Anni's POV
The battle between Crocodile and our small team of two dragged on, with neither side showing weakness or giving way. At times it would seem like we had won, but then Crocodile would come back with another move that would send us reeling back. I had learned quickly that if Crocodile even brushed against my skin that he could suck all the moisture from it – it was an extremely uncomfortable feeling. I felt sorry for raisins.
Fortunately, at times like those, Luffy would splash me with the water he carried and my skin would rejuvenate slowly. After one or two close calls, I decided that it would be better to have a shield that would cover my entire body.
It was when Crocodile turned his attention to Luffy that I took a moment to focus on my power. I closed my eyes briefly and took in everything, from the wounds all over my body to the birds pecking at scattered corpses in the plaza to the current battle around me. With a deep breath, I channeled my power to my entire body, covering it with a thick wall of fire. As I opened my eyes, I found that, however easy it seemed to look through fire, it had its drawbacks.
For one thing, the landscape flickered between orange, yellow and sometimes white through the hot colours of the flames. The other drawback was the waves of heat that materialized around the flames and bent the surrounding shapes. A flat wall seemed to quiver and shake as I glanced around, and it was harder for me to read the movements of the deadly Shichibukai through the heat.
However, the upside was that the heat was so intense that any sand that came within a foot of me would be instantly solidified.
As Crocodile paused his attack for a moment to observe my addition to the fight, I lunged forwards and slammed my fist into his stomach. He flew backwards to the wall, where the solidified body part smashed, leaving a gaping hole that quickly refilled.
The sand came up from the ground, out of a small hole. The flow of sand quickened, and a small crack appeared in the ground in front of Crocodile. As I stared, the crack widened and scuffed up dirt fell down into the hole.
Suddenly, I knew what he was doing. The ground collapsed and split open, ripping up chunks of grass and dirt as it raced towards Luffy and I. Concentration broken, the flames around me flickered out as I dived to the side.
The rumbling from the cave-in quieted, and I sat up carefully in case the ground crumbled underneath me. Luffy also carefully got up from where he had dodged the cave-in. A quick glance assured me that he wasn't injured, and another quick assessment of the attack confirmed my guess. Crocodile had used the sand to erode the ground underneath us, and when enough weight had been applied, the dirt and stone had collapsed in on itself.
The attack had left multiple long crevices running through the garden. Each were maybe three meters deep and a meter across.
However, frustrated that his attack hadn't had the desired effect, Crocodile continued his relentless attacks. Luffy and I each fought back, using the weaknesses that we found to our advantage.
The battle continued evenly, neither side giving in, until exhaustion began to slow our moves. Luffy started to breathe heavily, and took a moment now and then to catch his breath. Crocodile also began to slow down his attacks; they were less elaborate and more direct. I was faring the worst though, my throat was dry from the sand and I was ripping the stitches that Chopper had just done less than an hour ago. He would be so mad at me for it.
I could just picture the tiny fuming reindeer when he found out. He would say something reprimanding along the lines of 'Anni! How could you be so irresponsible? I should have made Ace stop you when I had the chance!' in his high-pitched voice that I can't help but smile at.
My thoughts slid to the rest of the crew and Ace. I hoped that they had found the bomb by now. It would be... inconvenient to say the least if it went off in the middle of our fight and Crocodile got away. Consequently, if the bomb went off I would lose the people I could call family. Sure, Clara and her family had adopted me when I first appeared, and I had promised to come back to them, but Luffy and the crew had given me the opportunity to become not just a pirate, but part of their close-knit nakama. For that, I would be eternally grateful.
Suddenly snapping back to Chopper, I remembered the Rumble Ball I had taken. Now was the perfect time to use it; Crocodile was weaker and I was losing my edge.
Digging it out of my bag, I called to Luffy, "Stand back! I don't know what this will do!"
I raised it to my mouth before Luffy replied, "No, wait-!"
I shot him a daring grin and crunched the pill between my teeth like I had seen Chopper do. Immediately I felt a rush of adrenaline, and I vaguely recalled a raging inferno springing to life around me. A red haze crossed my vision and I remember catching a glance of the smirking Shichibukai before I lost control of my body.
