A/N:
Vi-violence: to be honest, I didn't plan the number of Hearts properly when I began writing. Then I realized I don't know how to describe most of them yet, and so an idea popped up, which is to eliminate them. And so, here we are~ hehehe
8. To abandon the old mission
One last chance
Shachi ran. Ran like a madman. He jumped, he skipped steps, he slide, whatever, as long as he can get to the cave quickly. Anything that's in his way; grasses and bushes, twigs and dead leaves, bugs and little baby snails, he will step on them without care. Those mud and soil that caked around his feet and pants, are nothing but offending dirt.
And if he didn't care about being dirty, then he's definitely didn't mind the new scraps he got from pointy twigs and branches. Eventhough his body has enough pain and hardship for the day.
Shachi knew he should be resting. He knew he should take a breath. He should...be inspecting his injuries, checking any broken bones or tearing skins, and making sure any open wounds were patched up and/or covered instead of leaving it bleeding...
But no! Shachi didn't want to!
Shachi didn't want to stop just for those mundane things. He will keep running. He will keep moving. Even if his whole body is aching right now. Even if his body will break at the end. Because right now, what's in his mind is his captain's whereabout. And his other two best friends.
But when Shachi was sure he went pretty deep inside the forest yet still couldn't find the cave, he stopped. He took few seconds to regulate his breathing again, panting heavily while glancing around looking for at least, a silhouette of the cave as a sign he's in the right track.
He coughed dryly, inhaling as much as air as he could for his burning lungs while his eyes scanned the map in his hands again.
Where is it? I swear the cave should be somewhere here...
Shachi turned the map that he took from the Gumbo Pirates upside down. A second after, he turned it back again after sure he read the map right in the first place. He clenched the thin dirty brown paper tightly as his anxious increased.
Just where's the dam-
Shachi immediately ducked when his 'danger alarm' rang, an instinct that he'd grown up with from all those fighting experiences. He watched as a sharped jagged spear flew right above his head, then embedded into a tree in front of him.
He looked behind his shoulder, scowling at the culprit that dare to interrupt his mission.
"Going somewhere, Shachi?"
Immediately he frowned at the faces of the two betrayals that greeted him.
"James. Loki."
"My.. My.. You're in hurry, aren't you?" Loki teased. James grinned widely since that's the only thing he knows to do.
"Get out of my way, you two. I'm not in the mood." Shachi's glare is venom.
"And it bother us why?"
"You know there's no place for traitors in Hearts. I think you should get the hell out of my face now."
"Heh. Big talk from someone as crippling as you." Smugly, Loki scoffed. The glint of joy appeared in his eyes, tempted to cut the opponent infront of him now.
"Don't tease him, Loki. That's bad~" James cheerily reminded, lightly resting his palm on Loki's shoulder.
He then shifted his playful gaze to Shachi, with lips curling into a smirk while slipping in a pair of brass knuckles into his fingers.
"After all, don't forget he's the third strongest member in his crew, after his captain and Penguin!"
Shachi's eyebrows creased, and James attacked by swinging his brass knuckles fist. It barely passed under Shachi's nose before he bent backwards and back flipped. Shachi saw the same glint in Loki's eyes, that currently rotating around his spear that he'd retracted back from the tree.
"You forgot that Bepo is a mink. He's much stronger than normal humans." Shachi jumped backwards when three more punches strike.
"So? I have never seen him turn into one before. And you're not normal human either if you still kicking with full energy after being beaten last night!"
Another attack strike, this time an uppercut that nicked Shachi by the side of his jaw.
"Be happy that you're above Bepo in strength, Shachi." James proudly flicked his weapon that now dripping with blood.
Tsked, Shachi wiped the small cut at his jaw, bending his body slightly to go to offense mode. As James copied his action and extended a foot to his back to widen his stance Loki sneaked and swiped with his spear. Shachi caught the movement so he ducked, and somersaulted forward before abruptly stopped, crouching position and leaped sideways, evaded James kick to his face.
The two gave him a chase and Shachi was quick to his feet to start kicking and blocking them.
"If you know my strength then why bother fight me? On top of that, only two of you? Is that some sort of a mock?!"
Shachi waited for James' brass-punch to get closer, before he blocked it by the wrist and then immediately grabbed it. His other hand clenched the elbow, and pulled him to fall forward before he kneed him by the stomach, hard.
Loki took the chance to swing his spear downwards, to his head and seeing this the red-haired tossed away James' body to the side, and as a professional human being he is, he back flipped over his head, landing safely on the ground with a heavy thud. His next action followed immediately with a hook kick speeding fast to Loki's head but been expecting that Loki dug, narrowly escaped it leaving Shachi kicking the air instead.
"Don't underestimate us, Shachi!" James hollered from the side, getting back to his feet. "We have been holding our true strength all this time!!" And swung a heavy back fist to the former's face.
Shachi parried with a high kick, blocking by the forearm and pushed it away to take few steps backward and back to his fighting pose.
Loki growled, walking closer to close the gap between them two.
"You and your back flip is so annoying. Just like Penguin's," he muttered to himself, displeased.
He twirled his spear between his hands and rested it lightly on his shoulder. And James hit together his brass-knuckle few times scaring the birds within the vicinity. Loki briefly looked at the sky as he grinned wider, with a smile found onto his face.
"Better be hurry though, your captain doesn't have much time left," he jovially chirped.
Alarmed, Shachi's eye twitched and his lips parted to speak but the sudden rustling of bushes behind him alerted him, and stealing their attention right away. As the sound getting closer none of them move. And they intensely watched until two familiar figures skidded out of it with one of them complaining about something had just pulled her hair.
"Now look who decide to join," Loki rolled his eyes the moment he recognized the pair.
"Oh Shachi. Still alive?" Ray greeted casually, while a hand grabbed the twig that poking out from Mirra's hair and throw it away.
