Ch. 22- The Perfect Mass Murder Weapon

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard, Aika, Kumi, and Jupiter © Me

Caesar watched in shock as Smiley swallowed the giant piece of candy that was set out for him, but that shocked frown soon turned into a malevolent grin.

"He…HE ATE IT!" Caesar shouted. "Smiley ate the bait! SHULOLOLOLOLOLO! And now, he will be reborn! Show them all, Smiley! SHUUULOLOLOLOOOO~!"

Everyone watched as Smiley's body started fizzing, bubbling, and smoking. Then, he started to roar in pain.

"Man, that is one huge frog!" Luffy said.

"Actually, Luffy, I think that's an axolotl," Robin said.

"An axel-who-till?" Luffy asked.

"PAY ATTENTION!" Caesar shouted.

XXX

Outside, everyone is running away from Smiley as fast as they can, including Zoro and his group.

"It's coming!" cried one of Caesar's satyrs. "Something's coming this way!"

"Just run for it, man!" shouted another. "Why'd that damned sled have to break, and now of all times?!"

"MASTEEEEEER!" screamed a Centaur. "HELP~!"

"Something changed after it ate that candy!" Sanji said.

"I supposed it must've been quite delicious!" Brook added.

"Just run!" Kin'emon shouted. "See how swiftly the warriors of this island are fleeing?! Nothing good can come of this!"

"I'm with you on this one," Zoro agreed.

BRRAAAAAAAAOOO~! Smiley roared as his body started to melt and turn purple. Nearby…something odd was happening in the now useless dragon sled. Inside, there is a sack of apples…and one of them seemed to be moving on its own. Then…some strange patterns began to appear on it, and it changed from its usual red…to blue.

The apple…had turned into a Devil Fruit!

XXX

"…Good boy, Smiley," Caesar smiled. "May we meet again! And now…be reborn…as the perfect mass murder weapon: Shinokuni! TRANSFORM THIS ISLAND, ENTIRELY!"

XXX

Smiley continued to roar in pain…before he finally stopped…and then…BWOOF! His body exploded into a giant cloud of purple smoke!

"What happened?!" Brook questioned.

"Did Smiley…turn into smoke?!" asked one of Caesar's followers.

"…No…!" whispered another. "It's…IT'S GAS!"

As they ran, one of the satyrs found himself lagging behind.

"Hey!" he cried. "Hang on! Wait for me!"

"Hurry, dude!" shouted another. "Before the gas-"

But before he could finish that sentence…the gas caught up to his friend, who reached out his hand, screaming for help. A pause came…and when the gas cleared…it left behind the satyr…his body completely frozen in ash!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUGGHHH!" Caesar's men screamed in horror at what just happened to their companion.

"RUN FASTER!"

"HURRY! DON'T LET THAT GAS TOUCH YOU!"

Nearby, Caesar's Video Transponder Snails are still transmitting everything to the lab.

XXX

Caesar watched as his men still ran for their lives, and he didn't appear to be have even an ounce of sympathy for them. He just stood there…laughing at their futile attempts to run.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"HELP! HEEEEEEELP!"

"MASTER! SAVE US! PLEASE~!"

"Shulololololo! SHULOLOLOLOLOLO~!" Caesar cackled. "Excellent! It's a brilliant success! Not a single one of them is going to escape from here, alive! Shulololololo! It's perfect! The poison worked, but it left them mobile enough to find safety! I should have just immobilized them like this from the start! This new gas covers the body like ash, seeping into the skin and instantly paralyzing its victims! Shulolololo! Show me MORE! I want to see Hell on Earth! SHULOLOLOLOLO!"

"What…the hell…is that?!" Smoker questioned in shock.

"…All those people…freezing solid," Luffy whispered as watched more of Caesar's men get caught by the gas before he glared at the laughing Caesar, "and he's just laughing!"

XXX

All around the world, underworld brokers watch as Caesar's men were left to their fate: being frozen by the poisonous mass murder weapon, Shinokuni. Some looked on in intrigue, others in disgust, while others seemed to watch indifferently.

XXX

Outside Caesar's lab, G-5 is also watching the event go on, and needless to say, they were horrified.

"Dude! What is up with that horror movie?!" asked one of them. "Those guys that just died looked like Caesar's circus freaks!"

