Part 4; A Candle for a Giant
Chapter 4/6; Show no mercy
Carue was a duck. By nature he was loyal, but he was also prey to several predators, and as such his only way to escape those who hunted him was to be healthy and fast. His instinctual reaction upon sensing that the giant person was going to attack was to flee.
Now, caught between Vivi's enemies, immobilised by a weight round one foot, he cursed his instinct.
"Quack for your mistress."
Carue shook his head again, refusing to even open his beak.
The fist of Mr 5 stung terribly and made him want to throw up from the shaking of his insides.
"Useless bird! Call the princess here!"
Carue's wing broke from the kick he received, and maybe he got a concussion. But he refused to make a single noise. He didn't want to see Vivi hurt, not his sweet friend.
Brogy looked into Dorry's eyes as the light in them faded. He watched his worst enemy fall to his knees. Watched as his best friend fell, blood slowly pooling around his left shoulder. Around his heart.
"Seventy-three thousand four-hundred and sixty-seven battles. A duel that lasted a century. I am…" The tears were hot and he felt himself smiling "…victorious."
He could go home now. Back to his family and his crew of pirates. He would probably retire and spend the rest of his days training the next generations. Because in this world, he no longer had an equal. Or maybe he had? Who knows, he hadn't seen the world in a hundred years.
The tears wet his beard. He stood there, basking in his bitter-sweet victory, in the light of Elbaf that shone on him. He needed to build a ship for Dorry, to send the one who had once been his other half on his final journey. Elbaf may have passed his judgement today, but Dorry had made their God proud. He'd fought with all his might, held up regardless of what had been weighting on him.
Truly, there was no warrior of Elbaf who deserved a place in his halls as much as Dorry.
A strange sound reached Brogy's ears. Someone was laughing? Who? Who dared to soil this sacred moment?!
"Weeping with joy because you won? The simple-minded sure are easily delighted. I suppose a congratulations is in order. For now."
Congratulations? Brogy's view filled with a red haze of fury. Who dared!?
A figure appeared between the trees. Two figures. A lanky man and a smaller person in colourful clothing.
"Good day," the lanky man greeted pleasantly, though his voice might as well have been pure toxin. "I am a simple sculptor called Mr 3, a codename of course. This is my assistant, Miss Golden Week, a painter. And you, Red Ogre Brogy, is our prisoner."
"What? What!?"
Brogy hadn't heard his pirate name in a century, but as he tried to move his feet, he realized he couldn't. Something white covered the ground and had crawled up his boots. And whatever it was, it held him in place.
For several moments, Usopp just stared into the jungle, unable to comprehend what had just happened. None of the girls spoke either in the silence that followed a heavy thump coming from where the giants had been duelling.
No, not duelling. Not a duel on equal terms between just the two of them. Not a clash free from all but the joy and thrill of being nothing but proud warriors. Not anymore. How was Master Brogy supposed to accept this? How would he react to know this duel had been taken from him?
"I will kill them," Usopp promised solemnly. "Whoever did this, I'll make them pay for this!"
"I'll help you," Vivi said, her voice calm. Usopp wanted to know why, and where she got her guts from because they were definitely made of steel.
"Thank you for your moral support," the liar said firmly, ignoring the way his legs felt like they were made of jelly. Because self-preservation, because Baroque Works, because fricking Shichibukai!
"Waste of time."
The three of them looked up. Usopp was unfamiliar with the human faces that met them, but Vivi gave an angry shriek.
"Carue!"
A black man in a wine red coat threw the giant duck towards them with a sneer.
"We thought we'd need it to lure the princess away from the girl with the straw hat. Seeing said girl is already immobilized, killing this duck was a complete waste of time."
"You…!" Usopp turned towards Ruffy and lowered his voice, "Who are they?"
Vivi ran up to the duck, trying to shake him awake while crying curses at the duo that were clearly enemies. Ruffy looked much calmer, despite her golden eyes, so Usopp wondered how much he really should worry. His captain's and his definition of dangerous people were worlds apart.
"No idea," Ruffy answered the question. "They're lying though. Carue isn't dead. Don't underestimate him."
