I would have to be a total jerk if I didn't tell all of you wrote this chapter with me and it was edited by StrawHatCaptainLuffy. I'm so happy to finally be able to continue my story after so long of a hiatus. Please read and review.
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Christopher was only half right about the bruise forming. Gold Finger's attack ripped open a crevice in the earth instead of hitting him, but he fell onto his stomach after dodging.
Christopher didn't care what kind of rock man Gold Finger believed he was-a Devil Fruit doesn't make a person indestructible to attacks-and Christopher could make his tongue so long he could strangle a person's entire body.
Gold Finger looked past Christopher and looked at Fletched. The man without gold but named after it smirked. " This boy is your first mate, isn't he? I'll make sure he's your last mate...crushed by the bottom of my kingdom while I make your precious air turn into earth stone. Bwahahaha!"
" Your an idiot," Christopher guttered out.
Gold Finger sealed the crevice he opened using the same powers his Devil Fruit gave him. That wasn't out of a kindness or regret over what he did to his floor-a floor to step on gave him a chance to face Christopher's sword skills against a weapon Gold Finger made from the ground.
" Your sword can cut my right hand man's, but can it break my hand before it smashes your sword?"
Christopher didn't understand what Gold Finger was talking about.
This time Gold Finger reached his hands to the ground. Christopher was a little surprised to see he was able to touch the floor considering how out of shape he appeared. But being a young assassin who killed at a young age Chrispther knew appearances weren't everything. Gold Finger was moving his hand through the ground as earth from the floor started to cover his whole hand.
' Remember what your father said. An assassin loses his life trying to decapicate an enemy when they show the most weakness. Take your hand out, Gold Finger you stupid bastard.' Christopher thought while putting his sword away. Rocks had the power to permanently damage swords.
Gold Finger pulled his hand out of the ground with earth covering it. It was the most hideous piece of rock Christopher ever saw. It looked like rocks Gold Finger barfed out and he made his finger bigger than his other fingers.
" Wonder why my name is Gold Finger?" Gold Finger laughed. " You would know if we were fighting in my relaxation room."
Christopher moved his tongue in a formation he liked to call Tongue Twister. This was where his tongue already stretched out turned around in a spinning circle that could rip through the flesh of anyone it touches.
He used it, the Tongue Twister wasn't harmed or ripping through rocks when he used it on Gold Finger's arm.
Christopher felt like the idiot now; using his tongue against something that couldn't be harmed was just asking to have his tongue pulled and a sharp object that may be a rock Gold Finger forms landing in his neck or his gut.
It turned out this wasn't going to be Christopher's battle.
A gentle breeze...air that would make anyone with a stuffy nose sneeze...Fletcher flew in and hit Gold Finger in his soft, breakable face.
For a moment, everyone froze.
Then Christopher coughed up blood, and Gold Finger roared in displeasure. How dare that upstart hit him?! He was Lord Gold Finger! How dare they defy him!
Fletcher just smirked. Then he treated Christopher to an idiotic grin. "He's not that hard to beat," Fletcher said cockily. He wasn't paying any attention to the enraged Gold Finger, whose fist was turning to rock in preparation to crush Fletcher's skull. Luckily for Fletcher, Christopher had one more trick up his sleeve.
Christopher was clutching his ribs with one hand, but the other was reaching behind his back and under his shirt. He pulled out a slim throwing knife, and coughed up a little more blood.
Gold Finger began to swing his stony fist at an oblivious Fletcher.
Christopher was faster. His knife buried itself in Gold Finger's carelessly unprotected shoulder. Gold Finger screamed in pain, fist losing its rocky reinforcement as he clutched at his shoulder with his other hand.
"Fletcher *cough* what have I told you *cough* about KEEPING YOUR EYES ON YOUR. OPPONENT!" Christopher screamed at his 'captain' in frustration, though he was resigned now to the fact that he wasn't going to be able to finish this fight by himself. To make his bad mood worse, the idiot just laughed at him, saying "Why? I got yot to do it for me."
Christopher felt like tearing his hair out, wondering just how Fletcher had lived this long with an attitude like that.
Gold Finger stared at the knife, having pulled it out of his shoulder. The knife was covered in blood. His blood. He threw the knife away with a clatter, fuming as the two young pirates ignored him. Why, those little . . .
