Chapter 3: Secret Passageways
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece
AN: Here's the next chapter. I know it's been awhile since I've updated but I finally submitted the 3rd chapter.
"Secret passages?" asked Zoro. "Yes, there are many hidden doorways in this castle," said Allanon. "They lead all over the grounds of the castle, and even into the town." "Really?" "Wow, that's really cool," said Luffy. "I know where most of the doorways are but I'm sure there are some I don't know of. "Is there anything in the passageways?" asked Usopp, sounding a little nervous. "Some of them have bottomless pits in them and one of them leads to the family burial tomb." "That can be unnerving to some people."
Luffy looked very intrigued and everyone knew what he was thinking. "I want to go!" exclaimed Luffy. "They can be very dangerous and I'm not certain if I will be able to lead us back here safely." "I want to go!" said Luffy. "Well if you don't mind the possibility of getting lost." "The two of them get lost all the time," said Nami as she pointed to Zoro and Luffy. Of course Luffy was going to go whether anyone was coming with him or not so Zoro decided to go with him. It would be something to do after all.
Allanon, Luffy and Zoro went through one of the doors in the hall. The passage ways were wide but dark, so Allanon brought a candle with him. "I should warn the two of you that there are other creatures somewhere in these halls." "They have been known to come out of the secret doors and fly amongst the tall ceilings." "That won't be a problem," said Zoro. "I can handle anything this castle can throw at me." The three walked around for a while. Nothing really exciting had happened until they came to a huge room. It was completely round and had tunnels going off in all directions.
A very faint fluttering sound could be heard. It seemed to fill every inch of the room so it was hard to tell where it was coming from. The three men stopped in the center of the room. The fluttering got louder and a shrill screech rang out from one of the tunnels.
Meanwhile the other four crewmates were sitting around in Amy's room. They had heard the screech and it was a little frightening. "What was that?" asked Amy, a little alarm in her voice. "Don't be afraid Amy-san, I'll protect you," said Sanji. "If it comes up here, I'll fight it off!" Usopp stated bravely. "Yeah right." "If it came up here you would run and hide." "I would not!" Usopp protested. Usopp was about to tell a story of one his brave adventures when a loud banging noise came from the hallway.
"I thought you could handle anything this castle threw at you!" said Allanon with a little annoyance in his voice. "Shut the hell up!" Zoro snapped at him. "There was too many of them, they just kept coming." "What about Luffy?" "Was it really right to just leave him?" "He can take care of himself," said Zoro. "He's been in worse situations." Sanji had left the room and went outside to see what the noise was about. Allanon and Zoro were leaning all their weight against the wall. Every few seconds the wall would heave as if something was trying to get out.
"What's going on?" asked Sanji. "There's a really nasty creature behind this door and it's trying to get out," said Zoro. "The tunnels down there are filled with them," said Allanon. "I had no idea there was so many." All of a sudden the wall burst open and something flew out. A winged creature hovered in the hallway. Sanji stared at it in disbelief. It looked liked a giant bat but it was almost human like. It landed on the ground and stood on two legs hunched over. "Don't make any sudden movements," warned Allanon. "It's very strong and will attack." The bat creature let out another piercing shriek.
It was ear shattering and the crew had to hold their ears. It took off and flew into the room where Nami, Usopp, Amy and Halley were. A bloodcurdling scream rang out and the three men came rushing in. They were too late; the bat creature had flown off the balcony carrying Amy and Halley. Amy thrashed in its grip making its claws sink deeper into her flesh. She screamed and it pried Halley out of her arms and threw her down. "NOOOOOOO!" she wailed.
The others watched in horror as Halley fell closer to the balcony. Zoro rushed to the balcony and leapt over the side. Keeping his hand on the railing and his foot on the outer part of the balcony, he reached out and Halley fell right into his outstretched arm. She was wailing hysterically and thrashed as Zoro brought her closer to him. He climbed back onto the balcony and handed Halley to Nami. The bat creature had flown higher, still digging its claws into Amy. Amy kicked and thrashed until it let her go. She was falling, this time she knew she wouldn't be saved. She smacked into some branches and kept falling. Amy fell hard on to a fallen tree, causing a jagged branch to spear right through her. The crew had watched her fall and ran outside to search for her.
Meanwhile Luffy was still in the circular room deciding what tunnel to take. He had fought with those bat creatures and it left him with many deep wounds. Luffy walked around for a while and realized he wasn't getting anywhere. He felt tired all of a sudden and stopped to take a nap.
When they found Amy, nothing could prepare them for what they saw. She was lying on her back on top of a fallen tree. A splintering branch was protruding through her rib cage. She was making a disturbing wheezing sound, almost like she was having trouble breathing. Her arm was twisted behind her in such a way that it had to be broken. Her eyes were glassy, moving rapidly, shock filled every inch of them. Narrow crimson rivulets gushed rapidly from a deep lesion in her head. The crew had to act fast. She needed a doctor now.
"We have to get her to a doctor," said Nami. "We would have to bring the doctor to her, she can't be moved in this condition," said Sanji. "We can't all go, someone will have to stay here with Amy-san." "What about Luffy, shouldn't he be here too?" asked Usopp. "He's still somewhere in the tunnels. I hope he's all right," said Allanon. "He can take care of himself," replied Zoro. "There aren't any more of those creatures out here are there?" asked Nami. "The one that dropped Amy could still be out here somewhere," said Usopp. "If it is out here it's hiding somewhere dark," said Allanon. "I know they don't like the light, so they come out when it gets dark." "It is possible that there are still more in the tunnels, unless Luffy got rid of them all."
