What is this?! An update? Hm...
By the way, I was totally unsure as to whether or not I wanted to go through with what I did in this chapter, so make sure to let me know what you think.
Enjoy!
The explosion rocked Luffy off of the stool he'd been sitting on, and he looked up in irritation as he landed.
"What the hell was that?" He demanded as he got to his feet.
"If I had to guess, it was an explosion," Yosaku said, looking to be in deep thought. Kureha, however, looking ready to slap him had he not been so sick.
"Of course it was, you moron." Nami said. "Was it that guy? Did he come back?" That guy? That was possible. Granted Luffy knew he'd tossed him off of the mountain, but it was always possible he'd come back.
"You guys stay here, I'll go check." He said. Bounding from the room, Luffy tore down the hallway and into the castle's center, soon finding the explosion's center.
Standing near a cloud of smoke were the Barbecue agents from Little Garden. The wax one, the bomb one, and the heavy one all stood by the door, staring inside.
"Hey!" He shouted angrily. "What the hell are you guys doing here?!"
"Why hello Straw Hat!" Mr. Three said with a devilish grin as they turned around. "So good to see you again!"
"Wish I could agree!" Luffy said. "I intended to leave you on Little Garden!"
"Well if that were the case, you should have burned my ship!" Mr. Three said. "Now, we're here for the Princess! Be a dear and hand her over, hm?"
"Vivi isn't even here!" Luffy replied. "So piss off!"
"As if I'd believe that," Mr. Three snickered. "Candle Lock!" Luffy gritted his teeth and the wax flew for him, ducking underneath the railing. The wax hit the wall, and he took his chance to jump off and face the three head on.
"Gum-Gum Pistol!" He shouted, throwing his fist towards the trio. Wax jumped out of the floor and blocked his attack, before Mr. Five and Ms. Valentine jumped out from behind it and rushed for him, preparing their own fists. Raising his arms, Luffy intended to block the attacks.
"Explosive Knuckle!" Mr. Five's fist struck his left arm, an explosion sending him flying to the right. Right towards Ms. Valentine.
"2000 Kilogram Uppercut!" Despite his attempt at blocking the attack, an intense amount of force slammed into him and tossed him right up into the air. He flew straight up and hit the roof, making it crack as it tried to slow his flight.
Holy hell that actually hurt! What did she do?!
Looking towards his arm, Luffy noted his arm already looked bruised. It was probably one of the heaviest hits he'd ever taken, second only to his Grandpa's. She was stronger than he'd given her credit for. Growling, Luffy kicked off of the roof and flew down towards the pair, who were waiting for him.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!" Throwing as many fists as he could, he saw the ground beneath them begin to crack as they ran for cover from his endless barrage.
"Breath Bomb!" Mr. Five showed his face long enough to exhale loudly, the breath immediately exploding once it exited his mouth. This threw up a smokescreen, Luffy landing dead in the center of it. Coughing, he looked around frantically for his foes, hearing someone running for him. He turned to block, taking another vicious blow from Ms. Valentine as she punched for his stomach.
"What's the matter?" She asked as Luffy slid backwards from the punch, his arms twanging in pain. "Did that hurt?" Luffy grinned through the pain.
"Nope, not at all!" he shouted. "Gum-Gum Axe!" Stretching his foot high into the air, Luffy rocketed it back down towards the woman, aiming to force her away or send her right through the floor.
"10000 Kilogram Anchor!" Luffy's foot connected with Ms. Valentine's shoulder, and he gritted his teeth as his ankle bounced off as if it hadn't harmed her at all. "What's the matter, dear Captain? Your attack didn't push me anywhere."
"I can see that!" Luffy said. "How did you do that?!" Ms. Valentine smirked.
"You should learn some manners when talking to a lady!" She said, rearing her fist back. "7000 Kilogram Impact!"
The resounding explosions and battle noise only spurred Johnny to run further. He was at the front of the trio, Nojiko close behind him and Chopper riding his shoulders.
"Hurry!" Chopper said as he pulled at Johnny's already short hair. "We need to hurry!"
"I'm going as fast as I can, Little Bro!" Johnny said. "It's a long hallway!"
"That damn King!" Nojiko shouted as they rounded the next corner and continued to run. "He really had to come back this quick huh?!"
"At least we can kick his ass again!" Johnny said. "And then we can go back to cooking! Wait, did we turn the stove off, Big Sis?!"
