Chapter 74
Saving A Life
It was a bit annoying, or maybe, at least, disappointing, possibly slightly surprising, in any case, as she ran on the White-white Sea with most of her speed to warn the Skypieans of the devil plans of their God, Eli wasn't expecting to see someone already doing her job. But in the end, as she watched from behind a tree a blond winged girl informing her people of the threat that was looming over their country, a sigh of relief left the pirate girl while a little smile made its way to her lips.
She wasn't a savior, and maybe, that was for the best.
"God Enel is going to destroy this country !" The Skypiean girl yelled out in front of a bewildered audience. "Everyone, please, go to the Cloud's End and escape to the Blue Sea !"
She was panting hardly, drops of sweat trailing down her pretty face and, as they stared at her, voices arose from the crowd. Eli strained her ears, unable to understand why the Skypieans remained so immobile while hearing that their lives were endangered by their very God.
"Non-sense !"
"That woman..."
"She's Pagaya's blasphemous daughter !"
Pagaya ? Eli startled. Pagaya was the name of the man who had warned her and Ace from the danger her crewmates were in the previous day. The man had said that he and his daughter had welcomed the pirates in their homes... Was that the reason of the Skypiean's resentment ?
"Go away !"
"God Enel would never do such a thing !" a child yelled as he hurled a rock in the direction of girl's face.
Seeing the projectile flying toward the winged blonde's face, Eli bit her bottom lip and squeezed her eyes shut as she turned around, pressing her back to the tree's trunk. A terrible dilemma struck the green-eyed girl then; maybe she wasn't supposed to be there, maybe she was wrong to leave her crewmates after all, and maybe she should let the Skypieans deal with their problems alone.
But then why ? Why did she feel that she had to remain here ? The pirate girl's guts had never failed her before and, with every heartbeat she could feel it inside of her; she was here for a reason.
As Eli slowly rolled her head to the side to look at the Skypiean girl, her guts twisted painfully; blood trailing from above her eye down her lovely face, the winged girl was chewed on her bottom lip, tears threatening to fall from her big eyes.
"ENEL !" She clenched her fists, her shoulders tensing as she did. "IS NOT A TRUE GOD !" she yelled on top of her lungs.
The crowd was silent for a moment. Wordlessly, they stared at the angry angel before dashing away in a complete chaos. Cries of dread gushed from the herd who was running around panic-stricken.
"Get away from her ! The judgment is coming !"
The Skypieans went to hide behind trees and buildings, leaving the girl in the middle of the deserted place. Yet as her big eyes were closed, she had a serene look on her face. Obviously the 'judgment' they were expecting had yet to strike the blasphemous angel and, as the seconds became minutes, the crowd started agitating again.
"I will say this even if it means I will lose my life but the last words of a survivor of the God's Militia were 'Skypiea will be destroyed.' He and my father were killed by Enel...".
Pagaya... Eli brought her hands to her face feeling emotion creeping up her throat. Behind her closed eyelids, she could still see the face of the gentle Skypiean, she could still hear his voice, and she could still picture the fear in his eyes when he was talking of his God.
From afar, Eli could hear the prayers from the desperate winged people, they were calling for a miracle, and they were calling for help from their dreadful God...
"Are you saying you are going to remain here and die ?" the girl asked, bewildered at the blind faith of her people. "If there is one thing I know for certain is that Enel is powerful and cruel." Her voice rose as a shout, covering the payers of the angels. "A MIRACLE WILL NEVER HAPPEN !"
"As of now this country..." Dread as well as anger painted across her face, she brought her hands to her chest. "Does not have a God ! This is not the time to be praying. We must survive !"
The angel's voice reached Eli very core, and as she peeked at her from being the tree, Eli could feel her words racing under her skin with mighty shivers. Speechless again, the Skypieans stared at the girl as well. Their fears, their crushed hopes, Eli could feel them too.
"If we survive, everything will be different. So we must chose. Dead or alive, our lives depend on this very question. Do we or do we not give up on this country and run ?"
Touched, at last, by the words of the angel, the crowd started to move again. They ran to their houses, to gather their families and precious belongings, choosing to abandon their homes for the sake of their survivals.
Watching the bewildered crowd, a light of hope shone inside of the Sutan girl's heart. Slowly, she stepped away from the tree and walked toward the blond girl.
"Are you... are you one of the pirates ?" she asked looking at the beanpole.
"I am," Eli said gravely. "Listen, I'm... I'm sorry about your dad. He was a good man."
"Thank you." A little smile appeared on the angel's pretty face. "I am Conis," she said.