Christopher was the first to notice the fury on the fat man's face, of course. Fletcher was muttering something about meat, which wasn't very helpful. Christopher whispered a suggestion to Fletcher regarding their situation. Fletcher ignored him in favor of reciting a chicken pancake recipe under his breath.
Gold Finger raised both hands, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, preparing his ultimate attack. Noticing this and sensing doom, Christopher wished the man would just drop dead, despite Christopher's earlier oath not to kill anyone. This so-called Lord was getting downright irritating.
Gold Finger brought his hands crashing down to the ground, shouting " Ground The Dust Fall!"
Christopher and Fletcher couldn't tell if Gold Finger was yelling out an attack or if his armor was making him crazy when the whole castle started shaking.
The whole castle didn't collapse just having the castle fall down. The walls cracked open and so did the ceiling. It was incredible how much rocks that were once castle walls and ceilings were falling down.
Christopher just sighed as he was covered in rubble. He heard Fletcher grumbling nearby.
Then, something strange started to happen. All the rocks that had been crushing Christopher began to grind themselves to dust that hurt in inhale. In his mind, Christopher found the name of the attack to be strangely accurate. And now that the rocks were just dust, Christopher was able to stand up. He heard Fletcher doing the same nearby.
Fletcher was still talking about pancakes. Christopher thought that it would be just so satisfying to wring his captain's scrawny little neck. The guy just seemed to get dumber and dumber as the day went on.
The ground was pulled out from under their feet. Christopher and Fletcher both fell to the floor as the dust they'd been standing on was pulled towards Gold Finger as if the man was a dust magnet. From his position on the floor, Christopher eyed the self-proclaimed Lord warily.
The dust cleared, revealing a giant.
And the giant was still fat.
All that dust had combined and hardened around Gold Finger into a thick dirty armor that made the man bend over with its weight. Christopher was reminded of a Golem, a mythical creature made of animated rocks. With a struggle, Gold Finger clapped his over-sized spherical fist together to make a loud thud. He did it again. Thud. Then, face sweating with the effort, Gold Finger hit his stony belly and chest with his fist in the same manner as a gorilla. He looked stupid. Fletcher thought so too, when he finally noticed. "Is he going to do that all day?" The young captain asked.
Christopher was getting a headache. He had sore, probably broken ribs and was coughing blood. If someone didn't shut that bloody FAT MAN UP Christopher was going to kill someone, oath be damned.
"Fletcher," he growled, "kick his ass right now, and I'll buy you all the food you can eat in town."
That got the captain's attention.
"Really?" he asked with sparkling eyes.
"Really." Christopher answered, and he saw Fletcher grin.
Fletcher stood and turned to the gorilla-impersonator. Said impersonator finally stopped his chest banging.
"So now you pay attention to me? Brat."
Fletcher kept grinning as he replied, "I kick your ass, I get meat." Fletcher's grin widened scarily to Luff-sized proportions. It shouldn't be possible for someone's face to split like that.
Gold Finger glared at the young man, and ponderously rose to his full height.
Even if he was an idiot, Fletcher could still see that Gold Finger had seriously disadvantaged himself. Gold Finger had left a critical area wide open to attack, and with all that heavy armor, it was clear that the fat man wouldn't be fast enough to defend against the idea that had just sprouted in Fletcher's mind. Even Fletcher winced just thinking about it.
Christopher really wished that they'd both just hurry up and finish it. Although, it was kind of nice to sit in the sun now that Gold Finger had destroyed his own castle.
Fletcher drew a fist back, feet ready to sprint towards his opponent. Gold Finger brought his spherical fists up into a guard, smirking confidently. If only he knew.
Fletcher raced towards the armored giant, his opponent now taller than him, but more vulnerable. Gold Finger prepared to block Fletcher's fist. But the fist was just a feint. Gold Finger didn't stand a chance as Fletcher ducked under him over-sized arms and kicked the giant in the balls.
Gold Finger's eyes watered at the sudden, excruciating pain coming from a tender area.
Christopher winced at what his captain had done, but he had no pity for the man. After everything Gold Finger had done to Bagrat, the man didn't deserve pity. Getting kicked in the balls was only a light punishment in the scheme of things. Gold Finger deserved worse.
And worse was exactly what Fletcher gave him as his leg once more kicked sharply upwards between the fat man's legs.