"What's with that big cloud of purple smoke?!" asked another soldier. "What island was that being filmed on?!"

"Uh…hey, guys," said one more, nervously. "Y-you might wanna turn around!"

"Huh? Why?!" asked a G-5 rifleman before he looked back and gasped in horror.

Shinokuni…was right there behind them!

"You mean it's happening here?!" asked one of the soldiers.

"No way! We gotta get the hell outta dodge before we get petrified and killed, too!" shouted another.

"There's no way out!" cried one more. "That gas must be shrouding the entire island! The only safe place is the lab! That's why Caesar must've shut us out!"

"DAMN YOU, CAESAR!" shouted another soldier. "OPEN THIS DOOR!"

Not too far away, Zoro and his group are running from Shinokuni, as well!

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Zoro shouted.

"YOHOHOOOO!" Brook screamed. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE! NOT AGAIN, ANYWAY~!"

"DAMN, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN~!" Sanji cursed, over and over.

"IT'S STILL COMING AFTER US!" Kin'emon cried. "EVEN IF WE RUN LIKE THE WIND, WE STILL CAN'T OUTRUN!"

"Then…RUN FASTER THAN THE WIND!" Zoro ordered.

Soon, they all began to run in a comedic fashion!

"IF YOU GET CAUGHT, WE'RE LEAVING YOU BEHIND!" Sanji shouted. "SORRY!"

"Wait!" Brook exclaimed. "I see signs of life up ahead!"

"What is that?!" Sanji asked. "A…a lizard?!"

"No…it's a dragon!" Zoro said, and he was indeed correct. Running ahead is the small dragon from earlier.

"A dragon?!" Sanji repeated. "Don't be stupid! I mean, aside from those Millennial Dragons we saw, those don't exist!"

"But there ARE dragons on this island!" Zoro rebuked. "It's just a lot smaller than the one Luffy and I fought earlier!"

"A dragon…!" Kin'emon whispered in surprise.

"You think we can use that thing…to hitch a ride and fly away?!" Zoro asked.

"A most brilliant plan, Mister Zoro!" Brook praised.

XXX

"AAAAH!" Luffy cried. "Look! It's Zoro and the others! They're being chased by that gas!"

"Zoro!" Robin cried out in concern.

"What are they doing out there?!" Franky asked. "And why are they running like that?"

"Oh, look!" Robin said. "The samurai is whole again!"

"Hey, you're right!" Luffy said. "I guess this means he won't let me borrow his legs again- WAIT A MINUTE! Robin, that's not important, right now!"

Law looked at the screen…and he saw Jupiter and Blizzard, still fighting in the snow.

"Jupiter!" Law cried. "What are you doing?!"

"Blizzard!" Luffy shouted. "Now's not the time to fight!"

XXX

GRRRAAAAAAAAAAWWRR! Jupiter growled as he threw Blizzard into a boulder, causing him to fall to the snow. However, the younger wolf-dog grunted before he stood back up, refusing to back down.

"Had enough, yet?!" Jupiter asked.

"You kidding?" Blizzard smirked. "I've been through worse!"

Jupiter growled at this, and Blizzard growled back, but just when the two were go at it, one more time, the latter spotted something in the distance.

"What's that?" Blizzard asked.

"Oh, no, you don't," Jupiter said. "I'm not falling for the whole 'look behind you' thing! I sell the tricks! I don't buy 'em!"

"No, I'm serious!" Blizzard argued. "Behind you! What is that?!"

Jupiter sneered at Blizzard…before reluctantly looking over his shoulder, only to see Shinokuni, billowing over the icy mountains.

"What the hell…?!" Jupiter questioned as he and Blizzard watched with curiosity and caution. "Is that smoke or something?!"

Blizzard sniffed the air…before he began to take a tentative step back.

"Something's wrong," he said.

KAW! KAW! The two canines looked up to see a bird, trying to fly away from the cloud…only to be caught in it. Not long after…it was left behind as a petrified effigy, covered in ash…dead.

"HOLY CRAP!" both dogs cursed before they both made a run for the lab, knowing it was the only safe place for them, right now.

XXX

"Dammit!" Luffy cursed as he watched his crew members running away. "RUN FOR IT, YOU GUYS! THAT SMOKE IS DANGEROUS! YOU GOTTA…ugh…can't…yell…stupid sea stone…chains…! Unh…!"

