Ch 29 - I am Pathetic.
"Feel Feel Push!"
Emmy sent the fishman backwards and he tumbled down the stoop. As soon as his back hit the ground, Emmy made a fist at her side. "Feel Feel Pull!"
'What?!" Nami gasped as Emmy ran forward and the navigator felt herself being pulled behind the blonde.
Emmy leaped over the fishman and then flung Nami in front of her, towards the orange grove. Emmy turned her back on the navigator and her hands went into her apron pockets. Her eyes narrowed at the fishman, who was scrambling to his feet. "Run, Nami-san! Go to Luffy and the others. I'll be right behind you."
"But-"
"Go!" Emmy insisted and pulled out a fan of cards in each hand, "Let me do this. You have someone else you need to face, don't you? Please. Rely on me for this."
Nami clenched her teeth and then forced herself to turn away from Emmy. "Okay. I'll leave this to you!" she said as she sprinted towards Arlong Park. Emmy. You can do this. I believe in you!
Wakin brushed the dirt off his beige pants and then he ran a hand across his scaly arms. "You really think you can take me down? A lowly human like yourself?"
As his hand glided off his wrist, Emmy saw that his hand was covered in a thick, translucent slime. He grinned and flicked his fingers in her direction, causing large globs of slime to sail towards Emmy's face. "Muco Bullet!"
She gasped and leapt behind a tangerine tree to avoid getting hit. The globs landed onto the floor and formed large puddles that the ground could not absorb.
"Why are you doing this?" Emmy asked from behind the tree, feeling the disdain and anger welling up inside her opponent, "As a slave, you should know the pain of captivity. You should-"
"You think I would take pity on another human just because we shared a similar fate once before?! It's because of your kind that I ended up in this state. I lost my family and my friends at the hands of humans!" Wakin howled and then he launched himself forward. The slickness of his belly, along with the puddles he had just created, allowed him to glide on the terrain towards Emmy.
She darted towards another tree but not before sending a handful of cards in his direction, which he avoided by just skidding towards the side.
"But what about Nami-san?!" Emmy asked as she looked around to see where it would be a good place to fight. She didn't want to to damage Nami's house nor this grove, "Why do this to Nami-san and this island?! Why come all the way here to attack humans?"
Wakin laughed as he got to his feet. "It is comical that a slave could be this naive. To conquer the human world, we must accumulate our power. And in the human world, what has more power than money?" He licked his lips and he pointed a finger at Emmy, "I have been around enough traders and slaves to know the value of a young, human girl. And..now that I know that you are also a Devil Fruit user, that means if I were to turn you in, we'd get at least one hundred thousand bellis for you! Maybe even three!"
The sheer greed in his heart sent shivers down Emmy's spine. If just the thought of earning that much made him that happy, she could only imagine what would happen if he discovered the true amount; the amount the auction house had appraised her for before her escape.
She took a deep breath and sprinted through the tangerine grove. If I could just get out of here...protect Nami's home...I could…
"Muco Bullet!"
Emmy dodged out of the way just as she unleashed another handful of cards his way. Wakin crossed his arms to protect his face and Emmy watched in horror as her cards slid right past his scales.
"It's no use! My slime membrane protects me!" he laughed.
Emmy gritted her teeth and turned quickly on her heels, trying once more to leave the grove.
"Muco Bullet!"
A shot of his slime landed right in the patch of ground in front of her. Her foot slipped and she she tumbled forward. Before she could get to her feet, Wakin's scaly foot was stomped on her chest and pinned her down.
"Haha! So feeble even when on land," he crowed, "Tell me. What's your real worth? What was the price of your last buyer? Was I right?"
Emmy's eyes narrowed and she grabbed him by the ankle only for her hand to slip off due to the slime that encased his skin.
"You really don't listen, do you? My slime protects me! You can't push me off!"
"Who...said...I was trying to push you off?" Emmy asked through gritted teeth as grabbed his foot one more time and dug her fingers in, "Feel...Feel...Pacify!"
