LW: Ok, things are ramping up nicely, let's start breaking things.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Straw Hats Vs Mysterious 4: Gate Crashing
With Luffy and Moria
"Kishishishi! You think you're going to be able to kick my ass?" Moria asks with a laugh
"Yep, and with how big it is I can't miss" Luffy replies bluntly.
"Confident, just one small problem boy, doing that won't get you your shadows back. Beat me, or even kill me it won't do any good, my power over the shadows is absolute. The only way to get your shadow is for their commander, aka ME, to return them to you. See the problem, Kishishishi"
"Or, we kill you, and give the fruit it reforms in to someone else on the island, and have THEM put all our shadows back" Luffy counters, not liking the idea of killing people, buuuuuut he always valued the lives of his nakama over those of his enemies
'This brat's cold blooded' Moria thinks as he tries to bluff his way out of his "One problem there, my fruit has taken years to master, especially to separate shadows from the hoard, some newbie wouldn't stand a chance, not to mention that only your own shadow will protect you from the sun, Kishishishi"
Luffy frowns "Then, I guess I'll have to beat you into compliance" he sighs, then jumps into the air so he had a better chance of hitting the shadow man in the face
Gum Gum Pistol
The plan was flawless… except the part where it failed, his punch blocked by the shadow arm that sprouted from Moria's own, making Luffy think of a black/purple fusion of Robin and Kaos' powers as it recedes.
"Kishishi, if you want to fight me kid you'll have to go through him first. I call him my doppleman, and is what happens when I use my powers on my own shadow" Moria grins and a twisted replica of the onion demon pulled itself out of the warlord's shadow "I used to be like you, overconfident in my abilities and full of unrealistic ambition, but since then I've found the correct way to do things in this world. That's to have and use underlings, the stronger the better" he grins widely
"Should have known you could do more than make zombies, get out of the way shadow man my fight is with the real you" Luffy shouts, the doppelganger just staring blankly at him with a dopey grin
"I'll never have to do anything alone or for myself again, without lifting a finger my zombie minions will MAKE me the king of the pirates! Kishishishi!" Moria boasts and laughs, while Luffy dodges a swing from the doppelman.
"A lazy ass like you won't be the king, cause that's gonna be me!" Luffy shouts angrily
"Oh, I remember your zombie saying something similar" Moria purrs in amusement
"Well if he's part of me then of course he did" Luffy says, actually rolling his eyes as that was obvious even to him
"When there's a wide enough gap between the personalities of the host and the doner the shadow's original owner's personality tends to linger, but that's a temporary issue at most. Soon you'll fade from Oars and all that will remain is an obedient servant , my strongest to even exist" Moria laughs, his plans getting closer to completion by the minute.
"It won't matter, if I get it back first" Luffy declares, kicking Doppelman enough he had a clear shot of Moria
Gum Gum Gattling
Brick Bat
Unfortunately Moria had his doppel split into small shadow balls which formed a barrier between himself and Luffy's barrage, allowing the shadow man to remain unscratched. The balls then partially shift, now resembling shadow bats, about the size of a Woobat from pokemon and begin to swarm Luffy, biting anywhere they could reach and understandably causing Luffy to run away as fast a possible, including along the wall… until he ended up where Oars had already destroyed it, taking him out of the freezer. Luckily he managed to stretch out and grap the railing of the area Moria was still sitting at, and snap back relatively unharmed.
"My, what an energetic one you are, no wonder you're shadow was able to awaken Oars" Moria chuckles
Meanwhile with Ussop
'Shit, I can't deal with all these zombies' Usopp whines internally as he keeps running to keep out of the hoard's grasp 'And I can't stop the ghost girl with all her minions around, there has to be some way for me to deal with these guys...hm' he thinks, coming up with an idea, starting with letting himself be hit and rolling away from the zombies "Ow, you got me"
"Yeah, let's rip him apart!" one of the zombies bellow, only to be scolded about opening his mouth so far by another
"He's a sneaky one, this could be some kind of trick" another guesses
"Pretty close to the money there" Usopp whispers, pulling back his Kabuto
Salt pepper Stars
"You idi...a choo!" one zombie tries to gloat, before he and the other wild zombies begin sneezing once the pepper starts to affect them
"And now you're distracted…" Usopp grins, launching the real Salt Stars and taking out another handful of zombies
"That's not fair, you liar, cheater" Perona sneers, stomping her foot
"Your zombies are just gullible, also the depression ghosts are so fair" Usopp deadpans, then steps back as the remaining zombies get angry
Firebird Star
The attack misses the zombies, lowering their guard as they laugh about how weak Usopp is how he just got lucky that last time. Pity for them they didn't look up, otherwise they'd have seen he hit the chandelier, which as it began to catch fire and spread to the ceiling, weakened the connection enough it fell… right on top of the remaining zombies, who panicked upon being set alight
"He, took them all out, on his own" Perona mutters, knees knocking in fear, yelping when she sees his next target is her. Only Kumase stepping in to block his attack, well mostly aim, gave her the opening to run!
