Izuku's instincts screamed at him, and he ducked. The wall to his left exploded in a cloud of white fluff as a cannonball slammed through it. The metal sphere whistled overhead, making Izuku's shirt ruffle as it passed close enough to touch it.
Izuku kept running. Around him, Shannarans screamed and ran for their lives as pirates stormed the village and took everything they could find. There was nothing on fire, as one would expect in a village made entirely out of gellified water vapor, but the attacking pirates quickly learned that they can sweep entire houses aside with a single swing of the flat side of their axes and swords. Warped clouds, the remnants of buildings twisted like a Dali painting, drifted overhead, and the smell of water vapor hung heavy in the air.
It had all started with a single rowboat. It had floated up and over the edge of the cloud sea, bristling with weapons and pirates. The panic began when ten rose over the horizon, followed by a massive floating galleon, with a gold-plated hull and row after row of cannons, its sails stretched on all sides to catch the airstream. That galleon lingered on the edge of the cloud sea, occasionally firing cannonballs at stray buildings or fleeing Shannarans, while more rowboats floated towards land.
Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku saw a Shannaran cowering against a wall as four pirates closed in on him. Breaking off his path, Izuku leapt, stomping the first man into a second, and catching the third in the jaw with a right hook. The fourth swung at him, and Izuku nimbly leaned aside, letting the blade shave hairs off his forearm. His arm shot forward, and the pirate took the punch with a grunt.
"Not bad, kid, but I can still smell the green on you. I'll show you how a real pirate throws a punch!"
The pirate's fist flashed out, but froze. A feint. Izuku flashed aside as the pirate's sword crashed down where he had stood, kicking up a plume of clouds.
While the pirate was blinded, Izuku's foot lashed out, sweeping the man's legs out from under him. He was about to stomp on the man's head when someone grabbed him from behind, catching both arms under the armpits.
"I got him!" the pirate holding Izuku shouted. "Hurry up!"
"Nice work." The other pirate stood up and grabbed his sword. As the pirate stabbed it foward, Izuku leapt up, bending his body to pull his chest out of the sword's path. As the pirate stumbled, caught off-guard by the lack of resistance, Izuku wrapped his legs around the man's neck and pulled him forward.
The pirate behind him groaned, and the grip on his arms slackened. Izuku pushed himself off the man, settling his weight onto the other pirate, and squeezed. The pirate fell to the ground and wheezed for air. Hands feebly beat at Izuku's legs before the pirate's eyes rolled up in his head.
Panting and rubbing his shoulders, Izuku turned to the other pirates he had knocked down. Luffy sat on top of one, sporting a massive bump on his head and swollen cheeks, while the other groaned at his feet. "Nice work," he said.
"Thanks." Izuku looked down at the pirate with the sword still in his chest. He wasn't moving. Izuku felt sick to his stomach, but he shook himself and asked, "Where's Mei?"
Luffy shrugged. Swearing under his breath, Izuku left the shaking Shannaran behind and dove into the fray. Anytime enemy pirates tried to confront him, Izuku flashed past. Within minutes, he drank in air by the lungful and his legs felt flimsier than the clouds around him.
"Mei!" Izuku shouted, knowing full well she would never hear him over the raucous laughter and frightened screams that tumble across the clouds. As he ran, he almost missed the gray blur hurtling towards his face. He tensed up his arm and punched. A tremor ran through his bones, and the skin on his hand felt aflame as the rough metal rubbed it raw, but a ponderous crack rang from the metal as it splintered against his fist.
Izuku stopped and gawked at the shattered cannonball piece at his feet. Then he looked back at the ship that had fired it. As he watched, an entire broadside went off, and every cannonball hurtled towards him. With a yelp, Izuku Soru'ed away, and the cloud behind him disappeared in a white plume.
He looked around and saw a knot of pirates locked in combat. Izuku struck them from behind, twisting one gun aside so it shot another pirate in the back, ramming his fist into a woman's throat, sidestepping a thrust knife and twisting the man's wrist until it snapped. Izuku sank into the bristling wall of pirates until he emerged in the center. Shanks sported a gash over his left eye, and his own blades dripped with blood, while Buggy had two black eyes and a twisted dagger.
