You guys really got me going on this fic, so here's a longer chapter for u ^_^
- Canaan, Chopper, Sky, and Jason - earlier -
When Sky passed out, everyone reacted in their own form of panic. Canaan rushed to the boy's side, hoping that he might be able to awaken him and try to give them a few more seconds but it was clear that the marine's body had been pushed far passed its limits.
"Crap" he growled, trying to think logically, trying not to dwell on the two strawhats trapped on the other side of the door, trying to ignore the shouts coming from the little doctor at the entrance.
Jason stood a few feet away, clearly at a loss as to what to do.
"Jason! We need to be ready when the volcano erupts. Help me get Sky to the medics. We have to tell the others about the volcano and get as many out of harms reach as we can."
The younger marine nodded, anxious to get back into action. He ran over to his fallen comrade and used his good arm to heft the boy up. Sky let out a weak moan with the unwelcomed movement but otherwise didn't stir.
The sound of Luffy's fist striking the surface of the mountain echoed across the island, hiccupping everyone's thoughts for a short moment. They all had expected it, but that didn't stop the chill that went down their spines.
"Once we get with the others, we'll organize a team to go up and retrieve Mugiwara. If there's a chance he survives this, I want us to make sure he gets back to us."
The two marines looked over at the reindeer who remained planted at the door; they both knew no amount of reasoning would convince him to leave the entrance.
"Chopper, once that volcano erupts I want you to get out of here. You being here won't do anyone any good if you're dead."
With that, the two men rushed off, having much to do as the echo of Luffy's fist hit the mountain-top again.
"Usopp! Robin! Hold on! Just hold on!" Chopper screamed.
"Don't give up! Luffy's gonna-"
His voice was drowned out by a loud boom and the ground shook with the tremors of the eruption.
Squeezing his eyes shut as tightly as he could, Chopper tried to push out all the noise, as it kept shoving the reality of Luffy's sacrifice deeper into his skull. More tears crept out from his closed lids and his lower lip trembled.
"Luffy…"
- Canaan, Jason and Sky -
Canaan had to admit that Sky wasn't the only one who'd reached his physical limit. After all he'd been through while imprisoned at the base, and their recent battle had really taken any energy he had left out of him.
Fortunately, all of the men who stayed at the base had been well trained in following orders and working together so when the elite made his way back to the make-shift medical ward, where the majority of them had congregated after the battle, he easily got their attention and began instructing them on getting out of the path of the volcano's destruction.
Soon they were all gathering the wounded and basic supplies they would need once they got out of harm's way. In the meantime, Jason took Sky to Dr. Kale while Canaan searched for the right men to form a search party to try and retrieve Luffy, despite his doubts of the boy's survival. He knew several men who would be good for the job. They knew the terrain and would be capable of navigating it well enough to make it up to the peak in impressive time.
To his dismay, one of those men had been killed, three had been seriously injured; two injured enough to keep them off their feet, leaving only five who were physically up for the job. He would have gone up himself but he was hardly on his feet. This was the best he could do for them.
The men seemed more than happy to help out though they were clearly exhausted as well. The joy of victory over larger forces with better fighting capabilities had given everyone a burst of enthusiastic energy, so as soon as they heard what they were needed to do they headed out in an orderly row up the mountain.
Once they were off, Canaan sighed, letting the wall holding back his emotions to that point fall as he leaned back against a tree and slid down to a sitting position. Putting his head in his hands he held his composure, praying that, somehow, his new friend would survive and be brought back to him.
Suddenly his prayers were interrupted by a gentle hand on his shoulder. Popping his head up he saw Paul looking down with concern.
"Are you alright?"
The darkhaired boy's chest and torso were heavily bandaged and he had a few scrapes and bruises across his face but he showed no signs if he was in pain. His large blue eyes looked worried, reminding Canaan that he still had to tell the others about what Luffy had done. The elite's stomach twisted at the thought, considering that Paul had just faced a small army of commanders inside the base to save the captain from execution, only to find out now that Luffy had just martyred himself for his crewmates.
Looking up sadly he forced himself to explain the full situation to Paul.
By the time he had finished, the young marine looked like whatever energy he had left had been drained from him and his expression looked like a kicked puppy.
"No… Luffy… I can't believe he…" Paul put his hand over his mouth, as if to keep himself from asking something he knew Canaan didn't have an answer to.
"Chopper's still at the base entrance?" he asked, remembering Canaan saying that the deer had stayed behind. He had discovered Chopper's kindheartedness that night they had stayed out in the cold together, waiting for the StrawHat's return. Knowing that the reindeer understood what his captain had done, he imagined he was going crazy and would probably get himself killed trying to rescue him or his crewmates.
