Nest of Salamanders
So Far:
The SH crew picks up a blue-monkey humanoid who tells them of the monster salamanders terrorizing his people at the bottom level of a giant tree-island that just so happens to be upside down.
The salamanders have a poison coating so they needed to go the Golden City (a place protected from the salamanders) to get a means to protect themselves from it.
They split up, Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper go to the top of the tree to find the Pale monkeys who can help them, Robin is checking out the library to quench her curiosity, Sanji, Nami and Luffy went to get a quick look at the lower level of the tree but Luffy, upon seeing a child being attacked by a salamander breaks out in an attempt to save her. Sanji is injured but he and Nami escaped from the difficult guards only to, later that night, be attacked by salamander riders and were captured.
Luffy saves the child (Pan) but is poisoned and after breaking through the fence dividing the two nations, he is arrested and Pan is tossed to the waiting salamanders below.
He is cured by Simeon (an old golden monkey) and soon taken to a trial in the middle of the night and sentenced to death. He tells Simeon to tell his crewmates what happened.
Chex, the corrupt judge injects Luffy with poison and tosses him into the heart of the salamander den below.
This is where we left off.
-Luffy-
There was a brief moment of tension where neither the predator nor the prey moved, simply assessing their opponent before taking action. Luffy's eyes danced from the shaded leaves around him to the twisted branches submerged in the seawater below, noting each shadow that shifted or had a lizard-like form. He was grateful to discover that, despite being injected in the spine with the salamander's poison, the toxin was spreading no faster than it had before, and better yet, he still had control over his arms and legs.
Not willing to let the giant lizards have the element of surprise, the pirate suddenly burst into action, propelling himself to the highest branch he could reach. He hadn't managed to remove the ropes binding his wrist but complaining wouldn't do any good so he improvised, letting his two hands latch onto a narrow batch of ivy.
The instant the boy took action the monsters exploded into a feeding frenzy comparable to crazed piranhas, the water becoming foam as the beasts underwater leapt from the depths and a flurry of leaves were sent in all directions as massive bodies tore them from the insignificant twigs holding them to the tree. Luffy's expression became one of desperation and anger at their enthusiasm. He had to fight smart if he wanted to get out of this alive. Again he let his eyes dance as he ascertained his attackers.
The first beast to reach him was long and slim, launching from a coiled poise from the closest branch. Luffy spun in the air, avoiding the sharp fangs by a hair but in the process bringing his bound hands up into the striking zone. It was a risky move but he couldn't afford to fight without his hands free.
The salamander snapped its jaws shut, the bladed teeth rimming his mouth closing down on the pirate's wrists and forearms with a snap. The rubber gave to the pressure (had his arms been average they would have both been broken instantly), and the rope to the sharpness of the fangs. Luffy winced as a few additional teeth lodged themselves into his flesh but acted quickly, swinging the surprised salamander around as a weapon before it realized it had failed to devour its victim. The long bodied creature went flying into the next batch of oncoming monsters below.
Luffy ripped the remains of the bloodied rope from his arms and jumped again, continuing his strategy of getting the crap out of there.
Undeterred by the failure of their comrades, the next twenty amphibians charged forward. Luffy growled as another ten came from above. He had been fortunate enough to not have made additional contact with their skin yet, but wondered how long he could manage without doing so.
In any other circumstance he would easily have just blasted them away with his Gatling Gun attack, but that would only hasten his demise. Nope, this was just a sucky situation all-around.
Ripping off what was left of his shirt, he wrapped it around his left hand as he flew through the air, flipping out of the way of another pouncing lizard. With his right hand he yanked himself to a large branch, out from which there were growing several smaller branches. Praying they were brittle enough to break, he grabbed one with both hands and twisted it from where it was growing, immediately creating a makeshift spear. Holding this in his right hand he jumped again, this time dodging a stockier salamander that had slipped out from the underbelly of the large branch.
As the boy hovered, he thrust the spear into the top of the beast's skull, killing it instantly. There was no reward of a breather for his victory as the next four shot forward. Luffy blasted his wrapped fist forward, slamming it into the snout of the closest salamander and causing its face to crumble in on itself. The impact sent a shockwave emitting out from it, the foliage around them rustling with the force of air.
