Chapter 12: Knives and fire
Zolo ran towards the icy wind and shivered. It was so cold all of a sudden. He could hear shouts and a scream of pain. Sounds like Mystery was fighting back, whoever was fighting her. Luffy stumbled and Zolo pushed him on, keeping him in front because Luffy had been lagging.
"Zolo. It's s-so c-c-c-cold." Luffy squeaked. Zolo nodded. He had to agree with Luffy there. There was a large laugh and they burst out to find a man in front of them, billowing cape settling as the cold air warmed again. Luffy gasped in shock and Zolo rushed over to where Mystery was. Except it wasn't Mystery. It seemed like it was the evil side, but, her eyes. They were green mixed with purple and her hair if you looked closely was a touch less red than before. She was still standing, blades sparkling in the ice. If Zolo hadn't seen the slight shivering and the colour of the body, he would have thought it was just a statue. The man in the cape laughed again. Zolo turned to face him.
"What have you done and why?" he asked nastily. But the man didn't have a chance to answer as Luffy slammed into him from the side. The man went flying, his cape flapping in the wind until he dropped to the ground. He groaned and then got up, spitting out more blood. He glared at them, his eyes that poisonous green that seemed to glow in the dark. Zolo pulled out his swords and settled himself into a battle stance.
"I have just cast my revenge on your 'friend'." he said as cold air began to rise of his back.
"What did she ever do to you?" Luffy demanded. The man laughed.
"She saved my life…or so she thought. But, enough talk. Let's get this over with so I can finish Saccharine off." he said.
"Fine by me." Luffy said and then cracked his knuckles. The man laughed.
"Monkey D Luffy. See if you can beat me, and save your friend before she dies." he hissed and leapt forward. Luffy ducked as the man sliced over his head with his ice blades.
"Cursed fruit powers!" Luffy screeched and jumped back, dodging another slice from the man.
"Absolutely kid. Much like your Gum Gum powers, rubber boy." he said as he back flipped away from Luffy's punch.
"I don't care what you think, I'm gonna beat you. I don't care that you have weird Ice powers, heck, I don't even care about your name. You hurt my friend and I can't allow that to go unpunished." Luffy yelled. The man laughed again.
"For your information, my name is Odium." the man said as he sidestepped to avoid a kick.
"I said I. Don't. Care!" Luffy yelled pulling his arms back for a Gum Gum blast. He sent his two fists forward and they collided with Odium…and went straight through.
"Huh? Oh great! Another one who I can't hit!" Luffy screeched as his arms snapped back into place. Odium laughed, his eyes dark as he let the hole in his stomach turn back into body. His cape flared up around him as he let the cold air rise.\
"Ha ha ha! You won't be able to stretch much longer, after all, rubber freezes like everything else!" he yelled and laughed like a maniac as the winds swirled around him. Luffy backed up a step and shivered.
"I w-won't l-let you h-hurt my f-friends." Luffy said his teeth chattering. Odium laughed even harder if it was possible.
"You don't have a CHOICE!"
Zolo sliced carefully at the ice, carving around Mystery until there was a thin sheen of ice. Mystery was shivering and turning pale. He had to get her warm…but how? He looked over and spotted the guy who had called himself Odium, was it? He had a cape that looked like it would be pretty warm. But how was he gonna get it? It flared up every time he moved. Pretty restricting if Zolo guessed right. He needed to get the guy involved in a series fight, and Luffy was the one to do it. Zolo watched as they dodged each other.
Luffy's arms came back, coming close to Zolo but the swordsman didn't flinch as the arms stopped and then snapped back again, but they didn't hit. He thought they did but, this guy must have used whatever cursed fruit power he had to avoid it. Zolo clenched his teeth as Mystery shivered again. Soon she would loose consciousness and that would be it. She would die. He winced as cold winds whipped up again, sending a shiver of apprehension down Zolo's spine.
"Luffy…" Zolo whispered. If the boy didn't come through, if something happened? He set his jaw, Luffy would win. He always had, he always would.
"Mystery, come on, you have to get out of this. If you don't, you'll die."
I…I can't. Mystery sighed, sinking towards the blackness.
