Chapter 2: Meet Buggy, the Clown Prince of- Oops, Wrong Clown
Author's Note Part 1: Well guys, here's the second chapter of the edited story, and I hope that it's good to read for you guys so far. I can already tell that a few of you may be a little upset about me taking out the Devil Fruit, but honestly, I liked the idea of a vigor, or multiple vigors, being the power that Ken has. Why you may ask? Because after reading a few Bioshock: Infinite fanfictions, I realized just how awesome the powers are. So, I'm giving Ken Devil's Kiss, since he's already been to an alternate dimension, so what's to stop other things from being thrown into the One Piece dimension?
But, you guys probably just want to get to the chapter itself. So, without further ado, here's the second edited chapter!
Ken's POV: Present
After Luffy complained to us about being hungry, Nami offered to find him some food. We eventually found an empty house that had non-rotten food in it and Nami left to get it ready to eat, leaving me and Luffy alone. "So, why do you want to become the King of the Pirates?" I ask him, intrigued.
"It's been my dream since I was a kid." Luffy answers, taking off his straw hat to look at it. "I made a promise to the person that gave me this hat, it's my treasure." He tells me.
"I can respect that." I remark. "It's good to have a dream. I used to have one as well." I tell him, leaning back in my chair and looking towards the ceiling in thought as I cross my hands behind my head.
"Really? What is it?" Luffy asks me, sounding interested.
"Well, it's not my dream anymore, but I always wanted to be known for something." I tell him. "A legacy of some kind, something someone can look at and say 'Hey, that thing there, Kendrick Austin did that.'"
"Did you do it?" Luffy asks me with wide eyes. "Achieve your dream?"
"No. I didn't." I answer him somberly. "My dream was taken from me. It's been made so that I'm constantly hunted. So it's too dangerous for people to know of me."
"You shouldn't be afraid to die for your dreams!" Luffy exclaims. "If you are, you'll never succeed!"
"I'm not afraid to die for my dream." I defend myself, turning to look him in the eyes. "I'm not afraid of death, I'm afraid of what happens after that. There are places that make you beg for death, but deny it to you, and I'll be damned if I'm forced back there!" I exclaim with determination. Luffy doesn't say anything, looking conflicted about something. "But it doesn't matter." I continue, switching back to being happy. "I have a new dream, the one thing I've wanted all these years."
"What's that?" Luffy asks me, sounding intrigued once again.
"A family." I answer him. "I want a family. People that I can trust, and love, and that will accept me as their own. No matter who or what I am."
"That's a good dream too." Luffy says with his grin which I swear is trademarked to him. "Family is important."
"Here we go." Nami says, suddenly walking up the stairs and into the room we were sitting in, halting any further conversation.
"Awesome, I'm starving!" Luffy exclaims, eyes lighting up at the sight of all the food.
"Good job Nami, let's dig in." I compliment, grabbing a piece of mutton that she placed at the table. It didn't take long for the food to disappear, the combined efforts of Luffy and me making short work of it.
"You two are inhuman!" Nami exclaims once we finish. "How is it possible to eat that much food so fast?!"
"What can I say, we were hungry." I answer with a shrug.
"Hey, do either of you know a navigator?" Luffy asks. "I need one for my crew."
"Who's in your crew already?" I ask back. "Shouldn't a navigator be the first person you get?"
"It only me and one other person, I just started my journey." Luffy answers with a slight smile.
"Well, Nami here is an amazing navigator." I tell him. "What do you think Nami, should we join him and his friend?" I ask, slightly pondering the thought myself.
"No! I refuse to join a pirate crew!" Nami yells, surprising me and Luffy at her outburst. "The things I hate most in this world are pirates! I only like money and tangerines!"
"What am I, chopped liver?" I ask her sarcastically.
"I barely know you, we just met!" Nami exclaims.
"So? I just met Luffy and I already like him." I respond with a shrug, gesturing to the teen in question. "You two are the only people I know in this entire world."
"What about us?" Angela and Demona demand almost heatedly.
You two go without saying, you're voices in my head. I think to them.
"Hey, come on, be our navigator." Luffy pesters her.
"You think I'm crazy?" Nami asks. "Shut up you dumb pirate!" Nami turns away from us, but then quickly turns back looking happy about something. "Actually, on second thought I will join you guys." She says. "But on one condition."
"What is it?" Luffy asks, excited at the prospect of having a navigator.
"You have to come with me to Buggy's base." Nami answers with a slight smile.
"Ok, let's go." Luffy replies, starting to leave the house. "Where is it?"
"Ah…hang on a second. I've got one more thing to prepare." Nami says, looking surprised at Luffy's immediate acceptance of the condition.
"What's the rope for?" I ask, following them out the door and wondering why it is that Nami had grabbed a rope from the house.
"It's just a rope, you don't need to worry about it." Nami replies, waving me off.
Apparently she was lying. I think dryly.
"You think?" Demona said sarcastically. During the trip to Buggy's hideout, Nami had tied Luffy and me together. We struggled to get out, or at least I did, Luffy didn't seem that bothered, but couldn't move enough. She dragged us to Buggy himself and turned us over to him, saying we were her bosses and that she was tired of working for us. Looking at Buggy, I couldn't tell whether I should be intimidated or amused. He had an impressive stature, decked out in expensive looking clothes. But the intended effect was ruined somewhat by the parade of colors and the clown makeup on his face. Not to mention his big red nose. Buggy immediately took a liking to Nami, locking us in a cage before starting a party to celebrate his new crew member. Food and drinks seemingly appeared from nowhere in large amounts, while Luffy and I were stuck with hardly enough room to sit up, let alone stand.
"Oh man, that looks tasty." Luffy remarks, looking at the food and drinks of the party.
"I know it does, but focus." I tell him. "We need to find a way out."
"If we weren't tied together, I could break the cage." Luffy replies.
"…Maybe we still can." I say, thinking of a plan. "But we'll need to work together."
