SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 112 out, this is Chapter 113 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.
Pairings: Ace/Sasha, sibling Luffy/Sasha and Sabo/Sasha, patriotic-retainer Law/Sasha
Disclaimers: One Piece belongs to Oda EiichirÅ-sensei. Me, on the other hand, own absolutely nothing, except my OC, the pairing and the fic idea.
Chapter 113: Arc 9: Appearing from the Sky! That Man Is the Humming Swordsman!
"Don't tell me they all.." Franky snorted. "Just like Straw Hat, they were all captured and hidden behind that wall?"
"Yes." Tararan chuckled. "That's correct and you guys will follow suit in a second. Now, give up."
"I don't know if you are dumbass spider or a dumbass monkey." Franky scoffed. "But that huge web that trapped Sunny Go is your doing, isn't it? You were after us from the beginning and have had us under watch, right?"
"Yes." Tararan nodded. "Don't underestimate our information network. All your actions and so on were revealed by Perona-sama's ghost network."
"Those large ears of yours," Robin started. "Must contribute to that information network as well, right? They appear like they could hear quite well."
"What?" Tararan blinked. "What did you just say?"
"Are you pretending now?" Franky exclaimed. "Well, if I were to come up with a last minute plan, just leave it to me." he grinned.
"Do as you like." Robin shrugged.
"We won't interfere." Sasha added.
"Isn't this promising?" Franky aimed his hands on the bridge. "Then, let's go. Coup de Vent!" he fired his air blast downwards, destroying the bridge. "There you have it."
"Cien Fleur: Wing!" Robin manifested a pair of wings on her back and grabbed Franky.
"Ex-quip: Dragonite Wheel Armor!" Sasha summoned her armor and took to the skies.
"Strong Right!" Franky extended his arm to the broken ledge once Robin lifted him up. "We should be able to follow Straw Hat after getting there."
"I'm sorry..." Robin muttered. "I can't hold it..."
"Arm return!" Franky pulled them in.
"They all fell to the courtyard." Robin looked down. "This won't be the end of it, but we're safe now. Looks like they won't come back."
"What?" Franky looked down when he heard Robin's gasp. "A pretty sturdy fellow we've got there." he snorted, seeing Tararan pull himself free from the rubble.
"Damn you three!" Tararan glared. "Unforgivable! I'm a spider. I can get up there in a second. Be prepared."
"What?" Franky looked up when he heard a fluttering in the sky. "Looks like something is falling. No! Somebody is falling!" he exclaimed.
"That voice..." Sasha blinked when she heard the scream. "Brook?"
"Only bones though!" said skeleton declared, crashing onto the ground.
"I guess you could say the shape matches." Franky noted, seeing the deep imprint left on the stone floor. "That bastard, where the hell did he fall from? I guess there is no choice. Let's go and save him."
Just then, Tararan shot out his spider silk threads which quickly formed into a web. "Just because some weird things showed up doesn't mean I will let you escape." the oversized spider mocked. "I can make as many webs as I want after all."
"Let's go something about this guy first." Franky pointed out. "Perfect, this is an open section." he removed the nunchucks from the container he carried on his back. "I'll go make a weapon."
"How dare you just ignore me." Tararan glared. "You're looking down on me, are you? Bastards! Spider..."
"Ex-quip: Maelstrom Warrior Armor!" Sasha was not in the mood to listen to another monologue. "Wild Ocean Wave!" she purified the spider-monkey with her seawater wave.
"Yosh, you two." Franky informed. "It's all done. This is the steel nunchucks I brought." he showed the two females his new weapon. "I just inserted the ends into these pillar sections. Oi, Sasha, you purified that bastard already?" he complained.
"We don't have the time to listen to anymore of his monologue." Sasha defended. "You can still use his body to vent, though."
"Good suggestion." Franky nodded and started pummeling his makeshift weapon onto Tararan. "What are those things?" he turned, hearing Robin's gasp and then saw the two girls were trapped within the webbing the Spider Mice had conjured.
"I'm sorry." Robin winced. "We let out guard down."
"And to think that guy had minions like them..." Sasha glared at the Spider Mouse that was sniffing her.
"Your friends were silently picked up by us and taken to the ceiling of the mansion." the Spider Mice bragged after pinning Franky down with their webs. "No matter how much they struggle, their attempt to oppose failed. Before they can understand what was going on, it is too late. Now, you too will be sent to the same place as your friends. Brace yourself."
"Why everyone." Brook greeted. "So you did enter this island after all."
"How did you..." Robin blinked. "From down there?"
"I jumped." Brook replied. "Since I'm light. Since I'm here, I guess there is no choice. I'll tell you everything about this island."
Meanwhile on the Moby Dick...
"Pops, I'm back." Ace announced, hopping onboard the ship's deck.
"Gu ra ra ra ra!" Whitebeard laughed. "Welcome back, my wayward son!"
"Pops, it's done." Ace reported. "Marshall D. Teach." he turned solemn. "Has been sufficiently punished and the Yami Yami Fruit has been returned." he pulled out the Devil Fruit from his rasp-sack.
"Sufficiently punished, yoi?" Marco echoed.
"We dropped him into the sea and let him drown." Ace supplied.
"We?" Izo questioned.
"Well..." Ace scratched the back of his head. "I didn't exactly defeat Teach alone." and recounted the battle.
"Aqua Pillar!" Sasha freed both Robin and herself from the Spider Mice's webbing with an updraft of seawater, which also instantly purified the zombie mice.
"This spider web is strong, but it's weak against fire." Brook informed Franky.
At the skeleton's prompting, Franky used 'Fresh Fire' to free himself. "Straw Hat and the others have been captured." he reiterated. "You seem to know a lot of this about this island."
