So, I think this is the new chapter. I don't know. I've got a bad headache, so please forgive my lack of beta. Blah. I do not own One Piece. Reviewer thanks go out to Sakura-chan and Butterfly-san.
Illicit Memories
Skypiea Arc: Set in Set's Will
"Naa..." Luffy moaned, leaning up against a large tree trunk. He had lost the South Bird's trail and was now wandering aimlessly. It had been hours since sunrise. The young captain was unsure of the time as he shaded his eyes from the overhead sun peeking through the treetops.
"I wonder where everyone is..." he whined. "I haven't seen anyone since yesterday."
Then, as if by some form of clairvoyance, Luffy could sense a group of people rushing towards him. Happily, he rushed over towards the brush, but was surprised when the mohawk-sporting man who had encountered Maon barreled into him. Both men went tumbling for a few feet before landing in a jumbled mess of limbs. The others in the man's party kept on going, leaving the two to sort out the problem themselves.
"You aren't in my crew..." Luffy observed as the other man grumbled to his feet. The teen shifted uncomfortably as he discovered that the other man's weapon, a large bazooka, was actually lying underneath him. Luffy was just about to get up off the weapon when the man grabbed his shoulder and literally threw him aside.
"Out of my way," he snarled. Luffy moaned slightly as he rubbed the side of his head that slammed into a tree.
"Hey, you jerk!" the boy-captain barked. "I was getting off the damn weapon!"
"I have no time for little shits that want to get in the way," the warrior snarled back. "I already had to take care of one of you runts today. I don't need this aggravation."
"What…?" Luffy asked. He then perked up. "You met one of my nakama?"
"If you mean that idiot with red hair, yeah," the warrior scoffed, rolling his eyes as he slung the bazooka over his shoulder. "If you hurry up, you might be able to get his body before the South Birds scavenge it."
"…Maon…?" Luffy gasped. He turned his head in the direction the warrior came from and stared with wide eyes. He then jerked his head back as a revving sound filled his ears and was just able to catch the sight of the bazooka-wielding man disappearing into the nearby brush.
"Oh, no you don't…"
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'To the left!'
Zoro swung his sword blindly, just barely nicking the jacket of his opponent. Braham was fast, but Zoro knew he was faster. The largest obstacle he had when getting to that point, though, was the flashing pistols of his opponent. Bullets were simple enough to deflect, but when he became slightly disoriented at every single flash that caught his eyes, it was difficult to keep his footing. Besides, Kuina caterwauling inside of his brain was not too much help.
"You are quite the fighter," Braham chuckled, pausing his assault for a moment. Zoro shook his head vigorously in attempt to rid his vision of all the spots. "You know, no one's ever lasted this long before."
'He's gloating, we have to act quickly while he's gloating!' Kuina ordered.
I know that! Zoro replied grumpily. Just give me a second! That was a lot of gunfire.
'Can I try something?'
You're kidding me, right?
'No, let me try something,' Kuina demanded. Then, Zoro's head cricked sharply to the left. The vertebrae in the neck all cracked under the sudden movement, making the head's movement all the smoother.
"Are you ready to finish this duel?" Braham asked, waiting impatiently. "I do not wish to end a duel when my opponent is not ready to accept his face.
"I'm ready when you are," Zoro grinned, his expression almost wild in nature. He crouched down into a stance and tensed up his muscles for another round.
"As you wish," Braham said. He raised his gun and pointed it at the swordsman. He fired, sending another volley the green-haired man's way. He watched for an image of his opponent dead on the ground, yet saw not even the trace of a body.
"Too slow," came a voice from behind Braham's ear. The warrior spun around and gasped when he saw that the swordsman had actually positioned himself behind him. He could have sworn he heard a slight chuckle before everything went red.
"Thirty-six Pound Cannon!" Zoro bellowed, slashing his swords into the gunman. The tall man fell to the ground bleeding profusely and unconscious, though not entirely dead.
"So…" the swordsman smirked. "I outperform you, even in death. Pretty funny, eh?"
'I hate you.'
"Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad, was it?"
'Yes.'
"Oh, fine," the swordsman sighed. Zoro's head snapped to the right and his shoulders shuddered. "Never do that to me again, hear me?"
'Not like you can help it,' Kuina scoffed. 'Besides, I defeated the guy for you.'
"I don't even want to know," Zoro growled. He shook the blood off of the blades and sheathed them ceremoniously.