Later, when I asked around, eyewitnesses told me that the grounds in front of the palace had suddenly burst into flame, an inferno that engulfed the whole of the lawn. Some said that they had seen a small white-blue dot flitting around in the fire, but most just recalled the intense heat that swept over them. Many people also noted that the ground shook in synchronization with the flashes of light and loud yells. The sudden and unexpected turn of events lasted less than a minute according to most, but I heard the story exaggerated to at least ten minutes. In that time, some people had stopped fighting, and simply looked on in awe at the spectacle.
I remember coming back to my senses after the effect of the Rumble Ball wore off. I swayed and stumbled as I brought a hand to my head. God, it hurt.
The lawn was burnt to a crisp and the walls were scorched up to about fifteen feet above my head. Luffy stood at the edge of the destruction, looking on in a mixture of amazement and concern. His eyes were big and round, but he recovered quickly and ran to my side.
"Anni, what did you do? You could have killed yourself!" he chastised, but he gently helped me steady myself. I looked around dazedly for Crocodile. I hoped he was defeated, because I didn't have the strength to face him again.
I coughed, "I beat him up, didn't I? I promised Vivi I would."
Luffy nodded and pointed at the ground, where a thousand pieces of shattered glass lay on the charred grass. One of the largest appeared to be half of Crocodile's head staring at us with a look of utter surprise.
"I.. did that?" I asked in utter disbelief. No, that couldn't have been right. Luffy stepped in and took him down himself. Yes, that's what happened. I couldn't have done this myself.
"Shishishi~" Luffy laughed, "Yup! You were pretty scary! The fire was big enough to roast a thousand slabs of meat! Mmm~"
I was about to reply when the leftover sand swirled in front of us. It caught my attention, as there was no wind to stir it. Before I could mention this to Luffy, though, a hand grabbed the back of my neck. By the sounds of struggling from Luffy, I could tell he was in the same predicament as me.
"Foolish brat," a growling voice snarled, "To have the nerve to think that that pitiful candle would damage me in the slightest. Now, go back to where you came from!"
I froze in terror at the feeling that washed over me. It was a terrifying sensation, having every last drop of water sucked from my body. My skin stiffened up and shriveled like a prune. It was like having the life drained out of my skin and muscles.
With a dark laugh, Crocodile let us fall to the ground. I struggled to move my arm, but it felt like straw. He walked away victoriously, but as soon as he was out of sight, I pressed a lit finger to the side of Luffy's water barrel and burned through the wood. As my eyes closed, I felt a drop of water fall on my hand and slide onto Luffy.
XxX
I faded back into the land of the living slowly. The ground was shaking rhythmically, almost as if it was running. I groggily moved my hand along the ground, but – my eyes widened – it wasn't the ground at all. I slid my hand along the bare skin of the person who was carrying me, and, upon touching the beaded necklace, immediately confirmed my guess of who it was.
No. Not again! The humiliation... I could never live this down.
"Hey," I grumbled sulkily.
Ace chuckled.
"Hey. What is this, the second time today? You need some kind of alarm on you if you're gonna get into this much trouble."
I muttered a curse and squirmed about, flailing my arms and legs.
"Oi, put me down! I don't need to be carried around like some kind of bag!" I said, finally putting my feet down on solid ground. Now freed from the humiliation (for now) I turned in the direction we were heading.
"The bomb," I asked, "What happened with that?"
Ace ran a hand through his hair and started walking along the wide road.
"I'm not sure yet. Chopper had a lot of things to clean up, so it took a while. Then, when we went to catch up with Usopp and Nami, we saw the palace go up in flames. Chopper sent me to check it out, and when I got there, you and Luffy were lying on the ground all shriveled up. Then, Luffy's water barrel broke and you both soaked up the water. I was really surprised, but Luffy told me to take you and look for the bomb," Ace explained, picking up the pace.
We ran through the streets for several minutes, passing much evidence of violence. Ace told me that he had agreed to meet Chopper in the streets on the edge of the plaza unless other news came in. We scoured the area that Chopper would be waiting in, but found no trace until we came across both Chopper and Usopp waiting for us in an alley.
"Hey guys," I greeted them. Usopp made a shushing motion and beckoned for us to come closer.
As we approached, he pointed around the corner towards the large bell tower.