"But..." Brook started. "What should I say... if they've already been captured, the possibility is high that it is too late."
"What the?" Franky demanded. "Too late?"
"Don't yell at me please!" Brook pleaded. "I'll get confused. But because I'm a skeleton, I don't have any face after all. Skull joke! Anyway," he went back to the matter at hand. "Listen to me without messing around. Just like what I tried to tell you on the ship, I was wandering alone in the ocean for dozens of years. When I thought that I can make my way out from the demonic sea, my rudder was broken and I was carried about the tides endlessly. Then, by a chance about 5 years ago, just like you guys, Thriller Bark called out to me. Wanting to escape from the Florian Triangle no matter what, I walked around the island to look for parts to fix the rudder. All I could find on the island were monsters and zombies. Eventually, I was caught and brought into this building. Then, I saw one of the dancers who had been caught before and a corpse full with stitches and patches called Mario. Then, I saw a frightening guy appear and the man's shadow was torn off. It was amputated. I didn't believe my eyes either. But of course, I don't have eyes. Before long, the same fate befell me." he continued. "The man who had his shadow taken falls to the floor, but the amputated shadow still moves and is confined in the body of the corpse. After that, what happened... having been a mere corpse just moments before, Mario starts moving. Shadows, no matter which person they are placed in, still follow the movement of the origin soul. All of you must know that. Souls will be absolutely unchangeable from when you are born until death. The guys who can use souls and use them for himself is the great member of the Warlords, Gecko Moria: the user of the Kage Kage Fruit."
"Devil Fruit user, huh?" Franky mused. "No wonder Sasha's seawater is very effective against the zombies."
"He's the one who stole your shadow." Robin concluded.
"He only needs a dead body and a shadow to make a zombie." Brook restated. "What's troublesome is the ferocity of the creature that his genius friend, Dr. Hogback puts together. Using his medical knowledge, he has collected legendary warriors from around the world to be revived and has countless more stored away in his research lab."
"Dr. Hogback," Robin recalled. "The famous surgeon. To think he's been here helping out pirates ever since the incidence of his disappearance."
"Then, the zombies, they can move even before they're resurrected, right?" Franky asked.
"That's correct." Brook confirmed. "The personality and fighting ability is completely transferred from the shadow's owner. But the overall toughness is dependent on the body's physical toughness. When both are powerful, an incredibly strong zombie is formed. That's why Moria's eagerly after those with bounties on their heads."
"I see." Franky realized. "So that's why we're being targeted."
"To Moria, the most important thing that zombies provide is absolute obedience." Robin mused. "It would seem that more powerful warriors would be difficult to control."
"Indeed." Brook agreed. "He doesn't need any shadows that are as strong as him and won't listen to what he says. For people that strong, he'll throw them away into the ocean right after they lose their consciousness."
"Then, they're in danger." Franky gaped.
"It's still alright for now." Brook assured. "We still have time. Since I know the best way to proceed, just believe in me and follow what I do, please."
"Go back to the ship?" Franky echoed. "To the Sunny?"
"Correct." Brook nodded. "The worst case scenario is that your nakama have already been captured and their shadows have already been stolen. However, having their shadow stolen isn't going to kill them."
"Anyway," Franky cut in before Brook could make another skeleton joke. "In short, even if they got their shadow stolen, they won't die."
"That's right." Brook confirmed. "However, the moment their shadows are taken, they become vulnerable as they lost consciousness and won't wake up for two days. During this time, they put those who are strong into boats and cast them off Thriller Bark. I've said this before, but do you know why they do that?"
"So that the victims won't attempt to return to the island to reclaim their shadows, right?" Robin reasoned.
"Then, why not just kill them while they're unconscious?" Franky queried.
"They cannot." Brook replied. "This is very important, so listen carefully. First of all, although the body and shadow may be separated, they're part of one being. If the body dies, the shadow is doomed as well. In other words, the moment that happens, the zombie will also perish. This means trouble for the enemy, so they make sure to keep the body alive. Which means that, even if your nakama have been stripped of their shadows, they are surely alive and are being taken back to the ship. That's why, if you three become victims as well, this will turn out to be the worse case scenario. Everyone would've lost their shadows and will be left to wander the sea. But something can still be done. If we wake up your nakama, we'll have one chance to figure out how to recover the stolen shadows. Take this, you three." he handed the trio bags of salt. "The zombies' weakness: salt. The zombies are originally animated by the Devil Fruit power. Just as the sea nullifies the abilities of a Devil Fruit user, the salt which has the sea's power undoes the bond between the false soul and the corpse. Now then, to defeat the zombies, simply throw the salt into their mouths. That's the trick."
"But Brook," Robin voiced. "Why is that you happen to know so much about this island and the zombies?"
"That's because," Brook replied. "When my shadow was stolen five years ago, naturally, I was cast off in my ship, but luckily enough, I woke up in time to find a way back. And then, I returned to the island to fight the zombie that has my shadow. But I was completely defeated. I shamefully ran to save my life. No matter what, I didn't want to die. Because I was the sole survivor from my ship. Because I promised my nakama that one day I'd escape from this devil sea, I shamefully ran to save my life. And though I managed to live a long while, I was unable to achieve any resolution. That's why I wont' escape this time. Until I beat that man and recover my shadow, I..." he stopped short when he recalled his utter defeat in Ryuma's hands. "Well then, please excuse me. I'll go ahead."
"Wait a minute." Franky stopped the skeleton. "While we're still at it, just answer me one more question."
SailorStar9: Any OOC-nes is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Reviews are much appreciated.