Ch 35 - Nana vs. the Straw Hat Zombies
The Straw Hats left the Thousand Sunny and they went their separate ways. Zoro and Franky headed off to the lower bridge in search of the samurai and skeleton while Luffy, Sanji, and the others took the stairs up to the top floor towards the shadow stealing Warlord. Nana ran with her hammer and shotgun on her back with Sanji and Luffy leading the way. With the additional weight, she had left her bag and waterboard behind.
Word had spread around the island that the Straw Hats were aware of using salt to purify the zombies so many of the zombies fled at the sight of them and didn't even try to take on any of the Straw Hats. Still, that did not stop Sanji and Luffy to beat up whichever one was in their eyeline.
When they approached a second flight of stairs, Robin skidded to a halt. "Oh no! I completely forgot!"
"What? What's wrong?" Nana demanded.
Robin's eyes were fixed on the top of the stairs, where Luffy and Sanji were closest to. Five white, translucent ghosts with big black eyes and thick lips came flying towards them. Nana's throat tightened and she took a fearful step back.
The ghosts flew through the bodies of Sanji and Luffy and the two men crumpled into the fetal position. "I can't take it anymore," Luffy whimpered, "In my next life, I hope I'm reborn as a mosquito larva."
"I hope my eyebrows curl up too much and I become an idiot," Sanji croaked.
"Luffy! Sanji! What the hell has gotten into you two?!" Nana shouted at them.
"Ne-ga-tive! Ne-ga-tive!" the ghosts started to sing as zombies stomped over to the two depressed men.
"Those ghosts...they can dishearten you with a touch and destroy your will," Robin replied, "As of right now, we don't know how to counter them."
"Got 'em," one of the zombies exclaimed gleefully, grabbing Luffy by the arm while motioning for someone to get the cook.
"Crap! They caught both of them!" Usopp screamed.
Bang!
A shot of sea water flew directly into the mouth of the zombie holding Luffy, who instantly dropped the rubber man and clutched his throat.
"What is it? What happened?" the other zombies cried to him. They watched in horror as his mouth opened and a dark shadow came floating of it. He collapsed lifelessly on the floor.
"Just because they're out, you think you can just do what you will in front of us?!" Nana called out with as much confidence as she could muster while nervously eyeing the ghosts floating above.
The rest of the zombies scrambled out of the way, dropping Sanji as well, while the ghosts came flying towards Nana and the group. Nana's face turned pale and her feet felt like they were nailed to the ground.
"Ahhh!" screamed Usopp. He ducked low, clasping his hands over his head, and summoned all his courage. He ran forward and grabbed Nana by the wrist. He pulled her out of the way just in time to avoid the ghosts, "We gotta go!"
The Straw Hats sprinted forward with Usopp scooping up the bummed out Sanji while Chopper grabbed Luffy. They raced up the stairs with the zombies and ghosts chasing after them. "Hurry! If we get touched by those ghosts, it's game over!" Usopp shouted, "Our only hope is to carry them and run!"
The ghosts started to swoop in closer and closer towards the group. "I really fucking hate this place!" Nana cried.
"Woof woof!" Pygmy agreed.
"S-Stay back!" Usopp screamed to the ghosts while carrying Sanji on his back.
Nana's eyes were locked forward. She knew if she turned and saw the ghosts, she'd be paralyzed with fear. All her hairs stood up and her back tingled. Are they coming? Are they close?
She reached the top of the stairs with Chopper, Robin, and Luffy when suddenly, the ceiling started to break. Something large and smashed through room. The stairs behind Nana's feet crumbled into bits. She spun around in time to see Sanji and Usopp fall through the floor as the entire stairwell collapsed beneath their feet. "Sanji! Usopp-sama!" she cried out.
"What just happened?" Chopper gasped as he dropped Luffy to the ground so he could lean over the edge to look at the ground below. The impact of his head hitting the floor knocked Luffy's senses back.
"Wh-wh-what happened?" the rubber man shouted.
"A bunch of zombies, Usopp, and Sanji…" Chopper said incredulously, "The whole lot of them fell when the stairs gave out."
Nana put her goggles over her eyes and tried to see through the smoke of debris and dust that wafted into the air from the impact. She spotted the top of Franky's ducktail. "Looks like Franky and Zoro are down there with them."
