Varvula: As the New Year is creeping closer, it's time for New Years Resolutions.
Peace: It also means, fireworks, and parties.
Raven: Are we talking about birthday parties, or Raid, crazy, wild drunken parties?
Peace: The first one~!
Varvula: Well my New Resolutions is to single handily take down a Legendary Pokemon.
Freddy: Where are you going to find one in this world?
Varvula: I'll find a way Freddy. I always find a way.
Yang: Well, mine is at least realistic. I'm going to kick that Scarlet Knight butt into next week! I'm going to show that woman not to mess with a Woo Foo warrior.
Gwen: You're still angry about the strawberry incident.
Yang: How was I supposed to know there was sign that said; No animals allow at the store. I was a paying customer!
Raven: My New Years Resolution is to get a kiss from Dovan before Sanya does.
Freddy: Quit interesting, that fits into my resolution. Practicing my jump scares transformations and I know who I will be scaring next year.
Raven: Ah crap.
Peace: My New Years Resolution is to have another year full of peace and love.
Raven:…
Yang:…
Sanya:…ZZZ~!
Yang: Yeah, Sanya speak for itself, that's freaking weak.
Varvula: Yeah, especially since those guys are going to be after us every single day.
Peace: Well, what about controlling a giant heroic robot~!
Varvula: Okay that I can believe.
Freddy: We better get to the chapter. Gwen and Sanya can say their resolution at the end.
Varvula: Hope you guys have a good New Years Eves.
Chapter 24: Aloha Accelerator
Neither Luffy nor the others expected someone to absorb a massive pillar of electricity from the sky. Another pillar of electricity enveloped Kaito, Luffy and Connis before they were able to catch their breath. Everyone felt the Island Clouds trembling from the sheer force. Once the light faded, everyone stared in disbelief at the massive crater it left behind.
"What the hell was that!?" Sanji managed to speak first.
"D-DEATH~!" Kirika yelled in horror at the large crater. "Look what it did to the Island Cloud~!"
"That is so destructive," Minori replied, hinting a bit of shock.
"To think a god would be able to launch not one but two pillars of electricity," Kuroko stood in place staring at the aftermath in disbelief. "I hate to admit it, but it might be able to surpass sissy's Railgun."
"MISS CONNIS WHERE ARE YOU!?" Sanji shouted.
"LUFFY! CONNIS!" Usopp yelled.
"That's what happens when you defy the all mighty Eneru," One of the bystanders said sadly.
'So that's why they were scared,' Kuroko thought while eyeing the civilians. 'If they disobey their God, will he punish them like that?' What kind of God does that to his people?'
"DO NOT FEAR!" A familiar voice announced from above them. "THEY ARE SAFE!"
The others noticed Luffy, Kaito, and Connis were riding on a certain odd looking horse, being flown by Gan Fall aka, the Sky Knight.
"D-Death~!" Kirika's eyes widened upon noticing him. "It's the weird old man desu~!"
"Me, weird?" Gan Fall almost fell off Pierre from her comment. "No, I am the Sky Knight, friend. And this one's on the house."
"Thanks for the save, Sky Knight," Kaito nodded as he jumped off right after Gan Fall tossed Luffy off.
"Thank goodness that Miss Connis is safe," Sanji breathed in relief.
"And she will remain so under my watch," Gan Fall proclaimed. "You have my word! I shan't allow Eneru to harm her."
"Thanks Sky Knight!" Luffy acknowledged.
"Now that you've seen the scope of Eneru's power and anger, what are you going to do next?" Gan Fall quizzed.
"The same thing we are gonna do from the start," Luffy answered. "Go to the Upper Yard and rescue our friends."
"...I see," Gan Fall nodded in approval. "May luck be with you!"
Pierre cawed as they flew off. While the others were waving at Gan fall and Connis, Minori noticed Kaito was already gone. "Where did the goatee guy go?"
"Man~! My clothes are all wrecked," Kaito grumbled as he returned to Angel Beach to wait for Maki. "Damn that Eneru!"
"That's what you get when you take on a surge of electricity," Maki sighed.
"Where's Gonta?" Kaito asked.
"He's already in the Upper Yard," Maki answered. "He noticed some fights going on there and wants to make sure no one gets hurt."
"That's like him," Kaito grinned. "We'd better get moving too."
"What about them?" Connis asked. Pierre flew the two away from Lovely Street. Connis held onto Gan Fall with a sad expression.
"They have chosen their own course," He replied. "Do not blame yourself, child."
"I...I know who you really are…" Connis said.
"Of course," Gan Fall said. "I am the Sky Knight...it's not a secret."
"No it's...we all know, "Connis said quietly. "Please come back to us…
…God."
The Skypiea civilians watched in shock as Luffy's team were preparing to head to the Upper Yard. He along with Sanji, Kirika, and Minori were boarding on the Little Crow.
"Good luck you guys!" Usopp waved at them while on the shore. "Hop aboard, get comfy and I'll give ya a good pu-."
In a split second Usopp found himself on the boat, without even moving an inch. He glared at Kuroko who smirked. "DAMN IT! I HATE WHEN YOU DO THAT!"
Luffy pushed his foot down on the pedal. "Upper Yard here we come~!"
"NOOOO!" Usopp screamed as he hung on the rudder.
"T-They went…" Mckinley shuddered, watching the six leaving the Cloud docks. "Without any fear or hesitation."
The Little Crow sailed through Gate #2 leading to the Milky Road. There was little awareness of the danger they were about to face.
