Chapter 15: Meeting the rest & Nine Tailed Trace
(Loki's POV)
After several minutes, Kasu released Nami, she staggered over to me. I said,"What's the meaning of that attack? I thought the Brethren was supposed to lead us to Nine Tailed Trace unharmed."
"That was true, but I got a request to see how strong his opponents would be," Kasu said. "Who wants to go next? I promise upon time that I won't kill you, just a...friendly combat."
"Friendly doesn't fit for a fox," Luna said, she switched to beast point and crouched low. "Or especially a wolf."
"Yeah, you say it!" Chopper said.
"Such words come from a girl like you," Kasu said. "I'll inform Night and Shadow about this fight."
"Wolf stance!" Luna yelled, she appeared behind him, then to the sides. Ah, she was everywhere! She hopped from gravestone to gravestone in incredible speed, we could only catch glimpses of her. "Can you keep up?"
"Two can play at that," Kasu said, his clock started to glow. "Second Stop!" He vanished as Luna passed me. I saw a fair glimpse of him chasing her from the side.
"Luna, to your right!" Nami warned, Luna turned her head to see the fox smirking at her before slamming into her, too late.
She then crashed into a gravestone with such force, it crumbled. "Time Keeper!" Again, with the cane, he hit Luna in a single stroke, she was knocked out. "That was in a full minute, not too shabby. People last at least half a minute. With this settled, how about you fallow me to Master Trace?"
"Wait," Zolo said. "First you decide to fight us in combat, then you back out. What's the whole idea of testing only two of us instead of going against the rest?"
"You humans had wasted enough time for me to fight you all," Kasu said, he ran off to the north side of the graveyard. I took Luna in my talons and took off, we fallowed him until we came across a lake. A large galleon (think if the Flying Dutchman) sat in the middle of the frozen water. "Hold, the ice is a bit thin."
"What, you plan to drown us?" Luffy asked, I flew overhead and landed near the mast. I checked on Luna and found she was awake.
"Ow," Luna said, she looked down, it was a 30 foot drop so she tried to be free of my grasp. "Is it really necessary for you to leave me here at this height?!"
"I'm an eagle, what do you expect me to do?!" I said.
"At least just put me on the ground!" Luna said, I took off again and landed next to Usopp this time. My grip loosened as she got up. "Thanks, Moegami."
"Last time, it's Loki!" I squawked, but the crew got themselves ready as though a battle was about to happen. Kasu was suddenly gone. "Where'd the fox go?"
"That's the reason we're getting ready," Zolo said, he had his hand placed on one of his swords' hilt. "The moment we finally got on deck, he ran off again."
"Who said that?" Nami asked, looking around. "Don't tell me we lost Zolo."
"I'm right here!" Zolo said, he waved his other hand in front of her.
"Sure," Nami said, Luffy walked around deck, he said,"Maybe we can steal this ship."
Clouds started to form over our heads, but there was a strange presence in them. Lighting and thunder struck, then rain came in, along with hail. Sanji said,"Over here, there's a hatch that leads below deck."
"Do you even know what's down there?" Vivi asked, he shook his head, no. "Then it's another trap."
"Heads up!" Nami said, the hail stone thingies grew larger. "It's either getting hit in the head, or going down some creepy hatch."
"I'd go for the hatch!" Luffy said, he jumped in first. "Whoa, treasure, there's loads of gold stashed in here!"
"Gold?!" Nami asked, she fallowed him. "Oh-my-god!"
"Nami-swan!" Sanji said with hearts in his eyes, he left the hatch open and jumped inside the hole.
"Usopp, I'm scared," Chopper said, but I pushed both of them in. "Whoa, this room is huge!"
"You guys!" Vivi said, I helped her get inside.
"Aren't you going?" Luna asked Zolo, he shrugged, we went through the hatch to see the rest of the crew fawning over gold and other treasures that were pilled on the sides of the room, which was as large as Davy Jones' organ room (you know, where he plays his organ). "This place is pretty larger inside."
"No kidding," Carue said. "Even though we're inside, I feel like the place is going to flood or something."
"Geki!" snarled a beast that was in the dark, it came into few. Another nine tailed fox, only with a blue orb tied around its neck. "Who be you?"
"Chopper, did you catch what it said?" Sanji asked as the fox advanced closer, we saw that it had both eyes wrapped in dirty cloth.
"Yeah, he asked us who we are."
"Geki! Gekigami the Storm!" Geki said, in English. "Golden Thunder, geki!"