"Watch yourself," Shanks said between pants. "At least one of them has a Devil Fruit."
A woman with curly hair sauntered forward. "Yes, the Twist-Twist fruit. I'm a Twist girl." With a mocking chuckle, she added, "Hope you boys don't get your panties in a twist."
"Jokes on you," Shanks said. "I always go commando." Shanks' sword slashed forward. The woman's body twisted around the blade's path. She reached out and touched the sword. The metal started curling in on itself, until Shanks coated the blade with Haki.
"Damn," Shanks said, holding up the bent sword. "I liked that one."
Izuku hastily backed away. His mind ran in circles as it tried to dissect her Quirk. Did it only work on inanimate objects, or could it affect people too? It worked on herself, so it stood to reason she could do others as well. Requires tactile contact? Does it have to be fingertips, or the whole hand?
So engrossed in his thinking, Izuku didn't notice the axe crashing towards him. His muttering didn't even pause as he leaned sideways. As the axe came in for a second swing, Izuku's arm shot up. The man's nose snapped as the punch caved his face in.
The Twist girl lunged for Izuku. Startled out of his thoughts, Izuku hopped backwards. The woman's arms looped around, and Izuku had to jump through hoops to avoid getting swept off his feet.
Sweat trickled down Izuku's head as the woman's hands came closer and closer to touching him. He darted through an opening, ready to punch her, but a glimmer in her eye made Izuku reconsider. He swiped a finger across his cheek and watched in horror as it bent backwards. He could still bend it, and it didn't hurt, but he couldn't close a fist anymore.
"Buggy, could I borrow a knife?"
"Screw you, get your own!"
"Shanks?"
Shanks tossed him a blade. "Fine, you can have the bent one."
Izuku shrugged at the twisted weapon. "Thanks! I'll let you know if I think of something."
He racked his brain for any weaknesses in the woman's form. He noticed that her body, the clouds she touched, and any weapons used against her all twisted away from her body, but that only meant that nothing they had could touch her. Anything already twisted could be re-twisted in different directions. Every plan he came up with failed, from trying to anticipate how she would twist, to trying to use the twist against her.
Then he saw a cloud curl away from her and rub against her other arm.
Armed with this new knowledge, Izuku lunged forward. The tip scraped against one arm, bending backwards, then jabbed point-first into her leg.
The Twist Woman cursed and whipped an arm at him. Izuku yelped and held the blade in the way. It curled up, hilt and all, until it turned into a useless lump. Izuku dropped it before the metal could close around his hand.
"I've got it!" Izuku shouted. "She can only twist objects one direction at a time!"
"Yeah, uh, that's great," Buggy groused, "But could we maybe find a way to not get twisted up? You see my knives? They aren't cheap!"
"Didn't you get those from-"
"Some things cost more than money!" Buggy blurted over him. "Find some other weakness, I'm not letting her anywhere near my knives!"
"And I kinda need my last sword," Shanks added, "So…"
"Then how are we supposed to hit her?" Izuku looked down at the twisted sword. With the way it had twisted itself into knots, he couldn't get it straightened out enough to use, and even if he could get it to touch her, there's no way to get the lump of metal to twist enough to hit her again. Out of ideas, Izuku backpedaled and leapt away as the Twist Woman lumbered after him, each movement of her arms and legs exaggerated by fluid bends.
Her neck twisted sideways, until her head leered up-side-down at him. "Well, little boy? What now? Give up, and I'll only leave one of your legs twisted.
Izuku took a deep breath. Every second he wasted against her was another second Mei faced the rest of the pirate hordes alone. With a shout, Izuku threw a punch at the woman's arm. The Twist Woman, caught off guard, froze up. Izuku's arm bent backwards, bones and all. His flesh felt taut and numb, but he felt none of the pain he had gritted his teeth against.
Still yelling, Izuku leaned forward, throwing all his weight behind his bent arm. His fist twisted and collided with her face. Teeth flew, and her jaw hung loosely as the pirate backed away. She pressed a hand to her jaw and twisted it back into place.
"You crazy bastard!" Buggy shouted. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? What if it stays like that forever?"
