Marineford II
The entire world seemed at war: from the islands were a direct feed of the battle was being projected, to the rumbling seas, to the New World itself, everything seemed to turn around the single, undeniable principle that everything was about to change. and that those that blinked, those that dared not watch, would miss that pivotal moment.
Mr. 3 cringed under the thunder of the cannons, the groaning of the ice under the heavy presence of the crashed warships on its surface, and the screams, wails, and shouts that tore through the air, not unlike claws of a fierce beasts, underlined by gunshots and the growing weight of the air that thickened with mindless bloodlust.
Still, he kept moving, using his power to rise the occasional wax wall that hardened immediately to protect himself from the occasional hail of bullets or the sight of those marines willing to pick a single target among the chaotic masses of escapees that joined the waves of pirates going to war for the life of a single man.
With movements too fast to be followed, blows too powerful to be stopped, Bentham barreled through the rows of marines that opposed him, the results of Soru and Tekkai applied to the okama-kempo to great effect. In his wake, the candle-man followed, barely keeping himself from fleeing.
Surely, a man with his intellect and resources could figure out a path that led him away from the current conflict... with a shiver, a memory came to the forefront of his mind, and Mr. 3 swallowed his trepidation, and kept following the okama.
Impel Down was made of pain, and screams. It was a slow agony that would only stop in death, and Mr. 3 knew that things couldn't be worse.
Until that moment: with no warning, a shadow had slipped between the bars of his cell, and from it had emerged a two-meters tall man with pink-hair that reminded him strongly of one of the pirates belonging to Straw Hat's crew. His commanding voice had rang quietly into the cell, muffled by shadows that shouldn't be behaving as they did: "Ordinarily, I'd try with the soft sell first, but there is no time. You're coming with me while I free some people before the breakout, and we're going to talk about your power and a certain task that I want you to accomplish on the next island."
"Hey!" one of the other prisoners shouted angrily, madness sneaking through his frenzied eyes at the mention of a breakout, "Free me t... Gah!"
The shadow of the prisoner rose from the floor and clasped its arms around the man's neck, squeezing unmercifully until the one who spoke out of turn passed out.
Mr. 3 swallowed hollowly, and was reminded of the moment in which he realized the unchanging nature of the hierarchy in Baroque Works. Just like when talking with Mr. 0, he now keenly felt that the only path forward was the one that matched the pink-haired escapee's wishes. And that if the ex-bounty hunter decided to oppose him... As if to sonfirm his inner monologue, the candle-man's shadow rose from the ground and draped itself over the back of the prisoner, its cool and smooth texture doing nothing to lessen the implicit threat.
"O-o-of course, sir," the wax-human easily fell into the practiced motions of the smaller fish in front of a shark, "what task would you have me complete?"
So Mr. 3 ignored the impulse of running away, justifying the fact with long-term plans that implied finding a group of like-minded people among the countless escapees from Impel Down. His life as a bounty-hunter was finished, as things were, he cold only become a forgettable part of some pirate's crew, and he'd slink away once it was safe to do so. Still, to reach that point in time, he'd have to survive the bloodiest conflict of the decade, and the promise of retaliation of the pink-haired devil in case he didn't complete his assigned task.
The candle-man didn't hesitate when Bentham threw at him one of the green uniforms he had taken from a downed guard: his best possibility of long-term survival hinged on the assault on Marineford being successful.
It hinged on freeing Fire Fist Ace.
"Charlotte Coby." my opponent ignored the hurricane of chaos that the war was unfolding in Marineford's bay in order to regard me shrewdly: "A rookie with knowledge of Haki? I understand how your bounty could be so high."
I smirked as an answer, unwilling to reveal just how much I was kicking myself for revealing that I knew of Willpower: "Didn't they tell you? My bounty is so high because I pissed on the World Government's flag."
The Vice Admiral twirled his sword in a practiced motion and prepared himself to attack, spitting out the cigarette while he paled in barely restrained outrage: "Just another reason to cut you down."
"You're welcome to try." grinning to hide my discomfort, I placed both hands on the long hilt of Raiu, but before I could taunt my opponent, my shadow screamed at me in that silent manner of his, and I twisted to my left, the attack of the marine going wide while I retaliated, only for my shadow to scream agan, and I twirled to my right, my arms swinging powerfully in order to bat away a piercing assault from the marine.
