Good day to you all!
Here's the second chapter of my short story for your viewing pleasure. Apologies that this took long, Exoprimal and Turbo Overkill were a huge drain on my time.
This chapter will feature more gruesome scenes than the ones in the original show and I gave the Sauopod some abilities since the virus was changed into a Devil Fruit. I have christened it the Rot-Rot Fruit, a far deadlier version of Doc Q's Sick-Sick Fruit. Enjoy!
Primal and One Piece belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.
Beta read by Zeroth17.
Chapter 2
Avatar of Decay
PREHISTORIC ISLAND
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Luffy panicked as he jumped out of the way of the sauropod's oncoming foot! The beast lunged after the rubberman, snapping at him like it was trying to eat him alive. It then reared itself up, slammed its forelimbs into the ground, and nearly knocked everyone to the ground when the impact created a miniature earthquake.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING?!" Zoro yelled as he clutched his swords.
"IT'S QUEEN'S DEMENTED, NON-CYBORG BROTHER!" Usopp answered hysterically as his eyes bugged out of their sockets.
"THAT'S PRETTY ACCURATE!" Nami agreed as she scrambled for her Clima-Tact.
The sauropod pivoted its body around and swung its malformed tail at the crew before lunging after them again as soon as they dodged the tail strike. The creature was deceptively fast in spite of its decaying state as it relentlessly tried to stomp and bite at the pirates. It rushed forward and leaped towards them like it was an oversized panther, something that dinosaurs of that size and weight weren't capable of in the slightest! The Strawhats dove out of the way as the sauropod bit down into the ground, skidding to a halt in front of Nami by mere inches. The Navigator felt her heart stop when she got a good view of the dinosaur's horrible features.
Its skin was in a state of necrosis with visibly eroding flesh and mucus bubbling from its nostrils. Its lips had rotted away to reveal misshapen teeth and exposed gums, but its eyes utterly terrified Nami. They were like broken glass: blood-red sclera with yellow veins spiderwebbing across the surface while tears poured from its eyes. The beast shot back up, spat out the dirt, and bellowed right down at Nami as its diseased tongue failed around its mouth!
"GLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHKKKKKKK!"
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The sauropod lunged towards her until Franky jumped right in front of her at the last second and reared his fist back.
"STRONG RIGHT!"
Franky's fist, attached to a chain, shot out of his wrist and slugged the Argentinosaurus right across the face! It staggered backward from the force of the blow just as Sanji used Sky Walk to jump up to the sauropod's head and delivered and powerful spinning kick right across its face. The beast crashed to the ground as Sanji landed next to Franky who stood protectively in front of Nami (much to the Cook's jealousy).
Franky grinned victoriously. "And that's the second time your big bro came to save you-"
"FRANKY, YOUR HAND!" Nami exclaimed as she pointed at Franky's right hand. The cyborg glanced down and was shocked to witness his hand corroding right before his eyes. He gasped as the metal purified and melted like wax, prompting Franky to quickly press a small button on the side of his oversized arm to eject his hand before the contagion spread to the rest of his body. Sanji watched in growing horror as the hand landed on the grass, prompting him to look down at his left foot...his shoe was rotting! He swiftly kicked off his shoe and sock before it could spread to his foot; his heart pounding like a drum as he checked his thankfully uninfected foot.
"Wha-Wha-What the hell was that?!" Usopp balked as Sanji's footwear melted.
"The disease...it affects anything it touches!" Chopper gasped.
Luffy looked down at his hands in dread. "But then that means...!"
"One touch is instant death." Robin concluded as her mind conjured images of the crew being reduced to puddles of melted human flesh and bone.
"HRRRRRRRUUUUUUULLLLLLLGGGGGGHHHHHUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
Everyone collectively shuddered when they heard the Argentinosaurus utter a throaty gurgle as it stood itself back up onto its feet. It then began to dry heave repeatedly, like it was trying to clear its throat. It kept hacking and heaving as blood and flecks of rotting flesh splattered onto the ground.
"What's wrong with it now?!" Yamato backed away from the revolting sight.
"HWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!"
