffy smirks
Anord Nathar: Mamba
“I wasssss born ready sssstraw hat” Kaos hisses, smirking as energy fills both of them, now for the main event “Oh bollocks, they got new executioners”
“It’s happening, they’re going to murder Ace!” Luffy yells as the brothers rush forward as full speed
“You idiots! But… it’s not like they’ll listen to reason anytime soon, madness is already setting in I guess. Don’t worry boys, Iva's coming, backup is on the way!”
“Don’t forget about me Straw Boy!” Bon Kuri shouts before spinning after his friend
“Oh Kaos” Hanco*ck sighs, conflicted about whether to follow or just sew chaos amongst the marines elsewhere
“It’s Straw Hat!”
“He’s still alive!”
“Not for long he ain’t”
“GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!” Luffy screams, arms starting to steam before launching
Jet Gattling
Gomu Gomu Gomu Gomu Gomu Gomu Gomu
“Not this time Straw hat!” Dalmatian declares before leaping at the distracted rookie
Shigan
He struck dead…. Only it wasn’t Luffy. With his fingers embedded in off-white skin, he just managed to look up at toxic green eyes, before the knuckles pressed against his sternum
Shigan: Handkyanon
The marines freeze as the Vice Admiral drops dead, a fist-sized hold punched clean through his chest, the force and speed meaning there wasn’t even blood on the 1st mate’s dark grey, lightly scaled arm.
CRUNCH
“What the hell was that? Where’s the kind boy I raised, what the f*ck did you do to my Grandson!!!” Garp bellows after crushing the arm rests of the chair due to his clenched fists
“I don’t know what you mean Vice Admiral Garp, Luffy is over there” Kaos tilts his head and points over to where said Rubber Boy was punching and kicking his way through a hoard of marines. Even Ace felt bad for Garp as a dagger of ice in his back metaphorically tore through his heart… but Kaos didn’t really give a sh*t at the moment, and Luffy was otherwise occupied “This was something after a couple months of tinkering… anyone want to see what I’ve figured out after spending over a decade getting the sh*t beat out of you by a marine hero?”
“Kill the f*cker! For Dalmation!!!”
Justice SMASH
“Right in the braincase, I didn’t ask you to charge me head on like an idiot… though I’m not sure you can even hear me so… oh well” Kaos shrugs as he looks down at the marine he’d just punched in the head, slamming him straight down into the rock and causing a crater about the size of his torso to form under him
“You really are a scary boy, you know that kid?”
“I’m aware Iva, people tell me that from time to time. Also shouldn’t you be over helping Luffy?”
Memoirs of a Winter Sky
“Eh, Bon chan has it covered, him and Straw boy are a real dream team”
“Yeah, that swan just won di… oh crap it’s Koby, but not Buttchin, so Tashigi must still be paralysed. Opps”
“Luffy” the pink haired marine shouts just before the pirate runs into him
“Koby?”
“I’m sorry Luffy, but I won’t let you take another step!”
Luffy’s smile thins, and then drops “Won’t. Meaning it’s your decision, and you could have simply made a different one. On the other hand, I CAN’T let you stand in my way. I WON’T let ANYONE stand between me and getting to Ace, do you understand me?”
Gum Gum Pistol
Luffy plants his fist right in Koby’s face, slamming the teen into the ground without even breaking stride
“Oh my, you sure pissed off Straw Boy Mr Marine, at least it wasn’t the other one as you’re still breathing… I hope” Bon grimaces, then a smile twitches to life when Koby coughs and wheezes in pain “Farewell!” he cackles, before pirouetting away just before Helmeppo shows up to drag his semi conscious ass somewhere safer
‘Just a little closer, those guys with the glaives are back’ Luffy grimaces, just before an explosion goes off right in front of him
“Oh dear, it’s those massive mechs the Government have been keeping on the downlow”
“The Kuma cyborgs” Luffy groans “Why can’t these guys just leave us the hell alone?”
Beep beep beep beep
‘Monkey D. Luffy, bounty: 330 million’
Just before the beams were fired, someone sprinted ahead, dropping right in front of our rubber hero
“What is she doing?” Bon hisses
‘Boa Hanco*ck of the 7 Warlords. Navy allie detected’
“They stopped charging, like that?”
“Oh yeah, you guys are technically on the same side… thank Hanco*ck, send me invitations to the wedding!” Luffy laughs as he runs off, missing the Kuja’s blush, before it twisted into a much more vicious smirk, before she leaps at her supposed ‘allies’
“Pays to be the Kuja Queen’s little brother doesn’t it Straw Boy?” Bon teases as he follows the kid, regrouping with Kaos and Iva in the process “The strings she can pull to keep you out of trouble”
Elsewhere
“That could have left a nasty bruise if you’d managed to hit me magma brat” Whitebeard scoffs, while he watches the ‘Vampire’ slither away
“Pops!” Marco shouts as he lands nearby, still bathed in his regenerative flames “Are you ok?”
“I’ve been better, but I’ve also been worse. When this is over, remind me to give the Demon Eye a bonus for their hard work” Whitebeard chuckles
Marco rolls his eyes “They won’t accept it pops, this is more than just a job, it’s paying you back for everything you’ve done for them over the years. You know that as well as I do”
“I’ll just have to pay Cipher under the table then if Grima won’t take honest money I know he will”
“Are you both really having this conversation right in the open where we can hear you?” Akainu growls
“Yes, because you’re that low on my priority list I can arrange may payments for a successful rescue op, while still in the middle of said op”
“That would probably mean something if this was a one on one fight… but I’m afraid we all knew we couldn’t beat a monster like you, by playing fair” Akainu sneers as on the platform Sengoku gives the order to charge him, basically hoping a mass of men with swords dogpiling a man they stand like knee high to… would do anything. Even with several hanging off him, blades embedded in his pecs and gut, Whitebeard just kept moving forward, swatting at the marines like flies. The cannonfire to the face though, it certainly looked like it did something, it made him stumble, even looked like it nearly toppled him, but it did make him stop and take a step back to balance himself while the rest of the Whitebeard pirates quickly turned, rushing to their father’s aid
“No, stay back!” Whitebeard orders, his body tilted back painfully and really off balance… but he hadn’t fallen. And then, he takes a step forward, which to those around him, might as well be Thunder from the Gods themselves “You think, this is all you’d need, to take me out? A few kids, with their toy swords and BBguns?” He taunts as he pulls himself back to a standing position “I could tear you all apart single handedly…but you know that, don’t you?” Even behind the smoke, they could feel the sneer as he tilts forward, the marine’s swords begins to dislodge “Because you QUAKE when you hear the name WHITEBEARD!!!” he bellows, before swinging Mirokumogiri into the crowd, cleaving through them like a farmer at harvest, the resulting shockwaves sending hundreds of marines into the air, then wheezes as they drop down upon their allies ‘Bollocks, I really am getting old if this is winding me ’ he grimaces
“There this is our chance, take him down while he’s recovering!” Sengoku orders, during which every marine looks between him and whitebeard, and the sheer number of people the man just bodies and thought ‘You f*cking what mate?’
“Damn it, f*cking spider bastard, Pops needs me!” Marco growls after Vice Admiral Onigumo manages to get the drop on him, clamping down on his neck and arms with his extra limbs, before slipping a Seastone shackle on his right arm
Shing
“Bitch!” the marine shouts as his Spider legs are sliced off where they join his human form, Shaula finishing her attack by drop kicking the marine away from Whitebeard’s 1st mate
“My sister is a spider too dumbass, I know how to fight, and more importantly how to cripple them. You ok Marco?”
“I’ve been worse”
Ping
Ping
“Like right now” the Zoan wheezes, both pirates taking light beams to centre mass
“And you say I get distracted cousin, you just had to stick it to your sister huh” Kizaru chuckles “And with that cuff Marco, guess even the Phoenix can bleed”
Back with Whitebeard
“Recover… ha like I need more than a few deep breaths after these little scratches?” Whitebeard chuckles, while the marines continue to search for their balls after the thrashing they just took “You think these paper cuts can stop me, that I’m going to lie down and give up?” he plants his feet and looks up at Sengoku and Garp, only the former actually managing to look him in the eye “I’m not some fool, I know what will happen if I falter or pause, even more a moment, what happens if I die. And knowing that, it steels my resolve, ensuring I won’t stop fighting until the bitter end. I will die on my feet Sengoku, and I’ll make sure you have to fight for every pint of blood I lose between now and then” he declares, while the navy all pulls out as many firearms as they can manage and surround him… until the higher ups got involved, stopping them from launching a sneak attack and stabbing him in the back like cowards
“sh*t, these bastards are forming a perimeter around Whitebeard’s back. You want to die the old ma…”
Respira
“Oh we don’t plan on dying today” Helios wheezes, having just hacked up a black tar like substance which quickly dispersed into a thick black smog, eating through the nearest marines in seconds “That’s what you’re here for Hazhazhaz!”
“For Pops!”
“For Whitebeard!”
“For Ace!”
“Seems everyone is here, might as well begin the show ay Newgate?” Sengoku taunts, before turning to the replacement spearmen “EXECUTE HIM!”
“Sir, yes sir!”
“sh*t, we’re too far away!” Luffy scowls as his group sprint closer and closer to the platform
“Don’t make me laugh Sengoku, you think those punks are even a challenge for me?” Whitebeard boasts, then tilts and drops to his knee, those swords might have actually hit some more important spots than he expected ‘ Ah crap it’s Grima’s Awakening all over again ’
“Just out of range, how disappointing” Cipher pouts, then turns his eyes to other targets
“From the Start this was the only way this was going to end!” Sengoku declares as the blades were raised
“ACE!!”
“DON’T YOU DARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The sheer burst of Conqueror’s even had Sengoku pause in shock most nearby marines didn’t stand a chance, in fact most of the men between Luffy and Ace were knocked out cold almost instantaneously
“Well sh*t, another one” Kizaru whines
“That’s it Luffy, just like Amazon Lily Shashasha!” Shaula cackles
“It’s not over yet!” Luffy declares as his foursome make their final dash for the platform, the job much easier now everyone was unconscious (even Bon looked a little peaky, but a swift kick from Iva and Kaos set him right, for now at least)
Whitebeard smirks despite himself “Hm, guess that brat, might be worthy after all. Of at least trying for the crown Gurarara!”
"Deus Ex Machina!”
“Shut up Sister, the boy already showed it off, just because the marines didn’t know doesn’t mean he pulled it out of his ass!” Grima retorts, her wings once more providing distance between herself and Robin’s radiant strikes
“ If you’re weak-willed, step aside. We’re dealing with 2 Conquerors’ here, though given they’re the son’s of Dragon and Whitebeard, the higher ups should have at least considered it a possibility” One of the Vice Admirals orders “Kill the brats, power like that should not be allowed to run free in the hands of pirates!”
“I must say I’m impressed Lu, and a little annoyed you’ve upstaged me, that was a lot more people knocked out then when I did it” Kaos chuckles
“I think we arrived too late to see that, but maybe it’s because the marines are a lot more packed together than out there?” Iva suggests, only half joking ‘ These boys, they’re nuts, but power like that…. They certainly prove the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree ’
CRACK WOOOOOSH
“ Oh my, you don’t see a man as powerful as Whitebeard running as backup these days. He must see the potential Straw hat and Mirror Master have, as well as how high the chances they have of getting to Fire Fist, if they could just lighten the load ahead of them ” Alistair commentates, while assisting Henry with Plan B “It’s not quite passing the torch, but I’d call it at least acknowledging their strength”
“Gurarara, scared of little boys and old men are you? You were so co*cky a few minutes ago, where’s that fire gone ay punks? Don’t make this boring for me, after all the work I put into getting this far” Whitebeard chuckles lowly as he goads them “I thought you wanted to kill me!” he shouts, before launching another quake punch at the group
“Focus on Whitebeard!” a marine orders “He’s a monster but he’s losing steam, once he’s out then we can deal with the kids”
“They’re focusing their fire on Whitebeard… we should probably take advantage of the distraction and move our butts to Ace boy” Bon Kuri muses
“Way ahead of you!” both brothers call back, having resumed their sprint once it was clear Whitebeard had the marines handled… and if he didn’t the Semi circle of his commanders, most of the Demon Eye, and Jinbe would probably at least even the odds
“For Ace! For Whitebeard!”
“We got your back Pops, just don’t overdo it!”
“The Death and Destruction, the marines now reap what they’ve sown”
Whitebeard sighs before launching another bubble, this time to silence everything “Enough! New plan boys: I either die here, or I live, so what I want you to do… is backup Straw Hat, understood?”
“What?”
Fellblaze Bombardment
“How about no, Newgate? We didn’t come all this way just to watch you die. The kids can go back up the new Generation… but we’re staying put, standing right by your side” Grima scowls, before landing on Whitebeard’s shoulder like a demented parrot
“Stubborn bitch” Whitebeard sighs, then chuckles, if he falls today, at least it will be spectacular with these mental patients backing him up “Fine. All Whitebeard pirates, back up Straw Hat’s push for the Scaffold, the Demon Eye will stay here with me, see if we can’t get there first” he jokes, trying to raise their spirits as it probably dipped quite badly even thinking about abandoning their Captain
“Hey boys looks like we acquired some back up” Iva notes as several New World pirates beginning to flank and support the 4
Chains of Entropy
“Yeah, Ice is still not my thing, but I’m taking what I can get” Kaos grins as he sidesteps the ice sculpture display that was a group of marines a moment ago
“Then be thankful it’s mine kiddo. 2nd time without even an introduction, though I know who you are Mirror Master”
“I believe I heard someone call you an Ice Witch… so, Whitey Bay correct?”
“Got it in one Heiheihei!”
“Flirt later, Ace is right there! We just need to get one or both of those boys to the platform as we’re golden” One of the Decalvan brothers scold as the duo slash through more marines
“Who are all these people?” Luffy mutters but keeps running as they were at least helping him get to Ace
“Whitebeard’s allies. The man gave his seal of approval and sent them to assist you, mighty impressive don’t you think” Iva laughs
“Why?”
“You may be Ace’s brother, but he’s Whitebeard’s son, Hell Kaos actually IS the man’s son, not that we knew that before arriving but the point still stands. The level of trust you have with his boys, he’s betting this all on you. So don’t play coy, rise to the occasion and smile you co*cky little brat!”
“Luffy doesn’t do coy, he’s too direct for that. He also doesn’t give a sh*t about what people who aren’t on his crew think of him, for the most part” Kaos hums with a fanged grin
“He’s right, I don’t care what the old man or his friends think of me, I came here for one reason, rescuing my big brother, not get approval from anyone, now matter how high on the World’s totem pole they are”
On the Whitebeard battleground
“Um sir, maybe we should change plans”
“No chance, we have a chance to kill Whitebeard here, and once he falls the others will start to drop like flies”
“One, one hundred, it doesn’t matter. You can get in line or all die at once. Care to finally use that combo we discussed all those years ago?” Whitebeard looks to Grima, who was grinning madly, eyes twinkling with malice
“But of course Gigigigi!” she laughs, manifesting black/purple flames as Whitebeard charges up another quake pulse in his Bisento
GREAT CATACLYSM
In an instant, the Plaza became Hell on Earth, the shockwaves tearing up the ground before the fellblaze consumed all it touched, mostly marines
“GARP!”
“Yeah yeah, don’t get your panties in a twist” the old man grunts before standing, Sengoku and himself pulsing their haki, managing to prevent the nearest marines to the platform from sustaining anything more than a few 1st-degree burn
“Well, we got Sengoku off his ass, which is kind of impressive since all he’s done so far is blow hot air out both ends” Grima chuckles, dropping down beside Whitebeard as they survey the scene
“That’s Pop’s full power!”
“Not only that but the Demon Eye Captain, Dragon Grima”
“No wonder he wanted us to help Straw Hat, that way he didn’t need to worry about killing his allies in an attack like that” a New World Captain notes with a shiver
“If we keep this up we’re golden ay Straw boy” Iva chuckles, then yells with wide eyes “Oh Crap it’s Hawkeye!”
“Not again” Luffy and Kaos whine as the greatest swordsman swings at them once more…. Only for the attack to be blocked by Mr. 1
“Thanks sword guy” Luffy grins
“Boss’s orders. We’re still allies for the moment, so keeping you alive is top priority. Now move!” he explains, while keeping his eyes trained on Mihawk, only to be cut down in a single blow
“Watch out boy’s he’s still on your tail!”
‘Not for long’ was through as Yoru was blocked by a familiar gold hook, to the surprise of Luffy and Kaos
“Crocodile too” Mihawk notes
“Stop sleeping on the job Mr. 1” Crocodile grunts as he pushes the Warlord back “You’re not needed here Straw hat, get moving before I change my mind and cut you down myself for wasting all our time” the sandman sneers around his cigar
Not one to ignore orders he agrees with, the foursome of Ivankov, BonKuri, Luffy and Kaos do exactly that, run for their lives toward the scaffold
‘Oh I hope this is enough to help keep your course steady beloved’ Hanco*ck thinks as she slips between the advancing pirates and the Pacifistas, causing them to power down once again…. Only to have to backtrack when she and Salome were nearly bifurcated by some asshole with an axe
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” he bellows as he swings down “Are you out of your damn mind you stupid bitch? That’s the 2nd time you’ve gotten in the way of the Pacifista’s firing squad. What are you even trying to accomplish here, you mess around like that and you’ll lose your warlord status if not your life after we’ve dealt with Whitebeard
“You simple, dimwitted, misshapen man-child. Your ignorance is an affront to my beauty” Hanco*ck huffs, her familiar holding in a sigh as it could feel her mistress preparing for a rant
“The Hell you just call me?” the round man with a short fuse shouts
“I will set a pearl of wisdom at your feet, cherish it as I doubt you have many. Love Is ALWAYS a HURRICANE!!”
Sentomaru blinks “Wait…. You’re in love with that little punk? Damn, all Kuja really are insane”
“I’m going to make you eat those words you ugly little troll of a man!” Hanco*ck screams “You will not lay a finger on my beloved or my little brother!”
“Well sh*t, talk about leaving us an opening Sesese!” Kaos laughs as the clashes between the marines and New World pirates, literally left the centre line clear of anything at all… well, almost
Swan Flight of Friendship
That’s better, now Bon had kicked some marine with X shaped scars all over his face back into the mob they looked to be in the clear
“When they say clear a path they mean it. Just… how do we get UP there?” Luffy asks with a slight grimace, only for Iva to chuckle
“Leave it to us. Sorry about this by the way, but we actually do need you if we plan to succeed” the Okama says looking up to his afro before Scissor Man Inazuma slides out of it
“I can see that, and I’m happy to get us over the line. Also, hello Mirror Master”
“Sup. We can chat later”
“Sounds amicable” the 2 toned man nods before unleashing the scissors, cutting a section of ground out before flipping it over, causing the paperised cobblestone to form a perfectly usable bridge from their current position all the way up, to Ace.
“Holy crap!”
“Thanks Crab guy” Luffy grins “Now, to ACE!!”
“Straw hat is almost at the platform, stop him! We’d do it ourselves, but trying to kill Whitebeard over here”
“Stop that punk!”
“We can’t boss, the pirates are blocking our path”
The man scowls “Idiots. Then use your guns. Artillery…. Fire!”
Banf bang bang bang
Well, that didn’t work
“No…. it’s the Whitebeard Division Commanders!”
“Thanks guys, really saved our bacon there” Luffy shouts back as he nears the bridge
“Rescue Ace and we’ll call it even” Izo winks before opening fire on the marines not blocked off by their New World Allies, the rest of the Commanders forming essentially an Honour Guard for the brothers, watching their back like they had previously been guarding Whitebeard’s
“Stop him, man!” marines yell as they cut off the pirates
Sen'ei Jashu: HyperVenom
Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda
“They made it!”
“We’re actually doing this!”
“Not if we have anything to say about it!”
“Stop those kids!”
“Well, didn’t think Whitebeard would bet it all on that kid, but it seems miracles do happen. Shame I can’t watch it from a little closer” Kizaru chuckles, the haki infused blade at his neck and the piscor clamped on his arm meaning he wasn’t going anywhere fast
“Oh come on cousin, enjoy the show, it’s not over yet. After all we still have to actually get Ace to a ship and sail out of this hellscape” Shaula laughs, her eyes trained on her nephews, both biological and honorary
‘Holy crap, Luffy and Kaos might actually pull this off’ Ace thinks, his eyes wide and jaw dropped from shock
“WE MADE IT! WE’RE ALMOST THERE ACE!!” Luffy cheers
CRASH
‘Bollocks’
“Oh no it’s Grampa!”
“Just what we need, Garp the Fister. Perfect” Kaos sighs, this day just wearing away at even his patience for shenanigans
“Get out of the way!” Luffy yells
“Not a chance. I’m not moving an inch boy. I'm a Vice Admiral of the Navy, I stand for PEACE and JUSTICE and nothing will change that! I’ve been fighting pirates since before you were born, or even your father was born. Here and now, you’re not my grandsons….”
“Too late, never was. But continue”
“f*ck you, you disrespectful little punk. Anyway ,as I was trying to say…. You are Straw Hat Luffy and Mirror Master Kaos, and I’ll fight you to the death! This is the path you’ve chosen to take, you and your brother alike”
“Well sh*t, the old man actually picked a side” Grima scowls, Whitebeard also feeling sick to his stomach by Garp’s actions
“§Justice over family, admirable for some…. But if she were here….§” Kizaru hums
“§Big Sis would gut him like a fish§” Shaula agrees, knowing Medusa wouldn’t even have come to Marineford if she were still alive, instead for any other mission/assignment/base to station herself on until this bullsh*t was over.
“Come on Gramps now isn’t the time to be a dumbass, we’re trying to save our brother here! So move it even just a few steps to the left or right” Luffy shouts, while they continue to run head first towards the still as stone Garp, his entrance already causing cracks to spread across the bridge in front of and behind him, even without taking the hole he punched through it into consideration
“He’s not going to listen Luffy, he’s finally realised why he’s all alone up here, because Justice was all he cared about, it’s all he has, so he’ll rather let his so called family die than admit he f*cked up” Kaos hisses, knowing this wasn’t going to end how Luffy wants it to, they were going to have to get to Ace THROUGH Garp, somehow
“I can’t believe nobody’s managed to hit these brats.”
“Good thing about the bridge is at least we can’t miss”
“Ready men? FIRE!”
Slave arrows
“What the Hell lady, who’s side are you on?” A marine who managed to avoid Hanco*ck’s rain of petrifying arrows shouts, as the woman not only blocked their shot… but as mentioned just turned at least half the squad into statues
“Not yours that much is clear. Did none of you consider what could have happened if you missed, either hitting the Vice Admiral or even causing them all to fall if you destroyed the bridge outright?”
“I… guess not. Though why are you suddenly all worried?”
“Because Garp is my beloved’s grandfather, and while this battle has strained the relationship, I believe with time it shall heal if they’re both willing. I’m not going to force him, the man is a brute and a thug with no concept of familial loyalty, I’m not even sure he would be affected by my Mero Mero, but he is the closest Kaos has, and actually is Luffy’s Grandfather, so I shall prevent you from bringing harm to him” Hanco*ck explains
“I half understand that… but it also makes me think you’ve got a few screws loose lady”
“She was kind of adorable when she was talking about family though”
“Agreed”
“STRAW HAT! The Fist’s entrance has weakened the bridge to the point it’ll collapse soon enough. Get the lead out or it’ll all be for nothing!”
“Get to Ace!”
“Save our brother!”
“Save your brother!”
“A pirate. Has the GALL. To ask a marine to step aside!!” Garp bellows “You want to get to Ace, then face me like every other marine and fight with all your might! Show me you’re strong enough to rescue the boy!” he shouts, rearing back a punch in case either of them actually went through with it
‘I don’t want you to join the navy for my sake. I want you to have the strength to do the right thing, and walk the right path’
“I don’t want to hurt you Gramps!”
‘§I kinda do§’
“It doesn’t matter what you want, unless you strike me down there’s no way you’ll be able to save Ace! You can’t cry your way out of this boy, I’m a marine and you’re a pirate, you’ll get no mercy from me!”Garp shouts as the bridge finally cracks behind him, throwing his punch right at his grandson
THUMP
“Still can’t dodge for sh*t ay kid” Garp sighs as his fist embeds itself in Kaos’ gut, though a cold shiver runs down his spine as he sees the difference a couple of months can do, the facial expression as his arms extend and coil around the Vice Admirals’ extended arm, it looked off, inhuman, nothing seen on this world ‘ Don’t lie to yourself Garp, you know exactly where you’ve seen that expression before. Madness, twinged with malice and hate. You really f*cked up today didn’t you? ’
“I wasn’t trying to you old coot. I’m the anchor for a change Sesese” Kaos chuckles then wheezes, before Garp realises what he meant, the older Straw hat blocked his view and is pinning his arm
Jet Pistol
Meaning he couldn’t react when Luffy cold-co*cked him with a Gear 2nd punch, the Sura Hebi user releasing his talons the second Garp’s feet left the bridge, then following Luffy as they leap across the remaining sections of the bridge before they could fall and they lose their chance at the rescue
“No way, Straw hat, took down Garp!”
“It was underhanded, as expected from a pirate… but yeah, he did”
“Well damn, it seems the kids might just pull this off after all” Kizaru chuckles
“You’re planning something aren’t you?” Shaula grimaces, knowing despite how slow the man acts… he was Kuja, meaning he was a sneaky little bastard when he wants to be
“§Have I been away that long…” Kizaru asks, Shaula having to leap back to avoid being skewered by an iridescent wing “...that I’ve become predictable§?” he finishes as laser beams were fired from his own index as well as the ‘ wing fingers ’, the Middle Serpens sister having to dodge and block at her full strength to avoid getting taken out, and it wasn’t a complete success, as one beam went through her upper left arm
‘ Almost there ’ Luffy thinks, Gear 2nd helping him keep the pace needed to jump the debris, though remembering to deactivate it the second his feet touch the platform, Kaos dropping down almost on his heels “ACE!” he cheers, then takes a minute to catch his breath “We did it, we’re here. Just like I said we would” he says with a full D grin
“Hey Ace, glad to see you’re still breathing” Kaos winks, Nagini peeking out from under his cloak to have a look at this famous big brother of her partner
“§Doesn’t look like much§” she hisses, getting a slight smack to the back of the head from Kaos
“Luffy, Kaos” Ace blinks, as it finally clicks that he’s not imagining things he chuckles “You two really are too stupid and crazy to give up aren’t you?”
“Basically, yes” Kaos nods with an ear-to-ear grin
“One moment please” Luffy hums as he roots around in his pockets “There we are, got the key on the way here, so you’ll be free and running away in no time” the rubber boy grins once he retrieves the key, then steps behind Ace to unlock his shackles, while Sengoku decided to finally get off his ass and DO SOMETHING. In this case begin to glow with an otherworldly golden light, and expands, his hat floating to the ground below somewhere.
“So, he was the energy I’ve been feeling since we got out of the Bay” Kaos mutters, tongue clicking against his fangs “Though with how many Devil Fruit users there were…. One Hito Hito getting past the radar isn’t that big a deal”
PING
What was a bigger deal, was Kizaru sniping the key before Luffy could use it, meaning Ace was still shackled to the execution platform
“No!”
“That’s not fair”
“He came so close”
“They’re trapped now, take aim and fire on my command!”
“End of the line greenhorns!”
“You’re a family of criminals, so it’s only right I execute you together, with my own bare hands” Sengoku thunders
“And…. that’s my cue to pull out plan B and pray that it works” Kaos sighs deeply, and unclips his cloak “Word of warning Ace, this is perfectly safe for human travel”
“So you’ve done this before?” Ace asks hopefully
“Sesese…… no” then before everyone’s eyes drapes his cloak over the bound man
Mirror Gate
Crack
Clang
What lay before him actually made Sengoku pause, as that shouldn’t be possible. Ace was gone, and the cuffs and chains still lay on the execution platform, just empty
“WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Gurararara!”
“Gigigigigi”
“Gororororo I love this kid XD!”
“He did it?”
“Right from under the Fleet Admiral’s nose!”
Amazon Lily
“Fufufuffufufufufufufufu!” Artemis laughs as she rolls around “Papa, he just saved Uncle Ace with a magic trick, Sesese!”
Marineford
“Awesome!” Luffy cheers “But I think you just pissed him off even more”
“Oh, I expected that, I just didn’t expect to have an angry Buddha statue about to tenderise my meat before death. I did have half a plan for this too though”
“Which i….” Luffy begins to ask before being grabbed by the back of his shirt and being thrown full strength off the platform by Kaos “YOU IDIOT!!!!”
“Playing the Hero won’t save you no Mirror Master, you’ll die today, and your father will be following you shortly. I’d advise you get the welcome mat out in Hell for him, maybe roll out the red carpet” the Fleet Admiral scowls before launching a massive punch at the now armoured teen
Fist of the Buddha
The attack shattered the execution platform, and everyone watched in frozen fear, as from what they could see there wasn’t even a body after Sengoku’s final attack… except there was one thing Seagull hat forgot about.
Stola Dei
Gold is a highly reflective substance, and he just tried to All Might SMASH the Reflect Human. So while nobody expected him to pop out of the man’s afro more or less unharmed…. It should have been considered an option. And so the boy kicks off the giant golden afro, alerting Sengoku to his failed murder attempt, and dropped onto the main floor, the impact rippling through his leg muscles like rubber “We’re done here. Everyone go!”
TBC
LW: So, Ace is rescued, and now for the final hurdle… getting back OUT of Marineford. Good luck lads :P
Chapter 130: Revelation Through Burning Absolution! Outer Rookie vs Volcanic Veteran!
Chapter Text
LW: So, with the Rescue portion of this arc complete, now to begin the Escape portion. Time to get out of dodge boys!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Revelation Through Burning Absolution! Outer Rookie vs Volcanic Veteran!
Deck of the Jormungandr
Ace groans as his face hits Adam Wood, the former death-row inmate blinks and rolls, then realizes he can do those things…. Because he was no longer wearing the Seastone shackles.
“Holy sh*t that little bastard did it”
“Yes, he did my boy, happy to lend assistance wherever possible” Ace turns to see a grinning deer mink…. Alistair staring at him from beside the ships’ canons “Though as rescue attempts go, this is by far the strangest” he laughs
“How the hell did this even work?”
“The kid decided to pull out a backup plan, and it seemed to have worked” Henry laughs, the blood man having been skeptical until they actually reached the scaffold
Flashback
“Henry!”
“Well, if it isn’t the mirror boy from Thriller Bark, didn’t expect to see you or Straw hat here. How can I be of assistance”
“I’d like some help with a… backup plan to get Ace out of here. Any chance there’s a full-length mirror on your ship?” Kaos asks cryptically
“Most likely, why?”
Kaos smiles but it looks forced, then pushes back his cloak to reveal a dagger still wedged between his floating ribs, before pulling it out with a hiss of pain “I was hoping you could get this to your ship, smear it on a mirror, and then when we get to Ace, I can open a Gate between myself and the mirror, getting Ace out of the Plaza in one move”
Henry blinks, then grins before laughing maniacally “Oh, I knew you were going to be interesting boy, but I didn’t expect that. I’ll see what I can do, you just get to that platform and we’ll get Ace out of there” he agrees, accepting the bloody dagger
Flashback End
“Honestly, that sound exactly like something he’d do, he’s basically Luffy’s brain half the time, of course, he’d try to use those portal things to get me out of here” Ace sighs deeply, running his hand along his arm, a purple K, yellow L, red-orange A, split Red/White U, and Blue S running down his left forearm, the first real family he had “Never thought I’d be happy my little brothers decided to come save my ass, but I’ll take what I can get”
At the Plaza
“You know, I think that might have been the dumbest thing you’ve ever done” Luffy hums after Kaos stands up again
“Says the guy who broke in and out of Impel down on consecutive days”
“Yeah, I said the dumbest thing you’ve done, not that I’ve ever seen” Luffy retorts as he sticks out his tongue “Still surprised it actually worked though”
“Multitasking. Or delegating. Ace is free and rescued, all we need to do is get ourselves out of here” Kaos replies, grinning widely
‘He actually did it, my beloved and little brother, actually rescued Fire Fist… I suppose I have yet another little brother to protect, this has been a very strange day’ Hanco*ck muses to herself while those around her yip and cheer as they’d actually succeeded, and Mirror Master even rubbed the navy’s noses in it
“Men, this isn’t over yet, open fire on the bastards, now!”
“Sir yes Sir!”
‘Ah crap’
Gum Gum Balloon
Reflection
BOOM BOOM BOOM
“Artillery isn’t working, attack at close range!”
“They’re both paramecia types, so they’ll be tricky, but nothing we can’t handle”
“Actually….” Kaos grins as he sidesteps an idiot with a mace while Luffy leaps over a sword slash “your information is a little, out of date” he says, wrapping his tail around the swordsman’s neck while Luffy punches the other marine in the face
Gum Gum Pistol
“He’s…. A Zoan type?”
“Doesn’t matter, overpower them both!”
“They never learn” Kaos sighs as his tail snaps the man’s neck, releasing Hebi from his cloak and Nagini erupts from his skin, the Venominaga eager to fight and it was bleeding over into her master…. Or maybe it was the other way around
“You’ve always got a trick up your sleeves, that a Kuja thing, or a Straw Hat thing?” Luffy teases as he leaps over Kaos to launch a Gum Gum Spear at the approaching marines, then ducking under a glaive slash from Kaos and Hebi.
“I think the kids have had their fun don’t you think?” Helios wheezes, grinning widely
“Mission completed, Sounding the Retreat!” Izo shouts
“Clear a path to the escape vessel, commandeer marine ships if necessary!”
“You know, I actually think the way back, seems to be going smoother than the way forward” Kaos chuckles as he tail spears around marine blocking their path
“I wouldn’t go that far boy” came the voice of essentially the universe telling them to slow down, or that the researcher had just jinxed them
“Aokiji”
“Ice-guy”
“You boys aren’t seeing tomorrow. You may have saved Fire Fist, but we’ll get him soon enough, especially now the world knows his secret” the Hei Hei user declares
Ice Block: Pheasant Beak
Rathalos Firesword: Blazing Slash
“WAAAAAAY too close!” Kaos groans, the flaming greatsword having in an almost parody of Akainu Vs the Iceberg earlier in the day, blew up Alkiji’s Icebird, though also rather painfully burned both of his hands “Fire is better than ice…. But still hurts like a bitch”
“Good job kid, but that’s the price when you play with fire. Keep moving now, we’ll back you up!” Vista shouts as the Commanders begin to catch up on Kaos and Luffy, causing a distraction so they could advance once more
‘This is the worst blunder of my life, if those brats escape, if they live to see tomorrow, I’ll never be able to live this down’ Sengoku scowls as he lands on the plaza, eyes trained on the boys
“Just let them go” Doflamingo laughs “They make things much more interesting. Maybe it’s cause they’re D’s or maybe this new generation was simply built to shake things up”
Near the entrance to the plaza
“Ok, that’s my new favorite type of ship!” Azulong cheers as the last Whitebeard ship starts tearing through the stone as it beaches itself, and just keeps going “A true all-terrain vessel Gorororororo!”
“Guess not killing Squard was a good thing after all, even though he’s about to die anyway. Shame to lose the ship though” Grima sighs as Squard and his crew piloted the ship across the plaza, toward the marine higher-ups
“Yeah, not a chance. Help me deal with another stupid boy’s antics for a moment please”
“Sure whatever, we get paid by the hour” Grima shrugs and winks as she spreads her wings
“I can’t make up for what I tried to do with pretty words or an apology, but I can do this. If I die fighting for my allies' success, then I can rest in peace. Tonight we dine in Hell boys!” Squard bellows from the head of the ship, his entire crew whooping and hollering, happy to go out with a bang if it meant standing by their captain till the end.
THUMP
“Um, did we hit something Boss?” one World Spider pirate asks
“You stupid brats” a voice thunders, the smoke cleared to reveal the Fell Dragon herself, 6 blood red eyes staring into their souls, talons digging into the front of the ship… and just below them, was Whitebeard’s open palms
“But, why Pops?” Squard gasps
“You stupid boy. Do you think I wanted to see any of you die out here? Do you have any idea the pain a parent feels to outlive their children, to have to bury them with his own hands?” Whitebeard scowls, and Squard once more feels like the dumbest man alive, in trying to atone and make up for his treachery, he only caused more pain for his Pops elsewhere, emotionally rather than physically, but real as any sword in the gut “Our business is complete, get out now, I’ll hold the line….”
“Don’t even think about it, we came here to see this through to the end, you don’t get to die on us now. And not with a new son on the way. Ace wouldn’t want you to trade your life for his, you die here, then no matter what anyone says, that’s how he’ll see it for the rest of his life” Grima growls, the zoan’s voice rumbles like thunder “That he’s the one who killed Whitebeard”
Newgate grits his teeth then sighs deeply “Then old friend, I don’t suppose I have the right to ask for one more favour”
“We owed you a fair few, you can ask anything”
“Then help me keep my boys safe, then we’ll leave this cesspool together”
An all too human smile crosses’ the dragon’s thin scaly lips “I thought you’d never ask. End this fight with a bang you old coot!”
“Gurararara”
Continental Shift!
Whitebeard’s arms bulge as he puts all his strength into a final haymaker, this combined with his Devil Fruit cracks not only the air but the entirety of Marineford’s main structures
“Whitebeard!!!”
“THIS IS IT! THE START OF A NEW AGE!!!” the Yonko declares grinning madly as Grima adds Fellblaze to the devastation, the dragon roars before she reverts back to her human form
“Old guy” Luffy frowns, his insides bunching up seeing Ace’s Captain try to go it alone
“He’s buying them, all of us time to fall back. Hopefully Grima’s as good as she thinks she is, or else they’re both going to die out here” Kaos sighs “We can’t waste a single moment Lu, the quicker we leave the sooner Whitebeard can fall back, and the less likely someone can take him out with a cheap shot” he then turns and a smile flickers across his face “Seems the New World guys got their ships into the bay while we were screwing around in here freeing Ace. We get to those ships we’re home free, Sesese”
Luffy nods “Understood. You know, it’s probably a good thing you sent Ace all the way to that other ship, he’d have made us stay and back up the Old guy even after he just told us to get out of here” he chuckles as the 2 fall in line with the fleeing pirates
“Accurate”
“He’s not holding back, with the Dragon supporting him he can sink the island if he wants, so long as his men get out” Sengoku scowls as Whitebeard continues to toss his men around like children, Grima for than happy to just throw fireballs and sword slashes if anyone manages to dodge his quake slams rather than being an active combatant
On the ship
“Pops”
“He’ll be fine, the Captain won’t let him die” Apep states bluntly “Newgate will be fine, at worst he’ll be a little beaten up but that will be from Grima dragging him to the ship, rather than anything the marines do to him” she gives a fanged smirk, and Ace was hardpressed to argue against her
Plaza
“Only good thing about Whitebeard holding the line like that, is it means we don’t have Admirals on our tails” Bon laughs as he and Iva reunite with the brothers
“Not all of them” an angry voice growls as magma spurts and envelops swaths of the area “Once you rescued Firefist Ace, you immediately fled, a crew of cowards like your old fool of a captain” Akainu sneers
“WHAT!!” the Whitebeard pirates yell in anger
“Great, we got the worst one on our ass” Kaos groans, then notices the man staring right at him
“Right here gunning for an escape, not even sticking around after flicking the marines the bird. But what more should I expect from the son of a coward and a whor*”
“Mirror-boy now’s not the best time to lash ou…”
Crescent Blade: Crescent Wave
Red Dog
“Weak, cowardly, useless failure. It’s no wonder you were left in the East Blue, it wasn’t to protect you, it was because you were always going to be a disappointment. Garp didn’t even try to make you a marine, because he knew you weren’t worth the effort”
“Well, nice to know you can blow smoke out your ass as good as the rest of them” Kaos sneers, pupils fully contracted as he glares at the Admiral “But given I think we just won this round, you’re going to need new material. Marineford is collapsing, Ace is safe and out of reach, and Whitebeard will survive your spineless tactics. It’s funny you call us cowards and without honor, given the sh*t you pull in the name of ‘so-called’ Justice”
“One battle is all you won, this war is just beginning bastard, and just like your father, your little campaign will end in failure. Neither the old man out there playing Big Shot with the Dragon, or your little rubber-manchild of a captain will be king, because you’re simply too damn weak!”
