Admittedly, this one is shorter than others, but on the plus side it has a serious reveal for the plot, and it ends her time in Alabasta! Hopefully you enjoy this one as much as the others!
Also, GlassedGamer pointed out that I have a habit with ending chapters on certain types of cliff-hangers, and I will try to dial those down.
Thank you everyone who has continued to support me through all of this, I never would have gotten this far without all of you!
Anyways, Read & Enjoy!
The world came back slowly, colours muted and blurred and everything sounding muffled and underwater. My movements were slow and sluggish. Pushing myself up slowly I shake my head in an attempt to clear the heaviness from it. A powerful heat assaulted my skin, and I turned to see a raging inferno engulfing everything it touched. It took several moments for the image to register, and I slowly turned to try and look around me. One of my arms gave out as I turned and I fell on my side, gravity forcing my weight to tilt too far and I tipped onto my back, a soundless breath of air escaping me. My head turned to one side, and I saw Jack and some of his crew on the ground several metres from me, their weight having given them greater momentum and sending them farther away. I tried to sit up, but something suddenly on my chest pushed me back down. I had to squint when I looked up, the sun nearly directly above what was blocking me. It was a person, male by the silhouette, thin and… pointing something at me.
"Shame I lost so much merchandise" the man said, and I belatedly realised this was the businessman from before. "But no matter, as I said before, your bounties will compensate wondrously for my losses" the 'click' sound of a gun being taken off the safety setting echoed loudly in my ears. Oh no, no way was I dying here. Not now, and certainly not by this stupid little ferret.
Adrenalin flooded my system like lightning, and while my head was not yet clear, my instincts allowed me a knee-jerk reaction that bypassed my brain. My right fist swung in an, admittedly, too-wide arc to do any real damage, but when it struck the man's bent knee that was attached to the foot on my chest, it shocked and hurt him enough to disrupt his balance. I sluggishly rolled away as he stumbled, and forced myself onto my hands and knees; tilting my heavy head just enough to see the man recover his balance and aim the gun angrily at me. Before he could pull the trigger, though, he froze. For several long seconds he did not move, with me expecting to be shot the whole time, but when he did the unexpected happened.
He lowered his gun.
"Sorry it took me so long" he said, sheepishly, which just confused me "but the guy was surprisingly hard to pin down" he added before throwing the gun away. I stared at him for a long, confused minute as he went about helping the pirates stand up and making sure they were alright.
"Damn, you've broken some bones, captain. Where's Richie?" the businessman looked around as he helping the captain stand tall. The crew was beginning to regroup and my head was clearing enough for me to slowly stand.
"Oh, sorry Traveller, are you okay?" the businessman approached me, but I stumbled back and tried to settle in a defensive stance despite still being off-kilter.
"What the hell is going on?" I growled out, tilting to one side a little too far and stumbling to stay on my feet. God, I really hit my head hard.
"What? Oh! Hang on, hang on. Jack, can you please restrain this guy?" he asked, starring up at Jack, who nodded and grabbed both his arms. A moment passed before the man slumped, unconscious. My brows furrowed at the sudden fainting spell, and a groan somewhere behind had me spinning. Unfortunately, my balance and my head were still shoddy and I tripped over myself and fell on my back, rather inelegantly, if I do say so myself.
Hammond, the dark haired fedora wearing pirate, was slowly rising from his position on the ground. His shoulder was dislocated and he was bleeding from somewhere on his scalp but didn't seem to notice. I stared in confusion, not comprehending what the hell was going on. I slowly pushed myself into a sitting position, and looked between the young pirate and the captain holding the businessman, waiting for an explanation.
"Well…" Hammond began slowly, wincing as he touched his shoulder. I got up slowly and began towards him, settling beside him I started inspecting his shoulder, just a standard dislocation by the looks, luckily. I looked up to him, silently asking for permission, and he nodded stiffly. A push and a pop later, his shoulder was back in place and he was notably paler, but otherwise took the whole thing well.
"Well" he said again, thickly, and cleared his throat "a few days ago, I ate a Devil Fruit. Not sure what it was called, but I was able to… possess people, I guess, afterwards" I looked at him for a long time, processing what he just said. Normally it wouldn't take me this long, but I suspect I've managed to hurt my head pretty badly. Damn, another hospital visit.
"And why didn't we just use you in the beginning, instead of going through all this trouble?" I asked slowly, my shock morphing into a flat, unimpressed, look. Hammond coughed awkwardly into his fist and looked away from me, a slight blush on his cheeks.
"I haven't mastered it yet, and I've barely figured out how to activate it. It was pure luck that I was able to possess that guy at all" he admitted, obviously a little annoyed at his apparent lack of proficiency of his newfound powers. I leaned back on my haunches, thinking about what he just said.
It certainly explained a lot, though, since sending in a newly born Devil Fruit user into a dangerous situation was akin to playing with a live grenade. It could work in your favour, or blow up in your face. Well, definitely useful, and definitely not something I want to experience.
"Okay. Cool, then" I said at last, causing the young man to blink at me in surprise. I rolled my eyes at that. Did he really think I would be pissed off? My head may have unscrewed itself a little, but I can see the logic in it, and understand his reasons for not jumping in as soon as possible.
Before the conversation could progress further, the businessman stirred, and after a few seconds to become orientated, he became suitably panicked. But, again, before anything could be done, the sound of sirens and shouting reached our ears. We must have only been out for a short amount of time, if the firemen were only just arriving.
"Time to depart?" I asked cheerily, despite myself, and Jack grinned down at me.
"Time to depart" he agreed.