Behind the black man was a pale woman dressed in yellow, a jacket despite the heat of the island, and an umbrella. She laughed loudly, a sound that clawed at the ears.
"This stupid bird, he brought this on himself."
Usopp saw Vivi's shoulders tense up, her body getting ready to fight. He had always had a quick mind.
"It was you!? You're the ones who rigged our ale to explode! You messed with the giant's battle!"
"Don't yap, little boy. We'll eliminate you out in no time," the lady under the umbrella laughed.
"Him? He's not on the list," the black man commented.
"Doesn't matter. He's clearly with them."
Vivi sprang up, tore her shirt open to her hypnotises shirt and the peacock blades she hid in it. "I'll make you pay!" she growled.
"Oh?" Mr 5 smirked. "You'll fight us, Miss Wednesday?"
Usopp was faster, lifting his pachinko and a special ball in the same move. "Eat this! Exploding star!"
He aimed at the black man, but unlike a normal person who would dodge by instinct, this man only looked bored. He didn't even flinch when the explosive ball hit him in the face, detonating upon impact. Actually, the explosion was a lot more than Usopp had anticipated. The woman in yellow jumped off the ground, much higher than a normal human would and appeared to be riding the shockwave, as if she was lighter than a feather. Usopp followed her with his eyes, missing how the man stepped out of the smoke, lifted a hand to scratch his nose, and positioned his hand as if he was about to flick a rock.
"Nose fancy cannon."
Usopp heard it, saw something small come flying towards him, and didn't have time to react.
Vivi attacked in blind rage, for Carue, for Dorry, for Igaram, for everyone! But Mr 5 had eaten a devil fruit, and confidence made him cruel. He dodged Vivi's wild swing and kicked her on her shine. She felt the burn of the explosion, the shockwave through her leg, the sensitive nerves sending an overdrive of pain to Vivi's brain, and for a moment she thought her foot had come off.
Miss Valentine crashed down on Usopp. A second earlier Mr 5's attack had blown up in his face, making him stagger. Now he was knocked unconscious and buried neck-deep in the hard soil. He wouldn't be able to get out, Miss Valentine thought confidently. Her own skeleton was reenforced by her devil fruit, the weight fruit, and her body could withstand any pressure put on it. She knew this wasn't the case for normal humans though. It was so satisfying.
"Don't get so excited," Mr 5 said soothingly to Vivi, whom he had caught around the throat and was happily strangling her. Such a wonderful, heady feeling; to be stronger than someone else. "We're not here to kill you, yet anyway. Mr 3 said to only capture you."
"Mr… 3… is here?" Vivi wheezed. "Candle…"
"Yes, the candle man," Mr 5 said impatiently. "Devil fruit user who extracts wax from his body. Can't say I'm a fan of his, but this is business. Miss Valentine."
"Sure," his partner said and grabbed the princess's arms, twisting them behind her back.
"Time for payback."
The girl pirate who had frightened him in Whiskey Peak, whom had almost killed him, glared at him, teeth bared like a dog. Mr 5 smirked and kicked her right in the face. Twice for good measure.
Miss Valentine giggled when the princess started to wiggle.
"Don't make a fuss, Miss Wednesday. Did you really think you could escape Baroque Works? And look at that poor thing. How can such a pathetic bitch be worth thirty million? The marines must have lost their minds."
Mr 5 stood back and admired the sooty remains of the girl with the straw hat. It felt good to have cleared away that spot on his name, and to know the incident on Whiskey Peak was simply him caught by surprise. It reminded him how important that element could be, and refused to acknowledge Mr 3 was a master he should learn from.
"You shouldn't have involved yourselves in our business" Mr 5 told the corpse of the girl. "Now you're all just going to die. We've already caught the swordsman and the other girl."
The girl suddenly sneezed, and Mr 5 jumped back in fright. Brown eyes stared up at him over a spiteful smirk.
"Liar," she spit. "The ones who will end up dead aren't us."
Mr 5's heart trembled, and he didn't waste time. Rather than retort he kicked the girl's face in again and again.
Finally, she lay still.
