The two pirates were met by loud screams as they emerged from the stairs. A flash of yellow light blinded them, followed closely by an explosion that mixed with new screams, the sounds ringing off the stone walls and echoing down the staircase behind them. Stumbling, the man-beast's massive form jolted and slumped forward, causing the captain to lose his grip around the doctor's neck. Through the feverish fogs of his mind, Luffy felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as they fell forward.
As the man-beast landed on the floor, Luffy rolled off his back and forced his aching body into a sitting position. The only light in the room came from four flickering torches in the corners, but through the semi-darkness he could see the blurred outlines of people dressed in white closing in on him. Rubbing his eyes, he managed to gain some of his vision back and could get a better look at the Marines in front of him. There were many of them – more than ten if he wasn't seeing double again – and most of them carried guns. But through the haze of his confused vision, he slowly noticed that at least four of them were carrying long strange-looking weapons that set off warning-bells in the back of the man's clouded mind. The memory of getting weak without being in water flashed across his mind.
There was a thick smell filling the room; a smell that made him think of Usopp's workshop back on the Going Merry. Gunpowder. Before he could find the source of the smell, one of the soldiers screamed something while pointing a gun directly at him. How stupid could a person get? Anyone should know that bullets didn't affect a man made of rubber.
Behind him, the man-beast moved slowly, emitting a low moaning as he did so, the movement brushing tufts of rough fur against Luffy's arm. There was another scream coming from the soldiers in front of them, and this time, the captain could clearly hear what they were saying.
"The monster is getting up! Shoot it again!"
With his body aching for every move he made, Luffy forced himself up on one knee, his eyes locked on the Marines in front of him. His arms and legs were heavy and the world seemed to be ready to spin before his eyes, but he still managed to move to the left as one of the Marine soldiers' guns went off, sending a bullet into the rubber man's left shoulder. The bullet continued along its course, stretching out the skin on the back of the man's shoulder to the point where it lost all its speed, and was ricocheted back at the Marines. The soldiers crouched down as the bullet embedded itself in the stone wall behind them.
Rising to his feet, his eyes hazy from the fever, Luffy took several deep breaths to clear his fogged mind. Behind him, the man-beast gave up a weak gasp, causing the man to glance back at his nakama.
"Bullets don't hurt me…" he said hoarsely, turning to the Marines, who were getting back up on their feet again. "But I don't like to be shot at. Take it easy, Chopper, I'll handle this."
For a long time, Luffy had been furious and frustrated at not being able to find his nakama, but he had been too restricted by the cell and his own sickness to do anything about it. Now, he had the opportunity to do so, and he felt the emotions transfer into his hammering heart beat an cry of rage as he threw himself forward, attacking the Marine who had fired the gun at him. The force of his punch sent the Marine flying straight into the wall across the room, while Luffy turned his aching body around as swiftly as he could, sending a storm of quick punches towards another soldier.
Luffy was definitely winning against that soldier, but as it took most of his power to focus on one opponent, he didn't notice the other Marines who were getting closer to him. Some of them were even getting too close as he still recovered from his own attacks, his vision slipping in and out of focus when he turned around to find a new target for his punches. He was almost knocked to the ground when he received a sharp elbow directly to the open wound in his stomach, and as Luffy stumbled back with a hissing gasp, he wondered vaguely if the Marine had aimed at the wound on purpose or if it had just been out of pure luck.
Temporarily blinded by the excruciating pain flashing through his body and the roaring sound in his ears as his blood rushed through his veins, he couldn't dodge a kick to his back and was flung forward, rolling over the floor until he came to a halt next to the fallen man-beast. Grinding his teeth, he turned around in time to catch another round of bullets fired by other Marines right to his chest, tearing the two upper buttons from his red vest. With a roar, he sent the bullets back towards the Marines and rose to his feet, the hazy fog in his eyes making way for a piercing glare of pure rage.
"Didn't I just say that I don't like to be shot?" he growled. Every part of his body protested when he stretched out his right arm behind him until the hand touched the wall behind him.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" he called out, thrusting his fist forward and sending another Marine into the stone wall as his punch connected with the soldier's chest.
Stumbling backwards as his arm snapped back in place, he suddenly realized very distantly that his head was feeling strangely cloudy and his vision was blurred into a myriad of pulsating white spots. Before he hit the floor, the only thought flashing through his head was why the snow falling in his face didn't feel cold.
