There are not enough words in the dictionary to voice my regret for taking so long, but like I said, I didn't give up! I would have put an author's note saying "New Chapter Coming Soon" But I didn't because when you would click on the notification it would say "new chapter!" and that would be cruel. ;w; Also, because I went through the havoc of trying to orient myself with a new computer, and then I went to disneyland, and then a whole bunch of other stuff and I've been trying to get back into the writing groove but ANYWAYS! Here it is, at loooonnnggg last, ANOTHER CLIFF HANGER :D Hahahahahahahaha~
Love you all.
Enjoy!
(Evan's P.O.V.)
I heard voices, talking about something I couldn't quite make out as my consciousness fought with itself, trying to decide if it wanted to wake up or not. Finally, after two frustrating minutes of internal turmoil, I bit my lip and my eyes snapped open as I abruptly sat up, fumbling with my wrinkled bandana on my head. I yawned slightly as I righted the bandana, stretching an arm above my head. I blinked once, twice, three times. Luffy wasn't in the road anymore.
"WHERE'S LUFFY?!" I shouted, startling Usopp and Sanji with my sudden outburst as I scrambled to my feet.
"He left shortly before Nojiko-chan came, why? Is something going to happen to him?" Sanji asked, an eyebrow raised at my antics.
My eyes widened, remembering she would get shot. Nami's sister is going to get shot!
"I'll meet you at Arlong Park!" Was all I said as I booked it towards Cocoyashi, following Nojiko's footprints in the dusty ground and ignoring the confused calls behind me.
I thought rabbits were supposed to be fast?~
SHUT UP! I AM BUILT FOR STAMINA! NOT SPEED! I AM NOT USED TO THIS MALTREATMENT!
...You're just running…
MALTREATMENT! I grit my teeth as I pumped my annoyingly slow legs to move faster, my feet slamming into the ground with each step as I had no idea how to properly "run".
I just hope I make it in time…!
My breath was already coming in huge gasps, but that was normal for me: I'm an otaku, what do you think I did everyday? A million jumping-jacks? Hah! My point is, I could keep going. While I am an inactive otaku, I am also an energizer bunny and a power-napper: I was raring to go.
My pulse thudded in my forehead as determination and frustration laced my features. I couldn't believe I overslept while something so pivoting was going on! What kind of psychic does that make me?
Finally I saw the orange orchard that signalled my arrival at the house. A grin slipped onto my face as I dashed around an orange tree, jumping over a Marine who was digging, kicking him in the side of the head as I passed.
Come on! Come on, come on! I chanted, weaving my way past Marines, punching them with my gloves on as I passed. My head snapped left and right as I searched for any sign of Nami and that Marine Captain. I slid around a corner and stopped, my eyes widening in shock and dread seeping into my stomach at the scene before me.
I was way too late as I skidded to a stop, just inside the treeline.
Luffy was already walking up to the small group that had formed around a wounded Nojiko.
She had been shot.
Their money had been taken.
I failed.
"GOSH DANGIT." I growled quietly, grinding my teeth in anger as my hands clenched and unclenched in a poor attempt to calm myself down so I could watch what would happen. I stood there, seething at myself, at the Marines, at Arlong. But I was mostly furious with myself. I sucked it up though, watching as Nami yelled at Luffy before throwing him to the ground and running towards Arlong Park.
"Jeez, what's with her?" Luffy pouted, sitting against a post as I walked over stiffly. "Oh hey Evan! When did you get here?"
"Her sister just got shot." I said coldly as I stood next to my Captain, my bangs shadowing my eyes in a poor attempt to hide my rage.
Luffy's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Really? How?"
"Some corrupted Marines that Arlong hired to steal her money she was gonna use to buy back her village with, shot her." I spat, scuffing the ground next to him with my feet.
I felt the air grow cold as the gears turned in his head. "...That still doesn't explain why she pushed me away." He pointed out, and I agreed.
"She doesn't think you'll win against her childhood nightmare." I said softly, a frown tugging at my lips as I leant against the post. A moment of silence passed between us before I sighed. "...You know what you've got to do, right?" I said, my index finger and thumb massaging my eyebrows in exhaustion. I was fed up with all of this emotional crud, I wanted him to beat Arlong already so we can sail away and leave this all behind.
"Yeah...My goal hasn't changed." He said, causing me to smirk as he stood up once he saw Nami running back into the village, stiffening once she saw the villagers were rallied up and ready to fight. A frown twitched at his lips when he saw how her eyes were tinged red from crying, and her fake smile plastered on her face.