"It's not going to work." Demona says.
"Be quiet, at least he's thinking of something." Angela scolds.
"Are you so desperate that you'll work with a pirate?" Nami asks, suddenly crouching next to our cage. "Not that I'm surprised, you are a criminal as well after all."
"Nami, what the hell?!" I demand angrily. "Why did you hand us over to a madman like this?"
"Don't worry, I'll keep them drinking until they're all knocked out." Nami explains with a smirk. "Then I'll steal all their stuff and let you out, and we can go our separate ways."
"Can you get us some food at least?" Luffy asks. Nami leaves and comes back with some pieces of meat a few minutes later, feeding us. "You're a nice person." Luffy decides between bites. "I guess I'll let you join our crew."
"I don't want to, you idiot!" Nami yells out before walking away angrily.
"Luffy, put your feet on the bars." I instruct him, doing the same myself. "We'll push against each other and break them."
"Good idea." Luffy compliments, getting into position.
"On three." I say. "One…two…three!" We force our backs against one another, struggling to break out of our tiny prison. I feel something start to give around the same time my leg starts to hurt, realizing too late that those facts were related to each other. I cry out bloody murder as my left shin cracks and splinters out of my leg. Without my counter-balance, all of Luffy's force exploded against me and presses me against the side of the cage, dislocating my left shoulder in the process.
"I told you it wouldn't work." Demona says in a sing-song voice.
"Don't be like that!" Angela scolds her once again. "Kendrick is in pain right now!"
"What happened?" Luffy asks. "Are you alright?"
"No! My fucking leg broke!" I growl out, trying to fight the pain. "And you fucked up my arm."
"I'm sorry, it was an accident!" Luffy exclaims, defending himself.
"It's okay, it's not your fault." I sigh out. "I was just in pain there for a minute. Clouded my judgment you know? But now I'm out of ideas."
"~Bwahahaha!~ Trying to escape are you?" A voice laughs out. We look out the bars and see Buggy standing next to us, drink in hand. "Unfortunately for you, your fate has already been decided." He tells us, smiling evilly.
"Oh, you're going to let us go?" Luffy asks him.
"Yeah I'm letting you go… You think I'm stupid?!" Buggy yells out. "Boys! Prepare the Buggy Ball!" He exclaims with glee. His crew cheers and wheels out a cannon. Loading it with a red ball that had Buggy's pirate mark on it. They aim it at a nearby house and fire it, resulting in a cataclysmic explosion that demolishes at least ten houses in a row.
"Wow, that's awesome!" Demona exclaims in excitement.
"Awesome?!" Angela repeats angrily. "Those people's homes were destroyed! How is that 'awesome'?!" I hear Luffy gasp in shock as I gasp in pain, my shin resetting itself with a sickening crack and my shoulder popping back into place.
"The power is so great, it can wipe out a whole village in a single shot! This and my Devil Fruit powers will assure my success on the Grand Line!" Buggy brags while his crew aims the cannon at the two of us, stuck in our cage. "Now, shoot the cannon Nami! And swear upon this your loyalty and sincerity of the desire to rule the world with me! Get rid of your old bosses once and for all!" Nami looks shocked, and starts sweating nervously.
"N-No! I don't think that's necessary!" She exclaims, clearly not wanting to do it. "More importantly… Ah, yes! Drink! Let's drink! Let's just ignore those two!" Nami suggests, trying to take their attention off us.
"Kill them." Buggy orders with finality, a crazed look on his face. Nami gasps in surprise while Buggy's crew cheers her on to kill us. She stands still, seemingly afraid to move as she makes her decision. The hand that held the matches trembling profusely while the rest of her stood completely still.
"Your hand is shaking." Luffy remarks with a surprisingly serious face. "A pirate on the seas swears an oath to themselves, and you lack the strength for that oath."
"Pirate oath. I wonder what it is… Killing innocent people like insects?" Nami responds. "Is that the pirate's oath?"
"No, it's not." Luffy answers. "It's the idea of being strong enough to risk your life!" He exclaims.
"The kid has some good ideals." Demona remarks in surprise. Apparently tired of waiting, a pirate walks up to Nami and takes the matches from her. Lighting the cannon himself, he earns a whack from Nami's staff for his trouble and was knocked unconscious.
"Nami, you idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Buggy demands. "I gave you the honor of lighting the cannon's fuse because you're supposed to be my crew member!"
"Nami! You're saving us!" I exclaim, happy she changed her mind.
"Shut up you idiot! I didn't do it to save you. I just won't allow myself to become anything like an evil pirate!" Nami shouts at me. "Pirates stole the life of someone precious to me. I hate pirates more than anything!"
"So that's why you don't like pirates." Luffy remarks.
"I wouldn't either." I agree with her. "But we have more pressing matters right now, like the fact the fuse is still burning!" I yell at her in slight fear, making her gasp and turn to the fuse in question.
"Crap!" Luffy shouts out. "We're going to die!"
"He might, but we'll make it." Demona says.
"We can't just let him die, we have to do something." Angela says, sounding concerned for Luffy.
"Quick, Luffy, turn us around!" I order him, moving us so I'm between Luffy and the cannon.
"Now what!" He asks hurriedly, assuming I have a plan.
"Now we hope my body protects you from the blast." I tell him.
"I want to go on record that I think this is a terrible idea." Demona states with a deadpan voice.
"…Wait, what?!" Luffy exclaims, realizing what I'm doing. "Why would you do that?! Turn us back around!" He yells.
"No, I'm doing this to protect you!" I reply. "The cannon won't do anything permanent to me, but it'll obliterate you. If I do this then we might have a chance to survive."
"What about your dream?" Luffy argues. "You can't give it up now!"
"I'm not!" I argue back. "I told you, the cannon can't kill me!"
"…Are you sure?" Luffy asks me slightly skeptical.
"Yes." I answer him before turning back to look at the cannon. "I think." I mutter to myself, hoping that the thing wouldn't burn all my atoms to a crisp.
