Another Nakama IV
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fanfic. One Piece and all the related characters are owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonnan Jump Manga and Eiichiro Oda. QPython only owns the original characters that he created for this story.'
Round 3:
-x-
Tonjit and Shelly made their way through the crowd of Foxy Pirates as they prepared for the third round of the Davy Back Fight.
The shipwrights and carpenters on Foxy's crew were hard at work constructing two large sets of stands for the crew to sit on and watch the final event.
Neeiiigghh… Shelly hung her head and looked concerned.
"Shelly, don't worry girl," Tonjit reassured his horse. "Our friends will be just fine. All we ca do is cheer them on." Tonjit made his way to one of the numerous foods stands. "Two fried squids and a sausage on a stick."
"You got it," the Foxy Pirate manning the stand replied.
Beyond the food stands and the Davy Back Fight carnival that the Foxy Pirates had set up near their ship, the partially constructed stands loomed overhead. In addition to the stands, the Foxy Pirates were hard at work making an oval-shaped track.
"Hey, where'd you guys put my tools?" one of the workers called out.
Down below, Foxy Pirates dragged a mini-steamroller around the Groggy Ring field to make a flat, paved surface.
Say what you will about the Foxy Pirates' cheating methods but they certainly knew how to host a Davy Back Fight and how to do it with flair.
-x-
"This next game sounds like fun, don't you think?" Robin asked as she hung her purple jacket in a locker. She and Nami had taken over the locker room that the Foxy Pirates had provided for the Straw Hats.
"Fun?" Nami repeated. "That's kind of insensitive. Put yourself in Chopper's shoes for a second. Poor little guy."
"I didn't think of that," Robin admitted, "My apologies."
The two female Straw Hats had pulled on short yellow jerseys over their regular outfits. The yellow jerseys had white rectangles on the front and back that depicted red numbers. Nami's jersey was number 73 while Robin's was number 6.
"No big deal," Nami said as they made their way out of the locker room to the field. "It's these idiots that could use some sensitivity training."
Three of the five remaining Straw Hats were sitting outside of the locker room that they had been kicked out of. Sanji was dressed normally since he wasn't in this round but Luffy and Usopp both wore yellow Straw Hat jerseys that matched Nami and Robin's.
Luffy was number 1 and Usopp was number 800.
"Aaaah!" Sanji gasped at the sight of Nami and Robin. "You both are so lovely!"
"Hm?" Luffy grunted while he ate some food. "Are you ready for the match?"
Bonk! Nami knocked the overeager Sanji out of the way and glared at the Captain.
"What are you eating now, Luffy?" Nami demanded.
"It's a long kiwi," Luffy answered. He held up a long kiwi that was stretched to be the size of a cucumber. "The old horse guy gave it to me. It actually tastes pretty good... ...you can't have it."
"I DON'T WANT IT!" Nami yelled at him. "Where's Ricky?"
Usopp looked up from the roller skate that he was tinkering with. It was a regular wooden skate with two red wheels on each side. "Ricky said that didn't like his roller skates so he took Zoro with him to go request some new ones."
"Do you think it worked?" Robin inquired.
"It did." The others turned to see Ricky and Zoro. Ricky's yellow Straw Hat jersey had number 11 on it. He was also holding a pair of black inline skates with red wheels. "It's in the rules of Davy Back Fights that the crew being challenged can request specific equipment from the hosting crew."
"And they actually followed that rule?" Usopp asked.
"The guy didn't want to," Ricky admitted, "But I had a terrifying super-strong swordsman standing behind me so he was happy to agree."
Zoro shrugged, "Happy to help."
"I take it from the fact that you requested special gear that you've played this game before," Nami noted.
"You could say that," Ricky said with a foxy grin. "But that would be an understatement. Ace, Ollie and I dominated in this game. The only problems are that we're playing against a bunch of cheaters and I still haven't recovered from my hamburger injuries. It might be hard to land a clean sweep."
"WE'LL KICK THEIR ASSES!" Luffy exclaimed. "LET'S GET CHOPPER BACK!"
"YEAH!" Usopp and Nami cheered.
"Go team," Robin added.
-x-
The Groggy Ring field had now been transformed into a race track. Two sets of stands had been constructed on both sides. An oval track had been made around the white lines from the previous ball game. The straight areas were flat and paved but the turns at both ends of the track were tilted upward.
The stands had now been filled with the Foxy Pirates and Chopper carried on a special chair to a special seat in the front row.
"IT'S TIME FOR ROUND THREE!" Itomimizu announced as he flew above the track on Chirp Chirp, "THE ROUND, ROUND, ROUND ROLLER RACE! IT'S A HEAD-TO-HEAD RACE ON AN OUTDOOR TRACK. THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: AT THE SOUND OF THE WHISTLE EACH TEAM'S POINT-GETTER WILL START SKATING AROUND THE TRACK. TWENTY SECONDS LATER, THE SECOND WHISTLE WILL BLOW AND THE TEAM DEFENDERS WILL SET OFF. THE DEFENDERS CAN TRY TO HINDER THE OPPOSING TEAM OR SUPPORT THEIR POINT-GETTER, ANYTHING GOES! ASSUMING THE POINT-GETTERS AREN'T INJURED OR DISQUALIFIED, THE RACE WILL CONTINUE FOR FIVE MINUTES. AT THE END OF THAT TIME, THE TEAM WHOSE POINT-GETTER IS IN THE LEAD, WINS. AS LITTLE AS AN INCH COULD MEAN VICTORY OR DEFEAT."
SWOOSH! Chirp Chirp swooped down and landed on a bird swing. Itomimizu climbed up the swing to a nest with a commentary table in the middle of it.
"YOURS TRULY WILL BE PROVIDING THE PLAY-BY-PLAY WITH MY SPECIAL BIRD'S NEST VIEW RIGHT NEXT TO THE STARTING LINE. NOW ITS TIME FOR OUR TWO TALENTED TEAMS TO TAKE THE TRACK!"
"Alright guys," Luffy resolved as he finished off the last of his long kiwi. "No matter how bad they cheat, we've gotta get Chopper back this time. You ready?"
"YEAH!" the Straw Hats cheered as they all walked out from underneath the stands, across the track and onto the field with their arms raised.
"OOH! AND HERE COME THE STRAW HAT DANGERS, MAKING A GRAND ENTRANCE WITH A ROARING BATTLE CRY! COMPETING FOR THIS TEAM WE HAVE CAPTAIN MONKEY D. LUFFY, FIRST MATE RICKY, NAVIGATOR NAMI, SNIPER USOPP AND ARCHEOLOGIST NICO ROBIN. COOK SANJI IS THEIR HEAD COACH AND SWORDSMAN ZORO IS TEAM MANAGER."
"And there are our opponents," Ricky prompted as they glanced over at the other team.
The Foxy Pirate team all wore purple jerseys decorated with black lightning bolts.
"AND ON THIS END, THEIR ALL-POWERFUL OPPONENTS, THE FOXY DEVILS! FIRST UP, IS THE TEAM'S PLAYMAKER PORCHE!"
The Foxy Pirates cheered and their Idol waved to her adoring public. She had traded her usual pink puff-ball hat for a purple one to match her jersey but still wore her usual pink jumpsuit underneath.
"NEXT IS THE STUNNINGLY SPEEDY CHIQICHEETAH…"
Chiqicheetah lived up to the second part of his name and was half-man, half-cheetah. He had yellow fur instead of skin and a smattering of black spots on his neck. He had a furry cat-like face with long whiskers and wore a Foxy mask and Foxy ears over his cat ears. His purple Foxy Devil's uniform was completed with white shorts, purple elbow pads and purple knee pads.
"THE DEFENSIVE DYNAMO MASHIKAKU…"
Mashikaku was a large man with tan skin and short arms and legs. But he got his name from the fact that his big bulky body was one huge rectangle. His face was fat and featured jowls and multiple chins. He wore a black and white striped Foxy cap and an extra-large Foxy Devil's uniform which was completed by white shorts, knee pads and elbow pads.
"THE FIGHTING FISHMEN JUBE AND GIRARIN…"
Jube was a squid fishman with pink skin, eight arms and two legs. His black hair was tied back in a pointed-up ponytail. He wore a black Foxy mask and had a special Foxy Devil's jersey with four sleeves on each side for each of his arms.
Girarin was a pale purple fishman with dark purple stripes. He had green hair with a fin coming out of it on top of his head and wore a Foxy mask and Foxy ears. He wore the usual purple and black Foxy Devil's uniform with white shorts but had his arms folded behind his back.
"AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE HAVE FOXY AS THE HEAD COACH AND HAMBURG AS THE TEAM MANAGER."
Foxy grinned smugly as he stood in front of his team. Hamburg had been treated by Foxy's Doctors and had recovered from the Groggy Ring Match and now stood behind Foxy with the Foxy Devils.
"THAT'S A MIGHTY LINE-UP IF I'VE EVER SEEN ONE!"
The Straw Hat Dangers and the Foxy Devils stared down. Chiqicheetah was the one that made the first move as he stepped passed Foxy, walked right up to Luffy and started sniffing him.
"Hey, what're you doing?" Luffy complained as he leaned away from the cat-like man.
"WHOA, WHAT IS CHIQICHEETAH UP TO? IS HE INTIMIDATING LUFFY BEFORE THE START OF THE MATCH?"
Chiqicheetah continued to wordlessly sniff Luffy.
"What's with this weird-o?" Usopp wondered. "He's kind of creeping me out."
"So they've got a Cheetah Zoan in this race," Ricky noted. "I'd be worried if he clearly wasn't more cat than human."
"Fehfehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "His feet are indeed a feat of wonder but his nose is impressive too. You ate something pungent didn't you?"
"Ah!" Luffy remembered the long kiki he'd eaten as he pushed Chiqicheetah away from him.
"Uh oh, Luffy, he's onto you!" Usopp teased him. "That's what you get for eating that old man's cheese!"
"Oh, is that why?" Luffy asked.
"THAT WAS A JOKE!" Usopp exclaimed. "You didn't actually eat that did you?"
"I can't remember," Luffy admitted before he finally shoved Chiqicheetah off of him. "Learn some manners will ya! Shoo! Shoo! Go away!"
Chiqicheetah let out a faint growl as he trudged away and went behind Foxy again.
"Uh… wow… OKAY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT. BUT ANYWAY, NOW THAT THAT'S DONE WITH, LET'S GET BACK TO THE RULES. IN ADDITION TO THE DEFENDERS AND POINT-GETTERS EACH TEAM ALSO HAS A COACH AND MANAGER. BUT UNLIKE THE OTHER PLAYERS THEY'RE LIMITED TO THE SIDELINES. THE TEAMS MUST CHANGE POINT-GETTERS EVERY ROUND AND EACH PLAYER CAN ONLY BE POINT-GETTER ONCE."
Foxy set down on a bench and his team circled around him as he filled out the roster.
"Luckily there's seven of us," Ricky remarked. Nami and Robin had been given their bench while Coach Sanji was sitting on the ground with the roster.
"Hm," Sanji mused, "Since we've got five rounds it would make sense to put our strongest scorers in rounds one, three and five. The question is, who do we want to start out with?"
"Oh, put me in the first one!" Luffy requested, "Please! Please!"
"I'll think about it if you shut up and leave me alone for a second," Sanji snapped. "But since he's so full of energy I'll put Luffy as Point-Getter in Round 1."
"Why don't we just have Luffy, Robin and Ricky as our first three Point-Getters," Nami suggested. "Then Usopp and I won't even have to compete."
