Chapter 21
AN: Wow. Three hundred. I am… wow. I get that I make a big deal out of it every time we hit each hundred followers, but… I mean, I'm still dealing with the fact that I actually went through with writing this thing. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 21
Kelly.
The voice comes from the neverending white void around me, one that I can't tell is moving or still, whether I'm standing or laying down. I'm just… there.
Kelly, wake up.
"Who's there?" I ask, but I don't have a mouth. I know that I said it, it's just… it comes out of everywhere.
I'm surprised, Kelly, the voice says again, I've known you for such a long time and you don't recognize my voice?
"G-grandpa?" I ask.
But the voice doesn't respond directly. Your heart was torn in two by that bullet, but it isn't your time. Not yet. So why don't you give us a show, brat? At that moment, I felt myself being sucked away, away from that plane of existence, the very state of just… being, and forced to fall for an eternity.
"What do you mean? Wait! No!" I cry, trying to reach out but unable to grasp, having no real form, "No!"
"KELLY!" I feel the dirt under my back, a crusty grime covering my chest and stomach, and a wave of agony slams into my mind.
"Augh!" I screech as I grasp at my chest, the grass around me stained with my blood, and I shake in shock and anguish.
"Kelly!" I hear again, and someone slides next to me, patting my chest, "Oh, God-" I hear them throw up as their hands come away, likely covered in blood.
"I said don't shoot, dammit!" a voice I recognize as Wash's roars from the barricade, and I gasp as my body spasms, the piercing pain in my chest nearly unbearable.
"Kelly, talk to me," the person next to me urges, and I recognize them as Haruta. That would explain the puking. That pompous ass, "You're obviously able to make some kind of sound, but I need you to speak. S-p-e-a-k."
I sit there for a few seconds, stunned and still trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened. Did I… die?
"Kelly!" he slaps me, "I know you can hear me, you little shit."
"F-" I cough up a glob of mucus and blood, "F-uck you!"
"Oh, wow!" I watch out the corner of my eye as he throws up his hands, "I try to be considerate and that's the first thing you say!?"
"Haruta," I hear Wash, and the swordsman steps aside, allowing the grey-haired Lieutenant to look me in the eye, "Kelly, what did you find?"
I lay there, staring at him. The hell is he talking about? I furrow my brow, the pain in my chest getting worse, Where was I before this?
When I don't respond, the bubble-man points off in the distance. "You said something about the beach."
The beach! I go cold, all of it overpowering the pain. Haruta sending me to scout, meeting Rhea, the fight with the Color Coded Creepers, and what I was told about the attack. "T-the beach," I croak, blood starting to block my air, "Attack… beach…"
"They're attacking from the beach?" he asks, and I nod weakly, quickly losing strength, "They tricked us…" his eyes widen as a wave of pressure washes over us, and my vision flickers, "Everyone, fall back to a defensive position! Guard your families! They flanked us!" he roars to those at the barricade, "I need a stretcher! Get Kelly to the civilians, now!"
As the group retreats, and two men gather me onto a few wooden planks strapped together to haul me away, I feel droplets of rain fall on my face, and hear a roar from the other side of the village. "They're here!" one man says as the rain begins to pour, and as we all flee towards the volcano, I see them.
They were countless, a formless horde bristling with sabers, rifles, and spears, all charging through the streets. There was no end. Oh, god, I would have thrown up if I wasn't so half-dead, as the endless force closed in on our small group, sending us all into a panic. We would have been caught undefended had it not been for a small group of thirteen that detached to intercept, screaming battle cries and telling friends to say goodbye for them. I never saw what happened, as the guys carrying me turned down a street.
Even after the battle, we never found their bodies.
As thunder rumbled, I was taken to the far back of the village, the part that hugged the volcano, where a large cave was carved into the center of the rock, surrounded by a wooden barricade. Going a ways into the mountain, and I could see the civilians huddled in the back. A doctor inside took me in and tended to me, applying painkillers and bandaging my wounds and providing me with fresh clothes.
