Hello there. This is Nyshairyn Tide speaking here. If you don't recall from the end of the last chapter, lasmn was about to spoil this arc for you readers. Listerra, Haz and I are keeping her…well, not locked up but away until the end of the arc. So, the three of us will take over these intros and bottom notes.
Anyways, it is time for the fighting to begin! Now, as lasmn has already told you, she is not good at writing fighting sequences but she tries her best so take it easy on her. She also told me to warn you people about the twist at the end of this arc, since we kept her from spoiling the arc. Anyways, read on and leave a comment, alright?
Disclaimer: Oh right, we have to do this to avoid lawsuits…lasmn doesn't own One Piece at all and she does not wish to do so because the stress would be too much for her.
"Alright, troops! Let's move out!"
Caout ran down the street while Tide, Hazuki and the Kirkland Brothers followed at a more leisurely pace. Caout, upon noticing this, marched back to the group.
"I said, let's move out!" she repeated, pointing in the general direction of the mansion.
"We are moving out, Listerra," Tide replied, "But our version of moving out isn't as energetic as yours is…"
"C'mon! I want to fight someone!" Caout whined.
"Caout, you don't know where you're going and you certainly will screw something up so just stick with us, alright?" Hazuki said.
Caout groaned but complied. The Kirkland Brothers looked at each other. This girl was going to be their captain if all this went well? It would have made better sense if Tide or Hazuki was the captain…But they had promised and so they had to go through with it.
They only hoped that it would be worth it in the end…
"Hold it!" One ordered, sticking out his arm to stop the others from progressing.
He gestured with his hand for the others to follow him into the shadows of a bunch of trees.
"What's up, One?" Three asked once they were all hidden.
"Check it out," he said, pointing towards the mansion.
The group looked and they all furrowed their eyebrows.
"Looks like we've got a welcoming committee," Two growled.
In front of the mansion, armed and at attention, were row after row of Gorilla Guards, each as big and sinister looking as the next. They were holding swords, maces, clubs and the like.
One let out a quick sigh of relief that Don Siegel had not given those guards any guns. He knew Don Siegel was aware of the brash nature of the guards and giving them guns would be plain stupid…
"Damn," Tide said through gritted teeth, "Looks like someone overheard our plans…"
"Who cares?" Caout responded, smirking at her competition, "We're going to kick their butts either way."
"So, it looks like all of the Gorilla Guards are out front," One stated. He looked out towards the amusement park, "The park is running…"
"Figures," Two scoffed, "We're about to come in and beat those bastards senseless and those twins still find the need to play in their park."
"…I think we're going to have to change things up a little," One said, "Alright, Caout and I will take care of the Gorilla Guards."
"We were supposed to help you," Three muttered, "But if the twins are in the park, then Tide and I will go after them."
"Meaning the redhead here and I are still going after Don Siegel, right?" Two asked, putting a hand on Hazuki's head.
"Bingo," One replied, "Knowing Don Siegel, he's inside the mansion…You know where, Two."
"You're okay that the boys are taking charge here?" Tide asked Caout.
"It's fine for now," Caout said, "They know the situation best and this is their problem."
"Now that that's settled," Three sighed, "How are the rest of us going to get past the Gorilla Guards?"
Caout put a hand on Three's shoulder and snickered.
"Leave that to me!" she said brightly.
The guards were starting to get bored. They had been standing in place for the past half hour, waiting for the Kirkland Brothers and those girls to come and attack the mansion…
"Hey there, monkey boys!"
The guards stiffened at that and saw the people they were waiting for approaching them. The girl with the black hair looked like she didn't have a care in the world. The pink haired Elementist was staring at the black haired girl with a suspicious look. The other girl and the Kirkland Brothers looked confused and worried though.
The six teenagers stopped just a few feet away from the guards, who held their weapons tightly and growled menacingly at them.
