Ch. 24- Lobby of Laboratory Building A

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard, Aika, Kumi, and Jupiter © Me

Everyone watched as Brownbeard rushed inside with Zoro, Kin'emon, and the others. However, they weren't the ones they were worrying about right now. Right now, they are focused on the big hole they made it in the shudders!

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" G-5 questioned in shock.

"HOLY CRAP!" Usopp cursed. "WE GOT INSIDE, BUT NOW THAT GAS IS GONNA COME IN AFTER US!"

"Thanks a lot, you dumb-asses!" shouted a G-5 gunman. "You're gonna kill us all along with you!"

"Hmm?" Kin'emon hummed, inquisitively.

"Seal that breach, men!" shouted a swordsman. "Or else or we're all doomed!"

Soon, they grabbed the broken piece of the door that Zoro and Kin'emon cut down, then pushed up into the hole and barricaded it with steel and boards.

"What's with them?" Aika asked.

"I dunno," Luffy replied.

XXX

Back outside, Shinokuni had shrouded the entire icy side. As far as the eye could see, the purple gas covered the entire horizon, and even beyond that.

A Video Transponder Snail, which had been saved by the gas due to the protective bubble surrounding it, transmitted everything the lab.

Brook's soul suddenly appeared through the wall and took a good look around.

"It's still rather thick and heavy," Brook said. "One step outside means instant death, I'd say."

Soon, the soul made its way back inside.

"How's it looking, Brook?!" Usopp asked.

"Like a real Land of the Dead," Brook answered. "The thought of what would have happened if we didn't get that hole sealed…gives me the creeps!"

"YOU GIVE US THE CREEPS!" shouted G-5.

"Hmm…good," Zoro said, giving a nod.

"IT'S NOT GOOD!" shouted a G-5 soldier.

"And we're the ones who sealed the door!" shouted a soldier wielding a broadsword.

"This crew's even crazier than I thought they were!" shouted another wearing a top hat and had a scar on his forehead.

Suddenly, the men raised their guns at the pirates, much to their surprise.

"Straw Hat Pirates! Brownbeard! Give yourselves up! You're under arrest!" shouted one of them.

"What the hell?!" Nami questioned. "Why are our backs against the wall all of a sudden?!"

"Oh, just great!" Usopp complained. "And there's no way out, either!"

"There's no need," Zoro smirked while Kin'emon just glared.

KRROOROO! The dragon growled as he sat on the steel floor.

"Heh!" Sanji scoffed. "You guy's should've stopped while you had the chance!"

"Yohohoho!" Brook chortled as he drew Soul Solid.

'They…they know my name!' Brownbeard thought with a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Everyone ready?!" Luffy asked. "Let's get this party started!"

"Listen up, you two!" Law ordered. "I don't want your men interfering with me or his crew."

"Understood," Smoker said before he turned to his men. "HEY! HOLD IT, YOU BUNCH OF DUMB-ASSES!"

G-5 looked up to see Smoker and Tashigi.

"Oh!" said a soldier. "It's Smokey and Tashigi!"

"But wait…who's who?" asked another.

"I'm Smoker, you bunch of no-necked turds!" Smoker shouted, pointing at himself.

"And I'm Tashigi!" Tashigi added.

"Oh!" G-5 said in realization.

"Now listen up!" Smoker barked. "Temporary ceasefire! Forget about those pirates, for now!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" the soldiers questioned in shock.

"SHADDUP!" Smoker ordered. "I'm in charge and I give the commands, and I say 'temporary ceasefire'! YOU GOT ME?!"

"Yes, sir!" the G-5 men shouted, saluting Smoker.

"Hey! Traffy!"

Law looked down and saw Nami, pointing between her and Sanji (who is making an X formation with his arms).

"…Traffy, can you just turn them back already?" Luffy asked. "I want my girlfriend back!"

Law sighed before he made a twisting motion with his fingers, and at long last, Nami and Sanji were finally back in their own bodies.

"NOOOOO!" Sanji screamed. "THE DREAM IS OVER!"

"Finally!" Nami exclaimed. "I'm back in my wonderful again!"

Luffy ran over and hugged his beloved fiancé.

"Finally!" he said…but then, she and Luffy noticed that Nami was wearing a different coat…and almost instantly, Sanji was met with a murderous glare from their eyes.

"Sanji…why is Nami wearing a different coat?!" Luffy asked.

"You took mine off, didn't you?!" Nami questioned.

"Uhh…yeah, about that," Sanji said, nervously. "You see, there's a very good reason for-"

KAPOW! Luffy and Nami punched Sanji in the jaw!

"YOU PERV!" they shouted, angrily.

"GBLARGABLAGH!" Sanji cried with blood dripping from his mouth before he fell to the ground.

"Thank god I have Luffy for a boyfriend," Nami said, "at least he's not a total horn-dog."

"Amen," Luffy agreed before he kissed Nami on the lips.

"Don't tell me…I taste like ash, huh?" Nami asked.

"Yes," Luffy answered before he threw up again.

Meanwhile, Sanji is on the floor, reeling in pain.

"I don't get it," he said. "My body's all bruised and bloody…but there's no way Nami and Luffy could've done that!"

"Oh, yeah! About that!" Usopp said. "Nami got beaten up pretty bad while she was in your body."

