Chapter 14
AN: Hey everyone! Sorry for the later upload, I was spending my last few days of freedom with those of my friends who were leaving for college. Since school started recently, my uploads will be coming in much slower, but I'm going to try to keep a steady-ish schedule. Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 14
Thank god grandpa made bullets with hardened tips… I gulp as I pump the lever on my rifle, ejecting a spent cartridge and loading another fresh one into the chamber, Because this is way too crazy.
Wash, Teach and I had come up with this - honestly half-assed - plan on the fly, but it was working surprisingly well. The Nicholas II was riding the rapid stream like it was nothing, and the speed was keeping us out of that monster's reach. Whenever it would get remotely close, either Wash or Teach would bat it away with Haki or bubbles, and I was unloading impossible amounts of steel and lead into the thing, tearing it to shreds. Normally, I suppose that I would be opposed to the action of harming another human, but the knowledge that this thing had attacked my crew gave me a sort of anger that I was directing at it, putting me into a mindless stupor. Not angry enough to kill, mind you, but angry enough to harm.
Ching! The sound of an empty clip rings as I pump the lever once more, and I reach into my pocket, pulling out a stripper clip: a strip of metal with five bullets attached, which is used to reload the older weapon from the chamber.
Do I really not care? I wonder as I mindlessly attach the bottom of the bullet strip onto the chamber, pushing down on the top shell, sliding all five shots into the gun, and I yank the lever, finishing my reload, Am I really okay with this? as I debate with myself, I aim down the ironsights, centering the the metal ridge on the beast, and I pull the trigger without a second thought. The rifle belches flame as a spike of steel flies into the monster's flesh, crushing through the strange bone armor it had formed, and the beast staggers, its insides melting with the friction.
"Well, little bro," Teach grins, "That gun of yers is workin' pretty good! How's it gettin' through that armor?"
"Pointed tips," I respond emotionlessly, my weapon bucking against my shoulder, "They put a tremendous amount of pressure on a specific area, and since these have harder tips than my standard shot, they don't deform as easily."
"That's useful. Bleached Spike!" Washer snorts as he flings a spike of compressed bubbles at the monster, embedding it through the shoulder, "It's just like my ranged moves."
"Yeah," I grunt as the beast roars, beginning to charge, "Teach?"
"I've got him," the titan sighs, "But how 'bout we mix it up? I'll take him head-on while ya shoot him from range and Wash gets his ass beat."
"That works," Wash nods as he creates two more spikes, "And also? You wish."
"Zehaha. Then let's get him!" Teach chuckles as he and Wash leap off the Nicholas II, causing the ship to rock, throwing off my aim.
"Damn," I mutter as the three brawlers meet, Teach's weight overpowering the monster's strength, and Wash jams the two spikes into its side. Unfortunately, Teach being in the way blocks any angle I have, and I'm forced to watch until I'm further down the canal.
"Come on!" Teach roars as he rears back his cutlass and brings it down on the beast's face with a crack, breaking the blade on the bone, but also breaking its nose.
"Rrraugh!" the monster roars in pain as it grabs Teach's shirt, throwing him off.
"Oh, no you don't!" Wash growls as he runs in, forming spikes on his knuckles, "I don't have a name for this, but this'll do the trick!" the Lieutenant grunts as he punches the temple, but the monster just slaps him away, and I see the bubble-man wince in pain. I glance back at the beast, bringing my gun around, and see four holes in the side of its head close as I look down the sights.
Just gotta hurt it enough that we can use the Molotov… I narrow my eyes as I unload yet another of my precious bullets into the monster, and it glares at me. If I was a harsher person, I might have aimed for the head, but I don't think I want to go down that road if I can avoid it…
"Keep yer eye on the prize, ya fuck!" Teach yells as he rams a Haki-imbued pistol butt into the back of its head, and the beast's attention goes to him as they begin to grapple.
"Keep doing damage!" Wash rams a pillar of bubbles into the thing's stomach, crushing its gut, and the beast coughs up blood.
"Losin' yer armor, ain'tcha?" Teach taunts the beast as he puts it in a full nelson, and I put three more bullets into its weakening chest before reloading.
