Last update before I go back to school! It is past 1 am here at the time I post this, but I'm going to be busy for a good chunk of tomorrow, so I've pushed myself to finish the chapter tonight. Yay for progress!
Noitalapsi: Thank you! I hope you get plenty of sleep soon.
Alpenwolf: Terra being passive . . . well, those two barely belong in the same sentence with how I designed Terra to be. So it'll be interesting to see how the next scene will play.
guisniperman: Thank you! I don't view Bellamy's crew to be tough, either. Just loud and arrogant.
Eviline: That's okay! I hope you had a wonderful time during the holidays and are having fun with your puppy! I'm glad you enjoyed the flashback. I enjoy writing interactions between siblings because of that rule, but now further mentions of her brother will most likely lead to heartbreak amongst the crew and Terra if she ever learns the truth. As for Terra fighting back, it is very difficult to prevent such an event from happening. And Terra's annoying you? I'd probably find this more surprising if it wasn't for the fact that Terra is the kind of person who would beat up people she dislikes or annoys her. If this is not an available outlet for her, then she would keep running her mouth with insults and the like. She's the kind of person who almost always has to be aggressive in some form, which is an annoying trait to have.
Girl-luvs-manga: Saboady Archipelago is quite a ways off, but I bounce up and down in my seat when I think of how that arc is going to play out.
HayleyComet: Terra's reaction towards Franky will be interesting if her mind isn't already too preoccupied with everything else that happens in that arc. I'm still working out the kinks for that arc, but I think it'll be pretty good.
Christmasloot: Thank you! That's okay. I'm the same way when it comes to reviewing other fics. Rage, while not an endearing quality, is definitely the most entertaining part about writing Terra's character. This is actually my favorite character model to work with.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Terra/Myka, Connor, and Katie are my OCs.
Chapter 49
"So your head is worth 30 million, Straw Hat Luffy," said the blonde douchebag who just entered the bar. According to some other people in the tavern, this guy was Bellamy.
"Looks like he has business with you, Luffy," said Zoro.
"Hey, this Bellamy . . . isn't he the guy who rented out that hotel?" asked Nami.
"He's probably also the boss of that guy I'd beat the crap out of earlier," said Terra nonchalantly as she continued to drink. Nami smacked the back of her head, making her choke on the drink.
"Don't say that out loud!" scolded Nami as Terra glared back at her. Bellamy walked up to the bar and took the seat next to Luffy.
"We've met a lot of big guys today," said Luffy to no one in particular as he looked up at Bellamy. The man was considerably larger than the straw-hatted pirate, but Terra didn't see how that really mattered.
"Give me your most expensive drink," ordered Bellamy. Then he pointed at Luffy.
"And get this kid whatever he wants," he added.
"Okay," said the bartender, although he looked suspicious about the pirate's intentions.
"Look. It's those guys again," grumbled Nami. Terra and Zoro looked towards the entrance to see the same people from the hotel coming in. Sarquiss had cleared a couple of tables for them by slicing the men who were already sitting there.
"Make room, you inconsiderate swabs," he ordered.
"Oh boy, more assholes decided to join us," said Terra in a bored tone. Nami smacked her again.
"Dammit, Terra, shut up!" she scolded again. Unfortunately for Nami, they had been overheard.
"Your friend's smart. You better watch what you say if you don't want to get hurt," warned the same woman from before. The one with sunglasses and a bandana. Before Nami could intervene, Terra spoke up again.
"Oh, in that case, let me rephrase that . . ." Nami was mentally begging Terra to not make this situation worse.
"Oh boy, more assholes decided to join us, and they brought a few bitches with them," said Terra in that same bored tone. This had pissed off the woman beyond belief. Terra wasn't sure who would try to kill her first, Bellamy's crew or Nami who was glaring daggers at her.
"Why you . . ." started the woman.
"Leave it alone, Lily. Beating that woman up wouldn't prove anything," said Sarquiss. Terra rolled her eyes, but she was really wishing that Nami didn't make them promise to not fight.
Bellamy then slammed Luffy's head against the counter with enough force to smash it. Terra's mood darkened. In a flash, she was standing next to Bellamy, cracking her knuckles while Zoro had his sword raised to Bellamy's neck. Forget the promise, this guy was gonna get it.
"What's your problem, low-lives?" Bellamy asked the two of them.
"You're the one with the problem, friend," said Zoro.
"W-Wait, Zoro, Terra! We haven't learned what we need to know yet!" said Nami.
"I don't care! He's looking for a fight and I'm gonna give it to him!" said Zoro.
"I second that. I'll help," said Terra. Her rage was building up again. Luffy got up, mostly unharmed thanks to his rubber body.
"All right. I hope you're ready," he said as he got into a stance. The whole tavern was cheering now, wanting this fight to happen. Bellamy laughed.
"This isn't a fight, it's just a test! Come at me. Show me what you've got," said Bellamy. Seeing that there was no way to stop this fight, Nami turned to the bartender. Out of desperation, she said, "Bartender! We want to go to Sky Island! Can you tell us anything at all?"
