EDITED: 6-7-2016
The waves smashed against the Merry, tossing her back and forth. The cargo, barrels of water and rum, boxes of food and other supplies, broke from their holds and tumbled freely below deck, adding more motion to the already dangerously swaying ship. On deck the crew fared no better, as they too were tossed from side to side, barely able to keep upright.
"Usopp!" the orange-haired woman yelled over the roaring maelstrom, "Go down below deck and re-secure the cargo! Sanji, you handle the galley! That much weight shifting freely could capsize us!"
"Easy for you to say!" he yelled back grasping at the railing in one hand and shielding his face from the rain with the other.
The rain. Oh the rain, it fell like bullets in all directions. Unrelenting, it prickled their skin like thousands of tiny needles. The rain was freezing but searing at the same time, eating away at the crew's skins as time seemed to slowly tick by. Usopp put one arm through the railing and rubbed his hands together, trying in vain to warm them up. They were soaked to the bone - literally - he thought - shriveled and blue and slick.
He fought the swaying of the ship, leaning from one side to the other. It creaked and gave a sudden lurch to the left. He leaned hard to the right, but his feet slid and kicked from beneath him, sending him skidding to the railing. In front of him, he watched as Sanji leveled himself and skidded down into the railing, somehow managing to keep on his feet. Sanji looked up at him; he had a cigarette in his mouth like always only this one was soaked and Usopp could guarantee it would never be able to catch a flame. After a moment Sanji nodded in question. Usopp nodded back at him, assuring the other he was fine. Sanji then got to his feet and climbed his way to his post, securing the cargo in the galley.
Usopp rose to his feet and continued sliding across the deck and down the stairs to the main deck. Eventually he found his way to the hatch that led below. The door was slick with rainwater and his hands fumbled with the latch. His fingers shook, still numb and useless, desperate to get below deck and secure their goods before they capsized.
Before they drowned.
Finally, to his relief, the latch came undone and he lifted up the hatch. He held on to the ladder in a vice grip; his wet shoes squeaked as they met the wooden rungs, nearly slipping off several times. He stumbled his way to the cargo hold as soon as his feet met the floor, grabbing a few reels of extra rope and netting from the wall as he went.
To say the hold was a mess was a bit of an understatement. What wasn't busted open and leaking its contents was sure soon to be as the remaining barrels and boxes toppled and slid across the wooden floor. Some were soaked with an unidentifiable mixture of liquids. With haste, he removed the torn rope from the knob and attached the new one. He then began frantically grabbing barrels and crates and fortifying them down until they all were appropriately fastened. It did not take long as there were only a few that were in suitable condition. The rest were smashed, and their remains adorned the floor like confetti after a party. He knew that this would be a major problem after they survived the storm.
If they survived the storm.
The thought lurked in his head like a feral animal stalking him in the grass, thirsty for his sanity. He pushed it away, as far as he could get it, but still it loomed. The ship gave another lurch and he could hear the sudden static sound of a wave crashing against the side of the ship. He grabbed the wall just in time to avoid being thrown to the floor. He shook his head and started up toward the deck as the ship again leveled. His nakama would need his help.
He pushed the hatch up slightly but reeled back and nearly fell back down the ladder as the hatch was blown off its hinges and rain water poured in. He regained his balance and emerged from the door, closing his eyes to slits as the wind and rain again cut at his skin. He watched as the hatch tumbled across the deck and flew into the sea. Yet another problem of many.
"All secure, Nami…but the hatch-! It-!" he yelled to the navigator as she relayed an order to Zoro.
"There's nothing we can do right now! Our top priority is furling the sails! They keep coming undone! Help Luffy with them! Chopper! You go too!" she yelled and then returned to relaying orders to Robin and Zoro, motioning the latter to fix the hatch.
He watched as water began to pour into the hold and hoped Zoro had a good way to fix was never a moment of peace, but who'd expect one in the middle of a typhoon?
He stumbled to the shrouds and began climbing up to the mast, while Chopper climbed the opposite side. Luffy was already at the top, as he had been for since the storm began. He was desperately trying to furl the sails on both sides with his rubbery arms but only succeeding in tangling them into a bigger mess.
"Usopp!" he called, smiling a toothy smile, happy to see his friend. It was getting even more difficult to hear anything over the roar of the wind storm.
The ropes normally securing the sails to the mast were in shreds and whirled around in the wind. Luffy's arms were intertwined with the sails, sloppily but effectively holding the sails up. The mess was probably the reason the ship hadn't taken a nose dive yet. But Luffy was needed down below now, and it's not like he could just hang on the mast for the remainder of the storm.
God! Usopp mentally cursed himself, why hadn't he brought more rope!?
"Luffy! Chopper!" they both looked at their friend through squinted eyes, "I'm going to go back down below deck to get some more rope!"
"'kay!" the boy yelled, his voice slightly muffled by some of the sails slipping from his arms and whipping into his face.