"He wouldn't had you guys not interrupt us."
Shachi saw the opportunity shining like a halo, above their heads. It greeted him with a big warm smile.
Blessed the two souls.
He turned his back to them, "take care of these two! I'll look for captain!!" And fast on feet to leave the scene and continue his own mission.
"He didn't even say the magic word," Mirra halfheartedly pouted while watching his retreating form.
Ray nodded agreeing.
"You're not leaving Shachi!"
Loki screamed and tried to give a chase but Mirra's blade came to his face and he stopped, dissing at it.
"Why are you doing?" His head turned and his glare narrowed.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Mirra cocked an eyebrow asking him back.
"Why are you helping him?"
"Why not?"
"You literally have nothing to do with them! You're not even part of their crew! Why bother helping them and risking your life?!" Loki screamed, unsatisfied, vexed, and rage.
Mirra barely gave a minimum care, as she shrugged and breathed out, "part fun, part need them back to steer the sub," calmly.
Watching how the female act casual despite facing him Loki forced himself to calm down. He has to maintain his composure otherwise it'll be hard to face someone that he doesn't know much of their capabilities.
"Only that?" And something is nagging behind his head that if he plays his word right he could pull her to his side.
"I have no obligation to answer you," Mirra retracted back his blade and twirled it once around her wrist.
Calculatingly Loki eyed her up and down, looking for a weakness or an opening. He saw nothing like one. And Mirra wasn't making it any easier for him to read through her. However...
"Aren't you a sly one, like us? Pretending to like them but actually have some ill intention. What are you after? Their treasures? Or fame by killing the captain? Why become the enemy to their enemy?"
He tried to see if he could figure what's actually her intention, to make it easier pull her to his side.
Mirra's gaze shifted slightly to the sky above, then back to him, weighing whether should her entertain him with a conversation or not.
"What are you on about?"
"Come on, think it wisely, Mirra. You're in an island, trapped against 100 crew members of a pirate crew. You have only 10 people by your side. What's your chance in winning?"
"Are we going to fight or not?"
"Heart pirates doesn't appreciate even a tiny of your help. They have their own pride. They won't le-"
It rang loudly when the metal of his spear clashed with her blade, sending force that rustled their hairs from the impact.
Loki's attack was so sudden, masked by his action of talking and was enacted when Mirra showed a slight distraction by the birds flying above her. But unlucky for him, she's alerted enough to block him.
And glaring up, she pushed her body forward and whisked the spear away, aiming straight to his neck but he jumped away.
"And you won't even drop your guard. That shows how much you're wary of me." Loki rested his spear behind his back as his eyes never leaving hers.
"I'm standing infront of someone who could bring me harm. You don't think I'll idly stood still, right?"
"But I was once a member of the Heart pirates. I once shared the same submarine, food, joy and laugh with you and them. Even if you don't know what's truly going on how can you actually prepare to kill me?"
Mirra narrowed her eyes when she heard it.
"What if I was forced to do this? What if I was trapped into this? You wouldn't know. And as someone who barely knows the Heart pirates you'll be conflicted to harm even the ex member, whom now is a traitor because you are not really sure what's happening. So how, can you be so easily doing this?"
Mirra didn't like where this is going. She could guess what's he's going on about.
"You wanna know why you don't care? Because it doesn't matter whether the person is actually a Heart pirate or not. Because from the beginning there's something you want to get from them. Aren't your kindness and threading friendship with them is a facade too?"
Her eye twitched. And her surrounding suddenly quieten down, with the time stay still and everything moved at a very slow pace. At the word, Mirra went wide eyed, was pulled back to the past, to a year ago, to the moment when she just joined a certain pirate crew.
– "Welcome aboard, Mirra. And congratulations on becoming an executive like them."
A blue haired man, sitting on his throne smiled widely watching at her motionless figure, that bathed with blood. He opened his arm, gesturing them to the rest of his executives.
"From today onwards, you are my assassin." –
"I'm honest with my feelings," she watched her ice dragonflies shattered to pieces from Loki's strike, as the time went normal back.
– "I have a new mission for you. This guy worth 30 million berri. Think you can silent him forever?"
The small wicked smile never leaving his face. He sounded like giving her a choice, but none of his request has ever been a choice. It was a mandatory. –
"You say that, but no one can be kind to others without any reasons." Loki jumped high, bringing his spear downwards.
Mirra rolled on the ground away from him, but Loki had gave a chase and swung his leg to her face. So she put up a defense, and Loki pivoted his leg so his kick hit her stomach instead, sending her skidding for a distance.
– Mirra was sipping her coffee in a cafe of somewhere in an island, with a newspaper in her hands.
"His bounty raised by 10 million. His one is the highest bounty I ever have so far. This gonna be a problem to me," she sighed as she massaged the throbbing muscles on her forehead.
She opened her eyes and stared back at the dull eyes of her target, painted on a brown paper that currently looking to the side after his little scheme towards the marine base in Jeavy town. The said building wasn't fully destroyed or crumbled to nothing, but instead was rearranged and modified to some sort of a deranged, artistic and not-safe-for-work building.
She sneezed, squinting her eyes before opening them back to read the epithet given to him. 'Surgeon of Death.' It sure befitting his appearance.
Well, the Death part is. She doesn't understand which part of surgeon was him. Was it because his sword's scabbard got Red Cross? –
"You're not taking me seriously, aren't you? Your eyes show you're occupied with something else," Loki growled, successfully snapping her back from drifting in her thoughts.
– "He's on the next island. We've got the information, and here's the log pose to there," her 'friends' informed her.
"I'll go there and get it done," she tried to take the log pose from him but he snatched it away from her reach.
"We're coming with you", he said, and the other two nosy 'friends' copied nodded.
'I told you I can do it by myself." Mirra's frown went deeper as she looked at them distastefully.
"It's captain's order. He doesn't want you to run away on this."