With the nod of the elite's head, Paul dashed away, back towards the threat of the volcano's magma, but also back to where his friend needed him.
Canaan let him go, not having the strength to join him and also knowing that the men around him needed his guidance. He would just slow them down if he followed, and if they needed to make a quick getaway from the magma they would need to have as little weight dragging them down as possible.
- Paul and Chopper -
The huge door sliding open was the first bit of mercy the universe seemed to give to the small doctor since that morning. Paul was relieved when Chopper had given in to his argument not to run up the volcano, but the feeling was replaced with pity when the reindeer scooted close to the door and called for his crewmates.
He rushed in after Chopper when the opening was large enough to get in, finding Usopp and Robin lying on the ground. Immediately they began checking their vitals, Chopper breaking into sobs when he discovered that both of his friends were alive.
They only had a few seconds to celebrate when the sounds of magma crashing down the hillside returned their attention to the severity of the situation. It was close now, closer than before and they knew they needed to get their butts moving or they would all be dead anyway.
Quickly, they both grabbed the two weak pirates and dashed out of the hallway, seeing the flood of seastone magma crashing down the slope. Taking the semi-conscious marksman into his arms, he followed Chopper away from the dark prison.
"Knew y'd get 's out c'ptn"
Paul's breath caught at the sound of Usopp's voice, and his heart felt like it had been shocked when he realized that the man had mistaken him for his captain. His brows furrowed as he looked down at Usopp, not wanting to imagine how things were going to be when someone told him that how his captain had really saved them.
Biting his lip, he picked up his pace, allowing the fear of the burning magma behind him to keep his thoughts distracted.
It wasn't hard.
- Nami -
A deep growl from the earth and the sound of men shouting brought the injured navigator back to consciousness. Her eyes flickered open, peering up at her surroundings before her mind caught up and reminded her of where she was and what she'd been doing. The blurry scenery and bright sky amused her for a while as she simply enjoyed the melancholy of nonchalance and the delightful feeling of floating.
It was fun until her mind finally connected with the rest of her body and the onslaught of unrelenting pain took over from her dazed state. Quickly she tried to return to her fantasy world, to fall back into that dream that had been so much more pleasant than the bitter reality.
Nami's chest rose and fell with deep breaths as she tried to ride out the wave of agony shooting through her body. Everything felt burnt, and any movement just heightened the senses to that pain so she tried her best to remain still.
Allowing her eyes to wonder, she noted that she was moving at a very fast pace, being carried by two marines on a cot. All around them were men carrying other cots. Everyone was either running or hobbling as quickly as they could; running from some unseen pursuer.
What worried her was that she was being carried by marines rather than her nakama. In fact, she couldn't see any of them in the crowd, motivating her to find her voice and speak.
"Where's my crew?" she asked weakly, hoping to catch one of her carrier's attention.
They both looked down, apparently shocked that she was awake. She wasn't prideful about her stamina, but she knew that she was a lot tougher than most people living the life she did, so she imagined she was pretty bad off to get a reaction like that.
"Your doctor ran off a few minutes ago but we haven't seen any of the others" one responded, he sounded apologetic.
"What?" Worry began to tickle her stomach and she tried to get up, hoping that the pain was separate from her strength. Maybe if she just ignored the pain she could still get up and find her friends.
This proved not to be the case when no matter how much she tried to get up despite the pain, she simply didn't have the strength.
"Crap! What the heck's going on?" she asked, her voice still weak but more forceful than before.
"The volcano's erupting" the other marine responded. "We need to move to a secure area where the magma won't reach us."
"So you guys won I'm supposing" she asked, assuming that was the case sense the sounds of battle couldn't be heard anymore and that everyone standing were wearing the dark uniforms and white cloaks. A few commanders could be seen but they were very obviously prisoners with their hands tied and guns aimed at their backs as they followed the crowd into the woods.
"Hey! I think I see your doctor friend!" shouted one of the men holding her cot "and… and I see two more of your crew with them!"
"Oh thank God" Nami sighed, following the man's gaze down the hill.
What she saw shocked her. The two small figures of Paul and Chopper could be seen charging to catch up with them, followed by a destructive wall of flowing magma, crashing into the small living quarters of the base and collecting debris in its wake.
"Holy crap!" she gasped.
"Don't worry" another marine stated "that magma won't reach us up here. Canaan knows the terrain of this island like the back of his hand and the elevation we're at is too high for the seastone to reach."
