Chapter 38
The Town of Dreams
"YOU 'QUIT' ?" Eli yelled, tugging at Luffy's sleeve to make him stand up. "What the hell do you mean by that !"
"We don't have time for your games, Luffy !" Nami scolded. "Get up, now."
"If we don't stop the rebellion in time, it's all over," Sanji explained so that the dumb captain would understand the urgency of the situation. "We have to walk all the way back to go to Nanohana and then Katorea, so stop wasting time."
"Booooring..." Luffy said coldly, sitting against a tree with his hands behind his neck. He looked and sounded like a spoiled brat.
"Boring ?" Eli's face darkened. She couldn't believe him; the fate of a million people were in their hands and Luffy didn't want to go because it was 'boring'...?
Sanji and Eli were about to kick his ass when they felt Ace holding them back, putting his hands on their shoulders.
"What the HELL ?" they yelled, looking at the flame user who only shook his head slowly.
Was he agreeing with his little brother ?
"Vivi," Luffy said gravely. "I want to beat the crap out of Crocodile !" His piercing eyes were focused on the princess's. "If we stop the rebellion, will that stop Crocodile ? We're pirates, you're better off without us to go stop the rebellion."
At that statement, the pirates were speechless. It was hard to admit, but Luffy was right...
"You just don't want anyone to die in this war. The people of your country or any of us. We're facing a Shichibukai and a war involving over a million people and all you want is for no one to die," he continued sharply. "That's naïve !"
Naïve ? Looking at Luffy, Eli felt rage gnawing her insides. She clenched her fists, digging her nails into the palm of her hands.
"Don't," Ace said, tightening his grip on her shoulder.
Eli jerked out of his grip and swung around as she couldn't bear to look at Luffy anymore. She wanted to shut his babbling mouth for good, yet even if he was harsh, the boy was right... painfully right.
"What's wrong with that ?" Vivi yelled, her face distorted in anger. "What's wrong about not wanting people to die ?"
"People die," Luffy said coldly.
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT !" Vivi hurled her fist in the young captain's face.
"THEN WHY ARE YOU RISKING YOUR LIFE ?" Luffy yelled harshly, punching Vivi.
The pirates gasped in disbelief and yelled out to stop their captain who had obviously gone mad.
"YOU THINK RISKING ONE LIFE IS ENOUGH ?" Luffy continued to yell despite the multiple punches the princess was launching at him. "WHY DON'T YOU TRY RISKING OUR LIVES, TOO ?"
With a loud gasp, Vivi jerked away, tears flowing from her blue eyes.
The sight of the desperate princess squeezed Eli's heart harshly... Because of the atrocious memories that resurfaced the night before, the fate of Alabasta touched her deeply... painfully.
"Look at you..." Luffy said quietly. "You're crying."
Vivi tried to hide her crying face, sobbing and trembling like a leaf.
Vivi... As Eli felt the princess's sadness slowly engulfing her, she frowned. She had to be strong, like Luffy, like Vivi, like everyone... She wanted to save the people of Alabasta as if to atone for her incapacity of saving her own, and to achieve that, she couldn't let gloom eat her from the inside.
"You're the one who wants to kill him the most," Luffy said. "Tell me where Crocodile is !"
Crocodile was stationed in a city called Rainbase situated one day of walk straight to the north of Yuba. According to Vivi, it was a gambling town completely untouched by the drought. Therefore, the pirates could at last find water there. They hoped that the princess wouldn't be proven wrong like she had been about Yuba...
One whole day of walking through the sizzling desert without even one drop of water wasn't a very encouraging prospect. Therefore, Luffy and his little barrel of water that Toto had managed to extract from the dried soil of Yuba was object of envy for Usopp.
"Please, one little sip..." Usopp begged, wasted tears streaming from his eyes.
"No way !"
"Gimme."
"No way !"
The sight of the two boys fighting for a little barrel of water was tiring... and also surprising.
"Luffy can really restrain himself when he needs to," Nami said awing at Luffy's 'mature' behavior.
"I guess you can say that..." Eli said without conviction, looking at the fight wearily.
Despite the heat, the fatigue, and the thirst, it seemed that the boys still had enough stamina to fight, and that was... amazing, stupidly amazing.
