Ch. 25- The G-5 Spirit

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard, Aika, Kumi, and Jupiter © Me

Inside the lab, Caesar is watching as Shinokuni shrouded the whole island and laughing triumphantly at his "success".

"It's all over! SHULOLOLOLO!" he laughed. "There is no possible place on Punk Hazard left to exist! I've created a true Land of the Dead! …But wait…for some reason, G-5 is not at the front entrance! Why isn't there footage of them poisoned stiff?! This is supposed to be my big public demonstration of my Shinokuni! Not to mention we don't have a good view of the inside of the cage! What about Straw Hat?! Law?! Smoker?! Are they good and dead, yet?!"

Monet and Vergo were silent, but then they spoke.

"What do you think, Vergo?" Monet asked.

"The fact that we can't see G-5," Vergo began, "is proof enough that they escaped from the cage! My soldiers are mindless ruffians. There's no way they could've escaped on their own. At any rate, we can't have Law and his mutt on the loose. Depending on his plans, I may have to eliminate the both of them, immediately."

"WHAT?!" Caesar questioned. "You think they ESCAPED Vergo?!"

Just then, a guard came rushing in.

"MASTER!" he cried. "The pirate, Straw Hat Luffy…has led all of our foes into the lobby of Building A! They're moving further into the lab!"

"What, what, WHAAAAAAAT?!" Caesar questioned in shock. "INSIDE?! HOW DID THEY EVEN OPEN THOSE MASSIVE HEAVY SHUTTERS?! HOW THE HELL DID THEY EVEN GET OUT OF THAT CAGE?!"

"I'm not sure, Master," the guard answered, "but for now, they seem to be attempting to escape through an interior gate that Law's dog had found!"

At that moment, a shadowy figure dashed out of the room and ran down the hallway. It is revealed to be Chopper, who is carrying the note that someone threw at him.

'Well, at least everyone's all right!' he thought. 'I don't know who tossed this note at me, but I'm guessing they meant I'd be able to escape on my own! I think I've figured how that drug works, though, and I've got a sedative I can use, too!'

However…Chopper didn't realize that he is being watched…by Monet.

'But…which way do I go now?!' Chopper thought as he ran around and around, directionless. Just then, THOMP! He bumped into someone, causing him to fall back.

"OOF!" Chopper cried before he tried to stand back up, but the backpack he was carrying was so heavy, he couldn't stand. "Ah! Dammit! Someone, help me!"

"Oh! Sorry, Chopper!"

Just then, a paw reached out and pulled Chopper to his feet, and it is revealed to be Kumi.

"Kumi?" Chopper asked. "What are you doing here?!"

"Trying to find some place to hide!" Kumi said. "Things are getting really crazy back there!"

"You don't say," Chopper said. "Wait a minute…if you're here, then where's Aika?"

"That's what I'm wondering!" Kumi answered. "I mean, she was right behind me a few minutes ago, but then I turn around, and she's disappeared!"

"Oh, no!" Chopper exclaimed. "She knows how dangerous this place is! Where did she run off to?!"

XXX

In a kitchen, Aika is sitting a table, eating from a plate of cookies.

"Mmm~!" she hummed pleasantly as she ate a cookie with grape jelly in the middle. "This place may look scary, but they sure do make good cookies!"

Just then, Aika gasped upon hearing the door beginning to open.

"Oh, no…I better hide!" she whispered before she jumped into a nearby trashcan. She grunted a bit when she realized she was sitting in rusty metal parts and old food, but she quickly grew silent when she heard someone whistling a little tune and footsteps approaching the trashcan.

'It must be janitor man,' Aika thought.

Sure enough, there was an elderly-looking satyr wearing a green suit, an orange scarf, and red cap on his head. He had a long, shaggy mustache and beard and bushy eyebrows, too.

Without realizing it, he grabbed the trashcan and began to carry it towards a garbage chute.

"Uh…excuse me, Mr. Janitor!" Aika said. "I think you should know that I'm in here! Hello!"

"Huh?" the janitor muttered. "Yes, I've been to Fishman Island! Wonderful place, it is!"

Aika gasped upon remembering something important.

'That's right!' she thought. 'He's practically deaf!'

Then…the janitor dumped the trashcan's contents into the chute…Aika included!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Aika screamed as she slid down the chute with the garbage.

XXX

"What are all my men doing?!" Caesar questioned the guard.

"There are only a few security guards in Building A, Master!" said the guard. "The main forces are preparing for battle at the outpost in Building B!"

"…Ah…I see," Caesar smirked. "They're looking to escape, correct? Then they're probably making a beeline for the R-66 Gate! But…they won't get there. Shut the hallway between structures A and B!"

"W-what?!" the guard asked.

"You heard me!" Caesar said as he brought out a map of the complex and drew a line between Building A and B with his finger. "Close this gate and isolate the structure! Then, destroy the walls of Building A and let Shinokuni flow inside!"

"But Master!" the guard said. "We still have some men inside that building, and-"

"Just do it!" Caesar barked. "And don't forget to set up Video Transponder Snails, you clod!"