"Alright, I'll trust you." Luffy relents. "Thanks."
"Don't worry about it." I reply, getting comfortable. Hey, if I'm going to be in excruciating pain, I'd rather be in a comfortable position as I am, that way it doesn't hurt more than it already will. So I close my eyes, and wait for the blast to come. After a few seconds, nothing happens. I risk a peek, and see Nami with her hands around the whisk, being charged down my some pirates. "Nami!" I shout at her. "Look out!" Right before they get to her, the pirates are repelled by someone wielding swords.
"Just how many of you are charging one girl?" The figure asks, forcing the pirates back.
"Zoro!" Luffy exclaims.
"Did you get hurt?" The Zoro guy asks Nami.
"I'm… I'm alright." She replies, surprised.
"Thank goodness, you actually found this place." Luffy says to Zoro, grinning. "Get us outta this, quick."
"You! Is this your idea of fun?" Zoro asks Luffy slightly exasperated. "You get caught by a bird and then get carried away by it. And now when I finally find you, you're locked in a cage. Stupid!" Zoro stops looking past me, and turned his focus to me. "Who's the other guy?" He asks Luffy. "Did you rope him into joining you as well?"
"Unless he convinces Nami he hasn't." I reply. "I'm sticking with her." Nami gets a sheepish and guilty look on her face when I say that, turning away from us.
"Hey… Did that kid just say Zoro?" One of the pirates asks.
"The pirate hunter? Why is he talking to a thief?" Another continues.
"You're defiantly Zoro." Buggy confirms. "Are you aiming for my head?"
"No, I've got no interest in that." Zoro answers, turning around to starts walking towards us after repelling the pirates that were charging Nami. "I'm no longer a pirate hunter, I've quit."
"But I have some interest. If I kill you then my name will become even more famous." Buggy threatens.
"If you don't want to die, then just leave me alone." Zoro tells Buggy calmly but annoyed, looking over his shoulder at the pirate captain.
"Ooh, kill him Captain!" One of the pirates cheers.
"If you don't show your true skills, you'll soon be covered in blood!" Buggy cries out, charging Zoro with large knifes between the fingers of his left hand, while holding a larger knife-like sword in his right.
"Fine, if that's what you want." Zoro growls out, suddenly wielding three swords by carrying one between his teeth. With a seemingly effortless attack, Zoro rushes past Buggy and leaves him in pieces. Literally. The clown captain's left arm and leg were cut off, and his hip was sliced in two. His body collapsing to the ground, still as death.
"That… Was anticlimactic." I remark.
"Yeah, and he was super easy to beat as well." Luffy agrees. But I continue to look at Buggy's body, confused.
That was too easy for all the hype he played up. I think. There must be something we're missing.
"Or it's something he's missing." Demona remarks. "Look closer."
"I don't see any… Blood?" I realize. "Why isn't he bleeding?" I ask myself. Then, Buggy's crew starts laughing as if someone told a joke, one that we don't get. "Zoro, be careful!" I call out. "Something's wrong here, he's not bleeding!" Zoro turns to see what I'm talking about, barely having enough time to deflect the knife that flew at him.
"What the hell!" He exclaims. "The hand… Is floating in the air!" Zoro's right. Holding the knife was a Mr. Thing styled severed hand. It was hovering in the air just above the swordsman, drifting about lazily.
"The Chop Chop Fruit." A voice says, turning out to be Buggy as he pieces himself back together. "That's the name of the Devil fruit I've eaten! No matter how many times you slice me up, I can just piece myself back together!" he exclaims.
"That guy's a monster!" Luffy yells out.
"You red-nosed asshole!" I shout at him. "That was a dirty trick you tried to pull!"
"But a smart one." Demona says. "We'll have to remember it for later."
"Hopefully we won't have to resort to such tactics" Angelica remarks. Suddenly, everyone becomes deathly silent, Buggy looking enraged about something.
"How dare you?!" Buggy shouts at me. Launching one of his knifes. Unable to dodge it, the blade sinks into my neck with ease. I gag and splutter as blood starts to flow from my wound. It would be a simple heal, but the knife has to be taken out first.
"Kendrick! Try not to move too much. Take deep, slow breaths and don't panic." Angela instructs, sounding slightly scared.
"Kendrick!" Luffy exclaims in surprise and anger before turning to face the clown pirate. "I swear I'm going to take you down Buggy!"
"~Puhahahahahaha!~ You're going to take me down?" Buggy laughs out. "You're hilarious. You three are going to die right here on the spot! Just like your friend there." All of a sudden, Luffy starts laughing, something Buggy picks up on. "So, you have the will to die Straw-Hat?" Buggy mocks. "And just exactly how do you plan to take me down in this situation? Laugh at him boys!"
"Run away!" Luffy orders. "Zoro!"
"What?" Zoro exclaims, confused.
"Your friend came to rescue you, but you're telling him to run away? What about you?" Nami asks Luffy. Luffy doesn't say anything, but does something to convey a message to Zoro. The swordsman smiles, before running towards the cannon. Deflecting attacks from Buggy on his way. Once he makes it there, he grabs the barrel and flips it over, aiming it at Buggy and his men.
"He pointed the cannon in our direction!" The pirates exclaim.
"That thing still has a Buggy Ball in it!" The clown captain shouts in fear. Zoro and Nami re-light the cannon, and Buggy and his crew disappear amongst the resulting smoke and debris.
"This is a good time to go." Zoro decides, turning to Nami. "Who are you anyways?
"I-I'm a thief." She answers with a slight stutter.
"What about him?" Zoro asks, pointing to my still body, unaware that I was… Well, aware, of everything being said.
"He… Was a friend I suppose." Nami answers with a downcast voice. "I didn't want it to go like this, both of them were supposed to make it."
"There's no time to be sad, we need to move." Luffy tells her, sending a glance at my form none the less. "We're going to have to mourn later." I try to move my head to convey I'm fine, but the knife restricts my movements.