"Because they're cheaters," Ricky said, "If they pull something and one of us loses in the early rounds that'll put all the pressure on you and Usopp to win it for us. I'd offer to go up against that cheetah-guy but we have no idea which member of their team is competing in each round until they announce it."
"They'll probably put one of their strongest racers in Round 5," Sanji reasoned. "So since you've played this game before that's where I'll put you. That'll give you time to recover from your hamburger injuries. But that leaves Miss. Nami, Miss. Robin and that other guy."
"HEY!" Usopp complained.
"Miss. Robin, looks like it's best to put you in Round Three," Sanji announced. "That okay?"
"Sure," Robin replied. "Whatever you think is best, Mr. Coach."
"But wait… what if the other team has the same idea?" Sanji suddenly realized. "And what if they cheat again and we lose an early round…"
"COME ON! HURRY UP!" Luffy urged him.
"ALRIGHT! I'M DONE!" Sanji shouted at him. "Luffy has Round 1, Miss. Nami has Round 2, Usopp has Round 3, Miss. Robin's been moved to Round 4 and Ricky's Round 5."
"Hey, hold on a sec," Zoro protested, "Why do you get to make all these big decisions without asking me?"
"Because the Coach makes all the decisions, not the Manager," Sanji said. "I'm the Coach."
"And why do you get to have the awesome job while I'm stuck following your stupid orders?" Zoro demanded.
"Obviously it's because I'm a genius and your brain is so rotten that you're growing mold on your head," Sanji retorted.
"If you think you're a genius then your ego is as twisted as your eyebrows!" Zoro argued.
"ARG! WHY YOU!" Sanji growled as he launched himself at Zoro and they started fighting.
"BY THE WAY, THERE'S ONE MORE VERY IMPORTANT RULE WE NEED TO GO OVER…"
"KNOCK IT OFF!" Nami shouted at the fighting Zoro and Sanji. "I CAN'T HEAR HIM!"
"IF ANY OF THE RACERS GO IN REVERSE OR LEAVE THE COURSE FOR WHATEVER REASON THEY WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DISQUALIFIED FROM THAT ROUND OF THE RACE. STARTING BEFORE THE WHISTLE WILL GET YOU DISQUALIFIED AS WELL."
Chirp Chirp flew over and collected the rosters from Foxy and Sanji then brought them back to Itomimizu.
"OKAY, IT LOOKS LIKE EVERYTHING IF FINALLY SET. IN THE FIRST ROUND, OOH! COMING ON STRONG FROM THE START, IT'S STRAW HAT LUFFY VERSUS OUR VERY OWN PORCHE."
"Okay Luffy," Ricky said as he knelt down next to Luffy while he tied his roller skates on. "You're allowed to use your Devil Fruit Powers in this game. Ace used to shoot fire out of his heels to give himself a turbo boost. I figure you can stretch and swing yourself around the track. Just make sure you don't go off the side, got it?"
"Yeah, no problem," Luffy replied. "I've got this."
Nearby, Porche stood next to Foxy and listened to the Captain's advice.
"THE ANTICIPATION IS KILLING ME, SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO LET'S GET THIS THING STARTED!"
"…" Chopper sat silently in the crowd and watched the teams prepare for the first round.
"Man, talk about exciting!" a Foxy Pirate sitting behind Chopper exclaimed.
"Yeah, this is my favorite event!" another chimed in.
"Mine too!"
"GO PORCHE! BEAT THAT RUBBER GUY SENSELESS!"
"Huh… HAHAHA! HEY! LOOK!"
"Gaaahh…" Usopp gasped.
"AH! You're… kidding me…" Nami sputtered.
"No way…" Usopp squeaked.
"Uugghh…" Sanji groaned while Zoro stood shocked behind him.
Foxy and Porche both grinned while Hamburg stood behind them and laughed, "Pupupupupu!"
"Luffy…" Ricky growled. "When you volunteered to go first… I assumed that meant you knew how to skate…"
"Wah-whoa-whoa!" Luffy yelped as his feet rolled out of control and he struggled to stay balanced on his rollers skates. "I thought I did too! It sounded easy!" FWUMP! Luffy pitched forward and landed on his head.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" the Foxy Pirates laughed hysterically from the stands.
"WELL THIS IS UNEXPECTED… STRAW HAT DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO SKATE! THIS GAME COULD BE OVER BEFORE IT EVEN STARTS!"
"FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy's shrill laugh carried over the rest of his laughing team.
"Come on Luffy…" Ricky grunted as he pulled Luffy back up to his feet. Luffy hung off of Ricky's arm while his feet continued to flail and roll out of his control. "Spread your legs wider and try to stay balanced."
"This isn't as easy as it looked," Luffy admitted, "When did you learn to skate?"
"Ollie taught me, she's an amazing skater," Ricky answered. "I'm gonna let you go now… try to stand on your own…"
FWUMP! Luffy immediately lost his balance and face-planted again.
"Good grief…" Ricky groaned.
"Now what're we gonna do?" Zoro wondered.
"Wait a second…" Usopp whimpered, "If we can't count on Luffy that means everyone's gonna expect me to win the third round…"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the Foxy Pirates continued to laugh as Luffy proved to be an utter failure at skating.
-x-
Round, Round, Round:
-x-
"BOTH TEAMS HAVE MADE IT TO THE STARTING LINE. BUT I'M STARTING TO WONDER IF THIS IS GOING TO BE MUCH OF A RACE."
Usopp had come over to join Ricky and now the two of them were holding up Luffy.
"Why'd you ask to be in the first round when you don't even know how to skate?" Usopp asked.
"That's what I asked," Ricky stated.
"Then why'd you let him!?" Usopp demanded.
"I figured he'd learned on his own!" Ricky insisted.
"It's not my fault," Luffy protested, "Skating's the hardest thing in the world. WAH!" Luffy's feet slipped out from under him and he crashed to the ground. THUD! This time he brought Usopp down with him.
"We're doomed…" Nami whimpered. "It's all over now…"
"Don't give up yet," Robin encouraged her. "It's our job to pick up the slack."
An unwelcome face made his way onto the track. The crooked referee from the Groggy Ring stood at the starting line with his whistle.
"Come on guys, let's go," the crooked referee called out, "Point-Getters to the track."
"WHAT? NOT YOU AGAIN!" Sanji yelled. "IF YOU PULL ANY MORE STUNTS, YOU'RE GETTING A BOOT TO THE FACE!"
The referee turned away and whistled.
"Fehfehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "We don't need stunts this time! We can beat you with both hands tied behind our backs!"
"Pupupupupu!" Hamburg chuckled behind him.
"IT'S TIME TO START THE THIRD GAME: THE ROUND, ROUND, ROUND. WILL PORCHE BREEZE THROUGH TO VICTORY? OR WILL THE ROOKIE SKATER STRAW HAT MAKE A MIRACULOUS IMPROVEMENT?"
"On your marks," the referee called out, "Get set…" TWEEEEEE!
Porche took off with a shot and rushed away from the starting line on her inline skates.
"AND SHE'S OFF! PORCHE TEARS DOWN THE TRACK WITH SPECTACULAR SPEED. NOW LET'S CHECK IN ON OUR CHALLENGER LUFFY…"
FWUMP! Luffy face-planted again and buried his face in the starting line.
"OH! FLAT ON HIS FACE! HE DIDN'T EVEN MAKE IT ACROSS THE STARTING LINE!"
"Certainly is hard headed, isn't he?" Robin remarked while Nami growled beside her.
"GRRAH!" Luffy shouted as he pushed himself up and grabbed his skates. "STUPID SHOES!"
"WHOA NOW, REMOVING YOUR SKATES IN THE ROLLER RACE WILL RESULT IN AN INSTANT DISQUALIFICATION!"
"CRAP!" Luffy shouted. He looked on ahead and saw that Porche had already made it around the curved side of the track. Bu his eyes stopped when spotted the railing that ran alongside the slanted curved portion of the track. "If I make it over there I can grab the railing."
Before he could take a single step, Luffy's feet rolled out from under him and he fell on his back. FWUMP!
"Well, not much of a race," Porche taunted. She was now half way around the track.
"RICKY!" Nami snapped. "What's the new plan?"
"Five seconds 'til we enter," Ricky answered as he made his way to the starting line and got into a ready crouch beside Luffy. "I'll catch puff girl. You guys get Luffy moving."
TWEEEEEE! The referee blew his whistle.
"TWENTY SECONDS HAVE PASSED. IT'S TIME TO LET THE DEFENDERS LOOSE."
SSSHOOOM! Ricky launched off of the starting line and raced down the track.
A large shadow fell over Luffy. He looked up to see Mashikaku rolling up behind him with a pair of skates that looked like tank treads.
"Ma…shi…ka…ku…" the large rectangular man drawled as he pitched forward.
"HEY! HE'S ABOUT TO GET PINNED!" Sanji shouted from the sideline. "SOMEBODY HELP HIM!"
"NOT MEEE!" Usopp whined.
SPLAT! Mashikaku crashed down on top of Luffy. BOING! But was bounced right back up.
"Huh… that's weird…" Mashikaku grunted.
Everyone looked down to see that Luffy had inflated himself into a large round ball.
"The… Gum Gum Balloon?" Usopp questioned.
Nami looked across the field and saw that Ricky had already rounded the first turn and was gaining on Porche on the straightaway.
"No!" Porche wailed as she skated frantically away from Ricky. "Get away! Get away!" Porche spun around and waved her gold baton. "Flower Shuriken!" WOOSH! A dozen bladed roses were launched out at Ricky.
SWISH! Ricky ducked down underneath the bladed flowers and didn't even slow down as he continued to close in behind Porche.
Nami looked back at the round Luffy. Round. "THAT'S IT!" Nami exclaimed. "COME ON USOPP!" Nami skated forward and kicked Luffy in the side. THWAK! Luffy was sent flying off the starting line as Nami skated after him.
"HEY!" Usopp protested Nami abused of the Captain as he skated after her.
"THIS IS IT LUFFY!" Nami called out, "You have to keep holding your breath in! We're going to roll you all the way around the track!"
"Whatever works," Usopp muttered.
Robin smiled and crossed her arms, "Cein Fleur… Delphinium!" Two rows of fifty arms grew out of the track in front of Luffy.
"Huh?" Nami questioned as Luffy was pulled away from her by the arms and rolled onward down the track. "WOW! THANKS ROBIN!"
"She's rolling him with her arms!" a Foxy Pirate realized.
"Awesome!" another one remarked.
"WHAT INCREDIBLE SPEED! YOU CAN HARDLY CALL IT SKATING BUT HE'S STARTING TO GAIN ON PORCHE!"
WHAP! "Gotcha!" Ricky grabbed Porche from behind and lifted her up off of the track just as they reached the second turn. Ricky turned his skates inward and slowed to a complete stop.
"No! Let me go!" Porche complained as she kicked her legs and struggled. "Help!"
"Alright guys," Ricky called back to the others, "Just pass us and we'll win the round!"
"MMMMM!" a dizzy Luffy mumbled as he struggled to hold his breath while Robin rolled him along the track.
"THIS IS CERTAINLY THE MOST BIZARRE COMEBACK I'VE EVER SEEN!"
SKISH! Ricky jumped to the side to avoid Robin's hands and Luffy as he rolled passed them.
"THE STRAW HAT DANGERS ARE NOW IN THE LEAD!"
Robin's arms continued to roll Luffy around the curve and back towards the starting line.
"UH OH! THE FOXY DEVILS HAVE LINED UP SOME POWERFUL DEFENSE."