"Hmphhh, with his curse, I can go nowhere." –
"Hard to when your words remind me of something."
Mirra swung her sword horizontally, and ice overflowed from the tip but Loki managed to evade, encasing random plants in ice instead.
Somehow the two had shifted to a more spacious area. There isn't much of trees surrounding them so they have more freedom in mobility instead of having their weapons stuck at the bark every time they swing them. Ray is nowhere to be seen. Probably have been separated in the middle of the fight.
"You could've been working for someone else, waiting for the right time to strike and reach for your goal," Loki jabbed his spear forward few times, forcing Mirra to go backwards.
Mirra's eyes twitched in annoyance.
Oh, you got that right.
"So this fight is meaningless if we can find a compromise to this." Loki continued. He tried to influence her. "So what do you say? Let's stop this and work together? You can achieve whatever your goal is and I can convince my captain to give you a boat to leave this island, without him laying any fingers on you."
– "Kill Trafalgar Law. This is your new mission."
Mirra's grip tightened, eyes never leave staring at the surgeon that carefully unwrapped her healed palm, that was caused by her own 'friends'. Her captain's voice played in her brain, and she remembered how he wanted that man to die, from the way his bounty poster was stabbed at the middle of the face. –
Loki's smirk widened as he watched her stop barraging. She had her face bowed down so her hair was blocking her eyes so he couldn't see them. But he knows he got her this time. She will agree to it, and he didn't have to worry-
"Sorry, but I'm not interested in your offer."
Like a knife jabbed right through his heart Loki went wide eye.
Why?
Mirra kept her breathing steady despite the offer got her heart skipped a beat a moment ago. She knew she had just received a good offer there. An opportunity to get her done with her mission without risking her life much. And she's pretty sure third chance like this won't come again. Maybe this is a call from the God, telling her to do it now so it will save her from the coming punishment.
But she also knows. She damn well knows, that all this time all she has been doing is kill and run. It never end. She has to leave the ship, risking her life just for the journey to locate her target, and risking her life again to enact the plan. It's tiring. Where is her life heading to? Is there even any meaning to her act?
But she can't fail. She never want to fail. She don't want to face the punishment for failing to kill Trafalgar Law. She just has to complete the mission. And then she can go back. Back to the crew.
To the, crew..
Few scenes flash backed in her mind, like a card being flipped into her eyes one by one. She remembered all the threats she received every time she's back from a mission. She remembered reading in the news all the destruction caused by them whenever she's away and she couldn't stop it. She remembered all the pain reflected on the dull eyes of the women who got kidnapped by them. She remembered the vivid view of her bloody hands every time she looked at them.
And she remembered, she was sent to meet Trafalgar Law, in battered and injured condition, just to secure her placement in the sub.
And she's being receiving nothing in return for her work.
She can't stand this anymore. Completing the mission and go back to the crew only to do the same thing over and over again? Who's she bulshitting. She doesn't want to get tied to the crew anymore. She doesn't want to obey that guy anymore.
Trafalgar Law is not the person she has a score to settle with. It's her captain.
Killing Trafalgar Law is just a mission... A mission that I have decided to fail.. Because now, I have a new target for a new mission.
She is making the decision now.
And so she proudly shattered Loki's wishful hope for her to accept his offer.
Loki clicked his tongue, baring fangs as he twirled few times his spear behind his back, getting to his offense mode.
"Then I guess I'll end you here. Too bad, you should have probably agree to it, or leave the crew while you have the chance back then. Don't think I'm going easy on you."
After that said, he charged forward with all his strength.
- - -
Shachi stomped on the ground before he planted his feet on the grassy ground putting much force bringing to his abrupt stop. He'd finally found the cave, a big oblong rock standing out into the path that he'd been searching for the past minutes. He breathed out, hard. And the wind that whistled at the mouth of the cave brushed his red hair gently as he took a momentary pause before walking in.
The ceiling is high enough not to force him to bend down and the even walls make it easier for him to grip around while shuffled in. And he realized as he stepped more into the cavern the vicinity is losing its luminosity. But even so he has no trouble maneuver around the darkness, because he has enough practice with his shades and hat on even in the darkness of a night. The only problem that he could ever think of is if he got this cave wrong, and there's a wild animal sleeping inside and he'll be disturbing it with his unwelcoming presence while he hold no weapons at all.
Ventured even deeper into the tunnelling grotto suddenly the end seems to be tinged in dim orange. Witches, demons, trolls in firey leaves-clothes; he ignored his absurd thoughts and kept his focus forward. Then the sound of cackling fire slowly became apparent and the mellow smell of wood and smoky, ashed air brushed his nose, as he finally found the source of it.
From three meters ahead of his position the wall of the cave has burning torches attached to it heading to a direction. And the said direction has the sound or murmur of something that could barely heard. Shachi quickened his footsteps as he's getting sure of what's at the end of the path, and when he appeared from the sharp corner to a more brighter path where it kinda shaped in oval with five torches around it he got lost on words.
"W...what??" He mumbled to himself upon the view laid infront.
Penguin, in some sort of acrobatic pose has his teeth gnawing on chain, that tied around Bepo. His one foot pushed Bepo's by the shoulder, forcing him down, all the way down while his jaw pulled the chain upwards trying to make it slide up from Bepo's torso up to around the neck then up to the head and out.
"Nngghngmgggghhhhhh..." Came Penguin's low growl with his teeth grinding against the metal.
Not sure in what kind of universe Penguin thought that's a great idea but he's truly doing his best at the moment.
Bepo was the first to notice Shachi after the latter had silently stood there questioning his eyes, and he immediately called his name stopping Penguin's action mid track for him to see what's he seeing.
"Shachi!!"
"Dude, when did you get here?"
"What are you guys doing..?" The three spoke at the same time.
"Shachi help us!!" Bepo wailed, snapping them all back.
