Previously...
Polchemy smirked, rather evilly, I have to say, "Alright then. If you don't know, then that's that," he paused to cackle before he continued, "We'll help you remember so don't worry..."
With that, they carried Luffy off. He kept on screaming and shouted at them, I've got a bad feeling about this...
I jumped down onto the forest floor. Ace and Sabo were discussing on what to do. "You guys move the treasure, I'll go check on Luffy."
Sayeko's POV
Goddamn it! Where the hell'd they go?! I screamed at myself for not having gone after him earlier. I was so distracted!
The sun glimmered its brilliant orange glow as it sat just above the horizon. The sky was hued a bright reddish pink, a tinge of indigo in the background but I could care less right now. All that filled my mind was finding Luffy. I got so distracted when I passed by the music shop in town!
"OI! LUFFY! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" My shouts echoed across the entire area as I ran around Grey Terminal, Goddamn it! Why the hell does this place have to be so big?! Forgive my use of such vulgar words.
Suddenly, a familiar wisp of rubber caught my nose. On instinct, I followed the smell, my pace unfaltering.
"Answer me!" A familiar deep and gruff voice reached my impossibly sensitive ears. A punch came soon after, I knew. That unmistakable sound you make when you get punched in the face. There was also another sound, a small splattering sound, like when you splash paint onto the walls. An image, or rather a vision filled my mind.
A rope swung from side to side like a pendulum in the middle of the abandoned warehouse. That same punching sound echoed in the air. Blood was on the floor. Then, I saw him-Luffy. His straw hat hung limp behind him but what alarmed me was the state he was in. His face was splattered with his own blood, dripping ever so slowly to the dirt floor below. His eyes were closed but you could clearly see the tears he had, glistening in the darkening sunset. Then, there was the bastard-Polchemy. Again, forgive my use of such vulgar words. He was breathing heavily, gloves adorning his hands. They were not ordinary gloves, though. I gasped when I saw blood dripping off the deadly-looking spikes that covered the top part of the glove where the palm was at.
Then, everything clicked into place.
Instantly, I knew where to find him. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as the wind blew past my face, stinging my eyes. I could care less. All I knew was that I had to find him, fast. It was my fault he had been in that state. If I had come earlier...
Third Persin POV
A blurry figure. That was all that could be seen as a ten-year-old girl ran across the Grey Terminal to the old abandoned warehouse in the distance. The sounds emitted from it from the warehouse were horrible. It was as if a child was being tortured into telling someone a secret location. That was exactly what was happening.
One would think, Why would he not tell a thing? Would it not be better that way? That was not the case for this child. No matter what, his lips refused to tell the torturer that location, his brain simply refusing to let him do so. Or rather, his conscience. Certainly, one would think that letting the secret loose would be much better than being tortured, but the boy held on, hoping for someone to save him.
And that was why she was running. To save him. She knew what was going on and wanted to stop it, no matter what. There had been that sudden change in attitude whenever she got into a fight, though she hardly ever remembers any fight that she's actually been in since she met Ace and Sabo. It was one second the hoodlums were closing in, the next, they were lying unconscious on the floor, blood pooling out from open wounds, keyword being hoodlums.
"Answer me! You shitty brat!" The shouts got louder as she got nearer.
Inside, the torturer, raised his fist, adorned with spiked gloves, about to land yet another punch on the child, hanging-dangling-limp on the rope that held him up, after so many when he was interrupted by a loud crash. Their heads turned to find the source of the sound, though they didn't need to.
Rubble fell around the huge hole made, dust kicking up around it making the culprit seem invisible. When the dust cleared, everyone could see her clearly. Yes, her. A ten-year-old girl stood in the middle of the hole, feet outstretched having just knocked down the wall. "K-Koko..." The child managed to squeeze out of his throat. His voice was hoarse as if he had been screaming for who knows how long.
The moment she saw the young child, a boy of no more than seven years of age, everything about her seemed to change. Her calm demeanor seemed to wear off like it had taken up almost all her energy to keep. Then, something happened, almost as if from a dream-a nightmare.
Her shadow extended in front of her, like a wall of darkness that separated her from her enemies.
"What the hell do you think you're gonna do, punk?!" Polchemy shouted, already at the tipping point if his rage, "Get her!"
His two henchmen came forth at once, swords at the ready. They stopped short in front of the wall, What's this? I-I can't move... Fear threatened to engulf, his eyes staring at the wall, wide open in sheer terror. Cold perspiration trickled down their foreheads, limbs—literally—frozen in place.
"My, my, that was rather rude, was it not?" A voice came from behind the wall, or rather, inside the wall, "Attacking an innocent little girl from out of nowhere, leaving her wondering what she has done?"
A girl stepped through the wall, like Alice stepping through the Looking Glass. She resembled Sayeko in a way, yet, not at all.
