IIRoxaII: Thank you! I'm glad you like them! Luffy was fun to write in this one!
izzywolf22: Thank you!
Wishfull-star: (* ^ ω ^)
"Listen Robin, we came all this way for you! So we're gonna rescue you! And if you still wanna die, then die afterwards!" Nami and Chopper were the first to make it to the roof, and Luffy didn't turn to look. There was still lots and lots of battling going on below, but he could smell them all coming closer. They were nearly all face to face against their enemies.
Maybe their toughest enemies so far. Baroque Works was hard, but they weren't CP9. They were different. These guys were evil and pretended they were doing justice when they were just hurting people. Luffy wasn't gonna die or bow down at the hands of the government. Hell no. He'd rather die drowning than be bested by some government person. Then they couldn't claim they were ever stronger than him.
Zoro climbed up next. "Yo, Luffy. Already had some fun while we were taking out fodder?" he asked, seeing Blueno. Luffy nodded.
"I was bored and it was going too slow." Nami, Chopper and Zoro were up, then followed by Sanji. Luffy could hear Sogeking and smell him screaming as he somehow made it to the roof from far below. Did one of the giants throw him or something? When he landed, they were now all there.
Luffy said, "Robin! I don't care whether you want to choose to live or die! But whatever you decide, say it while you're with us!" Luffy shouted, fists balled. He was so sad she wanted to die, and it brought back memories of what Ace was like after Sabo died, but he was still going to rescue her whether she fought the whole way or not.
He wasn't a tyrant captain, but he wasn't going to allow this.
"That's right Robin-chan! Come back with us!"
"Robin, we miss you!"
"Please!"
Tears were in her eyes. They all stood on the rivets on the building side by side, unwavering. They refused to back down. "Just leave everything to us!" Luffy shouted. CP9 stood across from them still, and lighty commented on how it was impressive they made it this far, through the aqua laguna, as well.
"Boy, how did you make it here?" Kaku asked.
"I'm tough," Luffy said shortly. "It's not gonna be easy to get rid of any of us."
"Well, we have permission to kill you, now. Though I did intend to kill you when I threw you out of the train car."
"Cause I bit you." Zoro snorted, and Lucci's eye just barely twitched at that.
"He bit you?! Then he's a monster!" Spandam shouted. Zoro asked if he did something to the guy's eye.
"I threw a rock at him. He was being mean to Robin! What a jerk."
Lucci didn't seem indifferent anymore about Luffy, but like he would have fun trying to kill him. Well, that was how it was going to end. Nobody expected any different. Spandam was scared of how many were there, and was getting emergency medical treatment on his eye. Apparently it wasn't good at all. The rock hit right against the retina, damaging it severely and it might not even be saved during surgery.
"That little shit blinded me in one eye! Kill him!" Spandam shouted in tears. The CP9 didn't move. They were already planning on doing that, they didn't need that coward to order them to. Nobody showed any concern for their boss's wellbeing. Franky openly mocked him. Robin stayed quiet, her face firm but body trembling.
Lucci assured Spandam he was safe there, in a bored voice. They wouldn't let anything happen to him. "You think you're tough because you got here? You don't stand a chance! No matter how brave you are, you'll never win!" He felt much more confident now that he was standing behind very sure and strong agents that could stop any projectile from hitting him now. But Luffy was proud he blinded him. His face was already a mess, a missing eye could perhaps complete the picture.
He pointed at the flag that signified the World Government flapping above. Blueno had pointed to it as well. "We have the full strength of the assassin group, CP9! We have the heavy Gates of Justice that human power can't open! Moreover, now I have the authority to use this golden den den mushi to trigger the 'buster call'!" Luffy heard Robin's reaction before he saw it. Spandam got on the ledge of the roof and Luffy picked up a handful of rocks.
He started to mock Robin's pain, the past they didn't know about. Other than Sanji and Usopp. This buster call was a marine attack with warships and vice admirals that destroy an island, or anything that is their target. Robin's hometown suffered that. And he mocked her for it. Luffy was seething at the mental abuse, the trauma he was inflicting on Robin and also bringing out. Luffy took the rocks, and shot them at Spandam as hard as he could. Lucci pulled him away immediately, and the rocks hit the wall inside the room so hard it blew open the other wall with a huge crash.
Spandam was suddenly silent.
"Stop mocking my archeologist or I'll come for you after I take out Lucci!" Luffy bellowed furiously. "If you're all Robin's enemy, you're all our enemy, too. Sogeking… shoot down that flag!"
"Roger," Usopp said, and shot a flame star with his new huge slingshot, and burnt the World Government flag down.