The sauropod snapped its head towards the Strawhats and vomited a stream of green and red bile at them! The pirates dove out of the way just as the stream splashed against the trees and some of the other sauropod corpses. The trees decayed almost instantly while the bodies were reduced to red slurry among the grass. Jinbei scrambled to get himself back up as fast as he could until he stepped in something. He glanced down at the remains of a fruit squished underneath his sandal. Normally he wouldn't have cared due to the intense situation at hand but then he noticed the odd coloration and the swirling patterns adorned on the fruit.
Jinbei's eyes widened as he realized that there was only one type of fruit that had those kinds of patterns. 'It can't be...' He thought to himself.
"JINBEI, DUCK!" Sanji yelled at him. Jinbei reflexively dodged to avoid the incoming globule of acidic bile that had been expectorated from the Argentinosuarus. The monster had switched from its acid-puke attack to hocking boulder-sized bile globs at the pirates. Everyone was forced to evade the disgusting attack and they had no effective way to counteract the sauropod's plague touch without getting killed.
The creature ceased its attack and charged toward the group with murderous intent in a fit of agony-fueled insanity. Nami fumbled with her Clima-Tact and used it to conjure three storm clouds that spread out around the clearing and formed a triangular pattern. As soon as the sauropod entered the center of the triangle, the trap was sprung.
"THUNDER TRAP!"
The thunderclouds unleashed bolts of electricity at the Argentinosaurus, violently electrocuting it and stopping it in its tracks!
"RRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"
Its body convulsed and spasmed as several thousand volts coursed through its rotting veins; bringing it to its knees. Zoro jumped in front of it, all three swords at the ready.
"RENGOKU ONIGIRI!"
Instead of dashing forward like he usually did, Zoro instead unleashed a slashing wave with a swing of his blades that carved a star-like pattern into the sauropod's chest. Its skin split apart and doused the ground with acidic blood as the force of the attack sent it tumbling backward down the other end of the area. Everyone immediately grouped up with Zoro while being careful to avoid the small puddles of acid blood.
"Okay, we can't get close to it but that doesn't mean it's invincible. We can still fight it but only if we keep our distance." Zoro said through the sword clenched in his teeth. Luffy looked down at his fist quizzically. He could easily hit anything from any distance thanks to his Gum-Gum Fruit powers but did that mean he still could not lay a finger on that thing? Maybe Armament Haki could protect him...
"We got this covered." Usopp boasted proudly as he and Franky took a step forward with confidence. "We're the masters of ranged combat!"
Usopp dug around in his bag and picked out his ammo for Black Kabuto while ports on Franky's back opened up to reveal two large tank cannons. Both of them took aim at the disoriented Sauropod and locked onto their target.
"FIRE FLOCK STAR!"
"FRANKY SUPER MORTAR!"
Usopp fired a small capsule from Black Kabuto which burst apart into a swarm of flaming projectiles resembling birds while at the same time, Franky launched two large mortars from his back cannons. The firebirds flew towards the downed Argentinosaurus as Franky's payload sailed through the air in a parabolic arc down towards it. But then the unexpected happened: the firebirds fizzled out as the drew close to the sauropod while the mortars prematurely detonated above it.
"Huh?!" Usopp's jaw dropped.
"That should've worked! What the hell happened?!" Franky yelled.
"Look! There's something up with the air around it!" Brook pointed his bony finger at the beast. There was a distinctive shimmer in the air, almost like a heat haze, forming a sizable dome around the sauropod. But much to the crew's surprise, the grass gradually turned a sickly brown like it was dying. But it wasn't just the grass: anything near the sauropod was affected. Rocks cracked and blackened, trees decayed to the point where they fell apart, and a stray bird who happened to fly near the dome was instantly liquified as its feathers and skin melted off its body.
"It's...it's rotting everything around it!" Robin realized with a mixture of fascination and dread. Franky and Usopp regarded each other with open-mouthed stupefaction. Now they knew why their attacks didnt work earlier: they couldn't breach its decaying dome.
"We can't attack it without getting infected, whatever we throw at it can't reach it and now we can't get close to it." Jinbei listed with increasing worry. "This beast is untouchable!"
The sauropod slowly sat back up but instead of renewing its pursuit of the Strawhats, it started to vomit again onto the ground. But this time? It was puking up its own internal organs. Its blackened, sclerotic guts plopped onto the dead grass as the Argentinosaurus continued to heave in view of the pirates. It was the single most disgusting thing any one of them had ever seen in their lives.