Keeping a hold of the spear as it went down with the impaled salamander, he snapped his arm back before the other three had reached him. The dead lizard below collided with a thick branch, making the long staff Luffy was clinging to bend under his weight as gravity tried to pull him back to the sea below. He kept the pole upright, balancing on it as he again stretch his arm up and grabbed a higher branch. All of this occurred within a manner of seconds as the next three salamanders propelled themselves towards the small human before them. As Luffy slingshotted towards higher ground, he yanked up the spear with him, bringing it swinging around as a monster from above fell towards him. The wood landed across the beasts' face and the entire branch shattered under the impact. The pirate then quickly maneuvered around it so that the body was between and his pursuers below and himself.
Gracefully he swung to the surface of the large branch he had been clinging to and crouched, ready for the next opponent. Knowing that the toxin would quickly seep through the shirt wrapped around his hand, Luffy yanked it off, careful to not touch the coated area.
A miniature salamander came from his left, surely excited to beat its older comrades to the prey, but like the others before it, it faced utter defeat as the pirate jumped into the air a moment before a strike could be made and crushed its spine under his extended foot.
Luffy's killing spree then came to a stalemate as a huge tail slammed into him from the side, sending him careening through the underbrush, barely missing a few anxious jaws as they snapped around him, but his momentum was too fast to allow him to be caught. After skidding off of some thick branches and breaking a few more, the boy finally landed back into the sea he had climbed from a minute before.
Breathing heavily and slipping as he struggled to regain his footing, Luffy lifted his drenched head. Agony exploded from his left leg and his eyes darted down to see a salamander under the surface of the water, its fangs burrowing into his calf-muscles as it tried to drag him down into the depths with it.
With a roar of anger Luffy sent an explosive pistol punch into the center of its skull, the water between his fist and the lizard exploding up like a mine had gone off under it. Frustrated that the creature refused to release him even in death, the pirate roughly tore its jaws apart, freeing himself as one would do so with a bear trap.
Then they were upon him again, his odds now being even worse than before. The poison was doing its job as the contact he'd had with it, both old and new, crawled its way to his arms and legs. Now his fist tingled with the alien substance as well and he scowled at the scenario. He couldn't afford to touch the poison any more than he had, and already he was having to think backwards to get his body to obey his orders.
He was tackled by a smaller (and by smaller he meant the size of an elephant) salamander and the two crashed into a thick batch of roots and vines, struggling with one another. Luffy brought his feet up and kicked (sandals first) into the creature's stomach, successfully sending it flying away.
Ready for the next one as it charged him from the left, he sent an explosive fist right into its open mouth, the blow extending all the way down the beast's throat. The force of the impact must have damaged its insides for it died in seconds, leaving the rubber man with his arm halfway through its body.
For a moment he went to free himself from the beast but then he thought better of it and grabbed whatever he could get a hold of, which happened to be its spine.
"You might be poisonous on the outside, but your insides are fine!" he yelled to himself as he swung his new appendage around into the next oncoming monster, successfully swiping it out of the way.
"Yosh! Bring it on you oversized tadpoles!"
Ignoring how his salamander-glove had teeth that were already digging into his biceps, he kept hold and shot off again, still set on escaping the nest. He went to grab a nearby vine, only to have his hand close and draw closer to his body rather than opening and extending out.
The momentary pause was just what a particular salamander needed as it shot forward and caught him in mid air between its jaws. Luffy's head jerked back, screaming in pain as dozens of small fangs dug into his chest and back. The two enemies fell back once again into the sea, landing in a submerged island of moss and barnacles.
Roaring with rage that he'd been sent back into the sea once again, Luffy managed to maneuver his free hand up and gouged it into his attacker's eye, ripping at it with an animalistic hostility. The beast screeched in pain, unaware that this would be its demise. The moment it opened its mouth Luffy sent his free fist blasting in, destroying its insides as he had his other victim.
Now armed with two salamanders the captain stood again, gasping for breath and blinking away the water from his drenched head. There was no time for rest as another swarm came rushing forward. Luffy closed his eyes and pushed back the pain from his wounds and the poison and focused on the opposite actions he would have to accomplish to save his life.