"Ace, why doesn't grandpa want people knowing about you? He hides you! I understand about me, but… why you?"
"Cause to the world, I'm not meant to be born. I was a mistake."
"But… I don't think-"
"Just go to sleep. I don't wanna talk about it tonight. Or at all. There's nothing I can do about what the world thinks of me."
"Well… I'm not the world, so there!"
"Go to bed, Lu."
"Okay…"
To be honest, it felt good to finally establish himself an enemy to everything and everyone that told his friends or his brother they were a sin, who allowed the killing of an innocent boy because of a murderer's whim, who supported Nami's town enslaved for benefits, who let their son torture somebody and starve them as an enemy. They were his enemy from the start as a true enemy.
Robin was shocked and horrified, and Luffy heard everyone else on the island who saw it react in shock and disbelief. But not a single Straw Hat looked bothered in the slightest. "The pirates… have declared themselves the enemy of the World Government!" they said in shock.
Spandam, despite the threats and abuse Luffy had given him so far, told them they were insane, while hiding completely behind Lucci. There was blood under the bandage now hanging over his eye. Luffy was glad he could blind him. Someone else already did great harm to his face, though.
"BRING IT ON!" Luffy shouted at him, making him flinch more. "Robin! I still haven't heard you say it!" Her body was trembling. "Say you want to live!" he bellowed. His friends agreed, nodding or voicing support. Tears fell from her eyes and her face started to get red from trying to hold in sobs.
"I wanna live!" she sobbed. "Take me with you! To the ocean!" she cried. The Straw Hats smiled. Franky was crying about how sweet it was. But there was so much and so little work to do. Fight CP9 and rescue Robin and then leave. Simple, but they all had to win their fights and they had to somehow escape this place.
The plan was loose, but most of it would be winging it and hoping for the best.
The drawbridge was lowering, and everyone was ready for the fight besides Spandam. He was already permanently injured and hadn't even been fighting. Luffy gave a special glare at him, promising pain. Lucci was now wearing the look of a monster. He was a monster, too. He was grinning at Luffy, no doubt now wanting to fight him.
Too bad he had to babysit Spandam before Luffy caught up.
As the bridge lowered, both sides were getting pumped up. "We'll definitely save you, Robin!" Luffy said. He turned around and took a drink of the blood, and put it back in his shorts. He wiped his mouth.
"You seriously blinded him with a pebble," Sanji commented loosely while the bridge lowered. Luffy laughed. It had actually just been a lucky hit. "Damn right that's lucky."
Luffy could hear their enemies insulting but complimenting their brass at burning through the flag. "But it's useless to try and match us," Kaku said. Luffy didn't comment he could hear them. Though they all knew of his superb senses by now. The good thing was that nobody knew about the blood in his pockets.
After taking a big drink, he was in the best fighting condition he could be in. every wound or ache in his body was gone like magic. He felt he'd gotten the best night of sleep in his life. He was confident in himself right now. The fight against Lucci would be hard. And he didn't have any do overs like against Crocodile.
This enemy also wasn't underestimating Luffy.
The drawbridge stopped with a loud clang as Luffy heard infighting downstairs. "Hurry up! They're taking Robin!" Luffy bellowed. "Don't interfere you assholes!" he yelled when he saw marines peek their heads out of the crack between the wall and the bridge.
Spandam was no longer frozen in place, and started to head into the building, dragging Robin too. "Robin!" Chopper called. Luffy snarled. The guy had lost all bravado in the face of a fearless Luffy, and wanted away as soon as possible. He would be taking Lucci as well. Which meant Luffy would reach his destination and goal at the same time. Then maybe he could get rid of Spandam's other eye. He was furious with him making Robin cry.
"Someone else take Cutty Flam!" he shouted, but Franky stilled. Luffy saw him open his stomach and pull out an old packet of paper. It was the blueprints to some "super weapon". The reason CP9 had been undercover for. They were in shock, and then horror when Franky made the choice to burn it.
He spat fire from his mouth and the old paper burnt into nothing. Franky laughed at him about it. The whole reason that weapon was being passed down still was because of the off chance Robin would awaken the other weapon. But now that Franky knew she wouldn't do that, there was no reason to keep the blueprints. No need for self-defense, so why keep it? The agents who'd been undercover to get it watched as their five years of work was burnt to nothing.
There were only tiny pieces of burnt paper left. "You don't have the weapon and if you lose to the Straw Hats, you'll be left with nothing! And I'm betting on their overwhelming victory!" Spandam was horrified and furious. It was his whole dream to have this power, and now it was forever taken from him.