"That's strange…" the doctor furrows her brow as she pokes around my chest, where I had been shot.
"What is it?" I ask, confused and, admittedly, a bit terrified.
"Well, you're bleeding profusely, as if you have been shot, but there is no bullet," she responds, "And your lungs, spine, and heart are unharmed despite the missing tissue around them… it can't be possible that that your rib stopped the bullet, because it went straight through your body and that just isn't possible… that's so strange…"
"Well, what isn't strange on this crew?" I ask rhetorically as she wraps bandages around my chest and back, knowing already what had happened. I didn't know if it was grandpa, but something interfered here. I slide off the operating slab, gingerly slinging onto my bare back my gear, which was dropped off by Wash.
"Where do you think you're going?" the doctor asks, and I grab my belt as the crack of rifles and the slashing of sabers sounds outside, and I stagger out, looping the leather strap, my knives ready for battle.
"There's a battle going on out there," I respond shakily, checking my ammunition, "I'm not just going to sit here when all hands should be on deck."
"You're just going to hurt yourself!" the doctor goes to stop me, but I shrug her off.
"That's why you gave me painkillers, right?" I chuckle weakly, grimacing as some of the pain goes through.
"Gee, that was cheesy," I hear someone scoff from the side, "You're hopeless."
"Who're you to say?" I glance to the side, but am only met with brilliant blue and green eyes.
"Someone that can think straight and thinks you should stay here," Rhea raises an eyebrow at me, my rifle in hand, and I have to say, she looked beautiful in a new way at that moment. Fun fact, I've always thought that combat and war games never do women justice. They're always shown with tank tops, short shorts, and armor that doesn't provide any purpose than to up the sexual tension in the air. Rhea? She blew that idea out of the park.
"Huuuh…" I gawk. She was wearing a flexible leather cuirass that extended down to her knees and gauntlets/gloves over a grey long sleeved shirt. On her legs she wore leather greaves over black sweatpants that were tucked into leather boots. The flexible material, due to its nature, accentuated her curves and hips, and her messy shoulder-length hair made it seem like she just came from the middle of the fight. To put it simply: she looked hot and well-protected.
"Stop staring," she orders, and I avert my exhausted eyes, face flushing with color, and I can feel my bullet wound start to leak as hy heart pounds, causing me to wince.
Goddammit, Kelly! I groan, ashamed, Why do you have to go and be a creep? "Who said I was?" I smirk, and she raises an eyebrow.
"Oh, really? Well, aren't you just one chivalrous bastard," she rolls her eyes, "Stop lying."
I shrug, and my shoulder screams in pain, but I don't show it. "What if I'm not?"
"Whatever," Rhea scoffs, shoving my rifle into my arms, "You shouldn't go out there."
"Like hell I'm not!" I try to raise my voice, but I stop as a sharp pain goes through my chest, and I grasp at it, "I haven't done all I can yet."
"Well, I suppose if you're going out in that state, someone has to help you," the brown-haired girl sighs, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Oh~?" I ask, my tone implicative, "Is there a reason that you immediately turned around and now want to go fight with me~?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself," she scoffs, "I met you three days ago, and I'm making sure that you don't die because you saved my town. Also, I want to do my part too."
"I'm hearing a 'but' here," I grin, and a phantom of a smile flashes across her face, but it disappears just as quickly.
"But…" she turns, walking to the entrance of the cave, "I admire that you ran here in that state just to save people. You are as good a person as Leon said you are."
I smirk in confidence as I glance at myself. My chest was covered in bandages, and you could see the blood from my bullet wound already seeping through the linen, and I remember what I'd seen and the voice I'd heard, and a chill runs down my spine. "Well, I wasn't about to let you all down."
"So, that means I should always expect something, doesn't it?" I see a small smile as she turns her head, "C'mon, let's go help them."
"Yes, ma'am," I nod, staggering past the doctor, and I nearly collapse, but Rhea catches me, looking at me worriedly.
"Hey, you can't fight like that! Do you want your injuries to get worse?" said doctor screeches, and I squint as Rhea helps me walk to the cave entrance, past the civilian and families cowering in fear, into the light. My answer was only a weak grin.