"Do you see that tower?" he gestured to the top as Ace and I peered around the corner. "Vivi is sure that the bomb is at the top."
I started brashly towards it, but Usopp grabbed my arm and dragged me back out of sight.
"Careful! There are two Baroque Works agents at the top! They haven't seen us yet," Usopp warned. He went on to say that Nami and Vivi were at the very bottom of the tower, and that we had to get to them without being seen. Once we were there, the dust in the air from the battle would conceal us from their sight.
I snuck a quick glance around at our enemies. The woman was dressed as a frog, with big eyes on her headdress. Her 'gero gero' frog laughter echoed down from the open tower. Her partner, a man, was dressed quite formally – if this was an old kingdom. His long red coat and white powdered curled wig matched his old-fashioned hat. They both carried large guns that they aimed carelessly every which way.
Behind them stood a large cannon with a bomb the with a diameter the length of a human ready to fire. A fuse stuck out one side waited to be lit and blow the bomb out into the square, where it would decimate the city.
The four of us snuck around the corner one by one, running along the wall to the base of the clock tower. When it was my turn, I ran softly, pressing my hands against the rough stone wall. My heart pounded but I made it without tripping or being seen.
"Anni! Thank goodness you got here!" Vivi exclaimed. She ran towards me and hugged me, nearly knocking me off of my feet. "Nami told me what happened with Miss. Doublefinger!"
"I'm fine. By the way, Vivi," I said, looking around, "Where are Zoro and Sanji?"
The two were missing from the group. I had assumed that they would be waiting with Nami and Vivi, but they hadn't shown up.
Looking around, Vivi was as puzzled as I was, until an enthusiastic voice shouted out, "Nami-swan~! Vivi-chwan~! Anni-chwan~!"
I looked up at the clock tower, where, leaning out the second story window, Sanji waved down at us. Well, that explained where Sanji was, but-
"Oi! There you guys are!"
"Zoro?!" Nami gaped, "How did you get up there?"
The swordsman had managed to find his way to the top level of the clock tower, a whole two levels above where Sanji was. To me, it looked like he had gotten lost again while on the way to find us and ended up inside the tower. He was covered in bloody slash marks, like he had gone through a shredder.
"Nami, how long do we have?" Usopp asked cautiously.
Nami looked up towards the open face of the clock tower. "About a minute and a half," she replied.
"What?!"
"The bomb goes off at four o'clock. Crocodile announced it," Nami informed Usopp, Chopper, and myself coolly.
She put a hand to her head, thinking. Taking in the two rivals on the second and top levels, she looked back at the rest of the group with a look that made Chopper slowly inch behind the quivering Usopp. I practically saw the wheels in her head turning as she came up with a plan.
"Yosh, I have a plan," she announced brusquely, "Ace, Anni, go stand by the wall. Usopp, stand on their shoulders. Vivi, get on Chopper. Chopper, stand on Usopp."
Despite our lack of knowledge of the plan, none of us dared question Nami. Doing what we were told, we formed an unstable pyramid.
With a grin, Nami ordered, "Now, you two are going to shoot straight up until you reach Sanji."
Nami counted down, and we did as she told us to do. Flames burst out of my feet, pushing the pyramid into the air. Despite Usopp's frantic protests that he was going to be cooked alive, we made it to the second level – barely.
Just as the flying pyramid reached Sanji, Ace and I both gave it one more final effort before dropping back down through the air. The force propelled Usopp, Chopper, and Vivi a few more feet.
From the ground, Nami instructed, "Sanji-kun! Kick them up to Zoro!"
With a yell of agreement, Sanji obeyed, jumping out of the window and kicking the unfortunate Usopp so hard that he let go of Chopper's legs. As he fell, Nami snapped, "Anni! You're on catching people duty!"
I immediately scrambled to get to the place where I could see Usopp was about to land. I arrived about two seconds after he had landed, face first on the stone road. I stood for a moment, unsure of what to do, but decided just to drag him back to Nami. Usopp was always fine after these things, no need to worry.
As I returned, Zoro crashed down on the pavement in front of me right next to where the purposely ignorant Sanji stood.
Dropping Usopp, I looked back up to the top of the clock tower. Chopper had been spotted by the Baroque Works agents, but there was no Vivi in sight. Suddenly, she appeared from above, dropping down onto the two and spinning her pinky weapons shaped like peacock feathers. I had never asked what they were called...