"What?!"
"The stove! Did we turn it of-?!"
"Shut up about the stove!" Nojiko said, driving the handle of her revolver into the back of Johnny's head, startling Chopper. "We don't have time to worry about that!" Deciding it was best to stay silent, Johnny ran as Chopper nursed the welt on the back of his head as best he could. Soon the trio made it to the center of the castle, and they were greeted by a sight they didn't think they'd be seeing.
Three of the Baroque Works agents were back, all standing together. Luffy was opposing them, but Johnny could only guess he was. He was currently trying to free himself from the wall he'd been punched into.
"Oh hey you guys." Johnny turned at this voice to see the fourth agent, Ms. Golden Week, standing against the wall. She was watching them pretty indifferently, but it still made Johnny nervous.
"Uh, hi?" Johnny asked as Chopper jumped down from his shoulders. "Are...Are you not fighting?"
"Nah," She replied. "Your sniper destroyed my paints back on Little Garden. And of course this would be the one time I don't have backups. So I can't fight."
"...Oh," Johnny said. "I see." Ms. Golden Week nodded, pointing towards the other agents.
"You'll want to watch out for them, though." She said. "They aren't going to give you guys an opening after Little Garden. They can't fail again." Johnny clenched his jaw at this, acknowledging that this fight was going to be much harder.
"Ready?" Nojiko asked, drawing her guns.
"Of course," Johnny said as he drew Sutomukora from his side. "We have to help Big Bro Luffy! You said you can fight, right Chopper?"
"Of course!" Chopper said. "Let's get them!" Nodding, Johnny ran fourth, making his way for Mr. Three. The man saw him coming, and raised a wall of wax in front of himself. Johnny sliced through it horizontally, coming to a stop to glare at him.
"Ah, it seems one of the swordsmen has joined us!" he said. "Nice to see you."
"What are you all doing here?!" Johnny demanded. "Leave Princess Vivi alone!"
"Can't do that," Mr. Three said. "She has to die! And after what happened on Little Garden, so do you lot! Candle Spear!" Wax shot out of the mans arm and rocketed for Johnny, who once again slashed through it. He bolted for Mr. Three, but another wall was thrown up in his path. An explosion went off, and the wall disappeared, opening up Mr. Three for attack.
"Sword of the Sea: Cascading Slash!" Jumping, Johnny aimed to bring his sword down vertically on the mans head. Mr, Three jumped back, more wax coming from his arms.
"Wax Sword!" Both arms produced swords, and he wielded them at Johnny. "Come at me, sword boy!" Johnny gritted his teeth and he prepared himself.
"Those fake swords could never compare to the real thing!"
Nojiko watched as Johnny prepared to fight Mr. Three. She'd blasted through one of the walls the man put up with her pistols and the exploding rounds Usopp had provided to her, but she knew she couldn't back him up forever, Mainly because Mr. Five was wandering over to her and Chopper.
"You, lady." Mr. Five said as he reached them. Give me my pistol back."
"Nah," Nojiko replied, playing with her acquired gun in her hand. "I've come to quite like this, so I won't be handing it over." Mr. Five frowned at this.
"I wasn't asking," he said. "I want it back, so you can either give it to me or I'll kill you and take it."
"I'd like to see you try," Nojiko said. "I'm going to need your help with this, Chopper. I don't think I can handle him on my own."
"Y-You're relying on me?" Chopper asked weakly. "Me?"
"Am I asking to much?" Nojiko asked him. He stared at her in surprise for a moment, before the little reindeer steeled his gaze and looked towards Mr. Five.
"O-Of course not!" He said. "I'm more than capable of fighting him, dumb ass!" Smirking at this, Nojiko aimed the stolen gun at Mr. Five.
"Let's take this guy out, little buddy." she said. Chopper popped a small ball that looked like candy into his mouth, and he rushed towards Mr. Five.
"Rumble!" He shouted. "Arm Point!" Nojiko watched, shocked, as Chopper's small form began to change. His body grew massively and his arms inflated as well, well beyond anything she had seen from any man before. His lower body was still quite small, but his arms were so thick that they could probably destroy any wall in it's path. Chopper jumped and aimed an attack at the ground, but Mr. Five jumped away from it. Just like she had assumed, the attack cracked the floor beneath it.
