Here's the second part of the battle. I don't know when the next chapter will come out, as it will be an original story, by me of course, in which they'll be recruiting a new crew member, again, characrer by me, with a few strong hints at what kind of world they live in.
It was supposed to be a regular raid. Appear out of nowhere, disable the defenses, land, pilage the vilage, get out. Kuro's plans have always gone smoothly, but this time? This time, it seems, our captain didn't account for every variable, like he usually does.
I was on the engineering deck when it happened. Just a few moments after beginning our attack, the ship shook, several tubes in the chamber exploded and equipment went to shit. I looked at my monitor. The thrusters were fried, as well as our graviton manipulator, meaning our stabilisation above the ground was impossible.
Next thing I remember is wild tossing about as our ship went left, right, up, down as what remained of the thrusters pushed it around the sky. I held on tightly to the railing next to me, praying to the Universe not to let me die then and there. After all, I still had to return with 'vast riches' to her.
My prayer was answered. Or not. Anyway, I survived the crash. Next thing I know, Jango's ordering everyone to leave the wounded and get out to attack. And that's what we did. And boy did it turn out swell. We got gased, drugged, beat, cut, shot and stabbed, by a mere handfull. One could say we had our hands full with them. Heh.
Anyway, things really went to hell in a handbasket when that Jango tried to hypnotise us into a savage rage, but instead infuriated our enemy. I tell you, it's not great to feel your arm burning. And I got offeasily.
And now we're all by the ship, hoping that those Nyaban fellas get those bastards, because if they don't, captain will kill us all, or worse. Yeah, not the finest day of my life.
"Fraternelli, for fuck's sake, stop writing in that diary of yours and let me heal ya!"
"Uh?... Mhm."
True to Fraternelli's words, the pirates were in a tight spot. They had huddled to their ship, lying down and letting the crew's medical team tend to the wounded. All the while, they kept their attention on the fight happening before them. The Nyban Bros were fighting Zoro, the Demon Swordsman, and kept him at a great disadvantage. He had to fight both of them with just one sword and the Nyabans used that to keep him in the defensive stance, not leaving him even a moment to deliver an offensive move.
Meanwhile, Nami was sneaking through the bushes, approaching the pirate band lying by their ship. Nedd'rd walked towards them using the road and was preparing to shoot at them, to draw their attention onto himself, so that Nami would be able to get Zoro's swords back.
Usopp was on the job too, changing his position to get a better aim. This had most certainly been the most adrenaline-filled day of his life. More so than the day when he flew to Syrup Alpha to start his first year at Waddsworth Secondary School, or that time when he drew grafitti on the PDF station, or even when he and Kaya snuck out at night, right under Klahadore's nose.
Kuro himself was still standing in the same spot, his expression emotionless and menacing. The given time had run out but he hadn't started his attack yet. He was busy staring down the root of the problem, the enemy leader. He was but a lad in a red frock coat and a straw hat. And yet he had stopped his entire raiding party? 'Just goes to show that one shouldn't trust grunts,' the man of a thousand plans thought.
"Might I learn the name of my adversary?" he said.
The lad grinned. "Captain Monkey D., Luffy! Leader of the Straw Hat Republic and the next Pirate King!"
Kuro couldn't hold a laugh. "You, Pirate King? Be glad Gold Roger isn't alive to hear his title used in vain." He adjusted his glasses. "It doesn't matter anyway. You'll soon be pushing up the dasies."
"Nay, I don't think so!" the youth shot back. "I'm not much of a gardener."
Kuro frowned. "It's an idiom."
"You're the idiom!" Luffy answered , thinking: 'Man, I am so good at comebacks!'
Kuro stared at him blankly. "There's just no reasoning with you, is there?"
"Coming from a guy ready to kill his men simply for failing his plan due to YER failing to make a contingency plan... those words are a compliment."
Kuro scoffed. "Even a genius such as I could never predict that an entire crew could be stopped by a mere handfull of kids."
"Speaking of genius... How did ye get to escape the Government?" Luffy asked. "It was the news of the week for each planet it reached: 'Getting caught was never part of his plan - Kuro captured, sentenced to death'."