Gold Finger howled in pain, dropping to the ground, trying to clutch at the injured area with his bowling ball fists, which turned out to be a stupid thing to do. The spherical appendages crushed him, and he blacked out momentarily. He sank to the ground with a moan, his armor of dust dissipating with his loss of concentration. He squirmed on the ground, groaning and moaning as Fletcher cackled above him.
" He makes a weird sound when I kicked him," Fletcher laughed. He could go all day laughing at the fat man.
" As much as it pains me to say this...we need to make sure he gets out of here alive," Christopher grumbled. " Can you use your wind fruit to help me fly so I can lift him with you? Nobody can lift this piece of crap by themself, he's too fat."
Fletcher pouted. "But I don't wanna carry him!"
Christopher glared. "Don't be so childish. If you want meat, you'll do what I say."
Fletcher kept pouting, though a breeze began to swirl at his command. Christopher stood and stretched out his tongue, wrapping it securely around Gold Finger.
"Ee tath dithkuthting," Christopher mumbled.
"Looks disgusting too," Fletcher agreed, eyeing the man's over-sized belly. With a sigh, Fletcher picked up his crew mate, complete with baggage. What a drag.
Wind swirled and twirled, slowly making them hover above the ground. With food on his mind, Fletcher headed towards town.
The looks on everyone's faces were priceless. And the things the townspeople were saying were just as amusing. To listen to them talk, you'd think Fletcher was a flying saucer.
Eventually, Fletcher set his crew mate and baggage down on solid ground in the middle of the town square, dropping them with a huff.
"The fat guy's heavy," he complained. Christopher just glared up at him from where he'd been deposited.
"Athk 'em if 'ey 'ave any Thee Thtone," he mumbled. Fletcher just stared at him.
"What's Sea Stone?"
Christopher choked, going bug-eyed at the question. How could his captain, a fellow Devil Fruit user, not know what Sea Stone was? When he'd finished choking, Christopher groaned in frustration. It had just occurred to him that in a poor town like this, the likelihood of there being Sea Stone available was almost nil. Sea Stone was expensive after all. Christopher could have cried, knowing that until some of that damn rock was found he would have to keep his tongue wrapped around Gold Finger.
And then, to Christopher's surprise, a little old lady limped into sight. Beside her, a couple of young men carried an enormous rope as thick as Christopher's wrist. All three people were crying.
"You did it . . . You really did it!" The old lady exclaimed.
"'Ee-ana?" Christopher mumbled wonderingly. The last time he'd seen her, she'd been in bed half-dead. And yet, here she was, tears of gratitude pouring down her face.
"Yes, Christopher, it's me," she said, smiling through her tears, "Thank you for what you've done" Liana turned to the two young men.
"Tie up that damn man, boys." She ordered.
The two eagerly complied, wrapping Gold Finger in a multitude of knots, allowing Christopher to finally retract his tongue. Christopher worked his aching jaw, eyeing the fat man distastefully.
"He can control rock. What will we do if he wakes up?" He asked.
Liana grinned. "He won't be able to do much if he's drunk!" She pulled a funnel and a bottle of whiskey out of thin air. Christopher wished he could do something like that. Like, say, being able to pull unlimited amounts of beri from his pockets to feed his gluttonous captain. Speaking of Fletcher . . .
Leaving Liana to pour alcohol down Gold Finger's throat, Christopher went looking for the black hole. He turned a random corner. His jaw dropped.
How did they do it?! How did a poor town like this pull off something like that?! Christopher was looking at a feast. An enormous table had been produced, piled high with food. There were fruity desserts, mounds of fried vegetables, bread everywhere. But most of all, there was meat. Lots and lots of meat. And sitting on top of the meat was his idiot captain, eating like a king. Very apt, considering that Fletcher was aiming to be the Pirate King. Christopher turned to the nearest person, who happened to be the butcher from earlier.
"Where did," Christopher gestured in Fletcher's direction, "all this come from?!"
"Oh, when that young man came through earlier, he was obviously hungry, so when Liana told us he was going to liberate us, we spread out a feast in case he won!"
"I helped too . . ." Christopher muttered.
"You did?" The butcher beamed. "That's great! Here, on the house!" He handed Christopher a chicken leg and a mug of beer, before wandering off to who-knows-where.
Christopher stared at the items he was holding. Then he tipped the mug upside down, the beer making a puddle on the ground. Good assassins do not get drunk.
He placed the mug on the table before grabbing a breadstick, which he held in the same hand as the chicken leg. After that, he grabbed a small cheesecake that happened to be in reach. Christopher retreated out of range of Fletcher's grabby hands, munching on his food.