"How dare you…" the leader of the Gorilla Guards said as he glared at the boys, "How dare you three betray Don Siegel? How dare you orchestrate an attack on him and his family?"
"How dare we?" Two shot back, before adding sarcastically, "Yeah, how dare we want to overthrow the man who's ruining this island? We're horrible people…"
"Caout, how are we getting past?" Hazuki asked as all the guards growled at them, getting ready to attack.
Caout smiled as she looked down at her sister. Hazuki raised an eyebrow as Caout grabbed her wrists tightly. When Caout's smile widened, Hazuki felt her heart drop and her eyes grow huge.
"No…" she said, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!"
Caout then proceeded to swing a screaming and protesting Hazuki around and around, keeping a tight grip on her arms. The boys and Tide backed away quickly as Caout suddenly let go and Hazuki went soaring over the heads of the guards, screaming the entire time.
Everyone, even the guards, stared as Hazuki soared out of sight before turning to gape at Caout.
"You're next!" she said gleefully as she grabbed Two's arms.
"WHA-? WAIT!"
But Caout quickly did the same thing to Two and when he went flying, he let out a long string of curses that One and Three weren't aware he knew of.
"Wow, they went pretty far, huh?" was all Caout said as she stared in the direction the two had been thrown.
"You truly are your father's daughter, Listerra," Tide groaned, a hand on her forehead.
"You…" One said weakly, staring back and forth between Caout and where Two and Hazuki had been thrown, "You…What the hell? What if you killed them?"
"Haz is used to it and your brother seems tough enough," Caout said, dismissing the concern. She then reached out for Tide, "Time to send you to the park."
Tide slapped Caout's hand away.
"If I wanted to fly, I would've said so," she growled. She looked at Three, who was still in shock over Caout's display of strength, "You! Get on my back."
"What?" Three asked.
"On my back and pick up the pace," she repeated as she saw that the Gorilla Guards were starting to get over their shock, "I'll get us there quickly and without soaring."
"B-but I'm six feet and I must be heavier than you-"
Tide, growing impatient, pulled Three onto her back so that it was like he was riding piggyback. Caout and One both held back their snickers at the awkward sight.
"World's youngest adrenaline junkie?" Caout asked amusedly.
"Got that right," Tide replied with a smirk.
Three was about to comment when his words suddenly became panicked yells. Tide, despite carrying a six foot tall man on her back, had started running as fast as she could towards the Gorilla Guards. The guards held their weapons before them, ready to attack the girl, who they assumed was going to try and plow through their ranks.
Tide smirked and instead leapt up and landed atop the head of one of the guards.
"Excuse me. Pardon. Sorry!" Tide said as she hopped from one guard's head to another as fast as possible.
"That lousy-" one guard started, only to be cut off by a tap on his arm.
He turned just as Caout delivered a brutal punch to his gut, sending him to his knees.
"Me and Blondie are your opponents, monkey boys!" she said as she cracked her knuckles.
"What have I gotten myself into?" One asked himself as he reached into his blazer.
"Um…Tide…?"
"Yeah?"
"Please…put me down…"
Tide stopped and looked over her shoulder. She saw quite a melee going on, indicating that Caout and One had begun their end of the assault. So she released Three, who dropped on all fours, breathing deeply.
"You're…quite strong, Miss," he said, finally getting to his feet.
"With a partner like that idiot, I have to be," Tide replied casually, "Though I guess with a life like mine, it was how it always was…"
The pair quickly ran into the amusement park. Tide was caught off guard by how incredible the rides were.
"Wow, I can't believe that you and your brothers made this place by yourselves," she said as she gazed about the place.
"Sometimes, I can't believe it either," Three responded, looking around carefully for any sign of Lila and Roland.
"I don't get it," Tide said as they walked about, "Why do both of us need to be here to take out these twins of Don Siegel's? They can't fight, can they? I mean, you can take them and I can go back there and help out Listerra and your brother…"
Three crossed his arms in front of him and looked at Tide.
