A Pirate's Life For Me! We Need A Musician!

Part 2 of a 4 Part Saga

by Aoikami Sarah

Chapter Thirteen – Harmony Vs. Lilly

Usopp ran around the perimeter of the room trying to avoid the electrical strikes generated by Nami's weapon of choice. All three of the Straw Hats under Lilly's Siren Song wore dour and unemotional faces. "Hold still, Usopp," Nami said plainly. "I can't kill you if you keep running around."

"That's the idea!" he shouted back. "What's come over you guys?"

Luffy grew tired of dodging Zoro and stretched his arms out behind him. "Gomu Gomu no…!" he called. "Straight Jacket!" The lengthened arms flew at Zoro and wrapped around him a few times. "Snap out of it, Zoro!" he commanded. "It's us! Don't fight us!"

Lilly laughed. "There's nothing you can do to stop them," she purred. "I am Lilly Marlene, The Siren!"

"The Siren!" Chopper and Usopp wailed. Luffy gritted his teeth. He was distracted again as Zoro growled and flexed, forcing Luffy's arms to stretch further and free him.

"I don't want to hurt you, Zoro," Luffy said seriously. "But if I have to knock you out, I will." He retracted his arms and frowned as Zoro put the Wado between his teeth. Unsheathing his two other prized swords, Zoro assumed a position and locked his eyes on his adversary.

Chopper blocked Sanji's kicks with his huge arms, but each one was so strong and jarring he was sure his bones wouldn't last another minute of abuse. "Sanji!" he cried. "Please stop!"

Usopp was getting tired of running. "Wait a second, I made the Clima Tact," he reasoned. "I can't get defeated by a weapon I made!" He turned and aimed his sling shot. "Take this, Tabasco Boshi!" The pellet filled with hot sauce met its mark, right between Nami's eyes. She cried out and dropped the weapon. "I'm sorry, Nami!" Usopp cried.

"Ah! My eyes!" she wailed. "Wait'll I get my hands on you!"

Usopp pulled a rope out of his bag. "I'm going to restrain those hands, thank you!" he said and while she was still blinded, tied her arms down to her sides.

Chopper and Luffy were not fairing as well against their opponents. Lilly continued to laugh. Her attention was rapt on the events unfolding in her little court. "What a marvelous show! What strange folk these pirates are!" Her two identical servants leaned on their elbows and watched, each with a wide grin that mirrored Lilly's.

"Oni…" Zoro growled.

"Zoro… Stop!" Usopp shouted. Luffy prepared for the worst.

"…Giri!"

"Vingt Fleur!" Robin's voice cut through the din. Ten of her hands sprouted on Sanji and ten on Zoro, restraining their movements and saving Chopper from being broken and Luffy from being diced. She stood in the doorway on the other side of the room with her arms crossed over her chest. "Now, Harmony-chan!"

From behind the large throne on the dais, Harmony dashed in front of Lilly Marlene and opened her mouth. Usopp, Chopper, Robin and Luffy held their breath. "Please let them go!" she bellowed at Lilly from only a few feet away. Her voice sounded as if it were being broadcast from every corner of the room and echoed with a decay like harmoniously breaking glass.

Lilly was dumbstruck. Zoro and Sanji relaxed and Robin released them.

"What…?" Sanji asked putting his foot on the ground. "What possessed me to do that…!"

"That Jellyfish woman, I bet" Zoro growled, sheathing his swords.

Luffy pounded his fist into his palm. "I'm gonna kick her ass!" he shouted.

Robin stepped forward and helped Usopp untie Nami. "This is Harmony's fight now, Captain. She's the only one who can counter the power of the Siren. If she doesn't defeat her, Lilly Marlene will be able to enslave us all with a word."

Lilly's white face flushed purple as she stood up. Her full height towered over the thirteen year old girl. "Harmony," she cooed. "There's my little prodigy! I was so worried about you!"

"Why are you trying to hurt my friends?"

"These people? They're pirates, my dear."

"Pirates aren't all bad. What you're doing is bad."

"I'm only looking out for your well-being."

"Vivace told me. You're only looking out for yourself. You force-fed me this Akuma no Mi because you wanted a strong right-hand, not because it was what was best for me!"

Lilly took a deep breath. She realized she couldn't sweet-talk her way back into the girl's good graces. "This is how you repay my hospitality…?" she asked slowly, her voice like a string quartet chirping, digging and building. "You're nothing. A speck. A child. Nothing. I could toss you into the ocean and no one would weep for you."

Harmony backed away. "Robin Nee-chan, I can't do this…" she said at a whisper.

"Yes you can, Harmony-chan!" Robin rooted for her. "She's manipulating you. You can defeat her!"

"Don't listen to that Jellyfish, Ojou-sama!" Sanji shouted. "We would never let you get tossed into the ocean!"

"Kick her ass, Harmony!" Luffy cheered. The others cheered and gave their support to her.

Lilly ignored them. She stepped toward Harmony, her anger rising with each passing second. "You were the one. I gave you that power and you use it against me!"

Harmony squeezed her hands into fists. "I never wanted this power…" Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I just wanted to make music and make people happy. You took that away from me…" She lifted her chin. "You won't tell me what to do anymore!"

Lilly seemed to come to a boil. The veins in her neck stood out as she took a deep breath. Quickly and with the same gusto, Harmony did the same. They began to sing.

"You were supposed to be by my side!"

"You promised me safety and you lied!"

"Together we would rule the Grand Line!"

"I don't want anything of the kind!"

"I am much stronger, much better than you!"

"You haven't yet seen just what I can do!"

"I will subdue you for once and for all!"

"And I tell you it's you who will take the falllllllllll!" Harmony insisted. The Straw Hat pirates covered their ears as she pushed the note from the word 'fall' up two more octaves. The frequency of the note her voice produced, coupled with the Akuma no Mi power was almost deafening. Lilly Marlene struggled to match it. After about twenty seconds, the older woman's voice cracked. At the same moment, the huge windows behind them shattered and fell to the ground in a rainbow of stained-glass shards.

Lilly dropped to her knees and clutched her throat. She tried to speak, but nothing more than a scratchy squeaking issued forth. The pirates pulled their fingers out of their ears and applauded Harmony's performance.

"Now!" Luffy said, approaching the defeated siren. "I'm gonna send you flying with a kick!"

The twin women who had been at her side looked lost and confused.

Zoro touched the hilts of his swords. "How 'bout you two? You wanna fight?"

"Fight?" Vivian asked.

"Where are we?" Olivia wondered.

Harmony pouted. "It seems they were being used, too. I wonder if she has any real friends."

"She's got me!" Vivace's loud voice startled them. She ran toward Lilly from the side door and put her hands out in front of her. "Sicurezza Bolla!" A bubble formed around Lilly and accepted Vivace as she ran into it.

"Oh no you don't!" Luffy shouted. "Gomu Gomu no…!" He reeled his foot back and aimed for the bubble containing the two women.

"What's he going to do!" Harmony cried.

Sanji grinned. "Don't worry, Ojou-sama, he's gonna make the bad guy go away."

"He's kind of good at that," Nami agreed with a grin.

"…Shooter!"

Vivace screamed as Luffy's foot connected with the bubble, pressed into it a bit and sent them flying out through the broken stained-glass window. Her scream faded off into the distance.

More to come...