"Why is he still fighting me, this isn't fun anymore, why won't he go away?" Perona whines like a child, Usopp basically on her heels, with Kumase not too far behind him
"You're not going to get away from me, I'm really good at running too, usually away from things but the principle's the same" Usopp shouts as he gives chase
"I've had enough of you, take care of him Kumase" Perona orders, the bear complying as he tries to run Usopp down.
"I won't let you touch Mistress Perona!" the bear bellows, for once Perona not telling him to shut up, as she had more important things to worry about
What comes next was a mix of a Scooby Doo chase scene, and the Juggernaut from Xmen 3, lots of running back and forth in a room that shouldn't make sense (I blame Thriller Bark) mixed with Kumase getting annoyed with Usopp's refusal to give up or die and just headbutting his way through any obstacles (aka support pillars) that got between him and the sniper. How the building is still standing is anyone's guess. Only good news for Usopp is he managed to once more find Perona again, having lost her for a moment in all the mayhem, and continue his pursuit.
Sanji, Absolom and Kaos
"Well, how about we thin the herd so only the pervert is a problem?" Kaos hums with a smirk, though given that was his default expression Sanji was mildly annoyed the shades meant he was unsure of his crewmates's actual mood "Oh, also you might want to move now" the blond blinks as the purplette crouches slightly
Mirāu~ōku
In a moment the researcher was down the aisle, having batted aside one zombie and slamming the other 2 into the wall, the cook noticing a strange, purple scale like pattern on his ivory coloured forearms, before his brain kicked into gear, though his body was already running, managing to catch Nami right before she hit the ground.
"You idiot you could have hurt Nami!" the blond shouts
"Unlikely, with the drugs Pervsalom gave her nothing short of actually punching her in the face will be felt for a good while" Kaos argues with a low chuckle, his smile wider and toothy.
"You better be telling the truth, now lets… huh, a princess? Oh wait it's Nami, damn she's hot in this dress, like a gift from the gods" Sanji swoons, Absolom looks confused while Kaos considers just knocking the cook out THEN dealing with Inviso-perv "Oh before I forget, the mission is rescue Nami, retrieve mine, Zoro and Luffy's shadows and take down Moria, in that order" the cook remembers
"In your opinion" Kaos mutters "But at least one of those missions is 80% complete already"
"Hey assholes, who gave you permission to lay a hand on my wife?" Absolom shouts, raising his hand and firing at the 2, missing as they dodge out of the blast radius
"Hm, so he can make more than himself invisible, interesting" Kaos chuckles
"Shut up, that bastard nearly hit Nami with that attack, he can shoot at you till a ricochet kills him for all I care, but putting an angel like Nami in the crossfire, that's unforgivable" Sanji growls, setting the navigator down in one of the pews, during which Absolom notices his 'condition'
"Ah, so you're one of the pirates who's shadow we managed to 'acquire'. Makes sense, one of Perona's dogs was oddly attached to my bride. Pitiful really, they didn't even put your shadow in a zombie general like the other one, which tells me that just like your shadow, you're weak" Absolom needles, laughing to himself "I am Absolom of the Mysterious 3, commander of the Zombie Generals, what makes you think you even stand a chance against…" he stops, seeing Sanji mumbling to himself again
"Were you still talking, Eros got distracted by the sight of Nami in a dress without a bra again" Kaos hums, having pulled a file from one of the zombies from earlier and was cleaning his nails
"Hey, you bastards don't get to ignore and disrespect me like this, especially when you're already ruining my special day, so look over here, and let me kick your ass so I can kiss my wife damn it!" Absolom screams, finally getting Sanji's attention, who lights another cigarette while the man continues monologuing "In fact, if you get your worthless asses out of the chapel right now I'll consider letting you live, though the tall one will be getting a visit from either Hogback or Moria soon enough" he chuckles to himself then sighs "Now usually I'm a pretty chill guy, but your stupid captain's stupid shadow zombie is tearing up the place and just totaled a lot of my best men, so I want to kiss my fucking bride before I deal with this shit, do you understand me?"