"Let's go then." Zoro says, grabbing the cage and slowly lifting it over his shoulder.
"How…?" Nami utters, amazed at the feat of strength, and I'll admit that I'm impressed as well.
"Let's get out of here." Zoro says, running off with our cage slung over his shoulder.
A couple of minutes later Zoro decides to stop, thinking that we're far enough away from where Buggy's crew was before they were blown up… At least to our knowledge. "We escaped, but this cage is a problem." Luffy says. "Zoro, can you cut it open?"
"No, the bars are made of steel." Zoro answers. "But I can untie you." He tells Luffy. The moment the rope fall away, my hands fly up and pull the blade from my throat. Zoro and Luffy gasping in surprise while I cough up the blood that had been filling my lungs, rubbing my sore neck as I groan in a mixture of pain and relief.
"Kendrick! You're alive!" Luffy exclaims happily.
"~cough, cough-cough~ Yep, I sure am. ~cough~" I struggle to get out.
"How is that possible?" Zoro wonders aloud.
"It was part of my punishment, but now it's my saving grace." I answer him. "It's ironic really." I admit with a dry smile.
"I'm just glad you're alive." Luffy says with a grin.
"I am too." I reply, grinning back.
"What's up with this dog?" Zoro suddenly asks, getting away from the topic of my non-death. Luffy and I turn to where he's facing, and see that there is, in fact, a dog. Sitting still and looking straight ahead like a statue. It had light white fur and was fairly small.
"Is it really a dog?" Luffy asks. "It's not moving at all."
"What the dog does is its business." Zoro replies. "Right now you've got to think of a way out of that cage."
"I wonder if he's dead." Luffy remarks, ignoring Zoro's sentence and poking the dog in the eye. In retaliation, the dog bites Luffy on his nose, before latching onto his hand.
"That's what he gets for messing with it." Demona laughs.
"Don't be mean." Angela scolds her.
"Stupid dog, let me go!" Luffy cries, struggling to get the dog off of him.
"Luffy, stop playing around!" Zoro yells at him.
"Look at you guys." Nami says, catching up with us. "Not to criticize, but is the middle of the street really the best hiding place you could find?"
"Nami!" I exclaim. "You came back!"
"I don't know why you're still happy to see her. She almost killed us about three times now." Demona remarks.
"Kendrick's just more forgiving that you." Angela states. "But Demona does have a point. Perhaps you should be careful around her."
"I just wanted to thank you for saving me." She says, throwing something on the ground. "I should be shocked at seeing you alive, but after seeing you grow back an arm I'm not really that surprised." She tells me with a shrug.
"The key! You stole the key to the cage!" Luffy cheers.
"Yeah, but I had to leave behind the map and treasure." Nami huffs out, disappointed and slightly miffed.
"This is great, we can finally get out of here." I say. But my joy is quickly cut short when the dog eats the key. For a moment, everyone is too shocked to do anything. Then me and Luffy grab the dog and shake him, trying to get him to cough up the key. "Stupid dog! Cough it up! Cough it up!" I yell at him.
"Hey, you brats!" A voice calls out to us. "Don't pick on Shushu!" We look in the direction it came from to see an older man in leather armor walking toward us, a spear slung over his back.
"Who're you?" Zoro asks him.
"Who am I?" The man asks. "I'm the mayor of this town, that's who!"
"Can you help us? We're trapped in the cage and the dog ate the key." I ask him, also explaining to him why we were shaking the dog.
"Sorry, but I'm not doing anything to hurt Shushu." The mayor tells us. "You'll have to find another way out."
"Why's he the only one left in town?" Luffy asks the mayor.
"He's watching the shop." The mayor explains. "I'm just here to feed him."
"So he's a guard dog for a pet food store…" Zoro remarks as the mayor comes back out with food for Shushu, before sitting on the steps leading into the shop.
"A good friend of mine owned this store, about ten years ago him and Shushu opened this little shop." The mayor continues. "They've got lots of good memories, and so do I. See these bruises? He's been fighting with the pirates to protect his store." He tells us, gesturing to the bruises and scratches that litter the dog.
"Scrappy little mutt." Demona remarks.
"I bet whoever owns him is proud." Angela agrees.
"I'm sure this shop means a lot to his master, but this is just cruel." Nami says. "Is his owner at the refugee center with the others?"
"No, he's not. He got sick and died." The mayor replies with a downcast expression. "He went to the hospital three months ago, and ended up passing on there."
"So he's been waiting for his master all this time?" I ask the mayor, feeling sorry for Shushu.
"Oh, the poor thing." Angela remarks, sounding upset.
"That's what everybody says, but that's not what I think." The mayor answers me, getting everyone's attention. "He's a smart dog. I think he knows his master is dead."
"So why does he still guard the store?" Nami asks.
"I think he does because it's all he has left of his beloved master." The mayor replies to her question. "It's his treasure."
"It's just like your hat, Luffy." I remark, turning to the straw hat wearing boy next to me.
"Yeah, it is." He responds, looking at the dog with a strange facial expression.
"I've been trying to get him to the shelter, but he won't leave this spot." The mayor continues with a sigh. "He'd rather starve to death than leave his post." Suddenly, a monstrous roar fills the air, scaring Nami and the mayor.
"What the hell was that?!" Nami screams in fear, looking in the direction it came from.
"I-it must be Mohji the Beast Tamer! Run!" The mayor shouts at her. Nami and the mayor run off, leaving Luffy, Zoro and me by ourselves. Soon after the two run and hide, a strange looking man riding a lion walks up to us. The guy has on some kind of fur hat and shirt, making him look like some sort of furry.
"Well, what have we here…?" The man asks. "I am Mohji the Beast Tamer, First Mate of Captain Buggy, and I have been sent to defeat Roronoa Zoro and his comrades!" He exclaims. In response, Zoro grips his blades while Luffy tenses up.
"Why are you wearing such a stupid hat?" I ask the guy, getting an idiotic idea.