The chain forgotten, Penguin is quick on his knees scooting to his friend.
Shachi immediately react. He unlocked the chain around Penguin's wrist, and then on Bepo's and those around his torso that forming multiple layers and finally, on their laying unconscious captain.
"What happened to captain?"
Penguin flicked around his wrist to subside the ache after set free, and crackling his muscles to release some knots. "Not sure. He's been off since hours ago. It becomes worse now and hasn't react to my call like ever."
"Like ever? What do you mean? Be specific."
"I can't. There's no sun here I don't know how long we have been in here."
"Dammit. Then we better get going now. We need to get captain some help."
"Bepo, get up. Let's go." Penguin said, jerking at the chains around Bepo and tossed it away. Bepo still sat still, eyes changing glance from Shachi and Penguin before locked at the former, that currently wrapping their captain's arm around his shoulder and pulled him up to his feet.
"Shachi, why there's a three of you?" He asked in his low, bubbly voice.
Shachi whom stood with his captain propped against him cocked an eyebrow questioningly.
"Not this again..." He heard Penguin scoffing while shaking his head.
"What's with him?" He asked.
"Not good. Probably sedated, hasn't wear off. He's been this confuse and weak ever since he wakes up. If not it won't be a problem to have him break the chain with his strength."
Penguin explained, while Bepo stared at Shachi's head seemingly imagining a fish on it that he started to salivate.
"Stop that, dumbass. We got to go," Penguin slapped him by the back of his head.
Negativity befell on him and he apologized, "sorry", weakly.
If Penguin is not a patience man he'll be long snapped already and break his skulls against the cave.
"Just a heads up, we have traitors among us." Shachi said as he led the way. "James, Loki, Clione and Kyle. Don't bother talking to them. They are part of Gumbo pirates and their mission is to catch us."
But Penguin walked ahead of him and took the lead, since he's holding a burning torch.
"Our friends are handling the pirates at the moment. I think we can make it to the sub with our captain first." Shachi continued.
The flame flickered, and the shadow casted over Penguin's face.
"That's fuck up. But captain's safety is my first, they can run away for all I care." He finally said after staying silent a bit.
When they finally reach the entrance and stepped out of the cave they were surprised for the companions. Barith, and a dozen of his subordinates has been waiting for them. The light shone brightly on them and it even reflected at Barith's gold teeth, twinkling, when he pulled a wide grin.
"I see some mouses saving their captain. I don't think so behabehabehabeha!"
And his crew smugly grin, weapons pulled out from confinements, rested in hands, can't wait for some blood to spill.
Shachi's hold on Law tightened while Penguin threw away the torch in his hand, clicking his tongue. He got into his fighting stance, then casting a single glance to Bepo at his side.
"Bepo, can you fight them?"
The reaction was so quick but he didn't appreciate it.
"I'm sorry, I'm a useless bear." Like the whole negativity curtain befell on him again Penguin could see the dark purple gloomy aura surrounding him.
"I can't even smell them waiting outside, I'm very useless."
"Bepo, this not the time..." Penguin really wished Bepo could knock it off and be useful.
"What happened to our friends?" Shachi screamed ignoring Bepo and Penguin's situation.
The wicked grin never leave his face as the pirates cackled with laughter.
Shachi angrily eyed them.
"Oh, they are still there. Still fighting, I guess. Or maybe, already been wiped out by my crew! You think you can defeat my crew! You insolent brat, I have over 100 subordinates that can easily overpower yours!!"
Barith found joy in the despair look carried by the three that his mouth stretched so much till his eyes almost closed. His loud voice shaking the serenity of the forest. And like many other villains across the sea, his maniacal cackle rippling up through his belly, sending Shachi and the two the visceral needs to escape.
"Why don't you three put Trafalgar Law down?" Barith proposed. With mud encasing his hands, wobbled and readied to launch, a mutual agreement clicked in the Hearts' minds.
- - -
(Somewhere where the sub is….)
"Fuck, they destroyed my crossword puzzle collection!" Anko complaint over the railing. The hands that gripped the papers swung them in the air while Hiro down at the shore tossing the last of Barith's crew to a nearby pile of them.
"I'm surprised they didn't used them to wipe their ass after shitting," V spoke through the intercom after checking the submarine's system to ensure everything is alright.
(Meanwhile, at another side of the island of where Barith's ship is...)
Rain sat on an empty crate while his hand juggled an apple in his palm that he found in another crate ready to be carried into the ship. He bite it off, munching on the sweet fruit with Clione not far from him laying on the sand like a starfish. He took a quick glance at him before turned his gaze back to the sea not far from them continuing savoury the flavor. He knew Clione is lost in his world, because he caught his drifting mumble about 'where to go' and 'what to do now'.
- - -
Red liquid trailed down the tip of the blade.
The body laid still on the ground.
Blood pooled underneath.
The twitch stopped and the grunts died.
Mirra stood towering Loki's body, back facing her face as he lose the battle.
"You said you won't go easy on me. But you didn't make me put much effort too defeat you either." She mumbled to herself.
Her blade 'swoosh' in the air removing every single drop of blood from it before securely back to its sheath. And she casted another lone gaze to the body.
She didn't plan to kill him. Only to knock him out. But at the last minute when his own spear almost nick her neck she had pushed it aside with her blade and with a quick flick of her wrist her blade shifted position facing outward and she unconsciously delivered a clean slash to his torso. She kinda regret it, because the action wasn't what she planned. Though she is in danger herself but if possible, she wanted to solve things without killing people. How ironic because her mindset was actually the opposite to her tittle.
I'm sorry, Loki. If you still alive, I hope you can get yourself a treatment.
Mirra closed her eyes, sighing through her nose and she turned, walker away from the scene and start looking for either Shachi or Ray.
