Disclaimer: I Do Not Own One Piece.
Chapter 12: Fight! Rise And Be Strong! Part VI
Aro's body fell in the water with a loud splash, then followed by a second one instantly after. Aro sheathed her scythe while quickly sinking. A twist and a turn, she was now standing up right—or, as far as she could tell, that is. She held her breath, and watched the only small speck of light above start to disappear, fading into the growing darkness.
Something brushed her side and she screamed; though the water muffled it. White spots started to dance in her vision, causing her body to shiver violently before completely blacking out.
A voice called to her. Aro's body was cold, wet, stiff, and unwilling to move. The voice called again, and she tried to call back, but had no air to do it with.
Suddenly, her lungs filled with a thick air. She found she couldn't let it out. "Help!" she called in her mind, finding no physical strength to breathe on her own.
There was a sudden pressure on her chest, forcing some of the air out.
Then again, pushing more air out. Then again, and again.
One final time pushed the last of the air out of her. Her body tingled and craved for air once more. As if her body's needs were hared, she was suddenly filled with air. A taste filled her mouth and she clinched her fist to test her body's reaction.
Alive.
She forced herself to let out a breath. Cool air began to pass over her face, slowly but steady. She swallowed and found her throat to feel rough and she winced in pain. "Are you alright?" The voice sent chills down her spine and she slowly took deep breaths, then the slightest nod.
"I'm… I'm alive, right?" She put her left hand over her heart. The pulse was slowly becoming faster.
"No, you've died and come to hell." The voice replied with a chuckle. It was deep, rich, and soothing. The air paused and returned stronger and faster.
"Liar." She said, flexing both her hands now. Her head was spinning and she didn't trust her stomach enough to open her eyes yet. She had feeling all over her body again, but most of it she didn't like. Her legs screamed in pain, while her arms started to tingle from the cold air.
"Then why ask?" A hand touched her shoulder, then moved to cup her neck, "Need a hand to sit up?"
"Who are you?" She started to prop herself on her elbows. The hand slid down her back—
'BACK!?!' Aro shouted in her mind. "Where's my scythe?!"
"On the wall. It's not broken or anything, so calm down." He helped her to sit up fully; supporting her in one hand, the hand that was on her back. Everything still made her sway still, so she held off on opening her eyes. Nothing likes thanking a hero by throwing up all over then. She swallowed, and remembered the taste in her mouth. It was salty and yet sweet with a hint of a metallic taste.
"Who ARE you?' She put a hand to her head as if to stop the spinning and opened her eyes. She was in something that reminded her of sewers: Water rushing between to walk ways. It was dark, and only a small amount of light came from somewhere. She couldn't tell if it was her night vision or not. She looked at the man holding her. A hat was in his other hand, pausing in the fanning.
"Enz—" A sudden splash cut him off. "—rial." He finished. Aro jumped up and away from him—a bad choice.
Everything started to spin again. She felt herself swaying slightly, and starts to fall backwards. Ezerial jumped to his feet, grabbed her by the wrist, and pulled her away from the edge. She stumbled into him. She pulled back her free hand and tried to punch him. He simply dropped his hat, and caught the punch with his other hand. "Calm down."
"Let go!" She screamed, struggling. She pulled her leg back to kick. He put one foot in front of her still grounded foot, hit the back of her knees with the other. Her legs gave out easily, and she crashed into the ground. He then pinned her legs down with his feet and ankles while his hands held her wrists down. She struggled again.
"Shut up and listen to me!" He growled in her face. She went still, eyes going wide. "I'm not going to hurt you—"
"You just did!"
"Shut up. You want Veldoro out of power, I want out from under his control—"
"Right now, I want out form under you." She growled, eyes going back to normal. He blinked, and got a very serious look.
"If I let you go—" Another splash echoed around them."—will you listen?"
"Depends on what you're going to tell me." Aro glared at him. A small smile trickled across his face as he stood up. Her heart gave a loud thud in her chest as he pushed back his wet hair. She sat up as he went to the wall where his sword and her scythe leaned on the wall.
She, too, then got to her feet and followed. Once there, she put her hands on the wall, stood spread eagle, and started shaking her head quickly, sending water everywhere. The shaking continued and moved down her body soon to the tip of her tail. Ezerial laughed for a second and it echoed off the walls. It made Aro shiver.
"What did you want to talk about?" She asked quietly, though didn't know why. Ezerial picked up his hat, and put it back on.
"Veldoro ate a cursed fruit, correct?"
"Yeah, a long time ago, if I remember correctly. Why? Doesn't he use the powers?" She tilted her head to one side.
"No. I don't know which fruit he ate, and he does one hell of a job hiding it."
"Well, I remember him saying that he didn't notice a change…"
"Think it was the Hito Hito Fruit?"
"What would be the point?"
"Smarter and learn to sink." He joked. Aro frowned, "I don't know, you said he didn't notice a difference."
"It could be," a voice called from the water, "a paramecia fruit…" Aro jumped back at the voice, fists up. Ezerial instantly had his sword again, raised and ready to attack. A figured pulled itself from the water with another figure over his shoulder. "Relax you two…" The figure dropped the one over it's shoulder onto the ground with a small plop from the water, and a thud from the figure. Aro narrowed her eyes as the figure came fully out of the water, pushing back hair. Her eyes went wide.
"Guzen!" She jumped on Guzen, the standing figure, and looked down at the second. "Luffy?" She let him go and knelt down next do him. She checked for a pulse, and smiled when she found it. "He fell asleep?" She looked at the scratch on his arm. "What did Serisha do to him?"
"It was a blood-eating chemical," Ezerial answered, approached the three, "It moves up the blood stream and starts to eat them form the inside out."
"Then is he gonna die?" Aro asked, voice shaking. "No, NO! He can't! He—"
"He's not gonna die, Aro." Guzen said, kneeling down next to her. "The poison doesn't work with people who ate the devil fruit—or, until they fall in water. I don't know why, but it only seems to put them to sleep after they get wet, to make their body too weak to move on their own." Aro looked at him in surprise. "As for Veldoro, he might have the powers of a paramecia fruit. The powers usually take a while to show up."
"How can we be sure, though?" Aro asked, standing. She stared at Luffy, "And did Serisha die?"
"No, she faked defeat and pushed Luffy into the water. They then tossed me down there, while I faked death. It was quiet an act up there. I would bet my life on the fact that Veldoro wasn't fooled by me." He stuck a finger in his ear, and pulled out a greenish blob.
"Eeeeewwww…" Aro said.
"What the hell?" Ezerial asked, stepping back slightly.
"Come here." Guzen went up to him and stuck his finger into Ezerial's ear.
"Back off, half pint." He said, pushing him away. As Guzen was pushed away, he pulled out a blob from Ezerial's ear as well.
"What is that?" Aro said, shivering.
"Something I made."
"What?" Ezerial and Aro asked at once.
"It goes in the ear, molds around it, and that's how Veldoro uses you like a puppet." He tossed them in the water. "Salt water makes them swell up though."
"Makes sense. " Ezerial nodded, putting his sword on the wall.
"No it doesn't." Aro said under her breath. "What are we going to do? Does he know we are all alive?" Ezerial and Guzen exchanged glances. Aro frowned. "Well? What do we do?"
