One Fall

Chapter Seven

Battle on the Hill!

Aka: Crescent Moon

A half an hour later, they positioned themselves at the top of the hill. The two Pokémon were nowhere to be found. Sweet-Pea was safely in the locket with Steve while Pixel was waiting by the boats on the other shore. At the first sign of pirates, he would come warn Nix if time permitted.

The two women grinned down the slope at their work. It wouldn't go as planned, but they still had the right to admire their work, yeah?

"They'll come up this slope for sure!" Usopp explained. "There's sheer cliffs everywhere else and this is the only path to the village. So, if we defend this path, we can protect the village!"

"Piece of cake!" Luffy grinned. Nix frowned at them.

"Long-nose, are you sure this is the only path to the village? What about where we came up?" Usopp looked startled.

"I didn't consider that since they planned on this beach. We'll need to head over there then. What can you guys do?"

Nix grinned. She had been waiting for this moment. Now, she had to say something both impressive and witty.

"I cut," Zoro said, crossing his arms.

"I stretch," Luffy shouted.

"I steal," Nami frowned.

"I blow shit up!" Nix exclaimed, grinning evilly.

"I run and hide," Usopp said flatly.

Everyone jumped to their feet.

"You've gotta fight!" Nami and Zoro popped him on the back of the head while the more childish crew members sat back and watched him get beat up.

A bit after that, they found themselves at the other shore. The boats had been moved out of sight and the treasure hid inside a hollow log atop the cliff. Usopp had realized that Nix had been right once he caught sight of the pirate ship in the distance. He attempted to stop shaking in his boots from his hiding place on the top of the cliff. Nix was positioned in the same place as him, just on the opposite cliff. The others were hiding inside the tree line.

The plan was for Usopp and Nix to take out however many they could with their explosives while the pirates slipped and slid down the oiled hill. If it looked like they would bypass it, the others would intervene. They were all hoping that help wouldn't be necessary.

Dawn approached.

Nix could hear Luffy giggling and Usopp's teeth chattering.

"Here they come," Zoro muttered.

All eyes went to the shore.

"Landfall, me boys!" DJango roared as they anchored at the shore. "Alright you bilge cats! Hit the beach! Sack the village and capture the mansion!"

"YAAARR!" the pirates shouted, running up the hill . . . just as they planned! Nix grinned and accidently caught her allies' attention. All of them but Luffy shivered at the evil gleam in her eyes.

"Fire in the hole!" she whispered, dropping the entire deck of charged cards off the cliff side. A minute later, she and Usopp were thrown back from the force of the blast. The three Straw Hats in the trees glanced at them in concern before looking to see what the damage had done to the Black Cat pirates.

Almost half of them had been injured or incapacitated by the blast, much to Usopp's relief. The sharp shooter loaded his slingshot and started firing down at the unsuspecting pirates. Nix managed to drag herself back in time to watch, face blackened by ash and a giddy smile on her face.

"What the hell is going on here?" DJango cried hysterically.

"Captain! There's somebody on the top of the cli-gahh!"

The green-eyed girl whooped delightedly as Usopp shot down the messenger easily. Luffy's laughter rang out over the beach.

"Wow! This really is a piece of cake!"

He stepped out of the forest, grinning happily. Nix scrambled to her feet and ran to join them, nearly tripping on her way over there. Zoro frowned at her.

"You're bleeding," he informed her, lightly prodding the side of her head. The natural red head blinked and touched her head. Sticky, scarlet fluid coated her fingers.

"Owww!" she whined, finally feeling the throbbing in her head. The swordsman snorted at her and pulled out a black bandanna out of his pocket, just like the one tied around his arm. Nix eyed it warily. "How many of these do you have?"

"It's a spare," he muttered, tying it around her head to staunch the bleeding. "You're loosing a lot of blood." Nix grinned.

"Aww, are you worried?" she teased. The marimo scowled at her. "It's a head wound, it'll bleed for a while, and they always do. Don't fret too much!" She pulled away and went to stand by Luffy.

Usopp came over too.

"I ran out of ammunition." he panted, glancing fearfully at the pirates still standing.

"I'll handle it!" the captain grinned, stretching his body. "Gum Gum. . . ROCKET!" He launched himself flying, sending the men flying like bowling pins.

The others took that as the signal to go and pulled out their respective weapons before jumping over the oil and leaping into the fray.

Nix went back to back with Usopp, blowing people away while he bashed them with one of his hammers. He was pretty efficient with it, though marksmanship would always be his forte.

The Magician grabbed Nami by the back of her shirt as she tried to run by.

"Look!" the older girl murmured, pointing at the two figures emerging from the ship and stopping at the railing to examine the fight.

While the two girls were watching the ship, Zoro and Luffy were cutting bad guys and cracking skulls. Luffy nudged one of the fallen pirates with his foot. The poor man groaned.

"Hey, they're still alive! They've got real spunk!"

DJango screamed in frustration.

"We don't have time for this! Listen up men; if our opponents are strong then we must become stronger!" He pulled out his ring and began to swing it. "Everybody watch this ring! When I say 'One, Two, DJango,' you'll all become superhumanly strong and all your wounds will heal instantly! And you'll keep getting stronger and stronger!"

"What's going on?" Luffy asked in confusion.

Nix grabbed Nami and Usopp and pulled them down behind a boulder.

"Hypnotism!" Nami cried, peeking around the giant rock with Usopp. "He's trying to make them believe they're getting stronger! What a load of crap!"

"I don't think so," Nix shouted, ducking down as DJango counted. With the roar of the pirates and the hypnotized Luffy ringing through the air, she wondered if everything had just gotten more complicated.