Chapter 12: Eri vs. Duboin
"You son of a bitch!" Eri yelled.
"What's the matter? Mad I killed your captain?" Ultis taunted. "It's only natural, that's how your supposed to work after all!"
"You bastard!" I roared. "I'm going to break every bone in your goddamn body!"
"Then come and get me." He stated as he opened up another very large portal and stepped back into it.
"Stop, you coward!" I screamed as I ran at the portal.
"Matte, El-kun!" Eri cried. "It's another trap!"
Suddenly I felt something clamp arounbd me. "Oi!" I stood up and grabbed the bars of the cage. "What is thiiiiiisss..." I slumped down. "Urrgghh...Kairoseki cage?"
"Hahaha! Lookee here! I got me a 240,000,000 berri bounty!" My cage swung left and right, and I had to straighten myself up to look at my captor. He had wavy dirty blonde hair, tanned skin, and was wearing a big vest with the Marine logo on it and baggy grean trousers, he was huge and bulky with a disproportianate chest as well as carrying the giant cage which I was now trapped in.
"Bastrarad, lel me ouuuu..." I slurred as my strength weakened.
"Whatsamatter, Devil Fruit user? Cage getting you down?" He mocked as he swung me in his cage.
"Oi! Let go of El-kun!" Eri yelled as she held her bisento.
"Huh? You lookin' for a fight, girly?" He asked.
"Girly?" Eri tic-pulsed.
"Doesn't matter, I can take you on and lock you up just like your little pal here." He held me up as evidence. "I'm third in command, Duboin, so you'd better give up right now!"
"Like hell!" She yelled with shark teeth. "Ryuu no Taifu!" She jumped towards him spinning around with her weapon.
"Forward, aintcha?" Duboin held the cage WITH ME IN IT up to block!
"Gah!" I slumped against the back as Eri buzzsawed into the front of it.
"Ah! Gomen, El-kun!" She apologised as she jumped back.
"You got some guts, attackin' your nakama like that." The Marine chuckled as he tossed the cage around like a ball and chain WITH ME IN IT!
"I'm goin tobee siiiick..." I groaned, being weakened and spun around as if I was on some mad circus ride was not fun.
"You coward! Let go of El-kun and fight fairly!" I heard Eri shout, but I could only see...blurring colours...ohhh...
"Gomen girly, no dice." I think he smirked as he smashed the cage where Eri was as she jumped back...WITH ME IN IT!
"No more..." I groaned as I was lifted up again. "Nooo mooooore..."
"Don't worry El-kun! Just let me kick this guys ass first!" Eri called.
"I'mma...I'm gonna leave this to you Eri-chaaan..." I groaned, before I nodded off.
I was thankfully I was able to keep my super resistant sleep despite the Kairoseki. I managed to center my kinda blurry Dream Dream Cinema around the fight.
"Hey, what the hell? Are you sleepin'" He shook the cage, but I was wedged in my dreams and I was not coming out.
"Is this really the time to sleep!?" Eri yelled with shark teeth.
"Unless you want me to be sick." I spoke into my loudspeaker.
"Okay, just...sleep, and I'll take care of this guy." She reassured.
"Thank you." I pushed the loudspeaker up and held onto my dream chair as tight as possible.
"Doesn't matter." Duboin shrugged. "Long as I have your little friend here, I have the perfect shield."
"Wanna bet?" Eri smirked as she jumped at him.
"Hah!" Duboin swung the cage at her, but she landed on it and jumped back off above him.
"Gotcha!" Eri stood on her bisento like a pogo stick, thrusting it into the ground as Duboin jumped back, dragging the cage along with him. "Ryuu no Kagidzume!" she uprooted her weapon, sending three bloody slashes at him.
"Uuuuurag!" He swung the cage around to break through the three slashes, before he threw it past Eri and wrapped the chain around her! "Got YOU!" He ran at her with a pulled back fist.
Eri ducked and jumped forward, dashing underneath him. "Iron Kick!" hardening her foot with Busoshoku Haki, she kicked him in the stomach.
"Ungh! You little-!" He backhanded her in the head, sending her crashing into the wall.
"Eri-chan..." I mumbled.
She suddenly jumped out of the debris right at him. "Iron Bite!" She then hardened her own teeth and bit down on his arm!
"What the hell kinda move is that!?" I facefaulted.
"Aaaaagghh! You little bitch!" He roared as he tried to swing her off, but she had a vice-like grip, she eventually let go as the Marine tried to swat her away.