"…This is stupid." Demona argues against my plan.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Demona here, this doesn't seem like a good idea." Angela agrees.
"What?! This is my natural hair!" Mohji yells at me, enraged.
"Oh, so did your mom fuck a bear?" I ask him, sounding innocent. "Or was it your dad?" Mohji and his lion freeze, processing what I asked. It finally makes it through their minds, and they both give me a look of death. Though, compared to the permanent scowls that were on some of the demons in Damnation, it's mild. Hell, I ended up learning to glare from the best because of that, and I'm fairly certain that I could freeze any living being in place because of fear.
"Why you-!" Mohji cries out. "Richie! Kill him!" I push Luffy and myself against the edge of the cage as Mohji's lion brings his paw down on it, but there isn't enough room and the beast catches me by the leg. He slams me against the ground a few times before flicking me away so that I skip across the ground. I finally come to a stop a few houses away, most of my bones broken and my ribs tearing through my lungs.
"Kendrick!" A voice exclaims, turning out to be Nami when I slowly turn my head to face her.
"Hey there." I struggle to get out, my lungs useless at the moment.
"Kid, don't talk!" The mayor orders me. "I'll go get the doctor and-"
"Don't." I interrupt him, sounding clearer now that my ribs re-adjusted enough for my lungs to close up. "I'll be okay."
"Okay?!" Nami yells at me. "Your arm is bent the wrong way and your leg bones are sticking out your knee!" She continues, only for my arm to snap back into place as my bones sink back into my thigh at that moment. I turn over and cough up some blood as I hesitantly stand, most of the damage fixed.
"See? Told you I'd be fine." I tell them, turning to look at them. Instead of answering, the mayor faints while Nami looks a little green. Her face even turning a slight green color. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" I ask her, reaching up to wipe my mouth. I'm surprised to not feel my lips, but my hair. I rub around, confused, before I realize that I'm touching the back of my head since it was twisted around from its natural place. The skin around my neck twists back around, and my head finally snaps back around. I stumble a bit from the sudden shift in perspective, but then turned around to find that Nami has fainted as well.
"I hope they're ok." Angela remarks, worried. With a sigh I bend down and picked them up, one over each shoulder, and carry them back to Zoro and Luffy. When I get there, they appeared to be waiting for us, the Mohji guy already gone.
"I'm guessing you guys beat Mohji." I say, setting Nami and the mayor down carefully.
"Yeah, it was real easy too." Luffy remarks with a grin.
"Once we defeated his lion, he quickly gave up." Zoro continues.
"Are you sure it was a good idea to let him go?" I ask them. "What if he tells Buggy about what-" Before I can finish, a massive explosion knocks us to the ground. The pet shop and surrounding buildings are torn to splinters, and Shushu is launched into my gut. I sit up and look around to see if everyone is ok, only to notice that the still unconscious Nami and mayor are about to be crushed by a section of wall that's about to fall on them. I rush over and catch it just as it's about to hit them, easily holding it up. Hey, when some of your punishments are taken from the Greeks, such as rolling a boulder up a hill for a day as it constantly falls back down, you build up muscle mass. "Nami! Mayor! It would be a good idea to wake up now!" I yell at them.
"Stop putting us in these situations!" Demona screams in anger at me. "I'm tired of getting hurt today!"
"Kendrick's doing a noble thing, something you wouldn't understand." Angela argues back. "These are his only friends. We can't let them get hurt."
"We can though, it would be really easy!" Demona counters, being ignored by myself and Angela. Nami and the mayor start to wake up at that moment, looking around in confusion until they noticed their predicament. They quickly crawl out from under the wall, scared out of their minds. With a mighty heave, I lift the wall further off the ground, diving to the ground out of the way as it comes crashing down. I pant a bit from the energy used, and turn around, inspecting the damage. Pieces of houses lay strewn about, the pet shop looking no different from any other wreckage except for Shushu sitting before it. I stand, watching as the dog barks in misery at having his treasure taken from him. I turn to look at the others, Nami and the mayor looking aghast while Luffy looks determined about something.
"Stupid pirates, destroying everything precious to others." Nami says, before turning towards Luffy and Zoro. "Why don't you all just go to Hell?!" I run to Nami and grab her, stopping her from attacking Zoro and Luffy. "Let go of me!" Nami orders, hitting me in the shoulder in an attempt to get by. "I won't let these pirates get away with this." She yells out.
"Neither will we, right Luffy?" I ask the straw hat wearing teen, not letting go of the girl.
"That's right." Luffy answers with a determined face. Nami stops struggling, so I let her go and walk towards Luffy.
"This is just so miserable! My town is being destroyed, and I'm sitting here doing nothing about it!" The mayor suddenly exclaims. "Well no more! We worked hard to build this village up from nothing, and I won't stand around any longer!"
"Wait, calm down mayor!" Nami yells at him.
"To a real man, there are some fights that can't be avoided!" The mayor continues, sounding suspiciously like Elfman from Fairy Tail for a second. "This town and its citizens are my treasures! I'm the mayor, and I won't let this travesty go on any longer!"
"The guy's got guts, I'll give him that." Demona remarks in a slightly impressed voice.
"He must care a lot about his people to fight like this for them." Angela continues.
"Won't you join us?" Luffy asks Nami. "You need his map don't you?"
"…I'm not going to become a pirate." Nami answers him, and before he can protest shakes his hand. "Rather than saying we're partners, let's say we're cooperating. Working together to achieve our goals." She explains.
"What about me?" I ask her, feeling a bit left out.
"I suppose you'd be useful to keep around some more." Nami says with a smirk. "So you can stay."
"I can't wait to make her ours." Demona coos, filling my head with devious thoughts which make me blush a dark red. Unfortunately, it's easy to see because of my pale skin, and Nami's smirk and wink doesn't help in the least.
"You stop that!" Angela orders. "I won't have you influencing Kendrick in such a way."
