A/N: I know I have so a lot going on, and things are spread out, but I tried to make sure that everything and everyone connected in a way that people can understand. I'm slowly getting more comfortable writing fight scenes and explaining what is going on. [**A bit of Disclaimer**] Any similarities between canon Devil Fruit users and mine are purely unintentional, as I've been planning this portion of the story for quite a while. I've changed peoples' abilities here and there where I could so that they aren't so similar to canon.

Oh, and thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, favorite, and followed! You are all kinds of awesome!

Now, please enjoy Part Four!


Chapter 17: Defying Gravity Part Four: Avatar State, Yip-yip!

**Countdown: Two Months, 19 days left**

Toph was making it very difficult for ("Ripple-girl" as Toph had dubbed her) to make any successful hits. Toph was more than easily able to read her movements, and because Ripple-girl's ability acted like quicksand, and caused more than enough vibrations, Toph simply would harden the earth beneath her feet and fire a few well-placed boulders. It turned out Ripple-girl could simply touch something and cause it to melt. She was able to catch Toph's boulders and simply run her fingers through them almost as if she was molding wet clay.

Ripple-girl wasn't very interested in introducing herself, and mostly made snide remarks about Toph being blind, a burden, and being incredibly ugly. Ripple-girl quickly figured out that Toph was able to know where she was just by the slightest of taps on the earth below. So that factor meant taking the fight somewhere where she would have the overall advantage. She scaled into the trees, but that task was difficult because it was like trying to scale a flat board. The trees' vines did connect, so she climbed across those in an attempt to stay out of Toph's seismic sense. Because of her small frame, she ended up panting and gasping when she tried to grab and hang onto vines that were often just out of her reach, plus the flat vines were difficult to hang onto, along with the fact that they weren't easy to grab. Of course, Toph could hear everything and would direct her attacks in that direction.

Ripple-girl was getting frustrated, and didn't want to admit it. The blind girl was more trouble than she was worth, in Ripple-girl's opinion. She managed to work her way around to where she was dangling right above Toph, and she quickly reached out to grab Toph's shoulder. When she did, a branch that was right above her decided right at that time to snap, causing Toph to dodge, and all Ripple-girl got was a handful of hair and the shoulder portion of Toph's shirt. The hair and the fabric melted in her hand, but Toph didn't know this. But she could feel a strange, tingling sensation in her shoulder, sort like an odd mix between that pins-and-needles feeling one gets after sitting in one position for too long, mixed with a sort of burning cold sensation.

"Quit swinging through the trees like a crab-monkey and get down here and fight me!" Toph challenged. "We both know that the only reason you're doing that is because you can't win. So why don't you give my friend's waterskin back and give up?"

Ripple-girl didn't know what a "crab-monkey" was, but she did understand that it was an insult. She had had enough of this troublesome girl, and decided to end it quickly. Krux obviously wanted this girl alive and unharmed (as much as possible) so she decided to finally get serious with the girl. That was what she wanted, wasn't it?

Toph focused her seismic sense by taking a deep breath and letting it out. She focused on all the noise around her and singled out that Ripple-girl's breathing. She was climbing through the trees like a stupid crab-monkey and was making Toph's ability to fight her rather difficult. This was seriously annoying. Toph released a few pillars into the trees, forcing Ripple-girl to release her hold and fall to the ground. Ripple-girl lessened her impact by melting the ground and quickly jumped out of the path of a boulder Toph had sent her way.

Toph didn't fully understand Ripple-girl's ability, but knew enough that if she were touched by her, it would be bad news. Toph decided to step it up a level and began ground surfing to pursue Ripple-girl, who it seemed for a moment was quite surprised that Toph could do such a thing. Toph sent a pillar her way, and when Ripple-girl turned to dodge, Toph sent a perfectly timed fissure under her foot so that was spun around and knocked off balance. Toph sucked her halfway into the ground, and also set up rocks to hold Ripple-girl's hands in place along with setting up a pyramid shape that left only her head sticking out of the top. Before giving her a chance to react, Toph knocked her out with a small rock, and released her from her prison. She fumbled around a bit but managed to retrieve Katara's waterskin.