Luffy didn't care about the semantics of the situation, but the reactions were entertaining. Franky really wasn't that bad a guy, was he? And his powers were interesting, too.
The Franky Family started to call to him from the courthouse. They were there for him, all of them. Most of the noise from below was no longer marines, but the Galley-La Company and the frankies. To be expected, the cyborg was very happy and touched about this. He cried in thanks and relief before Luffy snapped.
"Shut up and lower the bridge already! Robin's waiting!"
"Ah, yeah! Hurry up already!" Nami shouted.
"Hurry, hurry!" Chopper insisted.
"Straw Hat! Thank you for taking care of my subordinates! Now let the Super Battle Franky show his stuff!" he said with a grin.
"Okay, but I'm still a bit mad about Usopp!" Franky grinned, but then was kicked over the side of the balcony by a furious Spandam. Everything was going wrong for him today, it seemed. And would only go worse.
"Whhaaaa! Big Bro is falling!" his underlings freaked. Then the snail in Nami's pocket started to talk. "Hey pirates!" It was Kokoro. "Listen to everything I have to say! Enough with your hesitation!"
Nami said, "But the bridge isn't completely lowered, we can't get across!" Luffy wondered what she meant. Maybe something crazy. She was probably more drunk now than before. What a funny old woman. "Halfway down is good enough! I'll be there in four seconds! I'm gonna fly through the waterfall!"
"What's she talking about?!" Luffy asked.
They all had no idea until the sounds of the sea train were heard from behind the building. Coming inland more. "I get it!" Luffy said, and grabbed his friends around the waist with two stretched out arms, and took a leap of faith and jumped. They screamed and fell until the sea train ran into them and knocked them into the Tower of Justice.
Luckily, it caught Franky as well. "It can still run! The Rocketman is a crazy ship built by the best in the world! Don't underestimate the skill of the Tom's Workers!" she shouted jovially. More shock came from the enemy building. Actually, only the braided haired one and Spandam were shocked.
The others were in a perpetual state of slight interest. But with the sea train and pirates now inside the same building as him, Spandam demanded they leave and take Lucci with him, to protect his life no matter what. Despite the difference in skill and competence, Lucci was still an underling.
Well, Luffy could follow them easily with scent. There was a loud commotion on both sides of the falls as everyone realized just how they made it to the other side. Luffy was shocked but amazed by the brilliance and recklessness of the old woman. She was crazy!
He was sitting up, him and his proud crew all uninjured. Kokoro and Chimney only had light nosebleeds.
"Wow! You're durable!" Luffy applauded. "Thanks for helping us, old lady Kokoro!"
Franky called them all weird. "I heard you fart on Robin, you're the weird one."
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Sanji roared and Nami looked disgusted.
"Hey, I did it to get us out of the restraints and so she could talk to you guys! By the way, you're fucking scary, man! Hahaha!" Franky laughed positively. Luffy looked up and smelled the zipper face.
"Chapapapa! They've broken in! You won't find Robin! Even if you go to the room from earlier, Lucci took her to the Gates of Justice. Ah, and chief, too." Luffy tried punching him, but he moved out of the way quickly. "He's getting there fast, and we won't let you follow. We've been ordered not to, chapapapa! The only way you can free Robin is to defeat us." He held up a key in his hand. "Look at this."
"A key?"
"This is the key to one of the seastone handcuffs on Robin."
"Ah! That's what made me go berserk," Luffy said, pointing at it.
"Chapapa?" Chopper asked if that was what was keeping Robin obedient. Luffy affirmed this. "Well, if you don't mind her wearing that, then you can go and rescue her. But I never said this was the right key! Maybe it's a key to another set of handcuffs. There are five members of CP9 in this tower. Each of us holding a key and waiting for you, chapapapa!"
"So we won't even know if they're the right keys unless we take them from you and to her," Zoro said in annoyance.
"What a stupid way to waste time! While we're fighting, you're probably gonna be taking her to the Gates of Justice!" Nami said they should find Robin first and then get the keys. She'd be safer that way.
Chapapa guy said, "If you do that, then I'll throw this key in the ocean!" They were glaring then suddenly a bucket of gasoline was dumped on Luffy and it burned his nose terribly. Chapapa guy fled the scene with his key.
Luffy gasped and plugged his nose at the horrid, horrid stench. It felt like his nose was gonna bleed. It was terrible and he was feeling woozy. Zoro fretted over it, Sanji raging, while Chopper pulled Luffy's nose tightly, and told him to breathe through his mouth. Nami made a heavy shower above him, rinsing it off.
He was angry at how long it took, but they were all planning on what to do. Luffy would be going directly after Robin and Lucci. The others would find their CP9 opponent and take their keys to bring to Robin.