'Wanna go find Luffy now?'
"It's almost as if you read my mind." Zoro scowled slightly as he began to run through the woods again.
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"Oh, this is bad, this is so bad!" Chopper wailed, running around aimlessly on the deck. Nami was kneeling next to Sanji and Usopp while Gormal and Gan Fall kept their eyes trained on Eneru.
"Oh, it's bad, is it?" Eneru laughed. He smiled suavely and gave a slight chuckle. "I don't know. They might be able to live… if you keep on praying."
"Bastard!" Gormal snarled. Eneru raised his eyebrows and sneered.
"You idiot. Stop pretending your one of them and join the rest of your tribe. They're all headed towards my palace, ready to kill me."
"Wiper and his men are on the move?" Gan Fall questioned, his expression steely.
"Of course," Eneru sighed, clearly bored. "It's their 'final attack' or something like that. Bunch of idiots, the whole group of them. I have no idea as to why you wanted to make them your pets."
"You and I both know all too well what I did for the people of these islands! I only wanted to help!"
"All in vain," Eneru said. He then let another smile curl across his lips. "There's only one thing on this island that is possibly worth vying for... and that's already taken."
"What could you possibly want to rob these people of now!?" Gan Fall barked angrily. Eneru simply smiled.
"The Light of Shandora and all the gold of the city that possesses it," the false god cackled.
"What are you talking about?" Gormal snapped.
"You mean you do not even know?" Gan Fall asked. He then pondered for a moment himself and shuddered. "Then again, I only have an idea..."
"You all are such fools," Eneru chortled. "You are all so clueless it is hilarious! I would love to stay and chat some more, but it sounds as if I need to step in and participate in my own game. So many people to kill, so little time to do it all. Later." A crack of thunder filled the air and Eneru disappeared, leaving the deck frozen in their tracks.
"We have to get these guys in the ship!" Nami announced, slicing the tension with her voice. Gormal and Gan Fall looked back at Nami as she and Chopper tried to carry both Sanji and Usopp carefully into the ship's hold. Gormal sighed and scooped Usopp's body from the navigator's thin arms.
"That prick's gonna pay for this," he said assuringly. He watched as Chopper allowed his form to grow to full size in order to properly pick up Sanji. The deck hand also saw the intrigued expression that formed on Gan Fall's face as the knight witnessed Chopper's ability.
"Just hurry up and put them inside the Merry," Nami ordered. Gormal and Chopper obeyed silently and were able to gingerly place their incapacitated nakama on some soft mats Chopper laid out inside of the galley.
"Thanks," Chopper sighed, rushing over to his medicine cabinet. "I think I can take it from here."
"Welcome," Gormal said, looking down at the two burned men. He looked over at Nami, who seemed quite shocked, for lack of a better word. Both did not move until they heard Gan Fall's voice shout with a hint of what seemed like dread.
"Hey! Over here!" the old knight yelled. Curious, Nami and Gormal left Chopper to his business and walked outside. Once there, they found that Gan Fall was helping Conis, Pagaya and a small girl whom none of them had ever seen before up onto the ship.
"Conis-chan!" Gormal smiled, rather taken aback. "What are you doing here?" He rushed over to the three newcomers jovially.
"I felt so bad about this whole thing, so my father and I agreed that we would come and help you," the young woman said, relief in her voice.
"…and who is this?" Nami asked, bending over the small girl and smiling jovially. The girl just scowled and held up a stick with a dial attached to the end.
"Stand back, Blue Seas creature!" she hissed. "I am Aisa, Warrior of the Shandian Tribe! I have a Burn Staff and I am not afraid to use it!" Nami just raised her eyebrow dully, not even reacting.
"Ah, can it you little nipper," Gormal sighed, grabbing Aisa by the nape of her dress and holding her up unceremoniously in order to stare her straight in the eyes. "What are you doing here anyways?"
"My Dial Craft shorted out, if you really want to know," the girl replied grumpily. "What are you doing here with Blue Sea people and the old knight guy?!" She tried to punch Gormal in the face, but his reach was significantly longer than hers and all she was able to hit was air.
"All three of you should not have come here," Gan Fall scolded. "There is trouble brewing in the forest. You have to get back to Angel Island at once or else you are most likely going to die here."
"I am a brave Shandian warrior!" Aisa retorted, having no patience for Gan Fall. "I laugh at your petty threats!"
