One Piece
The Demon of Carmallo Island
Chapter 7: Swordfight At Castle Koma! Zoro VS Amarië!
Just in case I forgot to do it, I'll do it again: I would like to thank Thomas Drovin & Kiyamasho for supplying me with some much needed character ideas. Thanks.
When Luffy finally woke up, he felt like he had been hit by a train. He was completely exhausted and for some weird reason, his tongue felt like it was on fire.
"Oh man, Sanji did we have spicy curry for dinner again?"
Suddenly, all the events of the previous fight returned to Luffy's memory. The invitation to the party, the battle with Count Koma, watching his crew fall one by one as Koma stabbed them with his tail, everything.
"Oh man, the guys! Zoro!"
Luffy ran to over to his first mate to see if he was okay. Unfortunately, his method of checking up on him was shaking him violently back and forth.
"Zoro wake up! Are you okay, are you dead!?"
"I'm fine you idiot now quit shaking me!" Zoro screamed.
"Zorooooo!" Luffy said as he gave the swordsman a hug.
"Luffy, let go of me."
"Oh, sorry." Luffy said.
"So how are the others?"
"Ugh…"
"Nami you're okay!" Luffy said as he ran to hug her.
"Of course I'm okay," Nami said, "Koma did say he was gonna let us live."
But Luffy & Zoro just stood there, staring at the navigator.
"What?"
"There's something on your neck." Luffy pointed out. Looking down, Nami expected to see some kind of wound. But instead, she found a yellow, star-shaped mark where Aster stabbed her.
"Okay, that's weird."
"Cool though." Luffy complimented.
"What's cool?" Usopp said as he got up.
"Nami's new tattoo." Luffy replied.
"Nami got a tattoo!?" Usopp angrily yelled, "So that's what happened to all out money!"
"Oh quit your whining Usopp you got one too!" Luffy pointed out.
"I did?"
"The teardrop beneath your eye."
"Teardrop?" Usopp looked at his reflection in the gold floor and saw an indigo, tear-drop mark below his eye.
"What the heck?"
"Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp!" Chopper called the others.
"What is it Chopper?" Nami asked.
"It's Robin!"
"Settle down Chopper, what about Robin?"
"She's trying to kill Sanji!"
"Get back here!"
The Straw Hats turned to where the noise was coming from and saw Robin chasing Sanji.
"Robin-chan why are you so angry!?"
"Don't you Robin-chan me ya' curly-browed freak!"
"Hahahahahaaaaaaa," Zoro laughed, "finally someone's giving Target-brow what he deserves!"
But suddenly, Zoro stopped laughing and realized what was going on. Robin was chasing Sanji; not only that, she was angry. Normally, whenever Sanji tried to flirt with Robin, she just humored him and maintained a cool, collected exterior. And even if Sanji wasn't flirting with her, she'd never raise her voice or go into a frenzy. But now she was yelling and doing the "sharp-teeth, big mouth, whited-out eyes" face of rage everyone else did when they were mad, Robin never did that!
"Wait a minute, Robin's mad!?"
"That's creepy." Nami said.
"Count Koma did say she had a lot of pent-up anger." Luffy added.
"Luffy, look her hand." Usopp said. Turning his attention to Robin's hand, Luffy saw that she too had a mark, but her's was a red diamond.
"A mark!"
"Robin-chan I'm sorry, but I needed to wake you up somehow!" Sanji begged for mercy as Robin put him in a headlock.
"So you kissed me on the lips!?"
"Why not!? It works in the fairy tales!"
"I'm gonna kill…Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Suddenly, Robin's mark began glowing and a ghastly, red aura appeared around her as she grasped the mark in pain.
"Robin-chan!"
"It burns!" Robin yelled.
"Look, her aura!" Chopper said. The others watched as Robin's aura slowly left her body and drifted upward, phasing through the ceiling.
"What the hell is that stuff!?" Luffy asked.
"I don't know!" Nami answered.
Soon, the aura vanished completely and Robin fell over.
"Robin!"
Immediately, everyone rushed to her aid.
"Robin wake up, please!" Chopper said, "Don't die Robin, please don't die!"
"Mr. Doctor." Robin said weakly.
"Robin!"
"Robin-chan you're okay!" Sanji said as he danced with glee.
"Thanks for worrying about me Mr. Cook, but it wasn't necessary."
"Of course it was necessary, I…"
But before Sanji could continue letting Robin how happy he was, he realized that something was very wrong and stopped dancing.
"Hold on," the cook said, confused, "a few minutes ago you were trying to kill me."
"Now why would I do that?"
"Because he kissed you on the lips while you were unconscious." Luffy said as Sanji motioned for him to shut up.