Multiple shockwaves were heard around the clearing as the two artificial Dragon Slayers clashed in a fierce hand in hand combat. While Shervan had to deal with the slight disadvantage of Dimanu's Sea Prism Stone element Dragon Slayer, that didn't stop him from blocking and countering his blows.
During the fight, Shirabe skated around them at a safe distance. She was waiting for a slight opening to launch her attack on Dimanu. 'I need to be careful. He managed to eat my yo-yo last time.' Shirabe strategized in her head.
"You certainly aren't a pushover," Dimanu acknowledged as he dodged the punch aimed at his head and prepared to swing his own fist. Shervan quickly crossed his arms, blocking an incoming right hook, skidded back from the force of it. "But I'm not looking for punches from you."
"You said that you were the first person to ever escape from Crimson Blood right?" Shervan remarked. "When there were tons of powerful soldiers, how did you manage to escape?"
"If you want me to talk, then you'll have to beat it out of me first," Dimanu declared. Shervan prepared himself as Dimanu's right arm transformed into a large steel harpoon. "Sea Prism Dragon Harpoon!"
He extended his harpoon straight at Shervan who rolled to the side to avoid it. Before Dimanu could react, he was bombarded by hundreds of small tiny buzz saws, by Shirabe who released them at a safe distance. His clothes were shredded by the buzz saws, but his body only left minor scratches.
"Don't worry I haven't forgotten about you skater girl~!" Dimanu called out.
"Delta Sky Dragon: Claw~!" Shervan's leg engulfed in green wind, and swerve his body to launch a kick aimed at the boy's head. Dimanu duck from the kick, and his right arm morphed into a dark grey metallic dragon-like claw.
"Prism Stone Dragon: Devil's Claw," Dimanu clenched his claw hands, and punched Shervan in the stomach, sending him into the trees. Once he dealt with Shervan, Dimanu then wasted no time charging towards Shirabe.
Shirabe was startled by how fast the boy was, easily closing the gap between them. She quickly skated away just as Dimanu swung his metallic claws. While she managed to escape the attack, Shirabe was stunned when she witnessed the tree behind her sliced into three pieces like they were paper.
"Oops might've gone overboard with that," Dimanu commented, glancing at the tree.
'I might've been dead if I didn't dodge it,' Shirabe shuddered. She swerved around to face the dragon slayer. Her twin tail compartment unfolded wielding a pair of larger buzz saws.
Reverse Gamma Style: Reckless Swastika Finish
Dimanu whistled impressively at her, "Way to impress me skater girl. Is that just for show?"
Feeling a bit insulted, Shirabe responds by hurling the two spinning buzz saws towards Dimanu. The Dragon Slayer licked his lips, "You must not have learned from your first atta-."
"Aero Armor," His eyes widened when Shervan flew near the buzz saws, and created a light green wind coated armor around them. Not only trying to stop Dimanu from eating Shirabe's weapon but caused them to increase their speed towards him. Alarmed, Dimanu quickly brought his metallic claw above him, and flung it downward, spiking the buzz saws into the ground. He didn't react in time to notice Shervan in front of him.
"Delta Sky Dragon, Wing Attack," Shervan swung his hands generating a light green whirlwind, hurling Dimanu in the air.
Not giving him any room to retaliate, Shirabe threw both her yo-yos towards Dimanu. The pink glowing threads constricting around his body, trapping his arms. She then skated behind the airborne Dragon Slayer, with her arms above her head and hand gripping on the string. She brought them downward, hurling Dimanu downward as he crashed into the ground head first. When the dust cleared up, the two noticed Dimanu lying on his stomach, motionless.
"There's no way…he can get up from that," Shirabe spoke in between breaths.
"..." Shervan quietly stared at the crater Dimanu was in, looking high alert.
"...Heh not bad,"
Shirabe let out a small gasp as he heard the dragon slayer's voice. Dimanu got to his feet, with a wide grin on his face. Shervan quickly went in front of her, determined to protect her from the crazy boy.
"I gotta say, I'm enjoying this," Dimanu chuckled manically. "I was hoping to take out the skater girl first. But I wasn't expecting you to enchant her buzzsaws…So that's the power of the Delta Sky Dragon Slayer."
"So, do you emit defeat?" Shirabe weakly asked.
"Defeat?" Dimanu repeated. "...
…
…PFT…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!"
The two were startled when Dimanu began laughing hysterically. He had his left hand over his forehead facing upward, leaning back, like he was about to fall. While it was eerily creepy for Shirabe and Shervan, it didn't last long as he stopped laughing instantly, taking one last breath, puffing his cheeks.
"Sea Prism Dragon…Roar~!"
Before the two could react, they were consumed by the massive funnel of Prism Stones shards fired from Dimanu's mouth. The two screamed out in pain as the funnel continued onward toppling a few trees in the process.
"See how destructive sea prism stone is when it is a Dragon Slayer Element?!" Dimanu announced, grinning. After a few seconds of silence, he called out again. "Come on, you two aren't done yet are you?! Are you two angry about my trick?"
Right after he finished his sentence, Shervan and Shirabe flew downward towards him from above, both of them were injured from the unexpected roar attack. Shervan's left leg engulfed in a large cluster of green wind, spinning in circle motion like a drill. Shirabe unfolds the gears on her legs, releasing a large buzzsaw spinning viciously.
"Delta Sky Dragon/Sigma Style~!" The two shouted in unison. Shirabe became so engrossed in the moment that she shouted her attack name while holding Shervan's left hand. Similar to when she did it with Kirika. "Cyclone Drill/Blade Fall~!"
