A/N: I built a shelf! Well, not really. I got it from IKEA and my dad helped me put it together – some drawer/shelf combo thing for my stuff, as I have a lot of stuff. Why do I have so much stuff? It was an adventure, and truly showed my skills as a master builder of furniture from IKEA. I forgot to add a little metal bit in one of the holes to help keep the nail in place, and had to take just about the whole thing apart. I put the sides of the drawers on backwards, and had to take it apart.
So yes. Such skill. I shouldn't be trusted alone with this kind of thing. On the bright side, my cat loves it.
Warnings: Language, violence, and possibly some implications of rape.
Chapter 28: The Floating Islands Part Five: The Shining Knight of Cooking Arises! A Woman's Desperate Tears are heard!
**Countdown: Two Months, 11 days left**
Meanwhile, the town was in chaos with people shouting and running in all directions. The Pirates and their allies looked around the town, taking in the people and noting that numerous Marines were scattered around unconscious on the ground. Luffy stood in the center of all them shouting, "Rorrim! I'm coming to kick your ass!"
"Quit shouting our intentions you idiot!" Law shouted at Luffy.
Things were only made worse when someone shouted,
"It's the Straw Hat Pirates! The former Warlord Law is with them!"
Of course, with everyone shouting and being caught in a fight between Pirates and Marines (and quite possibly the Revolutionaries) people understandably began to panic. Quite a few of the Marines were not helping the situation either, as they were shouting about Revolutionaries and demanding answers from the Pirates.
"Straw Hat!" a Marine shouted, and then he smirked. "I have to say that I'm actually not surprised to see you here…but I have to say, Surgeon of Death…why are you getting involved? What are your plans with the Revolutionaries?! Answer me!"
"We have somewhere to be, so let us through!" Luffy demanded, ignoring the Marine and his questions. Luffy punched the Marine out cold, and he was followed by the rest of his crew and his allies as they made their way through the streets.
"Damn, those guys keep getting in the way!" Luffy complained.
"It's kind of nice that we don't have to do a lot of fighting…" Usopp replied, as they went on their way.
More people panicked and began saying things like, "Straw Hat Luffy is declaring war once again!" and others began questioning the Revolutionaries' intentions. Everyone hid themselves as best they could and talked in fierce whispers wondering why the son of Dragon and his crew along with a former Warlord were causing a rampage on Bháite.
"Surely, these Pirates have to be crazy going up against an esteemed Marine like Vice-Admiral Rorrim Ijdel!" one man said to his friend from their hiding spot.
His friend responded by shaking his head, saying, "The Straw Hats and the Heart Pirates are damn crazy that's for sure…after the incidents two years ago and most recently the Rocky Port Incident and that whole disaster with Doflamingo…is it any surprise that they're here now? Whatever is going on here with the Marines, the Pirates must have some sort of deeper motive for getting involved. I overheard them talking about Revolutionaries!"
"I hope they resolve whatever conflicts they're having and quickly!" the former moaned, and his friend couldn't agree with him more. Bháite was well-known for being peaceful, after all.
As they ran towards the Marine Base, Sokka and Zuko were calling out, "Jed! Daria!"
But of course, no one answered them.
"Where should we start looking?" Sokka questioned.
"Wherever the party is!" Luffy said with a determined grin.
Sanji laughed, saying, "That's Luffy for—hmm?" He stopped mid-sentence and without explanation took off using Sky Walk.
"Where's he going?" Sokka wondered aloud.
"Forget him, he does that." Zoro responded as he quickly and easily struck down a Marine who tried to attack him.
They nearly ran into a small group of people coming up from one of the side streets, and Sokka avoided being trampled thanks to Luffy grabbing him and pulling him back.
"Wait! What's going on?" Zuko asked when he managed to stop someone. Perhaps since he wasn't easily recognized, the townsfolk would be willing to talk to him.
"Jed and Daria are going crazy!" the man said, terrified. "They're attacking the Marines!"
Before Zuko could ask where the incident was taking place, the man ran off, following the crowd.
There was a lot of noise coming from a tavern down the street where the people had run from, so they made their way there, and found another group of people off to the side watching everything go down. The front of the tavern was completely gone, shattered from whatever had crashed into it, or rather, what had been thrown through it. Numerous Marines, and even a few locals were passed out on the ground, and scattered amongst the rubble from the tavern's front wall. Jed stood on a table in the middle of the tavern with a daring smirk on his face while surrounded by Marines. "Come on, ya bastards! You gotta do better than that!"
He jumped and caught a Marine in a pile-drive, straight into the ground and pulled off another number of swift wrestling and boxing moves. Daria was close behind him, ducking in between Marine attacks using some form of martial arts to take down her opponents and using whatever she could get her hands on to knock them out.
"Jed!" Zuko called out, and after punching a Marine in the face, Jed turned to them. "What are you still doing here?!" he asked as he easily dodged a strike without looking back at the man who delivered it. "I thought for sure you would have left by now?"
"Rorrim knows about you and your family, that's why they're here!" Sokka spilled out quickly, and it was then Jed's grin dropped, and Daria's eyes showed concern.
"Is our family alright?"
"They're fine, although the trading port has certainly seen better days." Law explained.
More Marines came to confront their targets, and Luffy sighed.
"This is getting annoying!"
