A Heated Offer
Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.
Kilnorc: Chap title sux, i know, just go with it
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What the hell is that?!"
Devon skidded to a halt at the sight of the strangest, if not largest snake he had ever seen in his life. It looked very much like a cobra, but it was far too large and wide to be one. It was almost twelve feet long, but that was with it's body wrapped around Kagura's body. Speaking of Kagura, the normally fierce Zoan user wasn't even trying to put up a fight. She looked like she was about to pass out. Looking closer, Devon saw a large bite mark in her side.
Damn...she's feeling the snakes venom Devon darted to the snake, With an asshole that size, I don't think she can last very long before the poison kills her!
"HEY, SCALY!" he shouted, jumping into the air.
Hearing the cry, the snake twisted it's head around, looking away from Dusty, who had been scared shitless and who had also ran off when she had the chance.
"Ittoryu...," Devon gripped Freki tightly and held it in his right hand as he flew towards the snake, "Tyr's Hand, Leavings of the Wolf!" (1)
The blonde swordsman's speed suddenly increased and he soared past the snake's head. The huge reptile screeched in pain as a large gash appeared on the side of it's face, blood flowing freely down it's scales. Thanks to the pain, the snake immediately released Kagura, but it wasn't going to leave her along just like that. Before it moved on, it wrapped its tail around her legs and whipped her around before tossing her out of sight.
"Shit!" Devon turned and clanged his swords together, "KIRSTY WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
"Here!"
Once again, the snake roared in pain. It twisted around again and this time, Devon could see Kirsty's sai plunged deep into it's back, with her holding onto them and her feet planted on it's back. She was riding it like some kind of bull.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Devon shouted as he ducked, avoiding the snake's thrashing tail, which started to destroy the campsite.
"WHAT THE HELL DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M DOING?!" Kirsty screamed back, "I'M HELPING YOU!"
"I don't need it!" Devon pointed in the direction where Kagura was tossed, "Roo-girl's been bit by that fucker, so go and get to her before she leaves this world!"
Kirsty nodded and pushed off the snakes back, taking her sai out in the process. In doing this, the blonde doctor managed to get to a safe enough distance before running out of sight.
Okay...Roo-girl's in good hands Devon looked around the camp, "Guys, where the hell are you!? I can't do all the work!?"
"We're taking care of Austin!" Niri shouted back from somewhere nearby.
Devon's eyes widened slightly, "What's wrong with him?!"
"That thing bit him! It tried to eat him, but it just bit him instead!"
The swordsman took a deep breath and slowly raised his head at the snake, his eyes narrowing as he raised both Geri and Freki high. He closed his eyes and exhaled, grinning, I was saving this...for a special occasion. I guess this is the one he thought as he suddenly felt a cool air around his now tingling hands. Suddenly, he jumped high into the air towards the snake and seemed to hover over it's large head.
"Nittoryu: Niflheimer Koori Kiri!" (2)
With a battle cry, Devon descended onto the serpent and stabbed the blades into the beasts hide. The cobra screeched in agony as Devon's swords cut downward, leaving steaming gashes in their wake.
Devon could only grin as the snake thrased around, "Never...ever...ever...fuck, with my family!" he whispered before plunging his swords deeper into the hide. The cobra's thrashing became more ferocious as Devon hacked and stabbed it. After what seemed like an eternity, the snake let out a final scream of pain before falling onto it's side, limp. It was dead.
Panting, Devon regained his footing and pulled out his swords, which now looked normal and looked at the strange gashes he had given it. He sheathed his weapons and kicked the beast, "Asshole...,"
He looked around, "Guys, it's okay...the things dead," he called out.
Dusty, DJ, Niri, and Chizuru popped their heads out from their hiding place. Devon couldn't help but glare at them, I was risking my life and they were hiding?!
Sighing, he started walking over to them, glancing around, "Where's Austin?"
Niri disappeared for a moment, but came back into view, holding the young boy in her arms. Immediately, Devon ran over to them and took his brother into his arms. He looked the boy over, frantic for his brother's life.