"Eh, don't sweat it." Shanks raised his bent sword. "These kinds of paramecia tend to wear off once you knock the user unconscious. I hope."
Izuku grimaced at his bent arm. A slight shiver went through him at the thought of living the rest of his life with it stuck like that. Then he thought of Mei. Gritting his teeth, Izuku sprinted forward and threw another punch. As his left arm twisted, the woman's whole body twirled aside, and his fist crashed through empty air.
Izuku used Soru, but as fast as he was, the Twist Woman moved faster. The sides of his arm grazed against her as he backstepped, and his other arm curled in on itself.
"You bastard," she hissed. "I'll tie your intestines in a knot and watch you explode."
"Gross!" Buggy threw a knife at her, making a trick shot that sliced open her arm on the ricochet. "Why can't people be normal and reasonable?"
Izuku thought that the wannabe clown pirate didn't have much deck to stand on in that department, but before he could reply, an arm snaked forward. Izuku jumped, but his leg came up too slow. A fingertip grazed his foot, curling it up. He landed awkwardly and winced as his Achilles heel took the blow.
"Guys?" Izuku called back. "A little help here?"
"We're busy!" Shanks said as he crossed swords with two axes and another blade all at once. He yelped and ducked as a third axe nearly took his head off.
"And don't want to get twisted up like a balloon animal!" Buggy retorted as he split himself into pieces to avoid a pistol shot. "Just keep her distracted long enough and maybe the captain can straighten you out!"
Izuku gulped and looked back at his opponent. She pranced forward, arms whipping around like flails, and said, "Aww, getting scared, little boy? This is what happens when you play pirates with the real deal."
"I'm not a pirate." Izuku stood taller and said, "I'm going to be a hero."
His announcement brought the fighting to a full stop. Even the ship off in the distance stopped firing cannonballs. After a second of collective disbelief, the attacking pirates all broke out in laughter.
"Oh, that's rich!" the Twist Woman said. "Guess someone's got a bad crush on Garp!"
"Garp's no hero. I'll do better than him."
The woman sneered at him and drew two whips. The leather cords rippled and cracked as they twisted in the air. "Hard to see how you'll do that when you're dead."
Izuku yelped as the first whip flew blindingly fast at him. The leather lashed across his chest, slicing his shirt open and leaving a large red welt. Tiny droplets of blood oozed out across the wound. He felt the crack of leather on his skin and reflexively ducked, only to hear the whip crack overhead a second later. Another flick of pain graced his shoulder, and Izuku rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the whip as it slapped a hole in the ground.
Izuku checked his shoulder. The shirt didn't have a tear in it, and tugging up the fabric showed that his skin was still unblemished. His distraction nearly cost him. He blinked at the stinging sensation on his ankles and hastily jumped when he caught the whip swinging low out of the corner of his eye. His left leg buckled under him when he landed on his Achilles heel again.
"Got you now!" A looping arm reached for him. Unable to leap away, Izuku shut his eyes and braced himself for what was about to come. When he felt nothing, he cautiously opened his eyes again. Luffy stood in front of him, both arms stretched into knots as they grabbed onto the woman's wrists.
The woman's foot snapped up, knocking Luffy's jaw, and he let go with a grunt. His arms sprang back into shape like rubber bands.
"A Devil Fruit?" the woman grumbled. "Just my luck it counters mine, but a snot-nosed brat like you doesn't stand a chance!"
Luffy squinted at her twirling arms. "Hey, did you copy my power? No fair! Cheater!"
The pirate snorted. "Copy yours? Yours is a cheap knock-off of mine! I can bend anything I want, while you can only bend yourself! Watch!"
The woman shoved both hands into the cloud. A layer of it peeled away, out from underneath Luffy. With a quick Geppo, Luffy hopped back onto solid ground.
"Huh. Let me try that!" Luffy jammed his hand into the ground and pulled. He didn't get the cloud to curl up, but he did scoop a ball of clouds into the Twist Woman's face. As she sputtered and wiped away the mess, Luffy ran forward and punched. His hand twisted away from her face. Luffy punched again and again, but each time, his hands veered away.