'What was that?' Mr 5 wondered. 'She's clearly stuck under the mountain, there's no way she could actually threaten me.'
He tried to shake off the eery feeling of standing before someone much stronger than him.
"We're done here. Let's go, Miss Valentine."
"Of course. Good work," his partner said. The way she acted like normal, like she'd never known to be hunted, made Mr 5 even more determined to write off the sense of danger that shivered down his spine as nothing but paranoia.
Giants are dumb and slow. This was a known fact. They were extremely powerful however. Not that it mattered to Mr 3 as he happily pinned Brogy to the ground, face down. That way it would be more difficult for the giant to fight the restraints. It didn't stop the old pirate from trying though, and it was fun to watch.
"Try harder," he encouraged, unable to stop laughing. "Keep trying. Just know that when my candle jacket has set it's harder than steel."
The giant growled and glared at Mr 3, his eyes confused and questioning. Unlike a human though, he didn't demand to be released. Only a short, cut off "How dare…" had slipped out. So he was not as entertaining as Mr 3 would like.
It was much more fun to catch a prey when they cursed or cried or pleaded with him.
"You let your victory go to your head, Mr Red Ogre Brogy."
The giant's glare intensified, and added a streak of unease. Much better. Mr 3 giggled and mocked the other.
"Oh, please don't glare at me so. I'll be overcome with fear. Didn't it feel good? Your long battle has come to an end. That you had a little outside assistance shouldn't affect the sweetness of victory, am I right?"
The glare lessened and understanding dawned on the giant's face.
"You…? No…"
Mr 3 glanced into the forest again, keeping his smirk in place as a twinge of annoyance started to prick the back of his neck. Where was Mr 5? He should have brought the princess already, and the third pirate, the girl with the scars, was still unaccounted for. They better show up soon. They were on a tight schedule here!
"Forgive me for having the last laugh. In this fight, you were both losers. For did you know? Once upon a time there was a bounty on your head. Both of your heads, and that bounty is still in effect. Once wanted, always wanted."
The agent looked expectantly at Brogy, waiting for the fury, the cursing and the useless cries.
What stared back at him was bitterness.
"You dirty maggot," the giant spat.
"Bounty?! That's what you're after, Mr 3?!"
The old spy turned his head, alarmed for a second. Luckily, the princess was held firmly by Mr 5's partner.
"We caught the traitor," she said sweetly, holding the steamed up princess like an offering.
"What about the pirate?"
"Dead," Mr 5 said, looking smug.
Mr 3 wanted to drop a venomous comment to bring the other back to reality, but held back. The last pirate, albeit worth thirty million beli, was a teenage girl. What's there to brag about?
"You and your dirty tricks!" princess Vivi snarled. "You're the one who planted the bomb in Dorry-san's ale!"
It was a straightforward accusation, and Mr 3 sniffed at the princess's lack of tact. Didn't she understand she'd lost this game she'd been playing for several years? There really was no redemption for the dumb.
"Revealing my secrets so openly. You should be ashamed."
The wick on his head burned brighter, letting the wax that made up his body soften enough for him to wield.
"Candle lock!"
Mr 5 and his partner quickly got out of the way from the clear glob, but the princess stumbled, and her feet were instantly captured by the warm wax that solidified in seconds, turning solid white.
The princess just cast one glance at the foot-lock, then threw such a dirty look at him, lips pulled back in a snarl.
'Feisty,' Mr 3 thought, disapprovingly. 'Despair will look better on her.'
"Bring out the others," the old spy ordered Mr 5. "It's time for my extra special candelabra."
He held out his arms, the flame on his wick burning bright, turning his skin and flesh and bones into see-through, liquid wax that dripped to the ground, pieces of him controlled by a focused thought.
As he worked, Mr 5 brought the other two pirates that had been securely tied to a rock with rope, arms and legs secured by candle locks.
Zoro had been caught off guard. He'd found and felled a rhino with three horns that had looked good and large, definitely more than the stupid cook could down, and then couldn't remember if the way back to the ship was to the right or left of the tree with vines growing around it. He'd been happy, albeit surprised, to suddenly find Nami leaning against a tree.