"Don't be like that, I know you think she's cute as well." Demona remarks mirthfully.
"Perhaps, but your plans are far too uncouth." Angela counters. "That kind of relationship should nurtured and consensual, not forced like some kind of… Animal!"
"Then we better get going, shouldn't we?" I ask, trying to ignore both of them, as well as Nami's wink, and turning to the pet store and the dog sitting in front of it. "What about you Shushu? Want in on this as well?" I ask, Shushu barking in response, before he catches up with us, our motley crew heading toward Buggy's.
"What are we going to do when we get there?" Nami asks.
"We're going to kick Buggy's ass." Luffy answers with his trademark grin and laugh. I give my own grin, thinking about how I'll be able to use the new powers that I've acquired thanks to Devil's Kiss.
We return to Buggy's hideout, stopping outside the doors. "You guys can fight, but I'm going to go steal the treasure and map." Nami tells us as she walks towards a different part of Buggy's hideout.
"Alright, be careful." I tell her, crouching low to the ground and facing the doors that lead into Buggy's base of operations.
"What are you doing?" Zoro asks, wrapping a bandana around his head.
"Getting us in." I answer, taking a deep breath and charging towards the door. I bore down on the entrance, crashing into the two large doors with all my might. I feel my shoulder crack, but the doors give way none the less and fly open. Buggy and his crew look at us, surprised at our entrance. The others catch up as my shoulder mends itself, and we walk into the compound.
"What are you doing here?!" Buggy demands, recovering quickly. "You're all supposed to be dead!"
"Did you really think a simple neck wound was going to do me in?" I laugh at him.
"I've kept my promise, and came to beat you!" Luffy declares.
"Have you now?" Buggy asks, turning a confused look to the mayor and Shushu. "Why is there an old guy and a dog accompanying you?"
"We're here because you've trampled over our treasure for too long!" The mayor yells at Buggy, Shushu barking in agreement. "My name is Boodle, and I won't let you hurt this town any longer!"
"What an idiot!" Buggy laughs at the mayor. "The word 'treasure' brings to mind the thoughts of gold, silver and jewels. The owner has to have some sense of dignity and pride about owning it before calling it a treasure! The village is your treasure? What a bunch of meaningless words!"
"How dare you say that about their home?!" I roar, charging Buggy's crew. Not even thinking about my abilities in my haze of anger.
"I hope this won't become a trigger for him." Demona sighs. With that, the battle commences. I ram full-force into the first pirate in my way, flipping him over my shoulder undeterred and punching the next one in the face. Keeping my flow going I slide between the legs of another pirate and grab them, spinning him around before throwing him into the crowd. I dodge a sword swipe and upper-cut the offender, laying him out. I donkey-kick a pirate behind me and catch the arm of a different one that swings at me, flipping him onto the ground.
At this point a small group has gathered around me, the leftovers fighting the combined might of Mayor Boodle and Shushu. I can see Zoro fighting a strange-looking swordsman on a unicycle while Luffy goes after Buggy himself. It's then I hear a roar and turned to see the lion from before charging me. As it gets closer, I crouch down and jump in the air, drop kicking it in the face when it reaches me. The lion is staggered for a moment, so I take the opportunity to slide down its back and grab its tail, starting to spin it around. As the beast picks up speed, I take a few steps as I spin to start hitting some of the pirates around me before letting go and allowing the animal to sail over the hideout's wall and into the sea.
I slide into a southpaw stance and step toward one of the pirates still standing, jabbing him in the face until he falls down. I dodged another sword and land a left hook into the ribs of the attacker, breaking one or two of them. I dance through Buggy's crew, punching and countering their attack until only three are left. I grab the closest one and punched him, dazing him enough so that I can slide around to his back and suplex him. I then slid back around to his front, picking him up and throwing him into the other two. I run toward them and jump, bringing my elbows down on their faces to knock them out. I stand and look over at Boodle and Shushu, who are doing fairly well for an old man and a dog. I run over to help them, and together we finish off the last of the pirates.
"We did it!" Boodle cheers, Shushu howling in encouragement. "We saved the village!"
"Not yet." I tell him, interrupting their celebration. "There's still Buggy to worry about." We hear the clashing of swords and turn to see Zoro and the unicycle guy in a deadlock. The unicycle man suddenly jumps in the air, and Buggy's hand shoots toward Zoro at the same time.
"Cabaji! I'll hold Zoro in place, so you can finish him off!" Buggy orders. But before his hand can reach Zoro, Luffy stomps it into the ground, causing Buggy to cry out in pain.
"Don't interfere with Zoro's fight!" Luffy yells at Buggy, grinning. The unicycle guy, Cabaji, falls from the sky and flies toward Zoro who dodges him easily, kicking the unicycle from under him in retaliation.
"I'm tired of being the opponent of someone with such pitiful skills." Zoro remarks.
"Then let me finish you off now, with my real sword skills!" Cabaji yells, charging Zoro.
"Oni…" Zoro begins, crouching down. "Giri!" In a burst of energy Zoro explodes past Cabaji who stops moving and collapses to the ground, bleeding from the wounds that suddenly appear all over him.
"Damn it, beaten by a common thief." He groans out, falling over. "How shameful." He mutters.
"Not a common thief, but a pirate" Zoro corrects, taking off his bandana and sheathing his swords. "Luffy, I'm going to take a nap."
"Alright, I'll take care of Buggy." Luffy says as Zoro walks off.
"You mean you guys are pirates!" Buggy exclaims in surprise.
"Yeah!" Luffy confirmed. "Now hand over the map of the Grand Line."
"So that's what you're after. A couple of weak, no-name pirates like yourselves won't last a day in the grand line!" Buggy yells. "What do you plan to do there?! Go sight-seeing?!"
"I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates." Luffy answers seriously. Buggy gets a strange look on his face, and then suddenly becomes enraged.
"Don't be a flashy idiot! If you're the Pirate King, then that makes me the Pirate God!" He screams. "All the treasure in the world will belong to me, so forget about it!"
