I can't help but feel this chapter is rushed, but I'm not going to sit here and regale the whole fight the same way to you guys. That's no fun.
And I know I posted late again. Sue me!
Enjoy!
"I don't know how clear I have to be," Luffy said. "I don't want to help you."
"Luffy this really isn't the time for this!" Nami replied. "Get us off of this thing or destroy it!"
"Nah."
"Big Bro is being effected by something," Johnny hissed to Nojiko and Sanji, who were standing near him. "It has to be that symbol under his feet."
"It's the other woman!" Vivi shouted from the Service Set. "Ms. Golden Week is a Portrait Painter! She can make you feel any emotion with her paints!"
"You sure found out a lot, Ms. Wednesday," the smaller girl said, Palette in one hand and her other funnelling crackers into her mouth. "My paints can make anyone do as I wish. Right now, your Captain is feeling a rather betraying black."
"Big Bro!" Johnny shouted, but Luffy didn't look at him at all. "Step off of that thing underneath you!"
"Nah," Luffy replied.
"Hmm..." Sanji said to himself. "Hey, Luffy. Do us a favour and keep standing on that mark okay? It'd be a great help."
"I don't listen to you," Luffy replied, stepping off of the symbol. As soon as he did he looked around in a daze, looking confused.
"What was I doing?" He asked.
"Helping us!" Nami shouted.
"Oh, right!" Luffy shouted. "Gum-Gum...BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Johnny gaped as Luffy fell to the ground, gasping for breath and laughing louder than he had ever heard him laugh before. It looked like he might even die from it.
"No good," Ms. Golden Week said. "Yellow is the colour of fun. An he seems to be having a whole load of fun now." Luffy rolled around on the ground laughing as hard as he could, essentially taking him out of the fight. Johnny had spent too long watching him, and barely had time to block Ms. Valentine's swing as she came for him. The weight she gave the umbrella made the attack incredibly hard to block, but it was that or take the full brunt of it and get hurt again.
"Pay attention to your own fight, Glasses!" She said. She continued to whack at him with the umbrella, and it took everything Johnny had to evade her. Jumping back, he readied his blade in a piercing stance, having an idea.
"Sword of the Sea: Rippling Tide!" Plunging forth with all his might, Johnny aimed for Ms. Valentine's chest. The attack was easily blocked by the umbrella, but he could hear it creak slightly. Not only this, but he watched as his force caused the woman to slid back slightly. He had been right after all
"Almost had me!" Ms. Valentine said with a smirk. Johnny only smirked back.
"I'll get you next time," he said. Using his might, Johnny quickly spun around the weapons and grabbed Ms. Valentine by the shoulder, and forced her to the ground with all his might. The woman impacted hard, causing her to cough as dust was thrown up.
"W-What the hell was that?!" She demanded. Johnny smirked.
"I heard what you said back at the last time we fought," he said. "You said you weren't used to using your power on things. So I deduced that you couldn't do both yourself and the umbrella. Either you weigh more or it does, not both."
"You little-!"
"Johnny look out!" Johnny was blindsided as Nojiko threw herself into his side, knocking both of them to the ground. an explosion sounded off mere seconds later, right where he had been standing. Looking up he saw Mr. Five watching, looking angry.
"Get up, Ms. Valentine." He said. "That pirate is a low life nobody. Don't lose to him." The woman nodded and got to her feet, readying her umbrella again.
"You okay?" Nojiko asked, still lying over Johnny as if there was some threat still.
"Yeah, I'm fine." he said. "Any ideas?"
"Johnny you bastard!" Sanji shouted, a fire lit in his eyes. "How dare you take the time to try and seduce Nojiko-swan on the battlefield! I'll get you for this!"
"What is he talking about?" Johnny asked, looking up at his Quartermaster. She just looked annoyed.
"Ignore him and get up," she replied. The pair got to their feet and squared off with the agents again, everyone being quiet before the battle broke out once again.
"Looks like this battle ain't going our way," Usopp hissed to himself, watching from the bushes. He'd obeyed Luffy's order to stay back and provide cover, but now he wasn't sure what he had to do. Did he help Luffy, or the others with the other agents? But he had an even bigger question than that.
"Why the hell are you here too?!" He shouted angrily, glaring at Karoo cowering next to him. "Aren't you gonna help save Vivi you useless bird?!" Karoo just quacked at him, making Usopp sigh.