"Yeah," Wash nods in agreement, forming five more spikes, "Unfortunately for you, we went into this fight with one: a plan, and two: proper ranged support that you can't get to. I guess it also helps that you're pretty weakened from your previous fights, too."
"Zehaha! Ye're pretty screwed, bud!" Teach laughs, tightening his grip, but I see the beast shift, "I mean, ya can't just expect to bea-"
Crunch!/"Gah!"
Teach is cut off as the monster jerks its head back, ramming into Teach's face, causing the titan to stagger back in pain, clutching his now-broken nose. The beast then twists, ramming its body into Teach, sending the future Yonko sprawling and causing him to drop his gun and what was left of the sword.
"No you don't!" Wash yells as he begins to attack, but the monster disappears, and the Lieutenant tenses, still and searching with Haki. However, the beast appears and bats the side of Wash's head with a crack, sending the bubble-man flying. I then remember what had happened to Wash earlier that week.
He has that head injury, I realize, If he takes more hits like that, he might die. With that knowledge, I rapid-fire, sending an entire five bullet clip into the monster's back before it can pursue my friend, and the beast turns to me, enraged. "Come get it, shithead!" I yell at it, and it growls, dashing towards me. That's fast, I gulp as it closes the distance in a second, leaping at where I am.
"Kill!" the twisted creature slams through the water I was just riding through, cutting the flow off, and the Nicholas II drops the ten feet like a stone, crashing into the ground with a thud, and I tumble out, twisting my ankle.
"Augh!" I cry out in pain, clutching my foot as it throbs. It might not be anything like what everyone else got, but it hurt, damn it!
"Rrrgh," I freeze as I hear a feral growl behind me, and I slowly glance back, shaking in fear.
"Meep," I squeak as I come face-to-face with a walking corpse. The beast's face was even more twisted than before, with flesh slowly beginning to peel away and yellow teeth beginning to show. The thing's skin was falling off, revealing a layer of bone acting as makeshift armor, and it strode towards me, reaching with one clawed hand…
"Bleached Pillar!" the beast's neck snaps as a rod of white rams into it, causing it to stagger, and Washer jumps in, slamming a fist surrounded in bubbles into the thing's chest, sending it flying, "I might not have much physical strength normally," the Lieutenant states in a dramatic voice as he stands over me, entire body covered in bubble armor, "But when I use Bleached Armor, my strength and endurance increases tenfold!" on that phrase, he pumps a fist into the air, and points the finger upwards, "So watch out! You're going down!"
"Washer!" I grimace, the cringy display kinda dulling the feeling of joy, "Thanks for the save, but I'll be honest. That was cheesy as fuck."
"Ya looked like an idiot," Teach groans as he pushes himself up.
"Oh, come on!" Wash whines, "This move is difficult to pull off, and I have a splitting headache! Cut me some slack."
"Nope," Teach and I shut him down, "Cheese equals shame."
"Damn it…" the Lieutenant groans as he hangs his head in shame.
"Get over it," Teach grunts as the beast gets back up, "That thing won't go down and we just lost our mobile ranged support."
"Yeah," I gulp, "Now I'm stuck down here- THE MOLOTOVS!" my eyes widen as I realize what was in the boat, "Nonononono come on…" I mutter as I dash back to the Nicholas II, searching the redwood floor for the incendiary weapons. All I find is broken glass and alcohol-soaked wood.
"Shit," Wash growls as he realizes what had happened, "Well, there goes our ace in the hole."
"Yup," Teach grimaces, "Guess we gotta do this the old-fashioned way," he cracks his knuckles, fists turning black as they are coated in Haki.
"No," Washer suddenly puts an arm in front of Teach, stopping him from doing anything, "We have to go into this smart."
"And how do we do that?" I ask, bringing my rifle up, ready to fire, "He took down a Division Commander and wounded two others. You don't just beat that."
The Lieutenant just smirks. "I'm a strategist, remember? Let me strategize."
"I'll hold him off," Teach nods, taking up a stance in front of us, "Ya just make sure we're able to kill this guy."