Feeling quite proud of herself, she announced, "I'm the Blind Bandit! Don't you forget it!"

Ripple-girl came to only a few minutes afterwards because Toph hadn't hit her that hard. She was about to counterattack and Toph was getting ready to give this girl a serious butt-whooping she wouldn't forget when there was a loud rush of fierce wind, which stirred up dirt and debris, and there was a distant roaring sound. Toph quickly barricaded herself in a few layers of rock, while Ripple-girl wondered what was going on. She tried peering through the dust, but could hardly see a thing. She was curious as to why the blind girl had some sort of barrier up, and before she could take any actions, a huge rush of water washed over them.

"Ahh!" was the only sound she made as she was sucked into the watery vortex that washed through. Once the noise had calmed down somewhat, Toph lowered her defenses and ran to find her friends. She knew that the huge wave of water was because of Aang, she just knew it. "You're late, Twinkle-toes." Toph said with a grin.


Krux quickly made his way out of Law's sphere, and he ran a few feet into the jungle a distance away so that he could observe. This was annoying. His stock was under the threat of being taken, and they had to deal those troublesome pirates, but he wasn't all too worried. The Straw Hats and their allies weren't that big a deal. Seeing that the prisoners were now freed, and were now celebrating a little too early with hugs and cheers, Krux decided to attack them right then and there.

He was about to make his move, when a sudden rush of movement occurred from somewhere behind him. Before Krux could register what it was, a foot came into contact with his face, along with the words, "You bastard!"

The kick sent Krux flying, and he crashed into a few trees and rocks. In spite of the flatness of the rocks, it still hurt just as bad, if not worse, crashing into them. Since the rocks had sharp edges, they gouged and cut into the skin. But a few inconvenient cuts weren't going to deter Krux. He slowly stood and spat a tooth out, and wiped the blood from his face, and stared at his opponent. "Black Leg" Sanji stood before him, with a fiery glare that made Krux realize he shouldn't take the man lightly.

"Are you a shitty bounty hunter or a shitty slave trader?" Sanji asked, taking a puff of his cigarette without taking his eyes off of Krux.

"Slave trader," Krux replied, but within seconds of finishing that sentence, his eyes widened as he put up an arm to block another one of Sanji's kicks. Krux tried to ignore the throbbing in his arm as he jumped away from Sanji. If he hadn't of had the strength or speed that he did, Krux very much likely would have been suffering from a broken jaw or a broken arm, and neither of those was an appealing option.

"You were going to sell Toph-chan and Katara-chan?!" Sanji demanded, the fire in his eyes becoming more intense. Sanji rushed at Krux with unmatched speed, but Krux just barely managed to anticipate where Sanji's kick would land, and he grabbed his leg in an attempt to thrash the pirate into the ground a few times. But, he didn't anticipate the strength of Sanji's legs because Sanji simply adjusted himself in no time at all and performed another kick with the leg that Krux was holding. Krux was pulled off of his feet and thrown to the ground, knocking the wind out of him, and a fierce kick was firmly planted into his stomach.

Rolling over to get away from Sanji, Krux gasped, spat and coughed, and was now glaring at Sanji. If that was how he wanted to play it, then so be it. Tightening his gloves, he got into a boxing stance, and Sanji only puffed on his cigarette.

"So you can fight," Sanji said. "What's it gonna be? Some form of Okama Kenpo?"

"If only you were so lucky," Krux responded. "It's more of a mix between that and boxing. How about a demonstration? METEOR FIST!"

Krux launched himself from where he stood, and delivered a punch to Sanji's side, but the thing was, he did not come into contact, but suddenly stopped just a few inches away. Sanji stared at Krux's fist questioningly, before suddenly feeling a surge of energy course through his body and he was sent flying. Sanji managed to get control of his momentum and landed on his feet.

That was a shitty annoying fighting technique.

