Chapter 27
Usopp
"Sanji-kun!" Nami cried out as the cook collapsed back into unconsciousness. Usopp couldn't help the small sigh of relief that escaped his lips as Sanji went back to sleep and Zoro and Luffy's chests continued their steady rise and fall. That was close. Too close! The deaths of their captain and swordsman were not something Usopp wanted to think about. Let alone the heavy guilt he knew Sanji would have carried afterwards.
But still…as Usopp looked as Sanji's bloody face, he couldn't help but worry. Was his friend okay in there? The old scientist had promised a wonderful world that the others wouldn't want to leave. It certainly hadn't worked on their chef and seeing the signs of the violence that had been inflicted on his friend, Usopp couldn't blame him.
"Hmph! Looks like he decided to interfere after all!" the old man huffed from his console.
"Who? Sanji?" Usopp couldn't help but ask.
"Of course not! That fool almost destroyed the whole thing! Anyway, it's not important," the old man replied.
"It would appear…" Robin began. Usopp nearly jumped out of his skin! In the excitement, he had nearly forgotten the archeologist's face was still on the wall. "Your plan to solve the problem nearly failed and your mentor had to come in and save the day."
By the scientist's annoyed growl, Usopp was fairly certain Robin had hit the nail right on the head.
"Well, in any case," the old man's face turned towards Nami, still visible and sitting on Sanji's table. Usopp watched, horrified, as the two Pacifistas' heads turned towards her as well. "Now that particular matter is resolved, it's time to take care of another."
Nami's head snapped up before slowly turning towards the scientist, fear written all over her face. Crap! Usopp thought. Even if she reactivated her Clima-tact's invisibility mirage, they knew she was in there now.
"Nami!" Usopp heard Chopper's alarmed cry. Dammit! Chopper and Brook were closest to her! Why weren't they…? Then Usopp remembered the blue light currently covering both doors. None of the Devil Fruit users could enter the room or use their powers. Not without being severely weakened. That only left him and Franky.
The Pacifistas began walking towards Nami. The navigator screamed and raised her shaky Clima-tact at one of the androids.
"No, Nami-san! Please run!" Brook cried out. Usopp could tell though. He knew what Nami was going through all too well. With her legs absolutely frozen in fear, running wasn't even an option.
"G-gust sword!" Nami shouted as a burst of wind shot out of her Clima-tact. In response, the Pacifista it was aimed at dodged, too fast for Usopp to even see, and suddenly it was right over Nami, its shadow covering the navigator as it raised its fist to strike. Nami screamed.
Dammit! No other choice! He had to do something now! A plan formed in his mind, too fast for him to consider the consequences. He was a sniper and now it was time he hit his target!
Grabbing his ammo, Usopp rolled into the room, past the blue light, and came up on one knee, Kabuto loaded and at the ready. Target: the mini wrist Transponder Snail!
"Gunpowder Star!" he cried out, releasing the shot.
The scientist moved to cover and protect the snail but he hadn't expected the normally cowardly sniper's sudden attack. He was too slow. The shot hit and the old man cried out at the small explosion. Once the smoke had cleared, Usopp got a good look at the soot-covered Transponder Snail. It sat, stone still and eyes wide. Then it let out a small cough, a little puff of smoke leaving its mouth, before it bent over, unconscious.
"Why, you…!" the scientist roared at Usopp, trying without success to re-activate the snail before finally ripping it off his wrist and throwing it down on the platform. Usopp let out his breath in relief. The snail was out of the picture! They were safe now. The old man couldn't control the lights in the room or the Pacifistas.
"You there!" the scientist shouted, pointing to something on the other side of the room. Usopp glanced over his shoulder to see the Pacifista still frozen over Nami, its huge fist still poised menacingly in the air above her. "Forget about the girl! And. Get. Him!"
Suddenly, the Pacifista turned its head and stared right at Usopp. Then, to his horror, the other Pacifista did the same. Usopp turned and looked at the scientist, who was smiling evilly and currently pointing his finger at the sniper. So… the androids followed voice commands. Not good! Not good! The one hovering over Nami suddenly took a huge jump, ready to land that devastating fist on the sniper.
"Strong Right!" Usopp watched as Franky's fist fired into the android's mid-section, flinging it back across the room before the fist retreated back to Franky's arm.
"Nice save!" Usopp called to the cyborg, giving him a thumbs up.
"Yow!" the shipwright shouted, assuming a ridiculous pose. The other Pacifista began to charge Franky, who took aim with his left arm.
"Weeeeapoooons….!"
"Thunderbolt Tempo!" Nami cried out as a huge lightning bolt suddenly struck the Pacifista. While it stunned the thing, Usopp could tell it certainly wasn't finished off. Not yet.
"Hey, what gives, Nami-sis?!" Franky whined. "I had him!"
