Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, One Piece or How to Train Your Dragon. All characters and their affiliations are owned by their respective creators. I am not making money off of this work of fiction. The characters Rock and Rain do belong to me.
Family of Outlaws
Chapter 17: Attack on Blackbeard
The pounding of a hammer alerted the occupants of the two vessels that something was going on. Robin was the first one to go investigate what the cause was. She came to the sight of Franky putting up a new frame aboard the Sunny. "What are you doing Franky?" she asked.
The cyborg paused in his work. He turned and looked up at Robin, moving his sunglasses up so she could see his eyes. "I said that I was going to make a special cabin for Luffy and Rain while they were away," he stated. "I thought that much was obvious."
"I didn't realize that you were serious," Robin stated. "I had assumed that you were just teasing Rain."
"Well," Franky let a huge grin slip across his face. "There's that too."
Rain and Luffy were flying in the heart of the team sent to deal with Blackbeard. "Why can't we be in front?" Luffy asked. "I'm the captain and should be at the front. Your dad and friends are surrounding us like we need protection."
"First off," Rain looked back patiently. "When we're flying the lead belongs to the alpha dragon. That would be Darkess' father, Toothless. Second, it's a dragon's instinct to protect the young or hatchlings. That's why all the other dragons have surrounded us and Darkess. Darkess is the youngest dragon in this group. It's not that the riders have guided them to fly in this pattern, it's what the dragons are doing on their own. Riders and dragons have unique bonds. A dragon will often listen to the direction of the rider. There are instances where we will be ignored if the dragon feels it's too dangerous or their instinct demands a certain behavior. We riders have learned long ago not to fight that instinct. Dragons are natural born flyers, riders are not." Luffy pouted as he begrudgingly accepted what Rain was saying.
"The island is coming up," Nami called. She was pointing to a group of clouds. It was so dark within them that none could see the island in the eye of the storm.
"We're not flying through that," Hiccup declared. He and Toothless then started to gain in altitude the closer they got.
Rain lowered her helmet over her face. "Take shallow breaths," she told Luffy. "The air is about to get very thin." The other dragons began to follow the alpha. Luffy followed Rain's advice and noticed that it was starting to get harder to breathe. "We'll fly over the storm," Rain continued. "That way we don't have to worry about wind and hail throwing us off course."
It only took a few minutes of flying over the clouds for the eye of the storm to come within sight. At the border of the clouds the dragons stopped their forward motion. They all gathered around Hiccup and Toothless. "They're bound to have someone left to guard their ship," Hiccup said. "We still need to take it out. The element of surprise and speed are our best weapon. Toothless and I will start the attack on the pirates that have taken up occupancy of the island. Rain, you and Darkess will start the attack to sink their ship. We need to keep them confused and off balance. Rough, Tough, you help Rain. Destroy as much of that ship as you can. I don't care how you do it. Everyone else follow up the attack with Toothless and I."
Luffy leapt over to join Hiccup on Toothless. "Blackbeard is mine," he declared. "Rain will be safe enough just by attacking the ship. I've been trained to use both Haki and Reiki. You'll need me to stop Blackbeard and anyone else from using their devil fruit abilities."
"Fair enough," Hiccup conceded.
Valka had Cloud Jumper move closer to Darkess and Rain. When they were close enough, Nami jumped over to join them. She sent Rain a charming smile when she looked at her in confusion. "There's no way I'm getting in the middle of the worst fighting."
Rain giggled a little and shook her head. She took a strap and tied it to the saddle. She gave the other end to Nami. "Tie this around your waist so you don't fall off. Darkess is going to be charging the ship at full speed." Nami nodded and silently did as Rain told her.
"Hiccup," Fishlegs called out. "Shouldn't Meatlug and I stay with the group attacking the ship?"
"Yeah," Usopp agreed as he sweat in fear. "Better yet, shouldn't we stay above the fighting to act as lookouts?"
"We'll need Meatlug to stop any of the pirates from escaping," Hiccup answered. "She can make molten rocks block their path."
