YAY! NEW CHAPTER! How frikkin awesome is THAT? As for Excalibur, don't worry. I got rid of 'im.
Amelia: Where the hell are we then? And why does it look like no one's been in here for ages?
It's just a hiding place. Think of it as kind of a break-off until we get back to the place where'd I'd do all of my author notes. Hopefully the rest of the Straw Hats will be there waiting for us. I did send them a message… Hope they got it…
Amelia: And… when will we actually get there?
In the future…
Amelia: Oy…
Alright, folks! One thing before we start. Just wanna say thanks for pointing out some glitches in the chapters. The Doc manager chewed up the chapters, and I fixed some stuff before, but apparently I didn't fix everything. I'll get to it soon. Until then, enjoy the next installment!
?: Who's down there!
Amelia: Eh! I thought you said no one would be here!
Well, not down here, but up there? Yeah, probably.
Amelia: WHAT THE HELL!
Well, you guys read!… And pray we don't die…
Koby and I ran all the way to the Marine Base, despite the fact that my legs screamed at me. Really, I've been walking all damn day! I needed to sit down!
Eventually, we got to the same wall. I dropped my backpack to the ground nearby and adjusted my sunglasses, leaping up and grasping the wall. I pulled myself up halfway, only to freeze as I saw Luffy practically fly off.
Just in time.
"Well, wow. That's perfect." I muttered, leaping down.
"Hey! You too!" I blinked at Zoro as I walked over. "Don't tell me you're here to convince me to go with this guy and join his crew! Are you?"
I snorted. "Please, I'm not here for that. I have no interest in his crew either." I said, standing next to him. "I'm just here to help get you out of here."
"W-Wait! You can't!" I rolled my eyes as I reached to try and untie the ropes.
"Listen, dude, I'd explain right now, but there's not much time…" I groused. "By the way, why'd he leave? Wanted to get something to cut these with or something?"
"Not really…" Zoro said. "He went into the base to find that kid so he can tell him where he hid my swords…"
Ah yes, Zoro's three swords. Can't do Santoryuu without 'em.
"What! He's in the base already!"
I jumped, looking over to the wall as Koby screamed, then practically fell over the wall. It didn't seem like he was hurt, since he simply dusted himself off and rushed over to help.
"Finally! What took you so long?" I asked as he began to work on the ropes on the other side. "For crying out loud, you beat me here!"
"I'm sorry! It takes me a while to climb a wall!" Fine, Koby. I'll let it slide… For now…
… Good lord, what am I thinking? It's not like I'm going to be around later! After all this, I'm gone!
"Oi! If you guys help me, they're going to kill you!" Zoro snapped.
Koby merely glared at the ropes. "You shouldn't be arrested in the first place! I can't stand those Marines…" He said sternly, which is surprising since he's, like, eight or something. "I'm going to become a real Marine! Just like Luffy's going to be King of the Pirates!"
As he said that, I felt a lurch in my stomach. I was forgetting something. Something kinda important…
… Oh crap, Koby's supposed to get shot soon!
"King of the Pirates!" Zoro snapped in disbelief. "You're joking, right!" Crap! It's coming!
Now, the thing I should've done was let him get hit, since it's part of the story. But dammit, I didn't want him to get shot while I sat there like an ass trying to untie ropes that seemed to have been coated with super glue before they tied him up.
So, without really thinking, I lunged at Koby, causing him to gawk at me.
"Get down!" I barely managed to cry as I covered him, hearing a loud pop echo in the air and feeling a sharp pain in my shoulder.
"Amelia!" He cried as I winced in pain as we fell.
I know I'm gonna regret this. I'm going to need medical attention and the like, now. All because I got involved. All because of a stupid kid who thinks I'm a boy, a swordsman who doesn't know he's about to become a pirate in a few minutes, and a boy who wanted to be a Marine who was currently worming his way out of my hold, rushing to take a look at the damage.
"Give it to me straight, Koby." I hissed. "How bad is it?"
"H-Hold on! I'm trying to find the wound!" Koby said as I felt him fingering a new hole I had in my hoodie, along with the t-shirt I wore underneath it. "There's the hole, but… there's no wound! You're not even bleeding!"
… Pink-haired kid say what now?
I sat up, feeling around myself, then frowning as I felt something move around in my sleeve. I shook it, then gaped as a bullet flew out of my sleeve and bounced a little, looking quite mangled.
"A-Amelia…?" Koby said, shocked. Obviously as shocked as me.
Here I was, after all the crap I had been through in what seemed like only a few short hours, and I've discovered that I have super strength and can withstand bullets with only some pain.
