Chapter 126:
Cornered

"Sir!" the marine on lookout called from the crow's nest, the shout causing the grey-haired Vice-Admiral by the ship's figurehead to turn. "The Sabaody Archipelago has come into view!"

"Good," Garp called back. "Can you tell what the situation is?"

"No sir! But smoke is rising from several points, so the marines there are currently fighting!"

"Find the Straw Hats if you can," the old man ordered. "They are our main goal on order of the Celestial Dragons. Anything else?"

"Uh, yes sir?" The marine sounded uncertain. "Th-There seems to be a pirate flagging us down from one of the docks."

"Identity?"

"Former Rear-Admiral 'Red Flag' X Drake, sir. He is waving a white flag and has someone hostage! You're orders?"

Garp sighed. "We might as well see what the brat wants before we kill him. Bring the ship in there, but tell the other two to stand guard out here. I don't want any pirates getting away. Shoot on sight. And tell Aokiji to go in to the north. Search and destroy."

Garp didn't have to watch as his men bustled to fulfill his commands, the other two warships slowing to a stop to present a deadly vigil over the Archipelago. A trail of ice grew from the second ship, arcing around and landing far to the right. His eyes adjusted as the ship he rode drew closer to the shore, the disgraced former-marine waiting for him on one of the docks. Not wanting to keep the younger man waiting any longer, Garp leapt from his ship, using Moonwalk to cross the ocean to land before the pirate. Though several of his men were visibly shaking from the Vice-Admiral's mere presence, X Drake stood unfazed.

"Whadya want, brat?" Garp demanded. "If you don't want me to beat you up and take you in right now, you better have a damn good answer."

"Vice-Admiral Garp," X Drake greeted, doing his best not to let any fear cloud his voice. "I have something, well someone, you might find useful in the near future. You can have them if my crew is allowed to leave. Otherwise, I'll have my men kill him here and now, depriving you of a valuable bargaining chip and giving you the wrath of whom I can only assume is your grandson."

Garp growled. "And who is that, Drake? I haven't got the patience for your games right now."

Rather than answer, X Drake snapped his fingers. His men took that as a sign, pulling a struggling person and a chair out from behind their group. Said person had a sack draped over their head and their hands cuffed with Sea Prism Stone behind their back, even as the pirates forced them into the chair.

With another snap, Drake ordered his men to rip the mask off, revealing a beaten and bloody 'Tri-Horn' Coby. He was a wreck, his right eye swollen shut and blood dribbling from a busted lip just the beginning, blood soaking into the gag in his mouth. Bruises lined his face including a broken nose and one right over the scars of his forehead. Drake's first mate unsheathed a sword, resting it on their captive's shoulder.

Recognition flashed through Garp's eyes, pity and fury quickly following.

"What are your terms?" the Vice-Admiral hissed through gritted teeth.

"I simply want safe passage for me and my men," Drake answered carefully. Garp was not the sort to offer money demanded. "Our ship is already coated, so we won't be on the surface long, anyway. In exchange, you can have the student of the Pirate Hunter. I'm sure he would be great leverage."

"I hope you burn in Hell," Garp snarled. "We have a deal. Leave the boy here and go. I'll tell my men to leave you be."

"How kind of you," Drake smirked. "Let's go!" The pirate crew turned, ready to make their escape, but the captain paused. "Ah, and Tri-Horn. If we ever meet again, I will eat you."

"Mmfph mph!" the roset responded through the gag, his tone suggesting he wasn't giving his fellow Zoan a complement. X Drake's smirk grew before he and his men made their way past the buildings, vanishing from sight.

Garp waited for a couple minutes until he was sure they weren't coming back before releasing his sigh. Reaching into his coat, the grey-haired marine pulled out his den-den.

"Sir?"

"I had to strike a deal with the pirate. Drake and his ship have a pass because marines are men of their word."

"But sir-!"