Dimanu brought his metallic claw arm in front of him, colliding with the union raid of wind-like drill and a large spinning buzzsaw. Developing a massive amount of sparks between two on one, both pushing for dominance. Dimanu was able to withstand the two with his dragon arm claw. However his claw began to crack from the pressure, warning him of its impending collapse.
"Ah crap," Dimanu cursed after his claw shattered, causing the two to land their respective attacks simultaneously in his stomach, knocking him to the ground in a dust cloud. After their attack landed, Shervan flew a good distance while carrying Shirabe. The two were breathing heavily from the injuries they received from the roar.
"Did...we get him?" Shirabe asked, looking alarmed.
"I-I hope…so," Shervan replied sternly, while staring at the cloud of smoke.
"Man, you two didn't hold back," The two tensed up when they noticed Dimanu emerged from the dust cloud. His clothes were shredded by attack, yet no cuts were shown. "If it weren't for my body being prism stone, I would've died from that."
"His body is made of prism stone?" Shirabe repeated, a bit stunned. 'No wonder he's able to tank our attacks. How are we supposed to beat someone like him?'
Dimanu eyed them curiously. "So...you guys want to continue or am I interrupting your date?"
It took them a while to realize they were still holding hands. Blushing, Shervan and Shirabe immediately let go while turning away from each other.
"Accelerator?" Hime gasped shocked, but turned into irritation. "What the heck was that?! You got a lot of nerve, scaring us like that!"
"..." Accelerator uttered no words. Instead, he moved forward and placed his hand on the side of the tree.
"Um...what is he doing?" Coral asked curiously.
"Accelerator…?" Hime called out again.
The Level 5 esper's right arm sunk into the trunk of the tree, giving warning signals to Misaka. "EVERYONE GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
"Huh?" The four oddly stared at Misaka.
Which was a very big mistake.
Accelerator grinned wickedly as he uprooted the massive tree out of the ground. The thudding noise got everyone else's attention bewildered by his action.
"DID HE JUST UPROOTED THAT TREE WITH ONLY ONE HAND?!" Hime exclaimed in horror.
"Y-You're kidding?" Chris grits her teeth in disbelief. "I know he's supposed to be the top dog, but that's a bit much!"
"So I guess being a powerful esper ain't just talk," Gajeel started with a grin on his face. He clasps his hands together above his head forming a gigantic iron sword. "Give it your best shot. fake!"
Knowing that Gajeel was challenging him, Accelerator then launched the giant tree at the group. The others minus Gajeel, scattered away from the path of the tree. Despite how large it was, it accelerated quickly towards them like a bullet.
"Karma Demon Iron God Sword!" Gajeel swipes the large sword down on the incoming tree, slicing it in half. Although Gajeel was successfully able to stop the tree by splitting it apart, he noticed that a chunk of iron zipped past him, barely cutting his cheeks. Once the dust cleared, Accelerator was left unharmed, grinning like a maniac. As fear suddenly arose in Gajeel, he just froze in place. 'Shit! Why am I getting scared of just a fucken copycat!?'
"MOVE~!" Gajeel felt himself being pushed by Cure Princess just as a boulder flew by where he was standing.
"Phew that was a close one," Princess sighed once she stood up.
"Yeah, thanks for nothing!" Gajeel grumbled, getting back to his senses.
"You should be a little more grate-!"
ZAP!
The two didn't notice another boulder aimed at them until a powerful railgun flew into the boulder, destroying it completely. Princess and Gajeel had to cover themselves from the remains of the boulder.
"This is no time to be bickering!" Misaka yelled from the other side with Chris and Coral. Misaka then glared at the imposter of her nightmare.
"Is she still following us?!" Hibiki asked while running. She and Hibiki have been chased by Koura, who leapt onto branches to catch up.
"I think so," Cynthia answered, picking up her scent. The two saw the girl leaping over them and landed in front of them.
"Surrender, there is no escaping me," Koura declared with a deadpan expression.
"In that case~!" With her fist enlightened with dark flames, Cynthia lunged at Koura and landed a solid hit on Koura's cheek. Koura wasn't expecting a direct blow, causing her to stumble back a bit.
"Huah~!" Hibiki leaped up towards him and followed it up with an axe kick to Koura's head, slamming her face first into the ground. She then jumped back beside Cynthia while Koura laid motionless. "Well, that was easy."
"Yeah," Cynthia boasted a bit. "I was hoping for a bit more of a challenge. Or maybe we're that go-."
HISSS~!
In a blink of an eye, a purple blur flew past Hibiki and struck Cynthia's left arm, causing her to scream in pain. Hibiki's eyes widen when the blurred purple turns out to be a big purple, pit lash viper, clamping it's jaws down on Cynthia's left arm.
"CYNTHIA~!" Hibiki shouted. Once it bit Cynthia, it released its fangs off of her arm and retreated back to Koura's side who was on her feet. Her appearance looked different as black curled up horns appeared on her head, and her arms and hands morphed into menacing paws.
"I won't fail..." The girl muttered, sounding more masculine. Her slit shaped eyes glared at the two dangerously. "I won't fail big sis!" Koura rushed at Hibiki and rammed her head into her stomach, launching her back. Cynthia winced from the bite mark, but chased after them.