"Okay, so hurry up and attack me." Luffy replies with a bored expression. "I'm getting bored." He says, cementing that fact.
"I'm liking this kid more and more." Demona laughs, apparently excited for the fight.
"You're going to eat your words rubber-boy." Buggy growls out. But then Buggy pauses for a moment, looking at Luffy like he just realized something. "Your hat reminds me of someone I knew when I was younger." Buggy remarks. "That red-haired idiot."
"Red hair?" Luffy echoed. "Are you talking about Shanks? Do you know him?" Luffy asks.
"You seem real interested in him." Buggy says. "Yeah I know him, what's it to you."
"Where is he now?" Luffy asks.
"You'd like to know, huh? Well maybe I know…" Buggy begins. "Then again, maybe I don't!"
"What are you talking about?" Luffy asks Buggy, confused. "Are you an idiot?"
"Watch your tongue, you bastard!" Buggy yells at Luffy. "We're mortal enemies, you won't be getting any information out of me without a fight. Not even as a parting gift to hell."
"Good thing I'm willing to beat it out of you." Luffy announces, grinning.
"~Ga Ha Ha Ha!~ It's too bad really, but you'll be dead before you get a single word out of me!" Buggy declares, tapping his feet on the ground to activate hidden blades in the shoes. "Not even rubber will be able to withstand the blade of my knife!" He exclaims. I can tell things are about to start fighting, so I turn around and grab Boodle and Shushu, before I go running off with them.
"What are you doing?!" Boodle demanded. "Put me down!"
"It's too dangerous for you two." I tell them, putting them down outside Buggy's hideout. "Whatever you do, don't come back in here." I continue, before rushing back to the fight, making it back in time to see Luffy fly past Buggy with his arm sticking out, forcing the clown pirate to pop his head off to avoid it. The part of it that surprised me was Luffy's other arm, because it was stretched ahead of him latched on to a house. It seemed to be what was pulling Luffy, but proved to be too effective as Luffy crashed into the house he was pulling against. I rush over to the rubble just as Luffy bursts from the wreckage, no injuries of any kind to be seen. "Luffy, how the hell did you do that?!" I demand, surprised. "What happened to your arm?!"
"I'm a rubber-man." Luffy answers as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Shee?" He asks while he stretches out his cheek to outrageous proportions to prove his point, and then lets it snap back.
"Oh… Well okay then." I say, backing up to get out of his way. Hey, if I can have the powers of fire grenades, who's to say that Luffy can't be a rubber man?
"How am I supposed to hit you when you keep flying into pieces?" Luffy remarks, turning his attention back to Buggy.
"Chop Chop Cannon!" Buggy yells in response, shooting a hand full of knives at Luffy. Luffy catches the hand right before it hits him, but it separates again and cuts the side of his face as well as his hat as they fly past. Luffy fell to the ground, holding onto said hat.
"Damn you!" Luffy growls out, looking furious.
"What's the matter?" Buggy asks mockingly. "Would you rather that I scratch your face?"
"That does it!" Luffy continues, a scary look on his face. "You ripped my hat!"
"I didn't think the kid could get that angry." Demona remarks, sounding impressed.
"So?" Buggy asked, uncaring.
"This hat is my treasure!" Luffy explodes. "Nobody can hurt it!"
"It really means a lot to you, huh?" Buggy asks, grinning.
"That's right!" Luffy replies. Out of the corner of my eye I notice something moving, looking to see Buggy's hand floating in the air. It throws one of the knives it had between it fingers at Luffy, who, hearing it coming, dodges out of the way in time. Buggy's fist then zooms forward, the blades between its fingers aiming right at Luffy's hat. Without a second thought I rush forwards and jump in the way, taking the blow instead of Luffy's treasure.
"Kendrick!" Someone yells at me, I can't tell who though. I roll across the ground from the force of the attack, coming to a sliding stop on my knee. I grab Buggy's hand and pulled it out of my chest, stomping it into the ground.
"That was a dirty move." I tell him. "Going after Luffy's hat like that." Buggy looks surprised at my sudden recovery, not believing what he's seeing.
"How the hell are you doing that?!" Buggy demands, watching my wounds heal in fear.
"~Hehehehe~ Honestly? I have no idea." I answer him with a grin. "It just sort of happens. Guess I just can't die by normal means." I continue with a cocky smirk.
"That's bullshit!" Buggy complains. "How am I supposed to beat that?!"
"You aren't." I answer him. "You're supposed to beat him." I say, pointing to someone behind him. Buggy is confused for a second, and then seems to remember he's fighting Luffy. He looks around for the rubber-boy, but it's too late to avoid Luffy's attack. Buggy slides across the ground, almost skipping from the strength of Luffy's kick. Luffy walks over and straddled buggy, grabbing him by the face.
"Don't you dare hurt my hat!" Luffy yells in anger. "It was a gift from Shanks!"
"Chop Chop-" Buggy starts to say, only to be stopped by Luffy punching his face.
"Don't split apart!" Luffy shouts out at the clown pirate. They tousle for a bit on the ground, but eventually Buggy throws Luffy off of himself.
"Never before has anyone made me as mad as Shanks did!" Buggy growls out as he stands up. "That son of a bitch stole my greatest treasure from me! And I won't forgive him for it!" He exclaims, before he tells us how he and Shanks used to be on the same pirate crew when they were younger. During an attack on a ship, Buggy had found a treasure map while the others discovered a Devil Fruit. When he learned that they were worth a lot of money, he hatched a plan to steal it by pretending to eat it. It backfired, however, when Shanks accidentally scared Buggy into eating the real fruit. The story ended with Shanks saving Buggy from drowning. "I swallowed 100 million Berri that day." Buggy seethes. "Now I can't swim, so I can't reach the treasure on the ocean floor."
"Hmm…so shanks saved your life!" Luffy points out.