Rather than respond verbally, Sanji just kicks the man in the face, throwing him into the wall "And they say I talk too much, you must love the sound of your own voice even more than you love women, what did they call you, Pervsalom?" Sanji smirks, taking a drag. "This the big, bad, invisible man Usopp and Chopper were talking about huh? Not that impressed really" he adds with a shrug
'That kick, he's not an ordinary human, Hogback fucked up when he put the shadow in a Wild instead of a General' Absolom thinks before fading away with his devil fruit. He was sure there wasn't any chance of these pirates detecting him, until he took a punch to the snout that threw him through one of the pews, as well as breaking his nose
"Sesese, you really are an invisible man then, removing yourself from the entire visible spectrum, too bad for you there are other ways to detect you. Like your scent and heat signature, both of which remain exactly the same as they would be without your devil fruit" Kaos muses and clicks his tongue, wiping his bloody knuckles on one of the zombie's coats.
"He really has it then? Damn it, now I have even more reasons to hate him" Sanji growls, biting through his cigarette "First Nami, then this, it's like this man was designed to piss me off" Kaos turns his head, a curious side tilt as he waits for more information, Absolom also wondering what he's done to piss this guy off as well, as he pulls himself out of the wall "First he's a thief, that much is clear when he took Nami, but he's also, stole my dream" the cook states seriously
"I don't even know who you are, how the hell did I steal your dream?" Absolom growls as he pulls himself to his feet
Drip drip
"This dumbass found the All Blue? But shouldn't you be happy that it exists, even if you didn't find it yourself?" Kaos asks in confusion
"Not that dream, a more closely guarded one"
"This is getting us nowhere, so just stand still and I'll end you both quickly with my 'Hands Of The Dead' " Absolom says, holding up his arms to an annoyed, but unimpressed Sanji
"Take 'em off" the blond says flatly "Take the guns you have strapped to your arms off, right now"
"Oh good someone else noticed"
"I'm not going to repeat myself, if you use those bazookas in here, Nami could be caught in the crossfire, and if that were to happen, I'll make you twice as dead as those zombies you pal around with" Sanji growls, flames flickering around him.
'Impossible, he has to be bluffing there's no way he could know about my guns' Absolom thinks in mild panic, then fires, both straw hats dodging, with Sanji leaping forward to kick the invisoperv in the face, as well as breaking the straps of one of his guns with the other leg, while Kaos moves Nami somewhere a bit safer for the unconscious navigator.
Drip drip
"I thought as much, a guy with your powers only has so many tricks up his sleeves" Sanji sighs "I know you can turn yourself, and anything you touch invisible, but that is literally the only thing you can do with that fruit. Against me, your tactics are as transparent as your powers allow you to be, because I know everything about the Suke Suke no mi"
"Oh Sanji, Devil fruits are my area of expertise, much like cooking is yours. So why exactly do you seem to have such a high level of knowledge about this one in particular?" Kaos hums, though he had a bad feeling the reason… was perverted.
"I read the Devil fruit encyclopedia cover to cover as a child, many I didn't believe to be true and most it didn't feel like the power they offered was worth the curse it reaped, save for one. There was one fruit that spoke to my very soul, and I made a vow that if I ever came across the fruit I would embrace the curse and swallow it, regardless of the cost. But alas, there's only one of each Devil Fruit in the entire world, so I knew that if I ever ran into a person with that ability my dream would be destroyed. As you can probably guess, that fruit was the Suke Suke no mi, the one you selfishly ate and crushed my dreams"
'Yeah, probably should have seen that coming' Kaos sighs
"That's why you're mad?" Absolom shouts
"You don't get it, I could see my dream so clearly, I could use it to do so much good it, protect NUDE GIRLS, no I mean I could help all mankin NUDE GIRLS, no I had this beautiful vision of the future and NUDE GIRLS!" Sanji explains, every time he tries to justify his desires the truth keeps getting blurted out, to the mild amusement of his crewmate
"Yeah, that sounds like you Eros, you'd have been just as big an Invisoperv as this dumbass" the researcher chuckles "Though if you want the fruit that badly, we can just kill him and you can eat the next fruit the power reincarnates in" he mutters, not making a serious offer given the man was in his own little world right now.