Thump thump
Thump thump
“Though maybe it’s better to be a failure and a coward than a predator, the old man made himself quite the army of unquestioningly loyal sycophants, he groomed them just right. But at least they can claim he’s just a father figure, his tainted blood runs through your veins as much as Roger’s does FireFist”
Kamishini no Yari - Butō: Renjin
“Are you quite done?” Akainu sneers, the barrage doing nothing against his magma body, then smirks “It’s the end of the line for you punks”
“Straw boy, please talk some sense into your bro….oh no!” Iva squeals as he turns, seeing Luffy nearly on his knees panting heavily ‘The energy hormones are running out, the poor boy really is running on fumes’
“If Roger’s bloodline isn’t purged tonight, at least one of the world’s criminals burns in his place!” the admiral declares, drawing attention to the glassy-eyed teen
Soru
Mirāu~ōku
Reflect Armour
Akuma Kagami: Pad Ho
Samsara Lotus
Luffy snaps back to awareness as he once more takes a padded pressure wave to the face, shooting him back until he collides with Iva and Jinbe, idly noting Nagini was wrapped around his shoulders
“It seems I hit something of greater value after all” Akainu chuckles, everyone watching in shock and horror as the man’s magma fist had punched clean through and came out just below Kaos’ ribs “But did you really think those little spikes could take out an admiral like me kid?” he scoffs, his haki blocking the jagged mirror shards sticking out of Kaos’ back easily
“Well, you were all trying to kill Pops with knives and rifles, all it takes is a lucky shot to the right place and anyone dies” Kaos wheezes, even with his armor the heat and damage was immense
“KAOS!” Luffy screams and he wasn’t the only one, Ace nearly jumps off the Jormungandr at the sight, only to learn the answer to what would ordinarily be an innocuous question: Why Alistair wears gloves. Pinned to the deck with the seastone tipped cane pressing against the small of his back, he was as weak and helpless there as he would have been on the scaffolding
Hanco*ck meanwhile falls to her knees and weeps, Salome coiling around her mistress protectively as well as comfortingly
“It’s quite fitting really, for you to die like this. After all, I killed your traitorous, pirate-loving, whor* of a mother the same way. Doubt your dad will let me get behind him to make it a full set, but I’ll just melt his heart through the front” Akainu laughs as he starts to up the output of his Devil fruit
“Luffy. We had a good run right?” Kaos asks, his armor beginning to crack and steam as damage radiates from the puncture wound “We set out for adventure, made a family, watched it grow, and shrink. I saw you get married, and we rescued Ace, sure showed him how strong his little brothers could be” Tears streamed down Luffy's face, but he was still clear-sighted enough to see a smile on his pained face “I wouldn’t change a single thing Luffy. I’m proud to have sailed alongside you, and will remember this, always” he says and as the crack spreads up his neck he gives the widest D grin the boy had ever seen… and then shatters/explodes, magma engulfing the area where he once stood
Amazon Lily
“PAPA NO!!!!” Artemis screams, the resulting wave knocked out 3 of the viewers, worried 2 more, and had the old woman sighing deeply
“That’s Conquerors”
“As strong as when Big Sis first learned to control it”
“Indeed” Nyon nods sagely “The kid has the power, though given her fathers, adopted or by blood it should have come as no surprise. Shame the Empress is the only one still alive with the ability, or she’d be able to help control the output. Not that I blame her, seeing her father die in front of her eyes would be quite traumatic”
Marineford
“Don’t even think about it Garp” Sengoku scowls, seeing the way his friend’s neck bulged in rage
FSSSSSS
“Just a precaution old friend” Aokiji says as he locks Kizaru down in ice “Don’t want you doing something you’ll regret”
“I look forward to seeing you react well around the man who admits to murdering your cousin without a hint of regret. Because you’re wrong Kuzan…” the light man gives a slightly demented smile as he turns his head to look his fellow admiral in the eye “I wouldn’t regret a moment of it”
“SAKAZUKI!!!!” Whitebeard bellows, his Conquerors blazing white like a supernova, the power taking out everyone in his path as he stomps towards the admiral. However, unlike most, his will, augmented by his rage, meant that rather than simply being knocked out, a fair few of the marines closest to his first outburst had died rather quickly, of brain aneurysms. The only person unaffected by his waves of haki was the woman pumping out her own, black as the void and lost in the solar flare of her oldest friend. Of course, there was one benefit to the blinding light show of Haki on display, just not quite yet, almost though
“There you have it, proof Whitebeard is a failure for all to see, can’t even make anything but a weakling from his own flesh and blood. Not that any of you stand a chance against the might of Absolu….”
SHING
thump
‘No, that’s not possible’
‘I killed him years ago!’
‘Oh my, this is a surprise after all’
‘Captain?!’
“I told you a long time ago Sakazuki, I will never die so long as my actions shape this world” a voice rumbles as the Admiral’s left arm drops to the ground, blood leaking from his amputated stump as the smoke clears revealing a large, jet black naga hefting a weapon that was both impressive and for some, instantly recognizable:
With the overall built of a giant-sized, double-bladed polearm, the primary blade was a large sickle/scythe-like hook, with a straight fan blade on the rear, both blades were black as night with a shimmer to them that made them look like the deepest cosmos
The Blade of the Abyss King, the strongest form of the Hebi no Oni no mi, only been wielded by one person in its entire history.
And as the 3 eyes, overflowing with madness and wrath, turn their gaze on the marines his back was to the Whitebeard pirates, and the final clue clicked into place. On his back between his shoulderblades was a symbol they all knew, an eye, with snakes curving out of it at what would be the compass points of the design. What became known the world over, as the symbol of the Demon Eye Pirates, and as synonymous to its owner as Luffy’s Straw hat.
The eater of the mythical Zoan, Hebi Hebi no mi model Yig, Mayhem D. Apophis
TBC
LW: Yeah… I’m going to just leave this here. Discuss, or scream, I don’t mind which you do, but I sure hope you stick around for the ride.
“I’ll be one of the 4 Emperors in no time” Buggy D. Clown episode 481. I mean he was right… it just took a little over 2 years to get there :P
Chapter 131: Shatterpoint! A Lone Supernova's Response!
Chapter Text
LW: And after the cliffhanger from last time, I hope this next one is well received. Enjoy everyone!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Shatterpoint! A Lone Supernova's Response!
Konoha
“f*ck!”
“Magma bitch just took out a fine priest before he even learned of Jashin’s glory! I want that co*cksucker’s head!”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine” Valentina mutters, though given she was practically curling up on herself was a clear sign she was worried “He’s taken more damage to more vital areas than his torso. I mean, he had a hole through his head when we fought God, what’s an Admiral to that?”
Deidara clicks his tongue “Hey kid, has your 1st mate always been a snake?”
“Only in the last month, we were fighting this onion with a zombie army and by the end of it, Kaos had the Hebi Hebi no mi. Of course, given Orochi I knew there was more than one, but he never did say what the model was”
Orochimaru’s eyes widened. “So, he ate 2 fruits, and didn’t die? Kukuku well that could have been interesting to figure out…..oh my”
“What?” Valentina asks, looking up before her jaw drops “Holy crap Kaos has been holding back on us if he’s got that in the tank!”
“Kid just injured an Admiral, not what you expect from a rookie. Though Straw Hat managed to take down Garp the Hero so maybe it’s not too much of a surprise from that perspective” Nagato muses, though even he feels a shiver of fear as the puppet locked eyes with the Tricloptic naga.
Fuchsia Village
SMASH
“Please don’t destroy my bar Dadan” Makino sighs, though her heart wasn’t in it given what both of them were watching on the verdette’s newly acquired Visual Den Den
“I want to wring that bastard’s neck, all the f*cker had to do was sit there like a stump while my boys made their daring rescue, but instead he decides to HELP those marine assholes execute my eldest kid” the mountain bandit shouts after slamming a table against the wall, anger an easier emotion to deal with and vent than the fear and pain that accompanied it, though the tears streaming down her face made it clear.
A little later
“Does that help, Luffy seemed to get him clean in the jaw?” Makino asks, getting a wet chuckle in response
“A little, nice to see those 2 working together, even if it meant Kaos had to tank a hit from Garp to make it work. But hey, one more step to Ace I suppose” Dadan nods
“Yep, they probably saw it that way too, the final obstacle between them and rescue”
“But how are they going to get him ou….. Bwahahahaha! Kaos you little sh*t XD! Alaka-f*ck you!” the bandit cackles
Just a little later more
“THAT MAGMA BASTARD!!!!”
“He, he died protecting Luffy” Makino sniffles, while the Bandit rages beside her “They rescued Ace, but didn’t get to see them leave”
SHING
“Oh my god” the barkeeper gasps
“Bwahahahaha! That’s my boy, pulling out this kind of crazy sh*t. Even made sure to maim the bastard who just tried to kill him” Dadan laughs, though tears still flowed from her eyes, her smartass lanky bastard of a son was still alive, those 3 were destined to give her heart attacks weren’t they?
Ryugu Kingdom
‘The seed of rebellion, it grows like a weed, a demon so monstrous, is just what I need. Not even my Tower could contain his might, this princess has found a knight Salvation’s in sight’ ran through the salmon pink haired girl's mind, as her hands shook in fear…. and excitement? Meanwhile, Megalo watches his mistress with growing concern
Onigashima
“So Magic Man is still slithering around after all this time, a bit smaller than I remember”
“Kaido-sama?” Black Maria hums, turning to the Dragonic Yonko, hoping for an explanation
“It seems Apophis’ death was misrecorded” Kaido explains
“Except it wasn’t” all eyes turn to Gin Rummy, Kaido the most curious as to his strategist’s reason to defy him “As you already know, our Devil fruits are rather similar, to the point I can feel the almost otherworldly energy that the Hebi Hebi model Yig gives off, and that’s how I can tell you he died 20 years ago because it just blipped out. Until a couple of months ago that is''
Kaido hums, scratching his chin before nodding “So, old fruit new user. But there must be more, that statement ‘I will never die so long as my actions shape this world’ it’s not just something a kid would say, it has to mean something”
Gin nods “Correct Sir. While I’m not too familiar with Devil fruits if I’m being honest, sometimes an echo will persist within the fruit even after transferring to a new user. A remnant or even Vestige, per say. It’s possible a shade or echo of Apophis remained within the fruit, giving the kid a few pointers or even a helping hand after nearly getting killed. Plus there’s the fact his actions have shaped the world. The Demon Eyes for one, though it may also be something more physical. Maybe Apophis and Roger shared something in common besides absurd strength and skill with swordplay” the Mythical Zoan muses
Kaido chuckles “You think he’s got a kid out there somewhere, like Fire Fist? Shame they waited, after this display, it won’t matter if they share blood with the man, Serpens Kaos will be seen as Mayhem’s Successor by anyone old enough to remember the man”
“It’s only a possibility, nothing ever even hinted at him having some kind of hidden family or secret love child. It’s most likely his memory lives on through the Demon Eyes and the Devil fruit he made infamous within the upper ranks of the marines”
???
“THAT BASTARD!!”
CRASH
“Sir!” his blue-haired companion squeaks, grabbing the Den Den before the poor snail could be the next target of his wrath
“What’s got you in such a tissy Boss, it’s just one more pirate dead” a dark-skinned Long Armed tribesman sneers
“It’s not the pirate, well not just him. I’ve had plenty of students in my time as a marine, but Serpens D. Medusa, she was one of the best. And that disgrace of a marine just admitted to killing her in cold blood, while in the middle of killing her only kid” the man scowls, clenching his fist as his prosthetic whirs and clicks “I may not want the pirates to win, but I wouldn’t exactly be shedding a tear if my girl’s murderer was brought to justice in an …unorthodox way” he chuckles darkly
Sabaody - Shakky Bar
“Well I’ll be damned, that little brat actually did it”
“I told you, bet on Straw Hat he’s going places” Shakky teases, lightly elbowing her husband in the ribs
“Oh dear, he’s going to get hurt so badly” Hachi whimpers “He’s taking so many hits it’s insane”
“He’s got Iva, Jinbe, and his other brother on hand, the kid will be fine” Rayleigh assures the octopus Fishman as he frets and wriggles as he worries about his now friend
“Spoke too soon love, kid looks ready to pass out” Shakky grimaces “And if we can see it, so can the marines”
“Yeah, and given that’s Admiral Akainu there’s no way he’ll let an opportunity like this go to….. Oh God”
“That’s…. Not survivable” Rayleigh says flatly
“Oh Straw Hat is going to be so hurt, he went to save one brother, only to lose the other” Hachi cries
SHING
“Wow, that’s some fake out!” the octopus shouts cheerfully
“Bet on Straw Hat you said, bet on the whole family more like” Rayleigh chuckles once he could get his jaw to move again
“It would seem so, those D’s never let us figure out the game they’re playing, do they” Shakky hums, grinning as she takes another smoke
Marineford
Sengoku scowls as he scans the battlefield, knowing internally that Akainu had just royally f*cked them over big time: not only did his attempt to kill Mirror Master piss off Whitebeard, Garp (who was only NOT currently murdering Sakazuki because Sengoku had his boot on the man’s back), and Kizaru (Aokiji was keeping him contained for the moment) of all people, he basically confessed to murdering an ally almost on par with Garp in terms of fame, power and respect within the marines and after all his violence he failed to even kill the bastard, in fact from an outside perspective he took a kid off the board and a veteran replaced him. Sure Grima had kept the Demon Eyes running and were a force to be reckoned with, but Apophis made them a pirate crew on par with the Yonko of today. As he stared into those 3 eyes, suppressing the instinctive flinch and urge to run, he had only one solace, that very few people here were high ranked enough 20 years ago to know why there was a flee on sight for Apophis’ Tricloptic form, as it meant almost nobody was going to survive the battle. To them, he was just a big guy with a naginata, and they toppled Oars jr, this kid should be no trouble
Clang!
“Mother” Lucina gasps as the Alpha Yato slips from numb fingers, then the Vice Admiral herself drops to her knees, eyes wide but sightless
“Weregoingtodie” she mutters, then screams as a colleague moves to help her up “WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!”
‘Damn it, well there goes morale’ the Fleet admiral sighs, it was a pain in the ass, even if of all those here, Nylock Robin was the most affected by Apophis’ journey and skirmishes.
Kaos stands there for a moment, then turns back to Iva, still clutching Luffy “Get him out of here” he hisses, a shiver going down the okama’s spine
“Kaos, you’re alive” Luffy wheezes, then grunts when he gets jabbed in the gut with a tail
“Go, the way Iva was going on about his energy hormones it’s a miracle in and of itself you’re conscious right now. Your fight is over, Ace is alive, and now you just need to leave”
“Not. Without. You”
“I’ll be right behind you, I just need to give us some space” he smirks, and honestly only his new eyes stopped him from at least attempting to wink at the rubber boy, instead patting his head with a clawed finger, which to his amusem*nt Nagini latched onto in order to rejoin their collective. Sensing the 2 beginning to retreat Kaos turned to Hebi, her new form strong but heavy, but it felt right in his scaled hands, giving the glaive an overhead spin he lashed out, the pressure waves sending squads flying left, right, and centre
“co*cky little sh*t, gets a new transformation and he's as smug as a Logia in the Blues. I’ll have to correct that” Akainu sneers as magma bubbles off his left arm, sealing the wound and flowing out to meet the surge being exuded from his right, then with a grunt of effort launched it all forward as a giant magma fist
CLANG
The fist was caught by the fan end of the Abyss Blade, but the magma soon began to push back, causing the Admiral to smirk “Seems you may be at your limit already kid, your haki is potent but lacks volume. I bet you’ve already burned through your entire supply, which is a shame as that means this fight is already over” he declares as the blade is engulfed
Great Eruption!
Ventral Wall
Fishman Karate: Aqueous Barrier Jutsu
Help came with the combined efforts of Zelena and Jinbe, the water and wind defensive techniques blocking the onslaught of Lava being pumped out by the enraged Admiral
“You didn’t think I was going to just let you kill the Captain twice now did you, Sakazuki?” The currently emerald green logia snarls, looking back at the now panting naga “You didn’t need to stick around kid, especially not in that form”
“I kno…. Actually, I don’t know what I’m doing, besides Hebi sucking like a leech”
“Fair, the only weapon I can think who drains haki like her is Enma, luckily it’s only in that form so maybe using something else would help”
“Agreed” Kaos groans and with an unnerving crunch and wet fleshy sounds contorts and compresses into his hybrid and then human form, the only sign of his near death with Akainu being he was now shirtless and most of his torso was a smooth, slightly bubbling silver mass.
“You know he ain’t your captain you traitorous bitch?” Akainu sneers as he pushes against the wall “Besides, if he’s already this pitiful he won’t survive another hit from anyone, so stop delaying the inevitable. I will end this lin…”
Ordinarily, it should not have been this easy to blindside someone with the Admiral Rank, but Sakazuki had been having a very long day, his hated enemy had returned and removed his arm, the bastard was smirking at him as he stands behind stronger pirates like the worthless coward he is, and when someone is pumping out Conqueror’s Haki at the speed of the waterfalls of Wano, you tend to lose them when they switch it off.
Hence how he didn’t notice Whitebeard bearing down on him until the quake-imbued fist caught him right below his right ribs, lifting the red-suited man off his feet and sending him flying. As he rolls to a stop a taloned foot slams him deeper into the ground, a midnight black blade hovering over his heart.
Whitebeard lets Grima have a moment to play with the magma dick, calming himself for a moment to check on his newest son: Hair long and limp, panting heavily, Hebi in a spear form seeming to be the only thing keeping him standing, all in all Kaos looked like crap, but he was breathing, which is more than can be said for most people who get magma fisted by Akainu “You ok kid?”
“Just peachy old man” Kaos sighs and Whitebeard’s lip twitches, it seems he’s a sarcastic little sh*t just like his mom.
“Well even if that were true, get moving, Marco will be happy to be a hoverer if you need a guide besides Zelena to get out of this place”
Kaos waves off the phoenix just before he lands with the hand not tethered to his weapon “I’ll be fine, the girl is just as a greedy little sh*t…” he flicked the speartip “...need a minute to recharge is all”
“Kid, you nearly died, Hell we all thought you did until a moment ago. Not to mention Ace would kill us if we let his little brother die” Marco argues “Plus, if what the Fleet Admiral said was true, you’re already all our little brother if you really are Pop’s kid”
Kaos chuckles, just as Grima rises sharply to avoid another grand eruption “I think Anger Issues is back”
Whitebeard grunts “Good, I wasn’t done beating the sh*t out of him. Nobody gets to kill my family and just walk away from it”
Akainu pants heavily, he doesn’t want to admit it, but Whitebeard’s attack had definitely shattered a rib or 2 and while he’d been able to convert his body to magma to avoid most of Grima’s stabs and slashes from her sword, there were still talon marks across his chest and his suit was torn to sh*t from the Zoan’s haki imbued claws. Of course, the kick to the gut certainly didn’t help matters, and given he could see the busty bitch floating above him grinning like the unhinged psychopath she claims not to be, he knew Newgate had re-entered the fight. Rage boiling up inside he launches a magma fist straight up…. And his brain just stops when Whitebeard catches it with a blackened hand like it was nothing.
“You killed someone very close to my heart” Whitebeard growls like the tremors he caused as he lifts the magma man up by his floral pink shirt, the admiral seeing the tattoo, given Whitebeard's usual upper body attire being a Captain’s coat and nothing else “and then tried to murder my son right in front of me. I don’t know if this will kill you Sakazuki, but if it doesn’t you’re going to wish it did!” he shouts as he flings the admiral into the air, then drawing the power of his fruit into his right arm, he punches forward just as Akainu drops back down, the punch landing right in his sternum and as the air cracks the Admiral is launched like a cannonball slamming into and then through the walls of Marineford’s base, the shockwaves leaving their own trail of destruction in the process.
“Anyone ELSE want to try my patience?” Whitebeard shouts a small part of him enjoying the fact everyone still alive near him had most likely just pissed themselves at the question as well as the very thought of being his next target. This must be why Linlin and Kaido enjoy being such assholes most of the time.
“Zehahaha, well I’ll be damned, the old man’s still kicking. Glad I’m not too late, I was worried I’d miss your funeral Pops”
For once Sengoku and Kaos had the same reaction to that voice: ANGER
“Blackbeard” the fleet admiral scowls “It seems you found some new friends” he notes, referring to the group of former Level 6 pirates currently flanking the Dark Man, and the ENORMOUS being peering from behind the now destroyed HQ
“Well sh*t, I thought I kill all the useful ones before I left” Cipher groans, pinching the bridge of his nose as Helios helps him back onto their ship “Maybe I'm getting too old for this game”
“Or you’re too strong old friend” Azulong chirps “These goons weren’t deemed a threat in your eyes, so you let them live to rot in Level 6” she suggests
“Or just couldn’t be arsed killing them. Bullet is still alive, and I don’t see him up on the platform” the one-eyed pirate notes
“Shiryu what the Hell is going on? What happened over at Impel Down, I know there’s no way Magellan let you out. How did you make it to Marineford?”
Shiryu chuckles and exhales through his cigar “If I were you Fleet Admiral, I’d worry less about how we got here, and more about what we’re going to do now we are. If you want the full story, go check out Impel Down later. Oh, and in case it wasn’t obvious enough, I’ve switched sides and joined the Blackbeard pirates” the former jailer announces
“Fleet Admiral!” a marine rushes toward him “I’m sorry this didn’t reach you until now, low priority with everything else going on, but the Gates of Justice opened a 2nd time early this afternoon, and an unidentified ship passed through the gates”
“Blackbeard. So that’s how… except that doesn’t make sense, the control room is under Navy operation. Nothing else was relayed either, so how did you slip past us undetected?”
“That’s where I’ll take the credit” Laffitte says with a smirk “I hypnotised the navy soldiers in the control room when we decided to crash the party at Impel Down. Ensuring that they would open the gate to allow any Navy vessel through. Unfortunately, that also allowed a few other rouges to slip in without issue”
“So, it’s your fault Straw Hat and his allies got in” Sengoku scowls
‘That, honestly makes more sense than it should’ Buggy thinks
“And since I’m still considered a Navy ally I got in without any issues. Couple that with it letting me into Impel Down in the 1st place and being Warlord was the lynchpin to my plans Zehaha!” Blackbeard laughs “But now I have what I wanted, I’m done playing your games! Consider this my resignation”
“Let’s end this today, you worthless traitorous worm” Whitebeard scowls, charging up an attack “TEACH!!!” he bellows as the shockwave was unleashed, slamming straight into the execution platform and dumping the Blackbeard crew into the main plaza. Unfortunately, they all survived that.
“So much for old times” Blackbeard grunts as he hefts some debris off himself and stands up
“Of all the pirates who have called the Moby Dick their home, only you Teach, do I refuse to call my son. There was only ever one rule on my ship, one you broke by killing a fellow crewmate. It’s time we settle this once and for all, you’ll pay for 4th Division Commander Thatch’s death, with your life” he then turns his head, where the last of his fleeing allies were “Grima, stay out of this fight, it’s a family matter, understood?”
“You’re about to do something really stupid, so I’ll hold back but if you bit off more than your dentures can chew through I’m pulling your ass out of the fire, no arguments” the dragon lady argues, and Whitebeard knows that’s the best he was going to get from the Demon Eye Captain.
“Zehaha, what did you think I was here for?” Blackbeard asks with a chuckle as a black miasma starts to leak from his body and waft from him like a cloud, meanwhile Mirror Master reaches into his stomach and grabs the handle of his last resort. It’s then unleashed like a flood, nearly reaching Whitebeard’s ankles with the misty black haze “How do you like this Black Hole? This Devil fruit is the reason I killed Thatch, I knew I had to have it. The Yami Yami no mi’s got an indescribable taste, how about you give it a try Pops? Don’t worry there’s plenty darkness for everyone” he taunts as Whitebeard notices he’s beginning to sink, so starts charging up a quake bubble “Ah Ah Ah, don’t even try, no Devil Fruit power can stand up against me” Blackbeard laughs as he leaps forward with a blackened hazy hand
Vortex
The Whitebeard pirates watch is shock and a twinge of horror as the blackness envelops the quake bubble and shorts it out
“This Darkness of mine is pretty handy, I can nullify your fancy Devil fruit powers as easily as I did Ace’s. In other words, no more Earthquakes, not against me” Blackbeard laughs as he kicks the surprised Whitebeard in the gut, then grabbing his arm clocks him in the jaw sending him back several feet “You’re finished old man, my Darkness makes me unbeatable Zehahaha!!!”
Bang click
Bang click
Much like the Gura Gura’s quake bubbles, the Yami Yami black haze spluttered out and faded, leaving Blackbeard rolling on the ground bleeding from the gunshot wounds in his shoulders “My arms, My Arms! What did you do to me, you bastard!”
Click, click, click
Garp’s eyes widened, but it was Sengoku who voiced his thoughts “Where did that punk get a Karma?”
“Enies Lobby before you tore it down. The Armory was a lovely one-stop shop for the discerning pack rat pirate” Kaos chuckles, his cloak bubbling out of his back as he slowly approached Blackbeard “Shame it only came with 2 Seastone bullets, but given your power seems to need your hands to use properly, that was more than enough. Now stop squirming on the next rounds go in your kneecaps, followed by me going Shotgun Surgeon on your balls”
“You’d shoot a man while he’s down?” Blackbeard sneers “Kids these days, no sense of honour” he mutters, either ignoring or missing the irony of his statement
“If it’s you Teach, I’d unload a clip with a smile. But that’s not the reason I’ve come over here…”
“I told you to flee boy, we all did” Whitebeard shouts
“One moment, I have an issue that needs rectifying. You’re the reason my big brother was nearly executed, therefore you’re the reason everyone here died, you’re the reason Pops nearly died, and that I nearly died. So, I’m going to at least try my best to put you in the ground for all that sh*t. Understand?” Kaos asks as his reflect armour coats his left side, even up his neck to just below his cheekbone
“I understand you’re a dead man when my crew’s done with you” the dark man sneers, trying to back sass his way through the pain. But the pain had only just begun.
“Marshall D. Teach, or do you just go by Blackbeard these days? You thought you could kill the king just like that huh?” Kaos chuckles, flashing Teech an inhuman smile as a deep rumbling is heard around him “You seem to have missed the memo that to get the King’s Crown, you have to go through ME!”
Gura Gura Obliterate!
It was one thing to know Kaos’ Reflect Reflect fruit could mimic other Devil fruits… it was another for both marines and pirates to see the lanky purplette form an energy bubble around his clenched fist, cross his left arm over his chest, and then swing for gain, managing to lift Blackbeard very slightly off the ground even before the quake activated, cracking the air, splintering his arm and sending the dark Man flying straight sideways, only Sanquan Wolf getting smacked in the face by him stopped the man drowning in the ocean
“And. Now. I’m. Done” Kaos pants heavily, cracks spreading along his left side like he’d taken a Giant’s hammer to it, his arm completely gone but the shards circling him like a swarm of angry bees “Goodnight assholes” he grunts, before passing out, falling back only to be cushioned by a mini twister breaking his fall.
“Idiot! And I thought the rubber boy was the reckless one” Zelena scolds, slapping the unconscious teen upside the head
“Z, get him out of here, I’ll be right over” Whitebeard orders, the redhead nods and uses her power to get him back to the ship, the mirror fragments floating after him as well as many of them merging back with him as his arm starts to reform itself “Now, do any of you want to try your hand at taking me on, given what my son just did to your boss?” he threatens, flexing his arms as Grima drops down alongside him
“sh*t, without the boss we’re outmatched and outgunned” Jesus shouts
“Nya-ot what I signed up for nya” sneers Avalo Pizarro
“We may outnumber them, but if numbers were all we needed we could have taken out any of the other Emperors instead of pissing off Whitebeard” Doc Q argues
“How about we give you an express flight out of here. Newgate’s final act of mercy for fellow pirates”
“It’s only mercy if they survive”
Grima chuckles as she sheathes the Omega Yato “Fair enough. Say Bon voyage assholes! Gigigigi!”
In the spirit of “the same… but better” Whitebeard lunged forward with a quake-bubbled fist and sent forth a shockwave aimed squarely at the Blackbeard pirates, sending the entire 8-man crew flying into Wolf, probably giving the man a concussion if he were anyone else.
“We’re done here” Newgate sighs deeply as he turns, happy to see ships had arrived, as well as knowing Grima would drag him over to the Jormangandr if only to have him checked over by Marco and Grima
“Whitebeard! This isn’t over!” Sengoku bellows, having finally let go of Garp to begin marching over toward the Yonko
“It is Sengoku, and the World just got to see me win for one last time” the Crescent mustached man says with a laugh “In fact…” he hums as he leaps onto the Demon Eye’s flagship “Alistair any chance I can borrow a snail for a moment?”
“No problem Newgate my man” the deer mink says with a widening grin “All eyes are on you after all. Mushishishi. Let’s see the marines cover this sh*tshow up”
‘...I’ve also got a marine on my ass with a D. in her name, am I going to need to hold her down to ask or are you gonna tell me what it means Roger?’
‘I’m sure she’ll tell yah if you get some drinks in her, but I suppose I can spoil it for you. It’s a story that started a long time ago…..’
“Sengoku. You and the government know what’s coming, our era is drawing to a close, though things won’t end the way you hope they will. The war, which will shake the very world to its core is coming, and nothing any of us do can stop it. You tried to prevent the inevitable by nipping Roger’s legacy and bloodline at the bud, but his will exists in more than one child, you’re just too blind to see it. I’ve never really cared to claim it for myself, even when Roger offered me the keys to the kingdom, but that Treasure, it’s going to make waves even larger than I can.”
“Don’t you dare! Shut your mouth this instant Whitebeard!” Sengoku screams, realizing what Alistair meant: the Den Dens, were all still transmitting, they might even have been the entire time.
“THE ONE PIECE. THE ONE PIECE IS REAL!!!!” Whitebeard shouts with all his might, grinning even as he holds back a bloody cough ‘Is that big enough for you Roger? Those kids are going to lose their sh*t over this’
TBC
LW: And, scene. This seemed like the best place to cut it this chapter, with Whitebeard making his big declaration and giving the World Government and the marines the biggest Middle Finger he can give without being an Oars-sized giant.
See you all next month, goodbye.
Chapter 132: Alabaster Aftershock! The Retreat of a Lifetime!
Chapter Text
LW: Not much more, I promise you that much
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Alabaster Aftershock! The Retreat of a Lifetime!
Sabaody
“THE ONE PIECE IS REAL”
“Well sh*t, a declaration like that is going to rile up all the pirates in the world just like Roger did”
“Especially given the Whitebeard pirates not only survived their fight with the Marines, but… they won. They rescued Fire Fist and now they’re on the way out”
“Even Whitebeard's kid survived being impaled through the chest by Admiral Akainu, he turned into some kind of Demon to do so but he’s still breathing…probably”
“Not sure about his current status, but he did just use his old man’s quake power to take out the Renegade Warlord Blackbeard. Nobody’s going to forget that”
Marineford - Jormangandr
“Pops. I… I’m sorry, for all of this. All those people, our friends, family, and allies, all to save me. I wasn’t worth..” Ace cries then stops when the blunt end of Whitebeard’s naginata smacks him in the forehead
“Enough of this Ace. We all chose to come to save you kid, even Straw Hat and my…. And Mirror Master” Whitebeard sighs, feeling a little awkward being on this ship again, as well as still processing Sengoku’s little revelation now he had nothing else to focus on
“Is it true Pops? That Kaos is your son, by blood?” Ace asks, just as Marco lands behind his Captain, also curious about the answer
He chuckles lightly “At least you still know that you are all my sons regardless of this news. But yes, if the boy’s mother really is Serpens D. Medusa then it’s quite likely that I am his father. But given he’s already your little brother that doesn’t really change anything for you Ace, just the rest of them” he smiles, getting a nod from Marco who flies off to assist Zelena in treating his newest brother
FWOOOOOSHH
“Well sh*t, Aokiji’s taken a break from freezing his allies and has frozen the bay… again” Alistair groans “Anyone got a plan C?”
“WHITEBEARD!!!!”
“And Sengoku’s woken up from his nap, just great” Whitebeard sighs deeply “Grima, We’re going to need fire, any chance you can get us out of here while I distract the Golden dumbbell?” he asks, preparing to jump back to the plaza as the now full power Sengoku begins stomping over to them
The dragon lady nods though grimaces “Only side effect of staying in the bay, we still have to force out way OUT of the damn place” she mutters then looks up “Keep the Iceman off my ass and I’ll get us out of here in no time”
“Got it Boss” Apep calls from the Crow’s nest, searching for the missing Admiral
“And Newgate, don’t die on me, or I’m resurrecting you just to kick your ass”
“Got it Dragon Lady” Whitebeard chuckles before leaping off the front of the ship “You want some Sengoku? Well lucky for you I still have some fight in me after all!”
Elsewhere on the pier
“We’re almost there Luffy, once we get to a ship we’ll get you right as rain” Jinbe assures the either passed-out or catatonic rubber boy as he rushes with many other pirates for the navy ships outside
‘That poor boy is past his limit, physically and with Kaos basically dying in front of him, mentally and emotionally too’ Iva thinks, biting his lip as he runs alongside the fishman ‘When he comes too I’ll tell him everyone’s ok, that should raise his spirits and keep him motivated to sit still during healing so he can join them’ the okama queen decides
“Good thing we chose to go around, given the bay just got flash frozen” Inazuma notes, keeping pace with the 2
“Indeed, wonder how Whitebeard will get out of this one…”
Dragon Breath: Hellblaze
“Holy sh*t she really is a dragon!”
“She ate the Drago Drago no mi, how are you even surprised”
“Captain Buggy could still beat her”
“NO I BLOODY WELL COULDN’T! STOP TRYING TO GET ME KILLED YOU ASSHOLES!!!”
“Is Straw boy going to be ok Iva?” Bon Kuri asks after catching up with the trio
“I believe they will, provided his heart doesn’t give out on us, the lad just needs a LOT of bedrest and relaxation” Iva assures the dancer…. Just before an admiral drops on their heads
“Howdi dodi” Kizaru waves slowly
‘sh*t it’s the crazy one’
“Not again. Everyone scatter!” a random pirate shouts/orders
Kizaru pouts “Oh don’t be like that” he hums as something moves beneath his skin “We were just getting to the fun part” the Admiral’s body erupts into light, iridescent wings extend and exit it, followed by a large sinewy body and narrow hindlimbs
“What the Hell is that?” Bon screams
“My lovely familiar, Sandira. Kill them quickly precious” he commands with a clap as a rainbow flare of energy builds in the wyvern’s mouth
Lockdown
Only for it to be blocked by the gold-tinged pyramid enveloping man and dragon
“Sorry I’m late, you wouldn’t believe the traffic. The kid still breathing?” Cipher asks “Hey Kizaru, nice pet”
“§I WILL REARRANGE YOUR ORGANS!!!§” Sandira shrieks
“Calm down my dear, he has no grand plans for us. Besides, he has bigger things to worry about” Kizaru says, sounding sane for a change
“What’s that supposed to.. Gah!”
Bang Bang Bang
“Kill the pirates!”
“Shot in the back is the death they deserve!”
“No mercy for those who defy Justice!”
“See what I mean dear” the Admiral chuckles as with his focus lost, the construct shatters “They have bigger things to worry about than keeping me contained”
Respira
As the black fog forms the Wyvern shrieks and with a heavy wingbeat clears the air for a moment before lifting itself and Kizaru into the air
“You really had to ruin my fun Helios”
“Sorry not sorry Spotlight” she wheezes, giving a grin with needle-like teeth “But you were in our way. You still kicking Cipher?” she calls out to the blond
“Cowardly bastards, let’s see you deal with this. Hydraulic Inversion!” Cipher growls as a pyramid forms around the marines who immediately begin screaming
“Damn it Cipher what did you do this time?” Apep groans as she calls from one of Alistair’s Den Den’s
“Hey, all I did was change the pH of water” the blond cyclops shrugs
“To what, bear in mind the normal level is 7?” Grima asks, knowing the idiot would go overboard, as usual, 20 years in Impel Down wouldn’t have stopped that
“1”
“Motherf*cker!” For once everyone was of the same thought
“And with that the old ‘What the f*ck Cipher?’ tallie has returned, where is it now? Huh 391… that’s actually lower than I remembered it to be” Alistair muses
Fwoosh
“Hey, over here! Yes here, in the sea!” the pirates and candies turn to see a yellow submarine now parked outside Marineford, which was weird but what was truly noteworthy, was that it had a Jolly Roger painted on the side of it “Hand over Straw Hat”
“And why would we do that hm?” Bonclay asks
“Because the boy will most likely die without my help”
“Oh, very ominous, can you back that up?” Iva asks
“Not really, we lost reception when the Polar Tang dived” the polar bear mink replies
“Don’t ask how the Visual Den Den loses signal when we dive” Law sighs “Anyway, we saw the 1st half, and heard the rest, so we know Straw Hat is in a bad way. As a Doctor, even if he’s my rival for the prize, I have to help him in whatever ways I can. Because I want to see if the man I glimpsed in Sabaody, can actually find the One Piece”
“I like the boy, and if he is as good a doctor as he believes, well Straw Hat needs all the help he can get” Iva nods and leaps over after taking Luffy back from Jinbe “Here he is, please be gentle”
“Where’s the other one?” Jonbart asks curiously
“With Marco and Zelena. He’s in good hands, just focus on Straw Boy for now” Iva answers
“You got it. Bepo, take him inside, we dive in a minute and I’ll begin work on him once we’re at a safe depth” Law orders
Over the other side of the battlefield
Impact Wave
Tremor Pulse
“You’ve got a lot more fight still in you than I expected” Sengoku grimaces as his shockwave attack was once more countered by Whitebeard’s quake punches
“I’ve got a lot to live for, rubbing your noses in it is just a bonus really” Whitebeard chuckles before spinning Murikurogiri over his head and unleashing a long-range shockwave of his own, tearing up the ground and pushing back the Buddha
‘He’s not going to listen Luffy, he’s finally realized why he’s all alone up here, because Justice was all he cared about, it’s all he has, so he’ll rather let his so-called family die than admit he f*cked up’
Garp stood in the crater Sengoku had slammed him into, those words running through his head. Did they really think that? He just wanted his grandsons to be great marines, standing for what’s right like he knew they could, how could that boy think he didn’t care about them?
‘Well, you did tell them the only way they were rescuing their brother was over your dead body, so yeah’ a traitorous part of his brain, which sounded a lot like Medusa today reminded him, and good God he screwed up there, the woman would kick the sh*t out of him if she had been here to see him do that. Even though she brought in her own sister, it was for being a High ranked member of the Beast Pirates, she’d have never gone along with Sengoku’s plans to kill Ace simply for being Roger’s son [Though that may also have been because that would mean her own child would be next, given who his father was], Hell she might have just beat the crap out of him for even suggesting it. Execute him for being a pirate? Go for it! Execute him for having the wrong father… he could see Kuja rage leading to Sengoku getting drop-kicked out the window of his own office.
“This just isn’t my day” he sighs, then his pity party ends when he catches something out the corner of his eye ‘sh*t! Koby!’ he thinks seeing the boy having a nervous breakdown and leaping toward him. He liked the kid, a good worker, with a good head on his shoulders and a moral heart, and he actually wanted to be a marine. Though he refuses to say it out loud just yet, he was starting to grow fond of the pink-haired weakling [Well, weakling compared to the rest of his family] like an honorary Grandson, he was everything he wanted Luffy to be, just not as strong due to having a lot less time to work on him. He should have said something but Koby was so eager to please, he was always going to end up out here on the front line.
‘This isn’t right’ Tashigi grimaces as the marines advance ‘It’s not even about Justice anymore, not really. The pirates aren’t even trying to fight us besides firing back when attacked, they’re leaving us alone now they have Ace, it’s our side who’s prolonging this attack, who are more than happy to shoot someone in the back, or one who’s defenseless, it makes me sick!’
“They’ve all gone mad” Smoker growls as he reforms following a barrage of gunfire from a retreating squad of New World Pirates “They know they can’t turn the tide of this battle, can’t kill Straw Hat, Mirror Master or Fire Fist, so they’re just killing any pirates they can. It’s disgusting, it spits upon the Navy’s good name, and worst, it’s being broadcast all over the damn world”
“I think that’s enough, don’t you Edward?” Whitebeard pauses his next attack, surprised to hear that voice so soon after their last talk
“Red-Haired Shanks!” Sengoku shouts ‘Crap, Whitebeard was bad enough, but if the Yonko are teaming up…’
“This War, is over”
“What! You think you can just stroll into Marineford and declare we’re done and be listened to? That’s preposterous!”
Shanks chuckles “Probably, but it’s also accurate. Nobody else needs to die today, we can all walk away from this battle, those of us who still can walk at least”
‘Shanks… the bastard who sold Luffy the lie that Pirates are anything more than scum’
“Oh come on! I had enough sh*t to deal with today I don’t need you adding to it!” Buggy screams when he finally recognizes the redhead standing behind Whitebeard “Also thanks for showing up after we’ve done all the dangerous stuff, real big help you were” he grumbles
“Nice to see you again too Buggy, been almost 20 years but you’re as energetic as ever” the 4th Yonko chuckles
“Red Haired Shanks”
“Not just him the Entire Crew are here!”
“That’s not possible, the reports said he was fighting Kaido just a few days ago, he couldn’t have beaten him that quickly”
“It’s Kaido, he shouldn’t have been able to beat him in the first place”
Wano
“He didn’t beat me. He just made a good point that going to fight Whitebeard while he’s in that much of a mood over his kid getting captured wouldn’t be good for my health” Kaido huffs, while Yamato and Ulti giggle and Jin rolls her eyes
Marineford
“Hey Shanks” the Captain turns behind him to see it was Lucky Roo who called out to him “You know, you could at least say hello to those kids while we’re here. It’s been about 10 years since we last saw them”
Shanks chuckles “Really, it’s been that long already? While it would be nice to see those boys… it’s still too soon, and I wouldn’t want to be the reason Luffy broke his promise to me, that would just be rude. Kaos, I doubt he’s conscious either given his performance, speaking of, you got a good kid their Newgate, cherish him, as much as all the other lost boys you’ve welcomed into your heart”
Whitebeard scoffs “I don’t need you telling me sh*t I already know brat.
“Don’t just stand there, take out that sub and either capture or eliminate Straw Hat!” Sengoku shouts, seeing a lul in the battle
Ice Age
“Target acquired, launching suppressing fire!” Apep relays before beginning to unload on Aokiji, the Admiral having to stop his attempt at entrapping the Polar Tang once he realized the bullets were haki infused and therefore needed to actually dodge them
“If you want something done you have to do it yourself” Kizaru chuckles, before zipping into the sky as light and crossing his arms to charge one of his biggest attacks
Yasakani Sacred Jewels
Much like last time the Admiral unleashes a scattershot barrage of light beams, though unlike previously there was no Marco to block the shots and the attack destroyed the ice Aokiji formed, and only a mix of skill, luck, and the depth the Polar Tang had already dove by this point that he failed to land a direct or even severe hit on the sub.
“Well, they’re either dead, or the universe is trying to tell us something” Kizaru hums and he drops down onto a ship mast to survey his work
“§That your aim sucks§?”
