Chapter 69
The Lovers' Ordeal

It was called the Ordeal of Swamp, but Ordeal of Idiocy would better fit the description of what the two pirates were facing. For a long moment, they silently observed the Upper Yard's priest standing a few meters above them as he was looking for them, his frustrating calls growing louder as the minutes passed. Apparently, the man couldn't see them, yet they could, quite clearly. He seemed tall, maybe around Eli's height. He was wearing a dark purple suit and had white wings on his back, just like the other sky-landers they had met, except that his were slightly bigger. His skin was dark and had black dreadlocks pointing upwards.

While a deep annoyed sigh left her mouth, Eli shook her head. "We should just leave..."

"Are you kidding ?" Ace said with a genuinely surprised look on his face. "But- what about the Ordeal ?"

"What Ordeal ?" Eli pointed at the priest. "The man can't even see us... Let's just go."

"No."

"The others are waiting."

"Let's just pass the damn Ordeal !" Ace insisted.

"What for ?" Eli asked, folding her arms and frowning condescendingly. "You want your revenge on the first-"

"Hey ! Whatever-your-name-is !" Ace yelled out, placing his hands around his mouth and completely ignoring his partner's glare. "We're over here !"

The priest turned around and Ace waved both his arms in a wide motion. This is when that Eli noticed something strange with the priest's eyes; they were wide open, yet, no pupils were to be seen. Completely white, it seems that his orbs were rolled backward.

"Woohooo~" Ace kept on trying to get the priest's attention as he turned his head in every direction. "Your eyes, man ! They're rolled backward !"

Apparently, Ace just had to warn their stupid opponent, and now the priest was, at last, looking at them. He was frowning very deeply, while his arms moved in a strange manner in front of him. Perplex, Eli tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes to try and decrypt the man's odd behavior. Was he trying to fold his arms...?

"Blue seas dwellers !" he called out once more, now pointing down at the two pirates. "I am Gedatsu, one of the almighty priests that serve under Enel, and you are here on my territory."

"Oi, oi." Eli made a slight motion with her hand. "You already tol-"

"This is the Ordeal of Swamp !" Gedatsu continued. "You have a 50% chance of survival !"

With a deep sigh, Eli turned her head to look at Ace only to find a mischievous look on his freckled face; he was actually enjoying this. Without a word, the flame user propelled his raft to the shore and the two pirates disembarked under the furious glare of the priest.

Smugly, Ace smiled while he cracked his fingers. "So how does this-"

Nothing prepared Eli for what happened then. Without even waiting for the black-haired pirate to finish his sentence, Gedatsu pierced through the air at an amazing speed. His fist stretched out, he charged toward Ace. Eli barely had time to grab her partner's arm when the priest's fist had already plunged into his chest.

The assailant passed through the logia, turning Ace's body into fire on his path.

Hot, very hot... Burning. With a gasp Eli jerked her hand of his arm feeling flames licking her skin, the pearl she was wearing glowing brightly on the spot. The abrupt motion caused the girl to stumble and crash on her behind while Ace' body gradually turned to flesh and bones again.

His dark eyes blinking rapidly, Ace's gaze trailed from where the priest was previously standing, to the girl slumped on the ground next to him, and finally it ended on the man who was now standing behind him.

"What- what was that ?" the pirate stammered.

"This is the extinct Jet Dial !" Gedatsu said showing his elbow. The fabric of his vest was torn, revealing a seashell. Coils of smoke were spreading from the shell. "It greatly increases the speed and power of my punch." Lifting his hand to the side of his head, he scratched his temple thoughtfully. "I was sure I hit you though..."

Until then, the pirates were only informed of the use of Dials in everyday life, but now they knew that they could also be employed for fighting, and their powers exceeded what their minds conceived. As she replayed the scene in her now calmed mind, Eli reckoned that the man's speed surpassed anything she had seen before apart from herself.

So that's the power of the Dials...

Fixing his hat on his head, Ace's face had lost his previous smugness; he was serious now.

"Jet..." Gedatsu stretched his fist in the pirate's direction. "PUNCH !"

This time, Ace avoided the hit. His hair and red shirt were blown away as the priest burst before him. The pirate threw his clenched fist toward his assailant but missed him as he was already a few meters away a split second later.

Once he had came to a stop, Gedatsu propelled himself in the air, a trail of smoke forming from under his heels.

"Is that..." Eli made a rolling motion with her hand, "the Ordeal of Swamp...?"

Floating high above the pirates, he rolled his arms once again ineffectively folding them a few times before stretching an open palm in the direction of his opponents. "Take a look around," Gedatsu said loudly. "My territory is filled with swamp-cloud traps and once you are trapped in, you will never get out."

Her gaze now traveling around them, Eli saw puddles of purple clouds scattered on the ground. Was that what the priest called the swamp-cloud traps ? As she observed her surroundings, she noticed that they were pretty much surrounded by those purple fluffy masses of all shapes and sizes.