She grabbed her bisento and slashed again, Duboin leaned back, then tried to block a second slash with the cage, with me slumped right against the front!
"Oh crud! Dream Dream Puppet!" I jerked my body back against the other end of the cage to avoid the attack.
"Shit, I have to be more careful of Elli-kun." Eri mumbled as she switched to stabbing which Duboin sidestepped away to dodge, blocking several stabs with the chain of the cage.
'Elli-kun?' I sweatdropped.
"Ryuu no Setsudan O!" An aura enveloped her as she launched a giant air slash at him, luckily she took me into consideration and stabbed her bisento into a hole in one of the chains, preventing him from using me as a shield.
"Gaaaaaah!" Duboin cried as the slash cut a gash across his chest, making him clutch his new wound. "Damn you...!"
"Ready to give up yet?" She smirked.
"Cocky girl..." He grunted. "I didn't wanna do this, but it looks like you've left me with no choice."
"What are you talking about?" Eri asked with a half-lidded gaze.
He lifted up the cage holding my sleeping self. "I'm talking about this!" He smashed the cage against the wall!
"Hey!" I woke up immediantely. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"You give up girl, and in return I won't squash this guy into a bloody puddle!" He threatened.
"Nani!?" Eri gasped.
"Why you-!" I growled. "Oi! Eri-chan! Don't listen to this guy! Finish him off quick!"
"Urusai!" He smashed the cage against the wall again, squashing it into being uncomfortable.
"Gah!" I hardened my expression from the pain of the impact. "Damn you..."
"So whatcha gonna do, girlie?" Duboin asked, as Eri's face was shadowed. "Oi, oi, are you listening to me."
"...Let go of Ellix. Now." She demanded in a more threatening tone.
"You think you can push me around!?" He shouted. "Don't forget who's got your little nakama in the cage here!"
A dark aura appeared around Eri as her eyes became red with black slits, her weapon darkening as well. "Ryuu no..."
"Are you attacking again!? Then say goodbye to your friend!" He swung his arm back in preparation.
"...Gekido!" Too quick for the eye, she dashed past him and slashed him multiple times, he passed out immediantely and dropped the cage, which burst open as it crashed to the ground.
"Finally, I'm out!" I breathed as I crawled out of the cage. "Arigatou, Eri-chan."
But when I looked back over, she was still slashing him! "Oi! Eri-chan! What are you doing!? He's already knocked out!" The rage in here eyes didn't subside as she continued her assault. "Stop, Eri! Snap out of it!" She couldn't here me, and continued attacking.
"Soru!" I dashed behind her and held her down. "Get a grip, Eri! If you keep attacking like this, your gonna use up all your strength!" She thrashed around underneath me, and I had to duck out of the way of her slashes. "Alright! Sleep Touch!" A rainbow aura smothered her dark one, and she slowly fell asleep.
"Phew..." I slumped back in relief, laying there for a few seconds, taking in all of the events that had just happened. "Luffy..." I looked over at Eri and gently shook her. "Eri-chan? Are you okay?"
Thankfully I heard a groan and she sat up holding her head. "Oww...what happened...?"
"I had to make you fall asleep after you went overboard." I informed her.
"Oh..." She stated, before looking down in thought. "...Lu-chin..." I also looked down in thought.
"Yaaaay! Elliiiiiix! Eriiii!" We both looked up in bafflement to see Luffy running towards us!
"LUFFY!?" We both facefaulted.
"Shishishi! I'm glad you two are alright!" He grinned.
"Lu-chin!" Eri cried, hugging him.
"We're the ones who should be saying that!" I smiled in joy. "How did you escape from the Calm Sea?"
"Mow-Guy helped me!" Luffy grinned.
"I was actually quite lucky." Grayam said as he stepped forward holding a Portal Crystal. "If that Ultis hadn't been using his Rift Crystal, I wouldn't have been able to save you."
"Grayam!" I jogged over to him. "What are you doing here?"
"I was getting worried, so I came here looking for you." He explained. "On the way I found this Portal Crystal, and kept it just in case. I was on the upper levels there." He pointed up to some scaffolding above us. "And when I saw your captain fall through the portal, I opened up one right underneath him up to me."
"That's a relief." Eri sighed. "...Hang on, why didn't you come to help us?"
"Oh, I could tell that was your fight, so I didn't get involved." Luffy beamed.
"You baka!" I shouted, punching him over the head. "Don't make us worry for so long next time!"