“Well that, and that Straw Hat just isn’t meant to die today” he shrugs “Guess we’ll just have to try again tomorrow, and every day after that until we kill him”
Meanwhile
“Listen here you chilled-out, red-haired bastard, you think you can miss all the action then stroll in here and be the BIG HERO huh? Not today you hear me!” Buggy yells flailing around angrily as his disembodied arms tug at Shank’s cape
“I’m glad to see you’re still in good health, hadn’t heard much in a while and was worried another old friend had bit the dust” Shanks chuckles, grinning widely while Buggy continued to fret and flail
“Oh no you don’t I’m not falling for a ‘glad you’re still in good health’ I’ve not forgiven what you did, and won’t ever do so!”
Shanks blinked “What did I do?”
Buggy steams “Don’t play dumb with me you prick, if you hadn’t snuck up on me that night I’d have never eaten that Devil fruit and lost the treasure map. In other words, I’d have my greatest dream fulfilled, rather than on the run from the navy” the man grouses
“Oh, is that all”
“Curse you and your hip cool attitude Shanks, even after all this time you’re an unrivaled prodigy when it comes to pissing me off! Straw Hat isn’t even a blip on my rader compared to you. You’ve been here what 5 minutes and already I’m sick of you, you’re here to end the war? Well you’re about to start a new one with me!”
“He’s talking to THE Shanks like they were friends or something”
“Well, they were both on Roger’s ship when they were kids”
“Captain Buggy’s greatness knows no bounds, even the Emporers fell his power”
“I did miss you though, I’m being honest about that much” Shanks smiles then turns to walk away, back over to Whitebeard
“Yeah right” Buggy grumbles, before realizing his best chance of surviving this fiasco, was to hitch a ride from Shanks.
‘Whelp, I’m out of here’
“Hawkeye, where do you think you’re going?” a marine asks as the swordsman turns to leave
“I was told to come here and fight Whitebeard and his crew, and while it’s been fun, I’m not going to fight Red Hair, and neither should you. You lost, don’t humiliate yourselves even more by trying to take on 2 at once” Mihawk responds, the continues walking to his coffin ship
“Your thirst for battle is your undoing, every blow dealt to your enemies, you land upon your own men” Shanks states, now standing between Whitebeard, Sengoku, and Garp “Through if your hunger for battle is outweighing your sense of reason, then we, will be happy to knock you back to your senses.” he declares, unsheathing Gryffin, the rest of his crew appearing right behind him, just as ready for battle
Whitebeard sighs deeply “I got what I came for, Ace is safe. I was just trying to keep the navy off our backs while Grima melted the ice. I have no problem leaving in peace Shanks, nobody else has to die here”
Sengoku snarls as he reverts back to his human form, he wasn’t dumb enough to try take on Shanks right after his fight with Whitebeard
“Accept your losses, honor the fallen, and withdraw, with your dignity intact” Shanks declares, silence filling the battlefield before people began to quietly search for any wounded or dying on their side, as well as recover any bodies for proper burials later, all under the Yonko’s steely gaze
‘This isn’t over Shanks’ Garp thinks with a tight jaw as he lifts Koby from Helmeppo’s arms, the kid needs rest and somewhere to get his thoughts straight once more, somewhere free from the bloodshed of today
Sabaody
“I, I think it’s over” one reporter says quietly, but given the relative silence out near the viewscreens, everyone heard him, and agreed. The War of the Best was over…. And the pirates, were victorious
“That’s all folks, I bid you adieu” Came Alistair’s last words, before every Den Den in Marineford shut off, the screens fading to black
???
Beep, beep, beep, beep
“You don’t get to die on me, not today, you got that?”
TBC
LW: AND…. scene. Marineford is mostly over, yay?
Also, RKMM’s 5 year anniversary, is next Tuesday, so I thank everyone who’s been here that long, and hope both them and the ones who have joined since then are still around in another 5 years. Here’s hoping :P
Goodnight.
Chapter 133: Double-Sided Impact! Of Victors and The Losers!
Chapter Text
LW: The war is over, now the aftermath begins. Oh boy, I kicked canon in the balls now to see if I can save anything XP
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Double-Sided Impact! Of Victors and The Losers!
Waters outside Marineford - Supernovas
“Captain Drake Sir, the battle is over. The Whitebeard pirates won”
The Zoan suppresses a scowl, though he supposed stopping the marines from executing someone simply for being born was worth a pirate victory “Both sides took some heavy blows though, both leaving this fight weaker than when they arrived, the navy just more so”
“He’s bought himself a little time” Bege hums around his cigar “But those f*ckers have made the God Emporer bleed, pirates will be sniffing around his territory looking for weak spots to exploit. Things are about to get very messy in the next few months, especially in the New World”
“Blackbeard had balls rocking up to Whitebeard like that, even if the man was weakened from fighting a War at the time” Urouge chuckles “But he, like everyone else, didn’t factor all of Whitebeard’s sons into the equation, especially not the youngest one. Straw Hat’s 1st mate, a Supernova like myself, and 2 Devil fruits… he’s one to watch out for, especially given he sent Blackbeard flying, and his Pops made sure the others followed suit”
“What is he planning?”
“Something wrong Boss?”
“Trafalgar Law is no friend of Straw Hat’s” Appo explains “So, why is he helping the kid now? Why not just leave him to be healed up by the Whitebeard crew? Why leave with him and Ivankov?”
“This is, irritating” Basil sighs “I’m trying to determine if Straw Hat or Mirror Master survived this battle, but the cards, they’re not telling me anything. Those D’s are always trouble, but this is new even for me”
“Well I’ll be damned” Kid grins widely “Didn’t think the old bastard still had it in him, but Whitebeard can still fight like a real pirate. And Straw Hat and Mirror Master, they’re stronger than I expected, still got their asses kicked a fair few times, but they survived, heralds of a New Era”
Marine HQ - a few hours later
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE’S STILL ALIVE?”
“Exactly that, and that certain details were omitted or fabricated from the official reports by order of the higher-ups” Sengoku explains
Garp scowls, muttering ‘f*cking Gorosei’ under his breath then sighs “You knew, you’ve always known, but only now do you say anything. So why now, and why me?”
“Honestly I thought you deserved to know, and that you wouldn’t spread it around just to spite me as someone else would, and I’m telling you now while I still have the authority to share these secrets” Garp looks at him confused “That fiasco in Marineford, I took full responsibility for the fallout, as well as both of the Impel Down breakouts that occurred the other day”
“Right, Luffy, and Blackbeard, talk about a sh*tty time of it” Garp sighs deeply “Please tell me you’ve at least put out an alert to all bases, Cipher and Blackbeard’s goons can’t have been the only ones to get out in the chaos”
Sengoku slams his fist into his desk “You think I don’t know that? If I could, I’d have every unaccounted-for prisoner’s name and face plastered from sea to sea…. But just like with HER, the World Government has other plans, in this case keeping things real quiet so we don’t lose face even more than our crushing defeat at Whitebeard’s hands. Like it won’t look bad when these criminals start wreaking havoc on the world and people want to know why they weren’t told sooner!”
“So you’re f*cked either way, I can see why you’re not so torn up about getting canned” Garp notes “Not that they’ll let you just leave, sets a bad example, just like if I were to just up and retire. We’re stuck here for life, we just don’t know what they’re gonna do with us”
“I always hate it when you’re right Garp, now more than ever”
Medical Ward
“He’s lucky to be alive with all the damage that has been done to him” the nurse explains to Aokiji “While cauterizing the wound prevented him from bleeding out after the amputation, the nature of said treatment means there is little chance of a good prosthetic fitting to him, even less so one that could withstand his Devil fruit’s power”
The ice man nods, magma wasn’t exactly something that could be worked with easily or willingly “What else, I doubt he’d be on the brink of death with only a missing arm”
“He’s not it’s just the most notable. As you would expect from fighting Whitebeard most of his wounds were blunt force and pressure based, which did a lot of critical damage to his skeletal structure, he has not less than 20 rib fractures, several damaged vertebrae, shattered collarbones, and a cracked femur, as well as a number of hairline fractures to various other bones, including his skull”
Kuzan grimaces “Will he make it?”
“It’s possible, but far from likely, Admiral Akainu will need a lot of luck if he’s going to pull through, but he could make a more or less full recovery if the fates align”
“Meaning keeping Borsalino away from him” the admiral sighs, only half joking
“Preferably so. Revenge for a family member is a common reason people are recruited into the marines, so while we don’t want him to we’d understand if he did. Plus it’s who Akainu killed, he’s lost a lot of respect amongst the lower ranks for this, admitting to killing ‘Guardian Serpent’ Medusa, that’s just below stabbing Garp the Hero in the gut in their eyes”
“Yeah, not one of his best moves” Kuzan sighs deeply “Sengoku is going to be pretty busy in the coming weeks, so keep me up to date on Sakazuki’s condition ok?”
“Yes Admiral Aokiji” the nurse nods as the man leaves, knowing that even if Whitebeard, Ace, and the others were pirates, his colleague brought this on himself, though he still hoped he’d pull through, they’ll need an attack dog like him if the pirates get as co*cky as he expects they will after such a public victory
???
Kaos awoke with a wheeze followed by a heavy cough, his eyes slowly focusing on the wooden ceiling above him, meanwhile, besides the fact he was able to see this time he felt like Deja vu from when they fought Eneru, as this place just ‘felt’ like a medical ward.
“Good, you’re awake. Don’t try to get up, Marco will have your kneecaps if you strain anything before he can give you a final check” Kaos turns his head and see’s Whitebeard on the other side of the room, hooked up to various medical equipment and looking worn beyond his years, well besides the almost giddy grin plastered across his face “Also, he did some blood tests while you were out, you’re definitely my son, my only son by blood, which I never expected to ever see happen”
“It was news to me too Pops, otherwise I’d probably have had Ace call you when we ran into him at Alabasta, something simple like “I made it Dad, sorry I’m going to help my captain become the king over my father” you know, something heartfelt and dumb” Kaos says trying to offset his nerves, and most likely failing to do so “But, given I only learned about Mom a couple of months ago, it doesn’t surprise me that Garp never told me about you”
“I could tell you about her if you want, as well as fill each other in on what we’ve missed out on since your birth” Whitebeard offers, curious about the boy in front of him
“I can skip the boring stuff and tell you I’m already following in your footsteps, finding a lost child and adopting her, even before sleeping with her mom” Kaos says with a half smile “Didn’t think the son who made you a grandfather, would be your youngest did you?”
“Gurarara, no kid, I did not. You better be treating them both right though”
“Artemis seems pretty happy to have me as a dad, like I bet most of your sons think of you, it helps that I helped save her mom before she joined the crew. Robin, she’s lovely and has a part of my heart. Hanco*ck was a surprise, but it feels like I’ve known her a lot longer than a week, the affection and familiarity are soothing”
Whitebeard smirks “Even as a boy, you’re a Kuja at heart just like your mother. You fall hard and fast, then you cling to them with force rivaling a constrictor’s death grip. Hanco*ck understands, she feels it too, and I hope Nico Robin at least understands and has begun to accept it”
Kaos sighs “I hope so, I also hope she’s still alive, Artemis still needs her Mom, even if your kids all survived just fine without one, myself and Ace not included as Dadan is the person we think of when we think ‘mom’, but Artemis, all she had was Robin until I showed up, so she needs her to come back”
“Ah good you’re awake, save me having to start poking you, or better yet have Ace do it” Marco says as he enters the room “How you feeling little bro?” he says with a teasing wink
“Better than my last medical visit, but that might be the lack of being impaled through the eyesocket, so anything is better than that” Kaos shrugs, glad to be allowed to sit up even if the Pheonix's thousand-yard stare was oddly familiar
“I, really don’t want to know your medical history do I?” the blond sighs, getting a chuckle from Whitebeard and a tired nod from Zelena who had followed him in alongside Ace
“You just can’t help yourself kid, I thought Luffy was the stupid one” the redhead groans
“Kaos, I’m glad to see you’re ok” Ace grins, which Kaos returns until he’s punched in the jaw
“ACE!” Both medics scream while Kaos’ eyebrows raise, and he spits blood in the fireman’s face
“I saw that coming, more or less. But like we already said, Luffy and I don’t care that you hate us, as long as you’re alive to do it” he states coldly
“You idiot. I don’t hate either of you, but that caring goes both ways damn it! I’d rather die than watch my brothers fall, and it’s my job to protect you two idiots as the older sibling. I, we already lost Sabo, I can’t lose either or worse both of you too” Ace explains, eyes misting over with tears
“And you think we would fair any better? Seriously Ace, you just said this was a two-way street, we couldn’t just sit on our asses and let them execute you, even over in Amazon Lily” Kaos growls, the flame logia finally noticing the slitted snake-like pupils in his brother’s eyes
SLAM
Then the arguing pair of brothers and their audience heard a loud slam sound coming from the door and turned their heads towards the source of the sound
“I now grace you with my prescience, be amazed but know you are unworthy” Hanco*ck announces as she kicks the door open, Kaos chuckling to himself while
Whitebeard rolls his eyes
“Don’t worry yourself kid, I’ve had one love in my life and you’re much too young for me. The only reason you’d be appearing in my dreams is holding a small purple-haired kid up to me and saying ‘Say hello to Grandpa Newgate baby’ or something equally sappy” the Yonko grunts, surprised but also amused when the woman’s face turns a deep red
“Babies, Kaos, Grandchild, pregnant, Beloved, sex…. Oh dear” she squeaks before fainting, Zelena managing to catch her the same way she caught Kaos, and noticed despite being unconscious there was a cute smile on her face as she was moved to the empty bed
“Huh, that’s new” Kaos smirks, before noticing Ace staring at him with a look of shock “Yes?”
“You said Artemis wasn’t Hanco*ck’s kid”
“She isn’t, technically at least. At best she’s a potential future stepmom, Artemis’ real mom and first adopted one because none of us knew sh*t about her origins until Enise Lobby, is Nico Robin”
“The Devil’s Child, the Last Oharan” Marco notes “Interesting choice little bro, hope she’s as pretty as Olvia was the couple times the Oharans crossed paths with the Whitebeard pirates” the Pheonix winks
“I’ll wager she’s even better, but I’m biased and never met her mother, just Robin and her daughter” Kaos shrugs “Though if it helps Ace, even Artemis thought there were a fair few similarities between Hanco*ck and Robin, besides a sharp tongue and mind as well as massive breasts”
“And the issue with Boa and yourself?”
“Robin and I are committed but polyamorous, which I learned on Amazon Lily, is pretty common amongst the Kuja. I’m also the source of Hanco*ck’s Lovesickness so it made sense she would join us. Robin and I would have discussed things, were she contactable and confirmed to be alive, so I’ll tell her when we find her, and hopefully, that will be ok”
“Lovesickness?” Ace repeats, mostly in confusion
“Medically sound, somehow, but still bullsh*t Kuja soulmate stuff” Marco explains “Potentially fatal in some cases, only one I know who survived it was Shakuyaku, but that’s not really important right now”
“The current empress is definitely a strange one, switching from Succubus to blushing maiden at the snap of her fingers” Zelena chuckles
“In her defense, she’s only had sex once, and like most Kuja forgot that babies come from pregnancy and therefore sex, and then her brain kind of seized up”
“Pops! One of our allies is calling you on the Den Den” Izo shouts as he bursts into the medical ward
“Great, what happened now?” Whitebeard sighs and accepts the speaker “Yes?”
“Hello Newgate”
“sh*t, what do you want Shaula?”
“That’s just rude, you’re my favorite brother-in-law. Now any chance you can get these assholes to calm down and give me a ride?” Shaula asks, a pained grunt heard in the background
“Do we even want to know what that was?” Kaos sighs deeply
“Unclench your butt kiddo, Spiderboy is unconscious, not dead, though you and Grima did try pretty hard to kill the little sh*t Kyukyukyu. Seriously though, all I want is safe passage to the New World, I can make my way from there, I just need to get under the Red Line”
Whitebeard stared at the snail, hoping she could feel his disappointment and annoyance through the animal, before nodding “Fine. To whoever is still conscious on Squard’s crew, take Serpens Shaula to the New World and drop her off on the 1st inhabited island you find, doesn’t have to be one of mine, just has to be in the New World, understood?”
“Yes Pops!” was chorused through the snail, before it went back to sleep
“That woman, even now she’s a headache”
“You have a lot of dealings with her?” Kaos asked curiously
“Not many but a handful. The Beast Pirates were tough fighters, always have been and much like Roger, they loved to party too. We’d all brawl from time to time back in the day, then spend the rest of the week drinking and nursing hangovers. Good times” Whitebeard chuckles, then sighs realizing how long it’s been since any of those things had happened, over 20 years at this point.
Law’s Sub - ???
Things were… not looking good for Luffy. Law and Iva had gotten him into a stable condition, but pushing himself to his limit and then rushing past it multiple times in a row in the same day meant the kid was basically in a coma right now.
Luckily Hanco*ck, after regaining consciousness called the Polar Tang with some help from Alistar, directing them to head to Amazon Lily, possibly the safest place on the Paradice side of the Grand Line for him to recover at. As well as forewarning her sisters that they would be having ‘guests’, meaning don’t kill the menfolk unless they do something stupid besides stepping foot on the island.
Upon returning Artemis latched onto Kaos in seconds, refusing to part with him for any but one reason: when she threw herself at Hanco*ck, headbutting the Snake Princess in the boobs in the process, and while crying, thanked her for returning with her Papa, and this time, Hanco*ck allowed and accepted her hug, she was her mate’s offspring, albeit indirectly, and she would have made a strong and beautiful Kuja had she come here sooner.
Now though, Kaos sat waiting alongside Ace, both worried for their brother and unlike Law, neither could do anything to assist. It was honestly lucky Hanco*ck was too enamored over having ‘another’ little brother (TO Ace’s embarrassment and the 3 Kuja’s amusem*nt) that he was even allowed on the island as at least Kaos was of Kuja blood and thanks to the attempted execution had proven himself in the arena… plus a few of the Kuja pirates jokingly called him Hanco*ck’s boy toy, meaning if she wanted to keep him around they weren’t going to kick up a fuss.
This downtime did allow him to try out something that was stuck in his brain though, involving the Mero Mero no mi
“You didn’t have to be all mysterious in order to get me alone” Hanco*ck smiles, though her cheeks were a light pink
“It is when I want to do things that might annoy your subjects, your sisters, or my brother” Kaos grins, though his nerves meant it didn’t quite meet his eyes
“I put myself in your care, whatever you desire I will attempt to achieve or comply” Hanco*ck purrs, winking, and then squeaks when hands just above her hips raise her the additional few feet for both to be eye-level “Was this important?”
“Depends on how you want to be kissed” Kaos replies, just before Hanco*ck takes initiative and leans forward, their lips meet and soon part, his serpentine tongue entwining with her human one, an unseen pink mist passing from him to her as they made out
Shinoseppun: Sekka [Kiss of Death: Petrification]
As he opens his eyes he’s met with half-lidded marble eyes, the lower half of heart-shaped pupils, and to his future amusem*nt Boa Hanco*ck herself with her face frozen into what would be best described as an ahegao, her tongue extending beyond her plump lips. Kissing her forehead he shuffles them both as gently as he could moving Hanco*ck into a proper embrace before muttering ‘Mezameyo’ into her scalp, the petrification fading from her in a ripple, before her change in position registered in her mind
“What the f*ck? I was enjoying that” Hanco*ck whines, less the regal snake princess, less the seductive Pirate Empress, but more a pouting teenager
“I’m sure you were, as was I, but I was also curious about your abilities, and decided the best person to test it with, was a woman I loved”
Hanco*ck blinks and blushes deep red “Kill with a kiss, you are a Kuja at your core, my love. Though, maybe stick to just normal kisses when it’s just us. I’d be more than happy to take some time to play with our powers another time, right now… your empress demands that you kiss her again!”
“And if the Empress wishes it, I aim to please” Kaos grins, as Hanco*ck wraps her arms around his neck
Side Bay of Amazon Lily
Honestly, besides drop-kicking Bitchface off a cliff for being herself (aka a massive c*nt) around the Heart pirates,it was a very quiet 2 weeks of waiting for essentially nothing. The Heart pirates were nice people and while a little aloof, it was clear Law was a decent guy under his cool dude airs. Also, while only here for the 1st day, Artemis got to meet her grandfather, and boy could that have gone south very quickly
Besides everyone bricking it when Whitebeard stepped onto the island (Even Nyon didn’t tell him to leave) Artemis clung to Kaos like a life preserver…. Until a large hand gently ruffled her hair and she looked up at a smile she recognized. It was then things clicked in her brain, this towering behemoth of a man, who was able to shut up Granny Nyon and Kikyo just by his prescience, a freaking Yonko, was her Papa’s dad, that it was his smile projected from an older, more chiseled and weather-beaten face “Are, you my grandfather?”
“I believe I am kiddo. Your Papa made quite the impression on me, showed up out of the blue and essentially went “Sorry I’m late Pops, but I brought a small child with me and even pre-adopted her” as if I needed that to know he was mine” Whitebeard laughs and Artemis grins
“You did require a blood test though” the blond pineapple man mutters
“Like I was going to trust anything the Marines told me without checking myself. Besides, you know the entire crew are my sons, so if Kaos wasn’t one at the time, he would be by week’s end”
BANG CRASH KABLAM
Memorylane was interrupted by the sheer volume of insanity pouring out of the Polar Tang, cueing Kaos and Ace that Luffy might finally be awake and that something very stupid may have just happened, as was usual for their little brother. They didn’t have to wait long as the rubber boy smashed his way out of the roof of the sub and crash-landed on the island several feet from the assembled pirates and Kuja.
“Ace. Kaos. Where are they?” Luffy wheezes, clearly out of it and far from fully healed, the boy was conscious, but in all honesty, he really shouldn’t be right now
“Luffy, we’re right here, please calm down, you need to rest” Ace says as he slowly approaches the near mummified level of bandaged teen, trying not to spook someone he had a bad feeling was delusional or at least not firing on all cylinders at the moment. Probably a good idea as an arm wraps around his waist and yanks him over before he could phase out of the way with his Devil Fruit
“ACE!!!!” Luffy screams in his face before pulling the older boy into a crushing hug “I missed you so much, I’m glad you’re alive please don’t scare me like that again” Luffy cries, latching on as if Ace would disappear if he even loosened his grip never mind actually let go
“He’s doing better than I expected, and it was a good idea for you 2 to camp out so close to the sub” Law comments/ approves “Who knows what kind of damage Luffy could have done to himself had he rushed off looking for you two, he may have even reopened his wounds from the battle and bled out in the forest”
“Yes, that does sound like Luffy, unfortunately” Kaos sighs before making his own way to his remaining brothers, his now larger size meaning he was able to easily pull both of them into a hug “We’re ok Luffy, we all survived. Ace, me, Hanco*ck, Shaula, and even Pops. We’re alive, but we want you to slow down and get better”
“Easy for you to say, you nearly died out there” Luffy frowns, as he tilts his head to look at his 1st mate “What the Hell were you thinking?” he asks, his voice a hoarse painful wheezing sound
“The same as Ace most likely, that I didn’t want to let my little brother die if I could do anything to stop it. What I could do was use my fruits in tandem, making a hole to stop the worst of the damage, and then when the heat got too much shattering and using the ungodly stamina and regeneration of a mythical zoan to put myself back together, even if it was in my Full Zoan form” Kaos explains, before releasing both of them and Luffy slumps against Ace, the adrenaline had left his body now he could see and feel that his brothers were not only still alive, but right here with him.
“Is Luffy ok? I ran here as soon as I heard!” Hanco*ck appears at the edge of the forest, panting heavily
“I told you NYOT to do this Snake Princess! Stop bending the rules for these men, our traditions are not something you can just trample on when you feel like it” Nyon bitches as she runs after the Pirate Empress
“Oh f*ck you granny she’s the Queen of this place not you. Be a buzzkill somewhere else” Kaos scowls
“No, I will nyot be spoken to like that, especially by a man!”
“ENOUGH!!!” Kaos shouts, and while he haki was still just out of conscious reach, the immediate area instead was plunged into a chill of death and despair, his eyes blazing in rage
“Kaos”
“Papa”
A low hiss like a leaking pipe fills the air before the pressure and chills faded and Kaos sighs deeply “That new” he mutters then returns his focus to Gloriosa “Get the f*ck out of here you old crone or stay I’ll just move Luffy to my quarters” he frowns before lifting Luffy from Ace’s arms and walking into the forest, the Fire logia rushing after him
“Where does he think he’s going, there is no place for him on this island” Nyon scoffs, spine realigned now he was gone
“Actually he does. Shaula made sure to jump ship the first chance she got, so should be in the New World by now, meaning Kaos is the only one legally allowed in the Serpens family compound, besides Arachne. And if she decides to kick them out I already offered a room to my beloved and his family, technically a wing of the palace but semantics” Hanco*ck responds
“WHAT? You go too far princess, you can’t just trample on tradition and expect everyone to follow”
“I can and I will, and who are you to defy my authority you old crone, your days as empress are long gone, you have no power in this land anymore, nor will you ever again. The people will follow me because I am beautiful, and I am beautiful because I am strong” Hanco*ck responds
“You’re a very angry old lady” Nyon turns to see the person who just spoke to her was a blank-faced Artemis “Have you ever tried, not being a bitch, or is it the default state of Empresses?” she wonders aloud, then runs off to find her father and uncles while the old Kuja was left speechless, and now on her own at the edge of the forest.
TBC
LW: 1st chapter of Post War… and I’m already about to sideline it for the flashback arc. At least the side-story story block will start strong.
Stupid question, but with Hanco*ck being the Empress, and while her predecessor her actual authority is ‘that creepy old hermit’ why does Nyon/Gloriosa get to decide who comes and goes from Amazon Lily in the canon chapters/episodes?
Also poor Bepo, he has to go into the New World to find girl bears, all the way back to Zou with him! :P
Chapter 134: Flashback Arc: Ace and Sabo
Chapter Text
LW: Now, these chapters have been previously uploaded, to my side stories story “Drop in the Ocean” but on the advice of what is basically my beta-reader and collab guy, he suggested I upload the entire flashback arc to the main story too, now that it’s complete, especially given the end of the arc, takes place back in the main series aka this one. For those of you who didn’t know about the side series… enjoy!
Rubber King & Mirror Master - Flashback Arc: Ace & Sabo
Mt Corvo/Colubo - Dawn Island
“What’s wrong with being King of the Pirates Grandpa? Pirates are cool!” Luffy whines as he’s dragged up the mountain by the side of his face
“AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I CARE?” Garp bellows, reminding the entire mountain the man has no inside voice
“The fact you punched him through a window the 1st time he said it may have given us the impression you both cared, and disapproved” Kaos mutters, following the 2 rather than being dragged like the younger boy
“Snarky brat” Garp mutters then turns to Luffy with a sigh “Seriously Luffy, eating that Devil fruit wasn’t enough of a hassle, now you want to be a pirate? You, and you big brothers Ace and Kaos are going to be upstanding marines when you grow up, just like your old man” he grins
“Did any of our fathers grow up to be upstanding marines, or just you?”
“We don’t speak about those men” Garp speaks hoarsely “Instead look at me the perfect role model, ah hahaha!” he cheers
“Owowow, let go of me you old bastard. I thought being made of rubber meant this shouldn’t be hurting anymore” Luffy cries as he squirms in Garp’s grip
“I thought leaving you in a nice village would keep you boys safe” Garp monologues “but pirates clearly won’t stop until they get their greedy mitts on everything. So instead you’re going to live up here!”
‘Da f*ck?’
About an hour later
Bang bang bang
“What’s this dump?” Luffy mutters as he goes exploring, Kaos choosing to wait and see before running off, mostly because he’s watched Garp chase Luffy enough today to know he didn’t want to experience that any time soon
“What do you want? We’re not buying whatever you punks are selling!” shouted the large, gruff looking woman who flung open the door to the house Garp had just been banging on.
“Dadan” Garp growls, startling the woman who shuffles backward and nearly drops her cigarette
“Garp! What the Hell are you doing here?” she gasps, 2 scruffy looking men peeking out the doorway at her declaration
“Charming as ever” Garp grunts
“Sorry about the less than warm welcome Garp, but I really hope you’re not here with some other ridiculous favour you want me to do for you” Dadan half apologises, half snarks, while her subordinates panic behind her “You do realise Ace is already 10 right?”
“Oh he is, and how’s the little scamp doing?” Garp asks, sounding genuinely curious
“Well he’s a handful of course and we’ve been watching over the brat long enough, so just take him away” Dadan’s shorter minion, Dogra complains
“Never mind that, I’ve got 2 more for you” Garp chuckles, pointing to the energetic Luffy running all over the place before being picked up by the marine, and the quiet Kaos… with a dangerous-looking Khopesh strapped to his hip. “Say hello boys”
“Yo” Luffy waves
“Hello Miss Dadan?” Kaos nods his head “and whoever you 2 are”
“Wait a minute, who are these kids?” Magra, a larger man with a red mohawk asks
“This one” Garp waves Luffy around like a ragdoll “is my grandson, by blood. The other, is basically my Grandson, but he’s Medusa’s kid and I want him to grow up safe, for both of them to be safe” he explains
“YOU WHAT!!!!”
“I never knew you even had a kid, never mind a grandkid”
“And Medusa having a kid, that wasn’t something people ever mentioned either”
“And you want us to look after the little brats huh? Well f*ck you Garp Ace was bad enough!” Dadan bellows
Garp smirks “Then I’ll give you 2 choices: You can raise these 2 boys alongside Ace, OR, you can all come with me as I arrest you for the various crimes you’ve committed and lock you away for many years”
“NO FAIR YOU BASTARD”
“Well, I personally would like to avoid the slammer” Magra says, voicing his opinion
“Depending on the day really, it can’t be worse than Ace on his worse days” Dogra mutters
“You want us to mind 3 brats now? Yeah not going to happen Garp” Dadan decides “That short one, I can tell is yours as a glance, he looks like a real charmer,
“Like your face?” Luffy laughs, then runs off before the woman could beat his face in
Garp sighs “Kaos, try to keep Luffy out of trouble while I have a chat with some old friends, ok?”
“Yeah yeah, got it Gramps” the 9 year old says with an eye roll before following after Luffy at a much more sedate pace, finding the boy yelling at someone in a tree after they spat on him
“You jerk, apologise!” Luffy demands, getting a deadpan/ irritated look from the older boy
“Oh good you boys found Ace. Hi Ace, these are your new brothers” Garp greets like it was an ordinary Tuesday
“Get lost old man, I don’t want new siblings, younger or older ones” Ace sneers
“That’s great cause I didn’t bring any” Garp grins then notices everyone but Kaos and Luffy point at the purple haired boy “He’s 9, he’s just a lanky f*cker”
“HE’S WHAT!!?”
“Yeah, takes after his dad, well he’s less lanky and more built like an Oak tree, but same difference when your 9” the marine laughs “Anywho, get used to these ruffians, this is your new home from now on kids” he adds, ruffling the boy’s hair even as Luffy and Ace continue their staring contest “Bye kids, I’ll be back whenever I guess, try not kill each other or whatever” Garp says as he walks off, at which point Ace huffs and walks into the house shoving past Luffy as he does
“What a jerk” Luffy huffs
“He is… a dick. But given they’re all mountain bandits like that Higuma guy, did you really expect anything better?” Kaos asks, getting a shrug from Luffy as he adjusts his hat and both follow Ace into the house, only to end up in the middle of an attempted mugging
“Give us all your money!”
“We don’t got money, we're just kids!” Luffy shouts
“Well then where are your parents so we can go steal all their money”
“Hey, this kid’s got a pretty fancy piece of gear on his hip, think it’ll sell for much”
“I don’t gots parents and neither does he, but we have a Grandpa”
“I’d recommend you not try, Miss Zelena said she tends to kill things all by herself if left alone” Kaos says partly as a joke, but mostly as a warning
“We got ourselves a comedian here. We’ll deal with him after we shake his old man for all the money he’s got. What’s his name?”
“Garp” Dogra reveals, interrupting the incident “Also those kids will be staying with us, and yes if you touch that thing you die, it’s cursed or something Garp was as vague and unhelpful as always” the man adds with an irritated scowl
“WHAT! How could you agree to this? We’re not running a daycare here! Ace is bad enough, never mind 2 more of them!”
“Quiet down!” Dadan bellows as she re-enters the building “Now eat up and stop complaining!”
What came next was a mad scramble as about 20 men trampled each other trying to eat as much of the large stack of meat as they could as quickly as possible, which also meant the 2 boys were unable to get to the pile until there was basically nothing, the last piece being picked up by the dog… until it took a mallet to the face.
“Is it dead?” Luffy asks before ripping the meat from it’s jaws and beginning to eat it
“It’s belly is still rising and falling, so he’ll be fine” Kaos shrugs “Unless dogs can get concussions”
When everyone finally calmed down, and small bowls of rice were handed out to those who failed to get their own meat, Luffy decided to be his usual self “Old man, can I have more?” he asks, poking at Dadan’s knee
“I’m a Lady you little brat! And do you know where you are right now?”
“A hut in the forest?” Kaos asks, as that was pretty much all he knew about this place besides them being on Mt Corvo, and these scruffy-looking people probably being bandits as they reminded him of Higuma and his goons, except maybe a tiny bit smarter
“No, well yes, but anyway. This is the House of the Dadan Family, a group of mountain bandits who rule over Mt Corvo”
“Mountain Bandits? Lame!!” Luffy whines
“Well too bad, you punks are stuck with us, or more we’re stuck with you because of that damn grandfather of yours kid. But if you don’t wanna stay that’s fine by me go get eaten by a bunch of wolves for all I care you dirty punks!”
“Easy there Dadan, remember your blood pressure”
“MY BLOOD PRESSURE IS FINE!!!”
“I just want rice, or meat” Luffy groans, then starts shuffling his way over to the plate of meat Ace had in front of him
“Probably best not to do that Lu, kid would probably beat the sh*t out of you” Kaos whispers
“Of course he would, all this meat came from the bison Ace brought back. He’s only a couple years older than you 2 and he still has to work for his keep. The bandit life is tough and starting tomorrow you’ll earn your keep just like Ace, in blood sweat and tears. That fancy knife of yours better be good for more than tenderizing my pooch you get me?”
“Hebi will behave, she’s just temperamental” Kaos assures her
“Huh, never heard someone call their weapon a girl, their ship, that I’ve heard” Magra hums
“Anyway, you boys get 1 glass of water and one bowl of rice a day guaranteed, everything else you get for yourself, understand, because if either of you puss*es go and complain to Garp…”
“K” Luffy nods with a grin
“That was easy” Dadan thinks aloud out of surprise
“You forget Garp attempted to raise us, we’ve had to rough it in the forest before, a fair few times at this point” Kaos nods
“Yep, there’s plenty of water and we’ve learned which snakes, frogs and bugs are edible after some trial and error” Luffy adds with a wide grin “We’re gonna be pirates one day so we’ve gotta be strong” he adds with a fist pump “This might actually be kind of fun”
“Or at least a vacation from Garp, so not technically fun, but better than the alternative” Kaos argues “Ah damn he’s run off again”
“He do that a lot?” Magra asks, Dadan still processing the new information, as well the surprising non-reaction from both boys “Also,he ran after Ace, don’t know where, just that way”
“Yes, he’s a boundless well of energy, meaning we’ll all be chasing him for the next decade or so” Kaos warns the man before getting up and following Luffy, catching up to the boy mid chase of the grumpy older boy, Ace
“Hey! Wait for me!” Luffy shouts, ensuring he wouldn’t be lost anytime soon, and eventually managed to at least get Ace to pause in his clear retreat/ignoring of the loud rubber boy “Hi my name’s Luffy, everything’s cool now, I’m not mad, about you spitting on me earlier!” Luffy says with a wide grin “it’s not worth getting bent out of shape, I’d rather we be friends. So can I come with you?”
Ace stares at him for a minute, before in a surprising show of strength, kicked a tree until it fell down, and rolled toward the brothers
“AAAAAHHHHH!”
CLANG!
“Yeah, this Ace guy is a huge dickhe*d” Kaos sighs, Hebi in her greatsword form having slashed through the tree and pinned it to the ground “You sure you want us to be friends with him Lu?”
“Yup”
“Alright then, onward after the boy with the pole” Kaos sighs, managing to catch up to Ace on a rope bridge “Not much of a people person are you?”
“I’m back. Can we be friends now?” Luffy pants having to sprint to keep up with Kaos’ longer strides as he ran
Ace’s response was to smack the rubber boy off the bridge with his pole like he was a baseball, sending Luffy tumbling into the ravine, Kaos conflicted between at least knocking Ace in after him or following Luffy, before deciding his brother was more important than revenge…. For now. The asshole would get what’s coming to him eventually.
Evening time
“Ace is back. FOOD!!!”
“But he’s alone…. sh*t” Dogra hisses
“Hey, didn’t those 2 other boys go out with you earlier, where did they go?” Magra asks
“How should I know?” Ace shrugs as he enters the building after dropping off his haul, this time a large pile of various sized fish
Later
“Come on, come on, where did you too little f*ckers go?”
“Think they died out there?” Magra asks with a twitch putting down his telescope
“If they did, we’re next once Garp hears about it” Dogra shivers “One day and Ace has already killed them”
1 week later
Bark Bark Bar.. arrooo THUMP
“sh*t, what’s gotten Pochi so worked up this time” Dogra whines as the barking wakes him up, though the thump did make him rush over to the door and fling it open “Oh my….. BOSS WAKE UP!!!!”
“God damn it Dogra what now?” Dadan grouses as she pulls herself to her feet and waddles sleepily to the door “Oh. Well damn they’re both still alive. Beat to sh*t but alive”
“Huh, maybe they will make good bandits after all” Mogra muses aloud as the other bandits (and Ace) begin to stir from the commotion
“Do you know how many dangerous animals there are on this mountain, beside you people?” Kaos asks, Hebi wrapped tightly around his arm, blood dried on the jagged edges and bite marks on his arms and legs.
“TOO f*ckING MANY!” Luffy shouts, his clothes shredded and various parts of him bitten or clawed
“You little brats made me worry, where the Hell were you?”
“Bottom of the ravine, got lost, and attacked by wolves” Luffy answers
“And why did you go and do something that stupid in the first place?” Dogra asks with a tired sigh
“Because Dadan’s son is an asshole with a bright future for beating people’s skulls in” Kaos snarks tiredly
“The f*ck does that even mean?”
“Do you care?”
Dadan scowls “Not at this hour of the night, get to sleep you little ingrates, you’re up bright and early tomorrow to start working”
“Whatever” the brothers nod and follow Dadan to the storage room where both collapsed and fell asleep quickly, meanwhile Ace just scowls at both of them.
The next day
“BOSS! He’s running after Ace again!”
“For f*ck sake, get back here you little brat you still have chores!” Dadan screams as Luffy runs after an almost fearfully fleeing Ace
“Sorry Miss, my only chores are to keep my idiot brother alive, see you hopefully tonight, or else next week I guess!” Kaos waves before chasing the other 2 idiots, and Dadan wonders if this was really worth not going to prison over.
The unofficial game of tag continued until they reached a river which Ace easily crossed “Ace! Wait up!” Luffy shouts “Come on, I just want to be friends with you!”
“I don’t, but you giving up and being Luffy’s friend will make all of our lives easier, so please be his friend” Kaos mutters as Luffy decides to follow Ace again, jumping onto some gators in the process ‘Still an idiot’ Kaos thinks as Ace abandons them like a dick and Kaos has to save Luffy, getting some unintentional Devil Fruit training in the process as gator skulls don’t fare too well against reflect armoured fists
This began a pattern that lasted for about 4 months, Luffy chases Ace, Kaos chases Luffy, Ace either abandons them in a dangerous situation or causes said situation, rinse, repeat etcetera, the only reprieve the day they fell into that snake pit, because Kaos told them to back off and they surprisingly did, also the time Ace fell into a patch of marigolds and Luffy started laughing at the boy covered in yellow flowers long enough for the older boy to lose both of them. Honestly, all 3 of them should be dead or at least severely injured at this point… but never mind.
“What does that little dumbass think he’s going to accomplish chasing Ace day in and day out?” Dadan sighs one evening
“He’s getting pretty banged up every time too. You’d think the kid would lose interest after so many failed attempts” Dogra argues
“He better cut it out soon, those punks are really stressing me out!!!” the Bandit Chief screams
Dogra smirks as he sips his tea “You’re worried about them Boss? Admit it, you’ve gotten attached”
“No I haven’t, those kids are just trying my patience is all” Dadan denies with a deep scowl, just before the 2 problem children once more return, Kaos coated in Reflect armour and Luffy puffed up like a swollen balloon due to the beehive Ace dropped on his head.
The next day
“Ace! I’m not giving up, not now, not ever! So be my friend!” Luffy shouts as he chases the older boy
“He might actually believe that… and he is harder to lose this week than the last one” Ace mutters aloud, before movement to his left has him tense ‘Crap, too far’
“ACE! Damn it, where did he go now?” Luffy whines
“You think one of these days he’s just going to beat the sh*t out of you and tie you to a tree and be done with it?” Kaos asks with a frown
“Nuh ah, cause you’d set me free…. Then beat me up and haul me back to Dadan” Luffy argues… and Kaos sighs because the boy is 100% right “Anyway, oh something over there, I bet it’s Ace!” Luffy cheers
It wasn’t, it was a huge tiger instead
‘FUUUUUUUUUUCK!’ Luffy and Kaos think as the beast stalks toward them, both knowing they weren’t nearly fast enough to outrun the big cat
‘That’s gotta be the nastiest monster in the forest, even I can’t beat that thing’ Ace thinks, feeling a momentary flicker of pity and sympathy for the 2 about to be dead boys just below him
Luckily fate had other plans, as to counter the huge f*ck off Tiger, an equally massive Bear entered the clearing and decided to pick a fight with it, distracting the animal from Luffy and Kaos so they could scramble away.