"Eh?" Wakin gasped as a white, puffy heart engulfed his foot. As it dispersed, whisps of it floated up into his face, which instantly relaxed. His foot came off of Emmy and he sank to his knees. His arms drooped to his sides. Emmy could feel his heartbeat slowing down steadily and the anger, resentment, and greed pull away from her like a receding tide. This was only a temporary fix and Emmy knew it.
"I'm very sorry for this," Emmy said softly. She sat up and put her hands on his shoulders. "Feel Feel...Repose."
Zzzzzzzz!
As Wakin slept, Emmy rushed into Nami's house and brought out a rope she had spotted earlier when looking for some bandages. She bound Wakin's hands and feet together and then slowly dragged the sleeping fishman down the road. His naturally slippery skin helped her and, despite his heavy weight, she was able to move him without it being too straining.
Her headband was now back on the head but while it was off, she had felt a faraway energy that consisted of anxiety, dread, and, above all else, wrath. That could only mean that was where everyone else was.
As she headed down the road, it converged with another and soon she found Usopp running right past her.
"Usopp?!"
He skidded to a halt and turned towards her. He was bleeding all around his head and he looked pretty scuffed up but there was a giant grin on his face. "Ah! Emmy! You just missed me heroically defeating a fish-EEK! What the hell is that?!"
His happiness turned into shock and he pointed accusingly at the tied up Fishman.
"Please help," Emmy said, "I'm afraid the ropes won't hold him once he wakes up."
"Eh?! Then why didn't you leave him behind?"
"I'm afraid he might damage Nami-san's home or even the village."
"So you brought him with you?!"
"I thought maybe you guys would know what to do with him…"
"Leave him!" Usopp screeched.
"But what happens if he wakes up?"
"We'll deal with it later! All I know is that the other guys are busy trying to bring down the Fishmen and the last thing they would need is for you to bring in another one for them to deal with."
"But I-" As Emmy was trying to argue her point, a small moan escaped from Wakin's lips.
"AHHHH!" Usopp screamed as he pulled out a hammer from his bag and started to wail on the slumbering fishman, "Usopp Hammer! Usopp Hammer! Usopp Hammer!"
The sniper leapt a safe distance away and then pulled back a rubber band. "Usopp Rubber Band!"
The rubber band smacked Wakin right in the middle of his eyes and his eyelids snapped open. "Wha?! What is this?! Who are you?! How dare you-"
"AHHH!" Usopp screamed again and this time, before he could get a good grip on his hammer, Emmy stepped in. She laid a hand on the bumps that had formed on Wakin's head.
"Feel Feel Repose."
Zzzzzzz!
"Whew...Saved!" Usopp sighed a breath of relief while Emmy put her headband back on her head and frowned at Usopp.
"Okay. Maybe we should leave him behind," Emmy said.
"I told you!"
"Because now, when he does wake up, he's going to come after you. I don't have to worry about him damaging Nami's house."
"EEK! No! You're right. Bring him to the rest of the group. They'll know what to do!" Usopp grabbed the rope from Emmy's hands just as she was about to drop it and started to drag Wakin behind him, "Come on, Emmy! We gotta get to them fast!"
"Oh...Okay," Emmy said and hurried after the sniper.
Usopp ran down the road and as he approached their destination, he failed to notice that the girl had started to slow down her pace. With each step towards Arlong Park, Emmy's feet became heavier and heavier. As they got closer, she saw that a group of people had gathered around an opening in the wall surrounding Arlong Park.
They were preoccupied with whatever was happening in the courtyard that they didn't even notice Usopp and Emmy coming towards them. Emmy hesitated a moment in her step when she saw that Usopp was veering off the main road. He turned to her and then motioned for her to follow in silence. She did so and they both silently crept up to a small hole in the wall, a ways away from the crowd. They peered into the courtyard and Emmy sucked in a breath.