"Ah, one of my most brilliant moves, that one," the man of a thousand plans answered smugly. "I had Jango hypnotise this Marine petty officer we'd captured, Morgan or something, into believing that his comrade, another Marine, was myself and that he'd captured him. Then we sent him off, stopped conducting raids and voila - the Government was convinced he was me. He hung and the officer was promoted."
"Huh. I knew there was something off about that captain," the younger captain commented. "But this still leaves me with one question. Why abandon the pirate's life? Why settle down, leave the freedom, the thrill and adventure behind?"
"Why? Look around! We are a dying breed, Straw Hat. Governments all around the Galaxy are cracking down on us. The Four Galactic Superpowers each want to establish their 'New Galactic Order' and pirates just don't fit into anything with the word 'order' in its name. I simply got out while I still had the chance, decided to find a new way to acquire wealth and power. And now, it's all within my grasp. First I get Kaya's wealth, then work my way towards Terran citizenship and then... who knows, I might get into politics."
Luffy gazed at him for a few moments, thinking on what he'd heard. "Ye certainly got ambition, I'll give yeh that. But it seems yer point of view is different from mine. To bad I have to kill yeh, ye could've seen what my programme as Pirate King is gonna be. No hard feelings?"
Kuro smirked and got into his combat pose, grinding the blades on his glove against each other to make intimidating noises. "None at all, for you shall fail, you dog. I'll butcher you like a pig and then continue with my former crew."
And so, the fight commenced. The two captains flung themselves at each other, both going on the offensive. Luffy ducked under Kuro's initial slash and threw a punch at his gut, but found his strike redirected, hitting the air behind Kuro as he twirled around him. With his enemy's back to him, Kuro took the opportunity, striking with his gloved hand again, but Luffy anticipated his attack and, while turning around again, moved out of his reach. And the dance continued, each of them regaining ground right after giving it.
While Luffy was busy with Kuro, Nami was sneaking her way towards the now unmoving crew of wounded and frightened Black Cats. From her cover in the bushes, she observed her target: two men, neither wounded, looking with awe at the two swords that found their way to them, admiring their fine craftsmanship. One of them was holding both and the other didn't seem very pleased about it. He started shoving the other.
"Hay! Giv' me 'un o' dose!"
"Noway! Deese 'r moin!"
They started wrestling for the swords, one trying to pull them away from the other. At this rate, one of them was going to get hurt. A perfect opportunity for Nami to strike. If only the other pirates weren't so close - they could spot her and shoot her on the spot. But that's where Nedd'rd came in.
"ALRIGHT, YOU BUGGERS! COME FORTH SO I CAN DISPATCH YOU SWIFTLY!"
That was the PDF officer, walking down the hill towards the pirates. He was firing his rifles, laser rays hitting the band. The raiders scrambled to their feet in panic, trampling those who couldn't stand, and reached for their weapons. Perhaps if they took down this insolent old man, Kuro might forgive them? Nedd'rd ran into the forest and those of the pirates who could followed him, shouting after him. Only a few remained: the heavily wounded, the severely frightened, the medic and Jango, wo tried and failed to get the mob to stay and not let themselves be harrassed by the officer.
The two pirates wrestling for Zoro's swords noticed this and thus doubled their efforts. They were now rolling on the ground kicking and headbutting. Both wanted those swords and wouldn't let the other have them. Such was the discipline of the Black Cats. Nami used this and ran out of the bushes, staff in hand, and promptly knocked both of them unconscious.
She picked Zoro's lost swords up and observed them for a few moments. They were just regular katanas, nothing special about them. No extra gadgets, just steel. And yet Zoro could do some pretty neat magic with them. She could only imagine what he could do with, say, a vibroblade.
"Zoro!" she shouted.
Zoro had been busy with the Nyabans, fighting with all he had. But with just one sword against two quick moving cheetas with bladed gloves on each hand, he just wasn't able to go offensive if he wanted to stay alive. He waited and waited, hoping that at least one of them would make a mistake. But neither did. So, when he heard Nami, it was more then welcome.
Nami threw the swords towards him. Zoro deflected another strike and hopped backwards, quickly putting his sword between his jaws. Then, he lifted his hands, catching the other two swords gracefully, then quickly blocking his opponents' next attack.
'Hm,' he thought. 'Maybe she's not so bad after all.' He had had his doubts about her ever since he'd met her, and he couldn't shake the feeling. But maybe, just maybe, she was... okay.