“I think, that might have been too much, even for you” Kaos pants as they both lay down and gaze into the sky a safe distance away from the beasts
“Maybe…. But we’re getting stronger from it” Luffy winks, getting a light punch to the face from his brother, though he knew Luffy was right for a change.
The next day
“We made it to the end of the forest….now what?” Luffy wonders as they gaze into the wasteland/trash heap known as Grey Terminal
“Explore?” Kaos asks with a shrug, getting a nod and a grin from Luffy before leaping a the now metallic landscape
“ACE You out here?” Luffy calls as he bounces and then crashed through one of the many piles of junk, Kaos skittering and sliding across the piles as he follows him
“Given he almost never responds, I doubt he will just because we’re in this sh*thole rather than the forest” Kaos mutters, knowing Luffy wasn’t listening, but he liked talking even if only Hebi was actually listening or willing to respond to him, until some asshole crashed into him
“Oy move it brat!” the lumpy-looking man shouts, while Kaos just slowly blinks “You f*cked in the head or something?”
“Considering you’re the one who looks like he suffered a head injury, that’s a stupid question” Kaos hums as the slightly less scruffy man chasing him began to catch up
“Never mind I’ll teach you manners next time punk” lumpy man says as he rushes off, looking for a place to hide
“Huh, what a weirdo” Luffy notes, popping up beside Kaos like a shadow “Well, time to find Ace!”
‘§We’re surrounded by idiots§’
And search they did, finding nothing but trash and junk, until they caught a glimpse of someone about their age, slinking off into the forest. Assuming it was Ace, Luffy lead the charge, Kaos following simply to make sure Luffy didn’t find someone else who wanted to murder him.
Luckily, it was Ace, who stopped at what could be any other tree and began shouting up at it “Hey, Sabo! I’m sorry I’m a little late”
“More than a little” another boy responds, a blond about Ace’s age in a top hat, grinning down at him exposing a missing back tooth “I’ve already been out and made a killing”
Ace smirks “Oh really, well maybe I did too” he boasts
“Let’s see then” Sabo says as Ace climbs up the tree, then both open their bags to reveal their haul “Holy… that’s way more than I got, how’d you do it?” he gasps
“Robbed some chumps down by the gate, didn’t stand a chance against me” Ace laughs waving his pole around
“Well, crap. Guess you win this round too bud” Sabo mutters, as he begins to count their current funds
“Doesn’t matter if you win or lose, we’ve got 5 years of pirate savings stashed away up here, we should both be happy about that” Ace argues, a lot less of a grumpy brat with Sabo than when around Luffy, Kaos, or the Dadan Family “We worked pretty hard”
“Yeah, we did. We’ll get off this rock one day, and go see places those losers couldn’t even dream of. All these years, all this work, it’ll all be worth it in the end. Believe it!” Sabo cheers
Ace sighs as the 2 start fantasising “Best put that away, can’t have anyone else know about our treasure” he orders
“So how much even is a ship? I want a decent one that’s for sure, but we seem pretty rich at the moment” Sabo wonders aloud as he packs away their money
“Could be 10 mill, maybe more. We don’t want to rush it and wreck everything for ourselves” Ace says with a shrug
“DID YOU SAY SHIP?!” Luffy bellows from the bottom of the tree, startling both older boys “YOU’RE GONNA BE PIRATES!” he cheers
“Luffy, I think they were having a moment” Kaos sighs, though it was interesting to see Ace acting like something besides a cold-hearted dick for once
“AND YOU HAVE HIDDEN TREASURE ALREADY!! SO COOL! I’M GONNA BE A PIRATE TOO WHEN I’M OLDER!” Luffy continues, enthusiasm at 11 as always
Seeing a threat to their booty, Ace and Sabo scramble down the tree and breakneck speed, and clobber both boys, mostly Luffy, but Kaos because he now knew their secret and needed to be shown why he must keep it as such. Which is how both of them were tied to separate trees waiting to see what happens next
“You know the best part? Now I know where you go every day it makes following you all that easier” Luffy cheers, oblivious as usual to how much trouble he was probably about to be in.
“So, this is Luffy, and the other one is Kaos? Also why didn’t you let me take away his weapon?” Sabo asks
“You don’t want to touch that thing, bad things happen” Ace says ominously
“He means nameless bandit 17 died” Luffy explains
“WHAT?”
“Not important I’ll explain later” Ace sighs deeply
“These are the idiots you’ve been telling me about?” Sabo continues, allowing the previous subject to drop, for now.
“You tell all your friends about us? Awesome!” Luffy beams
“I told my friend how annoying you are, mostly you” Ace clarifies
“He also said you were dumb as a rock and keep needing the lacky f*ck to save your ass” Sabo adds
“I mean…. He’s not wrong, at least sometimes I need Kaos’ help, other times we both could have used a hand, and other times I can handle it fine on my own” Luffy declares
“You do know we’re insulting you right?” Sabo asks, genuinely curious about if Luffy was too stupid to be insulted
“He knows, he just doesn’t care” Kaos responds, currently using Hebi to cut his bindings while the focus was on the loud as hell rubber-brained future pirate
“The route I took here today wasn’t an easy one to follow, you 2 are stubborn brats, but this takes the cake”
“It’s nice Ace has other friends, the bandits we live with are so mean. We’re gonna be the best of friends” Luffy chirps happily
“I’m not your friend dumbass, you don’t know a single thing about me, not even my name!” Sabo scowls
“K. What’s your name then?” Luffy asks
“Oh it’s Sa….. it’s a secret, that you’re not going to get out of me” the blond says, catching himself before answering the question
“Hi Sabo” Kaos greets, now free from the rope, to the other’s surprise “Ace is louder than you both think, I’m honestly surprised Luffy was able to remain quiet for as long as he did”
“sh*t! This is why I wanted to disarm him, he’s free already and we hadn’t even finished discussing what to do with them!” Sabo shouts
“If you want to die so badly, take her, I’m not touching that thing with my pipe, never mind my bare hands!” Ace defends
“So…. are we done playing?” Luffy wonders, getting a shrug from Kaos while the other 2 calm down
“Ok, they know too much, and I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them. So…. we have to kill them” Sabo decides, getting a nod from Ace.
“WHAT!!!! NONONONONO!!!” Luffy screams “I’M SCARED I DON’T WANNA DIE! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!”
“Can it you little sh*t. Seriously Ace you bring the worst guests” Sabo groans slamming Luffy’s head against the tree
“Just kill him already” Ace orders
“He’s your problem, why don’t you do it?” Sabo shouts
“Because I’ve never killed anyone before!”
“Neither have I you bastard! I don’t know how this stuff works!”
“I have” Kaos says, causing Ace and Sabo to blue screen for a second, mostly Ace as unlike Sabo who assumed the purple-haired boy was at least a teenager, knows Kaos’ real age “A few months back, before Luffy and I were hauled into the mountains to live with Dadan and Ace. It was a bandit and an accident, but I still killed him” Kaos admits, rolling up his sleeve before coating his arm in reflect armour “He was attacking me, I panicked and my Devil fruit activated… and next thing I knew my fist was in his chest and he was gone”
“PLEASE CAN WE STOP TALKING ABOUT KILLING I REALLY DON’T WANNA DIE TODAY, PLEASE DON’T THROW ME IN THE WATER!”
“That was a strange request” Sabo notes
“What did I tell you, he’s the dumb one, now if only we could get him to stop squirming for long enough to reach the river…” Ace’s thoughts were interrupted by a commission nearby “sh*t, they must have heard your bellowing Luffy. Guess we have to set him free, if only to stop people from snooping too close to our treasure” he decides, letting Kaos cut him free with a swipe of Hebi in it’d default form, before all 4 of them slipped into the undergrowth as the group passed them by, overhearing their conversation
“sh*t, those guys were Bluejam’s? I’d have never robbed them if that were the case” Ace mutters
“They big news or big talk?” Luffy asks, being quiet for a change
“Big trouble, especially the big guy, Porchemy” Sabo says, referring to the buff-looking guy with long blue grey hair and a large cutlass-type sword “He’s ruthless and crazy, lose a fight with him and he’ll scalp you alive, just to hear them scream” he explains, then turned to Ace “And you managed to piss him off”
“I never even saw the bastard, I just beat up and robbed one of his goons, that blond one over there” Ace whispers, pointing to the blond who was beaten to hell and partially bandaged up
“They’re right on our tail” Sabo hisses “If they even look in this direction we’re f*cked”
“I have an idea” Kaos offers
“Kill them?” Ace and Sabo ask, Kaos’ response was a slow blink that A) the blond was sure he’d seen cats do, which was weird as the lanky teen made him think of reptiles, and B) Ace was beginning to learn meant confusion, given the purple teen was almost Luffy’s polar opposite in terms of outward expressions, from what little he’d seen of the kid
“What? No! I’m not going to kill anyone” Kaos denies, looking oddly flustered
“Well sorry, you’re the one who bragged about killing a guy to us two non-killers” Sabo snarks
“Because I panicked ok? I wanted you and Ace to calm down and shut the f*ck up about killing Luffy, and I blurted it out” Kaos groans, running his fingers through his short hair
Ace hums “I mean, it worked, even living around bandits you don’t hear many people claiming they dropped their 1st body age 9” he agrees, then the penny dropped for Sabo
“WAIT YOU’RE ACTU.hmmmmsmspefefa” he screams (not helping their situation) before being muffled by both Ace and Luffy
“Shut up, shut up, shut up” both hiss, in sync for once since the 2 boy’s arrival
“But yes, Luffy’s 7, Kaos is 9, he’s just freakishly tall for his age” Ace explains, getting a confused, and also worried nod from Sabo “So, what’s the plan?”
“I can use my fruit to blind them like a flashbang, and then we all make a break for it in the confusion” Kaos explains, the silver material covering the inside of his hands and shimmering lightly
“Huh, not a bad plan, if it works” Sabo nods “But how do we make sure they get caught in the blast?”
“HEY ASSHOLES!”
‘Oh come on!’ Ace and Sabo think as Kaos stands up and shouts at the group of pirates
“You talking to us you little punk?” Porchemy sneers
“Well, there’s nobody else here…. So yeah”
“Hm, you picked a bad day to mouth off to me kid, I’m having a sh*tty day, and now I’m going to take it out on you!” the man shouts raising his sword
FLASHBANG
The reflected sunlight flash all 4 pirates square in the face, giving the kids a chance to run away, only one problem with this plan, they lost Luffy
“God damn idiot! How do you get lost when we were all running in the same direction?” Ace scowls, punching a tree
“HEY LET ME GO! ACE! KAOS! HELP ME!!”
“For f*ck sake!” Ace, Kaos and Sabo groan
“Well, that plan was worth, basically nothing, figures” the taller boy groans, reaching for Hebi and beginning to spin it in his hand “What now?”
“Give me a minute” Ace sighs deeply
A little later - Porchemy’s base
“You’re gonna tell me everything I want to know” the man scowls, hefting a large mallet onto his shoulder
“Nu uh, I’m not telling you nothing!” Luffy yells defiantly
“Stubborn brat, guess we’re doing this the hard way” he scoffs, before slamming the mallet down on the kid, his men panicking for a second as they think the boss killed him…. Until he popped up like a cartoon character and send the mallet flying backward
“The gomu gomu no mi made me rubber, stuff like hammers, even huge ones don’t do a thing to me” Luffy smirks
“Calm down” Porchemy barks, then turns to Luffy “A Devil fruit huh? Rubber, so blunt force is out, but I have more than one way to make you talk. Bring me my pair of gloves” he orders, one of his men panic but rush out to retrieve said item, meanwhile the other guys string Luffy up like a pinata “I’ll explain this to your simply kid, the money Ace stole isn’t some chump change or grocery money, it’s a matter of life or death, as in if you don’t tell me where the money is, you die, and then I die, you get me” he explains, his minion having returned with the gloves during his explanation, Luffy now seeing they were spiked like the outer shell of Chestnuts, or a sea urchin “So tell me where it is!”
“No way! You’ll get nothing from me!” Luffy shouts, Porchemy growls before sending Luffy swinging, then punching him straight in the face with his spiked gloves
“Oh, that looks bad”
“I’m telling you this now kid, you don’t piss off a pirate if you want to keep living, and that’s exactly what you’re doing keeping quiet on me, because by doing so you’re just ensuring Captain Bluejam kills you, me and everyone you hold dear. So talk!”
“Let me go! You’re hurting me!” Luffy cries and flails, bouncing around on the rope erratically “SOMEBODY HELP!!!”
“Guess we keep going, can’t take that many hits to break a little crybaby like you” Porchemy sneers “You idiots get out there and look for Ace and Sabo while I deal with this one, we NEED that money!”
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
A good while later - other side of Grey Terminal
“They’re looking for us? But why, surely Luffy would have blabbed by now” Sabo mutters
“You clearly underestimate how stubborn Luffy is blondie, now if you don’t mind I’m going to do a very Luffy thing and charge straight for those idiots” Kaos sighs deeply before pulling Hebi off his hip
“You’re kidding, you can’t fight Porchemy by yourself!” Ace shouts
“Well there’s not exactly a line of people offering to help, and who knows how Luffy will be in the time it would take me to run back and explain everything to Dadan” the purple-haired kid mutters as he lets the blade spin
“You know what…. f*ck it! Maybe he’s not as bad as I thought, maybe, maybe he’s worth risking our treasure for” Sabo declares, knuckles white as he clenches around his pipe
“You’re serious aren’t you” Ace sighs before he nods “Yeah, we should probably go rescue that little brat”
“Great, now we’re all in agreement” Kaos grins, as Hebi latches onto his arm, the blade expanding and extending into what would best be described as a spiked bat “Now…. where are we going, exactly?”
Porchemy’s base
“Come on kid, spit it out” Porchemy snarls, beginning to get tired of smacking Luffy around like a punching bag, but he can’t stop until the kid spills his secrets and he gets Bluejam’s money
“Boss, you need to stop, I think he’s broken”
“Yeah, he’s not even crying out or calling for help anymore”
“Exactly. If he was going to talk, he would have hours ago already”
Porchemy scowls, even if he agrees with them, he couldn’t go back to Bluejam empty handed, not if he wanted to still be breathing tomorrow, so he kept punching
“TELL ME WHERE IT IS YOU LITTLE sh*t!!!”
“I won’t. I won’t talk” Luffy wheezes, head spinning and vision blurred from pain and tears “Just let me go. I’m Not. Telling. You. Anything” he cries, pissing off the pirate even more… though he seems to finally believe him.
“Fine, enough of this” Porchemy sighs, removing his gloves and walking over to the wall to retrieve his cutlass “You’re a stubborn kid, but we’re done here” he states, raising his blade to deliver the killing blow…
CRASH
CLANG
“LET HIM GO!!!” Ace, Sabo, and Kaos scream, smashing their way through the wall, the tallest one skidding to a halt right in front of Luffy, catching the blade against’ Hebi, or more importantly the spikes of the bat/mace/Kanebo?.... Eh, it was a large blunt object with spikes, even he didn’t care what it ‘technically’ was.
“That’s him Porchemy, that’s the kid who stole the money!” one of the minions' shout
“Ace, nice of you to come to me, if I’d known that I wouldn’t have beaten your little friend half to death” Porchemy laughs, catching Ace out of the air as the boy leaps at him attempting to slam his pipe into the man’s smug face
‘§Kill him§’
‘Shut up, shut up, shut’ Kaos scowls as he tightens his grip “Let Ace go”
“Not without my money brat”
“Sabo now!” Ace shouts, and with both arms occupied, there was no way for Porchemy to block the 2nd attempt to slam a pipe into his face, at least managing to free Ace and break the deadlock, even if he was able to maintain the grip on his cutlass
“That kinda hurt, which of you punks hit me” Porchemy sneers, then looks down at the slightly shaking kid “Ah, there you are. You kids really have no idea who you’re messing with” he raises his arm to slash, only to get a pole strike to the throat, causing him to lose concentration as the disrupts his breathing for a second
“Sabo, get Luffy free we’ll handle this ugly f*ck” Ace yells, nodding to Kaos who was already starting to spin his current weapon, a smirk starting to form on his face even if his eyes burned with rage
“You brats think you can take me!” Porchemy bellows, lunging for Ace who dodges then has the blade edge glance off Kaos’ bat, leaving him open to another blow to the head, this time a successful one from Ace.
Meanwhile, Sabo managed to snatch a knife from one of the goons and cut Luffy free, hefting the semi-conscious rubber boy onto his back he turns to flee “I got him lets go!” he shouts
“You can go”
“Ace, don’t be stupid” Sabo yells
“I don’t run from my enemies, ever!” Ace declares boldly, his eyes locked onto Porchemy…. Which was why he didn’t see the blow to the back of the head coming
“You weight a f*cking tonne, you know that” Kaos grunts as he hefts Ace onto his shoulder, similar to what Sabo was doing to Luffy just behind him
“You’re just making my job easier. Now tell me where that sh*tbag hid my money, and I’ll let you walk away with only a beating” Porchemy threatens, waving his sword at the currently dead eyed purplette
“No, I’m not going to. Instead, we’ll be leaving now” Kaos shrugs as best he would with Ace on one shoulder and a kanebo on the other
“If you won’t talk either, I’ll just cut you down and beat the answers out of Ace instead!” Porchemy bellows as he lunges straight for the lanky brat
Clang
The sword hits centre mass and shatters like glass off the boy’s armored skin, Kaos taking the moment of shock to pull back his arm, as Hebi melts back into her normal form, and slams a reflect armoured fist right between Porchemy’s eyes, sending the man backwards into the opposite wall, the crunch a mixture of his nose, and 2 of Kaos’ fingers breaking in the exchange
‘§He’s still breathing§’
“§I know. But he’s not my problem anymore, so long as Ace and Luffy are ok§” Kaos hisses, getting a sense of ‘approval’ maybe before the prescience fades
“Holy shi…. I can scream later, we need to get out of here now!” Sabo shouts pulling Kaos out of his own head long enough for him to turn on his heels and run, following the blond out of Grey Terminal back into the forest
Ace and Sabo’s NEW hideout
“What the f*ck you lanky bastard? You knocked me out!” Ace yells once he comes to
“Good thing he did, your stupid policy nearly got you killed, and possibly the rest of us too” Sabo snarks
“Oh yeah, then how did you and him escape?” Ace scowls
“He didn’t know I had a Devil fruit, or that it could break his sword. Also I may have broken my hand on his face” Kaos answers as he wraps his fingers now they were done wrapping up Luffy’s injures as best they could
“THANK YOU GUYS FOR COMING TO RESCUE ME IT WAS SO SCARY I WAS SURE I WAS GONNA DIE!!!” Luffy cries
“Shut up already!” Ace shouts, already pissed off
“Calm down, he’s just saying thanks, between all the blubbering” Sabo says, trying to play peacekeeper
“Whatever. Though I have to ask, why did you keep your mouth shut?” Ace asks, causing Luffy to stop crying and stare at him “You think they’d let you live just because you’re a kid, no they’d kill you once they got what they wanted regardless of your age”
“I was afraid, that you wouldn’t be my friend” Luffy admits, his voice low and, empty for possibly the first time since Ace had met him
“That’s it, seriously? That’s still better than dying dumbass. Besides, why do you want to be my friend so badly, you’ve chased me across this mountain for months now”
“Because…”
“It’s not like I’ve been nice to you or anything, Hell I’m probably just below Porchemy in terms of how I’ve treated you, and that guy beat the crap out of you for nearly half a day”
“Because people shouldn’t be alone. Kaos and I are all each of us have, but if we can’t go back to the village, and the mountain bandits are almost worse than nothing, why can’t we get along with the only other person on the mountain? I can handle pain, been doing it all my life, but the loneliness, it eats away at you”
“Unfortunately he’s right, why are you so determined to shoo away everyone else…. Well actually that question is wrong since meeting Sabo, but still, why do you seem so determined to keep Luffy and I away from you, to the point at least one of us should be dead by now?”
The question strikes a cord in Ace’s mind and he frowns, head bowed in contemplation “Do you think I deserve to live?”
The 2 boys look confused by the question “What? Of course, you do you dummy!” Luffy states bluntly
“Does explain why you’re so reckless all the time if you don’t think you should be alive. Still stupid though” Kaos agrees
“I see” Ace mutters, then turns away “But you’re still annoying, weak crybabies and creepy weirdos like you two piss me off”
“Given until an hour ago all I’ve seen you be is a grumpy asshole, that’s progress, I think” Kaos hums as Luffy jumps to his feet
“I’m not weak, I'm really strong!” Luffy argues angrily
Ace scoffs “Yeah real strong, I bet you were crying like a wittle baby the whole time you were tied up” he says mockingly
“Have you ever been beaten by spikey things that big before?” Luffy shouts “I’m only 7, just wait until I’m 10 like you and then I won’t cry over anything!”
“Age has nothing to do with it, I was tougher than you are when I was 6 never mind 7”
“Oh Yeah?”
“Yeah!”
“They’re going to be at it for a while aren’t they?” Sabo groans, himself and Kaos sitting down and watching the 2 butt heads
“That’s what it looks like, but it is technically better than what came before, so again…. Progress” Kaos shrugs
“Still, probably best we break them up before they come to blows” Sabo argues, getting a nod from the younger boy “That’s it guys calm down, we have bigger problems than, well this pissing contest”
“We do?” Luffy asks in confusion
“Yeah, we do. Those guys we just rescued you from and Ace stole money from, they work for a pirate called Bluejam. And as Ace already mentioned they’ll kill us if they find us, regardless of the fact we’re just a bunch of kids”
“True, they don’t seem the type to let this thing go” Ace nods
“The thing is, this part of the forest I’ve been living in is awfully close to their main hangouts, the Den of Pirates. What if one night I’m a little more tired than usual, sleep a little deeper, and they catch me?”
“Then you’re dead, possibly before sunrise” Kaos frowns
“That’s about the jist of it, unless Bluejam drags it out to make you suffer” Ace agrees
“Then you’d just wish you were dead” Luffy nods
“That’s why I need your help, because I have a plan” Sabo says with a devious grin, which was soon mirrored by the others as he pulls them in to brainstorm
The next day - Dadan Family House
“sh*t what happened to those brats, they finally dumb enough to try fight the mountain bears or something?” Dogra groans, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sees the sleeping kids
Mogra shakes his head “That’s… not the problem. Count the kids in this room”
“Seriously? That’s easy. 1, 2, 3, 4….. Wait a minute, why are there 4 of these brats?!!!” the man groans “Boss! We have a problem!”
“What now it’s too f*cking early” Dadan groans as she stumbles into the storeroom the kids sleep in ‘1, 2, 3, 4? That’s not right. Ace, Luffy, Kaos,... Huh?’ she thinks as she scans the room and finds the kids curled up, practically on top of each other, only there was more than there were supposed to “OK WAKE THE f*ck UP AND EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!!” Dadan shouts
“Too tired, recovering from getting the sh*t beat out of me” Luffy groans before rolling over back to sleep
“Too early for questions” Ace mutters sleepily
“He followed us home. Can we keep him?” Kaos asks with an only semi-conscious expression on his face, before his eyes droop shut again
“Meh” Sabo grunts, not even opening his eyes
“Jesus these brats are multiplying, who the Hell are you?” Dadan scowls
“Who me?” Sabo asks, rubbing sleep from his eyes “oh right, forgot to introduce myself. Hi, I’m Sabo” he smiles
“Ace’s friend, well as least I know have a face to match to the name” Dadan mutters
“Oh great, it’s like I already live here, and you must be Dadan right? Hiya” he greets, trying to shake her hand only for it to be yanked away
“What's this crap about living here I have a hard enough time with these 3 worthless brats, I don’t need a forth”
“Yeah, that tracks given I’d heard what a grumpy old hag you are” Sabo nods, causing Dadan to scowl “I’ve also heard from Ace you’re a nice old hag who wouldn’t let a kid like me die in the forest, and that you’re a tough old hag, so I should mind my manners while I’m staying here”
“Well, the tough part is true, the nice part is a rumour I’m going to have to crush before it spreads… and I’M NOT A HAG!” she scowls, before sighing deeply, knowing he was right about one thing, she wasn’t going to just drop kick him and leave him to die in the woods, who did he think she was, Garp? “Luffy, Kaos, Ace, Sabo” she lists off, getting all 4 boys attention “There are no free rides, especially not in my house, you boys better pull your weight around here, understood?” she asks/ orders, getting various forms of yes or nods from the kids “Good, now get moving!”
1 hr later
“Bye Dadan!”
“Luffy, get back here you’re supposed to clean this place!”
“Cleaning is boring” Luffy calls back sticking out his tongue “Hey Ace, what are we gonna do today?”
Sabo then freezes, causing Luffy to run into, and Kaos to scuttle around him “Knew I forgot something when we came in” he mutters then turns around “Hey Dadan you might be receiving some guests later! We pissed off some of Bluejam’s men and they probably want to kill us, so play it cool ok?”
“Please tell me that little brat is joking” Dogra groans
“Nope 100% the truth. We beat up some of his crew and now he’s really mad. It’s why I had to move in with you guys, it wasn’t safe to just live in the woods anymore” Sabo confirms
“f*ck!!!!! And I can’t even blame this new headache on Garp” Dadan groans
“Technically you could as Ace living here is Garp’s fault, therefore his friend moving in with him is Garp’s fault because if Ace wasn’t here he wouldn’t have brought Sabo along with him” Mogra tries to argue, but Dadan just stopped caring at this point
“It’s cool Dadan just lets us do what we want, it’s like before, but with an actual place to sleep” Sabo grins as the 4 run through the woods
“She’s still a grumpy old hag” Ace argues
“And ugly, like a butt!” Luffy giggles
“Kind of surprised she hasn’t beaten us black and blue yet” Kaos hums, as like Luffy his only actual caretaker/parental figure so far had been Garp, and to a lesser extent Shanks the previous year
“Eh don’t worry about it, now to figure out what to do today”
“FOOD!” Luffy shouts, getting an eye-roll from Ace and Kaos, but Sabo nods, deciding that was as good a place as any to start the day
A little later
“So, you 2 ate Devil fruits right, meaning you can’t swim?” Sabo asks
“Yep” Luffy nods, munching on the fishtail
“I was a bad swimmer anyway, so it’s no great loss” Kaos shrugs
“Still, so what fruits did you eat?”
“Gomu Gomu” Luffy grins
“Suru Suru” Kaos answers
“Ok…. what the hell does that mean?” Ace now asks joining in
“I’m made of rubber!” Luffy cheers
“Lame”
“It’s not lame! I’m all springy and stretchy and have all these cool secret moves only I can do!” Luffy argues
“I guess that’s cool or something” Ace shrugs
“And Kaos, what’s the Suru Suru do, besides make weird goo?”
“Reflections. Mostly just light and impacts at the moment, which was how I blinded those goons and broke Porchemy’s sword, but I think I can do more, just need to tinker with it a little” Kaos explains
“This is very interesting” Ace says sarcastically “But unless either of you can get us some more food, I don’t care, freeloaders” he sighs and lies down, missing Luffy’s attempt to beat him up as Sabo and Kaos grab his cheeks
“Wow, he really is made of rubber, this is so weird”
“Let go of my face now” Luffy groans, then falls over when they comply “Plus I made a super cool new move, I call it the Gum Gum Balloon” Luffy announces, bouncing back
“Oh, can you show us?” Sabo asks
“Are your injuries going to allow you to?” Kaos wonders, not that Luffy was listening
“Yep, private showing just for you guys, not this jerkface” Luffy huffs, then begins to suck in air and expand
Gum Gum Balloon
“Wow, he just keeps getting bigger and bigger, hope he doesn’t pop” Sabo gasps
“Hopefully he’ll lose focus on holding in the air, before he stretches himself to the point of exploding”
Ace chuckles as he rolls over “Huh, guess it’s pretty cool, as a ball” he laughs as he kicks Luffy into the air “Sabo kick it back!”
Unfortunately, the blond panicked when a giant Luffy Balloon was coming straight for him, and kicked him sideways, into the river, where a crocodile managed to catch and swallow him
“OH COME ON!!!”
“We better go save the dumbass, shouldn’t we?” Ace sighs, getting an annoyed “YES!” from the other 2, mostly Kaos “Fine, fine, no need to yell” he mutters, before the trio leap into the fray
Later
“Well, that happened” Sabo shrugs
“Don’t try to play this off, I NEARLY GOT EATEN!!” Luffy cries as the foursome heft the crocodile through the forest
“Oh quit complaining, we got you out and we have plenty of crocodile meat for everyone, everyone wins” Ace argues
“Good point” Luffy nods already salivating at the thought of crocodile meat, Sabo starting to realise what a mad house he’d invited himself into
“Hey guys, before dinner, I need to check something, want to tag along?” Sabo asks, getting nods from all 3 of them
“Well, I guess helping you guys move all that stuff was worth it after all” whispers from the bushes as Bluejam’s men swarm the tree him and Luffy had first met Sabo in
“Yeah, those idiots will never find the new place. Though we should probably have a peek at Grey Terminal while we’re out, just to see how bad things have gotten
That turned out to be a bad idea, as Bluejam had put a bounty on all 4 of their heads, meaning that once they were spotted, what felt like half of Grey Terminal were on their asses, chasing them from one end of the scrapyard to the other until they finally managed to lose them in the woods
“Well, that sucked” Sabo groans, lying against a tree
“I don’t see why we have to run, if they catch us, we’ll just beat them up like Bluejam’s goons” Ace argues
“That doesn’t mean we should go looking for a fight” the sole voice of reason counters
“It just means that if worst comes to worst, we aren’t completely screwed” Kaos agrees
“Sorry Ace, Sabo, and Kaos are right” Luffy giggles as he swings from a branch
“Luffy…. Shut the hell up”
Dadan Family Home
“Boss, Ace, and the other kids are back!” The lookout calls down, the bandits surprised…. And maybe a little impressed by the 3 grinning dumbasses, and the perpetually scowling Ace had bagged such a huge croc for dinner.
TBC
LW: Not the best 1st impression for the KLAS boys, but eh they’re starting to grow on each other :P
Chapter 135: Running Ragged Ruffians! Riches to Rags!
Chapter Text
LW: Chapter 2 of the flashback arc… we may be here a while lads :P
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Running Ragged Ruffians! Riches to Rags!
“You know, if that had been on purpose, it would probably have been rather impressive” Kaos notes as Luffy punches himself in the face while trying to hit Ace with a ‘Gum Gum Pistol’, using the extension aspect of his Devil fruit to add range, speed, and force to his punches. The problem was, that he couldn’t focus the attack long enough for it to complete its punch, instead ricocheting off the ground and coming right back at him
“Dumbass, why do all your moves suck!” Ace shouts as he kicks Luffy into a tree
“Score 1 for Ace, your turn Kaos” Sabo announces as he finishes adjusting the scoreboard✶, both boys nod and begin their brawl, while Luffy pouts in the corner
“You can really tell your age when you fight” Ace notes as he barely has to dodge a punch from the younger boy “You’re unsure, jittery, and quite frankly don’t seem to know where the end of your arms are” he finishes by slipping past Kaos’ minimal guard and kicking him in the sternum, shoving him against the nearby tree “And that’s number 2”
“My turn Ace” Sabo smirks as he enters the battlefield, having marked up a 2 for the other boy, their brawl much more evenly matched than Ace’s 2 previous fights
‘I won’t lose to anyone, that includes you Sabo, sorry, not sorry’ Ace thinks as he side steps a kick
‘I’m still not strong enough, I can’t stop till I’m stronger than Ace, till I’m the strongest in the world’ Sabo scowls as he rolls away from a punch to the face, then both leap at each other for the final clash. Sabo’s punch just barely missed, while Ace’s sends him flying
“Damn it, why do their fights always look more evenly matched?” Luffy whines from the ground
“Because they’re both older than us, and the same age as each other” Kaos answers “Also, you haven’t quite figured out how to use your fruit offensively or defensively, no offence”
“Screw you! You think you’re so great because your fruit makes actual armor!”
“Kind of, yeah. But on the other hand, it does make a different game much more interesting….”
“You’re doing that weird grin again”
“Ace! Sabo!”
“Yeah?”
“What now?”
Flashbang!
“You bastard! When I can see again I’ll wring your scrawny neck!” Ace shouts as he flails around
“You know, you’re supposed to ask if we want to play before tricking us into Blind Man’s Bluff” Sabo groans, having walked into a tree
“WHY IS EVERYONE YELLING?” Luffy screams
“Luffy, only you’re yelling” Sabo retorts
“I think his hearing has just become more sensitive, given his loss of sight” Kaos says with a shrug
“Must be effecting me too, given I can HEAR your smirk from the other side of the clearing” Ace scowls, before turning in Kaos’ direction “I can also smell the smugness you lanky f*ck, so don’t think you can beat me just because I’m seeing stars!” he declares/boasts
“Wouldn’t dream of it Ace” Kaos nods, then throws a pebble, hitting the older boy straight in the forehead “But it was worth a try anyway Sesese!”
“WE MISSED SOMETHING COOL DIDN’T WE?” Luffy asks/whines
“Probably, but my vision is clearing up so it doesn’t matter. Who’s hungry?”
“I AM!”
“You’re always hungry dummy” Ace sighs, rolling his eyes
“Meaning the question was pointless from the start, onward I guess” Kaos shrugs, before the foursome make their way to the river, crocodile meat on the menu once again
“That sure looks tasty” Ace grins, pipe resting on his shoulder
“I could eat crocodile meat every day” Luffy chuckles, already starting to drool
“Well, try not get eaten, or else we’re going to have to save you, and probably scare all the other crocs away in the process” Kaos sighs, Hebi taking the form of a spiked bat today
“No fair, that was Ace and Sabo’s fault!” Luffy argues
“And yours for not deflating fast enough” Sabo counters
“Enough, at this point the crocs will die of old age before we catch one” Ace shouts, before they all leap down and begin to beat their future dinner into submission
A few days later - Grey Terminal
“What’s in that sack?” a guard wearing what looked like a hazmat suit asks the hooded man lugging it through the arcway into the city
“Crocodile skin, you can check if you want” the ‘man’ answers, pulling back some of the tarp to reveal the dead animal, to the guard’s shock, who lets him pass through the Gate and into Edgetown, marking the beginning of the city.
“Hey buddy, want a little help with that package?” a thug asked as he approached the hooded man, who looked like he didn’t even react to the gang beginning to circle him “Hey, I’m talking to you!” the man shouts, until there’s a blade pressed against his throat
“Buzz off, all of you”
“You’re dead you bastard!” the shade wearing thug shouts
“Not today, punk. Pick your marks more carefully buddy…” the ‘man’ smirks before removing the cloak, revealing Ace on Kaos’s shoulders, while Sabo and Luffy clung to his back, the purple hairs teen shaking from the strain, and happy to be free of the disguise as the other 2 quite literally get off his back “You might get more than you bargained for!”
“sh*t, it’s them!”
“Not these brats again”
“They’re multiplying!”
“No mercy for street thugs!” Ace shouts as a war cry, the other 3 taking it as an excuse to kick ass, so did precisely that
“All Right!”
Later
“I told you we’d make easy money with that crocodile skin” Ace croons, this time the head of a 3 man tower, Kaos having just stolen a cloak from one of the goons they beat up and tagging along as another anonymous trader
“Our pirate savings are really adding up” Sabo agrees, smiling under the coat
“That’s nice…. but I’m hungry, and tired” Luffy whines, for some reason the bottom of the totem pole this time
“I have to agree with Luffy here, hauling that crocodile and you 3 all the way here was exhausting and worked up quite an appetite” Kaos hums, lightly flicking Ace in the back of the head
“Relax, just up the street is a place that apparently has the best ramen noodles you’ve ever tasted” Ace assures them
“Not saying much given I get the feeling Luffy and Kaos have never had ramen, so any kind would be the best they’ve ever tasted” Sabo snarks, getting a soft chuckle from the purplette
“Hello” the restaurant owner greets, then gasps taking in the ragged appearance of their cloaks “I’m terribly sorry but, we don’t serve your kind in this establishment”
“The V.I.P. room please” Sabo requests, pulling out some kind of medallion from the cloak to show the man, who pauses and blinks in confusion
“That mark, but your appearance… my mistake, please follow me my good fellows, we’d be happy to allow nobles of your standing to enter our humble establishment” he bowly lowly and allows them in
“Well damn, who’d you steal that from?” Kaos grins as they were left to their own devices with 4 bowls of ramen “Because it’s a pretty handy trinket”
“Nobody, I just found it on the street is all” Sabo chuckles awkwardly, luckily a better liar than Luffy was at least
“Less yapping more eating. I brought you here to ea…. Of course, he is” Ace chuckles lowly as Luffy already had his head shoved into his bowl, practically inhaling the food “You are at least able to taste the food right Luffy?”
“It’s Good!” the rubber boy cries, which Ace took as a yes
“Seco..sbnfj” Luffy tries to yell only for his head to be slammed into the table to stop him from giving the game away
“Seconds please, 4 more bowls post haste!” Sabo orders through the door, the boys hiding under the jacket and Kaos pulling back up the hood as the waitress returns with their orders
It was actually surprising how long they were able to keep this ruse going, less so that it was Luffy who got them caught, snatching their 8th helping with a rubber arm was apparently the moment they decided something was Sus with their VIPs.
“We’ve been caught, out the window!” Ace shouts as the manager throws open the door, the 4 kids following him as they leapt into the street once more
“We’ve got a dine and dash. Catch those criminals!” the manager bellows
“Criminals, but they’re just kids” some of the people on the street mutters
“Not again, how do you keep getting past the gate?” the ‘police’ of the region groans, seeing it was Ace, Sabo, Luffy, and Kaos…. Again “I don’t care that they’re kids, those little helions belong in a jail cell!”
A man in a top hat was wandering down the street, minding his own business, when 4 kids rushed past him, one of which looked hauntingly familiar to him ‘It can’t be… can it?’ he wonders, and now had to be sure “Sabo, is that you?” he calls out, and as the boy tenses and freezes he smiles, he was right “I’m so glad to see you’re alive. Let’s go home!”
“What’s going on, do you know that moneybags?” Ace asks, noticing Sabo’s deep scowl
“I think he knows you” Luffy hums
“He’s clearly got me mixed up with someone else, let’s go!” Sabo growls and takes off at full speed, the other 3 following close behind
“No! Sabo come back!” the man shouts and begins to give chase
“sh*t we gotta lose him. Kaos flash him!” Sabo orders
“Fine fine, no need to be snippy” Kaos mutters, but goes through with it, flashbanging not only the man following them but most of the street as he used a reflect armoured ‘Ta Da!’ motion with his hands, cackling madly, before reuniting with the boys in the chaos.
The forest hideout
“So, going to explain what just happened now, or the far side of never?” Kaos asks, watching Sabo squirm as he tries to come up with a denial
“I’m not hiding anything from you guys, nothing’s going on” Sabo argues
“Ok” Luffy nods with a smile, till both Ace and Kaos punch him in the back of the head
“You’re full of it Sabo and you’re lying to us, right to our faces!” Ace shouts angrily “We can’t keep secrets from each other”
“So talk!” all 3 of them shout, ganging up on the blond kid
“Ah……. fine” Sabo sighs, the pressure too much for him “I’m…. the son of a noble. That noble we ran into in particular” he confesses
“So?” all the ask, Luffy and Ace picking their nose, while Kaos just looks bored with his eyes half closed
“IF YOU DIDN’T CARE WHY DID YOU PRESSURE ME INTO ANSWERING?!” Sabo screams then sighs and drops down to lean against the tree “The truth is, both my parents are still alive, I’m not really an orphan like you 3” he groans “I didn’t grow up in Grey Terminal, and that guy who was calling to me, he was my dad” Sabo confesses “i’m sorry I lied about everything”
“He said he’s sorry, so it’s all good right?” Luffy asks with an innocent smile
“I’m not forgiving him until we get the whole story” Ace huffs
“I’d also like to know how you went from being a nobles son to sifting through trash alongside Ace” Kaos wonders, now sitting against another tree to Sabo’s left
“Exactly, if you’re the son of some noble, why’d you want to live in a junk heap like Grey Terminal or the woods like us?” Ace asks
“Because I ran away from home, ok?” Sabo growls, surprising the 3 boys
And with that, the cracks turned into a deluge as Sabo unloaded everything on them, the weight of expectations, needing to be perfect at everything, this annoying little sh*t who thought he could push him around for having ‘royal blood’ and it somehow being his fault for defending himself when the f*cker tried to shank him. How the only thing his parents cared about was their image, and how his existence continued to ruin it.
“I realised, they love their money, property, and status, but not their son. If I couldn’t marry a noble woman I was useless to them. I studied culture, literature, and everything they gave me, but I guess, I wasn’t learning fast enough because they were always getting mad. That family, had no place for me, so I decided to leave, as there was no point staying where I wasn’t wanted” Sabo finishes, his entire body tense like a coiled spring, then sighs deeply “At least the people in Grey Terminal know what it means to be free, if the nobles in Hightown would get their heads out of their butts and stop licking the kings' boots, maybe they’d see there’s more to the world than their money and status”
“Well, damn. You’ve really had it rough Sabo, not the same as us, but enough it doesn’t really matter the differences” Ace nods
“Ace, Luffy, Kaos. We’re going to get off this God-forsaken island one day, see the world and be pirates!” Sabo declares “And when we’ve done it all, I’m gonna write a book about it, for kids like me!”