Looking quite serious, Luffy put a hand on his hat to adjust it, and then Sokka and Zuko felt a strange burst of energy, a sort of odd, tingling sensation. The two stared open-mouthed as the Marines simply collapsed where they stood.
"What the…how the…" Sokka stuttered. This just made the whole thing with that Sea King creature seem like nothing. This was also apparently nothing to the other Pirates as they conversed with each other and Jed and Daria (although the two did look at Luffy as though they were very impressed.)
It was quickly explained to Jed and Daria what the situation was, and after contacting Vidu, Vera and the others using Law's Den-Den Mushi to let them know that Jed and Daria were alright, the pair nodded their understanding.
"You guys should get out of here too," Jed replied, and Daria only nodded her agreement. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes showed thankfulness and relief. She slowly raised a hand to wave at them,
"We can't go yet!" Luffy insisted. "I have to kick that Rorrim guy's ass!"
"What! Are you serious?" Jed asked wide-eyed, and Daria stared at Luffy as if she was trying to figure out whether or not he was joking. Seeing that he was being completely serious, Jed only shook his head. "Be careful, Straw Hat-san. And thanks."
The two made their way out of the wrecked tavern and Jed started yelling, "Oi! Marines! Kiss my ass!"
Jed momentarily turned back and yelled, "Carter, sorry about the tavern!"
To which a man's frustrated voice from somewhere behind the bar, yelled, "Just go!"
The two easily took care of and dodged the Marines that had survived Luffy's Haki blast and tried coming after them, and caused a ruckus wherever they were going to give the Pirates a chance to escape. But for the remaining Marines who stayed behind, they all looked back and forth between each other, obviously questioning the situation, saying amongst each other, "Why are the Straw Hats and the Surgeon of Death here?"
"Obviously they called them here! Why else would they be here!"
"But this wasn't part of the plan!" another insisted.
As the Marines continued to look somewhat worried, and discussed the situation, Law stepped forward. "We'll take care of these Marines. You were going to find Ebony-ya, weren't you, Zoro-ya?"
Zoro nodded and briefly closed his eye in focus, and then said, "Ebony's off in that direction. Zuko, Sokka, come on!"
The two only nodded in response and followed after him, secretly hoping he wasn't leading them somewhere where they would get completely lost.
"Alright then," Law's signature creepy smile spread across his face, unnerving the Marines and even his own allies. "Let's get started, shall we? Room!"
Eurynome pulled herself out of the water and ran towards one of the spots she knew Ebony liked spending his time, but he wasn't there. She would punch him once she found him. She attempted to use her Kenbunshoku Haki, but she couldn't sense much of anything at first. Whenever she panicked, those emotions made that form of Haki practically useless. Admittedly, it was not one of her strong points, but at any other time it was very nearly flawless.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit, calm down!" Eurynome slapped her face. "Stupid!"
Gasping because she was trying to calm herself and make sure that the rest of her family was okay, she tried to refocus her panic into anger, because at least her Haki still worked when she was feeling that. Flashes of Ebony's energy went in and out, but thoughts of Rorrim kept creeping their way into her mind. It made her angry, for sure, but panic and worry kept shoving her anger and rationality aside.
Things had really gotten screwed up in the last few hours, and now everything she held dear was in danger, and the Straw Hats and their allies had gotten pulled into it. Eurynome wanted to kick herself for not realizing that Rorrim had discovered them sooner, but because he seemed so indifferent, ignorant, and acted like a complete flirtatious fool, she and everyone else had underestimated him.
A few hours earlier…
After Eurynome had bade the Pirates goodbye, she went upstairs and changed her clothes (as they were dirty from her inconvenient swim and she had ended up spilling food all over her chest at one point) she changed into a dark tank top and short shorts and made her way to the Marine Base, wanting to get there quickly, yet loathing the time she would have to spend there.
Upon seeing her, the Marines let her in at the gate without a word, and one man directed her to follow him. Eurynome took note of all the rooms that they were passing, and internally made a face at what in her opinion was useless décor and wasted space. She looked at the mirrors that lined the halls, making her think of a creepy funhouse.
Seriously, that Rorrim bastard can't get enough of himself…
The Marine lead her to a waiting room and Eurynome took in its occupants, and slowly realized a running trend among them. Mothers and Fathers were with daughters, and brothers were with sisters. The girls ranged from Eurynome's age to their early twenties, and each of them was dressed to the nines. The eligible girls peered at themselves in the mirrors powdering their noses and making sure that their lipstick was perfect and not a single hair was out of place. The girls talked in excited whispers amongst themselves and their family members.
Eurynome screamed internally. This is a marriage proposition! He's interviewing all the eligible girls on the island!
An image of her and Rorrim kissing crept its way into her mind, and she fought the urge to gag. Maybe she should have taken Rorrim's offer that Ebony come with her as well, and forced him into coming with her.
One of the girls closer to her age saw Eurynome and scoffed for all to hear, "What is she doing here? Wearing…that?"
She and a few of the other girls tittered while their parents either shushed them or did nothing to correct the girls' laughter. Their laughter didn't last for long as Eurynome glared at them in a manner to which all of them immediately responded with screams and wails and immediately backed off.
Eurynome tried to think of a way out of this horrific situation when the door to Rorrim's office opened and he escorted a tittering young lady out.