"And that big machine behind him too, Franky!" Nami protested, her skirt blowing from the force of the lightning blast. She was standing over Sanji on his table and pointing her Clima-tact at the Central Processing Unit. Despite all the chaos going on around him, Usopp couldn't help but feel that if Sanji woke up, he'd be the happiest man in the world. "You're strong, but you don't have any finesse!"
"I wouldn't have hit it…" Franky grumbled.
"And Usopp!" she declared suddenly turning on the sniper and gesturing at the blue lights hovering over the doorways. "We needed that snail alive to turn off those lights! What are we gonna do now?!"
"I didn't kill it…" Usopp protested. "It was a little explosion. Besides, we can still use the console! We just gotta get them both away from the old…" Usopp turned to look at the scientist and found the man looking calm again. While Usopp was certainly not the most positive person, he was really starting to hate it when this guy did that.
"So, you think you've won, have you?" the old man asked, icy calm lacing his voice. The Pacifista, standing slumped over near the center of the room, began to rise with uneven jolts.
"Well, yeah," Franky replied to the challenge, crossing his arms as he stared at the Pacifista. "One more hit or two and this guy's down." He lowered his sunglasses as he gave the scientist a cocky smirk. Boy, did Franky love pissing this guy off, much to Usopp's chagrin. "And I think I can figure out your console easily enough."
"Ah, but I'm still in control here," the scientist pressed. "As I've already demonstrated, I can control what happens to your friends within the simulation. And I'll make their lives as much of a heaven or hell as needed to keep them in there."
"Eh, if you really want to keep those three happy, what you really need…" Usopp began counting off on his fingers, "…is booze, women, and lots and lots of meat. You're really overcomplicating the whole issue."
"Yep, ain't that the truth," Franky nodded in agreement. The Pacifista was still rising but Usopp wasn't worried about it. He only hoped he and Franky could piss the scientist off and throw him back off his game. Hopefully, keep the man too distracted from whatever plan he had up his sleeve. Maybe even give Nami another chance to set up her invisibility mirage tempo again. It was definitely story time.
"You know, back when I met the King of Dreams, he had enchanted an entire island of people and put them all to sleep for fifty years! I told him a story so long and so fascinating, that he didn't fall asleep for a week. No one could have dreams so long as he didn't sleep. And so the people of the island slowly woke, one by one, and made their escape…"
"I must say, I thought you'd be more amusing, 'God' Usopp," the scientist stated, one hand behind his back as another moved to push a button on the console. "And certainly, more clever." The man bent forward, putting his mouth closer to something on the console.
"Doctor, I need you to set up the gravity light, second setting, in sector 32…"
Suddenly, Usopp heard Nami cry out behind him. He spun around to see the purple light shining over her. The navigator herself was on her back on top of Sanji, effectively pinned by the gravity light. Below her, in his sleep, Usopp noticed the cook had a grin on his face.
"What the heck?!" Usopp cried out.
"Vegapunk! It has to be!" Robin shouted from the hallway. "He must be controlling the lights remotely."
"How did he know which light to turn on?!" Usopp asked, in complete panic mode now.
"Tch! The console must include a communications system," Franky explained, "Vegapunk was experimenting with snail-less communications on the island I was on."
"Is such an unbelievable thing even possible?" Law questioned.
"To think there are such impossible things in this world…" Brook hummed.
"I don't wanna hear that from you two!" Usopp shouted at the two Devil Fruit users.
"A…little…help here!" Nami grunted from her compromising position.
"And now I just need to keep the two of you busy," the scientist stated from his platform. Usopp and Franky both looked up at him. The man grinned and pressed the button again. "Doctor, if you would, please, activate the rest of the Pacifistas."
"The rest of…" Usopp began in a weak choked cry.
"…the Pacifistas…?" Franky finished, for once, not sounding too confident himself. Three doors Usopp hadn't even realized were there suddenly opened, a steady stream of Pacifistas coming out of each one. He stopped counting at twelve. He could hear Chopper and Brook's panicked screams and Law's swearing coming from outside the room.
"You ready, Usopp?" Franky asked from behind him as the two got back to back.
"Uh-huh…" Usopp replied weakly with a fearful gulp.
"Well, if nothing else," Franky said, prepping his Weapons Left, "it's been an honor fighting with you, Usopp-bro."
Keeping his tears from falling and forcing his shaking knees to stay straight, Usopp swallowed and planted Kabuto on the ground. He was scared, terrified even, in this room full of monstrous robots he didn't have a chance of beating, even with Franky by his side. But that was what the coward did; he worked through the fear and did what had to be done.
Taking a deep breath, Usopp replied, "You too, Franky." Then he reached into his satchel for a Pop Green, taking aim at the closest Pacifista.
Author's Comments: You go, Usopp! I believe in you! You too, Franky!