Even after he was thoroughly wet and rinsed, the shirt still reeked of oil. At least his hat was spared. Luffy didn't like it at all, but he needed his nose, even if he could hear Spandam being stupid even from there. Luffy ripped his shirt off and threw it in the corner. Franky and Kokoro saw the marks, but his crew glared them into silence.
"I'll be going now. They can try and get rid of my sense of smell, but unless they have bombs, I won't go deaf again. Plus, I have my energy juice after all. Don't worry about me, I want you to all be safe and win," Luffy said firmly. "We'll save Robin no matter what it takes!"
"Yeah!"
Zoro kissed Luffy and told him to be careful. And have fun. "Maybe Spandam will lose another eye, who knows?" he said with a snicker. "Love you, too." They all ran off in their separate directions. Luffy could still smell the gas on his shorts, but it had been the worst in his hair and shirt. Thank goodness for Nami's clima tact.
"Spandam sir, please stop talking. We've burnt his sense of smell away, but he can still hear us," Lucci said loudly. Definitely wanting to fight Luffy over getting Spandam to safety.
"Luffy!" Robin screamed. "Luffy!" She knew he could hear her, even if it just seemed like she was crying out for no reason.
"Shut it, woman!" Spandam snapped, and Luffy heard the grunt of him hitting her. As long as they kept making noises, he knew what direction they were in, but the tower was like a maze. And sound echoed from different directions. He went up stairs, down stairs, through halls. He finally decided to just make a straight path to where he thought the sound was. He rammed through walls, hearing them get further, until he breached the wall to a secret staircase that he fell down, bouncing off the walls and steps.
He crashed into the wall, and found he was underground. Sounds on either side of him were warbled. There was a huge door, but it needed a key. He didn't have the key, couldn't make one here. He had nothing to use to try and pick the lock. He aimed a bazooka at the door, but it didn't budge. It made a hand size dent, though.
"Well, now's as good a time as ever," he said quietly, and bit down on his thumb hard enough to puncture the knuckle, and blow air into it, expanding his finger's size and then the rest of his hand. It was hard to control, but he managed a hit hard enough to blow open the door. He let the air out and turned tiny. A child size as he ran after them. He heard Spandam shriek at the noise, and Luffy heard their pace quicken.
He came up with the idea of gear third, expanding his body by inflating it, in a dream. But it worked in theory, so he was glad this experiment worked, too. He was not smart at anything besides fighting. He knew his crew would be amazed. He took a drink of blood, still having half the bottle left. He had that one and the full one left. Should be fine, he had his pockets. His flip flops were deafening in the echoing chamber. "Wait for me Robin!" Luffy shouted, the voice echoing down the long, underwater passage. It was surrounded by water, he could hear it all around and above him. "I'll send that pigeon guy flying!"
It felt claustrophobic. He could hear clashes in the building, and felt the whole thing shake with a thud. Then there were screams, some familiar, others not. Luffy covered his ears when a few explosions went off, the sounds reverberating under the water in a way that Spandam's voice didn't. Luffy was still far from them, but they should be able to tell he was there by now.
Then there was a chilling roar sound. An animal, a huge one, suddenly appeared in the building. But it was near the outside, so it was dull in the tunnel. He could still hear faintly, but the sounds of his feet sprinting were much louder now.
"Keep walking! Drag her, Lucci!"
"Walk, Nico Robin," pigeon guy said firmly. It was Spandam who enjoyed abusing their prisoner more. He could tell Lucci disliked Spandam from the beginning. He looked at him with disdain. Luffy wished he didn't need to keep hearing that coward insulting Robin and roughing her up. It was irritating to listen and not be able to punch him in the face instantly.
"ROBIN!" he shouted.
"Wha?! What was that just now?! I heard a voice! Hey, was that a voice just now?! Ah, did he catch up?! Why didn't the huge door stop him!?" Lucci told him to keep going with Robin. Luffy came across a large door and kicked it open easily. It wasn't made of metal. He patted his thighs and made sure he still had his blood.
He came out in a wide open space. It wasn't what he'd been expecting through the door. "Huh, a big open space?! Where am I?" he wondered, though he knew Lucci was in there.
"Welcome. It looked like the gasoline didn't work."
"It did. I washed it off," Luffy replied. "Where's Robin?!"
Before he responded, they heard from the den den mushi connected to Spandam that he'd triggered the buster call. "Hah!? But he's here, too! Isn't that a bad thing?" Luffy demanded. Lucci made an annoyed tick sound. They both listened as he and Robin argued about the significance of it. He didn't care that everyone, including CP9, would die on this island from a buster call. He didn't care.