"Friends of yours, Straw Hat Luffy?" Caesar asked. "Shulololololo! No wonder they're so tough to kill! But eventually, their lungs will give out, and the gas will get them!"

Luffy panted as he struggled against his bonds…but then he cried out upon hearing a ringing sound in his head.

"Luffy?!" Robin questioned.

"…Luffy…where are you…?! Please…help…me…!"

"…Hey," Luffy panted. "Aika…w-where is she?!"

"Who?" Caesar questioned.

"Don't you lie to me!" Luffy shouted. "I know you know where she is! I heard her voice, just now! I know it's fading…but I can still hear it! Where is she?!"

"What's the point in telling you?" Caesar asked. "Even if you somehow managed to get out of this cell, there's no point in rescuing that little pest. She'll be long dead by the time you reach her, anyway. Besides, I'm doing the world a favor, getting rid of that brat. Shulololololo!"

Luffy growled at this while Robin seemed curious.

'Doing the world a favor?' she thought. 'What does he mean?'

"Shulololololo!" Caesar cackled. "In mere minutes, this island will be a true Land of the Dead in which nothing can survive! Not a single soul outside this laboratory will be left alive, and that includes you!"

KA-THUD! The cell began to tilt backwards, much to the occupants' surprise.

"You will now prove to the world," Caesar began, "that a pirate worth 400 million Berries, a Marine Vice-Admiral, and even a Warlord of the Sea are helpless before the fatal power of my Shinokuni! SHULOLOLOLOLOLO!"

"You ass!" Luffy shouted. "You turd! YOU SICK BASTARD!"

Nearby, hiding behind a component is Chopper, looking on in his signature reverse peek in horror.

"Oh, no…!" he whispered. "This is bad! Luffy and the others are in trouble! But…what can I do?!"

ZWIP! BOP! A crumpled up piece of paper was sent flying at the little reindeer's head before it dropped to the floor.

Chopper picked it up and opened it to reveal that it was a note that said, "Don't do anything".

"Huh?" Chopper whispered. "Who threw this note?"

XXX

Outside, the cell that Luffy and company is being hung by a crane, and the G-5 Marines had just spotted them.

"AH! Look! It's Smokey!"

"And Tashigi, too! But they're locked up!"

"Dammit! We're all gonna die out here!"

"Look, Smoker!" Tashigi called. "It's our men!"

"Captain!" called a soldier. "Vice-Admiral! What's gonna happen to us?!"

"We don't wanna die out here!" cried another soldier.

Tashigi gasped and looked away.

"What's wrong, Tashigi?" Smoker asked, laughing halfheartedly. "You might as well tell them about Base Commander Vergo."

Franky looked and saw Shinokuni beginning to close in.

"This place is built as solid as a fortress," Franky said.

"And well designed for large equipment," Robin added.

"Now isn't the time for that subject!" Tashigi cried.

"Dammit!" Luffy cursed as he stood up and started bashing himself against cross-wiring of the cage. "Lemme outta here!"

"Luffy, stop!" Robin cried. "Remember, you're in sea stone chains! Until you get them off, your body isn't made of rubber right now!"

"I don't CARE~!" Luffy roared as he banged his head against the front side of the cage, cutting his forehead in doing so.

"Dude! Settle down!" Franky shouted.

"I gotta get outta here!" Luffy cried, ignoring Franky as he continued bashing his body against the walls of the cell, but the sea stone began to sap his energy with every move he made. "Gotta…get out! Gotta…save…Aika!"

"Luffy, we understand you're worried," Robin said, "but we can't help her right now! We're trapped ourselves!"

"Well, what do you think we should do?!" Luffy questioned. "I can hear her voice fading away! If we don't find her soon, SHE'LL DIE!"

"THEN SHUT THE HELL UP!" Law shouted, gaining the Straw Hat Captain's attention. "Look…I wasn't accounting for Vergo's appearance, but…we're not getting held at THIS STAGE, Straw Hat-ya! Stick to the plan, and don't screw it up this time! If we play our cards right, we might be able to get ourselves outta this mess and save that girl."

"Huh?" Luffy muttered. "What do you mean, Traffy?!"

"What I mean is," Law began, "it's time for the counterattack."

TO BE CONTINUED…

I think I'm starting to get over this cold I've had, this week.

Review, please!