Thankfully, the other males of the crew were hiking calmly. Eli noticed that Chopper was walking by himself; perhaps he was starting to get used to the heat.
The girls were riding Eyelashes like the day before under the jealous glares of the usual wailing ones; Usopp and Luffy who, after begging Nami fruitlessly to let them ride, were muttering some 'camel-woman' comments sharply. However, the girls didn't care and enjoyed the ride without an ounce of guilt... well, except for the kind-hearted Vivi.
"I wonder if we'll have time to play in the casino," Nami said with beli-shaped eyes.
"Oh, you like gambling, Nami ?" Eli said, slightly surprised.
Well, I should have guessed that, though... she thought, watching the redhead nodding happily.
"Don't you play ?" Nami asked eagerly. Did she want to find a victim for a future game ?
"Nop', I'm not really good with cards," Eli replied sadly and sighed remembering the large sum of money she had lost during some poker games at the Baratie.
"Really ?" Usopp said with a large mischievous smirk. "You're good with aces, though !"
Out of nowhere, Sanji kicked the marksman in the back, flinging him a few meters away.
"I don't understand..." Eli said slowly, watching the frowning cook.
"Don't worry, Elisabeth~" Sanji said lovingly before swirling around the camel, giving his famous love-eyes to the three girls. "Are you alright, my lovely ladies ? Don't forget to call me if any of those jackasses bother you."
"Okay..."
When the sun was setting in the horizon, the pirates decided to install their camp in a rocky formation to be sheltered. Zoro went to hunt some food, which they later ate happily around a much-needed camp fire. It was their first night spent in the desert. Impressions ? Frakingly cold...
Clutched in three tight balls, Eli, Luffy, and Usopp were whining, their hands practically in the camp fire to warm them up.
"Coooold !"
"I'm cold..."
"So cold..."
"I'm fine," Chopper said happily. Of course, if he couldn't handle the heat of the day because of his thick fur, the reindeer was perfectly comfortable at night.
The three frozen pirates looked at him, envy sparkling in their eyes, and without any kind of warning, they dove on the small reindeer, wrapped their arms around him, and rubbed their faces on his fur.
"Heeeeelp !" Chopper whined, begging the other pirates for salvation. However, they obviously didn't care; Ace looked at the scene with amusement, Sanji was swooning over Nami and Vivi, and Zoro was dozing against a rock.
Comfortable at last, Eli, Luffy, and Usopp sighed blissfully within the much enjoyable warmth.
"So soft..."
"So warm..."
"So fluffy..."
Chopper was too small for the three needy pirates, however, and they soon started fighting to get the biggest portion of his warm fur.
"Chopper is mine, I found him first !"
"Eli, you cheater !" Usopp growled. "Your arms are too long !"
"Shut up..." she murmured drowsily, and she soon fell asleep against the delightful fluffiness.
Only a few hours after dawn, the Straw Hats arrived in Rainbase, the Town of Dreams. Sitting next to the entrance, the pirates were waiting for Luffy and Usopp to return with water before planning a strategy against Crocodile.
"Should we really have let them do it ?" Sanji asked, looking in the direction where the two thirsty boys went.
"It's only a simple errand," Nami said. "They can do it."
"I wonder..." Zoro began gravely. "Don't you think they'll come back with trouble ?"
At that, Ace and Eli looked at each other with wide eyes. Of course... How stupid they had been to trust Luffy with that 'simple errand', for there were very high chances that the boy would come back with trouble. Never mind high chances; it was inevitable.
They didn't even have time to imagine it as Luffy and Usopp came rushing back towards their crewmates, followed by at least a dozen belligerent marines.
"HEY GUYS !" Luffy yelled out. "MARINES ARE COMING !"
We can see that ! Eli thought, running away like the rest of the crew.
"WHY DID YOU BRING THEM OVER HERE !" Zoro yelled angrily at his dumb captain.
Unfortunately, since they were running frantically through the streets of Rainbase, the pirates also got the attention of the Baroque Works lackeys stationed there. They plus the marines were quite a lot of enemies to deal with before they could even approach Crocodile.
"Where is Crocodile, Vivi ?" Luffy asked.
