Rescue
Zoro was seriously ticked. He had run into more dead ends than he would have thought possible. Even the ridiculous maze of a map seemed simpler than the actual hallways he had run through, and to add to his misery, the place seemed to stink more now than it had when he first entered… perhaps it had something to do with the alarm blaring; another annoyance.
He wished he had a den-den mushi or something to let him know what was going on. Was his captain still in danger? Had Paul gotten there in time? He had wondered where all of the commanders had gone, but the announcement over the speaker had answered his question. They were heading out to battle the marines outside, another reason he needed to find his way.
"Crap it all!" he shouted as he came to yet another dead end.
- Luffy, Crew, Sky, and Paul -
Nami, Usopp, and Sky all charged past their two friends, into the pale gas where the oncoming attackers' rapid footsteps could be heard. Robin did not enter the gas but came to its edge and crossed her arms in order to battle from a distance with her hana-hana no mi. Not much could be seen from the outside but the sounds of battle could be heard and yells of pain (distinguishably from the commanders) echoed through the narrow passage. Paul stayed with Luffy; he figured the others could handle the rest, he had done more than enough fighting to earn a breather, and there was always a chance of an enemy coming from their side. Luffy was clearly unhappy. He couldn't afford to go into the gas-filled hallway and risk becoming to rag-doll, but he longed to join his crew in battle. Paul put his hand on the pirate's shoulder and said "they'll be fine Mugiwara. I'm sure you'll get your chance to kick some more butt soon."
A minute passed before the shouts died down and, once again, the alarm was the only sound blaring through the hallway. Robin turned to Luffy, the adrenaline of the fight passing and the relief of seeing her captain written plainly on her face. The others came out, panting from the recent activity, but unharmed for the most part.
Luffy struggled to his feet and stumbled forward to embrace his crewmates, but a look of surprised confusion crossed his face as his knees buckled. They all rushed to their captain, Nami catching him in her arms, allowing him to rest his head on her shoulder. He let out a sigh and allowed himself to be completely supported by his navigator, a relieved smile of pure joy spreading across his weak face. Nami placed her hand on her captain's head, hugging him closer into a full embrace. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her as it hit how much she had missed him. She flinched as she felt something sticky and wet touch her skin. Opening her eyes, she looked down to see blood slowly oozing from the wounds on her captain's back and she felt an overwhelming feeling of concern and rage build in her chest.
Her reaction was interrupted by a smack on her head.
"Nami, don't hog Luffy! We missed him too, so hand him over so I can give him a hug" Usopp demanded, grinning at his captain.
Robin laughed as the navigator sighed and let Luffy go to take Usopp's arm, who hauled him up into a standing embrace.
Paul and Sky had had their own reunion, leaving the pirate crew to have their time together. The two friends gave each other a fist bump then turned to face the others as they traded hugs and words.
"We really missed you captain" Robin said as Luffy turned to her, "and we're sorry it took so long to get back to you."
The raven-haired boy grinned, "you don't need to apologize; I know you did everything you could, you always do."
He said it without any hint of hesitation or doubt; a reflection of his absolute faith in them.
Leaning heavily on his marksman, Luffy perked up as a familiar smell broke through the usual sickening scent of the gas-filled hallway.
"Sanji figured you'd be wanting a bit to eat once we broke you out, soooo…" Nami pulled off her backpack and opened it up to reveal a pile of bread and steak "… he fixed you a snack to hold you off till we get back to the ship."
"MEAT!" Luffy exclaimed ecstatically as he dove into the food before him.
While their captain was distracted with eating, the other three went to work to determine the extent of his injuries. The boy was filthy; the dirty water from his cell still staining his uncovered chest and back, while the blue markings could still be seen but they were faded and smeared. The ripped sheets that Canaan had used to patch up his back had fallen off during the fighting and he still held his injured hand protectively close to his stomach as it bled out. He had re-opened the wound during the escape in the test room.
Robin reached into her layers of white cloaks and pulled out some alcohol, then she ripped some of her robe into strips to re-cover the gashes.
"We don't have much time so we'll have to do a quick patch-up for now" she said, looking at the others, "we can figure out what our next move is while we do that."
Nami nodded, making her way over to face Luffy while Robin unscrewed the bottle and prepared to clean his wounds.
"This is going to burn, but we're here Luffy, and soon we're gonna be sailing the Grand Line again."
Luffy had finished the last of the food and turned his gaze towards his navigator as she placed her hands on his face.
He squeezed his eyes shut tightly in pain and leaned into her palm as Robin poured the cleansing liquid into the bleeding gashes on his back. She couldn't help but once again be amazed at the strength of her captain. He must have been in so much pain, but held his composure, his heavy breathing the only resonance of his suffering as the historian wiped the dirt and grime from his back.