As she wasn't really far from where Shachi had ran off to she could find the cave immediately. She saw the silhouette of the rocky cave, and as she got nearer she heard Barith's voice, as he was laughing while his crew clashed against Shachi and his friends. The closer she got the clearer the view, and it was pretty obvious how unfair the fight is given that Shachi and Penguin we're fighting with bare fist while Barith's crew has weapons. Bepo at behind them more on evading Barith's mud rather than engaging in the fight.
Bullets are everyone's weaknesses. Sword, dagger and knife required close contact to hurt so it was easier to fend them off if they have the skills, unlike guns and pistols. So she doesn't want to fully approach them announcing "I'm here!!" and have all the attention and bullets shifted to her. That's stupid way to die.
So she carefully and silently stepped closer. Once she deemed enough she got to her stance, widening the distance between her two feet and got her body slightly crouching down. The blade was pulled out from the scabbard, the tip pointed to where the fight is and she inhaled deeply. What she's going to do next required deep focus and top notch accuracy, perfect timing and strong grip because a little bit off and she could be knocked out from the impact or caught the Hearts within the perimeter. So she has to focus. Freaky fucking foc-
Slap!
That's the price to a mosquito that tried to bite her face.
Once she back to her stance her focus returned. One eye closed, and a cold sweat trailed down her chin. For multiple times she relaxed her shoulder, and for each time particles of white ice slowly building. First at around her feet circling her place then it gradually climbed up in a twirling motion until it gathered at the tip of her blade.
It accumulated, more and more and cold breeze brushing her hair around and more and more until it stabilized, and a large, powerful avalanche of cold air burst out from the tip. The cold air travelled in high speed heading to where the tip of the blade aimed to, and in this case, the Gumbo pirates. And in a heartbeat it flash froze whatever it came into contact, encasing them in pretty, white ice, alive and non alive things included.
Barith went wide eyed, when the cold air hurdled at his back and anything behind him, the crew mainly, freeze inside a solid ice chunk. Words lost at the tip of his tongue and his eyes red blazing in anger, followed the ice trail that came after his crew earlier. It landed into a figure of a female that just came out from the bush, next to the frozen trail.
"Sorry... Did I interrupt something?" Mirra smiled gently. Cold mist could be seen coming out from her lips. And her left arm slightly shaking from the coldness along with some frost bites on the skin.
"What the fuck woman, you again!" He snapped.
Mirra's face crunched. "I'm not happy like you too, you two toothless stupid peg-legged third-rate pirate."
"Mirra-chan.."
At the light call of her name she turned to the person, saw that Shachi and Penguin are looking relief watching her. She reciprocated, foot stepped to head to them but Barith's mud suddenly launched and she stepped back instead.
"KILL HER! KILL HER NOW!! I WANT HER DEAD! ANYONE THAT KILL HER WILL BE REWARDED!"
He roared angrily.
And the remaining crew exchanged glances, worried at first but then find motivation to do so as they rushed to her.
Mirra ran in circle to avoid them, once or twice took a glance to the back for precautions. A shadow suddenly loomed over her, and she looked up, infront, to see the enemies jumped on her.
Mirra abruptly stopped, twisted her ankles and turned to the left as she continued running. A knife then suddenly flew right in front of her face and she backtracked. Two more are coming from her right so she grabbed her blade ready to pull it out but Barith's mud hurdled and locked her hands to the hilt and scabbard, rendered her from pulling it out.
"Ack!"
Her balance thrown off as the ground beneath suddenly turned to a mud pool. It locked her feet as well.
And from her peripheral vision she could see Barith is crouching with his hands in the ground-turned-mud and his never ending smirk.
Battle cries.
The two Gumbo pirates found their chance and they screamed in victory, swaying their sword and knife while she stood there helplessly, unable to free herself. She watched as their shadows growing bigger on her, and as she braced herself for the pain something knocked their breath out of their windpipe.
Shachi landed by her side, had kicked the pirate in the face sending him crashing to a tree. Meanwhile Penguin did a chopping kick on the other guy's back, plummeting him to the ground, breaking few teeth in the process, and casually stomped with one leg on his spine eliciting painful melody. A crackkkkk was heard and the guy howled more before losing conscious.
Mirra gazed up. And the two are in front with Shachi giving his back to her while Penguin is facing her.
"Th...thank you."
She didn't expect she will go stuttered. But their display of kicks earlier quite frightening.
"Mirra-chan," Penguin broke her daydream, "can you look for our captain for a while?"
Confused, "ee...ehh?" She uttered.
"Something is wrong with him, but we can't tell what caused it. Please look after him for a while. We are busy here." Penguin gently requested.
"But... You guys..? How about you guys then?" Her eyes drifted to the open gash across Penguin's chest.
"We have some score to settle with him," Shachi butted in, in all seriousness.
Penguin looked over his shoulder to Barith, then turned to join his best friend. Both are standing with their backs on Mirra. And at that moment, there's something more frightening about them.
A deadly dark aura started to form around them, almost similar to her white breeze that always circling her form whenever she's about to use her power. Only the difference is their aura isn't visible to naked eyes. It just a feelings, something that a person can feel without seeing it solidly. And Barith himself looked disturbed so she knew she wasn't imagining things.
"No one hurts our captain and walks away. And if anyone ever did," Penguin stopped.
"Then there's a Hell to pay!" allowing Shachi to continue.
Mirra didn't want to know what kind of expressions they had on. Just by looking at their back sent her alarming feelings, she didn't want to risk any.
Taking their request into consideration Mirra accept with a nod, "if you insist", at the same time she froze the mud around her hands and feet. Breaking them apart once they turned into ice she quickly run to Bepo, that currently gently holding his captain between arms.
"Don't you dare!"
Mirra could feel Barith shot another round of mud to her but again, Shachi and Penguin interrupted him.
When she reached Bepo and Law she didn't waste a time to ask for Bepo's wish.
"Do you want to fight with them or help me take Tra-san to the sub?"
