CHAPTER 5 - Look Out
"No!" Matthew was completely against the idea.
"We might not get a better chance." Zoro said, "We need to return back to Thriller Bark."
"Why? What do you have in store over there? I might lend you a hand if you can convince me." Fargus said.
"My crew is situated out there, along with a bunch of strayed pirates and dead corpses."
Everyone was surprised.
"And I thought the Dread Isle was an evil place." Fargus was sarcastic.
"Look, I don't have the time to explain the whole thing. Besides the dead, everything else seemed solved when he had left. We had to defeat a Warlord to survive that night of the zombies. We cannot wait for them to return back to power."
"I'd agree, but…" Brook mentioned.
"Right, I forgot about the cook." Zoro remembered.
"Let's get Sanji and be out of here." Brook mentioned, "As much as I'd hate to admit it, I don't want to leave things hanging back at Thriller Bark. Bartholomew Kuma has all the rights to return back."
"So what are you waiting for? Let's go." Matthew insisted.
"I guess there's no point worrying about it." Zoro composed himself.
"Well, you can look forward to a fight on the way." Brook indulged.
"I guess there're no allies out there, except for Eliwood's father." Matthew mentioned.
"Of course not!" Fiora emphasised, "They'll pay for what they did."
"Very well. I guess there's no point expanding the expedition to the sea right now." Fargus concluded, "Dart, release that winged horse."
"Aye, Captain."
A pegasus broke free of its chains and rushed high into the sky. It looked below upon the ship and landed before Fiora. It made a grunt against Fargus.
"I got it captured. No wonder the fellow's pissed off at me." he laughed.
Fiora gave an annoyed look, as she mounted onto her horse.
"What in blazes is this?" Dart was surprised. Four people had mounted on the chafed horse ready to throw three of them overboard.
"What are you doing?" Fiora retorted.
"We will need to hitch a ride. Time is of the essence." Zoro mentioned.
"I'll know the way, but we'll need to be careful." Brook advised.
"Alright, then. Off you go." Fargus slapped the horse's rear, surprising it to fly high.
"We'll keep a lookout for the moving island." Dart shouted from below.
"Appreciate it." Zoro replied.
"Will we be alright?" Matthew wasn't sure.
"We'll find Leila and the others. I'm more concerned about our situation." Brook mentioned.
"So why are you helping us? I believe your problems need higher priority." Matthew asked.
"We said to protect your friend Leila, until we met your people. Since that's done, we need to find the cook." Zoro said.
"Wait, there's one more of you?" Matthew asked.
"Sanji, he's with the others right now." Brook nodded.
Brook's better sense of direction led them ahead through the increasing fog.
"Do we stop? I don't like the shroud. The enemies could be everywhere." Fiora mentioned.
"We are heading in the right path. It should be a matter of time before we see a fortress." Brook reassured.
Arrows flew in from below.
"Damn! They're onto us!" Matthew bellowed.
"Go higher!" Zoro shouted, as he turned around. He found a nest of archers hidden in the patch below.
"We will not be able to dodge them all." Matthew mentioned.
"Leave it to me." Zoro drew out his Shusui, "36 Pound Phoenix!"
A heavy gust cut down the arrows on the path, leaving a dent below upon the patch.
"What was that?" Fiora was surprised.
"That's a Flying-blade attack. Come on, we need to go higher." Zoro mentioned.
"Shit!" Matthew bellowed.
A large ballista flew past them missing the Pegasus by an inch. The Pegasus lost control and began losing altitude.
"We'll crash!" Brook flipped.
Fiora tried her best to bring her horse, back to its sense. But it was too late. They crashed with a hard landing.
"Everyone okay?" Matthew asked.
"Yeah." Zoro mentioned, getting up.
"Fiora, are you alright?" Brook asked.
"I'm fine." Fiora replied, "Where are we?"
"Uh oh…" Brook realised that they were in trouble.
"This is bad." Matthew remarked.
They had landed upon an opening that provided a good spot for enemy archers to turkey shoot the survivors.