"Hah! Even if you can bend, you still can't touch me! Everything I touch twists away!"
"Luffy! She can only twist it once! Hit her in one spot, and while you're twisting, hit her again!"
The woman snarled and swiped at him, but Izuku, ready for it this time, leapt into the air. With only one working foot, he couldn't Geppo out of the ring, but he could Geppo over to where Shanks and Buggy fought.
"Hey!" Buggy snapped. "Don't bring her over here! I don't want to get all twisted up like you!"
"You could still chop yourself up," Shanks pointed out. "Not much either of us could do if she turned us into pretzels."
"Yeah, sure," Buggy drawled, "Because it would be so much better being a thousand tiny pretzels instead of one jumbo-sized carnival style and drizzled with cheese. Mmm, kinda getting hungry now."
Shanks grinned at him. "You're starting to sound like Luffy."
"You take that back!"
"Uh, guys?" Izuku asked. "What's the plan?"
"Plan?" Buggy shouted. "Shiki the Golden Lion shows up and you think I have a plan? How's this for a plan? The moment we have an opening, we run for it!"
Izuku looked down at his twisted leg. "I don't think I can run."
"Sucks to be you then."
Shanks punched Buggy on the shoulder, nearly taking a knife to the eye in the process. "Hey. No leaving crewmates behind."
"But is he really though? You heard about how he was-"
Shanks' sword sliced off Buggy's head. The head overed there while the body continued fighting. "Fine, jeez, I get it."
While the fighting grew to a stalemate, Izuku risked a glance behind him. Luffy's arm spiraled away from the Twist Woman, only to reorient itself mid-air and strike her from behind. Even as Luffy's arms grew so curly they formed a giant knot around him, his fists kept hitting their mark. Bruised and bloodied, the Twist Woman screeched through swollen lips, "Just stop already! How are you not tied up!"
"I'm made of rubber!" Luffy's voice came muffled from inside the Gordian's knot his arms made. "I can stretch forever!"
"I don't think Luffy can stretch forever," Izuku said worriedly. "His arms are slowing down. How far can he stretch? Fifty meters? A hundred?"
"Who cares?" Buggy said. "As long as she's distracted, she's not coming after us!"
Shanks grimaced. "I'd help, but again, there's not much we can do. We'd have one shot to knock her out before she twists us up. Whatever we use, it needs to be big."
Izuku looked back at Luffy's fight and felt a lightbulb go off in his head. "Do either of you have an Impact Dial?"
"Sure, great idea!" Buggy said sarcastically. "She can twist it around and blast it in our faces!"
"I'm not going to use it on her. I have a better idea."
Shanks rummaged around in his pocket while fending off four other swords. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"So am I!" Izuku's grip felt clumsy thanks to his twisted arms, but he managed a good enough grip to block a club swung at Buggy's head. With the dial charged, Izuku limped back to the pile of tangled arms and legs that was Luffy. He peeked around his twisted body and aimed the dial at the Twist Woman.
"Hey Luffy, we've got one shot at this! Make it count!"
"Count what? I only have ten fingers!"
Izuku pressed the button on the Dial. Luffy went flying forward like a giant rubbery cannonball, laughing as he collided with the thunderstruck pirate. Luffy's body kept twisting, but the Twist Woman was helplessly ensnared inside.
"Let's see…" Luffy said in a confused mutter. "Counting… counting… ergh, this is too hard!"
"You idiot!" The woman twisted in his grasp. "Let go of me!"
"Oh! How about this!" Luffy's hands balled up. He rammed one fist into her face and said, "There's four."
His other fist slammed next to the first. "And that's nine! Or was it eight?"
The Twist Woman slumped over. Luffy's arms quivered, and the knots snapped open. Izuku's own arms and legs straightened out, and the twisted sword left lying on the ground snapped open.
Luffy sprang up and stretched his arms. "Phew! That feels better!"
Izuku flexed his own leg and rubbed at his aching heel. Feeling light-headed, he said, "I'm so glad that wasn't permanent."
Shanks picked up his sword and ran a finger along the side of the blade. "You and me both. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a matching set?"