Mashikaku and Jube stood poised on the starting line. Mashikaku's large rectangular body would prevent Luffy from being rolled passed him and Jube's eight arms were outstretched to catch Luffy is he was rolled towards him.
"I am a wall…" Mashikaku called out as he stood still and blocked the starting line.
"GO ROBIN!" Nami cheered as she skidded to a stop next to Ricky and Porche while Usopp continued passed them. Nami glared in distaste at the Foxy Pirate that Ricky had in his arms. "You can put her down now."
"Yeah! Put me down!" Porche complained as she struggled helplessly.
"Not until the round is over," Ricky insisted.
Robin closed her eyes as she grew two more arms out of the track in front of Mashikaku. WHISH! Luffy was rolled onto the new arms and they launched Luffy up into the air over Mashikaku's head.
"OH! A FANCY FLYING MANEUVER SENDS HIM FLYING OVER MASHIKAKU!"
"ALRIGHT ROBIN!" Sanji cheered. "NICE!"
"You're seriously going to stand there holding her for four more minutes?" Nami snapped.
"I guess I could always dump her off the track," Ricky reasoned. "That would get her disqualified and we'd win the round by default."
"No! Anything but that!" Porche protested.
"Hurry up and dump the skank before you catch something!" Nami ordered.
Porche glared at Nami, "You're just jealous because you wish he was holding you!"
"Not so fast." SKISH! Girarin suddenly jumped up from behind Mashikaku. He pulled his arms out from behind his back and revealed that he had shiny, metal blades strapped to them. "KILLER SWORD FESTIVAL!" WHAM! Girarin slammed his right blade into Luffy and knocked him to the side, off the track, towards the stands.
"YOU BITCH!" Nami howled as she launched herself at Porche. WHAM! Nami slammed into Ricky and all three of them went flying off the track.
KRASH! Luffy came crashing down in the stands and flattened a number of Foxy Pirates.
THUD! Ricky, Nami and Porche all landed in a heap on the field.
"WHAT A TURN OF EVENTS! BOTH STRAW HAT LUFFY AND PORCHE HAVE BEEN KNOCKED OUT OF BOUNDS! WE'LL NEED TO GET A RULING!"
"WHY WOULD WE NEED A RULING?" Usopp shouted from where he'd stopped near the starting line. "THAT GUY USED A SWORD! THAT CAN'T BE LEGAL!"
"These things? Don't worry," Girarin said as he ran his fingers along one of his arms blades. "They're dull. They're nothing but show."
The referee looked over and saw Porche, Nami and Ricky still attempting to extract themselves from the pile that they'd landed in.
The referee looked up at the stands where Luffy's big, round body had squashed over a dozen Foxy Pirates.
"Straw Hat Luffy landed first," the referee announced. "He's disqualified." TWEEEEEE!
"THAT MEANS THE FABULOUS PORCHE WINS ROUND ONE! THAT'S ONE POINT FOR THE FOXY DEVILS!"
"YEAH!" Porche exclaimed as she jumped up and raised her arms over her head. The Foxy Pirates that hadn't been flattened by Luffy all cheered. "THANKS EVERYBODY!" Porche turned and pulled down her eyelid as she stuck her tongue out at Nami. "NYYAA!"
"RAAH!" Nami lunged at Porche but Ricky held her back. "LET ME AT HER! I'LL BREAK HER BIG NOSE!"
"I… I don't feel so good…" Luffy mumbled.
"You can stop holding your breath now," Usopp told him.
FOOOOSSSHH! Luffy opened his mouth wide and was launched into the air as the air flew out of him. Luffy deflated and crashed back down onto the field.
"Now we can't just rely on Luffy, Ricky and Robin," Usopp realized. "Nami will have to win her round… or else… I'LL HAVE TO WIN MINE!"
Ricky and Nami trudged back across the field. Ricky stopped next to Zoro.
"Team Manager, I've got an important job for you," Ricky said. "Teach Luffy how to skate."
"Grrr…" Zoro growled as he stalked over to Luffy, "I should've been the Coach…"
"LET'S MOVE RIGHT ALONG! IN ROUND TWO THE STRAW HATS' POINT-GETTER IS NAMI, THE NEFARIOUS NAVIGATOR. SHE'LL BE UP AGAINST THE KING OF DEFENSE, MASHIKAKU. EVERYONE'S FAVORITE HUMAN WALL."
The Foxy Pirates were deadly silent for Nami but cheered loudly for Mashikaku. Nami got into a ready stance on the starting line.
"Don't worry about losing," the navigator prompted herself, "Just focus on the match." She glanced to the side and eyed her huge opponent.
"ROUND TWO!" the referee called out, "On your marks… get set…" TWEEEEEEE!
Nami took off and raced away from the starting line.
"AND THEY'RE OFF! OR AT LEAST NAMI IS. MASHIKIKU ON THE OTHER HAND… well… TO PUT IT NICELY, LET'S SAY HE'S TAKING HIS TIME."
Mashikaku rolled at a snail's pace and slowly crossed the starting line.
"IT LOOKS LIKE THE HEARTLESS WITCH MIGHT BE ABLE TO WIN WITHOUT ANY CONNIVING THIS TIME."
"Conniving?" Ricky repeated. He pointed at the referee. "You mean when she stole the whistle from this idiot and had to trick him into doing his job properly?"
"Am I missing something?" Usopp wondered. "Why is he so slow?"
Nami breezed through the first curve of the track and reached the other side. "It's too quiet. What's going on? Is this some kind of trick?"
"FORGET ABOUT HIM, NAMI!" Usopp shouted to her. "JUST KEEP MOVING!"
"Right!" Nami agreed as she started along the far side of the track.
TWEEEEEEE! The referee blew his whistle.
"AND THERE'S THE SECOND WHISTLE."
"Let's see what we can do," Usopp resolved.
"Slight problem with that," Ricky stated. He, Usopp and Robin all turned to see Chiqicheetah, Jube and Girarin all standing still on the starting line. Mashikaku was still barely passed it and his three teammates were making no move to help him.
"Wait… why aren't they moving?" Usopp wondered.
"Hehahahaha," Jube laughed. "If you think you can get passed us by my guest."
"You wanna step up to these babies?" Girarin threatened as he brandished his arm blade.
"It's a little late to be making a road block," Sanji noted.
"If you guys don't move, then I'll move you!" Luffy growled as he pushed himself back up onto his feet. FWUMP! And promptly fell on his face again.
"You're up to something and I don't think I want to wait and find out what it is," Ricky stated. SKISH! He shot forward and lashed out his foot. "Jumping… LANCE KICK!" THWAK! Ricky's leg slammed into Jube's chest. The squid fishman was caught off guard and went flying off the track. THUD!
"JUBE HAS FALLEN OFF THE TRACK! HE'S ELIMINATED FROM THIS ROUND!"
"WHY YOU!" Girarin snapped as he charged Ricky and swung his arm blade.
SWISH! Ricky ducked under the attack and swung his leg around at Girarin's legs. "Quarterstaff… SWEEP!" THWAK! Ricky knocked Girarin's legs out from under him. Swish! Ricky spun and caught the fishman as he fell backwards then threw him off the track after Jube. THUD!
"GIRARIN HAS BEEN THROWN OFF THE TRACK! HE'S ELIMINATED TOO!"
"Did they really call those guys Fighting Fishmen?" Ricky wondered. "The one doesn't even look like a squid fishman." Ricky turned and faced Chiqicheetah. "You want some, kitty?"
Chiqicheetah stared at Ricky… then looked passed him at the two fallen fishmen… then remembered that he was racing in the next round. Chiqicheetah stepped backwards off the track.
"AND CHIQICHEETAH HAS ELIMINATED HIMSELF FROM THE ROUND!"
"Geez, calm down Ricky," Usopp said, "We've already got this one in the bag."
"We can't afford to put anything passed these guys," Ricky said. He turned to see Nami come racing around the final bend towards the starting line. "The way's all clear Nami."
Nami reached the starting line and slowed to a stop when she realized that her slow-moving opponent was still basically in the same place after she'd done an entire lap.
"That was… easy…" Nami remarked.
"Heehee! Guess again!" Porche suddenly popped up on Mashikaku's shoulder.
"Damn it, I knew I missed one," Ricky realized.
Porche swung her baton and a bouquet of roses bloomed out of end. "Flower Hypnosis!" Shunk! The roses sank into the baton and a purple beam shot out and covered all seven of the Straw Hats before they could even react.
-x-
"Mmm…" Nami let out a faint mewl as she snuggled against her pillow.
Wait… pillow?
Nami's eyes fluttered opened as she recognized the red haired pirate that she was currently cuddled up against. Nami smiled.
Wait… pillow? Ricky? She was still mad at him.
"GET OFF!" Nami yelped as she shoved Ricky away from her.
"Huh?" Ricky grunted, "You're on top of me!"
"WE DIDN'T JUST FALL ASLEEP ON THE TRACK, DID WE?" Usopp shrieked.
"I'm not sure," Robin replied.
Usopp? Robin? Track? THE RACE!
Nami, Ricky, Usopp and Robin all sat up. On the sidelines Sanji sat up too but Luffy and Zoro were still sound asleep.
Nami looked ahead of her. It wasn't hard to spot Mashikaku still only a foot in front of the starting line. Jube, Girarin, Chiqicheetah were all standing on the sidelines. "Wha… he's in the same place as before. Right?"
"Yeah," Robin confirmed.
"NAMI! HURRY!" a high pitched voice shouted from the stands.
The Straw Hats looked up to see Chopper standing on his seat and waving his arms frantically.
"YOU'RE ABOUT TO LOSE THE RACE!" Chopper shouted. "YOU'VE GOTTA GET MOVING NOW!"
"FIVE… FOUR…"
Ricky turned and grabbed Nami. "Hey! Get off!" she protested.
THREE…"
Ricky spun and threw Nami across the starting line after Mashikaku.
"TWO…"
"Oh no you don't!" SKISH! Porche jumped off of Mashikaku and crashed down on Nami. WHAM! Nami was driven face-first down into one of Mashikaku's tank tracks.
"ONE…"
Nami elbowed Porche and rolled out from under her. She looked at the track she had been lying on. She looked backwards and saw that the track went passed her crew… and back around the second turn… and around the other side of the track… and around the first bend.
MASHIKAKU HAD DONE AN ENTIRE LAP WHILE THEY'D BEEN ASLEEP!
TWEEEEEEE! The referee blew his whistle as time ran out.
The Foxy Pirates cheered while Chopper hung his head and whimpered.
"THE FOXY DEVILS WIN TWO ROUNDS IN A ROW! THAT'S ANOTHER POINT! ONE MORE AND ITS ALL OVER FOR THE STRAW HAT DANGERS!"
"You snooze you lose!" Porche taunted Nami as she stood back up. "It sucks to be you, huh?"
"Fehfehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "I can't believe we beat 'em with Mashikaku!"
"Pupupupupupu!" Hamburg laughed along with him.
"Damn, I've seen Ollie do some incredible things done with flowers," Ricky grumbled. "I probably should've seen that coming."
Nami scowled as she got back up. "Then now what do we do guy-whose-played-this-before?"
"Honestly, I have no idea," Ricky admitted. "I've never had a Roller Race go more than three rounds before. Ace, Ollie and I specialized in our 1, 11, 12 Finish. I brought back my old number in the hopes that it would be lucky. I guess that luck doesn't transfer for a different crew."
Nami's scowl turned into a glare. "Yeah, well the incredibly perfect Ollie and your fire-powered brother aren't here!" she snapped. "You're stuck with me and your brother that can't even skate! What do we do now, JACK-ASS?"
