A/n: Well..that is three more than I expected honestly. But do review more! And I might post another chapter faster. Don't just encourage me! Criticize me! Is my writing long winded? Too unfocused? Too many grammar mistakes? Too many spelling mistakes? This is practice for me guys! Be ruthless!
Chapter 2: True Terror
Waves were high and wind was turbulent where Vivi stood atop the Royal ship, waiting with the army of Alabasta as they watched enormous line of ships approaching. No matter where the eyes went, the sea in the horizon was filled with the dark shapes of Marine Ships slowly enveloping the water as they moved closer and closer.
"There are…so many.." she breathed in disbelief at the sight of the never ending darkness enveloping the blue ocean in the horizon. She hadn't expected this even in her dreams that the Marines would dispatch..they practically sent everyone out there after them!
The army was losing its morale. Shouts of protestations and disbelief were ringing throughout the soldiers. The whole military of the kingdom was breaking down at the mere sight of such an army. No matter how you see it, it still seems a scene from the worst nightmare one could never even have imagined in life. It was surreal. "What have I done?" she muttered under her breath. Besides her Cobra, Chaka , Pell, Kouza were shaking all over from that instinctual sense of doom that could be felt throughout the atmosphere. And these were the bravest men she had ever known in all of Alabasta. If they were like this, she couldn't even imagine what the condition would be like among their other forces.
As she looked down, she realized she herself was shivering from an unbearable chill inside. Her fingernails were digging hard inside her palm as she had unconsciously made a fist of it. Blood was flowing freely, yet she didn't even feel it. This fear…it was paralyzing.
She had expected a lot of Marines, she had even expected an Admiral. But never in her entire imagination had she visualized that so many would come.
"I-I had only heard faint rumors about it..whispered almost inaudibly amongst some of the highest ranking Marine officers I had ever met and befriended.." Cobra said, never taking his eyes off the armies advancing in front of him. "Heaven's Wrath..the ultimate Buster Call command..there never had been any documented sightings of such an event in history..since no one else had ever survived such an attack. It drives an entire kingdom to absolute extinction. Nothing is left. Not a trace of natural or man-made landmark to tell anyone that there had occurred such an existence." His voice was shaking. Where once there had been confidence and trust in the Straw Hat crew, that they would have definitely countered any attack that would come the way of this kingdom, now there was only certainty. A certainty of Armageddon. Even the Straw Hats on their side, and all the luck with them, they still wouldn't be able to get out of this predicament. The King of Alabasta had never known such regret in life.
"I am..I am sorry Father.." Vivi said, tears flowing from her eyes as she looked at him, understanding how much disappointed he might feel. She had let him down, taken on more, much more than they could ever chew. She had naively took on an enemy the power of which she had never even begun to comprehend.
"VIVI!" Chaka shouted as he slammed his Quail down hard against the ship's deck making a resounding echo across the silence that spread throughout the crowd which had become of this well disciplined and trained army who just gaped at the continuous stream of ships that just kept on appearing out of the horizon. It was like a whole continent was moving about.
"Never apologize for the choices you made for the sake of friendship! It might have been wrong, it might have been reckless, it might have been foolish. But it was these choices that had made us who we are. You are what you are Vivi, because of your choices. And I for one never regret whatever you had done for the sake of this country. So wipe your tears and look forward. Even if it had been a mistake. Face and accept the choices you made with pride and..let us die with those choices!" his voice traversed throughout the shore, far and wide. The sacrifices the princess had made for the country had been known far and wide. Every citizen of this country had made it their job to know every difficulty and pain that the princess had endured in agonizing detail and the King had only encouraged the spread of such information realizing such a thing would only make them love the princess more and would give her more power over the people she would be soon ruling over as the Queen.
"I could never have said it any better my friend." Cobra said solemnly, putting a hand on Chaka's shoulder. "No matter what happens today Vivi..you shall always remain my pride and my ultimate treasure."
Vivi was sobbing inconsolably by the time as she hugged her father hard. Even their voices had that lingering feeling of finality. It just made her realize the hopelessness of this situation. "I AM SOWWY!" she wailed clutching hard her father's shirt.
"There..There silly girl..don't be stupid. It was the decision made by all of us." Pell patted consolingly on her back.
The army shouted in reply with an enthusiastic shout. "WE SHALL DIE FOR THE PRINCESS!" their morale increasing again seeing for the first time, their strong willed Princess so helpless. The same princess who infiltrated the most dangerous organization all by herself for the sake of her country without an ounce of regard for her life. If they couldn't even do this much then there was no use in calling themselves men anymore.
"DON'T WORRY MOM!" an unruly boy of age four years or so came out onto the deck shouting aloud brashly. "Why are you crying? The Straw Hats would save us!" he exclaimed jumping around. He had blue hair dangling down from under a straw hat, inherited from his mother Vivi and sharp eyes from his father..Kouza. Their marriage was inevitable…childhood friends with a lot of respect for each other. Them falling in love was inevitable as her father Cobra always said. He had snuck into their ship unbeknownst to anyone, stubborn as his mother was. He was raised with the stories of her adventure with the Straw Hat crew and he always thought they were invincible. They were his heroes.
As the boy jumping around came closer to the end of deck where everyone was standing, he caught sight of the ships.
"Mommy…never mind them can we run away?" he asked meekly as he stood there staring wide eyed.
X-X-X-X-X
Smoker stood there with his hands behind his back staring grimly at the meager army standing before them. He was almost crushing his cigar through his teeth.