"Protect the winged horse." Zoro mentioned, "I see a whole bunch of them to the rear. Let me take that side."
The others got to work protecting their sectors.
"This could get bad, real fast." Zoro said, "Fiora, ready the horse. Brook, keep her and the horse covered.
"Okay." Fiora retreated, as she tended to her Pegasus.
"You got it!" Brook bellowed.
"We can't stay here for too long."
Enemy forces outnumbered their strength and Zoro knew that it was a bad situation. He and the others needed to protect the horse and each other whilst at it.
Zoro took out all his blades and prepared to attack, "Three-Sword Style - 108 Pound Phoenix!"
The Flying-blade attacked left a large hollow on his path.
Fiora and her horse were stupefied.
"Holy crap! The damage!" Matthew was shocked.
"Don't let up! Fire!" shouted the enemy commander. Arrows came in from three directions. Matthew composed himself and dodged with his quick movements. Zoro turned his attention to the east, protecting Fiora along with her Pegasus. Brook had disappeared whilst the surprise, returning back from the northern side of the woods, singing and swinging his blade.
"Brook, behind you." Zoro shouted.
"Well, thank you for the rallying audience!" Brook shouted dodging a few arrows. He began sheathing his blade, "Three-Verse Humming - Arrow Notch Slash!" Arrows stopped spouting from the north.
"These guys are amazing." Fiora observed.
Unaware of his presence, Brook had managed to slip past a bunch of archers cutting them down whilst at it. It instigated fear amongst the northern side, forcing them to flee. Whilst the confusion, Fiora had managed to restore her Pegasus, ready to depart. Everyone jumped on board much to the horse's pain. There was no other way. Zoro let out another burst of his 108 Pound Phoenix towards the eastern side before flying off.
"What are you?" Matthew was surprised.
"What do you mean?" Zoro asked preoccupied with the situation below. Arrows flew near but hadn't the strength or range, after the enemies had been stalled and demoralised with the counterattack.
"I think we've made a mistake. We should retreat and find Sanji and the others." Brook mentioned.
"We can't see a goddamn thing." Zoro mentioned, "The fog has engulfed the area."
"What do we do?" Fiora asked.
"We keep moving towards the fortress. Leila mentioned it was their objective. We'll meet them sooner than later." Zoro said.
It seemed a reasonable thought since they couldn't land and make a ground search due to the enemy's presence.
Brook remembered the path he had taken in the entire course on the island, and aided Fiora with the directions. Before long they had found themselves in the vicinity of big spires situated at the Dragon's Gate.
"We are here." Brook mentioned.
Matthew had a bad feeling, "I don't think we should be here."
"Let's find a safe landing spot." Brook told Fiora, "And also, could you show me your panties?"
"What?" Fiora's surprise resulted in a whack from her spear's rear upon Brook's head.
"You'll fall, Brook. Control yourself." Zoro shouted. The Humming swordsman swung to-and-fro in blissful stars.
The Pegasus made landfall near the northern side of the forest, hiding themselves into the thicket.
"What do you think? When are they showing up?" Fiora asked.
"Since you've mentioned Uhai had joined our side, I doubt they'll take longer than it's expected." Matthew mentioned.
"Can't we just barge in and end the matter?" Zoro asked.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Zoro." Brook said.
"Yeah, what gives?" Fiora was baffled.
"They can't be any harder than that assassin we had met? What do you say, Brook?" Zoro asked.
"Things favoured for us the last time." Brook replied, "Looking back, I'd say I was quite lucky to have arrived upon that dungeon with the least resistance. The assassin neither expected Leila to switch to our side, nor myself showing up from behind. They won't make the same mistake. Besides, haven't you had enough against Oars and Gecko Moria? You were seen fatigued after that fight against Uhai. I don't think you should do this."
Zoro thought for a while and sighed, "Well, you are right. Let's just wait around whilst the cook and the others show up."
"Wait, did you say that Leila was with you all along?" Matthew was surprised.
"She was." Brook replied, "That the assassin had tried to kill her."
"Why are you so obsessed about that woman? You almost sound like that stupid cook." Zoro retorted.