Ricky flinched, "Obviously, Usopp, Robin and I all have to win our rounds. Usopp?"
They turned to see that the sniper had gone stiff and pale.
"UNLESS THE STRAW HATS CAN PULL IT TOGETHER FAST, THINGS COULD BE OVER FOR THEM IN A FLASH. WITH A TWO-POINT DEFICIT EVERYTHING IS RIDING ON THE NEXT ROUND. WILL USOPP'S AERODYNAMIC NOSE GIVE HIM THE EDGE HE NEEDS TO BEAT CHIQICHEETAH?"
"But…" Usopp whimpered. "But I'm… I'm allergic to…
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY YOU'RE ALLERGIC TO ROLLER SKATES!" Nami and Sanji both berated him.
Usopp reluctantly took his place at the starting line. "This is just what I was worried about. Now everything's riding on me." Usopp looked beside him at the half-man/half-cheetah as he licked the back of his hand. "How can I beat a guy with 'cheetah in his name? Heck! He might even be a cheetah now that I look at him!"
FWUMP! "OW!" Usopp turned to see Zoro attempted to teach Luffy how to skate.
"That's all wrong," Zoro told him. "Try to lower your stance a little. You've gotta move your hips when you move."
"I never figured you for a skater," Luffy remarked. "Wow."
"I'm not," Zoro replied. "I'm just watching other people."
"I can't rely on Luffy for this one," Usopp thought to himself. He looked over at the First Mate.
Ricky gave Usopp a thumbs up. "You can do it, Usopp."
"That's easy for him to say," Usopp grumbled to himself. "He's not the one that has to RACE A FREAKING CHEETAH! What I need is a strategy…" Usopp closed his eyes and took a deep breath so he could think. But all he could hear was Zoro and Luffy's skating lesson.
"Now spread them out a little…"
"Huh? Like this?" FWUMP! "Ow…"
"Not even close."
"Like this?" FWUMP! "Ow!"
"No!"
"Like this?" FWUMP! "OW!"
"NO! LISTEN TO ME DAMN IT!"
"ON YOUR MARKS!" the referee called out.
"EEEP!" Usopp squeaked in terror. "I'VE GOT NOTHING!"
"GET SET…"
"Well… whatever," Usopp resolved as he reached up and pulled his goggles down. "I can go faster than a cheetah if I try hard enough, right?"
TWEEEEEE!
The whistle blew and Usopp took off. He pumped his arms frantically and pushed his body to skate as fast as he possible could.
Usopp opened his eyes and saw the empty turn up ahead of him.
"AHAHA!" Usopp laughed. "I'm in the lead! It worked!"
SHOOM! Usopp turned his head to see that Chiqicheetah had already passed the turn and was racing down the far side of the track. "GAAAAH!"
"So fast!" Nami exclaimed.
"Your little friend might as well give up now and save himself the effort," Porche taunted.
"Chiqicheetah doesn't even need our help, you know," Jube boasted.
"THIS IS HOPELESS!" Usopp complained as he finally round the first curve. "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?"
SHOOOOM! Chiqicheetah blurred passed Ricky, Nami and Robin at the starting line.
"No way!" Nami gasped. "He already finished a whole lap?"
"Not even twenty seconds," Ricky noted. "There goes Ace's speed record."
"Maybe you guys should just sit back and relax too," Porche suggested.
"IT'S NOT OVER UNTIL IT'S OVER, BIMBO!" Nami snarled at her.
"THAT'S TWENTY SECONDS. IT'S TIME FOR THE DEFENSE TO GO." TWEEEEEE!
"Come on!" Nami called out as she took off.
"Right," Robin agreed as she skated after her.
"Hm," was all Ricky said as he casually rolled after them.
"Oh no! Here he comes!" Usopp whimpered to himself as he looked over his shoulder and saw Chiqicheetah rushing up behind him. "I've gotta do something or he's gonna lap me." Usopp spun and lashed out at Chiqicheetah. "HOW DO YOU LIKE THIS?" SWISH! Chiqicheetah ducked under Usopp's swing and sped right passed him like the sniper was standing still.
Usopp was left off balance and had to struggle to stay on his feet. He frantically kicked his legs then dropped down into a low stance and spread his arms out wide.
Suddenly the crowd of Foxy Pirates let out a loud gasp, "WHOOOAAA!"
"No way!" Porche scoffed.
"Ah!" Foxy snorted in surprise.
"Uuhhh…" Chopper whimpered as snot leaked out of his blue nose.
"Hungh!" Sanji grunted and almost bit his cigarette in half.
"Oh look," Ricky said with a faint grin.
"There you go… now keep it up, just like I said," Zoro instructed.
Straw Hat Luffy was finally standing up on his skates.
"Look! He's almost there!" a Foxy Pirate pointed out.
"COME ON, KID!" another Foxy Pirate couldn't help but cheer. "YOU CAN DO IT!" They'd all seen Luffy face plant countless times. But the rubber pirate had kept at it. And now he was almost on his feet.
"THAT'S IT!" Chopper shouted as he jumped up in his seat. "GO! GO! GO!"
Luffy stood up on his skates… and stayed there.
"YEAH! GO STRAW HAT!" the Foxy Pirates cheered at Luffy's determination.
Nami looked back and smiled. "Is he?"
"About time," Ricky remarked.
"YEAH!" Luffy yelled. "USOPP! YOU'RE GONNA WIN THIS! HANG ON CHOPPER! WE'RE GONNA WIN YOU BACK!"
-x-
Heated Race:
-x-
After falling on his face countless times, Straw Hat Luffy was finally standing in his skates.
"Hey! You can do it kid!" the Foxy Pirates were once again won over by the Straw Hats' determination and heart. "Just a little further!"
Luffy's legs wobbled shakily on the skates but he remained standing.
"What a moment!" one of the Foxy Pirates cried. "Inspiring!"
"Alright… I'm up," Luffy resolved. "Usopp… I'm coming."
"Yeah, Luffy!" Usopp cried tears of joy.
"Like this, right?" Luffy said as he spread his legs and dropped into a crouch then launched himself forward. SHOOOOM! "WAAAH! IT'S SO FAST! AWESOME!"
Luffy rocketed forward while Chiqicheetah sped passed the starting line fresh off of lapping Usopp. Luffy looked back and saw the cheetah approaching from behind.
"RAH! I WON'T LET YOU WIN!" Luffy shouted as he put on another burst of speed.
"GRAH!" Chiqicheetah growled as he dropped forward onto his front legs. His humanoid body was gone and was now replaced by the body of a full-on cheetah. Chiqicheetah pumped all four of his legs and dashed after Luffy.
"INCREDIBLE! MOMENTS AGO, STRAW HAT LUFFY COULDN'T EVEN STAND IN HIS SKATES MUCH LESS SKATE IN THEM. NOW HE'S KEEPING AHEAD OF CHIQICHEETAH WHO IS POWERED UP IN HIS DOUBLE SPEED FULL DASH!
Luffy worked frantically and managed to maintain a tiny lead on the cheetah but his eyes widened in surprise when he spotted the first turn. "WAH! WAH! WAH!"
"Oh crap!" Zoro cursed, "I taught him how to stand and skate but not how to turn!"
KRASH! Luffy plowed straight through the wall that went alongside the slanted curve.
Whap! Luffy managed to grab onto the edges of the hole he had made as his rubber body went flying through it. WOING!
But then Chiqicheetah reached the turn. He shifted back into his hybrid from then jumped up and drove his feet into the wall. WHAM! The wall smashed and Luffy lost his hold.
"WAAAAAAAHH!" Luffy screamed as he went flying off the track and once again crashed face-first into the ground.
"STRAW HAT LUFFY HAS ONCE AGAIN LEFT THE COURSE. HE IS NOW DISQUALIFIED FROM ROUND THREE."
"Mmmmpphh…" Luffy mumbled as he struggled to pull his head out from the ground.
"I guess it was too good to be true," Robin remarked as she, Nami and Ricky made their way along the far side of the track. They were closing in on Usopp who had reached the second turn.
Nami looked back and glared at Ricky, "DO SOMETHING!"
Ricky did something. He stopped completely. "There's a trick to catching something that's going really fast in a circle."
WHAP! Ricky lunged to the side and grabbed onto Chiqicheetah as he tried to pass him.
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT! RICKY OF THE STRAW HAT DANGERS ACTUALLY CAUGHT THE SPEED DEMON CHIQICHEETAH! HOW'D HE DO THAT?"
"Simple, you just stand in its path and wait for it to come to you," Ricky explained and he lifted the cheetah-man up off of his track. "You're not going anywhere!"
"GRAH! RAH!" Chiqicheetah snarled and thrashed in Ricky's hold.
"Go on!" Ricky called out to the others. "I'll slow him down. You two help Usopp."
"Right!" Nami agreed as she and Robin sped off after Usopp. But for all the time that he spent running away, Usopp proved to be a slow skater and they closed in on him at the second turn.
Robin crossed her arms over her chest, "Viente Fleur… Vine!" A long chain of arms grew out from the inside of the second turn. "Mr. Long Nose, grab this!" Whap! Usopp grabbed onto the last hand in the chain. WHING! Robin's long chain of twenty arms swung Usopp clear around the turn and then launched him down the straight-away towards the starting line. SHOOOM!
"WHOA! HISTORIAN NICO ROBIN USES A LONG WHIP TO KEEP HER TEAM IN THE RACE."
"WAAAH! TOO FAST!" Usopp cried as he whizzed passed Porche and Jube at the starting line.
"Jube! Stop him!" Porche ordered.
"Your turn, Ms. Navigator," Robin announced as she and Nami rounded the turn. Robin used her long legs to push herself ahead of Nami then stretched a chain of ten arms back at Nami. Whap! Nami reached forward and grabbed the last hand in the chain. WHING! Robin swung the chain of arms forward and sent Nami flying down the straightway towards the starting line.
"COMING THROUGH!" Nami jumped up and slammed skates-first into Porche. THWHAM! The Foxy Idol was knocked backwards into Jube and they both crashed down onto the track. Nami jumped over them and kept on skating.
"On your left," Robin announced as she skated passed the two Foxy Pirates.
"WOW! WHAT A DISPLAY OF TEAMWORK BY THE STRAW HAT DANGERS!"
"DAMN THOSE TWO!" Porche whined as they pulled themselves back up.
"Hehaha, looks like Chiqicheetah might need our help after all," Jube realized.
Meanwhile, Ricky was attempting to drag Chiqicheetah off the track. But the cheetah-man once again become a full cheetah and lunged forward and sank his claws into the track. Shunk! Now Ricky was literally dragging Chiqicheetah towards the line as the big cat's sharp claws tore up the track in their wake.
"Dat guy is really startin' to bug me," Foxy complained as he watched Ricky hold back another one of his racers.
"Again, Long Nose!" Robin called out as she created another chain of arms inside of the turn. Whap! The last hand grabbed onto Usopp's and the chain swung the sniper around the curve. WHING! Usopp was launched down the straightaway towards Ricky and Chiqicheetah.
WOOOSH! Usopp used the boost of speed from Robin to skate passed his stationary opponent.
"OH MY! USOPP HAS PASSED CHIQICHEETAH! HE'S STILL A FULL LAP BEHIND HIM BUT THAT'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE!"
"GRROOAAAHHHRR!" Chiqicheetah howled at being passed by someone so slow. SKISH! The full cheetah used the hold his claws had on the track to launch himself forward. Whish! The cheetah slipped out of Ricky's arms and dumped him on his face. THUD!