For a moment the two girls looked at each other, deeply, feeling a bond forming within their mutual pains. Weakly, they smiled at each other before shifting her gaze toward the sky as the sound of thunder reached their ears.
Dark clouds massing above the dreamy Iisland were covering the clear blue skies. Gradually, the white city darkened while the sound of thunder grew louder.
A man walked toward the two girls. He was wearing a uniform and a white beret. "Thank you Conis," he said. "You can leave the evacuation to us. We White Berets have sworn to protect the people of Skypiea, and never will we fail that promise again."
A kind smile on her face, Conis nodded. "We don't have time to lose then."
"I want to help," Eli said. "Tell me what to do."
And so, while the skies darkened threateningly, the people of Skypiea prepared their exodus from their lovely island. They were afraid and with each of the thunder strikes, their fears only grew stronger. The White Beret prepared ships for the people to embark, calming the best they could the frightened angels. While Eli used her speed to hasten the process. Putting a bright smile on her face, she carried goods, and showed the way.
"Captain," Eli called out as she set foot on the last of the exodus ships. "There are other people on this land, right ?"
The White Beret captain looked thoughtfully in the distance. "The Shandians," he said.
"We must warn them as well," she said, resolve holding her weak voice.
The man nodded, before ordering to change the ship's course toward the land of the Shandians.
Chaos prevailing on the ship, Eli walked over to the railing to gaze at the Upper Yard. There was a ship flying above the holy land. Enel...
"Eli." Conis, walked over to the pirate girl. "I must return there..." The blond girl glanced at the Upper Yard. "Usopp and Sanji were badly injured and they are still on the Merry."
As she looked around her at the Skypieans gathered on their ships, fleeing for their survival, the pirate girl knew that she had to go back to her crewmates. But something akin to fear thudded in her restless body. She felt that her task wasn't achieved here yet even though she had no idea why.
"Eli ?" Conis called out, snapping the pirate girl out of her thoughts. "Are you coming with me ?"
"I... I don't-"
"HIRON !"
The two girl's heads snapped in the direction of a woman who was striding frantically through the crowd gathered on the deck of the ship. She was rather small, with long dark hair gathered in a bun. A desperate expression on her face, she was looking for someone, jostling every person that stood in her way.
"HIRON WHERE ARE YOU !" the woman yelled.
"What is it ma'am ?" a White Beret asked.
"My son..." she said with a trembling voice. "I can't find my son...!"
As she looked at the devastated woman, Eli could feel her heartbeats growing stronger. With every thud, she understood, that was why she was here, that was the reason why she had left her crewmates; she was here to save a life.
"I'll go get him," Eli said.
"You can't !" the White Beret barked pointing at Angel Island. "Look at sky, look at the storm !"
A smile on her face, Eli gazed at Angle island in the distance, from the black clouds above, dozens of thunderbolts struck its fluffy ground; it looks like a nightmare. "Don't worry, I'll get your son back."
Without adding another word, the pirate girl jumped off the ship and dashed on the White-white Sea toward the island. A split second later, she was running through the city in search for the boy. Faster than lightning itself, the paramecia avoided the bright arrows of thunder skillfully while scanning her chaotic surroundings, but the boy was nowhere to be found.
As her green gaze rose, Eli bit her bottom lip; he was probably in the forest. It wasn't vast, but still, its greenery was thick and spread all over the fluffy soil of Angel Island. Trailing up the trees and hills, the pirate girl's eyes darkened as they reflected the blackness of the clouds looming over her. The thunderbolts roared from all over, casting their blinding lights on the dreadful scenery.
You can make it. With a deep breath, Eli plucked her forces and started a rushed and concentric race around the angels' town. With the trees' foliage blocking her view, it was harder for the paramecia to predict where the thunder would strike, but she trusted her instincts; she had a task to accomplish here, and nothing, not even a God could get in her way, and soon, the cries of a boy reached her ears where her boiling blood was thudding with force.
"Hiron !" she yelled, seeing the figure of a boy, appearing from behind a tree.
Panting, and trembling, the pirate girl came to a stop a step away from him. He looked like he was fourteen years old. Like the other people of Skypiea, Hiron was wearing a robe and he had little white wings on his back. He had scruffy and short, dark hair, and, oddly, a heavy frown on his childish face.
"Who are you ?" Hiron asked harshly, his clear blue eyes trailing up the pirates long and thin body.
"Eli, but we don't have time for that." The girl reached out her hand toward him. "Your mother is waiting for you."
The boy, or rather teenager looked at the pirate girl's hand before looking at her face. "No."
Without adding another word, he turned his back to his supposedly savior, and brought his hands to his mouth. "MAAAAAAA !" he yelled.
