Ch.18: The Spirits that Dwell Underground
Disclaimer- I don't own One Piece. But if I did, I'd be really popular in Japan.
A/N: For the next chapter or so, the beginnings will not have a diary entry.
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"Okay, now which way do we go first?" Zoro frantically asked Nami.
Nami took a look at the map in her hands and answered, "We go west until we reach the first fork in the path."
"Cool! Food is involved?" Luffy asked happily.
Nami stared at him, "No, you idiot. We have to stop when the path leads to more than one direction."
"So, there's no food?" Luffy asked cluelessly. Nami shook her head. Luffy grunted, "This journey sucks."
"Yeah, we know it sucks, but it will be over when we fight Pam and free Emily." Zoro told him, not stopping.
"How long will we have to travel in order to get there?" Nicole asked from behind Nami.
Nami looked over the map in her hands, "Without the short-cut…about 45 minutes."
"That long? What's in the short-cuts?" Zoro asked.
"It says there are spirits." Nami answered.
"We're taking the short-cut." Luffy decided, "What could a bunch of stupid ghosts do?" As soon as he finished saying that, he was kicked into a nearby wall, and it wasn't by Sanji. "Itai! Sorry, Kristina." He said as he removed himself from the wall. He turned around to face Kristina, but she wasn't there. Nobody could see her, but they had a strong feeling that she was there.
The pirates and Nicole shook off the thought and continued their way, this time through the short-cut, which would take probably 20 minutes of walking. After four minutes of walking, they stopped at a stone wall. "So, where is the spirit?" Chopper asked, looking around the room. Right after he asked that, a pale man stood before them.
"I am the first of the five Guardians of the Ancient Secrets." the man announced to the already freaked out Straw Hat Pirates and Nicole.
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"Holy crap!" Ryan nearly yelled as he walked into the second room that held the trapped smaller creatures. Bottles were lit with the magic of some magic the creatures were unsuccessfully using to escape. There was light coming from almost everywhere in the room, but they weren't alone.
"Who the Hell are you?" A deep voice screamed at Kim, Kelly, and Ryan
Standing right in the far corner of the room was Pam's servant, Bob, with a bottle of beer in his left hand. Half of the beer was gone and Bob had a drunken look on his face.
"We are…Pam's new workers." Kelly told him.
Bob blinked his eyes and continued his beer. He chugged the rest of the alcohol down twelve seconds later and quickly passed out onto the floor.
"Wow, that was quick." Kim giggled. Kelly and Ryan nodded and laughed. Ryan walked to a bottle on a shelf holding three little fairies struggling to get out. He lifted the bottle off the shelf and opened it. Quickly, the fairies flew out, but soon fell to the floor.
"Maybe they're hungry, too." Kim said. Kelly nodded, pulled out a few strawberries, and placed them on the floor.
"Strawberries!" one of the fairies screamed. Soon, the three fairies were devouring the strawberries as fast as they possibly could. Ryan and Kim ran to other bottles while Kelly placed food on the floor: grapes, strawberries, raspberries, all the other types of edible berries, biscuits, fish cakes, and many other foods. Kim and Ryan grabbed some bottles and carried the weak fairies, pixies, and sprites to the food.
Kim, Kelly, and Ryan stared in amazed shock at the little creatures eating the food and regaining their strength.
"There are more of us in the closet." A young boy announced, holding part of a raspberry in his left hand and pointing at a nearby closet with his right.
Ryan headed for the closet and opened it. There were at least 30 bottles full of the little creatures, both dead and alive.
Ryan let out the little creatures, especially the ones that didn't make it to their freedom. Kelly fed the live creatures the food not already devoured by the others and there was not a lot left.
"There any more of you creatures?" Kim asked one of the sprites that finished its food.
The sprite nodded, "There are some in Pam's, Lyssa's, and Sabrina's rooms."