Turns out it hadn't been Nami. Now he was bound to hands and feet by blocks of something white and hard that felt waxy to the touch. If it had smelled better he might have thought it was cemented beeswax.
But then he'd been taken to another Nami, and this was the real one. He could tell from the rather annoyed face she pulled at him.
"Let me guess. You saw Ruffy and walked straight up to her?"
"It was you, actually," Zoro retorted and didn't struggle too much as he was tied to a tree. Until he figured out how to get his hands and feet free, he'd cooperate. "We're not dead yet, so don't worry."
Nami looked around, and Zoro waited patiently for her assessment.
"Remember that otter and vulture on the last island, the ones that appeared after Vivi revealed Boss's name?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I was with Usopp right up to when I spotted Ruffy between the trees. Or a dummy of her, as it turned out, but Usopp isn't here. For these guys to ignore him, they're definitely from Baroque Works."
Zoro lifted an eyebrow, wondering how that tied into the Otter-Vulture pair, before he realized Usopp hadn't been present at that time.
"Doesn't that leave a lot of loose ends," he said quietly. "Targeting only us and Ruffy, probably, but not the rest of the crew?"
"Works for me. Easier for Usopp and Sanji-kun to ambush them."
Zoro just relaxed back and tested the restraints again. As if he was just going to sit here and be saved by that cocky cook.
"Why are you on the island, by the way? I was under the impression you didn't want to leave the ship."
The navigator huffed and told him what had happened since he left. After her brief summary of the events, they sat in silence, waiting for whatever the enemy had planned.
The one who came to get them was a black man in a dark red coat with the number 5 at the hem, and a woman who looked slightly familiar. Something about her shrill voice and the umbrella.
"Time to die," the man stated, sounding bored.
"You're about to find out what happens when you mess with agents of Baroque Works," the woman laughed.
As a man, Zoro felt a little sorry for the black guy. He alone might have been intimidating, but somehow his partner killed whatever might have caused dread and turned it into annoyance.
They were brought around a rock, and were unceremoniously thrown face first on the ground.
"What the…! What is that?" Nami howled once she sat up.
If Zoro were to describe it, he'd say it looked like a cake with three tiers, a pillar in the middle and half a carved pumpkin on top, lined with candles. The whole thing was a glossy white, and a quick look at what bound him confirmed it was made from the same material.
"Vivi!" Nami cried beside Zoro. "Wasn't Ruffy with you?"
The princess was pale and her face tense. "I-I was, but…"
"The straw hat? I killed her," the black man stated.
Vivi flinched and closed her eyes, but Zoro and Nami exchanged a quick look.
Ruffy wasn't dead. Zoro knew that as certainly as he knew the sea was wet, and Nami seemed to know it too. They stayed quiet. If these guys were so assured of their own strength they thought they didn't need to confirm a kill, Ruffy was sure to show up sooner or later.
Zoro still wasn't going to wait for her if he could free himself.
Just then, something thick and liquid flowed over towards him, Nami and Vivi, coming from the man with his hair on fire and who looked like he was continuously melting. Another devil fruit user then. Figures.
The restraint on his feet warmed and softened, slipped up his legs and dragging them across the ground towards the giant cake. They were pulled up, placed ankle-deep in the cake's bottom tier, and the locks on Zoro and Nami's hands came off, melting into the rest of this strange creation.
They stood there, the three of them side by side with Zoro in the middle, and it was really all they could do.
They looked up.
"What's that spinning up there?" Nami asked, though didn't sound all that interested in knowing.
"So this is how it feels like to be a candle on a cake. The more you know," Zoro commented.
"Glad you got the experience. I can't even wiggle my toes, so we're not getting out of this cake anytime soon," Nami said and wiggled her hips, as if she indeed tried how solidly she stood in the wax.
"Definitely not. Though forced to attend this party I doubt it's because he enjoys our company."
Zoro cast a glance at the man with his hair on fire. Curiously, it was styled into a number 3, and only the upper tip was actually burning. But other than the devil fruit, this guy was clearly not one for brawls. His limbs, when they weren't melting, looked similar to spaghetti.
"Don't base your judgement on appearance, Zoro-kun."