“Great! You can read and write though, right Sabo?” Luffy asks, getting 3 punches to the face for the question
“Dumbass” Sabo groans, but the smile returns as his dream is finally out there for his friends to hear
“You don’t gotta tell me twice, I’m gonna be the strongest pirate that ever lived, and one day, pirates, marines, everyone will bow at my feet in marvel of my power!” Ace declares, tapping his pipe against the ground like a staff “Everyone in the world will know my name, that’s the legacy I’ll leave behind as I die” states the Future ‘Fire Fist’ “I don’t care if people hate me, I don’t care if they wish I’d never been born, but they won’t ignore me, that is what it means to be Strong in this world. I won’t ever lose, I won’t ever back down, I swear it here and now!”
“Then I know what I’m going to be too” Luffy grins as he runs to the edge of the cliff and sucks in his breath “THE KING OF THE PIRATES!!!!”
“Damn it Luffy, you were supposed to let me go next” Kaos sighs as Ace and Sabo stared at him in shock “Wanting to unravel the secrets of the Devil fruits is much less impressive after a declaration like that” he mopes, Sabo and hebi trying to comfort the lanky kid
‘I’m surrounded by idiots… and Sabo’ Ace thinks, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance
“Hey, we all wanna be pirates, but we’re only saving up for the one ship,so what if all 4 of us want to be captain?” Sabo asks, his brain going off on an odd tangent
“Huh, hadn’t considered that” Ace muses “Honestly, I’d assumed you’d be MY navigator, sorry about that” he shrugs
“You’re both welcome to join my crew” Luffy pipes in
“NO THANKS!”
“Does it help if I point out I’m fine with NOT being captain?” Kaos asks
“A little, but that just means there’s 3 of us instead of 4 gunning for the position” Ace admits “Anyway, not like it matters today, maybe we’ll leave on 1 ship, maybe we’ll leave on 3, maybe we’ll sail out into the world and split up on the way to the Grand Line” he says as he slips into the hideout and returns with 4 sake cups and a bottle
“Oh, Dadan’s not going to like that you stole from her secret stash” Luffy whispers
“Let me tell you boys a secret” Ace smirks as he uncorks the bottle “All it takes to become brothers is to share sake”
“This seems more complicated than the last time we adopted someone” Kaos chuckles as Ace passes him a filled cup
“Yeah but there was no way Shanks or Makino would have let us anywhere near the sake” Luffy argues “Plus maybe it’s just brothers, sisters simply need to be declared as family and you’re done” he shrugs
“In that case you and I need a double shot, to make up for lost time” Kaos winks “Need to make our brotherhood official and all that”
“You’re both idiots” Sabo chuckles as he takes his own cup
“We may sail on different ships, on different crews and different seas, but one thing remains true, we’ll always be brothers and nothing can take it away” Ace announces, all 4 raise their cups and down it like shots, in hindsight only the 2nd dumbest thing Kaos and Luffy did after eating a Devil fruit, but probably the dumbest thing Sabo or Ace had done…. In the last few years.
A few weeks later
“What a lovely morning, things are sure looking up for a change” Dadan hums as she stretches, stepping out of the bandit base…. And into a pitfall trap “Huh? WHAT MORON DUG A HOLE OUTSIDE MY DOORWAY?”
“The kids did it, they said it was to catch wild boars” Mogra answers from outside the hole
“You idiots! Get me out of here!!” Dadan bellows, the men sigh before helping heave the woman out of the hole “Also, next time warn a lady Geez” she groans, meanwhile another bandit falls in a different hole, it seems the boys had been busy that morning.
Edge Town
“Sabo!” some thug yells “This is our turf, you know we don’t take kindly to you punks hanging around here”
“Your turf? Man you punks are delusional, but how about we skip the chin wags and get straight to the ass kicking” Sabo taunts, lifting his pipe to his shoulder
“You co*cky little twerp”
‘Flying Ace special’
Crack
“sh*t it’s Ace!” the gang leader grimaces as Ace swings in like Tarzan and knocks one of his goons to the ground, meanwhile Luffy’s leg snaps back to him and sending him flying into the air
“Drama Queen” Kaos sighs as he jumps over the wall, landing on a guy’s back and bringing him to the ground “Now take your beating like a man” he smirks as he slams his armoured fist into the back of the guys head
“Great, another one” a thug groans, just before Luffy enters the battlefield, taking too long to wind up his swing and getting punched in the face for his trouble.
Then came shrill whistles as the local law enforcement become aware of the scuffle
“Now you show up. Come on we better bail” Ace orders, Sabo and Ace leaping over the wall, while Kaos tosses a still-face-mashed Luffy over before following the others
“That was fun, oh, maybe we should catch a deer for dinner” Sabo suggests once they were back in the forest
“All Right! I can taste it already!” Luffy cheers and runs off, his brothers facepalm, but follow to stop him doing something too stupid by himself
As night fell the boys returned with their catch, throwing it to Dadan and once food was done the true battle began. It would probably have been fun to watch from an outside perspective as everyone fought for every last scrap of deer meat, but alas everyone in the house was also fighting for the food and therefore, it was just a hellscape of men and boys being tossed around left right and centre, no pattern or sense could be determined.
The next day, Dadan at the end of her tether
“THOSE BRATS HAVE GOT TO GO!!!”
“Excuse me”
‘sh*t we’ve been caught!’
“Please ignore that last statement I’m going insane from stress and lack of sleep” Dadan bows and apologises, then realises she hadn’t summoned Garp, but instead there was a grumpy-looking man in a bucket hat and a young green haired woman standing in front of her
“Um sorry to bother you, we’re looking for Luffy and Kaos, we were told they live here now, I think?” Makino asks
As if summoned “Makino!” Luffy shouts as he rushes out of the house and hugs the woman, Kaos walking out and waving with a smile
“Oh Luffy you’ve gotten so big since you left” Makino giggles as she ruffles his hair
“You boys seem to have taken to the outdoors pretty well, can’t believe it’s been 6 months already” Woodslap chuckles
“Good morning Mr Mayor, Makino”
“I missed my 2 favourite visitors, and the piano misses you dearly Kaos”
“You could play it every once in a while” the purplette mutters
“I would, if the bar wasn’t so busy”
“So, Garp was telling the truth, he really has you shacked up here with some mountain bandits” Woodslap grunts
“You got a problem with that?” Dadan growls
“OF COURSE I DO!” the mayor shouts “ESPECIALLY THE MOUNTAIN BANDIT PART YOU RUFFIAN!”
“Ruffian! Is everyone from Fushia Village this annoying?”
“I brought presents,” Makino says with a clap, partially to draw attention away from Woodslap and Dadan’s fight “Knowing Garp you boys probably just about have the shirts on your backs, so I brought you both some I thought you’d like” she smiles, passing a star shirt to Luffy and Diamond shirt with ‘Boros’ on the back to Kaos
“Awesome!” Luffy cheers
“Thanks Makino” Kaos smiles “It will be nice to wear something besides a plain black t-shirt for a change”
“I also brought some for your friends, but they’ll need to come out in order for me to fit them correctly. Come here boys!” Makino calls, Ace and Sabo realising they weren’t being as subtle as they could be, at that precise moment “Please” she adds with a sweet smile which convinces Sabo to come over to Ace’s annoyance, before finally joining them for a fitting
“I heard this Ace boy is pretty naughty and a ruffian, but you seem like a rather nice kid, little rough around the edge but who isn’t at that age” Makino giggles as she sizes the grumpy boy
“Where’d you hear that?” Ace asks defensively
“What a dork” Sabo chuckles
“Ace is blushing, he wants Makino to be his girlfriend!” Luffy laughs
Ace’s blush deepens as his face twists into a scowl “Shut up you little brat!”
“Hold still” Makino scolds the flailing boy
“Those 2, I’m gonna kick their asses later, thinking they can make fun of me” Ace mutters darkly, which Makino ignores, fairly sure these kids can handle fights amongst each other, given they live with mountain bandits
“You 2 know you’re several shades of f*cked, right?” Kaos asks, rather liking the feel of his new shirt, same as the other 2
“Worth it!” Luffy and Sabo say with matching wide grins
To commemorate the visit, Makino also helped to make food for the boys as well as the entire Dadan family, as a token of her gratitude for taking in Luffy and Kaos when they clearly had 2 boys of their own to look after (nobody wanted to tell her A) none of these boys were their decision, and B) Sabo showed up AFTER Luffy and Kaos).
It was this happy air, which was ruined by the arrival of a certain man….
“This food is so good, I hope when I go out to sea I can find the best cook in the world for my pirate crew, so I can eat like this every day” Sabo moans as he stuffs his face
“Well too bad, I’m going to recruit the best cook in the world for MY pirate crew, and I’ll eat meals this good every night” Ace boasts
“Nu-uh, my crew will have the best cook in the world, the best everything!” Luffy declares
“I pray whichever of you idiots decides to let me stay, the cook is at least decent” Kaos sighs, then feels a cold shiver run down his spine causing him to look up and all the colour drain from his face
“You brats still spouting that pirate crap?” Garp bellows from the doorway
‘FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKK!’ Luffy and Ace think mid spit-take
“You boys are all gonna become marines one day even if I have to beat the dignity into you!” he declares, then punches both boys into the ground with single punch
‘Then why are they staying with us?’ the Dadan family wondered, living with mountain bandits would make becoming a criminal easier, not becoming a marine.
“Dadan”
“Yes Garp” the woman nods, then groans as she joins the boys on the ground “Why’d you hit me too?”
“Because you’re doing a sh*tty job of raising my boys correctly”
“Jeez, your grandpa’s a scary guy” Sabo whispers, getting a nod from Kaos, and Garp’s attention
“Who are you squirt? I hear you spouting that pirate crap too”
“He’s not a squirt he’s Sabo, we all shared sake cups and became brothers with the promise to become pirates one day, and nothing you do or say will stop us!” Luffy shouts, voice filled with determination
‘Does this dumbass ever shut up?’ Ace groans from the floor
“Oh really? Well, I’m a marine Vice Admiral, and if you’re going to act like criminals then I’ll have to tan your hide like criminals” Garp scowls, cracking his knuckles
“And that’s different to what you were going to do anyway because?” Kaos mutters, earning his face planted punch to the floor for the evening
“Better start running!”
“I pray those boys live long enough to escape this island” Woodslap sighs as he and Makino head home, concerned about Garp’s ‘parenting skills’ but unable to actually do anything about it
Some time after midnight
“Luffy, your grandpa is f*cking nuts” Sabo groans painfully, all 4 boys beaten to f*ck in their room, Garp’s snoring echoing through the house
“That’s why we need to do something, the Old coot’s gonna kill us otherwise” Ace scowls
“Because for once he decided to not immediately f*ck off after beating us up, like almost every other time” Kaos sighs, ignoring Hebi’s suggestions to to shank him while he’s passed out from drinking all of Dadan’s booze “Meaning he’s probably going to be just as stubborn as Luffy about making us not be pirates” he adds, causing Ace to shiver, remembering how nothing he did could stop Luffy from following him around, translating that to Garp…. Yeah they were all going to die weren’t they?
“But I don’t wanna die!” Luffy whines “And I don’t wanna give up my dream!”
“Then we have only 1 option” Ace reveals “it’s time to grow up, who’s with me?”
“Please explain” Kaos says, getting a nod from Sabo while Luffy had already agreed to whatever stupid idea Ace had just come up with
“Ok fine. It goes a little like this….”
The next morning
‘We will stand on our feet KLAS’ was what the note pinned to the support beam of the Dadan house said, and promptly sent the bandits into a frenzy. Garp meanwhile showed his ‘excellent’ parenting skills, by not giving a sh*t
“Are you kidding, I may not like looking after the brats, but they’ve managed to piss off basically every gang on the island if they get caught off guard…”
“That’s nice, well off to work. Be sure to turn those 4 ragamuffins into hard-working honest marines by the time I get back ok?” Garp orders as he walks off, proving Kaos wrong as without the kids around to beat up, he got bored and went home, hopefully Sengoku had some pirates for him to Fist the ever-loving sh*t out of
Deeper into the woods
“Ok, we got away from Grandpa, now what?” Luffy asks
“I’m a little surprised they didn’t send someone after us already” Sabo hums
Ace shrugs “It’s fine, Dadan’s wanted me gone for years now, she’s probably too busy throwing a party to care”
“Back to Luffy’s point, for a change, what do we do now?” Kaos asks with a tired sigh, just as the sky begins to rumble
“Shelter?”
“Shelter, come on there’s a tree with a big enough hollow for us to stay in until the rain stops” Ace orders, leading the group to their current safe zone, where they even ended up curling up in a massive pile and sleeping through the storm (Kaos complaining about Sabo’s elbow in his ribs and Ace complaining about Luffy foot in his face being the only issues the next day)
“What’s that?” Luffy asks the next morning, coming over to a drawing Sabo was showing Ace and Kaos
“I designed us a hideout for us to live in, until we have our pirate ship it should be more than adequate, plus we can store our treasure here and keep it safe ourselves, rather than hide it in a crevice and just hope it doesn’t get found and stolen” the blond boy explains “And this tree would be the perfect place to build it, it’s big and sturdy enough to make a decent structure on it”
“Our own hideout?” Luffy repeats, then grins widely “Awesome!!”
“What should we build it with?” Ace asks
“We live next to a mountain of trash, remember, we’ll find what we need there. Now, onward!” Sabo declares, getting a sharp “Ay ay” from the other 3 boys
And so the 4 future pirates began their operation, showing a surprising level of construction skills for a bunch of kids, that they not only built a treehouse, but a multi-leveled basecamp/proto pirate ship
“Our own hideout, so cool!” Luffy cheers once the building had been completed
“I have to say, this went a lot better than expected” Kaos admits with a low whistle, grinning widely as he watches the flag flutter
“We did a good job guys… hey Ace, is something wrong?” Sabo asks, seeing Ace was the only one of them not smiling
“This is a secret base right? Then it’s missing something important…. Boobytraps” he states before flashing a wicked grin, causing the other 3 boys to laugh
“Wow! We can see so much from up here!” Luffy cheers “You can see Grey Terminal, Fushia village, and even the East Blue!”
“Yeah, but we can see those any day of the week, what’s your point?” Sabo asks in confusion
“Yeah…. But it’s different seeing them from up here, it just doesn’t feel the same”
The 3 shrug and climb up to join their idiot brother… and were blown away by the sights
“Wow, it’s all laid out like a map up here”
“You’re right Luffy, this is nice, up here it all seems so small, but peaceful”
“This was a good idea, building the hideout up here, ay guys?”
“It was your idea dummy” Kaos deadpans, lightly flicking Sabo’s nose
“I know, but you can’t deny it” he laughs
“Fair enough, now… who wants to play pirates?”
“Oh I do, me, me, me!” Luffy shouts, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet
Dadan family hideout
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN’T FOUND THEM YET!!” Dadan bellows
“Sorry Boss, we asked around, and people have seen them in Grey Terminal, and in the woods, but nothing specific or useful when it comes to locating them now” the bandit admits
“But, it’s been 2 weeks, how can we have found nothing? Oh no, you don’t think that tiger ate the poor boys up and there’s nothing left of them?” Dadan begins to panic/spiral
“BOSS! We found them!” Dogra shouts as he a Mogra rush back to base
“You did? Where are they? Are they still alive?”
“Yeah, they’re fine, even built a hideout of their own deep in the woods in that massive tree” Dogra explains
“It’s true, we can even take you there to see it if you want” Mogra offers, knowing it would do the Boss’ nerves some good to see the boys were alright
Instead of letting him do so, Dadan instead snuck out that evening to check on them, an unconscious smile crossing her face as she sees her boys so relaxed, content and peaceful sleeping in their treehouse base. ‘They’re little monsters when they’re awake, but they’re surprisingly nice when they’re asleep’ she muses, especially seeing Luffy practically crawl on top of Kaos and Ace while somehow still being asleep himself. With a sigh of relief, Dadan shuffles back down the tree, heading back to her base to sleep, knowing those brats would be fine, for the moment at least.
TBC
LW: And with that moment of peace, we bid them adieu for another 2 weeks.
✶ The final scorecard that day after 99 fights each (as it was easier that way, due to not being able to split 100 3 ways)
Luffy: Vs Kaos - 33 losses, Vs Sabo - 33 losses, Vs Ace - 33 losses
Kaos: Vs Luffy - 33 wins, Vs Sabo - 5 wins/ 28 losses, Vs Ace - 3 wins/30 losses
Sabo: Vs Luffy - 33 wins, Vs Kaos - 28 wins/ 5 losses, Vs Ace - 15 wins/ 18 losses
Ace: Vs Luffy - 33 wins, Vs Kaos - 30 wins/ 3 losses, Vs Sabo - 18 wins/15 losses
Chapter 136: A Cursed Legacy! Tiger Forged Bond!
Chapter Text
LW: So, this flashback arc will be another couple chapters, but bright side, more KLAS boys shenanigans.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - A Cursed Legacy! Tiger Forged Bond!
We rejoin the boys in the depths of winter, doing what you’d expect from them…. Being chased by a giant bear
“f*ckf*ckf*ckf*ck!”
“This was all your fault Luffy!”
“I wanted to fight the tiger, not a bear!”
“Less talking more running!” Sabo shouted as the bear gains on them, and all seemed hopeless until a scruffy old man comes running in the opposite direction. First, he throws a large hammer at the bear, stunning it and stopping it in its tracks, before closing the distance while it was unable to attack
“Who’s this crazy bastard?” Ace mutters
“Whoever he is, he has a death wish” Kaos agrees
“I’ve seen him around Grey Terminal, his name’s Nagari” Sabo answers, just as the bear gets up “Run old man, he’s going to kill you!” he then shouts, but Nagari seems to just ignore him, then, just before the charging beast hits him, a rush of something fills the clearing, kicking up the snow, and when it clears Nagari was fine, the bear was just standing there right in front of him
“Leave these boys alone. It’s time to return to the forest” Nagari requests, the bear growls in response, at which point it turns into an order “I said, Turn around and leave us be” which seemed to work, given the bear almost looked to sigh and pout, before skulking back into the forest
“Well damn, the old guy’s tougher than he looks”
“He stopped it…. Just like Shanks” Luffy grins widely
A little later
“Wait, you used to be a pirate Captain Nagari!” Sabo shouts as the 4 kids and one old man set up a campfire to roast the fish they’d caught before the whole bear incident
“Indeed” Nagari drones, as he tends to the fire
“Eh I already knew that much, he did the cool thing, old pirate captains do that” Luffy almost cackles
“Cool thing?”
“Yeah the thing you did with the bear, I saw Shanks do it to a Sea King over a year ago” Luffy explains
“Oh, I see” Nagari says with a chuckle and awkward scratch of his head
“He never seemed tough enough to be a pirate” Sabo mutters “Not to me, he was just weird. Course that doesn’t say much as lots of people in Grey Terminal are weird, but this guy would gather junk all day and then hammer it into… I don’t even know what.The other guys, and Bluejam’s crew would make fun of and pick on him, but he’s just sit there and take it, never fought back, or even said a word. Seemed pretty weak and frail to me”
“Or those dumbasses weren’t worth his time” Kaos argues, getting a nod and grin from Luffy “Shanks was the same, just laughed off a mountain bandit wrecking a the bar he was in and spilling booze on him, because the guy just wasn’t worth beating the sh*t out of, or even getting mad at, just laughed off when the f*cker left”
“Yep, Pirate Captains don’t care about what losers think of them” Luffy says, puffing up his chest
“Hopfully Ace learns to do that before becoming captain, or he’ll set a bad example” the purple haired kid smirks, and Ace, rather than beat the sh*t out of him, just gave him the smallest part of the fish when he split the first one between the 5 “Better, petty rather than violent”
“So Nagari, you’re clearly no pushover, probably still pretty badass even given your age, so why are you here in a dump like Grey Terminal, instead of out there on the ocean?” Ace asks as they munched
Nagari hums “That’s, not exactly a pleasant story”
“If it’s a problem we can drop it, we’re not going to pry or force you to talk” Ace assures him, but the old man just laughs
“Oh it’s no trouble at all, just wanted to forewarn you boys before I shared is all. I presume you like everyone else, know of the famous pirate Gold Roger?” he asks, Ace’s face screws up while the others are focued on Nagari so don’t notice
“Of course we do” Sabo says with an eye roll
“He’s the king after all” Luffy cheers
“He started the whole pirate craze from what we’ve heard” Kaos smirks but nods
“Well, back in the day my crew challenged Roger and his men to a fight, a fight that we lost”
“That sucks” Luffy frowns “But I guess the pirate king SHOULD be a great fighter and have a crew of powerful pirates too, so it makes sense”
“Put in our place, we all split up. Everything went downhill after that, until I ended up in this place. Frankly, it makes me wonder if my life was worth anything to begin with, never mind now” Nagari sighs, puffing his pipe and blowing a small smoke ring
“You fought the king, win or lose that makes you cool” Luffy assures him
“The fact you fought him and lived to talk about it even a decade later helps, you’re made of strong stuff Nagari” Kaos adds
“Doesn’t feel like it, especially not after me and my crew were beat to sh*t by Roger and his. Because that’s the thing about pirates, one man is never enough, it’s the strength of the entire crew that matters, and the men who sailed on the Oro Jackson, were the best of the best on my generation, their teamwork and camaraderie, it was an honor seeing them fight side by side, even if it was as an enemy” Nagari concludes smiling softly as he goes back to his pipe, at which point the boys notice Ace had wandered off
“Hey, where’d Ace go?” Luffy whines, having just gotten Nagari to agree to train him, and now realizes Ace has vanished, 5 minutes behind his brothers
Sabo sighs deeply “Yeah about that, things got kind of awkward a minute ago, I’ll explain…”
WHAT!!!!!!!! Roger was Ace’s Dad, and he never told us, what the Hell?” Luffy shouts
“He, really doesn't like talking about it, plus it’s a super big secret, so please don’t blab about it in random conversations ok?” Sabo begs, as he and Kaos pack up the remaining fish and wave goodbye to Nagari “Or mention it to Ace, I want to keep living at least a few more years”
“I don’t get it” Luffy hums
“It’s a mystery to me too” Sabo agrees “But Ace has issues, with his father, and let’s just leave it at that”
“Hard to see how, Roger was already dead before Ace was born, far as I can tell” Kaos sighs but agrees, the boys making the trek back to the hideout in silence
“Hey Ace, so this is where you disappeared to, didn’t know you’d be home already” Sabo greets as the 3 return and enter the hideout
“Hey Ace, didn’t know Roger was your dad and you hate him!” Luffy shouts as he follows Sabo in, his head meeting the floor as fast as Ace’s hits his folded arms, courtesy of Kaos slamming his fist into the back of his head
“That’s literally the opposite of what we discussed!”
“Luffy” Ace says, his voice, oddly calm “Kaos. Who told you guys about my father?”
‘sh*t, goodbye world I didn’t even get to see another island’
‘Play dumb Luffy, for once in your life behave as if you literally are retarded’
“Oh, Sabo told us” Luffy chirps as he gets up off the ground, still grinning like a moron
‘Whelp, we’re boned’ Kaos and Sabo mentally cry, before actually crying when Ace started to beat the 3 of them black and blue
“Never speak his name in my presence again!”
“I just want to hear cool pirate stories!” Luffy whines
“At least give me a minute to explain myself Ace, jeez”
“I’m not sure why I’m being attacked, besides not stating clearer that Roger was DEAD before Ace was born, so he has no memories or stories of Roger. Though that does make me wonder why you hate him so much!”
“Yeah, come on Ace we’re brothers, we’re not supposed to have secrets between each other”
“Plus at least you know who your parents are, you whiny little sh*t!” Kaos shouts, the head trauma finally getting to him “Me and Luffy don’t even have that, just a physically abusive old geezer who only hears what he wants and punches things until they comply!”
“THAT’S ENOUGH! You bastards are dead to me, you hear, it’s over between us” Ace pants, exhausted from fighting all 3 of them as well as the few blows they managed to get in past his guard due to his anger
“Well f*ck you too Roger’s bastard!” Luffy shouts, getting one last combo punch from Sabo and Kaos who would really like the rubber brainlet to SHUT THE f*ck UP ALREADY!!
Dadan Bandit house
“We will have a visit this spring” Dadan reads with a frown “Dogra! Mogra! The f*ck is Goa?”
“It’s the country and island we live on Boss, Mt Corvo, Fushia Village, and Grey Terminal are all part of the Goa Kingdom” Dogra explains
“I knew that” Dadan blusters
“Huh, so you can read, neat” Morga smiles, then whines as Dadan smacks him with the newspaper like a misbehaving dog
“Anyway, these dumbos are making a big deal about this visit, but it’s not like these prissy bastards are going to haul their asses all the way up our mountain” Dadan scoffs “Not that I’d want to see any of those pompous windbags anyway. Celestial Dragons, they can all f*ck right off”
1 week later
After their fight, Luffy went off to get training from Nagari, Kaos went who the f*ck knows, and in a strange parallel of future events, Ace decided alongside Sabo to try to kill that giant tiger, failing every day no matter what he tried, the animal didn’t even seem all that bothered by the boys, more swatting their attempts away and chasing them until it got bored.
“Maybe we should use poison mushrooms in the bait next time” Sabo brainstorms “Or, given it’s still a cat even if it’s a huge one, maybe we should try catnip to distract it, then stab it! Hello, are you even listening to me?” the blond scowls as Ace just keeps walking “So…. how do you think Luffy and Kaos are doing? It’s been a whole week since we’ve seen hide or hair of them, Luffy with his secret training and… I honestly don’t know where the lanky bastard f*cked off to, but it’s probably important. Don’t you think we should at least check up on them or something?” Ace keeps moving silently “You know how Luffy is, by now he should be crying and whining about how hard his training is and that he wants to come back” more silence “sh*t, what if that magic sword thing finally killed Kaos, and that’s why we haven’t seen him?”
Ace takes another 10 or so paces before stopping and turning his head “You say something?” he asks with a disinterested expression
“Oh f*ck right off, I know you care and worry about those 2 dumbos even if you’re hiding it under your cold-hearted asshole persona. They’re our little brothers, at least admit to SOME concern!” Sabo shouts
Ace shrugs “They left us remember? Not my problem if the brats get themselves killed” he huffs, but before Sabo could retort, both boys had to leap out of harm's way as a massive tree tilts and falls with a loud creek and crash
“Oh…. Opps!” Shouts a voice from the tree’s base, which as the dust settled was revealed to be Luffy, Nagari following not that far behind him “Sorry, are you ok?” Luffy calls, before realising who he nearly just killed
“Luffy?!”
“Ace! Sabo!” Luffy cheers “What’s up guys how’s it been? It’s been a pretty busy week huh?”
“You could say that, we’ve been fine” Sabo laughs awkwardly, while Ace just frowns
Nagari’s Camp
“Is that a tiger?” Sabo mutters, looking at the hanging board “Well, you clearly haven’t become a better artist since we last saw you”
“It’s my target, wanna see my newest super cool move?” Luffy asks excitedly, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet
“Sure, let’s see what your training has got you” Sabo nods as Luffy swings his arms to build up power
Gum Gum Pistol
Luffy’s arm shoots forward at incredible speed, the only problem was it completely missed the target, sailing right past and clocking Nagari on the side of the head
“Impressive distance and power…. Your aim still sucks though” Sabo chuckles
“What kind of training you been giving the kid?” Ace asks off to the side near where Nagari pulls himself to his feet
“Nothing really, I’ve had him chop some wood every day which might be increasing his strength, and essentially given him somewhere to train, but that’s about it” the old man as he settles down once again
Ace hums, then closes his eyes as he remembers the last time he saw the man “You hate him too, don’t you?”
“I’m afraid I don’t follow this conversation” Nagari shrugs
“Because he defeated your old crew” Ace continues as if he hadn’t said anything
“Ah, you mean Roger” Nagari realizes “I was rather devastated, that much is true, but the only reason I lost was because I wasn’t strong enough, in that respect, he taught me a valuable lesson”
Ace’s eyes snap open and he turns in confusion “What, by kicking your ass?” he asks, probably unconsciously not linking this incident with every time Garp came to visit him and kick his ass as ‘marine prep’ or whatever bullsh*t the old man was spouting that time.
Nagari chuckles “in a way, yes. Gold Roger was a man of extraordinary character indeed, and that’s why I…”
“Cut the crap old man, if Roger’s so great then why does everybody hate him?” Ace shouts
“Did those men who hate and complain ever face Roger in battle, or even seen the man with their own eyes? In the pirate game, defeat means death, but Roger chose to spare not only my life but my entire crew’s. If any of them ever faced Roger they should be grateful to still be here. Complaining is a luxury men like us don’t get to have often.
“If Roger had a son, you think he should be grateful too?” Ace scowls, finally getting to the root of the problem
“Honestly, I’d feel sorry for him. Regardless of what he does or where he goes, his father’s name would haunt him for the rest of his life. With a Legacy like that, I would understand how someone could grow to resent or even hate the man, a man they’ve never met, never will. I’ll tell you this, if I were his son I’d never have become a pirate, his name would be a mark on my record from the moment I stepped onto the sea, and it would do me no favours but instead just paint a target on my back”
“What do you know you old coot? I’m sick of your lectures, if you think you’re some strong pirate then fight me!” Ace shouts, leaping at Nagari with his pipe, only for the old man to block it with almost comedic ease
“Holy crap” Sabo whispers, him and Luffy drawn over by the yelling
“I wouldn’t advice this boy, like I said before, when pirates fight you bet your life”
“I’ll never lose to the likes of you!” Ace sneers as he lunges with his pipe, Nagari stands and dodges the strike, holding off Ace with his hammer staff, his age less of a hindrance than the 2 spectators would have expected, before with a single counter disarms Ace and sets his hammer on the boy’s shoulder
“You’ve got a lot of growing to do yet boy” Nagari hums
“Screw you, I don’t need another lecture. Now get this over with already”
“I’ll spare you the lecture, and a violent death if you come with me” Nagari states, removing the hammer and leading the boys down to a hidden cove not far from his campsite
Elsewhere
Shing
ZAP
“Ow! f*ck!” Kaos hisses as he’s blown back, his hands twitching from the backlash, Hebi embedded in the boulder in front of him
‘You’re not strong enough yet’ the voice purrs, green eyes snap open, tilting to the shadows around him
“I can see that” Kaos groans “Hebi, has so much inside her, and I’ve barely scratched the surface” he sits up, moving to pull the currently still katana shaped weapon from its furrow
‘Why are you trying so hard? You don’t even want the Captain’s Hat’
“I don’t, but I do want to stand alongside my brothers. I don’t care what flag I stand under, all that matters is WHO is there beside me. Whether it’s KLAS, KLAUS, KL, or some combination in between, I still need to prove myself capable of actually being a pirate” Kaos sighs deeply, Hebi reforming into her default as his hands close around her hilt
“§The master is growing, but you’re still just a hatchling§” Hebi hisses, coiling around his forearm without biting him
“But I have to start somewhere, it might as well be here and now”
‘Agreed, and there is one thing, that might work well for you, if you’re not worried about, scaring people, or potential collateral damage’
Kaos’ eyebrows rise “I’m listening
Back with the others
“HOLY sh*t IS THAT A PIRATE SHIP?!” Sabo shouts, shocked that was what the old man had been hiding down here “Is that what all that junk you were collecting was for?”
“Correct, it’s been slow progress working all alone, but it’s still coming along nicely. Though speaking of, you boys are pretty tough, think you could lend a hand?” Nagari asks, surprisingly both newer boys
“Why would I do that?” Ace asks with a scoff
“Because I didn’t smash your head open like a ripe melon you little punk”
“That explains why Ace has to help but why do I have to?” Sabo whines
“Well, you did follow us, and seem to have nothing better to do” Nagari hums
“This stinks of child labor”
“Well the East is notoriously lax with those laws, to the point the other Blues laugh at us, so too bad kiddo, you’re going to work” the old man laughs
“This is bull, I so have better things to do with my time, like hunt that damn tiger” Sabo shouts
“I can throw in some tiger hunting tips if you want”
“Really… I’ll consider it” Sabo concedes
“Hey geezer, what are you going to do when the ship’s complete?” Ace asks, sounding genuinely curious
Nagari smirks and takes a drag from his pipe “Why head out to sea with it. And hopefully, reunite with my old crew out in the vast sea”
“Are you sure you’re still able to?” Sabo asks in concern
“Why wouldn’t I? I was a captain once before, it’s not like I’m some young rookie, I know what I’m doing” Nagari defends
“That’s kind of the issue” the blond mutters, not wanting to vocalise ‘YOU’RE AN OLD MAN’
“No matter how old you are, you can always chase your dreams. I’m sailing again once this ship is complete, and no man can stop me. You kids got a problem with that?”
“Nope” Luffy answers with a grin
Sabo shrugs “Well, I’m sure as hell not going to stop you”
“Whatever. You spared my life so I’ll help you build that ship, for now. Because I’m beating you tomorrow!” Ace declares before walking off
“I don’t know why I expected anything less. Hey Luffy, you seen Kaos on your travels?” Sabo asks with a sigh
“Yeah, he’s already come down to check up on me a couple times since Nagari took me on as his apprentice. Maybe he’ll be around tomorrow” Luffy responds with a shrug
“Another pair of hands would speed things along, especially given I don’t think Ace will be working all that hard, nor be able to,” Sabo sighs, worried his brother will eventually piss off Nagari enough that he actually kills the stubborn dumbass.
It took another week of before Kaos next visited and he was more than happy to help the others build Nagari’s ship, mostly out of his own curiosity, but also because he could see one thing the man was doing, unconventional training under the guise of other tasks, as well as teaching skills that would be useful for life as a pirate. None of them would ever be shipwrights or anything, but given this was the East Blue, not the Grand Line, as long as it can float it should stand up to the minor storms that occasionally rock through the local island chains. And so the 4 fell into a routine, working for Nagari, building parts or construction sections of his ship, then learning aspects of piracy from the man and sparing with each of them, Kaos and Luffy very slightly more as they needed something to do when he sent Ace and Sabo into the ocean to swim for stamina training.
Winter slowly crept away into a late spring, which was common enough in Goa that it was just called spring. And once more Luffy manages to miss all his accepted targets in a spar and smack Nagari right in the nose
“Opps, sorry”
“Always the face,damn brat” Nagari mutters as he stands “You kids have been doing this enough, there’s more to being a pirate than beating someone senseless with a pipe. Surely you want more than just strength?”
“Yeah, but that junk comes later, we need to be stronger now!” Sabo argues “Because the strongest one of us gets to be captain”
“ Or I have the troublesome job of picking the captain if I somehow win this game” Kaos sighs, Hebi forming a walking stick/cane sword due to a rather severe sounding crunch to his lower leg from one of Ace’s pipe swings
“Remember, whoever beats the tiger wins!” Luffy shouts, a little annoyed Nagari hadn’t been listening their first meeting
“The tiger, again” Nagari sighs “I agree that the Captain needs to be strong, but there’s something more important than just brute strength. There’s another kind of strength that can triumph over any foe” he says, getting all 4 boy’s attention
“Can you teach us that?” Sabo asks
“Oh, curious now are you kiddies?” Nagari chuckles “It… slipped my mind” he says with a deep belly laugh, pissing off 3 of them, and getting an eye roll from the 4th
That evening
Nagari pauses his hammering, feeling a presence behind him. Turning he sees one of the boys was still awake, and had come down to him for some reason “Hello, can’t sleep? Sorry if the banging is keeping you awake, I was sure I was far enough away not to disturb you” he apologises, but Ace just stares at him
“What does it take to be a captain?” Ace asks directly, not beating around the bush at this late hour “If there really is a way to be stronger I have to know what it is! So tell me damn it!”
Nagari sighs “Ok, I’ll tell you” he says before dropping down to where the boy had been standing “Even after all these years… I don’t know” he admits “Frankly, I don’t think I was a good captain, but my crew, they clearly thought I was, right to the end they called me captain without a hint of doubt or hesitation. So in a way, I’m still Captain of the Nagari pirates, even if, it’s only me these days, not because of my physical strength, but because of the approval and will of my crew. That’s the true test of a Captain, to be a man that others will follow into battle or even the Gates of Hell with”
3 more days passed and the ship was finally ready for its maiden voyage, all 4 boys there to see it sail
“We did it!!” Luffy cheering bouncing around like a toddler on a sugar high
“Yeah we did, and it’s a beaut” Sabo grins
“I’m still surprised we made something seaworthy, an old man and 4 kids, just doesn’t seem right” Kaos chuckles, but there it was
“The girl won’t pass an inspection, but she’ll float” Ace argues “Which is all the geezer wanted after all”
“I couldn’t have done it without your help, at least not for another few years at the minimum, thank you boys” Nagari says from the helm
“So… are you really leaving right now?” Sabo asks, an air of melancholy filled the kids, realizing this might be the last time they see the old man
“Not quite yet, there’s one last loose end to tie up before I go. You still need to complete your training” Nagari laughs, as the boys blink in confusion “So… are you boys ready to go tiger hunting or what?” Nagari asks with a wide grin, which the foursome mirror perfectly
“Yeah!”
The forest
“So, we’re really doing this” Luffy mutters, cracking his knuckles as Sabo and Ace ready their pipes and Kaos uncoils Hebi into a sword shape
“Yeah we are. And we better because here it comes” Sabo hisses, the rumble felt as much as heard as the massive saber tooth tiger lumbers through the forest in their direction
‘Well, he’s certainly not gotten any smaller’ Nagari thinks sarcastically as he watches from a far enough distance he will only have to step in if the boys get in trouble, but can otherwise just observe
Predictably, Ace took point, in that he charged straight at the tiger, leaving the others in the dust “The kill’s mine! I’m a lot faster now!” Ace shouts as he dodges a paw swipe and runs up the tiger’s front limb, then leaping off to land a pipe swing directly to its face. The tiger groans and seemed to wince, but otherwise was unharmed, as seen from how easily he tail whipped Ace away from it, slamming him into the ground with a thud
“Get over here! You gotta pay attention to me big guy” Sabo shouts, getting a weighted line around the tiger’s neck before it could pounce on the downed Ace “Just give up already!” he groans as he pulls, causing the tiger to tilt in the blond’s direction, before with a mighty swing of its neck pulled Sabo toward him instead, before proceeding to bitch slap him into the ground same as Ace.
“Ace, Sabo” Luffy gasps, then screams as the tiger turns his attention to him ‘Please work this time’ he thinks, swinging his arms around like always before launching a “Gum Gum Pistol”, for once hitting the target dead centre, but the rubber boy’s fist bounced right off the tiger’s nose, not even slowing the animal down
“Luffy!”
“sh*t, run away dumbass!”
‘This is getting out of hand’ Kaos thinks as Hebi thins and rounds out, forming into something best described as a rapier
“I don’t wanna die!” Luffy screams as he falls over in his retreat
SLAM
Just before he could be killed though, the tiger’s paw was stopped by Ace and Sabo’s crossed pipes, the animals’ position then compromised….
Traptrix: Ensnare
…by a large quantity of barbed wire coiling around its hind legs
“You guys saved me” Luffy gasps
“Yes, no move before somebody drops their load or the wires snap” Kaos orders, pulling Hebi’s tethers tight as the tiger struggles to free itself
“So heavy, I thought we were strong” Sabo groans, as even sharing the weight with Ace, the tiger’s paw was huge and not something he’d be able to hold up for very long
“It’s because we still lack the most important part. That other strength the old man was blathering on about” Ace argues “We’ve come too far to die now. Ok guys new plan: Teamwork!”
“What?” Luffy and Sabo shout, in shock after hearing noted lone wolf Ace suggest such a thing
“Ah, seems these boys might actually learn something from this fight” Nagari chuckles from the hillside
The 3 roll out of the way as the paw drops “We’re not fast enough to stop it but with Luffy’s help we might be able to make something happen. Kaos, cut him loose before you start getting dragged around and help Sabo keep it’s attention, me and Luffy will get the big guns ready
“Fine with me” Kaos nods, Hebi returning to her normal form, the wires retracting but at least managing to cut into the tiger’s flesh as it was recoiled. He then moves opposite Sabo and spun Hebi around and swung at the tiger’s face, both sticking to opposite sides to keep it’s attention spread and unfocused on either boy
“Luffy, grab those trees and walk back until you can’t stretch any further” Ace orders and Luffy complies “Kaos, Sabo get it to come over here!”
“Got cha, Kaos you’re on that side be more annoying!” Sabo yells just as the lanky kid accidentally complies, by slicing the tiger’s ear, and removing the very tip
“Opps…. Well guess I’m gonna die if this plan fails!” Kaos shouts as he’s now the tiger’s only target, and so runs toward Ace and Luffy praying this actually worked
“Almost…. There. You know what to do now Luffy, fire at will!”
“Gum Gum….” Luffy begins,
“Rocket!!!” Ace bellows as he flies through the air, swinging his pipe just as he hits the tiger dead in the throat, toppling the beast and knocking it down in one blow
“We did it!” all 4 cheer, then the realisation sets in
“We just helped Ace be the captain” Sabo mutters
“f*ck!” Luffy screams
“Not how I expected this to turn out, but oh well” Kaos shrugs before falling back and lying down tiredly
Ace sighs “Shut up and stop complaining, I’m not going to be the stupid captain ok”
“What?” Sabo, Luffy, and even Kaos shout
“What, but why?” Luffy adds, managing to keep the whiny tone from his voice
“I don’t know, doesn’t feel right. You guys kicked just as much ass and were just as important in taking the tiger down as I was, I just dealt the final shot”
“Fair enough” Sabo nods agreeing with his logic
“Though that’s just for now, one day, I’ll kick so much ass you’ll all be so impressed you’ll be begging to join my crew” Ace boasts, and all was once more right with the world in his brother’s eyes.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better ending, my work here is done” Nagari mutters to himself, happy to see the boys had learned what he was trying to teach them, and that it was now time to set sail, while he still had some good years left in him.