"So, how do you like it?" Krux asked, in an almost sultry voice. "I developed it myself. Doesn't leave a bruise, but wears and tears on the inside, and the damage, well…I can incapacitate people without harming them too badly. My customers hate it when their product has nasty cuts and bruises. I've taken down more skilled people than you, Black Leg."

"You're the lowest of the low," Sanji said, and he delivered a swift Deuxieme Hachee to Krux's stomach, followed by Shishinabe Shoot. But Krux was able to prepare himself this time, and blocked Sanji's kick with his palm. "Palm Counter!"

A rush of pain shot up Sanji's leg, and he quickly widened the distance between himself and Krux.

"I could have severed your leg just then," Krux felt the need to brag, and of course, he felt it was well-deserved.

"Tch, your poaching technique needs work, it's flawed and flavorless." Sanji dug the toe of his foot into the ground, testing the injuries in his leg. "Perhaps I should show you a nice puree followed by a perfected scalding technique?"

Krux readied himself and rushed at Sanji, but he stopped in his tracks when Sanji said, "You don't even hit half as hard as those shitty 99 Masters of Hell,"

"Are you talking about Kamabaka Kingdom?" Krux questioned. Black Leg obviously had some knowledge about the Okama, and the "99 Masters" likely confirmed his knowledge of said kingdom.

"Yes," Sanji responded, a deadly fire evident in his eyes. "I lived two years in Hell going up against them."

"Then I suppose that means you know Ivankov?"

"I know him…are you friends or…" Sanji visibly shivered at whatever mental image his assumptions had leaded him to.

"I detest Ivankov." Krux said, with his brow furrowed. "That bastard and his ragtag group of Revolutionaries cause me too much trouble. I had a steady business going two years ago with the country of Tequila Wolf, when those damned freedom fighters showed up. Every country that they have toppled so far has cost me greatly, especially that damned Saoirse. Don't make the mistake of mixing me in with the likes of those Kamabaka bastards."

"I don't give a shit about what happened in your past, or why you hate Ivankov so much, hell, you can insult him as much as you like, and I have no idea who this Saoirse guy is, but you laid a hand on Toph-chan and Katara-chan with the intent of selling them, and for that…"

Sanji seemed light on fire, and began fiercely attacking Krux, who could barely defend himself against Sanji's attacks. He tried using a mix his defensive and offensive techniques against Sanji, but they were either in vain or Sanji was simply ignoring the pain. "I will never forgive you! Extra Hachee!"

Krux couldn't stand against Sanji's speed and kicking ferocity. He collapsed in a bloody mess, wondering just who these pirates were.

Sanji limped away, ignoring the pain that was coursing through his muscles with every step. He saw that he was also bleeding, and realized that through the combination of his kicks and Krux's defensive techniques, his legs had seriously suffered the consequences. But it had been worth it. It was a small price to pay when it concerned the safety of the ladies.


Zuko and Sokka were left dealing with Manny and his slave-trading partner. While Sokka quickly dodged a few too-close-for-comfort knife slashes from the man he was facing, Zuko took some very personal liberties to ensure that he beat Manny to a sorry, bloody pulp. Manny was quite surprised at Zuko's firebending, and seemed to think that Zuko had eaten some type of Devil Fruit. Manny tried to land a few hits on Zuko using a combination of his fists and commentary that would have made the old Zuko lose his temper.

But Zuko made sure to keep the rather complicated wise words of Uncle Iroh that involved things such as peace of mind, calmness of spirit, along with how tea somehow played into both of these things. Manny unfortunately, did not stand a chance against the Fire Lord, and lost miserably and painfully. The only damage he had managed to do to Zuko was give him a bloody lip and sore jaw.

"That is for hitting Toph," Zuko said, wiping away the blood from his face and spitting out the small bit of blood that had pooled in his mouth.

The man that Sokka had faced essentially fell for the same trick that Leyla had and thought that the boomerang was a useless weapon. After it had hit him and left him writhing in pain, Sokka hit him a few times over the head in a fierce, hammering motion with his boomerang, essentially knocking the man out (and probably causing brain damage).