Garp hung up before more could be said. If his men shot at the former Rear-Admiral, it wasn't on him. Another sigh escaped him as he took in the beaten form of Coby, the teen's eyes conveying more emotion than anyone his age should have to.

"I told you you all should have become marines," Garp muttered. "My idiot grandson should've at least taken the Warlord deal."

"Mmfph!"

"I'm sorry about this, kid. I really am." The Vice-Admiral grabbed Coby by the collar, hoisting him onto his shoulder before Moonwalking back to his ship.

"Coby should've been back by now," Grace fretted through three rice crackers, pacing the length of the deck. A mug of her green tea shook from her clenched hand, threatening to splash its contents over the rim. Brook's calming melody did little to help, mostly lost in the activity of the ship.

"That's the fourth time you've said that," Usopp grumbled from his position, he and Merry securing Nami's tangerines in case they needed an emergency Coup de Burst.

"Chill out, Lil Sis," Franky said from steering wheel. "You'll super wear a hole in the grass at this rate. Paint yourself calm or something."

"I don't want to be calm," Grace shot back. "I want Coby to come back so I can kill him."

"Seems counterproductive to me," Merry commented. "Unless you're into that. From what I heard, your zombies were."

"So help me, Merry, I will turn you into an emotional shipwreck."

"We've been 'n worse binds 'n this," Gin offered, nervous.

"He's not answering his snail. Coby always answers his snail."

"Methinks there is more going on here than meets the eye. Not that I have eyes! Yohoho!"

"Pun aside, Brook is correct," Robin said, passing her book to a hand that bloomed, a trail of them carrying said book to the women's quarters. "What more is there, Grace?"

"I don't need to tell you," the painter responded. "We've got plenty on our shoulders anyway. There's an Admiral on the way for us, six of us are out there—at least one alone, I might add—and we still can't go anywhere if this whole coating thing you all mentioned is true. This is the definition of being between a rock and a hard place. And we can't do anything!"

"Nyuu~ Panicking isn't going to help," Hachi put in. "It's a shame we couldn't find Rayleigh, but he'll still be around when we get back. Your survival is the big thing right now."

"Our survival is only ours if everyone lives," Grace rebuffed. "How can we do that if we're stuck here?"

It seemed no one had an answer, the painter's question hanging in the air.

"...Maybe we aren't." Merry's voice seemed to cut through the silence, turning all eyes to her.

"What are you taking about?" Chopper asked. Merry fished through her pockets before finding what she wanted, a wadded scrap of paper with ten numbers scrawled in waterproof ink. Seeing the paper, Sanji paled.

"The Marines aren't the only ones," the klabautermann explained. "We've got backup, too. And ours can fly."

"Oh shit!" Luffy cursed, his skin going pale. "Grandpa's coming."

"Grandpa?!" Bonney choked. "Who in the ever-loving Hell is your grandpa, Straw Hat?!"

"Monkey D. Garp," Nami whispered for her shaking husband. "Oh Goda."

"Your grandfather is a marine?!" Bonney cried over Urouge's laughter. "The Hell does your father do if you're a pirate?"

"You don't wanna know," Amy answered before her captain could open his mouth, most likely to stick his own foot in it. Metaphorically speaking, though that's not to say his rubber powers wouldn't allow him to physically perform such a task.

"You're a real hoot, Straw Hat!" Urouge grinned. "If I didn't have a problem with authority figures, I'd be tempted to join your crew."

"You wanna join my crew?"

"No."

"Aw man," the 300-million Supernova pouted. He bounced back quickly, though, placing one fist on the ground. "Still, if there are several of these guys, we need to go all out just to get away. Second Gear!"

"I suppose I should follow along," Urouge chuckled, shrugging the top of his tunic off as his upper body grew, doubling his height and muscle mass.

"The Hell?" Bonney wondered. "Why didn't you do that before, you lug?!"

