Disclaimer: I Do Not Own One Piece or Axe

Chapter 37: Captain or First Mate VI

"Get… off…" Aro groaned as the snake-man bit down harder. She grabbed the back of its neck and pulled slightly. "Off…" The snake-man grabbed her hand and pulled it away from touching him and shook its head like a dog. Aro screamed again. She pulled her hand free, seeing as the other was trapped between them with the scythe. She punched it in the face as best as she could from that angle. It wasn't even phased. "Dang it!" She moaned, a copper taste filling her mouth. "Get off me…"

A thin wire shot out of the darkness and wrapped around the snake-man's neck. It let her go and reared back, shrieking. Aro, instead of taking the open attack, covered her ears, joining it by screaming. The wire suddenly tugged and the snake-man's head came clear off. Things thicker than blood fell on her and she didn't move from covering her ears. "Oh hell, oh hell…" She muttered over and over again. Kit came out, winding the wire up.

"Aro, can you move?" She asked, going over to her and pulling the body off her.

"Where's Axe?"

"Looking for more. Don't want to get jumped while we're bandaging you up." She slipped the wire back in her small case for it on her hip and reached behind her into a small pouch. She pulled out medical tape, some white cloth, and a small bottle of water. "Can you sit up?"

"Got anything for bleeding ears?" She sat up, slowly, keeping her ears covered.

"No, sorry. Can you hear still?"

"There's a small ringing, but I can ignore it, I think."

"Good." Kit turned Aro's head to the side and made a noise at the sight of the bite. "Harsh…" She opened the water and put some on the cloth. Then, ever so gently, she dabbed the cut—

"YEEEEEOUCH!" Aro jumped up and away from her. "What the hell is in there?!"

"Water and a dab of alcohol." She watched Aro hover her hands over the cut, wincing. "That hurt?"

"YES!"

"Good, it means it's working then. Or, that's what LeStine would say."

Aro stopped moving and stared at her. Kit stood up and moved Aro's hands with one and dabbed the wound again. Yet again, Aro screamed. "God you're loud." Axe said, coming through a bush. "They're keeping a good distance because of her yelling. Guess you having low pain resistance would be a good thing then." Aro answered him with a hiss. Kit pushed the cloth to the wound again and Aro yelled again.

Kit continued to clean the bite and Aro started to whimper like an abused pet. When Kit finally put the now pink cloth away, Aro gave a sigh of relief. Kit tilted Aro's head and started to bandage her up. "Hurry up," Aro muttered, "I can hear them coming…"

"I can't." Kit muttered.

"You don't have cat ears." Axe and Aro said at once. Kit blushed slightly and looked ashamed. She finished the bandage and put everything up.

"There. All done—"

Aro put her scythe up and grabbed her board. "Ok, that's nice, let's GO!" She turned and started to run off.

"Aro! That's where I came from!" Kit called. Aro skidded to a stop and turned to her.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"But, I thought you came from between the two wavy trees…"

"Wavy trees?" Kit looked over her shoulder and jumped. Axe suddenly was in a defensive position. To large snake-men stood up as tall as they could. For once, Aro actually got to look them over. They had a human body from the waist up, but a snake body from there down. But all of their skin was actually scales. These two happen to be light brown with dark brown lines down their backs. One's tongue flicked out and its head turned to Axe.

"Oh hell no, you better think again…" Axe muttered.

Aro turned and had to lean back to look up at the face of yet another one. This one was a bright green with a light brown under belly. "Hey, how'd you get the sneak on me? I'm part cat!"

"Oh no…" Kit muttered, "The bite had venom…"

"That's just great. With only half of Aro's brain, it's two point five against three."

"The snakes only count for points seventy-five?" Aro asked, looking back at them.

"That only ads up to two point twenty-five, Aro… Stop thinking, you'll hurt yourself."

"Ok." Aro sat down, swaying slightly, "You're all changing colors…"

The first of the brown ones lunged at Axe, head butting him in the gut. Axe stumbled back, but quickly regained himself. "Kachi kachi no Crush!" He let out a strong kick to the side of the snake-man's face, and sent him into the bush with a loud crash.

"What was that?" Kit asked.

"His leg turned to stone." Aro said, curling up.

"This is NOT time for a cat nap, Aro!" Kit wined, pulling out her wire from its case. The second brown one lunched at her. She pulled back on the wire and took a quick spin with her arm up. The wire made a sort of cone around her. The snake-man stopped and reared back from the wire. Kit stopped, dropped down to one knee and with a zigzag motion of her hand, the wire put three deep gashes on the snake-man. A shriek ripped from its throat and Aro grabbed her ears and pulled down on them.