"Snotlout and Hookfang could block their escape," Fishlegs argued.
"I'd rather avoid setting the forest on Fire," Hiccup countered. "If it makes you feel better then Snotlout and Hookfang can stay close to you and act as bodyguards."
"That makes me feel worse actually," Fishlegs groaned.
"Can I hop over to the two headed dragon?" Usopp asked.
"That's not a good idea," Sanji called. He pointed his lit cigarette in the direction of the twins. "Just look at those two." The blonde twins were getting psyched and ready for the battle. At one point they rammed their heads together. "They're bound to do something crazy and stupid like our captain. Do you really want to get in the middle of that?"
Usopp let out a sigh of disappointment and tightened his grip on Meatlug's saddle. "I'd rather stay with the slow dragon," he admitted.
"If that's all decided," Hiccup looked to everyone for their confirmation. "Rain, you and Darkess get us started. We'll follow a few seconds after to take advantage of the confusion." He then leaned over to Toothless' ear. "Do you know where the people on the island are?" Toothless bobbed his head 'yes'. "Then that's where we'll be attacking." He looked to Rain and nodded.
Rain took the signal from her father and urged Darkess into a free fall. She felt Nami lean closer to her back and move to hold onto her waist for a more secure grip. They were halfway to the target when she looked back to see the other dragons begin their own freefall. Barf and Belch were following Darkess while the others followed Toothless. Rain turned to face forward when she heard Darkess begin charging her attack. It was loud, no doubt about it, but if you didn't know what it was to begin with then it was still going to be a surprise.
Darkess aimed her attack at the waterline of the boat. She leveled off a little to steady herself and made the shot. True to Night Fury form she didn't miss. The ship shook violently in the aftermath. Steam ross from the water where it met the now burning wood of the ship. Using that as cover, Darkess veered away and flew in a different direction. With the attention of any pirates left to guard the ship on the new hole and the incoming water they never noticed a dragon gaining altitude on the other side of the ship.
The explosion of Darkess' attack reverberated around the island. Shouts could be heard from within the trees ordering everyone back to the ship. Toothless let loose his own volley of attacks to keep them from reaching their goal. Hookfang joined in on the fun. Meatlug dropped down in the path between the pirates and their ship, spewing molten rock on the path. Skullcrusher took down a few trees to make sure that they weren't able to go around the path.
It didn't take long for Luffy to spot Blackbeard in the chaos. He had a score to settle with him after all. Without waiting for anyone else, Luffy jumped off of Toothless. Hiccup called out to him, but his voice was drowned out by all the other noise. Luffy went immediately into second gear and landed in a crouch in front of Blackbeard. "Straw Hat?" the fat man asked in disbelief.
"Jet Pistol!" Luffy began the attack, not bothering to begin a conversation. Blackbeard fell back, landing on his rear. This man stood for everything Luffy was against. He attacked innocent people for his own gain and crushed any that got in his way. Luffy hated pirates like him. To make it worse Blackbeard was the one that turned Ace over to the marines, resulting in Ace's death. Luffy wasn't about to let that go unpunished.
Sanji followed after Luffy. He couldn't allow his captain to have all the fun. One of Blackbeard's crew had drawn his sword. He was ready to slice into Luffy's back. Sanji stopped the swing with his foot. "I've felt stronger attacks from a marimo," he baited. "I can't allow a weakling like you to take a cheap shot."
"Thanks Sanji," Luffy said without looking.
With a sneer, Blackbeard stood and activated his devil fruit powers. Luffy responded by coating his hands in Haki. It didn't surprise Blackbeard that Straw Hat had learned to use Haki. The surprise came when the fists started glowing pink. Using the hesitation to his advantage Luffy began his attack. He hit Blackbeard squarely in the jaw. The other pirate was thrown off the ground and started spinning. He landed face down in a mud puddle. He came up sputtering and wiping at his eyes.
Blackbeard turned to face Luffy once again. "Haki won't save you from the darkness," he goaded.