"It was so nice to talk with you, Rita-chan. I do hope you have a pleasant evening."
As Rita walked by, she looked Eurynome up and down, pursed her lips and shook her head. Eurynome wanted to tell her to shove that attitude up her ass. She simply didn't get along well with the other girls on the island and cute clothing and boys were the furthest things from her mind. Her clothes were about functionality, not fashion.
"Oh, Eurynome-chan, you're here!" Rorrim greeted, and she felt a flush of anger as the other girls and their families simultaneously looked back and forth between them in shock. Rorrim had greeted Eurynome specifically out of all the other girls in the room.
"Please, do come in."
"What?!" Another girl said in a fierce whisper. "We were here before her!"
"Yeah, what's so special about her?"
Eurynome was thankful that she wouldn't have to wait with the other girls, and would have this headache over with sooner than later, she walked into Rorrim's office and sat down in a large comfy chair slowly, while taking in the décor and the numerous mirrors that decorated the room, even the ceiling. Large book cases filled with various books and even a few decorations lined one side of the room, although there was space in between each of the cases to fit a full-length mirror. File cabinets were on the other side of the room just behind the large and elaborate desk, and a large painting of some sort of Marine ship sailing through a storm hung on the wall behind Rorrim. Eurynome had the feeling that was where he kept his valuables, because paintings that were attached to walls looked different than those which were simply hung on the wall. At least she insisted there was a difference, and her family couldn't tell one way or the other.
The numerous mirrors throughout the base unnerved her.
Rorrim must be into some seriously kinky stuff. She shuddered.
"Hm? Are you cold?" Rorrim asked, bringing Eurynome's focus back to the situation at hand.
"What? No…no, I'm fine." Eurynome insisted quickly, acting as casual and not anxious as possible. "So…w-what did you want to see me about?"
"Ah, you see, Eurynome-chan," Rorrim looked at himself in one of his many mirrors as he continued. "I'm looking to the future. Big changes are coming for me within the next few days, even weeks. Quite obviously, if you have put it together (it shouldn't be hard to tell) Guuufafafafa…I'm interviewing all the eligible young ladies on Bháite."
"I figured as much…" Eurynome forced a smile.
As Rorrim droned on about courting, marriage, various propositions, and promotions for what seemed like an eternity, Eurynome fought the urge to fall asleep in her chair and tried to help keep herself awake by fiercely pinching her arm, and saying things like, "Oh, I see" and "Oh, really?"
Her attention was suddenly fully brought back to Rorrim when he asked, "So, Daria-chan…she and…Jed-san, was it? They're a couple?"
"Uh…you could say that…" Eurynome shifted in her chair, as she was feeling very stiff. Keeping her tone as friendly and casual as possible, she asked, "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious, really," Rorrim waved his hand. "She's a pretty girl, and Jed-san is definitely a lucky man."
Rorrim opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a few papers. As he did so, he said, "You know, speaking of Daria-chan and Jed-san, I happened to be talking to a really good friend of mine (a fellow Marine) a few weeks ago, and you know, he just so happens to work under a St. Charlise, whose brother (his name was St. Chalin) well, he was killed, umm…when was it…let's see here…fifteen years ago, by a man named Saoirse Kiba."
Eurynome stiffened, and hoped her expression gave nothing away.
Rorrim began look all the more ominous as he spoke.
"And St. Chalin, for whatever reason, had quite the tendency to cut the nerves in his slaves' faces, along with cutting their vocal chords. And you know…that comment of my friend made me think of Daria-chan, as in all the time I've known her, I've never seen her smile or heard her speak. Too much of a coincidence if you ask me. So, I started calling other friends who were looking for missing slaves as well. And you want to know what a select few of them had in common? They were all killed by Saoirse Kiba, except one, who had his arm cut off. He nearly did die, but quite obviously he made it. And then…he described his slave. She was young, around 9 or 10 years old when he was viciously attacked and she was stolen from him. I mean, Dacho-chan could be described as being what, 12 or 13 years of age? Who would have ever guessed that she's actually around 25 years old? I admit that threw me off quite a bit."
Eurynome really hoped that her expression wasn't giving anything away. "A-are you sure."
She cursed herself for allowing her voice to come out the slightest bit shaky, and she hoped that Rorrim didn't notice. She dug her fingernails into her palms as she fought to keep calm.
"Oh, quite." Rorrim smiled, and it truly unnerved Eurynome. "You see, another thing that helped to clue me in on your little "family" was that the Losbrekens never had any children as far as I could tell. And after a bit of digging, I found that Losbreken Eurynome and Losbreken Ebony technically don't even exist. But Saoirse Eurynome and Saoirse Ebony…oh, they very much exist don't they?"
Rorrim reveled in hearing himself talk and bragging about his accomplishments, along with rubbing his victories in others' faces. "And another thing was the death of Saoirse Frida eleven years ago. You really do look so much like her." His tone was condescending. "Although, another thing that confused me was that both of her children were described as being fair-haired, and your brother's hair is black. Although what all of you did with those tattoos and changing your appearances was smart," he slowly tapped a finger on his temple. "It wasn't smart enough to outsmart me.