The "leader" thought everyone else there was weak, insignificant and worthless. Robin, the pirate, was the one that told the marines on the island to flee. Luffy didn't really take her as a person to rescue strangers, but she had had the buster call happen to her and her home island. She was showing kindness to everyone and didn't want anybody else to go through what she had.
The call was over, and Luffy knew Robin was close and behind the door. "I'm not letting you through this door. I have some questions. How'd you survive being thrown out of the car?"
"I ran along the train tracks and forced a sea king to take me back to the island," Luffy said. Lucci asked how he was all healed. "Magic." Lucci narrowed his eyes. "I'm not explaining more. Let me through."
"I guess no more talking. I'll find out on my own, then." Luffy dodged a punch in the gut and landed his own, only to be kicked in the face and into the wall. He bounced back and sent a pistol at the zoan, their fists meeting in a loud clash that would have shattered the bones in any normal person's hand that then thrust both of them back into a bunch of packages. Luffy discreetly dropped his blood bottles there.
They both stood in the rubble of the boxes of storage that were destroyed or damaged so far. "Out of my way. Robin's behind that door."
Lucci grinned, "She's there alright. But you'll never see her again." Luffy shot forward, and wrapped a leg around Lucci's left calf, yanking back as he grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground as he shot off at a fast speed towards the door, only to be blocked with a punch to the face. He bounced back and shot another punch, dodging the one being returned.
The teen grabbed one of the large storage crates, mostly wood with one metal sheeted side, and threw it at him, breaking it apart into bits and setting off a gatling gun at him. He moved out of the way of each one. Luffy landed a punch to his gut, knocking him back.
But Lucci rebounded and cut him in the sides as he rushed past him, his fingers solid and sharp. But this was the first attack that drew blood, and it burnt the tips of his gloves off. Luffy held the aching cuts with a glare. Lucci looked at the acid blood, and raised his brows. "You sure are an interesting one, aren't you?"
They clashed again, more blood flying and sizzling on Lucci's skin. He seemed unbothered, but stopped any puncturing moves. He was able to block every punch thrown at him and if one did land, he was unscathed. Or at least acted unscathed. Luffy knew he should get serious now. Things were progressing outside and he kept hearing Robin crying.
He pumped his legs and attacked, not giving him a chance. But the fight didn't do much but let him land some good punches. They both were slammed into the wall and crates of the room, breaking them into a ton of debris.
"This is boring," Lucci said, seeing Luffy's injured body, the blood on his chin from the punches. The dirt all over his body from being thrown all around.
"Then let me pass," Luffy said. "You're in my way! I'll get to Robin!" Luffy shouted angrily. Lucci said that wasn't what he meant. He went to the wall, pulled out a compartment and had a pair of seastone handcuffs. Luffy narrowed his eyes. "What do you want to do with that?" he asked. But Lucci was on the other side of the room, and Luffy shot towards the door he wasn't guarding.
He touched the door, but when his hand made contact the cuffs came flying at him and caught one of his wrists. He didn't react fast enough as he felt that draining but empowering feeling. He could deal with it, but then he had it cuffed to the other hand, both hands bound behind his back. "This seems more fair now. In strength ability. Besides, I wanted to see what was so strong to force me to eject you from the premises."
Luffy started salivating and breathing harshly, like he was running a mile a minute and couldn't handle it. He shot at the door. Robin. My friend. Save. My friend. Don't lose. But Lucci kicked his face into the wall. He couldn't fight with his hands anymore. He tried to slip his fingers out as he fought for control.
It wasn't fair, he wanted to fight on his own! He didn't want to win or lose like this! He didn't want to win like this at all. "Unnn-cuff me!" he shouted. Lucci held up a key in his fingers. Luffy shot forward, but Lucci stuck it into his sleeve. He wasn't going to uncuff Luffy.
Then Franky ran in. Ooh, Straw Hat! You haven't won!?"
"Ffff-rank-eee! Robin! Geeet to Robin!" Luffy said, his voice warbled as he fought snarling. "Hurreeeeee!"
Franky realized something was wrong immediately and saw the cuffs. Luffy kicked Lucci in the face hard enough to let Franky through. Luffy now could fight. Those cuffs weren't coming off without him pushing Luffy to the limit. He spat out blood and scowled at Luffy before launching at him.
"You can't even fight me when you're in this state? You couldn't beat me before, or maybe you were just taking too long. And now what're you doing? You can't even talk straight but aren't even giving it your effort. Do you really just want to waste time here while the rest of your friends fight against my colleagues?"
