Crossed Lines

Mikoto bolted back and forth, he managed to make it through the massive horde and his opponent was in sight. Or at least who he thought was his opponent; he piled on another burst of speed, launching himself forward. He leapt into the air, propelling him at his opponent. He rotated his entire body forward, "Rapid Fire x 10!" His arm pumped back and forth as it readied for the moment, finally it smashed into the man's skull. Each pump became a punch and all of the punches blended into one fine final blow. Only problem was Mikoto could tell immediately that something was wrong, his fist squished into the man's skull as if it was made out of thousands of layers of paper. Mikoto looked down and noticed it kind of was.

There was a shield of multiple layers of paper, growing out of the man's head. Mikoto was surprised, he pushed himself back off of the man's weird head and landed. Luckily Mikoto guessed due to the fact that the paper layering absorbed the impact of his blow, there wasn't that much of a kickback to his Rapid-Fire he may be able to use it again soon. That is if he survived the man's next attack. He turned around and with a ferocious look on his face, he lashed out. His wrappings slid off of his arm forming a whip and striking Mikoto, sending him sprawling to the ground. Mikoto transformed into his full beast form, landing on all fours and rushing forward for the man. Mikoto dug his teeth into the man's arm only to be met with a surprisingly hard thrust of his palm, freeing himself from Mikoto's jaw. Mikoto quickly transformed back into his preferred hybrid form.

"It looks like one rat managed to escape my trap," said the man, 'The Mummy' Abel. He looked over at Mikoto and sized him up. "Hmm…you actually seem like a potentially potent foe, perhaps you will actually warrant me going at full-throttle." Mikoto felt a flash of pure instinct overcome him. The word 'run' seem prominent. Mikoto took his distance, making sure that this man wasn't like Trevor. "Hah! I suppose I should give you a sporting chance, hmm?" He reached out and grabbed one of the trees. There was weird look as light pulsed through his arm, coming from the tree and pulsing inwards into his shoulder. Mikoto watched as the tree slowly began to wilt, draining itself of all life and crumpling up into a dried pile of mush.

"I ate the Kanso-Kanso no mi*. Anything I touch turns to dust. I dry out anything around me." Mikoto looked down at the man's feet and watched as more purple pulses moved inwards from the ground and into the man's feet. He was drying up the land as they spoke. "Of course, if you haven't put it together yet, this also means humans are incapable of standing up to my powers. They turn into mummified shells of their former selves. With this they become mindless shadows willing to obey the man who turned them without question." Well, that explained the masses back at the house a few seconds ago.

Abel dove towards Mikoto, his hands outstretched, determined to turn Mikoto into another one of his mummified followers. Mikoto dodged the first strike, swinging towards the side and moving in. Abel lashed out once more, keeping his hands moving in wards for Mikoto's body; just a simple touch was all he needed to work his magic. OF course, this was proving to be more difficult than Abel was originally led to believe. As he drove in, each lash was expertly avoided by Mikoto. To a normal person looking in at the fight it might appear that Mikoto was a genius, reading all of Abel's movements and dodging them before he stood a chance, but from Mikoto's stand-point it was even more amazing.

Abel was just slow. It appeared as if Abel and Mikoto were just moving in different times. Mikoto's speed was much higher than Abel's, ordinarily this would be true for all of Mikoto's opponents. But with Mikoto's recent victory over Trevor it was like a switch had been flipped. All restrictions had disappeared. That was a tough fight for Mikoto, but now Mikoto had an overwhelming new experience he had come and defeated a Shichibukai, not only was the experience a great boost to his skill, but also the newfound confidence. Mikoto was using minute, yet high-speed movements to barely dodge each of Abel's punches all while moving in. He drew close and lashed out, his fast punch spinning in and nearly hammering Abel's face in, except Abel was obviously a bit more skilled with more experience. He could tell Mikoto's punches were coming and was using that knowledge to dodge it. Speed versus experience were facing down here.

"Desert Whip!" Abel's hand transformed into a wrapping similar to that of a mummy and stretched out. Mikoto dodged to the inside and watched it fly past him. Abel yanked it back, bringing the long whip of wrapping back at Mikoto's head. It smashed into the back of Mikoto's head and knocked him forward and towards Abel. Abel lashed out, Mikoto's eyes widened as he kicked it up a notch. Abel's hand grasped Mikoto's neck…or it would've. He felt nothing, he saw the kid in front of him, but it was obvious that Mikoto wasn't there from the feel. His senses were playing tricks on his mind.

"Afterimage into Wolf Cutter!" Mikoto brought his claws slashing upwards bringing them to fruition right at Abel's shoulder blade, drawing a brief string of blood. However, Abel was used to fighting, he was used to bleeding and knew exactly how to counteract it. He dried up his blood using his own Devil Fruit power, causing the blood to form a poor bandage at the surface of the wound. Mikoto was immediately forced away as Abel struck out at him, a quick flurry of whip aimed at his head. Mikoto pivoted to the side and stepped in again. It was a constant power play between the two of them. Mikoto was better closer-up while Abel was better far away. It was a continuous dance between the two, Mikoto would try to close-in, Abel would try to distance himself.