The exchange had lasted less than a second, and my hear began to thunder in my chest despite my controlled breathing: this was the first open fight in which I couldn't rely on metaknowledge, not truly. War was roaring around us, Luffy probably would need help sooner rather than later, despite the recent power-up, and I was stuck against a single opponent.
"You have Observation, then." the Vice Admiral frowned heavily at me: my speed, the way in which I had anticipated his attacks, would bring anyone to assume so.
Inwardly, I was laughing. I was far away from unlocking Haki, but my Devil Fruit was bullshit to the point that my silent doppelganger could pick up on the intentions of other people's shadows, and as focused as this marine was on his task, on each of his attacks, it was as if his shadow was wearing a sign announcing his decisions.
Still, I wasn't going to explain myself, potentially giving away an advantage, so I let some of my hilarity come to my face, and my grin widened: "It's a logical conclusion to make."
Then I was rocketing forward, my feet striking the ice with the most powerful Soru I was capable of as the might of my recently improved body brought me in striking distance of the Vice Admiral, while I tapped my growing arsenal of abilities to have my Shadow attack with abandon, 'unleashing' the instinct of the awakened zoan that it had eaten when I began my ascent to power in Impel Down.
Raiu was a three meters long blade, and I had thirty centimeters on the Vice Admiral: which meant that my weapon could reach him while he couldn't strike back. My first swing was parried while Cancer jumped forward, only to backtrack suddenly when I twirled on myself, erasing the distance between us as I kicked blindly.
As the Vice Admiral avoided the mindless, powerful punch of my shadow rising from the icy ground, my kick slammed into his left shoulder, and sent him sprawling. The impact hadn't finished reverberating in my leg that I kicked off once more against the air, throwing me away from my opponent only to perform a mid-air cartwheel and jump back, Raiu's sharp edge tearing through the air while the bloodlust I had fallen in before this impromptu duel forced me to stop and think.
My odachi cut the cloth of the Vice Admiral's shirt while he bent backward only to roll to the side, avoiding the incoming blow of my shadow that cracked the ice with its might. With no forewarning for him, my shadow returned to being two-dimensional and grappled with his own, stilling him until he brought down his blade, his intent and will ringing clearly in my ears.
I relinquished the use of my power, and for a moment, I was only a very powerful man with a sword: Cancer's sword was still descending when simply physics saved me. With the sun to our left, my shadow shifted to its natural position at the speed of light, only for me to tap once more into my Devil Fruit power and bring to bear my doppelganger, who raised a spiked club that I had honestly forgotten about while I went in low, aiming to slash at the Vice Admiral's leg while he was busy with the bigger threat of my humongous shadow trying to nail him into the ice.
In a spectacular display of skill, Cancer let out a flying slash against my attack only to spin out of the way of my doppelganger's spike club, which impacted the ice with a thundering *crack*. Once more, his intent rang crystal clear in my ears, and when he tried to loop off my silent, creepy twin's left arm, I simply dropped my power, and my shadow snapped back into its natural place too fast for the Vice Admiral to wound.
I didn't know what would happen if he landed a Haki-infused blow on my shadow, but war wasn't the moment to figure out that particular detail of my power.
Frowning, Cancer raised his sword in a position of guard, and studied me as intensely as he could. Seeing an opportunity to use the truth to trap my opponent, I tilted my head: "What is a shadow if not the interruption of a ray of light? Until your speed matches Kizaru, there's just no way in which you'll be able to touch me."
I knew that a normal person could defeat a Haki-user. Luffy had been able of fighting off Hancock's sisters despite their being able to foretell his attacks and ignore his blows. It was simply a matter of being faster, and finding the weak spot in the enemy's defense. I also knew that Luffy had managed to strike Enel despite his Mantra when he had bounced off his attacks in a random manner.
And I was fast. I moved around the Vice Admiral Cancer delivering three slashes of my sword for each attack I had to defend against, my far longer reach and predictable direction of flying slashes aiding me greatly in my first objective: not dying like an idiot. I batted aside a stab from my enemy and sidestepped the following upwards slash, only to complete a stabbing motion of my own.