Lucci moved to the wall, and made to punch it to make water pour into the passage. Luffy wouldn't allow that, and shot forward, kicking Lucci in the throat, throwing him back and making him cough blood. "Youuuu not herrt mah friends!"
"I won't hurt them, I'll kill them," Lucci said with a nasty smile, and smashed a fist into the wall, letting water in. It wasn't a thick stream, but it would fill up quickly. Luffy knew there was a real possibility of them drowning in there. He had to put his friends before his pride and hurry. This was humiliating. He won against Enel on his own, barely, and he felt he hadn't beaten Crocodile how he'd wanted. He beat the East Blue enemies alone.
This was shameful. Fighting cuffed when he was inches away from losing control. But his friends came before his pride. Luffy finally let himself snap, and his pupils dilated, he let out a deafening and spitty snarl, and launched at Lucci. His friends were only gonna be safe because of this.
Luffy was weak, a monster, but he would be strong for his friends. Even if it was just to keep them from downing and not to defeat Lucci to save Robin. Defeating Lucci was key, no matter how. But the guy seemed to realize this may have been a mistake when Luffy kicked him so hard the left side of his chest caved in. He vomited blood and a lung was crushed.
Luffy slammed a foot down, devil fruit powers gone but strength not depleted. Even if he was in control, he had no way to attack using his actual fighting moves. Though he thought long and hard about it. Maybe he'd never be strong on his own. Maybe it would always be his monster side, not his devil fruit or actual work.
Maybe he had to accept that as he drove another foot onto Lucci's face, cracking a cheek bone. He kicked Luffy in the face himself. Luffy wasn't made of rubber right now, so the hit hurt. Lucci was standing but barely. He changed into his hybrid form, massive and much taller than Luffy now. He was losing it, everything was slowly tinting red, and blurring. There was a ringing in his ears and his mouth was producing so much saliva it dripped down his chin. Like he was going rabid again.
He let out a chest ripping snarl and shot forward, biting and kicking up Lucci was a blood mess. Luffy kicked in his skull, he bit everywhere, blood sprayed all over the floor and added to the blood already on Luffy. Even when Lucci was dead, Luffy couldn't stop deforming his body angrily.
Then he realized he was trapped in this room, but the silence inside calmed him until he was on his knees sobbing as he snarled. He couldn't get the key into the cuff locks himself as his fingers were twitching and out of control. He got the key in his mouth, and collapsed. He crawled along the ground with his face. He was tired, and hadn't ever gotten to drink any of his blood bottles.
He went to that area, but couldn't unscrew the bottle. He cried, unable to get out of these cuffs and to act himself. He was afraid of whoever would come in first, but he needed somebody. Hopefully Zoro or Nami. Chopper was probably out from being that monster. He crawled to the door, and then the rushing water started to press against the walls, and he watched as his two bottles of blood washed away and down the hall.
He had to get above ground. He had enough strength to jump onto a storage bin. Explosions began, shaking the other island, leaving vibrations through Luffy's chest as he heard the booms easily.
Luffy was shaking, foaming at the mouth and unable to get the key into the lock. He was trapped, somebody else needed to help him. He heard his friends screaming in the passage and then the water swallowing them. He failed them. He stood up, determined to do something even as he couldn't function properly.
He made it to the next level. Robin was alive, Franky was, too. He had to get to them. He still had the key clenched tightly in his mouth. Lucci's body was at a level below, getting caught in the water as well. He hoped his body was never found. Not just because Luffy tore him apart, but because Luffy didn't want him to be found out as some monster.
When he was on the upper level, he had the blood washed away, but was still covered in bruises and cuts. It was clear he'd gone through a fight. He still had the key in his mouth, teeth clamped around it, but not hard enough to break it. The part-human/part-something rolled onto his back, wishing he had blood. He was tired. The fight had been tiring, but the seastone was taking up a lot of energy, though not immobilizing him.
He laid on his back, and the booms got louder until the building he was in was shot. He was so tired, and felt one of the ribs that had cracked move again. Lucci's body floated up, though on his back, not showing the deformed front, but it was clear he was dead. The water was rising, and pooling around Luffy.
His friends were shouting his name, he could hear them, once they saw his fight was over. "Luffy! C'mon, come over, let's go!"
He had the key in his mouth, and when he tried to rise, his body was too tired. They kept shouting at him, and he couldn't move. This was ridiculous! He'd only used his gear second a little bit. What was making him so weak, the cuffs? How rabid he was? The exercise he had running through Enies Lobby from the start?