"Don't worry," Chizuru said soothingly, patting him on the shoulder, "Kirsty managed to get him fixed up before running off onto the thing," she pointed to the snake's corpse, "He's just gotta rest for now,"
"WHERE IS THAT PIECE OF CRAP?!"
"well, Roo-girl's back to normal," Dusty said with a grin.
Devon and Niri turned to see Kagura hopping up to them in her half-human form, with Kirsty running behind her. Seeing the damage done to the snake, Kagura came to a complete halt, causing Kirsty to run into her.
"ACK!"
"Watch where you're going," Kagura said dismissively, reverting to her human form.
Kirsty checked her mouth and nose in case for blood while the Zoan stalked over to the corpse, "Thanks for the advice," she muttered.
Kagura bent down and looked close at the gashes, "This is odd,"
"What? A giant cobra coming out of nowhere and trying to kill us?" Dusty cracked, joining them with some of the others following her.
"No," Kagura hopped over the corpse and pushed away the cut areas, "These kind of wounds should cause this snake's blood to be gushing out, but it's all coagulated,"
"Coagu-whated?" DJ and Dusty asked at the same time.
"Coagulated," Kirsty replied quickly, "It's when your blood stops flowing and either clots into a slightly solid form, or becomes all gel-like,"
"Oh...," DJ poked the dead animal with his sabre, making a new wound, "Then how come that's not?" he asked, pointing to the small trickle of blood coming out of the new hole.
"Doc, come look at this,"
Kirsty walked around the snake and looked where Kagura had been studying, "...that is weird,"
"Uh...yo," Niri waved at them, "For those who dunno what the hell ya'll are talking about...?"
"Sorry," Kagura dusted herself her legs off as she came to full height, "The reason DJ's cut is different than Devon's cuts is that when Devon's swords made contact with the serpent," she gestured to the long gashes and stab wounds, "The blades must've been freezing or something, because as soon as they cut into it, they caused the blood to be coagulated. Meaning, he froze the blood,"
"And that's what killed the snake?"
"No," Kirsty shook her head, "Snakes are cold-blooded, meaning that they can't stand the cold. That's why they do so well in the desert, because of the hot sun and sand. When Devon attacked this thing, he dealt it immense damage because he somehow managed to freeze the insides of the snake,"
Kagura nodded, "Bingo. Now, what I'm most curious about is...," she stopped and glanced at Devon, who was now laying Austin down inside the wagon, "If Devon's not a Devil Fruit user...how the hell did he do that?"
"What I wanna know is that if snakes hate the cold, why this one came out at night to attack us?" Niri thought aloud.
The group stood there in silence, looking at the snakes corpse for a long while, unable to say anything about the incident that had occured.
Kagura looked down at her bloody and ripped clothes, "Damn, I gotta go change...anyone got any spare clothes?"
At that moment, not too far away, a figure draped in a cloak chuckled as it fingered a large wooden flute across it's lap.
"Interessssssting...but they're lucky I didn't ssssssummon a big one,"
-----
Day 3
Ding-a-ling-a-ling
Axe looked around the small building he had just stepped into. It was a small cafe, with barstools, tables, and a record playing a sonata by the sound of it.
"I'm sorry, but we're booked for a private party. I'm afraid you'll have to leave,"
The young man turned to see a beautiful young woman wearing a pair of glasses and a bandanna, her blue hair trailing down her back. Axe groaned and rubbed his neck, taking a seat on an empty barstool, "Water...,"
The woman scowled, "I said, we're closed,"
"And I said, I wanted water," Axe snapped back, "I have been in this forsaken desert for days, I ran out of water, and I need it. Now, you can either take my money and give me some damn good water," he slapped a thick wad of beli dollars on the counter, "Or I can just take it myself. Normally, I wouldn't resort to theft for something like water, but if I'm driven to a certain point, I can do things I wouldn't normally do,".
The woman looked him over, then at the giant weapon he carried on his back before retrieving a tall glass and filling it with clean water from a barrel.