"I'll try to help," I pipe up, "I might not be as mobile, but I can still hit him… I think…"
"Well, he's a big target, so it shouldn't be too hard," Teach tenses as the monster begins to charge, and I bring about my rifle, determined to see this through.
"Then let's do this."
-(I)-
Those idiots are always a handful… Nilsson Maria, a nurse of the Whitebeard Pirates and the one in charge of medicine in the Fourth Division, sighed as she placed a bottle of amoxicillin on a shelf with other antibiotics, Always running this way and that, never taking the time to relax and take in the scenery. They need to learn to calm down.
She had been with the Whitebeards for three years, joining after she had gotten her Doctorate of Medicine and Philosophy, and made her way up through the medicinal hierarchy of the crew, finally making it to the Chief Physician spot on the Fourth Division.
"The Cervical's connected to the Thoracic, the Thoracic's connected to the Lumbar," she hums to herself as she polishes a scalpel - you never know when someone may need Cardio-thoracic surgery! "It's a shame that none of the other staff chose to come with," she sighs after she stops her task, "It's so boring around here… at least I could play a board game with the gals back on the Moby…" the doctor sits on a hospital bed, leaning back onto the uncomfortable plastic. Maria gazes up at the ceiling, listening to the clock on the wall tick back and forth, and she couldn't stand it any longer.
"Screw this," the professional growls as she practically tears off her nurse's uniform, grateful that the other three left awhile before, and quickly throws on tan cargo pants and a white tank-top, rolling her brown hair into a simple bun. She completes her look by throwing on an olive-green jacket, a same colored bag full of syringes, IVs and blood-bags, and matching boots, prepared to explore the town. "Well," she nods as she looks herself up and down in the mirror, admiring the style, "I look damn good if I do say so myself. Now to just find the others and provide aid when needed…" she stares her mirror-self in the eye, trying to hype herself up. Unfortunately, a crawling uneasiness caused her to go over to a drawer a pull out a handful of scalpels, "Alright," she re-consults herself, "Now I'm ready," she straightens confidently and goes to walk out the door-
Crash!
-but the noise of a door being kicked in on the floor above causes the Doctor to jump, heart beating in panic.
"Search the ship!" a muffled voice shouts, "If any humans are here, cuff 'em! Hody'll need 'em for his army!"
Hody!? Maria grabs a chair and climbs on top, pressing her ear to the ceiling, As in Hody Jones? That Fishman upstart that Jinbe told Pops about?
"What's the ship looking like?" a rough, if not young, voice asks the first, "Any of the Whitebeards here?"
"We just started our search, Hody!" the first voice protests, "You can't expect results immedi- Gurk!" the voice is cut off as someone - likely Hody Jones himself - begins to choke him.
"I get results when I say that I get results," the young Great White Shark Fishman growls from the deck above. Maria hears a small thump - the random guy slumping to the floor - and Jones shuffles his feet, "Hyouzou! I want you to check the ship. Make sure those humans aren't stowed away somewhere."
"Got it, Hody," a lazy-sounding Fishman sighs, and his surprisingly soft footsteps make their way down the ship.
Shit, Maria gulps, glancing around for anything she could use to defend herself, I'm alone on the ship of the Fifth Division with a crew of rogue Fishmen that want to enslave humans. You got this, girl.
"Hey," a voice down the hallway sounds, and the nurse ducks behind a desk, noticing a bottle of chloroform sitting on top, and she grabs it and a rag, "You ever wonder why we're here?"
"Literally or metaphorically?" another Fishman asks, and the first pauses, thinking.
"Your pick," he shrugs, and his friend sighs.
"How about metaphorically?" the second pirate shrugs, "I mean, it is one of life's great mysteries, after all. Were we put here by some higher power? Or was it just chance that history has played out the way it has? Are we truly in charge of our decisions, or is it just fate? It keeps me up at night, man."
"Yeah, I get what you mean," the first one nods, and their voices were at the open door of the Medical Ward, "I mean, I had this dream the other day that I was a puppet and I was getting moved around by this giant dude with really sharp teeth," he makes fangs with his fingers.
"And how did that make you feel?" Maria asks him, jotting down something on a clipboard.