"Okay, we're going to go free them all." Ryan announced. He took a look at the little food that was left uneaten. "We should probably stop by the kitchen for some food. Anybody here know the way around this ship?" Ryan asked. Two sprites, a boy and a girl, raised their small hands. "Okay, you two will be coming with us." Ryan announced, "The others can head back to the forest." All the creatures nodded and the room was empty of all the creatures, even the deceased. Only the two sprites stayed.
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A pair of blue-green eyes was now wider than they had ever been before. "She's shocked! Excellent! Bryce, give me her family's bones!" Pam screamed. Bryce opened up the green jar full of the magic potion made from Ryou, Lilie, and Aron. Pam gently placed her power-sucking pendant into the green jar and waited for the pendant to suck up every little bit of power.
When the pendant was full of Ryou, Lilie, and Aron's bones, Pam removed the pendant and aimed it at an unmoving Emily. "Super Possess!" Pam shouted. A large, fat line shot out of the pendant and hit Emily right on the chest.
Emily let out a loud but short scream of pain. But when her scream stopped, she looked even worse than the last time Pam possessed her.
There now that wasn't so bad now, was it?" Pam asked sweetly. Emily didn't answer; she just stared with her blank eyes.
"Wow…" Lyssa gasped.
"Mother, you did it. You possessed her…again." Sabrina added.
Pam nodded and headed for the left side of the room. "And now, to do what we have come here to do. Come here, Emily." Pam commanded. Emily obeyed her. "Now, read this." Pam commanded, pointing at a tablet.
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"In order for you to pass, you must answer my riddle, but be warned: you only get ONE guess." The spirit said in a spooky voice, "Are there any questions?"
"Yeah. Is that your actual speaking voice?" Nicole asked.
The spirit shook his head and spoke in a normal voice, "No, I just use this to scare off intruders. Are there any other questions?"
"If we guess wrong, leave, then come back, do we get another chance to guess?" Sanji asked.
The man shook his head, "Any other questions?" Nobody answered. The man smiled, "This one is one of my personal favorites: What is black and white and red all over?"
"A newspaper." The pirates, even Luffy, answered at the same time.
The man frowned, "Ah, damn! How did you know the answer?"
"That's the oldest joke ever. How couldn't we know it?" Nami asked.
"Yeah. You really have to get with the times." Usopp told the spirit.
The spirit blushed despite his pale body, "…Just go. You may pass, just go!" The pirates and Nicole didn't need to be told twice. They quickly walked passed the spirit.
After four more minutes of walking, they ere all stopped by a second spirit.
"I am the second of the five Guardians of the Ancient Secrets. Before you may pass, you must answer this riddle. But, be warned, there is only one guess allowed. Are you ready?" The spirit announced. Everybody nodded. "Good," the spirit answered, "Now, why did the boy throw the clock out the window?"
"He wanted to see time fly." Nicole simply answered.
The spirit frowned, "Dammit! Fine, you may pass."
The Straw Hat Pirates and Nicole nodded and walked passed the annoyed spirit. As they all walked, the eight of them noticed that the halls were getting darker and damper for every step they took. Everyone was shivering from the cold air that sharply hit their nervous bodies, but at least they were getting closer to the end.
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"Okay, before we leave, we need to know your names." Ryan told the two sprites in Kim and Kelly's hands.
The one in Kim's hands, a female sprite, answered, "I'm Stacey."
The other, a male sprite in Kelly's hands, answered, "I'm Matt." Kim, Kelly, and Ryan introduced themselves and moved Matt and Stacey onto Kim and Kelly's shoulders.
"Now, where is the kitchen?" Kim asked, picking up the almost empty bag of food.
Matt and Stacey gave them the directions and led the three Marines to the kitchen. Lexi was already in there, sipping a cup of tea. She looked up, "What the Hell?" Kim, Kelly, and Ryan took out their swords and stood in attack position.
Lexi stared at them, "Get those damn swords away from me." Kim, Kelly, and Ryan didn't move. "Didn't you hear me?" Lexi shouted. Kim, Kelly, and Ryan still didn't move.