"Bomb Shot!" Mr. Five said, doing that disgusting move where he picked his nose and flicked it.
"Guard Point!" Chopper said, his body morphing again. His massive arms and human like body disappeared inside a massive growth of fur, which covered everything except the little guy's head. The explosion hit him dead on, sending him flying back and bouncing off of the wall.
"You okay?" Nojiko asked as he rolled near her.
"I'm fine," he said. "The little ball I ate let's me utilise my Human-Human Fruit it different ways. I can change into a bunch of different forms." At this, he looked away from her. "They're not flashy or flattering, but..."
"What the hell are you pouting about?" Nojiko demanded. "You're the coolest reindeer I've ever met. Now, keep that guy off of me so I can help you." Still blushing, Chopper nodded and changed form again, this time into one resembling a normal reindeer. He dashed at Mr. Five, who aimed more boogers at him. Nojiko wasn't going to allow it this time though. Reaching into a small pouch on her belt, she grabbed some of the ammo Usopp had made and swiftly loaded it.
"Heavy Shot!" She shouted. Larger rounds fired out of the guns, soaring right for Mr. Five. He was fast, but not fast enough to dodge a gunshot. The larger bullet struck him in the stomach, winding him as he flew backwards. Chopper shifted form again, back to his Arm Point. He jumped and aimed a punch at Mr. Five, who was lying in wait for him.
"Explosive Knuckle!" The two attacks met in midair, the explosion from Mr. Five sending Chopper back into the ground. The agent was still in the air, and he flipped to aim his feet at the reindeer. "Exploding Stomp!" He aimed to bring his foot down on Chopper, but Nojiko fired again. Mr. Five moved to kick the bullet away from him, which gave Chopper the time he needed to recover. Now Mr. Five was totally exposed, no useful body part ready to defend himself. As Chopper jumped, Mr. Five got to look just enough to see the reindeer's eyes as Chopper's attack connected.
"Cloven Rose!" Driving his hooves into the mans chest, Mr. Five was launched into the ceiling and broke through one of the balconies, before getting stuck in one above that. He didn't reappear, and Nojiko grinned.
"Damn, that was a heavy hit Chopper!" She said, watching where the agent had disappeared to. "I don't think he's getting up from that!"
"I-It's not like your praise makes me feel good, you moron!" Chopper said, doing some weird dance. Nojiko had to admit, in that buff form, it just made him look like the moron. Despite wanting to laugh at the reindeer's dance moves, she instead turned her gaze towards the other fights happening. Luffy was still tangling with Ms. Valentine, and it looked like her weight Devil Fruit was giving him trouble. Johnny and Mr. Three were still going at it as well, The swordsman being easily held back by all manner of wax creations. If she had to guess, helping Johnny would be the most beneficial. After all, Luffy was the most capable of them all.
A resounding metal clash brought her out of her thoughts. Looking forward, she saw that the door the agents had blown open was now behind a massive figure. This figure was a towering barrage of weapons. The legs of the figure were tank treads, and there were cannons attached to his midsection. His arms were also cannons, whilst massive blades stuck out of his shoulders. Atop his head was a spear, but that wasn't what she caught onto first.
She just recognised the mans face.
"Hahahaha!" Wapol shouted as he raised his cannon arms. "You're time has come, shitty pirates! I've completed eating every weapon inside the armoury of the castle! I've transformed into a fully fledged Human Weapon! But you won't get any chance to surrender this time!" With this, he pointed his cannon arm towards Luffy, and Ms. Valentine jumped out of the way.
"Huh?" Luffy asked, not seeing Wapol in time.
"Captain!"
BOOM!
Nami winced as another explosion rocked the castle, nearly knocking her out of bed. After the fighting had started, she'd wanted nothing more but to go down and see what was going on. Sadly, Kureha was more than enough of an obstacle to stop both her and Yosaku.
"Enough whining," The Doctor said. "You two are still sick, and I won't allow you to fight."
"But they might need us!" Yosaku shouted. "Give me my sword back!"
"No," Kureha replied, withholding Jishin from the man. "Stay in bed. Your friends can handle it."
"But we just need to make sure!" Nami said. "What if something happens to the-!"
Nami was cut off by the door opening, and the rest of the breath she had escaped her lungs.
Ms. Golden Week casually walked into the room, meeting Nami's gaze.