"Well, it kinda scared me," pirate number one sighed, "I felt powerless in my own dream, like I was just being controlled-" he cuts short as he realizes what happened, "H-h-human-"
"Hello!" Maria grins cheerily before slamming the clipboard over his head with enough force to take him down, "Now go see a therapist!"
"What the fuck!?" the second cries before the nurse strikes his neck with a chop, hitting a pressure point and knocking him out, "Ungh…"
"I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that was easy," she tenses as she prepares for whatever punishment Murphy would send down upon her for that, but nothing comes, "Oh! Thanks, then," she mutters to no one in particular as she strides down the hall. She makes it to the stairs and walks up to the main deck, using the chloroform to take down every Fishman she meets, and eventually pops her head out onto the deck, where a group of ten or so fishmen stand, a variety of weapons at their disposal. In their midst, Hody Jones stood, tall and imposing, especially considering his young age.
"Those bastard humans assassinated Queen Otohime one year ago!" he roars to his group, "And now more humans come to our shores, ready to destroy our island! Will we let them!?"
"NO!" comes a unanimous cry from the crew, who raise their weapons.
"Then we burn the ship and trap them here," the Great White grins maniacally, "And kill them all after we kill the beast who attacked our district."
That was the last straw. Fuck this, Maria clenched her fists in rage, furious that these Fishmen would attack them when they were trying to save the island. "That's a lie!" she yells as she steps into plain sight, and the group turns to her, startled, "The Whitebeard Pirates came here to save your home, and this is how you repay us!?" the nurse strides up to Hody, staring him in the eye, "By trying to kill us!?"
But for all her anger, Jones just chuckles. "You humans are all the same," he sneers, "Thinking that you own us. But I refuse to be held back by laws you monsters set in place, and I will take down the Whitebeard-"
"Take it back!" Maria screams as she darts behind the Fishman, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back, slamming him into the ground, face on the deck.
"Hody!" the other pirates surge forward, but the phony Captain holds up his free arm, holding them back.
"No!" he growls, "I can deal with a weakling human on my own. You all just get to burning the ship."
"Don't," Maria hisses, pushing up on Hody's elbow, "Or he loses a perfectly good arm."
The Great White begins to squirm. "Why would you listen to the humaaaaan-gah!" he is cut off as his arm begins to crack.
"Hody!" a random minion cries as he raises his sword, charging, and Maria just frowns.
"Idiot," she hisses as she slams up on Hody's elbow, dislocating the arm, and pushes up, flinging herself over the fool, and she tosses a syringe filled with anesthesia from her bag into his shoulder, knocking him out. She lands, rolling, and pulls out a scalpel, "I hate using an unmeasured dose, but it'll have to do."
"H-how?" one of the henchmen stammers, and she glances at him.
"I may not be a front-line fighter, but I still have to be strong enough to protect myself in combat," the nurse explains, "And also, I live with around thirteen hundred Whitebeards. Even with the other three hundred gals on the crew, we need to be able to handle ourselves on our own."
"Hey, boss?" the lazy voice from earlier - Hyouzou, right? - calls from the doorway, and a red octopus Fishman with dreadlocks steps out, six tentacle legs and two arms, "I didn't find any… one…" he trails off as he takes in the scene before him, and sighs, "I don't get paid enough for this…"
"H-Hyouzou!" Hody struggles up from the wooden deck, clutching his dislocated arm, "Perfect timing! I order you to take out this weakling, now!"
"You sure?" the swords-cephalopod yawns, "It looks like you've got this covered pretty well," he takes a swig from his sake bottle, walking towards the railing.
"If you leave, I'm not paying you!" Jones barks, and the octopus just groans as he turns to face Maria.
"I should've listened to mom when I was younger," he sighs, "Settle down, find a good job, marry a nice girl, have kids, and die four months later. Just like dad did. Instead I gotta deal with this crap…" he grips the hilts of his blades, but halts as he catches sight of something behind Hody, "J-J-J-J-" he stammers, trying to say something, and Maria looks at what he saw, smiling.
"What? Spit it out!" Hody orders, but a shadow looms over him, and he turns, his white skin becoming even lighter as the blood drains from his face.