Sokka wiped his brow in relief, and grinned at Zuko, who returned a small smile. But their celebration ended very quickly when a large black mace about the size of a boulder made out of some sort of strange material nearly struck them. The pair just barely dodged the thing, and stared in wide-eyed wonderment and terror as it had cracked the earth and water leaked in around the crevices.

Anmut stood a few feet from them, and he swung the mace again, this time in a side-sweeping motion. The mace hit Sokka, knocking the wind out of him, and sending him flying into a tree which he broke in half. Sokka groaned as he might as well have broken a regular tree in half. It was both impressive and painful that a tree that was only two inches thick could cause as much pain as Sokka was in right now.

Zuko dodged to the side, and felt the wind from the mace as it passed his face by a few inches. Wondering what he should do, Zuko recalled that fire did not work on Anmut's hair. Once again, he wished he had his swords.

Maybe there are some swords that I can use around here? Zuko thought hopefully. He looked over at Sokka. "Are you alright?"

Sokka groaned, "I've been better! What is that?"

"It's his hair. Don't get caught in it, and if you get tangled in it and you struggle, it only gets tighter. Oh, and my firebending doesn't work on it."

"Well, that's just great! One thing after another!" Sokka complained.

Anmut had an amused look on his face, almost as if he was under the impression that he had already won this match.

"Look, if I can get a decent sword, then we have a chance of winning," Zuko said. He positioned himself to dodge instead of attack, unsure of his next move. He had noticed that the hunters and slave traders had swords, but they were currently flying around in a certain Doctor's sphere, and there was also the issue of having the chance to grab one. Zuko would have to leave Sokka on his own, and he didn't want to do that with someone like Anmut. Unless they both made a break for it in the same direction, or split up, he was left practically defenseless. He had to think of a plan, or at least hope that Sokka thought of one before he did.

Anmut viewed Sokka as the weaker of the two, and shot his hair mace straight at Sokka, who thankfully dodged. Anmut did a sudden whipping motion and the mace quickly doubled back. Sokka quickly realized he would not have a chance to dodge this time, so he did the next thing he could think of: try and cut Anmut's hair. He used his trusty boomerang in one swift chopping motion, and it easily cut a little more than halfway through the hair. The mace faltered, and fell apart somewhat looking more like a giant tangled mess instead of the solid mace it once was. Some concern graced Anmut's features, but then a small smile showed. If the boy had known Haki, he most certainly would have used it. Even if that strange weapon had sea stone in it, it was practically useless in the hands of someone who didn't know the skills of combing Haki with sea stone-based weaponry.

Sokka ran to where Zuko stood, and made a face of concern when Law's sphere suddenly shattered. Even if he had no idea how Law's ability worked, he could tell that it didn't look right. Anmut continued to have an amused smile upon his face, and he wound his hair to form numerous spears, which he shot at the two boys. They both suffered a few cuts from the spears as they dodged.

"Sokka, buy me a few minutes!" Zuko shouted, and Sokka complied. He threw his boomerang at Anmut, knowing full well that Anmut had seen work once already. It mostly served as a distraction, and wouldn't have even hit Anmut anyway.

"That won't work on me, silly child," Anmut mocked, and angled numerous spears in Sokka's direction and fired them at him. Sokka whipped out his sword and did a quick spinning motion with it that cut all of the hair spears that were fired at him. Anmut formed a larger number of spears with which to hit Sokka, when the sound of electricity caught his attention. He turned to the source, and saw that the scarred boy was rearing up for an attack of some sort. He didn't have a chance to act as electricity was fired at him, and his body convulsed as the bolt hit him.

He fell to the ground, but only briefly. His body smoked, and Sokka suddenly burst out laughing as Anmut's hair was a frizzled mess. He arose slowly, and shot a glare at the laughing boy who immediately stopped as he could feel Anmut's gaze from under the eye mask. Zuko looked concerned, as he had been hoping that Anmut at least wouldn't be getting up again. It looked more like he had pissed him off than anything else.