The next thing he knew, he couldn't move. No matter what he did, his body wouldn't move the way he wanted it to. He felt something pressing against his chest and forced his heavy eyelids open. One of the Marines was standing over him, holding the end of a long, thick, rounded sword against his body, and two others were running up next to him with similar weapons in their hands.
Forcing his arm up to the weapon, Luffy gathered all his strength and tried to break it like he once had broken the sword that threatened Nami's freedom. But where before he would have been able to snap the metal with two fingers, this time it was almost impossible just to keep his hand on the sword. He blinked, noticing that his hand was shaking, but when the thought finally broke through his drowsy mind, he found that all his strength had rushed out of his body and his hand had already fallen limply by his side.
The sound of running steps coming from the corridor behind the Marines suddenly seeped through his fogged mind, but he found that he was too weak to do anything but lie still and listen to the distorted sounds of the yells that followed.
"Special attack: Rock Star!"
"Tiger Hunt!"
"Mouton Shot!"
"And an extra massive headache, just for you guys!"
The raven-haired man could feel the pressure of the weapon against his chest ease as the Marine turned around. He managed to lift his head to see what was going on, even if his neck trembled lightly in protest against the movement.
One of the Marines fell to the ground next to him, a rock the size of a small orange rolling over the floor away from the unconscious man. From the dark corridor, the flash of metal in a blur of white and green emerged, sending three of the soldiers to the floor with a gargling sound as all cried out in pain at once. Close after, four other Marines were swept to the floor by the force of a roundhouse kick and the twirling of a long staff.
The remaining Marines, all armed with the rounded swords - including the Marine standing next to Luffy – took a step back as the four pirates lined up in front of the corridor. The four of them made a formidable sight; Zoro with a sword in each hand and the hilt of the white sword secure between his teeth, Sanji with his hands deep in his pockets, Nami with a long staff leaning against her shoulder and Usopp holding up his slingshot loaded with another rock while his left arm was shaking uncontrollably. Nami stuck out her tongue and winked at the Marines.
"The cavalry is here," she purred.
To her left, Usopp grinned at the captain.
"At your service, Captain."
Luffy nodded, feeling calmer now. His nakama were safe, he didn't have to think about finding them any longer. Hearing the sound of swords cutting through the air, the painful yelps of the Marines and the dull sound of bodies falling to the floor, he lay down his head against the floor, grinning happily. His body was heavy, his head felt like it was filled with the stuff clouds were made of and his bones ached with every breath he took, but he could endure the pains just by hearing Zoro and Sanji argue about who had taken down the most Marines since their escape.
He looked up as he heard the sound of steps close to him and saw his friends standing around him. Behind him, the man-beast moved a little and a large hand suddenly covered Luffy's eyes and forehead.
"The fever is rising again…" the doctor said, his voice trembling.
"How about you, Chopper?" Usopp's voice echoed between the walls, traces of excitement still lingering in his tone. Luffy looked up at the long-nosed man, wondering for a moment why the sniper looked so strange. Then he noticed that Usopp had tied his brown bandana around his left upper arm. That was strange, indeed. Maybe he's trying to look like Zoro to be braver. Luffy thought to himself and decided that he was right.
"I- I think I've been shot…" the doctor stuttered, one of his large hands brushing over his chest. "But I don't think it's bad, I haven't felt any signs of organ failure."
"And you don't have any problems talking," Sanji commented as he was looking through one of the uniform pockets of one of the Marines. "I guess it's a good sign."
The captain turned his head towards the cook, who was muttering something about a shitty bastard of a Marine as he pulled out two small boxes from the inner pocket of the soldier's white vest and tucked them into his own pockets.
They had to get out. Out to Going Merry and back to the desert island to get Vivi and ask her to come with them. And find his hat. Then they could eat and head out for the next island. But first his hat. Hat, ship, Vivi, food and then the Grand Line.
"Chopper…" he said, his voice gentle, but still with enough edge to make it clear that he was expecting his friend to do everything in his power, nothing more and nothing less. "We're getting out of here now. Can you stand?"
Looking upwards until his eyes hurt as much as the rest of his body, he could see the large man-beast move, clearly fighting to get up to his feet. The captain knew that he wouldn't blame the reindeer if he couldn't get up, as long as he knew that his friend had done everything he could to try.