Holy crap, I'm like Superman without the tights.
"We…" I started, swallowing hard, trying my best to focus on the situation. "We need to get Zoro out…"
"Don't bother!" Zoro snapped as I jumped back up to work on the ropes, noticing that Koby slowly followed suit. "They'll be here any minute!"
"Amelia's right!" Koby said. "We can't waste anymore time!"
"Are you even listening to me!" Yes we are, Zoro. But we don't care. So there. "There's no need to worry about me! As long as I stay like this for a month, they'll set me free!"
You know, Koby's supposed to be laying it down for Zoro, but I'm sorry. This was getting ridiculous.
"That's never going to happen, Zoro!" I finally snapped down at him. "They're going to execute you in three days! That guy, Helmeppo, he lied to you! He was never going to just let you go!"
Zoro merely gawked at me. "You-You're lying!" He finally forced out. "That bastard kid said-!"
"Amelia's right!" Finally, Koby! Well, actually, good thing you're stating the facts instead of me just blurting it out. "That's why Luffy hit him! Because he was bragging about it to the whole town!"
"W-What did you say!" Apparently, Zoro didn't believe that someone would punch someone else out over him.
"You heard him." I muttered darkly. "Morgan's brat proudly proclaimed to the town that he was just going to execute you. Then Luffy hit him. Then he said it wasn't worth it, which confused the crap out of me…"
"Listen!" I blinked down at Koby as Zoro looked at him as well. "The Marines will never let you guys off! Please, after we set you free, you have to go help Luffy! I won't force you to become pirates, neither of you. However, he's my savior!"
I couldn't help but pause at this, gritting my teeth. I remembered that Alvida captured Koby and Luffy pretty much saved the kid. Despite Luffy being a moron and thinking of me as some kind of tranny, deep down, he was a good guy…
Which is why, when all this is over, I'm definitely hightailing it as far away from them as possible. So far, I've been dealt with a lot of crap. I really don't need them involved.
"That's enough!" Crap!
I turned to see a bunch of Marines lined up not too far from us, all with wonderful guns that were pointed at the three of us.
I knew this was going to happen.
And I knew that Luffy would come bouncing over any second…
Still, I had to admit, this was kind of scary…
"The three of you have betrayed Lieutenant Morgan! Die here!" And they're a friendly bunch, all right…
I grit my teeth, maneuvering a bit to stand in front of Koby and Zoro the best I could. Maybe the bullet was a fluke and I'd become swiss cheese before Luffy got here, but just in case…
After all, I'm not an important figure in this tale.
"Surround the base! Don't let the kid in the straw hat escape!" And that is the great Lieutenant himself. I knew he was messed up before, but man, is he a piece of work in real life.
"Then come on, you cowards!" I called, ignoring the protests from Koby and Zoro. "Give it your best shot!"
"How interesting." He said, as if brushing me off. "The four of you are planning a political upheaval? Roronoa Zoro, I've heard your name before, but don't underestimate me. Before my great strength, you're garbage!"
That's it. Ignore the girl with the spiky dishwater hair and blue sunglasses. That's all fine and dandy with me.
"READY!" Well, fiddlesticks. Luffy better get his rubber butt here pronto, or I'll shoot him myself! "FIRE!"
At that, I automatically flinched, turning my head, only to hear someone step in front of me as the guns fired, hearing that familiar sound of rubber stretching. I looked back over to see that Luffy had momentarily turned into a porcupine.
"It's no use!" He cried, stretching himself out, sending the bullets pretty much flying back to their rightful owners.
… Well about time, rubber boy!
Luffy then turned to me and outright laughed. "Amelia, you really are stupid."
I felt my eyebrow involuntarily twitch. "Like you're one to talk."
"What kind of humans are you!" And cue Zoro's disbelief that Luffy's a rubber boy and I'm Super Girl.
… Well not really. I can't fly or anything. I can't go faster than a speeding bullet. Or leap tall buildings in a single bound… I don't have X-ray vision or anything like that either.
… You know what? There are more important things to deal with than my knowledge of comics and cartoons.
"I'm the human that will become Pirate King!" And cue Luffy's dramatic proclamation.
"I don't even really know anymore…" I stated plainly after him.
Zoro gave me a look as Luffy laughed at me. Is laughing right now really a good thing? "See? Told you he was funny!"
I'd kill him right now, but there are Marines present. We kinda need this kid conscious…
"By the way, I got your katana!" Luffy said, holding three swords up. "I didn't know which one was yours, so I brought all three!"
