Chapter 41
The Longest Day
Hiding behind a large rock, Vivi and Eli watched their friends effectively lure all the Baroque Works agents inside the city of Alubarna. The chronicler hoped for their safety, but she had a mission of her own to worry about. They all had a mission, and she trusted them above all. Therefore, Eli put her doubts aside and focused on her goal.
Once the pirates had disappeared in the city, Caru dashed over to the South Gate. The two girls got off him and apprehensively watched the enormous cloud of sand made by the rebels' army rushing toward Alubarna.
"Go, Caru !" Eli ordered.
The duck looked at the two girls anxiously; he was obviously worried for his precious princess, yet there was nothing he could do anymore, and she was in good hands.
"Don't worry," Eli said patting the duck's head. "I'll take care of the princess."
"Quack !" Caru nodded before fleeing toward Alubarna.
As the rebels came within hearing range, the ground trembling under the massive stampede, Vivi spread her arms and took a large intake of air.
"STOP, REBELS !" she yelled her lungs out. "THIS FIGHT HAS BEEN SET UP !"
She was about to repeat her call when a large explosion created a wall of smoke right between the girls and the rebels. Eli and Vivi looked over their shoulders. It seemed that the explosive had been launched from the royal side. But why ? It was obvious then that Baroque Works had also infiltrated the army; Crocodile held all the cards in his hands. It was his game, his rules, and it seemed that whoever tried to stand against him didn't have even the remotest chance...
"Who would do such a thing...?" Vivi muttered desperately.
Now the rebels' vision was completely blocked, and if they stayed there, the two girls would get trampled...
As the sound of the rebels' stampede became louder, Eli grabbed the princess to get her to safety as there was nothing more she could do from here anymore.
"NO !" Vivi yelled before turning to face the shadows of the rebels. "PLEASE STOP EVERYONE !" she cried out, her face distorted in horror.
"Vivi !" Eli grabbed the princess's waist, avoiding a horse at the last moment.
"Defeat the king for the sake of the country !" the rebel leader yelled. He had obviously failed to hear the princess.
"LEADEEEER !" Vivi screamed in Eli's arms.
Despite her speed, Eli barely dodged the rebels as the cloud of sand impaired her vision. During a moment of calm, she managed to get Vivi on her back, sidestepping right in front of the rushing horses. Jostled violently but still standing, Eli was in a state of concentration she had never experienced before, moving around constantly to dodge the horses for what seemed like an eternity.
When the number of the rushing rebels started to decrease at last, Eli dashed to a safer place and collapsed on the sand, her tensed muscles twitching painfully, while Vivi was on her knees watching the fight from afar with a devastated look on her face.
"The rebellion has begun..." she muttered, incredulous.
Eli looked sadly at the desperate princess; she had put so much hope into stopping the rebellion in time, and now it was clashing before her blue watery eyes...
"That's why we can't give up now !" Eli stoop up shakily and frowned down at the princess.
No, they couldn't give up hope now; their friends were already fighting, and the two girls had to go on because it wasn't over yet. In fact, it wasn't over at all. Eli had confidence that they would succeed; she could feel it in her guts. Maybe it was just foolishness. Maybe she was just lying to herself. But in any case, they had to go on.
She reached out her hand to help Vivi stand up and turned around to offer her back to climb on. With a firm nod, Vivi climbed on and wrapped her arms and legs around the chronicler's thin body.
"WAIT !"
The girls' heads snapped in the direction of Usopp coming at them riding a horse.
"Usopp !" they both yelled in unison, happy to see their friend unharmed.
"Don't carry her, I'll take her on my horse," he said. "It'll be faster."
"Faster ?" Eli raised an eyebrow at the marksman, wondering why he was insulting her in such a serious situation.
"Wait," Vivi said, getting off Eli. "Prove yourself, Usopp," she said sharply.
"Are you doubting me ?" Usopp said, showing the bandage tied around his forearm.
The girls' eyes widened instantly in fear.
Frak !
Gritting her teeth, Eli jumped high up in the air and gave Usopp a swift aerial kick sending him a few meters away, and Vivi got on her back right away. The both of them dashed over to the city.