Without standing, Lexi reached under the table, pulled out a pistol, and aimed at them. "Get out of here!" Lexi screamed. Nobody moved, not even when the other door opened and the pistol was knocked out of Lexi's hands. Kim, Kelly, and Ryan let out sighs of relief as they saw Tashigi and a few other Marines pinning Lexi to the ground and tying back her hands and feet.
"Untie me, NOW!" Lexi demanded, trying to squirm her way out of the ropes.
"Take her back to the ship." Tashigi commanded two nearby male Marines.
"Yes, ma'am." they shouted while leading Lexi over to the Marine's ship. Tashigi turned to Kim, Kelly, and Ryan, "Are you three okay?" Kim, Kelly, and Ryan nodded then headed for the refrigerator.
"What are you doing?" Tashigi asked as Ryan opened the door.
"We need food." Ryan answered while both him and Kelly stuffed vegetables, fruits, and everything else not junk food.
"You're hungry? Couldn't you eat on the Marine's ship?" Tashigi asked.
"It's not for us. It's for the rest of the fairies, sprites, and pixies on the ship." Kim told her.
"Wait, what do you mean?" Tashigi asked.
Kim, Kelly, and Ryan didn't answer her.
"Matt, Stacey. Where are the others?" Kim asked.
"There are some in Lyssa's room." Matt answered. "And in Sabrina's." Stacey added.
"Okay, which of those two has more of them?" Kim asked.
Matt and Stacey thought for a moment before answering, "Lyssa's."
"Then, that's where we're going." Ryan announced, leaving the room with Kim and Kelly following him.
"Hey! Wait!" Tashigi called out. They didn't stop. She let out a sigh and followed them.
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"Raey ytxis thgie- owt sneris decifircas. Rednuht flow denommus tsniaga setarip." Emily read.
"Translate it, stupid!" Pam screeched.
"Year Sixty Eight- two sirens sacrificed. Thunder wolf summoned against pirates." Emily translated.
"Read this now." Pam instructed, pointing at a tablet filled with words. Her finger was pointing at the very top words.
"Gninommus sedia." Emily read.
"Translation?" Pam asked.
"Summoning aides." Emily translated.
"Ooh! Summons! Summon one of the creatures!" Lyssa cried out.
"Yeah." Sabrina agreed.
Pam shook her head, "Later, girls. Right now we need her to tell us the rest of the secrets." Pam calmly told her daughters. Pam turned back to Emily, "I want you to keep reading these tablets until you find something saying about using these powers. Inform me when you find one." Emily obeyed her.
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The pirates and Nicole walked down the halls and were eventually stopped by yet another spirit. "I am the third of the five Guardians of the Ancient Secrets and to pass…" The spirit started.
"We have to answer the riddle and only get one chance. We know. We've been told this by the last two spirits." Zoro told the 3rd spirit.
"Good." The spirit held up his hand, "How many fingers am I holding up?"
The room was silent for a moment, mostly because the crew was covering the mouths of Luffy and Usopp to avoid having them blurt out the first thing that popped into their heads.
"Four. Four fingers, one thumb." Chopper answered.
"You are correct. You may continue." The spirit announced before completely disappearing. The group kept walking, ignoring the cold air that hit their skin. After five minutes, the fourth spirit stopped them.
"I am the fourth of the five Guardians of the Ancient Secrets. I will ask you a question and you will have only ONE guess. Are you ready?" Everyone nodded.
The spirit smiled, "Good. If you take the number 6, you can rotate it and make the number 9. So, 69 can be rotated to be 96. Which number between 1 and 99 can be rotated to be the largest number possible?"
All heads turned to Nami, Robin, and Chopper. The three of them looked at each other and thought of what may be the answer.
Nami and Chopper shrugged their shoulders. Now it was up to Robin. She thought hard, so hard that her head almost started to ache. Finally, she had the answer, "Eight. When you rotate the number, it turns to infinity."