Yamato cautiously backed away as she clutched her kanabo. "Captain, what do we do?"
Luffy gritted his teeth together not out of anger but rather fear. There was no way they could fight this thing: any attack would decay instantly and that meant instant death. He could try using Armament Haki but what if that didn't offer enough protection? That was a risk he wasn't willing to take. He wasn't going to put his friends in potentially fatal danger nor would he allow himself to die in such a horrific manner.
"Captain?!" Yamato pressed urgently. The sauropod ceased throwing up and shakily rotated its hunched-over head towards the pirates as its intestines dangled from the corner of its mouth. Its splintered eyes locked onto Luffy...
"BACK TO THE SHIP!" Luffy shouted. "EVERYONE RUN BACK TO THE SHIP, NOW!"
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Usopp darted right past his Captain as the rest of the crew made a break for the forest. The sauropod lumbered after them with a bellow as it charged across the clearing. As everyone fled into the woods, Usopp stayed behind as he loaded Black Kabuto with a Pop Green and aimed at a patch of ground in front of the charging monster.
"GREEN STAR: PUNJI TRAP!"
Usopp launched the Pop Green at the ground before following his friends and the moment it hit the dirt, the plant instantly dug a massive hole big enough to trap the Argentinosaurus with razor-sharp punji stakes jutting up from the bottom. The sauropod was not aware of the trap due to its broken mind and it fell right into the deep pit. Due to the beast's Rot Radius, the stakes were immediately disintegrated but the sauropod was effectively trapped in the pit as it tried to dig itself out with its feet.
"Damn it! I thought we were done with killer dinosaurs back on Wano!" Sanji growled, ignoring the sticks and pebbles pricking his bare foot as he and everyone else ran through the forest.
"So are we going to talk about what the hell that was?!" Usopp shouted before looking at Chopper. "I mean, what kind of disease does that to an animal?!"
"I don't know!" The reindeer yelled back while running alongside Usopp in his Heavy Point. "We can figure that out once we're on the ship!"
"And not a moment too soon!" Yamato added. "With any luck, we've already got a head start-"
She soon found herself eating her own words when a telltale rumbling like approaching thunder was heard from behind. Everyone glanced behind them and their eyes nearly bugged out of their heads when the Argentinosaurus burst forth from the tree line, bowling over decaying trees like they were dominoes as it galloped toward the crew! The Strawhats ran as fast as they could in order to outrun the beast and get as far away from its necrotizing dome as much as possible. Robin's mind was close to breaking: dinosaurs of this size were incapable of running this fast due to their weight but this one was almost as fast as a horse. What was this thing infected with?!
Everyone continued to run through the dense foliage with the sauropod hot on their heels. They weaved through the thick trees while the monstrosity settled for plowing right through them while letting out ragged breaths as it pursed the Strawhats with relentless ferocity. Zoro cut through any large tree in their path with Luffy, Sanji, and Jinbei throwing or kicking them towards the Argentinosaurus but its Rot Radius disintegrated anything thrown at it. Nami suddenly hatched an idea: if physical objects couldn't get through the field, then maybe an elemental attack could bypass it. It was time to pull out the big guns.
"Zeus! We need you!" Nami called out as she held her Clima-Tact up in the air. A storm cloud formed around the tip of her staff and the former Homie of Big Mom materialized above the pirates.
"I'm here, Nami!" The goofy, baseball cap-wearing cloud announced. "What seems to be the trouble-"
"GRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Just as the Homie turned around, he bore witness to what could only be described as a literal nightmare on legs barreling towards him with burning red eyes and slobbering blood. Zeus started to rain on the spot; his way of pissing himself. "BYE NAMI!"
"Wha-?!" Nami tripped over her words as Zeus retracted himself back into her Clima-Tact. "ZEUS YOU PUNK-ASS LITTLE SHIT!" She cursed as she banged her staff against the trees she ran past.
"Why the hell did we bring that stupid cloud with us?!" Zoro exasperated.
"IT'S GAINING ON US!" Everyone heard Usopp scream. He was correct: the Argentinosaurus was closing in on them! Each thunderous impact of its feet shook the ground as its Rot Radius drew closer. The crew picked up the pace but the uneven, obstacle-ridden forest made it difficult for them to run faster. Nami and Usopp were already lagging behind as the shadow of the sauropod loomed over them. The beast lunged its neck out past its Rot Radius with its decaying maw wide open, about to bite down on the Sniper and Navigator.