"So now, not only did you kidnap my love and endanger her life, but you stole my dream from me, and I'm going to make sure you remember this beating, prepare to suffer my wrath" he shouts, boy starting to smoke and crackle
"You're pissed I ate the Suke suke no mi before you, that all? That's so fucking petty, you're nothing but a jelous little pervert" Absolom scoffs, getting a boot to the face for his troubles
'He has a point' Kaos thinks, though given Sanji's current mood had no intention of actually saying so. Those thoughts were silenced when Absolom pulled himself out of the wreckage Sanji had kicked him into and ripped off his coat, revealing a patchwork of muscles along his upper body
"I've had enough of your foolishness. You're taking out your anger on the wrong guy, so now I'm gonna give it back with interest" he growls "As you can see I don't just have the jaw of a lion, but also elephant skin, and 600 pounds of muscle from bears and gorillas. Dr. Hogback built my body out of the most savage beasts imaginable, it's a patchwork quilt of ferocity, the perfect weapon, the Suke Suke you crave so much is merely a bonus"
Drip drip
"Patchwork is right, don't most surgeons try hide or minimize how obvious the joins are, so everyone doesn't walk around like Frankenstein?" Sanji mutters
"Eh, if Hogback made the zombies he obviously doesn't care too much for aesthetics. Also 100 beri says Zoro could beat him in an arm wrestling contest" Kaos muses, causing the cook to scoff
"I may not get along with Marimo, but that's a suckers bet and you know it"
"Are you dumbasses done ignoring me yet?" Absolom scowls, getting 2 kicks to the pectorals from the pirates in response 'What the fuck are these guys, an ordinary human's bones should have shattered against my body, but they keep punching and kicking me like I'm the weakling. Something's not adding up' he thinks as he fades away "So, you covet my Devil fruit and my bride, but too bad for you, their both mine" he laughs, seeing the confusion on the blond's face
Drip drip
"I'll take your fruit but you can keep the red head" Kaos deadpans, eyes flicking around under his shades
Drip drip
"Wait, you're still after Nami, there's no way I'll let you take her" Sanji shouts, then notices something "Where is she?"
Drip drip
"I moved her while you were monologuing, seemed like the best time" Kaos replies with a shrug, then flashes a toothy grin.
Mystery Man handler
Mystery Man kicker
"So Sanji, how does it feel to get felt up by the invisible man?" Kaos chuckles, the blond coughs as another impact hits him, while watching the other pirate avoid and evade, his movements reminding him of the captains, fluid, almost boneless at times, but more refined if that makes sense.
Heat Ssssseeker
It would have probably been considered a palm strike, had her not dug his nails into the target as he made contact, chuckling as the Clear man flickered into view at the shock of being so easily found
"What, how?"
"My secretss are my own, but for one thing, I fucked up your nose and I doubt you have the time to fix it" he laughs, only then did both blonds notice the slight blood trail Absolom had been leaving
"Damn it, guess I'll just have to speed things up" Absolom grunts fading again, this time slashing at both with a hidden blade
"Oh now it's a party asshole" Kaos hums, then frowns when he sees Sanji took the worst of it "He clearly doesn't like you Eros"
"No shit sherlock" Sanji wheezes "You know, I'm starting to think it was best I never found that damn fruit" he thinks aloud, making the other user raise his eyebrows in surprise "I can peep just fine on my own" and they drop again as that sounded exactly what he'd expect from their 'chivalrous pervert' of a chef.
