Wishfull_star: (≧◡≦)
Elvasw: Nah, the voice is just doubt in his head, not a whole other personality. Like how when you don't feel adequate and you yourself keep thinking you're not good enough. Just what Luffy's going through.
There's a shit ton of angst in this one, it was glorious to write! So beware of sadness and possible OOC for Luffy's mental state. Enjoy~ (sorry about being late!) Also, my dudes, I finished a story I started six months ago. I killed off soooo many characters and mcs everyone is gonna hate me lol. Don't know when it will come out, but look forward to it!
"Neh, is there food down there? I'm hungry and thirsty." Bon Clay said the kitchen was on the next level. Luffy sniffed, but the stench of blood was thick. They climbed the wall, the heat burning Luffy's hands and feet. Bon Clay seemed immune to everything unpleasant about this level so far.
They looked into the steaming, boiling pit below. "It smells horrible!" Luffy said, plugging his nose. Bon Clay said it was the stench of boiling blood. This was the level that made level three so hot. Below was a boiling lake of blood and a sea of flames!
"Well… we just gotta jump down, right?"
"Doing this will mean certain death! Ngahahaha! If we're not lucky, that is! And I feel very lucky today!" Luffy grinned, and said he felt pretty lucky so far, too. Luffy wondered who he wanted to see down there, enough that he would risk his life to do so. "They call him the 'miracle worker'! His name is Iva-san! He was captured without rhyme or reason! He rules over the pink island, the queen of okamas!"
"Wow! He sounds amazing!"
"You got that right, Straw-chan! The queen of Kamabakka Kingdom! Idol of okama around the world! The greatest okama queen that has ever lived!" He was so excited about it that Luffy looked forward to helping him find his idol as they searched for Ace. They were alerted to noise when the minotaur came running back down the hall, chasing Buggy and Three.
The creature came to a halt at seeing him again. "Straw Hat! Not you again! Wait, it stopped chasing us!"
Bon Clay said that it was thanks to Luffy. "No way! That thing is afraid of you and the manticores weren't?" Buggy screeched. Luffy said it led them there. It continued to just stand there. It was waiting for Buggy and Three to run off, where it could attack them again. It actually charged them and completely avoided hitting Luffy and Bon Clay. It was surprisingly graceful as it jumped around and attacked Buggy and his partner while avoiding the one it was afraid of.
It slammed its club down on the stone, like before with the whack a mole game with the sphynx. Buggy somehow had a small bomb in his foot. "Call him off! Call him off!" Three begged. Luffy picked his nose. "Please!"
"It's only gonna help me," Luffy said. The bomb from Buggy's foot did nothing really, and Luffy finally asked the minotaur to stop it. It was annoying him. It froze and started to sweat. It had no real face that could make an expression. "Neehee!" Luffy said. "Now, Bon-chan, let's go get Iva-chan and Ace! Buggy, Three, are you coming, too?"
"No way in hell! Why would we go somewhere even hotter?" Luffy heard the cracking from before, and the floor fell out beneath him.
"Ahhhh!" they all screamed.
"It's all your fault for not calling it off sooner!" Buggy screeched.
"You're the one that sent the bomb!" Bon Clay responded.
"Now's not the time to argue, we're gonna die!"
"I'm gonna melt even more!" Three sobbed. But they were lucky, and landed in the boiling blood on the stone, and jumped onto the scaffolding that seemed to be over the pot of blood. The minotaur was above, looking down at them unbothered before hurrying away. Luffy hoped it wouldn't get into too much trouble for helping him out.
He sure was glad at that moment to be a monster. But down here was even hotter, and even breathing it in made his lungs burn. He needed water. God, he was parched. And hungry, his stomach rumbled painfully. Another spike of energy came, and he pressed it down. Was there a limit to it? Or could he compact it forever?
He wondered just how big the explosion could be when he finally released the last four day's worth of build up. And he hoped Hancock was gone. She must have already seen Ace. His brother probably already knew he was there. He was gonna be so pissed.
"This sucks! Why did I come with you Straw Hat! Kyaaa!" Buggy complained. Luffy shouted back he'd never forced him to come with him this deep. "It's still your fault!" Bon Clay called him weak. He seemed fine with the heat as long as he twirled. Luffy tried, but it just made him more tired.