Three salamanders were closer than the rest and, all in a hurry to be the first to chow down on breakfast.
Perfect.
In one fell swoop the pirate sent them all crashing into the darkness, wielding the two dead salamanders like giant extension limbs. Again he jumped into the air, now depending entirely on his legs to flee and his arms to defend.
One by one he tore through them as they rushed him from every angle, now choosing to escape by force rather than avoidance. Soon the salamanders on his arms became difficult to maneuver, turning to mush with every strike.
He had made good progress by that point, now several hundred yards from the infested area in which he had landed, but the number of monsters hadn't diminished from the beginning. Exhausted and covered in his own blood, he still posed as an intense threat. The salamanders were hesitating, no longer treating this human like they had the other victims thrown to them from the heavenly buffet from above.
Still, they were in no rush. They knew the efficiency of their poison, and they knew that it was only a matter of time that even the most powerful of victims would go down. So they came at him slowly and steadily, blocking his escape routes.
Rays of warm sunlight bounced off of warriors, carving glowing patterns onto their wet skin. Dawn was breaking and fighting to get through the canopy of greenery. Still, despite the light of day returning to the world, Luffy's vision could only make out basic forms, and even if he could see clearly, his biggest problem was getting his body to obey his orders.
A blur shifted to his left.
"Ok, gotta move to the left"
His body efficiently disobeyed him, allowing him to dodge the attacking form. Hearing the bark snap under the creature's weight, Luffy again instructed his body to act in opposition to what he wanted, releasing the damaged salamander in his right hand and thrusting his free arm from its makeshift glove in the general direction of the blurred form before him.
Everything was painfully numb, which frustrated the pirate. If he was going to be numb he might as well be comfortably so, but for some reason everything stung like an extreme version of his foot falling asleep. It was hard to determine between injuries at this point and he could only guess that he'd successfully taken down the enemy.
What he could tell was that he had grown incredibly weak. He couldn't support the salamander in his other hand so he released it to decompose with some dignity. His body shook from exhaustion as he gambled by flinging his rubber arm as high above him as he could, then ordering himself to make a fist (which in turn led him to open his hand).
He didn't see the tail behind him as it whipped around with the momentum of a swung baseball bat. Blindsided, the boy failed to catch hold of anything to aid in his escape and instead was sent careening into the foliage below.
His consciousness must have left him for a moment for the next thing he was aware of was that he was choking on water. Instinct commanded he lift his head and inhale oxygen, but of course this meant to the rest of his body that he wished to remain submerged.
Panicking, he almost tried harder to get up but realizing this would not help his situation he quickly instructed himself to let his arms give and sink deeper into the sea.
Disobedient as always, his arms lifted him free from his airless prison and he took a gasping breath, coughing up the water that had made its way into his lungs.
He couldn't see.
"Crap" he thought as he felt himself shaking with strain. He knew his limits and his failure to escape on his first attempt had almost guaranteed his demise. They were close; he could tell, and he doubted they were unaware of his growing disorientation.
He had landed on another leafy branch that had grown submerged into the sea, so he let himself float on the water but grabbed hold of whatever tangible object he could feel below him and began crawling forward, not willing to submit to defeat.
A massive weight slammed into him from above and again he was submerged into the water, now with the weight of an entire salamander on his back. It slipped a bit on his wet rubber skin, splashing into the water itself as it tried to get an efficient angle on its prey.
Desperate, Luffy ordered his body (of course by commanding it to do the opposite) to crawl deeper into the depths by climbing down the thick foliage below but was yanked back by his ankle, massive jaws dragging him to the surface despite his attempts to keep hold of the branches below.
If the poison coursing through him hadn't been absolute in its power, he would have thought more of the fangs impaling his leg, but it was almost a blessing that he couldn't be distracted by it. In any other case this level of desperation would have forced Luffy into an raw, instinct based mindset, but this was not the circumstance it would prove to be useful. His body was rejecting his natural orders and he had to make very conscious decisions regarding his survival.
Easily finding where his attacker was (since it was currently keeping an efficient hold on his leg) he managed to get his hands into the gap between the beast's jaws, heaving with great strain to pry it open.
