I woke up feeling a sense of numbness in my arms and legs. I must have been out for a while for my blood to have already stopped circulating. My limbs were tied tightly to a chair with a thickly braided rope, that looked as if it must have been used on other prisoners before me. I glanced around the room wearily, my eyes began to droop. I suddenly felt myself involuntarily fall back into the chair, feeling as though in slow motion. I couldn't find the energy to push myself back into an upright position no matter how hard I tried. A dulling ache found its way into the side of my gut, and I desperately tried to fill my heavy lungs with air, only to feel another counteractive sharp paint strike into my other side with each gasp.
A door from across the room creaked open and I could hear two pairs of legs step onto the hard tile floor. Drowsily and miserably, I forced my eyes open to take a glance at who the culprits could be. A man with silky, slicked back black hair stood before me and alongside him a raven haired woman with long legs and deep blue eyes.
"You've woken up." He snarled. His eyes were emotionless and a large cigar hung loosely out of his mouth.
"Who are you?" I asked him, though I was sure I already knew the answer.
"I am the head of Baroque Works." He said rather proudly, "In other words, I was the one who sent those two to get you and bring you back here." A large puff of grey, dull smoke floated leisurely from his dry mouth. I looked at him.
"What do you want?" I asked. My arms were unresponsive as I struggled to wiggle them around. It felt as if they were no longer a part of my body, but instead a fake prosthetic.
"I don't want you to do anything really, just stay put here. You're sort of, how do I put this, bait? Surely your crew mates will come in search of you once they notice your absence. And when they do, I can take care of them as soon as possible so they won't be of nuisance later." Even the way he spoke sent shivers up my spine. I felt that he was the type of cold blooded killer that could murder without feeling a scrap of sympathy for the victim. The woman stood beside him looked like that as well, but yet at the same time she had a sort of sadness about her, like a wolf who had strayed too far from its pack. I wondered to myself how she had ended up working for him.
I ignored the man, and instead averted my attention down towards my leg. I twisted my mouth, calling to mind the desert plant that had attacked me on the way to Arabasta. The wound had stopped bleeding under the bandages for the most part, but I would not be able to say whether or not it was going to hurt after the numbing wore off. "Anyway, I'll be off now. You should hope your friends come soon. We wouldn't want you to lose those precious arms and legs of yours, now would we?" He cackled. Swinging his fur coat around his shoulder, he signaled for the woman to follow after him. She took one last glance at me before they both left the room and the large red doors pulled shut. A sudden panicking feeling caused my heart to start racing. I hadn't thought of it before, but he was right about losing my arms and legs. I wasn't sure how long I had been tied up, but having my circulation cut off for that long could've undoubtedly ended fatally. I could lose the most important thing an aikido martial artist needed, along with my dream. Closely, I studied the red engravings the rope had twisted onto my skin and cringed. If I didn't get out of the chair fast, the tissues in the areas cut off would begin to die, and I would have to get my limbs amputated.
The sound of heavy steel rubbing against itself pulled me out of my psychotic mindset for a moment and I whipped my head around to see what was going on. Large, roughly coated crocodiles crawled out from metal doors on the ground which I had not noticed before. They swam up from the water beneath the casino and slithered onto land. There had to be at least five of them in the room already, and I could see even more of them swarming around the entrance holes, eager to taste meat, my meat. A pain executed itself once again in my lower side, and now along one side of my face. Images of fighting and violence flashed into my mind, and I slowly began to regain my memories of the tangle I had with the Baroque Works members who had captured me. I shook my head, forcing the shameful event out of my mind so I could focus on what to do next.
I strained to stretch my neck and looked behind the chair at the wall. Then I took a deep breath and with what energy I had left, I exerted an extreme amount of wind energy. "Tornado Kiss" I murmured. The chair, along with myself, flew back quickly and slammed roughly against the wall, smashing into millions of splintered pieces. I had been careful enough to not let myself get prickled by them, and the ropes, now untied, fell loosely off my arms and legs. I let out a sigh of relief, but immediately fell to my knees due to the numbness. I let out a small groan and forced myself back up on my feet for just long enough to run towards higher ground. Shooting little pockets of air here and there, I managed to make it up one flight of stairs to the second level and fell sprawled across the floor. I allowed blood to rush back into my limbs enough so I could walk once again. When the feeling of ants and needles signaled me regaining blood, I immediately stood up, very relieved I hadn't lost my limbs. By now the crocodiles had already begun waddling up the stairs, and I was beginning to run out of time. The room was now about one-fifth filled with the vile creatures. I decided with the amount of energy I had left in me, escaping would be my best bet. Whilst I made my way towards the large red doors, I began to realize the spikey feelings in my arms and legs had still not worn off. It was unusual for the feeling of 'sleeping' limbs to last so long, I was sure. I raised my arm up to my chest and busted open the door with one kick. "Ahhgh," I groaned. The shock of my kick sent more prickles up my leg. "Just go, just go." I urged myself. I sprinted through the long hallway, making sure to keep the crocodiles at a far distance. They weren't fast enough on land to be able to catch me. They couldn't. I wouldn't let myself get caught again.
