Sorry for the late upload there boyos. Got distracted all day.
But thank you guys so much! We've hit over 100 reviews already! I really was not expecting so much support so early. Hopefully it continues for a good long while!
Enjoy!
"Luffy!" Nojiko shouted a smoke plumed out from the blast. Wapol had just fired a massive cannon ball at the Captain, who had no time to get out of the way. He hadn't reemerged yet, and Wapol was having a field day with it.
"I'd love to see that straw hat bastard come out from that unscathed!" He shouted. "That's an extra potent cannon shot! The armoury of my castle is chock full of dangerous weapons! Hahaha!" Nojiko ignored the mans laughing and just watched worriedly. He had to be okay, right? It was Luffy.
Slowly but surely, the smoke cleared and Luffy came back into view. His clothes had been shredded by the explosions and he was burned slightly, but otherwise he stood with his arms blocking his face.
"Damn, that hurt..." He hissed under his breath. "What happened?"
"I've committed to my ultimate technique!" Wapol replied. "All the weapons in the castle have become mine! And you'll pay for making me damage my own home! I'll kill you!"
"You're the one doing the damage!" Luffy shouted, as if that was the main problem with what Wapol said. "How is that our fault?!"
"Shut up!" The King shouted back, his arm morphing. The cannon turned into a hand shaped weapon, each finger becoming a singular cannon. Sharp harpoon like objects appeared in the barrels, aimed at Luffy. "I'll kill you! Just like that damn Doctor, this castle will become your graveyard!"
After that, all hell broke loose.
Wapol began to fire the harpoons rapidly, and Nojiko had no choice but to dive for cover. She made it back to the tunnel she'd come from just as harpoons began to dig into the walls, Chopper right behind her.
"Crazy bastard!" She shouted as her pounding heart rang in her ears. "What the hell was in that armoury?!"
"Weapons!" Chopper shouted. "But I had no idea that they had that kind in there!" Nojiko grimaced, daring not peek her head out, lest it be taken clean off. Wapol was still firing harpoons, the only sound that could be heard over the sound of them digging into the walls was his maniacal laughing.
"We need to do something," She hissed as she stared down at her shaking hands. "But what?!"
Think, Nojiko! You signed up for this damn it! You knew they were headed to the Grand Line! Are you going to die here without seeing those places you dreamed of as a kid?!
Growling and steeling herself, Nojiko forced herself to look out. Right now Ms. Valentine and Mr. Three were standing besides Wapol as he fired harpoons, watching with somewhat indifference. Johnny was hiding behind a pillar supporting the upper stairs, and Luffy was as well. They were all stuck with no way to attack. What now?
Her answer came as she saw Yosaku balancing on the railing above Wapol, shirtless and covered in a teal coloured paint.
"What the hell is he...?" Nojiko asked weakly, cutting herself off as Yosaku leapt from the railing, sword in hand. With a mighty swing the bald man brought the blade's flat side down on Wapol's head, a sickening crunch resounding throughout the castle. Wapol, now wearing a blank expression, teetered on his feet and fell on his face. Yosaku landed on his feet in front of both agents, looking ready for battle.
"How dare you chase us here?!" He demanded as he brandished his blade at them. "Prepare to face the consequences!"
"Why are you covered in paint?" Johnny asked from around the pillar.
"Paint?" Mr. Three asked, his eyes widening. "Ms. Golden Week! Where are you?!"
"Hiya," a new voice said. "Looking upwards, Nojiko saw the small pig-tailed agent standing on the same railing Yosaku had been, watching indifferently.
"What are you doing?!" Mr. Three demanded. "You said you had no paints! Why are you helping them?!"
"I lied," Ms. Golden Week said, dabbing her brush on the palette. "Oh, and I'm also betraying you and the agency. Sorry."
"What?!" Mr. Three demanded. "What do you mean?! I thought we were partners!"
"We are," she said. "But I'm not willing to die for this agency, and I don't trust you and the others to win against this crew. So I made the self-preserving choice. I really am sorry."
"That little..." Ms. Valentine hissed. "How could you?! Mr. Zero will take your head!"
"I know he will," Ms. Golden Week replied. "I thought about it the whole way here. As far as I can tell, there were four outcomes. Either I stay with you guys, we fail, and I'm dead. Or we somehow succeed, and then Mr. Zero disposes of us the second we're not useful to him. If he's so willing to kill us for one failure, surely we can't mean much to him in the first place. Or, I betray you guys for these pirates, help them, and maybe live. That, or I'm dead because we fail and the Princess gets killed. I can't see a way out of this."
"So you'd rather betray us?!" Mr. Three demanded. "I thought better of you, Ms. Golden Week! Wax Whip!" Mr. Three's wax sprung out in gelatinous whips, flying straight for the small girl.
