Chapter Eight
Destroying Her Shackles
After Luffy and Zoro left with the blonde sheep girl, Nami turned her attention to the other males on the ship. She stood in a wide stance, her hands propped on her hips. Her grin was unsettlingly sinister.
"Okay, guys, let's go! We probably don't have a lot of time to pull this off," she cackled as she walked briskly towards the storage room door that lead to the female quarters.
Sanji and Usopp shared confused looks and stood in silence for a couple of moments until the door opened again. The navigator emerged with a few canvas bags and rope in her hands.
"Uh… Nami? What exactly are we gonna do?" Usopp questioned, running his fingers through his curly hair, wincing as he caught some tangles.
She threw the bags and rope to Sanji as she made her way to the ship's railing. "Isn't it obvious? We are going to steal all of the Coyote Ugly's treasure right from under their dumb noses," she smirked back at them before jumping over the railing to the dock below.
The blond chef followed quickly behind her, leaving the olive-skinned sniper with his jaw hanging open. "Whaaaaaat!?" he screamed, scrambling after his friends, his limbs flailing in his usual exaggerated fashion.
When all three members reached the entrance to the marina, Nami asked the gate attendant where the other marinas on the island were and if they had restricted access. The attendant told them about the civilian marina as well as the merchant marina that was located closer to the marketplace so it was easier for them to unload and load their goods. The young woman nodded, handing him a few bills, and began walking in the direction of the merchant marina.
"Nami? The other civilian docks are the other way. That's probably where their ship is anchored," Usopp questioned, pointing with both hands in the opposite direction.
She sighed heavily, looking over her shoulder to glare at the long-nosed boy. "Yeah, but this crew deals with black market goods so they have to have connections that get them into the special dock. Otherwise, there would be too much risk involved. Plus, Aries said the walk from the ship to the building she was sold in wasn't that long, which means they were anchored near the market."
Usopp stared blankly at her as she continued walking, Sanji running to catch up with her. The sniper dragged his hand across his face, muttering about know-it-alls and his new dangerous-pirate-crew-itis. He jogged after them, his lips pulled into a deep frown. As they walked around the outskirts of the marketplace, the path became less populated. The fish stalls had closed and the merchants had packed up for the day in order to prepare for their morning fishing expeditions.
The man who was supposed to be guarding the entrance to the docks was passed out at his table, half a mug of beer still in his hand. The trio walked past him quietly and Usopp couldn't help but snicker at the man's loud snoring. About halfway down dock 3, Nami stopped in front of an anchored schooner, it's yellow and white striped flag waving lacklusterly in the breeze. Sanji walked a few steps closer to the vessel, his skin crawling under his suit jacket.
"Something isn't right with this ship," he said to himself, rubbing his arms.
Nami nodded in agreement as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. She crouched low to the wooden boards and crept up the ramp. She surveyed the empty deck before motioning for the two boys to follow her. Sanji opened the heavy grate that led to the lower level of the ship once they made sure the cabin on the deck was vacant. The few steps down spilled out into a dim, crowded corridor that was lined with crates and other cargo.
Usopp took a couple cautious steps towards the bow of the sea vessel when a sneeze from the stern alerted the Straw Hats that they were not alone.
"Guards?" Nami whispered, her eyes locked on the open door at the opposite end of the corridor. Sanji nodded, walking confidently towards the source of the noise. Nami followed close behind.
"See if you can find anything valuable to take down that way, Usopp," she muttered to the cowardly boy.
He gave a shaky thumbs up in response and started walking towards the (hopefully) empty bow once again.
Barrels full of water and beer were stacked several high along the walls of the corridor. Crates draped with nets to keep them in place split the walkway in two, creating two lanes. Usopp looked in every doorways on the port side only to find cannons, weapons, and ammunition in one long room that took up a majority of the ships interior, as well as a crowded cabin that must have housed a good portion of the ship's crew.
The next area was storage and tables in the bow of the schooner. He examined most of the cargo, looking for anything of worth, just like Nami asked, until he came across a large cleared out section tucked back behind a wall of crates. The sniper inched forward on trembling legs, glancing in every direction in fear of being caught.
Outside, the clouds drifted out from in front of the sun, causing bright rays of sunlight to enter through the windows, illuminating Usopp's surroundings. He flailed about in a panic until something of the floor caught his eye.
Scuff marks, tape, and dark stains marred the wooden surface in the shape of a crude circle. Upon closer inspection, he released the stains were dried blood that nobody had cared to wipe up. And from the amount of stains, someone (or ones) bled a lot.
They're too strong.
Aries's words echoed in his mind as he stared at the floor. He remembered the purple bruises hidden under her clothes. He had seen them when he brought the clothes to Nami when they were still all aboard the Merry.