"SLOW SLOW BEAM!" FWOOOSH! Before he had a chance to get up, Ricky was hit by Foxy's Slow Slow Beam and was left paralyzed face-down on the track.
"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed. "THAT'LL SLOW 'IM DOWN!"
SHOOOM! Now free from Ricky's hold, Chiqicheetah barreled after Usopp in his Double Speed Full Dash. WOOOSH! Chiqicheetah whizzed past Usopp and regained his one-lap lead.
"Ricky!" Nami called out as she sped around the turn and raced over to the fallen pirate.
WOOOOSSHH! Chiqicheetah blazed passed the starting line and reached the first turn an instant later. He had clearly taken getting passed by Usopp very personally.
At this point, Chiqicheetah was going too fast to actually turn. SHOOOM! The cheetah raced straight off the slanted wall. WHAP! But his tail reached out at the last second and grabbed the top of the wall. WHING! Chiqicheetah swung himself around the bend.
"…" Luffy watched silently through the hole he'd made as Chiqicheetah swung through the turn.
SHOOOM! Chiqicheetah came back down at full speed and sped right passed Robin.
"THERE IT IS! CHIQICHEETAH AND HIS TRIPLE SPEED ROCKET DASH! NO ONE CAN CATCH HIM NOW!"
SKISH! Chiqicheetah shifted into his hybrid form and jumped clear over Nami. WHUMP! And landed skates-first on the still prone Ricky. WOOOSH! Chiqicheetah launched himself off of Ricky in his full cheetah form again and bolted down the straight side of the track.
"OH NO! NOT AGAIN!" Usopp yelped as he the cheetah closed in behind him.
SHOOOOM! Chiqicheetah rushed by Usopp so fast that he left the snipeR spinning in his wake. Chiqicheetah was now two laps ahead of Usopp and wasn't slowing down.
Chiqicheetah reached the next curve and once again flung himself off the track and caught himself by the tail. Chiqicheetah swung over the outside of the track but stayed anchored once again thanks to his seemingly prehensile tail. WHING!
"HEY! AREN'T YOU PAYING ATTENTION?" Sanji yelled as he shook the referee who seemed to be caught up whistling again. "HE LEFT THE COURSE, DAMN IT!"
"The air is safe!" the referee insisted. "The air is safe!"
"COACH SANJI'S ANGRY COMPLAINT IS OVERRULED AND SHUT DOWN! MEANWHILE, CHIQICHEETAH HAS JUST COMPLETED HIS FIFTH LAP AND IS NEARLY THREE LAPS AHEAD OF USOPP."
"I have to do something before it's too late," Robin resolved as she watched Chiqicheetah once again swing over the first turn.
"MUCHA KARAMETE!" Eight long arms stretched out like tentacles and coiled around Robin's arms, chest and waist.
"OH NO!" Robin gasped to herself as she looked back at Jube the Squid Fishman.
"I'd try not to struggle, girl!" Jube warned her. "Got it? The more you wiggle around the more tangled you become."
Robin closed her eyes and two arms grew out of Jube's shoulders. They grabbed him by the chin and wrenched backwards. SQUISH!
"HEHAHAHAHA!" Jube laughed through a move that would have normally broken his neck. "Fool! I'm an invertebrate! That does nothing to me!"
WHISH! Jube used his eight arms to hoist the entangled Robin up into the air.
FWOOOSH! A familiar purple beam enveloped Robin as froze her on the spot.
"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "Nice work Jube!"
"Hehahahaha!" Jube chuckled as he carried Robin off the track. "Aw, it was nothing."
"OH NO! THAT FREAK TOOK OUT ROBIN!" Sanji exclaimed.
"NICO ROBIN AND JUBE HAVE BOTH LEFT THE COURSE THEY'RE BOTH ELIMINATED FROM THE ROUND!"
"WHAT DO I DO?" Usopp shrieked to himself. "Luffy, Ricky and Robin are all down. I can't win this by myself!"
WOOOOOSSH! Chiqicheetah blazed passed Usopp at the starting line as he lapped the sniper yet again. This round was now getting ridiculously one-sided.
"WE'RE TWO MINUTES INTO THIS RACE AND CHIQICHEETAH HAS NOW PASSED USOPP AGAIN AT THE STARTING LINE FOR HIS SIXTH LAP. THIS GIVES HIM A FOUR LAP LEAD."
"Hurry up, hurry up!" Nami muttered as she knelt down to Ricky and shook him. "If we're going to win this round we need you!"
"Boss! It's almost been thirty seconds!" Porche called out from the starting line.
"Then let's give the red fox another taste!" Foxy decided as he turned and pointed his hands at Ricky and Nami. "SLOW SLOW BEAM!"
FWUMP! At the last second Nami shoved Ricky and rolled him out of the way. FWOOOOSH! The purple beam washed over Nami and she was left frozen on her knees.
Whup-whup-whup! Ricky tumbled along the track and was finally moving again.
SHOOOOM! Chiqicheetah raced passed Ricky on all fours.
"Thanks Nami," Ricky said as he pushed himself up to his feet, "Now I'll go at full speed…" Everything slowed down as Ricky kicked the ground ten times with his skates in under a second. "SPEED SKATE!" ZZZZOOOOM! Ricky took off like a shot and rocketed after Chiqicheetah.
"WHAT'S THIS? ONE EYE RICKY IS ACTUALLY GAINING ON CHIQICHEETAH!"
"GRAH?" Chiqicheetah looked back over his shoulder in confusion as he launched himself around the turn in his Triple Speed Rocket Dash. WHING! The cheetah-man swung himself around the bend and raced down the track.
ZZZZZOOOM! A second later Ricky went flying over the wall .Whap! Ricky grabbed onto the edge and just as Chiqicheetah had already done countless times with his tail, he swung himself around the bent. WHING! Ricky came down and shot down the straightaway after Chiqicheetah. ZZZZZZOOOOOOM! They were at the starting line when he caught up with him.
"ONE EYE RICKY AND CHIQICHEETAH ARE NECK-AND-NECK! NO ONE'S EVER KEPT UP WITH CHIQICHEETAH'S TRIPLE SPEED ROCKET DASH!"
"I'LL SLOW HIM DOWN!" Foxy called out. As he held his hands up in his signature pose and aimed them at Ricky. "SLOW SLOW BEAM!" FWOOOOSH!
This time Ricky heard and saw it coming. Whap! Ricky reached out and for the second time in the round, he caught Chiqicheetah. Ricky lifted Chiqicheetah up and used the cheetah's own momentum to swing him around. WHING! Ricky threw Chiqicheetah off the track into the path of Foxy's Slowmo Photon Beam. FWOOOOSH! Chiqicheetah was left hanging in midair.
"WHAT! NO!" Foxy yelled as he inadvertently froze his own racer.
"OH NO! CHIQICHEETAH'S FINALLY BEEN SLOWED DOWN… BY OUR BOSS!"
SKISH! Ricky launched himself off the track at the midair racer. "Jumping… AX KICK! THWAK! Ricky drove his heel down onto Chiqicheetah's back and he dropped to the ground still in the same pose that Foxy had frozen him in. THUD!
"Chiqicheetah! No!" Porche cried.
FWUMP! Ricky dropped to the ground next to Chiqicheetah and clutched his stomach.
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT! DESPITE HIS SIX LAP LEAD, CHIQICHEETAH HAS BEEN THROWN OFF THE TRACK! HE IS NOW DISQUALIFIED. IN A MIRACULOUS COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORY, ROUND THREE GOES TO THE STRAW HAT DANGERS!"
"GAH! WHAT?" Foxy roared in outrage. He'd just lost his chance at a clean sweep.
"…" Usopp stood dubiously on the first curve of the track. He had only managed to complete two laps around the track but had still managed to pull out the victory. "Hurray…"
"YEAH!" Nami cheered once she unfroze.
"BOOOO! AW COME ON!" the Foxy Pirates weren't very happy about their loss.
"THE STRAW HAT DANGERS HAVE SCORED A POINT OF THEIR OWN. BUT THE FOXY DEVILS STILL HAVE THE LEAD. THERE'S NO TIME TO BASK IN THE AFTERGLOW OF VICTORY THOUGH. ROUND FOUR WILL BE STARTING SOON."
"KOFF! KOFF!" Ricky hacked up blood as he knelt on the field.
"What happened to you?" Zoro asked as he and Sanji stood over him.
"Pushed myself… too hard…" Ricky wheezed. "Hamburger… injuries…"
Usopp and Nami made their way over to the group.
"Hey Usopp," Ricky weakly called out, "You… beat a cheetah."
Usopp's eyes bugged out, "YEAH, I DID! WAIT 'TIL I TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THIS!"
Robin looked down at Ricky, "Will you be able to compete in the next round, Mr. One Eye?"
"Let Ricky sit this one out." They all turned to see that Luffy had made it back onto the field. "I'll defend Robin."
"Very well then," Robin resolved as she made her way to the starting line.
"THE POINT-GETTERS FOR THIS ROUND WILL BE HISTORIAN NICO ROBIN AGAINST THE SQUID FISHMAN JUBE. WE'RE IN FOR A GREAT RACE!"
"Listen," Zoro instructed as he stood near Luffy at the starting line. "How to turn is…"
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed and waved him off. "Don't worry. I've got it."
"What do you mean you've got it?" Zoro asked. "You didn't have it a second ago."
"Look, I did what you told me to do," Luffy replied, "I watched how everyone else was skating. I'm ready to go in Coach."
"I'm not the Coach," Zoro growled, "I'm the Manager. Fancy-brow got the good job. I got to deal with you."
While Robin and Luffy prepared for Round 4, Nami and Usopp discussed strategy.
"We know that he's going to use that stupid beam again," Nami pointed out.
"Yeah," Usopp agreed. "That Dumb Dumb Beam is gonna be a problem."
"He… he called my beam dumb…" Foxy whimpered as he moped on the ground.
"OH! BOSS!" Porche cried out as she ran to his side to cheer him up.
Lightbulb! "Usopp, I've got an idea!" Nami announced.
"Huh? What is it?" Usopp asked. Nami leaned in and whispered her plan into his ear. A wide grin spread across Usopp's face. "Oh, you're so naughty!"
"Hehehe!" Nami cackled as she wore a devious smirk of her own. "Good idea, don't you think?"
"That smirk of hers is gonna keep me up at night," Ricky muttered.
"Same here," Zoro told him, "But I'm sane so it'll keep me up for a completely different reason."
"OOOH! DO I DETECT A CRUEL PLAN FROM THE HEARTLESS AND CRUEL NAMI? HER DEVIOUS FACE IS SHOWING—"
"WHOSE FACE IS DEVIOUS!?" Nami hollered at the announcer.
"Yours," Usopp whispered.
"ROUND FOUR IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!"
"…" Robin stood silently at the starting line and glanced at the squid fishman that had eliminated her from the last round.
"Hehaha," Jube laughed. "Long time no see."
"On your mark… get set…" TWEEEEEE!
Both Robin and Jube raced off of the starting line. For the first time in the event both of the Point-Getters seemed to be about even in terms of skating speed. But Robin stretched her long legs to increase her stride and slowly managed to pull in front of Jube as they approached the first turn on the track.
"Hmph," Jube grunted to himself as he stared at Robin from behind. "Oh no you don't… I may not be as fast as Chiqicheetah but I'm no slouch either."
WOOOSH! Robin looked back to see Jube speed around the curve behind her. He was closing in fast.
"THAT'S TWENTY SECONDS! DEFENSE, GO!" TWEEEEE!
The second whistle went off as Luffy bolted off of the starting line. He stretched his rubber legs and reached the first turn in a flash.