He was relieved to discover he could do this much, again breaking free from the creature trying to eat him. There was no reward of breathing time as he landed again in the water, now scrambling desperately to get away from the present danger.
Splashes of water could be heard all around him and he knew his non-existent luck had run out. There would be no reaching civilization again and he could no longer fight. He was practically dying as he struggled on but he refused to be eaten, to be defeated by mere lizards.
Suddenly his hand felt wood where it had been blindly stretched. He let his fingers slide around it, feeling it curve into open air. Struggling forward he attempted to continue but hit more wood as he went on.
Growling, he reached his hand out again, this time feeling more wood to the right of the opening. It was narrow, the gap between the wood surely would only fit a small creature between it. He didn't know if the other side of it offered protection or not but he was out of options. He couldn't run and he couldn't fight, so a gamble at an invisible hiding space was all he had to go on.
Painfully, he forced his numb limbs to drag him through the narrow space, panicking as he heard the deep breathing and sloshing of water as his pursuers neared. His legs scrambled on the wet foliage below, struggling to squeeze the rest of his body into the narrow opening.
Soaked skin and blood aided in his maneuvering as he finally popped through the gap, ignoring the agitation the action had done to his numerous injuries. Honestly he was too far gone to care; all he could think of was the coming doom of the pack of salamanders.
Reaching his hand forward, he was overwhelmed with relief to discover that there was nothing but solid wood before him. He must have made it into a log or thick branch of some sort. The sound of enraged hisses and the scraping of claws against the bark behind him also brought him great relief. They couldn't reach him. He had miraculously escaped their grasp.
This realization completely drained the adrenaline rush that had kept him going over the past hour. He made no attempt to move or think, enjoying just to lay on the moist wood beneath him. Not a care was given to the blood pooling up around his body or the scrape of the bladed salamander talons against the wood outside. No contemplation was given to the possibility of his passing, or his plans to escape. Just to rest was all his brain could conjure up as important; so whatever came next, be it life or death, he could care less.
-Dalma-
The Merry Go was quiet, only the sound of lazy waves against its hull seeped into its small rooms. Dalma had paced every inch on the ship over a dozen times. He'd managed to get a few hours of shut-eye during the night but had grown anxious waiting.
Something was standing his hair on end and for some reason he couldn't calm his beating heart. When darkness came he had made his way up on deck, still spooked at how close they were to the lair of the monster salamanders but dying to get some fresh air.
A cool breeze brushed over his fur and the lights from Golden City cast a gentle glow across the ship. His unease was momentarily replaced with a glorious elation of seeing the sky, and seeing the tree from the outside.
So long had he lived in the hellish darkness of the lower branches of the Endure Simianus, a prisoner in his own territory. Being on the outside, free and without fear, brought tears to his eyes as he contemplated this feeling.
If only his family could experience this freedom. If only they could get a glimpse of a clear night sky and feel the salty air against their skin.
His mood couldn't stay in one place, now shifting from elation to loneliness. He wanted his little brother to come tackle him and try to beat him in a wrestling match (which of course he would win). Luke would be so excited, but of course he'd keep it to himself, trying to be stoic like he always did, but even he couldn't keep his tail from wagging under these circumstances.
Casting his eyes down from the beautiful view, he gazed into the darkened depths of the Blue monkey territory. Again his mood changed, now to worry. He was worried for his new friends. Knowing nothing of the Golden monkeys but of their cruel prison they'd wrapped around them, he couldn't convince himself that the crew was being treated kindly.
Still, they had instructed him to stay put until they returned the next day, and he wasn't exactly anxious to return to the tree. If they didn't show up in the morning though, he planned on taking action. He couldn't let his saviors be put in any danger while he relaxed in safety.
A few more hours passed as the monkey continued to wander the small ship, climbing the mast, scrambling along the railing, anything to keep his mind off of his companions at risk.
It was at daybreak that his fur began to rise again and his spine began to tingle. Some unconscious instinct was setting off warning signs in his brain and he hated it. No longer was he adventuring around the ship, but instead he had found a narrow strip on the deck that he was burning a hole into with his knuckles and feet. His tail twitched arbitrarily with tension as he sensed a disturbance under the mask of limbs and leaves before him.