"Now, here's how this is going to work. I have a few Marines headed over to where your brother is. Did Ebony-san seriously think that we wouldn't find out about his little Underworld dealings? That's quite illegal you know."
"W-what? Ebony's n-not involved in anything like that. You're mistaken…"
"They tried to reason with him and have him come quietly, but he put up such a fight. It's unfortunate that his death came about in such a terrible manner."
Eurynome's eyes widened as she quickly stood up from her seat angrily shouting, "You cock-sucking—"
She was cut off when someone grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her, along with painfully grabbing her hair and smashing her face into the desk. Eurynome gasped, as she could have sworn that she and Rorrim were the only ones in the room. Her eyes shifted wildly, trying to see her attacker, but there was no one there. She then spotted her reflection in the mirror, and saw that Rorrim was the one holding her down.
She gasped. "The mirror…you…"
"As I was saying," he continued, "before I was so rudely interrupted." He twisted her arm even further. "With the death of your brother, and your capture, your family is going to run."
No…they won't. They will stay and fight, even if it kills them. They promised.
"I'll give you a transponder snail, and you're going to call them, tell them that the Marines found out about you and Ebony, that you both were captured (I don't want them finding out about his untimely death just yet) and tell them to run. You will insist that they do so. And you are going to tell me where they are headed. After all, they'll lead us straight to Saoirse and Dragon and the rest of the Revolutionaries, won't they?"
"You're mistaken! They don't know anything!" Eurynome insisted, trying to wiggle out of Rorrim's reflection's grip. "We don't know anything about those guys!"
"I can tell you're lying."
"I'll never tell you anything! So you can go fu—"
"Pretty young girls such as you shouldn't have such a foul mouth." Rorrim said, as he calmly sat in his chair. Another set of hands grabbed Eurynome, forcing her to stand up, and pulled her head back by her hair. She had a better view of the mirrors now, and although it was difficult to see, she could see in the shadows of the mirrors other versions of Rorrim walking around. Two versions of Rorrim were holding onto her, and she realized that absolutely none of Rorrim's reflections were copying him; they were scattered about in the reflections of the room.
"You see, Eurynome, here's the thing. By every right of the World Government, you and your brother should be executed, with that traitor's blood in your veins. But look at it like this: I'm saving you and your brother the pain and humiliation of being exposed as Saoirse Kiba's children and the publicized execution. The higher-ups would want you both dead anyway, but I'm not going to say a thing about keeping you alive. So you see, I'm being kind." His eyes narrowed at her. "You should be thanking me."
"I'll die before I tell you anything!" Eurynome spat.
"Everyone who has ever told me that has always given me what I wanted." Rorrim said as he dialed the Den-Den Mushi on his desk, and said, "I have Eurynome. Bring her into one of the cells. Begin the first stages of the plan."
A door that was off to the side and unnoticeable opened and two Marines came into the room. They roughly grabbed Eurynome, and she struggled against their grip, but her efforts were useless struggling against four people, especially two of which she couldn't even see or touch. But she bit, kicked and scratched, knocking things on the desk over, and managed to kick one guy in his manhood and the other on the jaw, and breaking something on the desk that caused Rorrim to get a decent gash on his hand. Two more of Rorrim's reflections moved in to help. Eurynome continued to fight, not caring who or what she hit. Even though she had managed to injure all of the men in the room one way or another, her efforts were soon nothing but ineffective. The man who had been kicked in the groin punched her hard enough that she saw stars, and that gave the men the chance to drag her into the secret passage and up numerous flights of stairs, leaving Rorrim to complain about cleaning up the mess and the cut on his hand. He carefully inspected his reflection, and sighed deeply at the cuts and scrapes that now covered his face, along with his torn and wrinkled uniform.
He quickly sent one of his reflections to inform one of his men to tell the bachelorettes waiting outside his door that all of his appointments were cancelled for that day, as something important had come up, and to send his condolences. Rorrim certainly didn't want anyone, especially a beautiful lady to see him so dirty. The Saoirse family certainly proved itself to be nothing but trouble since they had surfaced. He had to send in more than four reflections to take care of one small girl when she had managed to hit his reflections, albeit unwittingly.
"Girl packs quite a punch…" he examined his injured chin and the rest of his face with heavy scrutiny.
He quickly left via the secret exit in order to clean himself up, as he detested being dirty and looking unkempt.
The Marine pair dragged Eurynome into a jail cell and locked her wrists into a pair of thick cuffs.
"You can't do this! This is wrong!"
"Shut up, bitch." The man who had been kicked in the face kicked her in the side, leaving her collapsed on the floor and gasping. He walked away complaining, "Stupid bitch knocked a few of my teeth out with that little stunt of hers."
"Dammit, she busted the transponder snail I had in my pocket too. I'll have to go get a new one."
They closed the door and locked it, and Eurynome lay on the floor glaring at the door. She had to get out of here. Her family was going to get themselves killed. She remembered the day as she watched Vidu and Vera hug her father as they promised him that they would protect his children and his little makeshift family with their lives on the day he left to join Dragon. Even if she begged and pleaded with them to run, they wouldn't do it.
"Never make promises you can't or don't intend to keep."
Vera's words rang through her mind. Even if it killed them, they would fight to protect what they cherished. That was how Vera, Vidu, and the rest of the family were. They were all they had.