"Oh, I was right." She said. "Some of you were in here"
"Y-You!" Yosaku shouted. "You're one of those agents!"
"Is she now?" Kureha asked, eyeing the young woman irritably.
"Easy Doctor," Ms. Golden Week replied. "I'm not here to fight. Actually, I'm here to bargain."
"Huh?" Nami asked, but Ms. Golden Week didn't reply right away. She walked up and sat on the edge of her bed, looking towards her.
"I'll be upfront," she said. "I know you guys are strong. And your whole crew isn't even here, so I don't think we'll be able to stop you. And if we don't, we're dead meat. Our boss will kill all of us. I'm not joking." With this, she took a deep breath. "I'm not a fan of dying, and Mr. Three has no idea what he's doing. He's scrambling because he's scared of dying too. But I don't agree with his methods. We lost once when we had the advantage. I don't understand how he thinks we can get away with it this time. "
"W-What are you getting at?" Nami demanded. Ms. Golden Week looked back at her.
"It's obvious," she said. "I'm here to offer you my help." With this, the smaller girls eyes hardened. "I'm willing to help you guys take down not only the enemies downstairs, but Mr. Zero. I'm willing to give you all the information I have about Baroque Works and I'll do my best to stop the Civil War with Princess Vivi." Nami's eyes widened at this. Surely this had to be some kind of trap, right? There was no way that Ms. Golden Week was serious.
"We can't trust you," she said bluntly. "There's no way you're serious."
"Of course, that's understandable." She replied. "I am the enemy after all, so trusting me makes no sense. How about this?" Ms. Golden Week raised a hand, lifting her index finger. "I help you two get better, temporarily, and you can join the fight downstairs. Not only that, but I'll help you take down my former allies and the fat King. Will that make you trust me?"
"Don't you care about your allies?" Nami demanded. "They're agents too, right?"
"Of course I care about them," she replied. "If I could convince them to join us, I would. But Mr. Three is not a traitor, and I don't know if Mr. Five and Ms. Valentine are interested in betraying the most dangerous man in this leg of the seas anyway. What do you say?"
Nami made a face at this, unsure of what to do. On one hand, Ms. Golden Week was offering up valuable intel that could turn the tide of this fight. Not only that, but her temporary allegiance as well. But, if it was a lie, Nami would be accepting an agreement that was made to trap them and get them all killed.
"And what do you want from us, exactly?" She demanded. "There's no way you're just offering up this because you feel like not dying." Ms. Golden Week smirked.
"Perceptive, aren't you?" She asked. "There is something I want. But, there's no point in asking for it just yet. After all, there's no guarantee we can defeat Mr. Zero even with my help. If we survive this ordeal, I'll let you know what I want." Nami frowned. That was even more suspicious. Not being upfront with what she wanted made this whole thing sound set up. But they were talking about a Warlord, who ran an organisation that could have been thousands strong. What could they do?
Growling, Nami reached her conclusion.
"You help us get out of here first, then we confer with everyone else." She said. "If they don't want you along, then it sucks for you. After all, I'm not Captain. I can't make a decision for the whole crew, that's up to Luffy." Ms. Golden Week watched her for a moment before she nodded.
"That makes sense," she said as she stood up. "Your Captain was preoccupied, so I couldn't very well talk to him. Let's get us out of here, hm?"
"God it's so cold up here!" Usopp shouted, Zoro making a face as they climbed the rickety wax stairs.
"Shut up, would you?" He demanded. "We're almost at the top." After making it to the mountain and doing so searching, the group had discovered exactly what they thought they'd find: a wax creation leading up the mountain. Only problem being was that the intense cold was making them very fragile, so the group was staying very far apart from one another in order to prevent their weight from caving the wax in.
"We're almost to the top," Dalton said from behind Zoro. "I must admit, this Devil Fruit creation is most impressive."
"Don't compliment him," Zoro said. "He's the enemy." Dalton nodded.
"I prey Wapol has not made it to the armoury," he said. "Or else your friends are in trouble."
"Why's that?" Dalton frowned at this question.
"Because if he does, he'll ingest every weapon in the armoury. Make himself a true to life human weapon. And we can't allow that." Zoro frowned as an explosion sounded over their heads.
"Well let's hurry up," he said. "Because I don't think any of ours could make an explosion that loud."
Hm, the plot thickens! I'm bad at post-authors notes. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!