"Over there !" the princess yelled, pointing to a large building towering over the rest of the town. "The building with a crocodile on the top, that's his casino !"
That guy must love crocodiles...
"Let's split up !" Luffy ordered. "We'll meet up there !"
The pirates nodded and scattered in every direction on the spot, confusing the marines who now didn't know who to run after anymore.
"Eli !" Ace called out, grabbing the girl's waist. "I'm going to jump !"
Even with the warning, a loud gasp escaped Eli's mouth as the flame user propelled the both of them high up in the air, yet she was glad he had had the presence of mind to notify her in advance this time.
From her elevated point of view, Eli could observe that instead of a dozen marines, there was a little army chasing after the pirates, and that they were all led by none other than Smoker, the high-ranked marine they had met in Nanohana. Eli had to admit that the man was highly persistent.
After landing on a building, the pair jumped down into a small alley hidden from view.
"I think we're safe," Eli said, glancing at the street. "Maybe we can mingle quietly into the crowd."
However, turning around to look at her friend, Eli couldn't help but chuckle; with his bright orange hat and his flamey cloak, the young man would hardly go unnoticed.
"Not with that hat, though," she said, taking off his hat.
"What ? Too noticeable ?" Ace asked sarcastically.
"A bit..." With a hearty smile, Eli softly ruffled his shaggy hair that was flattened by the hat. "There, that's bet-"
A squeak escaped her mouth as Ace pushed her against the wall without any apparent reason.
"What ?" Eli asked, her eyes widened in surprise.
"I think... I saw someone..." Ace said quietly, his head resting against the wall next to hers.
"Oh..." Eli looked in the direction of the street but couldn't see anyone from her point of view, and as Ace's head blocked the other side, she guessed their enemies were over there. "They saw us ?"
"I'm not sure..." Ace said in a hoarse whisper.
As his chest was pressed weightily on hers, Eli had some difficulty breathing. She tried to move a bit but found herself completely pinned between the wall and Ace.
"Freckles, you're-"
"Ace," he interrupted, his heated breath blowing softly on her ear. "My name is Ace."
"Eh ?" Of course Eli knew what her friend's name was... What did he mean by that ? "I know that..."
"Then call me by my name, Eli," he said in an even lower voice.
It was only then that Eli noticed it had been a while since Ace had been calling her 'Twig'. Was he getting tired of the use of the nicknames ? Maybe they were too old for that. She liked the nicknames, though, and she was a bit saddened to hear her childhood friend demanding to be called the same way everyone else called him...
"Ace... you're crushing me..." Eli whined.
He took a step back and turned around. "Sorry..."
Eli breathed deeply with a hand on her chest while thinking that Ace really needed to remember that he was way heavier than her when he did things like that.
"Are you okay ?" she asked as he was silently looking at the street.
"Yes." Ace crouched to pick up his hat since Eli had dropped it when the young man had pinned her suddenly against the wall. He dusted it and slipped his head through its strap letting it hang on his back.
"Okay, let's go now !" Eli said cheerfully, walking toward the street.
"We should take separate ways."
"Oh... alright !" She nodded. "Let's meet at the casino then."
Ace nodded silently, and he walked away without even looking at her.
to be continued
Betaed by Iwin Ulose.
I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, but I like some parts !
"You're good with aces", that's a good one Usopp ! And poor Ace, Eli has no idea what she's doing to him.
'Twig' chapter 6 is up. I think you should go read at least this one, might be interesting.
If you don't care about my life (which I totally understand) you can leave now :)
Thanks for reading, and see you soon !
For the others :
Tomorrow will be my third month anniversary as a fan-fictionist woohoo !
Three months since I started writing this fic, in fact three months since I started writing at all.
With 'Freckles' and 'Twig' I produced over 100 000 words.
I'm actually kind of proud to be so wholly committed to this, and this, my dear readers, is thanks to you.
I hope I have improved, and that I will keep on improving.
Special thanks to Iwin Ulose too :)
Thank you all for following me, and your support.
At last, I would like to thank Roy Mustang.
A little bit more than three months ago, a rainy day of march, I was looking for screen-caps of the sexy and so annoying flame alchemist (What 'fetish' ? I don't see what you're talking about...) and that's how I came to discover the world of fan-fiction.
*bows respectfully*