The dust started to settle and Nana's eyes popped out of the sockets. "Wh-wh-what is that?!" she screamed in horror. She pointed at a giant monstrosity below. He was the same size as a castle keep and he was pink all over but there was nothing cute about him. He had horns that stuck out harshly from his forehead and two sharp fangs protruding up from an underbite. He was bandaged and stitched up everywhere and to Nana, he looked like the devil himself.
"That's Luffy's zombie!" Chopper gasped, "We need to go help-"
"No," the captain ordered sternly as he got up to his feet, "We need to get to Moria and pluck that giant shallot before my zombie gets up and moves."
Luffy, Nana, Robin, and even Pygmy nodded hesitantly at Luffy. He ran forward and made his way into the building and the rest of the group dutifully followed. Chopper turned into his reindeer form and his hooves clopped against the stone ground.
"This entrance," Chopper explained, "Leads to the dance hall where he stole your shadow, Luffy. Beyond this is a giant freezer and that's the last place we saw Moria."
"Yosh," Luffy grunted.
They turned the corner into the dance hall and skidded to a halt. Dr. Hogback and Cindry-chan were standing in the middle of the room with their backs turned to them. The sound of Chopper's hooves made them turn around and Dr. Hogback screamed at the sight of them.
"Ahh! What are you doing here? Didn't Perona take you down?"
Nana tilted her head. "Perona? Who is that?"
"Hogback…" Chopper seethed.
"Who is that reindeer?" Dr. Hogback demanded.
"So that's Dr. Hogback," Robin mused.
Nana frowned at Robin. "So far you're the only genius I've met, who is attractive and not a freak."
Robin chuckled. "Thank you, Weaponsmith"
"Ahhhh! What are you saying?! Even though we're on different sides, your words still hurt, you know?" Dr. Hogback shrieked.
"That guy...was with Moria," Luffy scowled and then he started to wind up his arm, "I'm going to kick his ass."
"Wait, Luffy!" Chopper shouted, "Could you leave him to me?"
"Chopper…" Nana said quietly as she looked at the determined reindeer.
"See that door behind you, Luffy?" Chopper asked and Luffy turned towards it, "It leads to the freezer. Go on ahead."
Luffy nodded and grinned at his nakama. "Yosh!"
Dr. Hogback was incredulous. "You can't skip straight to Moria-sama! Learn some manners! Cindry-chan, get him!'
"One! Two!" Cindry-chan cried as she whipped plates in Luffy's direction. The rubber man fell to the floor to avoid the ceramic attack.
"Yosh osh osh osh!" Dr. Hogback laughed, "Looking good, Cindry-chan!"
Robin crossed her arms and three arms out of Cindry. They grabbed her arm and stopped her from throwing more plates. "Go on ahead, Captain," Robin said with a smile.
"Ah!" Luffy exclaimed and dashed off through the giant freezer doors, "Thanks, Robin!'
Nana's eyes narrowed at the freezer doors and she looked down the hallway. It was dark and most of the room was covered in shadows but she could still make out some pipes and bits of metal work.
Dr. Hogback shrieked again and ran after Luffy. "Hogback!" Chopper shouted, changing back into his usual form.
Dr. Hogback froze and looked over at the reindeer. "You've disappointed me," Chopper said, "I refuse to consider you a doctor."
"Yosh osh osh osh!" Dr. Hogback laughed, "So you're a Zoan power holder? I didn't even recognize you. I don't know how you escaped on your way to Perona's garden, but that won't happen again now that I've run into you...and I will get your shadows."
Then his grin turned menacing. "Or should I kill you and use your body for a mario?"
The mix of different footsteps rang out from behind Dr. Hogback and he stepped to the side so the Straw Hats could see the new arrivals. "They'll do the dirty work for me!" Hogback announced.
Three zombies stood before them. One was a penguin with a dog face, the second was a deer with a ram face, and the third one was a tall human zombie with three swords. The human zombie was bandaged all over his sunken face, with an inner tube around his waist and a shredded t-shirt that said "Your Song" on it. "Don't tell me these three are…" Nana gasped, "And that one is...Zoro's…"
"Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame!" the zombie with the inner tube rasped.
"What the hell was Luffy talking about?! They look nothing alike!" Nana and Chopper screeched.
"Indeed not," Robin mused.
"Yosh osh osh osh!' Hogback ordered.
The zombies bowed. "Yes, Hogback-sama," they said and marched towards the Straw Hats.