"Nami, Amy, help deal with the other marines!" Luffy yelled. "We'll handle these guys. Let's fight! Jet Pistol!"

Luffy's steaming fist hit the ground, Sentomaru and Kuma having jumped out of the way. The Navy commander growled as Urouge appeared before him, pillar swinging. Sentomaru brought his axe up to catch the attack, locking the two into something of a stalemate.

Bonney, Luffy, and Zoro charged the Pacifista, the cyborg charging beams that forced the Supernovas to break off their charge before the ground they stood on exploded.

"Oi, Straw Hat," Bonney called. "If you can keep him distracted, I can revert him into a small child or a shriveled old man."

"You can do that?!" Luffy's awe was short-lived, causing him to barely dodge the beam the Pacifista fired.

"108 Caliber Phoenix!" Zoro yelled, his flying slashed whizzing through where the cyborg's head had been and into a tree beyond.

"Jet Pistol!" Luffy appeared before the Navy weapon, his fist hitting it with a thunk. Its mouth opened for another blast. Luffy quickly vanished, landing next to Zoro and Bonney. Urouge landed as well, blood dripping from a cut across his chest. "This thing is tough," Luffy commented, glad his fists couldn't take damage from blunt force.

"Pacifistas cost as much as a Marine Battleship," Sentomaru said from beside the Kuma-lookalike. "Did you think they would be so easy to take down?"

"Means we'll just have to try harder!" Zoro growled, crossing his swords like a pair of scissors. The air around him wavered, two sets of arms fading into view attached at his shoulders and underarms, each hand holding its own sword. Two extra faces also appeared, attached to each side of his head, copies of Wado in their mouths. "Demon Aura: Asura!"

"Now that's freaky," Sentomaru commented. "Get Roronoa, PX-1." The Pacifista beside him opened its mouth, readying an attack. The four Supernovas scattered, each running for their two foes from a different angle. PX-1 prioritized Zoro, firing its attack at the swordsman. Zoro responded instantly, all nine of his swords cutting through the beam as he sidestepped the attack.

"Fight me!" Luffy yelled, a punch steaming toward Sentomaru. "Jet Rifle!"

"Ashigara Dokkai!" Sentomaru countered, shoving his palms forward. Luffy's fist pushed through the resulting shockwave enough to impact the large man's hand, but not enough to do any damage. The wave of air pressure blasted Luffy away, his arm flailing as it retracted back to its normal size. The Straw Hat captain bounced over the ground, plowing through ranks of lesser marines before coming to a stop near the building.

"Get him!" a marine yelled, a segment of the group breaking off to charge the pirate. Luffy responded quickly, his arms stretching up to rip the H off the HUMAN sign. The act was unnecessary, however, a bolt of lightning arcing down to fry the poor marines into unconsciousness.

"Thanks, Nami!" Luffy smiled, charging back into battle with his new weapon.

"Anytime, Luffy," his wife smiled as the behatted teen ran past her. The navigator spun her Clima-Tact with an air of mastery, Cool Balls, Heat Balls, and Thunder Balls flying off in seemingly random directions. Amy landed next to her fellow female crewmate, Billy between them. The shadows around them grew with the dark cloud above, accented by the periodic crack of thunder and flash of lightning.

"We shall fight in the shade, huh?" the blonde chuckled, her open parasol blocking a hail of gunfire. "Dense Shield!"

"It's like there's no end to them!" Nami complained, her eyes constantly flicking toward the battle between the Supernovas and Sentomaru and the Pacifista. "I don't think we can win here. Not if their backup arrives."

"It'd be nice if the others could find us," Amy muttered, a lull in the gunfire causing her to realize a squad of marines were approaching. "Hello~, anger management. Hey marine dipshits! Heavy Impact!"

"I feel sorry for those guys," Nami smirked as Amy launched their way. Another group of the seemingly-endless marines gave a battle cry, swords aimed for the orange-haired woman. Her smirk grew as the men approached, wind around her growing to a howl. "Tornado Tempo!"