Yosaku intercepted them, cutting them in half.
"I can't believe this!" He said. "You guys would attack a little girl?!"
"I'm sixteen," Ms. Golden Week said flatly.
"Huh," Yosaku said. "You don't look it. Weird. Anyway! For now Little Sis Ms. Golden Week is on our side, and I won't let you hurt her!"
"Than die with her!" Mr. Three said, turning his whips on Yosaku.
"Teal of Healing is a new one I wanted to try," Ms. Golden Week said from above. "See how well it could repair a human body. Seems to work well, given this one nearly died." Yosaku slashed through both whips seamlessly, the wax dropping to the ground uselessly. "Although there's no way it would fully heal someone. It's more of a stimulant to ease pain."
"And it's working great!" Yosaku said. "I feel great!"
"Don't push it Yosaku!" Johnny said as he came out from behind the wall. "She said it was only a stimulant!"
"Okay, okay." He said. "C'mon, everyone! Let's kick these morons out of here!" Hearing this, Nojiko couldn't help but smile to herself. She didn't know what to think about Ms. Golden Week, but for not she figured she could trust her.
"C'mon, Chopper." She said. "Let's get out there."
"O-Okay," he said, following her. They regrouped with the others, standing off against the agents, who now seemed to realise how outnumbered they were.
Until Wapol stirred.
Nojiko's stomach dropped as Wapol began to groan, getting up from the ground and rubbing his head with a human hand.
"What happened?" He asked. "I blacked out for a second."
"King!" Mr. Three said. "Theses foolish pirates have attacked you! We need to finish them!" At this, Wapol's face hardened.
"I remember now!" He shouted, glaring at Yosaku. "You! I'll kill you!" Yosaku paled at this, but didn't run.
"Just try!" He shouted back, barely sounding confident.
"Alright someone fill me in!" Luffy shouted, steam practically coming out of his ears. "Why's pigtails helping us?! What did that fat King do?! Whose ass do I kick?!"
"It's not hard, Luffy." Nojiko replied. "Mr. Three, Ms. Valentine, and Mr. Five if he shows up again. Ms. Golden Week is on our side."
"Hm," Luffy said, rubbing his chin. "I'm not sure I get it. But I'm still mad at that King, so I'll take him down! You guys deal with the others!"
"We can do that," Week said, having appeared next to them. "Let me help."
"What can you do?" Nojiko asked.
"Easy," Ms. Golden Week said as she brandished her brush. "My chemical paints can enhance or change your abilities. Colour Trap can be very helpful."
"Show us!" Johnny said. the redhead nodded, whipping in Johnny's direction.
"Colour Trap," she said as she brandished a bright red marker on Johnny's chest. "Crimson Battle Rage." Once she finished, Johnny gritted his teeth at this, letting out a violent roar before charging for the agents. He raised his blade, jumped, and swung for Mr. Three. The wax man jumped. Johnny's attack missed, but the ground it connected with shattered.
"He'll be helpful for a while," Ms. Golden Week said. "Now, let's get some more going."
Mr. Three never thought this would happen. He knew that Ms. Golden Week had been quiet on the way to Drum, but to think she would have betrayed them...It angered him beyond reason. But she'd learn her lesson. He knew her paints inside and out. There was no way he'd get caught out by them. Besides, he could keep a shitty swordsman at bay.
A gunshot sounded off, and Mr. Three looked past the swordsman to see the blue haired woman aiming her gun at Ms. Valentine. Ms. Valentine had a red splatter on her chest, but it didn't appear to be blood.
"Red of Bullfighting," He hissed to himself. "Watch out, Ms. Valentine! The gunslinger won't miss you now!"
"I'll be wary," the woman replied. With this, the battle began. The Gunslinger and the reindeer creature went for Ms. Valentine, while the two swordsman went for him and the Captain went for Wapol.
"Get ready, Yosaku!" The one called Johnny said. "We're taking this guy right here, right now!"
"Right behind you, partner!" Yosaku replied. Mr. Three readied himself, wax transforming into blades. Johnny came first, jumping in with a vertical swing. This blow was easily parried, and the man was sent flying off. Yosaku approached low, his blade low to the ground. Mr. Three wasted no time in going after him, swinging the wax blades at him.
"Sword of the Earth: Grounded Parry!" Stopping, the man took stance. Feet planted firmly on the ground, blade pointed downward as it hung behind him, Yosaku waited. Mr. Three wasn't interested in what he was doing, going in for the strike.
My fighting style is more reactive than proactive. I need to wait for my moment!