The next thing he knew, everyone was singing. And they were all drunk. Christopher couldn't fathom how such things could happen in the middle of the afternoon. He left to find some peace and quiet.
He found Liana instead. The old lady was keeping a fierce eye on Gold Finger, even though he had almost been drowned in liquor. He wasn't going to wake up any time soon, and for that, Christopher was grateful. He handed his breadstick to Liana, remembering how empty her cupboards had been. She took it with a smile of thanks.
They sat together for a while in companionable silence. But Christopher was curious, so as soon as he finished eating, he asked "Liana . . . didn't you say the villagers hated you or something? And you told them that Fletcher and I were going to save them . . . But, there's no way you could have known we would win, so why is all that food been put out?"
Liana grinned. "Young man, I told you that I was a pirate that sailed all over didn't I? And I'm an old lady. I've seen a lot of people, and I like to think I know a thing or two about young people especially. So when I saw you and that greedy-guts around the corner, I just knew. I knew that you two weren't quitters, and I knew that you would be the ones to liberate my beautiful Bagrat." She chuckled quietly. "And as for your first question, well, I was wrong. They didn't hate me. I was all wound up over nothing. They don't care that I have a Devil Fruit, or that I used to be a pirate. In fact, they asked me to be the mayor! Or maybe I should say mayoress. And as my first act as mayoress, I called the marines to haul that fat carcass over there to prison." She indicated Gold Finger as she said this.
As if her words had caused it to appear, a marine ship appeared on the horizon. It was getting bigger by the moment.
Christopher's eyes widened. Uh oh.
"Uh, Liana?"
"Yes?"
"Fletcher and I are pirates."
"So?" Liana frowned slightly.
"Marines arrest pirates." Christopher said.
Liana's eyes got a little bigger. "Oh." she said. The she added "I suppose you'd better get going then."
Christopher took off in a sprint.
The marine ship was moving fast, and it was almost at the dock.
Christopher scooped up a random sack that was lying in his way. He shook it out as he went along. Racing around the corner, he began to shove as much food into the bag as he could fit. From his depleted throne of meat, Fletcher stared. When the bag was full, Christopher looked up and said breathlessly, "The marines are here!"
It took a few seconds for Fletcher to appreciate the meaning of those words. Then he grinned.
"Let's fight," he yelled.
Christopher wasn't quite as enthusiastic.
"We are not fighting a whole ship full of marines! We have to run!"
Fletcher pouted. "Why?" he asked plaintively.
Christopher didn't bother to answer. He grabbed his captain and ran towards the docks, where their ship was.
As they ran, they passed Gold Finger. And there was something stuck in the fat man's shirt that Christopher hadn't noticed earlier. He snatched his knife from between the many knots of rope, before tearing off once more.
"Take good care of my sword!" Liana yelled after him.
"Yes ma'am!" He yelled back.
As they reached the docks, Christopher saw marines surrounding their small boat. Damn! What now?
Fletcher, on the other hand, wasn't at all fazed. He grabbed the back of Christopher's shirt, causing his crew mate to yelp indignantly. Fletcher ignored the sound, calling upon his Devil Fruit as he leaped into the air.
He landed on the boat, dropping Christopher on the ground with a thud, aggravating the poor assassin's injuries. Fletcher turned to the marines.
"Hi!" he said cheerily, using his powers to fill the sails. The boat shot forward.
"Bye," he yelled as the small ship left the docks. The marines were left astonished and highly annoyed as Fletcher G. Perkman sailed off into the sunset with his unfortunate crew mate.
Within half an hour, Gold Finger, a.k.a Michael Stringer, was safely aboard the marine ship in a pair of Sea Stone handcuffs. The marines were questioning Liana, the mayoress.
"Ma'am, 'Rock Crusher' Michael Stringer had a bounty of 15 million. I mean no offense, but no one here looks strong enough to have taken him down, especially with that poisonous first mate of his. We have taken the first mate into custody, along with a minor criminal called Melmon. What we would like to know, ma'am, is who or what took Stringer down?"
Liana smiled up at the marine.
"Officer, that damn man was beaten by two teenage boys." And that was all she would say on the subject.
The marine officer later heard that some of his men had witnessed two teenagers, one injured, sail off into the sunset. Their goals and destination were unknown.
End of chapter/arc