"Who should we take out first?" the Zoro zombie asked the dogguin.
"The reindeer," the deer-ram replied.
"Ocho fleur!" Robin cried as her arms wrapped around the Zoro zombie and pinned his arms to the side.
He grunted and struggled against her hold. "I'm Number 1," he shouted as his arms burst free from her hold.
Nana scowled and placed her shotgun on her back. She then turned the dial around her glove and grabbed her hammer. "Robin...Chopper," she said as she and Pygmy ran forward to stand in between the zombies and her nakama, "Leave the zombies to me and Pygmy...You guys focus on Hogback and Cindry."
"Nana…" Chopper and Robin gasped.
"Yosh osh osh," Dr. Hogback laughed, "Three against one is hardly fair but if you want to think you can take them on, be my guest."
"Two against one," Nana said and she shot a look at the dogguin, "With a freebie."
Thwack!
The dogguin ran up to Pygmy and kicked him hard in the side. The dog yelped and skidded to the side.
"Pygmy!" Nana cried.
"Thirty-six Pound Phoenix!" the Zoro zombie shouted as he sent a flying attack towards Nana, Chopper, Robin, and the dogguin. They dove out of the way and it exploded into the wall behind them.
"You jerk!" the dogguin shouted at the Zoro zombie, "Watch where you're aiming, moron!'
"What was that, you bastard?" the Zoro zombie snapped back, "You're a nuisance the way you dart around everywhere."
"Okay...I can see the similarities now," Nana said as she dashed forward past the pair just as the deer-ram came charging at her.
"Wrathful smash!" the ram yelled as it's horns collided into Nana's stomach.
"Gah," Nana grunted as blood dripped out of her mouth. Nana's hands clutched the ends of its horns and dug her feet into the floor, stopping the ram from pushing her any further. Suddenly, she saw the dogguin behind her.
"Don't kick her! She's a lady!" Chopper cried.
"A lady?" the dogguin scoffed and kicked Nana hard in the back, sending her flying forward and past the freezer doors, "What of it?"
"Nana!" Robin and Chopper called out.
"Yosh osh osh osh," Dr. Hogback laughed at Nana, "So you really all bark but no bite."
The three zombies started to step towards Robin and Chopper. "Dammit," Chopper gasped, "I didn't expect the dogguin to kick Nana."
"At the beginning zombies do retain some of their original thoughts," Dr. Hogback sneered, "But once the shadows have fully settled into their bodies they become completely obedient to us. They've completely lost their human hearts."
"I'm happy to see that you're rotten to the core, Hogback!" Chopper called out.
"What?!" Dr. Hogback yelled.
"I really did respect you as a doctor…" Chopper said slowly, "The same goes for your zombie research. Death can come so suddenly...and I'm sure that there are a lot of things the deceased and those they left behind never got a chance to say. So bringing back someone back to life, even if it is for a few minutes, would mean the world to those it saved...so when you told me you were researching how to resurrect the dead, I really did think that you were truly an amazing doctor."
"Yosh osh osh osh," Hogback laughed, "Fool! Why would I go to such lengths for others? You said that you respected how I used to save lives, but it was the same deal. I was simply a genius! Can't you understand the hardships of a medical genius? Healing people and curing them from things that run of the mill quacks couldn't do gets old! I needed a challenge...and this research is a breakthrough!"
"I don't consider you a doctor!" Chopper screamed at the top of his lungs, "All you've done is reanimate the dead. They aren't alive! Don't take life so lightly!"
"Yosh osh osh," Hogback shrieked, "They're moving right before your very eyes and you think they aren't alive? Dr. Chopper, the 'dead' are given a second shot at life. It's a miracle!"
He walked towards Cindry, his high heeled boots clicking along the tile floor. "Behold!" he shouted before kicking her hard across the room. Robin and Chopper gasped but the Zoro zombie pointed a sword at their throat.
"Don't move," he growled.
"Cindry-chan, lick the floor!" Hogback commanded.
"Yes...Hogback-sama," Cindry stonily replied.
Robin and Chopper watched in horror as she obeyed without any hesitation and under the sinister and twisted grin of Dr. Hogback.
"You saw the room, right? Dr. Chopper? The one with her pictures?" Hogback rumbled, "That's actually my room."
Chopper's eyes widened.