"Mystery! Wake up! You're the only one who can defeat him. We're the only ones. We have to join completely"
Can we?
"Yes. I will give you back your memories and…you can give me back mine"
But, I don't have any.
"You do, but you've suppressed them. Just like I have suppressed yours. Look, Luffy's fighting for us, and Zolo is hacking at the ice. We can be free…we just have to break free"
What are you?
"I am you." Mystery's eyes widened and she finally understood. Saccharine wasn't another person, or a ghost inside of her, she was her. All she had ever been. She nodded.
"Let's do this." Saccharine quietly hummed and then her eyes flashed, turning a blinding blue. Her hair floated off of her back and rose into the air, also changing into a blinding white. The ice lifted from her body and her mouth opened wide. Memories flooded through her mind.
Lying in the cold of the gutter, neglected by her parents. Straining to find food and only finding a weird fruit thing that tasted pretty yucky. Blades flying from her hands and slicing into a black haired man that had tried to take advantage of her.
Then a boy. A young boy leaning over her.
"Are you alright?"
"Run kid, this isn't the best place for you to stay right now. Don't worry about me, it's just a scratch. Now go!" And she heaved herself up. Cold steel rested in her hands and now she knew what it was, and she knew why she had to swing it. The blades came up and struck the scarred face down.
"You hurt the poor boy. I don't like it when small people are hurt. I don't like it when anyone is hurt!" She yelled. Her eyes flashed that blinding blue and her heart hammered as she killed him. Then the boy was left glaring at her, his eyes green.
"You killed my daddy." he said accusingly.
"He deserved it." she replied. "How old are you?"
"7." he replied as tears coursed down his cheeks.
"You're the same age as me. What's your name?"
"My name? S-skip." and he began to bawl. She hurried over and took his shoulder.
"It's okay. Well, I'm Saccharine. I have to go now. Goodbye." she said, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running off, her small, lanky frame betraying how fast she was.
Mystery opened her new eyes, looing around at the world like she knew what she had always wanted to know. Who she was. She let her chin drop to her chest and swung her hands up so the blades melted and then she looked straight at Odium, as the winds whipped around. Luffy was caught in the middle. Mystery disappeared in a flash, grabbed the captain and hauled him out of that dangerous area. She left him beside Zolo, who was wide eyed.
"Get him warm. Hug him." she whispered and smiled. Zolo nodded and did as he was told, hugging Luffy to his chest after slipping his swords into their sheaths. Mystery smiled and turned to Odium who was glaring at her. She smiled.
"Hello Skip. It's been a while." she said quietly. Odium paused and then frowned.
"My name is Odium. I am not Skip anymore. Skip died with my father." he snarled. Mystery shook her head.
"But, Skip was such a sweet boy. Or at least, that's what I remember. You're the same age as me aren't you? You can still stop this. I am not speaking to Odium, or Affable, I am speaking to your heart, because that is whole. It is a part of you." She said walking slowly forward. Odium took a step back, tripped over the back of the cape and landed on his butt on the hard ground. Mystery leaned down over him.
"Please? I don't want to hurt you." Mystery said.
"Mystery…" Zolo said warningly behind her. Mystery didn't even glance back at him.
"Please?" she repeated and held out a hand. Odium gazed up at her, his green eyes softening. He took her hand and she began to pull him up.
"You should have learnt the lesson ages ago." he hissed and turned his hand into a solid ice blade. "Don't trust anyone." he hissed and made to plunge the blade into her stomach, but he stopped, his eyes wide. He looked down and saw blood slowly creeping down his front from three long slashes. Mystery sighed and let him fall against her. The blood slowly crept over her hands as the blades she had used melted into the air.
"I'm sorry." Mystery whispered as tears fell from her beautiful eyes. The boy looked up as his eyes changed to blue.
"Yeah. Me too." he said and then his lids closed and the last shuddering breath left his body as he died. Mystery fell to her knees and cradled his head in her arms, sobbing for all she was worth. She hadn't wanted him to die. She hadn't needed him to die. But he was.
She rocked back and forth as all the grief found it's way out. Mystery had caused this. She knew she had, but, because of this boy, she had become a whole person again.