"Hey!" he shouted anyway. "Don't thwow my swowds wike that ewer again, pewwa!" He had a bit of trouble speaking with a sword in his mouth.
"You're welcome!" Nami shouted, retreating back into the cover of the bush.
Zoro grinned, throwing a murderous glare at the two pirates whose claws were still pushing down on his swords. "Now... whewe wewe we?"
"Uh, what did he say?" Buchi asked.
Sham didn't have time to answer, for Zoro summoned his strenght and pushed their claws away, making them stagger. But before he could take a swing at them, a cry interrupted them.
"STOP!"
The three wariors stopped in their tracks, lowering their weapons a bit. Luffy, who was being held by the neck, stopped struggling and Kuro siftened his grip and lowered his clawed hand. The pirates that hadn't gone after Nedd'rd looked up.
There, behind Kuro, stood Kaya, wearing her nightgown and slippers - clearly she had come in a hurry. Her hair was messy from having just woken up. In her hand she held a laspistol, aimed at Kuro. She was shaking heavily.
"Stop!" she repeated.
Kuro smiled, though his gaze never left his opponent. "Miss Kaya! Do be careful, these fellows are pirates. They've come to kill you."
Kaya shook her head frantically. "No, Klahadore. You're the pirate. Merry told me so."
"So he was still alive," Kuro deduced. "I knew I should have made sure he was dead. But that constable was about to try something."
Kaya tried and failed to keep the gun steady. "Why would you do this?! Father saved you from the streets, gave you work!"
"Isn't it obvious?" was Kuro's answer. "I need your family wealth to fulfil my own ambitions. Ever since that shuttle... tragically crashed in suspicious circumstances, I've been making sure you don't go anywhere. You're the only thing that stands between me and that money. And I will kill all who would try to stop me."
"NO!" Kaya cried. "No more killing..." she said quietly. "I'm here, I'm giving myself up. So please... Spare the others."
"Do ye seriously think this guy'll let us live with what we know?" Luffy asked calmly. Noticing that all attention was on now him, he continued: "Let's think about this for a moment. He wants to kill his crew for failing to kill us, which, now that I say it, sounds even stupider, so your surrendering is of no importance on that matter. However, if he wins, then he need not kill us, so he might abstain from that. I rather doubt it. Because he's an ass. But now, you've handed him his victory condition, on a silver platter one might say. Congratulations, you stupid woman."
Kaya started to lower her gun. "W-... w-..."
"Oh, do I have to spell it out? Take a one-eighty degree turn and run for the hills. Preferably the ones where you'll be safe."
Kaya's entire body shook at his words. Realisation washed over her as she realised she had been thinking with her heart instead of her head. In a swift move she dropped the gun, turned and ran as fast as her feeble legs could carry her.
"Jango!" Kuro yelled. "What are you waiting for, get after her!"
Jango, caught off guard, scrambled to his feet and sprinted uphill and past his captain. Just after he disappeared in the forest, a rustling was heard and Usopp appeared from the bushes, attracting some attention. He looked left and right and then ran after Jango.
Luffy used this to his advantage. Kuro's attention was dropped, so he grabbed the arms that were holding him with his left hand, while using his right to push his head back twenty centimetres, stretching his neck unnaturally. He then released, hitting Kuro with a heavy headbutt, making him stumble backwards. Luffy, with his head still bobbling, used his left hand to pull off Kuro the right sleeve of his black shirt. He then kicked him forward, causing the left sleeve to come off as well. Kuro turned to face his foe, who now held his shirt in both hands as a weapon. The youth tilted his head mockingly. And the fight continued.
As did Zoro's. He had had the Nyaban Bros open before Kaya came and could have won. But now, he had to start over! He was going to give that girl a peice of his mind later. Anyway, the fight continued, with the tables turned now. The Nyabans were now successfully held in the defensive, with Zoro not giving them any ground. He was pushing them back, all the while not giving them a chanc to encircle him. Their backs eventually hit a rather thick tree. They had nowhere to go now. Zoro blocked their final attack, pushing both hands of both pirates high above their heads. He leaned his head forward, so that the third sword was in reach of them.
"Any last words?" he asked.
"Mrow! Have mercy!"