"Wah...?"

"Billy!" Nami perked up, but couldn't take her eyes off the marines, even as a tornado ripped through them. For every marine they took down, another stepped up to take their place. Using her weather mastery to extend the tornado's lifespan, Nami ruffled the feathers of Billy's head and jumped into the saddle. "Come on, let's get mobile!"

"Wah!" Shaking off the last of whatever had affected him, Billy took to the air with the captain's wife on his back. Nami's Clima-Tact trailed through the cloud above, literally dragging a growing bolt of lightning behind her.

"Oh son of a-" The marine grunt didn't get to finish on account of the pressure wave created when the female pirate flung the lightning into PX-1.

"Wooaahh!" Luffy grinned as Nami and Billy banked around the fake Kuma's staggered form, a blackened mark marring the cyborg's left side.

"Damn, Straw Hat," Unouge panted with a smile, blood dripping from somewhere in his hair. "Where'd you find a girl like that?"

"East Blue," he answered honestly, lifting his H. One of the prongs had broken off during the fight, but that didn't deter Luffy one bit. "Just had to kick one fishy blue ass."

"Luffy!" Nami yelled, Billy twisting around toward their captain. "Amy! Zoro! We need to get out of here!"

"We know!" Zoro growled, seven of his blades straining against Sentomaru's axe while Bonney tried to sneak behind the large man. Sentomaru couldn't see her, but he still disengaged and jumped before she could reach him, forcing Zoro to spin away from the falling female captain. She landed with a curse, the grass she touched reverting into seeds.

Without warning, ice bloomed from nearby, plunging into the sky where it reached Billy. The duck and navigator squawked as ice froze over the bird's left wing, the two tumbling from the air.

"Luuuuuffy!"

"Nami!" Renewing his Second Gear, Luffy vanished, first grabbing his wife from her freefall before returning for the gigafowl. The captain glared, standing protectively before his shaking spouse and bird as an Admiral lazily stepped into the battle. "Aokiji."

"It's about time you got here," Sentomaru snapped. "You're even slower than Uncle Kizaru!"

"That's hurtful," Aokiji yawned. "Besides, Kizaru is made of light. Everyone is slower than him when he wants to move." He turned, observing the pirates. "Well hello, Straw Hat. Company. Is Nico Robin still part of your crew?"

"She is," Luffy hissed. "Like she's supposed to be. What do you care? Aren't you here to kill us or something?"

"Well, I'm really here for your first mate. If you give him to us, you have a much better chance of leaving. That being said, I remember the last time we met, so I know you won't just leave without him."

"You're damn right we won't!" Amy responded, breaking the icy coating off Billy's wing. The Straw Hats shuffled closer to each other, eyeing the Admiral warily. "We need to leave," she hissed. "We don't stand a chance without Gin. Dense Shield!"

The former Baroque Works agent jumped in front of her companions, a beam from the Pacifista exploding on her hardened parasol. The explosion echoed, compounded by Amy's pained scream as the blast burned her arms and threw her backwards. Her parasol ceased to exist.

"Amy!" her crewmates yelled, Zoro dismissing his Demon Aura to catch her. The Pacifista charged another beam, ready to end the Straw Hats, before a figure moving too fast for them to see appeared over the cyborg. The man's foot connected with the weapon's head, shutting its mouth before the attack could fire. The Pacifista's head exploded.

"PX-1!" Sentomaru snarled as the body tipped backwards, useless. The red-dressed warrior glared at the newcomer, an old man with white hair, casual dress, and a long white jacket. A sword hung from his belt, the man resting one hand on its hilt. He grinned.

"Well, well," Aokiji frowned. "Wasn't expecting to see you, 'Dark King' Rayleigh."

"I've had my fun inside for the day," the old man answered with a confident shrug. "Thought I'd get out and stretch my legs a bit before heading home."