"Don't worry!" I wave - really just me sticking my arm out - feeling exhausted, given my lack of sleep, but I was determined to see it through, "I don't have any stitches, so you won't have to pull me back together twice!"
"Jesus," the doctor groans, and she pulls out two syringes, "Why this crew… Well, at least let me inject these," she presses the two syringes into my veins, and I gulp as the liquid inside rushes into my system, "This is another dose of morphine and a dose of adrenaline. The adrenaline should kick in in a few minutes, but the morphine will take almost thirty. Good luck," she walks off into the cave, looking ticked as all hell and muttering about 'dumb pirates'.
"Kelly, are you sure about this?" Rhea asks me, and I nod, "Okay. Just know that even if you want to turn back, you've already saved more than enough people."
"Of course I'm sure," I grit my teeth, readying myself for the scene, "Let's go already," she nods, and we forge forward-
"Oi, what are you doing here?"
-only to immediately run into towering Atlas, and Rhea immediately drops me.
"Ow…" I groan, and Atlas narrows his eyes.
"Why are you here?" the titan rumbles angrily, and I struggle up, coughing through grit teeth, "And with my daughter who I told to stay in the cave to look after her mother," he jerks his head to the cave, and Rhea starts to retreat - because who wants to argue with that massive of a dude - but I reach out with my right arm, despite the agony that moving the healing socket gave me, grabbing her wrist.
"I'm here to fight, sir," I growl, straightening as much as possible, pulling Rhea back and bringing up my rifle, pumping the lever defiantly and slipping in a stripper clip, "She's here to watch my back," so to ram my point home, I close the breach with a click.
"You're crazy if you think you can fight in that state," the man scowls.
"I am a Whitebeard, aren't I?" I shoot back, and the former second division commander glares at me.
"Kid, let me tell you something," Atlas sticks a massive finger in my face, "I have been through war. I've seen it when dumbass brats like you who think they're hot shit run headlong into battle only to show up the next day with half of their faces missing. I have seen brothers die side by side, blown to bits by cannon fire. I have seen Devil Fruits tear children limb from limb…" he draws back the finger, narrowing his eyes, and I close mine, bracing for what was next, "But I haven't seen a kid as suicidal as you."
Wait, what? I open my eyes in surprise. That was admiration in his tone.
The titan explains. "Oftentimes, when children fight in wars, they see the carnage and immediately figure out that they can't be there. That they will die. But I don't see that with you," he gestures to my bandages, "You survived getting shot in the chest after running an insane distance, and even after risking your life, you still want to fight. Most kids would take being wounded as a chance to leave the fight. Run. But here you are. Still wanting to fight and with enough balls on you to stand up to me."
"So…" Rhea gulps off to my side, "I'm forgiven for following him out here?"
"Oh, no, I'm still furious," Atlas glares at her, "But, as long as you two are here…"
"No, Atlas," Wash and Leon walk into the conversation, and Wash glares at the former Commander, "I sent you to intercept them and send them back, not be moved by Kelly's idiocy."
"Borororo! What can I say?" the titan chortles, "I like the balls on this kid! And besides, he looks well enough to help us."
"No, absolutely not," Leon shuts him down, "For one, Kelly is wounded, and two, I couldn't face myself if I let them die."
"We're right here," I grunt, half from pain and half from annoyance, "We can hear you."
"Shut up, Kelly," Leon growls angrily, "I just learned that we are going to be attacked ten hours ago, and I had to gather the entire village and organize a defense against an unknown amount of enemies, so you don't get to be snarky with me."
"Woah, sorry, man," I stumble back, surprised. Leon has never been so aggressive, ever.
"No! I will not take that!" he roars, "People have died! You had no right to keep this from me, to not tell me about the army at our doorstep! If you had told us all, we could've gotten away-!"
"Leon!" Wash barks, slapping the rookie Lieutenant with a tendril of bubbles, "Shut up!"