"Thanks, Vivi," Eli said. "If it wasn't for you, I would have been completely tricked."
The chronicler inwardly complimented Zoro, too. His plan was perfect and Mr. Two had fallen for it easily, showing only the bandage and not the cross hidden beneath it...
"If you run straight ahead, you'll get stuck on the staircases !" Mr. Two, who had taken his own face back, laughed scornfully.
Damn !
The drag-queen was right; the war was already raging there, and if the girls went that way, they would get stuck in the thick crowd.
"Vivi," Eli said with a serious face. "I hope you trust me."
"I..." Vivi's eyes widened seeing the girl running straight toward the cliff face. "I trust you, Eli !" she yelled.
And I trust me, too ! Eli gritted her teeth and sped up, and, taking an utter leap of faith, she ran up the cliff as fast as she could.
Wow...
"That's amazing, Eli !" Vivi said cheerfully, watching down. "I'm sure Mr. Two won't catch-"
"GIVE ME THE PRINCESS !" Mr. Two yelled, running up the cliff as well.
"Rah ! Annoying bastard !" Eli held Vivi's legs tightly behind her. "Let's go !"
The girls could see the palace straight ahead, but to get there, they had to go through the battlefield.
Eli closed her eyes and took a deep intake of air, concentrating deeply on her mind to accelerate her whole self. It was a move that the fruit user kept for desperate situations since it drained her of all her strength. Opening her eyes again, the world around her had gone into slow motion. She advanced carefully avoiding the warriors, their swords, the bodies lying on the floors, and the stray bullets. Glancing rapidly over her shoulder, Eli saw Mr. Two lagging far behind. His movements were so slow to her eyes that it made her smile smugly.
A split second later, they appeared in the palace's courtyard startling the royal soldiers who surrounded them on the spot.
"Thank you, Eli," Vivi said with a smile.
"You're...wel...come..." Eli managed to say before collapsing to the ground wearily.
"Who are you ?" the soldiers yelled, pointing their weapons at the girls
Vivi straightened up in a dignified manner. "Go get Chaka !" she ordered sharply.
"Princess VIVI !" The soldiers gasped in bewilderment.
The royal soldiers gave Eli some welcomed food and water that she wolfed down while listening to Vivi and Chaka's discussion.
Chaka was one of the two head guards of the Alabastan Kingdom. He was a tall, dark-skinned man with mid-length black hair and a broad long nose.
"Are you mad, Princess Vivi ?" Chaka yelled. "If we do that-"
"Then what ?" Vivi interrupted calmly. "Will the country end ?" She shook her head. "This isn't Alabasta, is it ?"
That princess really has guts, Eli thought, nibbling on a piece of bread.
"The country of Alabasta is its people !" Vivi said loudly so that all the soldiers could hear. "We must stop this battle at all costs." She paused a few seconds and raised her head up high. "PLEASE DESTROY THIS PALACE !"
A rumor of disapprobation rose withing the royal army, begging Chaka to ignore the princess's request while the King was away, but Vivi kept a straight face, looking gravely into the man's eyes.
Chaka knelt down before his princess. "Do according to what the princess demands !" he ordered.
"Eli," Vivi called out softy, tapping the drowsy girl's shoulder.
"Mmh ?" Eli rubbed her eyes. "Ah sorry ! I fell asleep ?"
Damn ! Did I just say that ? Eli scolded herself inwardly for this involuntary Aceness.
"It's okay." Vivi smiled. "I wondered if you could go see if the others are okay? I'm worried."
"But I have to protect you, Vivi." Eli stood up dizzily.
"The palace is safe, don't worry."
Eli pondered the girl's request for a few seconds. She had to admit she was worried about her crewmates, too. Plus, the princess had hundreds of soldiers to protect her. Therefore, Eli accepted and, without waiting, walked out of the palace.
Using the small streets to avoid the confrontations, Eli found Nami and Zoro a few minutes later. They both looked badly injured especially, the swordsman; his chest was bleeding heavily, but somehow he was carrying Nami on his back.
Eli bit her bottom lip, imagining what they had gone through to end up in that state. She felt guilty to be so unarmed next to them.