"I wonder if some of this is Aries's blood," Usopp frowned, his eyebrows pinched together in frustration. Approaching footsteps snapped him from his thoughts. Quickly he hid behind the nearest stack of crates and readied his slingshot.
"How come it's always us that gets stuck on guard duty?"
"Because we suck at rock, paper, scissors. And none of us wanna stand up to Shin."
Two voices poured out from the room at the end of the passage. Sanji continued to walk towards the other pirates, his face locked in a steely glare. Nami stopped just behind him, her brow knitted together. The blond chef walked forward a few more steps, stopping just outside the threshold as another voice chimed in.
"Speaking of Shin, shouldn't he be back with Aries by now?"
Laughter erupted from the room, followed by the slosh of liquid spilling from a glass.
"Yeah, maybe Shin is playing with her without us!" he first voice shouted, stirring up the laughter again.
"He better not go too far before her fight tomorrow. That is always the highlight of the time at sea," the second voice snickered. "Although, it isn't as fun when she doesn't fight back. Maybe Shin shouldn't keep her chained up all the time."
"Nah!" the third voice added, "It's fine, because she always cries."
"Or she gets that crazy look! Although she hasn't looked like that in a while. Probably because Shin is ending the fights sooner."
The trio laughed again. The harsh sound of their cackles grated against Sanji's and Nami's ears. The orange haired girl shoved the chef forward into the open doorway, her anger boiling hot in her gut. He stumbled but quickly regained his balance. The noise from the guards silenced immediately when they noticed the intruder. Sanji lit a new cigarette nonchalantly, straightening his black suit jacket as he flicked away the spent match.
The guards leapt to their feet, knocking over chairs and tables in the process. The air became tense as both parties waited for the other to make the first move. Sanji slipped his hands into his pants pockets, letting his cigarette hang between his lips.
"Ya know," he drawled casually, his one visible eye locked on his three opponents. "I don't appreciate the things you were saying about my dear Aries-hime. I think I need to teach you three how to treat a lady."
Nami watched from her spot in the hall, smirked as her friend kicked the other pirates into unconsciousness. Once all three were taking their unwilling naps, she tossed him a couple lengths of rope.
"Tie 'em up while I steal the treasure," the navigator commanded, her brown eyes shimmering as she looked at the piles of gold coins, jewels, and bundles of beri bills.
Nami finished stuffing the goodies into her bags just as Sanji finished restraining the captives.
"Sanji, let's go find Usopp and get out of here before the other members of the crew come back," she said, hoisting the two bags over her shoulder.
He nodded, plucking his spent cigarette from his lips and stamping it out on the floor.
Usopp's hand shook as he released the pocket of his slingshot.
"Lead Star!" he shouted just before the bullet struck the floor.
"What the hell, Usopp?! It's us!" Nami yelled from behind the blond chef who had jumped in front of her to block the projectile. She stomped around him and punched the sniper on the head.
"Ow! I'm sorry!" he whined, quickly stashing his slingshot.
"Did you find anything, Usopp?" Sanji asked calmly.
"Not really," he replied glancing behind him while rubbing the growing lump Nami left. "Just what looks like a fighting ring."
When his friends didn't respond, he looked back at them. Both of their faces were pinched in a combination of anger and sadness. Nami turned away, shifting her bags on her shoulder. She wiped at one of her eyes with her free hand, trying to hide her leaking tears.
"What's wrong?" the sniper asked cautiously, his eyes warily following Nami as she walked towards a small table a few feet from the hidden arena.
Sanji bared his teeth, and barked, "Those bastards made Aries fight for her freedom, even when they knew she couldn't win." In his obvious frustration, he kicked a crate, splintering the wood, allowing its contents to spill out onto the floor. He heaved, his entire body moving with the force of his deep inhales.
"Let's get back to the Merry," Nami suggested quietly, "Luffy and Zoro are probably back by now."
The three pirates turned together and exited out the threshold at the far end of the room. As they passed more stacked crates, they came upon a door with a barred window.
Sanji walked past it without glancing in. Usopp gave the door a once over, before quickly following the blond chef. Nami, on the other hand, stopped in front of the door and peered through the bars into the dim and barren room. Her heart dropped into her stomach as she noticed that the only thing in the room was a pair of dirty shackles bolted to the far wall.
Memories of the map room back at Arlong Park flashed through her mind. She tried to ignore the burn of her welling tears and clenched her fists at her sides. She struck the cell door in anger; the action sending a stinging pain up to her wrist. The noise startled her friends, causing them to whip around to face the source of the sound.