"Like hell I will!" Leon rages back, furious, and he pulls the golden Celestial Dragon revolver from it's holster, pointing it at Wash, "It was you, wasn't it!? You figured it out, you told everyone to keep me in the dark!"
"Yeah," Wash calmly stares ahead, "Because I knew you would freak out and endanger the lives of the citizens."
Leon cocks back the hammer, preparing to fire. "We could've escaped-!"
Slam!
"Both of you, zip it," Atlas tightens his grip on their skulls, having slammed them together, "That happened in the past. We can't do anything about it now, so how about we work with each other before going at each other's throats. Besides, Wash was right to keep you in the dark, Leon. We may have been able to get onto boats, but then where? Get lost to the Line? Get blown out of the water by cannons?"
"Atlas, please never do that again," Wash stumbles away as the titan releases them - Leon fell to the ground, unconscious - rubbing his head, "I've been getting migraines ever since my fight with Raver, and that was worse than anything I've had recently."
"Uh, if I might ask?" I pipe up, realizing that this situation was missing a short brown-haired guy about my age, "Where is Haruta? I expected him to be here, all things considered."
"Haruta?" Atlas scratches his head, "You mean that feisty little kid that was sleeping? He ran off the moment we all retreated. Little coward."
"Now, I doubt that," Wash shakes his head, "Haruta isn't one to run from a fight. I think he might be looking for a bigger one."
"You mean the big guy back on the shore?" Atlas grunts, "The brat'd get squashed by that guy's boot."
"You wouldn't fare any better, with how rusty you've gotten over the years," Wash points out, and the titan goes silent.
"So, if I might ask," I glance around, not seeing any combat but sure that I'd heard it just minutes earlier. The place wasn't doing too well, though, with the large seven foot wooden logs that made the makeshift wall uneven and falling over. The small gate looked battered, like it would collapse in at any moment, and blood stained the ground near portholes for rifle fire, the bodies likely already moved out of respect, "Why aren't we in some desperate defense right now?"
"Yeah, they outnumber us by a lot," Rhea muses, "Why aren't they just trying to overwhelm us?"
"Well, let me show you," Wash picks up Leon and leads us over to a table with a map on it, one of the town.
"What is this? Besides the obvious fact that it's a map of the town," I study the paper, noticing the pencil marks forming the barrier, and dozens of arrows pointing out, likely various plans of attack.
"Well, we initially had this as a regrouping point, so that we could maybe organize a breakout to get the families onto boats," Wash gestures to the scribbled out illustration of the former barricade by the forest, and to red markings leading in from the beach, "But unfortunately, they tricked us-"
My fault, I furrow my brow, berating myself for my stupidity.
"-and now we only have this as our primary defense. I haven't heard anything from those we sent to watch the shoreline, unfortunately. I think they were obliterated by the big guy," Wash points to a blob of red near the town square, "Atlas and I felt a collection of their forces here," he points to the red arrows going towards the wall, "And it seems like they haven't been sending their full forces, just probing our defenses. They couldn't really attack because we're situated on a hill, and the rain makes it muddy and difficult to climb. But they're waiting for something, I can feel it."
"Well, what is it?" I ask, a stream of rainwater running the length of my scar, and I wipe it away.
Wash sighs. "I don't know. That's the problem."
"Well, send someone to figure it out," I rub my chin with my good arm.
"I can't waste an able-bodied person on a suicide mission, Kelly," Wash folds his arms, "We're surrounded. Whoever we sent would be caught and killed."
"Then send me," I suggest, my chest aching, "I'm one foot in the grave already, so I'm expendable!"
"No," Wash growls, suddenly aggressive with me, "I am not sending you to die, Kelly. You are too young, too weak. If I sent you on this mission, I wouldn't be able to face Pops or Leon ever again."
"I'm volunteering myself, dammit!" I raise my voice, but Rhea covers my mouth with her hand.
"One second," she tells Wash, and drags me off to the side, "What are you trying to prove?" she snarls, grabbing my face and forcing me to look into her eyes. I gulp, half from a dry throat and half from the fact that my heart nearly fucking stopped. Ugh, that sounded cheesy, but it was the truth.