Sanji gasped…before he burst into tears.

"Oh, thank god!" he cried. "I'm so glad that it was just my body that got hurt and not her!"

"WAAAAAAH!" Usopp sobbed. "HOW NOBLE OF YOU! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU, SANJI!"

"…Really?" Zoro asked in disbelief while Blizzard groaned.

"Everyone here, listen to me!" Law shouted as Jupiter stood by his side.

"Trafalgar Law!" shouted a G-5 soldier.

"This lab is entirely surrounded by poison gas!" Law said. "But there's one way to get straight to the sea without coming into contact with the outside air! There's a giant marked 'Structure R-66'! We only have 2 hours at best! I have no taste for mass murder weapons, but if we're not out before then…I cannot guarantee your survival!"

Everyone gasped in shock at this.

"Luffy, what's he talking about?" Aika asked, worriedly.

"Is something gonna happen to the lab, Traffy?" Luffy asked.

"We're gonna try something with unpredictable results," Law replied.

"Ah! I get ya!" Luffy said. "In that case…Aika! You better go find a place for the time being! Things are gonna get crazy from here on out!"

"Oh, okay!" Aika said before she morphed into her wolf form and ran off with Kumi.

"How are you feeling, Aika?" Kumi asked.

"I do feel a bit woozy," Aika admitted, "but I think I'll be okay!"

"In the meantime," Luffy said before he took off like a bullet, "I'm coming for you, Caesar! And this time, I'm not gonna lost consciousness! I'll kick your ass and then kidnap you! Come on, Blizzard!"

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Blizzard shouted as he followed Luffy.

"All right, G-5!" Smoker ordered. "You find all those abducted runts and heads for R-66! We're gonna steal the tanker in port and blow this joint!"

"YES, SIR~!" G-5 roared.

"Hang on, Momonosuke!" Kin'emon declared. "Your father is on the way to save you!"

"Okay!" Nami said. "Let's split up, find the kids, and guide them to the escape route! Zoro, you'll need an escort!"

"WHAT?! WHY?!" Zoro questioned, angrily.

"Jupiter, let's go," Law said.

"Right," Jupiter said before Law mounted on his back. The owl-dog sprouted his wings and flew off to who-knows-where.

"Tashigi," Smoker said. "Take the men and go on ahead!"

"What?" Tashigi questioned. "But where are you going, Smoker?" She then gasped as realization hit her.

"…It's Vergo, isn't it?" she asked, softly.

"The law states that a man can't take matters into his own hands, Tashigi," Smoker said, "but still…I won't stand by and let that bastard make a mockery of the Marines! That man is a stain on our honor!"

"Then let me go with you!" Tashigi said. "His power is the real deal! If something happens to you-"

"Then who will protect my men?" Smoker asked, causing his right-hand to gasp. "See those fools to safety…along with those kids. I'm counting on you, Tashigi."

"…Smoker…!" Tashigi whispered in surprise.

Meanwhile, Zoro and Usopp are seen, fighting off some of Caesar's guards, and all the while, Usopp gave Zoro a briefing of what had transpired while he was gone.

"Are you serious?!" Zoro questioned. "You're telling me Luffy already lost ONCE?!"

"Well, yeah!" Usopp replied. "That Caesar guy was bragging about how he suffocated him! He is made of gas, remember?! He can suck all the oxygen from the air!"

"And we got put to sleep by those damn yetis!" Zoro cursed. "That's not gonna fly, here! Out here, if you get careless, then that's it! Game over!"

"Hey, calm down," Usopp said. "We're all okay now, right? Hehehehe!"

"Quit laughing! It's not funny!" Zoro shouted before he looked up at Luffy, who is running along a railway. "HEY, LUFFY!"

"Huh?" Luffy muttered before he stopped and looked down at Zoro. "What is it?!"

"GET A FREAKING GRIP AND GET SERIOUS, YOU MORON!" Zoro shouted. "REMEMBER, WE'RE IN THE NEW WORLD, NOW!"

Luffy gasped at this while Sanji just smirked.

"He's so damn tough on himself," the cook quipped.

"Right!" Luffy grinned. "Sorry! I won't get careless like that, again!"

"Luffy! Heads up!" Blizzard shouted. "Bogies at 12 o'clock!"

Luffy looked ahead and saw some guards standing on the railway with him.

"It's Straw Hat and White Wolf!" shouted one. "Quick! Shoot 'em! Who knows what they'll do?!"

BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG! They fired their rifles at the pair, but it was useless. The Straw Hat Captain and his canine had leapt out of the way.

GRRAAAAAAAAAAWWRR! Blizzard roared as he grabbed one of the guards with his fangs and threw him off the railway while Luffy stretched his legs and then jumped around to the other side.

"Gum…GUUUUUUUM…" he shouted before he began to twist his legs around, and before long, he started to hover in the air like a helicopter. "…UFO!"

KA-BAP-BAP-BAP-BAP-BAP-BAP! Luffy's continuously spinning legs began to kick the guards out of his way before he flew off, laughing.

"Onward!" he shouted. "WHOO-HOO!"

"Hang on!" Blizzard said as he ran after him. "Wait up! Dammit Luffy, slow down!"

Zoro groaned while Usopp laughed, out of both humor and slight triumph.

"Didn't I tell him to take this seriously?" Zoro asked.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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