"Is… is he gonna be able to do this?" Usopp asked. He and Nami were on the sidelines in front of the team bench. Sanji was behind it and Zoro and Ricky were sitting on it. They were all watching carefully to see if Luffy had finally learned how to skate properly.
"RAAAH!" Luffy let out a roar as he shot his body straight off the side. WOING! Luffy stretched his arm back and grabbed the top of the wall. WHING! Luffy swung himself through the air around the corner then shot back down after Robin and Jube. SHOOM!
"ALL RIGHT!" Nami exclaimed.
"YES! YES!" Usopp cheered as Luffy gained on Jube and Robin on the far side of the track. "WAY TO GO LUFFY!"
"Hm, bring it on!" Jube taunted Robin as he caught up to her right before the second turn. "I'll be glad to give ya another taste of my Mucha Karamete!"
"OH NO YOU WON'T!" came a loud shout.
Jube looked back, LUFFY WAS BEHIND HIM! Luffy pulled his arm back and shot it out at the fishman. SHOO-POW! Luffy's fist slammed into Jube's face.
WOOSH! Robin easily glided through the second turn while Jube's was slammed into the wall behind her by Luffy's fist. WHAM!
"OOOH! SEEMS LIKE HE'S GETTING THE HANG OF IT! STRAW HAT LUFFY SENDS JUBE FLYING!"
Swwiisshhh… Luffy spread his legs to a stop in front of Jube.
"Shishishi!" Luffy chuckled then turned to look after his Nakama. "Robin! Keep going! I'll handle this guy!"
"Right," Robin agreed as she sped towards the starting line. "Thanks."
But as Robin closed in on the starting line, she found Mashikaku and Girarin waiting for her.
Girarin charged to meet Robin and lashed out with his arm blade. SWISH! Robin ducked under it and skated right passed him.
Mashikaku stood behind Girarin blocking the starting line. Whap! But Robin quickly grew two chains of arms out of the human-wall's shoulders and shot herself over Mashikaku. WOOSH! Robin came down on the other side of Mashikaku and completed her first Robin.
"Yeah! Go Robin!" Ricky cheered from the bench. He looked to the side and noted Hamburg standing with Foxy at the other team's bench. "Hey, how did you recover from the Groggy Ring so quickly?"
"Pupupupup!" Hamburg covered his mouth as he laughed. "My crew has good doctors."
"Yeah… I could use one of those," Ricky remarked. "But we're about to get ours back."
Robin narrowed her eyes as she skated towards the first turn and spotted Porch ahead of her.
Porche readied her baton. Wait… "Hey! My baton's gone!" Porche realized as she stared down at her empty hands.
"Looking for this?" Porche turned and saw Nami casually twirling Porche's Cutie Baton on the side lines. "Hehehehe! Sorry!"
"Adorable little thief," Ricky whispered.
"YOU! GIMME THAT BACK!" Porche yelled as Robin skated passed her and made the turn.
Jube finally regained consciousness after getting acquainted with the wall and looked up to see Luffy standing over him.
"Aah!" Jube gasped as he remembered the strength of Luffy's punch.
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed. "Don't even try. I'd just sit this one out if I were you."
"Oh… okay," the fishman agreed, intimidated by the rubber monster standing over him.
WOOOSH! Robin skated through the second turn and lapped Jube as she headed for the starting line a second time.
"ASTOUNDING! THE STRAW HAT DANGERS ARE ON A ROLL! THEY'VE JUST TAKEN A ONE-LAP LEAD!"
"Grr, we'll see about that!" Foxy growled. Swish! He hoisted himself up onto Hamburg's back. "HAMBURG! Prepare for a Full Dash!"
"Right," Hamburg agreed as he raced towards the track on all fours.
"Usopp, its time," Nami prompted the sniper.
"Yeah!" Usopp agreed, "Time for Operation Laugh-and-Fall. Are you ready for this?"
"You know it," Nami replied.
Hamburg ran across the mid-circle on the left side of the field while Robin made the first turn in her third lap.
Foxy raised his arm in his usual gesture and aimed it at Robin as she came out of the turn onto the straightaway.
"HEY! SPLIT-HEAD!" Usopp shouted. "ARE YOU GONNA USE YOUR SLOW SLOW DODO BEAM AGAIN!"
"GAAH!" Foxy gasped and fell off of Hamburg. THUD! "It's not… a… Dodo Beam…"
"DON'T MAKE FUN OF HIM!" Nami scolded Usopp, "He's cute like a fox."
"FEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed as he jumped back up and swelled from the praise. He completely missed Robin as she skated right passed him.
"THAT STUPID FOX IS ANYTHING BUT CUTE!" Usopp called out.
Fwump! Foxy dropped down and moped again.
"You're right, he's not cute, foxes are ADORABLE!" Nami countered.
"Fehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed and jumped back up.
"NO ONE COULD THINK THAT CRAPPY SPLIT-HEAD IS ADORABLE!" Usopp snapped.
Fwump! "He… he added crappy to split-head…" Foxy whimpered.
"He's handsome!" Nami insisted.
"Fehfehfeh!"
"SPLIT-HEAD!"
FWUMP!
"WONDERFUL!"
"CRAPPY!"
"I WANNA HUG HIM!"
"ALL LIES!"
"…"
"SPLIT HEAD! SPLIT HEAD! Uh Nami?" Usopp looked beside him to see that Nami had gone silent. "What are you doing? You need to keep complimenting him!"
"But I can't…" Nami cried, "The thought of hugging him is making me sick to my stomach! Could we… maybe… switch please?"
"INSULT ME, WILL YOU!" Foxy roared as he staggered back up.
"But… there is nothing to compliment," Usopp added. "It doesn't matter who says what. Just keep repeating stuff!"
"Got it," Nami agreed.
"MANLY! MANLY! MANLY! MANLY! MANLY!" Usopp shouted over and over again.
"SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD!" Nami called out at the same time.
Foxy practically bounced up and down off of the ground as he soaked in Usopp and Nami's combined compliments and insults. He once again completely missed Robin as she skated passed on her fourth lap.
"IT LOOKS LIKE THE BOSS CAN'T SEEM TO FIRE HIS SLOW SLOW BEAM. THE CONTRADICTORY VERBAL ASSAULT BY THE STRAW HATS HAS BROUGHT HIM TO HIS KNEES. TIME'S ALMOST UP!"
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed at his crew and Foxy's antics.
SWISH! Robin once again easily dodged Girarin's arm blade as she skated passed him on the second turn. WHISH! Robin skated around Mashikaku at the starting line just as easily as she completed her fourth lap.
SWISH! Robin grinned as she dodged Porche again and made her way through the first turn.
"MANLY! MANLY! MANLY! MANLY!"
"SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD!"
Usopp and Nami kept Foxy occupied and rendered him completely helpless as time ran out.
TWEEEEE!
"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! THE STRAW HAT DANGERS WIN ROUND FOUR BY A LANDSLIDE!"
Robin slowly skated back to the starting line and was greeted by an overjoyed Straw Hat crew.
"Alright Robin!" Nami cheered as she high-fived the older woman. "We're back in this!"
"Not a problem," Robin replied as she looked up into the stands and smiled at Chopper.
"Aaah!" the former Straw Hat Doctor gave a sigh of relief now that the Straw Hats had tied up the game at two points each.
"THERE WILL BE A FIVE-MINUTE BREAK BEFORE THE FINAL ROUND BEGINS."
-x-
The Final Round:
-x-
The Straw Hat Dangers and the Foxy Devils all gathered around their respective benches.
"Grr… I can't believe I fell for that!" Foxy complained as he sat on the bench while Porche, Jube and Girarin stood around him. Hamburg and Mashikaku were both behind the bench. "I didn't expect this to drag out to another round. Listen! We have to win the next one! We'll use the You-Know-What Plan to seal our victory."
"You got it," Girarin agreed.
"YEAH!" Porche, Girarin and Jube all cheered.
At the other bench, the Straw Hats were gathered around Ricky as he and Robin sat on the bench. "You gonna be up for this one?" Zoro asked.
"Yeah, I think I've recovered enough," Ricky said, "Thanks for running out the clock guys."
"No problem," Robin replied.
"And we'll be right there this round too!" Luffy added.
"That fishman's their last racer," Ricky noted. "He doesn't seem very fast so I probably won't even have to push myself very hard to beat him. What happened to that cheetah-guy?"
"Oh, I took care of him last round," Sanji answered. He motioned over to the locker room hallway where Chiqicheetah was rolling in a pile of long kiwis. "I had moss ball go get some of those kiwis during the last round. Kiwis have a special smell that attracts cats. They're like catnip to them."
"Oh, so that's why he was sniffing all over Luffy earlier," Nami realized.
"Exactly," Sanji said, "Cheetahs are cats. I figured it was worth a shot."
"Well that's one less thing to worry about," Ricky reasoned. "Those other four are easy. The only problem we'll have to deal with is Foxy and his Slow Slow Beam."
"Don't worry," Usopp told him. "Nami and I have it covered with Operation Laugh-and-Fall."
"Right then," Ricky resolved. "Let's end this."
"NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE FINAL ROUND OF THE EVENT. BOTH TEAMS ARE AT THE STARING LINE READY TO GO."
Ricky and Girarin were poised at the starting line as the Point-Getters. Luffy and Robin stood behind Ricky as his defenders. But none of the Foxy Pirates were behind Girarin.
"OH, BUT IT SEEMS THAT GIRARIN ALONE IS REPRESENTING THE FOXY DEVILS. THE REST OF THE TEAM IS OFF THE TRACK. COULD THIS MEAN THEY'RE PLANNING TO USE THEIR MOST DEVIOUS TRICK OF ALL?"
"Devious trick?" Sanji repeated as he sat on the sidelines with Zoro, Nami and Usopp.
"Come on, you know it's just gonna be that stupid Slow Slow Beam again," Zoro pointed out.
"Oh, wow, you figured it out," Porche remarked. "Yes, we're going to be using the Slow Slow Beam to stop your First Mate. That's our little plan in its entirety."
"Heha," Jube chuckled, "Not that you're gonna be able to do anything about it! Hehahahaha!"
"As if!" Usopp scoffed. "Weren't you paying attention to what happened in the last round? Operation Laugh-and-Fall will stop him cold. HEY! RICKY! JUST SKATE LIKE CRAZY!"
"No worries," Ricky replied from the starting line. "I've got this."
"OKAY! IT'S TIME TO BEGIN THE FINAL ROUND!"
The referee came over with his whistle. "On your marks… get set..." TWEEEEEE!
WOOSH! Ricky took off like a shot and was instantly ahead of Girarin.
"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed as he got off his bench and made his way to the mid-circle while Ricky swung himself around the turn.
"OH NO!" Usopp exclaimed. "HE'S STARTING ALREADY!"
"MANLY! MANLY! MANLY!"
"SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD!"
"…" Foxy smirked as he aimed his hands at Ricky as he raced onto the straightaway. Girarin was already way behind and had only just entered the first turn. "SLOW SLOW BEAM!"
"That old trick again?" Ricky said as he heard Foxy call out his attack. SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! Ricky ducked and weaved around a barrage of purple beams.
"THERE IT IS! AN ONSLAUGHT OF SLOW SLOW BEAMS!"
"What's going on?" Usopp wondered. "Why isn't Operation Laugh-and-Fall working?"
"Fehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed as he turned away from firing at Ricky and cupped his ear. "Huh? Were you two saying something?" When Foxy cupped his ear, Nami and Usopp were easily able to spot the plug that he had in his ear.