Suddenly the den-den-mushi in Sky's pocket went off and he pulled it out to answer it. The voice on the other end belonged to Orrin.
"Did you guys manage to get Luffy?" he asked.
"Heck yeah we did" Usopp answered "I singlehandedly took down three-hundred commanders to do so."
Sky and Paul both cocked their eyebrows at the marksman, who didn't look their way but started sweating.
"Awesome! I'm glad to hear it. I wish I had some good news to tell you but there's still a lot of crap that needs to be dealt with. The marines have already begun to fight the commanders and they really need your help… Oh, and did Zoro meet up with you by any chance?"
Nami's eye twitched, "don't tell me he's running around in here somewhere."
"Err…"
"That moron! He knows better!" the navigator shouted towards the den-den-mushi.
"He did seem a bit hesitant to go by himself, but when he heard that Luffy was going to be executed early he didn't seem to have many options."
Nami sighed, "the idiot…"
Orrin continued, "I know where general Yu is and I can assume that Alvida is with him there. I need to get to her before Dr. Akens gets there… who knows what they have in mind for her. I'll go get her and keep an eye out for Zoro on the way. You guys go ahead and get out."
Luffy frowned, turning his head towards Sky. "The one thing I want, more than getting the heck out of here, is to kick Dr. Akens' butt… Hey! Did you say you were going to rescue Alvida! Who the crap would want to do something like that?"
"It's a long story" Orrin replied "I owe her my life, and she's not really the one to blame for the operation… she's been a tool for the main conspirators in this whole mess."
Luffy sighed, Robin tightening the last of his bandages around his upper chest. He stood to his full height, placing his straw-hat on his head and facing the entire group.
"Ok, the first thing we need to do is get Canaan. He's been seriously injured and is currently being held in a cell a few hallways down from here. We also need to kick General Yu and Dr. Akens' butt and find Zoro. There's no way you can do all of that yourself Orrin, so we'll back you up; just tell us where to go."
"Thank you" Orrin replied from the den-den-mushi.
"Sounds good Luffy," Usopp replied, "but we don't have time to do all of that and get out in time to help the marines outside… that and you need to get out of here as soon as possible. It's obvious that you've been in this gas filled prison for too long and you seriously need some fresh air."
Luffy nodded, looking his marksman in the eye.
"That's why we're going to split up."
He was solemn, because the last thing he wanted to do was lose sight of his crewmates he had just been reunited with.
"Paul and I will go get Canaan" Sky said "he's our friend and it makes sense that we will be the ones to rescue him. You guys go find your swordsman and take out the guys in charge."
Robin turned to the short marine; "are you sure you guys will be alright by yourselves?"
"I just rescued your captain singlehandedly" Paul piped in as a reminder, "we should be able to handle it ourselves."
"True" Luffy responded "but I owe Canaan a great debt and I will not leave him to be rescued without my aid when it is readily here. I'll send one of my crewmates with you to assure his safety, despite that you can probably manage on your own."
"We understand" Paul replied "I'm sure we could use all the help we can get if we want to get him and head out to help the marines outside."
Luffy turned to his navigator, "Nami, I need you to go with them. I can give you the directions to the cell Canaan is being held in and then I want you to kick some commander tail outside once he's safe. Usopp, Robin, you guys are coming with me."
Nami nodded, walking over to the two marines and snapping her clima-tact together.
Luffy told her the way to Canaan's cell and the small group split up. Robin, Usopp, and Luffy heading up the stairs while Nami, Sky, and Paul ran deeper into the hallway they were on.
- Orrin -
After getting off the den-den-mushi, Orrin dashed out of the control room. He knew that the source of the intercom was from room 198 on one of the middle floors of the base. General Yu needed Alvida to claim her sole leadership over the seastone gas experimentation so that the dirt would be entirely on her hands, but how would he get her to do that? He was sure Dr. Akens had some role to play in that, so he had to hurry.
- Luffy, Robin, Usopp -
"ZORROOOOOOO!"
"Shhhhh, Luffy! You're gonna have every commander on this base swarming this floor" Usopp exclaimed in panic to his loud captain.
"Well how do you plan on finding him? …. ZOORRROOOOOO!"
"Listen to me! You need to be quie-"
"WHERE ARE YOU ZORRROOOO?"
"Luffy please! I'm sure we'll stumble on him sometime. We always do."
The captain looked at him skeptically, his eyebrows raised.
Robin snickered as she continued to support Luffy who was able to walk but in need of some assistance to keep the pace.
"Come now Mr. Usopp" she said lightheartedly "I believe our captain has a point. How else will Zoro know where we are?"
"We can call him on the intercom once we get into that room; and if you gave me the choice between life and finding Zoro… I'd choose life!"
Robin just laughed again, looking down at the small map in her hand.
"Oh you're a lot of help" Usopp growled "why don't we just yell "here we are! We're the pirates who broke into your-"
"ZOROOOOOOO!"