"Here,"
"Arigato," Axe rasped, taking the glass. As he raised it, ready to drink, the bell above the door rang and he knew that he wasn't the only customer around here.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Merry Chri-! Merry Chri-! Merry Chri-!"
Both the woman behind the counter and Axe turned to see the strangest looking people enter the small cafe. One was a short, rather old looking fat woman wearing sandals, rectangular sunglasses, and had a huge puff of red hair, almost like an afro, sticking out of her head. What also made Axe wonder about her, was a strange tie that she wore...a tie that resembled a Christmas tree.
The second newcomer in the cafe was a very tall, very fat man in green. He had short blonde hair ontop of his freakishly small head, and carried a very large object on his back that Axe couldn't make out.
"Just exhausted!" the fat woman muttered, hitting her back, "Back aches all the damn time. It's all your fault, Mr 4! You're so boring, you give me back aches all the time!"
Mr 4? Axe glanced at the large man, who was apologizing very slowly, Ooh...I get it.
The young captain didn't even move as the fat woman took a seat next to him, pounding on the counter.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Paula, how's business?" she asked, looking around, "This place looks completely empty, except for this one!"
Axe rolled his eyes as he took a sip of water, "Don't mind me...I'm just taking a break,"
Paula, the woman with blue hair glanced at Axe before putting on a smile for the fat obahan, "It's been a long time," she nodded to both her and the fat man, "Welcome, Miss Merry Christmas, Mr 4. The cafe's been reserved for you today,"
Miss Merry Christmas looked at Axe, then back at Paula, "Then who the hell is this?!"
"Hey, I'm just a thirsty man wanting a break before he gets back on the road, ya old bag," Axe snapped, setting down his half-empty glass, "If you don't mind, I'd like to enjoy what's left of my water,"
Miss Merry Christmas glared daggers at him, "What did you just call me asshole?!"
"Please, don't start anything," Paula held up her hands, "Miss Merry Christmas, you want an Orange Pekoe...," she looked at Mr 4, who was now taking his place besides Miss Merry Christmas, "Mr 4, you'll be having an apple tea, right?"
Miss Merry Christmas looked away from Axe and nodded as she started to bang the counter again, "I don't want it hot! I want it at room temperature so I can drink it right away! Now, make it quick! Give it to me, give it to me!"
This fat crone is annoying as hell Axe thought as he took one last gulp of his water, Croc's got a strange way of getting people...
"Thanks for the water," Axe bowed his head and made his way for the door, "Later,"
As soon as he opened the door, Axe was greeted by a stange sight. There were four men dancing their way towards the cafe. Three of them looked normal enough, but their leader was dressed as a ballerina, and wearing make-up.
This must be the Mr 2 that the others told me about Axe thought as he walked away from the door, watching the men come closer.
The young captain watched as the other three men left the okama dancer at the cafe, the latter taking a seat at the counter with the other two Baroque Works members. Frowning, Axe jumped quietly onto the cafe's roof and listened to the conversation that had started up through a cracked window.
"It seems as though even the Mr 1 pair is coming this time, eh?" Mr 2 asked aloud, "I've never met them. So, I should say that I'm SO looking forward to it!".
Axe rolled his eyes at the okama's laugh, Mr 2 can imitate people, and by the looks of the big boy, Mr 4 can pack a whallop. But I can't figure out what Miss Merry Christmas or this Mr 1 pair are capable of. Another thing I can't figure out is why Paula able to be alive after meeting these people in her cafe? he drummed his fingers on his leg, It just doesn't make sense!
As he sat there, listening to random topics that the group talked about, Axe could feel the temperature get cooler. Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked up to see the moon was already in the air. He rubbed his eyes, Time sure does fly when you're a spy... he thought as he yawned.
A loud cracking sound made Axe go for his weapon, but before he went running off the roof, he managed to stop himself.
Can't go and be a cowboy all willy-nilly...gotta see what's going on!