In a flash, she had cut down the two and lunged towards the fuse, slicing off the lit end just as it reached the bomb. My group down on the ground cheered at the success, until Vivi's frustrated scream rang down from the tower.
"It has a timer!"
Those four words sent a chill down my spine. It would go off no matter where it was! There was barely any hope of surviving the blast, much less moving the bomb to a safe location.
Suddenly, a shadow flickered across us, landing on the ledge of the tower. The man looked a lot like a bird, but upon his landing, he transformed into a human. I thought that maybe he had eaten a Devil Fruit like Chopper's, where it would allow him to morph into an animal.
Hey, I'm getting kinda good at this whole 'guess the Devil Fruit' thing.
A collective gasp jolted me out of my thoughts. The bird-man -Pell, Vivi was yelling- was dragging the bomb out of the cannon. As he flew up, I understood his actions. He was going to sacrifice himself by flying the bomb up to where it wouldn't blow up the city.
I choked back a gasp in honor of his actions. He continued his noble actions, flying straight up into the clear sky. A hush fell over our group as the only sound to be heard was Vivi's screams.
It seemed to happen in slow motion, the explosion. First, there was a small flash of light where Pell had flown up to. Next, the light expanded rapidly to nearly encompass the entire sky. An ear-splitting bang hit, followed by a blast of heat and wind.
The only sound to be heard after it died down was Vivi's sobs and cries of "Pell!".
A moment of silence was held for Pell, who had saved the kingdom from utter destruction. As Vivi's sobs continued, I called up to her, "Vivi? Can you come down?"
The seven of us waited in silence as Vivi disappeared from view. Eventually she appeared in a doorway with slumped shoulders and tear-stained cheeks. I ran towards her, giving her a tight hug.
"Pell did a noble thing, you know," I consoled her, "He saved the kingdom from the bomb."
"I know," she choked out, "But I still can't believe it. It's all Crocodile's fault." Her voice changed from mournful to angry.
I released her, holding her shoulders at arms length.
"I beat him up. I didn't beat him," I admitted sheepishly, "But I beat him up. Just like I promised."
Vivi's eyes teared up again, but before she got a word out, a drop of rain fell between us. I glanced up at the sky, and what I saw stunned not only me, but our entire group. Large black clouds swept over the sky where there had only been blue moments before. Thick raindrops splashed on the stone, clearing away the dust in the air. Within moments, there were small streams running down the side of the roads, washing away the blood staining them.
As I listened, sounds of fighting from the square quieted and the clashing of weapons stopped. Vivi ran towards the square with the rest of us following close behind.
The soldiers and rebels alike stood still in awe as they watched the rain pour down. When they had been enemies just mere moments before, now they had no interest in each other, except to murmur about the miracle rain to.
Vivi pushed her way into the center of the crowd, meeting little resistance as she did so. Once there, she began drawing the people's attention to her. She spoke commandingly about the Dance Powder and Crocodile's plan to control the kingdom. She told the rebels how they were being used, and how their leader, Kohza, was misguided but now knew the truth.
The people listened attentively, and believed every word she said. I could see on their faces that they understood what had happened, and their anger at Crocodile. Vivi's speech carried on, joined by a larger man with a wig that the crew identified as Igaram, who brought proof of the king's innocence.
Suddenly, catching my attention, a soft boom came from the side of the palace, and a small cloud of dust rose – quickly to be drenched due to the rain. It was quiet, but the crew immediately went to check it out on the possibility that it could be Luffy or Crocodile.
As we ran up the palace stairs to the garden, Ace noted that this was the way that Luffy had gone when he left to find Crocodile, so it could very possibly be him.
Upon our arrival to the spot, we found Luffy, covered in blood and soaking wet, next to an enormous hole in the ground holding both the king, and a tall, dark-haired lady whom he laid on the ground. As we helped them back to the square, the crowd had dispersed and Vivi and Igaram were walking towards us across the charred grass that I pretended to ignore.
Igaram quickly took the king from us and darted inside the palace with exclamations of worry. As he ducked inside, I heard him mumble, "And the lawn in in a terrible state! I can't believe that these pirates had to fight on the lawn. The lawn of all places! It's all burnt and these holes look terrible!"