"The numerous photos were of the stage actress Victoria Cindry before she died," Hogback creepily stated, "I had been in love with her for a very long time. I wasn't the only one. Her beauty had charmed men across the country. She was kind to everyone and was a very special woman...but she rejected my proposal. Me! A world renowned doctor who could get anything he wanted...and when I found out she had died in a stage accident, I felt like my life had been drained and I abandoned my work…"
He took a deep breath, "And then one day, a giant man appeared before me. It was my master, Gecko Moria. He asked me to lend him a hand and I boarded this ship with only one condition. That he would use his miraculous ability to resurrect Cindry!"
"So you stole her body?!" Chopper cried incredulously.
"It was so easy to obtain the actress and bend her to my will," Hogback replied, "The personality of the woman who had spurned me was of little consequence. As long as she retained her beauty."
Chopper's whole body shook in anger. "Make her stop licking the floor!" he yelled with all his might, "By using corpses that can't stick up for themselves, you're creating nothing but monsters! For every zombie you create, you're making someone miserable."
Dr. Hogback raised his fists. "Don't lecture me on life when you're a mediocre doctor, pirate reindeer!" he roared.
Piiiiiiiiii!
A loud ring came bursting from the freezer doors and they all turned to see that cold steam was blasting out from one of the pipes. The pipe was slowly bending towards them. As the steam started to clear away, they saw Nana standing next to the pipe, with dried blood on her lips, and her metal glove directly grabbing onto the pipe.
"Hey...wh-what do you say," Nana stuttered through her chattering teeth, "...we all just cool the fuck down?"
She jerked the pipe closer to her and the cold air blasted directly towards the three Straw Hat zombies, chilling the entire room. The jet of steam fogged up the room and for a second, no one could see anything.
"Nana Special," she shouted as she blasted three shots from her cannon directly into the trajectory of the steam, "Instant Popsicle!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three jets of water came out of the barrel and froze into sharp icicles. Nana caught them with her left hand before they could fall to the floor and she dashed forward towards the three zombies. She came up from behind the dogguin, who spun around and tried to kick her in the face but his speed was considerably slower than before. His limbs and body were stiff from the direct blast of freezing air.
"What the-" the dogguin gasped.
"No blood. No warmth," Nana smirked as she jabbed one of the icicles straight into his mouth.
"Ahhhhh," the dogguin screamed.
Nana ducked just in time to avoid the sword of the swordsman zombie. She lifted her right, metal gloved hand and immediately the blades slammed against the magnet. He tried to pull back his sword but Nana yanked it out of his grip with a hard tug. "You're pretty strong," Nana said as she shoved the second icicle at his mouth, smashing his teeth, and pushing it down his throat, "But you're no Zoro."
"Gahhh," the zombie gagged as he backed away.
"Wrathful Smash!"
Nana spun around just as the deer-ram slammed into her once more. She grabbed the horns, forcing her to drop the third icicle, but this time she didn't dig her feet to the ground. She let the ram run forward and push them out of the steam.
"NANA!" Robin and Chopper cried as soon as she came into view. The Zoro zombie and Sanji zombie fell the floor with their shadows coming out of their throats.
"Take care of Hogback and Cindry!" Nana shouted just as she smashed through the window by the deer-ram, "Don't worry about me!"
"Woof woof!" Pygmy barked as he leapt out of the window after Nana, who held tightly to the deer-ram.
Nana slammed her feet into the deer-ram's face, released her grip, and sent it crashing back through the building. She tucked into a ball and landed hard into the ground below. Pygmy fell on top of her with a loud thud. The wind was knocked out of her and they both laid there in a daze. It took a few minutes for Nana to come to.
When she did, she groaned and slowly stepped out from under the rubble. She put her hands on her back and stretched her spine, while she looked down at Pygmy. "You okay, Pyg?"
Pygmy whimpered with stars still in his eyes and she knelt down next to him. "Idiot," she scoffed while rubbing his back, "We've been shot farther and harder than that with my cannons."
She then looked up at the hole in the building where the deer-ram had created. It was two levels down from where Chopper and Robin were. "Damn it. I didn't get a chance to get my own shadow back," she grunted.
Pygmy got up to his feet and he barked up at Nana. He stopped short and perked up his ears. He sniffed the air. He turned towards the side and then started to growl.
"What is it, Pyg?" Nana asked as Pygmy sprinted forward. Nana ran after him, "Pygmy! What?!"