Negligently, Vice Admiral Cancer tilted his head to the side, his perfect cognizance of my blow allowing him to step forward and try to enter my guard: relying on my vastly superior physicality, I jumped back. The only thing that allowed Magellan to jail Shiryu had been the powers granted by his devil fruit: because with my current strength and skill, I had easily been able to cut down the Warden of Impel Down, and I was able to easily keep up with Cancer.
Sparks flew and steel sang while I matched the might I cheated my way into against the Vice Admiral, and once more, my Doppelganger ended up exposed while I swung on the Vice Admiral. Expecting me to drop my powers and dash in at the moment needed to 'reactivate' them, the marine ended up flat on his ass when my shadow split around his attack. The part that should have been a looped-off leg became an umbral scythe that bit deep into his shoulder, only to disperse into nothingness when he tried to grab it with one hand.
Smelling literal blood, I darted forward, and my shadow fell over myself, not unlike a large traveling cloak: Raiu slashed upwards, biting into the ice as if it wasn't there, making it explode into a fine mist while my Doppelganger swung at knee-height from left to in an upwards curve right with its spiked mace.
Still, the Vice Admiral nimbly avoided the deadly blade that rose a fine mist in front of his face as the ice was broken apart.
But the spiked mace crashed against the inner side of his right knee before he could complete his backstep.
Facing a four meters tall amalgamation of shadows capable of using a sword with incredible skill while shadowy arms swung a spiked mace, a lesser man would have cowed. But the Vice Admiral had earned his rank, and even as the wet crunch of bone was coupled with a pained grunt, he didn't stop fighting.
Aiming at my torso, Cancer stabbed forward, and at that exact moment, Luffy's scream rang loudly over the whole Marineford, riding on the crest of his awakened Conqueror's Haki: "STOP IT!"
The Will of Monkey D. Luffy imposed itself on the world for nothing but an instant, and for less than a split second, Cancer's focus wavered. While I pounced on the moment I had been waiting for: committed to his attack, the marine's sword plunged into shadows that split unharmed around its edge, while my swapped-out torso swung the returning strike of Raiu and my Doppelganger crashed his clasped hands on the wrists of my enemy.
The steel parted skin, muscle, tendons, and bone like they were water, and the Vice Admiral Cancer died like a candle snuffed out.
I let out a startled laugh that rang even louder in the momentary lull of the war caused by Luffy. It ended almost too soon.
Still, my breath soon evened out, and while my Doppelganger stowed away once more the negligible weight of his spiked mace, I raised the bloodied Raiu in my left hand towards the frightened marines that charged forward out of mindless despair and adrenaline rush than of duty, and I swept it from left to right.
I had been tinkering with ideas even when I didn't outright exercise my power, and swapping out part of myself with my shadow, like Moria did, adding to it the cheap copy of Katakuri's splitting his body, had been enough to take advantage of Cancer's momentary distraction. For what I was doing, much less refinement was needed.
My right hand made a clawing motion towards the incoming marines, and their shadows outrun their owners only to end up as a writhing bouquet. And just like a dutiful gardener, as Raiu bit into the base of the dozens of shadows I held, I reaped an entire plotoon.
Under the sun, the attacking marines vanished into dust, and with a peal of laughter, I ran across the filed, avoiding those powerful enough to fight back while I snuck shadows into the fallen bodies I encountered. As I handled those shadows, I felt like I knew each one, a touch was enough to leave an impression of who they were, of a faint echo of their character.
It hardly mattered: on the wake of my killing of a Vice Admiral, I kept laughing as the countless corpses that littered the icy bay of Marineford were filled by shadows under my command. Wether they belonged to marines or Impel Down escapees it mattered not. I moved, and I planted those shadows: if Luffy's Will was a reasonable element pointing out the development of the ongoing war, then soon they'd raise to cover our retreat.
Behind the veritable wall formed by the immense vessels that had brought Whitebeard's forces in the heart of Marineford, The Roaring nova was still, bobbing gently over the thick white clouds that separated it from the unforgiving ice. The Adam Wood could take a lot of abuse, but there was no reason to not pamper the ship when it wasn't braving the seas, and so the dials had been let active until they had formed a comfortable resting place that wasn't dependent on the remains of Aokiji's power.