"Grrr~!" Hibiki grit her teeth. Right before Koura could ram her, she caught hold of her horns, but was easily pushing her back. She planned her feet to the ground, stopping their momentum and flung her out to the side. Koura flipped on her feet planted to the tree trunk and lunged at Hibiki with her arm pulled back. Hibiki did the same with her right arm as the two fists collided, emitting a powerful shockwave. Both of them skidded back but charged at each other engaging in hand in hand combat. Hibiki was on the defensive blocking Koura's quick jabs and kicks, finding no openings. "Just…who are you?"
"My existence doesn't matter," Koura replied with no emotion. "My sister gave me an order to capture you. There will be no failure in my mission, because I'm a good boy!"
"Good boy?" Hibiki blinked oddly.
Koura's snake tail is about to sink its fangs into her neck, but she snatched the snake by its neck. Hibiki began to spin Koura by the tail, and tossed her towards Cynthia.
"Just because you stunned my arm doesn't mean I'm out," Cynthia shouted as she somersaulted into the air, with her legs click together. "Omega Fire Dragon Drill."
"GAH~!" Koura screamed the moment Cynthia's flaming foot slammed into 'her' stomach. She then grit her teeth, raised her large paws and struck Cynthia in the stomach plummeting the girl into the ground. Hibiki boosted herself up with her gear towards Koura, and punched her in the face. Koura skidded a bit backward after landing on her feet.
"Okay, I take it back," Cynthia groaned as she got back on her feet. "She's a lot tougher than I thought."
"Yeah, he kind of reminds me of Chopper," Hibiki mentioned Koura's transformation.
"But what kind of animal has a snake-like tail, goat horns, and cat-like paws?" Cynthia asked a bit confused, but then blinked in realization. "...Wait, did you just say he?"
"That is the power of the rare and mythical Zoan type Devil Fruit," A female voice announced from behind the two girls. They quickly turned to find Shizuka Aoi walking towards the two, looking unharmed. "The Beast Beast Model Chimera."
"C-Chimera?!" Hibiki declared, stunned.
"Never mind that," Shizuka said, eyeing Hibiki's outfit closely, licking her lips. "You look kind of cute there, handsome. You tend to work out a lot do you?"
"W-What?!" Hibiki blurted out, blushing by the compliment. "W-Well yes. Th-thank you for n-noticing."
"Seriously Hibiki?" Cynthia stared stunned at Hibiki lowering her guard.
"My little one you are cute too," Shizuka winked flirtly at Cynthia. "Watching you kick Koura in midair got me so excited."
"Uh…" Cynthia blinked dumbfounded. "T-Thanks I guess?"
"B-Big sister," Koura stuttered. Hibiki and Cynthia could hear a slight of fear in his voice.
Shizuka glanced at Koura with a cold gaze. "You disappoint me Koura." She walked past the girls and went towards her young sibling. "Not only did you get your ass kicked by these two cuties, but you expose your real gender to them."
Shizuka's finger morphed into a brown thin whip, lashing violently at Koura's head. The girl, who turned out to be a boy, cried out in pain, a bit of blood trailing down his face. "I'm sorry I failed yo-."
"Shut it you piece of filth!" Shizuka harshly barked. She continuously punishes him, giving him more whip lashes. The boy covered his head, whimpering in pain from her whip making contact with his skin.
"What is wrong with her?" Cynthia asked, stunned by what she was seeing.
"...Where are the other two?" Hibiki demanded, clenching her fist in anger.
"Oh those two, I dealt with them accordingly," Shizuka responded. "It was so delicious watching the boy scream as I ripped his arm out. And the gir-."
Shizuka causally caught both Cynthia's and Hibiki's fists that were aiming at her head. "Now, now. I don't want to harm your pretty faces. You barely stood a chance against Koura, you think you can take me on?"
Both girls were stunned by her reflexes, but still gave her a menacing glare. Shizuka didn't show any signs of fear with a wide disturbing grin on her face. "Very well then, I'll enjoy torturing you two."
Cynthia and Hibiki swung their feet in unison towards Shizuka's head. She casually leaned back avoiding it, and transformed her fingers into small leather whips, entangled in both of their arms and legs. Before the girls could react, Shizuka used her momentum to deliver a dual kick into both of their chins. Then, Shizuka slammed the two together with her whips and threw them overhead and crashed into the ground with a powerful swing.
"Ow," Cynthia groaned as she and Hibiki slowly recovered from the combo. "She's much tougher than her brother."
"Even so, I'm not giving up without a fight," Hibiki declared bravely.
"Me neither," Cynthia nodded. She was about to attack her, but stopped and swerved her head barely avoiding Koura's viper tail. Cynthia turned to Koura with a grin. "Nice try girly boy, but I'm not falling for that the second time."
Manatsu found herself staring at the sky, her vision was blurred. It took her some time for her brain to register what had happened. She sat up quickly, but winced when pain jolted through her body. The first thing Manatsu saw was the boy's body on the ground with one missing arm.
Manatsu felt her bile going up her throat as she recalled the horrified scene that occurred. She and the boy were no match for Shizuka, who knocked out Cure Summer and ended up tearing off his right arm to torture him.
"What just…" Manatsu spoked horrified. She slowly stood up, and debated on whether to run to the others or make sure he's alive. Before she could react, an older looking girl ran towards the boy showing signs of concern. She wore white kimono and had long pink hair. "She looks pretty…"
The young woman harshly shook the boy, causing him to stir. He opened his eyelids and saw the girl. "T-Terra?"
The woman nodded looking relieved. She then grabbed the boy's cheeks and comically stretched them far.
"Ow~! OW~! OW~!" The boy cried out as he flailed his arms, in pain. "I'm sorry I left the hideout without telling you Terra~! So please stop pinching my cheeks~!"