"ITA! Kit no baka! Roba no baka ni hen…"—

"Watch your tongue, Aro." Axe warned, watching where he threw his attacker. Kit readied her wire and kept an eye on the one she attacked. It was on the ground, withering and shrieking. "That the acid one?"

"Yeah, it's almost out." Kit said, walking in a wide circle around her target.

Aro stood up, put her hands on her board and picked it up from where she was using it as a bed for a nap. "Can't sleep with that thing alive—oh look, something green." She giggled as the tail of the one behind her started to wrap around her. She held her hands up, letting the board fall, laughing. "It tickles."

Kit glanced at her and her jaw dropped, "ARO! Kill it! It wants to kill you!"

Aro petted the snake tail. "Why would the green thing want to hurt me?"

The snake-man with the cuts suddenly lunged at Kit. "Wah!" She jumped back, just short of the attack and brought the wire down on its centerline. The snake-man suddenly was in front of her, holding her attack wrist to one side. His jaws opened wide—WIDE! No fangs were in his mouth. "Constrict—" The snake-man brought his mouth down over Kit's upper half.

"Holy—"Axe muttered as the snake-man stood tall, Kit's legs kicking in the air, and her muffled screams coming from inside of him. "Don't scream! Try to hold your breath! They suffocate their food."

"Actually, they cut off the circulation and sense when the heart stops beating from the lack of oxygen coming to the heart."

"They both lead to death, so why does—" The other snake-man shot out of the bushes and tackled Axe, both scattering to the ground. The green snake put three coils around the laughing Aro. Axe kicked the snake-man on him over him and quickly got to his feet. When he was facing the snake-man again, a set of wide-open jaws was coming at him. "Shi—" He grabbed the top jaw with one hand and the bottom with the other. It pushed against his hands, making him slide back just a bit. "Aro! Do something besides--…"

Aro had her head propped on her hands, which were supported by the coils of the green snake. "This snake has pretty scales." She said, giggling. Axe sweat-dropped and shifted his weight.

"Get off!" He grunted as he threw it into the one holding Kit. The two snake-men collided and Kit fell to the ground, gasping. Axe came to her, grabbed her arm, and pulled her on her feet. "Still alive?"

"That was so gross…"

"I take that as a yes." He looked at Aro, and shouted, "ARO!"

The green snake's mouth was opened wide, long fangs bared and dripping with poison. "Must be a cross-creation…" Kit muttered, shaking slightly. Aro giggled and poked the teeth. "And she's too drunk from the first attack to even notice…"

Axe started forward but the snake with the cuts suddenly wrapped around his legs, causing him to fall. He looked back at it as the other tackled Kit, who fell without so much as a struggle. Axe punched the ground then tried to get free. Kit stayed on the ground, still too tired to move.

"Bad Snake!" Everyone froze and looked at Aro. She was holding the fangs. "No nibbles for you!" She pulled one fang in each direction and it started to shriek. Aro echoed it with a scream of her own. "LET GO!" There was a wet pop and the fags came out, blood spilling on her. The green snake-man grabbed her and threw her into the bushes. "WEEE!" she called as she passed over the other two. There was a loud thump and then silence.

"Oh hell…" Kit muttered, and put all her strength into a kick. It made the snake let her go and she watched it go to the green one. The one on Axe did the same. Though shaking slightly, Axe started to get to his feet. Kit sat up slightly, "Are you ok, Mr. Axe?"

"Can't feel my legs…" He started to where Aro landed and moved the bushes aside. Aro was on her hands and knees, puking everything in her onto the ground. "Lovely… Aro, anything hurting?"

"Pounding headache, aching arms, but other than that, I'm alive and kicking…" She slowly got to her feet.

"Brain back?"

"Where did it go?"

"You were laughing as the snake tried to eat you."

"Was I?"

"Yes." Kit and Axe answered.

"Oh, wow… that was some strong juices then." She stretched and looked at the fangs in her hands. "Ew… did I do this too?"

"Yep."

"Ew… I ripped something out…" She shivered and stepped over the bush. She put one in Axe's hand and the other in Kit's. "It's skin is too thick for blunt attacks to do anything. Get it in the brain to kill it, is my guess."

"I have my wire."

"It's not still enough to make a straight lung. You need it." She drew her scythe. "I got my own fang." She looked at the three as they turned back to them. "I got green."

"Cuts." Kit said.

"Fight your attacker then." Axe muttered, flipping the fang in his hand.