Her eyes were a dark crimson red that seemed to glow in the dark. Her hair was a deep blood red, horns, the color of dried blood, twirled around her forehead. A black hat hung on her back by the strings that were secured on her shoulders. (Like Ace's hat) Bright orange markings had appeared on her face like tongues of fire making its way past her jaw and chin, on her arms and legs. Huge bat-like wings sprouted from her back, as did a tail, curling its way around her hips. She wore no armor, only a simple dress of black, edges tattered and torn, hood falling over her shoulders.
Polchemy's henchmen collapsed to the ground, froth bubbling from their mouths as their eyes went white. Polchemy trembled in his spot, unable to move, the chill of the dead sending shivers down his spine, Wh-what is this feeling? I-I'm trembling? I-Is this f-fear?
"Who the hell are you?! Where's the punk from before?" He continued to spout vulgarities at the girl, or rather, she-demon, at this point. He was scared, he knew. Never in his entire life had he felt fear, a fear so intense. He was the great Polchemy, a proud underling of the Bluejam Pirates, never had he lost a single fight under his idol's 'guidance'. Still, he refused to go down without a fight. Even if he'd won, his captain would've killed him for sending in the money long overdue.
"Luffy, dear, do you mind closing your eyes for a bit?" She asked as her hands lit on fire, "This is going to get a little messy. Let's play, shall we, Mr. Polchemy?" (Polchemy-san in Japanese, just adding the '-san' to make it seem a bit creepier.)
Blood was splattered on the walls, a crippled body lay in the middle of it all.
"D-damn you, you monster..." The man cursed.
"My, my, how kind," she replied, a smirk playing on her lips, "Rest well, goodnight~!" With that, the scythe swung down, striking the man's heart. She sighed in content once the deed was done.
"Now, what else to do?" The she-demon glanced around the worn down warehouse, eyes wide with bloodthirsty hunger. Whether on purpose or by accident, she walked out the hole she made, missing the boy dangling by a rope.
Ace! Help me! Koko! Where are you? Luffy decided to push his thoughts to the back of his heads, thinking always made his head hurt, Save me...
The sun had begun to set, gleaming over the horizon, the line where the sky meets the sea. "Before I know it, it's already sunset," Ace mumbled to himself, "Finally, done with moving the treasure." He didn't think those dumb hoodlums would think to look in here. Besides, they would've have searched our previous hideout. This place is far from there.
A picture of the boy's grinning face came to mind. What was with him?
"Ace!" He heard Sabo running up to me, his hands on his knees as he panted for breath.
"What's wrong, Sabo?" Ace asked him, "Have they gone to our old hideout to look for the money?" He doubted this, he doubted this. He didn't know why but he just did. He could see the shock in Sabo's eyes. He couldn't believe whatever he was going to say either.
"No, they haven't," He replied still panting from the running, "There's no way they'd know where to go!"
"What do you mean?" I've got a bad feeling about this...
"That Luffy-guy," Sabo continued, Ace creased his brow, hoping the next line wouldn't be what he thought it was, "He still hasn't told them a thing!"
"There's no doubt that he's being tortured..." He continued, "I thought he would spill the beans right away since he's such a crybaby and an idiot... Koko should have gone to find him but she hasn't come back either! This doesn't make any sense!"
Ace clenched his fist tight. This wasn't what he wanted. He never wanted this. He never wanted it to happen. Sure, he found crybabies and weaklings like Luffy a rather annoying bunch but he still didn't want anything to happen to him.
What about Koko? He knew she was smart. Had she found anything, she would definitely come back to tell them. She hasn't come back. She may have been captured but that sounded hard to believe. She was smart, more so than himself and Sabo, though he hates to admit it. She should've been able to come up with a strategy or something.
"At this rate, they'll..." His eyes widened as he heard the next few words. He had to do a double-take before his brain could register it. They had to do something. Fast.
Dust kicked up around them as they headed for the abandoned warehouse in the distance, gripping their pipes so tightly their knuckles turned white. They didn't have the time and luxury to care about that.
Like lightning, they reached the abandoned warehouse in a split second, pipes raised, as they smashed the worn wooden wall to smithereens.
They stopped short as soon as they were inside. Polchemy was on the ground, unconscious, maybe even dead. Burns littered his body, clothes burnt and black with soot.
"What happened here?" Sabo asked as he took in the surroundings. The wooden walls just barely managed to hold the warehouse together, charred and black, like someone had nearly burnt the whole place down. With the extra damage they did, the Burundi government wouldn't hold much longer and he knew that. His eyes spotted the straw-hatted boy in an instant.
"Luffy!" Both Ace and Sabo shouted in unison. Upon hearing his name, Luffy looked to them and started bawling his eyes out, "Ace!"
Sabo quickly picked up a dagger from one of the cronies off the ground and used it to cut the ropes binding Luffy. Ace caught him before he smashed his head against the ground, "Oi, Luffy! What happened here?"