Carefully and quietly, Axe crawled along the roof of the cafe and looked over the edge to find himself looking down on a large, well-muscled, dark-skinned man in a sleeveless robe and large pants, carrying a sack. He was standing in front of a large hole in the wall, something he had obviously made a few moments before.
This must be Mr 1...but where the hell is his partner?
"THOSE ARE MY MEN!" Mr 2's outraged scream echoed around the area.
"WAIT! MR 2!"
Axe watched as the large man ran into the cafe and listened as a loud scuffling sound emanated from inside.
"Un, deux,KURAH! Un, duex, ORA! SWAN DE PIED!"
Dammit, I'm missing out on some good shit! Axe rose to his feet and tried to follow the sounds from within. The sound of another wall being broken apart gave Axe an idea where to go. Following the sound, he saw Mr 1 fly across the desert floor before planting his feet on the sand and sliding backward, sending rock chips into the sky as he glared back at Mr 2, who dashed out of the cafe, followed by Paula the other Baroque Works Agents.
Mr 1 rose to his feet and held out a hand, still glaring at the okama ballerina, "So...you wish to die...,"
"Wait!"
Axe watched in surprise as Paula stood between Mr 1 and his opponent, who was now on the ground, pinned down by Mr 4.
"I'm putting a stop to this, Mr 1," Paula said firmly, not moving from her place.
Mr 1 glanced at her, then back at his opponent, "Stay out of this, Miss Doublefinger...," he growled.
Miss Doublefinger?! Axe mentally smacked himself in the head, Of course! How else can she know about Baroque Works, not be a part of it, and still be alive? Why the hell didn't I see it before?
He watched as Paula, or Miss Doublefinger, pulled away her bandanna, removed her glasses and donned a small, fur-lined jacket as her blue hair poofed out.
"It's 8 o'clock, and all of the designated Agents have gathered," she said calmly, "...and an order was delivered to the Spider's Cafe. From here, we make our way to the City of Dreams, Rainbase. The man we call "Boss", whose face we have never seen...is waiting there,"
While the rest of the Agents stared in shock at "Paula's" true identity, Axe made a wide grin and moved out of sight.
JACKPOT! Crocodile... he rubbed his hands and gripped his giant weapon, running a finger along one of the edges, Your head is gonna be mine very soon!
-Meanwhile-
"How'd you do that?"
"Nunya,"
"Nunya?"
"Nunya damn business, Roo-girl,"
Kagura stuck out her tongue at Devon, who was making sure his weapons were in decent shape, "C'mon...seriously, you did eat a Devil Fruit, didn't you!"
"No,"
"Yes you did!"
"No,"
"Yes!"
"No,"
"Yes!"
"I SAID NO, DAMMIT!" Devon roared, spinning around and holding his blade to Kagura's throat, seething with anger.
Kagura felt the tip of the swordsman's blade, but remained calm, "I'm just trying to figure you people out...," she said evenly.
"Maybe there are some things that don't need to be figured out,"
Devon removed his sword and stormed off to his and his brother's tent, cursing under his breath.
"You should know by now, that Devon's a little touchy about personal stuff,"
Kagura looked over her shoulder to see Dusty walking up to her, holding her sleeping bag and pillow.
"Why is he like that?"
Dusty shrugged, "Beats the hell outta me. Devon hardly talks about himself and Austin...well, Austin's mute. He can't say crap,"
A sharp pain in her rear made Dusty yelp. She turned and watched Austin run off, hiding behind Niri. The kitsune's eye twitched and she cracked her knuckles, "Sonofa...,"
As Dusty ran off to try and get even with the brat, Kagura walked into the tent she was sharing with Chizuru. She plopped down onto her bedding and took a pencil and book out of her pack. After she made sure she had lead, and opened it up to a clean page, Kagura began writiing, an amused look on her face.
"These guys never stop,"
Later that night, Kirsty decided to sleep in the wagon, as a refuge from Dusty's constant snoring and Niri's threats to kill her. As she slept in the wooden carrier, a figure slowly opened the wagon door and reached for her.