"I apologize sir," Pagaya said with a bow, "but my daughter and I are quite resolute in our decision. These people showed us no harm during their short stay within my household. It feels only right that we assist them in this time."
"I still do not suggest that you stay here!" Gan Fall pleaded. "It is dangerous. We have already been attacked by the priest Shura and Eneru himself! You must leave before it is too late and you get caught up in the fighting!"
"Too late…!"
"…for that…!"
Everyone on deck looked upwards and gasped. Standing on the mast precariously were two rounded figures, identical in appearance. They were laughing heartily, sending chills down the spines of all others there with their falsetto voices.
"Hey! I thought we offed you!" Gormal snapped. He dropped Aisa roughly and pointed upwards at the two standing on the rigging. "How'd there get to be two of you now!?"
"You must be the one…"
"…who killed nii-san!"
The two jumped down from the mast and shook the deck with their impact. Conis and Nami nearly lost their footing, while Aisa clutched onto Gormal's leg in order to not fall over. The two newcomers giggled merrily, watching the rather worried expressions of their opponents grow more intense by the second.
"I am Hotori!" said the one on the left.
"…and I am Kotori!" added the one on the right.
"We are Satori-nii-san's brothers! It is time to avenge his death!"
"Which one is which? Just hold your breath!"
"These guys are really creepy," Conis said in a low voice.
"They are lieutenants in Eneru's milita," Gan Fall said gruffly. "They should not be taken lightly." He was about to go on, but Hotori and Kotori interrupted him.
"One of us has Axe!"
"One of us has Flame!"
"One of us has Impact!"
"One of us has Flavor!"
"Which is which?"
"What is what?"
"Can you tell us apart?"
"You better rush!"
"I am so sorry for these two," Pagaya sighed. "They talk in riddles and rhymes way too often."
"What do they mean by Axe, Flame, Impact and Flavor?" Nami asked.
"Those are different sorts of dials," Aisa huffed. "Everyone knows that."
"Well, we're not 'everyone', kid," Gormal explained blandly.
"Should we go warn Chopper?" Nami thought out loud.
"The little reindeer's here too?" Conis gasped.
"Yeah, but since he's currently engaged at the moment, I think it would be alright if we took care of these jokers without him," Gormal said. He snatched the dial stick from Aisa's hand and took a step forward despite the young girl's protests.
"You don't seriously think you're going to face them by yourself, do you?" Gan Fall asked, walking over so that he was next to Gormal.
"Well, I did have a hand in beating their brother. It's only right."
"Yeah, but you had Usopp and Sanji with you then," Nami snorted, twisting together her Climatact and standing on the other side of Gormal. "Don't think you're going to be the only hero here."
"I'm touched," the dark-skinned man snickered. The three watched Hotori and Kotori carefully as they spun around, confusing them over which was which.
"You may have beaten nii-san," said one.
"…but can you defeat us?" asked the other. It was then that they stopped spinning and charged at the pirates and knight. The two groups met in the center of the deck, loud yawping heard out of them all.
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Far away from the Merry Go, Luffy was chasing the mysterious man through the brush, desperately attempting to catch up with him. Finally, Luffy was able to get close enough to be able to grab the man by the leg. The warrior stumbled on his waver skates and crashed hard into the ground. Before he could get his bearings and return to his feet, Luffy loomed over him, rage fierce in his eyes.
"What did you do to Maon!?" the captain snarled. He grabbed hold of the strap that held in place the bazooka on the man's back and slowed his speech threateningly. "Did you kill my nakama?"
"What if I did?" the warrior spat. "You people do not matter to me. All I want is to find that bastard Eneru and kill him with my own hands. Anyone who even thinks of standing in my way will die."
"Does this mean you want to kill me now?" The hairs on the back of Luffy's neck bristled in his rage.
"Of course," the man said, smiling viciously. He threw Luffy off of him and glared at the teen. Luffy flipped his straw hat back and focused intently.
Author's Notes
Luffy: Oh, he's right ticked.
Zoro v Barham: Yes, Kuina won. I love it. -grins-
Pagaya, Conis and Aisa: They're really supposed to come later, but I did the artistic licencing thing again. It's lovely.
Hotori and Kotori: Ickies. I don't like them. That's why their annoying and rhyming.
This Chapter's Deity: In accordance to wikipedia, Set is the Egyptian god of storms, hence lighting. This was one of his original designations, being that he later became known as the god of evil.