"AH~! HE'S STILL ALIVE~?!" Manatsu shrieked with shock and joy. This startled Terra as she gazed at her. "O-Oh, um my name is Manat-."
She froze when Terra was now close to her, welding a brown sword near her neck.
"Stop Terra~!" The boy cried out. "The girl isn't responsible for this~! In fact she tried to fight alongside me~!"
"Y-Yeah~! I'm so sorry for not rescuing your friend in time~!" Manatsu exclaimed, panicking.
Terra's sword disappeared from her hands and took a step back. She then wrote in the air, showing words in front of Manatsu.
'My apologies for lashing out,' She wrote while smiling. 'My name is Terra and that is my brother Todd.'
"So cool~!" Manatsu was gazing at the words in the air. "It's great to meet you both~! B-But…"
Manatsu glanced concernedly at Todd who noticed. "Oh this? Don't worry about it, she just tore out my mechanical arm."
"Mechanical?" Manatsu blinked.
Todd nodded as he stood up, "Yes, I was born with only one arm. Our leader created a metallic replacement for it. Even though I didn't need it."
"No wonder you were only using one arm," Manatsu said in realization.
'Despite not liking the other arm, you still faced Shizuka?' Terra wrote with a deadpan look.
"I thought I was able to take her out~!" Todd sheepishly replied. "I only lost due to the dumb cast arm~!"
'Even so, you would've been worse if it weren't for her,' Terra wrote, she then smiled at Manatsu. 'Thank you for helping him.'
"O-Oh, it was nothing really," Manatsu sheepishly replied.
Luffy's team were riding along the Milky Road and were heading towards the Upper Yard on Conis's boat; the Little Crow.
"I really hope Connis is alright," Usopp said, looking alarmed.
"You worry too much," Kirika said nonchalantly. "The Sky Knight said that he'll keep Connis and his father safe."
"That's not going to stop the White Berets from catching her, and it's our own stupid fault," Usopp replied. "She would be okay if she hadn't helped us. Also, I'm not sure she can trust that Sky Knight," Usopp added. "He pretty much gives me the creeps."
"He's kind of old and weird, but he doesn't seem like a bad guy," Luffy defended.
"There's no other choice," Sanji added, agreeing with Luffy. "I want to protect her, but it's not like we could have brought her along with us."
"That would cause her to be punished as well," Minori said.
"She's probably in less danger without us," Kuroko admitted.
"Sacrificial Altars...Ordeals...From the sound of it, I wish I was the one flying off with the old geezer," Usopp shivered.
"We're the ones being forced through this ordeal," Kuroko reminded. "Even if you go with the Sky Knight, whoever's in charge might attack you for avoiding the ordeal."
"I thought this boat would be faster than the waver~!" Kirika whined. "It's so slow~!"
"Of course it is. What do you expect?" Kuroko sighed. "It's gotta be several times heavier than a standard waver."
"Still," Luffy agreed while pouting. "It would have been awesome if we've gone faster."
"Is that the Upper Yard?" Minori asked, glancing ahead of them. The Milky Road led to a canal that was more open. Massive trees were everywhere, shocking them.
"Guys...WHERE DID THAT HUGE FOREST COME FROM!?" Usopp exclaimed in shock.
"Is that the Upper Yard?" Sanji asked.
"Pagaya mentions a forest but…" Minori stared in awe at the trees. "He never said it would be this big."
"I think I see the entrances up ahead!" Luffy points to an entrance far ahead.
"Well, this is it, Usopp," Kuroko stated. "If you're gonna chicken out, now's the time."
"In fact, if it's ok with you, I was thinking of going back," Usopp mumbled.
"Too late," Kuroko smirked.
"THEN WHAT'S THE POINT IN ASKING ME!?" Usopp cried out annoyed.
"Um, what is Luffy doing?" Minori suddenly asked. Luffy was on top of one of the branches of the tree.
"Luffy~! Get back here right now!" Sanji shouted.
"But it's fun up here!" Luffy called back while climbing further up the tree.
"We don't care! Get down or we'll leave you behind!" Kuroko snapped.
"Oh right," Luffy thumped his palm realizing. He then prepared to slingshot on the boat. "Gum-Gum..!"
Kuroko's eyes widened in disbelief. "He's not serious…"
"ROCKET!"
Luffy launches himself on the boat, causing it to comically bounce everyone on it.
"I wouldn't want to miss this grand adventure~!" Luffy announced.
"Um Luffy?" Minori asked, being the only one to recover from Luffy's antiques. The others were lying around in dazed.
"Hey, this isn't the time for naps guys," Luffy scolded.
"WHO'S FAULT DO YOU THINK IT IS!?" Kirika, Kuroko, Sanji and Usopp retaliated loudly.
After recovering from Luffy's antiques, they continued past the entrance to the Upper Yard. Usopp shivered by the statues between them when they crossed them.
The leaves of the forest began to rustle, and there was a loud cry of a bird. The sounds caused Kirika and Usopp to flinch in fear. What makes it worse is that they were in the middle of a graveyard of wrecked ships.
"This is unnerving to watch," Kirika mumbled.
"What was that!?" Usopp asked, frightened.
"Take it easy Usopp," Sanji said calmly.
"Open your eyes!" Usopp exclaimed. "Don't you notice all these shipwrecks surrounding us?"
"It's a forest," Luffy noted.
"He's right," Sanji added.
"That makes no sense…" Minori sweatdropped.