"Greetings, Hody Jones," Warlord 'Knight of the Sea' Jinbe grunted as he kneels down to the other shark's level, "I believe that your mercenary was trying to say 'Jinbe'. I am here, after all."
Hody stammers, caught off-guard. "Wha-? How-? When-?"
"What are you doing here, Hody Jones," it was more like a statement, not a question, and it held all the commanding force of a leader, "I thought you and your 'crew' were busy disgracing the name of Fisher Tiger down in the Fishman District, not actively trying to get yourselves killed."
"These humans that you trust so much are just like the rest!" the Great White growls defiantly, "They just want to take our land-"
"YOU will not disgrace the name of our savior!" Jinbe roars, striking Jones across the face, sending him flying into the mast, "Whitebeard is the greatest man I have ever met, and you will not insult him nor his crew"
"Boss!" the other pirates cry, making to go to him, but a single glare from the enraged Warlord silences them.
"You will all be quiet," he hisses, and nearly steaming, he strides over to the broken traitor, picking him up by the neck and staring him once more in the eye, "You will leave this ship and it's crew alone, and you will go back to the Fishman District. Understood?" when no response comes, the Whale Shark Fishman tightens his grip, "Understood?"
"Traitor," Hody hisses as he spits in Jinbe's face, and Jinbe simply tosses his limp form out into the sea with a splash.
He then turns to the other, terrified members of the crew and Hyouzou, "Get out of my sight."
That statement shocks them all out of their frozen states, and every last one rushes in to grab their K. crewmates, finally jumping over the side of the ship. Soon, only Hyouzou is still onboard. "Told him it was a bad idea," the mercenary sighs before jumping off, Jinbe's glare boring into his back.
"Thanks for the save," Maria breathes after a few moments of silence, "I wouldn't have been able to fight a cephalopod. Not enough pressure points."
"Don't thank me," Jinbe exhales, letting go of his anger, "Thank that Lieutenant that called me on my Baby Transponder Snail."
"Lieutenant?" the nurse frowns, "Was it Dexter?"
"I don't know a Dexter, but he said his name was Washer, and that he was leaving the ship unguarded," the Warlord confirms, "He was quite polite."
"That sounds like him…" Maria stretches her back, "Anyways, I was going to go see if I could help out at the big fight. Teach told me that there are some wounds, but that they aren't too bad, so I don't have to worry. But I was bored, so I just wanted something to do."
"Alright," Jinbe nods, "I did not see the battle, but I will accompany you to the field, seeing as how I have evacuated the city already."
"Okay, then," Maria smiles at the large Fishman, extending a hand, "We're partners for the time being."
"Partners," Jinbe takes the hand, shaking it, and the two walk towards the sound of battle, off in the distance.
-(I)-
"Sonuvabitch!" Teach yells as the beast tosses him to the ground, reaching out to grasp his face, and I fire four shots at the hand. The first, second, and third miss, but the fourth one blows it off, bringing the monster's attention to me.
"Shit," I hiss as I pump my last shot into its chest as it charges, but the shot just embeds in the now-thicker armor. During our skirmish, it had learned to focus all its free bone on the chest area, and now my bullets were just being stuck in and used as extra armor.
"Bleached Wave!" Washer roars from the side, and a flood of bubbles washes away the beast. I glance over, grateful, and see the Lieutenant clutching his skull.
"Are you okay?" I ask, concerned.
"M'fine," the Bubble-Man grunts in pain, waving me off, "It's just a headache."
"Okay…" I nod, "Whatever you say." That's not just a headache, I frown, turning away from him and towards the beast, It's your fractured skull.
"Ya got yer plan done?" Teach huffs as he stands up, battered and bruised, still going.
"Yeah," Washer replies, "But it's dependent on Kelly."
"Me?" I ask, shocked, while thinking: This is getting really Mary Sue here…
"Well, not actually you, per say," the Lieutenant explains, "More your boat. It was unfortunate that those Molotov Cocktails that Teach cooked up got busted, but we still have one left."
"The Nicholas II…" I realize, my heart dropping. The boat was currently soaked in very flammable alchohol, and If we set it on fire, it would burst into a massive fireball, burning the beast alive.