The thought was fleeting and muted, more a sense of warning than actual words. It stayed with him though.
"Something's dripping. Can you feel that?" the princess asked and held out her hands, as one would do to feel for raindrops.
Vivi rubbed her fingers together with a frown. Before she left Alabasta, she hadn't known what a candle was. Oil and wood were the only burners Vivi had known. Even after she'd become familiar with other types of lights and candles, she didn't give it much thought. However, from what she and Igaram had figured out through gossip amongst the other higher agents, Mr 3 was a candle man who had eaten the wax fruit. Being in this situation now, Vivi wished she had investigated the power more. It might have given her a hint to Mr 3's weakness.
She did however know Mr 3 wasn't one to show his face before an enemy he hadn't yet defeated. He was a shadow hunter you never saw coming until you were almost dead. He played tricks with your mind, made you confused, scared and angsty. Easy to capture. So for Mr 3 to stand before them now, he clearly thought they had no way of attacking or escaping.
Neither thought was comforting.
"Savour it, my extra special candelabra," Mr 3 said happily. "The waxy mist that rains down on you will soon turn you all into wax figures. The ultimate artform. Nothing is as beautiful and lifelike as a wax figure with a human soul."
"What? Hell no! I don't want to be turned into a wax figure!" Nami cried angrily, then turned towards the giant that had been laying silent beside the candle cake the whole time. "Hey, Brogy! Don't just lie there! Do something!"
"Oh, don't waste your breath on that one. He only just had a great shock. Not realizing his dear friend was injured, he slew him. So high on his victory that he was crying. Or was it sadness? Either way, what's done is done."
Mr 3 was laughing, and Vivi was still trying to figure out what his weakness might be, when the giant's voice suddenly spoke.
"I knew."
Vivi looked towards the giant, Brogy-san, with wide eyes.
"Liar," Mr 3 said easily. "If you'd knew, how come I saw neither sympathy nor mercy when you cut him down?"
"Mercy?!" the giant spat, his whole body jerking. "We have duelled under the watchful eyes of God Elbaf for a hundred years! Ready for his judgement each time we faced off. To not answer a call for battle, I would rather live through a hundred years of torture than let go of my honour like that! Why would Dorry be any different? Who are you worms to talk about mercy?! Dorry stood tall in the face of his judgement! WHY WOULD I HAVE DISGRACED HIM WITH MERCY!?"
Fury boiling through him, Brogy started struggling, and this time he was serious. He saw red. The little man must be crushed, for his interference, for his belittling of Dorry and of God Elbaf.
This puny man had to die for his heresy!
The wax restraints cracked and started to break. They would have broken if Mr 5 hadn't thrown himself into the giant's face and blown up.
Vivi couldn't close her eyes, staring at the black smoke that surrounded Brogy's head, and at that moment she caught sight of Mr 3.
It wasn't instantaneous. It took the candle man a little more than two seconds before his body was molten and extracting enough wax to reinforce Brogy-san's restraints. It was only when the wax took the familiar shape of a blade that she realized he meant to do more than that.
She cried out in protest and tried to fist her hands, only to realize she couldn't.
Carue struggled to get back on his feet. His broken wing hurt, his insides felt like they were bleeding and his skin stung where handfuls of feathers had been torn out. But more than pain, he felt angry. Ducks are loyal creatures, not prone to cruelty and injustice.
But now his mistress had been taken away by those two, and they had also hurt Ruffy.
Ruffy wasn't dead. Carue knew this for sure. She had this electric field to her that Carue associated with predators and leaders. Normally that field was a pleasant tingle in his skin. Now it made his feathers tremble.
Ruffy was angry.
"Usopp, are you going to let them get away with this?" Ruffy's voice said, the words slow and deceptively calm.
"No. Never."
Carue carefully walked over to Ruffy, hesitated only a second as her gaze locked on him, then started to scratch away the dirt around her waist. For every claw full of dirt he kicked away, Carue quacked quietly, his anger simmering.
Ruffy smirked up at him, eyes full of understanding and respect.
"Good," she said, her burning soul encasing him. "Let's deliver their judgement."