About a month later
“Can you 2 dumbasses stop tempting Mother Nature to f*ck with us!” Kaos shouts as he reels Luffy in after nearly being thrown off the top of their base due to the current storm, of which all of them were having the moment of pirate cosplay and telling the storm to do its worst
“You clearly don’t understand how pirates work, we tempt the fates so future adventures and more importantly fights are more fun and interesting” Ace argues over the wind
“I have to agree… but the fact the storm is starting to damage the structural integrity of the treehouse makes me lean closer to Kaos side” Sabo retorts
“I don’t know what that means, but save me!” Luffy screams
The next day, just as Sabo pointed out, the base was kind of trashed, meaning they had to resupply and rebuild, as well as explain to Luffy that a telescope would be too complicated to make out of the scrap they would find in Grey Terminal, and to wait until they had a real ship before they just buy one to put on it. So the 4 boys split up ti get as much material as possible to rebuild and improve their base
“Not much wood this month, but a new pipe is always a bonus” Sabo mutters to himself as he carries a small stack over his shoulder, then stops and gasps “No way! sh*t is that an actual telescope? Luffy’s gonna freak when I bring this back to him” the blond laughs as he picks up the small scope and pockets it, only then do some scruffy looking thugs, and head thug Bluejam make their presence known
“Who would have thought that one of the 4 Grey Terminal Brats was from a noble family” the pirate captain scoffs, just loud enough for Sabo to hear
“Oh really, and who told you a rumour like that?” Sabo asks, getting ready to fight, then grimacing as he realises he was completely surrounded and on his own.
“Try not leave much of a mark on him, the noble priss will complain and might not give us as much money if his precious angel is damaged” Bluejam orders as his men lunge at Sabo
“You jerks want a piece of me, come right and get it!” Sabo growls as he dodges and kicks one of the thugs in the face, just before a barrel comes rolling right at them, the barrel exploding to reveal Ace and Luffy, who swing and punch at the first pirate they come across
“My aim’s getting better” Kaos chuckles as he slides down the same trash pile he’d shoved the barrel down “Hey Sabo, need help with these assholes?”
“Not even a question, with the 4 of us, even real pirates don’t stand a chance. The real question is if he’s ready to kick all these asses or just watch me do it for him?” Ace grins viciously
“In your dreams” Sabo chuckles, readying his new pipe as Luffy swings his arms and Kaos begins to spin Hebi
“Well since I’m dreaming, you have no problems with just ploughing through all these underlings and taking out the captain here and now?” Ace taunts, getting devious smirks from his brothers at the thought.
“Yosh! KLAS pirates attack!!!” Luffy screams as the foursome charge, smacking aside or cutting down henchmen on their way to Bluejam himself, who in response draws his pistol and fires a shot at Ace’s feet, prompting the boys to duck into cover, Luffy and Kaos on the right while Ace and Sabo were on the left.
“Just give up nice and easy kiddos” Bluejam orders
“We never give up you hear us!” Ace retorts, only for the fact they’re all still kids to rear its ugly head as they’re grabbed from behind and manhandled into compliance, Ace and Sabo being held by the neck, Luffy face first in the dirt and Kaos with a boot on his chest. Things were looking rough, when armed goons in what looked to be hazmat gear and rifles rocked up for possibly the first time in Grey Terminal history, as well as a man in a hot hat, and smug aura
‘sh*t, my dad’s here’ Sabo thinks with a shiver
“He’s caught and we didn’t harm a hair on his noble head, so take him and pay up” Bluejam grouses as the noble nods and the thugs move to allows him to inspect Sabo
“Get away from him!!” Ace shouts as he tries to free himself from his captor
‘He wanted to find me so badly he hired pirates? Something’s not right here, but I just don’t see it’ Sabo thinks, a grimace growing on his face
“Those other boys, they tempted Sabo into a life of debauchery and wickedness” Sabo’s sperm donor sneers
“Hey f*ck you, Sabo was like that before we even showed up in this place!” Kaos shouts, getting a boot to the ribs for his troubles
“Give him back you stupid jerk!” Luffy screams
“You clearly don’t understand, Sabo is of noble birth, he’s meant to walk the path that I laid out for him, and you degenerates have tried to steer him into the path of a petty thief. Why do it, was it for my money?”
“Screw you and your money!” Ace bellows as he continues to squirm until he’s slammed face-first into the ground
“Hey, you stupid pirate, stop being so careless with how you handle that ruffian, you’ll get his delinquent blood on my nice clothes, it’s disgusting” Sabo’s Father sneers, wiping blood from his cheek with a silk handkerchief
With the man holding him distracted, most likely because he assumed the job was over, Sabo was able to slip free “Hey stop hurting them. Those boys didn’t tempt me to do anything, I left because I chose to, I made a decision for myself”
“I’ll discipline you for his act of rebellion later Sabo. Men take him away” 2 hazmat goon grab Sabo and begin to drag him away “As for the others, deal with them as you see fit” the noble dismisses, not caring what happens as long as they weren’t around his son any longer
Bluejam smiles “No problem sir, you’ve already paid us quite handsomely, we’ll ensure these brats never darken your path ever again. I’ll spare you the gorey details, they might sour your delicate sensibilities”
Sabo panicked before he shouts “Bluejam stop. Call them off Dad I get it!”
“Get what?” the noble asks
“Don’t do it Sabo!”
“We’ll think of something”
“I’m gonna kick all your asses once you get off me!”
“I’ll do whatever you say, live whatever life you’ve mapped out, just don’t hurt them. They’ve done nothing wrong, I can’t stand to see them hurt like this, they’re my brothers, they’re all I care about in this world” Sabo begs, eyes misted with unshed tears
‘sh*t, I don’t think Sabo was meant to admit that, are we going to be released or murdered in front of him by tight britches for that statement?’ Kaos wonders with a grimace
“If that’s what you want, then go home and stop playing pirate in this trash heap with these low-born ingrates” Sabo’s father ordered, Sabo whimpers, but nods, the haxmat goons letting go of him as it was clear he wasn’t going to resist any more, tears streaming down his face as he’s lead away, the other 3 boys yells and screams for him to run and be free echoing in his ears
“So boss, what do we do with these brats?” one thug asks
“Take ‘em to the hideout” Bluejam orders
Bluejam pirate’s ship
“You cheating bastards, untie me and fight!” Luffy shouts from his position tied back to back with Kaos and Ace in a triangle/circle configuration?
“Why’d you bring us here, you should have just killed us” Ace scowls
“As much as I don’t want to die…. Ace is right. Why are we still alive?” Kaos asks peering over Ace’s shoulder at Bluejam
“Must be nice, being a noble” Bluejam comments, not answering and probably not even listening to the boys yells or questions “To them, we’re no different than the trash heaps we’re forced to live in. They just sit back and laze around, while we do all the dirty work. It’s a pretty cushy life your buddy’s living I’d say”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about” Ace argues
“Pirate life is way better than being a stupid noble!” Luffy shouts
“Plus, from what Sabo tells us, being a noble as a kid, just means assholes telling you what to do all hours of the day” Kaos adds, basically agreeing with both of his brothers on this one.
Bluejam takes another swig and chuckles “You brats are so hopeless I can’t even. Men, untie them and be quick about it. Why do you think a kid from a noble family ran off into the sh*thole that is Grey Terminal? He was mocking you and everyone else in the Terminal, same as adult nobles do when they’re bored and want the plebs to do something to amuse them”
“Like that Smelly guy Sabo told us about?” Luffy mutters as the 3 stand now they’ve been untied
“I hate to break it to you boys, but blondie’s no friend of yours, never was” Bluejam continues, annoying all 3 of the kids
“You don’t know a damn thing, Sabo isn’t like those pompous assholes!” Ace shouts
“Yeah, he’s our brother, he even said so in front of everyone!” Luffy adds
“Yeah sure whatever you kids say. But the important thing is, you’re not going to go bother that boy or his family anymore are you? Because if that’s the plan I’m afraid I’m going to have to kill all of you right here and now, I did promise that rich prick he’d never see you again after all. Best for all of you punks to just let him go and let the brat live his life”
“No way! We made a promise!” Luffy screams, before getting a light slap to the back of the head
“We don’t have to storm the gates right now Lu, we have plenty of time. Might even be more fun to rock up to Hightown with a pirate ship and rescue him from his gilded cage” Kaos hums, clicking his tongue with a smile that doesn’t quite fit his face
“You’re sh*tting me? You want to leave Sabo in that Hellhole!”
“No, I want to wait for his father to get complacent and drop his guard, then shove a cannon up his ass to see if it will dislodge the polearm he’s clearly got stuck up there” the taller boy growls
“Anyway if you boys are done fantasizing I have a bit of a proposition for you” Bluejam smirks at their confused faces “Until a while ago I had a bone to pick with all 4 of you for what happened involving Porchemy, but with the gift of time and hindsight, I’m actually kind of impressed how tough a bunch of kids actually are. The problem, and reason for this offer, is that I’m a little short-handed due to some of my guys being dead and all that, so I need some extra muscle to move some cargo for me” the pirate explains “It’s actually quite a simple job, I have some packages I need you to distribute all throughout Grey Terminal, you’ll see them marked on the map to your left with X’s. Think of it like a reverse Treasure map, rather than digging up where the X is, you put one of these items, then move on to the next”
“Ok, we’re listening” Ace says, acting as the trio’s spokesman “But what about pay?”
Bluejam twitches slightly, but his smile widens, these kids might actually be worth his time.
Grey Terminal
“My head’s tired, why are we doing this? Hauling stuff’s no fun when Sabo’s not around” Luffy whines, 1 box in his arms, the other on his head, while Ace and Kaos had one under each arm same as the goons
“You’re not the only one Luffy, I want to go rescue Sabo too, but we have to at least give him a chance to live his own life, and if that doesn’t work and he comes back… then we win” Ace states
“Plus, I never said NOT to rescue him, just not to run in half co*cked like the thugs we usually beat up in the Terminal and Lowtown” Kaos adds with a sigh “I want Sabo back too, but we don’t stand a chance against High Town’s security if they’re actually trying”
That evening
“So, what do you think Sabo’s doing right now?” Luffy asks as the three lie in bed
“Sleeping” Kaos answers flatly “He’s the one who usually sleeps through your questions and snoring
“I thought we agreed to not worry about Sabo, for now, he’ll be fine, that bastard put to much effort into finding him to do anything bad the same day” Ace adds, giving his 2 beri “Just go to slee…” he stops already hearing Luffy’s snores “Dumbass” he muttered, getting a hissed cackle from the middle sibling
Next day
“You know, we’ve been waiting on you” Bluejam comments as Luffy, Ace and Kaos make their way to near the middle of Grey Terminal
“Sorry about that, the storm broke our clocks, so we’re kind of eyeballing this sh*t” Kaos apologizes with a tired shrug
“Do you have any more boxes for us to move?” Ace asks
“Yeah, I got a fair few left to haul, and I’ve got a bigger job for you boys to do later tonight, but we’ll discuss that closer to the time” the pirate answers, to which the boys nod and collect more boxes to distribute
Hightown
‘They’re gonna burn it all to the ground, kill all those people and nobody even cares! I need to do something, anything to stop this. Ace, Kaos, Luffy, I’m coming for you, if nothing else, I’m going to save my brothers’ Sabo thinks as he runs through the streets of Hightown, Adrenaline and panic rushing through his veins
TBC
LW: Well, things are coming to a climax, and as someone who knows where his story’s heading, I can see how Sabo’s past here and now, affected and shaped his future in the current manga.
Also, what Hebi and remnant were talking about, wasn’t Traptrix, but something Kaos hasn’t used in the current storyline, flashback, or main series ….. yet.
Fun fact, between this chapter and the next, I’ll have seen Film Red, which should be fun :)
Chapter 137: To Hell and Back! But Never Unscathed!
Chapter Text
LW: So…. things are about to go to Hell in a handbasket this chapter, hope everyone’s ready
Rubber King and mirror Master - To Hell and Back! But Never Unscathed!
Late Afternoon
“You’re going to burn down Grey Terminal! Why the Hell would you want to do that?” Ace shouts as Bluejam finally let the boys in on the ‘big plan’
“It does seem really stupid given you live here too” Kaos mutters, but he never saw the pirate as the brightest bulb even in this trash heap
“Not so loud kid, we gotta keep quiet about this, else it won’t work. And there’s no point complaining, I’m just following orders the same as you” Bluejam admits, then with a heavy sigh, because Luffy, as usual, doesn’t listen and starts screaming and complaining orders “Hold the brat and shut him up. Now, in case you hadn’t figured out yet, all those boxes I’ve had you lugging around were filled with explosives, so you can see just how big and widespread this operation really is”
“Seems kind of risky, putting a plan this delicate in the hands of 3 kids, you’ve seen how clumsy Luffy can be” Kaos sighs, himself and Ace held by their shoulders just in case they decided to join Luffy in pitching a fit in anger
“Doesn’t matter in the end boys, because nothing will survive that fire. Nothing, and No one” Bluejam laughs and all the pieces slot together as the colour drains from the brother’s faces.
“But, everyone…” Luffy whispers
“Bluejam you bastard, don’t you dare!” Ace shouts, but the pirate just laughs
“Really, since when did you punks start to give a damn about other people?”
“There’s a difference between not caring about people just going about their day, and not caring that they die in a fire” Kaos scowls
“Not that it matters” Bluejam continues, his question had been rhetorical after all “Now you know the plan, you’re stuck here, we can’t have you running off and telling everyone about it before the big event. But, since I’ve got you here, I need to ask, is it true you boys have hidden treasure in those hills?” he asks and the boys tense
“Yes. But only Sabo knows where it is”
“WHAT!!!”
“We didn’t want something like this to happen, so only one of us knew where the treasure was being kept” Kaos lies/explains “We chose Sabo, which seemed like a good idea at the time”
Evening
KABOOM!!
“Who knew this plan would be this much fun to pull off?” one of Bluejam’s goons laugh as they set off the explosives via shooting the crates
Mt Corvo
“Boss!! You’re gonna want to see this!” Mogra shouts from the lookout
“What now?” Dadan groans as she steps out, then her cigarette drops from her mouth “What the f*ck?”
“It’s a massive fire, is it the town?”
“No it’s closer than that, I think it’s Grey Terminal”
Grey Terminal
Anarchy. That sums up what was going on in Grey Terminal right about now, especially as the Security for the town more or less tip their hand by closing the gate to the city in the resident’s faces and locking it tightly, leaving them all to die. The fire was spreading too fast for any of them to do anything, already cutting most of them off from both the shore and the forest of My Corvo, Bluejam and the residents of Hightown were clearly very thorough and meticulous when it came to setting up those explosives it would seem.
“It’s been nice here, but there's a certain level of joy watching this dump burn” the pirate in question chuckles. “But we’re off to better things, men. After what we’ve done, we’re on the path to nobility, the King of Goa will even grant us wealth, power and titles, can you see it?” Bluejam grins
“Sir, we left the kids back at the hideout” one minion speaks up
“Eh f*ck ‘em. We have more important things to worry about, the last few boxes to detonate, and then we can head to the Great Gate and the Military will let us enter our rightful place in Hightown” the pirate hand waves, his greed outweighing whatever self preservation he had, given he was the one who’d told the boys nobles couldn’t be trusted.
Bluejam’s hideout
“Why did you tell them only Sabo knew where our treasure was?” Luffy asks as he squirms in the ropes he, like the other 2 were tied to poles with
“Never mind that, why are you unarmed the ONE TIME we need it?” Ace shouts angrily
“I’m not, it just takes some effort to put it in and take it out, the technique is a work in progress after all” Kaos hums, silver-colored material covering his cupped hands, before a blade hilt began to rise from the goop “Plus, really didn’t want Bluejam to get any ideas and try to steal her, as killing the captain would set all his goons on us, during which I actually would be down a weapon” he explains, sighing contently as his weapon sits in his hand once more, before getting to work freeing himself “As for the Sabo thing, it was the easiest way to deter Bluejam from torturing the location out of us, if he believed the only person who knew wasn’t here… then he’d have to give up. Sure he could have killed us for being useless… but he could have done that at any time so I didn’t count that as an option” the 10-year-old boy explains, moving to free Ace and then Luffy from their binds
Back at the gate
“Captain, it’s locked up already” a crewmate shouts, but Bluejam seemed unperturbed
“It’s nothing, they just don’t want the riffraff getting in and rioting or scaring the prisses inside. I’m supposed to give them a signal so we can get in” he explains, walking up to the gate before announcing himself “Hey, it’s me Bluejam, we’re here!” silence followed, annoying the pirate “Hello? Open the damn door!”
“Cap’n, you don’t think, we’ve been double-crossed, were we?” another asks
Rather than acknowledge the question, he just continued to shout “Hey come on what’s the big idea? This isn’t funny, open the gate! We had an agreement you bastards!!!” he bellows, beginning to pound away at the metal barrier, to no avail “We did everything we were told, we were supposed to be allowed to evacuate this Hellhole, the King promised to make us nobles for this, he wouldn’t…..” it was then his brain finally clicked ‘f*ck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’ “The king set us up, that spineless, lying f*cker!!!”
High Town
They say ‘third times the charm’ and when it comes to escape attempts from his asshole family, it seemed 3 was the magic number for Sabo too, breaking out of the cellar he’d been locked in and running full pelt toward Edge town and hopefully onward to Grey Terminal and his REAL family. Predictably he encountered resistance from the guards, though only after he managed to reach the wheel that controlled the gate lock, at which point they beat him mercilessly with the butt of their rifles and dragged him away, Sabo screaming and squirming the entire time, until being slammed into the wall of an alleyway about a block or 2 away ‘I’m sorry guys’ was his last thought before passing out
Wind howled as a large man in a cloak approaches the downed child, kneeling close to check on him “What happened to you boy?” he asks in a hoarse gravelly voice
Sabo raises his head painfully, his blurred vision piecing together a gruff face with a bold red tattoo going down the left side of it “Who’s there?” he wheezes then reaches forward, grabbing the man’s arm “Whoever you are, please listen. The Nobles are the cause of this. You gotta believe me!” Sabo begs “Hightown reeks more than Grey Terminal ever did, monsters not even fit to bear the title of human, hidden behind their so-called noble veneer. It makes me sick, how they don’t care about anything, besides making themselves look good, screw anyone who stands in their way” his grip tightens on the man’s deep green cloak “I need to get away from here, otherwise, I’ll never be free” he cries “I’m ashamed of my noble birth, I often wish I’d been a commoner like my brothers, the stain of this life marring my very soul”
‘Goa Kingdom, look what you’ve done to this child, a kind soul, burned by the life forced upon him’ Dragon thinks, holding in a scowl as he sympathises with the child’s pain “I know how you feel” the man finally speaks “I too was born in this country, but I alone do not have the power to change this world and maybe I never will” he sighs tiredly
“But, at least you’re actually listening to me, that’s more than anyone else in High or even Edge town have done” Sabo argues frantically
“Of course I am” Dragon answers gruffly, nodding to the boy “And I’ll never forget” he says, even as Sabo passes out once more from his injuries
Somewhere in Grey Terminal
“Hey, do you think those old guys we passed a while ago made it out?” Luffy asks
“Who cares?” Ace growls as he leaps back from more flaming debris
“Right now, Bluejam may be a bastard but he’s right about me not caring about the rest of this place, while our lives are at stake” Kaos scowls “Now, where in this trash heap are we?”
“Who said you little f*cks were allowed to escape?” came the pissed off voice of Bluejam
“Nobody, that’s what escaping is” Luffy replies before the other 2 could stop him, looking at the pirate like he was an idiot or something
“What are you still doing here? I thought you said you had an escape plan or something for after the fire was set?” Ace asks, his grip on the pole tightening
“Guess nobles really are all scum ay Bluejam?” Kaos smirks, fairly sure they were all f*cked anyway, so why not poke the bear a little.
“Shut up you punks!” Bluejam shouts, before a, not quite resigned smile crosses his face “You do know it’s pointless right? The whole reason for this fire was to kill everyone, there’s no way out” he explains then begins chuckling “There’s a certain irony to this situation, a new perspective even. Humans are funny creatures, don't you think, I’ve hit rock bottom, the very land around me is burning to cinders, and all I can do is laugh, Jajajajaja!”
‘§Humans aren’t so different to other intelligent beings, they all break when under enough pressure, and madness is the easy out§’
“They’re acting really weird” Luffy mutters
“Luffy, Kaos. Run for it!” Ace orders, the 3 turn to run just as Bluejam tells his men to grab them, more goons appearing out of the flames, laughing like maniacs as they surround the trio
“Where do you think you’re going? We did this job together, it’s fitting we all end it together” the pirate laughs as he approaches the boys
“We’re not going to die with losers like you, we don’t die that easy” Ace declares, trying to put as much bravery into his words as he could
“Luffy is pretty stubborn, he might actually outlast the fire” Kaos chuckles, beginning to twirl Hebi between his fingers, as something flickers in his eyes, and his grin extends across his cheeks
“You know, since we’re all stuck here, tell me where the treasure is”
“But we told you, only Sabo knew where it was” Luffy frowns
“Yeah, but, and this may surprise you, I don’t trust punk kids who steal from my men and beat the sh*t out of them on a regular basis. So I think you’re lying, and I’ll just kill you one by one until I get my answer”
“Then you’ll be up 3 dead kids and down some treasure” Kaos bluffs
“Stop it, we’ll tell you” Ace sighs “It’s not worth it, we can just find more, but we need to survive in order to do that” he argues before either of his brothers could retort
Bluejam smirks “I knew you’d see it my way. Now show me where it is”
“Right here, hidden in the hollow of the tree” Ace explains, using a crude drawing on some unburned wood to show their hideout’s location, which Bluejam snatches up
“Sounds simple enough” he muses, passing it along to one of his goons, before with a nod signalling them to grab the boys
“Hey what gives, we told you where it is!” Ace yells
“Yes, but as I already pointed out, I trust you as well as I can throw you. Now about the treasure, let’s go”
“This is going in circles” Kaos groans
“Bluejam’s really lost the plot” Luffy agrees
“You moron, we won’t have time to get away, and I’m not dying here!” Ace scowls
Bluejam’s neck twinges, then he pulls a pistol on the oldest boy “Listen here kid, don’t you dare piss me off. I’m not above stealing from or murdering kids. Mark my words, I’ll have my revenge on those bastard nobles, they’ll rue the day they double-crossed me” the pirate sneers “They’re all scum, and to think you still call one of them your brother”
“Sabo’s different!”
“He hates the nobles almost as much as you do!”
“Probably because he already knew they were all pieces of sh*t on the inside!”
“That’s where you’re wrong, brats! Sure he roughed it out in the woods with you boys for however long it was, but he was just using you to sate his boredom, you were nothing more than live entertainment to him. And now Daddy Moneybags arrived to bring him home just before they burn down his playpen”
“Sabo is our brother” Ace scowls
“He’s probably the most stable of the 4 of us” Kaos mutters, Hebi shifting around his hand and up his arm while Bluejam was complaining again
“All Sabo wants is to be free, including from the sh*tty nobles!” Luffy shouts, before freeing himself by biting down on the man holding his arm, though the man retaliates by pulling his sword and swinging down on the boy, cleaving through his pipe and cutting his face
“Luffy!” both brothers shout, the youngest rolling on the ground in pain and crying, meanwhile the pirate slowly approaches, lining up his sword for a killing strike
“You leave him alone! Get the Hell away from Luffy!!” Ace screams, a heavy pulse flooding the clearing, the pressure actually extinguishing the nearest flames (though the spreading fires quickly replaced them) as well as causing most of the pirates around them to pass out and drop to the ground like dead weight, freeing the boys, though only Ace was on his feet right now
Bluejam was shocked, the pressure wave of Conqueror’s haki snapping out of his insanity, though it was quickly replaced by fear and rage lunging for Ace when he turned to check on the teetering Kaos and bleary-eyed Luffy “What did you do?” he shouts, throwing the boy across the clearing following him to pin the 11 year old under his boot “You really f*cked up big time brat, try that trick again before I blow you brains out, I dare you!”
“Get off me you scumbag!” Ace growls as he wriggles and squirms
“Times up, enjoy Hell” Bluejam laughs
“Ace. no!”
BANG
Bluejam scowls, was it so hard to kill one measly brat, now they have reinforcements?
“Dadan!” Luffy shouts, which has Kaos grinning widely and Ace snaps open his eyes, sure he’d been about to meet his end a second ago. But there above him, was Curly Dadan, having made it in time to throw off Bluejam’s aim enough to miss Ace’s head by about 3 inches
“Don’t you dare. Hurt MY BOYS” Dadan scowls, biting through her cigarette as her eyes blaze hotter than Grey Terminal “I’m not afraid to kill scum like you!” she declares, swinging her axe at what was presumably Bluejam’s neck, though he managed to block it with his cutlass, it still shoved him off Ace and a fair distance backward.
Hope started to bubble inside the boys as it turned out Dadan had just run off ahead, the entire Dadan Family bandit trope was just behind her, rushing to the aid of ‘their brats’, given they may drive everyone in that house insane, the word Family existed in their title for a reason, they stick up for their own.
“We’re not too late are we?” Mogra pants heavily near the front of the pack “You alright Special K?” he adds, getting a nod from Kaos as he pulls himself to his feet
“Damn, you got roughed up pretty badly Luffy, you gonna make it?” Dogra asks, checking the boy for any more serious wounds
“I’ll make it” Luffy wheezes, sitting up with the man’s help
“And where’s Sabo, shouldn’t he be with you guys?” Mogra asks, noticing they were down one blond kid in a top hat
“His asshole noble of a father showed up and took him home, meaning the only good news is he should be safe from this mess in Hightown” Kaos answers, scowling at Bluejam as he does.
“I know you, you’re that Bandit Gorilla from Mt Corvo” Bluejam sneers as he looks Dadan up and down, trying to find a weakness
“Bandit? Yes. Gorilla? I oughta f*ck you up just for saying that, but that’s beside the point right now. The main thing is, these kids are My responsibility, they’re MY BOYS. Even if I’ve wanted to kill the brats myself a couple of times, that doesn’t mean I’m going to just let someone like you do it” Dadan scowls as Luffy is picked up, and both Ace and Kaos slink closer to the Bandit chief “So I’m going to repeat myself just the once, nobody hurts my boys. I’m going to give you this one chance to walk away with your life Bluejam, but if you don’t take it, I guarantee you’ll be sorry.”
Unfortunately, Bluejam was past the point of caring as he smirks and responds with a simple statement “Well, I’ve got nothing left to lose”
“Well then… EVERYBODY RUN!!!” Dadan shouts as the bandits make a strategic retreat…. Well almost everyone
“Come on Ace you need to move” Mogra groans as he tries to drag the stubborn brat away from his death
“No, I’m staying” Ace declares, pulling free of the chicken man’s grip
“Always have to do things the hard way, must be genetic” Mogra turns to his right and was surprised to see Kaos had also stayed, having expected the purple-haired kid to go with the smart and safe option of running the f*ck away with everyone else, but go figure, he stayed too, and given the blank expression on his face and shadowed eyes, that was a very bad sign.
“Goda damn morons! You’ve got nothing to gain from sticking around, besides death by fire!” Dogra shouts at the boys, while Dadan turns on her heels, panic and fear for her kids flickering in her eyes “Plus Bluejam’s a hardened criminal, kids like you shouldn’t be trying to fight him to the death, there are simpler ways to die dumbasses!”
“Let me go, I gotta help then” Luffy whines and squirms, the bandit just barely holding onto him
“Get Luffy out of here” Dadan orders, stepping forward “I’ll stay and take care of the other 2, no matter how many asses I gotta kick” she growls, slamming her axe down on the burning ground
“Cute, but at the end of the day, you’re a woman and 2 kids against a pirate. Think you can win with odds that stacked against you?” Bluejam sneers
“I’ll take those odds because you’ve really pissed me off, enough to actually want to use this for live target practice” Kaos replies with a voice that's not his own as an all-too-tight smile splits his face, as a sharp chill runs down everyone's spines, despite the oppressive heat of the roaring blaze of the trash heap “Evisceration!” he shouts as a black mist erupts from both boy and blade, causing Bluejam to have a moment of worry before his confidence returned, while Ace and Dadan look to their brother/son in concern
Rmmm rmm rmm rmm
“Shashasha!” Kaos cackles as he leaps out of the smoke at the pirate, all 3 combatants having a momentary brain fart as the lanky 10-year-old comes out swinging a double-headed CHAINSAW STAFF! Bluejam just barely managed to bring his sword up to block the overhead swing, sparks flying as it ground against the steel blade
“Well, he’s officially the one I’m the most worried about mentally” Dadan mutters “Don’t just stand there like a lump Ace, you wanted to fight this asshole, so go do it!”
Ace blinks “right… sorry. Really should be getting used to weird sh*t involving him and Luffy, Devil fruits and magic swords and all that crap” he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose before running in “Save some pirate for me bastard!”
“Stay on his left!” Dadan shouts “No you dumbass, Kaos’ left, Bluejam’s right! That cord means he can’t switch hands you dumbo!”
“Glad to see someone pays attention” Kaos says with a lopsided grin, swinging the staff erratically as it clashes and bounces off Bluejam’s blade, managing to use it to block one of his bullets in the process
“You little sh*t, just die alread… gah!” Bluejam groans as Ace manages to get in a blow in his ribs with his pipe, though was quick to counter with his sword cutting across the boy’s chest
“Ace! Now you’ve made me mad!” Dadan yells swinging wildly with her axe as she charges him, but Bluejam just chuckles as he raises his pistol at the bandit
“You make this too easy bitch!” he laughs, going to pull the trigger….. If he still had a right hand
“§And now you’ve finally reached the point where I’m pissed off, good f*cking work§” Kaos hisses an aura of rage and malice flooding the clearing, as well as snapping Dadan out of her berzerker rage long enough to stop and avoid being skewered by the chainsaw blade
“Kid, whatever you’re thinking…”
“You’ll pay for that you bastard!” Bluejam screams, rage blocking the pain, though not for long “I will have my revenge, once I kill you, that punk and the gorilla, I’ll get to Hightown and gut that noble bastard for daring to cross me!”
“No. You won’t” Kaos grins, pointed teeth shining in the flames before leaping forward and slamming his weapon straight into Bluejam’s guts, the pirate howls as with a pained heave, Kaos digs the lower half of his weapon into the dirt and raises it like a flag, the spinning blade tearing through flesh and bone until it exits through the back of Bluejam’s neck and the flailing and screaming stops
“Motherfu…. Kaos!” Ace groans clutching his stomach before seeing the carnage in front of him “Are you ok?” he shouts, seeing the boy covered in blood and viscera
“It’s not mine” he pants “But Bluejam’s one heavy bastard, I think I’m done here” he sighs, mostly unheard over the rumble of Hebi, though it soon cuts out, dropping the pirate’s corpse before the purple haired boy flops backward, into Dadan’s arms
“Stupid boy, this wasn’t something kids like you should be doing” she mutters, hefting the unconscious boy onto her shoulder “Come on Ace, let’s get the Hell out of here before we burn to death. Got it?”
Ace snaps out of it and nods “Got it Dadan, we should get back before Luffy and the others start to worry” he tries to joke, but it falls flat as he follows his mother figure through the flames to the edge of the forest, burying the fear in his heart, something to worry about in the far future. Plus he had something else to distract him with “The f*ck! When did that happen?”
Dadan turns and sees what had Ace so shocked, the area they were running past looked like a shockwave had shot through it, clearing a trench-like path between them and the coast where a large ship was moored. It must have happened during the fight since it sure as hell hadn’t been there when the bandits were running toward the boys “Not a clue kid, but it seems someone out there does give a crap about the beggars of Grey Terminal” Dadan hums with a sad chuckle “Now speed up boy, I’m not taking the heat from Garp if you get lost and die in this fire!” she adds angrily, snapping Ace out of his confusion and actually causing him to run on ahead
“See something you like Dragon?” Aversa grins, only her face visible and recognizable under the heavy green cloak she and the other Revolutionaries were wearing “This place means a lot to you, must be bad to see it in flames like this” she notes
“Goa was always rotten at the core, it’s just spreading out as time progresses. It’s also a reminder of what I will prevent the rest of the world succumbing to. That is our goal” he grunts, watching the bandits and kids rush off with his haki, his lip twitching as he sensed his son amongst them, as well as the energetic chaos that was synonymous with the rest of the D. clan in him and 2 more “Let’s go!” he bellows, his 3 companions nod before setting to work, the former residents of Grey Terminal following their lead
A week later - the day of the World Noble visit
This was it, the day he would finally be free of this Hellhole. Sabo grins as he slips out of the house once more, with everyone else at the docks his father had only left a single guard to watch over him, which after all the fights he’d gotten into living with Ace and the rest of his brothers was literal child’s play to knock out, steal the keys from and leave.
With everyone focused on the Celestial Dragon’s ship, security was reduced basically everywhere else, meaning Sabo was able to sneak into the harbour, unlatch a ship, after making the necessary modifications such as his current prototype Pirate Flag (Crossbones with a big blue S over them), and getting the hell away from this island
“Nice weather we’re having, it’s a perfect day to set sail” Sabo grins to himself, sure he would have liked to wait and go off with his brothers, but it was safer for all of them if he kept his distance for the moment, they’ll meet up again eventually if they were meant to cross paths, and him being gone means his asshole parents have no reason to go looking for Ace, Kaos or Luffy to find him. It was the closest to a perfect plan as the nearly 11 year old Sabo could come up with
“Hey! Are you nuts kid? Get back here!” came an angry voice from the pier, but Sabo paid it no mind
‘I’m not afraid of anything, as long as I can be free. I just have to be far away from here’ he thinks, smiling widely, tilting the wheel slightly to the left so he was clear of the wake of the ship heading toward the island “I may be a pirate in the future, but I’m not an asshole, they clearly have right of way” he chuckles to himself as both ships pass without incident “It’s a nice ship though, hope my pirate ship will be as cool as that one someday” he grins, though puts his fantasies on hold until he was clear of danger…
KA-BOOOMMMM!!
TBC
LW: Well, sh*t. But to be fair the World Nobles are assholes of the highest order with an undeservedly high opinion of themselves, did you really think someone passing them by minding their own business would be allowed to go unpunished?
Does anyone else think Dragon has a very gravely, Batman-type voice, or is it just me?
Chapter 138: Sealed Potential, Iron Resolve
Chapter Text
LW: And here it comes, the end of the Flashback arc! Good luck and goodbye Goa Kingdom
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Sealed Potential, Iron Resolve
Previously on RKMM….
‘I’m not afraid of anything, as long as I can be free. I just have to be far away from here’ he thinks, smiling widely, tilting the wheel slightly to the left so he was clear of the wake of the ship heading toward the island “I may be a pirate in the future, but I’m not an asshole, they clearly have right of way” he chuckles to himself as both ships pass without incident “It’s a nice ship though, hope my pirate ship will be as cool as that one someday” he grins, though puts his fantasies on hold until he was clear of danger…
KA-BOOOMMMM!!
Flashback, earlier that week
“Do you think the Boss is going to be ok?” Mogra grimaces as Luffy twitches but otherwise barely stirs
“She was going up against Bluejam with 2 kids, I’d worry about her chances, except those kids were Ace and Kaos” Dogra chuckles bitterly “f*cking idiots, but stubborn. They’d have made good bandits if they weren’t so set on being pirates”
“True” the larger man smiles, before a commotion brings their and all the other bandit’s attention to outside. Flinging open the door a mildly burned Ace was running/ limping towards the home, Dadan not too far behind, more heavily injured and lugging an unconscious Kaos over her shoulder, looking like she’d taken more than a few tumbles on the way out of the flaming Hellscape that was currently Grey Terminal
“Boss, you’re ok!” the bandits cheer, the woman grunts and stumbles her way into the home, dropping her middle child like a sack of spuds before sitting down beside Ace and allowing themselves to be checked up on and their injuries bandaged up.
“Are you ok? What happened back there?”
“Bluejam’s dead, he won’t be coming after my boys again” Dadan mumbles, clearly running on fumes, Ace having already passed out and Kaos hadn’t awoken “The fire had only gotten worse since you guys left, I was worried I wouldn’t get out, but, I had to get them to safety somehow. Even if it killed me I needed to protect my sons” she sighs deeply, though seeing Luffy, Ace and Kaos, alive though unconscious/asleep, it helped her relax enough to take the medicine and crawl into bed herself, Mogra and Dogra moving the boys upstairs back to their old room in case they woke up in the middle of the night
2 days later
“I’m bored, and these bandages are itchy” Luffy whines as he stares out the window
“That’s cause your injured dumbass, you have to sit around and let your injuries heal, not go running around like that idiot on the roof is, even if he says he’s just helping keep watch” Dadan grumbles, knowing Ace was just as stir crazy as Luffy was, and both were just as worried about Sabo.
“How come all Kaos does is sleep and eat though? He’s usually at least trying to play parent and limit the stupid of the day?” Luffy wonders aloud
“He’s being a good patient and letting his body recover before doing the next stupid endeavor, you might want to try that some time” Dogra scowls
“Plus, that fight with Bluejam, it did something. I think it drained him on the inside, and while it’s not the best he’s filling that recovery time with quiet contemplation, rather than doing my head in” the bandit chief adds, punching Luffy lightly on the head
“Still boring” Luffy huffs, walking over to annoy the dog, as at least he’d want to play with him
Back to the start of the chapter, timeline wise
“Oh my, he hit the fishing boat”
“Is the child ok?”
“The brat shouldn’t have gotten in the Celestial Dragon’s way like that”
“A black flag on a ship is a mark of a pirate, everyone knows that. A commoner should know better. DON’T CROSS MY PATH YOU FILTHY PIRATE BRAT!!!”
KABOOM!!
The 2nd shot finally did it, taking out the little ship till nothing was left but flotsam, jetsam and flaming timbers, the people on the docks, and the mountain bandits on the hillside frozen in shock and horror
‘Oh no, the boys are going to be devastated’
Mt Corvo
“I wonder which one’s gonna win” Luffy grins as he pushes the beetles toward each other hoping they’ll fight sooner or later
“Maybe they’re just not in the mood to fight” Kaos hums, having recovered enough to go back to his unofficial job of Luffy’s primary babysitter “Don’t bother them too much or they’ll decide to fight you instead” he chuckles, then frowns as Dogra comes out of the tree line with a thousand-yard stare “Hey, is something wrong? You said you were going to check out the commotion in town with that Noble guy coming to visit, did something happen?”
“Oh, something happened alright” Dogra mutters, walking robotically into the house before relaying the news, Luffy and Kaos following him curiously
“WHAT!!!”
“You can’t be serious” Ace scowls, jumping at the short man “You lying bastard, don’t even joke about something like that!”
“Ace, get off him” Dadan growls though he heart wasn’t in it, lifting the squirming brat off one of her best men
“I wouldn’t joke about something like this Ace, I liked the kid too, and even if I didn’t I saw how close you all were. It all happened so fast, by the time I understood what was going on, it was too late, the ship had been sunk” Dogra explains, his tone frantic and hands shaking
“f*ck!” Kaos hisses “For once it seems Luffy was right”
“I was?” said boy blinks, confusion momentarily overtaking sorry in his mind “How?”
“We should have gone to High Town, f*ck the consequences and kidnapped/rescued Sabo, then, even if it meant being on the run for the next few years until we officially became pirates, at least he would still be alive. I shouldn’t have suggested we wait” he scowls, knuckles white as they clench around Hebi’s hilt
Mogra quickly tries to dissuade this line of reason “Hey, don’t be like that, you had no way of knowing this would happen, just like the fire nobody could have known the Noble would sink Sabo’s ship just for being nearby. As far as you knew, he was safe for at least a few years”
“That’s what you said” Ace sighs “Let Sabo live his life, his father spent too much time and effort to just kill him now. Well it seems whatever he did do, turned Sabo’s stomach enough he would rather set off into the abyss without us. It’s not your fault…. It’s the BASTARD WHO MURDERED MY BIG BROTHER’S FAULT! I’LL GUT THE NOBLE sh*tHEAD AND STRING HIM UP BY HIS ENTRAILS!!!”
“You idiot, nobody can hurt a celestial dragon, it’s impossible!” Dogra gasps
“Just watch me!” Ace yells, grabbing his pipe and running for the door, almost succeeding, only for Dadan to grab him by the head and pin him to the floor
“Enough of that Ace. I get it, you’re pissed off that Sabo was killed, but what can you do against a World Noble? You think he’s just some thug and while he may act like it, you wouldn’t even get close, you’d die alone and unnoticed, swept under the rug and not even a mention in the papers. The bastard may have pulled the trigger, but it was this rotten country that killed Sabo, this whole Goda forsaken World! Your father, on the other hand, changed the world with his death…. When you get to be as famous as that mustachioed f*cker, THEN you can have your revenge, when your life matters to more than just the people in this room. You understand me you stupid punk?” Dadan screams into his face then turns to her men “Tie him up, make sure he doesn’t go anywhere until he’s cooled off” she sighs, turning to her other 2 kids, both crying, though while Luffy was going off like an air raid siren, Kaos was silent, though the tears streamed down his cheeks onto Luffy’s straw hat, the taller boy holding him like a teddy bear, no…. Like he would disappear too, if the purplette loosened his grip even a fraction.
Next morning
“You done acting like a feral ape, and at least calmed down enough to use words?” Dadan asks, Ace giving her a death glare, but nods slowly “That will have to do. Boys, cut him loose but keep an eye on him for the moment” she orders, this whole week was just one headache after another, and that damn NewsCoo was just making it worse
“Holy sh*t! Guys, we got a letter, and it’s from Sabo!” Dogra bellows, rushing over after collecting the bird’s message “He must have sent it just before he headed out to sea”
Ace’s eyes widen “Give it here!” he barks. “I won’t go anywhere, I promise, that letter’s for Luffy, Kaos and I, isn’t it? Speaking of, I don’t hear his crying anymore”
“I don’t know if Kaos fell asleep before or after Luffy, but the kid tired himself out crying and eventually passed out, both were out cold when I went to check on them about an hour later” Mogra answers as Dogra passed Ace the letter
“Then I’ll read it myself and tell them about it when they wake up, can I have a minute?” he asks, oddly nervously
“We won’t be reading over your shoulder or anything, but we’ll be keeping you within line of sight so don’t run off on me ok?” Dadan compromises
“That’ll do” Ace nods, tearing open the envelope before walking into the woods to read it
Ace, Kaos, Luffy
I hope you all survived or were somehow spared the fire, maybe you’d been building a new basecamp that night and were nowhere near Grey Terminal. I’m worried about the 3 of you, but my gut tells me you all made it out alive, even if I’m also feeling I should be deeply concerned for at least 2 of your’s mental state.