"Okayokayokay..." Luffy groaned as his head snapped back up. "Yosh! Now that that's out of the way, we can finally find Firehead!"
"And then Ultis!" I added.
"Then we get out of this dump!" Eri finished.
xxxEoExxx
Ping! Ping! "Well well, these Strawhats are just full of surprises." Akio commented as he surveyed us running on his screen.
"Do you want me to deal with them sir?" UYltis asked.
Akio flipped his coin. Heads. "...No..." He stood up. "I've been too rude to our guests...it's time to greet them personally." He then walked out of the room, with Ultis grinning behind him.
xxxEoExxx
"Woooooah!"
"I don't believe it..."
We were now standing in an archaic looking dome room, with ancient symbols all over the place, along with a small altar. But the most prominent thing was the giant crystal running through the top to the bottom.
"Is that the same crystal from that room we were trapped in?" Eri asked.
"If it is, then that explains the metal cylinder running through this whole place." I exclaimed. "In fact...this crystal could be the sole support for this entire fortress."
"Incredible..." Grayam breathed.
The four of us cautiously walked up the altar, except for Luffy who ran up. "Oiiiiiiii!" We looked up to see Luffy waving at us frantically. "Guys! Guys! I found a treasure chest!"
"Nani?" We all ran up to the top where we saw a beaten and withered looking treasure chest with a rusting lock.
"Could this be...the legendary treasure of the Sanohako!?" Grayam whispered in excited disbelief.
"Just out in the open?" I said sceptically.
"It's obviously a trap." Eri said with a half-lidded look.
"Let's just look, and then get out of here." Luffy shrugged it off as he kicked open the chest, we all peered into the box...
"It's empty." Eri stated as we observed the bare crate.
"So...is there no treasure?" I asked to no-one in particular.
"Not exactly, Rokushiki Nightmare." We all swivelled round and looked down at the new voice.
It was Akio.
"I'm glad we can finally meet in person." He greeted us.
"Fireheeeeeead!" Luffy roared as he launched himself at the Vice-Admiral, who simply jumped back to avoid the attack and let Luffy crash into the ground.
"Luffy!" "Lu-chin!" We all ran down to join our captain.
"I understand you've already met my second-in-command, Ultis." Akio said, pacing back and forth. "He said that I would fill you in on what you are not already aware of when we met, and I am obligated to oblige."
"How about you start with how exactly you found the Rift Crystal and got here?" I muttered.
"Very well. But you must be open-minded." He chuckled. "Don't think that knowledge of the Sanohoko was restricted to Hinoko Town, Marines had knowledge of it as well, just imagine it. Ambushing pirates perfectly with the Portal Crystals, no pirate would be safe!"
"So Marine Headquarters instigated Project P, a program into investigating the Sanohoko and the Great Maw, headed by me. When Ultis found the Rift Crystal and teleported us here, we used the red gem to contact Marineford and get us permission to set up G-S right here, and we've been researching the crystals ever since. 'Course we had to build around this huge gem of a crystal, but it was worth it."
"So that ambush we faced was your doing!?" I questioned.
"Correct." He confirmed.
"Then...what about the treasure?" Grayam asked.
"Is it a lie made up by you or something!?" Eri shouted.
He stopped pacing and turned to us with a darkened grin. "The Sanohoko treasure very much exists...or rather did, they found it using your little Dimension Crystal, Rokushiki."
"Start making sense!" Luffy yelled. "What's the treasure!?"
"...It was a Devil Fruit. From a different dimension."
"Nani?"
He suddenly began grunting and straining as his arms morphed into two large mechanical flame designed metal bodies with black tires for hands, and an exhaust pipe out of each of his shoulders that shot out fierce flames.
"I ate the treasure. The Nitro-Nitro Fruit, or Nito Nito no Mi. I'm a Monster Bike human!"
And more stuff is revealed! GASPS!
Ellix:...That's a weird Devil Fruit, but now that Akio bastards gonna get it!
Oh yeah. Now reviews!
To R.E.W. 4: Yeah, I have Mock Exams next week, *shudder*.
To Thief-chan: Do not panic, Luffy is still alive!...Unfortunately he's still a baka.
To Martyn: True, but it wouldn't have fit in with the canon of the story, check out my other One Piece OC stories for details.
One more thing! If you haven't yet, try reading OC Song: I am a Nightmare, a tribute to Nightmare Ellix!
NE: Yes! Read it! So that you may allow me to gouge your eyes out afterwards and serve them up with entrails! Akumumumu!
...Okay. See you next time!