"It's done," Vivi exclaimed happily. She sounded both relieved and tired as she told us what had gone down with the crowd. The people were going to go and get treated for their wounds at their respective places, and there would be no more fighting. Vivi had revealed Crocodile's plan to them, which had dissolved their belief in him as a leader, and had strengthened their support for the king.
She invited us into the castle to see the castle doctor to treat our wounds. However, it seemed that he had left during the fighting (probably scared), so Chopper set up using both the supplies in the room and the ones from his backpack. The room was small, and there was only one bed in it, so we left Luffy with Chopper when he shooed us out.
Vivi led us into another room just across the hall, where there was a short couch and a longer one. The short one faced towards the window, and the longer one sat across from it under said window. Nami claimed the short one for both her and Vivi (and me if I wanted) so they wouldn't get squished between Usopp, Ace, Sanji, Zoro, and I.
The five of us collapsed in a heap of arms and legs on the couch, barely big enough for us. Immediately, the remaining strength seeped out of my bones into the fluffy pillows, and I slouched down contentedly, casually shoving Usopp's arm out of my face and Zoro's foot off of my leg. Ace's head suddenly drooped and he slumped against Zoro, who in turn pushed him into Sanji, who voiced his displeasure. This turned into a shouting fight that Nami soon quieted, and the two rivals glared at each other in silence over Ace's oblivious head.
We stayed in the room for just under an hour, waiting for Chopper. The reindeer didn't appear, but the animal that did was a welcome familiar face.
"Carue!" Vivi exclaimed, jumping up and running to her friendly bird. Carue squawked happily in return, and the two embraced.
The sun went down soon after, and the sunset across the sand was beautiful. I fell asleep on the couch under a pile of limbs – most of which weren't mine. I didn't dream at all, I was so tired.
XxX
In the morning, the late late morning, I finally woke up. I was the last one left on the couch, so I was sprawled across it. I sat up and stretched, wincing as the wounds from yesterday stung, just as Nami came in.
"Good morning!" she greeted me cheerfully, "Vivi invited us to go into the indoor hot springs! Are you coming? Chopper said they'd be good for healing and relaxation."
"Why not?" I replied, grabbing the towel she offered me and following her down the hall. Honestly, I was glad she was there, because I definitely would have gotten lost in all the passageways. Maybe Zoro's habit was rubbing off on me.
When we entered a tiled room with baskets, I was shocked and uncomfortable when Nami stripped down and walked into the room full of steam.
"Umm... Nami?" I asked quietly, covering my eyes with my hand in case she came back.
Her footsteps echoed back into the room.
"Yes? Oh, don't tell me. Are you uncomfortable?"
I nodded. "Yeah, kinda. Is this, like, a normal thing to do?"
"Yup!" she replied cheerfully, "Don't worry, this one is just for us girls. And there are lots of bubbles for you to cover up."
I sighed in defeat, stripping down, tying my hair up, and walking awkwardly into the larger room that was filled with small steaming pools. Nami and Vivi sat on the side of one, talking and laughing normally. I almost managed to reach one before Vivi exclaimed, "Anni! You're covered in bruises!"
"Yeah," I agreed quickly, crossing my arms over my chest and inching my way towards the bubble-filled pools.
"Well, the hot springs should help heal them," Vivi said, concernedly looking at the array of yellows, purples, and browns littering my body.
I swiftly stepped into a pool and slid down until my nose just touched the piles of bubbles. The water was warm, just on the verge of too hot for normal people.
"And Anni? You honestly don't have to be embarrassed about anything," Nami added, glancing down pointedly at my chest area.
I mumbled something incomprehensible through the bubbles. My cheeks went bright red in embarrassment and the water around me started to simmer furiously.
Nami and Vivi giggled and stood up to move to a pair of stools in the center of the tiled floor. Nami started to scrub Vivi's back, and, once she was done, Vivi began returning the favor. Just after she started though, she let out a strangled squeak and snatched up a towel lying on the ground. Nami, looking up, did the same.
I looked at where they were staring in horror, and, to my surprise, the entire male part of the crew (excluding Zoro) plus Ace and the king were staring over the dividing wall! I immediately sunk lower in the pool until my chin touched the water, hoping they didn't see me.