"You what!?" Robin said, her face contorting with rage, "You disgusting, little pervert!"
But just as quickly as she blew a gasket, Robin reverted back to her old self.
"Oh my, that wasn't nice." she said, horrified at herself.
"What is wrong with you!?" Nami asked.
"I don't know, the last thing I remember before passing out was our battle with Count Koma."
"Wait a minute, Count Koma stabbed each of us with his tail!" Nami remembered, "I was stabbed in the neck…"
"Robin got stabbed in the hand and he got me in the chest…" Zoro said.
"He jabbed Usopp in the face, I got jabbed in the tongue, he got Chopper on the forehead, and Sanji in the back." Luffy finished.
"You don't think…?" Usopp said. The remaining pirates checked where they had been stabbed, and they all had been marked. Zoro's mark was a purple, upside-down triangle, Luffy's was an orange circle, Sanji's was a blue heart, and Chopper's was a green, four-pointed star tilted to look like an X.
"We all have marks!" Sanji said.
"But what does he hope to gain from this?" Robin asked.
"I don't know," Nami said, Berrie signs in her eyes, "but when all this is over, we need to melt down this room and sell it the highest bidder!"
Suddenly, Nami's mark began to glow and she started going through the same thing that happened to Robin.
"Nami-san!"
"I can't breathe!" Nami cried as she gasped for breath.
"Wait, Count Koma said that we were the most sinful pirates he ever saw right?" Robin said.
"Yeah why?" asked Luffy.
"Let's see, he mentioned the Seven Deadly Sins…there's seven of us so…"
"What?"
"These marks must correspond to one of the Seven Deadly Sins!"
"Of course," Nami said, "it all makes sense! The only reason he invited us to his castle was to peg us with marks that match our worst qualities."
"Let's see," Zoro said, "there's Luffy's insatiable appetite, Sanji's perverted behavior, Usopp's cowardice, Robin's bottled up rage…"
"Your arrogance and Miss Navigator's obsession with money." Robin interrupted.
"Hey!" Zoro, Nami, and Sanji barked.
"I guess I always have been kinda jealous of you guys," Chopper added, "it's only natural I get the envy mark."
"Seven sins, seven pirates." Robin said, "But there's just one thing I don't understand."
"What's that?" Luffy asked.
"He said he was going to take over the world, how does cursing us help him?"
"So he can draw on the darkness in your hearts."
The Straw Hats turned toward the door and were greeted by the sight of a young girl. She was about eighteen years old and stood 5'7''. She had beautiful indigo eyes and short, black hair and wore boots, shorts, and a sleeveless shirt with a white, skull-and-crossbones button that exposed her stomach, all completely black, a bracelet and knee sock with a black and white barber poll design on her right arm and leg respectively, and a rope belt with a Jolly Roger around her waist.
"Who the hell are you?" Zoro asked.
"More importantly, will you marry me!?" Sanji asked all heart-eyed, only to suffer the same fate as Robin & Nami.
"Don't do that!" the girl said, "If you keep doing stupid things like that, you'll only make Count Koma more powerful!"
"More powerful?" Luffy asked.
"What do you mean "more" powerful?" Nami asked.
"Forget it, there's no time!" the girl said as she reached into one of her shirt pockets.
"What's she pulling out?" Chopper asked. The girl finished digging through her pocket and pulled out a small stick, then she pulled it out a bit until it was a foot and half long.
"Grant my wish, Houkiboshi!"
Suddenly, the stick turned into a katana with a black blade and red hilt and guard.
"Cooooooool!" Luffy said.
"What the hell!?" Zoro said in disbelief.
"I know you!" Sanji said.
"You do Sanji!?" Chopper asked.
"Hell yeah, she's Amarië Ancalímon, the captain of the Shinigami Pirates!"
"She's a pirate!?" Nami said.
"Is she your ex-girlfriend Curly-brow?" Zoro asked.
"I wish," Sanji said, "I saw her on the cover of last year's De Venus Magazine!"
Everyone gave Sanji an "I can't believe you read that trash look".
"That…I saw that Crap-geezer Zeff reading!" Sanji quickly lied.
Meanwhile, back at Baratie. A certain one, legged cook suddenly felt rather uneasy.
"Is something wrong boss?" Patty, one of the cooks asked.
"I don't know why," Zeff said, "but I keep thinking Sanji's talking about me somewhere."
"Well regardless of how you know me," Amarië said, "I'm afraid your journey ends here."
"Huh?" Luffy said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want it to come to this, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you."
"Kill us!?" the crew screamed.
"But why!?" Sanji asked.
"It's the only way to stop Count Koma from gaining ultimate power."
"How does killing us defeat Koma!?" Luffy demanded.
"Enough talk," Amarië said, "prepare to die!"