Mikoto rushed in, he swung his fist in and tried to connect with Abel. Abel lashed out with one whip, deflecting Mikoto's punch and then he struck out with his second arm, the whip snapped forward slashing into Mikoto's cheek and throwing him back. Mikoto shook his head, but he kept his head. He dove beneath the next swing and closed in. He planted his foot and with a rapid fast twist in his fist swung in, widely. Abel's body bloated up as the wrapping thickened. The thick wrapping absorbed the blow at least the first one. Mikoto jammed his entire body forward, "Rapid Fire x 20!" He pressed his fist in, forcing the bandages together, tightening them up reduced the amount of force it would absorb. Suddenly Mikoto's fist began pumping, each punch forced its way into Abel's ribs. Every 20 of them pounded into his ribs, Abel's body twisted slightly as he tried to whether the blow. His body clenched up as he tried to stand through it.

Finally the last punch rang through Abel's body and he didn't waste any time forcing Mikoto away, a quick whipping from his arms. They smashed into Mikoto's side, Mikoto was spun to the left and right as each of them came into his sides. He tried to stay standing, remain on the top of his feet. He stayed on the balls of his feet, sending himself spinning all the way through. He spun to the left and right, trying to break through and get close again, but he couldn't. The continuous whipping kept Mikoto at bay. Mikoto couldn't press in any deeper.

(-With Zesiro, Ridley, Enma, and Rosa-)

Of course, saying that Mikoto had it the hardest was a lie. The rest of the crew was still be invaded. They were being swarmed by hundreds, if not thousands of zombies. They were all shambling towards the house. For the time being they were still effectively defending the stronghold, but they were breaking down. The ring of fire was dying down to mere cinders now, but regardless of the lack of flame, the zombies were being careful they were walking around it, avoiding it. Things were looking bad until a long ivory spear shot out.

The spear shot through one of the zombies and drew close to Hiro-Shu, but Hiro-Shu stopped it. He looked down at it and he lifted it up slightly. It reminded him of their own doctor's spear. Hiro-Shu smiled at this, recognizing a friendly weapon when he saw one until he was met with a solid iron punch to the side of his face. He was tossed back as he tried to catch himself. He planted his feet down and managed to look up at his attacker. And he immediately felt horrified at the sight.

Maria was standing before him, or what was left of her. Abel had gotten to her. She had wraps coming down and encasing her torso and head. She looked like she lost weight too, shriveled up in the hot sun and dried out to where her skin was paper-thin and rested over nothing but her bones. Hiro-Shu brought his hands up and made a tight guard. He immediately found himself at the wrong end of the attack as Maria brought her hand smashing into it. Hiro-Shu was thrown backwards, he couldn't find his footing and was flung, nearly into Zesiro.

Zesiro turned around to take down the zombie that had flung Zesiro only to hesitate. How could he attack one of his old crew members? Luckily it appeared he didn't have to answer that question. A solid kick landed in the side of his face, forcing him back and rolling around in the mud. A ragged, zombified Enma stood towering above Zesiro. Zesiro jumped to his feet, quickly moving onto his own two feet and drawing his second sword. It still felt weird to hold, the weight was close, but it wasn't the same. It was a little heavier, a little bulkier than his old sword. But nonetheless it was sweet to hold…just not against his old friend.

Enma extended his bone spear at Zesiro, Zesiro swayed backwards to avoid it. Enma swung his bone spear to the side away from Zesiro, but into Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu turned around to face the attacker, just in time for Maria to rush forward and smash her fist downwards and into his face. The two of them had better teamwork dead then they did alive that much was obvious. Zesiro rushed in and met Maria's attack, temporarily hold her off from Hiro-Shu. But what could he do? Slash her arms off, behead her? He was at a stalemate with her. He couldn't do anything to take her down. He could just hold her off and wait…at least that would be an option if it was only her. Possibly if it was only her and Enma, but he felt a tearing, twisting, horrible pain in his side. He was thrown to the side with the force of a hurricane.

Sage was the next zombie that walked in. A pressure ball had hit Zesiro's side, it hurt like hell. He couldn't believe it. Those three were kidnapped and transformed? It was impossibly bad news, even worse there was another huge horde waiting just past them to tear into his flesh. He had no choice. The fact was right now…as much as he hated to swallow this fact. It was a matter of him…or them. He twisted his sword around, they were friends he would use the back of his blade, but at this point that was the only pity he could afford them.

Zesiro stepped in, he swung his sword around and upwards, smashed it into Maria's side. Maria's arm managed to jet in between her side and his sword. She survived the blow without any real injuries. Of course, Zesiro wasn't done. He had two swords after all. His second sword came in from the sky, chopping down aiming for Maria's shoulder. It hit with a horrifying clank. Zesiro's sword dug into the metal, denting her shoulder. Maria swung that arm in and smashed it into Zesiro's gut. Her arm was still working fine, that strike probably would've paralyzed a normal person's arm.