His eyebrows drew together with raw concern but of something he knew not of.
"Luffy."
- Simeon -
Simeon greeted his wife with a hug upon his return home. Clearly the mess he had made of the house during his rush to concoct the healing cream for the boy had given her the impression that they had been robbed by a greedy chef-slash-hairstylist. A brief explanation put her at ease, though she was taken aback by the lengths he had take to help a criminal.
"So you think there was something fishy regarding the pirate's involvement with the Blue Monkeys?" She asked as she handed him a warm cup of cinnamon tea.
"No, I think there's something fishy going on with Chex and the officials of Golden City regarding the Blue Monkeys. Nothing they did made sense. The late-night trial, the execution, it all seemed so shady, and that's not factoring in that they might have tossed an innocent child to her death below the barrier."
His wife looked at him like he'd grown a third eye.
"Oh cripes I sound like a friggin conspiracy theorist. Sorry honey."
She sighed and smiled a little, bringing him into another hug.
"You sound like a monkey who's had a crazy night and seen some crazy things, but you're not crazy; just a little annoying sometimes dear."
Ruffling his hair she turned away and he smirked at her in response.
Glancing out the door he lost the smile, noting the slight rustle in the leaves a few yards away and having lived long enough to adhere to his suspicions, he figured he would have some trouble getting the bad news to Luffy's crew.
Telling his wife the whole story now would only waste time and put her in danger. He needed to find someone who he knew could get the information spread around; someone suspicious of Chex and the officials of Golden City.
"Honey, I hate to be weird and leave so soon, but bear with me for a little while longer and I'll be back for a late breakfast."
"What?"
"Preferably eggs and toast if you're up for it; maybe some jam and bananas on the side."
"You're serious?"
"Love you, bye."
-Chex-
"Blast it all" Chex growled as he rushed down the hallway in a huff. "How could there be witnesses? It's your job to NOT be seen. How hard could it have been to catch two human beings without making a scene? If it were just you I'd be willing to listen to your excuses, but you were riding giant salamanders! This is ridiculous!"
The large ape walking beside him frowned, hardly believing it himself.
"Sir, they maneuvered surprisingly well considering their circumstances. A lot of dropping was involved and some of the citizens living on the outskirts were still up and heard the sounds of pursuit."
"Yes those are the excuses I said I can't listen to. There'll be questions now and… blast there's the rest of the crew that you have still failed to locate. Why the heck do I pay you if you're completely useless?"
"Our apologies sir, we have a lead now on the rest of the crew and should be taking care of them shortly. In fact, there's a possibility that we can take out two birds with one stone regarding their involvement with the Pale Revolutionaries. What do you plan to do with the two pirates in custody now?"
Chex scowled, "well we can't just get rid of them like their captain. It'll take time but we need to gather some false witnesses and frame them for a crime worthy of their permanent silence."
"Yes sir."
"No one tells them what has become of their captain."
"Yes sir."
-Sanji and Nami-
The footsteps the crewmates had heard turned out to be the swapping of guards for the morning shift. Sanji hadn't even seen the last one but their new one was a stunning ape-man. It was immediately clear what animal hybrid this one was as its glowing orange fur sported bold tiger stripes that started at the edge of his face and crawled down to the tip of his tail. He was in excellent shape with a buff build and a six-pack set of abs. He looked no older than thirty, possibly around twenty-five.
His eyes were golden but his expression didn't reflect their intensity. He had a lazy look on his face; as if he would have been much happier staying in the bed he clearly had just rolled out of.
"Oi!" Sanji shouted towards him, ready to get some answers as to why they had been treated with such hostility.
The ape scowled at him and for a moment turned away as if he was going to ignore him but a couple more shouts from the cook surprisingly drew the monkey over.
"What?" He growled, cocking a disapproving eyebrow at the prisoner before him.
"That's what we should be asking jerk! What the heck is with this kind of treatment? You guys spent most of the night trying to kill us, and then throw us in a cell with no explanation whatsoever! You call this a justice system?"
The monkey blinked in surprise but quickly got defensive.
