Disclaimer: I Do Not Own One Piece.

Chapter 8: Fight! Rise And Be Strong! Part II

Aro stared in horror. She couldn't believe it. Her breath escaped her; she couldn't look away. The fire locked her eyes. She knew she said something but didn't hear herself. She tore her eyes away from the fire to see Guzen throwing more bladed cards at her. She bent back. And got in a horseshoe like stand. She looked at him from around her knees. He was smiling. "Letting our guard down, now are we, Aro?"

"You little…" Rage filled her and she got to her feet, her scythe loosely in her hand, "If Cap dies, I swear you will be cut up and fed to the sharks." No kindness lingered in her words or her eyes. Pure hatred consumed her mind and body. After sheathing the scythe, she charged at him. He lifted his hands as if to ward off a punch or a kick. Aro gave him both.

She came in for a hard right. As expected, he caught it. She twisted her wrist so that she held his. She pushed down and jumped at the same time, throwing Guzen off balance. She turned in the air, and gave him a hard kicked in the left side of his head with the left side of her foot. She let him go as her foot made contact. She kept her face perfectly blank as she landed on her feet. Guzen crashed into the mountainside. She started towards him slowly. He pulled himself from the rubble, and spat some thick liquid out on the ground. Aro didn't have to look to tell it was thick blood that now slowly made its way down the white rocks. She lifted her head so that she would be looking down at him from the corner of her eyes. "What's wrong, Guzen?" Her voice was low in a kind of purr, "can't take a hit to the face?" her hands were on her hips, making her stand in a cocky sort of manner. "You're not so touch when I don't go for your distractions long, are you?" Her hand started up to her scythe. Emotions flashed across Guzen's face, as if trying to decide how to react. Aro slowly withdrew the blade for the leather sheath. The blade felt weightless in her hand.

Guzen's eyes settled on an emotion finally. "Please! Aro! Stop! Wait a second!" He cried as he held is hands up to her, empty. "Stop! Please! Don't kill me! It was Veldoro!" This made her stop; this and the fear in his eyes, that is.

"What?" She started to spin the scythe in her hand.

"V-Veldoro did this to me… I didn't mean to… you know I would never hurt Cap! Let me stop the fire with my Ice Dice. Please, we don't have much time before those girls and Cap are burnt alive!" He stared at her, his eyes wide and begging. Aro stared back. She didn't believe him. Something inside her said she should, yet, her paranoid self said she shouldn't. She didn't know what side of herself to listen to. She looked to the blazing cart. All the swordsmen were down for the count around it. Sanji, Zolo, and Luffy were trying to get the fire out somehow, but couldn't get close. She bit her lip, thinking. "Aro, there's not much time!" Guzen pleaded.

"I know that!" She turned back to him, looking him in the eye. Her mind raced against time. What could she do? Guzen, for all she knew, was still under Veldoro's control. A metallic taste hit her tongue from nibbling on her own lip too hard. She glanced back at the inferno and saw that the blaze was growing as the cart started to reach the rotting core of the wood. It wouldn't be long before…

She shook her head, pushing the thought aside. She looked at Guzen, no joking in her face, "Double cross us and I will have your blood stained on my blade. I don't care if we use to be friends or not. Understand?" He nodded vigorously. "Good. Now, put that fire out!" She turned to the cart fully, and Guzen got to his feet. His face was pale and he pulled out the other blue die. He pointed it at the cart, taking special aim, and shot.

The die got lost in the flames. Nothing happened. Aro stared in horror. "It should have worked…" Guzen muttered, his breath coming in gasps. She turned to him, grabbing his collar. He winced, and turned his head away from her. "Aro! Stop! Please! Before Veldoro gets another hold on me!"

"Why didn't it work, Guzen?!" Aro felt the tears pushing on her eyes, wanting to come out. "Why is the cart still ablaze?"

"I don't know!" He looked at her, "What's gotten into you? You're not yourself!" Aro dropped him in mid-sentence. She turned back to the cart, helpless from her current position. "Aro… Veldoro will have control again soon…" This made her turn back to him.

"What do you mean?"

"His possession only lasts for so long. When he losses it, he has to rebuild the hold. It only takes a few minutes…" He looked down, as if ashamed. "Aro… If Cap does die because of me… kill me only when Veldoro has possession of me."

"Why? – I mean! I don't want to kill you at all, but if Cap does die…"

"I know. Because when someone that Veldoro possesses dies while he still has control, he gets weaker."

"Why are you telling me all this? Won't he know and you'll be punished?" Someone called to her at the cart. She started to turn back when Guzen grabbed her arm. She looked at him.