"Who is this guy?" Luffy wondered aloud as the marines nearby cowered at the name. The doors to the HUMAN (now UMAN) building swung open, releasing several new players.

One man had wild red hair and pale skin. His red coat was open to show off his muscles, a leather sash holding a knife and a pistol next to his chest. Behind him were two men, one who looked like a scarecrow and the other wearing a full face helmet of blue and white with a lot of blond hair.

The other man was dressed in a yellow and black jacket with a stylized smiley face and white pants that matched his fur hat. A sword the length of his body rested across his shoulders, highlighting his smug grin. Following him were two men with winter hats and a polar bear in an orange jumpsuit. The man with the sword eyed the battle before turning to the giant slave that had remained silent beside the door the whole time.

"Ah shit," Sentomaru cursed. "Not only does the Dark King come out, but now we have to deal with the Surgeon of Death, the Captain, and the Massacre Soldier."

"We meet again, Killer," Urouge grinned, nodding to the blond man. He didn't respond.

"I think now is our chance to run," Nami whispered, the dented Pacifista from long before appearing on the horizon. Its motions were sluggish and jerky, showing its mechanisms to be malfunctioning. Even so, it launched a beam at the redheaded pirate. Said man's eyes widened before he stepped out of the way, the beam shooting into the UMAN building and exploding.

"Shit!" Sentomaru panicked. "There are Celestial Dragons in there!"

"Correction," Eustass 'Captain' Kid corrected with a sick grin. "There were Celestial Dragons in there."

"No," Sentomaru paled. The temperature around Aokiji plunged, frost crawling over the grass. "No! You did not kill them!"

"Who's to say after that explosion?" Kid's grin widened to a maniacal smirk as he eyed the fallen soldiers and their discarded weapons. "It was fun in the Auction House, but this is my kind of party!" With a raise of his hands, weapons of all kinds pulled themselves from the grips of their owners, the pirates and Sentomaru just managing to hang on to theirs. The airborne weapons flew to Kid, condensing into two massive arms.

"Can you still run, Billy?" Luffy asked as Kid and Sentomaru charged each other. The duck nodded, a pained "Wah" slipping out as he tucked his frost-bitten wing in close to his body. "Good. Zoro, let Billy carry Amy. I'll carry Nami and we'll make a run for it. You cover us."

"Understood," the swordsman responded, doing as he was instructed.

"Ready? Now!" The Straw Hats booked it, fleeing from both the battle and the incoming out-of-control Pacifista. Rayleigh watched them as they went, his eyes widening as he recognized the straw hat Luffy wore.

"I won't let-!" Aokiji didn't finish, Urouge's pillar shattering his icy body.

Not willing to wait for him to reform, the angel swept Jewelry Bonney onto his shoulder and yelled, "That's enough for me!" The Mad Monk took off in a different direction, carrying the pink-haired Supernova. Both their crews followed.

"Dammit!" the Glutton cursed from his shoulder. "I didn't get to do anything!" Urouge didn't slow, the chaos of Grove 1 continuing without them.

"I should go after the Straw Hats," Aokiji mused, as his body took shape again. With a speed that belied his demeanor, the Admiral formed a sword of ice and covered it in Haki, blocking a similarly-covered sword of steel.

"You aren't going anywhere," Silvers Rayleigh told him with a smile. "Any pirate with that hat has an ally in me."

"Well darn."

"Young Master~!"

Sanji sighed at the name, already regretting their decision to call upon their former enemies. Duval pulled up alongside the Thousand Sunny, the Rosy Life Riders arrayed behind him.

"Hi, Duval!" Merry waved, fully aware of Sanji's current feelings on the matter. The Zoro part of her loved watching the chef brood.

"Did you just call me handsome?" Duval asked.

"Not in the slightest," Merry waved off, ignoring the aura of death radiating from Usopp at the innocent query.