A good hour later we found ourselves back on the ship, supplies gathered through rather violent means, the business man appropriately taken care of and my head checked out and diagnosed with a minor concussion. No sleeping for a while and everyone was staying put for another day or so to recover before they went off sailing.
In the meantime, I split my time between hanging out with Jacks crew, recovering, and looking for the Mysterious Woman Who Knew of Death. It was surprisingly difficult. Or maybe not-so-surprising since I literally knew nothing about the woman besides the obvious, which, as it turns out, is not the best information in locating the woman. Which kind of sucks, since that's literally all I have on her.
I sighed as I walked down yet another street, my hands in my pockets once again. The sun was beginning to set and people were heading back home to avoid the chill of the desert nights. The sky was darkening and the world was bathed in long shadows and a golden-orange light that never failed to remind me of my old home from so long ago. I finally stopped from my aimless wandering, and half-turned to look at the setting sun. Another fruitless day, another day wasted looking for someone who might have the answers to my questions. With another sigh, I turned fully towards the sunset and started walking back towards the docks.
"How strange" I soft, gravelly voice said suddenly, like a whisper on the wind. Turning my head, I saw a hunched figure shrouded by a black cloak and long dark robes, her face hidden under her hood. I half-turned again so neither my front nor my back face her, and watched the woman shift slightly so I could see more of her face, but her eyes remained hidden. It was then I noticed we were the only ones out on the street, completely alone.
"Strange how?" I asked, knowing she was referring to me. The woman made a noncommittal hum before turning away and began to walk down the street, away from the docks. I hesitated for a moment, but began to follow the woman. I followed shortly behind her for several long minutes, through winding turns and dark corners and shadowed alleys before finally coming to an unnoticeable building.
I stopped at the threshold of the building, the door left open behind the woman as she entered. The room beyond the door was pitch black, no light pierced beyond the entrance, even with the setting sun casting a bright glow on everything it touched. But no light could touch this darkness, I suppose, since light had no place in the realm of death.
Looking up from where I was staring at the floor of the entrance, I glance towards the sunset, where the docks are, but taking a step through the threshold and following the woman.
Once I was clear of the door, it slammed shut. I spun around but couldn't see anything, and there wasn't any sign that there had ever been a door. With a deep, slow breath, I carefully turned and continued on through the house. The further I walked, the more pressure I felt, pushing on me from all directions. I found it harder and harder to breathe, and my head was heavy, I couldn't think straight.
Then suddenly, the weight was gone. I stumbled forward and landed on my knees, clutching my head with one hand as the fogginess disappeared. I shook my head, panting, wondering what the hell that was and why the hell I thought it had been a good idea to follow the woman. A light flickered to life in the corner of my vision, and I looked up to see a candle atop a small round table. The woman waiting patiently in one of the two chairs, a small box in her hands. With a long sigh, I stood and walked over to the table, wordlessly taking a seat.
The woman held one of her hands out expectantly. I gave her a strange, confused look, because really I had no clue what was going on, but I extended my hand nonetheless. I finally found the woman, there was no way I was just going to turn tail and run. Plus I had no idea how to get out.
There was a flash of silver and a sharp pain, I jerked my hand back in reaction and the woman relinquished her grip without a fight. In her other hand was a blade, the sharp edge glistening darkly in the candlelight. The dark cloaked woman opened the box, revealing was looked like a small pile of dirt, and flicked blood into the box.
Admittedly, I didn't really expect anything to happen, but after a few moments the drops of my blood began to glow amber and hardened, mixing with the soil to create a stone of a dark orange, once it stopped glowing. The tiny stones were translucent, with no impurities that I could see, and were perfectly smooth; standing out against the dark earth it rested on.
"How strange" I jumped at the woman's voice, my eyes jerked up to clash with her grey ones. They were staring at me with such… wisdom, such power, it was a little frightening. "How fascinating" she breathed, her eyes unwavering.
"What is?" I asked after a moment, suddenly very apprehensive about the answer.
"A warrior with the spirit of the lion, born from the soul of earth" she started, in a trance, "the two became one and became two once again, each holding a piece of the other. Many things shall change, many things shall come, for chaos seeks to take all who fight, and turn them against the light. Protect her. That is your duty. Protect the Key from falling into the wrong hands. Ensure the song is heard, and pierce the darkness" she whispered, low but clear. I stared at her for a long time, wondering if this woman has gone mad.
"What?" I said flatly, but the woman simply smiled and said something completely unhelpful.
"Earth has chosen you" Then I was flying away from the woman, the table and the darkness, like something was pulling me back.
I didn't realise I was staring up at the night sky until a small desert fox crept up and licked my cheek. I blinked and my body remembered to breathe. I turned my head to the tiny animal, who gave me an extra lick before sitting up and looking at me for several seconds. One of its ears flicked before it dashed off through the back alleys and vanished into the night. Slowly, I sat up and found myself lying in the middle of the road, the door to the strange woman's house several feet ahead of me. My brain sluggishly comprehended what had happened, which was that I had somehow been thrown from the building. I gripped my head as the words she spoke came flooding back, echoing in my head repeatedly, and refusing to leave me alone.
Whatever or whoever this 'key' was, I needed to find it. But the woman said 'her'. Does that mean this 'key' is a person? With a frustrated sigh, I buried my face in my hands, wondering just what the hell I had gotten myself into, and what the hell I was going to do now.
Good? Bad? Any mistakes to point out? Thank you for reading, and I hoped you guys loved it!
R&R folks! Please and thank you. Here, have a bickie! See ya next time!