Nami hurried over to the doctor to support him. She picked up his pink hat that had rolled over the floor and let him lean against her with his arm around her shoulders while she did her best not to flinch as she had to put some of their weight on her left leg. The doctor was breathing quickly as he looked down at the captain, blood running from a wound in his chest.
"I can stand, but I'm not sure if I can walk. How about you, Captain?"
Luffy chuckled lightly. He looked up and was met by Zoro's outstretched hand. Taking the swordsman's outstretched hand, he pulled himself up, grinding his teeth as the wound in his stomach gave a nasty throb and sent a small river of thick blood flowing down the already blood-soaked bandages around his torso. Getting up to his feet, he could feel the others looking at him and was about to tell them that he was okay when the room started to spin violently around him. He was engulfed in a soft darkness which made all the pain in his muscles fade away, but he didn't fight it. His nakama were safe and they could take care of themselves against the Marines. He trusted in their power.
- e - e -
"Oi, Luffy…"
Zoro reached out his arm just in time to catch the captain as the man slumped forward, Luffy's eyes having slid half-closed as he appeared to lose consciousness. Zoro looked towards the doctor questioningly, leaning Luffy against his left shoulder and noticing how hot the black-haired man's body felt, almost like it was burning up from inside.
"He's okay, I think," the doctor said weakly, still leaning against Nami for support. "His fever is rising and he has lost a lot of blood, but that's nothing I can't fix once we get back to the Going Merry."
Usopp was sitting by the wall next to the entrance to the corridor, his head leaned against the cold stonewall and his eyes shut. He tightened his grip around his left shoulder as blue bolts of pain flashed through his body once again. Listening to the others talking, he looked up just in time to see Luffy pass out. He watched the others for a moment before getting up.
"Chopper, if you change into your small form, I'll carry you if you want."
The doctor shook his head, looking a bit guilty to decline such an offer.
"No, I can't change form. Not as long as I don't know where the bullet is. If it's close to a vital organ and I change form, there's a risk that it'll damage something inside me."
Usopp nodded, he understood the problem. To get his mind off the pain in his arm, he was just about to ask if there was anything else he could do instead when Zoro interrupted him.
"I'll carry you, Chopper" he said casually, still leaning Luffy against his left shoulder. "The Marines are going to wake up soon, and the sooner we get back to the ship, the better."
"I'll take Luffy," Sanji offered, lighting one of the cigarettes he had stolen from the Marine. Zoro gave a light, tired nod and handed over the unconscious seventeen-year-old to the cook. Then, he took two long steps over to Chopper and Nami, carefully and with ease lifting the large man-beast over his shoulder. Behind him, Usopp helped Sanji get the captain up on the cook's back, looking a bit awkward as he held his injured arm hanging limp by his side.
"Come on, then," Zoro said, walking into the dark corridor with Chopper resting over his left shoulder.
"Wait a minute; shouldn't we take a torch with us?" Usopp asked, pointing at one of the lit torches hanging from the wall in the corners of the room. Nami gave the marksman a light push between the shoulders to make him start moving.
"No, we don't need that." She stated calmly.
Setting off jogging after the swordsman and the cook who had already disappeared into the darkness of the corridor, Usopp and Nami silently hoped that they wouldn't run into any more Marines on their way. The two strong warriors – who were walking ahead of them while arguing quietly about something only they knew and cared about – had their hands full carrying the doctor and the captain. This would leave most of the fighting to Usopp and Nami, something neither of them would have been excited about on a normal day, but which sounded even worse considering their current injuries.
The group turned left in the pitch-black corridor and heard rushed voices echoing between the walls back at them. The faint flickering from a torch's light appeared at the far end of the corridor, causing Zoro and Sanji to fall silent.
"We've got more company," Sanji said, hoisting Luffy further up on his back and getting a better grip around the man's legs as he measured the level of energy that was left in his body. He wouldn't last long if the patrol at the other end of the corridor were large, but he was sure that he had enough strength in him to beat more Marines than Zoro before he went down.
Once again, thank you so much for beta-reading this chapter, Karaleyn. Your advice was of so much help for me, I'll remember all your advice when writing in the future… Like when I start writing chapter 13 once I've uploaded this chapter :D
Note: If things work out the way I want them to, I'll be reworking and reposting the first 11 chapters once I finish the last two chapters (if the story would be nice and not get a life of its own so that it follows the plan I've made up for it) of this story…