Amarië ran toward the crew so she could cut them ribbons, but suddenly, Zoro drew his own swords and caught her in a grapple.
"Everyone run!" Zoro said.
"What about you!?" Luffy said.
"Just do it!"
Unwilling to leave their friend, Luffy and the others raced on the door.
"Well?" Zoro asked.
"What?"
"Aren't you gonna chase after them?"
"Nah."
"But aren't you here to kill us?"
"Yes, but you're sacrificing your life to save your friends." Amarië replied, "I think that's very noble of you. Futile, but noble all the same. So I'll tell you what, I'm going to fight you right now so your friends can have their head start, then the seven of us can enjoy a nice, little game of hide-and-go die."
"That's fine by me," Zoro said, "'cept you forgot one part!"
"What's that?"
"I'm not gonna lose!" Zoro said, only to have his mark glow.
"You idiot, you're only making yourself weak…What the!?"
Amarië couldn't believe it. Zoro was still standing, his mark was glowing and he was still standing! When the other's marks activated, they were left in so much pain they could barely stand. But he was just standing there like it was just a minor cramp.
"No way!"
"Way." Zoro said, then he spun with his swords, creating a cyclone.
"Tatsumaki!"
The cyclone launched Amarië into the air.
"I can't believe this," Amarië thought, "he can endure an active Sin Crest and still have enough strength to attack!? Is he using some kind of strength enhancing Devil Fruit?"
"It's over." Zoro said as Amarië hit the ground.
"Wrong Roronoa Zoro."
"Hmmmm?"
"You were a bounty hunter right?"
"Yeah so?"
"Tell me, did you see my poster?"
"Now that I think about it, yeah. Why?"
"Do you remember my nickname?"
"Hmmmmmm?" Zoro pondered for a brief moment, then he remembered, "The Beautiful Reaper."
"That's right!"
"Oh crap!" Zoro thought.
"That's riiiight!" Amarië said as she changed her sword back into a stick, then she extended it until it was as tall as her.
"Decapitate, Yamigama!"
The stick then transformed into a large, black scythe with the kanji for darkness written in red on the blade.
"Of course, she's a master of the scythe!" Zoro thought.
"Sorry Zoro, I know this is supposed to be a swordfight, but if you're going to bring out you're A game, then I am too!"
"Fine by me!" Zoro said as he readied his swords again.
"Then let's dance!" Amarië said.
Then the two warriors sprinted toward each other, weapons drawn, ready to fight to the death.
Meanwhile in another part of the castle, Nami and the others were running for their lives down the dimly lit, red-carpeted hallway. All the while praying that Zoro would make it out okay.
"Do you think Zoro will be okay Nami?" Chopper asked.
"Relax Chopper, this is Zoro we're talking about. That idiot doesn't know the meaning of the word lose!" Nami reassured the reindeer, "Yeah right wishful thinking, knowing Zoro he'll start to get all high and mighty, trigger that mark on his chest and give that Amarië chick a free hit!"
"So where do you think Count Koma is?" Sanji asked.
"He's in his room on the top floor," Usopp said, "the bad guy always holes up in the top floor and has his servants do all the work!"
"Figures, he's such a wimp." Nami said, "Right Luffy?"
But no one answered.
"Luffy?"
The group stopped to look for their rubber captain, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Ugh, now where'd that moron go!?" Nami screamed.
"Here I come Zoro!" Amarië said as she prepared to swing her scythe, just as she was getting ready to slash, Zoro jumped toward her.
"Huh? What's he doing?"
"Hyou Kin Dama!"
Zoro entered a spin slash, blocking Amarië's scythe and knocking her backward.
"Whoa!"
"108 Pound Cannon!"
Zoro slashed all three of his swords and launched an even bigger spiral of air at Amarië, sending her into the wall.
"Ouch."
"Look Amarië, we can call this off right now if you want!"
"No, I have to kill you and the others! If I don't the world will be ruined!"
"Tell me why!" Zoro demanded.
"What?"
"Tell me why killing us is the only way to save the world Amarië!"
Amarië didn't know what to do. While this battle raged on, Count Koma was growing in power. On the other hand, if she told him everything, he may be willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good.
"Those marks on you and your friends," Amarië explained, "they're called Sin Crests, and they allow Count Koma access to the darkness in your hearts. Once he harvests enough of it, he'll have enough power to take over the world and enslave all of humanity. But if I kill you before he finishes the job, his plans will come to a halt. Killing you will save countless lives Roronoa Zoro, so please give yourself up."
"Forget it." Zoro said.
"Bastard!" Amarië yelled as she prepared to slice Zoro in two, "Every second you draw breath, Count Koma is slowly getting more powerful. If you don't die, the entire world will end up like this island! Is that you want!?"