Even if fire didn't work on Anmut's hair, that didn't mean he was immune. Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, Zuko unleashed a blaze that set fire to the area around him. He made sure to control the flames so that none came anywhere near Sokka, and Anmut of course was forced to go on the retreat. But he wrapped himself in his hair and rushed through the fire towards Zuko, and drew back his fist. He delivered a nasty blow to Zuko's shoulder, and Zuko fell back in pain. Zuko at first was concerned that his shoulder may be broken, but it only took a moment for him to confirm that it wasn't, and was only dislocated.

Zuko would have liked to deliver another lightning bolt, but with his shoulder dislocated like this, there was no way he could successfully carry out the attack. Sokka could see that they needed to end this, and quickly. "Zuko!" Sokka called, and he ran towards Anmut as he continued. "Just keep him busy!"

Zuko didn't need his arms to create a decent blast of fire; so instead, he began kicking fiery blasts towards Anmut, who only built a shield around himself with his hair. Zuko ran at Anmut and body slammed him while using his firebending as a propelling force, and ignored the jolts of pain that emanated from his shoulder. That action resulted in Anmut being caught off guard, along with knocking him off balance. Sokka then used his boomerang to strike Anmut on the head repeatedly as soon as he hit the ground. Zuko used his good arm to deliver punches to Anmut's face as well. The two only stopped when Anmut was covered in large red bumps and bruises, and his face was swollen beyond recognition.

"We did it…" Zuko sighed, and Sokka nodded in agreement.

"And from now on…" Zuko continued as he stood, "I'm going to carry my swords with me. It's too dangerous not to."

They left to find the others, hoping that it was over.


Aang stared in shock as Brook swiftly took out Abol, and a line of icicles showed just where Brook's sword had cut. It was just barely after this same moment that someone grabbed Aang and he hadn't even registered the fact until the strange-looking man was standing at the railing. He had shiny, orange-colored skin with white and black stripes, fins and gills where his ears should have been, and he had webbed fingers and toes.

"Hey, wait! What are you doing?!" Aang protested, but he was ignored, and the man kept his tight hold on Aang as they dove into the ocean below. Aang had never seen anyone swim this fast, nor did he think it was possible. But he could tell that they were getting deeper and deeper into the ocean, as it was getting colder and darker, and the pressure was very quickly starting to get to Aang.

Strangely, Aang's thoughts did not go to that of the likelihood of his drowning or even being crushed by the water pressure. It was wondering how the man was surviving being under the same water as he was. The man looked like a fish. Maybe that was it? Yeah…

Aang was so tired, and his list of woes went far beyond that. His side was in agony, his lungs were screaming at him to breath, and it didn't help that his head was hurting; sort of like something was trying to crawl its way out to freedom. His body couldn't take much more of this. His thoughts were losing focus as well, and a part of him was more than happy to oblige to any relaxation and peace he was willing to give up both mentally and physically.

Somewhere, a faraway voice called, Aang!

Not right now… I'm sleepy…

Images of Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko flashed through Aang's mind. They were laughing and smiling, waving him over to join them, and they sat alongside the Straw Hats. They were excited, just like that one night on the Sunny they threw a party for their temporary crewmates and Zuko got drunk. Kin'emon and Momonosuke grinned at Aang as well, laughing about something and joking with him. Law still looked like his serious self, but there was the hint of a smirk, almost as if it was an attempt on his part to be friendly and inviting, and he raised his glass.

"Don't worry Sokka and Aang, we'll get our friends back!"

Luffy's voice rang clear in Aang's mind. Katara, Toph, and Zuko… they were in trouble! Aang didn't have time to sit here! Aang began to allow the energies from his past lives take over. His eyes and tattoos lit up, causing his captor to come to a complete stop, wondering where the sudden source of light was coming from on his hostage and why. The Fishman heard strange noises, and looked around him uneasily. He could see glowing eyes in the murky depths, and recognized the growling rumbles of Sea Kings. Suddenly, fire shot out of the boy, burning his bonds and causing the Fishman to back away in surprise. An orb surrounded the boy, along with fire and even the water began to act as a sort of whirlpool. The boy shot up towards the surface at lightning speed, much faster than their original descent. As he did so, a fierce whirlpool formed, pulling in the Fishman and mercilessly spinning him in circles.