"Kelly?" Wash asks me, "Is it okay with you if we use the boat to beat this guy?"
I think back, back to when my grandfather was still alive, and how often we went out on the small ship when I was younger, fishing and swimming. The times we played games like water balloons on the lake, or mini battleship wars were always amazing memories, and I felt like a part of me and my grandfather was in that boat. And in order to save those who took me in without any problem, I think to myself, I have to destroy those pieces. "I'm sorry, gramps," I hiss under my breath.
"What did you say?" Washer asks me, still waiting for an answer.
"I said burn the boat!" I yell, blinking away the forming tears, "If it's the only way, then do it."
Wash nods in understanding. "It must've belonged to someone close, and I understand, but I need you to shoot it when it's close so it can blow up," as I nod morosely in understanding, he turns to Teach, "Pick up the boat and get that freak to grab it. I don't care how, just do it."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the titan grunts as he picks up the entire row boat, "I got yer setup right here. One extra spicy cocktail, comin' right up!" he looks around for the beast, "Uh, where is it?"
"Kill!" the beast screams as it charges from behind us, having snuck around the side. It goes for me, but Wash blocks it with a Bleached Wall, and it turns to him.
"Teach, Kelly, get ready!" the Lieutenant yells as the beast begins to charge him, and I reload behind the quickly decaying wall as Wash redirects the bubbles, muttering insults at it, "C'mon, you oversized Frankenstein. Come get it."
"Rrrrraugh!" the beast roars anew, quickly closing the distance, and Washer surrounds his body in another Bleached Armor, standing his ground and swinging a wide right hook, which the monster ducks under, and it pounces on Wash a not a moment later, shoving the Bubble-Man to the ground.
But instead of losing his cool, the Lieutenant just smiles in the beast's face. "Got'cha. Bleached Spear!" he yells, and twelve spears of white justice plow forward, impaling the monster in his joints, stopping his movement, "Teach! Now!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" the titan yells as he heaves the ship, flinging it towards the beast, and I bring up my weapon, unsure if I was ready. The boat that I had known my entire life struck the monster, and Wash sent forth a pillar, locking it in place. I aim down the sights and pull the trigger.
Bang!
I miss, and I am shaking now.
Bang!
Bang!
Two more, and I can see the beast's eyes. They were locked with mine, and they had an intelligence. Maybe it was just me, but they looked… human.
Bang!
With that fourth shot, the gun bucks, belching a stream of flame and steel. The shot strikes one of the last memories of my life before my grandfather died, and it goes up in flame, engulfing it and Wash in the heat, but Wash had Bubbles, so he would be fine. But even as the monster's flesh fell from its body, it tore out of the spikes and began walking to me, eyes staring in an unbreakable gaze, and as it arrived in front of me, reaching out to engulf my soul in heat and flame, I panic-
BANG!
And as the butt of my gun strikes the ground, the beast falls back. Its chin was a bloody mess, lips torn off. Its nose was just two flaps, now falling over those horrible, unblinking eyes. And halfway in the forehead, there was lodged a chunk of steel and lead.
I fall to my knees, unaware of the pain in my leg, my heart, or in my ringing ears. I forgot everything except the beast, the coral we sat on, and myself. It didn't matter if he was a monster, if he killed, or even if he attacked me. Because I, Ian kelly, had just shot another being.
And killed it.
AN: Okay, sorry for the admittedly surprise ending. Kelly did have a large part in this, but I personally feel that he didn't do as much as everyone else. As for Kelly killing the Beast… I got nothing. Anyways, I wanted to give you all a little bit of an extra. The current power comparison of each character from top being the strongest and bottom being weakest. As an extra bonus, I'll be putting their ages as well. (I did give Thatch and the others ages consistent to their appearance.
Whitebeard: 65
Marco: 32
Thatch: 31/Jozu: 34/Vista:34/Curiel: 33
Haruta: 17/Washer: 24/Raver: 26/Namur: 19
Johnson: 27
Karen: 25
Maria: 21
Leon: 28/Levi: 21
Kelly: 16
Hope you guys like that strength/age chart! Anyways, see y'all next chapter!