"I get it," he said. "Fighting like this is scary. I don't like it either. I should thank Nojiko for buying me this rifle. After all, from this distance..." Usopp grinned as he loaded in his own ammo, and aimed the rifled squarely at Ms. Golden Week.
"I can save my Captain just like she said! Exploding Shot!"
The sound of a gunshot followed up by an explosion caused everyone on the field to pause. Ms. Golden Week cried out in pain, falling away from the picnic she was having with Luffy.
Her palette and brush lay destroyed near her.
Another shot rang out, and Luffy caught on fire. The Captains agonised cries made everyone watch for a fair amount of time, before finally he appeared from the inferno shirtless. Coincidentally, also without the marks that had been drawn on him.
"Finally!" He shouted angrily. "Now I can save the others!"
"Tch," Mr. Five said. "And to think our superior agents went down first..." The man reached into his coat and drew a gun, one Johnny had never seen before. He aimed in into the bushes, firing off a bunch of shots. The shots exploded just like every other part of the man, but this one was punctuated with Karoo crying out from the flames. He appeared shortly thereafter carrying a wounded Usopp, somehow still conscious.
"Big Bro Usopp!" He shouted frantically. "Are you okay?"
"Just...Barely," Usopp replied. "H-Have we saved the others?" Usopp's question caused everyone to look towards the Service Set, and their eyes widened. The four crew members had finally turned to wax completely, unmoving and quiet.
"Damn it..." Luffy hissed. "Are we too late?"
"You may as well be!" Johnny turned and watched, mouth agape, as a massive wax thing appeared from the jungle. It appeared to resemble a boxer, and had Mr. Three controlling it at the top. "Now, I'll defeat you with my Wax Champion move! Ms. Golden Week, paint me a cool colour!"
"Can't," the girl replied from her position near her palette. "They destroyed my paints."
"What?!" Mr. Three asked in disbelief. "Damn pirates! Just how pitiful are you lot?!"
"You went down first!" Ms. Valentine pointed out.
"Luffy," Sanji called. The Captain looked to his Cook, who had lit a new cigarette. "You're taking the wax guy I presume?"
"Of course."
"Hm. I'll take the explosion dude. Johnny, Nojiko-swan, you two can take her right?"
"Of course," Nojiko said, raising her pistols. "Sanji, get me that guy's pistol. I want it."
"I'll fulfil my duty, Big Bro Sanji!" Johnny shouted as he raised his sword again. Sanji grinned as he turned to Usopp.
"And you can find a way to free our friends, Usopp." He said. "If everyone's cool with that, let's get going!" Without waiting Sanji rushed at Mr. Five, who stood waiting without a care in the world. His kicks easily connected, but the explosions that followed sure were a pain in the neck.
"Listen buddy," Sanji said as he jumped backwards. "My beautiful Nojiko-swan wants your pistol. So I'm going to need you to hand it over."
"Ah, you mean this pistol?" Mr. Five asked as he took it out again. "How about I give you a full demonstration?" Before he could ask what that meant, he had to watch the man load the pistol with his own boogers.
"That is vile!" Sanji said. "How dare you do that to Nojiko-swan's new gun!"
"I'll do whatever I want with my gun!" The man replied aiming it at Sanji. Growling, he charged for the man with everything he had, dodging the shots as they flew at him. They just barely missed every time, but the blast still singed his back at bit.
"Collier!" Sanji twisted and aimed his foot at the mans neck, but Mr. Five dodged. He used the momentum to swing his own leg at him, exploding as it passed by him. The kick may have missed, but the explosion still hit him dead on. Not one to be outdone, Sanji recovered quickly and rushed back at Mr. Five.
"Flanchet!" The midsection kick hit its target, making Mr. Five double over in pain. Sanji didn't give him any room to breathe, getting closer and kicking him high into the air. The man recovered and fired more boogers at him, which he dodged to the best of his ability. The man landed again and laughed.
"Are you just going to run away from me the whole time?" He asked. Sanji just chuckled.
"Says the guy with the gun." Running at him again, Sanji had a plan this time. Waiting for a few of the shots to be fired, he spun and kicked for the mans outstretched hand. Just as he planned the pistol was sent flying, and he jumped to catch it before Mr. Five could. He smiled as he landed, twirling the gun in his hand.
