Gyo-Jin Pride

Chapter One:

Escape.

Chuu awoke to the realization that the world had changed. He slowly sat up, fighting the dizziness and throbbing pain that seemed to encompass his entire body, and tried to remember what had happened. He was lying in a pool in the middle of a rice paddy, battered and bruised...the long-nosed human, could it be? Could a mere human have actually defeated one of the mighty Gyo-Jin? It all came flooding back, being engulfed in a fiery assault, the long-nose standing over him, striking again and again with some sort of mallet. He had been defeated. How could he face Arlong again? Then he heard it.

Voices singing, cheering, human voices. Something was very wrong. Slowly, painfully Chuu raised himself up from the rice paddy and began the long trek back to Arlong Park. The voices, the sounds of rejoicing grew louder, and he could hear the ridiculous voice of the long-nose singing his own praises to the world. As he drew near to Kokayashi village, Chuu looked toward Arlong Park. It was gone...

Just then a drunken human stumbled from the nearby woods, singing and cursing the Gyo-Jin. Chuu grabbed him by the neck. "What's going on!? Chu." He demanded, the human looked at him with malice in his eyes, "You lost..." He said defiantly. "Arlong and all his stinking fish-heads, all of 'em, you don't rule here anymore!" Chuu's blood went cold, Arlong defeated! Impossible! Yet, Arlong Park was gone, and the humans were rejoicing as they never would have if Arlong was still in charge. Chuu started to tighten his grip on the human's neck, then, he simply let go, what was the point anymore? The drunk stood on unsteady feet, swaying back and forth. "I'd get off this island if I were you." The man said "Nezumi's men are rounding up all of yer kind, the ones we didn't get to first." Nezumi, that son of a rat had betrayed them! Chuu had never had a high opinion of the man, neither had any of the other Gyo-jin, the man was scum, a coward, a traitor, living proof of Arlong's ideas of Gyo-Jin superiority. Chuu turned away from the drunken human, and began to limp towards the coast.

Chuu kept to the forest, it provided plenty of cover, places to hide, to rest, to think on what to do. If Arlong had fallen before these humans, then there was no hope, the Gyo-Jin Empire had been crushed before it even began. It was over. Chuu ducked into some bushes as a small squad of Marines walked by, obviously searching for any escapees from Arlong's crew. Under normal circumstances, he could have easily killed the four of them without breaking a sweat, but he was wounded, and knew his only hope lay in reaching open water. As the search party passed, Chuu cautiously emerged from the bushes and limped on. It took almost an hour for him to reach the water, dodging Marines and drunken villagers as he went. Quickly, silently he slipped into the cool waters. Being in his native element immediately made him feel better, physically and mentally. He began to swim around the island, to get a view of Arlong Park, to see for himself what had happened.

Chuu was horrified, the entire structure was flattened, debris strewn everywhere, bodies strewn everywhere...Gyo-Jin bodies. Reluctantly he turned his back on Kokayashi village, on Arlong Park, on all the work of the last eight years.

He began to swim, away from the island, away from the East Blue, toward The Grand Line, toward home.

To Be Continued...