"I'm glad you're feeling better Sanji, also do you think ivisioperv has heat sensing pits on his muzzle like a snake's?" the reflect human muses
"Unlikely, seems too complicated to just slap on someone, no matter how good this Dr. Hogback person is" Sanji hums then notices something "Think you can do a combo with me? This guy is pissing me off and I'd like to make sure he stays down"
Kaos grins "I thought you'd never ask" he replies, knowing Sanji noticed the small blood pool forming under Absolom's feet
Extra Hachis
Sen'ei Jashu
The multiple impacts to his body caused Absolom's body to flicker in and out of normal vision, before being shot at full speed into the wall, leaving a pervert shaped indent as he hit it.
Back with Luffy
Moria's shadow bats were really doing a number on him, which given they couldn't be killed and just relentlessly swarmed the captain was completely understandable. And even when he managed to knock them away they would just reform into Doppleman and then split apart into bats again at Moria's command, making a painful and frankly just irritating cycle. I guess it's a good thing Luffy has a habit of not doing things the straightforward way.
"Ok now you've pissed me off" a lightly bleeding Luffy growls "Gum Gum…" he calls, as he leaps over the railing
"What is that little idiot doing, is he trying to escape?" Moria wonders, standing up and peering over the edge, not the best plan even for the lazy bastard
...Stamp
His position under the platform meant his kick bypassed the doppleman, as well as technically kicking Moria's ass just like he promised
"You little brat, what a cheap shot!" Moria screams
"Pirate" Luffy responds slowly, seriously why did he think underhanded tactics were off the table, especially against other pirates "Also I keep my promises, given I just kicked your ass shishishi" he laughs
Usopp again
"Stop running!" Kumasee booms as he nips at Usopp's heels, or would if not for the facemask
"Stop chasing me, also stop running you damn ghost girl!" Usopp whines/shouts
"Stop chasing me!" Perona screams "Get rid of him already Kumase" she orders, clearly this was getting them nowhere, until Kumase got mad again and started trying to kill Usopp with a flying tackle, though the sniper was faster so it just lead to him repeatedly slamming into the ground directly behind him instead.
"Damn this violent teddy bear… oh wait that might work" Usopp brainstorms, before turning on his heels, to Kumase's confusion
Special Attack: Flame Star
"Yes, he's just as weak to fire as the other zombies, that I can use" the sniper grins before laying out a trap with oil, then lighting it, creating a flaming barrier between himself and the demons zombie bear known as Kumase "Ha ha, now there's nothing stoping me from dealing with your mistress, showing her the error of her ways through battle! A hopefully really short battle but one none the less!" he declares, running… for about 10 seconds before realising he lost her again
"Horohorohorohoro, looking for me?" Perona calls, clearly meant to taunt him
"Hm, that came from outside, but that can't be right, given we've been steadily going up this entire chase she'd have to…" Usopp stops as his jaws drops, seeing Perona and a couple of her ghosts floating just outside the window "GWaaaaah! But, how? Your power is to make those ghost things, what the Hell are your powers?"
Perona chuckles, then sticks out her tongue "That's my little secret, a girl is allowed a few of those after all. Also, I've figured out how to beat you, and once I have, your friends will be next, even the ones who beat Absolom" she declares
"Just when things were looking up" Usopp whimpers, then what she said registers 'Beat Absolom? If he's the invisible guy then Sanji's already rescued Nami, now we just need to find those shadows and we can leave' a flicker of hope fills his heart
While his heart returns to a normal rate, let's see how Luffy's doing
Luffy had done the seeming impossible, Moria was standing up and getting exercise, mostly walking over to the hole Luffy had kicked in the platform when he kicked him into the ceiling but close enough
"That hurt you little shit, but not as much as you will be by the time I'm done with you" he bellows down at Luffy who grinned from his position on the chains
"I hear you onion man, but I'm still kicking your ass till you give those shadows back" he retorts, swinging his leg up for another Stamp only for it to be knocked aside by Doppleman, shorty followed by the nearly formless shadowbeat to slink down and wrap itself around Luffy like a snake "Hey let go of me!"