"Purrease don't kill us! We'll be good kittys!"
Zoro held off his attack for a few moments. Were they really surrendering? But then he remembered what had happened at the beginning of the battle. They had charged at him with fear in their eyes. Now, Zoro may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but even a fool wouldn't fall for the same ruse twice.
"Sorry," he simply said, turning his head right... then slashing rightwards quickly, cutting off their heads in one swipe. It was a quick and painless death. "Que Dios se apyadeh de vustres almas," he said in Escarchlunic.
Luffy, meanwhile, was engaged in combat with Kuro, dodging his slashes and kicks as best as he could, using the black shirt in his hand to his advantage. But the man of a thousand plans, though a bit rusty, was quite the martial artist. It was too late when Luffy noticed he had given him too much ground and was backed up to a giant rock by the road. He hand nowhere to move.
"Say goodnight, you dog!" Kuro cried, preparing to deliver the final blow. However, it never came as a flash of white fur flew through the air and hit the captain's arm. Chouchou, who had stood throughout the fight at the sidelines, had come to his master's aid and embedded his teeth into Kuro's right arm.
As the captain roared in pain and started to try and shake the dog off, Luffy leapt into action. He held the shirt by its sleeves and ran past Kuro, covering his face with it, then tying it tightly behind him. He then proceeded to punch him in the face repeatedly. Once. Twice. Three times. Four. Five. He continued until the man was on his back.
Then, he called Chouchou off, giving his chin a rub and promising him a nice, fat, juicy sausage. He unwrapped Kuro's head, revealing a battered, bloody face of a half-conscious man. His glasses were broken, and so was his nose, he had a black eye and a few of his teeth were knocked out.
"Do you know why I won?" Luffy asked. His accent was gone.
Kuro grunted, a sound very unlike him. "Because you have the power of friendship on your side?"
"What? No!" Luffy exclaimed incredulously. "This is real world, not some kids' show. Or is it? Anyway, there's one simple reason. 'Water shapes its course in accordance to the ground over which it flows'. You don't. In other words, you suck at commanding. You should have become an accountant."
Kuro coughed up some blood. "You think this changes anything? The Brethren of the Stars will still fall! Our time is over!"
Luffy pulled a laspistol from undr his coat. "Well, it does change one thing. I'll have one less Terran polititian to worry about." He aimed the pistol at the Black Cat's head.
"Are you going to kill me, kid?" Kuro asked mockingly. "You don't have the guts, you-..."
"I've killed before," Luffy stated matter-of-factly, cutting him off. "I'm fucking nuts."
WZHOOM!
Luffy took off his hat and put it to his chest in mock respect. "And thus ends the sordid career of captain Kuro of a Thousand Plans. He couldn't come up with a thousand-and-first one."
"Damnit, Luffy, that was a terrible joke!" he heard a voice behind him. Nami approached him, having returned from the bushes. Zoro, too was walking over.
"Oh, I wasn't joking. What kind of a person do you think I am, that I would joke about someone's-... I can't say that with a straight face, sorry."
Zoro sheathed his swords. "Now that that's done... Where are the others?"
"Well, I'm here," said officer Aedk'ns as he appeared from the bushes. He was a bit dirty, with a few insect stings on his arms, but otherwise okay.
"Wow. I'm actually afraid to ask what has become of the other raiders," Luffy stated.
"Oh, they're fine," Nedd'rd answered anyway. "Though they'll probably need a day or two to fin their way back to civilisation. I lost them, you see, by getting them lost."
Luffy stsred at him in awe. "You, sir, are a man of courage, honour and, most importantly, humour, and I'd salute you, but you used to be a Marine, so..."
"Yeah, I hate to break up this banter, but..." Nami said, "Isn't there still Jango we need to worry about?"
"Huh?" Luffy wondered. "Oh yes. Funny, even though the enemy commander is dead, we can still lose the battle."
While Zoro and Luffy were fighting their opponents, Kaya was running through the woods. She could hear Jango hot on her tail, as he yelled promises of not hurting her after her.
'Klahadore, you bastard, I trusted you,' she though as she ran. 'How could I not have seen it?' thinking back, she knew she should have seen the signs: the sheltering, the disdain for the villagers... the illness too. She had been studying for the entry exam into the Syrup Medical School and it was apparent she was being poisoned, possibly through her food.