"You pirates come to our homeland and, despite our welcoming you and treating you like any other visitor, you immediately start posing a threat to everything we hold dear. You, who've completely disregarded any kind of law, now start demanding rights?"
"Please" Nami interrupted, not wanting to lose the talkative monkey to anger "we just want to know what's going on. Our captain broke one of the elevators that goes beneath the fence in an attempt to rescue a child and we only wanted to go back down to retrieve him. Is there any news on his whereabouts? And what's going to happen to us? When can we get out?"
Again the monkey's expression changed to confusion, then immediate defensiveness again.
"Don't try confusing me criminal. You're in here for threatening our homeland and damaging the protective barrier. My job is to make sure you stay in here and that's it. You're fate will be decided by the officials."
"What?" Sanji shouted "we didn't damage the barrier! And just so you know, your officials clearly don't possess an ounce of common sense."
"Sanji" Nami put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down, but she was also frustrated now that they were only more confused.
A bit flustered and angry about it, the ape gave them another scowl and turned away, no longer willing to argue.
"Moron" Sanji spat, frustrated by the monkey's stubbornness. Still, he was getting an idea that the man didn't know much more than they did.
Once the humanoid had made his way out of hearing range Sanji leaned over and whispered into Nami's ear, "we're getting out of here now."
- Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper -
Seag and Snow led the band of pirates through the thick mist for about an hour before coming to an oddity in the large branch's curvature. The huge roots twisted around each other into a spiral, and sitting on the edge of it were several odd houses lit by cool lamps. There were several monkeys about, most of which glanced over warily at the newcomers but upon seeing Snow and Seag dropped their guard.
"You can get the coating here" Seag spoke towards their guests, directing them to a small house to their left.
"Chopper" Zoro said, looking down at his little crewmate "why don't you go with Snow and get that for us. Maybe you can learn something while you're at it."
"Yes" the reindeer replied enthusiastically. He couldn't deny he was exceptionally curious about the mysterious coating.
Usopp was torn between staying with Zoro and going with Chopper. He wanted to know about the protective coating, but he also wanted to hear this Seag character's proposition.
Finding himself more anxious to figure out what their next plan of action would be, he stayed put. It wasn't often that Zoro was forced to take up the first mate roll and make decisions for the crew, but if he was honest he wished the swordsman would do it more often. Luffy's plans usually led to the endangerment of his life, or at least his calm.
Snow smiled and gestured for the little doctor to follow him, the two of them leaving the group.
"So" Zoro began, directing his attention to Seag "what is this proposition you've got in mind? We now understand that your band of "rebels" have set out to rescue the Blue monkeys below the electric canopy; pretty much the same thing we'd figured on doing. Unlike us though, you've been trying to do this for years and have clearly failed, no offense."
"None taken."
"You say the problem is the corrupt officials of Golden City and the ignorance of the people hindering you from taking bold action."
"Correct" Seag replied "we need to cut the power source of the electric fence in order to break it open-"
"Actually" Usopp interjected "you might not have to any more. Luffy is made of rubber and electricity doesn't affect him, so he could break it."
Seag stared at him in disbelief, clearly unable to figure out a correct response to what he'd just heard.
"Way to share it with him gently Usopp" Zoro sighed.
"Well I figured that might be an important piece of information if we're gonna be coming up with a plan."
"You can't seriously expect me to believe that?" the monkey stated in shock.
"You ever heard of the devil-fruits?" Zoro asked, hoping that the other man's response would save him the explanation.
"Yeah."
"Great. He ate one, the gum gum fruit."
"Holy crap."
"Yeah it's pretty ridiculous" Usopp sighed.
Seag sat down on a nearby root-limb and rubbed the back of his head with his hand.
"Screw my proposition, the possibilities you just presented are endless" the flabbergasted monkey chuckled out.
"Yeah and Zoro can cut steal" Usopp added, enjoying his roll of informing the man of his crewmates' abilities.
"What?" the ape exclaimed, almost falling off of his roost.
"Yeah" the swordsman confirmed with a smile.
"Good crap. Ok, ok… sheash."
"So with that in mind" Zoro decided to take charge while the ape took it all in "would there be anything hindering us from just tearing a hole in the fencing and letting all of the monkeys out and leaving the salamanders underneath?"