"I'm not trying to prove anything, it's a tactical choice," I snap back, pushing down the butterflies, "I'm already wounded. I'm more of a liability than anything."
"Then why did you want to come fight, huh? Aren't you frightened of dying young or something?" Rhea furrows her brow, and I hesitate. She had a point.
Why am I doing this? I ask myself in jumbled confusion, Just yesterday, I was terrified of death, but now I'm not. Is it because I know what's after? That white void?
So why don't you give us a show, brat? That voice from the void resonates within my mind, and I grit my teeth, standing straight, towering over the brunette in front of me.
"Because I'm not afraid," I say, feeling steeled determination rise up as my blood seems to rush - likely the adrenaline kicking in - and I push past her, Rhea's frankly shocked expression heightening the feeling of pride, and I slam my hands onto the table, gaining everyone's full attention, "Buckswain Dexter," I stare right into Wash's grey eyes, which were swirling like a storm, "I have a plan."
"What is it?" he raises an eyebrow defiantly, likely at my use of his real - and full - name.
"I can go out and learn what exactly you're up against, and also take out their ship," I explain, my gaze only locked with his, "But I need you to help me up to the roofs with your bubbles so I can get to the beach. Think you can do that?"
"I could give you a lift, but it would drain my strength too quickly. And besides, I'm not sending you out alone, Kelly," Wash stares me down, "And I can't waste anyone here to go with you, because you'd both be riddled with bullets. Unless…" he wheels on Atlas, "Hey, Commander-"
"Former Commander," Atlas reminds him.
"Former Commander Atlas," Wash corrects himself, "Would you be able to keep this place safe if I leave with Kelly?"
"Wait, what?" I blink, surprised that he would actually offer, considering the situation.
"Yeah, I'd say I could," the titan nods, "As long as Leon wakes up."
"Good," Wash nods, "Kelly, let's get going. I can make a bridge over everyone and shield us."
"Why not just flood them all with bubbles?" I suddenly realize that Wash could defeat everyone almost instantly, "You can do that, can't you?"
"Ah," Wash rubs his neck, pale skin flushing pink, "I can't."
"Why not?" Rhea scoffs, rejoining the situation, "Aren't Devil Fruits all bullshit or something?"
"They aren't as all powerful as you think," Wash shakes his head, "There are rules and weaknesses. Mine just happens to be water and rain," he glances at the stormy sky, dozens of gallons pouring down on us, "It melts my suds too fast. It's why I'd only be able to make a bridge to the rooftops, and even that would dissipate quickly."
"Isn't that kinda dumb?" the brunette raises a brow at the grey-haired man, "I mean, you're a Whitebeard that becomes useless when he gets rained on. That's stupid."
"Well, I can't do anything about it, can I?" Wash shrugs dismissively, but his eyes glinted with dangerous mischief, "And who said I was useless? I still have my Haki, and I was the first mate of the most skilled hand to hand fighter on the crew. That same lady just so happens to be training Kelly as well."
"Wait, you mean Karen?" I scratch my head, shuddering slightly, "Oh yeah, I forgot that she used to be a Captain before joining us. But she's the best hand to hand fighter? I didn't know that. I mean, she's good and all, but I would have thought that maybe Jozu was as good."
"No, he just punches stuff," Wash chuckles, "And while she might not have ridiculous mobility like Thatch or Raver, if Karen gets in close and you don't have time to put up Armament Haki, you're screwed."
"I can second that statement," my eye twitches as the memories of her 'lessons' flash before my eyes, "But we're getting off-track. Are we going or not?"
"Yeah, and we should head out before whatever it is they want gets here," Wash guides me to the wall, "I'll push you over. Act like a dead body, so that they won't suspect anything."
"You going to protect us as best you can?" I say, and Wash nods.
"I can still make a shield, so yeah," he cradles his hands, "Up you go!"
Welp, out of the frying pan, I steel myself as I'm pushed up and over, falling over the makeshift wall and collapsing limp on the other side. A moment later, I hear a squelch as Wash falls onto the mud next to me.