"Kishishishi, as you wish" Moria laughs
Brick Bat
'Not this again' Luffy sighs, reaching up and getting himself back onto the platform ahead of the shadow bats, throwing his arms out…
Gum Gum Finger Net
… and catching the bats, then slamming them down into the platform's floor, where they melted into shadows and reformed into Doppleman, none the worse for wear "Damn it, this whole fight is pointless" he grumbles, panting lightly
Have things calmed down over here? Good, ok back to Usopp and Perona
"What's with the sudden borderline personality shift here, I had you running scared a second ago, and now you're more confident than the Captain?" Usopp asks/demands
"Horohorohorohoro, I just got a little shock back there, I didn't think I'd ever meet someone so naturally negative and pessimistic they could be immune to my Negative Hollows, and now I've met you, I have to say… Cheer up, life is good!" She grins, giving a thumbs up alongside her hollows
"Shut up with the condescending bullshit!" Usopp growls, pulling out his Kabuto "Flying around won't save you Spectra. Against some of the others this would be a problem, but not me,you're dealing with a sniper after all. And thanks to the Dial upgrades I made to my slingshot, there's no chance… wait, where'd she go?" he blanks, realising she'd disappeared again, this time right in front of his nose
"Horohorohoro, what big talk, care to back it up" Perona coos, Usopp swallowing thickly before turning his head a screaming! While not as big as Dorry or Broggy her hunkered form did take up a good portion of the corridor "Well, gonna hit me with your wittle slingshot, I made it easy for you" she says with a purr in her tone
Butterfly meteor
Rather than take the hit Perona compressed into a normal size, then began flying around cackling as she does, unnerving and disorientating the Straw Hat sniper. The continued misses from the subsequent barrage didn't help matters, reaching a peak when she appeared in front of him and thrust both hands through his chest.
"What, you just stabbed me with your fists, I'm gonna bleed to death, well, that's if I don't suffocate first" Usopp whimpers in panic
"Idiot, look closer" Perona giggles "My hands are inside you, but your skin's not even pierced, you don't feel anything because there's no damage. Horohorohorohoro, I see in your eyes, the realisation of what you're facing has finally sunk in" she smirks as his expression turns to horror "Don't think you're getting off lightly, I'm sure you can feel it, if not physically then in your soul, my hands are mere inches from your heart, if I wanted I could grab it and squeeze, give you quite the sheer heart attack Horohorohorohoro"
"Please don't do it, I don't wanna die!" Usopp screams, while Perona gets closer and closes her hand around his heart…
"Yeah, I can't actually do any of that" she admits, floating a few inches away with a content smile on her face
"You were bluffing!" Usopp shouts
"Yep, come on dumbo, if I could actually do that, you'd have died the moment I stuck my hand in your chest. I'm not exactly medically gifted, but I'm pretty sure my right hand would have pierced your heart the moment I thrust it in, but that didn't happen because I'm unable to interact with the physical realm in this form" Perona explains, almost as a form of apology
"Even so, the stress can't be good for my heart"
"Big baby" Perona huffs, with only above her nose peeking out of the stone floor, causing Usopp to squirm backwards as she rises to his level "While my body looks as solid as yours, my fruit allows me to phase through all matter, pretty cool trick right?"
Special Attack: Viper Star 6
A small part of him was relieved to know he hadn't been missing as he watched the attack pass through Perona's chest and explode harmlessly behind her, but it was overrun with panic as she leaped at him, legs passing through his torso and arm through his head
"You got a brain in that head of yours, I said I can pass through anything, what made you think your attacks were an exception? You can't possibly hurt me, not with your weak ass attacks" she taunts, floating away with a laugh
Usopp scowls "Only one problem ghosty, if you couldn't crush my heart like you claim, and given what I've just witnessed I'm inclined to believe it, then we're in a stalemate, I can't hurt you and you can't hurt me" he laughs, filling with confidence, until he replayed her words in his head 'In this form? Oh fuck' "Not that it matters, given this isn't even the real you!" he shouts, pointing angrily at her, Perona's eyes bulge in surprise
'He figured it out, damn it why couldn't I get a meathead as an opponent' she whines internally, but on the outside still smiles as she summons a different ghost
Mini Hollow
She then sends it over and has it latch onto the wall near Usopp, the sniper confused as it smiled dimly at him, until Perona snaps her fingers
Ghost Rap
And blows a sizeable hole in the wall, causing Usopp to panic as he sees how one sided this fight has just become, especially when another one drops down and latched onto his shoulder.