As if sensing it, Kirsty opened her eyes, but was unable to do anything, because the figure's hand clamped tightly around her mouth and held her down on the wood. Screaming into the hand, Kirsty beat her hands onto the assailant's arms, trying to get it to let go.
"Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy...it's me, Ace!"
Kirsty stopped immediately and looked up to see Portgas D. Ace standing over her, looking like he was about to laugh. Fire-Fist pulled away his hand and Kirsty rolled over, rising to her knees.
"Ace?" she poked her head out and looked around, "What are you doing here? I thought you were with Luffy and the others? Are they here with you?"
Ace shook his head, "No, they're not. I left them awhile ago to continue my mission. But...," he tilted his head, looking at her closely.
Kirsty felt a little uncomfortable with him staring, "But...what?"
"Listen," Ace turned back and looked at the tents, "Can we talk somewhere else?"
The doctor nodded and hopped out of the wagon, "Sure,"
After walking a short distance from the camp, Kirsty and Ace took a seat on a large, flat rock.
"It's not wise to be out here," Kirsty muttered, rubbing her arms, "Freezing temperature and last night we had this big ass snake try to eat us!"
Ace laughed as he turned his right hand into a small fire, "You don't have to worry about either one with me around, Kirsty,"
Kirsty shrugged, "That's true, I guess. But Ace, why on earth are you here? If you're continuing your mission, why'd you come to us?"
Fire-Fist looked at her for awhile, then looked up the starry sky, "Kirsty...will you come with me?"
The doctor nearly fell off the rock, "W-w-what?!"
"Will you come with me?" Ace repeated, looking back at her, "Will you come with me...and join Whitebeard's crew?"
Kirsty moved around until she was fully facing Ace, "Why are you asking me if I wanna join his crew? I'm already part of a crew,"
Ace nodded, "I know. But before I explain, you have got to promise me, that this conversation never leaves this rock,"
"What, you mean I can't tell my nakama about this?"
"No,"
"Never?"
"Never ever,"
"Why the hell not?!"
Ace's face took on a grim expression, "Because, if they were to know what I'm about to say, they would be put in great danger,"
"If they would be in danger by knowing this, would I be in danger as well?"
The Whitebeard Commander nodded, "Yes, but, it's important that you know...considering your Devil Fruit power,"
"How do you know about that?"
"Vivi told me a couple of days ago," Ace slouched back and looked at the stars again, "So, will you promise me that you won't tell a soul?"
Kirsty frowned and looked away, "...alright. I promise,"
"Good. Now, here's my reason...,"
-Sometime later-
"Man, that had to be the longest piss in history,"
Azu let out a long yawn as he tied his belt around his pants, returning from his mid-night bathroom break. As he walked back to his tent, Azu stopped and looked around. He thought he had heard someone crying.
After a short time listening, Azu found the source of the crying was inside the wagon. He quickly walked over and pulled open the doors, surprised to see Kirsty sitting on the floor, hugging her knees, face buried in them as she cried.
"Kirsty? What's wrong, why are you crying?"
The blonde doctor looked up and wiped her away her tears, "Nothing...just a bad dream, Azu, nothing to worry about,"
Azu raised an eyebrow and leaned against the door, "Wanna talk about it?"
"No...just a bad memory about my sister,"
"Ah, I see," Azu hopped into the wagon, rocking it back and forth until he plopped down next to her, "Niri and Dusty told me about you and your sister, Kyra,"
"They did?"
"Yeah," Azu nodded, "You know...I have a brother myself,"
Kirsty sniffed and looked at him, curious, "Really?"
"O'course. Well, he's not really my blood brother, more like a very close friend," the drunken boxer shrugged, "He and I used to go everywhere together and everything...until one day,"
"What happened?"
Azu sighed and cracked his knuckles, "Ran into some bad shit with the Marines and the World Government. After I got my bounty of 9,000,000 Beli's, I told him I had to leave so that he wouldn't be involved,"
"Was it hard for you to leave him?"