"Start rolling," I hear the Lieutenant whisper, and I tilt my body, allowing the slick mud to carry me down the hill, where I bump into a house.
"Who goes there?" I hear a voice come through the sheets of rain that were now pouring down.
"Stay still," Wash hisses next to me, a beam of light shining on us through the darkened sky, and I shut my eyes, holding my breath as the squish of feet in mud make their way towards us.
"The hell is this?" the voice, reedy and high, says, and another set of feet walk up.
"I dunno," the second voice, burly and rough, grunts, "What does it looks like? Couple of dead bodies."
"I can see that, you damn blight, I mean why are they here?" the first voice asks, "They aren't ours, and it ain't like the ol' Whiteys to dump their precious 'brothers' out in the rain."
"They're probably getting desperates, though," the burly man reasons, "I mean, this rain ain't making the dirt very good. Besides, in a battle it doesn't matters what you do."
"Yeah, yeah," I hear a squelch to my left as they presumably roll Wash over, and I can feel the moisture from the watery ground seeping through my bandages, "Oi, don't this guy look familiar?"
"Yeah, ain't he that Lieutenant? Was' his name…" voice two muses, "'Whitewasher' Dexter, right?"
"Yeah, I think it is, but he looks like shit," reedy man chuckles, "We ought to go tell the others!"
"This second one's all bandaged," I feel a large foot push against me, and I'm rolled over, a light shining in my face, which I try to stay relaxed to, "Young, too."
"You sound almost sick," reedy man sneers.
"I don't like all this," burly man turns the light away, and I crack open my eyes, seeing a lantern to my right, "First, we attacks a harmless settlement, and now we's killing kids."
"Ugh," I glance to my left, and a very thin figure stands over me, "You're always like this, Buck! Grow a stomach, would ya?"
"Well, it's just…" I glance right, where a much more built figure towers, "I gots my own kid back home abouts his age. If I lost him, I couldn't live with meselfs anymore. Ain't we doin' that to this kid's mum and pa? Why are we's even here? It ain't even some strategic point or anything!"
"Jeez, ya damn blight!" reedy man growls, "Don't ya remember? These bastards' captain attacked one of our Islands! Razed it to the ground! These fucks killed my baby girl!" he slams a foot into my side, and I struggle to remain still as my chest screams, heart pounding, "And then they had the gall to raise their damned flag over the ashes. They deserve to burn like us."
"Ya have a point…" the burly man, Buck, sighs, "But it still don't feel right. These people didn't do it."
"Whatever," I hear squelches as the pair leaves, and I gasp, the pain beginning to seep through again.
"Kelly, you good?" I hear Wash ask, and I wheeze, hardly able to respond.
"Yeah…" I struggle, and dry heave on the ground, "Just… fine…"
"Good, because we need to move," Wash grabs my arm and slings me over his shoulder, "Hang on. Bleached Pillar!"
Wha-? I think groggily before he suddenly lurches, launching up into the air, and we land on a rooftop, the pillar of bubbles quickly dissolving behind us. "Ugh, Jeez, don't you understand sarcasm?"
"Kelly, shut up," Wash creeps over the rooftop, and after a final dry heave, I follow, traversing the slippery surface, "Look."
"What am I looking at?" I ask as I see large black lumps below, covered by canvas tents, with people milling about, "What the…?" I squint, and am able to make out three cylindrical designs, all mounted on wooden platforms, "Wait, are those what I think they are?" I gulp, and Wash nods.
"They brought cannons," Wash pulls out a transponder snail and pushes the button, "Atlas…? Yeah, it's Wash. They have cannons. Get everyone to the cave and form a volley fire line… God help us…"
Mein Gott, my heart pounds as I see movement, and I squeeze my eyes shut as the first of the guns booms, unable to watch.
AN: Finals week… is hell… I have no idea when I'm gonna update next. As usual, if you have ideas or criticism, PM me or leave a review. I don't have much to say other than that, so I'll see you next chapter!