"That's Rob Lucci! It seems... Straw Hat Luffy has defeated Rob Lucci!" a marine on a megaphone said over the explosions shaking the island. Shaking both sides. His friends were calling out for his victory happily. Now they just had to leave. Luffy looked at Lucci's body. Was it worth it to expose himself and making himself possibly ill? Or to hope his friends come to get him?
And they got out a different way! They were alive!
"Luffy, hurry up! All that's left is to go home, get out of here!" Luffy heard their screaming for him, the fighting, and the explosions. It was so loud. Not deafeningly but enough to be uncomfortable. He looked around, and saw the blood bottles floating in the water, but it was waist high, too deep for him to make it.
Luffy was very close, though. He heard the explosion of a ship, and his friends screaming that their getaway vehicle was no more. Luffy had to fight for them. No matter what. Another explosion rocked the building he was in, throwing him around and into the wall. He felt the key slip down his throat, and out of his reach.
Shit! Now he needed to throw the key up and have somebody do it for him! Damn it! He was weak, but he couldn't think about that right now. "But it seems Straw Hat Luffy is severely weakened and unable to move!"
He looked for anything to help him, but the blood bottles were on the other side of the room. Lucci's body was bumping against the hole in the wall that had been made from a cannon ball. His crew broke his heart, screaming at him to hurry, all that was left was to run. Luffy wished they could go without him if he was just holding them back.
"Luffy! Come home!" Usopp shouted. "C'mon, you can do it! Just a little further, try hard!" Luffy pushed everything out. His hunger, discomfort, fear, embarrassment, shame, and stood. But then he heard a voice in his head. "Come home, into the sea!" Luffy staggered to the ledge to look over, only to be shot at. He wasn't made of rubber right now. The bullets nearly hit him, and one caught him in the shoulder. They hadn't been shooting at him before.
Then Usopp started shouting at them to go into the sea, too. Luffy staggered to the ledge again, despite the bullets lodged into his arms and leg and jumped, seeing their wonderful Merry below. He closed his eyes tightly, holding his breath and begging someone come and get him safely. He was losing a lot of blood from the bullets lodged in his limbs. Someone did come and get him.
"I've' come to take you all back!" He heard Merry say, even underwater. The sounds of explosions were at the surface. He was thrown over the side, making him cry out at the pain of his wounds, being carelessly thrown onto the deck. Zoro wasn't the one to do that, and then got everybody onboard.
Nami was wondering who brought the ship here, who let the rope down for them to come. The Merry was in terrible shape, but Luffy was more distracted by both himself bleeding out and the sounds all around their small Merry.
Chopper was brought to him and Robin carried Luffy inside to the bed on the galley. That was where Usopp had laid. When he screamed at Luffy about sensitive topics. Luffy could hear fighting outside, but just had to hope they would be fine without him. Without Robin and Chopper. Chopper got to cleaning and removing the bullets. Robin was filling a cup from the cupboard in blood from her arm without being asked, and Luffy was trying to force himself to vomit.
It wasn't like he could force the key out himself, though. Once the bullets were out and the wounds cleaned, Robin gave Luffy some of the blood. It wasn't nearly enough, though. The wounds stopped bleeding heavily, but they were still there.
"Luffy, do you have the key?" Chopper asked. He was unafraid of Luffy even though he was still salivating and his heart was pounding.
Robin apologized for blooming a finger in his mouth and pressing against his uvula, making him throw up the blood he just drank, which wasn't the best idea, and even they realized that was a mistake. The key didn't come out, so Robin stuck a line of fingers down his esophagus and spread it apart to make room for the key to come out.
He had never been more uncomfortable than he was there. But the key was out, covered in blood and spit and stomach acid. Chopper unlocked the cuffs, and Luffy felt a rush of relief and took some deep breaths. Tying to stand only resulted in Chopper and Robin forcing him back down. "What happened?" Chopper asked. Robin looked so guilty. Luffy briefly explained that he was fighting Lucci when he cuffed him as an experiment.
"I tore him apart and then couldn't do anything anymore. I couldn't unlock myself, so I was carrying the key in my mouth, but then I swallowed it. I'm sorry Robin-"
"Why are you apologizing?" she and Chopper asked in bafflement.
"I let you keep getting bullied by that guy," he said. His voice was hoarse from the throwing up and the drag of the key along his esophagus. Robin pointed out he'd let Franky out and passed Lucci to help.
"Luffy, even if you had defeated Lucci with what you think is your own strength, we still had to get the keys to her, right? It was an effort made by everybody. Right?" Chopper said kindly. "We all saved her. It was never only on you."