They shot through the surface of the water, and the Fishman was tossed from at least ten miles away to unceremoniously land in the presence of his defeated master and the victorious pirates and their comrades.


"So, are you going to kill me, "Surgeon of Death" Trafalgar Law?" Leyla asked coyly.

"No," was Law's simple reply. "I prefer not killing weaklings if I can help it."

Law's words seemed to make something snap in Leyla as she spit at him.

"You think I'm weak?"

"Zoro-ya said that you were quite notorious for going after powerful crews, but it seems today either your luck has run out, or you aren't as strong as you thought you were."

"You bastard!"

Law might as well have physically slapped her in the face. Law turned his attention away from her to Sokka and Zuko, who walked up and stood beside him.

"Has anyone ever told you how creepy your ability is?" Sokka questioned, eyeing all of the displaced and dismembered body parts, especially Leyla's.

"It's been mentioned on previous occasions," Law replied, "and could stand to be mentioned a bit more."

There was a hint of pride in Law's voice that showed he clearly took Sokka's comment as a sort of compliment.

Leyla hated the fact that she was now being ignored, and that she couldn't even take advantage of her opponents' distraction.

"I did not plan for this…" Leyla whispered angrily. "I planned for Straw Hat coming here himself, and even if he didn't show, I anticipated what the rest of you would do!"

Her voice slowly started to rise as she spoke. "I planned everything out perfectly! There is no way that any of you fools can match me in terms of wits! I've taken down more pirates than any of you ever have! There's no way you could have planned this! I won't be defeated by the likes of you, Trafalgar!"

Sokka somehow saw Leyla's angry outburst as an invitation for explaining his plan to her.

"This was what I like to call our "Sneaky Sneak Attack!" You see, it involves…" and Sokka went on to explain what his simple plan entailed. Leyla went from a look as if she wanted to cry out of frustration to one of outright anger. There was no real strategy to any of it; it was simply along the lines of "Rescue our comrades, and hope for the best" and that was it. Because a seeming no-name fool had come up with such a ridiculous notion, she hadn't anticipated being defeated in such a humiliating manner. There was no real planning on their part at all.

"There's no way you could have bested me with such an idiotic plan!" Leyla insisted, trying to think of a way out of her situation.

"Well, we got our friends back, we're getting the ship back soon, and you're tied up, so I guess you could say our plan was fool-proof. Hahahahaha!" Sokka had to laugh at his own joke.

Law made a face at the joke, and Zuko slightly shook his head as he cradled his arm.

"Well, I see your sense of humor is still intact." He said, wincing slightly because of his arm.

"Is your arm broken?" Law asked, and Zuko shook his head again.

"Just dislocated, thankfully," he shrugged, unwittingly sending pain coursing through his shoulder.

"Hold this," Law said, handing his nodachi to Sokka. He then braced Zuko's arm, and said, "On three…ready?"

Zuko was about to take a breath when Law said, "Three" and popped Zuko's arm back into its joint. "Ahh!" Zuko called out in pain.

"You said you were going to count to 'three'!"

"No, I said 'on three'," Law corrected, taking his nodachi back from Sokka.

Zuko rubbed his shoulder, tenderly. He of course wasn't going to not thank the Doctor. "Well, thanks."

"No problem. Let's go see if the others are alright."

Fortunately, they didn't have to look for the others, as Kin'emon, Robin, a rather pissed-off looking limping Sanji, Chopper carrying a limp Usopp, and Katara slowly joined them one by one.

"Where's Toph-chan?" Sanji asked, the concern clearly showing in his features.

"Maybe she's still fighting that girl?" Katara suggested.

"When is the ship going to get here?" Law asked, not seeming to show any concern for the whereabouts of Toph.