While the ship itself wasn't being used for anything of particular worth, mostly because its secret weapons would generate enough blowback to damage the surrounding vessels from the Emperor's fleet, the Straw Hat Pirates were busy.
With Zoro, and Sanji on the lookout, a blue-haired cyborg had readied the weapons of the ship, and was considering whether or not deploying his incomplete General Franky to help the others was a good idea. Robin's eyes sprouted farther and farther away while she remained hidden into the galley, where the shadows grafted to her own seemed to thrive from every extra limb that appeared: if retreat into the ship became necessary, any invasion would die with its spine turned into a pretzel.
With baseball-sized shapes of lead, Mikita kept her shoulders warm by occasionally whipping her arms back and forth: she hadn't had much time to perfect her technique, but she had been able to use her umbrella as a bat of several tonnes for the briefest moments, and while her long-range attack could for the time being only amount to flinging several kilos of lead as if they weighted nothing, it'd still be enough to crack the ice under the feet of any incoming enemy.
Nami had vanished from everyone's sight as soon as they 'docked', but the presence of mist unnaturally falling over the area where their ship was placed was difficult to miss for the Straw Hats, which suspected that the rest of the world saw something that didn't quite match what was actually going on.
With the figurehead of the Roaring Nova proudly pointing towards the open seas, Chopper, Lola, Brook, and Merry were busy carving out a path in the ice that the other vessels of Whitebeard's fleet would be able to follow.
In a flurry of movement, Chopper downed a Rumble ball, grimacing minutely at the need for the enhancing drug to activate the transformation while a surge of pride rang through his very soul: immediately, his body grew. Fur lengthened, minute horns turned into branching behemoths capable of shattering steel, while chitin-clad fingers took the place of cute hooves. The doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates bit down on the instinct of bellowing his presence in the bay, focusing instead on the objective that had been clearly labeled as 'primary' in his brain.
He couldn't control this transformation completely, but after eating the shadow of an awakened Zoan trained to follow orders, he learned how to maintain reins made of logic over his primordial instincts: the battle going off at his back didn't help, but unsurprisingly, the presence of Zoro on the Roaring Nova's figurehead was enough to reassure the human-reindeer's impulse of turning to fend off a potential predator.
At his side, the Going Merry was going under something similar: despite her negligible experience, Chopper's guiding hand had been enough to turn her into a competent user of her own fruit, to the point that she was perfectly capable of maintaining her child-sized shape with no conscious effort despite her own nature asking her to stand at twenty meters of height, her caravel's size an undeniable part of herself while the predator's instinct borne of the leopard-zoan demanded that she turned to maul any potential aggressors.
Still, in this situation, she was free to make use of her impossible size as she dug deep, jagged grooves into the thick ice that covered the bay with her carriage-sized claws, only to break the ice into vast, uneven lumps with swats of her tail, which ended with the iron-cast anchor that had been used so many times since her birth in the East Blue.
Behind her, Chopper used his humongous size to heave the ice apart. leaving a single, deep groove that Whitebeard's vessels could easily push apart with their bulk when the time came to sail away from Marineford.
Standing proudly in her recently changed body, discarding the uncomfortable feeling of her changed, familiar appearances in the name of what was best for the crew, just as her husband Coby had done in order to conquer Impel Down, Lola slashed with Funkfreed and Bamboo. The dual-wielding swordswoman was making use of every ounce of skill the shadows she had been given to eat provided in order to adapt to the ever-shifting weight and instincts of the blades that had been fed shadows of awakened-zoans coupled with Rumble Balls: with precision that only people on Mihawk's caliber could manage to achieve in a single life, the pink-haired daughter of Charlotte Lilin that had run from her home, Lola carved apart the ice that led to Whitebeard's ships without fully breaking it.
When the time came, it'd be easy for the other crews to make the immense vessels turn around and leave Marineford behind.
On the top of the tallest mast, Usopp's form was hidden from sight thanks to a camouflage cloak he had quickly realized with scraps of wood and rope: it wasn't up to his usual standards of perfection, but from a distance, he was virtually invisible, and that was all that he needed while his eyes, enhanced thanks to his choice of eating spyglasses and combining them with his sniper goggles, kept track of everything that happened on the front lines.