Luffy nodded, knowing he was right. Chopper was really weak, too, and had to be helped to move. The reindeer asked for Robin to get Zoro once everything was calmed down. Despite the sounds of everything, the booms, the shouts, the sounds of rushing waves all around them, Luffy was able to drift to sleep. He woke up to a silent ship only a few minutes later, with Nami asleep with Chopper, Usopp in the corner still as Sogeking, and Zoro sitting up next to Luffy. Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Chimney and Kokoro on deck sailing away.
Zoro noticed when Luffy woke up, and smiled at him in relief. "Hey, how are you?"
"Embarrassed. I was fighting Lucci… and he said he got bored and so he handcuffed me to see what I was like then. I didn't even have control of myself, and I tried so hard. But then he flooded the place, and I killed him. I had plans and new moves and everything," he said sadly. "I was unable to do anything myself."
"Chopper already said it, but this was a team effort. You took down Lucci, even if it wasn't how you planned. Remember with Crocodile? You took him down with your strength, but again, it wasn't how you wanted. I'm sorry that keeps happening," Zoro said, propping Luffy up. "C'mon, get some blood."
Luffy didn't want to do it in front of Usopp. "Sogeking, can you give us some space? I know the Merry's yours now…" Zoro said lightly. Sogeking nodded and left. Zoro already wasn't wearing a shirt, but an open vest. Luffy took a deep drink, and Zoro didn't moan or anything, just pet Luffy's hair rhythmically.
He smiled when Luffy's bullet wounds healed, and his bruises faded. He pulled away, the color back in his face. "Don't be ashamed. Nami said Sanji couldn't fight against the woman and got turned into a soap doll. Chopper will feel ashamed he only beat his enemy as an uncontrollable monster."
Chopper woke up, and smiled at Luffy tiredly from Nami's grasp. "Both monsters, right?" he asked softly. Luffy smiled and nodded. His situation was mirrored by Chopper's, too. He wasn't the only one that didn't like how their match turned out. But, they were all alive and well. Luffy asked how they got away easily.
"Sanji pulled a lever on the Gates of Justice that closed them and created whirlpools that threw the huge marine ships around."
"Wow! That's smart," Luffy praised, making Zoro scowl. "Well, we're on our way back to Water 7, right? Our last ride on the Merry." Luffy stood up, not shaky anymore. He looked at his injured nakama, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry-"
Chopper said, "We're not so selfish we hate that you can get better but we can't. Take me with you." Luffy smiled and picked him up, carrying him out. He still had no shirt on, and he sat at his special spot, Chopper in his lap. "I miss Usopp. I wish he didn't go off before Sogeking."
"He came with us?" Luffy asked, still refusing to ruin it for Chopper.
"Yeah! He helped us all fight CP9 to save Robin!"
"I wonder why he didn't show himself, then."
"Maybe he was ashamed of the fight."
"Yeah. It was a really bad one, wasn't it?" Luffy asked, looking up at the sky. "But, how about we just be happy on the Merry, right now?"
"Yeah! I'm so happy you're all better. Maybe you can learn how to use that crazy strong version some time! I mean, you could control it before, right?" Luffy rested his chin on Chopper's hat. He explained that this time was different. It was because of the seastone that he ended up that way. He was fine before that. And then he was unable to get himself out of the cuffs. "Oh! Well, then that's not a problem! Not every enemy is gonna have handcuffs."
Luffy smiled. "I guess you're right, huh? Chopper's smart, shishishi!"
"Don't call me smart, it doesn't make me happy, bastard!~" Chopper said, though he still couldn't move well.
Franky came up behind them. "So, you're all better, Straw Hat?" He didn't sound surprised at all. Luffy nodded. "That's pretty handy. Able to heal with just the blood from others." Luffy asked who told him. "Sanji-bro. If I tell anybody else, I'll have my balls chopped off from Zoro-bro. No need to worry, your secret's safe with me."
Luffy and Chopper giggled at it. Luffy turned around on Merry's head. "You're really strong, too, huh? That was funny when you burned the important papers."
"It was funnier when you nearly made Spanda shit his pants. Blinding him with a pebble! Hah! How shameful. At least Nico Robin got her revenge in the end." Luffy was glad to hear that. Franky sat and crossed his arms. The others were inside or on other parts of the deck. They had only been sailing safely maybe half an hour. So they weren't very far, but they were safe. "So, what are you?"
Chopper said, "We're trying to find out! We have all our dreams, but we're all still trying to figure out what Luffy is together." He said it so proudly. "So, has Merry talked again when we were asleep?"
"No, she hasn't," Sanji said, coming out of the kitchen with some water. There was nothing else here. No food or anything left. It was a ghost ship but with some people still on. Why would Usopp set sail on this empty and lonely ship?