Chapter 53
Insectophobia : A Bride's Payback

"Eli... Eli..."

Slowly opening her heavy eyes, a feeble smile made it's way to the girl's lips seeing her dear friend's face hovering above her, and gradually, the images of her terrible nightmare vanished from her mind. Lifting her hands to his face, she caressed his mandibles tenderly.

Wait...

With a loud gasp, Eli scrambled away from a mantis, who was munching frantically as he watched the disgusted girl vigorously wiping her hands against her shorts. Like the first group of predatory insects that Eli and Zoro had met, he had the size of a human and his skin was brownish. As her back came into contact with a wall, the mantis tilted his head to the side questioningly before performing a repugnant 180° to look at the giant, green mantis, observing the scene calmly.

"I am glad to see that you are finally awake, my dear," the mantis said kindly. "Just in time for your wedding."

Right... Eli took the vines tied around her wrists in her mouth and began chewing energetically while ignoring the mantis and her crazy talk. After all, how could a human girl marry an insect ?

"Crazy talk ?" the mantis sneered. "It is called evolution."

"Listen... Manticia-"

"Manticia ?"

"Yeah, I just thought of calling you that," Eli replied. "Anyway, in case you didn't notice, I'm human and you are some freakish insect. There's no way I'd marry one of your kind !"

As she had clearly made her point, without adding anything more, Eli resumed her 'meal'. Using her speed to accelerate the process, the girl soon managed to free her wrists and was now looking at her legs, which were tied as well.

"You should not act so superior, future daughter of mine," Manticia said, the dangerous tone of her voice causing a wave of goosebumps to appear on Eli's skin. "You shall marry this son of mine, copulate, and give me a legion of grandchildren."

As the mantis kept on with how these grandchildren of hers would be the next step of evolution of her tribe and blah and blah, Eli was stunned, the word 'copulate' echoing in her mind illustrated with images so disgusting that she almost fainted again. Was it even biologically possible ? Rapidly shaking her head in motion to clear her mind, Eli wondered what was taking Zoro so long.

"This friend of yours won't come to your rescue, my dear," Manticia said. "He is facing the mightiest warriors of my precious army and no one ever survived to their blades." Munching rapidly, she pushed the brown mantis in Eli's direction, and leaned back on her muddy throne. "Now, meet with your fiancé."

Looking at her 'fiancé' slowly advancing in her direction, Eli couldn't help the disgusted whines that flowed from her mouth, distorted in horror. However, as the mantis got closer, she noticed that he was trembling. Looking shyly at her, it seemed that the few meters separating him from his bride were hard to cross.

"This son of mine is scared of you, my dear," Manticia explained, making Eli's eyes widening in surprise. "He fears for his head."

When Manticia explained how the female was supposed to devour his mate's head during the fertilization in order to enhance the delivery of the semen, the two intendeds found themselves shaken by tremors of dread. Paralyzed in fear, they gawked while listening to the very detailed description of the act that Manticia seemed to take great pleasure in relating.

Once she was done, she pushed the male mantis once more while munching softly.

Stiff, Eli slowly turned her head around and looked at her fiancé, her dreadful fiancé, and as she watched her terrorized reflection in his globular eyes, the pirate girl couldn't help but despising her stupid phobia and the ones who were the cause of it even more... And so, the painful memory of how she came to fear insects came back in her anxious mind...

After an hour long walk up a hill towering over her village, a younger Eli was gazing at a wooden cabin. A swift and cold breeze brushing her skin, the girl rubbed her arms vigorously.

"You say it's the last trial ?" she asked, turning her head over her shoulder to look at the group of boys that had brought her here.

"Yep," the older one said, barely concealing a sneer. "After that, you will be an official member of our league."

Eli heard the other boys snickering, yet she didn't care. All of the other ordeals she had passed, and this one won't be any different, and then they would have to acknowledge her, whether they wanted it or not. Besides, what could be so difficult in spending a night in a cabin ? Admittedly, she would be alone, but it was just one night, and she was twelve years old. Two more years and she would be officially recognized as an adult. Yet, a woman had not much more rights than a girl in her country, and that was the very reason for her to pass those stupid trials and finally be recognized and respected.