With his new blade Jishin, Yosaku had learned the hard way by sparring with Zoro and Johnny that his new blade wasn't fast enough to strike first and often. He had to be the one lying in wait, looking for an opening. To create that opening, he needed to use the enemies motions against them. It was certainly more difficult against someone using a range weapon like Mr. Three's wax, but he could still make openings.
Planting himself firmly on the ground, Yosaku kept his blade ready at his side as the wax blades made their way for him. They twisted and turned like tentacles, aiming to strike him down in a single blow.
To be as hard and unmoving as the earth beneath me...To resist all attacks thrown at me...
Yosaku's brain ticked. He saw his moment, just like he had occasionally during training. Bringing his blade out in front of him diagonally, he held it firm in his hands and grounded himself even harder. The wax struck against Jishin, and Yosaku felt the force behind them in his bones. For a moment, he thought it would break through. That he would fail.
No! You promised yourself and Big Bro Luffy! You need to be an asset! These people, your crew, they're counting on you! Don't fail them!
Gritting his teeth, Yosaku threw his back into it. With a mighty swing the wax blades were thrown away from him, far off course. Using his momentum as his blade swung up to the left, Yosaku ran through the opening directly for Mr. Three, who looked stunned at the turn of events.
"Sword of the Earth: Boulder Drop!" Using all of his upper body strength, Yosaku swung the blade back diagonally across Mr. Three's chest.
Until he slipped.
Losing his footing, Yosaku slipped and missed his target, his blade only slightly slicing the mans chest as he fell. Regardless, Mr. Three grabbed at it in pain.
"You could have killed me, you know!" He shouted angrily.
"It was an aim to maim at best!" Yosaku replied, looking back to realise he'd slipped on wax. Looking up, Yosaku's eyes widened.
In the opening he had created, Johnny had slipped behind Mr. Three. His blade was poised to run the man through with it, and it seemed Mr. Three had sensed it. Turning, the man met Johnny's eyes as the colour trapped swordsman glared at him.
"Get out..." Johnny said. "...Of this castle!" The blade pierced forth with resounding speed, but Mr. Three was faster. The man encased himself in wax, Johnny's sword getting stuck in it. Soon the rest of the wax dissipated, but Johnny was still stuck. Mr. Three now wore a smirk on his face.
"Almost!" He said. "But no dice!" The wax encasing Johnny burst out from Mr. Three, throwing Johnny into a wall and making him drop his sword. Yosaku rushed forth to try and help his partner, but Mr. Three turned and met his blade with a solid wall of wax.
"Enough of this ridiculousness!" He said as he clashed with Yosaku. Just hand the Princess over!"
"Never!" Yosaku replied. "Vivi needs to make it home! I'll never let you hurt her!" Letting his strength fade, Yosaku ducked underneath the wall of wax as Mr. Three's previous strength used to push him back made him fall forward. Using his momentum, Yosaku appeared in between the man and the wax in the air, sword over his head.
"Sword of the Earth: Landslide Slash!" The blade was once again intercepted by wax, and Mr. Three smirked.
"Did you think two amateur swordsmen from the East Blue was enough to defeat me?!" He demanded. "I'm the Wax Man! The third highest ranked agent in Baroque Works! There's no way you two would ever be able to-!"
Mr. Three was cut off as Johnny roared in defiance, ready to cut the man in half from behind again. He had been given no choice. He once again wrapped himself up in wax, causing the attack to get stuck. This time though, Johnny was able to rip it out with another roar.
"Uh, are you okay partner?" Yosaku asked weakly. Johnny nodded, a maniacal grin on his face.
"I'm great!" He shouted. "The small redheads paint makes me feel exhilarated and ready for battle! I wanna slice this guys stupid hair off!"
"It's not stupid, it's artistic!" Mr. Three shouted from inside the wax ball. Before anyone could say anything the ball exploded outwards, catching both swordsmen by surprise. Yosaku freed himself from the wax, looking back at Mr. Three. The man had encased himself in a massive form of wax, building himself an exoskeleton made of it. Multiple arms came out of the creature body, all sporting different weapons and shapes. The legs were thick and long, clearly able to survive more than one strike.
"Come at me, you foolish swordsman!" Mr. Three shouted from inside the helmet. "I dare you to defeat my Wax Dreadnought!" Yosaku gritted his teeth, his cheeks feeling odd due to the dry paint on his body.
"Don't underestimate us!" He shouted.
Nojiko had to admit, the small redhead's paint was quite impressive. Every shot she had fired at Ms. Valentine so far had swerved multiple times in pursuit of it's target, always trying to hit it. Ms. Valentine was on the heavy defensive now, needing to not only avoid the seeking bullets, but also Chopper, who was at her heels anytime she came to close to the ground.
"This is so aggravating!" She heard the woman shout as she floated through the air. "Damn you, Ms. Golden Week! How could you betray us like this?!"