Anyway, I have a special announcement to make: by the time you get this letter, I’ll be long gone. [Ooof, poor choice of words, but the kid’s not psychic so we’ll give him a pass] That’s right, I’m heading out to sea. One thing led to another and I decided to head out before any of you.
I don’t know where I’m going, but I know one thing for sure, anywhere is better than this place. Don’t worry though, I’ve not given up on my dream, I’m still going to be a pirate! I got a head start, but I’m sure you’ll all catch up to me pretty quickly, even you Kaos, there’s a pirate in you even if you don’t want to be a captain, not everyone does. When we meet again we’ll be unstoppable! Believe it!
We’ll reunite on the Grand Line one day, 4 pirates, brothers of fate and choice, because that is a bond that will never be broken, and will always be my greatest treasure, more than all the riches of the Seas. Also, as the new Eldest brother… keep an eye on our little bros, they need all the help they can get to be real pirates ;) I need you to step up for me Ace, and take care of them now I can’t. I’m sorry to leave like this, but I make a promise as your brother, WE. WILL. MEET. AGAIN.
Sabo no last name, Pirate Captain of the Sabo pirates
Standing on the edge of the island staring out into the sea, only Dadan as a witness, Ace finally cried, cried for the pain and injustice of the world, but more importantly, cried at the loss of his oldest friend, and big brother.
Ace kept the letter to himself that day, partially so he could process it alone, though showed it to Luffy and Kaos the next morning, as it was addressed to all of them, and they deserved to read what was now essentially Sabo’s last words to them.
Kaos, he laughed, actually cackled for a solid minute, before starting to cry again, then as he sat down muttered “Optimistic little bastard wasn’t he” with a deep sigh. Meanwhile Luffy, seemed to be inspired, or maybe something had finally clicked in his head due to Sabo’s sudden loss to their lives
“I wanna get stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and stronger! Until I’m the strongest there ever was or will be, and then, I’ll protect everyone, I’ll never lose people precious to me ever again!” he shouts even as tears and snot runs down his face “You both gotta promise me, don’t die, ok?”
Ace groans, and slaps him upside the head “Dumbass, you’re the one we’re worried is going to die long before we do, you’re the weakest out of everyone! Ask me that again when you can at least hold your own in a fight with me, got it crybaby? Not that it matters, because I’m NEVER going to die!” he declares, then sighs deeply “As you read, Sabo told me to protect and keep you 2 dummies safe, so if it makes you feel better Luffy…. I promise not to die. Happy?”
“Yes” Luffy sniffles
“Good. Now, we’re going to set sail and be pirates just like Sabo did someday, but until then, we train, until we’re the best damn pirates in the East Blue, then the Grand Line! Nothing will stand in our way, as long as we live, with no regrets! This will make us lots of enemies though, we might even have to fight Garp someday, but that’s the price to pay for freedom. Let’s agree to set sail at 17, just like Sabo planned!”
Luffy nods, a determined scowl on his face, while Kaos’ had less enthusiasm but still agreed. A pact was made, and their journey was just beginning
One month later
Kaos groans as he comes to “Ow, what hit me, and why am I outside?” he hums, sitting up and feeling something tug at his neck. Looking down there was a silver chain with a pendant or locket attached, one side reading くたばれ [f*ck off], the other ここには何も表示されません [Nothing to see here] and the edges sealed so whatever was inside was both unreadable and inaccessible “I have a very bad feeling about this” the boy mutters, taking the pendant in his hand and moves to snap the chain and throw it away…. Only he couldn’t. The same when he tried to remove it the correct way, he was just unable to perform the action and remove the item.
“I feel like I’m being pranked, but this is way too complicated to be Luffy’s doing, so I’m stuck with this stupid thing for at least the foreseeable future…. Great” he sighs deeply, seeing only one option left if he wants to avoid the chance of the thing snagging or being pulled by a thug, or Luffy being a dumbass and choking him. From experimenting and tinkering with his Devil fruit Kaos had found it capable of creating what amounted to a pocket dimension within the reflections, so as his skin gained a silvery sheen and rippled, the weird trinket sank into his body like it had been dropped into a lake.
“Good, you finally woke up, I knew I didn’t hit you that hard” Kaos turns to see Garp enter the clearing he’d been dropped in like a dead cat, Luffy, and Ace following the old geezer in concern “Like your new accessory? After Dadan told me about the Grey Terminal incident I paid a lot of money to have some weirdo in a bucket hat give me that to ease your burdens. With that thing on there’s no way you’ll even be able to think criminal and rebellious things, nor can it be removed by those with ill intent. With this baby you’ll be the greatest marine the world has ever seen!” Garp bellows before laughing his ass off, laying it on a little thick but Kaos wasn’t much older than Luffy, and Luffy was dumb as a crate of rocks last he checked so Kaos would be just as easy to fool as him, right?
“Marines or death, an interesting conundrum” Kaos hums before pulling Hebi from his jacket, not that Garp noticed until…
“Kaos don’t do it!”
SHING
The marine finally looks down, his jaw drops seeing Ace had run to and thrown himself at Kaos, who now had Hebi’s blade cutting across his cheek, before extending several feet behind him and impaling a bird to the tree behind him
“You idiot! The old man is clearly talking sh*t, you don’t need to kill yourself!” Ace screams at the taller boy
“I’m aware” Kaos responds flatly, and Ace notices his throat was covered in the silver fluid of his Devil fruit “I just wanted to see how far it would take to call his bluff, and sending Hebi through my reflections seemed the easiest method, and if she happened to damage this talisman in the process, then that’s great” he adds with a humourless chuckle, flashing a smile with too much teeth
Watching Hebi retract Garp scowls internally ‘It’s already taken root, I need to stop this before the effects become permanent and uncontainable’ he thinks before cracking his neck and beginning to walk over to the lanky kid “That’s a pretty dangerous toy you got there kid, as you’d expect from a pirate, so allow a marine like me to show you how to properly dispose of such a thing” he gives a serious look and an attempt at a comforting smile, before co*cking his arm back and swinging with a black fist at the sword…
FIST OF JUSTICE
CLANG/SNAP/CRUNCH
…which at its owners will melts and encompassed his right arm all the way up to his shoulder, forming a gauntlet-greeve combo which he used to try meet the punch, barely even flinching as it breaks every bone in his arm, though both boys can see clearly that criminal and rebellious thoughts’ being stopped were bullsh*t, given the murderous rage clearly blazing in his eyes, as well as the fact, Hebi didn’t break.
“Next time you want to kill me, be upfront about it” Kaos drones, arm now hanging limply by his side, though even has he turns to walk away his Devil fruit starts trying to warp and contort his body into a stable condition, Ace and Luffy chasing after him to check on him, as well as get as far away from Garp as possible
His eyes weren’t on the boys though, but his own bloodied knuckles, he knew in his head that wouldn’t work, the Hebi no Oni no mi is a Saijo O Wazimono, he might as well have tried to snap Yoru with his bare hands. But he just wanted his grandson to be safe and free from that thing’s corruption, before it made him a monster like its previous master. Though in hindsight he should have seen this coming, like it or not the boy was a Kuja at his core, and they were stubborn, some even as much as a Monkey clan member, and if he was anything like his mother, the marine just stepped on a landmine
Flashback - Marine Blacksite 15 years ago
‘This isn’t right, the things you’ve done, it doesn’t matter if they’re complying or following orders, they’re better off dead’
Crash/Splatter/squelch
‘Garp do something! Stop her!’
‘This isn’t justice, it’s sick, and while I can’t kill you, I can break every one of your toys until the message sinks in. You don’t get to just f*ck with people’s heads and call it justice!’
Flashback ends
And yet, here he was, from the kids’ and probably his mother’s (Goda rest her soul) point of view, instilling his will upon the boy and removing his freedom in the process, when he was simply doing what was in the boy’s interest, protecting him from the darkness of his weapon, and any traces of the man it once belonged to.
Later in the year
“Gum Gum Pistol” Luffy shouts as he's throwing his long-range punch to the face of his grinning brother
Spronggggggg
“I mean, you almost hit your target this time” Kaos hums, while Ace was a little busy laughing as not only did Luffy miss, but the kid managed to punch himself in the face on the rebound “You’d think you would prioritize aim over power by this point” he sighs deeply, knowing Luffy wouldn’t listen, but feeling the need to at least say it on the off chance it sunk in
“Exactly” Ace smirks once he’d stopped laughing “Power doesn’t mean crap if you can’t hit anything. I’ve been telling you rubber’s a crappy power for what feels like years now, at least when it comes to fighting”
“You take that back!” Luffy shouts
“No, I can prove it. Kaos, go beat the crap out of him” Ace orders, both brothers blink in confusion before they shrug
“I’m not going to go easy on you just because I’m mad at Ace, you know that?” Luffy asks raising his fists, while Kaos draws Hebi into his body and stretches his limbs
“I’m aware, and I wouldn’t want you to, no fun that way” he smirks, letting the younger boy charge him.
On the bright side, when not trying to use what would essentially be Super moves, Luffy at least knew to get as close as he could to his opponent so that he couldn’t miss, and in the bright sunshine, it was really easy for him to see whenever Kaos used his fruit as a blocking method, though even then it was mostly his hands and gut. However Ace wanted him to make a point so he did, muttering ‘Akuma Kagami’ under his breath.
Catching Luffy’s fist, Kaos threw his other arm back and to the surprise of the other 2 boys, it stretched back about 80% more than it was supposed to, before shooting right back and slamming Luffy square in the stomach, sending the boy flying backward into a tree as he’d let go just before impact
“Gomu Gomu no Pistol Shot. Damn Ace is right, this is a crappy move” he laughs before continuing “See, your biggest problem is simply your inability to hit a barn door while on the inside” Kaos laughs, his knuckles glint in the light before moving to help Luffy up
“That’s some bullsh*t right there, how’d you do that, being stretchy is my thing!” Luffy whines
“My Devil fruit is the Reflect reflect fruit, therefore I decided to see if due to the nature of reflections, mimicry was something I could do…. And it works, sort of”
“Guess I’ve finally found Luffy a teacher, saves me a lot of crap” Ace chuckles
“Don’t even think about it!”
“Just cause Kaos is my favourite doesn’t mean you get to slack off!”
“WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!” Ace yells slamming Luffy’s head into the ground
“See. Only you ever randomly hit me, Kaos and Sabo were nicer” Luffy groans, deciding to stay down and recover
2 months later
“Didn’t we fight this bear already?” Kaos asks, the scar on its face seeming familiar, or at least distinctive
“Less chatting, more helping!” Luffy yells “This bear is really big”
“Eh, you got this covered” Ace shrugs, lazing around on the branch the older boys were observing from.
As it turned out, Luffy didn’t have it under control, his attacks doing little more than annoy the bear, before it finally decided to just swat the rubber boy like a fly, slashing deep across his chest, and sending the other 2 into action
‘f*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck!’ Kaos thinks as he carries Luffy, Ace running on ahead to alert Dadan and hopefully have the medical supplies prepped for their arrival ‘We really shouldn’t have let him do that all by himself’ he adds with a grimace, which deepens as Hebi remains painfully silent the entire trek
“You guys made it in time, though if the wound had been any deeper it would have been a completely different story” Mogra sighs, watching over Luffy’s sleeping form, while Ace cried and Kaos practically collapsed in on himself
“Moron, that’s what I am. Training with Nagari showed us it’s not about going it alone, individual strength isn’t what makes you a captain. I’m not good enough, I’m still not enough. I’m sorry Luffy, I let you down, I’m a failure of a leader and a brother!” Ace cries burying his face in his hands
“You’re not alone Ace, I could have helped too, but I just sat there with you until after Luffy got hurt. You’re an idiot, yes, but it’s for trying to carry everything on your shoulders” Kaos sighs “Fighting one on one is important, but yes teamwork is the best method of task completion. We are brothers, why can’t we all fight side by side?”
Some time later
“Hey Makino’s here, and she brought booze!” one of the bandits shout
“You want to know how to properly say thank you?” Makino repeats for clarification, to which Ace nods “And what’s this about paying respects?” she adds, holding in a chuckle as this was NOT what she expected a boy raised by mountain bandits would even want to know about.
Ace grins “As a pirate, and Luffy’s big brother, I have to pay respects to this Shanks guy” he explains “Luffy says he owes him his life, so it’s really the least I can do”
“Just buy or steal him some booze!” Kaos shouts from his current position as lookout
“Nobody asked you, you lanky f*ck!” Ace bellows up, before turning to Makino with a tired look “So…. can you help me”
Makino does giggle this time “I’ll see what I can do. First after a meal…….”
A week later - Edgetown
“It’s a Dine and Dash!”
“Somebody catch those hooligans!”
“This is surprisingly good stamina training, even when the city guards aren’t called to catch us” Kaos chuckles, before almost running into Ace’s back
“sh*t, we almost forgot to pay respect!” Ace gasps
“Right!” Luffy nods, then all 3 boys turn to the tired chef and bow
“Thank you for the meal, it was delicious!”
“Keep your thanks, are you going to pay me for my food?”
“Nope” they answer, then continue running away
“Another victory for Ace!” the older boy laughs, after kicking Luffy into Kaos, sending both of them into a tree
“Clearly a battle royal was a bad idea” the taller boy sighs, before throwing Luffy at Ace, only him to side step the flying rubber boy
“Bear attack, take 2!” Luffy shouts, himself and Ace wielding pipes while Kaos was using Hebi in a Kanebo form
“Teamwork makes the dream work” Ace chuckles, the boys bouncing around, keeping the bears attention away from each other until Ace manages to gab his pipe into the bears throat, then with Luffy and Kaos’ assistance impale the animal through the skull, taking it out and giving the trio a choice of bear meat stew for today’s dinner
After a while, the local gangs and ruffians realised it wasn’t worth the time or effort to try to fight the boys, preferring to flee and keep their bones unbroken, than fight and get the ever loving sh*t beat out of them by a bunch of kids
The animals of Mt. Corvo though, were still a problem if they weren’t careful (they did learn Giant Centipede tastes like sh*t though, so knew to never hunt it again)
Garp showed up periodically to beat the crap out of them, but with their futures decided and hearts set on the path, it was just free training for the 3 teens, and to a certain extent, they believed Garp knew it too, so decided that if they were going to be pirates, they better be tough enough to survive anything the world throws at you! Maybe it was childish optimism, naivety, or wanting to justify his treatment of them to themselves, we will never know.
Finally, the moment arrived, Ace was 17 and about to set out on his journey, but he had one thing to do first.
“I know you’re not leaving next year” he states to Kaos, even now a little pissed he had to look up to look his little brother in the eye “You’re going to stick around and leave with Luffy, he’s the one you decided will be your captain” Kaos nods, not seeing where this was going “Well, as the eldest brother, I pass on the responsibility of watching over our little troublemaker. Keep him alive at least long enough to make it out to see will you?” he chuckles, getting a smirk, and head slap from the also grinning purplette
“Good Luck Ace, you’ll be fine”
“I know that dumbass. And I better see you both on the grand line with a proper pirate crew in at least 3 or 4 years' time, you got me!”
“Promise” Kaos nods, giving a very cold, reptilian smirk
Everyone turned up to see Ace off, the entire Dadan Family, Makino, Mayor Woodslap, and of course Luffy and Kaos, [Luckily not a single Garp in sight] waving as he kicked his little boat off into the relatively calm waters of the East Blue
“Take care Ace, see you soon!” Luffy cheers, waving frantically
“Yeah, I’ll be waiting to hear about your exploits. Keep training, you might even be as good as me one day” Ace winks, feeling the need for one last jab before setting off
“Sesesese”
“Just you wait, in 3 years time my wanted posters will be everywhere you look” Luffy declares, getting laughs from the whole gang, and Ace’s grin softens into a gentle smile, he knows Luffy will be fine, though he’ll still worry, he is a big brother after all.
“Keep an eye out for me in the papers, I’ll make a big splash soon enough!” he calls back, before fading from audible range
A few months later
“Luffy, Kaos, get over here!” Mogra shouts, running to where the boys were training
“Something wrong?” Kaos hums, relaxing his Devil fruit’s coating over his limbs
“He was right, Ace made the papers!” the short man explains, passing it to the rubber boy, Kaos reading over Luffy’s shoulders
“You’re right, Ace is doing great, he’s got a ship and a crew and everything!” Luffy cheers, laughing as he does “But… I’m going to be even stronger someday!!!!”
3 years later
“We’re leaving Dadan, and the guys. Hey, aren’t you going to see us off?” Luffy asks from the doorway of what’s been his home for nearly a decade at this point
“Are you dense kid? Don’t answer that I already know the answer is yes. Makino and the mayor may tolerate us, but we’d scare the sh*t out of all the other civies down in Fushia Village” Dadan grouses
“I mean you guys may be bandits, but you’re a lot nicer than that bastard we met back when Shanks was in town” Kaos hums, a little disappointed all things considered
“Oh. Ok then” Luffy pouts, before bouncing back as best he could “Goodbye then, catch you around one day. Oh… and thanks for caring for me all these years. I still think mountain bandits are lame… but you guys are awesome” he says with a slight bow, before leading the march to Fushia, his brother following with long lazy strides
“What a nice kid” Dogra smiles, while Dadan tries and fails to hold back the waterfall of tears escaping her face, as all her kids have left the nest, she may not have wanted to take them in in the first place, but they were her boys damn it!
Fushia Village
“Luffy, no offense, but I think you should take my old fishing boat, that one won’t last very long out at sea, it’s barely big enough for the both of you” a villager notes
“I was thinking the same thing, that boat’s much too small for you boys” another pipes in
“I wanna start small, but I’ll find us a big ship soon enough and fill it with a super badass pirate crew in no time!” Luffy grins, getting a chuckle from Kaos as he adjusts his cloak and hat, currently sitting on their supply barrel
“Sabo. Ace. And now us. I may be the last, but I’ll be the best soon enough. Watch out for me Sabo, I’ll make you proud!” Luffy declares to the sky
“Why are you talking to yourself, is it some kind of pirate ritual?” one of the dock workers asks jokingly
“No, it’s a challenge, to our brother Ace, and a prayer to our brother Sabo” Kaos answers, the villagers understandably not knowing who either boy was, so shrug and let Luffy do his thing.
“Ok, I’m good, we’re leaving for real now” Luffy announces, before the 2 row out into the sea proper, ready to start their adventure
“I knew this was coming eventually, but it’s still sad to see them go” Makino sighs, her eyes sad though her face holds her smile
Woodslap groans “Sad indeed like this world needs more pirates”
The mostly happy mood shatters when a Sea King rises from the depths, the Lord of the Coast ready and able to devour the little ship in a single bite. But while the residents of Fushia Village were panicked, the brothers weren’t… for damn good reason as Luffy aimed his perfected long-ranged punch at its face.
“GUM GUM PISTOL” Luffy shouts, oneshotting the beast with a rubber-powered fist to the jaw, sending it flying out of their way like an animal 100 times smaller
“That’s my boy” Dadan grins proudly, hidden as she was alongside Mogra and Dogra “He might actually do it, achieve of that dumb dream of his”
“Some day, I’M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!!” Luffy bellows, before the journey begins properly, as you all have seen already ;)
Present time
With Luffy on the mend and now actually sleeping, Kaos moved somewhere quiet to check on a private matter, a silver chain dropping from his skin for the 1st time in 9 years. He grins maniacally as his shadow ripples and expands, extending like he was standing in the path of the rising sun before leaving the ground and standing itself. The being in front of him towered over even his own impressive 9ft stature, mostly due to its long neck, with a smile that extended just past the midpoint of his head. It seemed to lack eyes, though whether it never had them and Kaos merely misremembered, or it was a sign of the echos age, he neither knew or cared
“It worked then” the shadow croons, the voice, which had returned as a whisper when he ate the Hebi Hebi no mi, finally returned to it’s original tone and volume “Your suicidal gambit paid off after all”
Kaos nods “I was right that it would take a marine to break the charm, Garp would have commissioned it so only the ‘hands of justice’ could remove it. The FIST of Magma was a more than adequate substitute” he smirked, glad he had been able to shift the talisman to the centre of his chest when he used his Devil fruit to open a hole for the Admiral’s attack to pass through, destroying it in a flash of heat and if he was honest, ensuring Kaos had enough access to his 2nd fruit that he was able to fully transform and survive the attack in the first place
“By the time they realize what’s happened, it will be far too late” Apophis’ shade laughs, the dual toned echo showing all 3 of them were in agreement: the navy just f*cked themselves
“gah zan tak gah zan tat tat brak”
ҤIt's time for salvation to finally come
I feel this rage, and I'm feelin' it strong
This weeping and wailing has gone far too long
Nothing left but to yell! Yeah! Yeah!
I know you feel it, too, so keep on singin' this song
Even when they abuse us we'll keep singin' along
We'll start another Big Bang when we all sing as one
United, we're fightin', bring 'em down with our song of ruin§” (1)
Kaos cackles madly, his Devil fruit warping and contorting across his form as his hands turn black as night before he slams them palm down onto the stone floor, with a scream of…
BLACK VORTEX
“It’s good to be whole, once more, Zesesesese”
TBC
LW: And, that’s the end of the flashback arc, we’ll be heading back to the Main RKMM story for at least a chapter, maybe more, really depends on where I’m going to be putting the Time Skip stuff I guess.
(1) Tot Musica, the demon summoning ritual disguised as sheet music, only works when sung by the holder of the Uta Uta no mi. With no danger to himself, and the sheer wrongness of knowing the song, do you really think the embodiment of madness and chaos, Mayhem D. Apophis wouldn’t at least learn the lyrics?
Chapter 139: Humility! End of an Era
Chapter Text
LW: We’re back in the present, for how long? Don’t know
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Humility! End of an Era
Amazon Lily
Ace sighs as he stares out into the Calm Belt, Luffy was on the mend, Kaos was actually more giddy and energetic after nearly dying (he wasn’t touching that WTF with a ship mast) and even he was starting to get his strength back after his time in Impel Down. He’d even spoken to Pops and some allies would be passing by Amazon Lily soon to drop off one of his speeders, so he could leave without having to worry or burden the Kuja pirates, or trample on their traditions (as Elder Nyon and Kikyo keep bitching about) any longer than he actually has to. Not that Whitebeard himself was really going anywhere just yet, with the Moby Dick destroyed the man needed a new vessel, and so was offered a ride by the Demon Eyes, to Water 7 for a new ship, on recommendation from both his son, and an old friend.
The fireman grunts, knowing the friend in question was Roger, but he had no right to be mad, his Pops being friends and rivals with his birth father was widely known, and given the man was dead before Ace had been born, their friendship had probably gone on longer than the boy had been alive.
Just before he was about to find a quiet part of the forest to train, like old times, he felt one of the locals approach him, turning his head, it was one of the Boa sisters, Marigold he believed, the one NOT either behaving like a love-struck teenager around his little brother or staring at him like he’s a chew toy.
“Admiring the view?” she asks, clearly at least trying to interact with the male pirate
“More just away with my thoughts” Ace admits “Things were easier when I was the middle child, being the eldest is a pain” he mutters, seeing the woman’s confusion, as far as she knew, Ace was Kaos and Luffy’s big brother, actually making Kaos the middle child “Middle, isn’t quite the right word, there is no middle in a family of 4” he huffs a small puff of deep red flame “We had a brother, Sabo, he was the rational, smart one, or as Kaos would put it, the sane one of us. He died, nearly 10 years ago, and there are times when I wonder if he could have done better, mostly whenever I f*ck up as a Big Brother. Like letting my little brothers go into a warzone to save my ass”
“There was nothing you could have done to stop them, I only knew them for a day and figured that much out” Marigold chuckles “Luffy was always going to charge head first into danger, and Kaos was going to avoid the stupid part and still reach the same endpoint, that being Marineford to rescue you. Sonia and I would do the same if Hanco*ck had been taken, you don’t get to mess with our family without paying the price” her face darkens and her pupils contract into vertical slits
“If you say so” Ace hums “Marigold right? If Boa Hanco*ck died tomorrow, would you be able to fill her shoes to Sandersonia, be the Eldest sister the way Hanco*ck was?”
“No” Marigold answers flatly “I couldn’t replace my sister, but I can be me, and I’ve always been Sonia’s big sister, losing Hanco*ck wouldn’t change that fact” her lip curls and she punches Ace with a haki-coated fist “Stop comparing yourself to this Sabo kid, I guarantee he’d be thinking the same if you had been the one who died and left him as the Big Brother to those 2 dumbasses, feeling he wasn’t living up to your memory. That’s not what you should be doing, don’t try to replace your brother, just BE the older brother you already are to those 2, they love you even when you screw up”
“How do you know that?” Ace sighs
“They dropped everything to come save you, that’s love right there, idiot boy” Marigold chuckles
Goa Kingdom - Fushia Village
“Garp’s back! And he brought a battleship!”
“Should we run? I doubt a bigshot like him would be bothered fighting bandits like us”
Garp tiredly smiles as he walks down the street, helping to raise the hopes of the people. Sure they lost the war with Whitebeard, but that doesn’t mean the marines were going to slack off on their duties of protecting the common citizens
“Are Luffy and Kaos ok?”
“After what Whitebeard did, the pirates are just getting more co*cky and aggressive, they’ll be attacking the village any day now”
“Not today they won't. I sank 3 ships on the way here, bunch of blowhards the lot of them. Now, Whitebeard may have given the navy quite a shiner the other day, but we’ll make sure to deal with the mess he’s made and have everything working as it should before you know it” Garp announces, then gestures behind him at a sign his men were erecting “And since this island is so far from the base, I had this made to help scare off anyone dumb enough to try anything”
“Security by Navy Vice Admiral Garp! That’ll work for sure!” one local cheers
“Hey, Vice Admiral, while you’re here I was wondering if you could deal with a situation. About a week ago some mountain bandits came to town, took over Makino's Bar, and haven’t left since” another asks timidly
Garp hums “Is that so?” before making his way to Party’s Bar.
“Please reconsider, this is a very bad idea” Makino warns, but she’s pushed aside (more gently than expected…. But it still counts) as someone much larger and angrier steps out…. And punches Garp square in the nose
“Garp you bastard, you got a lot of nerve, or maybe just balls of steel, showing your face around here after what you did!” Dadan shrieks, eyes ablaze with rage
“Oh, she’s really done it this time” Dogra grimaces
“VICE ADMIRAL!” the marines shout, though only 2 rush over to check on the man
“Keep your distance, and hold fire, she’s, an old friend” Garp groans as he sits up
“You’re a sick piece of work, you know that Garp? You raised those boys to die, didn’t you? Actually, that gives you way too much credit. You didn’t raise sh*t, just dropped 3 punks on my lap, told me to make them marines, and then came around and beat the sh*t out of them whenever you needed to get your rocks off. Some HERO” Dadan sneers, finally done with the old man’s crap, if she was finally getting arrested, it was going to be for sticking up for her boys
“Dadan” Garp sighs as he’s helped to his feet
“You were right there, and you did nothing, in fact, you decided to help make things harder for them. I’ve never been prouder of Luffy than when he punched you in that smug self-righteous face of yours, and we watched him cold co*ck the Lord of the Coast when he left the village.”
“Luffy took out that monster” Koby whispers, remembering catching a glimpse of the SeaKing on the way to the island
His words though, caught Dadan’s attention, and in doing so, saw how Garp shifted his position, blocking her from the boy, keeping her attention on him “Huh, finally found one who WANTS to be a f*cking marine. This the 4th or 5th attempt huh?” she wonders aloud, surprised to hear an angry growl from the man in front of her
“What just happened?” Helmeppo asks
“I actually managed to piss him off with the one thing I said that wasn’t intended to. He can handle me accusing him of not caring about his grandkids, and of loving the navy more than his family, but he gets pissed because I was curious if he saw Sabo as one of his own or not? I never understood how your brain works Garp” Dadan groans “You stay away from this village Garp, we’ve got our own deterrent for riff-raff, my kids have done more in the name of ‘Justice’ than the marines in the East ever did” she scoffs, though she was right, given just above the Bar, was a plaque, reading “Hometown, of the Straw Hat pirate’s Captain and 1st mate”, with the current crew’s bounty posters all in a row. Much like Whitebeard kept pirates in his territory behaving themselves, knowing this island was important to the Straw Hats, was enough to keep the weaklings in the East Blue on their best behaviour, and would continue to do so as her youngest 2 got stronger and stronger.
“Garp” the marine turns as Mayor Woodslap approaches him “What happened to those boys, the papers said Luffy and Kaos vanished in the aftermath”
Garp sighs deeply “That they did. We don’t know where they went, just that they were obviously picked up by one of the ships leaving the bay. I don’t doubt it for a second that they’re all fine, or at least alive given Luffy was unconscious when he was last spotted, same with Kaos” he explains, which surprisingly raised people’s spirits, those 2 weren’t just pirates, they’d grown up at least partially in this village, they were part of their community, they actually knew them.
Amazon Lily, arena
“Rankyaku - Rasen” the older Kuja hears as she enters the arena, the explosion that followed the energy spiral would have drawn her attention even if she hadn’t already been heading in this direction, but it amused Arachne that she didn’t need her Observation haki to find this lanky child
“You know, if you’d been born like that, you might have just been accepted into the tribe, maybe even been a Kuja pirate yourself by now” the spider lady coos as she approaches the woman, panting heavily and tail drooping against the ground “Did you scare away the other girls?”
“f*ck off, here to try and kill me again?”
“No, the Empress would sooner have my head than allow me to take yours. Am I not allowed to see my nephew?”
The girl scowls as she turns, giving Arachne the first proper look at her. She was tall for a woman but shorter than her male form, only about 7ft, give or take a few inches, with a lithe, sinewy build and a smaller bust than she’d expected, the height difference and average chest size meant she looked like a girl wearing her boyfriend’s jacket while wearing her waistcoat and breast bindings. She was also barefoot with the 1st toe of each foot twisted into a sickle-like talon and a narrow, whip-like tail, black with a purple tip. Finally, the face showed she’d clearly inherited more of her mother’s looks as a woman than as a man, but the eyes, though they were tinged purple (a worrying sign in the Kuja’s eyes) had the spark seen in Newgate’s eyes rather than the cold determination of Medusa
“Given you clearly viewed me as an abomination, no you’re not” she scowls…. And there was her mother’s icy glare, even down to the slitted pupils
“There’s no point in moving against you now, you’ve earned your place in Kuja society, you are basically a Kuja warrior in spirit if not name. So what ARE you doing here? Most people would be resting after the ordeal you went through”
“Training” the girl responds curtly before deciding to continue “For the first time in years, I don’t feel like an anchor around my neck, it’s like lightning in my veins and it’s honestly a little giddy at getting to play with it after so long. Plus, I picked up a good few new tricks over at Marineford I want to test out and see if I can add them to my repertoire”
“Like the instant sex change?” Arachne muses
“Iva’s Horu horu no mi, is quite a fun little toy, and as long as I’m careful I won’t wreck myself like when I tried to use Pop’s Gura Gura. Though I think this….” she grins and does the finger gesture with her hand, the first section of her index finger glowed yellow, before shifting to a deep purple, then a short burst of energy blasted from her hand and decimated a target “Uncle Kizaru’s
Pika Pika no mi’s laser blasts, and at least I already have aiming down, that was Luffy’s biggest problem back when we were kids”
Arachne schools her features to hide the shock, settling for a polite smile “My my, it seems you’ve quite a treasure trove to explore and tinker with. Though if you’d like I would be more than happy to spar, ensure your previous victory wasn’t a fluke” she coos, confirming Kaos’ suspicions that the entire Serpens clan are a bunch of snarky/sassy assholes “Though before we fight, may I ask my niece’s name?”
The girl rolls her eyes before giving a serpentine grin “Edward Saria”
“Dropped the D I see, makes sense it seems to only end up in certain members, like your mother”
“Oh you misheard, problem with having two D’s so close to each other, they blend. Let me try again, slower. Edward. D. Saria”
Later, in the forest
“Luffy, you need to slow down, give your body time to heal”
“That’s what I’ve been telling him” Law sighs, pushing his hat over his eyes as Luffy punches another tree into pieces
“You don’t get it, I need to get stronger! I couldn’t protect my crew, I couldn’t protect my family, and Kaos, he nearly died because of me, because I was too weak” he shouts, then starts to cry “How can I be a captain if I’m this useless?”
“Do you want to, or should I?”
“You do it all the time, let me have a turn”
SMACK!
Luffy groans from the haki-infused slap to the face, and as he sits up, see’s both Ace and Kaos had shown up during or maybe even before, he was kind of out of it, his screaming rant
“You idiot, where’d my co*cky little brother go, the one who thought he could be king of the world at age 8?” Ace sighs, running his fingers through his hair
“He grew up, and realised he was a little punk” Luffy mumbles softly
“No, just that we’re not ready to fight Admirals and Yonko…. But it’s not like we planned to do that so soon, Zesesese” Kaos smirks, catching Luffy’s chin and raising his gaze so their eyes met “What happened to me, wasn’t your fault, I made the decision to protect you from Akainu, as the older brother should. Given everything that happened that day, it’s a miracle you didn’t crash sooner. And you forgot something very important. Despite everything, we both survived, and not only that, but we rescued Ace. We won!” he grins “YOU broke into and out of Impel Down, made it to Marineford, and despite everything the Navy threw at us, made it back here”
“I’m still a little annoyed my little brothers had to come to save my ass, but that’s because it means I didn’t do a good enough job of keeping them safe and leading by example on how not to get caught, but I’m proud of you both for everything you did” Ace adds, ruffling Luffy’s hair, and slapping Kaos upside the head “Just try not to do this too often, my blood pressure can only take so much stupid, you hear?”
“Uncle Luffy” the rubber boy turns seeing Artemis walk over, holding her mirror to her chest “Maybe, you should try talking to Aunt Vivi or Alvida, remember what you’re fighting for, what you’re living for” she suggests, thrusting the object toward him
“You really are Robin’s kid” Luffy smiles as he accepts the item, getting a chuckle from a lightly blushing Artemis
Walachia - Gloom Island
“Just my luck, I discover this island is full of violent, intelligent, and blade-wielding monkeys AFTER you show up” Perona whimpers, hovering about as high as the Cross Tree as Humandrills swarm the duo
“Like you’d have stood a chance if you’d run into them BEFORE?” Zoro grunts, the hollow girl not having a decent retort so he simply ready’s his swords, just in time as the big one lunges for him, Zoro blocks its swings, but the ape makes good use of its hand-like feet to switch his sword ‘hand’ on the fly, keeping the swordsman on his toes, plus as expected the beast hits like a Sea King.
Seeing as it wasn’t going to stop, or go down easy, Zoro switched from just blocking and parrying, or at least attempting to, and moved onto actually named attacks, in this case, his “3 Sword Style: Bull Demon Courageous Talons” lunging with his swords pointed out and slashing at the humandrill, destroying its armor and dropping it in one shot.
“One down… like a hundred more to go” Perona grimaces, hope fluttering for a second when Zoro took out that big one so easily, but against those numbers, she didn’t think her swordsman could survive, meaning neither of them were going to survive this encounter, especially given some dumbass taught them not only have to use bladed weapons, but high powered firearms, or whatever you want to call a monkey wielding a sniper rifle.
‘They’re smart, not only can they use weapons, but they’re being tactical, to a certain extent’ Zoro thinks as they’re first held back and observed him attacking the larger beast, and now attempting to overwhelm him with their numbers, shame he had an attack built for these sort of encounters “3 Sword Style: Dragon Twister”
Unfortunately even as the attack sent many flying, more showed up to take their place, Zoro dodging and slashing, but given everything that happened, on Thriller Bark and Sabaody, as well as Perona’s novice medical skills, he wasn’t firing on all cylinders, and the humandrills were more precise than he’d expected them to, the efforts reopening some of his wounds, as well as losing him one of his swords. When it seemed he was on his last legs, a humandrill with a large mallet stomped over to the swordsman, and slammed him into the Cross Tree
“You’re not dead, right Zoro?” Perona whispers, hovering over to the facedown verdette
“Not yet, but I’m also not in the mood for your snark right now Princess” Zoro grunts, before shakily pulling himself to his hands and knees, and see’s the hoard has descended upon them ‘Well, I’m f*cked’ he thinks, moving to a more comfortable seated position, then to his and Perona’s shock, the beasts' freeze, when the click of boots on stone echo through the clearing, and as the source of those footsteps walks out of the mist, the monkeys scatter in fear, meanwhile the 2 pirates try to avoid having a heart attack over whoever or whatever was powerful enough to scare these beasts away without even doing anything to them?
Turns out, it was the Cross-Sword wielding, Warlord of the Sea, Dracule Mihawk. And suddenly the feeling of impending doom made sense.
“Save your strength Roronoa” Mihawk drawls, seeing the man reach for his sword “Your injuries can be ignored no longer, and no offence, but you’d be less than a warm-up for me if you lost to those apes”
Zoro scoffs “So, what brings you here?”
“I live here” Mihawk states flatly “What are you doing here?”
“Kuma blasted me here with his bullsh*t Devil fruit power, probably sent the whole crew to the 4 corners of the world”
“Me too!” Perona pipes in
“I see, that does explain why Straw Hat was running with a different band of pirates at Marineford, besides Mirror Demon of course” the Warlord hums
Zoro’s body tenses as he stares up at the older man “You saw Luffy, and Kaos? Are they ok?”
“Mihawk’s lips curl into a smirk “That boy, actually both of them are completely insane. I was sure Shanks was exaggerating, but it seems he was downplaying it, mostly the older one, or maybe he just got worse with age. They SHOULD both be alive, though they left Marineford in poor condition”
“What happened?” Zoro growls, Perona floating down to hear too
“The navy tried to execute Fire Fist Ace, Straw Hat, and Mirror Master’s big brother, pissing off Daddy dearest and setting the whole Whitebeard crew on their heads. The Pirates won for the record, Ace is still alive, so is Whitebeard somehow. I blame the Demon Eyes, they did tip the balance a little, as did Whitebeard’s son showing up to topple the applecart. Your 1st mate is a true Devil you know that right? Even getting impaled by the Admiral didn’t stop him, just pissed off the Yonko and got his arm lopped off by the Serpent God himself” Mihawk finishes with a laugh that was more of a cackle
Birdie Kingdom - South Blue
“For f*ck sake not again!” Chopper groans as he’s once more dangling over a giant pot of boiling water
“We caught raccoon again for dinner, my favourite” the man laughs
“I’m not a raccoon you morons!” Chopper shouts, then starts to flail and scream as the water splashes him, burning his furry rump
“Hey Papa, why raccoon say he not a raccoon?” a small, round child asks
“You talk silly, everyone know Raccoon no speak words” his father corrects
“You dimwit! I’m saying words right now, maybe if you’d shut up for 5 seconds you’d hear me! I’m not a raccoon, I'm a reindeer and not only that but I’m a trained Doctor damn it!!!” Chopper screams, really pissed off right now, and in pain from the water burns
“That’s stupid, no way can you be talking Doctor Raccoon” the tribesman argues
“But Papa, if he can’t talk, how you know what he saying?” the boy asks, and the look on the man’s face could best be described as ‘Well…… f*ck’
“I’m glad we’ve come to an understanding, any chance you can let me down now?” Chopper asks, his body sagging with relief
5 minutes later
“Me helping” the man cheers, pulling down Chopper’s shorts, and rubbing ointment on the reindeer’s burned hind quarters, Chopper nearly leaping into the air, only to giggle as the cream tingled as the burning pain waned and faded
“Awesome” Chopper laughs, his tail shaking giddily
“This special cream for burns. We use many plants on island for healing and health keeping
“Is there more where this came from, I’d love to see it?” Chopper asks, eyes sparkling at the opportunity to acquire new medical knowledge
“We no have them” the man answers, solemnly
“Big Tree have plants need to make medicine. But last year, mean birds make nest on mountaintop, no way get plants, so medicine soon run out” his wife continues
“Almost have no medicine left, but more and more people sick” the man explains, leading Chopper to where they were doing their best to treat their sick and potentially dying clansmen
“Friend have big cough” the boy explains as Chopper examines another small round child, this one wheezing and seeming to have pain drawing in air
‘She could die from this, those birds have done so much damage to this civilization without even knowing’ Chopper frowns
“It ends here” the man declares, several of the able-bodied tribesmen alongside him “We fix bird problem forever!” he shouts, all the men waving their spears around
“We only do what have to do”
“Me not afraid, for island and family!”
“Urah!”
“Papa!” the boy cries out, rushing to his father
“Son! Me sorry, you protect Mama now” he responds, ruffling his child’s hair
Chopper grimaces as all around him families say final goodbyes, until he steps in “Wait, don’t go just yet. As a Doctor, I can’t just let all these sick people lie here and wither away. Please, at least let me try and go to the birds and ask them to stop picking on you, ok?”
“You talk to birds, for us?” the villagers ask in surprise
“But we try eat you”
“5 times”
“Yeah, but as long as you don’t do it again, we’re good. Plus, like I said, as a Doctor just leaving you all to die isn’t in my nature” Chopper explains, before beginning the long trek up the tree, towards the bird nest.