"This must be the Priest's doing," Kuroko thought out loud. "They must've set up traps in the forest."
The rustling grew louder, getting everyone minus Luffy to hear it in worry or caution. Usopp was the first to notice the thing that made that sound.
Which was a giant scythe with a face on it.
"AHH~!" Usopp screamed. He along with Sanji and Kirika began paddling, quickly trying to make the boat go faster.
"What's going on-?" Luffy asked but quickly noticed the giant scythe whiz behind them, slicing a wrecked ship from off the side. "WAHH! A SICKLE MONSTER!"
"Those aren't sickle monsters, they're giant scythe!" Kuroko corrected in a panic.
"Hang on tight! Here comes another one!" Usopp exclaimed in horror.
"Not just one!" Minori declared while noticing multiple scythe flying down from the forest, turning this quiet route into a chaotic mess.
"EVERYONE PADDLE LIKE CRAZY!" Luffy hollered. The six paddled the Little Crow manual to avoid the sickle scythe.
"Watch where you're going~!?" Usopp panicked. "Faster Faster! No wait, go slower!"
"Which is it!?" Kuroko snapped.
"This isn't working!" Luffy yelled. He jumped off the wheel and went to the back of the boat. "Usopp take the wheel!"
"Wait, what?" Usopp said as he took the wheel.
"Gum-Gum..." Luffy stretched his arms back, aiming behind the boat.
"What are you doing!?" Kuroko asked, annoyed. "It's in front of us!"
"I know just hang on!" Luffy ordered as one of the sickles blades swung down at them. "Bazooka~!"
Luffy sent his stretch arms back, his hands colliding into the water causing the Little Crow to fly forward, escaping the reach of the sickle blade. The Little Crow landed away from the sickle blades section.
"Okay, I take that back, that was a good plan," Kuroko acknowledged.
"I don't think we're in the clear though," Sanji grunted as a sudden buzzing sound got their guards up.
"Great there's more?!" Kirika exclaimed, annoyed. As soon as she said that, they noticed giant wooden spears raining down from the forest trees.
"Seriously?" Kuroko comically exclaimed. "Can't we get a break!?"
"Usopp go right!" Luffy called out.
"No left!" Sanji intervened.
"Which way!?" Usopp exclaimed in confusion.
"Just dodge them!" Kirika shouted, as she got out her scythe. She, Luffy and Sanji swatted away any incoming spears aimed at the Little Crow.
"They just keep coming!" Sanji grunted.
"One of them is bound to hit us!" Usopp sadly cried.
As soon as he said that, a miracle occurred.
From the left side of the forest, a stream of white flame shot out and scorched all the spears aiming towards the Little Crow. The others froze, speechless in disbelief after the fire subsided.
"That was amazing!" Luffy gawked in awe.
"Thank you whoever you are~!" Kirika called out.
"White flames?" Minori asked curiously.
"I don't know what just happened...but I'm glad that's over," Kuroko sighed in relief.
"I hope you're right," Usopp sighed exhaustedly. "I can't take any more scares."
Usopp felt a bit of Touma's rotten luck when he heard another buzzing noise ahead of them. "Oh now wha-GAH!"
"WAH!" Kirika yelped and ducked down as a giant saw disc flew directly at them.
"It's gone?" Luffy asked in confusion.
"No it's not," Sanji warned. The disc made a U-turn back at them. "It's coming back at us!"
"MOVE!" Luffy exclaimed.
"DODGE!" Kirika joined.
"Whatever you do, just get out of here!" Kuroko ordered.
"I can't believe that dumb lobster dropped us in the middle of nowhere!" Laura scoffed. The Going Merry was on top of a stone altar which was surrounded by Sea-clouds in what looks like a large cove. On the end of the cove are dozens of large trees nearly blocking out of the sun.
"Does anybody know where we are?" Chopper wondered as he gazed around at their new surroundings.
"One thing for certain," Charla said. "We're definitely somewhere in the Upper Yard."
"Upper Yard?" Happy repeated confusion. "That's the place that Nami was scared of right?"
"It must be," Tsubasa said she noticed Levy and Chopper coming out of the room. "How's George doing?"
"He should be fine in about an hour," Chopper replied. "The imposter only cut off his air supply."
"I guess whoever was responsible didn't want to kill him," Levy added. "They just wanted him not to interfere."
"Still... it doesn't make any sense as to why they separated us in the first place," Charla said thinking a bit.
"Could they be looking for fewer people on this sacrificial altar?" Tsubasa guessed.
"Sacrifices altar!?" Laura questioned.
"What's a sacrifice?" Chopper asked.
"Uh well…" Levy paused trying to find a child-friendly way to tell Chopper. "...It's like an offering to the Gods."
"Oh is that all?" Chopper sighed in relief. "I thought it meant boiling alive in a stew or something."
"That's what it means," Charla noted.
"HUH!?" Chopper gasped in horror.
"But regardless of the method," Lily said. "The thing they offer is generally someone's life…"
Chopper's jaws dropped in comical horror. "You mean we're all going to die here!?"
"This is getting annoying!" Kuroko yelled. The Little Crow remains in danger as the blade disc pursues them.
"Damn it~!" Usopp directed the Little Crow out of the way just as the flying terror almost destroyed their boat. "Oh, it missed u-GAH NOT AGAIN!"
The giant saw disc zipped past the boat and struck several tree trunks, cutting them down.
"D-Death~!" Kirika exclaimed, witnessing the sheer terror of the saw disc.