"Oh, hell ya. You see, he's one of those types that are big and strong, but he needs someone to guide him down the right path...,"
"What's his name?"
"Goheno...Goheno Baba,"
"Baba?" Kirsty tilted her head, "I thought he was just a close friend? Why does he have your last name?"
Azu chuckled, "Because, after a long while of being with him...," he shook his head slowly, smiling, "We just kinda took the name and became brothers in an adopted sense,"
The two of them sat in silence for a short time, listening to the campfire crackling outside.
"Well," Azu tapped Kirsty's knee and made his way out the wagon, "Hope that helped ya,"
Kirsty nodded, "Yeah...thanks,"
Watching him leave, Kirsty hugged her knees again.
Thanks Azu...but that's not why I was really crying.
-Flashback-
"So, that's it," Ace stretched, "You see why you can't let your nakama know?"
Kirsty nodded, eyes wide, "Y-Yeah...I see now,"
"With that done and said, will you at least think about joining Whitebeard's crew?"
"...I can't. I'm sorry, Ace,"
Fire-Fist looked at her, a little surprised, "You're not gonna join my crew?"
Kirsty rose from the rock, shaking her head, "No. I'm sorry. I am really honored to have this opportunity, but I can't," she looked at him, feeling a mixture of sadness and joy within her, "These are my nakama. I gotta stick with them. If anyone comes for me...I know that they will protect me, no matter what they know or don't know. I also know that I would do the same thing for them, no matter what the reasons,"
Ace smiled and nodded, "I can respect that. Well," he stood up and gave a small kiss on her cheek, "That's for good luck in your travels,".
-End Flashback-
"Man, what the hell am I gonna do?" Kirsty mumbled, rubbing the spot where Ace pecked her.
-----
Axe walked along the busy street of the City of Dreams, also known as Rainbase, brushing against a citizen here and there, listening to the happy shouts and chat that filled the city. This city was lit up with bright lights in almost every building. But one building in particular caught his eye, but not for the lights.
The building was a very tall pyramid which stood in the middle of a wide and deep-looking lake. A wide bridge extended from the edge of the lake, all the way towards the entrance. Ontop of the pyramid, was a huge, golden statue of a crocodile with a banana on top of it's head. A sign hung over the entrance doors. On it, in big letters and surrounded by bright lights, was the name of the establishment.
RAIN DINNERS CASINO
Geez, Croc... Axe shook his head as he crossed the bridge, Could you give a bigger sign of where you're hiding?
As Axe made his way into the casino, the sights and sounds of gambling machines made him remember the night Niri won their ship from Rose. However, his trip down memory lane came to a halt when he saw a familiar man in blue and white stripes skulk around the casino, a large number three made out of his hairdo.
This made Axe grin widely as he flexed his hands, "Oooooh...bonus,"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kilnorc: Well, that's that folks! Looks like stuff is finally coming down to a head, huh? I hope this was good, and if in any way, this was confusing, I do apologize. Also, that scene with Ace and Kirsty? That's a gift to a good friend of mine who is a HUGE Ace fangirl...not gonna say who.
(1) A move inspired by an event in Norse Mythology when the large wolf Fenrir, bit off and swallowed the right hand of Tyr, another Norse God.
(2) In Norse Mythology, there are Nine Realms of Existence. This move is one modeled and named after the World of Ice, or Mist World in the mythology. How could the blades be chilled you ask? Devon's special power with his training. It's pretty much called World of Mist: Ice Slash
On the next chapter of Desert Storm.
Axe: So...this is Baroque Works HQ, huh? Not a bad place, Croc.
Miss Doublefinger: What the?!
Mr 3: YOU!
Axe: Crocodile...I've come to offer you my services. That is, if you want it?
Rainbase: Many Paths Cross!
Dusty: Hey guys! Check it out! They call this the City of Dreams!
Niri: I gotta bad feeling about this...wait a minute, why the hell is Luffy here?!
Ja ne, folks!