"All I have to do is not step in those then." A little smirk crept on Ace's lips. "Thanks for the warning mate," he said and tipped the brim of his orange hat.

"Fool !" Gedatsu stretched both his hands upward. "No one can escape the swamp !"

With a low blowing sound, coils of purple smoke were released from his open palms. Gathering above the priest's head, they formed a large cloud. After a few seconds, Gedatsu grabbed the cloud and launched it toward the pirates.

Ace and Eli avoided the cloud quite easily but, as if he had predicted were the flame user would jump to; Gedatsu had already jetted himself in his direction. In a flash, his fist pierced through the pirate's chest and came to a stop a few meters behind him. Mumbles elevated from his figure as he took off, once more avoiding Ace's counter attack.

This time, the priest aimed for Eli. Thanks to her speed, she easily avoided the cloud. The aim of the blow that ensued was, once more, perfect; how did the priest managed to predict with such accuracy where his opponent would flee ? Not wasting her precious time to ponder that question, the paramecia threw her leg at Gedatsu's back, jerking him a few meters away before he took off the forest's floor once again.

As he stared with wide-open eyes at Eli from above, his face displayed a mysterious and creepy wince. Tears forming on his orbs; it seemed that he prevented his eyes from blinking.

"How can you both escape my mantra ?" he said so quietly that the pirates wasn't quite sure he was talking to them or himself.

"Mantra...?" Eli asked.

"Oi !" A frown on his face, Ace grabbed the girl's shoulders and turned her to face him. "It's my fight, Twig."

"Mantra is a voice..."

"What !" Eli swept Ace hands off her. "It's our ordeal."

"... only true believers..."

"Don't get me started, Eli." Ace took a deep intake of air, his partially bare chest swelling up; he looked like an angry primate. "I'll do the fighting !" he stated, pointing a thumb to his chest.

Through her mind boiling with rage, Eli noticed that the priest's voice had gone silent. After giving Ace a scornful huff, making sure he knew that despite her silence she was disapproving his chauvinist attitude, she slowly gave her neck a roll to face upward.

Purple.

That was all her mind could form, since it was all she could see. Gedatsu had launched another cloud and it was a breath away from the paramecia's frightened face.

With a gasp that blocked into her throat, Eli crouched and rolled to the side. Quickly her face jerked in all direction in search for the priest, but this once, he was still up in the air, forming another cloud, before launching it in Ace's direction. The two pirates watched wordlessly as Gedatsu kept throwing swamp-clouds, one after the other.

"He's filling the place with those clouds !" Eli realized loudly, before dodging yet another purple fluff.

To avoid the threat the two pirates climbed on a tree. Eli ran along the huge trunk while Ace jumped as high as he could and managed to grab the first branch, which was a dozen meters above the ground.

As soon as he planted his feet on the trunk, Eli caught his wrist and ran so fast along the branches that the flame user could barely keep up the pace. They jumped from a tree to another and managed to hide from Gedatsu who was mumbling very indistinctly, as he was sucking his bottom lip as he spoke.

"That's a strange man..." Eli said quietly as she peeked stealthily at the priest. Turning around she folded her arms, a grave look on her face. "We have to do this together."

"No-" Ace was hushed as Eli placed her palm on his mouth. With a roll of his eyes, he removed the hand. "I'll fight and you stay here."

"I thought you said I could fight," she said and as Ace looked rather skeptical, she sighed. "In the Merry." The young man tilted his head to the side questioningly. "In the crow's-nest, right after being a real ass and right before being an ass again." Eli made motions with her hands to illustrate the timeline.

"Ohhh..." A smirk crept on his freckled face. "You were actually listening then," Ace said smugly.

"Don't !" Eli gave his shoulder a slap. "I don't understand, we fought everyday in Fuschia and even after. Why are you acting like a jerk now ?"

"Things are different now." Ace took a step in her direction and curled his fingers around Eli's thin arms. "You're my girl and I don't want you to get hurt."

Eli's heart leaped out of her chest at the 'my girl' part and barely heard the rest of the sentence.

"I'm a pirate Ace !" she stated, holding his gentle gaze with steadiness that was hard to keep as she felt her cheeks burning up in a bit rage and a lot of embarrassment. "I can both fight and be your..." The word got stuck in her throat making Eli swallow dryly. "... girl," she finished almost inaudibly.

His large hands slid up her arms to cup her cheeks as Ace pressed his lips on hers and then, suddenly, the world became a much nicer place. Even though she could feel the amusement in his kiss, the pirate girl didn't give a damn. The words 'danger', 'ordeal' and other dangerous warnings resonated for a few seconds in Eli's mind before being hushed as the young man invaded her head. The girl let her fingers settle on the warm skin of his chest as Ace's lips moved sensually against her own.