"I'm sick of this place! We're never going to make it to the end!" Usopp yelled. "I don't care what you say! We're going back!"
"Oh no, you're not!" Luffy argued.
"Shut up! I'm the captain of the Little Crow!"
"No, I'm the captain!" Kirika yelled.
"Since when!?" Usopp and Luffy questioned.
"Since now!"
"Even if we do go back, there's no guarantee we'll survive the trip back," Sanji reminded Usopp.
"We got this far, might as well finish it," Kuroko agreed. The giant saw disc emerged from the forest, flying towards them again.
"AHH~! DOESN'T THAT THING EVER QUIT!?" Usopp exclaimed in fear.
"Leave it to me~!" Cure Papaya declared in her Precure persona. She placed her papaya slice earring in front of her eyes. "Papaya Beam~!"
Luffy, Kirika and Usopp eyes shot out of their sockets when Papaya fired a yellow beam at the disc when it appeared in her line of sight. The blade saucer was split in half the moment the laser came into contact with it. They watched in silence as both parts fell into the clouds.
"SO COOL~!" Luffy exclaimed with stars for eyes. "I DIDN'T KNOW YOU CAN FIRE LASERS OUT OF YOUR EYES~!"
"THAT WAS AMAZING DESU~!" Kirika also shouted with stars for eyes.
"Oh...it was nothing really," Papaya sheepishly answered, showing a bit of emotion with a small smile and her cheeks red.
"Finally, we get a chance to relax for a bit," Kuroko sighed.
"This is bad, now it's too late to go back~! I can't even see the entrance anymore from here," Usopp cried.
"Then just stay here," Luffy suggested.
"I'LL DIE YOU DUMBASS!" Usopp snapped.
"It's better to die saving everyone than to die giving up," Papaya stated bluntly.
"Why do both options end with dying?" Kirika questioned.
"I don't want to hear that coming from the grim reaper," Usopp muttered.
Sanji saw a giant monster emerge from the Milky Way in front of them. He immediately leaped at the creature knocking it back with a powerful kick.
"What the-?" Kuroko stated in disbelief. "What was that thing?"
"Was that a big snake?!" Luffy said in awe.
"It looked like a giant lamprey," Sanji corrected. "A Sky Lamprey, I guessed? One that big will do more than just suck up a little blood."
"This is the neatest forest ever!" Luffy said laughing.
"Neat forest my ass!" Usopp snapped. "If this is our so-called ordeal, then I quit!"
"This isn't something we can just quit," Kuroko stated.
"Kuroko's right," Sanji said sternly. "We can't afford to waste any more time on this Milky Road than necessary, otherwise we're asking for certain death."
"Damn it!" Gajeel growled slamming his fist in the ground. He and the others were struggling against the imposter Accelerator who barely got a single scratch on him. As they fought, the area looked different than before. Multiple trees had craters and debris created by the Level 1 who kept bouncing back everything they threw at him. "This bastard is supposed to be a clone just like George right? So why the hell is it so damn annoying to take it out!?"
Chris was on top of one of the branches and fired multiple missiles towards the clone. The moment it came in contact, the missiles ricochet off him and scattered across the forest emitting explosions. "Oh crud~!"
One of the rockets flew towards Chris who quickly jumped off the branche she was in. "Damn, does this albino bastard have any weaknesses!?"
Cure Coral used her shield to defend her, Princess, and Misaka against the missile's bombardment. She noticed Misaka froze in place, "Misaka…?"
"Just like before…" Misaka said with fear in her voice. "Every attack we throw at it, he bounces them back...Touma is the only person who was able to beat him before…"
Cure Princess remembered when Last Order told her when they were hunting the South Bird back in Jaya. How Accelerator was alone when he was young and was treated like a lab rat to reach Level 6. 'If attacks won't work on it...then what about…!'
"I got an idea!" Cure Princess announced, catching everyone's attention.
"You do?" Misaka asked in shock.
Princess nodded. "However, I need you guys to distract him, until I'm ready! Don't let him notice me~!"
At first, Misaka was slightly shocked and wanted to call her out, but she knows that stopping this imposter will be impossible without Touma. She decides to go along with Cure Princesses' plan. "Alright, I trust you."
"One distraction coming right up!" Gajeel said as his right arm turned into a large spearhead. "Iron Dragon Demon Log!"
Gajeel fires a large number of fire spears on the ground creating a dust cloud to blind the poser. Before it could react, Misaka appeared out of the dust cloud on the right of Accelerator with a sword made out of iron sand she collected. Misaka flung her iron sand sword which extended like a whip towards it. He moved an inch as the whip collided into his face only quickly dispersed into separate directions. The Imposter Accelerator was about to lunge at Misaka but got distracted by multiple rounds of bullets coming from Chris.
"Over here freak~!" Chris leaps up to avoid the small bullets flying back at her. She took out her dual crossbow and fired triple amount of pink arrows: Queen's Inferno~!
"This is my chance!" Misaka shouted as she sent out a large bolt of electricity at Accelerator at the same time Chris fired the arrows. Though the Imposter Accelerator wasn't phased by the attacks, he grunted in irritation when deciding which one to attack first.
"Hey~! Over here you piece of crap!" Gajeel emerged out in front of Accelerator with his fist pulled back. "Iron Dragon Hard Fist!"
The Imposter pulled his fist back and collided with Gajeel creating a massive shockwave. Gajeel kept pushing forward hoping to bypass the Level 1 powerful esper field.
"Kill Kill Kill Kill!"