"Wow" Seag chuckled "to hear you propose such a ridiculous notion amazes me, but yes even then there would be problems. I mentioned Chex and the officials in charge of Golden City. They don't want the Blue Monkey's mixing with us and most of the citizens think of them as a threat. The history of this tree is blurred; different stories told different ways, though the most commonly taught is that the Blues betrayed us and that they wish for our demise. Honestly, if they DO think like that I wouldn't blame them. We've given them every reason to hate us by locking them down there."
Usopp nodded in understanding and Zoro crossed his arms as he sorted the information.
"So" the first mate responded "the people of Golden City and most of this tree don't want the Blue monkeys up here. Would it be asking too much to at least rescue them and then take them to another island?"
"A great idea" said Seag as he too crossed his arms "but again, our government is corrupt. Chex has inherited a great hatred for the Blues and would see them all dead before he helped one out of a tight spot. Unfortunately for us, he is a respected judge and leader in our ranks, though most of this is passed down via bloodlines. An evil man born lucky is currently the main source of the suffering of good people not so fortunate. It sickens me."
"How about we just take down the corrupt officials? We're pirates, it shouldn't be a problem" Zoro proposed.
Seag laughed, loving the straight forward approaches he was given. It was refreshing to hear a plan that didn't involve sneaking around for a change.
"That would be great, but you underestimate the army of skilled warriors under these officials; not to mention the salamander riders."
"Whaaaa?" Usopp exclaimed in dismay.
"Yeah" Seag continued "and they're even worse than they sound. A salamander alone is a great threat, but paired with an intelligent entity like a humanoid monkey and trained to work as a team they pose a threat that we've never come close to countering."
"We can take them" Zoro stated confidently, throwing both Seag and Usopp to the side with shock.
"You must be pretty confident in yourselves" Seag replied intently "but you won't know if you can defeat these guys until you see them. Also, the guards are usually armed with salamander poison, so there's that to consider."
"How many rebels are there with you guys?" Usopp chimed in, hoping there might be a nice amount of backup to aid in their plan.
"A few hundred actually" Seag replied. "I mean, we're definitely a minority of Simianus' population, but I'm grateful for the men who've gone out of their way to do something about this."
"What have you guys been doing up to this point?" The marksman pressed on.
"Of the three main races on this island, while Blue is the one looked down on by most, Pale is actually the weakest" Seag continued. "Something in our genes has made us frail and non-athletic for the most part. So since the majority of our group consists of Pale monkeys, we can't exactly go milital. Instead we've made it our goal to beat them at their own game of undercover work."
"Undercover? Like spies?" Usopp interjected.
"Yes. Chex has sneaks all over Endure Simianus. This is why we had to make sure you were who you said you were beforehand."
"Would you get in trouble just for forming a group with a goal of rescuing the Blue monkeys?"
"Yeah, though the officials wouldn't say that upright. They'd have the public believe we were planning on releasing the salamanders on their peaceful homeland. A load of crap, but people are happy with the way things are and have a hard time believing something that could pose a threat to their way of life."
Zoro suddenly tensed and glanced back into the fog, drawing the attention of the other two. As if on cue, a small pale monkey came bursting through the haze, completely out of breath and flustered.
The moment he laid eyes on the pirates he dropped on all fours and hung his head in relief.
After the group stood in an awkward silence waiting for the ape to form words in between his gasps for air he finally lifted his head again looking directly at Zoro and Usopp.
"You're- you're Strawhats right?"
Suddenly everyone grew tense and their body language answered him well enough.
"Luffy, your captain-" he took a few more heaving breaths, just enough to build up the group's impatience, "he tore a hole in the fence canopy."
"WHAT?" They all exclaimed in unison.
"Yeah, he came from beneath trying to save some kid; ended up getting arrested and sent to be executed."
"WHAAATT!?"
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Zoro exclaimed in unrestrained frustration "it's like he's purposefully trying to give me a heart attack!"
The two monkeys were surprised at his reaction. Worry, sadness, maybe fear made sense, but getting mad at their, possibly late, captain wasn't quite what they expected.
"And what the heck was that dumb cook doing? Baking pies?"