I rushed past the drunken faces of people gambling in the casino; nothing but blurs as I ran by in a panic. Once outside, a wave of heat bursted open and soaked deep into my cold skin. I wiped my forehead and looked around to make sure Crocodile and the lady with him weren't lurking around somewhere. I put one hand on the casino wall and breathed heavily. My head ached and my body felt spiny all over. The prickles continued. Why is my stamina so low? And how come my limbs… still feel as though they're asleep? I began to wonder if it was already too late, if I really was going to have to get my limbs amputated. I didn't know how to feel.
The familiar sound of clinking swords rang off in the distance. I flicked my head up in response, now quite alert of my surroundings. Hopping up onto the roof of the tallest building I could find, I shaded my eyes from the sun and squinted. Not too far from where I was stationed, I saw the movement of two people, and immediately began to make my way over. With my devil fruit, it was easy to get across rooftops; but a strange feeling in my gut couldn't help but wish it were slower.
The closer I got to the scene, the more ill I began to feel. The back of Crocodile's black head came into vision, and alongside him a familiar silhouette. "You idiot…" I murmured to myself. "Idiot…" How could he possibly think he could be a match for someone like Crocodile. There was no way, no way in hell he could win. Just as the man reached to grab Zoro's right arm, I used a cyclone fist to punch the space between them, creating a gap in Crocodile's sand grain arm. Both of their heads simultaneously turned to look at me. A smirk crawled its way across Crocodile's dead-like face.
"How did you manage to escape?" He sounded rather disappointed. I looked at him wearily, but still managed to sound confident.
"Don't underestimate me. Like I'd let myself get eaten by a bunch o' stupid crocodiles." I scoffed. He turned to look back at Zoro, lowering his eyebrows.
"Stupid brat," He grumbled. "Coming to save your friend was a bad choice." His eyes shot over to me, and before I could have time to think, a dispatched fist of sand began rapidly flying towards my direction. Reacting with my surroundings, I tried to jump out of the way to dodge it, but as it got closer it opened it's grasp and gripped tightly to my leg. I gasped in horror. "You should've stayed with the crocodiles. It would've been a much less painful death." His laugh rung in my ears as I struggled to escape his fist. I tried using my free leg to kick another air hole , hoping to disconnect his arm long enough for me to flee, but I watched in complete dismay as it quickly reconnected itself. It was hopeless. I already knew what that right hand of his could do.
"As if a little wind could do anything," Zoro growled. All three of his swords were already out, along with his black bandana wrapped tightly around his head. It casted a shadow over his face, emphasizing his dark, determined eyes. "This is how you cut off an arm." He hissed, through the sword clenched in his teeth. He readied his arms in a crossed stance as he always did before striking.
"Zoro, don't." I spat out,
"Don't try to be brave about this!" He yelled at me, and began charging.
"I said don't!" I screamed. Without thinking, I sent a powerful cyclone of wind straight towards him, knocking him right off his feet. He scraped roughly onto on the concrete roof, his three swords each skidding a fair distance away from him. He managed to push himself back on his feet and glared at me with a look that made me want to cry.
"What the hell!" His voice broke through the barrier of my mindset that caused the impulsive action. It echoed across the roof and my lip quivered.
"There was no point in that. He's next." Crocodile hissed. Nothing could describe how morbidly evil and distorted the smile on his face was, as he gripped my leg tighter. The spikes were pressured into one area, causing me to let out a scream. My body was useless to me now. The blood wasn't able to access my limbs fast enough. I was losing feeling. "Say a final goodbye," I let out one last bloody scream as Crocodile sucked out the remaining life out of my right leg.
Hello my lovely readers!
Yes, finally! I have updated after an entire year!
I'm so sorry I wasn't able to stick with this story. I've explained it countless times that I was struggling to figure out a good plot since I began this whole story on a total whim and wasn't quite sure where it was headed.
rest assured , I've plotted the perfect ending now, that will be sure to please... or upset many of you
i just wanted to thank you guys so much for encouraging me and complimenting this fanfiction
I really can't tell you enough how much it means to me that people enjoy reading my writing
It's the best compliment I could ever receive, to read reviews saying you guys wanted more
So, here you go everyone, the seventh chapter.
I really hope you enjoy it.
Although my writing style has changed a little bit, I hope you can continue to read and cherish this story anyway
Thank you so much for all the support guys, I'll be sure to update more often and finish this story, till the end! :)
Reviews are greatly appreciated!~~