Sitting up in order to take in her situation, Eurynome had to look on the bright side of one thing; they had the cuffs on her front. She stood up and had to twist and stretch herself and crane her neck in an awkward position behind her so that she could see out the window of her cell. She ignored the cuffs that were cutting into her wrists as the chains they were attached to stretched to its limits. "Damn, that's really high up…" she whispered. She then spotted a group of Marines marching across the bridges. "Shit!"
She quickly looked around the room, trying to think of an idea that would help her escape. A small bed with a thin mattress and a foul-smelling bucket were the only things in the room. She adjusted herself so that she was standing with one of her feet on the handcuffs; she applied a force of Haki and broke through them. She then grabbed the mattress off of the bed and thrust the feet of the bed through the wall so that the bedframe blocked off the door. It would likely only buy her seconds, but that was hopefully all she needed.
Eurynome then began striking the corners of the window, and knocked out the bars. Looking out, she saw that there was a thick forest below, and she certainly didn't think trees would make for a very comfortable cushion.
"Hey, you!" one of the guards on the other side of the door was shouting, but Eurynome ignored him, and she grabbed the mattress, wrapped it around herself, and jumped out the window. But just as she did, a voice shouted, "Where do you think you're going?!"
Whoever it was reached for her and ended up grabbing the mattress. Eurynome rolled out of the mattress and lost her grip and ended up slamming into the side of the building which she tried and failed to grab onto in order to slow her fall, and fell into the trees. She banged into and broke numerous branches as she fell, and she forced her sore body to move just seconds after she hit the ground.
"Ahh!" she called out in pain. Eurynome shakily sat up, lightly gasping as she looked at her torn up and bloody fingernails. She saw that her ankle had been dislocated, and resisting the urge to vomit at the sight, she grabbed a stick and put it in her mouth, clenching her teeth, took a deep breath and forced her ankle back into place. "Gah! Dammit!" she cursed. She rocked back and forth, taking in quick, deep gasps while trying not to focus on the pain and prevent herself from passing out. It was only a temporary fix, and walking on it would only make it worse, but she didn't have time to think about things like that right now.
"This way! I saw her fall around here!"
Voices and footsteps sounded from around the other side of the prison, and Eurynome forced herself to stand and limp as quickly as she could towards the ocean. If she could just get into the water, then she could escape, she would find her family, and everything would be fine.
"Don't let her reach the water! We can't let her escape!" another voice shouted, and as Eurynome was running, her senses suddenly told her to move. She dove to the ground just as a series of bullets fired overhead.
"You idiot! We want her alive not dead!"
Eurynome pushed herself to her feet and ran once again; seriously wishing she had her hands on at least one of her weapons…well, maybe two. Then she would at least stand a chance. A few more shots were fired, and a ricochet struck her in the shoulder and another in the leg. Thankfully they had just grazed her and a bullet hadn't lodged itself into her flesh. Eurynome finally reached the water and dove in. She dove deep enough into the water that she was among the ruins of the old island, and actually knew it like the back of her hand. Orin had trained her down here. She stayed low until she reached the disk island where her family was. Just as she pulled herself onto shore and started running for the house, an explosion rang out, knocking her backwards.
"Ebony! Ebony!" Eurynome called out, looking back and forth. Rorrim had mentioned something about Ebony and Underworld dealings, and after thinking about it even more, she now wanted to beat up Ebony for getting so mixed up in such a thing. She knew that he snuck off at times, but he would never reveal what he was up to. That idiot…where would someone even exchange Underworld goods on Bháite in the first place?
As she was running, her senses told her that something was coming at her from behind, so she quickly turned to look behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rorrim's assistant come up from behind her. She didn't have a chance to dodge as he grabbed her head and caused her to face-plant into the ground, purposely shoving her face into the dirt as she slid almost two feet from a combination of her own speed and his shoving her. She really wished the trend of throwing her face into things would stop.
"Thought you could escape, did ya?" he sneered.
He forced her to turn over and she had a punch waiting for him. "Get off of me!"
He sat on top of her and wrestled with her hands, and she got one hand loose and thrust her palm upwards, making sure to give the man a nice dose of Haki as well. She ended up breaking his nose and knocking out a few of his front teeth.
"OW! Thad hurth, you bith!"
He slapped her as hard as he could after spitting out teeth. Eurynome twisted herself and bit down on his hand, taking away a decent chunk of flesh when he pulled away from her. She spat the chunk of his hand at him and struggled once again, and nearly got out from under him when he grabbed her throat and started to squeeze.
He glared menacingly at her. Even though his speech was lisping heavily, she still understood him.
"All you had to do was come quietly, and tell Rorrim where those damn Revolutionaries are hiding. I don't get his fascination with you. In all honesty, I'd say that your brother was a better candidate for helping us out than you. I suppose it's because you can do him more favors than just telling him where the Revolutionaries are hiding."
"Fuck you and fuck him too." Eurynome gasped out.
"That's exactly what you'll be doing. It'd be nice if I was your first."
One of his hands moved from her neck down to her breast and he slowly squeezed as he smirked down at her.
"Shame you aren't going to have the honor." Eurynome said hoarsely.