He hadn't dared fire against the marines, knowing that he'd have a handful of shots before revealing his position, and that he had to keep his wits despite the heavy cloud of fear that hung above him. Firing would not only give away his own position, but the Roaring Nova's, and that would put at risk the entire purpose that justified the crew's absence from the slaughter going on under his eyes.
He had observed with wide eyes how impossibly strong Coby had grown, and how randomly he found his match in a vice-admiral. He looked with trepidation as Luffy blitzed between enemy lines, or through them when they proved too clever for him to avoid. The sniper of the Straw Hat pirates watched in awe as the ex-shichibukai Jinbei fought against droves of enemies, gripping seawater as if it was a living thing.
And he grimaced openly at the endless slaughter, only to gulp down his distaste: he understood. He couldn't allow himself to take his eyes away not only because his captain and first mate might need his intervention, not only because had to be ready to warn the rest of the crew of a potential opponent. But because, not long before, they had almost lost the Going Merry. Because less than three weeks before, they had lost Coby, and that they had managed to retrieve him did nothing to wash away that aftertaste of shame and dread that had filled him when Kuma had easily defeated them all.
He wouldn't dishonor the Whitebeard Pirates by looking away as hundreds threw their lives into the blender for the chance of saving a single one of theirs. He couldn't.
Not when he had felt on his skin how far the Straw Hat Pirates would be willing to go for the remote chance at getting their hands on a zoan Devil Fruit, which was, at the time, the faintest possibility of saving the Going Merry. Not when they had readily turned the Roaring Nova back in order to blitz Enies Lobby again, ready to storm Impel Down and later to face Marineford.
So, Usopp had placed himself on the roost of the tallest mast of the ship, and he observed everything, tears held back only because of a clever modification he had consciously employed after eating his sniper goggles and the spyglass available.
When the cyborgs came, the sniper's voice rang loudly to warn everyone of the imminent attack.
The sea stone manacles bit deeply into Ace's skin, not that he cared. He was forced to his knees, uncomfortably bound awaiting his death, when what he dreaded had come to pass.
First as mere bubbles, then as waves, the first three ships of Whitebeard's fleet had emerged in the middle of Marineford's bay, and the guilt and despair had felt like a punch at the mouth of the stomach, heavy and unforgiving enough to steal his breath away. He had come.
His family had decided to go to war for him, and the minute, forgettable part of him capable of understanding the bravery supporting the love they all felt for him, the same love that had been betrayed by Blackbeard, was drowned out by fear, and unforgiving, heavy guilt. Many would die, and for what? Only for Ace's worthless hide? Only because he hadn't listened when he had been warned against going after Teach.
The moments before the true start of the war had felt like they would never end: across the bay, Pops' eyes had found the unworthy ones of Ace, making the latter almost weep. Everyone had come, and for what? To save a fool from what he deserved?
Oars Jr. had died before he could even complete his charge, killed by Doflamingo with a twitch of his fingers, and the veritable rain of blood that fell from his torn neck was merely the beginning of the absolute waste of lives that Ace was forced to witness. Not far from him, Garp remained quiet, ignoring all that was going on as his soul warred against itself.
Sengoku barked orders, and the Admirals took turns between fighting off those pirates that pounced too far ahead of their peers and slaughtering everyone that fell in the areas they blasted with their Logia powers.
The Warlords found worthy opponents to match their might, while the rank and file of the marines fought back the rowdy lines of incoming pirates. Unpredictable as they were, the war had turned into a chaotic mess as soon as it had begun: some groups managed to rely upon a perfect match of devil fruit powers or skills, others were completely overwhelmed by a successful maneuver of the opponents.
Under the sun, the cold ice that Aokiji had covered the entire bay with resisted despite the blows it received or the heat of the cannons. Pops' opening blow had been stopped before it could truly bring any advantage to the Whitebeard Pirates, but that had hardly stopped them from charging forward.
Amidst the whirlpool of guilt and despair that kept Ace from taking full breaths, the impossible had happened, and the pirate about to be executed managed to feel even worse: from the top of one of the tsunami-turned-ticebergs, marine warships had fallen, and a ship flying a familiar Jolly Roger had sailed on a road of clouds until it was safely tucked behind the Moby Dick.