The two boys stared at Nami with matching confused expressions for a few silent moments. Usopp cautiously stepped closer to the navigator. "Nami? You okay?" he asked quietly.
When she didn't respond, he walked to her side and asked again, "What's up, Nami?" He leaned closer to her, peering around the curtain of orange hair that blocked her face from view. The sight of her crying face threw him for a loop. He began to stutter and flail his arms as he attempted to stop the young woman's tears. "Nami, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
The female rubbed her cheeks with the back of her hand and pointed at the door in front of her.
Sanji raised his visible eyebrow and strolled to the offending door, his hands tucked into his pockets. He glanced through the barred window, his gaze drifted lazily over the empty surfaces. When he saw the metal restraints glint in the sunlight, he bit down on his extinguished cigarette. His shoulders tensed as he fought the urge to kick down the door and tear apart the prison with his bare hands.
Usopp, still unaware of the reason for his friend's abnormal behavior, finally turned away from Nami and peered into the cell. It only took a second for him to realize what it was he was looking at. His fists shook at his side, just as Nami's had a few moments prior. He looked over his shoulder as she cleared her throat.
"Can we do for her what Luffy did for me?" she whispered as if talking to herself.
The two boys shared a glance and a nod. "Let's destroy her prison." Sanji spoke calmly, despite the anger burning in his chest.
Nami gathered the two bags of treasure into her arms and silently retreated to the Merry in order to prepare for their speedy getaway.
Sanji journeyed back to the stern. He reentered the room where the three guards were still knocked out on the floor. One by one, he hauled them up to the deck before tossing them (not so gently) onto the dock below.
Usopp scurried into the cannon bay, pulling barrels of gunpowder from the corners and placing them strategically throughout the ship. He then connected all of them with both cloth fuses and gunpowder trails. He ended the trail in a cluster at the foot of the ladder that led back up to the deck. The sniper quickly climbed up to the deck and turned to stare down the dark hole.
He wordlessly loaded his slingshot and aimed at the large knot he had tied. "Fire Star!" he shouted, his projectile lighting the cloth a blaze. He watched the flame begin to travel down the fuses before running at full speed down the ramp to the dock and then all the way back to the Going Merry.
Once he was safe aboard the small caravel, he bent over gasping her breath. He braced his hands on his knees as he wheezed.
"Did you take care of it?" Nami asked from the doorway of the kitchen.
Usopp nodded and nearly jumped out of his boots at the sound of a massive explosion in the distance.
The loud blast shook the stone buildings that surrounded the trio of pirates as they weaved through the crowd as quickly as they could. Luffy leapt into the air as the rumble caused crates of fruit to tumble into their path. Zoro followed the captain's lead, jumping over the mess without a second thought. Aries, who had been trailing slightly behind the two boys, had to vault over the unfortunate stall owner in order to avoid a collision. She placed both hands on the man's back and used her forward momentum to carry her body over his hunched form. The action brought back memories of playing "leapfrog" with other kids back home.
"Sorry!" she yelled, waving in apology as she fell back into step with the others.
"What was that?" Zoro wondered aloud.
"Cannon fire?" Aries offered nervously, he side throbbing with every step.
"Let's get back to the Merry and get outta here," Luffy said as he picked up the pace.
Zoro and Aries nodded and matched his speed. The sheep girl winced, her right hand pressed to her still bleeding side. Damn. More busted stitches.
Finally, the end of the market came into view. At the edge of the pier, the Straw Hat's Jolly Roger was clearly displayed on the unfurled sails of the Going Merry. The vessel was moving slowly across the water, signaling that it was time to leave.
"Hurry up, you idiots! The Marines are on to us!" Nami's loud voice rang from the ship. "We gotta go!"
"Okay!" Luffy answered, suspiciously cheery. He reached backwards, his arm stretching far enough for his hand to wrap around Zoro's forearm, never once missing a step.
"Luffy! Don't you dare!" the swordsman shouted, his neutral expression replaced with a panicked one, sweat drops forming on his forehead.
The dark haired captain just laughed cheerfully in response.
Zoro grit his teeth and turned his head to look at Aries. "You're gonna want to hold on tight," he said through his teeth. He extended his free hand to her.
She gave him a worried look, but placed her hand in his anyway. The moment his hand wrapped around hers, he wrenched her off her feet. She let out a shocked bleet as she left the ground and found herself tucked against the green haired man's side with her arms pinned between them.
"Hold on," he growled, tensing his muscles as if preparing for another tough fight.
Before she could voice her thoughts, she noticed Luffy's other arm stretching into the distance in front of them.
"Gum-Gum…"
Zoro tightened his grip on both his captain's arm and his new crew mate.
"Rocket!"