"Hey," she called out. "Are you alright ?"
"Yes," Nami replied. "Where is Vivi ?"
"She's in the palace," Eli said reassuringly. "She asked me to check if you were okay."
Nami sighed smiling. "She still worries about us..."
The three of them sped up to go to the palace where they were supposed to meet up with the rest of the crew. A few minutes later, they arrived in front of the palace.
"USOPP !" Nami got off Zoro and hit the long-nosed boy with her staff. "Who asked you to make a party toy ?" she yelled angrily.
"But... it worked..." Usopp stammered, scrambling away from the furious redhead.
Eli had no idea what they were talking about, but she dashed over to the marksman's side, worried as the boy was bandaged all over.
"What happened, Usopp ?" Eli asked with wide eyes. "Are you okay ?"
"Please bury me in the wilderness..." Usopp said with a dying voice.
Eli sighed in relief and looked around to make sure everyone else was okay as well. Apart from bruises or heavier wounds, the pirates were all there, very much alive.
Luffy ! Eli's lips curled up seeing that the boy was there, too.
"Sorry I lost to that guy once..." he said, his arms stretched all the way to the ramparts of the palace. "But this time, I can't lose."
The pirates smirked, looking at their captain.
"I'll finish it now," Luffy said gravely. "All of it !"
"ALRIGHT !" they yelled in unison, watching Luffy launching himself upwards.
"A BOMB ?" the pirates yelled in shock as Vivi told them that Crocodile had set up a cannon to launch a bomb at four o'clock to explode in the center of the city. The range of the blast was supposed to destroy everything within five kilometers.
"Yes, and we've only got ten minutes to find it," Vivi said gravely.
"We'd better hurry, then," Ace said.
Without wasting anymore time, the pirates scattered in all directions to look for the cannon.
Eli entered every house she saw and checked every floor with all haste, but the city was so big... it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Frowning, the chronicler scolded herself. She couldn't let herself loose faith; the lives of a million people were at stake.
Yet time was running out, fast. Looking at the city's clock tower, Eli gritted her teeth seeing that they only had 2 minutes left.
Damn !
Eli was about to check another house when a column of smoke rising up in the sky caught her attention. It was the signal that someone had found the bomb.
She dashed over there in a few seconds.
"Where... is... it ?" Eli asked between pants.
"ELI !" Vivi yelled happily. "It's in the clock tower !"
"Let's go... then," Eli said, before turning her back for the princess to climb on. "Guide me !"
1 minute left.
Vivi navigated Eli through small side streets of Alubarna to avoid the fights. After a few wrong turns, they arrived at the clock tower.
30 seconds.
Eli climbed up the stairs, lots of stairs... The girl was starting to get extremely tired, but she couldn't falter. Gritting her teeth, she gathered up the rest of her strength trying to ignore the excruciating pain in her legs.
Almost there...
25
Entering the clock-room, Eli and Vivi were welcomed by two Baroque Works agent pointing fancy guns at them. Vivi got off Eli and the two of them rushed towards their opponents with a frantic war cry. As the clock tower was open, they flung them out before they could even react.
The two girls didn't have time to rejoice, though; the cannon's wick was burning up already. Vivi twirled her slasher around her finger and cut it effectively.
Slumping on the ground, they sighed deeply, their lips curling up in a smile, until...
"It's still ticking !" Vivi said, standing up to look at the cannon. "No..." she whispered with horrified eyes.
The princess swung around and looked downwards at the pirates. "IT'S A TIMED BOMB !" she yelled.
10
Of course...
9
Eli grabbed the bomb and grinned at the desperate princess.
8
"Be right back !" Eli disappeared in a flash leaving a stunned Vivi behind.
7
As she got out of the building, Eli took a split second to look at her crewmates moving in slow motion, and she smiled again.
6
Adrenaline rushing through her veins, Eli didn't feel the pain in her legs anymore... She was gliding on the sand with a large grin still plastered on her face.
5
I can do this.
4
Eli looked back to watch the small shape of the city shrinking fast.
3
I can do this !
2
After putting the bomb on the sand, Eli dashed away as fast as her body still could.