Luffy had led the charge without hesitation, followed by the boy who must have gone through the most explosive growth spurt in history, as Coby hardly resembled the round-faced boy Ace remembered from Alabasta. But even Ace's little brother had changed: it wasn't something just everyone would notice, but even across the bay, there was no mistaking the steely, unyielding glint in the eyes of the usually cheerful boy.
And that was without taking in consideration the absolutely ridiculous speeds both of them moved at: Luffy punched forward with all of his might while the pink-haired First Mate held back and worked on thinning the herd, as it were. Where the straw-hat-wearing pirate was an unrelenting force crushing those fast enough to stand in his way, Coby was an invisible wind, stealing lives at speeds that the marines scrambled to keep up with.
The order for Ace's execution had come and failed, because of course Luffy would awaken his Conqueror's Haki at the worst possible moment, painting an enormous target on his back while he kept running forward, vaporized sweat blasting off his form as he reached speeds that Ace's sight could barely keep up with. Still, there was something decidedly odd going on: Whitebeard hadn't moved.
The Moby Dick remained pointed at Marineford's heart, and the Strongest Man in the World stood proudly on its figurehead. He didn't attack, and he never even considered defending against the blows that were so easily intercepted by the commanders of his fleet.
With Luffy's burst of Conqueror's Haki, the two guards at Ace's sides had stumbled into unconsciousness, only for one of the two to immediately awaken and raise the other, and just as the straw-hat-wearing pirate managed to push his way beyond the Admirals that were suddenly busy handling the renewed assaults Whitebeard's commanders attacking en masse, abandoning the defense of the Moby Dick, coupled with the rank and file panicking because of dead bodies climbing to their feet and turning against the marines.
"What the..?" Ace's brain rebooted, trying to come to terms with what his eyes were seeing but that his experience told him was impossible.
Amidst the sudden, unpredictable chaos, with a bunch of cyborgs breaking off to aim towards the Moby Dick, the attacks already aimed for Whitebeard's vessel... went through it, only for the immense shape of the ship to fade as if made of mist.
"Wha..?" his tongue stopped midway through his question, once again, he couldn't simply work his way through whatever the fuck he had just witnessed.
At the same time, because of course nothing involving him could ever happen in a way that made sense, Luffy punched Garp out of the way while kicking his way in the air, and... *click*
The sea stone manacles fell from his wrists while the one on his ankles was released, a suddenly smiling guard grabbing the terrified other by the scruff of his neck along with Ace himself: "We have to go Fire-boy-chan!", as the nondescript guard spoke, its face morphed into one heavily covered by make-up.
Then the golden light arrived: Sengoku rose to fifteen meters of height while his overwhelming presence erupted out of him, his enraged face not matching at all the placid one that characterized Buddha, an immense flat hand already about to crush the witless escapee.
And then Ace decided that he was already dead, and that his hell would be forever be thrown from one oniric mess into another, where people and events had the consistence of 'flabbergasted', where the smells and the sounds tastes impossible.
Because there was a giant wolf with a whale-like maw, frozen midjump with Whitebeard himself riding on his back, his immense naginata blasting all of his power against the incoming attack from Sengoku.
And the world broke.
AN
Only because it's Marineford, I didn't want to lose the nice momentum I've built up to this point. I've knowingly kept the rest of the crew from being part of the actual fighting, while still having them be part of everything that's going on. Still, in my opinion, I showed Coby's power pretty well with his short battle, and I saw no reason to stop for every detail as I routinely do in my other stories.
I used Ace's perspective to underline a bit of the changed parts. Hancock was going to refuse her summons to Marineford until she fell for Luffy if I remember it right (if not I'm still in time to add her in some part to the story), Luffy had to fight the PX now that she's not there to cover for him, but with his power-ups, he trashed them reasonably fast. There is no Crocodile-Doflamingo duel as the first has been killed by Coby, but Moria isn't there either, so I just had Oars killed by Doflamingo (who is actually strong enough to loop off a leg, so I don't see why he couldn't do the same with his head), and a variety of Whitebeards fight him off.
So, Ace is free next to Luffy, Bentham, and Mr. 3, and the Moby Dick bounded forward with Whitebeard, who engages Sengoku. The image was just too spectacular to give up, you know?
As always, let me know what you think.