We watched silently as she desperately tried to dissuade them, even going so far as to wield a flimsy dagger. We watched as the villagers thanked her and walked past her. We watched as she fell to her knees, burning tears of anger trailing off her face as she screamed Arlong's name and stabbed at her tattoo on her left shoulder with her dagger.
"ARLONG!" She screamed in agony.
Luffy got up.
"ARLONG! ARLONG ARLONG ARLONG ARLONG!"
He walked behind Nami.
"ArLOnG!"
He grabbed her wrist before she could plunge the dagger in again.
Her face was a mess of tears as her lower lip quivered when she looked back at him over her shoulder. "Luffy…!" She dropped the knife and hung her head. "WHAT IS IT?! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT ANYTHING!"
"Nope, I don't know anything." He replied evenly.
Nami dug her nails into the ground in fury, scraping at it and throwing dirt behind her at him in frustration. "This has nothing to do with you…! Didn't I already tell you to leave this island?!"
"Yeah, you did."
She choked back a sob, her shoulders shaking silently. "Luffy…" She pleaded quietly, turning slightly to look at him, showing him her crying face and snot-running nose. "Help me…" She sobbed.
Luffy silently took his hat off his head and put it on Nami's, before walking past her a few feet and sucking in a large breath.
"OF COURSE I WILL!" He roared, absolutely furious. I smiled a cold smile as I followed him on light feet.
"Let's go." Was all Luffy said as we met up with the rest of the crew and headed towards Arlong Park.
"Roger!" The crew replied, and we were off.
At Arlong Park!
Bits of the wall and gate to Arlong park flew into the fishmen's shocked faces as Luffy's arm snapped back into position.
"Who's the one...Called Arlong?" Luffy asked, flexing his hand.
I could see Arlong's veins bulging in anger from here. "Who's this brat…?" He growled, sending a furious glare towards us. "Arlong? That would be my name…" He replied, glowering at Luffy from his "throne".
Luffy's expression didn't change as he continued to walk through the settling dust towards Arlong. "I'm Luffy."
"Luffy? I see… And just what the heck are you?"
"A pirate."
I'm not sure that's what he meant, but whatever.
I watched as a few lower-ranked fishmen blocked Luffy's path with an easy air about them. "Hey you. Stop.."
"Heh heh, where d'ya think you're going? We can't have you go through without talkin' to us first."
Luffy finally glared, his eyes never leaving Arlong's as he reached up and smashed the two fishmen's heads together. "Move it!" He growled, smoothly continuing towards Arlong.
"What does a pirate want with me?" Arlong easily asked, a bit wary now as he watched his men fall with a dull thud behind Luffy.
Luffy punched him out of his chair and into the far wall.
Arlong's crew's eyes were bulging from the shock. "AGH! Arlong?!" They yelled in surprise.
Arlong's glare grew darker as he pushed himself up, using the wall. "Just what the hell…"
He growled, meeting Luffy's enraged glower with one of his own.
"Don't you DARE make my Navigator cry!"
The fishmen finally snapped out of their stupor as they rushed forward at Luffy, brandishing swords or their bare hands in anger. "Why you! How dare you…!" They roared, somehow in perfect sync.
They couldn't make it more than a few feet before they were kicked backwards into the air by Sanji. "Small fries can just get the heck back!" He growled, ignoring their shouts of pain in favor of scolding Luffy, his hands tucked into his pockets casually. "Jeez...Running in head-first alone like that."
"Don't worry, I ain't gonna lose!" Luffy replied, a determined frown on his face. His gaze hadn't wavered since the beginning.
Eyes on the prize I suppose.
"Idiot! When did I ever say I was worried for you!? I only meant that you shouldn't hog all the glory for yourself."
I chuckled at them, coming up to stand on Sanji's left with a grin on my face as I spotted Hachi amongst the three strongest subordinates of Arlong.
"So your goal from the very beginning was only to get Nami, is that it…?" Arlong started to laugh. "Shahahaha! Just what could four measly humans do!?"
My head snapped towards him at that, instantly taking offense. "What am I? Chopped liver? Jeez! You don't show up for a fight one time and the whole island forgets your existence." I sighed dramatically, shrugging my shoulders as I grinned darkly at them. "Well then, guess I'll just have to make a name for myself.."
They all just ignored me as Hachi summoned Mohmoo. I slouched over, a depressed aura hanging above me as Usopp patted my shoulder sympathetically before he promptly started freaking out upon seeing Mohmoo and his beaten form.
"Chopped...Liver…~" I moaned.