"Nice toy," he said with a smirk. "My Nojiko-swan appreciates your gift." Mr. Five growled, readying himself for close quarters fighting.
"You pirates really don't know how to quit."
Karoo rode Usopp into the nearby bushes as the fighting recommenced, everyone taking on their designated fighter. But he didn't need too focus on that right now. Right now he needed to free their friends. Surely there was an opening, right?
Finally, he decided on watching how Mr. Three fought. Surely Luffy could show him an opening that he could exploit right? The Wax Champion and Straw Hat Captain exchanged vicious blows, Luffy clearly the underdog. For a while the pair just beat each others faces in, but before long he saw something.
As Mr. Three went to manipulate the wax, the the top if his hair caught on fire. The wax poured out and attacked Luffy, who dodged it.
That was it. Fire.
"I better get a banquet in my honour for all the work I'm doing." He hissed to himself, Karoo watching him stuff his ammo into the gun. Once he'd gotten it in, he took aim for Nami, aiming right at her stomach.
"Sorry Nami. Please don't hate me."
Just like before, the gunshots caused the entire battle to freeze. No one looked for where Usopp had fired from, what wasn't important. What was important was the Service Set, starting with Nami, had caught fire. Just like her, Yosaku, Vivi and Zoro also caught fire, burning up along with the set.
"Usopp what the hell are you doing?!" Sanji shouted as he glared at the sniper. "What if you burn Vivi-chwan or Nami-swan's precious skin?!"
"Fire melts wax!" Usopp shouted in his own defence. "I'm saving them, you're welcome!"
"You bastard!" Mr. Three shouted as he bore down on Usopp, who screamed in a panic. "How dare you destroy my Service Set! I'll kill you!"
"Ah no you don't!" Sanji watched as Luffy jumped on top of the Wax Champion, pulling at Mr. Three's hair. "Usopp, shoot this guy too!" The sniper looked confused at first, but he nodded and loaded his gun again. With another shot the center of the wax body caught on fire. Mr. Three started to panic from within, but Luffy didn't give him the chance to harden it again.
"Gum-Gum Bazooka!" His hands easily cut into the softened wax, connecting with Mr. Three. The man was forcibly ejected from the body, flying right into a nearby tree and breaking it.
"Looks like we're wrapping this up huh?" Sanji asked, rubbing his neck. Before Mr. Five could react, Sanji had already leapt into the air. "Mouton Shot!" The man hadn't prepared in the slightest for his flurry of kicks to connect with his face. He too flew backwards and into a tree, leaving only Ms. Valentine standing. The woman clicked her teeth as she looked around, clearly irritated.
"This is insane," she said. "I'm out of here!"
"Not likely, seeing as Big Bro Usopp ruined your umbrella!" Johnny said with a smirk. Ms. Valentine glared at him, before she smirked.
"As if I need that thing to escape!" She shouted. Before anyone could do anything, she took a running start and leapt into the air, floating off away from the crew as she began to descend slowly.
Until Broggy blocked her path. The giant looked positively livid as he wrapped his hand around the woman, who looked terrified.
"How dare you interrupt our honour bound duel!" He boomed. Raising his hand high above his head, he spiked Ms. Valentine down into the dirt, making the entire island shake. The woman now lay at the bottom of a crater, unmoving. In the blink of an eye Vivi, Zoro, Nami and Yosaku appeared from the flames, burnt a bit but alive.
"Who the hell lit us on fire?!" Nami shouted, shirtless. Sanji could barely hear Usopp's cries over the sound of angels singing in his ears as he stared at his own princess.
Rounding up the Baroque Works agents wasn't too hard seeing as all save Ms. Golden Week was unconscious, and she seemed pretty willing to cooperate. There wasn't much to tie them up with, so some vines would have to do for now. Not like it mattered anyway, they'd be leaving soon enough.
"This is a cool little pistol," Nojiko said as she played with the gun she'd taken from Mr. Five. From what Usopp had told her it was a new model out of the South Blue, capable of firing six shots very quickly. She was going to use this to her own advantage, definitely. At Usopp's request she'd handed over one of her old pistols. He said he had an idea for it, so she had no issues in handing it over. If Usopp's custom ammo was any indication, he could be trusted with mods.
Granted her joy was undercut by Broggy's crying.
"Big Bro Broggy!" Yosaku shouted, still not wearing a shirt for some reason after it had been singed off by Usopp's flames. "I feel your pain!"