"Bon-chan, you said food was near, right?" Luffy asked. "And water?!" He nodded, and pointed to one side. It was that way. Food! Bon Clay stopped spinning for a moment. "Are you okay?!"
"IT'S HOT!" he finally shouted. They were all wearing thin shoes, and their feet were burning. The sandals were burning and Luffy knew he'd have no shoes soon if they stayed there. They all ran for the kitchen, desperate for anything to eat after their ordeals deeper into hell. For a treat, something. Luffy wanted to stock up more as they had this floor and then at least one more level until Ace.
How long had he been there? At least three hours by now. Maybe? Who knows? He had more than enough time to get to Ace. If things went according to plan. Who was he kidding, Luffy had never had a real plan other than save Ace and then get out safely. Anything goes at the moment.
He suddenly wanted a kiss and hug from Zoro. It was sudden and overwhelming. But he pressed it away. He didn't want to think about Zoro right now. He had more important things right now, like surviving.
Guards showed up in front of the kitchen entrance. "This level is hotter than the previous… but if I get food, my strength will get 100 times stronger! Out of my way! I want FOOD! Gomu gomu fireworks!" All his limbs shot out to hit everyone around him. The okama was fighting as well, but Buggy and Three ditched. Looks like they didn't want food, after all.
Luffy ran forward until he smelled something from above and dodged. It reeked of chemicals. Like cleaning supplies times a billion. "What the? Jelly shit?" he asked, plugging nose at the terrible smell. Bon Clay screamed in horror, "Straw-chan! Above you!" and a huge man landed in front of him.
This guy reeked, too. His nose was burning just being in front of him. He was huge, wearing a fancy outfit. He had black bat wings that were unable to fly by their size and shape, and horns. Luffy was sure they were not real and just there to look scary. Was he a high ranking guy? He seemed strong. Luffy didn't like the smell of him, either.
"MA-MAGELLAN!" Bon Clay freaked. That was the warden, Luffy heard his name said before! This guy was the strongest one in Impel Down?
"You mice!" he shouted, glaring at Luffy. Buggy and Three left just in time it seemed. Luffy plugged his nose again when the warden started to drip the smelly stuff. Like he was melting into it. The guards all ran, begging him to not start fighting yet. If his devil fruit had anything to do with the stink, Luffy needed to fight and win quickly.
If he hadn't gotten blood from that random prisoner, he'd be long dead by now. Could he last on that much for a fight like this? Already tired and hungry. Well, he couldn't doubt himself. He must win. That was all there was to it.
"Damn it! And I was so close to reaching food!" Luffy complained, panting lightly from the heat. Bon Clay screamed at him that he couldn't fight. "Eh?! He's a poison guy?!"
"We gotta run, Straw-chan!" Bon Clay screamed.
"He is right, Straw Hat Luffy," Magellan said darkly. "To think you would actually break into the world's greatest prison with all its history of impenetrability! As chief warden, I take personal insult… I am aware of your goal. I will not allow you to reach Portgas D. Ace!" Magellan said, angering Luffy, who narrowed his eyes. "I do not know when or how you got here undetected, but I assure you I will have you tell me!"
"I wish I could be of more help." Hancock's kind voice drifted through his head. Good, she wasn't caught!
Luffy said, "I'll never tell anybody that!" with a hateful and determined glare at the strongest man in Impel Down. He was a devil fruit user. Clearly. Luffy still had the cuffs in his shorts. They were heavy with each move, but stayed.
Bon Clay begged him to run. How would he fight somebody completely made out of poison? He said they had to escape somewhere else. Luffy didn't like the panic in his voice. He felt now wasn't the time to release the bomb and risk being knocked into the boiling blood water that was below him, along with a sea of flames. Any explosion output would damage the floor he was standing on and mean certain death for everyone around, him and Bon Clay included.
How would he fight this guy? Maybe if he cuffed him immediately… maybe. He would have to hope he was in control when he touched the cuffs. It all depended on that instant. But there was nowhere to run, it seemed. Magellan said he'd blocked every exit and entrance of this floor.
"Noooo!" Bon Clay said, accepting this as their doom. Luffy wouldn't give up so easily.
What could I have done differently?
He wasn't going to die here. "Hydra!" Magellan shouted, and three purple, gooey dragon heads came from his back. He felt his sinuses burn and blood drip out of his nose already. He wiped it away, but it was visible. "Sensitive nose, huh?"