After some "encouragement" from Arlong, the fleeing Mohmoo spun around and viciously bared his fangs at us, veins bulging menacingly.
Seeing a giant sea-serpent cow must've been real invigorating, because the grunts chose that moment to surge forward with renewed fury. "Oi Luffy." I tried to get his attention, waving my hand slightly as they continued to charge forward. I had to tell him to not do the windmill attack, or he would get stu-
"Leave it to me! They're just a bunch of time-wasters!" He huffed, blowing steam from his flared nostrils as he pounded his fists together with decisiveness.
"Luffy wait a second!" I tried again, a bit louder this time. Zoro glanced at me, an eyebrow raised.
"What is it?" He asked, thumbing Wado's hilt. I gave him an exasperated glance, my body tense with stress.
"Luffy's going to get his feet stuck in the ground and Arlong is going to throw him in the water and-"
"Too late, he's stuck." Sanji smoothly replied, a tick mark obvious on his forehead.
"What? Oh crap, move it you guys! He's going to fling the cow!" I shouted, tugging a startled Usopp by the arm as Luffy grabbed ahold of Mohmoo's horns.
"Gomu Gomu no…!"
"Hurry you morons!" I shouted, tugging a terrified Usopp behind me and around the edge of the main building just as Sanji and Zoro dove for cover and Luffy snapped the cow around in a circle before flinging it away.
"PinWheel!"
I poked my head out from behind the corner as I watched Mohmoo sail away through the air to land with a resounding CRASH over the wall in the fields on the other side. I whistled appreciatively. "That's gonna leave a mark."
"I didn't come here to fight these small fries!" My attention snapped back to Luffy as he straightened and turned to glare at Arlong.
"The one I want to beat up...Is you!" He shouted, veins bulging in his forehead.
Arlong grinned darkly in return from his position by the crumbling wall. "How excellent. I was thinking of killing you myself just now as well."
I suppressed a shiver at his menacing voice and focused instead on the approaching "higher-ups". Or as I like to call them, "Hachi, Ray, and Schmuckly".
Ray crossed his arms as he stood on Hachi's left. "Looks like we have no choice but to fight.."
Hachi gave us two thumbs down and yelled in outrage. "How dare you hurt our brethren!"
Schmuckly cocked a webbed hand on his hip as he gave his unnecessary two cents. "Looks like we need to teach these humans the difference between our races CHU~!"
I walked up with the rest of the crew to stand by Luffy whose feet were still stuck in the ground, ignoring Sanji and Usopp as they berated him.
Zoro put a hand on his sword's hilt and grinned eagerly at the battle-ready fishmen. "Looks like the main force is out to meet us…"
"If this was how things were going to turn out we should have fought from the beginning." Ray said, surveying our group and cracking his neck. "Arlong please just sit there."
Schmuckly waved back at Arlong airily. "If we let you fight while that much enraged, CHU~! All of Arlong Park will end up destroyed!"
As I saw Hachi keel over as if in pain I remembered Luffy. "OH! Sanji quick! Luffy's stuck, get him out of the ground!"
The rest of the crew jolted as they remembered as well.
"Crud! Usopp grab his arm-"
"TAKOHACHI BLACK! OCTOPUS INK!" Hachi straightened quickly, shooting ink at us. We barely jumped out of the way while Luffy got hit dead-on. He yelped in surprise as a stream of ink hit him with the half the skin-shredding force of a firehose.
We got to our feet to see Hachi hoisting a large part of the park over his head with his six arms.
"Aw come on!" I frowned, sending Sanji a look. He sighed and nodded, running forwards just as Hachi brought it down on the blinded Luffy.
"Ah Jeez…" Sanji said around his cigarette, his foot lowering from it's position in the air when he kicked the giant piece of rubble in two. "Looks like I've chosen to follow an idiot for my Captain…"
"Nice one Sanji!" Luffy cheered, his front blacker than coal.
"My feelings exactly." Zoro silently released a breath of relief.
"He's amazing!" Usopp ogled, reminding me he hadn't yet seen Sanji truly fight.
Sanji didn't conceal his smirk as he glared at the fishmen. "But it's a hundred times better than being a pirate in a crew that would harm a lady."
Ray regarded him evenly, his arms still crossed but his eyes revealing a cool light of interest in them. "For a human, you're not half bad but...A pirate going around spouting out chivalrous lines? How weak."
Sanji merely shrugged in reply while Usopp was pulling Luffy back by his arms, trying to get him unstuck. "Heh...Would you like to test how flimsy my chivalry really is, Mr. Fish? Despite what you may think, I've spent half my life as a pirate." He said, arms open as he tapped some ash off of his cigarette, expelling a steady stream of smoke from his lips.