'Were it not for these... well, thee pirates, I would have been dead by now,' she thought as she ran forth. 'Complete strangers came to my aid. Why? Do they stand to gain something?'
She was getting tired. Her lungs, weakened by the illness, felt like they were on fire, her legs felt like they would fall off. She couldn't run any longer, so she gave up and stopped.
"I- *wheeze* got- *pant* you now, bitch!" Jango said as he approached her, tired as well. "Now, observe the pendulum and focus on my voice."
Kaya couldn't fight any more. She had no strength left in her. So she gave in.
"Now, breathe in deeply... breathe out... And again. When I say- YOW!"
Jango recieved a painful strike into his back. And another. And another. And another. He would have received a fifth one, had he not swiped around with pistol drawn, aiming at his attackers. Three little boys, Carrot, Onion and Pepper. "Git from lady Kaya, you bastard!"
Jango laughed. "You're not the ones with the gun! All you have is those wooden swords. I'll kill you first and then hypnotise Kaya!"
While this was transpiring, Usopp got into position, some four hundred metres away from the group. With his rail gun's butt resting on his shoulder, he took aim, looking through his scope. He could see Jango, threatening his three friends with a gun. He had to shoot. But when he aimed for his head, his arm began to shake. 'if you really want to be a pirate, sometimes you'll need to take your enemies' lives,' Luffy's words resonated in his head. But he couldn't. He couldn't kill him. 'I'm not saying you should be ashamed of that,' Luffy's voice then said in his head. And Usopp knew what to do. Having taken aim, he pulled the trigger.
First, there was a loud bang as the bullet, accelerated by magnets, broke the sound barrier. Then, there was a scream. "AAAH! MY FUCKIN' ARM!"
Jango dropped the gun, for his upper right arm was broken and bleeding as the bullet, travelling at a supersonic speed, shot through it with a loud bang, the bang of the gun firing it sounding a second later. "AAH! THAT'S... THAt's... my blood..." And he promptly fainted.
"Usopp..." Kaya muttered.
"Kaya!" Usopp exvlaimed as he ran to her and envelopped her in a hug. Adrenaline stoll coursed through both their veins, so they shook in each other's arms as they slowly calmed down. "Are you alright?" Usopp finally asked.
Kaya nodded. "Yes, thanks to you. All of you," she said, nodding to the three children in gratitude.
"Twuz nuth'n."
Later that very same day, the crew of the Straw Hat gathered at the Fith place to celebrate their victory. Many of the Syrupish were there as well, thanking them and buying them rounds of drinks, which would be rude to refuse, as Luffy pointed out.
"Here's to our saviors! Luffy Monkey D. and the Straw Hat Pirates!"
"CHEERS!"
Luffy cleared his throat to get some attention. "That's 'captain' Luffy Monkey D., and at that, Monkey D. Luffy rolls off the tongue better."
"Yes, whatever," Usopp said. "Now, as I was saying, then I shot through ten raiders with one shot, injuring Kuro as well, so the captain wouldn't have a hard time beating him."
"We are in need of financers, if you're interested," Nami said, talking to another group.
"Just get me more beer," was Zoro's simple request.
"More beer for everyone!" Elis'bith yelled. "This one is on me!"
"Gee, than you, Lis!" Usopp thanked her.
"Just don't think you're off the hook. You still owe me 250 coins."
And another toast was said, and another beer drunk, when the door of the inn opened and Kaya walked in.
"Hah-har, miss Kaya!" Luffy greeted cheerfully. "I see you're getting better. So, to what do we owe this pleasure?"
Kaya, smiling happily, said: "I've found a way to repay you. And before you refuse it, know that it's something you desperately need."
"Ah, I'm sorry my lady, but I don't sleep with just anyone," Luffy answered, his face getting serious. "Besides, you're Usopp's lady, aren't you? No, no, it wouldn't have worked out between us."
Kaya's face reddened. "W-... what?! No, Usopp and I are friends! Pals! Chums! ... Besides, why would you think it was something like that?!"
"I guess it's because he desperately needs it," Nami offered, smiling teasingly at the captain.
"Oh, hush, you Burglar," Luffy shot back calmly. "Anyway, where's this reward you so wrongly thought I'd refuse then?"