Chopper nodded, holding onto the mast and the sails for dear life.
Usopp prepared himself to descend to the deck, but before he even turned around, the mast gave a sudden jerk as a large wave crashed into the ship. He exchanged wide-eyed looks with Luffy and Chopper before the mast gave another jerk. There was a crackling noise, slow at first, but it grew into several booming creaks and cracks of splintering wood as the mast finally gave one final lurch before snapping and plummeting into the angry indigo waters below. A dozen strong arms sprouted from the ship and grabbed the mast in a desperate grip. The mast hit the waters with a loud splash and dipped down about ten meters under before bobbing back up to the surface. Usopp watched in horror the disembodied arms of his crewmate dissipated into a whirl of flower petals upon contact with the sea. He turned back to his two friends on the mast.
The frigid water nipped at their flesh and for the two with abilities, it stole their energy like blowing out a candle. Luffy's arms were still wrapped around the mast, tangled in the torn ropes. He was barely conscious and looked at Usopp with dull, half-lidded eyes.
"Chopper!" Usopp yelled as he noticed the reindeer was no longer bear hugging the sails, "Damn, he must have fallen into the ocean!"
He grabbed some of the torn rope and dove under the water. He didn't have to go far as he hit below the surface he noticed a small lump in the tangled sails. Chopper had luckily been caught by the clumsily folded, somewhat furled sails, courtesy of their captain. He grabbed the reindeer and pulled himself and the small doctor onto the mast.
"Chopper! Hey, Chopper!" he yelled shaking his small body. He didn't stir. Usopp looked up searching for the Merry. Searching for help. It was dark and the rain kept him from seeing much, but as lightning stuck he could see her faint outline in the distance. Already they had strayed far enough so that the ship was almost indistinguishable. Faint silhouettes moved frantically about on deck. But they were drifting from her fast in a strong current. A current pushing her and the rest of his nakama away and another current pulling them on her mast in the opposite direction.
"OIIII!" he called, waving his arms. The static grew even louder in his ears.
No response.
"OIIII!" he called again. The wind beat past him and made him have to steady himself to avoid falling into the sea.
No response.
Again.
No response.
Again.
No response.
He called until the Merry was nothing more than a speck on the horizon. Only then did he yield; his throat was raw and dry.
He looked back to his captain and the unconscious reindeer in his arms. He used some of the spare rope to secure Chopper to his chest. He then crawled over to Luffy.
"I guess we're on our own then," Usopp said bracing himself and his nakama for an upcoming wave.
The storm lasted at least another two hours. Two hours of being plugged into the water and then nodding straight back up, gasping for stolen breath. Two hours of constantly bracing for impact of the careening waves and devastating gales. Two hours of keeping his two friends as much out of the water as possible, and two hours of monitoring their chests for a rise and then a fall.
It was the waves that ceased first, then the rain finally stopped coming down in sheets, and then the sky opened up to reveal a sun that he thought had long since abandoned them. It was certainly a sight for sore eyes.
His breath came in sharp gasps. He was exhausted, and he was sore, and he was relieved. Relieved especially when his eye caught an island in the distance. Small, but an island all the same.
He began paddling with his arms toward land, hoping, trusting, that it was not a mirage. He laughed deliriously as he neared it. His eyes as wide as his grin.
When he finally met land he fell to his knees, shaking in joy. It was real! He dug his hands into the sand and tossed it into the air in joy. He was then reminded that Luffy had been tangled in the ropes. He quickly untied Chopper from his chest and lay him on the beach. He then ran over to the mast again, stumbling over his numb, water-logged feet. He hadn't untangled the ropes in fear he would lose Luffy to the sea. Holding Chopper and himself on the "raft" was enough a chore as it was. His legs felt like jelly, stumbling under his own weight, adrenaline nearly diminished. As he reached the raft, he tripped but luckily caught himself on the sails. Breathing hard, he again heaved himself up and went to work on disentangling the ropes fortifying his captain to the mast.
The rope had weaved itself tight around his arms as well as around his torso and legs, although luckily, not around his neck. The knots were tight, not enough to stop all blood flow, but enough to need a blade to undo them. The ropes having been soaked in seawater only made the situation worse. Luffy's skin under them was raw and bleeding.
Remembering he had not taken off his bag, he snatched it open and rummaged through it in search of a serrated object. Much of its contents had been lost to the sea in the storm, so all he found was a small pocket knife. It was dull and short, but it would have to work. He pulled out the saw tool and began cutting away at the lines. It took some work, but eventually he made it through them. As he cut through the last one he felt something against his leg. A large piece of black, torn fabric gathered around it. Their flag. He picked it up and slung it over his shoulder as he dragged Luffy to shore, laying him beside Chopper. He threw the flag over them both and dropped to his knees. He was too tired to do anything else. They were safely out of the rage of the tide and that's all that mattered to him. He closed his eyes and welcomed sweet, sweet slumber. But perhaps slumber was too kind a word.