Eurynome twisted once again, and managed to kick him in the groin and then his stomach. He refused to let go, and he returned both hands to her throat, and this time he clutched her throat even harder. Eurynome squeezed her eyes shut, and a single tear rolled down her cheek, creating a clean, little trail as it did so. She was going to lose everything and everyone she cared about. She felt herself ready to pass out when she heard a strange noise, and she knew it wasn't her imagination when the assistant looked up asking, "What was that?"
"Get offa Eury-chan, ya shitty bastard! Collier Shoot!"
Sanji spun and with a fierce kick sent the assistant flying. Gasping for air, Eurynome stared at Sanji in a mix of gratefulness and admiration. "How did you…" she started hoarsely, and Sanji took a puff of his cigarette.
"I always hear a woman's tears."
Eurynome made a face and blushed, furiously wiping at her eyes. "I-I wasn't crying! I don't cry!"
Sanji only smiled. "You go do what you need to do, Eury-chan. I'll take care of this shitty bastard." Hearts suddenly popped into his eyes. "I'll be your knight in shining armor, Eury-chan!"
Eurynome fought back the urge to laugh, and only smiled, while the assistant glared at Sanji with a look of loathing.
"Thank you, Black Leg-san!" Eurynome and she looked even more relieved when their transponder snails rang and Law's voice came over saying that Jed and Daria were alright and were leaving. With thanks to Law and a smile and a nod to Sanji, Eurynome turned and ran to find Ebony.
"Why are you interfering?!" the assistant demanded of Sanji, who only lit himself a new cigarette.
"Haven't you ever been told not to be so rough with the ladies?" Sanji asked, shadows cast dangerously over his face. "I can't stand shitty guys like you."
The cook now glared at the assistant, a fire in his eyes. The assistant unwittingly flinched back.
"I'm gonna make you regret ever crossing paths with me, ya shitty secretary!"
Sanji then rushed at his opponent and delivered a fierce blow.
Sokka and Zuko followed closely behind Zoro, not as worried about getting lost as they normally would have been. He actually seemed to know where he was going this time, and they raced across the islands and connecting bridges towards a large disk island with a dense forest. The place was the furthest away from town, and was on the complete opposite side from where the trading post was. After they crossed the connecting bridge, Zoro stopped briefly to look around.
"Hm…I was sure I could sense him here…"
"What? You lost him? Does that mean he's…?" Sokka was scared to finish the sentence, while Zuko on the other hand complained, "You seemed to know where we were going!"
"I couldn't have been mistaken…" Zoro mused.
"Now's not the time for that!" Zuko insisted. He would have continued when a number of trees in the forest suddenly fell over with a loud crash. Seconds later, they saw Ebony run out of the forest looking completely bedraggled, and he stumbled across the ground, looking akin to a new-born Deer-fox cub.
"THIS…IS…CHEATING…YOU…GUYS…!" he gasped out. When he stumbled on something and fell, he turned, looking over his shoulder unable to do anything but helplessly watch as a Marine Captain wielding a large sword charged and swung down. Zoro intercepted the strike with a malicious grin, and Sokka and Zuko ran to Ebony's side to help him up.
He looked as if he was sick, and upon seeing them, he said, "Whoa…I thought I was going to die…what are all of you doing here, anyway?"
"I don't fully understand everything, but basically Rorrim knows your secret and has attacked the trading port but everyone is fine, Eurynome asked us to help find you, so here we are." Sokka explained without taking a breath.
"Ah! Why would Rorrim attack the trading port?! That really seems to be rather excessive, even if he knows my secret." Ebony looked slightly guilty.
Four other men came around the one that Zoro was holding off and charged the conversing trio. Zuko grabbed Ebony and pulled him to safety just as another sword struck the ground where they had been sitting.
"Are you injured?" Zuko asked, and Ebony shook his head.
"Banged up and out-numbered, and one of those guys put this on me." He held up his right-hand to show a single dark gray manacle that was on his wrist. "It's Sea Stone, so I can't use my Devil Fruit powers. Other than that, I'm alright."
"So, do we have to fight each and every one of you until we get the key?" Zoro asked, remembering the last time they needed a key for Sea Stone cuffs in an unfavorable light.
"There's no key!" One of the men laughed, mockingly. "That manacle isn't designed to come off. It's simply to prevent targets from using their abilities. It comes off of corpses quite easily, though."
"If that's the case then…I'll just have to break it!" Ebony said with a determined nod.
"What? You think you can easily break Sea Stone…just like that?"
"I wasn't talking about the Sea Stone. I was talking about my wrist."
"You can't be serious." The men stared skeptically at Ebony.
Ebony grabbed his hand and twisted, and everyone cringed uncomfortably as they heard a distinct *pop*.
"He actually did it!" the four men yelled in shock.
Zoro only smirked. "Smart kid,"
Ebony worked off the Sea Stone manacle and defiantly threw it at the man who had put it on him in the first place. His face then changed from a smirk to one of pain as he yelled, "THAT HURT! WHY DIDN'T I THINK THIS THROUGH?!" He suddenly looked confident again when he said, "Luckily for me and unfortunately for you, I'm left-handed!"
He reached up to Saul who was riding on his shoulder, while a strange, black substance that wasn't Haki spread over his right arm, and seemed to create something of a makeshift splint. "Saul!"