"Will they get here in time?" she asked desperately.
"Well, they're running like the Devil himself his chasing them, so I think they'll be out of harm's way before they're hit."
"They'd better" she sighed, closing her eyes again "or I'll kick their butts."
She felt her lift come to a halt and found herself lowered to the ground gently. Allowing her eyes to creep open again, she saw that they hadn't been joking when they said that they were close to the safe ground. All around her men were being situated on the ground, some began to remove packs from their shoulders and others went to watch the spectacle of the volcano's destruction behind them, climbing trees to get a better view.
A few minutes later she saw Chopper and Paul come stumbling into the small camp, both carrying one of her crewmates.
"What the heck had happened?""
They handed Usopp and Robin off to the medics and collapsed, both panting heavily and clearly exhausted. She was amazed that the reindeer had managed to run when he was so close to that much seastone, but she figured he had a lot to motivate him.
But where was Luffy? Hadn't he been with them? And where had Zoro gotten himself to?
Worry started to flood her thoughts and her mind pleaded for Chopper to come over and explain what the heck was going on. Then, as if in response to her pleading, the reindeer dragged himself up from the ground and shuffled over to her side.
He looked so tired.
"N-Nami? You're awake?" Relief coated every word, but she detected another emotion in his voice… sadness maybe? The worry got more vocal as the tickling in her stomach became twisting and sickening.
"Yeah, where're the others?"
The doctor's expression said everything, and yet nothing at the same time. His lip trembled and loud breathy sobs started to hiccup out of his little form.
"Oh Nami" he croaked out, before bursting into tears and curling into a ball of fur on her shoulder. Despite how much her mind screamed for answers, and the fear of loss drowning out the worry she had been suffocated by, she knew that her little crewmate needed her to just be there at the moment. To be conscious and to let him release all of his emotions into her so he wouldn't have to bear them alone.
All around them marines shuffled by awkwardly, most of them not making eye contact, and the ones that did showing true sympathy and apologetic glances. She didn't think they knew what they were apologizing for, or why the reindeer was so upset, but she appreciated them keeping their distance.
A few minutes later Chopper's loud sobs settled down into little whimpers and sniffles as he apologetically wiped away the snot and tears he had left on her shoulder and chest.
Finally she risked the question. The question she didn't want answered. The question she already had a good guess of what the answer to it was.
"Chopper… where's Luffy?"
With another whimper, the little doctor looked into her eyes, then gazed up at the volcano that was now bubbling with sporadic explosions of magma and still seeping with thick gas. He was up there. She knew it.
"How- how did it come to this?" she felt herself let out a heavy sob "why would he do that."
Pulling his hat further down to cover his face, Chopper began to relay the events of the past few minutes as best he could, hiding his tears as best he could.
- Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy-
The five marines had made good time getting up the mountain despite the trek being the most dangerous and strenuous task they had ever taken on. The magma was flowing everywhere, forcing them to take to the trees, jumping from limb to limb. Even the trees, however, were very familiar to them. They had arrived at the base with Canaan, before it was turned into an experimental prison, and before the first eruption those many years ago.
Getting to the edge of the woods was one thing, but getting to the open crater proved to be much more difficult. At first they scouted to surface of the mountain from the safety of the trees, but upon sighting the three pirates at the edge of the volcano's dome, they set about the task of retrieving them.
Taking the cloaks from their backs, they wrapped their legs from the knee down with several more layers of thick padding; praying that it would be enough to keep the acidic seastone off of their skin for a little while. As soon as they were prepped they jumped down into the creamy magma, thankful that enough of it had flowed down the mountain to leave it fairly shallow up top.
Wading through the thick liquid, they finally reached the three unconscious pirates. They had not been expecting three; in fact, Canaan had indicated that they might not even be able to find the captain. The sight before them was heart-wrenching, seeing the trail the blond had left from his climb over the edge of the crater, and seeing him laying across his captain, clearly having tried to revive him but to no avail.
Gently, they lifted the men out of the thick magma, trying to get as much of the seastone off as they could. They then did their best to clear a spot for them to lay them back down and assess their physical conditions.
"This one's alive" stated one of the marines crouched by Zoro.
"The blond is as well" stated the other as he hovered over the cook. "But…" he felt for Luffy's pulse, then pulled the boy's eyelid open to be greeted with a glazed and faded black eye, getting no dilation of the pupil in reaction to the change of lighting. He wasn't breathing either.