I skillfully ignored Usopp as he tried in vain to pull Luffy's feet from the concrete, merely stretching him instead while Luffy picked his nose. Hachi couldn't stand watching them horse around. He grit his teeth in anger as a vein pulsed in his forehead.
"You think you can just horse around at Arlong Park?! I'll kill you all!" He roared, lifting up another giant piece of building and preparing to throw it at Luffy and a panicking Usopp.
"Hey octopus." A smooth, deep voice called from behind him, a sheathed white sword casually supported behind his head. "Those guys're busy right now." He continued evenly, turning slightly to smirk back at the walking kalamari. "Why don't you play with me instead?"
"NYU! Roronoa Zoro! That's right, I forgot! How dare you deceive me before!" He shouted, slamming the debris down and almost hitting Zoro if he hadn't dodged to the side. "Not only that, you cut down my brethren!" Hachi fumed as the resulting dust started to settle and Zoro started to unsheath his sword.
"I don't care about ancient history." (Somewhere Robin just glared at a green potted plant.) "It doesn't matter for what reason you want to kill me…" Zoro continued, albeit a bit coldly. "The situation's different now." He grinned devilishly as he fully drew his sword. "You guys aren't going to be doing the killing, it's us that's going to be killing you!"
"And on that pleasant note, Usopp just let go of Luffy." I chirped cheerily, watching as Luffy smacked into the kissy-face fishman...Who immediately got right back up and chased a screaming Usopp out of the park as Luffy snapped back into place.
"Arlong, I've already asked you not to fight." I heard from behind me as I snapped my attention to Arlong walking over to tower over Luffy menacingly.
"I ain't gonna fight but…" Arlong said, dodging Luffy's impromptu punch, ignoring his yelling while easily grabbing the still-extended arm. "Do you seriously think you can win against us?" He growled, veins bulging in his neck and forehead, betraying his seething rage.
"And what if we do?" Sanji countered, even as Luffy shouted brashly.
"You bet I think so you idiot! Now let go of my hand!"
It was at this point I started wondering what I was forgetting yet again, tuning out Zoro's "witty" comeback.
I watched with a detached air as Arlong slid his fingers into the cracks in the concrete under Luffy's feet, easily hoisting him up into the air in what he probably thought was a fantastic display of his superiority. "Wanker." I mumbled, crossing my arms casually.
"No,no." He said, not releasing his grip on Luffy's arm as he held him above himself. "Why don't we play this game?" He chuckled darkly. "Devil Fruit users are said to be unable to swim. Well, in this situation, even a non-devil fruit user wouldn't be able to swim! Shahahahaha!"
"Oh!" I said, drawing attention to myself as I slammed my fist into my palm in realization. "That's what I forgot…I see...You intend to throw him into the water while we fight your lackeys and he slowly drowns if we're too slow. Low blow dude, low blow." I said, giving him the stink eye.
Zoro's posture stiffened upon hearing my realization, turning to glare at Arlong. "So that's your plan...No way will we let you do it!"
Arlong chuckled as lackey one and lackey two stepped in between us. "Let me? You can't even stop me." He said, tossing Luffy into the water.
"Dang it! FINE! Sanji, Zoro! You take care of the lackies! I'll get Luffy!" I shouted, running for the water before Zoro tugged my arm, turning me towards him.
"Hold on you idiot! That's exactly what they want us to do!" He growled, obviously not liking the situation.
"I know what to do! I've seen this all before, let me go, I can do it Zoro!" I protested, tugging at his iron grip, oblivious to his inner turmoil.
"No way, the water's their territory-"
"Yeah but it's also mine! Now shove off and kick ass!" I said, slithering out of his grip and jumping into the water, deaf to their yelling.
I grinned to myself as I kicked downwards, my eyes slowly adjusting to the water. Now all I need to do is break the rock like Sanji did and get Luffy out of here- My train of thought was interrupted as I heard something enter the water behind me. My heart jumped to my throat and I held back a scream as I looked back in horror.
Arlong…!
I'd like to thank all of the people who followed and favorite'd my story even when I was inactive for so long, and I'd like to thank all my readers for their endless patience with me, I suck~.
And I'm still not quite used to these new keys.. Phooey.
Well, until next time,
Ciao mis amigos!~
Note: I re-wrote this stupid chapter at least six times. My apologies, once again, if the writing sucks. Ahhh so much action hurts my fingers -.- lol.