"Hey!" Buggy, cut up into twenty different pieces, held back the tide of pirates like an overstretched fishing net. "Are you three going to sit around all day, or are you going to help out?"
Shanks laid back on the cloudy ground. "Eh, you got this Buggy."
"Oh, go f-"
Gunshots rang out from behind the Lion Pirates. Men fell with bullet holes in their backs, revealing ranks of Shannaran soldiers lying prone on the ground, their white uniforms blending in almost perfectly with the tufts of churned cloud surrounding the battlefield.
"See?" Shanks said as the pirates ran for the forest. "I told you."
As Izuku started to relax, he looked around and felt a twinge of panic. "Hey, have any of you seen Mei?"
Buggy shook his head, while Shanks gave it more thought. "I think she went with that one guy, with the Waver you rode? She was probably at his place when the attack hit."
Izuku frantically looked around. "And where is that?"
Shanks shrugged. "You'll have to ask around."
One of the White Berets crawled forward and saluted from the ground. "I overheard your conversation. We received word that you had helped repel the invasion, and I am willing to deploy a squad to assist you."
Izuku skeptically eyed the prone soldiers and said, "If you could just tell me which way to go, that would be great."
The soldier bodily turned himself around and pointed towards the edge of the village. "His shack is right next to the cloud sea, can't miss it."
"Thanks!" Izuku called back as he sprinted off. When he heard footsteps behind him, he turned and saw Shanks dragging Buggy and Luffy after him.
"You're not hogging all the fun today," Shanks said with a grin.
"Fun!" Buggy shrieked as his torso trailed behind his feet. "We're up against Shiki and you think this is fun?"
"Absolutely!"
Izuku's heart sank when he saw broken clouds drifting up ahead like tufts of smoke. The hut at the edge of the cloud sea was a broken ruin, its pier smashed and the Wavers left listing in the water. Izuku searched the ruins, hoping to find someone alive. All he found was a few spattered drops of blood and Mei's primitive hammer, its wooden handle crushed to splinters.
"Izuku, over there!"
Izuku ran out and looked to where Shanks was pointing. He half-expected to see Mei, but he saw no sign of pink hair on the boat rowing down the river.
"If they took her anywhere, it's where they're all going," Shanks explained.
Buggy snorted. "You want us to go after Shiki? We barely made it out of that last scrap alive! No, thank you! Besides, look how fast that current is! We'd never catch them!"
"We could catch them with a Waver!" Izuku checked the shattered docks. The Wavers were all crushed, and though they still had their Dials, he had no idea how to put together a Waver. Izuku bitterly thought that if Mei had been there, she could've fixed them in no time flat.
"If we lose sight of that boat, we'll never find them," Shanks said. "We need to get over there, fast."
"Ooh!" Luffy raised his hand. "I have an idea!"
"Nope!" Buggy backed away. "I'm not listening to any idea that you-"
"We can launch me over there!"
Buggy froze. With a grin, he said, "I love that idea! Let's do it!"
Shanks grabbed Luffy's legs, while Buggy grabbed Luffy's arms and pulled him back. Once he had him lined up, Buggy said, "Ready to launch!"
"We're launching? Okay!"
Luffy snapped back, with Buggy still hanging onto him. Screaming for dear life, Buggy let go and flew through the air towards the rowboat. Luffy snapped back over to Shanks and said, "Hey, you were supposed to let go!"
Shanks watched Buggy slam head-first into the pirates' boat and said, "Oops. Here, let's try again."
Izuku pulled this time, and he made absolutely certain he let go. Luffy shot towards the boat and slammed head-first into Buggy.
"There's still a Waver by our ship, right?"
"If they didn't break that one too."
"If Roger had you learn how to use it, it means we'll need it. I'll catch up with them on foot. You get the Waver and meet us up river."
Izuku was nearly out of breath when he saw the Waver leaning against a stack of crates, where he had last left it. After sending a quick thanks to whatever deity inhabited that world, Izuku rushed the Waver into the cloud sea and zipped off towards the wooded river leading into the heart of Sky Island.
A/N: sorry this chapter is a week late. Writer's block has been a pain, and this chapter did not want to get written at all. Here's hoping I'll be back again in two weeks.