Luffy was nowhere to be found and the courtyard was in shambles. Part of the roof on the first level was completely snapped off and there were listless bodies of Fishmen strewn about. The worst part was that Zoro was standing in front of an eight foot tall sawshark Fishman and the swordsman looked like he was going to keel over at any second.
"Eep! What is Zoro doing facing Arlong by himself? Where's everyone else?! Where's Luffy?" Usopp screeched under his breath.
"So...So that's Arlong…" Emmy said quietly as she stepped away from the wall but kept her eyes glued on the Fishman for just one more second before turning away.
"Emmy? What are you-"
"Delay him, Usopp," Emmy said and started to walk towards the larger opening.
"What?!"
"Don't let Zoro fight, Usopp!"
Usopp gulped and he reached into his bag. That's when he realized that the rope holding Wakin was no longer in his hands and he shot another look at Emmy. She was dragging Wakin behind her.
I hope you know what you're doing, Usopp thought as he pulled out a raw egg from his bag and fitted it into his sling. "EGG STAR!"
Splat!
The egg sailed forward but Arlong was ready. He held out a hand and the egg splattered into his fist.
"I-I've got your back, Zoro!" Usopp declared.
"Usopp?!" Zoro and Nami cried as they looked around to find him.
"Nami! Listen, I actually beat one of the leaders! Can you believe that?" he announced proudly, "Fishmen are a piece of cake!"
"Y-You defeated Choo?!" Arlong said and his eyes narrowed.
"That's right," Usopp boasted, "With my arrival, the fight comes to a climax at once! It heads into the final chapter!"
"Tch," Arlong scoffed and returned his attention back to Zoro, "Looks like you want to die first, Roronoa Zoro."
"EEP! He's not taking me seriously!" Usopp shrieked to himself, "Emmy! What am I supposed to do? I can't...I can't delay this fight anymore."
"ARLONG! I have a deal to make with you!"
Emmy had made her way through the crowd. They had separated without much prodding to make way for her once they spotted what she was dragging behind her. Arlong's eyes turned white when he saw Wakin too.
"Wait...Emmy! Stop! You-" Nami gasped when she realized it herself but then Emmy continued to walk forward towards the Fishman.
"I'll trade him for Zoro," she said and then held out her end of the rope towards Arlong, "What do you say?"
The fact that she was offering Wakin to him as if Wakin was cattle infuriated Arlong. "How dare you-"
"You are a disgrace," the little girl interrupted. Her eyes were fixated on the sun mark that was peeking out of his shirt. It ignited a flame of anger and frustration inside of her, "You are tainting the honor of Fisher Tiger-san and the Sun Pirates by your actions. Enslaving a whole island just for profit?! How dare you?!"
"What?!" Arlong snarled as he stormed over towards Emmy, not caring about Zoro anymore. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up on the floor. Emmy didn't even put up a fight.
"AH! EMMY!" Usopp and Nami shrieked.
"Why you-" Zoro started to lunge at Arlong but instead he doubled over in pain. Should've known an injury from the world's greatest swordsman would be this damaging.
"Zo...Zoro. It's fine," Emmy gasped and his head shot up to look at her.
How could she say that during a time like this?
He blinked at her but then after a moment, the swordsman smirked.
Arlong dug his fingers into Emmy's throat. "You cannot judge me. You are a lowly human...One of the weaklings...And the weakest one of all, at that."
"AH! THE OCTOPUS!" Usopp shrieked from the sidelines.
"Damn it," Zoro grunted as he tried to get up to his feet.
From the corner of Emmy's eyes, she saw the octopus fishman that she and Luffy had strolled past was standing up and glaring in Zoro's direction. He was bleeding profusely on the head and the blood was smeared across his sun mark.
He stamped his foot. "I won't let you or Roronoa Zoro have your way. I'm going to go after your friend and crush him to death in the sea."
"What?" Emmy gasped as the octopus jumped into the water.
Zoro let out a sigh of relief and slumped back down to the ground.
