Chapter 12
Still tied up above the void, Luffy tried to swing, so he could dodge Who's Who's stone hammer blow.
"Die!" He cried.
At that moment, swinging his whole body forward and managed to put the tips of his feet on the edge of the cliff. Then, he ejected me as hard as possible backwards, in order to get as far away from the cliff as possible.
"Where do you think you're going?" Roared Who's Who, hitting him.
Unfortunately, slower than Luffy, he hit the void, while the tip of his biface only cut his T-shirt.
"He dodged? " Wondered Who's Who, surprised that Luffy managed to escape certain death.
Kicking into space, he lost his balance and felt one of his feet slip off the edge of the cliff.
"Huh?" He wondered.
Before he could do anything, his body sank into the void. Still, keeping his cool, he stretched his arms towards Luffy. Managing to cling to his belt, Who's Who managed to avoid falling and smashing against the ground, thirty meters below, just like his weapon.
However, because of his clumsiness, the two men now risked falling at any moment. Indeed, this new weight caused the branch where Luffy was hanging on to bend somewhat. Moreover, Who's Who kept moving in order to find a suitable take.
" Stop fidgeting all over the place. " Luffy ordered him, immediately. "Otherwise you will fall."
To be honest, Luffy didn't care that he let go and crashed. On the other hand, he didn't want the branch to break. Given the situation, it might not stay intact for very long.
"Stop moving! I'm going to try something." Luffy stated.
"Try something in this position? Are you kidding me?" Who's Who questioned.
He grabbed, at that moment, the bottom of Luffy's t-shirt.
"Besides, who told you that I needed help from an incompetent like you?"
"Hey, get off me." Luffy ordered him.
" You can always dream. "
A small crack was heard above the head.
"Don't move! The branch will break."
"Stop giving me orders." Who's Who ordered him.
"Do you maybe have a solution, asshole?" Luffy replied, feeling his hand fall on the top of his T-shirt.
"Sure." He chimed in, climbing over Luffy, until he reached the branch.
He probably took malicious pleasure in trampling on his face before starting to climb back up thanks to the vine. Then, he hoisted himself on the branch, just above Luffy.
"See? Problem solved."
" Hey! What about me? " Luffy questioned him, noting that his situation hadn't improved at all.
Who's Who suddenly took a Swiss Army knife from his pocket and unfolded the blade, before bringing it closer to the vine that held it.
"You are entitled to a one-way ticket to the Kingdom of Hades." He said, starting to cut the rope.
" No, stop. " Luffy hollered. "If you do this, I promise to really kick your ass. "
"Farewell!" He replied, starting to cut the vine.
A sudden noise stopped his gesture and silenced Luffy: the branch had just cracked under our weight. It was only a matter of seconds before she broke in two.
"What?" Wondered Who's Who.
Wanting to take advantage of his surprise, Luffy swung once again to reach the edge of the cliff before the branch or vine gave way.
"Stop that!" Who's Who ordered him who, because of the vibrations produced by Luffy's movements, couldn't move and nearly went overboard with each swing.
" That's it, count on it. " Luffy replied, once again leaning on the edge of the cliff.
" Come on, one more and it's won!" »
Luffy's plan was simple, but also dangerous and having very little chance of working: to swing quite hard forward, at the same time as the loose rope or branch. In theory, if this worked, he should land safely on the cliff in front of him. However, aside from not swinging hard enough to fly up the cliff, Luffy had a more than half chance of going backwards at the critical moment. So he had to rely on his ability and above all… above all on his luck.
Continuing to swing, Luffy felt the branch bend more and more, while the vine, half-cut by Who's Who, held the boy down only by filaments.
" I'm almost there! »
"STOP!" yelled Who's Who, as a crack was heard.
The branch and the rope let go at the same time, just as Luffy made a forward swing.
Screaming, the high school student felt himself flying towards the edge of the cliff. Yet, instead of thinking about his own safety, he declared.
"Friends! I'm coming." He yelled, before crashing to the cliff floor.
Then, remaining motionless for a few seconds, he ended up straightening his face a little to see that he was still alive and had truly reached the edge of the cliff. Only part of his legs were still above the void. Luckily, on top of that, the rope that bound him had broken in one place, under the impact. Usually, people claimed that Luffy attracted bad luck, because of the trouble he created. However, this time, anyone could have said that god, himself, was sure that Luffy could survive.
Finally, standing up, Luffy smiled.
"Cool! I'm alive."
"Dirty vermin!" he heard from behind him.
Turning his head, he saw Who's Who, above the void, clinging to what was left of the branch.
"Look what situation you just put me in." He raged. "You'll pay me! Yeah, I swear you'll pay me dearly for the affront you just gave me, Mugiwara."
Staring at him, Luffy ended up pulling his eyelid down before sticking his tongue out of his mouth.
"Baka, I'm not afraid of guys like you." He told her, before running in the direction of the plane.
On board the aircraft, the situation deteriorated from second to second. The titan, if it was really one, had crushed part of the plane under its weight and the glass of several portholes were breaking one after the other. Moreover, the tremors he produced, hitting its body against that of the plane, prevented the three companions of Luffy from being able to move, without falling on the ground.
"There were no windows in the room where Nami had taken refuge. " Law remembered " That's why she thought there was an earthquake! Also, during the general fight, at some point, this titan must have appeared and frightened the passengers of the plane! That's why no one wanted to come back here. »
Suddenly, Shirahoshi let out a cry of terror.
"Na…Nami-san, get behind you."
"Huh?" The schoolgirl wondered.