The orb turned yellow and electricity jumped onto the pile of gold. Nami, who was examining a golden cup, was nearly electrocuted by the thunder bolt before she dropped the cup. Chopper realized that we were in a dangerous place to fight so he said,"You guys, stay away from the gold, or you'll be shocked! Gold conducts electricity!"
Everyone stepped away from the treasure, but Luna charged after Geki in beast point. She yelled,"Wolf Stance!"
Instead of jumping from one mound of treasure to the other, she bounced along the walls. She said,"It can't aim at us, I think Geki is blind."
"You got that right, Geki," the fox said, he looked around in circles before giving up. "Sigh, I can't attack an opponent I can't even see, no wonder I'm useless to Master Trace in combat. Golden Thunder!"
The bolt of thunder came for me, I took off and dived for him, I bellowed,"Talon Grip!"
My talons grew a bit larger and sharper as I grabbed hold of the fox's tail. He said to me,"Be careful what you hunt for, it might hunt back! Reverse Shock!" I felt my heartbeat stop for a moment as electricity went through me, then I passed out.
(Luna's POV)
"Moegami!" I yelled as he dropped Geki and crash landed into a pile of coins. The fox landed gracefully on top of him. Loki's talons were twitching, anime style. "Loki! Black Wind! Say something!"
"Luna, no normal beast or human can survive that attack, the voltage is too strong!" Chopper said.
"He'll be fine, he's not normal!" I said, I rushed over to Loki, who had his beak wide open, and Geki walked away. He breathed slowly. "Chopper take care of him."
"Right," Chopper said, he came towards me while Geki's mouth was glowing. A blue, orb like ball of fire produced in his mouth and fired at the doctor.
"Heads up, the party isn't over yet," I said, I grabbed Chopper and the orb missed him by an inch.
"What's with the noise?!" roared a voice from the other end of the room. "Gekigami, are you fighting with yourself again?!"
"The mortals you asked for came!" Geki said. "You said for me to test them, Geki?"
"No, no, no, I said for Kasu to test them, he informed me he just did half an hour ago," said the voice, a large, oak door opened by itself. A man who looked like Barbossa, minus the hat and beard, came out. He had a long staff with nine tails from foxes tied to the top. The man looked at all of us, then at Geki again before calling over his shoulder. "Kira, go and fetch the others."
"Right, Master Trace," said a familiar tone, the nine tailed assassin came out from behind the man and ran out of the room, Geki fallowed. "Geki, careful of-"
SLAM! Poor Geki, who was blind, missed the opened hatch and slammed into the ceiling above, then he managed to get out. The man laughed,"That fox really needs to know where he's going. Useless beast, I'm Nine Tailed Trace, you can call me Trace. So, how's your stay here on Fannette Island?"
"How can you ask us something like that?" Zolo said. "We're nearly killed by your little pets, it's like asking us what the weather is."
"I have to agree with Zolo," Nami said.
"Over all," I said. "The whole island sucks, a single thing though, where's the Going Merry?"
"Going...Merry?" Trace asked. "The ship with a sheep for a figurehead? She's just...tied up at the moment-"
"You mean you stole her?!" Usopp said. "What right do you have to do that, she's our ship!"
"Pirate," Trace smirked in Jack Sparrow way, the treasure vanished and the room was lit with torches that were hung on the walls. "Welcome aboard the Lovely Fox-"
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Vivi asked. "The journal of Edgar Silverback said that you were executed 200 years ago."
"That mean jerk who said I wouldn't be able to sleep at his house for the night and be fed," Trace said, he pointed at his belly, which rumbled loudly. "I hadn't eaten for the past 200 years!"
"Can't the foxes cook for you?" Usopp asked.
"No thumbs," Trace said. "And Spirit can't use his powers with food."
"How about hunt?"
"Not much meat here, the only things the foxes would go after is humans."
"Buy something? You've got loads of gold," Nami said.
"Er, that was fake gold. How about a deal? In combat, of course. Me against the strongest ones of this crew"
"The stakes?" I asked in a Davy Jones way.
"If you win, I'll return you the Going Merry and the shadow you seek and get to leave this island. If I win, you'll serve me for the rest of eternity. Either way, I just want to have a party, talk with humans for once after 200 years of isolation. Getting tired of the foxes you know."
(NOTE: I might edit this chapter several times, I spent 24 hours changing lines and characters but I finally decided to post the final copy now. I nearly lost my mind, give me any ideas and I might add it here!
-Captain Luna)