"OY! Zoro! There is no time to relax!" Nami snapped, "Hurry up and go after him! Sanji is about to-"
"He'll be fine," Zoro said, "Trust me. You hear me, Emmy?! He'll be fine."
Emmy smiled despite still having Arlong's hand around her neck. Her eyes met the sharks. "I...have strong friends."
"Not strong enough," Arlong replied smoothly and dug his fingers into her skin. Blood started to snake down her neck but Emmy didn't even react, "And like I said...you're the weakest one of all. Now die."
He pierced his sawed nose right through Emmy's heart. He left it there for a second before ripping his nose away, causing a long stream of blood to spray out of the girl. "Shahahahahaha!"
"EMMMYYYYYYYYY!" Usopp and Nami cried as Zoro's smirk deepened.
"We win," the swordsman stated.
"WHAT?!" Usopp demanded, "How have we-"
Usopp stopped short when Zoro laid his hand on the top of his head and then pointed out at Emmy. He followed his gesture and he looked at the top of Emmy's head.
When did she take her headband off?!, Usopp thought just as his foot slid back and hit something small but hard. He whirled around and saw that her headband was at his feet.
"We win," Zoro said again.
"I am weak," Emmy choked out while blood dribbled out the corner of her mouth, "I can barely fight and I'm better at making people feel comfortable than causing them discomfort."
Emmy then raised her hand out towards the fishman, flattening her palm against his sun mark, "I am pathetic...But so are you...Feel Feel Projection: Pity!"
"Oh crap. Everyone duck!" Zoro shouted but it was too late.
Navy blue hearts swarmed out of the girl and hit every single person above the water including her own nakama and the fishman in front of her.
"Why...why is there so much distance between me and him?" Zoro sobbed as he banged his fists against the concrete floor, "Hawk Eyes is too strong and I'm so weak."
"I worked so hard for that money," Nami cried, "And it's all gone. Eight years...all gone! Ah! I'm so stupid."
"We're all too weak to fight against Arlong," one of the townspeople wailed, "We're never going to get our village back."
"Why didn't we have enough faith in Big Sis Nami?" Yosaku cried, 'We should've trusted her!"
"Eh?" Usopp said as he scratched the back of his head, "Guys? You okay? What's going on?"
"Big Brother…" Arlong cried. He fell to his knees, releasing his hold on Emmy. He brought his hands to his face, "I'll never be as strong and powerful as him. I'm not honorable like him. He would never care about money and treasure. Ahhhh. I am nothing more than a mere seaslug."
Splash!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm backkkkkk!'
A red and blue blur shot out from the water and went tumbling up into the air. When it finally slowed, and started to come down, the sniper could see the detail of black hair and white grinning teeth.
"Ah! Luffy!" Usopp shouted in surprise, while the people around him had another reaction.
"He certainly knows when to make an entrance. I never seem to arrive on time," Zoro sighed and curled up into a fetal position.
"I could never be as carefree as him," Nami lamented.
"Eh? What's gotten into the swordsman?" Sanji asked with an amused grin as he pulled himself out of the water.
"EMMMYYYY!" Luffy cried out as his hands shot out to grip one of the eaves of the building and pulled himself towards ground level. He rushed to his sister, who was kneeling in front of Arlong and only kept up by her shaking arms, "Eh? What's with all this blood? Where's your headband?!"
"AH! The headband!" Usopp cried as he grabbed it and fitted it to his slingshot, "LUFFY! Heads up!"
"Thanks!" Luffy shouted as he caught the headband by the bow and brought it back to Emmy's head.
Immediately, her whole body relaxed and her head moved up so that she could blink her big, blue eyes at her brother. "Luffy...you're back."
"Yep," Luffy grinned and then picked her up by the waist, "Usopp! Catch!"
"WHAT?!" Usopp shrieked, barely making it in time as he crawled out of the hole to the other side. The throw was much too forceful and the sniper got sandwiched between the first mate and the stone gate.
"Y...You idiot," the sniper muttered as they slid to the ground with Emmy ending up in his lap.