"All three belong to me." Zoro stated plainly. "Because I use three."
Luffy merely grinned, looking past me and at the Marines. "You know, resisting these Marines with me will make you an outlaw! Or would you rather die here?"
And here we go. Told you he didn't know he'd be a pirate until a few minutes from when I stated it. Now, he's gonna be.
"You're the son of the devil himself." Zoro muttered, smirking. "Forget it, I don't wanna die here. I'll accept your offer and become a pirate!"
"Good for you, Luffy. Your pirate crew's grown by two!" I said, then motioned to the Marines nearby. "Now we should probably get him out of here!"
Luffy gave me a look. "What do you mean two? I've got three!"
I growled. "If you're including me, then forget it!"
"Will you two just shut up and untie me!" Zoro yelled.
Luffy nodded, working on the arm I started with as the Marines were getting ready to attack, yet again.
As Luffy fussed with the knot, he pouted. "These are really hard to untie…"
"Just hurry up and untie one!" Zoro said hurriedly. "I can handle the rest!"
I glanced over, seeing the Marines beginning to charge, and I swallowed, stepping back a bit myself. I really hope Luffy works fast! He did in the anime! This time shouldn't be different!
Then finally, finally, Luffy finished untying Zoro's arm, and Zoro finally, finally, drew his swords and managed to block all of the Marine soldiers' attacks.
All this happened in a matter of a few short seconds.
I always knew that Zoro was badass, but man. Seeing him in action in real life definitely reaffirms this times infinity.
"You better not move. If you do, I'll kill you." Yup. He's a definite badass. Now if only he would put on a pair of sunglasses after saying something witty and cool, it would be even more awesome.
… On second thought, no. That's just stupid.
It was then that Luffy smirked, pulling up his leg. "Zoro, duck!" He called, getting ready to stretch his leg. "Gomu gomu no… Leg Sweeper!"
And with that, Luffy's leg stretched out and pretty much knocked the Marines that had attacked out of the park.
"Wow!" I heard Koby cry in excitement next to me. "Awesome!"
Zoro merely looked back at Luffy as his leg snapped back into place. "What are you?"
"I am a rubber man!" Luffy said, grinning widely. How someone could be smiling at a time like this, I have no idea…
With that, Zoro stood and I stared at them. The rubber man with the straw hat and the Santoryuu badass who was a bounty-hunter-turned-pirate.
Right now, they had more important things to focus on, so their attention wasn't on me. So, theoretically, I could probably run for the wall and get out of here…
However…
I really don't have the heart to cope with the guilt that would come afterwards… That and the Marines would get to me first…
"This is an order…" Lieutenant Morgan stated. "Whoever just said that, get a gun and kill yourself. I don't need useless soldiers. That's an order!"
Besides, I want to see this asshole get his ass kicked to smithereens.
"What do these dumb Marines think they're doing!" Zoro cried around the sword handle in his mouth as said Marines brought their guns to their heads.
Of course, no one got a chance to answer that, since Luffy dashed off and charged at Morgan, who blocked his first attack with his giant axe hand.
Seriously, I hope he didn't volunteer to have an axe as a hand. The skin where his elbow was supposed to be was stretched in a way that made me just cringe at the mere thought.
"Defeat these marines, Luffy!" I heard Koby shout as I once again became a spectator, Zoro lowering his swords, removing the one from his mouth.
"I am Marine Lieutenant Axe-Hand Morgan!" Morgan yelled, getting ready to strike.
What was Luffy's response? "I'm Luffy! Nice to meet you!" Oy…
Of course, Morgan's response wasn't that much better. Just angry yelling and slicing…
Slicing right through fence like it was softened butter.
As Koby was practically screaming, Luffy merely kicked Morgan in the face with both feet. Morgan was only phased for a minute, snarling. With that, he chopped down at Luffy with his axe, which he merely dodged and kicked Morgan in the face again.
I'm starting to feel like I was the only one in this base that wasn't surprised. Well, maybe including Zoro. Of course, he seems to take the fact that his captain was pretty much a human rubber band fairly easily.
I continued to watch on with arms crossed as Luffy grabbed Morgan by the front of his shirt and began punching him. It was then that I heard a click near my ear.
Oh, don't tell me…
"Wait!" I glanced over at the gun at my head, which was in the surprisingly steady hand of a roughed up Helmeppo.
Luffy barely stole a glance, then continued punching. Of course…
… Now wait, shouldn't Koby be getting threatened with a gun, here? Honestly, this is what I get for becoming involved.