"What about Toph-chan you shitty jerk?!" Sanji demanded before Katara could speak up.

"Blind-ya is quite capable of taking care of herself," Law said, giving Sanji a look. "If she's not here when the ship arrives, we'll simply find her, grab her, and leave."

Sanji seemed to go on some other tirade, while Katara had to think of Law in another new, appreciative light. He seemed to have faith in Toph's abilities, and there did seem to be at least some concern for her on his part.

He once again asked his earlier question about the status of their ship.

"Weh, ferm whad weh keed shee, dah shfip id on dah dway," Usopp informed.

"Huh?"

"The ship is on the way," Chopper translated.

"The sooner we get out of here, the better." Law said, looking quite serious.

"What happened to Usopp?" Zuko questioned, obviously concerned.

"That tall top-hat guy had some kind of weird paralyzing agent in his bullets," Chopper answered, nodding at Usopp. "Fortunately, I was able to create an antidote. The effects haven't worn off just yet, but at least it's no spreading anymore."

"Hm, I wonder if the paralysis hadn't been treated and reached your throat, if it would have closed up and suffocated you to death, Long-Nose-kun."

Usopp's eyes widened, "Dond beh shaying shuff lide daht Rohbin!"

Suddenly, they were interrupted when the body of a Fishman landed in their presence, causing all of them to jump in surprise.

"Nemo…" Leyla whispered, wondering just who or what did such serious damage to her subordinate.

Sanji jerked and faced the ocean. "What is that?"

"Aang!" a grateful Katara called out.

"That's Aang?!" Sanji questioned, wondering just where Aang was getting all of this crazy energy from. Aang pulled more water from the ocean, creating a large whirlpool that towered over everyone on the island.

"Leyla Gravitz!" A multitude of voices called out from Aang. Leyla stared in fear, wondering just who this boy was. She herself did not have Observation Haki, but one did not need it in order to feel the incredible energy coming from Aang.

"You attacked my friends, and now you will pay the price!"

"What in the world…?" Leyla stared in shock at the sight before her: the boy before her had glowing tattoos and eyes, the sphere around him only seemed to increase in size, flames and water surrounded him, and rocks from the earth joined the fray. Leyla felt a chill go down her spine. This boy, whatever he was, had come for her.

He made a motion, and a huge wave of water washed over the island, creating a huge wall around them, along with washing many of the hunters who did not have their limbs to be washed into the ocean.

"We need to get out of here…" Law started, but Katara grabbed his arm.

"This is Aang here, he won't hurt us." She assured him. Law gave her an unsure look, but he chose to trust the girl. She knew more about whatever was going on than he did. The water had washed away many of the hunters and their body parts, and once the water had died down, Aang came closer to land, so that he was a foot or so above the island, but his energy tore up the earth as he did so.

"S-stay away from me, you-you freak!" Leyla shouted, struggling fruitlessly. Aang grabbed Leyla by the hair, and ice formed over her torso. She was left in a frozen state, with a look of absolute terror on her face. The other hunters tried to run, but they were frozen in ice as well.

After all of the hunters had been incapacitated in one way or another, Aang returned to his normal self, and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Toph joined them a few minutes later, calling out, "Twinkle-toes!"

"Toph!" Katara said, relieved. "Oh, thank the great Spirits you're okay!"

"What are you worried for, Sugar Queen? That Ripple-girl was nothing! And I got this back,"

She threw Katara's waterskin to her, which Robin grabbed for Katara as she was currently supporting Aang with her good arm.

The Sunny shot over the island just then, scraping and tearing a few of the treetops as it did so. It landed almost a mile out from the island. Katara prepared to make them an ice bridge, but Law stopped her.

"You're injured, Healer-ya. Let me. Room."

Law formed his sphere again, and then with the help of those who could lift and throw things hard enough, he used "Shambles" on their group, and teleported all of them to the Sunny much faster and easier.

"Your ability is amazing!" Sokka marveled.