.
"Here it is," Kaya presented the present.
The four gathered pirates - that is Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Chouchou, as Usopp had walked off towards his house after they had left the inn - stood in awe. There, in the hangar underneath the mansion, a starship was docked.
It was a caravel-class, an older model used mostly for exploration some two centuries ago. They went out of production in the year 512 of the Terran Calendar, but remained in use even throughout the 6th century, due to their versatility and robustness. They were fairly quick, with good maneuverability, with a reasonable hull and enough space for a good line of both broadside and frontal cannons. About the size of a modern brigantine, they were 110 metres in length and 20 in height and width, with four decks - the living quarters in the heavens-most deck the bridge, gunnery control room and armour one deck lower, with the depths-most two decks reserved for the cargo and the engine room.
"It's a caravel," Kaya explained. "Merry has been working on it for the last twenty-five years. He would have presented it to you himself, but with his injuries, I wouldn't let him out of bed."
She looked at Luffy when she didn't get an answer, noticing a single tear escape his eye. "She's beautiful," he said quietly. "What's her name?"
"The Going Merry," she answered.
Luffy broke out of the sentimentality in a blink. "Nami, Zoro! We're hauling the cargo from the Little Bottom and then leaving."
"Aye aye, captain!"
It took them about an hour but they were now ready to go. The booty raided from Buggy was loaded, as were provisions - curtesy of Kaya. But somethig was still missinh. Or rather, someone.
"Say, where is Usopp?" Luffy asked, taking a sip from his flask.
"Probably chickened out," Zoro offered.
"Or lied about joining up," was Nami's suggestion.
Kaya, who was standing by them, waiting in the hangar, had a different opinion. "He's leaving his home, likely for good. He wynts to say godbye properly."
"And what would that include?" Nami asked.
"Well..." Kaya thought for a moment. "A last lie to everyone... Telling Carrot, Onion and Pepper to bee 'good'... But mostly, I think he's saying goodbye to his mother."
"His mom?" Nami asked. "The bastard didn't even introduce us!"
"At the cemetery," Kaya explained.
All were silent for a few moments. "Oh."
"Don't worry, it's been a while," the lady assured. "He's come to terms with it long ago."
"What was she like?" Luffy asked.
"She was an angel. Everybody loved her. Well, especially that pirate, Yasopp 'Quickscope' Kirk, obviously. Even to her death, she never resented him for leaving, stating that he'd come back once he'd fulfilled his goal."
"Wait, his last name's Kirk?" Zoro asked. "He didn't even tell us his last name, the rabbit!"
"Well, we never asked," Luffy answered. "And, speak of the devil..."
Usopp had come... packing a giant rucksack that looked heavier than he was. "'Ello there!" He greeted. "I guess... this is... goodbye then," he said to the leaving pirates. "I... hope to... see you again someday."
"Oh, quit trying to weasel out and sign this!" Luffy said, pushing the Straw Hat Republic charter into his face. "And then get onboard, or we'll actually leave you behind!"
"Ooh! Do I get to be the captain?" the Syrupishman asked while signing the paper.
"NO!" his now crewmates answered in unison. Even Chouchou barked something that sounded something like it.
"Worth a try..."
Usopp then turned towards Kaya. "Kaya... m'lady... I..."
"Yes?"
Usopp scratched the back of his head. "What I want to say is... well... I..."
"Oh for the love of-... Just kiss her already and let's go!" Luffy yelled. He received a hit on the back of the head for that, curtesy of Nami.
Usopp blushed heavily, as did Kaya. "What?! I'm not gonna-..." he tried to say, but Kaya saved him from the awkwardness and kissed him on the cheek.
"Do come back!" she ordered "Preferably before we're shriveled old coots."
Usopp nodded. And he was being the most honest he'd ever been in hes life.
"Very good!" Luffy exclaimed. "Let's go!" And then he started to sing as they boarded the ship. While he didn't have a singing voice, he wasn't too out of tune either.
"We sail the endless space lanes!
We sail the Galaxy!
The quest is never ending!
It leads us to destiny!"
Kaya exited the hangar and opened the main door. And soon, there was an old ship flying out of the hill and into the sky.
That song, by the way, was Alestorm's 'The Quest'.