"So what! It was all his fault, he ruined my ultimate plan!" Buggy screams, splitting from his waist to float in the air. "So I changed it! If I couldn't get all the treasure under the sea, then I would have all the treasure on it using my new Chop Chop powers! I don't care how insignificant you are! If you dare lay one hand on my treasure, I'll fucking kill you!" He yells. And with that, Buggy launches himself toward Nami, who is in the process of stealing his treasure. I rush after Buggy, jumping on his back when he was close enough to the ground. I grab his head and jerk it around, throwing us off the collision course with Nami so we instead crashed into a nearby building. We roll out of the wreckage, myself punching Buggy in the face repeatedly.
"Nami! Run!" I order, struggling to keep Buggy grounded. Nami nods and runs off, holding a huge sack of treasure over her shoulder. I grab Buggy and lift him in the air, only to slam him back into the ground. Buggy shoots of his arms, knives in hand trained on Nami. I let go of his head so that I can rush after them, but Buggy latches on to my leg with his teeth to trip me. With another growl, I raise my leg and kick a building, smashing Buggy's head against it and forcing him to let go. His arms falter from the pain just enough to I can catch up to them, grab them, and drag them to the ground. Buggy fights back, stabbing me all over to get me to let go.
"ENOUGH!" Buggy roars, tired of being stopped by us. "Chop Chop Festival!" He exclaims, before he suddenly bursts into a bunch of smaller parts, escaping from my grasp and rushing Nami. "Let's see you save your friend now!" Buggy laughs. "Now give back my treasure!" He yells at Nami. Buggy's head starts chasing after Nami, with me not far behind. But Buggy must have started losing it, because all of a sudden he starts laughing like a mad man. "~Gah ha ha ha~ c-cut that out!" He laughs.
"The hell's wrong with him?" Demona asks, confused.
"Maybe he's not all there?" Angela offers. Then Buggy's expression changes again, suddenly looking incredibly pained. It then changes a third time, becoming something… Something. I can't figure out if he's smiling or in pain since his face contorted into strange angles.
"Cut it out! I've had enough!" Buggy roars at Luffy.
"How about this!" Nami exclaims, stopping suddenly. "Why don't you cut it out?!" She yells as Buggy stops to look at her, reacting quick enough to grab the bag of treasure she swings at him with the hands that had stayed near his head. Because of this, the two of them stop moving, finally giving me a chance to catch up. When I catch up, I jumped into the air and kick Buggy's head away from the bag. He sails into a nearby building and lets go of the bag in the process, dropping it to the ground along with Nami.
"Thanks for saving me." Nami thanks me.
"Of course, I wouldn't be a good friend if I did anything otherwise." I reply with a smile.
"You bastards!" Buggy screams at us, charging with his knives. But before he can reach us, Luffy comes from nowhere and blindsides him with a punch. Buggy rolls across the ground, coming to a stop a few feet away. Something fell from his coat, which had been clasped around his neck, so I run over and pick it up. It was a piece of paper, one that unrolled into a map.
"Hey, is this the Grand Line map you guys were looking for?" I ask Luffy and Nami.
"Yeah!" They both answer at the same time.
"Now hold on there you bastards!" Buggy yells at us, floating in the air again. "That's my map, and I won't let you take it!"
"You're still alive?" Luffy remarks, sounding annoyed.
"Shut up! I'll kill you!" Buggy yells. "Come together! Chop Chop…" Buggy doesn't finish when he realizes something's wrong, only his hands, feet, and head returned together. "What?!" Buggy exclaims, confused and surprised.
"Is this what you're looking for?" Nami asks, standing on a bound pile of Buggy's body parts.
"Shit! My body!" Buggy yells.
"~Ha ha ha ha!~ Good job Nami, leave the rest to me!" Luffy laughs, throwing his arms back so that they stretched a long ways.
"Wait!" Buggy begs the straw hat wearing teen, scared for his life.
"See ya Buggy! Gum Gum…" Luffy begins, his arms snapping back. "Bazooka!" Luffy's hands explode against Buggy's now minuscule body, launching the captain into the air and over the horizon. I grin at his shrinking form, and figure now would be as good a time as any to pass out from exhaustion. The last thing I see before everything turns black is Buggy disappearing in a similar way to a certain trio that always tries to kidnap a certain Pikachu.
AN: Alright, the second chapter out only a couple days later! Note that this will most likely be the common trend for the first few chapters, because these ones will just be myself going over the ones that kta250298 wrote, and making minor changes. Now, when we get to the Usopp arc, it's going to take longer because I'm probably going to include Ken, so I'm going to actually have to make chapters, thus leading to longer breaks between them. But, I will use the chapters that kta250298 wrote for the Sanji arc. So don't worry about that.
Well, since I've only gotten two reviews, I guess it won't take that long to review them. But seriously guys, I know that only like, fifty-five of you have read this, but you would think that with 4 favorites and 6 followers, there would be more reviews. (Reviews updated February 15th, 2015)
DarkLord98:
Thanks for being the first to actually review on this, and here's the answers to your guesses. 1: Nope, but that would be a good idea. 2: Close, but not quite. 3: Nope, but yet another good idea. And 4: Nah, if it were that, I would have made the fruit grey. So yeah, the closest would be "Black-Lantern Type" powers. But it doesn't include a ring, or any other object. Instead, he uses things that are in the immediate area. And the because of the ability, he is most powerful during night. Can you guess what his powers are now? If not, they'll be revealed within a couple chapters.
(Well, your guesses were good when he still had the Devil Fruit power, but now he's got a vigor from Bioshock. However, I still thank you for being the first to review, and your ideas were actually good ones, that I think you should implement if you write your own OP story.)
Daisylovesu:
Glad you like it! I had a similar thought when I saw that he had discontinued the story, and I hope that you continue to like it. Also, here's the update you wanted.
(Well, here's another updated, granted it's really only editing small things, but I hope that you're happy about my short return to this for now.)
Anyways guys, thanks for the support I've gotten for this story so far, and I hope to see you all next time!