Turning around, Nami noticed that an animal about two meters long had slipped through one of the portholes which had just broken. It was very thin, entirely pink, and covered in a gooey liquid resembling saliva. It had no eyes or mouth and Nami couldn't even make out its head from the rest of its body. It looked like a giant earthworm, the tip of which was out, out of sight of my friends. In addition, he was fidgeting around as if it were blind and trying to identify objects around it, through touch.
" A… A snake. " Shirahoshi panicked, trying to get as far away from it as possible, despite the force of the tremors.
For her part, seeing the strange animal heading towards her, Nami grabbed her fighting staff, before hitting it. And immediately, the snake retreated from inside the plane, while a roar was heard outside.
"What?" Nami wondered. "Can a snake scream like that?"
Also surprised, Law ends up understanding what this animal was.
"No, it's not a snake! It's…I think it's the monster's tongue attacking us."
"What?" The two girls wondered. "But, if so, how many meters is it?"
Another language was introduced, at this moment in the plane, by another window, on the opposite side to the first.
"There...is another language."
Pulling out his sword, Law groaned, glancing around as he was sure to see various figures outside the plane.
"The real question is: how many monsters are there?"
"Over there! The plane is over there somewhere."
Running at full speed, Luffy tried to locate the plane. Having no idea where he was, he rushed in the opposite direction of the birds, who fled as fast as their wings allowed them. For his brain, they had to flee a danger. And from what Who's Who had told him, that danger was closing in on the plane and his friends.
"Which friends were they talking about? Are there other humans than us on this island? Or did he order animals to devour my friends?"
Because of this, he couldn't help but think about the situation his three comrades found themselves in. Were they still alive or in mortal danger?
" Don't worry ! I'm coming ! »
Finally, between two trees, he saw the back of the plane. This proved that he was still intact.
"Great! The plane has nothing." Luffy rejoiced, finding himself in the trail the craft had made during its emergency landing. "I didn't come too late."
However, a huge shadow suddenly faced him. Freezing then, Luffy slowly raised his gaze and saw that he had found himself face to face with the most imposing creature he had ever seen. The animal had the body of a grizzly and the head of a sloth, for a size exceeding seven meters long. It was dark brown, had a long, thin tongue, and hair rivaling a girl's hair in size. Its fingers, meanwhile, were extended by endless claws. Raised on its hind legs, it seemed to touch the sky. Next to it, a diatryma or a smilodon would have looked as imposing as a canary or a kitten.
For once, Luffy couldn't help but be both shocked and impressed by the monster in front of him.
"But what is this thing? " He wondered.
Seeing him, the giant sloth stared at him for a few moments, before finally turning to head for the plane. Following it, Luffy saw five other creatures, which were surrounding the flying machine. One of them had climbed on one of the plane's wings and caused it to tip over under its weight. Another was destroying the front of the aircraft and was spreading its long tongue to grab the fruit that Nami had stored in the cockpit. There was even a mother with its baby on its back, like a gorilla.
" Contrary to what we think, mammals are very curious when they don't recognize what they see! Since they didn't know what it was, the fire attracted them instead of frightening them. " Law had asserted.
What seemed to be compared to the Andrewsarchus, these pachyderms were not interested in a campfire but rather in the plane.
"It's probably 'them' Mask-guy was telling me about. Luffy understood. "He said he left their favorite fruit around the plane! And now they attack the plane to take the ones Nami dropped off in the pilot room. They destroy the plane to worry about what is there.
Indeed, they were so crowded around the plane, in order to get their hands on the food, that they massacred it without suspecting that Law and the others were inside.
"What should I do in this situation and against such pachyderms?" Luffy wondered. ' Not only are they huge, but they are also quite numerous! I don't think I can beat them. "
Still, he had no choice but to scare them away, if he wanted to save his friends. So he had to come up with a good idea so he could get them out of the plane quickly and quickly.
"How much longer is this going to last?" Nami wondered, feeling various pieces of debris hitting her. "At this rate, the plane won't last very long."
Trying to scratch a tongue that tried to lick him, Law made it back away, before declaring.
"We're not big enough to scare those monsters away! We're just insects."
"I... I'm going to see what's outside. "' Shirahoshi then declared, grabbing hold of the doorknob, after doing the obstacle course to get to the front door. "Hopefully, I could find a way for us to pass between these monsters and escape into the forest."
"How's your head?" Nami exclaimed. "It's dangerous out there."
Of course, Shirahoshi was scared. She was even sure to be attacked, as soon as she opened the door. However, she knew they would get crushed if they stayed here. And to avoid that, she had to start being brave.
"Don't worry, I'm an adult." The young woman affirmed, trying to put on a reassuring smile. ! It is my duty as an elder to watch over you. "
A jolt threw her against the door at that moment and she bumped against it, head first, and ended up collapsing, face down, and unconscious.
" Shirahoshi! " Nami panicked, noticing that the young hostess did not get up.
"But what a useless woman." Law fumed, trying to move towards her.
At that moment, a blow to the plane caused part of a seat to fly off and hit him in the back of the skull. Remaining immobile at first, Law in turn lost consciousness and collapsed on the ground.
" Law ! "
Nami was now alone, panicked and more desperate than ever.
"At this rate, we are lost!" »
Dropping to her knees, she finally put her hands up, and felt her fingers touch Luffy's hat.
"Luffy, help us." Nami begged, crying.
With Luffy : Law / Shirahoshi / Nami
Other passengers: Sanji / Usopp / Nami / Ace / Coby / Kaya / Vivi / Katakuri / Perospero / Zoro / Chopper / Johnny / Yosaku / Kid / Wapol / Musshru / Tashigi (teacher) / Smoker (teacher)
Deceased: Dalton (pilot) / Kaya / AO / Mero / Curiel / T-Bone (teacher)
? : Who's Who