"Guess she saw the writing on the wall,"Nojiko replied as the woman hid behind one of the pillars in the room. It was hard to avoid Luffy and Wapol's struggle, both men exploding and tossing each other around the room like maniacs. Every time she looked though, she saw a smile on the Captain's face. He was fine. "So, why don't you? You won't win this."
"What she said was true, at least." Ms. Valentine's voice came. "We may as well be dead either way. I know she's speaking the truth. If at any point he deems us as useless, off we go. I know it's happened before. I'm probably not the first Ms. Valentine. So Goldy's right in that regard. I just don't agree with her!" With this, the woman reappeared and slammed herself into the floor, causing cracks to rush for Nojiko and Chopper. Both jumped out of the way, but the damage was reaching a pretty bad level. Many of the support pillars in the main chamber of the castle had been taken out by explosions or tremors, and it was becoming dangerous for both of them.
"So you know you'll die either way?" Nojiko demanded, still aiming her pistol at the woman in the yellow coat. "But you'll just choose the opposite side?" Ms. Valentine made a face.
"I have no reason to bank on random East Blue pirate children," she replied coldly. "Mr. Zero, he's beyond powerful. His reach alone stretches far across this leg of the Grand Line. I'll give your lot credit, you're strong for the East Blue. But against the boss? I'm not banking on that. Maybe Ms. Golden Week's just to young to understand."
"Understand what?" Nojiko asked. Ms. Valentine frowned.
"The cruelty in this world," she replied. "Sometimes it's unfair. Sometimes you walk down an unfortunate path and sometimes you reach a dead end street. You may be the hero of your own story, but not every story's ending is fair or deserving. Sometime's it just...ends." With this, the woman raised one of her arms. "But to be honest, I'd rather give myself what I see as my best chance!" Ms. Valentine slammed her hand down on the ground again, more cracks racing for Nojiko. Jumping again, Nojiko rolled and aimed her gun again.
"Surely you have something you dream about, right?" Nojiko demanded. "Surely something other than working for Mr. Zero."
"So what if I do?" Ms. Valentine demanded. "I have a better chance at reaching that dream if I kill you lot and the Princess. So, I'll be getting on that!" Nojiko made a face at this, thinking to herself.
I suppose everyone has something that drives them. Even if it's not always on their mind.
7000 Kilogram Warhammer!" Bringing her fist down again, the foundation of the floor finally gave in. Massive parts of it were destroyed completely as the ground beneath was revealed, dark and uncovered from the snow outside. Frowning, Nojiko raised her pistol again and aimed dead at Ms. Valentine.
"Express Shot!" She shouted. As oppose to a Heavy Shot, and Express Shot fired much more quickly due to more gunpowder and a smaller cartridge. The bullet flew straight and true, no time for Ms. Valentine to even attempt dodge, though it obviously wouldn't work. It tore through her shoulder, making the woman cry out in pain. As she did so, Chopper ran up behind her and morphed into his Arm Point, ready to bring his hooves down on her.
Ms. Valentine was ready though.
Turning, she raising her arms to defend herself. Chopper bounced off of her with a cry of pain and fell to the ground, morphing back into his smaller form.
"I'm so tired of this!" Ms. Valentine shouted as Chopper tried to recover. "8000 Kilogram Impact!" Bearing her open palm at Chopper, the woman brought it down at incredible speed. Nojiko was nowhere near close enough. A shot wouldn't stop her in time.
Something did, though
Right before Ms. Valentine's attack made impact, a blur impacted her. Due to only her arm being heavy, Ms. Valentine was sent in a strange cartwheel in the air before landing on her back, crying out in pain.
"What the hell is that?" Nojiko demanded as the weird cow stood up straight.
"You..." Chopper started, looking surprised.
"N-Nobody move!" Another voice said. Looking past the cow, Nojiko saw Usopp, Sanji, Zoro, Vivi and Karoo also standing in the open doorway. Usopp had been the one to speak, rifle pointed squarely at Ms. Valentine. "D-Don't hurt the raccoon dog!"
"I'm a reindeer!" Chopper shouted. "Wait, who are you guys?!"
"You guys finally made it!" Turning again, Nojiko said Luffy in Wapol's grasp, the human weapons hands firing cannons at him as he was stuck. "I was wondering if you would show up!"
"With you guys causing trouble, it was only a matter of time." Zoro said, scratching his head before unsheathing his blades. Usopp cocked his rifle, Sanji raised a leg, and Vivi's peacock spinners began to spin.
"So," Sanji asked. "Who's ass gets kicked first?"
Drum Island is actually taking longer than I thought it would. We've been here for almost ten chapters. Then again, it's just my style I guess. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review!