The spirit smiled, "Correct. Excellent job. You may continue." The spirit disappeared and the pirates continued on their way, praising Robin for answering the question right.
Five minutes later, the fifth and final spirit stopped them. "I am the last of the five Guardians of the Ancient Secrets. Before you may pass, you must say the password. But be warned, you only have ONE guess." The spirit announced.
Nobody said anything. Nobody said or did anything until Zoro noticed, carved on the wall, Kristina's name. Closing his eyes, he silently asked for the password. When his eyes opened, he noticed the name glowing. He lifted his left hand onto the letters and listened to the story.
- - - -FLASHBACK- - - -
"Man, that last question was a pain-in-the-ass." Josh announced.
"No kidding." Twelve-year-old Kristina agreed before turning to Stephanie, "Hey, thanks for answering that math question."
"No problem." Stephanie answered.
"How many guardians do we have left?" Josh asked his cousin.
"Just one." Kristina answered. Then, without saying another word, she took a nearby rock and started carving her name in a wall.
"What are you doing?" Stephanie asked.
"Carving my name here." Kristina answered.
"I'm going to tell the King and your dad what you're doing." Josh shouted, pointing at her.
Kristina smirked at him, "Josh. Grandpa and Dad will punish you for not stopping me, so I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you." Josh shut his mouth.
"What's the password?" The 5th spirit asked.
"Uhhh…"Kristina said.
"You may pass." The spirit told her before disappearing.
"Wow…" Stephanie gasped, "That was easy."
- - - -END FLASHBACK- - - -
"So, what's the password?" The spirit asked impatiently.
"Uhhh…" Zoro answered.
The spirit frowned, "You may pass." Then the spirit disappeared into thin air. Without wasting a second, Zoro ran down the dark hallway with a lit torch in his hands.
"Zoro! Wait!" The group called, running after him with their own torches. Zoro didn't stop.
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Kim, Kelly, Ryan, and the rest of the Marines entered Lyssa's room…and it was possibly the most disgusting room they had ever seen before in their lives. The walls were painted hot pink, the bed was huge and lumpy, there were painted portraits of her all over the walls(the painter painted every lump of fat and made some Marines feel nauseas), and clothes were thrown everywhere. Not just that, but plates and half-eaten and molding foods were also everywhere.
"I'll check the closets." Kim announced, putting down the bags.
"I'll check her drawers." Kelly announced.
"I'll look under the bed." Ryan said.
All the Marines in the room went to different places. Everyone tore apart the room, freed all the little creatures, which were stuffed under her bed and all alive, fed them some of the foods, and set them free. Sabrina's room was next.
Sabrina's room was much cleaner than Lyssa's. The walls were painted baby blue, the bed was not quite as lumpy, and the creatures were easy to find. There were in her closet, in her desk, and most were inside her vanity. These were also all alive. After being fed and strengthened, the creatures left for their home and the Marines, Matt, and Stacey left for Pam's room.
Pam's room was completely spotless. Shelves were everywhere, filled with magical items that had fairies and sprites and pixies stuffed in them.
Quickly, Kim, Kelly, and Ryan took the items off the shelves and smashed them onto the ground. The items broke instantly and the creatures were freed.
Tashigi had noticed a large machine in the corner of the room. She opened it and saw the barely alive bodies of the six elemental fairies Bryce had captured. Their bodies were so beat up that nobody was sure if they were even going to live.
"Mark! You have to help Mark!" Stacey shouted.
"Where is he?" Ryan asked. Matt pointed at a crystal ball on Pam's desk. Mark's face appeared.
Ryan hurled the ball at the ground, but it didn't break. He tried again and he was unsuccessful. After Ryan's 8th try, Kim and Kelly decided to help him hurl the ball onto the stone floor. The ball shattered and a small male-fairy came out.
"Oh my God! Thank you! I thought I'd have to look at that ugly old woman forever!" Mark cried out.
Ryan led him over to Kim's open bag of food and watched in surprised at the small boy inhaling six raspberries half his size.