With a deep intake of air, Eli marched over to the cabin, opened the door and entered the small room briskly. As soon as she was in, the girl snapped her head around hearing someone locking the door behind her. Why were they so hurried was still unknown and slightly frightening, yet she couldn't let herself being discouraged so soon.

Sitting down on the wooden floor, Eli tried to calm her rapid heartbeats by breathing as slowly as she could. However, her relaxation exercises were soon interrupted as she heard the boys hitting the cabin from the outside. Was that what the trial was about ? Were they going to hit on the cabin all night long ?

Idiots...

The hammering soon came to a stop, replaced by a low and droning sound filling the cabin gradually. Narrowing her eyes in order to distinguish something in the darkness, Eli saw shadows moving all around her, and soon she understood the full extent of the dangerous situation she was in.

Surrounded by hundreds of wasps, locked in the cabin for the night; that was what the final trial was all about.

Rushing over to the door, Eli screamed for some help. She screamed her lungs out, but nobody ever came.

In the end the girl never knew if the boys had left or not. The sound of the wasps filling her ears, she never got an answer to her pleading calls and soon found herself unable to yell anymore as the wasps covered her face.

She spent the night alone, sitting in a corner of the cabin. Her face, arms, and knees drawn to her chest, her hands covering her ears, while the wasps swarmed all over her skin, under her clothes, deep inside of her mind...

Shaking like a leaf, Eli clenched her eyelids to prevent any tears from falling from her eyes as the excruciating memory flickered in her mind. This stupid boys... they were all dead now, yet her fear remained.

"Cry, yell, and fear all you want my dear," Manticia said with disdain. "By your fear I shall control you, pitiful one."

At those words, Eli snapped out of her daze. Jerking her head around, she glared at the giant mantis. Hatred burning in her green eyes, she felt her strengths coming back to her body. How dared she ? Playing with her weakness... This was the last straw for the entomophobe, she had feared for too long and now it was time for the payback.

"If you were a wasp I'd be dead by now !" Eli yelled scornfully, as if it was praiseworthy. "Next to that, you just look like PUPPIES !"

For once, Manticia didn't seem to find anything to say. The girl just seemed so proud at that instant, even though she had just admitted she was afraid of smaller and almost harmless creatures. Apparently, her self-confidence was somewhat impressive to the colossus' eyes.

Yes, mantises were nothing. They just looked like very long, ugly, greenish humans... in a way, and as a burning sensation washed over her, Eli decided that she would fight against both the mantises and her fear. Performing a backflip, she used the sharp foreleg of her fiancé to cut the ties incapacitating her legs.

"Now..." Staring at Manticia, Eli placed a swift and powerful kick in the male mantis' head, sending the poor trembling insect deeply into the wall. "Prepare to suffer, mantis queen !"

With an angry shriek, the giant mantis swung her scythe-like foreleg in Eli's direction. Dashing to the side, she evaded the blow easily and launched her fist like a shot on the back of the spiky limb, letting out a pained cry as her hand came in contact with the hard skin. It was as if the mantis wore a full armor.

Evading the mantis' rapid attacks, Eli tried to think of a solution to her dilemma. She would obviously need a weapon, and it was only then that she noticed a short sword stuck into the ground next to Manticia. How she did not manage to see it before was a complete mystery. A large ray of light pointing directly the shiny weapon; it was quite impossible to miss.

Eli dashed over to the providential weapon, and as she brandished the short sword, the girl felt a force flowing from her arm and throughout her whole body. She didn't have time to wallow the marvelous sensation, however, as Manticia kept swinging her sharp forelegs relentlessly.

"WAIT !" Eli yelled, stunning the belligerent mantis on the spot. "What's that shinny thing ?" she asked pointing the colossus' back.

"Oh that..." Manticia began before turning her head around completely to look at Eli. "It is a weak point of mine."

There was a silence.

Eli was looking at Manticia and Manticia back at Eli. Immobile and silent, the two women exchanged glances. Diving deeply into each others' eyes, the silence was so complete that the pirate girl could hear the soft flutters of her eyelids.

"I do not think I should have said that." Manticia slowly turned her body around, yet her head didn't move; the awesome display of suppleness making Eli groan in disgust. "I think you will have to die now, my dear."