Suddenly there was silence. The abrupt change in the atmosphere had made Terra pause and look around. Once the shock was over, EVERYONE had burst into hysterical laughter.
"Did you say . . . Sky Island?"
"Ha ha ha ha! Gimme a break!"
"What? But our Log Pose is pointing straight up at the sky!" defended Nami. The whole tavern was laughing even louder now, if that was possible.
"Her Log Pose is pointing up at the sky!"
"Log Poses break so easily." Nami's face was flushed from embarrassment. Terra frowned. What the hell was this nonsense? Did these pirates really think that logic and common sense from a normal island anywhere else worked here? If so, how the hell were they all still alive?
"What a bunch of lubbers you are. Where'd you hicks come from anyway?" asked Bellamy, who was still snickering, "You believe in that ancient legend about an island in the sky? What rock did you crawl out from under? New currents are being discovered on the Grand Line all the time, like the Knock Up Stream. But you probably didn't even know it existed. Ships that fall victim to it are hurled upward and come crashing back down to the sea." Bellamy went on to rant about how people long ago would see these ships falling and think about how there must be an island up there.
"What a disappointment. And I was going to see if you had what it takes to join my crew in this new age of pirates. But you're too gullible." At this point, Terra was tuning out the rest of this asshole's speech. Yes, she was typically a skeptic, but she was sure that a sky island wasn't a complete fantasy. In fact, she thought that, for someone who got this far into the Grand Line, Bellamy was being too close-minded for his own good. Oh, how would Nami respond if she heard such a statement from Terra?
Terra was snapped out of her musings when Bellamy smashed a bottle against Luffy's head.
"It's weaklings like you that give all pirates a bad name!" More pirates joined in as they started to throw their drinks at them. That was it. Terra stepped up and blocked a bottle from hitting Luffy. There was only so much she was going to take. Throwing stuff at her bro . . . her captain while spewing this nonsense was beyond the limit of her patience.
"Hey, Bellamy! Looks like everybody's waiting for the show to start," said Sarquiss.
"It'll be my pleasure," laughed Bellamy.
"Luffy! Zoro! Terra! Forget your promise! Clobber that guy!" ordered Nami. Finally, Nami was on board with this. Now Terra wouldn't have to worry about being fined by her later.
"Zoro, Terra . . ." said Luffy in a quieter voice. The two looked at him. Luffy looked determined about something instead of angry like Terra.
"Do not fight them!" Wait, what? He was joking, right?
One look at his face told Terra that he was being completely serious. Before she could question this order, Terra had been slammed from the side and into the counter. Her hood fell back to reveal the death glare she was giving Bellamy. A few of the other pirates flinched from her gaze, and others would claim that the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees just then. Although they continued to laugh, one could not help but think that Bellamy just might be poking a dangerous beast with a stick here.
"Hey, woman, you better stay back if you don't want to get hurt," he cackled, either not picking up on her dangerous aura or not caring. She wanted to punch him. She wanted to stick her dagger in his face. However, she was aware that she was being watched by her crewmates. If she had any respect for Luffy as captain, she would not disregard this simple order. She was trying to redeem herself of her previous reputation.
So, when Terra straightened herself out, she didn't strike back like she wanted to. Instead, she smirked.
"As if anything you could do would make me so much as flinch," she stated cockily before going back to stand next to Zoro. Hey, she promised that she wouldn't fight. There was nothing they could do to make her keep her mouth shut.
Granted, the not fighting part was proving to be tough with every punch Bellamy and his crew delivered. Not to her, personally, because the person hitting her was only causing a few bruises so far. Wimp. Rather, it was the hits Luffy was taking with the glass bottles and occasional bar stool.
"Luffy! Zoro! Terra! What are you doing? Clobber them!" ordered Nami.
"It's no use, girl. Your friends are smart. They know they're outclassed. They'd rather live in shame than stand up to the big boys," mocked Sarquiss. Oh, how Terra itched to prove them wrong. Why was Luffy adamant about not fighting back?
"Pacifism . . . sounds like an excuse for cowardice to me. Not only are they weak, they got no pride. They don't have the heart to fight, and yet their heads are full of dreams. They're worms," said Bellamy. Seriously, it would only take Terra five seconds to beat one of their brains in, so why did she have to hold back? Her resolve was quickly crumbling.
"Forget it. It said this puny twerp is worth 30 million, so I wanted to see what he could do. But he's a total disappointment. He's too chicken to fight. How can a coward like this call himself a pirate?" Bellamy then spat his drink out on Luffy and Zoro.
"Get them out of my sight! They make me sick!" One of Bellamy's subordinates then kicked Zoro upside the head. He flew across the room, crashing into a table. Terra's hand automatically flew to her sword's hilt when the same subordinate smashed Luffy's head into the window. Fuck this! No one got away from harming Co . . . Luffy . . . ugh, she was getting a headache now of all times.