That is until two blurs darted past Usopp and Nami, scooping them up before the sauropod could snap its jaws shut on them. Chopper had transformed into his Walk Point with Usopp on his back while Yamato morphed into her beast form of the Dog-Dog Fruit: Model Okuchi-no-Makami to carry Nami upon her back as well. The sauropod roared in anger as it leaped towards its prey just as they ran through a large opening in a thick tree. The abomination's head went through the opening, just barely missing the Strawhats, and it became stuck when its neck got caught in the archway, ensnaring it as it tried to free itself.
"Look! It's trapped!" Brook looked over his shoulder as he jumped over a toppled tree.
"Don't stop! Keep running!" Franky shouted as he noticed the tree that was pinning the creature was rapidly decaying. The Argentinosaurus vomited another stream of caustic bile at the pirates, forcing them to break a hard left to avoid the puke.
"I think we're almost back to the ship!" Luffy yelled as he and the others neared the edge of the forest. "Just a little bit more and-WOAH!" The second Luffy burst forth from the forest's edge, he tumbled down a rocky incline that was incredibly steep. His crew wasn't exempt from the sudden change in terrain and were all sliding down the rocky slope. The crew spotted some stone columns near the bottom of the incline and they jumped toward them, landing atop the pillars.
"HHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"
The Strawhats had no time to catch their breath when they heard the horrible screech of the Argentinosaurus in the distance. Whipping their heads up to the forest, they watched the tree the sauropod was previously trapped under get propelled above the treeline and the beast itself burst forth from the woods! It hunched down onto its knees and slid toward the pirates while roaring bloody murder.
"INTO THAT CAVE! MOVE!" Zoro yelled as he pointed to a small cave above a deep chasm. Without a moment's hesitation, the pirates jumped off of the columns just as the Argentinosaurus plowed right through them; the crew narrowly missing its Rot Radius by inches. The Strawhats fell downwards to the cave while the sauropod plummeted into the chasm. The destruction of the stone columns launched several large rocks at the pirates who parried most of them though some did get hit. Sanji got the worst of it when a sizable boulder smacked into his forehead, knocking him out like a light.
The crew landed on an outcropping near the cave entrance while Robin rescued Sanji with her Flower Flower Fruit powers; dozens of hands materialized from the ground to form an oversized hand that safely caught the unconscious Sanji out of the air before he could hit the ground. Around the same time, the Argentinosaurus hit the bottom of the chasm with a ground-shaking SLAM and immediately went limp. As Chopper, Nami and Robin tended to Sanji, the rest of the crew cautiously neared the ledge and looked down at the sauropod. There was no movement from it and its dome was gone.
Usopp gulped as a bead of sweat dribbled down his forehead. "Do you think it's dea-"
The beat's eyes snapped open and it reared itself back up with a bloodcurdling roar, its Rot Radius reactivating!
"RRRHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"
"GET BACK, GET BACK!" Jinbei hollered as everyone fled into the cave. The Argentinosaurus violently thrashed itself around the tight confines of the chasm, slamming its bulk against the walls and whipping its tail wildly. It threw its head against the walls like a flail, bashing it over and over until it literally scalped itself in full view of the Strawhats who hid in the cave. Its bare skull was exposed with a hairline crack running along the fractured bone as blood gushed from the wounds.
"GLLLLAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHH! RRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The sauropod's legs started to buckle and it finally keeled over, undulating a death gurgle as its body hit the ground. It lay where it collapsed, unmoving and hopefully dead this time. The pirates were all breathing heavily as sweat poured down their faces. Their hearts beat like a drum out of pear fear and their eyes were wide with fright. They were all mentally reeling at what they had just fled from and wondered what could've caused such a horrific transformation, though only Jinbei knew the real cause.
As Chopper dug around in his backpack for bandages, the rest of the crew sat down or flopped onto their backs in rattled exhaustion as the sun set over the mountains of the island.
To be continued...
If any of you felt sick with the descriptions of the sauropod, I apologize.
I already know some of you could make a list of the many ways the crew could defeat the Argentinosaurus besides running from it but if I did go that route, the story wouldn't be as interesting. Just enjoy it for what it is!
Don't forget to review but please don't flame.