"What can we do for you today?" Duval continued. "The Rosy Life Riders are at your command!"

"Good," Grace said, stepping to the railing. "Currently Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Billy, my big sister Amy, and Coby are somewhere on the archipelago."

"Ok?" Duval quirked his head. "What's so wrong with that?"

"Usually there wouldn't be," Robin offered, "but our swordsman—the older one—attacked a Celestial Dragon."

"...Oh." Duval turned, passing a good handful of Beris to one of his higher lackeys.

"You bet on us?" Usopp muttered. "...I'm not really that surprised, actually."

"Oh?" Hachi demanded. "Oh? That's all you have to say about Roronoa breaking the one ironclad rule of the Sabaody Archipelago?"

"Handsomely... I mean honestly, I was expecting a call earlier," Duval shrugged. "Kidnappers or something, probably. Cutting a Dragon? Not surprising after their Enies Lobby stunt, though I thought it would be Straw Hat or the dino kid."

"Always back ta Enies Lobby," Gin sighed. "Ah killed God, fer Pete's sake! B'fore that!"

"YOU DID?!" Camie and Paupagu cried.

"Just a nutjob claiming to be a god," Merry waved off. "Anyway, the current problem?"

"Ah, right." Duval 'winked'. "What can we do for you, Young Master and friends?"

"Take us flying," Sanji ordered. "We'll search the Archipelago for our crewmates and join them. After that, we want you to guard our ship until we get back. And water the tangerines while you're at it. Nami would be pissed if they don't get watered."

"Really?" Franky blinked. "We're in super trouble, and you're thinking about Nami's trees?"

"They are very important," Robin countered, fully serious. "Would you like to deal with the captain's wife if her precious plants died?"

"Hachi, Camie-chan, Starfish," Sanji turned, lighting a cigarette. "Stay here. We don't need you getting mixed up in our fight."

"Alright," Hachi deflated. "Come back soon, ok?"

"We'll be back," Usopp smiled. "Don't worry about that."

"Yohoho. I'm sure these flying fish of yours will be quite the ride."

"You could say that," one of the Rosy Life Riders grinned. "Come on on. Let's go find your friends."

Luffy, Zoro, and Billy ran like their lives depended on it, which they very well could. Nami clung to Luffy's shoulders while Zoro made sure the injured Amy didn't fall off their duck. They hadn't had time to ascertain the damage from the Pacifista's beam she blocked at the price of her parasol, but now that they weren't immediately facing down marines, they managed to get a look.

Her arms were raw up to the elbows, a spiraling pattern of dark burns working their way up like a swirling tribal tattoo. Everywhere these burns weren't was covered in some form of sunburn or UV radiation, making the flesh a bright red. Amy grit her teeth through the pain, barely conscious, as Billy's less-than-smooth running carried her from the battlefield.

"We need to get back to the ship," Nami growled. "Chopper can care for her while we pull out."

"Where were we docked?" Luffy asked, eyeing the massive tree marking their current position as Grove 24.

"Grove 41," his wife answered immediately.

"No," Zoro denied. "We're docked at Grove 1."

"We were just there, you moron!" Nami yelled back.

"Hahaha!" a booming laugh echoed, startling the pirates. They skidded to a stop, carefully observing their surroundings. Amy groaned and hissed from Billy's back. "Even up to your necks in trouble, you're still arguing."

"G-G-G-Grandpa?!" Luffy stuttered, flipping places with Nami so he clung to her back.

Garp stepped up to them from the edge of their vision, another Kuma following them. As opposed to the Pacifistas from before, this one carried a purple bible.

"If you could take a vacation, where would you go?" the real Warlord asked, setting his bible aside.

"You brought this on yourself, Luffy," Garp sighed, his joviality draining away. His face hardened, fists raised as black Haki materialized over his hands. "Surrender."

"Godadammit," Zoro panted. This wasn't a fight they could win.

End of Chapter 126

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-SwordOfTheGods