Because if the bear feels the need to join the fight to get his revenge than she'll be fine to let him know that she could handle Law alone.
"I'll go with you. I don't think have much of strength. Furthermore captain is getting worse... I'm worry Mirra-san..."
Bepo cried.
Mirra nodded her head. Fluffy ball is stained with dried blood stuck to his fur and his suit is ripped and torn.
She's about to leave with Bepo, when her nose caught a sweet and delicate scent, mixed with light bitterness around them. She turned to face Bepo again, sniffing harder and the smell became stronger for some reason. It gradually became distinguable like someone had just pulled weed from the ground.
Bepo looked at her questioningly, at the motion of her nose scrunching and twitching around.
"Bepo, put Tra-san down for a while."
"Why?"
"Just do it.." Mirra urged.
Bepo cautiously did so, eyes not leaving her questioning behavior.
Mirra got on all four as soon as Law laid flat on the ground. She scooted closer to the ravenette's side as she sniffed harder.
"Did you smell something around Tra-san? Something sweet and bitter?"
She tucked her fallen hair behind her ears at the same time she bent forward to Law's body.
"…. Now that you mention it, I did. Why, Mirra-san?"
"Did he being fed with something? Or was close to something with this fragrance earlier?"
Law suddenly coughed, albeit still unconscious. He's looking pain. And Bepo became more nervous.
"Mirra-san, we need to go now. Captain need to be helped!"
"I know, but with what Bepo? Did you know the cause of this?" Mirra clicked her tongue, annoyed. At the same time she descended, putting her ear on Law's chest while two fingers pressed against his wrist.
The fast beat and the number of pulse she silently counted casted a frown on her face.
Hot..
She muttered to herself as her palm ran to his forehead.
She took a closer look at the pores on his forearms and cheeks.
Wasn't sweating... Something's disrupting his parasympathetic nervous system.
Again, she clicked her tongue.
"Mirra-san, what are you doing?" Bepo quietly pondered.
He was ignored.
Mirra meticulously checked over Law's body, to find any sign that could tell her what is going with him. She gently opened his eyelids, taking note of how his pupils are larger than usual, and looking hazy. Then she ran her fingers along his limbs, did a close inspections for all his visible cuts and swollen skin. But yet she still couldn't find the conclusion to her theory.
So she moved to his face again, parting Law's lips by slightly tilting his chin.
"Mirra-san?" Bepo once again inquired.
"Tra-san could be poisoned by something. His skin looking pale, his breathing irregular and forehead is burning yet he didn't sweat. On top of that his lips are dry and there's sweet fragrance lingering around him-"
She closed their distance and took a sniff out of his opened mouth,
Found it!
"Ingestion. Tra-san ingested something poisonous. There's a smell of unripe tomato inside his mouth. I can't do anything because I don't know much about medical thing. We need to get Barith to tell us what he had given him and find ways to remove it from his system. Manmade chemical poison usually corrosive and Tra-san won't make it in time if - B-Bepo!!"
"YOU!!!" Bepo already sprung on his feet at the mention of poison, forgetting that the red-haired still talking. "WHAT HAD YOU FEED MY CAPTAIN!"
He raged at Barith, putting a stop into his fight against Shachi and Penguin. Everyone has their eyes on him as he breathed out haggardly.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CAPTAIN?!!"
"Bepo, what do you mean?" Shachi called from a distance.
"Bepo, you need to get going now. Captain isn't safe here." Penguin voiced next.
Bepo promptly ignored them.
"Mirra-san said that captain was poisoned. Captain is looking bad and he has been in pain! What had you give to him!"
The fluffy screamed at the top of his lungs. And Shachi and Penguin became more enraged at the information.
At the same time Law coughed out blood and his breathing became worse but it went unnoticed by them.
"Behabehabeha!!! That girl is a smart one, eyy? Don't worry, give him a bit more time. And the hell will greet him, behabehabeha!"
The end of Bepo's fur rose, and his face turned red and his claws emerged from the tendon's reflexes. Seemingly his canine grows emerging from behind his lips but at the voice of Mirra calling him to calm down and get Law's back to the submarine he stopped, battling with his inner self before he got back to his priority.
"Take care, you two. Get back to the ship immediately once done!" Mirra shouted over her shoulder with Bepo following her close from behind, Law in his arms.
They retreated back to the shore.
- - -
Rain won't be giving out a girl's scream if it is not to the fact that a sudden cold wind just blasted out of the forest, flash froze everything that it came contact with while he just ten meters away from it, minding his own business aka relaxing and toying around while munching on fruits. Despite it leaved a scenic view, with how the ice formed an icy aisle from within the forest to the sandy beach but because it could've kill him had he been caught inside so it didn't do the justice.
He shivered, not sure whether it's from the fear or from the sudden drop of the temperature. And he along with the caught Gumbo pirates waited wearily for whatever beasts that caused it to show their faces.
Rain didn't expect the beasts to be a polar bear in an orange suit, whom carrying a sleeping long-legs creature in his arms, and a red-haired girl with the said hair swept to many directions.
"Oh great, you guys still keep some of them alive," Mirra sighed in relief upon meeting his eyes. She immediately got to his side (he still stood frozen), grabbed one of the Gumbos by the collar, yanked him up, and he elicited another girly scream that could rival Rain's.
"What happened to captain?" Xan popped out of nowhere and already by Bepo's side, much to the bear shock.
"What kind of poison you guys fed him?" Mirra shake the pirate.
"Beats me. I won't tell you a thing, bitch." He struggled to pull a smirk despite the fear.
Mirra pulled him closer, intimidated him to the best she could as she breathed out low, very close, making him squirm.
"If you don't tell me now your next hours will involve me plucking off your nails one by one, then cutting your limbs bits by bits and throw them into a tank infested with sharks and let you watch them feasting on your meats. And I promise that every single cut is just 5cm wide so I can cut more and more of you."