Gajeel, Coral, Misaka and Chris' eyes widened when they noticed four powerful tornadoes forming behind the imposter.
"W-What the hell?!" Gajeel exclaimed in shock.
"This is insane…" Chris muttered in horror.
"N-No wonder he's a Level 5," Coral shivered by the imposter's power.
"I-I never knew he could do that!" Misaka asked herself in shock. She quickly forms a huge amount of iron sand in front of her as one of the tornados were coming towards her. She successfully blocked it but felt slowly getting pushed back. Chris on the others was in midair, and had to take the blunt blow of the other tornado ramming her into a tree.
Gajeel was still struggling to push bypass Accelerator's vector, but the imposter used the two remaining tornados to give him an extra boost overpowering Gajeel's fist as he was pushed back. However, that didn't stop there as the imposter launched his last two tornadoes at Gajeel.
'Shit, what's taking that brat so long!?' Gajeel growled as he began to puff up his cheeks. "Iron Drag-"
"ACCELERATOR~!"
Everyone looked up to find Cure Princess in front of Gajeel. She wasn't phased as the two tornadoes were coming towards her. "You need to chill out and relax~! And I'm just the girl to do it~!"
Cure Princess got out a Precard and her device. "Pretty Cure Spinning Mirror Change! Macadamia Hula Dance!"
Just as she inserted her card into her device, the area around them transformed into a light green scenery. The tornadoes that were inching towards her, disappeared.
Cure Princess's whole appearance changed. Her hair is worn in thickly braided pigtails with curled tips, her thin forelocks and the fanned out hair reaching her shoulders. She wore a white dress and a white and pale green skirt.
"...Where in the hell are we?" Chris asked, looking around.
"I don't know…" Misaka answered unsurely. She noticed Cure Princess's new attire. "What the heck are you doing?!"
"This is my plan," She answered serenely. She then begins to hula dance gently. Chris, Coral, Misaka, and Gajeel just stare at her dumbfounded.
"HOW IN THE HELL IS A DANCE GOING TO STOP HIM?!" Gajeel comically roared.
"Pretty Cure Hawaiian Alohaloe! "Cure Princess chanted calmly as she ignored Gajeel and continued to hula dance.
"What the-," Gajeel angered suddenly faded into confusion as he slowly began to copy Cure Princess's movement. "WHY THE HELL AM I DANCING?!"
"GAHAHA~!" Chris laughed, noticing Gajeel hula dancing. "This is just gold~! Watching you dancing like a moron~!"
"I wouldn't laugh for long," Misaka muttered, as she along with Coral were forcibly following the hula dancing trance.
"What are you…!" Chris realized that she was slowly following the group as well. However unlike the others, her body was getting into it too well. Her arms were above her head, forcibly shaking her hips. Her face was bright red as a tomato. "W-What the hell?!"
Misaka glanced at Chris's chest moving and turned away out of jealousy. "It seems that you're enjoying this more than the rest of us."
"I'M NOT ENJOYING THIS AT ALL~!" Chris retorted back with shark teeth. "WHY THE F%$^ AM I DANCING DIFFERENTLY THAN YOU GUYS?!"
"T-This is really embarrassing," Coral said crying comical tears. "Relaxing, yes, but embarrassing."
Soon the imposter was slowly joining in with the group following Princess's dancing. No one noticed minus Cure Princess, but a few yellow flower petals were surrounding the 1st rank Level 5. Cure Princess blew a kiss at the imposter, twirled around and did a final pose that caused the Imposter Accelerator to float up in the air with a glow a light. Once the scenery returned to normal the Imposter Accelerator poofed out of existence replacing it with a white dial. Cure Princess also returns to her original Pretty Cure outfit while the others finally stop dancing.
"What...just happened?" Misaka asked, breaking the silence.
"Cure Princess must've purified the fake Accelerator," Coral realized in awed. "She probably thought that calming him down would be the best way to beat him."
Chris's whole body turned red from embarrassment as she crouched away from the others. Blue depressing lines were above her head. Beside her, Gajeel was on his hands and knees, hiding his embarrassed face.
"Will those two be okay?" Coral asked with a sweatdrop.
"I think their pride was taken down a notch," Misaka replied. "Leave them, they'll recover soon."
"How do you like that~!" Cure Princess put her hands on her hips looking proud. "I, Cure Princess, was able to defeat the mighty Accelerator without punching him or anything! I bet I can do that to the rea-."
Princess was interrupted by a small object zipped by her cheeks and crashed into a tree behind her.
"What did you say about defeating the mighty Accelerator?" snickered the real deal as he and his group appeared out of the forest. Cure Princess still didn't move from her spot but began to sweat a lot.
Yang: PFTAHAHAHAHAHAHA~! Great way to end the 2021, seeing the clone, Gajeel, Chris and Misaka dancing like idiots!
Varvula: Yeah, that was so amusing~!
Gwen: Why was Chris dancing differently?
Freddy: Her Symphogear armor was the cause of that. I guess it was more of a humor kind of gimmick.
Raven: Also some fanservice, for all you Chris fans.
Peace: Speaking of, what is your New Years Resolution Gwen?
Gwen: Easy, getting bitten by a vampire bat, and become a preteen vampire.
Peace: But, you're not even a preteen.
Raven: And I don't know if there's any vampire bats in this world.
Sanya: Mine New Years resolution...is too...ZZZZ~!
Yang: And she's asleep of course.
Freddy: Next Chapter: Crisis at the Upper Yard.
Sanya: Happy...New...Years!
Varvula: Hey, that's my line~!