"Koko came," Luffy began, catching the attention of both boys, "and she transformed into a demon and all! It was so cool!" His eyes sparkled like there was no tomorrow.
Demon? Similar thoughts ran through both of their heads, Demon?
"Well, whatever," Ace said, "Let's go back to the forest, there isn't anything else here anyway."
Luffy sat on the boulder, bawling his eyes out. Bandages wrapped around him from head to toe like a mummy.
"That's a real bad habit you got there, Ace!" Sabo chided him, though he ignored him as he continued to fix his pipe, "Refusing to run when you're up against an opponent. Why are you so eager to die?"
Ace tested his pipe after wrapping bandages around it, "This doesn't feel quite right... It was better before."
Sabo sighed in defeat once he realized that Ace didn't hear a word he said, "After this, Bluejam's crew will never forgive us. They'll be after us from now on." Still, where in hell could Koko have gone? She didn't at all since she went off to 'check on Luffy'. And turning into a demon? That sounded hard to believe.
"That was so scary! I thought I was gonna die!" Luffy continued to wail.
Ace slammed his pipe into the dirt as he jumped down, clearly annoyed by Luffy's constant whining, "You're so annoying! Shut up! How long're you gonna keep crying?! I really hate weaklings and crybabies!"
Luffy immediately shut up upon hearing that, leaving Ace and Sabo with shocked faces.
"Thank you..." Luffy bowed his head, "For..." He started bawling me, "For saving me!"
"Why, you..." Sabo stopped him before he went all-out, "Come on, now... He's just thanking us."
Irk marks could be seen appearing on Ace's head though he tried not to lose his temper, "Anyways, why didn't you just tell them? Those guys could kill women and children without a second thought."
"Because if I did, I can't be your friend anymore!" Luffy replied, looking down.
"That be better than dying, right?"Ace held his index finger up as if to lecture him, "Why do you want to be my friend so much anyway!"
"Because..."
"After all the things I put you through, why did you still follow me out here?"
Luffy tightened his fist, his lip quivering, "Because... Because there isn't anybody else! I can't return to Windmill Village, and I hate those mountain bandits. If I didn't chase after you, I'll be all alone! Being alone's much worse than getting hurt!"
Ace put his finger down, shocked at what he just said, "What about your parents?"
"Just Gramps, no one else," Luffy replied, bluntly.
"It isn't so bad if I'm here?" "Right."
"And it would be bad if I weren't here?" "Right."
He remembered that one time at the bar. That time he asked for someone else's opinion for once.
"If Roger had a kid?!" The leader of the gang laughed, "It'd be real bad if he had one! He'd be a demon that didn't deserve to be born or to live!"
"You... want me to live?"
"Of course!" Luffy shouted.
"I see... But I hate crybabies and weaklings like you," Ace replied after hearing Luffy's response, ruining the sentimental atmosphere instantly.
"I'm not a weakling! I'm strong!"
"Strong? How are you strong? You're supposed to be a man but you keep crying and whining all the time!"
"Have you ever been punched by a spiked glove before?! I'm still seven! I won't cry when I become a ten-year-old like you! I'll be much stronger!"
"I didn't cry when I was seven either! You idiot! Don't compare yourself to me!"
"I'm gonna be stronger than anyone else! I promised Shanks I'd become a great pirate!"
"A pirate?! You?!"
"That's right!"
"As if!"
"I'm gonna be one!"
Electricity crackled between the two as they proceeded with a stare down. "Alright! That's enough!" Sabo stopped the two. They relented, though unwillingly, seeing as how they were still glaring at each other.
"Oh, by the way," Sabo started, "We still have another problem: What happened to Koko?"
Wings unfurled and free, she cruised the sky. The wind rushed through her hair and dress. She shivered, she panicked, thinking she was going blind. All she could see was white. With a puff, she emerged. The elegant night sky greeted her with the stars that freckled her gentle face. She laughed as she looked below her. She had flown through a cloud! She laughed again as she glanced at her arms. Clear droplets of water sparkled like tiny crystals on her skin.
She was one with her other half. There wasn't a conflict inside. Half her red hair turned brown and her right eye turned green, the color of the seas and forests combined. She wasn't battling for control over her body. They were one.
This liberation. They've never felt anything like it. It was something they longed to share, yet it was indescribable at the same time. She circled the sky, making a small gentle whirlwind in the process.
She laughed. Laughed like she never had before.
She let her wings relax. Falling from the sky. She turned her body to face the sea below.
The wind brushed through her hair. She screamed in delight.
Her wings unfurled at the last moment, breaking her fall.
Her hand ran through the cool water. A smile graced her lips. She bounded off the surface of the water, taking off yet again.
She looked down. Dawn Island. The island she had landed on three months ago. Three faces came to mind, Ace... Sabo... Luffy...
Something in her snapped. She had to get back. The war inside started again.