"N-no... You are...you are a monster." His face paled and twisted, scared.
"Shall we test it out?" Mirra unsheathed her blade, making it obvious to the guy's eyes how her blade glistened under the sun, eager to bath in blood. She reeked of evil, and purplish-dark aura surrounded her and he could feel it.
He shrieked for the third time wetting his pants forcing Mirra to step back a bit, but her grip never leaving.
"No use asking him or any of us, Mirra. Barith keeps everything to himself, and if anyone knows anything then it'll be Barith himself and his doctor."
Mirra turned her head to Clione, still glaring dagger before dropping the guy in his hand.
"And where is this doctor?"
Clione jumped slightly at the shift of her tremendous look to him. He quickly pointed to a guy, whom'd bathed in his own pool of blood, not far from them.
He's dead.
Mirra sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and sheathed back her blade without looking.
"B-but there might be some information on what kinda poison they used in the lab room. I can show you the room, maybe you can do something about it."
Clione sudden offer received many intense glare, Gumbos' and Hearts', and he questioned his ever purpose of existence.
And like their life has been bestowed by the God of Luck unlike many other side characters in the series their yellow submarine appeared next to Barith's ship. The sound of the roaring engine followed by V announcing their arrival through the mic though hardly heard due to the crashing waves and their distance made the Hearts on the shore leaped in happiness, relieved to get back their ship and at the same time knew their captain will get a better treatment using his equipments inside. Mirra shifted back her attention to Clione, then to the dead doctor. Internally she tired. But she has to keep her promise for her future plan.
"At least we have a starting. Get that notes you are talking about. Meanwhile we need someone to help me with Tra-san. Does anyone know how to conduct treatment? Putting the IV drip, draw his blood, read his heart's monitoring thingy, and so on?"
"Ray can assist you with that. Other than them, Shachi and Penguin, or probably Anko could do the same to. What's your plan, Mirra?" Rain questioned.
"We test his blood, figure out the poison, create an antidote and feed him."
"You know how?"
"Not really. While I do have some knowledge about natural poisons that due to plants and animals and how to treat them thanks to my idiot brother but if it's a chemical or manmade poisons then that, could be hard," she frowned.
"But if the said notes served as a complete information that I could extract from it and figure things out then maybe, with the right ingredients I could make something. This is the only chance we have. Unless... There are other doctor in Heart pirate?"
She cocked an eyebrow, looking expectantly at Rain, Xan and Bepo (the two latter had walked closer to her to form a circle and discuss, along with V, Anko and Hiro).
And from their expressions Mirra could tell her wish is too far off.
Naturally, for them to have Law as a captain and the doctor none bother to learn much about medical things. Their strength mostly channeled to something else, since Law himself made it obvious to leave everything involving doctoring and healing to himself. Sometimes he do have assistant if he's short handed when performing surgery, and some basics and first aid is normally teach to each of them. But this knowledge are not useful at the moment. And now when the only doctor in the ship goes down, the crew finally found that it is more important to have a second doctor instead of a laundry maker.
"We got to hurry then and get you the information. Would any of you follow me?" Clione broke the silence, not wanting to waste anymore time.
But the Gumbo pirates aren't satisfied with his decision.
They threw tantrum, started insulting Clione for being weak, double faced, boot lickers to Hearts and betrayal of Gumbo pirates. Clione retaliated, snapped from reaching his limit, and he grabbed the blade by his waist before randomly threw it to them.
The blade sink in the sand not hitting anyone, and they got silent.
Clione screamed, shouted, and cursed them as he expressed his regrets of ever following them, of ever becoming Barith's crew. He told them how he knew Barith was the cause of the destruction in his hometown, and all of them have been deceiving him and acting like a saint. If he could turn back the time.. If he could get back to the past... He rather die in the fire than be one of them. He rather die facing Barith knowing how weak he stood against them. And he would never, never, gives a damn to a guy like him!
Clione couldn't control his emotion and he started to tremble, and bickers rose from two sides so before it get noisier and annoying Rain shut Clione up, circling his arm around his shoulder and put his palm against his mouth as he turned him to face them all (the Hearts Mirra) again. Rain casually spoke,
"we have no time to waste, I'll go with you to get that notes. And if I found you do anything funny I'll kill you on the spot," as he glared down to the shorter male under him.
Clione nodded, sucked a full lung of air and swallowed harshly. His tears wet Rain's palm but the latter didn't seem to mind it.
- - -
Shachi skidded to the side before Barith's mud wave reached him. The splotches of mud here and there caused the ground slippery with 80% of them covered by it.
Barith let the knife Shachi threw - stole it from the unconscious Gumbos - flew through his eye with a splotch of mud falling. He hurled mud balls in Shachi's direction, getting his focus fixed on him. Penguin appeared from behind, above the air sending a kick to Barith's neck. Though it hits the target but like how Shachi's knife did no harm to his eye his neck fixed back to normal.
Barith's evil laugh scared the residents of the forest as they scattered away.
"That's all? And you think you can defeat me... So it all was a talk huh?!!"
Between his maniac and funny laugh Shachi and Penguin nodded to each other. This time they came out with a theory, and they are keen to prove it.
Penguin, running with his battle cry, brought his fist straight to Barith's face, earning a satisfying 'splosh' when his fist made contact. He barrage didn't end there as it continued, with the male throwing every kicks and punches he could come with. Knife-hand spear thrust, sideway chopping cut, 360 reverse kick, named it. And they all aimed at the same spot, Barith's head.
And as the head fixing itself, Barith brought his muddy hand to grab Penguin's face to suffocate him.
Penguin did his back flip, making a bridge and a leg shot upwards kicking him under the jaw splattering mud to the ground.