"Because, I still want him to leave Shira. I don't want him to keep control over everyone. If I die to save it, then it was worth it to attempt an attack on him on my own."

"Guzen… why the sudden—" His grip suddenly tightened. She let out a small yelp of surprise. He looked at her with emotionless eyes again. "—DANG IT!" She pulled back her scythe as Guzen drew a blade card. She came down with the blunt end of the blade as the card came at her neck.

"ARO!" Someone called behind her as all that happened. She pulled to the right, getting a small cut on her neck. The scythe hit dead on, and Guzen's knees buckled. He came down like a crumbling tower. Warm blood trailed down her neck as she turned around. Her face hesitated before lighting up slightly. Cap was being supported on Zolo's shoulders. Burns covered his body. The two girls, 16 and 18, huddled around Sanji, sobbing and begging for comfort. Luffy looked up at Aro, face emotionless. She realized it was Luffy who had called her name. "Come on! We've got a bad guy to beat up!" He smiled. Aro nodded, and turned back to Guzen. She sheathed the scythe and knelt down next to him. Grabbing one arm, she threw him over her shoulder in a fireman's carry. She turned to the mountainside and looked down at them.

"Sanji! Take the girls back to town to their father. Zolo, take Cap to a doctor."

"I'll just take him to Chopper. He's our doctor." With that, the five started off, back to town. Aro looked down at Luffy, unsure of what to do next.

"Uh… Luffy, can you come up here some how? I can't really come down…"

"Alright. Gomu Gomu no…" Luffy stretched his arm and grabbed a rock about half way up to Aro. She blinks at him. "Rocket!" He started to retract and he shot up at her.

"WAH!" She jumped to her right as Luffy landed where she was standing. She looked at him in surprise. He gave her his usual emotionless look. She flashed a smile, and looked up the path. The castle loomed ahead like an omen. She swallowed. "Well… I guess its time to head up there…"

"Alright." They started up the mountain. Guzen's unconscious body was still over Aro's shoulder. After they hit the halfway point or so, Luffy stopped, and scratched his head. Aro stopped as well and looked at him.

"What is it?"

"There was something Cap said to tell you…"

"Cap?"

"Yeah, but I forgot what it was… Something about… something…" Luffy crossed his arms while he tried to collect his thoughts. Aro gave a small smile and somewhat confused eyes.

"It's alright, Luffy. I'm sure it will—"

"I remember now! He said that he had a new name for you!"

"A new name?"

"Yeah, he said when we get to the castle, we were to call you Caption Aro. He said it would cause Veldoro to become… something…" He tried to remember again. Aro gave him a sad smile.

"It's alright, Luffy. Just call me Aro. Veldoro knows that I'm not a caption yet. Come on." She started up to the castle again. Luffy followed behind her. Guzen's limp body started to feel weightless as Aro smiled to herself. 'Caption Aro…' She thought to herself, 'That would be nice…'

They arrived at the front of the castle. No guards were around. They both started to look around. "What the heck?" Aro set Guzen down, and ran to the corner of the castle, peering around the edge.

Nothing.

She went to the other side and did the same thing.

Again, nothing.

Confusion filled her. "Where is everybody?" She asked, heading back over to Luffy and Guzen.

"Hey… The door's locked." Luffy was pulling on the door. He frowned and pushed on it. It wouldn't open.

"Of course it will be locked. Veldoro's not going to just let us waltz right in!" She picked up Guzen again, this time in piggyback style. Her shoulder had started to ache from the fireman style earlier. Luffy came and stood next to her. He pulled back his arm.

"Gomu Go—" The door opened suddenly and the two stared at it, blinking. A smoke poured out of the entrance like a dark cloud. The two glanced at each other, asking the same question with their eyes: 'You ready for this?' They started into the smoke, losing sight of the setting sun behind them.

"There's no turning back now," Aro said quietly to Luffy.

"Nope." He answered, still walking forward.

"Hey… Luffy…"

"Hmm?"

"After all this… do you think—never mind." Aro walked a little faster. She wanted to ask if he would let her on his crew, but she felt it wasn't her place to ask, at least, not yet. There was still one last thing to take care of before she even thought of joining a new crew. They stepped into a large ballroom. Aro looked up at a group of four people that stood on a balcony. She glared up at them. The last thing she had to do now stood in front of her. She was right, there was no turning back now. Though she wondered, if she was over her head with this. She hoped she wasn't.

(Author's Note: Thanks for reading up to this point! I know these may not be the best OP fan fiction, but thanks for living through it to this point! arigato! –Gives you a cure moderate wounds potion—XD)