"What a foolish king they have. To think they could even hope to take on the World Government.." he commented. "That being said, even we didn't expect the Commander-in-Chief to invoke Heaven's Wrath upon them."
He looked back at the endless line of ships around them. It was like a floating island of ships as far as he could see. His division was closer to the inner circle and even Smoker had a little trouble believing in the sheer strength of the Haki exuding around. It was taken care that it didn't affect the Marines, they had control over it..this was purely for the purpose of intimidation. Today, one way or the other, they were going to set an example. This time, this attack would be publicized throughout the world and everyone will know the true strength of the World Government. They were effectively declaring war against the Pirate King.
After the destruction of Alabasta, they would set base here for the war. It was an all out effort to destroy the pests that were the Straw Hats once and for all. The government knew they would eventually retaliate, they were going to choose the battlefield and the time for the war. This would be on a scale never before seen in the entire history.
"Chsht!" Tashigi grimaced as she came besides her captain. "This is inhumane! To go this far, to ensure no one survives this massacre…I can't believe it!" she said in frustration. "Its like…I don't know the difference anymore..between Pirates and us!" she punched the steel handle bar in front of her in anger, breaking it apart with her strength.
"Sir..after this war..I am resigning.." she said, eyes moistening as they came closer to the royal ship of Alabasta, watching the scared and helpless Royal family standing right in the front, awaiting death with pale and terrified faces. There was a child with them too. What were they doing here with a child?
She couldn't take it anymore..she turned around and stormed off inside the cabin. "Tell me when its over.." she muttered to one of her crew mates as she shut herself inside her room in the ship.
Smoker looked on without a word taking in mind every face he could of these brave men of Alabasta mustering up their courage inside to face something they were sure to be killed by.
"This is not a sight for the weak willed. People of Alabasta…I shall remember our sins. I will not turn away from the mistakes my choices had bought forth. I shall not look away. This day shall be repented…" he muttered an oath to himself. Clutching the handlebars hard, wrinkling it like a piece of foil sheet.
He would do his duty for now. But he would demand his answers. Even if he needed to go through hell and back for it.
X-X-X-X-X
Kong stood at the center of his formation eight feet tall and looking very formidable. All the Admirals and Fleet Admirals were present in the very same ship. Akainu the Fleet Admiral, KIzaru, Fujitora and Ryokugyu the Admirals were all standing behind him. Every one of them possessing conqueror's Haki.
They were all converging their powers making sure not to affect friendlies as they created a show of strength for the entire world to see. Today the world shall witness what it means to defy the World Government no matter whom you think your allies are.
Today Straw Hats would realize that being strong themselves just isn't enough to protect everyone of their nakama. There wrath might be formidable afterwards, but he had already made preparations to take them on. It had all been planned out with elaborate precision. This was absolute justice!
The Straw Hats had ran about unchallenged for quite sometime with not many capable of keeping track of them because of their tendency to venture into the most dangerous and mysterious of territories for sheer excitement. They were indeed a bunch of crazy people. But they were also very naïve. While they were all partying and having fun all these times, the government was taking careful steps in setting up a grand plan to take them down once and for all but this time setting up an effective example along with it to rectify the mistake they did with Gol D Roger. Kong wouldn't let another era of pirates to emerge after this. It would be an end to their freedom!
It was true that they didn't have many fights nowadays considering most enemies had already realized the superiority of those monsters, but after the lack of practice for so long it would be a wonder if they could even keep up. New more powerful recruits were being admitted into the navy day after day with breath taking potential. Kong hadn't left a single stone unturned in ensuring their victory.
Every sea route, even the most obscure ones had been closed off entirely without the tiniest chance for any reinforcements from other allied countries. Not even a single ship could pass undetected under such a tight watch. At this moment the might of the military had been entirely concentrated upon this one single point.
"At my command!" he said, raising his hands to signal preparations for the enormous cannons specially designed by Vegapunk for maximum destruction. He sneered at the scared faces of the men standing at the coast helplessly as he saw them through the big screen which was attached to a massive telescope that was placed at the top of main mast. Such a thing was needed when handling such massive armies to keep a look out of the entire battlefield. He was even recording their faces to enrage the Straw Hat Pirates more. He didn't need to see through the scereen though. He could see the army just well now. They were, close. Very close to them now, so much that even the center battalion were able to see the cowering soldiers putting up a brave fight to fend of their fear and and die with honor, because that was all they could do against an army this big. They stood their just staring wide eyed with a look as if watching something far away. Never had he seen more listless faces, then again never had anyone seen such a humoungous army.
The Straw Hats were always reckless. Their Captain most of all. But this time, Kong shall make sure it would cost them very dearly. They would rue every act they ever made against the government.
There was no attempt at negotiations. There were no chances given for surrender or no attempt at asking whether the King would like to change the mind at this point. It wouldn't have mattered either way. It had already been decided. This country shall be no more.
Kong's hand went down. And millions of cannons shot in unison creating a thunderous roar, everyone of them pointed at the Alabastan coast.
"Fire away…destroy the country that dares stand in the way of Justice." He said calmly, his heavy baritone voice crushing even the sound of numerous cannon firing around. It was just the first wave. Next they would destroy the entire deserts. The range of these cannons and other weapons were long enough to destroy anything and everything Kong wanted. After this day, everyone will think twice before standing in the way of Marines.
The Romantic Dream of Pirates shall be demolished.