**A few hours later**

Leyla awoke to Anmut gently shaking her shoulder. Leyla slowly and groggily sat up, and cradled her head. She found that her body had been put back together, and she slowly began to recall that morning's events, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She had put so much planning and effort into finally capturing notorious pirates like the Straw Hats and the Heart captain, and all of it had been in vain. It was the ultimate slap to the face to find out that the people she had worked so hard to outsmart had simply winged their whole operation and hoped for the best and in turn made Leyla out to be a fool. She did not take kindly to such insults, and her day was about to get that much worse. Apparently, whatever that glowing boy did when he descended upon the island, his strange energy had attracted a horde of Sea Kings. At least thirty of her men were either dead or missing. Along with her missing subordinates, Krux estimated that around twenty-five of his followers were either dead or missing as well. The Observation Haki users couldn't find any of them anywhere.

She surveyed the wreckage that used to be their ship; the once proud vessel was now ever so slowly sinking into the ocean. A few of her top men such as Stot and Abol had survived, although judging by the looks on their faces; they probably were wishing they were dead right about now. They felt that their defeats were demeaning and were an insult to everything that they had worked so hard for. Stot had been brought down by a swordsman who was at least five times smaller than he was, and Abol had lost to a living skeleton. A small part of Abol was trying to convince some part of himself that after fighting the likes of that bald boy he had pretty much drained his energy, and that was why he had lost. It had nothing to do with their difference in skill, now did it?

Their reputation for never letting any pirates or criminals ever escape their grasp was on the line. Leyla finally stood, and closed her eyes.

"We'll make what repairs we can, quickly recuperate, and then we'll hunt those pirate bastards down!" Leyla would not let them escape.

Ona stood a safe distance away before she spoke her opinion. "Leyla-san… O-One thinks that we-you should let them go…"

"What?" The tone in Leyla's voice made Ona take a step back, but she stood her ground. "One thinks we cannot win. The Straw Hats, the Heart captain… the unknowns… we lost to them. The Straw Hats have overcome even fiercer odds… then what we are capable of…"

Ona was not one to express much emotion in any given situation, but here the truth of it stung. They couldn't win. They had overplayed their hand and that was likely why they had lost. But it also showed a difference in skill that the bounty hunters and slavers would have to work long and hard if they ever hoped to achieve that level. But they would always be behind their desired targets.

"If you think that I'm just going to give up on finding the Straw Hats…" Leyla started, but Anmut took her hand. She stopped and looked at the man, refusing to let the tears of pent up anger and frustration fall.

"She's right, Leyla-san." Anmut said. Defeat; it was in the tone of his voice. It was obvious how he felt, and the eye mask did nothing whatsoever to hide it. "We should accept our losses, and move on. The Straw Hat's reputations will likely increase after this and ours will be tainted. We'll simply have to work to reclaim it once again."

Pathetic.

That was just one of the many words Leyla had for herself and her crew at that moment.

"One day… one day we'll bring the Straw Hats and that Heart captain down, along with those no-name bastards and brats. I swear on my life that I'll capture them, I don't care how long it takes."

Jack had replaced his mask, and he sat against a few rocks, taking a few ragged breaths. He was still recovering from his fight from earlier, and when he had heard about what a strange bald boy had done, he seemed to not be of the opinion that they should chase down the Straw Hats and their allies. He shook his head, and his body language showed that he was trying to think of an argument that would change Leyla's mind, even if his efforts were fruitless.

Anmut sighed, as he knew once Leyla set her mind on things, there wasn't much anyone could do to go about changing it.

Dorin frowned, as he watched Leyla. "I lost to a tanuki creature…" he mumbled, not wanting to go through such an embarrassing situation again. There was a strange noise coming from the ocean, and everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards the source in confusion when an unfamiliar voice called out,

"Excuse me, excuse me, but I couldn't help but overhear that you want to go after the pirates and the Avatar. I'm afraid I can't have that."


Next time: A rather selfish and spoiled Spirit wants all of the men of the Straw Hats and the Heart captain to herself, and maybe even the Avatar. And she is not willing to share.

More A/N: Whoo! This arc is almost over!