Maria stepped back and readied another punch for Zesiro's head. She fired it, drawing her metallic fist ever closer to his head. Rosa stepped in, parrying the punch with the back of her own blade. Rosa continued the assault, a long swinging slash to Maria's rib cage sent her spiraling to the side. Rosa was immediately thrown forward by Enma stepping in. He swung his spear straight at the back of her head. Rosa moved back, expertly dodging that stroke. She kept it up, using bare minimum changes in her movement to avoid zombie Enma's swing. Suddenly she felt cold metal latch against her arms, holding her steady. She turned around and saw that Maria had sneaked up behind and grabbed a hold of her. Enma leaned back and readied a powerful forward thrust!

Hiro-Shu's fist shot into Enma, throwing him to the side while a swing from Ridley crashed into Maria, forcing her to let go of Rosa. Maria skidded across the ground. She planted her feet and charged in back for Ridley and Rosa. Rosa thrust her sword forward, smashing the tip of it into Maria's arm and letting it slip in a bit. Maria stopped short enough to make sure no real damage was inflicted to her arms, she then stepped forward and fired another punch with her other arm. Ridley stepped forward and blocked that. Together these two were barely holding Maria back.

Ridley' leg was ripped out from under him as a massive ball of pressure slammed into it, twisting his body into the air. With Ridley's footing gone, he could no longer hold Maria back. She brought her fist pivoting around and into the side of his head knocking him to the ground. "Ridley?" asked Rosa, but she didn't dare to move eyes off of Maria. She kept them focused on Maria and her fist. Maria stepped in again and swung her fist through the air, this time however, Hiro-Shu did a complete interception. Throwing his entire weight into her to ensure the attack was a fail. He skidded to a halt and looked over at his fallen comrade. At that instant though, Enma had broken free from being face-to-face with Zesiro and charged. He swung his long bone spear sideways and at Hiro-Shu's face. Hiro-Shu ducked beneath it barely avoiding the bone spear. Only problem was as soon as Enma realized that was a miss, he produced a second one and thrust it at him. The sharp tip of the spear dug into Hiro-Shu's shoulder and drove him back. Enma quickly brought the first spear back around and aimed it at him.

"Forger's Fire! Iguko's Flame!" Hiro-Shu roared, unleashing a massive wave of flames all over Enma.

"Hiro-Shu!" shouted Zesiro, "that's Enma!" Hiro-Shu didn't need the reminder though, he knew all too well who it was, but he didn't have much of a choice. They were attacking them quickly and efficiently. It was easy to knock out the masses of zombies that were approaching, but their own friends would be impossible to strike at full speed. Only a completely heartless person could go at full-power against their own friends and allies. In all honesty, he was holding back with that last attack. He didn't want to burn him too badly, he just needed to get him off.

Perhaps Hiro-Shu had spoken too soon. There was a loud and deafening crack as Ridley brought his guitar straight through and into the side of Sage's head, throwing her completely to the side. "That's for attacking me!" shouted Ridley as he marched forward for her. Sage stumbled back on to her feet. Ridley swung his guitar into the air then back down, it would've hit her square upside her own head if it wasn't for Zesiro interfering with him.

"What the heck do you think you are-" Zesiro's words were cut short as a blast of another pressure ball slammed into his side, throwing him completely sideways. Zesiro smashed into the ground and he tried to right himself, to stand back up…but it was hard. He had taken several blasts to the side now. It was starting to tear at his skin. Perhaps he should've let Ridley swing that guitar down on top of her. He shook his head, the health and well-being of his crew came first. Although it was starting to seem like it was either them or him. Zesiro tightened his grip on his sword.

Zesiro looked at his opponents. Three of his fateful allies. It took him a few seconds to think, but he believed that maybe he should fight at full-power. Enma and Maria weren't weak, a strike with even the slightest amount of strength being held back wouldn't be enough to take them out. So he would have to fight them without any mercy. He turned his sword around, ready at last to use the front of his blade against his old friends.

The Front of the Blade or the Back?

Which One Do You Use Against Friends?

Poll taken down! The poll considering whether or not I should include character profiles in my chapters is over and done with! Starting next chapter I'll include crew member profiles as they join (starting with Rosa) and they will all be in the 3rd person view.

Partly because I feel bad about accidentally not uploading the last chapter on time, partly because I have massive backlog, and partly because I don't know if I'm going to update this week due to lack of a schedule, here's a 'bonus' chapter for you all, enjoy!

Mikoto has finally caught up to Abel and managed to land a hit...sort of! But now the real fight has started and with Abel's weird powers, who knows what will happen should the fight continue in this manner. Will Mikoto barely manage to pull out ahead? Or will Abel's unique and crafty powers provide him with the winning edge? Not to mention what the other Infinity Pirates are facing! Each other! Will they find the heart to harm those who had grown up with them throughout the ages or will they accept defeat at the hands of their friends? (Except for Ridley apparently...)