Usopp interjected before the swordsman's rant got out of hand.
"There was a blonde man and a ginger female with him right? What happened to them?"
"I only know what our spies have seen, and that is that they were taken down by some salamander riders and sent to prison."
"Sheash! How'd they get separated?" Now the marksman was getting frustrated.
"Sanji and Nami were taken down by these salamander riders?" Zoro asked in astonishment before turning and calling for Chopper to hurry out.
"Luffy was arrested? How the heck did they catch him?" Usopp added, sharing in exasperation.
"Apparently he was poisoned before he escaped the lower levels so he hardly put up a fight."
"Oh my gosh" the marksman gasped, putting his hand over his mouth.
"How do you know so much?" Zoro asked, fighting back his own emotions on the situation though he feared he was taking this worse than Usopp.
"Apparently a Golden monkey saved his life while he was in prison and knew he was going to be executed. Your captain told him to alert you guys to the situation and so he came to us, figuring we'd be the best way to communicate with you."
The two pirates didn't know how relieved to be upon hearing that Luffy had been cured but sentenced to death as well.
"We've gotta get down there and save him" Usopp exclaimed as he pulled his slingshot from his bag and glanced over to see if Chopper had come out yet.
The two monkeys frowned, Seag looked almost as distraught as they were.
"The likelihood of them holding off the execution is very slim. I'm sorry but perhaps you should focus on rescuing what's left of your crew" the pale monkey spoke bitterly.
Zoro scowled at him with such intensity that Seag felt his heart skip.
"You don't know our captain" Usopp stated without a trace of doubt on his face.
Seag's eyes widened in amazement at their unshakable faith in this Luffy; again it was refreshing.
"Very well" he replied "we will head off now as quickly as possible to stop the execution. I'll lead you to the quickest route."
Right as he said this, Chopper and Snow came rushing out, Chopper wearing a large backpack over his shoulders.
"Oi guys" Zoro shouted "Luffy and the others are in serious trouble! We've gotta move now."
"What?!" Chopper squeaked n disbelief.
"Yeah" Usopp explained "apparently some serious crap just-"
In mid sentence his eyes stole his center of focus as they narrowed down on a massive shape that suddenly appeared inches from his first mate.
"Zoro look out!"
The swordsman turned his eyes in the direction Usopp was indicating a half of a second before he came face to face with a humongous set of jaws exploding out of the white mist.
TBC…
Author's Note
Seems some misfortunes are happening. It's so unlike me to do this kinda stuff. Usually everything's happy and swell in my fics... _ don't worry guys, there will much more crew-centric chapters ahead. I'm not that obsessive over my OCs
Thanks for reading! As some of you know, I also am an artist and have a Deviantart account (I'm Zinfer) and have fan art of my own fics on there if you want some visuals. If you have a particular scene you'd like to see illustrated just include that in your review and I'll be happy to make it happen :)
Alrighty, back on track for the Summer. As some of my older readers know I get a bit more efficient over break so hopefully the story will move along quicker from this point. Some of you amaze me when you come back after a month or two wait and still encourage me to continue.
I shall respond to each of you via messaging, the ones who don't have accounts I shall reply to here :)
Sweet Spice- yes! I'm back! Not dead and proud of it ^_^ your review is wonderful :) few things make me happier than seeing an email saying someone commented on a chapter. Makes my day.
Roxy12333- you missed me ^_^ yay! I've missed you too! I hope the wait wasn't too painful though I suppose it was particularly long again -_-' but it's summer so if you're still around the waits shouldn't be quite as horrible as they've been the past few times. I loved your review :D I'm glad you're enjoying the story
Guest2- Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment :D just seeing an update from a reader makes me so happy.
A shout out for Ealm528 who is my tumblr buddy XD I also believe CreateandConstruct is on there as well :) It's kinda nice to fandom together.
To all of my readers, thank you so much for joining me on my tale. Honestly its an adventure for me to get through as well, surprising myself with how characters react to scenarios I put them in. It's hard to explain.
Anyhoo! Reviewers! You guys motivate me more than you think! I post something and want to write more but keep checking for responses from you guys cause I feel silly getting excited if it's just me XD