"You can't hide from me !"

The hot contact broke as Ace jerked away from Eli. With a growl, resembling very much to a bear cry, he jumped onto the priest who nearly got kicked. The black-haired pirate caught hold of a branch to stop his fall. He performed a somersault and, as the priest launched himself in his direction, he jumped from a branch to another, swiftly evading Gedatsu's jet punches.

Eli ran up the trunk of her own tree. As she reached the top within a split second, she watched carefully the two men's movements. The priest wasn't supposed to see her, yet, out of the blue, he turned his wrath against the girl.

"Don't try to escape !" Gedatsu yelled, rage painted across his tanned face.

With a loud war cry, he propelled himself in her direction and Eli didn't make a move. The world had slowed down. Every leaf fluttering on his way in slow motion, the space she was in was soft, even the sounds were much lower. The only thing the paramecia could clearly hear was her own heartbeats; fast and strong, they gave her the countdown. Ten, nine. He was close, his fist stretched out was directly aiming for her face and Eli didn't move. Six, five. The paramecia felt the muscles of her legs tensing, ready to jump. Three, two. His fist was so close to her eyes that she could see the bones of his knuckle under the leather of his gloves, and Eli didn't move. One. She felt a brush on her skin, this close there was no way he could change his direction. Zero. Eli jumped to the side and kicked Gedatsu in the ribs so fast she could feel the friction of the air burning on skin before coming in contact with the man's body. Hard as steel, the two bodies smacked with a loud blunt sound.

Wincing in pain, Eli stumbled and took grip of a branch. Her head snapped around to see if she had managed to send the priest toward Ace. But, to her dismay, Gedatsu was very far from the flame user and despite his urge to catch him in flight; the young man wasn't fast enough.

Floating once more out of their reach, the priest gave his head a roll. "That's useless," he said scornfully glaring at Eli.

Now settled against the trunk, Eli nursed her leg. But the priest wasn't as hurt as the girl who gave him the blow. Once more, he pointed his fist at her. The paramecia gritted her teeth and stood up, ready to try again.

"Use your right leg !" Ace yelled from behind the priest, stopping the man's rush on the spot. "You're lefty ! Use the other leg !"

"What ?" Eli yelled back and the priest shifted his gaze back at her. "That doesn't even make sense !"

"Just do it !" Ace insisted.

"No matter how much you struggle, you wont get out of the Ordeal of Swamp alive." Gedatsu said threateningly.

With a grunt, the priest pointed at Eli with his fist and surged in her direction.

Right leg, use the right, Eli repeated inwardly while tensing the muscle of her right leg.

She shot her foot in Gedatsu's chest, aiming for Ace behind him. A loud gasp blurted, the priest was thrown away in the pirate's direction. Yet, the blow wasn't strong enough and, a meter before reaching the flame user's range, he flew upward.

This wasn't good, Eli could feel it from her frantic heartbeats as well as the burning sensation in her muscles; she was starting to get tired. For the past few days, the pirates barely had time to sleep and her rest-deprived body was reaching its limits. They had to put an end to the fight soon or else she would be at the priest's mercy.

In a flash, she ran to Ace's side. "Freckles," she whispered, making the black-eyed young man startle at her sudden apparition. "Go down."

"What-"

A purple cloud thrown at them separated the two pirates.

"JUST DO IT !" Eli ordered before running away.

In a split second, she was already a kilometer away from the fight. Standing on a branch in the middle of the forest, the paramecia gave herself a minute to catch her breath. Slowly, she bent forward and massaged the sore muscles of her legs. Blood was pounding throughout her body, hot and strained, she was in pain but nothing she couldn't cope up with she told herself.

From afar, she heard a loud crashing sound and, as her head snapped in the direction of the sound, she saw one of the huge trees falling gradually. A wrench of guilt dug into her insides; Eli hoped that Ace was all right and that he understood that she wasn't abandoning him.

With a slow intake of air, she clenched her fists, a cracking sound resonating from under her skin as she did. She breathed out slowly and closed her eyes while trying to ease her rushing mind. They could do this, she knew it in her guts and that feeling never failed her.

Her jade eyes, snapped open and Eli dashed back where the priest and Ace were. The flame user was standing on the ground, slightly panting, but nothing to make her worry. In a split heartbeat, she took a run-up along the trees and branches and soared in the air.

The priest made a motion to turn around but it was too late, the pirated girl clung onto his back like a starving leech. She wrapped her powerful legs around his waist, tightening her embrace as strongly as she could. Caught in a vice, strangled noises escaped the man throat, while he tried desperately to grabbed the girl.

"What the HELL are you doing ?" Ace screamed bewilderingly from below. "ELI !"

"You know baseball, Ace ?"

"What ?"