"You rely too much on that power," Luffy growled. "If it's so great, why don't you use it on me now?" Blackbeard's face went from one of concentration to one of confusion. "Is something wrong?" Luffy continued. "Why don't you attack?"
The dragons continued the assault on both the ship and pirates that strayed away from the fighting captains. Rough and Tough were spinning around the ship, letting loose the gas from one of their dragon's heads. Once they were satisfied and the ship was no longer visible through the green fumes they lit a spark. The ship went up in flames like a matchstick. The twins knocked their heads together in triumph.
Rain and Darkess destroyed any lifeboats that managed to get away from the burning ship. They were moving so fast that the pirates with guns weren't able to track them accurately. The twins were constantly letting out more fumes so that they wouldn't be seen. Of course they were constantly igniting them as well.
Luffy held up his glowing fist. "You know about Haki," he stated. "But I didn't use Haki against you, not exactly. I was taught a new technique by my mom. I've sealed your devil fruit powers. Now you have to fight using your own strength. Do you even have any strength of your own?"
Terror crossed Blackbeards face and he made to run. Toothless landed in his path and roared at him. Blackbeard took a look around him. His entire camp had been devastated by fire. A woman was freeing the strange animals and Goemon from their cage. Next to her was a large creature that had the facial features of an owl. Two men with over-sized muscles were tying up the top members of his crew. Blackleg Sanji had knocked out his swordsman. He was sitting on his back and casually smoking. The sound of a footstep falling drew his attention. Straw Hat had gotten much closer in the time that he was distracted.
Luffy reared back his fist. "This one is for Ace," he shouted. His fist moved so fast towards Blackbeard that it seemed to disappear. The force knocked Blackbeard out of the clearing. Toothless let out a roar that signaled the end of the battle.
Cloud Jumper and Skullcrusher were carrying the executive pirates of Blackbeard between both of their claws. Sanji was riding Skullcrusher and Nami was back with Cloud Jumper. Rough and Tough with their dragons Barf and Belch followed behind them. Leading the way Luffy rode with Hookfang and Snotlout for the time being, Hookfang carrying Blackbeard. They were halfway back across the storm that surrounded the island.
"I have to say it again," Hiccup called. He and Toothless were chasing after them. Darkess and Rain were flanking them. Behind were Fishlegs and Usopp on Meatlug. "You can't just go and kill them."
"I'm not going to," Luffy answered. "Gramps gave me some good information before we left. There's a marine fleet not too far away from here. We'll drop our 'passengers' off in the water nearby. If the marines choose not to save them then they'll be the ones that are killing them."
"They'll be rescued Dad," Rain spoke softly. She was attempting to put Hiccup's fears to rest. "After Blackbeard betrayed them, the world government isn't going to let him get off so easily as to just let him drown. They'll also want to put his crew back behind the bars he let them out of. This is the only thing that will put Luffy's mind at ease. I would be less merciful if Blackbeard had been responsible for the death of Rock. In fact, I would insist on slitting his throat myself."
"Rain!" Hiccup looked at her sharply.
Rain shrugged her shoulders as she let the look of disappointment roll off. "We're vikings first and foremost," she reminded. "We're not known for being the advocates of peace you strive to lead us toward. Granted we're getting better at it. We still have to protect our own. Peace isn't always achieved by talking."
Hiccup sighed at the point. "I know that all too well," he said softly. "Your grandfather paid the price for that lesson. That doesn't mean that I will allow you to talk about killing others for doing you and our family wrong."
Rain smiled as she relented the point. "Fair enough," she said. "Just remember though Dad, our family is about to get a lot bigger."
"We already consider Kagome family," Hiccup said. His eyes looked up in thought. "Of course Luffy will be joining the family as soon as you two marry. So that means his grandfather and father will be included in that. I don't see how you can say that it will be getting 'a lot' bigger though."
"Luffy considers all of his crew and friends family," Rain laughed. "Do you have any idea how many friends that Luffy and his crew have?"
"I'm trying not to think about it."