Now that she had a weapon and a target, Eli only had to reach it without being beheaded by the angry colossus. Clutching her hand on the handle of the short sword, the fast girl ran along the wall, jumped on the mantis' large croup, and dashed in the direction of her back.

However, as she had almost reached her goal, Manticia shook her body so violently that Eli lost her balance. Quick as the lightning, she grabbed a joint of the mantis' waist, but as soon as she realized that she was actually touching the insect with her bare hand, the entomophobe let go with a primal reflex of disgust and hit the floor, letting out a loud, pained gasp.

A cold shiver running through her body, Eli stood up and started running again, losing a lock of hair as she barely avoided a blow. Her foreleg stuck in the wall, Manticia munched angrily while trying to tear her limb out.

Damn ! Watching the struggling mantis absently, Eli quickly analyzed her options. She obviously needed to immobilize the colossus, even if it was for a second. But how...?

Manticia shrieked and Eli hit her forehead upon realizing that the colossus was already crippled, and while the insect struggled inefficiently, the girl did not waste one more split second. She ran along the foreleg and jumped on her back.

With a loud scream, Eli brandished her weapon high up in the air and pierced through Manticia's hard skin right into her shiny weak point, a large amount of green liquid splashing on her t-shirt. At the very instant the sword penetrated her back, the colossus arched her body, letting out a long, ear-tearing, pained cry that reverberated throughout the cave, and collapsed heavily on the ground, sending her defeater flying a few meters away.

"You... you..."

Sitting up, Eli yelped seeing the slushy, greenish substance staining her t-shirt, and yelping again, she took the disgusting fabric off and threw it as far away as possible from her.

"Pitiful creature... We are legion..."

It was only then that the girl actually wished she had worn a bra. If the piece of underwear seemed very unnecessary in general, in that particular occasion it would have actually been of some use. She glanced at what she had once called her t-shirt before deciding that being shirtless, if very embarrassing, would be much more bearable than having some sticky, mantis' blood on her.

"You will not get away with... that..."

Seeing her precious logbook lying on the floor, Eli smiled and took it in order to use it as protection to cover her small breasts, feeling a sensation of comfort as her fingers caressed the leather of its cover.

"Eli..! Are you in here ?" Zoro yelled from behind the rock obstructing the entrance of the room.

"YES !"

Turning her head over her shoulder, Eli watched the boulder moving, and as soon as she spotted the swordsman, reached out her arm in his direction.

"Your t-shirt, give it to me."

Silently, Zoro looked at Eli, then at the giant mantis lying on the ground, and at Eli again. His usual expressionless eyes traveling from the girl to the colossus, the young man was speechless, and after a few seconds, his eyebrows went up, making him look somewhat impressed.

"You took care of that ?" he finally asked.

Eli sighed and repeatedly snapped her fingers. "Your t-shirt."

With a grunt, the swordsman took off his t-shirt and threw it to his crewmate. Smiling, Eli put it on. In spite of all the sweat, blood, and cuts all over, it seemed just perfect, and while she was contentedly observing the piece of clothing, the girl didn't realize she had just missed a perfect chance to boast, at last, before the never-impressed young man.

Without wasting one more second in the dreadful mantis' lair, the two pirates walked through the forest more or less in the direction of Montblanc's house. They were rightly exhausted, yet alive, and all the while, Eli did not think for one second about the heaven-sent sword. After all, it was stuck in a mantis' back, thus way too disgusting to be of some use.

"Now I know what Ace meant when he said you were pretty at getting yourself into trouble..."

"Shut up..."

to be continued

Betaed by Fox MC.

Okay so two of you called for Ace to save Eli and one called for Zoro.
Come on ! A girl can fight for herself ! If a mystical, heaven-sent weapon helps her...

Anyway, our little adventure is already over and I hope you liked it because I will soon write about whole new and original islands, adventures, and enemies.

This little moment in the mantises' lair had taught our chronicler that she could fight her fear, and that's a good thing !
Now you know how she came to fear insects.
Horrible, wasn't it ? *shivers*

See you on Friday for the next chapter to see our favorite freckled pirate's reaction to Eli's outfit :P
Until then I'll be waiting for your impressions.

Damn it ! Forgot to say that I did a little illustration (which took me much more time to draw than to write the two wholes chapters...) for this chapter you can see it on my profile !