"Dang it Luffy!"
The voices of the small group echoed down the gloomy hallway; the lighthearted dialogue warming the cold setting.
- Mr. Able and three Guards -
Mr. Able, a hefty man in a suite, sat upon a large beast (with brown fur on its bottom half and white scales on its top) as he addressed his guards who waited his orders. The three all looked very different in appearance, but stood single-file and at attention.
The first guard, number 1, was a tall, lanky man with an equally long scarf, and a knit cap on his head, shading his narrow eyes. He carried a long sword low on his waste where it hung comfortably as he rested a casual hand on it.
The second guard, number 2, was the same man who had fought the Straw Hat crew the day before; fully restocked in blades that covered his body.
The final guard, number 3, was the largest of the bunch. He had an unnaturally thick neck and his mouth was oddly crooked with a few pointy teeth sticking up. There was no weapon on his person, but he stood with equal confidence with the other two.
"So it seems that the battle with the marines has begun…" Mr. Able began.
"I must say I'm impressed they've held off so well against the commanders, but let's not get their hopes up. Guard number 3, why don't you give the commanders a hand. Guards number 1 and 2, I need you to go into the base and get General Yu, Dr. Akens, and the seastone gas safely out of there and bring them to me. Remember though, the seastone comes first, above everything else, so don't sacrifice it for their sakes."
The men nodded in understanding then dashed off to fulfill their orders. Mr. Able guided his beast to a ledge overlooking the confrontation below and leaned back in the saddle, anxious to see guard number 3 begin his slaughter.
"Not long now…"
TBC…
Dun dun dun…. Please review! If feeds my desire to write. You guys surely know that your support has led to a random speed-up of updates on my part. I can't thank you enough and I can't tell you how happy your reviews make me ^_^
Kitty-bandit- (how's this for a weird updating time? XD) I am so thankful for your wonderfully encouraging reviews! We'll have to see how the SH crew gets their vengeance _ I love that you say I keep the characters in-character ^_^ that makes my day! I want to mold my story around the brilliant characters Oda has created, not mold Oda's brilliant characters around my story. I love your reviews! Even if you run out of things to say, its super sweet of you to put effort into writing a long review. And don't worry, Zoro will get his share of the action soon. Thanks again!
vivi-chi-ie- awww, thank you so much ^_^ I am soo happy you have enjoyed my story so far and I hope to keep you entertained for the rest of the adventure. Yay! My OCs fit! You have made me a very happy writer with your kind review! Thanks!
WezL- wait no more! Here is another update! :D thank you for the continuous support, it really has fueled my desire to write ^_^
Jaybird200- I can't wait myself. I thought I was gonna get to some butt-kicking in this chapter… but stuff seems to take longer to happen on paper than in my head. I wonder how long this story is going to end up being _
Allyluvsu13- yeah, it's kind of a breath of fresh air for me as well that Luffys up and running. Even though his suffering was a necessary part of the plot, it gets a little heavy on the soul T_T I have a love/hate relationship with being cruel to my fav characters
Ghost of the moonlight- yeesshh, I love me some cliffhangers ^_^ I hope this is soon enough! I don't want punishment O_O I would say I'm upset that you might be losing sleep over my story… but for some reason it does make me happy *is super evil* :D Oh my, if Oda were to acknowledge my humble fanfic I would just explode. He is my hero of storytelling T_T So sorry another chapter without Zoro action, but I promise, he gets a ton of action and adventure in the upcoming chapters (maybe not the next one… but we'll have to see how many chapters it takes to move the plot along). *spoilers kind of* The Pindum (I'm super impressed that you remembered the name) and the raw seastone play a big big role as the climax builds, so you're good to assume that its important. Thank you so much for the encouragement and I hope to keep you entertained as long as you're willing to read my story ^_^
EALM528- yay! I'm glad you're enjoying where the story's going ^_^ and believe me, even now I'm dying to get to the coming scenes (so I'm kind of sharing you're anxiety per-se) thanks for the encouragement
Kiku127- oh wow, I can't tell you how happy your review has made me ^_^ one of your fav stories? *so excited* -O.O- thank you so much for reviewing even though you don't like to. That's so kind of you!
Neko11- I'm glad that the near-execution was exciting ^_^ and I am SO happy that you are enjoying the humor. Telling me a particular part that you liked out of the chapter really is what makes me the happiest because it shows you care about the details ^_^ you have been so supportive and I shall work really hard to update more often. Thank you!
12TheFallenOne12- wait no more! Your review made me lol XD I just bubbled up with happiness after reading it ^_^ I hope my story continues to keep you entertained and I hope to get back to the action in the coming chapters. Thank you so much!
Thanks again to everyone who's kept up with the story so far! I know it's pretty long so I really appreciate it! ^_^