1
Eli saw the face of her father in her mind. "You did good, Elisabeth," he said proudly. "You did real good."
0
The huge explosion blasted Eli away, her ears teared from the inside by the deafening sound of the detonation.
After a few seconds, she rolled on her back wearily and started laughing nervously.
"I DID IT !" she yelled ecstatically, hurling her trembling fists in the air.
Eli couldn't rejoice on her own, though; she wanted to see her friends. Yet when she tried to stand up, her head started spinning and Eli fell back on the sand with a muffled thud, making the girl laugh at her own clumsiness before standing up again, slower.
As the adrenaline started to leave her system, Eli felt an intense pain in her ears. She brought her hands to her aching ears and winced seeing blood on her fingers, but that didn't matter. Eli started walking toward the city to meet up with her crewmates. However, she had already used more energy than she actually had and was now running solely on her guts.
After a few minutes, Eli came to a stop near the entrance of Alubarna as she felt raindrops falling on her. Looking up, she smiled seeing the stormy sky. The war was coming to an end, and after three years, the Alabastans were blessed with a cleansing rain.
Carrying on with her walk, Eli was gazing up at the sky. She looked like a child capering gleefully under the summer rain. She took off her vest and threw it carelessly on the ground, welcoming the rain's freshness with a blissful smile.
Focused on the sky and the gentle sensation of the fresh rain on her heated skin, Eli wasn't aware of Ace running frantically toward her. A loud gasp escaped her mouth as she felt his broad arms grabbing her all of a sudden.
"ACE !" she yelled in bewilderment.
The flame user was holding her tightly as if his life depended on it.
"YOU'RE CRUSHING ME," Eli yelled, unaware of her own loudness.
Ace pulled away but still held her shoulders firmly. Eli saw his lips move but couldn't hear his voice as her aching ears were filled with a loud ringing sound. However, she could see the look on his face; her friend looked so desperately happy. Eli had never seen him like that, but she thought that from his point of view, the scene must have been quite scary... learning that the bomb was going to explode no matter what, and then, a few seconds later, seeing the explosion kilometers away. He must have known then that it was her doing.
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU," Eli said, giving him a reassuring smile.
Even if she was deaf, she could still manage to read the 'What ?' on his lips, and the confused look on his face only confirmed what she thought.
"THE EXPLOSION, IT WAS SO LOUD, I'M DEAF." Eli tried to be as cheerful as possible, yet it was somehow hard to give intonations to her voice since she couldn't hear it.
She saw his lips forming some unreadable words before laughing, apparently quite loudly.
"THAT'S NOT FUNNY," she pouted, frowning at the laughing young man, water dripping from her bangs onto her angry face.
His laughter died quickly to be replaced by a warm smile. Ace brought his hand to her cheek and said something again, his thumb brushing her wet skin tenderly.
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU," Eli said angrily. "ARE YOU DEAF, TOO ?"
Ace wrapped his arms around her and securely pulled her chest up against his.
With a sigh, Eli smiled heartily returning his embrace. She must have really scared the hell out of him, so she couldn't blame him for his nearly choking hug.
After a minute, Ace pulled away, and the two pirates ran to meet up with their other crewmates.
Upon reuniting, the whole pirate crew smiled in relief looking at each other. It was finally over. The longest day of their lives had, at last, come to an end, and everyone was fine. Luffy was apparently sleeping, but alive nonetheless.
The Straw Hats fainted on the ground simultaneously, hearty smiles on their faces...
to be continued
Betaed by Iwin Ulose.
At last you can see Eli being actually useful. As you can see I did not create a new BW agent for her (or stole someone else's opponent) I hope you're not disappointed.
Yes. I know. Eli 'stole' Pell's sacrifice... But since he didn't really die (quite surprisingly) I felt that it wasn't really major. Also no Straw Hat's epicness at the clock-tower... but even if it wasn't for Eli, Ace could have propelled himself up there so... Don't be mad please ! After all it resulted in a nice hug under the rain. Right ?
Look forward to the next chapter ! It is calm at last and I hope you'll like what I planned for our lovely pair ;)
And for those who haven't read it yet, 'Twig' 7 had been published :)