Luffy plugged it tightly. "Is this all poison?" he asked, looking at the serpent heads. Luffy ran when the heads attacked, slamming into the ground with a horrible sizzle. The burning made it even worse for his nose. It was like jelly, and it covered even his own men. He was taking out his own workers? How sick!
Bon Clay helpfully or unhelpfully told Luffy that this poison causes pain so bad that it would kill you quickly. If Luffy was going to die, it would be with those he loved or fighting for them heroically. Not in a clump of poison and dying just by the pain of it! No way!
"Antidote!" the poisoned men cried. Magellan just told them to get out of his way. Luffy was so hungry, but he'd make it to the kitchen after he either escaped or won the fight. Escaping didn't look realistic right now, but he'd try. He wasn't in this to be the toughest in the prison, he was in here to get to his brother no matter what.
"Try following me now!" Luffy shouted angrily, grabbing onto a hanging piece of machinery and swinging on to it's top. Everything burned, and his hands were red and hurting now. "Too hot!" he cried. One head of hydra had been burnt in the fire. Though Luffy's nose was too burnt and sensitive to even register the smell. His sense of smell was gone.
He couldn't smell a single thing, not even the poison bubbles coming towards him. Well, the pain wouldn't bother him or distract him at least. One of the bubbles hit the fire and burst, and it exploded. Luffy jumped out of the way and back on to the ledge across from the one he had come from.
Whatever poison gas it was, was what made everyone around sneeze and cry. It didn't work on Luffy. No sense of smell may be a good thing. Nothing bothered him, though his eyes did start to water.
"I see, your sinuses are so damaged you're not registering the poison gas all around you!" Magellan shouted. But Luffy's eyes were watering badly, and wiping them didn't work at all. The hydra came up, but didn't attack him. Instead, Magellan came flowing through it, saying "venom road!"
Now was the moment. When he appeared, Luffy jumped and pulled the seastone out of his pocket, slamming it into the side of Magellan's face, knocking him over. Luffy didn't lose his mind, but the effects of fast breathing and rapid heartbeat was coming. Magellan was shocked by him using seastone as a weapon.
Luffy shoved it in his pocket and ran, dodging the venom and poison streams shooting at him from the warden's body. Luffy swung the seastone again, and hit him in the arm, making him grunt. "You little rat! No matter what you do, I will not let you leave here alive! And you will not save Portgas D. Ace! His death is set in stone!"
His arms were caught in the poison, and he let go of the seastone. "Sh-shit," Luffy said, biting his lip at the searing pain in his arms. He shot a kick at his head, but it was bounced off, and into the fire. "Ahh!" he screamed at the burn. He turned and ran, jumping back onto the scaffolding and off of the poison covered overhang.
When he landed, he was surrounded by gas that he couldn't smell. It didn't mean it wasn't damaging him even if his nose wasn't working anymore. He started to cough. He threw a jet bazooka at his stomach, and made him fall to his knees.
Luffy felt the poison in his arms as if they were melting. But the purple poison only covered them, his arms weren't disintegrating. He then realized Bon Clay was gone. Luffy was alone. He left and Luffy didn't even notice. Hopefully he was safe, but this was 100 times worse, now. All alone. Nobody was even around to see him fight, possibly see him die.
What could I have done to avoid this outcome?
Why do I mess everything up?
Ace's face drifted into his head. "I really love my life with them. But I miss my crew." He would see that smile again.
"I'll save Ace, even if it kills me!" Luffy screamed. The gas around him was making his throat bleed.
"Your struggling is pointless. Your weapon is gone! Somehow you wielded seastone, but that is gone, and I am inevitable! Even if you had made it further, Ace is weak and injured! He would have been a burden and you would both have died!"
"I won't die!" Luffy shouted, spraying blood everywhere. "J-Jet pistol!" but it was weak, and his vision was blurring. Now was the time. He attempted to release the explosion, but nothing came. All of his body was weakening. If only he'd used it sooner! But now he couldn't at all!
I messed up again.
"Damn it!"
"You are only causing more pain to yourself." Luffy ran at him and tried biting at his neck, wanting to do something now that he couldn't feel his arms anymore. He was knocked down, and poison got into his mouth. "Foolish brat. A cornered animal sure is fearsome. But your fight is over." Luffy clawed at his throat, trying to dig the poison out of his mouth. He felt it burning him from the inside.
It… it hurt! More than anything he'd ever felt before.