Ebony grabbed Saul's head and both Sokka and Zuko stared in shock as Saul transformed into a sword with a one-and-a-half foot grip and a large, flexible blade that had to be almost five-feet long. Ebony expertly spun the hilt in his fingers, and took a battle stance.
"The monkey's a sword!" Sokka gasped out.
"Did Saul eat Devil Fruit that enabled him to transform into a…sword?" Zuko asked.
"Actually, it's a whip-sword that "ate" the Saru-Saru Fruit: Module Colobus." Ebony explained. As his left arm also turned black, and his tattoos seemed to come alive and flow across or underneath his skin as he moved. Ebony pointed his right hand at the man whom he now declared to be his opponent, albeit painfully.
"Ink shot!" numerous pellets of ink were shot onto the man's face, and he spat and wiped at his eyes as Evony's sword-wielding arm became flexible like a liquid, and he went in for the attack. Thanks to the flexibility that his Devil Fruit allowed him and with a sword that had a long reach and a flexible blade, it was a deadly combination.
"Hm. Kid's got skills. I'd like to spar with him sometime." Zoro said, looking at Ebony out of the corner of his eye, but not once did his attention leave his opponent. "I've been rather bored for a while. You better offer me some genuine entertainment."
Not having a chance to fully question Ebony on his monkey-whip-sword and his own Devil Fruit powers, Sokka and Zuko had their own opponents to deal with. Two of the swordsmen rushed at Zuko while another dealt with Sokka.
At first, Zuko only exchanged blows with his two opponents, and once he revealed his firebending, one of the two men backed off, while questioning, "How can he have a fire Devil Fruit? I thought that ability belonged to the Revolutionaries' second in command?"
His partner couldn't have cared less, and merely smirked as if he were mocking Zuko.
"That fire won't help you any," the first man said, and he began to strike at Zuko harder and faster with his sword. It was Zuko's turn to smirk now, as this man's heavy strikes were nothing compared to Zoro's. Combining his skill and firebending, Zuko was able to make the man back off, if only slightly. Obviously, Zuko's power had somewhat surprised his opponent, but he didn't seem to want to admit he had been forced to back off even the slightest bit at all.
His partner obviously did not want to deal with a Devil Fruit user, and certainly didn't want to deal with Pirate Hunter Zoro (There was just something terrifying about the man) watching Ebony now made him wish they had killed him when they had the chance, and he noticed that the partner who was fighting Ebony was having a hard time of it in his personal opinion, so he turned his attention towards Sokka and his final partner.
Sokka and the swordsman had locked blades, and were currently in a standoff with both staring each other down. Sokka heard a chuckle behind him and briefly looked out of the corner of his eye. His eyes widened when he saw the other swordsman come up from behind him ready to strike.
I can't dodge! Sokka wasn't sure what he should do. Various plans of escape rushed through his mind.
The man grinned as he raised his sword, just as Sokka was thinking of a decent plan to get out of this situation. Before Sokka could even carry out his plan, and before the Marine even had a chance to bring down his sword, he was sent flying by a Haki-filled-round-house kick to the face from Eurynome.
"That's cheating, ya mother-fucking-cocksucker!" Eurynome landed rather awkwardly on the ground, limping and wincing as she caught her balance. "The nerve, striking a fellow swordsman on the back! You Marines haven't got the slightest bit of honor!"
"Eurynome!" Ebony said happily, as he easily dodged strikes from his opponent. His grin dropped. "What happened? Are you alright?"
"Ebony! I'm so glad you're alright!" Eurynome beamed. "I'm so gonna kill you when this is over! Oh, and I just had a bit of trouble at the Marine Base. Look, I need my weapons."
She punched the Marine who now had his attention on her in the stomach.
"Ugh-oof!" he moaned, but staggered back to his feet.
"What? You're gonna kill me? Why? And what happened to your other stuff?"
"Acting as if you don't know! Seriously! It was in the store, and got buried when the place was blasted."
"Why didn't you have any of your weapons on you when you went to see Rorrim? And why did you let your defense down? And have you been crying?"
"I don't cry!" Eurynome insisted indignantly.
Ebony continued to chide his older sister, commenting that she should really get her emotions under control (that's why her Haki gets screwed up) and that she was lucky he carried her primary weapons with him. He then struck the Marine who was fighting him, saying, "I'm trying to have a conversation with my sister. Be patient."
Ebony then reached into his satchel, slightly wincing as he did so. "What do you want to use?"
"My favorite machete and I'll take the gloves. My leg was injured when I escaped, so I can't use the shin guards."
"How can you two be acting so casual at a time like this?!" Zuko demanded as he dodged a strike, and delivered a blast of fire, which his opponent had to dodge by diving away with a shout.
Ebony quickly pulled a rolled up scroll out of his satchel and unrolled it.
"Ink Release!"
Eurynome held out her hands and a pair of gloves with iron knuckles attached and a three-foot long machete came out of the scroll. Zuko and Sokka definitely wanted to see more and ask questions, but their opponents weren't giving them the chance.
Eurynome grinned as she donned her weapons. "This is much better!"
"Star Fist!" Eurynome punched her opponent in the face as he charged at her.
"Sir!" the man who was fighting Sokka called, addressing the one who was fighting Zoro. "This wasn't part of the plan…!"
"Shut up and fight you fool!" their leader ordered.