"Well, we should probably find Luffy first, he does need to be here for this." "I'll go to the town to get the doctor," stated Allanon. "The rest of you stay here, and keep a look out for any more of those things." "Miss Amy is obviously in no condition to fight one of them off." Zoro and Nami went to find Luffy while Sanji and Usopp stayed with Amy. Nami put Halley in Sanji's arms. "Watch her as well," said Nami. Halley hadn't said anything or moved at all, she had to be pried from Nami's arms. As she was handed to Sanji she gave a frightened whimper and clung to his jacket. He tried to keep Halley from seeing her mother but it was too late. Halley cried hysterically
Neither Sanji nor Usopp knew what to do. Halley's cries where heart breaking and there wasn't anything they could do. They both figured that this incident would traumatize her for the rest of her life. Halley's cries filled Amy's ears and echoed in her mind bringing her out of her comatose like state. "Halley," she said her voice weak and gasping. "Amy, you're awake," said Usopp. "Let me hold her," she said. "Amy-san, I don't think that's a good idea," said Sanji. "Just lay her on me then," her voice quivered a little and her eyes stung with fresh tears. Of course Sanji was not going to disappoint her so he laid Halley on Amy's stomach. Halley immediately calmed down. Amy's uninjured arm reached out and rested on Halley's head.
Meanwhile Nami and Zoro had stumbled upon Luffy. He was sleeping soundly on the cobblestone floor. "Luffy, wake up," Nami said as she shook his shoulders. Luffy woke up and stared at them. "Hey guys," he said sleepily. Luffy stood up and stretched his arms out. "I had a really great nap," he said cheerfully. "Come on," Zoro said. "Amy got hurt really badly…" Before Zoro could say anything else Luffy was running through the tunnels back up to the main hall. Zoro and Nami ran after him. Luffy made it to the main hall, the only problem was he didn't know where Amy was. Zoro and Nami showed up shortly after. "She's outside, around the back of the castle."
Luffy ran where Zoro told him to go. He saw Usopp and Sanji and wondered if they knew where Amy was. When he got to them he was not prepared for what he saw. He stared and was quiet for a long time. "How did this happen?" his voice was quiet and serious. "One of those bat creatures flew off with her and it dropped her," said Nami. "Allanon went to the town to get a doctor for her, he should be back soon." "Amy?" Luffy leaned over her looking into her eyes. His hand instinctively rose to the cut on her forehead.
His thumb lightly caressed it and she winced a little at his touch. Her eyes stared into his and she saw nothing but concern in them. Amy had never really noticed before but Luffy had beautiful eyes. They were a very light brown like an almond color. She raised her arm off of Halley and put her hand on his face letting her thumb gently caress the scar under his left eye. She smiled at him causing a very light blush to spread across his face. He was the last thing she saw before everything went dark. "Amy." Luffy lightly shook her shoulders. He shook her harder when he didn't get a response. "Luffy don't shake her like that, it could make her injuries worse," Nami said. Luffy immediately stopped shaking her and let her go.
Shortly after Amy blacked out, Allanon arrived with the doctor. "This is a lot worse than I thought it would be," said the doctor. He knelt down beside Amy and began to examine her. He noticed her arm behind her back. "Help me move her carefully so I can pull her arm out from behind her," he said. Luffy picked Halley off of Amy and Zoro and Sanji gently lifted Amy's shoulders off the ground. The doctor lightly pulled on her arm but it wouldn't budge. "What's wrong?" asked Sanji. Zoro lifted her shoulders up higher and saw that the branch hand gone through her hand as well. "It went through her hand," he said. "What?" The doctor got up and moved to Zoro's side. Sure enough the branch that went through her chest and also gone right through her hand.
"This branch has to be separated from the tree before we can move her." "I can do it," said Zoro as he unsheathed one of his swords. "What, are you sure you can do it without hurting her?" asked the doctor. "Yeah I can do it." "Lift her up as high as possible." Everyone put in some effort at lifting her up. Zoro carefully slide his sword underneath her. There wasn't much room for his sword but it was enough. With one quick, smooth motion the branch came away from the tree and Amy could be moved.
Amy had to be taken to the hospital quickly but carefully. They carried her there without any problems. As soon as she was in the building the doctor began surgery on her right away. Amy's friends waited for hours outside the operating room. The doctor finally came out and told them she would be ok. They were happy to hear that. "The branch had broken several of her ribs and punctured her lung. Her shoulder was dislocated and her arm and hand are also broken. She lost a lot of blood and has a mild concussion from the fall and the cut on her forehead." "I also noticed that she has multiple bruises on her back and her stomach." "She most likely got them from hitting branches."
"Can we see her?" asked Luffy. "She's just waking up from the anesthetics so you can go see her," said the doctor. Everyone went in the room to see her. Her head was bandaged and her arm from her elbow to her hand was in a cast, her arm was also in a sling to help her shoulder. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at everyone. They were all there. She couldn't believe that they really cared for her that much. They hadn't known her for more than a day and still they were worried about her.
"Amy, you're awake!" shouted Luffy excitedly. "Luffy, don't shout like that," said Sanji. "Amy-san just had a serious operation, she needs to rest." "It's ok Sanji, I know he's just happy that I'm ok." "Are you in any pain?" asked Usopp. "Yeah, I ache all over and the stitching is a little sore but other than that I'm ok." "Miss Amy, I feel that this is all my fault, those creatures should have been destroyed a long time ago. If they had this never would have happened," he said with a little sorrow in his voice. "Allanon, don't blame yourself, this wasn't your fault. I'm going to be ok and you have nothing to worry about."
Amy was in bed for a few more days. She had to be completely healed from the surgery before she could leave. Allanon and the Straw Hat crew came and went each day. Whoever had come to visit had brought Halley with them.
AN: That's the end of the third chapter. I'll put up the fourth chapter as soon as I can. It wasn't really that soon the first time I said that. The 4th chapter is already written. I just have to submit it.