The paramecia grabbed Gedatsu's struggling arms and held them backward; he was immobilized. As she pushed his arms a bit upward, pained cries made their way to her ears. Eli winced at the thudding pain in her tensed arms and pushed a bit more, just a bit... more.

"I'm the pitcher !"

"The WHAT ?"

A quiet explosion, smoke, and then wind sweeping with force on her face; she had managed to activate the Jet Dial.

"The PITCHER !" Eli yelled.

A tree reflecting in her wide-open eyes, the jade of her orbs darkened. With her teeth greeted so strongly she could hear a muffled crumbling inside of her ears, Eli pulled Gedatsu's arms to the right, effectively avoiding the giant trunk. Wood grazing on her shoulder, she breathed out the air she had been holding in her lungs.

"You're the batter !"

Sticking the tip of her tongue out while trying to ignore the death treats of her 'vehicle', Eli was flying at great speed in the forest. Zigzagging swiftly between the trees, she was gradually getting the hang of it. But even if he was locked in a painful position, Gedatsu didn't stop struggling. The girl's limbs were trembling upon the heavy pressure she inflicted to her muscles.

"And guess who's the ball ?" the girl asked quietly as they soared into the sky.

Her words were directed to the priest and his only reply was a threatening growl while his strive only caused the girl to tighten her forceful embrace on his waist.

As she performed a u-turn, Eli uttered a long, growing snarl. Sweat building all over her burning body, the pain was nearly unbearable, and so, she knew that she only had one chance. The girl and the priest jetted in Ace's direction. His dark eyes focused on them, the young man drew his right arm behind him. His fist clenched, he remained in that position, a grave look on his freckles face.

Her wind-swept hair fluttered wildly as the paramecia dashed down. She approached from Ace and her heartbeats became louder and harder, hammering with force against her ribcage. Eli adjusted the speed so that Ace wouldn't miss this one time chance. He was close and closer, not blinking, his eyes clung onto the priest.

A meter away from him, she saw the muscles of Ace's strong jaws tensing. His usual carefree, sometimes childish, others smug face was grave, handsome, and dark. It wasn't a leap of faith. Staring intensely at his face, the paramecia's fears and doubts were hushed; she trusted him, he trusted her, and she could feel their bond stronger than ever before as she rushed in his direction.

Now !

Ace threw his fist toward the priest's ribs and Eli unwrapped her thighs. As she fell backward, the paramecia saw his fist coming in contact with Gedatsu's body, and deeper. There was a cracking sound; the priest's bones breaking under the forceful blow, and Eli felt a wave of air sweeping on her with the blast. Deeper, the man gasped as Ace's fist penetrated through his ribcage.

As she hit the ground, Gedatsu was hurled a dozen of meters away. He went through a tree and another. A third trunk was pierced by the man's body before he ended his course into a rocky cliff, engraved a few meters into the stone.

Her muscles were shaken by rapid spasms as Eli stared with wide eyes at the holes in the giant trees and in the cliff. Her mouth agape, she was panting erratically, her throat searing upon the passage of air to her burning lungs as her mind filled with dreadful awe. Never had she witnessed such a terrible display of strength and, as her jade eyes trailed up the body of the man she loved, the girl couldn't help but feeling a bit threatened by such a monstrous force.

It was... out of this world.

A large grin brightening his freckled face, Ace held out his arm for the girl to stand up, and as she stared wordlessly at his large hand, Eli gulped dryly. Surely, he could crush her, easily in fact, her body was weak, or rather, common but him... he was a demon and if she had made the slightest mistake, if she had let go of the priest a second too late... The girl's frail body would have been crushed to pieces.

"Eli ?" Ace crouched next to the girl, the warmth that had once left his gaze now gleaming again in the darkness of his eyes. "Are you okay ?"

Swallowing hard again, her breaths had became more regular and, if slower, her heart was still beating hard in her trembling chest.

"How are your legs ?" he asked, his eyes shifting from her face to her trembling thighs.

"Fine."

His large hands curled around her spindly calves, calming the spasms as he did. Eli gazed at Ace while he nursed her legs and then she wondered, how those same hands could be so deadly and gentle at the same time ?

"You haven't changed," Ace said quietly as he raised his face to look at Eli. "Still the same twig." He grinned.

He grinned and his smile felt warm inside of her. As she watched him smiling at her, Eli felt an urge taking over her. On the spot, she found herself leaning against him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and nestled her face in his broad neck.

"You did..."

Eli wasn't quite sure if he had heard him, she wasn't even sure if she had mouthed the words. As she felt Ace returning her embrace, the girl closed her eyes, feeling safe in the broad arms of the man she loved, because she knew that, no matter how strong he was, Ace would never hurt her.

to be continued

Fighting scene, my personal Nemesis. I kinda like this one though and I hope that you too. I'll be waiting for your reactions ;)

See you on Thursday..