Ch. 7- The Eye of the Gorgon
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard © Me
"Gear…SECOND!"
Luffy, now in Gear Second mode, and Blizzard stared their opponents down, prepared to go all out. The crowd watched with great tension since most of their comrades were now lying in heaps, foaming at the mouth and unconscious. Even Hancock and the Gorgon Sisters were nervous.
"Can all men do that?" asked one of the women in the stands.
"I don't know," answered another.
Sandersonia turned to Marigold and said, "There's nothing to be scared of, Mari. Even Conqueror's Haki means nothing if the man can't control it, unlike the wolf."
Luffy turned his gaze to the stone statue of Marguerite, lying on the ground, unharmed.
"We better get her outta the way before we keep going, Blizzard," he said. "I don't want her to end up getting smashed."
Marigold and Sandersonia turned to Marguerite, then back at Luffy.
"You seem surprisingly calm," said Marigold.
"But it looks like you still don't fully understand the situation you're in," Sandersonia added. "That statue…DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING HERE!"
With that, Sandersonia prepared to smash the frozen Marguerite with her tail, but then, something blurred by, and as it disappeared, so did Marguerite, much to the anaconda-woman's shock.
What in the world? she thought, questioningly.
"There. You're safe, now."
Sandersonia looked down and saw Luffy gently putting Marguerite down between Sweet Pea and Aphelandra.
"Again, I'm sorry I got you into this mess," he said before he went up to join Blizzard in the arena.
"Foolish man," Marigold said. "Why do you fight for a worthless rock?"
"Because," Luffy began, "SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR FIGHT!"
"SONIA! MARI!" Hancock called. "HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO CONTINUES THIS MINDLESS GIBBERISH? FINISH THEM!"
"Yes, big sister!" the Gorgon Sisters said.
Luffy and Blizzard both took fighting stances.
Bring it on! Blizzard thought.
SWUP! SWUP! Sandersonia's hair began to writhe and curl, taking the shape of eight giant snakes resting upon hear head.
"Snake-Hair Possession: EIGHT-HEADED SERPENT!"
The crowd began to roar with cheers.
"Go, Lady Sandersonia!"
"Blizzard!" Luffy said. "Stay on your toes!"
WOOF! Blizzard barked to say that he understood.
WUSH! A giant snake lunged at Luffy and Blizzard, but they both evaded by jumping out of the way. CHOMP! The snake ended up biting on the rail, causing part of it to crumble.
"Look at that!"
"The railing of the arena!"
"The snakes on Sandersonia's head are only supposed to be made of hair, but the fangs…they're like steel!"
CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP! Sandersonia's hair snakes kept lunging at Luffy and Blizzard in an attempt to trap them in their fangs, but their movements were too fast for them.
I don't understand this, Sandersonia thought. I can predict their movements and yet…I can't keep up with them!
WHAP! Sandersonia felt something wrap itself around her neck. Looking back, she saw that it was Luffy. Before she could react…THWAK! Luffy threw her into the ground.
"SONIA!" Marigold cried before she looked to Luffy. "Damn you…!"
RRAAARRRGH! Marigold turned and saw Blizzard, snarling and growling at her.
"Fine," Marigold said. "I'll finish you off, first, wolf."
At that, Marigold swiped her spear at Blizzard, who jumped over the blade.
X-FANG!
SWISH! Blizzard made an X-shaped air-based bite at Marigold, who raised her hands up over her chest.
"It's no use, wolf!" she said. "You saw how I deflected your master's attack!"
Blizzard simply smirked at her.
SKISH! PLOOSH! Instead of Marigold deflecting the attack, Blizzard's X-Fang actually managed to get through, cutting the cobra-woman's shoulder, drawing blood, and throwing her back, almost right off the arena.
Marigold seethed as she held her wound.
What's going on? she thought.
"SONIA! MARI!"
The Gorgon Sisters looked up to Hancock, who appeared to growing even more impatient than before.
"How long do you plan on wasting your time?" she questioned. "Hurry up and finish them, already!"
"Y-yes, big sister!" Marigold replied.
"We're sorry!" added Sandersonia. "We'll finish them, right away!"
FWIK! FWOOM! Marigold lit a match, and then her whole body became enveloped in flames.
"Whoa," Luffy said. "She's on fire!"
SWUP! SWUP! Marigold's hair began to take the form of two giant snakes.
"Snake-Hair Possession: SALAMANDER!"
"Now, you have no chance of escape!" Sandersonia. "EIGHT-HEADED SERPENT!"
SWUP! Sandersonia's hair turned into eight huge snakes, again. The two sisters hissed as they surrounded Luffy and Blizzard once more.
The audience began to cheer.
"They're finished, now!"
"No matter what they do, they can never escape!"
Luffy and Blizzard remained undeterred by this. Instead, the former just gave the latter a short glance, and then looked back at their opponents.
"Blizzard," he said. "Let's finish this, now!"
GRRRFF! Blizzard growled and nodded.
I couldn't agree more, he thought.
With that, Blizzard stood behind Luffy a good distance away, just as the hair serpents were closing in.
WROING! Luffy stretched his arms back, as if he were about to use a Gum-Gum Bazooka, but then, he grabbed Blizzard by the scruff of his neck.