"To win the duel like this!" Usopp shouted. "This is unforgivable!"
"Would you lot shut up already?" Dorry asked, walking up to them cradling his wounds. Everyone gasped as he sat down, Broggy looking the most surprised.
"Dorry!" He shouted as he embraced his friend. "You're alive!"
"Of course I am," Dorry mumbled. "Our weapons are nowhere near sharp enough to kill me with one strike."
"Weapons?" Luffy asked. Broggy too looked confused before his eyes widened.
"Of course!" He boomed. "A hundred years of fighting will surely dull a weapon!" Dorry nodded at this, looking down at the gash across his front.
"You barely cut me at all," he said pointedly. "It hurts, but it's not deep."
"Still..." Vivi muttered. "Those people came here because of me, and you guys got hurt."
"Oh stop it," Nami said, smacking the princess on the top of the head lightly, taking a a break from using Sanji due to her shirtless dilemma. "If they came here, that means someone sure is mad that you're on the move. Take is as a compliment!"
"And we won anyway!" Luffy shouted happily. "Let's have a rice cracker party to celebrate!" Nojiko watched as the Captain tossed crackers to everyone, who looked confused.
"Where did you get these?" Johnny asked as he bit into his.
"That small girl we beat up had them," Luffy replied as he stuffed his face with them.
"Hey Luffy, share!" Usopp shouted. "You have more than us!"
"I'm the Captain I get the most of the loot!"
"Still," Zoro said as the two argued, "I doubt those will be the last agents we encounter. After all, the last thing Baroque Works wants is Vivi to make it home."
"We'll deal with them when they come for us," Nojiko said as Yosaku too attempted to take more crackers from Luffy. "For now, we should leave. Who knows when those three will wake up, and we should we gone when they do."
"And with the time it takes to store a Log, we have no choice but to use Ms. All Sunday's Eternal Pose." Nami agreed. "So we should get going." Nojiko saw her sister flinch slightly and wack at her stomach, but she just assumed a bug had bitten her. It was likely, seeing as they were in the middle of a jungle.
"So you'll be leaving?" Broggy asked, making the crew look back at the giants.
"Yep, we gotta get going!" Luffy said from atop both Yosaku and Usopp. "We'd love to stay longer but we can't!"
"Hm," Dorry said. "Then allow us to see you off from the shore. We will meet you there!"
"Wait!" Usopp shouted as both giants stood up. The sniper smiled up at them. "I just want to thank you guys for what you showed me here today! How to be a proud warrior of the seas, and how you have to fight for your pride no matter what! I won't forget what I saw here today!" Both watched Usopp quietly before breaking out in booming laughter.
"Our friend sure is funny, Broggy!" Dorry shouted.
"He is indeed!" Broggy said. "Do not fear Usopp! One day you will become a brave warrior just like us! You sure helped us today too, we we thank you for that!"
Usopp laughed as well as the giants left, leaving the crew to themselves.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Nojiko said as their schedule flooded back to her. "We still need some more meat. Let's kill more dinosaurs on the way back to Merry!"
"Yes!" Luffy cheered. "Dino tastes awesome!"
And so with this the Straw Hats began the walk back to the Going Merry, after correcting Zoro's course and assuring Nami she wouldn't be eaten of course.
Far away from Little Garden, in the country of Alabasta, another situation was developing. In this office sat Ms. All Sunday, who was near a Banana Gator that was resting peacefully. The woman watched quietly as her boss once again dialled the transponder snail, looking downright pissed off.
"Problem, Mr. Zero?" She asked with a small smirk at his irritation. The Warlord looked back at her.
"Don't sass me, Ms. All Sunday." He threatened. "Or I'll kill you too."
"Whatever has you so mad?" She asked, ignoring the threat. He wouldn't kill her. Not yet.
"Mr. Three isn't answering," he replied as he growled at the silence again. He hung up at puffed at his cigar to calm himself down. "I explicitly told him I'd be contacting him to give him orders."
"Perhaps he's been defeated," she suggested.
"If he has I'll kill him," He replied. "He'd better answer soon, or else I'll send Mr. Two to eliminate him."
"A bit rash don't you think?" She asked.
Crocodile rolled his eyes and turned his eat away from her, puffing his cigar again.
"I'm not a fan of loose ends."