Luffy waved at Nami and Vivi, saying, "Hey! Na-"
Sanji instantly pulled him down with a muttered 'shhh!', but it was way too late for that. Nami smirked, the kind that said 'I'm going to fine you'. And that was exactly what she did.
She stood up calmly and said, "You all owe me 200, 000 beli." then she dropped her towel. I honestly hadn't expected that. Sanji disappeared in a stream of red, while the smart ones like Usopp, Ace, and Cobra (I had heard the king's name from Igaram in the hallway on the way to the springs) ducked back down. Luffy and Chopper were left staring blankly – and innocently – until someone eventually dragged them down.
Nami sat down contently and Vivi – after a moment's hesitation – continued scrubbing her back like nothing had happened. Meanwhile, I had had enough of the springs, so I darted out and into the change room to dry off, which I did extraordinarily quickly. Vivi called out to me, but I was dressed and on my way out the door, so I just replied, "Yeah, bye, see ya later!"
XxX
Back on the couch, I waited for the crew to return. Actually, I wasn't sure if I wanted them to come back as such, but I waited nonetheless. After a good twenty minutes or so, the door burst open, and Luffy bounced through, followed by the rest of the crew. The male members (including Zoro this time) all had large bumps on their heads, no doubt courtesy of Nami.
"Yosh! Anni! They're gonna cook a huge feast for us tonight! I can't wait!" he announced enthusiastically. The crew mumbled agreement, and the room dissolved into happy chatting.
Usopp came over and rambled on to me about some huge feast that he himself had cooked for a starving nation in the North Blue, and how they had thanked him with a solid gold statue in a likeness of himself. The story went on to detail how a mafia group had caught word of the statue and set up a trap for his ship that had also been decorated in gold. He managed to avoid the trap due to his superior knowledge of the area and amazing sailing skills, but ended up in a cave. This in turn led to Usopp discovering an ancient curse that only he could break, and the grateful people granted him access to an underground passageway that would take him to a treasure trove full of ancient riches from all over the world.
Chopper came to sit by me and listened attentively to every word Usopp said. The little doctor obviously believed every word of it, and gasped in awe at every new part.
When it was time for the feast, Igaram came to get us. He lead us to the dining hall, though we could have easily followed Luffy and his nose.
In the hall stood a long table, laden with all types of meat and sauces. The cooks had evidently caught word of the crew's love of meat, and my stomach grumbled loudly at the sight of it. As well as meat, there were pastries of all different shapes and sizes, and beautiful fruit dishes. There were also some vegetable dishes, but I was too busy focused on the meat to pay attention to something insignificant such as that.
Igaram sat us down around the table, telling us to not eat until the king had said his thanks. The majority of the table was a jittery, fidgity mess, from Luffy twitching every second, to me tapping my foot repetitively on the floor.
Cobra stepped into the hall smiling, and sat down at the head of the table next to Vivi. He took one knowing look at the nine of us glancing at the food, and announced, "I would like to thank you for saving my kingdom from the Shichibukai Crocodile's plan to take control. Now, eat your fill!"
With the invitation, there were hands flying everywhere to grab at food. I loaded my plate and began to eat voraciously, shoveling food into my mouth. I kept my plate slightly tilted away from the wandering rubber hands that roamed across the table. The food was not quite as good as Sanji's, but it was all I had eaten since breakfast. And yes, I can go days without food, but I fought a Shichibukai and helped stop a bomb. I deserved food.
The crew worked their way through the food on the table, going through seconds and thirds before demanding dessert. The nervous chefs ran as fast as they could, but as soon as they replaced one dish, another was gone.
After dinner, I felt full and quite a bit larger. Igaram showed us to our rooms, a bit put off at the amount that we ate. Nami and I shared a room, while Vivi went with Carue to her own. The boys were put in a room with mats covering the floor.
Before he left, Luffy told us about the plan for tomorrow morning and Vivi's speech to the people. She had decided to stay with her kingdom and continue on her adventure here, while we would leave early before anyone was awake.
A/N
So sorry about the wait. I had a bit of writer's block at various points in the chapter.
Hey, the Arabasta arc is nearly done! Wow...
See ya!