"Now correct me if I'm wrong, Bellamy, but don't we have someone who possesses the same sword as this girl here?" asked Sarquiss. Terra paused before drawing the sword, wondering what they were planning to do now.
"Yeah, you're right. That wouldn't happen to be the same weapon we're staring at now, is it, woman?" Bellamy asked Terra.
"Just what is it to you?" she asked, trying to keep what little control she had over her rage. She sounded as dangerous as she looked.
"I'm just wondering how you came across it. You didn't steal it from one of us, did you?" asked Bellamy. She scoffed.
"Please, I won this fair and square. It's not my fault the weakling couldn't last five seconds in a fight against an unarmed person."
"Oh really?" Bellamy smirked.
"Then how about you let me buy you and your friend there? You'll never get anywhere if you stick to those two. How much?" asked Sarquiss. This struck a nerve in both Terra and Nami.
"What did you say?" asked Terra in a dark tone.
"You want to buy us?" asked Nami, equally furious.
"Sure. Come over here. It'll be fun. Plus, you were frustrated, weren't you? You wanted to go all out but that pathetic captain of yours wouldn't let you fight. It was obvious. Come on, we won't hold you back," said Sarquiss. Terra's grip tightened on her sword before she'd let go, her arm returning to her side.
"Sorry, we're not interested in joining a gang of third-rate bullies!" proclaimed Nami. Sarquiss laughed.
"So you think you're something special, eh? Well, how about you? You haven't said anything," he said to Terra. Instead of saying something right off the bat, Terra pulled the hood up over her face again and walked over to Luffy. She picked him up by the waist and wordlessly indicated to Nami to collect Zoro. They were getting out of there.
"So you're not joining, either?" asked Bellamy. Terra gave a short laugh.
"Of course not. I have no interest in working for someone who proudly boasts about being someone else's bitch." Nami frowned at Terra, wondering what she meant by that comment. It was silent for a while as they walked towards the door. Then, Bellamy laughed.
"Just get out while you still can! Small fry!" Just like that, they were out the door with everyone laughing at them, both women incredibly frustrated and Nami embarrassed by the whole ordeal. They managed to get out onto the street when someone had called out, "The sky island does exist." Both women looked over to see the same man from the bar that Luffy almost got into a fight with over cherry pie. He was sitting in the middle of the road watching them. Nami dropped Zoro onto the ground while Terra gently lowered Luffy down.
"Why are you two so upset? You won that fight," he told them. Terra frowned. She still didn't get just how they won that fight.
"Your comebacks were impressive, too. You've got guts!" he praised. Luffy and Zoro were now getting up, as though nothing had happened.
"The new age they spoke of is rubbish!" continued the man, "The age of pirate dreams is over?" He laughed a great deal about that.
"People's dreams don't ever end! Ain't that right?" Luffy stared right back at the man. The bystanders around them began to laugh at the pirate, ridiculing him about his preaching. However, the man went on as though those bystanders didn't exist.
"Let them laugh! If you're aiming for the top, you don't always need your fists to show your might!"
. . . Okay, so maybe Terra was starting to understand just what that fight was about. And maybe this stranger earned some of her respect right there. However, she was still pretty mad and annoyed by Bellamy's crew. It would be a while before she would appreciate any of this.
The man stood up.
"Well, I won't keep you. You seem to be in a hurry. I hope you make it to the sky island." He laughed as he walked off in the opposite direction.
As they walked towards their ship, Nami spoke up.
"Maybe that guy knows how to get to Skypiea! I wonder who he is."
"Well . . . it's not just one guy," said Luffy. Terra frowned at him.
"There's more than one . . . I think," said Zoro. More than one? Where? Terra didn't pick up on anything.
"What do you mean? Was there somebody with him? Where?" asked Nami, even more confused than Terra.
Meanwhile, back at the tavern, everyone was laughing at how foolish the rookie pirates were. They were especially laughing at the cloaked woman's taunts. Obviously, she was thinking that she could shake them up mentally since there was no way a woman like her could take on Bellamy. She just got lucky with taking the sword from one of his weaker members.
However, the only one not laughing was the bartender. In fact, he was still surprised by what he saw. No one here knew it, but the last time the cloaked woman was in this particular tavern, she had used the same sword she had reclaimed to paint the walls with the blood of an entire pirate crew. Just because she refused their invitation to join. This same woman, who had an ice-cold violet gaze and no qualms with ending dozens of lives at once, had just let herself take a few hits and be ridiculed by these people.
He didn't mention this to anyone here because they would most likely not believe him, but they had just incurred the wrath of an old ghost, fresh from the grave.
Whoops. Looks like there was someone who recognized Terra. Will this change anything?
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know I enjoyed writing it.
Assuming I survive my first week or so of classes (especially my 5 credit hour class), the next update will be . . . sometime. Hopefully before February. I'd give myself a more specific deadline, but then I'll still end up missing it.
Anyway, please leave a review telling me your thoughts on the chapter and story, and I'll return as soon as I can. Later!