"Where are we?" he asked her.
"…An amusement park…" she responded, not knowing what he was getting at.
"Who built this park?"
"You and your brothers…"
"And what are we good at doing?"
"Well, you-" Tide cut herself off, "Ohhhh…."
At that moment, the pair heard an extremely loud crash that made them jump out of their skins. Tide's jaw dropped as he saw a giant mechanical octopus, its eight arms, upon which the seats hung, moving rapidly. The octopus was heading towards them at top speed. Three spotted a window near the top of the octopus' head and saw Lila and Roland grinning at them from inside the mechanism.
"You guys take amusement park dangers to a whole new level, don't you?" Tide asked with a groan.
Meanwhile, just outside the front doors of the mansion…
"You…alive…?" Two groaned, lying on his back in a small crater.
"Yeah…" Hazuki gasped in return, facedown in her own crater just a foot away.
"Is that…normal?"
"Unfortunately…"
Two and Hazuki slowly got to their feet. Two cracked his back and regarded himself carefully. Other than a couple of cuts and bruises, he seemed rather okay. Hazuki also found herself to be in the same condition. She saw that her glasses and staff were unharmed as well, so that was good.
"Man, I should probably get these glasses made to be unbreakable at this rate," Hazuki sighed.
"Tell you what," Two answered, fingering the number pendant on his necklace, "When this is over, give those glasses to One. He'll make them strong enough to handle crap like this…"
Hazuki offered a nod in return and the pair opened the front doors and went inside the mansion. Hazuki was quite taken aback by the inside and looked around in awe. Two, however, moved forward quickly, tired of having seen this place day after day for the past four years.
Hazuki followed Two up the grand staircase and down the hall.
"Where exactly are we going?" Hazuki asked as she looked about warily.
"In this kind of situation, there's only one place that arrogant asshole would be," Two growled, teeth gritted and fists clenched.
Hazuki noticed that they were approaching a door at the very end of the hallway. Two stopped right outside of it and looked over his shoulder at Hazuki.
"Ready?" he asked with a crooked smirk, much like One's only more mischievous.
"Yeah," Hazuki replied as she placed her staff in her hands.
Two nodded and took a deep breath. With a grunt, he kicked the door open, breaking it off of its hinges.
"Wow…" Hazuki said in surprise as they slowly entered the pitch black room, "You're stronger than I thought."
"Well, I tend to get into more fights than One and Three so it's expected."
As the two stopped walking, the lights turned on in the room. Hazuki covered her eyes for a moment, giving them time to adjust to the change of light. When Hazuki took her hand away, she could only offer a puzzled expression.
"…Is this…a toy room?" she asked in disbelief.
"Isn't it marvelous?"
Hazuki and Two turned at the sound of the cocky voice. There, all the way at the other end of the large toy room, seated on a magnificent chair, was Don Siegel. He smoked a cigar and held a glass of wine in his hand, watching the pair with amusement.
"My, my, Two…" he said darkly, "I never thought you and your brothers would betray me…"
"Really?" Two retorted, "Everyone else could've seen this coming long ago…Or are you just that slow, sir?"
Don Siegel frowned and clutched his wine glass a little tighter.
"You always were a cheeky one, brat," he growled, "Let's see you and your little friend there get me, then."
Hazuki gripped her staff tightly and ran forward, only for Two to grab her arm and stop her.
"What?" she asked, "Don't you want to get at him?"
"Toy room," was all Two replied.
Hazuki was about to ask him what he meant when she saw some of the toys starting to move…all on their own…
"…Of course…" she sighed as a bunch of giant stuffed animals stepped in front of them.
Well, now you readers know who is fighting who. Huh…Interesting how Listerra and that One boy are the only ones fighting "normal" opponents. I've got to deal with rogue amusement park rides and Haz is facing weaponized toys…This is going to be a bit annoying but quite doable.
Anyways, please read and review this story! I figure Haz will take over for tomorrow.