"She's his fiancée. Show some consideration, Zoro." Brook rebuked.
"Whoa!" Fiora was surprised.
"Shouldn't you be back at home preparing for some wedding instead of being on this island?" Zoro asked Matthew, "What would've happened if she had died?"
"Zoro!" Brook tried to halt Zoro's straight-forward remarks, "They are spies. It's their job."
Zoro looked upon Brook, then upon a silent Matthew.
"Do you really want things to go on like this?" Zoro asked, "Despite what I might've said before, I do realise the fact that there's evil in that place. And I mean strong ones at that. Leila has become a prime target after our unexpected escape from the dungeons, and she'll be prioritised later, especially by that assassin. Now, I don't want to describe your fiancée as a weak woman. She did well to survive this long. You know what I mean, don't you?"
"Well, I do." Matthew replied with an understanding.
"Let me make it clear. It's not my place to meddle into other people's life. I have my own dreams to worry about." Zoro said, "But I'll say that a non-committed trooper is bound to die on a battlefield. Your worry shall affect battle morale. Do you want to die alongside Leila, or do you want to see the next day?"
No one dared to reply. Zoro made sense. Despite Fiora never having met Leila, she understood the combat-ideology that the swordsman tried to make.
"To tell the truth, I'd wanted to tell her when I saw her the last time. About quitting this line of work." Matthew revealed, "Now I'm worried."
Zoro grinned.
Brook said, "Sanji has taken a liking to Leila whist our journey together. He will keep her safe at all cost."
"Hah. I guess that's the only danger she's facing." Zoro chuckled.
"Yohoho… indeed."
"That friend of yours, he sounds like a reliable person." Matthew said.
"He is." Brook nodded, "There's one thing I've seen of Captain Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates. They wouldn't back down if a friend's in danger. Besides, your own people wouldn't let her come into harm's way."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that she's safe." Matthew sighed, "I hope to meet her soon."
"We will. The island is stirring up for a big fight." Zoro said. He looked upon Brook, "Come to think of it, pretty much part of the crew Brook. Luffy had intended to ask you again after you got your shadow back. I doubt you'll disagree." Zoro mentioned.*
"Ah, I remember. You shan't worry, the Straw Hats have given me life to venture once again in the open seas. I'm indebted to your kindness." Brook replied, "But the decision remains with the Captain. We will have to wait until we can meet Luffy once again."
"You are right."
"Looks like you all had a long journey before arriving on this island." Fiora asked.
"Yeah, you can say that." Zoro mentioned, "Two of the Seven Warlords were more than we could've handled."
"Warlords?"
"Well, they are some of the strongest pirates in the open sea, after all. The government sanction's them in exchange of keeping other pirates at bay, whilst letting them keep a portion of the loot." Brook explained, "In other words, it's best to avoid people like them under any circumstances."
"What are you talking about, Brook? You should know that the strongest swordsman in the world is a Warlord. We will face them again." Zoro said.
"I guess you are right. And we are not far off. From the way things that had ended with Bartholomew Kuma, we might assume him to show up here at any moment."
"Then, we'll give him hell." Zoro replied.
"Are these Warlords as strong as you'd say?" Fiora asked surprised, "I mean, the evil on this island is a formidable force, and I've seen Zoro and your strength. Do you mean to say there's someone stronger than them?"
"Indeed, and not only exclusive to the Warlords. There are the Marine Admirals and Vice Admirals, and the Four Emperors. It shivers just to mention their names."
The day had ended better than its previous night. There was no rain to sulk the mood more than it was supposed to. But an excitement surrounded the air, giving the indication of a storm that was coming the day after. Eliwood, Hector and Lyn's forces were advancing through the forest, led by Leila and Uhai, who had decided to join the fray of the Dread Isle.
"Where the hell are those idiots?" Sanji wondered.
TO BE CONTINUED…
*As mentioned in the first chapter, Brook wasn't a member of the Straw Hats until the end of the Thriller Bark arc. Please refer to the One Piece anime/manga for reference.