"Behabehabeha! How many times you're going to try?!! you can't hurt me -"
But Shachi suddenly appeared replacing Penguin's place, with a fist hurling to his stomach. Before it could make contact Barith jumped backwards. Shachi followed him and still trying to hit him again. And when he's about to drop sweep him Barith lifted himself up with a mud wave leaving Shachi kicking the mud instead.
"Behabehabeha! It's useless!!!"
Several mud-balls rained down like a bullet while he riding his mud wave. Some of them even globed his own crewmates and while their body twitched in suffocation Barith never batt an eye.
Merging their running path and finally side by side Penguin and Shachi immediately stopped, turned back and jumped high, high enough to be at the same height as Barith. Barith didn't expect that, and he isn't fast enough to react so their kicks hit him both in the chin and chest sending him plummeting to the ground.
And the satisfying crack he heard, probably from his sternum.
Shachi and Penguin sauntering to hin, he clutching his chest.
"It seems that we are right…"
"Wh-hat?"
"Somehow, you can only turn one part of your body into a mud at a time. Pretty weird since you are a logia. But it's an advantage to us."
"Play time is over, Barith." Penguin stepped closer. His lips curled upwards while he glared down, one eye visible to him. He's giving off a sure-real evil look.
Shachi copied his best friend, adding the sound of breaking knuckles as background track.
And Barith paled at their faces.
Shachi might be a cheerful person while Penguin is a laid-back one that used to go a little bit kinder towards his opponents. But when both are dead serious they can be the second version of scary Law. This, the Hearts confirmed.
- - -
Mirra pushed aside all of Law's stuff towards an end of the table to give much space to place the retrieved items that could hold the information to the poison.
Behind her Ray is drawing blood from Law's arm - found him getting lost in the forest after defeating James and not sure to head where - while Anko rummaging the cabinets looking for a certain drug. V barged in with a 5% dextrose in water IV, as per requested by the white-haired but he received an upside smack to his head, before he could connect it to Law. For sure he got the wrong one.
He was told to help Anko searching for an activated charcoal instead while Ray replacing the IV with the right one.
"Have you guys found the activated charcoal? Feed him with 50g of it. And monitor his heart rate and temperature. See if there's any indication it's slowing down after the ingestion." Mirra said earlier.
Cleverly V suggested where to find it quickly. "We have charcoal in the storeroom. Won't it be faster to take it from there?" He rose the question to Anko that currently searching in medicine cabinets.
"That's charcoal for our BBQ night. Don't get confused with activated charcoal. You are going to kill captain if you feed him that," Ray informed from the side. Thankfully he overhead the conversation. Otherwise thing will go bad.
"But Mirra, is it fine to give him that? We don't know how to deal with poisons and you are not a doctor too. What if it gets worse?" Anko asked in worry.
"I'm reading the doctor's journal." She flipped the page aggressively. "So far I didn't find anything saying he used alkalis or strong acids. The journal is filled with plants and venoms from animals."
Mirra's eyes made a quick scan over the text, never leaving the papers until a test tube with red liquid entered her peripheral vision, and she glanced at it seeing Ray reaching out the test tube to her face.
"It wasn't manmade chemicals so Tra-san will survive." She continued, then took the test tube from Ray's offer hand, gripping it tightly while another hand held the book opened by the spine of it.
"I gotta do the test." She referred to Law's blood in her hand.
"And just so you guys know Tra-san has been feed with the poison for three times so far. That activated charcoal will only prevent the adsorption of the chemicals from the third time of its ingestion, which was 3 hours ago. I can't guarantee for the other two."
"Th…then, the other two times? What happened?" V stuttered.
Mirra turned to him, snapping a glove that bigger in size than her hand as her eyebrows narrowed.
"They are currently happily binded to his blood cells and organs like a leech sucking on his blood."
V stood speechless.
"How did you know three times?" Anko sounded from afar after helping Ray set endotracheal intubation to feed the charcoal.
"I asked those pirates outside just now. Barith put them incharge to feed Tra-san the poison after certain hours."
Once done Mirra carelessly dropped the test tube containing Law's blood into the test tube rack, saved the remaining for other later tests while setting the other petri dish aside while waiting for the result of her test. And how she know how to do this? Ray just taught her a while ago.
She leaned forward, palms against the metal table as the book opened widely to he reading. She scrolled the last few information, taking a mental notes on what she found until she reached blank pages.
Huffing a deep breathe she smiled before turning to them again.
"I think I know what kind of alkaloids poisoned him. And the doctor's bookmark on certain pages is a give away."
She opened one of the pages, and showed to everyone in the room.
Everyone looked. And they saw lots of hexagons with letters at the side and lines connected to the point of the hexagons, some connected to another hexagons and they formed some sort of only-geniuses-could-read-this-pattern which they knew they didn't fall into the category so they are looking blur.
The only thing they could understand was the small section at the side of the book which listed symptoms of god-knows-what.
"So let's get things started. Someone gets me Dragendorff's, Mayer's, Wagner's... Ahh! And Hager's reagent. There's something I need to test."
She closed the book, a pap sounded as she tossed the book on the table and picked few empty test tubes. The non reaction given by them made her turn, as she looked questioning them by their statue state.
"We…. Don't know what those are." Anko mumbled lowly.
Ray agreed in a heartbeat while V scratched the back of his neck. Clione that had been standing near them but never in their way because he didn't know what to do shrugged his shoulder.
"Just read the labels. I'm pretty sure you can find those from the names. And Clione, get back to your ship and search those in your ship's lab. If the doctor has the poisons he should have the reagent too."
"Then I'll go with him!" Anko seemingly much enthusiastic to help finding the reagent from enemy's ship rather than being shrunk to little beans with empty head compared to the red-haired.
"Alright. I'll search for it." Clione spoke after a while. "But first, I need to jot down the names again."
A pan and paper randomly appeared in his hands, visible shock in Anko's eyes.
He clicked the pen.
"First, dragon fruit what???"
To be continued
Thanx for reading
- redheaded997 -