The three teens were yanked into the air. Aries tried to scream, but could not muster the sound. The wind rushed harshly past her head, tangling her hair even more around her horns, as their captain pulled them along.
Then, suddenly, it all stopped. A feeling of weightlessness came over her as if she was floating. She pried her eyes open and was greeted with the sight of a seemingly endless blue sea that spanned farther than the horizon.
The cackle of Luffy's laughter brought her out of her moment.
"Going down!" he said through his laughs.
She then noticed the pull of gravity summoning them back to solid ground. With nothing but open waters below them.
This time, the girl had no problem releasing her shrill scream. The trio dropped fast, like rain in a storm.
"Luffy! If we hit the Merry going this fast, we're gonna go straight through to the seafloor!" Zoro yelled, a twinge of fear noticeable in his tone.
Aries wasn't sure what happened in the next few moments. They were still falling quickly, but Zoro now had both arms wrapped around her as if acting like a shield.
"Gum-Gum Balloon!"
Impact. Then another bout of weightlessness. Another impact. Then nothing.
She only opened her eyes when she felt the swordsman's death grip on her frame slacken. She turned her head to the side slightly only for her vision to be filled with the sight of polished wooden boards. Zoro coughed once, one of his arms unwrapping from around her back in order to rub the back of his sore head.
"Luffy! That was idiotic! What were you thinking?! Wait, you weren't thinking!" Nami yelled at the still laughing rubber man.
The blonde girl glanced over at the bickering pair for a second, patting Zoro on the shoulder as a sign of gratitude. She struggled to stand up, stumbling as her vision blurred around the edges.
Two hand carefully grabbed her upper arms, their hesitation painfully obvious in their trembling fingers.
"Aries! Are you okay?! What happened? Did you rip your stitches?"
When her vision cleared, she recognized Usopp, the long nosed boy. She gave him a strained smile, her split lip tugging awkwardly at the motion.
"One question at a time, please," she joked weakly as she focused on staying on her feet.
"Let's get moving before the Marines show up. I don't feel like explaining why we blew up a pirate ship that was disguised as a merchant vessel," Nami said in a frustrated manner. She ran her fingers through her short orange hair as she briskly walked to the helm.
"You blew up another pirate ship?!" the young captain exclaimed, running to the figurehead, trying to see any remaining evidence.
Aries allowed her eyes to follow the black haired boy's movements, which led her eyes to the column of brown smoke bellowing up into the sky. The smoke became darker the closer the Going Merry got to the raging fire. The burning ship became visible as the caravel rounded the outer edge of another marina. The flames were burning through the weathered boards and the fabric of the sails.
The main flag that hung at the top of the main mast seemed familiar to her. She blinked slowly, trying to focus her tired brain on how she knew the flag, however numerous shouts from the pier distracted her from her goal.
Marines were flooding the pier, arresting shocked sailors who could only stare at the now sinking remains of their vessel. A group of women that were being handcuffed and shoved down the path caught her eyes.
Is that… the prep team? D-did they…?
Aries whipped her head back to face Usopp and stared at him, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. The sniper shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck in an embarrassed manner, a red flush dusting his olive colored cheeks.
"We saw where they had you stay and we couldn't let you go back to that," he said simply, not able to look her in the eye.
He yelped in surprise as the shorter female threw herself into his chest, her loud sobs shaking her frame. He looked at everyone else for some sort of assistance, panicking slightly when he could not stop her cries. When no one offered immediate help, he nervously placed his hand on the back of her head.
Luffy walked back over to his crewmates as the girl's sobs grew softer.
"Well Aries," he started.
The sheep girl lifted her head from Usopp's shoulder and wiped her face, waiting for him to continue.
"Welcome to my crew!" he cheered, his toothy grin stretching across his cheeks.
She looked at each individual person that stood on the deck, finally beginning to understand what he meant. Her prison was destroyed and this silly rubber man has kept his word. He had defeated the elusive Captain Coyote. She owed this man her freedom.
She stared at him, memorizing his happy smile. In that moment, as her sadness faded from her shoulders, she vowed to help this man achieve whatever it was that he wanted. She would follows him anywhere.
She gave him her best radiant smile in return, despite her injured face.
"Thank you, Captain!"
Sorry for the long delay guys! I started working a second job and boooy it really takes a lot outta me. But I finally have time to actually write again so I hope that the next chapter won't take as long. Sorry for any grammar mistakes, I really wanted to get this chapter posted so I didn't give it my usual long edit.
At the time this chapter is posted, I am also starting a side story that will focus on Aries' relationships with members of the Straw Hat pirates and other friends met along the way. These stories will be canon in the Free Sailing verse but are not necessary for understanding the main story. So go check it out if you want to!