"I- I don't think this one made it" he said, hating the words he had spoken. He couldn't imagine how much the other two men had gone through to get their captain up there safely… only to be rewarded with this.
"Should we come back for him? We'll cover ground a lot quicker with only two, and Heaven knows they need immediate attention" another marine stated as he returned to a standing position in time to dodge a spatter of magma that retched out of the deep pit beside them. They were still in dangerous territory and needed to get back down quickly.
"That would probably be best. The captain would want his crewmates to be cared for as soon as possibl-"
His sentence was interrupted when he felt a strong hand grip his leg painfully. Jumping with surprise he looked down to see that the green-haired pirate had reached out and taken hold of him, his eyes barely open but burning with faded passion as he looked the marine in the eye.
"Don't you- *gasp* dare leave him" the swordsman heaved; each breath rattling painfully in his chest. He was barely holding on to consciousness but he retained his threatening presence despite his condition.
For a moment no one spoke, the marine keeping eye-contact with the suffering man. There was a silent understanding and he nodded sternly.
"Very well, we'll take him with us."
Zoro continued to breathe heavily, his eyes drifting in weariness as he added weakly: "be… be gentle with him."
Something in the tone of the man's voice made the marine's breath hitch.
"We will" he responded again, his words a promise that he would die to keep. Something about this man's loyalty and love for the dead boy beside him touched his heart more painfully than anything he had experienced before.
Then, as if his reassuring words were a lullaby to the pirate, Zoro closed his eyes and fell back into unconsciousness.
The marine coughed back a sob and returned his focus to the urgency of the situation at hand. He motioned for the four men to take Zoro and Sanji, while he took on the responsibility of transporting the limp boy carefully in his arms.
It was going to be a strenuous trip back, but he would make sure his precious cargo would get back to the camp without harm.
TBC…
Alrightttyyy! Another chapter! I am nearing the end! I can see it! I'm sorry for the heavy angst, and I'm sorry but there's much more on the way, but be strong!
You're all so wonderful to keep reviewing with each coming chapter! That really is my number one motivator and the main reason I've gotten on this updating spree.
Do remember that there are illustrations for this story on my Deviantart account. I'm Zinfer if you want to look me up :)
SUP- I'm so sorry I am causing you to lose sleep, though I'm glad that the emotional push I had for the story was effective (Once again proving how truly unkind I am). Thank you for checking for my updates and leaving such wonderfully kind reviews! Here is my update :) and I am well on my way to update again soon.
EALM528- I know I'm terrible. And I'm not even done yet XD I'm glad you like my twisted cruelty towards our beloved Straw Hat crew ^_^ Thank you for all of your encouragment so far. I can me motivated to write when I know that you'll remind me that you're still reading.
mto92- Greeting new reader! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it :) I hope you stick around for the ending.
Kitty-bandit- lol! I guess I find some cruel pleasure in killing both my characters and my readers XD (jk) YOU WERE NOT HOLDING ME BACK! If you only knew how your reviews have changed my updating efficiency (notice that I started this fic about 5 years ago... I used to only update once every few months... losing every reader in the process) Do good at school (I'm realllly hoping to finish this fic before I head to college) but I'll miss your reviews. If you find the time... or if you don't have the time and want a distraction, please come back and enjoy these last few chapters :) Telling me my fic was original made me squee a little inside with happiness. I am now super happy and ready to update as soon as I can XD
Icecreambeans- Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic ^_^ ur review made my day
caring16- Thanks for taking the time to review! :) That just shows how... CARING... you are. (wow I'm awesome)
Recordatio001- No offence taken ^_^ I'll try to tone down the cliffhangers a bit with these last few chapters. Hopefully I won't draw things out too much T_T' though ... maybe possibly I'll have a bit more of that before the fic is over _ I hope you enjoy the rest of the story aside from that. Thanks for the review and I appreciate the critique
WezL- I know! I'm so friggin excited about finishing this fic off! You've really been one of my biggest motivators to keep up my updates and finally get to a conclusion. Thank you so much.
avatoa- probably -_-' I have a very angsty side... I truly hope you will stick with me through it to the end though :) it means a lot to me that you'd take the time to review, so thank you
Llaelien- I know T_T I feel bad for making Chopper cry so much. Thanks for all of the encouragment! I love reading your reviews! ^_^
darkness34- lol! yeah XD lovely mental image. And though I am horribly angsty and like to put my fav characters through crap, I don't think I'd go that far. and lol, I read your review and was like... Update time! XD so here's some more. Thanks for taking the time to review!
To all of my readers, THANKS SO MUCH! Do enjoy the rest of the fic