Ghost Rap /Snap/
"Horohorohorohoro, ready to give up yet?" she laughs
"Not on your life!" Usopp shouts, sending a Firebird Star her way, but given she was intangible used the explosion as a distraction to start making his escape.
Well try to, as Perona was able to quickly follow and blind him, then once he made a wrong move and crashed, bury him in mini hollows which she promptly detonated, leaving a beaten, bleeding and burnt Usopp slumped against a pillar. To add insult to injury, Kumase had finally found a way around his fire trap, and proceeded to beat the ever loving shit out of the already downed sniper
'Why did I even think I stood a chance against this one, never mind wave off the others assistance? I couldn't stop the bear and with her Devil fruit nothing I have can even touch her, nobody on the crew can touch her. Then there are those negative Hollows and the explosive ones, this girl is on another level, I'm not even sure why she works for Moria. Not that it matters, I was an idiot to think I could save everyone for a change, especially given I'm now the one who needs saving. Somebody, please help me'
Kumase raises his arm for a final strike…
'Save me Sogeking!"
...only for a masked man to leap forward, pulling back the facemask and shove a fist full of salt in the bear's mouth, Perona watching in shock and horror as her last zombie's shadow wriggled out of his mouth and escaped into the darkness.
"KUMASE!" she screams as the zombie drops to the ground, Sogeking leaping away dramatically "How dare you hurt my precious snugglebear, and what's with that ridiculous mask you're wearing!"
"Salutations mistress of the dark, I am the legendary Sogeking, or in other words: Your doom" the sniper declares with a hearty laugh
"You're the same asshole from before, just now you're wearing a dumb mask!" Perona shouts angrily, clearly not in the mood for this bullshit
Sogeking stares for a few seconds before… "Gotta go!" he says turning and sprinting off in the other direction
"Seriously? You're just going to run away? Coward!"
"Of course I'm running, what's the point in fighting someone I can't even touch or harm never mind beat?" Usopp thinks aloud, panting heavily as he runs "I've survived my life on tricks, bluffs and negativity, so there's nothing I can do when those techniques have no effect on my enemies"
'So you're just going to abandon them all, not very brave there bucko. Calm down, you need to press on and fight her Ussop'
'Shut up, I did everything I could and she literally walked through them, there's nothing I can do against her' Usopp cries
'Maybe not as you see her now, but don't you think there's something off about her, not in her abilities, but her actions?' Sogeking asks (1)
'Hm, now you mention it, she seemed to genuinely be afraid of me earlier, which wouldn't make any sense if she could simply phase through my attacks' Usopp considers, as more Mini Hollows swarm him 'If she'd always been able to pass through solid matter like a ghost… that's it!'
Ghost Rap /Snap/
Usopp hits the ground with a thud, scraping his face against the ground as his momentum brings him another few feet, but his brain was still working overtime, piecing together Perona's little secret.
"Well, this one's nearly dead, hope you're still breathing when I get you to master Moria, I'm sure as fuck not performinf CPR" Giganto Perona giggles to herself as she grins over a smoking Usopp
"I'm onto your tricks" was barely a whisper as Usopp's hand clasps around his Kabuto
"Horohorohoro, are those meant to be your final words?" Perona laughs, before it clicks, especially when he pulls back to fire "Wait, what do you think you're doing?" she shouts, her confidence switching off like a light
"You" Usopp says with a hidden inner strength
Special Attack: Atlas Comet
His attack was right on target, tearing down the wall to reveal, as he'd expected the real/physical Perona, heart beating but the hamster off it's wheel sitting on a bed.
"That there is why I couldn't touch you, because the one I've been fighting was just another hollow, just this one looks like it's owner instead of a sheet ghost" Usopp declares, happy to finally figure out and deal with his problem. Or at least now he'd returned the playing field to a more even level.
TBC
LW: One down and one actually in process, that leaves Moria and Hogback to deal with, as well as Ryuma of course, but hey, they have all night.
Mirāu~ōku, basically an improvement on Shimmer using what he'd learnt from watching Pussyfoot and Soru, name means Mirror Walk, and still a work in progress, but so was Shimmer if he was being honest.
Wanted to make the joke, but it wouldn't have fit, so instead I'm putting the quote here "You're kidding me right? This basic bitch has you believing she's a giant" Alucard, Helsing Ultimate abridged episode 6