"M…Master?" the guard muttered, confused.

"We need to regroup and give our brokers a proper showing!" Caesar shouted. "If we stop now, they won't fully appreciate the heights of my scientific greatness! NOW DO IT!"

"Y…yes, Master," the guard said. "Right away."

Just then, Caesar noticed Vergo beginning to leave.

"Hmm?" the scientist hummed, inquisitively. "Where are you going, Vergo?!"

"You'll only catch the small-fries with that trap," Vergo answered. "You're not the only one with something to lose if Law and Smoker end up getting away, Caesar. I can't leave this entirely in your hands! I'll cut everything to pieces!" He then walked over to a nearby counter with beakers and jars.

"Hmm? Where's my sword?" he asked.

"You don't have one," Monet answered. "You're not a swordsman."

"Oh, that's right," Vergo said. "I'm not a swordsman. Either way, It's time for me to go out and crack a few skulls!"

XXX

Meanwhile, in Building A, Luffy and Blizzard are making their way to Building B. However, they soon found themselves confronted by a large Spider Centaur with four arms, each of them holding four sabers.

"What the…?!" Luffy questioned.

"You shall not pass, Straw Hat!" the Spider Centaur laughed. "GWAHOHAHOHA! I am the one-and-only former pirate and guard of Building B, Lun the Machete! In the name of the Great Scientist of Love, Master Caesar, I-"

"Hey!" Luffy shouted. "Those aren't animal legs! I'm not buying it! What kind of centaur are you supposed to be, anyway?!"

"I'm a Spi- DRGH!" Lun began before Luffy kicked him in the jaw, sending him crashing to the floor in seconds

"Outta my way, punks!" Luffy shouted as he Blizzard knocked a few guards out of their path. At that moment, they saw a huge gate and a hallway on the other side.

"Whoa!" Luffy exclaimed. "That's a huge corridor!"

"It must lead to Building B!" Blizzard said. "Let's move!"

However, as they kept running, a loud beeping sound began to go off…and the "CLOSE" sign on the top of the gate began to flash red.

At that moment, Law and Jupiter flew down, the latter needing a short rest after flying for so long, and Smoker appeared not long after, using his Plume-Plume powers to fly.

"What does that alarm mean, Law?!" asked Smoker.

"…It's a warning that the gate is going to shut," Law answered. "There's only one hallway to Building B up ahead."

"What…?!" Smoker muttered.

"Law…it looks like Caesar's trying to trap us inside," Jupiter said.

"Indeed," Law said, petting Jupiter on the head. "Smoker…you're gonna wanna get your men through here as quick as possible!"

XXX

Near the entrance of Building A, the Straw Hats, Brownbeard, and G-5 are seen running to the gate. However, some of the G-5 soldiers seemed reluctant to let the pirates go.

"I don't know what this 'time limit' Trafalgar's talking about is," said one of them, "but there's no way we're letting you waltz away under our noses, Straw Hats! We're not letting you get away!"

"Oh, shut up!" Zoro shouted. "Didn't your superior say 'temporary ceasefire'?! NOW GET OUTTA THE WAY!"

SLASH! SLISH! SLICE! Zoro, Brook, and Kin'emon cut down the soldiers in their path!

"GAAH! IT BURNS!"

"GAAAH! IT HURTS!"

"GAAAAAH! IT FREEZES!"

"WHOO-HOO!" Usopp cheered as he sat on Brownbeard's back with Sanji and Nami. "Check out the 3 Musketeers over there!"

"Yohohoho!" Brook chortled.

"Hey, Brownbeard," Sanji said. "You don't mind giving us a ride part of the way there, do you?"

"Not a bit," Brownbeard answered, panting. "However…did you have to bring that dragon in here with you?!"

Sanji looked back and saw the dragon from earlier, looking docile and almost sleepy.

"That thing?" Sanji asked. "We grabbed onto it, hoping it would fly us away from the gas."

"It can't fly right now because it's been given a sedative," said Brownbeard. "If you ask me, bringing that beast inside the lab might have been a mistake!"

"You mean it's dangerous?" Nami asked. "It almost looks cute to me!"

At that moment, more soldiers tried to attack the Straw Hats.

"We'll never get a chance like this! Take 'em both down!" shouted one.

"I'm gonna be famous!" shouted another.

"Dammit, what did I just say?!" Zoro questioned as he prepared to attack again, but then…

"ENOUGH!"

G-5 looked up at Tashigi, who glared at them.

"C-Captain?" asked one.

"Oh, so it's you," said Zoro, smirking with confidence. "Captain Copycat, now?"

Tashigi glared hatefully at Zoro before she looked away.

"You don't seem all that interested in fighting, though," Zoro notied.

"You are correct," Tashigi said. "Now get going!"

With that, the pirates continued to run.

"Captain, what are you doing?!" asked a G-5 gunman. "You're letting them get away!"