It was easier than expected for Chopper to gain an audience with the birds, mostly just standing on one of their nesting sites, and waving up at them, the bird dropping with a thud to examine him “Hello, I’ve come to ask a favour from you. There are humans on this island who could die if they can’t climb the mountain and get the herbs they need, but they can’t do that if you keep attacking anyone who comes near the tree”
“Caw caw”
Chopper blinks, and tilts his head in confusion “Huh? You won’t let them take the treasure? What treasure?” he asks, but clearly, the bird was done talking as it tried to spear Chopper on the tip of its beak, then more dive bombed and began to overwhelm him ‘Damn it, this didn’t work’ Chopper grimaces as he fishes a Rumble Ball from his hat, chomping on it before entering Arm Point to block a beak to the torso, though the speed of the attack still slammed him into the trunk of the tree, knocking the wind from him
“What treasure are you guarding? Why do you hate humans so much? Why do you want them to suffer?” Chopper wheezes, before backup arrives in the form of the tribesmen
“Talk no work on mean birds, only action!” the chief bellows, pointing his spear at the flying menaces, then firing it…… only to watch in horror as their little buddy leaps in and blocks the explosive payload with his Guard Point “RACOON NO!!!” he screams as Chopper falls
‘This sucks, I can’t get the humans or the birds to listen to me, and now I’m going to die from this height’ Chopper cries as he falls, before to his shock, someone catches him “What?” he squeaks, looking up at the sky before hearing a familiar chirp “Hey, you’re the bird from before, how you doing buddy? You sure doing better than last time” Chopper chuckles as he hugs the ball of fluff, while it’s parent carries both of them back to the centre of the conflict
“Ok, let’s do this again!” Chopper shouts, though decides to let the Mama bird talk for them, or at least convince them to hear him out this time… which she did Goda blessed.
“I confused, did Racoon make friend with birds now?”
“I did. Hold on a second so i can explain” Chopper calls from the bird’s back “The birds here, they used to collect shiny things from all over the world and store it in their nest, but some bad people came and stole it, as well as attacked them when they tried to get it back or even come near their home island, which is why they ended up migrating to yours. When they got here, they had no reason to believe you would be any different to the other humans, and try to hurt them and steal their treasure too”
“We no need shiny, we need plants for medicine” the chief argues, getting a nod from Chopper
“They understand that now, so go pick the flowers you need, things will be better from now on” Chopper declares, getting cheers from the islanders
The birds had one more helping hand to give, as they carried the men and their supplies back to the village, when his mission was complete… Chopper passed out from exhaustion.
“It doesn’t hurt…. The medicine around here really does wonders” Chopper mutters as he awakens, coming out to see the humans and birds getting along, and wondering how much time he’d missed, though if everyone was happy he wasn’t going to complain
“Coo Coo!”
“Hm? Oh a News Coo” Chopper grins, as it drops a paper at his feet “Thanks buddy!” he waves “I wonder why I’ve miss…..” he stops as he reads the main article, as well as sees the various images captured of the Den Den Livestream
“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK!”
Weatheria
“Hey assholes, how come I’m the only one working over here? I asked to learn about the weather, not plow a field while 3 old men gawk at me and complain about how low I’m going!” Nami screams at the top of her lungs
“Such a rude young lady. For one this is no ordinary field, this weather field is where we grow our weather orbs which are the crux of our research. Plus, true scientific might requires hard work” a brown wizard argues/scolds
“Well you could have told me that sooner, not give me a hoe and told to dig” the navigator huffs
“Fair enough, ah the News Coo with today’s paper. Hm, what’s all this about pirates?” he muses as he leafs through it, until Nami rips it from his hands “Young Lady”
“THOSE MORONS!!!!!”
And similar reactions were seen up and down the Grand Line, as the news of Luffy and Kaos’ exploits were made public (for anyone who hadn’t had access to a Visual Den Den Mushi at the time)
Meanwhile on Amazon Lily
“Hey, Kaos, can I borrow your mirror too?” Luffy asks waving around Artemis’
“That one faulty or something?” Ace asks in confusion as Kaos reaches into his cloak
“No, just seems unfair to call my girls one at a time, might make them feel like there's a hierarchy or something to us” Luffy hums “Only reason I talked to Vivi before Alvida last time was because I called her by accident and it would have been even worse to hang up on her and then call her back” he explains as he receives the 2nd mirror “Plus, this way all 3 of us can talk”
Ace chuckles “Well, it seems you’re finally maturing, Makino would be proud”
KABOOM!!!
“Was that a cannon?”
“Should we be worried Papa?”
“Only if it’s going to hit us, though why anyone is firing at Amazon Lily is anyone’s guess” the purplette shrugs as something flies overhead
“WE. Have returned!” Grima laughs as she drops down into the assembled group “Also a friend of yours wants to see you at the shore Luffy, we did offer to give him a lift but the asshole decided swimming was better” she says with an eye-roll “Come on dummy” she coos, pulling the rubber boy to his feet “You too boys, I’m here to deliver transport for one, and kidnap the other. Now go!” the pirates quickly turn and follow the elder’s orders, finding out where Law had disappeared to while they were talking when he and his crew were slack-jawed on the island’s edge where their ship was docked… surrounding Dark King Silvers Rayleigh.
“Rayleigh, I found them, also we have company in the form of local colour, aka Gloriosa and some kids”
“You know just because I wear glasses doesn’t mean I’m blind Grima” Rayleigh sighs as he puts back on his shirt and coat “And even if I was my observation haki is just as good as yours”
“How are my beloved and my sweet little brothers doing?” Hanco*ck coos as she appears, accompanied by her sisters, Elder Nyon, and several monkeys pulling carts of food
“Hi Hanco*ck, Hi Rayleigh…. What are you doing here? How did you get here?” Luffy shouts in confusion
“I swam(1)” Rayleigh responds bluntly, getting looks of shock from all the new arrivals bar Grima “Also, hello Ace, it’s good to finally meet properly, also, you may not want to hear it, but your old man would be proud of the man you’re becoming” he smiles, even as a scowl flickers across Ace’s face “But that’s not why I’m here”
“Rayleigh! Is that really you?”
“Oh Gloriosa, it’s been what 10 years, you seem shorter” he chuckles
“Rayleigh’s back, and he seems to be doing well”
“You’re supposed to ask not just assume”
“I’m fine, thank you for the implied question” Rayleigh chuckles as the arguing Boa siblings
“How is Shakuyaku? Is she in good health?” Hanco*ck asks
“She’s fine, probably better than ever. She thinks big things are coming on the horizon and you Kuja always seem to get riled up and energized when that happens” the old man grins
“You guys know Old Man Rayleigh?” Luffy asks in surprise
“He was the one who saved us after we escaped slavery” Marigold answers
“With Shakuyaku, they were the ones who brought us back to Amazon Lily” Sandersonia adds
“While as rare for Kuja to admit….. We owe him our lives” Hanco*ck admits with a heavy sigh “But enough heavy talk, we come with nourishment for 3 recovering pirates”
“Well, you don’t need to tell me twice, come on anchor get a munching you’ll feel better in about 5 minutes” Ace chuckles as he pushes the boy to the massive pile of food, Kaos and Artemis following with wide grins
“You see it, don’t you?” Grima asks Rayleigh (correctly guessing she was watching them with her ‘galaxy eyes’)
“That they all have traits that match Roger? Yes, though you probably mean how much of Serpens, matches Mayhem” he retorts
“Both actually. Ace is truly his father’s son, Luffy has Roger’s undying will, and Kaos, tempered madness and a serpentine cunning that makes me nostalgic, though his father’s knack for forming family on the waves is clear as the sun” Grima purrs, then smirks as Hanco*ck and Sandersonia sit either side of Kaos, Marigold choosing to sit between Ace and Luffy and continue talking to the older boy.
“Nyot that it isn’t lovely to see you again Rayleigh, Grima not so much, but if you could find these boys so easily, I fear the Navy will soon be knocking on our doors looking for them soon enough” Nyon frets
Rayleigh gives her a reassuring smile as he answers “Not really, they have little to no reason to search here, Straw Hat was last seen in the care of Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates, while Mirror Master and Fire Fist were on the Demon Eye’s ship alongside Whitebeard. It’s actually more likely they’d have gone looking for them at Water 7 or the New World than Amazon Lily, especially given, minus some hormone play from Iva, those 3 are very clearly male, and therefore would normally not be allowed t set foot on the island, never mind as honored guests”
“My beloved and his brothers are welcome anytime they need” Hanco*ck declares
Rayleigh blinks before nodding “Lovesickness?”
Nyon sighs deeply “She’s got it something awful, even worse than Shakuyaku. Good thing Mirror Master returns her feelings, or the poor girl would be acting even more oddly”
“Well, thank Goda for small mercies then. Also, I had something the Government didn’t, even if it was only a direction, it was still given by Kuma himself and at least gave me a place to start in my search. It’s sheer chance Amazon Lily is the 1st place that line hits, most would simply assume the boys were catapulted back into the East Blue, like Nico Robin and Nefertari Vivi. Plus, there were other things that narrowed the information down to this island, such as Luffy’s infiltration and escape from Impel Down, just after the Warlord Boa Hanco*ck went to see Ace. Shakky owes me a week’s worth of booze by the way, as she thought Hanco*ck helped them because she fell for Luffy, meanwhile, I bet on the Serpent so to speak” he laughs, getting a chuckle from Grima and an eye roll from Nyon.
“The girl’s infatuation is sickening at the moment”
“Indeed, but even if it’s clear as day to us, it sounds too insane for anyone in the marines to act on, so you should be safe, for what little time they’re all still here” Rayleigh muses before calling out to the rubber boy “Hey Luffy, you said you were heading to Sabaody right?”
“Uh huh, once I’m allowed leave, I’m heading straight there, to meet up with the others” Luffy nods, before continuing to eat
“That’s sweet and all, but is that the best decision kiddo?” Rayleigh asks “After all, remember how your last trip to the Archipelago ended?” he says calmly, while Luffy blue screens for a moment, remembering the Pacifista, dickhe*d with the Axe, and Kiazaru’s attacks, as well as Kuma sending everyone flying all over the world “The way you are now, do you think you’d do any better against those enemies again?”
“No” Luffy admits, getting a sharp nod from Kaos, both knowing the crew basically got their asses handed to them that day
“I don’t need to ask if you want to reunite with your friends, only to be torn apart all over again, it’s clear in your eyes. I have some advice, but feel free to do with it what you will” Rayleigh grins, knowing he had the boys' attention now
TBC
LW: And, that’s it for 2022’s RKMM main series, sorry to end on a cliffhanger, more or less, but that’s what happens sometimes. And yes, I know there’s like 3 more weeks of the year, but the next upload day is Christmas, so instead of a regularly scheduled RKMM chapter, you get something else. A Drop in the Ocean chapter, specifically…… RKMM: Strong World!
1) Given the lowest estimates for the size of the One Piece world seems to show that’s basically the same as Rayleigh swimming the Atlantic ocean….. The old geezer is still ripped and OP as hell.
Chapter 140
Chapter Text
LW: Happy new year!!!! Now onto the 1st chapter of 2023
Rubber King and Mirror Master - …. The Tempering of a Dream!
“I hate to say it, but the old man has a point Luffy” Ace muses after Rayleigh lays out a potential plan for his youngest
“Is now really the best time to figure this out? None of it matters until Luffy has actually recovered from the War” Hanco*ck argues, but Luffy waves her off
“Oh, figured something out?” Kaos smirks
“The others, they wouldn’t know if I agreed to this” Luffy more states than asks the Dark King
“That is true, they would most likely try to meet back up in Sabaody as soon as they could” Rayleigh nods “The war itself is well publicized, though both of you are noted as missing, but presumed alive and in decent condition, much like Ace himself to be honest”
“I promised them that I’d meet up with them at Sabaody, and so that’s what we’ll do. Thanks but no thanks I just need a ride back to the archipelago” Luffy decides
Rayleigh nods but sighs “I figured, but can I make another suggestion?”
“Does it involve the mirrors?” Artemis asks, causing the other 2 straw hats to facepalm and Rayleigh to look confused
“That’ll do it sweetie” Kaos grins pulling her into a hug
“Oh thank Goda, I was beginning to think Rayleigh was going to pull a Gloriosa and throw out plans until you gave up and agreed to one” Grima sighs
“Hey, I wasn’t going to do anything of the sort, the kid was free to ignore my friendly advice….” the former pirate argues
“Except when he said no, you went… BUT Wait! There’s more….. And were about to go off on another spiel” Grima counters, getting a chuckle from the Boa siblings
“Rayleigh, is there a way for us to get a message to the crew publicly, so nobody will know about our ability to deliver them privately?” Luffy asks
“I can think of a couple ways, but why risk the messages being intercepted when you have your own way to communicate?” Rayleigh asks curiously
“Because it’s still new and being worked on” Kaos admits “They won’t all remember they have them, or might even have been broken when Kuma bubble shot everyone across the globe. So if we can’t get them my way, we need to get them a simple message that will have to make do until we all reunite” he continues
“Then the simplest way to do that, is going back to Marineford, make a little bit of a spectacle, and ensure your hidden message is photographed by someone from the World Economic Journal” Rayleigh explains, getting a spit take from both of Luffy’s brothers, Artemis and Sandersonia
“I’m sorry, did you just say go back to MARINEFORD!?” Hanco*ck shrieked
“Yes” the Dark King replies flatly
“If that’s what you think is best” Luffy hums “Then I agree, I’ll go back to Marineford for this part of the plan”
“I’m coming too, if Robin is still alive a personal message will be required to ensure she alone gets it”
“Ponyglphs” Luffy guesses, getting a matching grin from the father-daughter duo “Just don’t go too over the top, we don’t want to draw attention to that part of our performance”
A few hours later - Gates of Justice
“Marine Vessel 204 requesting permission to enter. Urgently”
“Understood, right on schedule 204, we just need your code number and we let you on in problem”
“Oh right, 5963”
“Code confirmed. We’re opening the gate now”
“See, was that so hard?” the marine shivers as the Den Den falls asleep turning to see the rest of his men tied up between Straw Hat and Mirror Master, though the one who spoke, standing behind and to the right of the Dark King was the Dragon Grima herself “You boys ok down there”
“I’m fine”
“I’m good, nothing hurts anymore” the 2 teens call up, Luffy sporting his trademark grin as the marine ship is sailed through the Gate, onward to Marineford
Marineford, or what’s left of it after the War
“The destruction is incredible”
“Of course it is, this was ground zero for a massive battle between the Marines and one of the strongest pirate fleets the world has ever seen” the reporter chuckles, partly for causing his co-worker to jump “It’s a miracle there’s even an island left to rebuild on. So, what are you doing here?”
“For a story of course,” the woman chirps “I’m from Alabasta you see, so the fact Straw Hat, Mirror Master, and Former Warlord Sir Crocodile were all here is a big deal. The Straw Hats are kind of important back home after the civil war you see, so any news about them will be great for my readers to hear. I don’t know if the lack of Miss Vivi is a good or bad thing though” she wonders aloud “Given there are already rumors those 2 are dead, I’ll lean on good” she sighs
“I wouldn’t put too much stock in those rumors, the navy would want us to think all pirates were dead if they had the chance. Given the pirates came out on top, I get the feeling both were treated to the best medical care a Yonko like Whitebeard could command”
The woman nods “Given their heritage, and connection to one of his crew, that makes sense. Plus the marines have been pretty busy after Whitebeard’s own announcement lighting a fire under a lot of Morganeer’s arses, so it makes sense they don’t have the manpower to confirm or deny claims of Straw Hat or Mirror Master’s death”
“A shame for them. Speaking of looks like some more navy soldiers are on their way right now. Maybe we can get a few words before the Big Boss sends them off for another assignment” the male reporter suggests, pointing to a vessel that was just a few minutes away from docking in the bay, except it didn’t dock “That’s very strange, and given the last week that’s not a good sign”
“Think the Captain snapped?” the woman asks, though only half-jokingly, just before the ship opened fire “sh*t! I didn’t want to be right” she whines
“He can’t be. Holy crap it is” they overhear the marine on lookout panic “IT’s STRAW HAT LUFFY!” he bellows, causing shock and a little panic to spread throughout the group
“Sink the vessel!” the highest rank marine orders the cannons fire but the blasts are redirected, only those on the ship hearing the reason why
“Thrust Paw Cannon” Kaos hums, Luffy watching with a small hint of amusem*nt as the older boy snipes the cannon balls out of the sky with pressure bubbles
“sh*t, this might not end well, that’s Dark King Rayleigh piloting the ship, and if I’m not mistaken “Dragon” Grima on deck with Mirror Master” the lookout grimaces as the ship does a loop of the island
“They’re taunting us, barrage that ship the moment it enters the Bay!” the highest ranked marine bellows
KABOOM!!
“Huh, that was easy”
“Something seems off” one of the reporters hums “Why go to all that trouble, just to get blown up. They didn’t even counterattack, just stop previous hits from damaging the ship” she wonders aloud just as the answer made itself known, Luffy stretching his way into the plaza, Kaos just behind with wings made of mirror shards, and Grima herself carrying Rayleigh over in her hybrid form.
“Well, we’re here, time to have your little song and dance ay kiddo” Grima cackles, Luffy grins and nods before running off “Go with him, these punks will be no trouble for Ray and I to handle”
“If you’re sure” Kaos shrugs before following, his cloak billowing while the merc just grins, eyes already contorting into their Mangekyō as both Veterans draw their swords
“Not too fancy to fight an old man are you?” Rayleigh taunts, his tone cold and serious “And really, pulling that out so quickly?”
“Don’t want them to get in a lucky hit, my haki is strong enough to handle these fools but you can’t be too careful” Grima smirks
“Gum Gum Whip. Scuse me, passing through” Luffy mutters as he bats aside whole platoons of marines, Kaos following behind at a brisk pace, the reporters just far enough behind him that they felt they were in a safe zone
“Straw Hat is looking for something, but what?” the Alabastan reporter muses
“That or he came back to bring the whole island down, why else would he, Mirror Master, Dark King and the Dragon lady all come back, especially when they won?”
Turns out, Luffy was looking for an old Bell, specifically the Ox Bell. Both Straw Hat pirates jump onto the platform and after a silent discussion Luffy grabs the rope and begins to pull
Bong
Bong
Bong
Bong
Bong
Bong
Bong
Bong
He then stopped and swung it over to Kaos who rang his own 8 bells. The task complete both boys hopped down and began to leave, ignoring the camera flashes and besides one marine who was frozen in shock and had to be shoved aside, made no further actions toward or against the men stationed at Marineford, besides stepping over the groaning idiots who thought fighting Rayleigh and Grima was actually a good idea.
At the crevasse caused by Whitebeard and Akainu’s clash, Kaos pulled flowers from his cloak before both boys dropped them in and stood in respect, Luffy with his hat off and pressed to his chest, while Kaos stood to attention with his arms behind his back and eyes closed.
“I think we’re done” Kaos croaks, getting a half smile from Luffy before they rendezvoused with Rayleigh, Grima and a surprise addition, the Dragon zoan happy to provide transport, especially as her parting fireball scared the sh*t out of the still conscious marines
“That was really weird”
“But one thing is for sure…. This story is going to sell out, the WORLD OVER!!”
MarieJois - Gorosei chambers
“For a bunch of rookies, those 2 boys are really starting to become a headache”
“What did you expect, one’s Garp’s Grandson, the other is not only Whitebeard’s son, but the son of our previous rising Star, Serpens Medusa”
“CPX would be a fitting position if we could separate him from Straw Hat”
“Doubtful, the conditioning would be unlikely to stick, especially given his biology”
“True, nobody has ever eaten 2 Devil Fruits and survived, least of all that Bastard’s power. The only worse combination would be Yig and Cipher”
“Exactly, the kid is a wild card. Speaking of… what about the Blackbeard situation?”
“He made a play for Whitebeard’s throne and lost, though he’s clearly the closest anyone has come in decades. Makes the fact Newgate’s boy handed him his keister all the more amusing though, but on the other hand, he is borderline Yonko level.”
“Best we can hope is that Whitebeard decides to handle this in-house, deal with the attempted usurper out in the New World. He’s already in the process of handling those who tried to hassle his territory while he was on the Paradice side of the Grand Line”
Samurai Gandhi sighs as he stares into the reflection of his sword “The D. Clan always seem to stir up trouble, Roger, Portgas, and now Teech, Monkey and Serpens. They’re putting that name in the paper and in people’s faces much too often than it should”
Marie Jois - World Government Commander-in-Chief office
“I did everything I could, but after everything that happened at Marineford, Garp is for all intents and purposes retired. He still technically holds his rank and titles, and we need him to stay on board to train our new recruits, now more than ever. If you do intend to retire as Fleet Admiral, will you at least stay on in a similar capacity Sengoku?” Commander in Chief Kong asks, staring at the most likely former Fleet Admiral who stares back silently before sighing deeply
“Yes sir. I can accept that offer, it’s far from the worst way to spend my retirement”
Kong agrees if his similarly deep sigh is any indication “The 2 men who shaped the marines most heavily since Roger’s era are finally retiring, this is going to cause quite the splash I can tell. You will be greatly missed. Including the prisoners Blackbeard set free from Level 6, there are still dozens of dangerous pirates running around, with all 4 Yonko being right at the top of course”
“This so-called great pirate Era is in a transitionary period” Sengoku muses, looking down at the paper on Kong’s desk, showing Luffy and Kaos’ trip to Marineford “Blackbeard tried to make it his era by killing Newgate, but even though the assassination attempt failed, he still basically handed it over to the new generation. The marines should do the same, rather than cling to old men like myself, the basis for Justice changes with the passing of time”
Kong chuckles “Sounds like you’re ready to retire old friend”
“I think I am. One more thing while I’m here I want to nominate Aokiji as my replacement, he’d do a fine job” Sengoku suggests
A little later
“Those idiots actually came back to ring the bell huh?” Aokiji chuckles as he finally gets around to reading the paper
“That’s what the reporters and the men on base say” Smoker nods
“Those boys seemed strange, but that was a little excessive even for them” Kizaru smirks before feeding his familiar with some sea king meat, the Wyvern croons and nuzzles as he does “They caught my sweetie’s eye though, and they ran off with our magical expert”
“They did what?” the Ice logia asks eyebrows shooting up “You’re just telling us now”
“Well she’s not actually a marine herself so it’s not like we could stop her. She’s a Grimleal with Kuja roots, makes sense Grima and Kaos would want to snatch her up while they were here” the Lightman says with a lazy grin
“Of course, they’d steal the cultist” Smoker mutters with an eye roll “So, sorry to bring this up, but have you heard anything about my transfer?”
“Not yet, but I’m sure Borsolino or I can bring it up with Sengoku when he comes back from Marie Jois. Are you serious about this though?”
“Not the kind of thing you joke about is it?” Smoker retorts as he puts out his cigar in the ashtray, then retrieves another
“No, I guess not, you least of all. But as you might expect we don’t exactly have a backlog of people clamoring to join G5. Besides, I think you and Tashigi are on 7-7 for the moment actually”
“Oh, Warlord inspections. Fun” Kizaru smirks while Smoker grimaces
“Don’t remind me. Transfer can’t come soon enough” he mutters
Revolutionary base
“It must be nice to know your friends are ok Miss Robin” Koala smiles as she passes the newest paper to Robin, getting an amused giggle from the archeologist
“Very much so, do you happen to have a mirror by any chance?” Robin asks
“I’m sure there’s one around why?”
“My Serpent left me a message. See the marks on his chest?”
“Are they Ponyglph? What do they say?” Koala gasps as another member returns with the requested mirror
“Absolutely nothing. Because they’re reversed” Robin grins “But when I take this mirror, it reveals a very simple message, though a little more complicated than the Captain’s of course” she winks
“So, what does it say?”
“We will reunite soon enough, and both be stronger for it. It’s rather sweet actually, coupled with Luffy’s message, it means I have a lot of work to do Miss Koala. So if you would be so kind as to take me to see your boss I believe he’s expecting me”
Out at Sea - Grand Line
“Captain, a messenger Bat just arrived. I thought only the Navy used them!” Severa shouts as she rushes into the Captain’s quarters
“They do. But Auntie and Mother’s letters probably have something to do with it” Noire hums as Morgan and Century skim through both
“You can open it if you want Severa, especially if it’s what I think it is” Morgan hums
“Ok Boss…. Holy sh*t you’re being considered for one of the open Warlord positions!” the red head shrieks
“Are you going to take it?” Noire asks
“It’s not like I have any reason not to, and it would get mom and Luci off my back” the bluenette chuckles “Though this letter is more concerning”
“Yeah, getting an assassination letter from your mom would be” Century smirks
“It’s not an assassination letter, just a suggestion to ensure we are actually chosen for the position” Morgan argues
“What did she want you to do?” Ashton asks curiously
“Deal with a fellow potential, show that I’m a better option for the position. She wants us to take out Edward Weevil, the False Son of Whitebeard”
“Given we’ve met the real one, that title is going to stick to the chunky dimwitt for however long he manages to survive these waters” Noire laughs “All he’s got going for him is the mustache, nothing else makes me think Son of a Yonko”
“Either way he’s strong enough to be considered, so I have to be better” Morgan states before putting both letters away “We’re heading to the New World to find this dastard!”
“Ay ay Captain!!”
???
“I really hope this works. Mirror Gate: Conference!” Kaos shouts, the reflective material rising and then flying onto the wall, splitting out into 14 squares which rippled before settling, images forming as with a grunt of effort Kaos flares his power, silver tears streaking down his cheeks as the connections all form, and circuit like tendrils spread out from each mirror to those around them
“Damn Psycho, maybe you should have waited a little while before calling” Alvida teases as she answers the call
“Good to see you didn’t die while Luffy and I were busy doing sh*t” he retorts with a pained grin, then his eyebrow rises seeing someone in the corner of his vision “Hey Ussop glad to see you’re alright. You seem different, new haircut? You lose weight?”
“Ussopun your friend is quite rude, you clearly gained a lot of weight since you arrived on this island” the armored man behind Ussop yells loudly
“Oh Ussop” Kaya sighs “Impulse control is not your friend”
“As nice it is to hear from all of you, was there a reason for a message in the paper AND a facetime chat?” Zoro grumbles, the researcher noticing Perona peering over his shoulder from the other side of the room, as well as Mihawk pretending to read the paper nearby
“We wanted to make sure everyone got the message, the papers may not get to where you were sent, and the mirrors could have been broken since we last saw each other” Luffy answers before Kaos could reply
“Like Mom” Artemis chimes in “We hope she saw the notes as we haven’t been able to contact her any other way”
“Exactly. Now we’ll explain the message in a second, just need to deal with a shoddy connection” Kaos sighs before slipping his arm to the elbow through one of the Gates and wrapping his fingers around the old man’s throat “This isn’t for you, so letting our navigator go would be in your best interests”
“Sa;ghrdfjefjb” the old man splutters as Kaos’ grip tightens
“Yeah that means nothing to me but given the hand gestures I’ll point out breaking the mirror will just piss me off and ensure you die screaming. Read the paper if you want to know if I’m bluffing or not” the researcher growls
“Hey, hey hey hey hey. Calm down sonnie boy, this is clearly a misunderstanding” another old man with a long beard in a bathrobe attempted to placate
“I’d recommend listening to him” Nami pipes in from her bubble jail cell “You’ll find it on the paper that started this mess, it’s in the bag with the newest issue, as well as all the research notes I was trying to take off this island with me”
“Hello Nami, glad to see you’re unharmed. I presume you reacted badly to news of the war?”
“That’s, one way to put it. The 2nd paper helped a little, but I’d already stolen their work and was trying to hijack a ship, so it was a little late to backtrack by then” the navigator admits with a slight laugh
“Sounds accurate. If Nami returns everything, will you let her work under you for the next 2 years?”
“That was my original offer until she went nuts and started assaulting and stealing from my fellow weather colleagues. She’ll need to apologize…”
“Which I have no problem doing, just let me out I have a deadline to become New World Certified!” Nami declares
“Fine dearie, but no funny business” the older wizard nods while Kaos lets his associate go and retracts his arm, just before the mirror is passed to a now free Nami
“Ok, one less thing to worry about” Kaos sighs
“Hey psycho, any chance you can get this asshole to listen to me, talks in circles and hasn’t told me anything useful the entire time he’s been here. Even made me admit that sh*tty marine sketch was me!” Sanji bellows
“Ah, it seems you were speaking the truth. Greeting Mirror Master” Inazuma nods as she smiles from behind Sanji
“Hey it’s Scissor guy, does that mean Iva’s there too?” Luffy asks with a grin
“I’m here Straw Boy, Mirror Boy. I’m glad to see you are both alive and well, even if your crewmate is quite rude” Ivonkov scoffs
“Iva, we’re taking a 2 year break from adventuring to train ourselves so we can actually survive the New World. Any chance you can help Sanji get to that level?” Kaos asks, deciding to be blunt and getting a nod of approval from Luffy
“Oh it would be my pleasure to get the candy-boy up to snuff”
“Sanji sighs deeply “Then I have a request, but it can wait until after this talk if you don’t mind”
“No problem candy, I’ll let you have your privacy” the afro okama grins before bouncing away, Inazuma giggling as she similar makes her leave
“Ok, so everyone seems to be checking in, did you all see the paper?”
“I presume you mean the marks on Luffy’s arm, 3D2Y?” Vivi asks “Because if you meant the scars on your chest, I have less chances of translating”
“That was for Mom, only she could read them” Artemis says with a proud grin “Well so can Pops and myself, but you get the point”
“Of course you’re giving out secret messages to your girlfriend, hope she’s alright given her mirror apparently broke” Victor nods before another face peeks in under his
“Hi Vic’s friends!” the girl chirps, her hair antenna's bouncing around as she waves
“GG?” Val asks, causing Giselle to emit a loud squeal of joy
“Please leave sis, this is a private conversation” Victor sighs, though ruffles the girl's hair before she bounces out to ‘go annoy Bambi’ or something along those lines “So, 2 years Boss, think that’s enough?”
“Only one way to find out” Luffy admits “We’ll all meet back up where this break up began, Sabaody, in 2 years time, understood?”
“Question, will we be doing regular updates and potentially collaborating with each other for training purposes?” Valentina asks
“We can, but there’s probably no need for like weekly progress reports, just whoever wants to collab, can contact each other or Kaos and try work around each other’s schedules” Luffy decides off the top of his head
“Great. 1st order of business, can Kaos hand these out, knowing your elemental affinities might help you with future training plans, especially those of us who ate Devil fruits as they tend to alter your specialties, in my case gaining an Earth Affinity alongside my Lightning Primary after eating the Kilo Kilo no mi” Valentina explains before Kaos accepts a small stack of papers which he distributes through the mirror gates
“Is this safe?” Ussop grimaces as he accepts the page
“Honestly, besides 1, you should all have normal reactions to the paper once you figure out how to flare your chakra or activate your haki” the blond shrugs just as the room Kaos was in lit up, his pupils narrowing to slits before the light fades once more “And there it is”
“Who was that? Are they hurt?” Chopper frets
“Money on it being the witch?” Zoro sighs
“If it is, then my prediction was correct” Valentina agrees
“Your page more or less exploded into a lightshow, what the Hell was that supposed to mean?” Nami growls, basically confirming that it was her
“Yeah, because that seemed like a flashbang in paper form, like the bombs you had Artemis make back in Mervielle” Franky agrees
“All flash no bang though” Victor muses “Or else we’d have heard as well as seen it, and Nami would be complaining more”
“Correct. In fact Franky accidentally hit the nail on the head as to why Nami’s paper reacted how it did. Her exposure to SIQ, it affected her elements, in this case overclocking her Lightning affinity to the point it overshadows everything else. Now she might be like me pre kilo kilo and is solely a Lightning user, in which case the Lightning dampening paper will just give a normal reaction to a user, otherwise it will reveal her other elements. But it takes time to order and prepare those kinds of pages so I’ll get back to you on that one. Speaking of…. Chopper, Orochi-nisan wants a sample of SIQ and the IQ plant to examine and experiment on. Any chance?”
“Most of the material is still on the Sunny, but I’m sure Kaos kept a personal stash he wouldn’t mind parting with” the reindeer answers, giving the researcher a side glace, to which he just grins before nodding
“Thanks, he should have something useful out of this stuff in no time”
Egghead island - New World
“Oh this is a very complex substance Quazar” An old man muses, as he examines the SIQ
“AND THERE’S SO LITTLE! HOW DO THOSE JACKBOOTS EXPECT US TO GET RESULTS WITH BARELY A SPECIMIN JAR OF MATERIAL!!!” a girl bellows angrily
“I know, it’s why we should just fill a syringe and jab it into a test bunny!” a woman cackles, the gleam in her eyes leaning heavily on the MAD side of ‘Mad Genius’
“This is why you don’t get test subjects, Lilith, they wouldn’t last a week” A calmer sounding man sighs deeply
“Well if I don’t get to play with the Superdrug, at least tell me when HIS material will arrive! The things we’re seen, we might just have the key or even just the 1st step to fixing our Devil Fruit problem, or maybe even stabilizing the Seraphim program”
“That’s what the Project Mystic notes are for you stupid girl! Ensuring harmony between the varied origins of the materials for their creation, and keeping the offspring viable” the man repeats
“A fat lot of good that did, we only had 1 success and she was lost by dumbasses in suits” the woman sneers
“Which is why we can’t fail again, especially not with the newest projects” Dr. Vegapunk announces “Set up the analyzer, we’ll need it working at peak performance in order to reverse engineer the formula to ensure it’s fit for human testing and consumption”
“Munch munch munch, but didn’ da report say it was already consumed by humans? Those Straw Hat kids!” a woman asks between stuffing cake into her face
“Anecdotal evidence at best, we need to prove it’s possible before letting it go to trial Quazar! Now let’s go!”
Back with the Straw Hats
“Um, is it supposed to split in 4 and have all different reactions?” Sandersonia asks curiously and with a little worry
“sh*t” the blond’s hissed curse telling them it was a big deal “Elemental harmony. Of course, it would be Artemis who had all 5 elements. Honestly, it means she can use all forms of elemental magic equally well and easily, besides that I don’t know. I know like 2 people who are in the same boat, 1 is Ni-san, the other is his Boss and he has the Rinnegan so you can tell he’s OP as f*ck, and help show just how big a deal the kid could be when she finishes training”
“I like this, we’ll need to add element training to Miss Tharja’s lesson plan” the artist muses, flashing a proper D. grin to the entire group
“Um Kaos a moment of your time if you’re not too busy” Brook politely enquires
“Everything ok?”
“Actually no. I kind of got kidnapped by long-armed… I’m going to go with thugs, so I’m kind of locked up and need a little help at least freeing my limbs, I’m sure these men won’t be too much trouble after that” the skeleton explains and requests
“Can I please threaten them Lu?”
“Go nuts if you want to, these people hurt our musician. Have fun” Luffy chuckles while Kaos grins reaches his ears
“One moment everyone, we’ll continue this discussion momentarily” he nods before activating the Gate feature of Brook’s Mirror
“Who wants to bet he kills someone?” Alvida cackles
“Fools bet, of course he will” Zoro scoffs
“My beloved has self-control like no other…. But harming his family does seem to be the exception to that iron will” Hanco*ck muses, causing Sanji to shoot backward in a mountainous nosebleed
“That’s new, really hope it’s not a regular occurrence” Chopper sighs, getting a similarly tired look from Kaya
Kenzan Island
“It’s going to be one of those days isn’t it?” Brook mutters to himself, as the universe’s sense of timing goes off, his captors going over just as his mirror begins to bubble
“Hey what are you doing this time? Didn’t you listen, long arms don’t believe in curses ya freak!” Sancrin sneers, one of his men slapping against the bars of Brook’s cell, until a clawed hand wraps around the man’s throat
“Oh it’s no trick, just my friend coming to check on me” Brook replies, sounding rather relaxed despite his current situation, especially as the man was thrown across the clearing and smashed into a stone formation “Are you ok Serpens-san?” he asks as the silverly fluid solidifies fully into Kaos
“I’ve been better, these the people who kidnapped you?”
“Correct. I crash landed in a village of Satanists who these men were terrorizing and during a failed raid and capture…. I got kidnapped. Sorry” he explains as Kaos cuts his restraints with a slash from Hebi
“Just great another freak, at least he’s still a weakling with a single arm joint so should be no trouble” Sancrin grunts “Well, get on with it and kill him!” he shouts to his henchman who leaps at the pirate with a sword
“Mirāu~ōku” Kaos mutters as he seems to flicker out of the cell and weave around the sword swing, before grabbing the thug by his 2nd elbow and swiftly yanking it outward with a crack
“You know the others are betting on you killing everyone yes?” Brook hums as he dusts himself off
“That partly makes me want to do it anyway…. But also kill as few as possible and just maim the rest” Kaos sighs “Speaking of…. Extra joints with no other structural changes just makes the arms easier to break” he notes before kicking the Long armed thug in the ribs and tearing his arm off
“That does seem like a reversal only Miss Robin would have predicted” Brook nods “So…. what now?”
Bang Bang Bang
“Your aim sucks” Kaos muses before slamming Sancrin up against the bars of Brook’s cage “Now I have a few simple things to say. You stop your sh*t and let my friend go, and if by any chance you break his mirror or try to run and hide… well I know where you are and can find you very easily now so don’t make me have to try, understand?” he threatens
“And why should I listen to you?” Sanction tries to sneer, hard to do with your head in a vice grip, though he was sure his minion coming up behind this lanky freak could take him out
“Because I don’t have to let you live” Kaos sighs letting the man go and spinning around to impale the goon on Hebi, rather glad the only difference between these people and normal humans were the extra arm joints, as it meant the heart was in the same place it always was. Hebi reverts and the body drops by his feet “Now Long Feng…”
“My name is Sancr…”
“Don’t care. Point being, if you want to live you treat Brook well, otherwise, this will look like mercy the next time I’m here” he says then without breaking eye contact with the man charges a quake bubble into his left foot and slammed it down on the dead minion, bits going everywhere as reality cracks and explodes from the perspective of everyone in the area “Understood?”
“Crystal” the Long Arm squeaks as Kaos shoves him aside, trying to hide his limp and luckily the man was too afraid to notice
“That seemed a little dangerous. It also seems Nami wasn’t the only one with long-term side effects of SIQ” the skeleton chuckles, as Kaos flips him off
“Will you be ok here, I could ask someone to come round and pick you up?”
“I’ll be fine, your threat will keep these men in line, plus I have 2 years to train I won’t slack off just because I’m on some random island Yohohohoho!”
“Good, see you soon Brook” Kaos smiles as he taps the mirror and drops through the Gate, during which Brook picks up the paper he’s sent through earlier
“I wonder” he thinks aloud before the paper splits in 2: one side becoming damp like he’d dipped it in water, but the other side flash froze, shattering like glass when it hit the floor of his cell “Most peculiar. I’ll ask Valentina about it at a later date”
Jörmungandr
“That, was probably ill-advised” Kaos sighs as he drops into a chair
“So, how many did you kill?” Alvida asks
“1. Maimed another and scared the sh*t out of the 3rd”
“You’re getting sloppy” Val teases, getting a smirk from the purplette
“Probably, but that’s what this little off-season is for. And now everyone knows what’s going on, we can find out something important, where everyone is. Any volunteers?” Kaos asks
“Mohave, West Blue” Kays responds
“Ship heading for the South Blue” Vivi answers
“Currently the East, but on the way to the Silbern in the North Blue” Victor responds
“South Blue I think for now, apparently the Tavern can move it’s just not happened yet” Alvida grumbles
“Sky island Weatharia, who the f*ck knows” Nami sighs
“No ide…OW! What was that for?” Zoro shouts
“You’re in Walachia on Gloomy island in the Grand Line” Perona explains “The cute ones never listen”
“Boin Archipelago, probably the Paradice Side of the Grand Line” Ussop adds
“Konaha, West Blue” Valentina answers
“Kenzen island. Grand Line” Brook pipes in
“Karakuri island. Grand Line” Franky answers “Apparently the former homeland of Dr. Vegapunk”
“Oh, if you see any medical stuff send it to Kaos so he can send it to me. Also Birdie Island, probably the Grand Line” Chopper requests and answers
“Hell. And that Hell is called Kamabaka island, which has to be on the Grand Line because it’s too insane to exist anywhere else” Sanji growls
“Amazon Lily, East Calm Belt” Artemis chirps with a grin
“Rayleigh says this place is called Rusukaina” Luffy finishes
“And finally, much like Vivi and Victor I’m currently on a ship heading for who knows where” Kaos chuckles just before the door swings open
“Garreg Mach. That’s where we’re heading, it’s been the primary base of the Demon Eye on the Paradice side since the Captain took it over and killed the previous ruler. Honestly, in the magical communities, it was a despotic Hellhole on par with the Hachinosu, though whether comparing Rocks to that Dragon bitch is a fair one is hard to say” Grima laughs “Either way, we’ll be there in a week so it should be fun when we get there”
“Hm, good to know, and honestly surprised you didn’t barge in sooner” Kaos smirks
“Unlike some people I have an impeccable sense of timing. Good luck straw hats, you’re going to need it!” she cackles as she once more leaves the room
“Your new mentor is insane” Alvida states, getting nods and sounds of agreement from about half the group
“Yes, but that doesn’t actually surprise you. Have fun everyone, I’ll hopefully hear from you in the coming weeks, and I’ll actually see you all in 2 years”
TBC
LW: And so the 2-year training arc begins!! And with it comes the end of Book One of Rubber King and Mirror Master.
For the record: Luffy, Nami, Franky, Robin, (with a singular, important alteration) Ussop, and Chopper, will be mostly unchanged from canon leaving everyone else for me to worry about.
Most notably being Zoro, Kaos, Vivi, Valentina, and Artemis, but I do have something for everyone thanks to Zeon, so I will try to have chapters for all the Straw Hats, even if some will be shorter than others.