"I'd recommend that you should just run now." Zoro said grimly. "This is getting to be boring. And I hate it when it gets boring."
Not appreciating Zoro's tone and implications, the Captain tried to bring out his best techniques, but to no avail. The Captain's nerve wavered as he looked into the eyes of his opponent. It was like looking into Death itself. In an attempt to raise his soldiers' moral, and to force himself not to focus on his own fears, he shouted, "Men, do not let up, do not let them win! We are simply going up against a bunch of nameless brats! I'll take care of Pirate Hunter!"
His words did not seem to do much, as the men could tell that they were on the losing end. They were just supposed to take care of one little Devil Fruit user, and they had put a Sea Stone on him, but he had been unexpectedly shrewd and very much capable of running away, proving to be more trouble than they had realized. Plus, he was more than a capable swordsman, and now they had Pirate Hunter and what they guessed were his apprentices (one of whom had a fire ability), and a very angry older sibling to deal with.
The presence of Roronoa Zoro, Sokka, Zuko, Eurynome, and with Ebony no longer being outnumbered threw a wrench into their plans, and the Marines obviously had not prepared for any possible interference. Although fighting them singlehandedly was somewhat difficult, both Sokka and Zuko had to smirk to themselves that the blows their opponents delivered were practically nothing compared to what Zoro put them through. Their respective fights did not last long much to Zoro's disappointment and to everyone else's relief, and afterwards, Sokka and Zuko gave each other a victorious high-five.
"I suppose I should thank you!" Ebony said with a grin. "You guys are so awesome!"
Zoro called up Vera and Vidu to let them know that Ebony was alright, while Eurynome ran up to Ebony and punched him in the face hard enough that he fell to the ground.
"Ow! Injured! And don't be using Haki when you hit me!" Ebony said from a sitting position as he cupped a hand to his red and already swelling cheek.
"You had me worried sick, and all of us running around looking for you!"
"I'm…sorry?"
"And what the hell were you doing out here in the forest in the first place? Rorrim said something about you being involved in Underworld dealings. Is that true?" Eurynome demanded.
Ebony looked away guiltily. "Weellll…" he drew out his response, and wouldn't look at his sister. "Mmmaaayyybe…um, I may or may have not bought a few…document…things that a non-Government-person should or should not have in their possession…and a few artifacts that are rare…and…stuff. I bet some idiot somewhere talked. Probably that guy from last month. He smelled like a bar; vomitus stench included. Wait—"
"What the hell, Ebony?!"
"Did you buy something tonight?" Sokka asked, curiously. He shrugged when Zuko huffed and gave him a "you're seriously asking that now" look and Eurynome gave him a dangerous glare.
"Well, I'm curious." Sokka explained quickly, putting his hands up in an attempt to stave off Eurynome's wrath.
"Well, since you asked, I bought books." Ebony said, seeming rather sheepish and proud at the same time.
"Books?!" both Sokka and Eurynome said at the same time.
"What kind of books?" Zuko was now getting pretty curious himself, as he was wondering just what kind of books would be on the available on the market in the Underworld, and why someone would want to buy them in the first place.
"Books that have been banned by the World Government," Ebony replied a-matter-of-factly as he stood and brushed himself off. "There are currently 489 banned books and I have read 137 of them. With the three that I have in my possession now, that makes 140, and means that I just have to find the other 349. I mean, if the World Government bans books from our reading pleasure, I have the right to know why."
Eurynome scowled at her brother, while a look of slight confusion came over his face.
"But seriously, why would Rorrim attack the trading port when I was being attacked, not arrested (which is illegal under Marine article 22.5 section A. b. mind you) for those deals I was making. I mean, dragging the whole family into this…why was he asking you about it? I purposefully kept everyone in the dark so that you wouldn't know anything if something like this ever happened."
"Ebony, Rorrim knows about Dad! He managed to piece together who the family is!"
Ebony's eyes widened in surprise and then he suddenly looked very serious, and his tone became rather dark. "Oh…then that changes things quite a bit. Let's get to the Marine Base then. I have a few things to take care of. You know, I seriously thought that the man was as dull as a rock, if not more so…"
Zoro wordlessly grabbed Eurynome and hoisted her over his shoulder.
"Pirate Hunter-san! What are you doing?" Eurynome asked unsurely.
"You're injured and we have to get the Base as quickly as possible." Zoro replied simply.
"Oh, good point. Carry on."
They started to run and both Sokka and Zuko sighed heavily when they heard Eurynome shout, "Pirate Hunter-san, you're going the wrong way. We need to go that way!"
"I know where I'm going, dammit! It's the pathway that's confusing!"
"How can it be confusing when it's right there?!"
Next Time: Everyone heads to the Marine Base, Ebony shows more of what he can do with his Devil Fruit abilities, along with dangerous (and humiliating) information, while Eurynome gives life advice and Luffy begins his fight with Rorrim.
More A/N: I have to say…this chapter was much easier than the last. It just flowed out of my head and onto the Word doc so much easier. It also came out much longer than I intended. Well , anyway…onto the next chapter! Enjoy!
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The thing about Eurynome and Ebony (especially Eury) is that I personally don't curse…it's honestly part of her character, and having a "mouth of a sailor" type thing. Why would I make an OC that is so difficult for me to write for and must throw about warnings for as well…?