"Gum…GUUUUUM…"
"IT'S OVER, MAN!" the Gorgon Sisters yelled as their attacks were about to hit.
"JET WHITE ARROW!"
WHOOSH! BAM! Luffy threw Blizzard at Marigold and Sandersonia, causing their hair to become limp and lifeless.
The once-cheering crowd only stared in shock and disbelief.
However, Luffy wasn't done, just yet.
THWAK! THWAM! He stretched his legs out, kicking the bases of the sisters' tails before they snapped back. Marigold and Sandersonia's heads soon collided with each other's, the latter screaming out in pain. Marigold's flames were now burning her sister!
"Sonia!" Marigold cried as she attempted to push Sandersonia away. "Hurry! Get away from me!"
Sandersonia screamed as she writhed from Marigold, who was somehow being pulled along with her. A closer look revealed why.
Her and Sandersonia's tails were now tied together, like a bow!
"WHAT?" Marigold cried. "WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?"
Nearby, Luffy laughed as he gave Blizzard a high-five- err…paw, before he held up his hands in a double-peace sign.
"Put it out!" Sandersonia cried. "It's hot!"
"Sonia, stop!" Marigold exclaimed. "You're pulling on me, too!"
As Sandersonia continued to scream and yell, she didn't realize that she was about to fall towards the spikes.
"Oh, no!" Marigold said. "Sonia! Look out! The spikes! You're heading right for them! Quickly! Grab onto the rail!"
Sandersonia did as he sister advised and grabbed onto the railing that surrounded the stands, heaving a sigh of relief as she did.
She didn't realize that her clothes were burning away.
"That was a close one," said Sandersonia, unable to hear the gasps from the audience.
"L-Lady Sandersonia!"
Hancock, who was at first outraged, suddenly became horrified as she let out a silent gasp.
"Oh, no…" she whispered. "Her back…Sonia's back…it's showing…! The mark will be revealed!"
The Warlord shut her eyes, hoping- no, praying- that she wouldn't hear the sound of hateful words coming from the people who came to respect her and her sisters.
They would realize that they had been lied to.
What would happen to Sandersonia? To Marigold?
To HER?
Would they shun them? Would they seek to bring harm to her?
What was going to happen?
"Ouch! OUCH! OH, THAT'S HOT!"
Hancock slowly opened her eyes, but then let out another gasp.
There was Luffy, lying on Sandersonia's back on his stomach, his limps wrapped around the front of her body (making sure not to touch her breasts, of course).
"What is he doing?"
"He's trying to finish off Lady Sandersonia!"
"How dare he!"
"That's so cruel!"
"Damn you, man!" Sandersonia cursed at Luffy.
"Stop!" Luffy said. "Don't move! Look, I know you and your sister wanna kill me and Blizzard right now, but that doesn't we wanna do the same to you!"
"Who the HELL do you think you're talking to?" Sandersonia questioned, enraged. "Get off me! MARI! FINISH THIS PATHETIC MAN AND HIS MONGREL, RIGHT NOW!"
Marigold stood in her place, eyes wide and body quivering.
"WELL?" asked Sandersonia. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? DO IT! NOW!"
A pause…
"I…" Marigold stammered. "I…I can't, Sonia!"
"What?" Sandersonia questioned, now even more angry. "WHY?"
"Because right now," Marigold started, "the man…is the only thing that's covering your back!"
Sandersonia gasped as realization hit. She looked up and saw that Marigold was right. Luffy was indeed the only thing that was covering her naked back.
At that moment, the Kuja also realized the situation.
"Look at that! Lady Sandersonia's clothes have burned away!"
"Her back has been revealed!"
"If not for the man, the Eye of the Gorgon would show!"
Sandersonia just stared at Luffy in surprise.
Why would he do this, even though she and Marigold were trying to kill him and Blizzard not 15 minutes ago?
Flashback
"Man," Hancock said. "You and your wolf had seen something that we would die to prevent anyone from seeing."
Flashback end
"You said that you'd rather die than let anyone see what's on your backs, right?" Luffy asked. "Then don't move a muscle."
Blizzard stared in silence, unsurprised by Luffy's mercy towards his enemies.
Luffy… he thought.
Hancock stood up from her throne and declared, "The Snake Burrow Dance is over! Everyone evacuate the coliseum, at once, before the Eye of the Gorgon is completely exposed!"
With that being said, the crow let out a huge gasp.
"She's right!"
"If the Eye of the Gorgon is exposed, we'd all be turned to stone!"
"Everyone, out!"
The stands were soon cleared out of all witnesses, conscious, unconscious or otherwise. Once they were empty, Sandersonia looked down to the trench of spikes below the arena.
"I don't understand," she said. "My sister and I…we were trying to kill you and your wolf, just now. Why? Why did you help me?"
Another pause occurred…
"Because," Luffy began, "whatever's on your back…has nothing to do with our fight."
Blizzard heaved a sigh, but then, his ears twitched. He heard the sound of sad whimpering and slight sniffles. Looking back, he soon found the source of those noises.
Hancock was sitting in her throne, again, but she had her hand over her eyes. Even from where he was standing, Blizzard could see her chewing her bottom lip and small droplets of water escaping her eyes.
The wolf-dog only stared at her in pity. Something told him that Hancock was not as bad a person as he was at first making her out to be.
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