"Ace will live!" Luffy managed to say, standing and trying to run only to fall, his legs numb and burning at the same time. He couldn't even walk. He couldn't feel any of his body but pain. Well, he felt his left foot, but with no leg to move it, it was useless.
"He will die, and so will you. You'll writhe in agony for the next 24 hours and then die, going to hell, where you belong. You'll see your beloved brother there, soon. Then you can rot together!" Luffy screamed a final "fuck you!" and was covered in poison. All he knew was pain. His eyes rolled back in his head.
Luffy couldn't feel his body or what was happening around him, only pain. He felt it get cold suddenly, and that brought his vision back. Everything was swirly and distorted, but he was cold. He couldn't smell anything, it felt like his nose had burned away and there was nothing left. He was breathing, but every breath burned. Like his lungs were full of magma.
Luffy gasped for air, but the cold was worse than the hot, as he felt his skin freezing over. He missed Zoro. He wanted a warm hug, he didn't want to die in pain and in the cold. He was scared. He could tell there were people around, he could see them and hear their jeering. He was too weak to even crawl to them and attempt to get blood.
He rolled onto his side, but he felt like his eyes were melting in his skull. He couldn't tell if that was actually happening, which was so scary. He tried to move his hands to his eyes, just to make sure. But his hands felt like they were burnt to nothing.
What did I do wrong? Do I deserve to die this way? Is this what I get for what I am?
It would have been better if he had never shown his face to anybody, if he'd stayed on Dawn Island. If he hadn't hurt so many people, his friends. He'd had a family, and he was leaving them. He could hear the people around him jeering as he cried. This pain was agonizing.
"Am I a monster, Luffy?"
"You're asking a monster that?"
"Well, you're a cooler monster, little shit head."
"Ace isn't a monster, he's the best!"
"Ace, I'm sorry," Luffy slurred. He was going to die because Luffy failed. What did he do wrong? He was so confident! He thought he could do it, and now look at him. "It's all my fault," he cried. If he had killed Blackbeard then, if he'd gone after Ace when he first saw the burning vivre card. He always did everything wrong! He was a failure.
"I don't wanna die…" he cried. He wanted the pain to end, though.
"Straw-chan!" he heard a voice say. Someone was there to be with him while he died. He didn't know who, he couldn't see anything. He was blind, but could hear.
"Zoro…" Luffy moaned.
"I'll save you. I'm so sorry!" he felt the cold move, he felt himself be lifted up, able to feel his left butt cheek press against something different then what it was before. "I'm so sorry I ran!" Oh, it was Bon-chan. At least he wasn't dying alone. He didn't fail this one in the end. There was someone there for him when he died.
The cold was biting at him, it was stabbing him. "'M sorry," he said. Bon-chan asked what he meant, it was his fault for leaving! "'M sorry… I was born… 'M a monster."
"Don't say that Straw-chan! I'll save you, I'll get you hope! You can't lose hope! You have to save your brother!"
I've failed in everything I've ever done. But he couldn't gain the energy to say that. He imagined his brother being executed, alone, scared and hating himself. What Luffy was going through. No… Luffy didn't want to see Ace in death! He didn't want to see Sabo! He wanted Ace, he wanted Zoro!
His face flitted through his mind. Giving small smiles, kissing him, nuzzling his hair. Always there when he was being stupid. He and Zoro left with an unresolved argument. Luffy couldn't let it end that way. He couldn't let Ace be executed, especially not when he thought Luffy was dead. Because he was caught, even though it was all Luffy's fault.
What could I have done differently?
You can't do shit to change it. It happened, make it not happen again!
"B'n-ch'n," he slurred. "Don'... lemme die."
"I won't!" Bon-chan said with tears in his eyes. Briefly, he had the sensation of standing, doing something, but he didn't know if that actually happened. When he came back to consciousness, he was laying on the cold ground. He looked up, and could hear voices. He heard Bon Clay's breathing ragged. He writhed and turned to the side, seeing Bon-chan bloody. He couldn't lose anybody else.
Someone who tried to save him like he tried to save Ace. He wouldn't let him die for his ambition. To save Ace was his idea. If Luffy hadn't been there, maybe his friend could have found who he was looking for. He looked up and begged the people to save him. "I… cn't… lose anyone else!" he said, the poison scratching his throat. "Saved… me! Help… him! M… fr'n..."