"Are there any more of you creatures on this ship?" Ryan asked.
Mark, still eating, shook his head, "You freed us all. But before you leave, I ask you to tie up the passed out man in the parlor and bring us creatures to our home."
"Alright." Tashigi agreed.
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"Mother! She stopped! I think she found something!" Lyssa shouted, pointing at Emily, who had now stood in front of a large tablet.
Pam smirked and walked over to Emily, "Now, I want you to read this for me."
Emily opened her mouth and read, "Eht cigam of a eurt Almani nac eb tsac yb lamron snamuh. A namuh tsum wollaws a tib fo na Almani's doolb, dna yeht llahs evah lortnoc revo lla eht srewop dna daer eht tneicha egaugnal."
"Translate it, you stupid little girl!" Pam exploded.
"The magic of a true Almani can be cast by normal humans. A human must swallow a bit of an Almani's blood, and they shall have control over all the powers and read the ancient language." Emily translated.
Pam let out a smile, "Oh really? The blood, eh? Well, this makes my job so much easier." Pam took out a dagger and started walking towards Emily, but suddenly stopped.
The spell on Emily was starting to weaken. She blinked her blue-green eyes, shook her head, and asked, "Wha?" Quickly, Pam grabbed Emily's left arm and started to pull. "What are you doing? Let go of my arm!" Emily cried, unsuccessfully trying to escape. Pam kept moving the dagger towards Emily's arm.
Quickly, Pam sliced the arm, lifted it up to her lips, and drank some of the blood coming from the arm. She let Emily go and licked the blood off the dagger. Emily used a sleeve of the robe to stop the bleeding. Pam looked at all the tablets and could suddenly read the language. "Yes! I am invincible!" She shouted, then turned to Bryce, "You can throw her out. I've no use for her now."
"Yes, Lady Pam." Bryce said.
"But Mother, we want Almani powers, too." Lyssa and Sabrina whined.
"You will. I'll give you better powers than she gave me." Pam convinced, "Get rid of her." Pam used her powers to open a new door.
Bryce picked up the still bleeding Emily and walked down a long hallway with Pam behind him. There was an open door at the end of the hallway.
Bryce threw Emily through the door and before she could walk back through the door, Pam closed the door and made it disappear, then Pam and Bryce walked back to the Sacrificing Room.
The hallway Emily was now in was pitch black and cold and none of her powers could bring any warmth or light.
She was alone, the thing she was afraid of being. She shivered and rubbed her hands on her arms and legs for a little bit of warmth, wishing that she had Misao, the circus people, or even one of the pirates to be with her. Tears were rolling down her pale cheeks, but relief overcame her body when she saw a bright light coming towards her, fast.
Emily stood up and took a few timid steps towards the light.
"Emily?" A voice called out.
Without thinking, Emily called back, "I'm here!" Just a second or two later, the light faded and a pair of arms lifted her up in the air. When the light came back, she found herself being held up by Zoro. Robin and Usopp were holding torches.
"Oh my God! Are you okay?" Zoro asked, looking at Emily's bleeding arm.
As Chopper bandaged her arm, Emily cried even harder, "Zoro, she has my powers."
"What do you mean?" Zoro asked the freaked out girl in his arms.
"She has Almani powers, too. She has the same powers as me. She just got a boost of energy." Emily explained. Zoro was silent. "We have to destroy her!" Emily told him. She looked at Luffy with her tearful eyes, "Please…"
Luffy nodded, "Then let's go! To the Sacrificing Room!"
"Aye aye, Captain!" Everyone else shouted before following Nami and Emily down to the Sacrificing Room.
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A/N: Well, that's the end of chapter 18. Okay, the math question that the spirit asked is actually a true problem. My Pre-Calculus teacher had that question on a math test as a bonus question, which nobody got right (the symbol for an infinite number looks like an 8 rotated just a bit to the side or knocked over). R/R, but don't flame me please.