Luffy wasn't paying attention, though, since he wasn't done with his warm up. "GUM GUM WHIP!"
His leg swung out and kicked Arlong hard across the stomach, flinging him from his kneeling position towards the building.
"Gum Gum Gatling!" Luffy roared as he dealt endless blows at the fishman's chest, forcing him back. Luffy didn't stop until the fishman was sent flying through the wall of his building. Then, the rubber boy started to crack his knuckles and stretch out his legs.
"LUFFY!" Nami and the other people cried. They had finally returned to their senses.
Thwack.
Nami hit Emmy hard on the head. "You idiot! You hit us too."
"I'm sorry," Emmy said. "I can't control it."
"Then do something else!" Nami snapped.
"Ugh, that was embarrassing. Let's never speak of that moment again," Zoro grunted as he slowly made his way towards their part of the wall. Emmy smiled apologetically at him and moved off of Usopp's lap to sit in between the sniper and the swordsman.
"No. Let's speak of it some more," Sanji said as he sat on the other side of the sniper. Then he saw the blood in the front of Emmy's dress. He would've tackled the swordsman if not for the fact that he would have to get past Emmy to do so, "You bastard! What is up with all this blood?! Were you not protecting Emmy-chan?!"
"She's fine!" Zoro growled, "We were the ones who needed protection from her."
"Hehehe! I guess the brave Captain Usopp is immune to Emmy's power because I didn't feel any different," Usopp said proudly.
"Idiot," Zoro scoffed, "That's because you're always pitying yourself."
"You have more self pity for yourself than all of us combined," Nami agreed.
Usopp hung his head in shame and Emmy giggled. "You're feeling it now, aren't you, Usopp?"
"Yah," he sighed. Then he stiffened when he felt Emmy's head slump over his shoulder, "Ah! Emmy! I forgot that Arlong stabbed you! Don't die! Emmy! Don't die!"
"I'm not," Emmy said with her eyes closed, "It's healed already...I just...feel very sleepy."
"Eh?! Everything's healed already?!" Usopp cried, "Great! Can you just take some of my-"
"Shut up, Usopp!" Both Zoro and Sanji shouted at the same time.
"Must be a side effect to healing serious injuries," Sanji said as he remembered all Emmy had told him about her powers.
"Sorry, everyone," Emmy said as her head began to nod, "I can't seem to stay awake…Please wake me up when Luffy has won."
"Yeah," Zoro grunted and closed his eyes, "Wake me up too."
"Y-Y-You're both going to sleep?!" Usopp sputtered, "B-B-But the fight's not even close to being over. What if Luffy-"
"He'll be fine," Zoro and Emmy said in unison.
From the corner of his eye, the cook observed the sleeping first mate. Her blind faith in her brother completely overshadowed any concern she might have for him. She was terrified in coming here. Sanji saw it first hand when they approached the island but that fear only seemed to be directed for herself and not for her brother.
Sanji knew that Emmy understood how dangerous Arlong was. There was no doubt about it and yet her attitude was the same as when Luffy had fought against Don Krieg, who paled in comparison to this fishman.
Sanji puffed on his cigarette and he frowned. The girl's unshakable belief in Luffy was a very romantic gesture but it would all turn very tragic if one day Luffy met someone he couldn't defeat. How would the girl react then? Where would her calm and composed demeanor go?
Her own strength was tied directly to Luffy's. She was completely dependent on the captain. If he were to fall, she would fall with him and Sanji, in his good conscious, would not allow that to happen to the little lady. If that meant making sure that idiot captain become the King of Pirates, then so be it.
Of course, this courtesy and protection would extend to Nami-san if she chooses to join them. Sanji had little doubt that she would too. After all, she was wearing the captain's prized hat and staring at him with just as much resolve as the first mate.
Now if only he could just get rid of the irritating swordsman and the sniper, then it'll be a perfect crew. Just him, the dumb captain, and the two lovely ladies. Yes...that would be nice.