"Didn't Smoker say 'temporary ceasefire'?!" Tashigi questioned. "Right now, the pirates are not our enemy! Now keep moving down the hallway!"

"Huh?!" the soldiers muttered.

"Caesar's going to trap us all in here if we don't through that hallway!" Tashigi said. "If we don't get passed that gate before it closes, there will be no escape off of Punk Hazard! NOW MOVE!"

At that moment, realization finally hit them!

"Oh, hell! Move it, boys!"

"Captain's orders! We gotta get our asses in gear!"

"Grab the injured and go!"

"Head straight for the gate!"

Up ahead, the Straw Hats are still running for their lives, and someone else had joined them.

"My, what a terrible thing to do," Robin noted.

"Robin?!" Usopp questioned.

"Robin!" Zoro exclaimed upon seeing his girlfriend. "There you are! You had me worried! Since when did you get there?!"

Robin chuckled and said, "Luffy asked me to take care of something for him."

"Well?!" Nami asked. "Did you hear all of that?! Hurry it up, Brownie! Get the lead out!"

"This is the fastest…I can go!" Brownbeard wheezed.

"All we…ever do…is run!" Kin'emon shouted, panting.

"Don't tell me…you're getting tired…already, Kin'emon!" Zoro panted.

"Not at all!" Kin'emon objected. "A samurai never gets tired!"

"I'm not a samurai," Brook said, "so I feel justified in saying…I CAN'T TAKE MUCH MORE OF THIS~!"

Up ahead, some of the guards are seen near the gate.

"Hey!" said one of them. "Why's Brownbeard with the Straw Hats?!"

"Don't tell me he turned traitor on the Master!" shouted another.

"Our savior?!" questioned one more. "How dare he!"

"It doesn't matter!" said another. "We gotta hurry!"

"C'mon, G-5!" Tashigi ordered. "The gate is almost shut! Move, move, move!"

XXX

Outside the lab…a cannon is being pointed at Building A.

"Test cannon on standby! Calibrating! Target: outer wall of Laboratory Building A! FIRE!"

XXX

KABOOOM! A huge blast was heard, and everyone looked back to see that a giant hole had made in the wall!

"W…what the…?!" Tashigi questioned in shock.

"The wall just got blasted in!" cried a soldier. "But…that means that…!"

Not long after…Shinokuni began to seep through the hole and make it way towards everyone!

"HOLY CRAP!" Usopp screamed.

"EVERYBODY, RUN!" Tashigi cried.

And that's just what they did!

"FASTER!" Zoro shouted. "IF THAT GAS TOUCHES YOU, YOU'RE DEAD!"

"YOHOHOOOO!" Brook screamed. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE AGAIN!"

"O-oh, no!" cried a G-5 swordsman as the gas caught up. "Guys! HELP ME~!"

But it was too late. The gas caught him…and left him behind, frozen in ash!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the soldiers screamed in horror and despair at the supposed death of their comrade. However, they knew it was too late save him, now. The gate was about to shut, and if they didn't get through now, they'd all be dead.

Soon, anyone who had not been hit by the gas managed to make it through the small crack in the gate as it was closing, among them being the Straw Hats, Brownbeard, Kin'emon, and Tashigi, the last of whom seemed to be flying.

"WE MADE IT!" the pirates cried.

"AAAAAH!" Tashigi screamed as she fell on top of one of her men.

"Cap'n?!" questioned a G-5 soldier. "H-how'd you get through?!"

"Are you okay?!" asked another soldier.

Tashigi gasped before she scrambled to her feet.

"Move!" she shouted. "There are still soldiers back there!"

"How did you get sent flying over here?!" asked a soldier with a flame tattoo on his head. "Did somebody throw you?! Talk about dangerous!"

"Besides, you can't go back, Tashigi! The gate's almost…!" said another G-5 gunman as he looked through the closing gate…only to gasp in horror.

"Let me go!" Tashigi cried as some of her men held her back.

"No, Cap'n! It's too late!"

"Don't be stupid! Some of your comrades are trapped back there!" Tashigi shouted. "Now move it!"

"You can't do anything for them, Tashigi!" said the gunman. "Not now, anyway!" He then looked back inside…with tears falling form his eyes. "You…you did good, boys! Because of your brave sacrifice…the Cap'n is safe and sound! You guys are the spirit of G-5!"

Tashigi looked through the gate, too…only to scream in horror.

The soldiers that saved her life…are now frozen solid, and yet, despite this…they seem to have proud smiles on their faces. In their final moments, they even flashed a thumbs-up and victory signs.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tashigi screamed…before they gate finally shut and she broke down in tears.

"Those…those guys…!" Usopp whispered.

Zoro and Sanji looked away, and the remaining G-5 men that managed to get passed the gate hung their heads, giving a moment of silence for their fallen comrades.

XXX

Inside his room, Caesar laughed at the death of the G-5 men in Building A.

"Shulolololololo!" he cackled. "You wretched vermin! You can scurry and scamper like mice all you wish, but every last one of you will be dead when this is over! SHUUULOLOLOLOLOLO!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

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