Uh...? Eli looked at the black haired teen as he walked away from her, yelling 'Maaa'. Of course it could have been easy, but no, she just had to deal with, yet another stubborn boy.
An arrow of lightning crashed a meter away from Eli, making the paramecia jump with a gasp of surprise.
A sigh left her mouth while she ran a hand through her messy hair.
"Wait !" In a flash she appeared next to Hiron. "We really have to go."
"MAAAAA !"
Eli rolled her eyes, seeing the angel ignoring her. Was that a way to treat his 'savior' ? The boy obviously needed to learn some manners.
"Who the hell is Maaaaaaaaaa ?"
"It's Maa, and he's my sky kitten." Hiron replied in an annoyed tone of voice. "MAAAAA !"
A sky kitten...? As Eli remembered the utter cuteness of the sky fox, the girl couldn't help but swoon a little while picturing what a sky kitten would look like, and, as if it was annoyed at her lack of focus, a lightning strike almost hit the girl who jumped away a split heartbeat before it hit her.
"Okay then." Eli sped up her pace to walk over to the boy who seemed outrageously calm in spite of the terror of the situation he was in. "And where is 'Maa' ?"
Turning his head to the side, Hiron glared at the girl who only shrugged. "If I knew I wouldn't be searching for him, would I ?"
"Haha..." With little sheepish laugh, Eli scratched the back of her head. "I guess you're right..."
"MAAAAAAA !"
Uh... Eli raised her face to the sky, as the sounds of thunder came to a stop a once. Right above them the dark cloud opened, letting a large ray of light hitting Angel Island. As she covered her eyes to shield her orbs from the sudden brightness, the pirate girl distinguished the silhouette of a man framed by the sun.
Enel..!
Gradually, his figure turned blur as an aura of electricity gathered around his body. Eli had no idea what he was doing, but it was growing huge. From where she was, the paramecia could hear the chirping sound of the thunder ball growing louder by the second.
Eli's green gaze snapped toward Hiron. Apparently too focused on finding his pet; the boy was still yelling its name, completely unaware of the deadliness of the situation.
With a hard swallow, she grabbed his shoulder. "Hiron !" As his big blue eyes met hers, Eli felt her throat tightening. He was innocent, he was only looking for his animal, and she didn't want to take that away from him. Briskly, the pirate girl wrapped her arms around him and pulled the boy against her chest.
"Hold on tight !"
"What are you-"
The boy's cut himself short as Eli started running as fast as she could through the forest until a little 'Maaahhh' reached her ears.
Following the mewing, the paramecia, jumped in the air to reach a tall tree. In its trunk a little hole, and inside, small and shiny green orbs. Without wasting a second, the girl plunged her hand inside of the hole, wincing in pain, as she felt tiny claws scratching her skin frantically.
"MAA !" Hiron yelled happily as he turned around to grabbed the frenzied animal from the bleeding hands of the pirate girl.
A hearty smile brightened his childish face as he hugged his cute kitten.
"Good," Eli said. "Now let's get away from here."
As she turned around to let Hiron to climb on her back, Eli stared upwards. The humongous and dark ball of thunder was falling toward them.
It seemed that Hiron had noticed it at last. Looking over her shoulder, Eli saw the boy's big blue eyes filled with dread as he gazed at the sky.
"Hiron, I can do it," she said kindly. "Trust me."
With a trembling nod, the boy put his kitten in Eli's bag and wrapped his arms around of the beanpole.
Feeling his heart beating with force against her back, the paramecia took a deep intake of air. The twitching in her every muscle, the ear-tearing chirping from above her that was growing louder and louder, the shadow cast by the giant and dreadful ball of thunder looming over her, the tremblings of the boy's body pressed against her, and her fears... Eli hushed them all in a blink of her green eyes.
Calmly, she set her gaze in the distance, on the Skypiean ships and jumped down the tree. Eli ran, straightforward, never looking back. She ran, with all of her haste, with all of her force, with courage and faith. She ran, carrying on her back the weight of a life...
The angels didn't care that their homeland was reduced to nothingness the moment the monstrous cataclysm struck it's dreamy ground. Their eyes clinging on a boy, his kitten, and a pirate girl slumping on the ark of their salvation, the smiles that brightened their face outshone the darkness of such a disastrous loss.
It was just a life, but in the eyes of a blue-eyed angel, a seed of hope, and with it, the faith in brighter tomorrows.
to be continued
So, this was Eli's 'big' scene. I know it's not that much but I still find it pretty awesome :)
See you soon.
ps : only one chapter next week (Thursday I guess), I have a particularly busy weekend (sorry).