I will be so glad when I get out of here…
"You idiot! I told you to wait!" Helmeppo yelled at Luffy, who finally stopped and saw the scene of Helmeppo pointing a gun at me as I simply stood there, giving him a side-glance. "If you want this guy to survive, then don't move! If you move, I'll shoot!"
…You know, I really shouldn't hurt this guy. Luffy's supposed to punch him out and Zoro's supposed to get Morgan. If I was going to do something, that might screw things up…
… But I've been called a boy so many times today, I've just about had enough.
Screw the timeline, Helmeppo's gonna die!
With that, I rounded on Helmeppo fully, grabbing his wrist and causing him to yelp, shaking visibly. With that, I reached with my other hand, grabbing the pistol's nozzle and squeezing, causing it to easily shatter into metal and wooden splinters. Helmeppo's scream seemingly died in his throat.
"You never…" I said darkly, yanking him forward, then giving him a solid punch in the face. "POINT A GUN AT A LADY!"
Now, I really didn't mean to punch him that hard. Really, it was his fault for calling me a guy.
On the upside, he got some good airtime, and the new hole in the base's wall was an amusing human shape.
"Whoohoo! Nice shot, Amelia!" I heard Luffy cry, looking at him. Luffy was grinning like his usual crazy self as Morgan stood behind him, axe arm raised above his head. I was about to say something when he merely spurted blood and fell to the ground, Zoro standing not too far away with his swords out.
It took a while for it all to settle in for the Marines, but eventually, instead of arresting all of us, they jumped and cheered at the fact that Morgan and his son got their asses handed to them on a silver platter.
Unfortunately, as the cheering went on, Zoro's body decided to remind him that he'd been tied up for almost a month with hardly any food or water, and he promptly collapsed to the ground. Poor guy.
Luffy, Zoro, and Koby were fully distracted by getting patched up and eating food at the restaurant Rika's mother owned. Everyone was happy that Morgan was gone, along with his brat of a son. They were all pretty much celebrating.
As for me… I was leaving.
I barely spared a glance at the restaurant they were in, hearing Zoro and Luffy's laughter equally, and for some odd reason, I felt a pang in my chest.
Don't know why. I knew that I wasn't going to stick around. I couldn't do that. I would disrupt their story far too much for that.
And granted, I didn't know much, but I still knew a decent amount starting from the beginning. And this was, after all, the beginning.
As I saw the Marines begin to round the corner, I abruptly turned and kept going. It was about that time that Luffy and Zoro would be kicked out, and Koby would be welcomed into the Marines.
I had already lagged behind far too much.
I practically ran when I saw my boat come into view, and I quickly dumped my stuff inside and made quick work of the ropes and everything.
It took a surprisingly short amount of time to set sail, letting the breeze carry me off, hoping that I wouldn't spot Luffy at the docks yet. I just sat on the floor of the boat, staring as the town began to get further and further away.
Now that all the chaos with Luffy was over, I was ready to begin trying to find a way home. I was ready to do this by myself, even though I had no idea what I was going to come up against. Despite that, I knew I couldn't get involved with Luffy and the rest of the future Straw Hats ever again. Besides, it's not like Luffy didn't really want me to be a part of his crew, anyway… Bastard kept calling me a frikkin' boy, after all! If me joining his crew was really important, he'd get it through his thick skull that I was a girl!
With that, I decided to lay down in the boat, finding it slightly uncomfortable as I stared into the sky.
Little did I know that two figures had run to the dock, large bags of food in tow, wondering where exactly had the second new crew member disappeared off to.
And there you have it, guys! Amelia has sailed off without Luffy and Zoro!
Amelia: I thought you said that I was going to become a Straw Hat!
Ah, I said you might become a Straw Hat! And you still might! But not right now...
Amelia:… This is ridiculous. And so is the fact that you hid us in someone's basement!
It was Franken Stein's basement! I thought we'd be safe there!
Amelia: Franken Stein? From Soul Eater? Are you crazy!
Can you tell I'm kinda into Soul Eater lately? None Piece is also pretty fricking hilarious too, if I do say so myself...
Amelia: That's not the point! The point is we barely managed to escape without him catching us!
Oh please, he'll never find us, now. Anyway, stick around for the next chapter! I swear we'll be out of this whole Soul Eater thing by the time the next chapter comes out!
Amelia: And let's hope that Stein doesn't come creeping up behind us while twisting the screw in his head trying to figure out how to experiment on us!
Stein: -Twists his screw.- You mean like this?
Amelia: Yeah, just like- OH SHIT!
(I swear this stupidity is done now. Unless you actually WANT it to continue, then maaaaaybeeee it will.)