Amarië's rage left her wide open to attack, an opening Zoro seized to give her a swift punch to the face, knocking her flat on her back.
"Just how stupid are you!?" Zoro yelled.
"What…!?"
"If what you're saying is true, then killing me and my friends isn't going to solve anything!" Zoro reprimanded, "Koma will just find seven more guys and brand them! It'll never end!"
"That may be true," Amarië said as she got up, "but it's not like I stand a chance at killing him! You've seen what he's capable of Zoro, he easily took you down and he'll do it again!"
"Then I'll just keep getting up until I finally kick his ass!" Zoro said.
"And just how do you plan on beating him!?"
"I don't know, and I don't care. But I will, I'm not some coward like you Ancalimon!"
Zoro's words echoed through Amarië's mind like bat sonar in a cave; and as they did, something inside her just snapped.
"Don't you dare call me that!" she said, fire in her eyes, "What do you know about me!? Nothing that's what! I've seen horrors far worse than you! I've seen the face of the devil himself, and watched as he destroyed everything I cared about! How about I give you a taste!?"
Zoro expected her to pick up her scythe and charge at him again, but instead she dived into him and literally merged with him!
"What the hell!?"
"Surprised?" Amarië said, "Then again, I never did tell you about my Matter Matter Fruit powers."
"Matter Matter Fruit?"
"That's right, I can alter the atomic structure of anything I touch and fuse my own atoms with something else and control it."
"Well you have ten seconds to get out of my body or I'll…Hey!"
Zoro looked at his hands, they were moving against his will! Slowly, they reached for his Wado Ichimonji.
"Don't worry Zoro," Amarië said, "I'll let you die the death of a swordsman. I believe you're familiar with hara-kiri?"
"So you're gonna have me kill myself huh?"
"No, I'm going to kick you in the crotch from the inside out." Amarië sarcastically replied, "Of course I'm gonna have you kill yourself!"
"Damn!"
"Oh get used to it Zoro, I'm trying to let you die an honorable death! So why don't you just kick back, relax, and let the cold steel slice your stomach like but…Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Huh?"
"Who are you, what are you!?"
"What's going in there Amarië, who are you talking to!?"
"Get away from me!"
Zoro was confused. Who was Amarië yelling at? Was there some kind of parasite living inside him? No, Chopper would've told him during their last check-up. Well whatever it was, it was trying to hurt Amarië. So without even thinking, Zoro pushed out his chest with all his might and shot the girl out like a cannonball.
"You okay?"
"What was that thing!?"
"Calm down, what thing are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb, that monster in your mind!"
"Monster in my mind?" Zoro asked.
"It's a long story. Anyway, I saw this big, six armed, three-headed thing in your psyche!"
"Well that what happens when you try to talk after taking a Tatsumaki, you start to lose blood like crazy and start hallucinating."
"I wasn't hallucinating!"
"Whatever, I'm glad you're okay."
"I…What did you say?"
"I'm glad you're okay."
"That's right, you saved me!" Amarië said, "Wait a minute, why would you do that? I tried to kill you and your friends!"
"Don't confuse me for the Marines, I'm not the kind of person who kills someone just because they did something." Zoro explained as he extended a hand, "You said that Koma destroyed everything you cared about. Could you fill me in?"
Fan SBS
*1.Imaginary Fan:"Would you please pass the soy sauce?"
*Reku:"Get your own soy sauce, and stop wasting question space!"
*2. dandy wonderous: "Do Koma's attack names mean something? And thanks for the hug, Kommy-kins!"
*Koma:"You're not welcome! And like hell I'm revealing my attacks to dreck like you!"
SPOLIER ALERT!
*3. Imaginary Fan 2:"Which is scarier, Carmallo Island or Thriller Bark?"
*Reku:"That's a good question. Thriller Bark has zombies and a psycho ex-pirate that can steal people's shadows. Koma-sama, what does your island have that makes it so scary?"
*Koma:"Let's see, we force everyone to watch the old One Piece dub and…!"
*Reku:"CARMALLO ISLAND WINS!"
Chopper:"I hope Zoro's okay."
Sanji:"Relax Chopper, Marimo's tough as nails, he can handle Amarië-san easy!"
Nami:"Forget Zoro, we need to find that Koma kid and kick his ass!"
Usopp:"And knowing him he probably has his servants all over the place."
Robin:"Scared Long-Nose?"
Usopp:"Of course not!"
Luffy:"On the next One Piece! "The Terrorlords Meet! The Power of Sinergy!" I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
We finally learn who the mystery girl is! And we learned that Sanji reads magazines (We're doomed.)! Anyway, please R&R, no flames.