"EAR PLUGS! THE STRAW HAT DANGERS HAVE BEEN OUTSMARTED! THAT'S OUR BOSS FOR YA!"
"EEP! We are screwed!" Usopp squeaked.
"RICKY! LOOK OUT!" Nami shouted.
FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! Foxy fired another barrage of Slow Slow Beams at Ricky as he made his way through the second turn. SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! Ricky dodged, ducked and weaved around all the beams as he came out of the turn towards the starting line.
"Heeheehee!" Porche laughed. "This time he doesn't have any Foxy Pirates to hide behind."
"AND THAT'S TWENTY SECONDS!" TWEEEEE!
"GET DOWN GUYS!" Ricky called out to Luffy and Robin.
FWOOOSH! FWOOOSH! FWOOOOSH! Foxy fired series of Slow Slow Beams at the starting line. FWUP! Luffy and Robin dropped down to the track and the beams sailed over them. SKISH! Ricky launched himself up into the air and jumped clear over the purple beams. SWISH-WISH-WISH! The three beams kept going and struck Chiqicheetah in the locker room hallway as he continued to roll in his pile of long kiwis.
TMP! Ricky landed and raced away from the starting line. "Let's go Luffy! Keep dodging!"
WOOSH! Luffy shot off after Ricky while Robin stayed down on the track.
"HOLD STILL YOU LITTLE PESTS!" Foxy shouted as he shot a barrage of beams at Ricky and Luffy as they reached the turn. FWOOSH-FWOOSH-FWOOSH-FWOOSH-FWOOSH!
SWISH! "Like hell," Ricky retorted as he dropped down into a low crouch and ducked under the beams as he swung himself around the inside of the turn.
WHING! "Why would we do that?" Luffy wondered as he swung himself over the track and Foxy's beams.
SHOOOM! Ricky shot up and Luffy came down at the same time and they both sped along the straightaway after Girarin who was just entering the second turn in his first lap.
"Listen Luffy," Ricky said as he they continued to dodge and weave around Foxy's beams. "I don't think I can keep going for five minutes at this rate. But we can end the round early if we knock that other guy off the track."
"Right, I'll take him out!" Luffy agreed as they quickly gained on Girarin.
"NOT IF I TAKE YOU OUT FIRST!" Girarin snapped. He spun around and lashed out at Ricky with his arm blade. SWISH! Ricky ducked underneath the attack and successfully lapped him.
"NOW YOU'RE DONE!" Luffy called out as he stretched his arm backwards. "GUM GUM…"
FWOOSH! Foxy shot a Slow Slow Beam and it hit Girarin. WHISH! AND BOUNCED OFF! FWOOSH! Luffy never saw it coming and was hit by the beam as it bounced off the fishman. Luffy was left frozen in place with his arm still stretched out behind him.
"OH! AND THE BOSS FREEZES STRAW HAT IN HIS TRACKS!"
"WHAT THE!" Sanji exclaimed, "Did he just deflect the Slow Slow Beam?"
"Oh, you noticed?" Porche cooed. "Yes, the Slow Slow Beam doesn't work on Girarin."
"What? Really?" Sanji's eyes became hearts as he found himself as the center of the Foxy Idol's attention. "No way! How is that possible?"
Porche smiled and wagged her finger at him, "Sorry, but it's a secret!"
"A secret?" Sanji repeated, "Oh! Well that makes perfect sense!"
"Now I get it," Zoro realized. "That's why the rest of your team wasn't on the course."
"Heeheeheehee, yup!" Porche giggled. "Now your whole team will be turned into slowpokes. But we won't!"
"This is bad," Usopp remarked, "Now what are we gonna do?"
"Coming through Robin!" Ricky called out as he approached the starting line. Girarin was already far behind him and had just come out of the turn.
Fwip-SKISH! Robin dropped down again and still hadn't moved off of the starting line while Ricky once again jumped clear over the starting line, Robin and Foxy's beams.
"ONE MINUTE INTO THE RACE AND RICKY HAS A ONE-LAP LEAD ON GIRARIN!"
Robin pushed herself up off of the track and crossed her arms as Girarin raced towards the starting line. "Seis Fleur…" Two arms sprouted out of Girarin's shoulders, another two came out of his back and grabbed his elbows, the final two came out of his legs and locked them together.
FWOOOOSH! Before Robin could say 'clutch' she was hit by a purple beam. Robin was frozen in place but her six arms still kept their hold on Girarin. FWUMP! The fishman couldn't skate with his legs locked together and flopped to the ground behind the finish line.
"Fehfehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed, "I got another one!" Foxy turned around to see Ricky come out of the first turn. "Now if he would only hold still…" FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! Once again, Ricky frantically dodged and ducked to avoid Foxy's barrage of Slow Slow Beams.
"Koff!" Ricky spat up blood as he spun around another one of Foxy's beams. "Damn it… all this jumping around the track like an acrobat isn't helping…" Ricky's fast pace notably slowed as he skated along the straightaway but he still managed to dodge the beams that Foxy fired at him.
"Ricky's slowing down," Usopp noted. "At this rate he won't be able to dodge for much longer. Nami, we've gotta… Nami?" Usopp trailed off when he noticed that Nami wasn't next to him.
"NOT SO FAST!" Foxy spun around and fired his Slow Slow Beam. FWOOSH! Nami was left frozen in her tracks with her hands outstretched in her foiled attempt to steal Foxy's ear plugs.
"OH NO! NAMI!" Usopp shrieked.
"HERE'S A TASTE FOR YOU TOO!" FWOOSH! Foxy's purple beam hit Usopp and he was left paralyzed too. "FEHFEHFEH! HOW'S THAT FOR A DODO-BEAM?"
"LOOKS LIKE THE BOSS AS FROZEN ALL FOUR OF THE STRAW HAT DEFENDERS. THE ONLY ONE THAT'S LEFT IS THE POINT-GETTER RICKY."
"That should've been thirty seconds," Ricky thought to himself as he skated towards the turn.
"PISTOL!" SWISH! Luffy came unfrozen and shot his fist forward but hit nothing.
FWOOSH! Before Luffy could even start skating again Foxy hit him with a Slow Slow Beam.
"Damn it!" Ricky cursed as he weaved around behind the re-frozen Luffy as he made the turn. Luffy's extended rubber fist was still stretched out in front of him.
Foxy spun and fired another Slow Slow Beam at Robin. FWOOSH! Robin remained frozen in place on the starting line without even having a chance to recover from the first blast.
Ricky came out of the turn and approached the starting line again. He spotted Girarin still on the ground with Robin's extra arms holding onto him. WOOSH! Ricky put on another burst of speed and leaned forward to avoid another beam. SWISH! He raced towards Girarin then spun and lashed out his leg. THWAK! Ricky's skate connected with the prone fishman and sent him flying off the track. THUD!
"RICKY JUST KICKED GIRARIN OFF THE TRACK! THAT'S A DISQUALIFICATION… BUT WAIT, THE REFEREE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN FROZEN! HE CAN'T MAKE THE CALL."
The referee was frozen still while looking in the other direction. However, the sweat that was dripping down his face was moving at normal speed.
"HE'S FAKING!" Sanji yelled. "I'LL KICK HIS FACE IN!"
"Cool down, eyebrows!" Zoro snapped as he grabbed the cook and held him back. "If you attack him he'll end up disqualifying Ricky."
"DON'T TOUCH ME, BASTARD!" Sanji snapped as he spun around in Zoro's hold and lashed out with his leg. SWISH! Zoro ducked under the kick.
"WHY YOU!" Zoro growled as he drew his swords, "That's it! I'm taking the Coach position!" Zoro slashed his swords at Sanji and the two of them started fighting again.
"Damn it!" Ricky growled as she skated passed Robin and the starting line. He glared at the referee as he skated passed. "Now I can't even knock him off the track!"
Hamburg ran over to Girarin and pried the fishman's arms and legs apart. Robin's grip was broken and her arms disappeared. Hamburg grabbed Girarin in a bear hug then spun and threw him onto the track and across the starting line, "GORRILA THROW!" WOOOSH!
Girarin flew through the air faster than he had been skating the whole race. WHOOOSH! The fishman whizzed passed Ricky and landed on the first turn. TMP!
"GIRARIN'S BACK ON THE TRACK! THE REFEREE NEVER NOTICED ANYTHING SO HE'S STILL IN THIS RACE!"
TMP! Girarin landed on the track and quickly skated through the turn. "So long sucker!"
For the first time in the race, Ricky found himself behind Girarin and skated to catch up. FWOOSH FWOOSH! FWOOSH! Foxy fired another barrage of beams. But these weren't aimed at Ricky. WHISH! WHISH! WHISH! The purple beams hit Girarin and bounced off him then flew back at Ricky.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! Instead of weaving forward and backwards, Ricky now had to weave from side-to-side to avoid Foxy's beams.
"YOU CAN'T DODGE THEM ALL!" Foxy shouted. FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! He fired a series of beams at Ricky then fired another batch at Girarin. FWOOSH! FWOOSH! WHISH! WHISH! Girarin reflect the beams that were shot at him back at Ricky.
"How does he keep reflecting those beams?" Ricky wondered as he now found himself dodging Foxy's beams as they flew at him from two different directions. "He's not very strong. He's not a good skater. The only thing special about him are those arm blades. And even then they're dull. They're just shiny accessories." Ricky's eye widened. "Shiny! Reflect! He isn't immune he's using the metal blades to reflect the light from the beams!"
SHOOOM! Ricky launched himself forward passed the beams that Foxy had shot at him then spun in midair as he dodged between the two beams that had reflected off of Girarin. WHAM! Ricky slammed into Girarin and tackled him to the ground.
"AH-HA!" Foxy cried out. "GOTCHA NOW! SLOW SLOW BEAM!" FWOOSH!
Ricky grabbed Girarin's arm and pulled it up in front of him. WHISH! The purple beam reflected off of the metal blade, flew across the field and hit Mashikaku. FWOOSH! No one noticed any difference in the big rectangular man.
"I DON'T BELIVE IT! RICKY JUST DEFLECTED THE BOSS' ATTACK USING GIRARIN'S ARM BLADES!"
"LEMME GO!" Girarin broke free from Ricky's grip and swung his blade at his head.
SWISH! Ricky weaved back to avoid the strike.
"YOU'RE WIDE OPEN!" FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! Foxy fired another barrage of Slow Slow Beams.
"No, I was baiting you," Ricky replied. Whap! His hand shot up and he caught Girarin's extended arm blade as it flew over his head then pulled it in front of him. WHISH! WHISH! WHISH! The first three beams bounced off of Girarin's blade but then Ricky pulled the fishman further forward and he caught the final one in the back. FWOOSH!
The other three beams flew across the field at Foxy's crew. FWOOSH! Hamburg was left frozen with his hands covering his mouth in mid-laugh. FWOOSH! Jube was struck on the back. FWUMP! Porche dove out of the way and Jube was hit by the one that was aimed at her. FWOOSH!
"OH NO! FOXY'S JUST SLOWED DOWN HIS ENTIRE TEAM!"
"GRAH! WHY YOU!" Foxy yelled. "HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME FREEZE MY OWN CREW! I'LL SHOW YOU!" Foxy spun around and fired a barrage of Slow Slow Beams. FWOOOSH! Nami was still frozen and was the closest so she got hit first. FWOOSH! Usopp still hadn't recovered from his first exposure to the Slowmo Photons and was hit again. FWOOSH! Zoro and Sanji's fight was brought to an abrupt stop as they were frozen in midair. Sanji was swinging his foot around at Zoro's side while Zoro was swinging his sword down at Sanji's shoulder. FWOOSH! Robin was once again frozen on the starting line. FWOOSH! Luffy received his third dose of Slowmo Photons and was still frozen on the same turn.
"FEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed. "NOW YOUR CREW IS FROZEN TOO! IT'S JUST YOU AND ME NOW KID!"
"WHOA! THE BOSS AND 'ONE EYE' RICKY ARE THE ONLY ONES MOVING DOWN ON THE TRACK! THIS HAS BECOME A BATTLE BETWEEN FOXES! A SHOWDOWN BETWEEN OUR BOSS, FOXY THE SILVER FOX AND RICKY THE RED FOX!"
"I've never been called that before," Ricky remarked as he stood up and pulled the frozen stiff Girarin up along with him and held the fishman in front of him like a shield.
"So… what are you going to do now, you little punk?" Foxy sneered.
"I'm just gonna stand here and wait you out," Ricky answered. "Any beams that you fire at me, I'll deflect using this guy. I've still got a two lap lead over him so in three minutes when the round's over, I'll win."
"Oh no you won't!"
"WHAT'S THIS? PORCHE WASN'T FROZEN! THAT'S OUR IDOL!"
Porche walked towards the track. "You're going to step off of that track right now."
Ricky raised an eyebrow, "And why would I do that?"
Instead of going up to Foxy, Porche went up behind Nami who was still frozen in place. "Because if you don't… your girlfriend is going to end up exposed."
"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "Way to go Porche!"
"She's not my girlfriend," Ricky insisted. Porche smirked as she wrapped her arms around Nami from behind. She grabbed the bottom of Nami's shirt then pulled it and her jersey up to her chest. "Whoa, what're you doing?"
Porche smirked and pulled Nami's t-shirt and jersey over her shoulders and head then down her arms that were still outstretched in front of her. Nami was left in a gold bra and her white pants.
"WHOA! IT LOOKS LIKE OUR PORCHE IS GIVING THAT DEVIOUS, UNDERHANDED NAVIGATOR NAMI A TASTE OF HER OWN MEDICINE!"
It was strange to see someone blush in slow motion. First Nami's cheeks went pink then it slowly spread through her face. The normally instant reaction had been slowed to three full seconds.
Porche's hand went to Nami's bra strap, "If you don't step off that track to stop me, your girlfriend is going to end up topless."
"Again, not my girlfriend," Ricky stated.
"Oh, you naughty boy," Porche teased him. "You actually want to see, don't you?"
"When did I say that?" Ricky wondered.
Mashikaku blinked. At full speed. Of course he was so slow that no one noticed.
"Just remember," Porche said with a wide grin, "If I pull her bra off, you're not going to be the only one to see your girlfriend's charms. Girarin will see them… the Boss will see them…" Ricky glanced at Foxy who wore a wide lecherous grin.
Foxy was caught up in staring at Nami and Porche so he didn't notice when Ricky tightened his hold on Girarin's neck to keep him from twitching.
"Oh, and that crowd of two hundred Foxy Pirates will see them too," Porche added as she pointed to the second set of stands.
Ricky craned his neck and looked behind him. "Huh… I completely forgot about those guys."
"Hey! What's going on?" Jube called out.
"Hah-ha," Ricky chuckled, "You know what's funny? Ever since I reunited with my brother and became a Straw Hat Pirate, I've gotten really good at one very specific thing… stalling for time."
What happened next, happened really fast.
SWISH! Nami spun around in Porche's hold and slugged her in the face. POW!
"AH! MY NOSE!" Porche screamed as she dropped to the ground and clutched her face.
SKISH! Usopp ran and jumped into the air so he could push Zoro and Sanji apart.
TMP! TMP! The swordsman and the cook sailed passed each other and landed in crouches on opposite sides of the sniper.
Robin stood up on the starting line and crossed her arms over her chest, "Seis Fleur…"
"WAH!" Foxy yelped as two arms came out of his sides and grabbed his elbows to keep them straight while two arms came out of each of his arms and grabbed his hands which were still in the pose for the Slow Slow Beam. Krek-krek… Foxy's wrists strained as Robin's extra hands twisted his hands back the other way.
SHWUP! Luffy extended rubber arm retracted.
"LUFFY! CATCH!" Ricky spun and threw Girarin towards his brother. WOOSH!
"GUM… GUM… STAMP!" Luffy turned and shot out his rubber leg. THWHAM! Luffy leg extended until his skate slammed into Girarin's chest but then kept going until it drove the fishman downward and planted him off the track and on the grass field. WHAM!
The referee was, of course, still pretending to be frozen as he looked the other way.
"YOU!" Jube growled as he extended his eight arms towards Robin. "Mucha Karamete…"
Shunk! A sword sank into the ground in front of Jube's arms hands as he suddenly founded both Zoro and Sanji standing in between him and Robin.
"Know any good recipes for squid?" Zoro asked.
"That depends," Sanji replied, "Do you want him grilled or deep-fried."
"UURGGH!" Foxy groaned. "NO! NO! NO! YOU WOULDN'T!" Robin's hands twisted Foxy's until they were pointed right at their owner's face.
"MY NOSE!" Porche wailed on the ground. "SHE BROKE MY NOSE!"
WOOOSH! With Foxy distracted, Ricky took off and raced towards Luffy and the second turn.
SKISH! Luffy jumped off the track and crashed down on Girarin's chest. THUD! Luffy remained seated on Girarin's chest and smirked at Hamburg as he approached. "Try to throw him back on now."
"NOOO!" FWOOSH! There was a flash of purple. Robin's hands disappeared and Foxy was left frozen in place with his hands still pointed at himself.
"OH NO! THE BOSS HAS SLOWED HIMSELF DOWN! BUT THERE'S STILL OVER TWO MINUTES LEFT IN THIS RACE!"
The referee was still looking the other way and completely ignored the fact that the Foxy Devil's Point-Getter was no longer on the track.
Skeeesshhh… Ricky skidded to a stop at the starting line then dropped down and sat on it. Robin shrugged and sat down next to him. She hadn't left the starting line yet, why start now?
Ricky and Robin both stared at the referee who was still pretending to be frozen.
"You can either call it now," Ricky said, "or I'll just sit here until the time runs out. It's over."
The referee turned around and blinked. Luffy had Girarin pinned down on the field off the track. Foxy was still frozen place due to his own Slow Slow Beam. Zoro, Usopp and Sanji were all unfrozen. Nami had pulled her shirt back on and was storming across the field. Ricky and Robin were both glaring at him as they sat on the starting line.
The referee made the only call he could. He raised his whistle and blew. TWEEEEEEEE!
"THE WINNER OF THE ROUND IS RICKY! THE STRAW HAT DANGERS WIN!"
The Foxy Pirates were all shocked speechless but one tiny reindeer's loud cheers made up for it. "YYEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
"THE STRAW HATS HAVE PULLED OUT A COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORY! THE DAVY BACK FIGHT HAS COME TO A SHOCKING END!"
"YEAH! WE WON!" Luffy cheered as he jumped off of Girarin and raced back to his crew.
"WE WON! WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!" Usopp jumped up and down and cheered.
"I guess everything worked out after all," Sanji resolved.
"I guess so," Zoro agreed.
"Please pick Chopper this time," Ricky requested.
"Please pick me this time!" Chopper sobbed up in the stands.
"NOW IT'S TIME TO CHOOSE YOUR NEW CREW MEMBER!"
"COME ON BACK, CHOPPER!" Luffy shouted.
Ricky stood up and held out his arms, "Get back down here, Little Brother."
"YEAH!" Chopper cheered as he ripped off his Foxy mask and ears then jumped off his seat in the crowd. SKISH! Ricky caught Chopper in midair and was knocked on his back. THUD!
Chopper bawled unintelligibly into Ricky's chest as the other Straw Hats gathered around them. "I was so scared!" Chopper cried. "I'm so happy you won!"
"Well you shouldn't have been," Ricky replied. "I told you we were gonna win you back."
"Yeah, a bunch of suckers like them could never beat my crew!" Luffy boasted.
"Welcome back, little guy," Zoro said as he patted the top of Chopper's top hat.
The Straw Hat Pirates were now whole with all eight members once again.
"Hey Chopper… I could really use a doctor…" Ricky stated.
"Right, I'll go get one!" Chopper agreed as he made to get off of Ricky.
"THAT'S YOU!" Luffy, Nami, Usopp and Sanji reminded the reindeer.
"WE'VE SEEN BLOOD, SWEAT AND PLENTY OF TEARS HERE TODAY BUT THE DAVY BACK FIGHT HAS FINALLY DRAWN TO A CLOSE. WITH THE STRAW HATS RECLAIMING THEIR DOCTOR TONY TONY CHOPPER, I'D SAY THIS MATCH ENDS IN A DRAW."
"HOLD IT! HOLD IT! HOLD IT!" Foxy called out as he came over flanked by Hamburg, Mashikaku, Jube, Girarin and Chiqicheetah.
A Foxy Pirate had run onto the field and was currently checking on Porche.
"Any Captain worth his weight in seaweed knows there are no draws in the Pirate World," Foxy stated. "It's plunder or be plundered. You won't let it end like this? Will you?"
"What was that?" Ricky asked as he sat on the ground with his shirt off while Chopper wrapped a long length of bandages around his stomach and chest. "Since when is winning two games to one considered a draw?"
"I… Because neither of our crews changed!" Foxy sputtered. "I won your Doctor, you won him back. That makes it a draw."
"We also won that horse," Ricky reminded him. "You're just sore because we broke your undefeated streak. Now we're the one in 'nine hundred twenty-and-one'."
"THAT DOESN'T COUNT!" Foxy snapped. "You only beat my crew. I never actually competed in any of the games. You didn't beat me." Foxy grinned as he held up three gold coins in between his fingers. "Come on, Straw Hat. What do you say to another Three Coin game to decide which of us is really the best? This time, I'll be an active participant."
"Yeah, like we'd agree to that," Usopp scoffed.
"After all that cheating, you'd have to be an idiot to go for another round," Nami remarked.
BANG! The Straw Hats all gaped in shock as their Captain stood their grinning like an idiot as he held up the smoking pistol that he'd just fired. "YOU'RE ON, SPLIT-HEAD! SHISHISHI!"
BA-BONK! Nami and Usopp clubbed him over the head and proceeded to stomp all over him while screaming why it was such a stupid idea.
"Okay… this is the last time…" a bloody and battered Luffy mumbled when they pulled him up. "I won't do it again… I promise…"
"You're kidding," Chopper said, "I don't know if I have any tears left to cry."
"He already agreed so it's not like we can back out now," Zoro pointed out.
"I doubt he would go through the trouble if he didn't have something in mind," Robin remarked.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Sanji said. "Well… unless he's thinking he can nab us a Shipwright from Foxy's crew."
"Here we go again…" Ricky groaned. Nami came over and stared down at him with her arms firmly folded across her chest.
"Nice skating," she said.
"Ollie taught me everything I know," Ricky replied.
Nami scowled. "If Ollie's so amazing and you're so repulsed about me being your girlfriend… WHY DON'T YOU JUST DATE HER THEN!" Nami turned and stomped off. "BOTH OF THEM ARE IDIOTS!"
"There's just no winning with her anymore," Ricky muttered.
"STRAW HAT HAS AGREED TO ANOTHER THREE-COIN DAVY BACK FIGHT!" Itomimizu called out, "WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED!"
-x-
Next chapter covers the first two events in the new game.
'Till Next Time…
Peace!
